Fantasy Quest Read Online Free Page A

Buttered and boiled, or fried in eel oil?   I’m here but to serve you.”
    Lerik resisted the urge to laugh at the witty comeback, reminding himself that he didn’t like insolent elves, even though this one had been with him for nigh on twenty years since he was but a lad.   Finally, he sighed and shook his head.   “Why do I put up with you, Oopec?”
    “Probably because you scare everyone else in the realm but me, my Lord.”
    Lerik shook his head and laughed.   “You’re probably right.”   He slapped the elf on the back—a blow which would send any other being flying across the room.   However, elves were sturdy stock—especially wood elves—and Oopec didn’t budge.
    “My lord, if you’re finished berating me for the day, there is something I should bring to your attention.”   Oopec pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and blinked up at Lerik.
    “What is it, Oopec?   Spit it out.”
    “The portal, my Lord.   Your consort and Max came through the portal near Castle Marsoon.”
    Rage boiled inside Lerik’s veins as all the ramifications of the news flashed through his mind.   Marsoon was the lord of a particularly bloodthirsty goblin clan who enjoyed raping their victims before boiling them with vegetables and serving them for the evening meal.   And not only his consort was in danger, Marsoon and his minions didn’t much differentiate between men, women, animals and any other creature as long as they breathed and could be eaten later.
    “Don’t just stand there, elf.   Ready my horse.”
    “Stryder is already saddled and waiting, my Lord.”
    Minutes later, Lerik rode his horse across Verrath, dread warring with anticipation surging through his body.   He’d waited an entire lifetime for this woman, he would not allow Marsoon or any of his goblin clan to lay one claw on her—or Max.   The little gargoyle had served him well, venturing into Earrath to befriend his consort.   A brave little creature, Lerik would reward him with an entire moat full of bananas for his loyalty.   Few warriors had braved the trip to Earrath, let alone a tiny purple gargoyle without clan or kin.    
    Stryder’s hooves thundered over the grassy plain, and the first tang of ocean air tingled over Lerik’s tongue.   He reined the spirited horse to a slow gallop as they started up the last hill before Castle Marsoon came into view.   It wouldn’t do to alert Marsoon or his minions that they had company.
    When he crested the hill, the dark ominous castle speared up from the sand, obstructing part of the view of the ocean.   Lerik searched the beach for any sign of Max and his lady.   His breath caught in his throat as he saw them.
    Max loped next to a fiery-haired siren with curves that could threaten a man’s sanity.   She wore a simple threadbare cotton tunic and short trousers held up by a frayed piece of rope.   The material was so thin, her coral nipples and the lava-colored curls at the juncture of her thighs showed like a beacon, causing his mouth to water with anticipation.
    She turned to face him as if sensing his presence, and their gazes locked, shaking him to his toes.   Awareness burned through him like none he’d ever experienced.   It wasn’t purely sexual, it was an awareness that the woman whose soul he read behind those brilliant green eyes was destined to be his.
    When her cat eyes darkened with desire, his body reacted, and he shifted in the saddle, his soft leather trousers suddenly too tight and confining.
    Out of the corner of his eye, the movement of Max scenting the air caught his attention.   Both he and the goddess before him shifted their gazes toward Max in time to see the fuzzy purple gargoyle bare his sharp teeth in a menacing growl.
    “Damn!”   Lerik’s woolgathering had put his consort in danger.   Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled his long sword from its sheath and flicked the reins causing Stryder to spear forward.   As he moved