Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray (robert munsch read aloud txt) 📕

of the water, lighting it with a beauty unlike any place on earth.

The palace-sized room was filled with jungle-like plants that blossomed with a multitude of colors. The aroma in the air was so rich, so comforting, that his throat closed remembering his childhood spent in such a beautiful place.

Behind the pool of water, a mantel of silver glowing flowers drew his gaze to the alter. On the highest shelf, his staff lay broken in half. Never to glow again. Never to fill with light.

“Son?”

His gaze swung to his right. His father stood, looking older than he remembered him, but no less dignified. His brown and green robes still cloaked him from head to foot, and the vines upon him moved continuously, weaving new patterns even as he stood. The brown staff in his hand was made of dark wood. The ball of magic that flickered at the top of it was a flawless, piercing green.

“You are exiled from this place,” his father said, his deep voice holding no emotion. “Why have you returned?”

Mark held the child in his arms more tightly, and then turned to regard the pale woman behind him. “I have brought a goddess.”

His father made a sound that could only be described as disgusted. “This, again? My foolish boy. How did I fail you so terribly?”

Mark swallowed hard, his teeth clenching together. “I’m not lying. I was never lying. I found her and I’ve brought her here to keep her safe.” Then, meeting his father’s gaze, he continued. “I intend to find all of them and restore them to power.”

His father didn’t look at the woman. He simply shook his head. “What you want is impossible. Leave this place before the others see you. I would not have your blood spilt upon sacred ground.”

Mark felt something snap within him. He laid the girl upon the mossy ground and took the woman’s clammy hand. She didn’t protest as he led her to the waters.

It took his father a ridiculously long time to realize what he intended.

“No!” he shouted, and the word held power.

His father’s staff burned more brightly, and the vines upon the walls lifted, as if awakening. Waiting for his command.

“You will not place a human in the sacred waters! You will not defile this place more than you already have.”

Mark knew his father expected him to simply obey him. He always had before. He’d always been such a good boy. A dedicated druid. The hope of his people.

So when he took two more steps and gently pushed the woman into the water, no one expected it but him. She hit the warm liquid with a splash that echoed through the room. Around him, vines lifted and shot forward, grasping his wrists and his ankles. Thorns grew, their sharp points cutting into his flesh.

But he didn’t move. He didn’t care.

His gaze was trained on the woman who sank down into the deep waters. Her hair floated around her. The golden flowers wrapped her, holding her to the bottom of the pond. Panic grew in her eyes as she struggled to free herself.

Holding his breath, he waited. Sweat trickled down his back. He wasn’t wrong. He couldn’t be wrong. He wouldn’t have thrown an innocent woman to her death.

“You would kill a human just to prove your point?” His father was closer, close enough for Mark to feel the warmth of the magic dancing on the tip of his staff.

Come on, Carys! Be the goddess I know you are!

Her struggling grew more intense. Bubbles exploded from her mouth. And then, her movements slowed.

His hands clutched into his fists. He willed the vines that imprisoned him to release him, but these plants no longer obeyed his commands. Tugging at his arms, he prepared himself. No matter the cost, if he was wrong, he would save this woman.

“It would be a mercy to kill you,” his father said, his staff glowing more and more brightly as he called his magic to him.

Mark didn’t move. Didn’t speak. He watched the woman, begging her with every ounce of his being, but her eyes grew glossy, and her movements stopped.

He choked on the lump that had formed in the back of his throat. He jerked his arms, sending vines breaking. He kicked at his legs. He had to get free. He had to save her. It seemed impossible that he could have been so wrong. Wrong about everything.

The prophecy he had seen as a child couldn’t be wrong. His second-sight, the one that led him to the goddess couldn’t be a lie.

Was all of it truly in his head as his father had always said?

And then, Carys’ body jerked. Life flared back into her eyes, but it wasn’t just life. It was light. An unexplainable beauty that made tears sting the corners of his eyes. Her human flesh fell away, like petals from a flower. It could have been grotesque, but it was stunning. An old life was peeling away, revealing the beauty within.

And the goddess was beautiful. The flowers released her, and her body rose in the waters.

“This isn’t possible,” his father whispered.

But no matter that all logic said it couldn’t be true. It was. The goddess broke free from the confines of her human self. She pulled herself from the waters, and he took several steps back. Water dripped down her long legs, and soaked her clothes.

Her face had changed. It was still her, and yet, it was as if someone had taken a rock and cleaned it until it shown. A gem hidden by dirt and dust. Her eyes held an inhuman green, yellow quality that rested on him with an intensity that stole his breath. Her smooth skin glowed with health and beauty, and her hair shined.

“I feel… different.” She murmured. “I’m myself, but I’m not.”

He found his voice. “You are an immortal creature. Your role is to judge humanity and give them the afterlife that they deserve. And yet, Caine erased your memories. In his cruelty, he