by Jeff Gunzel
Chapter 15
Addel awoke from her pain-induced coma. Never had she experienced such a thing in her life. Her body ached, and her head swam in a pool of clouds. When she tried to rise, her stomach emptied itself onto the floor. Falling back onto her dingy mattress as the room spun like a top, she felt as if she had been drinking for a week. Trying to get to her feet no longer seemed like such a good idea, as simply sitting up was challenge enough. But to her relief, her head seemed to be clearing quickly even as she lay there.
What did that beast do to me? What “gift” was he talking about?
Her door blasted open so hard, it nearly flew off its hinges. Dragot stormed into the room, towering over her like a tree dwarfing a bush. “How are you feeling?” he boomed in a rush that seemed very uncharacteristic of the calm demon.
The truth was, she was starting to feel much better. She’d been on death’s door a minute ago, but now she felt better than she had in a long time. What did he do to me?
“Well, regardless of how you feel, you need to come with me right now,” the demon said, and reached down with a clawed hand to grab her.
“I can walk, serpent!” she screeched as she pulled away from his attempt.
“No doubt you can, and will,” he said, once again speaking in his usual patient voice. “That is, after receiving Krytoes’s gift, I’m sure there are a great many things you can do well. Come, follow me.”
He led on as she followed him to his private chamber. Never had she stepped inside this room before, but she could feel its powerful magic quite easily. The way the walls continued to bleed seemed to bring the chamber to life.
“You now have both the power and the proper facilities to do as I command,” said Dragot, starting to sound impatient once again. “I will need two separate gateways, each leading to a separate location, by tomorrow. They must be able to transport a large number of people at once.” Addel began to protest once again, but he cut her off instead. “You now have the power to accomplish this.”
He began pacing back and forth as he spoke. “It seems the man-child has made contact with the crytons. No doubt they will perform their ‘ritual’ to see if his claims are true. This cannot happen!” he boomed as he turned to leave.
Addel stared at his back, half in shock. Eric was in contact with the crytons? She was fully aware of their existence, but didn’t think he would ever get this far. To have actually found them! No wonder Dragot was so nervous.
He turned back towards her once more. “We will attack Taron and the dead forest at the same time.” With that, he stormed away.
If she was half in shock before, it was complete now. He’s insane.