What a cruel thought to haunt him at the end.
Through a tormented haze, Dahlian watched as Bohr placed the final sphere into its hollow sconce. He felt a surge of unspeakable agony and his mind was filled with a searing white light. And yet, in the brief moment before death, he caught a glimpse into Bohr’s black heart; a writhing knot of fierce talent, ruthless ambition and soul-corrupting madness. A brief moment of connection and then Archmage Dahlian was gone, his flesh vaporised, his magic absorbed by the chamber and channelled into the body of Oruthian Bohr.
Bohr took a breath and breathed in the smell that follows a lightning strike. He opened his eyes and looked down into the empty chamber where the misty plasma of a defeated enemy was slowly fading from the air. He was impressed by the amount of power that an archmage could provide, but in a few weeks’ time he would absorb the energy of an even more powerful sorcerer. A feral mage from an obscure city called Dymhaven.
According to the Divine Spirit priests of the city, the young man possessed considerable potential, and that potential energy would soon be his.
With a sense of satisfaction, Bohr replaced the marble spheres in their golden cradles and turned to leave the room, his entire body buzzing with the energy he had just absorbed. He pushed open the doors and the smell of lightning was replaced by the smell of the oil lamps that lined the walls of the corridor.
Waiting in the corridor were two Don’Sha’Vir tasked with guarding the chamber of blue tiles. And standing nervously between the mystical guards was a pale man in the purple robes of a palace advisor.
‘What is it?’ asked Bohr as the man squirmed beneath his gaze. ‘Tell me, or die!’ snapped Bohr and the man suddenly found his voice.
‘It’s the feral mage in Dymhaven,’ he blurted out in a rush. ‘He’s escaped from prison. The Divine Spirit priests are searching for him as we speak.’
For a moment Bohr did not react. Only the tensing of his jaw showed that anything was amiss. But then his lip began to curl, his brows came together and a low growl rose up in his throat. Before anyone else could move, he spun around and grabbed the head of the Don’Sha’Vir to his left, slamming it into the wall of the corridor and suffusing it with a surge of energy that shattered the man’s skull and turned his brain into a steaming mass of pulp.
The terrified advisor stumbled back in shock, while the second Don’Sha’Vir merely stood with his hand on the hilt of his curved sword, not quite sure how it should react to what had just occurred. As Bohr removed his hand, the body of the dead Don’Sha’Vir collapsed to the floor, leaving a grizzly mass of carbonised flesh stuck to the wall.
‘When?’ asked Bohr in a quiet and deadly tone.
‘Two nights ago,’ said the man.
‘Do the priests know where he’s gone? Did he head inland or out to sea?’
‘Inland, my Lord,’ said the advisor. ‘They think he’s heading for Guile.’
Bohr paused in thought.
‘It’s a small city in the Seven Vales,’ added the advisor. ‘The prisoner shouldn’t be hard to find.’
‘Then find him,’ snapped Bohr and the man bowed low, backing away until it was safe to turn and run.
Bohr watched him go.
‘Guile?’ he mused.
He had never given the city much thought, but the same could not be said for the Seven Vales. The region might be considered rustic and insignificant, but it held the keys to his ambition.
Seven Vales and seven ancient trees.
Seven trees that bound the realms together.
While the trees remained strong he could never break the bond between the human world and Faerie. And while that bond remained he could not achieve dominion over all three realms. That was why the trees had to be destroyed. Such trees were considered sacred, such trees had protection. But in the forest town of Twining he had found someone who was willing to take the risk, and any day now, the Black Oak of Twining would fall.
Bohr revelled in the idea, but his thoughts kept returning to Guile.
Wasn’t Guile the city where the Kane Twins had recently met their end? He had often wondered who might have the power to kill the notorious twins.
And why would a feral mage flee to the city of Guile?
And was it a coincidence that Guile just happened to lie close to the town of Twining?
Suspicion bloomed in the mind of Oruthian Bohr.
Could it possibly be him?
For years now he had felt nothing from his old adversary; not even the slightest flicker of power. He had assumed his enemy was dead. But coincidences made him suspicious and Bohr could not shake the feeling, that all this…
Had something to do…
With Fate.
Dear Reader
Thank you for buying Decimus Fate and the Butcher of Guile. If you enjoyed it, I would be incredibly grateful if you could spare a few minutes to leave a short review on Amazon.
And if you have any comments, or you would like to get in touch, then please say hello on:
Twitter: @TheFlanston
Or via my website:
www.peter.flannery.co.uk
Either way it would be great to hear from you and thanks again for buying the book.
With warm regards
Peter
Other Books by Peter A. Flannery
The first book in this new fantasy adventure finds Decimus Fate and the Tutor joining forces to fight enchanted statues and demonic sorcerers as they try to solve the mystery of a deadly disease.
A classic coming-of-age fantasy adventure with great characters, epic battles and super cool dragons.
A fast-paced thriller about a young man with genuine psychic abilities and the terrifying killer who stalks him.
Peter A. Flannery lives in the Scottish Borders with his wife and two sons. After leaving school he attended art college before changing tack to work in forestry and horticulture. After several years of working with plants he switched again, setting himself up as a sculptor for the toy and hobby industry. It was while working for a design studio in Edinburgh that he moved from sculpting to writing, producing background stories for the company’s models and games. He is now a self-published author working entirely on his own material.
Decimus Fate and the Butcher of Guile
ISBN: 978-1-7399341-0-1
First published by Blackheart Books in 2021
Copyright © Peter A. Flannery 2021
The right of Peter A. Flannery to be identified
as the author has been asserted.
Decimus Fate and the Butcher of Guile: (Decimus Fate - Book 2) Page 25