Crystal Throne (Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

years thinking that magic was nothing but a fairytale, it can do so again.”
    You are thinking too small again. It wouldn’t just be the mages that would disappear. What about the elves, dwarves, and the other magical races? Without magic they wouldn’t be able to survive in this world.
    “Not to mention that anything born of magic such as a certain staff would die along with them,” Thad added with a sneer. “We can’t fight the scions. If there are things that must be sacrificed then that will be the cost.”
    You have changed. There was a time that you worried about every cost, every loss, as if it were your own.
    “That may be true, but there was also a time that you never cared about losses,” Thad replied. “I can tell that you are worried about more than yourself. You have grown a heart since I have last seen you.”
    For the first time since Thuraman had first spoken, Thad found that it was the staff that chose to remain silent. Thad found it slightly vexing. The staff could almost always see into his thoughts yet the connection never went both way. True, Thad could get some sense of the staff when they were talking, but it was nothing as strong as what the staff could do. It made Thad think, that if he spent more time maybe he could strengthen that bond and allow himself more insight into the staff, but that would take a lot of time and that was not something he had readily available at the moment.
    “Thad,” a voice said from behind him, drawing Thad’s attention. “It is time.”
    Turning around, Thad found Belaroan standing in the doorway. She was very unlike the picture that her brother had planted in his mind. He expected her to look like some half crazed devil but in the end, she looked much the same as any other woman, though her skin was a light silver and her eyes were a deep golden color that seemed to shine in the faint light streaming into the room from the window. “I would have expected that Humanius would be the one who came to get me.”
    “My brother is busy trying to explain to his children that they are no longer allowed to hunt mages,” Belaroan said happily. “That, and that they are not allowed to go with him. I was having fun watching, but it quickly grew tedious so I thought I would fetch you since you have been preoccupied with your own thoughts.”
    “You seem different than I expected,” Thad said as he buckled on a sword that the dwarven god had acquired for him. It wasn’t his but given that that one was in the Farlan palace it would have to do.
    “That is true,” Belaroan said, her eyes somewhat sad. “For years, I dreamed of my return to my home, but it was at the front of a conquering army to take vengeance on those that had wronged my family. It would seem that they have already suffered their fate. Even so, I do wish my brother had not held up my designs for so long. I really wished to see the faces of pain the other gods would have shown me.”
    Thad walked past the god and kept his head down. “I think that’s enough of that talk,” he said as he walked down the hall leading to the door outside.
    As soon as he walked through the vine made door that the elven god had made, Thad found most of the gods and Bren waiting on him. Once everyone was gathered, Humanius led the way to the door to the tunnel on the outskirts of the town.
    Just as the trip back through, it didn’t take too long to reach the center of the valley. As soon as they walked through the large double doors they didn’t find the serene valley they had left a handful of days before. There was no noticeable grass as now the entire floor of the valley was covered in piles of glass that had been moved from the desert.
    Thad had heard of the glass desert, but had not made the trip himself. Bending down, Bren scooped up a pile of glass and ran his fingers through it. The glass was fine, almost powder yet the tiny shards still dug into his skin. Turning his hand Thad let the glass fall back to