by Morgan Rice
“A dragon!” one of Erec’s men called out. All the men cowered, dropped down to the deck, terrified—all except for Thor and Angel. Thor alone stood his ground, knowing there was nothing to fear, and Angel, fearless and mesmerized, stood beside him.
Lycoples dove down right for him and then, at the last second, she screeched and flapped her wings and lifted up, barely missing him.
She did it a second time, then a third, until Thor knew there was no mistaking it: she was trying to give him a message.
Lycoples then turned and flew off into the horizon, in the opposite direction, away from land, away from the Empire, and back over the open seas. Thor watched her go, watched her disappear, and he knew. He just knew.
She wanted him to follow.
Then, suddenly, in a rush, Thor was filled with clarity. Thor felt certain, more certain than he’d ever felt in his life, what it all meant. The mystery unraveled all at once.
Lycoples wanted to lead him back, back to the Isle of Light, because on it, there awaited someone very precious to him.
Guwayne.
Thor hated himself at that moment. How could he have been so stupid not to see it all this time? All this time, Guwayne had been right in front of them, right before his eyes, and he’d sailed away.
“Turn our ship around!” Thorgrin commanded.
They all looked at him as if he’d gone mad.
“Are you mad?” Erec called out. “The Empire lies before us, not behind us!”
Thor went to the rail and smiled back.
“You don’t understand,” he called back. “My quest lies behind us—not before us. Guwayne! He lives! Lycoples is leading me to him!”
They all stared back, shocked.
“I cannot return to Gwendolyn without him,” Thor called out. “You go ahead. Go to Volusia, find her. Tell her I will follow soon—with our baby. Go now, my friends!”
Alistair and Erec clearly saw the look in Thor’s eyes, saw his determination, and they nodded back in understanding. They sailed their ships closer, so close that Thor could reach out and clasp Erec’s forearm, and reach over and hug his sister.
“Until we meet again, my brother,” Erec said.
“I love you, brother,” Alistair said.
“And I you, my sister,” he replied.
Thor allowed the seas to separate their ships, until they drifted further and further apart. His men, Angel ordering them, hurried to take up the sails, to turn the ship, all of them eager to follow Lycoples’s trail.
Thor turned and faced the open seas himself, and for the first time since he had begun this quest, he felt certain.
And this time, he would stop at nothing—absolutely nothing—until he got his son back.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Ragon stood at the far end of the Isle of Light, holding Guwayne, and staring into the tall crystal spike that rose from the ground. It rose ten feet, its jagged points reaching up to the sky like something prehistoric, and as Ragon stared into it, it glowed different colors.
The shaft of Asus. It was the one place that Ragon could always come for clarity in times of confusion. Whenever his vision failed him, which was rare, he could come here and peer into what would be. It was a privilege he did not wish to abuse, since he knew his opportunities to peer into the crystal were limited. But now, in this current crisis, he felt obliged to.
Ragon searched the crystal, desperately needing clarity, needing to know why his vision had failed him, to understand what was happening. A foreboding was rising deep inside him, and he did not like how it felt.
Ragon closed his eyes and chanted softly, waiting for the spirit to come to him.
Ookythroota, Ookythroota, Ookythroota…
Guwayne cried softly as he chanted, and Ragon rocked him, chanting over and over, louder and louder, until he finally felt the familiar sensation between his eyes.
Ragon opened his eyes and stared into the crystal shaft, and as he did, he saw it glowing yellow and orange and white—until finally, the vision came to him.
Ragon saw, unfolding before him, a prophecy he did not understand. He saw a world covered in black, the gates of hell open, and a million evil creatures ransacking the world. He saw his very own island, the Isle of Light, this island which had always been impregnable, which had sat here for centuries, consumed in flames. He saw himself being attacked by an army of undead creatures.
Ragon wanted to look away but forced himself not to. He wished he hadn’t, as a cold dread overcame him. He saw Guwayne surrounded by darkness, snatched from his arms. He clutched him tight as he watched him become lost in the grips of a power greater than any he’d ever seen.
Ragon could stand it no more. He forced himself to look away, breathing hard, his heart pounding, and he looked down at Guwayne, who lay in his arms, now silent. Ragon was covered in a cold sweat, and he did not understand any of it; it had been the most terrifying vision of his life.
Ragon hurried from the shaft and crossed his isle, running, taking long, sorcerer strides, each stride bigger than the next, ten feet, then a hundred feet, then two hundred, leaping like a gazelle across this isle he knew so well—until finally he reached the other side.
He stood there, at the opposite end, at this place he saw in his visions and he watched the skies, staring into the horizon. It was from here, the crystal had shown him, that he would be attacked.
Ragon stared and stared into the dark clouds gathering on the horizon, and yet he saw nothing. He wondered if it had all been an illusion. After all, how could he, Ragon, be attacked? How could Guwayne, the most powerful child on earth, be taken away from him? And yet, he had to admit, he felt some darkness coming himself.
He stood there, watching the skies, pondering his fate, and he did not know how much time had passed when slowly, his worst fears were confirmed. On the horizon there began to emerge a plague of blackness, an army of demons and other creatures flying through the air, heading right for his island. He knew at once whose handiwork this was, and which dark demon lord was behind it.
They were descending lower and lower, and he could sense right away that it was all true. The prophecies he had seen were true. His isle would be destroyed. Guwayne would be taken from him. He would be killed. The world would descend into blackness. And there was not a thing he could do.
He clutched Guwayne, holding onto him with all he had, wanting to hold him just a few seconds longer before he was lost to him forever. But destiny was knocking. And he knew that nothing he, or anyone else could do, would change it.
He would die here today, he felt certain of that—but he would not go down without a fight. He took a deep breath, held Guwayne close, held out his staff—and prepared for war.
COMING SOON!
BOOK #16 IN THE SORCERER’S RING
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Books by Morgan Rice
THE SORCERER’S RING
A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)
A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)
A CRY OF HONOR (Book #4)
A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)
A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)
A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)
A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)
A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)
A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)
A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)
A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)
A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)
AN OATH OF BROTHERS (Book #14)
A DREAM OF MORTALS (Book #15)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)
ARENA TWO (Book #2)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1)
LOVED (Book #2)
BETRAYED (Book #3)
DESTINED (Book #
4)
DESIRED (Book #5)
BETROTHED (Book #6)
VOWED (Book #7)
FOUND (Book #8)
RESURRECTED (Book #9)
CRAVED (Book #10)
FATED (Book #11)
About Morgan Rice
Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling author of THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, a young adult series comprising eleven books (and counting); the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising two books (and counting); and the #1 bestselling epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising fifteen books (and counting).
Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations of the books are available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak (with more languages forthcoming).
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals), ARENA ONE (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy), and A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
Morgan loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.morganricebooks.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app, get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR