The Demon Horsemen Read Online Free Page B

said, grabbing Meg’s arms to balance himself. As he released her and stepped away, the portal dissolved.
    ‘Where did you go?’ she asked.
    His expression became sheepish. ‘I just stepped out.’
    ‘To the temple,’ she noted. ‘Why?’
    ‘Some matters that needed addressing.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘It’s all done,’ he said and headed for Whisper. ‘How is Swift?’
    ‘She’s sleeping,’ Meg said. ‘I wasn’t sure I could save her, but she’s strong. What did you do?’
    ‘I healed my sister’s spirit,’ he replied.
    ‘I mean at the temple,’ Meg insisted, her green eyes warning him not to lie.
    He shifted nervously under her determined gaze, and dropped his dark eyes to the table and the sleeping rat. ‘The soldiers no longer pose a threat to you.’
    ‘Why?’ She guessed at what he had dared to do, but wanted to hear it from his own lips.
    Sudden defiance flashed in his eyes. ‘My sister is all I have,’ he said, ‘and they nearly killed her.’
    ‘It still doesn’t justify killing them,’ Meg declared, anger rippling through her words.
    Erin stared, his eyes wide, then he started to laugh.
    ‘Why are you laughing?’ Meg asked. She grabbed his grey vest and turned him towards her. ‘What have you done?’ she demanded.
    He caught his breath. ‘I didn’t kill anyone.’
    She stared, puzzled. ‘Then what?’
    ‘I made an old Ashuak dragon attack them. It burned their flying vessel and chased them south, out of the city.’
    Meg’s jaw dropped. ‘You did what ?’
    Her astonishment made Erin break into laughter again. ‘You should have seen them,’ he chortled. ‘They stood stock-still, staring up at the dragon as if they couldn’t believe their senses. Then, when it made its first pass and set their flying machine alight, they panicked and scattered into the ruins and vegetation. I really had to concentrate to drive them all in the samedirection. Casting fireballs and keeping the illusion operating was difficult, but the effect was amazing! They ran so hard, falling and leaping over stones, screaming whenever a fireball set the bushes alight. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re still running.’
    Meg continued to stare at the elated young man, struggling to make sense of his weird tale. ‘You called a dragon?’ she asked.
    He grinned. ‘I conjured a dragon,’ he corrected. ‘Real dragons were wiped out three centuries ago by Alwyn, but I’ve read so much about them that it was easy to reconstruct an image, and the soldiers weren’t interested in testing whether or not what they were seeing was real. The fire was real. That was enough for them.’
    ‘You can do several spells at the same time?’ she asked.
    ‘So can you,’ he said. ‘You have the amber. There are no limits to your power.’
    ‘But how did you learn all this?’
    ‘Books, Meg.’ He spun, arms extended. ‘All of these books. Every spell ever cast in history is recorded somewhere in this library. I’ve read all its contents. Do you know the Elvenaar and the ancient Andrakians believed there were special words for conjuring spells? And the Ranu Ithosen prayed to a god. The shaman magicians in the ancient Ukesu lands used to gather chemicals and gems and items and mix them together to generate spells. But they were all misguided! Spells come from the will combined with amber to amplify it. That’s all it takes, plus some understanding of the nature of the spell required—and imagination!’
    ‘Making you a Dragonlord,’ Meg murmured, recalling A Ahmud Ki’s observations.
    Erin’s smile faded. ‘Dragonlord. Yes. I know that terminology. It was the title given to a family of Alfyn brothers who wanted to become more powerful thananyone of their kind. They deliberately embedded chunks of the Genesis Stone in their bodies so they could generate magic at will, and they used it to wage war on their own kind until only they survived. Or at least that was what they were led to believe. The Alfyn who