The gnome let out an amused chuckle and clasped his hands together. “It was not an easy thing, finding your domicile.”
“I don’t send out invitations,” Matthew replied. He took a long draw on his pipe. “So what do you want, warlord?”
The gnome’s smile grew thin. “I am Scholar Aloysius, from house Mur. I am here to make a request.”
“A request?” Matthew narrowed his eyes. “Folks don’t usually bring an army with them just to make a request.”
“They do when they want to request something from a god,” Aloysius said and two men entered the room. They were human stewards, wearing white robes with red sashes. “Stranger, I would like you to meet Shade and Andrew.”
“You need to bring thugs with you to make this request?” Matthew replied. He folded his arms in front of him. “Oh I can’t wait to hear what it is.”
“Ah, I suppose I should get right to the point, then.” He smiled again and this time it was genuine. He snapped his fingers and the two men walked towards Matthew and grasped his arms.
“Stop!” Matthew said, calling on the power of his authority. Nothing happened. They should not have been unable to resist that command. It was worse than he thought.
“I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, Stranger,” Aloysius said. “I have been watching the signs. I have been stretching my legs, building power, waiting to see if you would respond. When you didn’t, I knew the day had finally come.”
He reached into his scholars’ robes and withdrew a thin, polished blade from a sheath hidden inside. “You have lost favor with your master.”
“And what do you think you’re going to do with that?” Matthew asked. The sword shone with the glow of spirit magic. It was etched with bewitching runes. He swallowed. He knew which sword that was. How did this gnome get hold of it?
“You’re wondering if I am planning to kill you,” Aloysius said. He twirled the blade through his fingers with practiced dexterity. “I considered it. Two questions popped into my mind. First, would your master allow it? I had my doubts. Then I wondered, if he did allow it, if I managed to slay the Stranger, what would happen? Would our population controls be released? Or would things worsen? Worse yet, would your master simply appoint an unknown replacement? Too risky.”
Aloysius stepped closer and lifted the sword up over Matthew’s head. He pressed the sword tip against his left shoulder blade. “Finally I decided that there was only one acceptable solution.” In one smooth motion, he stabbed down diagonally with the sword, sliding the blade under the skin of the Stranger’s back, starting at his left shoulder and ending at his right hip. “I would just have to take control.”
Matthew was so shocked that he didn’t even feel the pain. The Creator had allowed him to be stabbed. The magic of the sword had penetrated his defenses. A wave of compulsion came over him and for the first time in thousands of years, he felt fear.
The gnome warlord smiled at his reaction. “Stranger, I am here on behalf of the blood magic and demon races. It’s time that you set us free.”
The Bowl of Souls series will continue in
The Jharro Grove Saga: Book Four
The Troll King
Coming 2015
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The Ogre Apprentice Page 47