Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

it for a while…so many were already learning to release eidolons on their own, without the direction of the Order or myself…but there’s too many of us. Yes, organization was a part of it, but I think that it will also remind us of what we should be striving toward.”
    “And what’s that?”
    “Just enjoying our lives together. I don’t get it. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why do we need Orders and governments and rulers when the people were able to sustain themselves at one time? Don’t you remember what happened when we left Allay to get the stones of power? The people flourished! They survived without their leaders. All they needed was a little push to strive for greater. They did more in a few days than we’ve accomplished in whole decades. I want that again. No bickering, no discontent. Just being happy and enjoying each other’s company again.”
    “Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” James said, shaking his head.
    “But why isn’t it? We can choose to make it simple.”
    “I don’t know.”
    “The final matter of the day,” Talia shouted, approaching the platform from the middle of the throne room. Behind her was a group of Langorans and Allayans, six in number. Catherine nodded for them to step forward. Talia allowed the young group to step in front of her. They whispered among themselves for a moment, before one of the Langorans decided to step out in front. He approached the thrones.
    “Queen Catherine…Master James…I, um…I—“
    “Just speak freely,” she said, curious as to what he had to say.
    “My friends and I were scouting the lands, you know, just looking for some fun. Something interesting. We kind of got lost, and we ended up in a land covered in snow. But um…well, there used to be seven of us. Jillian, she…she…” He covered his trembling mouth and bowed his head. After a moment, he realized that he couldn’t speak any longer. He turned and went to the back of their group, hiding behind his friends.
    “Jillian was killed,” one of the Allayan girls spoke up, her voice cracking under the declaration. “It was a Quietus.”
     

Chapter 3 – Say That One More Time
    “What?” James sat up to attention. “A Quietus? Are you sure?”
    “Yeah, I mean…I’m pretty sure. I’ve never seen one in real life, but I remember the descriptions from the stories. I don’t know what else it could be. It was hideous.”
    James glanced over at Catherine. She had the same grimace he had.
    “You do know,” Catherine said slowly, “that most of the Quietus people were murdered by Thorn and his manifestations. The stones of power did give all of us Quietus, Langoran, Prattlian and Allayan abilities. Perhaps you just saw someone that moved like a Quietus. Someone who had tapped into the power we all have. Not a Quietus as we know them to be—those that were genetically altered.”
    “The thing had black, tar-like skin,” the girl said adamantly. “It moved…like it was made of dark water.” James took a deep breath. What were the odds that Thorn hadn’t been thorough when he laid waste to the Quietus Kingdom? And where would they have hid themselves all this time? He and Arimus had both gone out searching for the Quietus people, and his mother in particular. They had always come up empty.
    Since his mother had already been genetically altered by Thorn when she gave birth to him, he had some of the native Quietus’ abilities—abilities that no one else had. The genetics of his altered mother flowed through him, and as a result, he could transform his body so that he appeared as one of them, and his power increased exponentially. He of all people should have been able to find any survivors, and yet, these youth had stumbled upon one so casually—as if the Quietus had simply been going for a stroll.
    “Tell me more,” James said, leaning back in his chair. “What happened exactly? Did it say anything?”
    “We didn’t see it at first. We only