The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., a Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne by - (top 100 books to read .txt) 📕

“She’s probably hiding,” Akira hissed.

I truly expected something to change, but the air was steady, and no one dared to say a word as I took a couple of steps forward. The women continued to follow me, and when I ventured further, all I could feel was thick tension and a tint of fear in the air.

“I’d rather something just pop out,” Akira muttered. “Then we could get this over with.”

“I agree,” Vesta purred. “I’d rather face Samara head-on than wonder what’s secretly watching us.”

All of our wands were aimed and at the ready, and everyone’s breathing was low and steady. My heart beat like a drum against my ribcage, my palms were slick with sweat, and I wondered how long we’d be wandering aimlessly among the clouds until I heard a familiar voice.

“Well, it looks like you’ve finally made it,” Samara’s voice bellowed like thunder, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Now, I hope you’re prepared to face the consequences, Cole. You’ve killed too many of my beloved beings, and now it’s time to face me and my army. I hope you enjoyed your time in this world because it’s about to come to an end.”

“Just show yourself, Samara,” I hissed into the air. “It’s time for our quarrel to end.”

“Very well,” she chuckled.

A gust of wind brushed past me, and that was when I finally saw her in the flesh. The gorgeous elder goddess emerged from thin air, and when she was fully formed, she sat upon a towering throne adorned with jewels of every color and size and made from pure gold. Her seat’s frame soared high and sharply pointed upward, and there was an engraved cross plastered in the center, right above her head. She was dressed in a long, sheer, red and pink gown, and she proudly wore a lavish silver crown on top of her wavy hair. Her full lips were set in a straight line, and when she studied me from head to toe, her ocean-colored eyes were cold and unwavering. She stared long and hard at me, and after we shared a moment of silence, I tried to take a step forward, but something invisible stopped me. It felt like a wall of some kind, and whatever it was made of, it was fierce and impregnatable. She was alone, but I knew that was about to change any second.

“Samara,” I growled in irritation. “Why don’t you just come down from there and face me? Clearly, I’ve already killed your sentinel down below. Unless you want to waste more elder blood, why don’t you just submit yourself to me now?”

“Oh, my dear Cole…” she giggled, and there was a thirsty twinkle in her eyes. “You’re going to have to try a little harder than that. Words will not faze me.”

I sucked in a sharp breath of air, and to my dismay, elder soldiers began to appear out of thin air and stood in groups around the foot of her magnificent throne. There were countless clusters of them, and they stood fearless by their queen with their golden wings and weapons of every kind dangling by their sides. The holy air and tranquility of her kingdom had vanished and was now replaced with cold bloodlust. Her army was more than ready to murder us, and I knew they were itching for Samara to utter the final command, but I could tell by the mischievous grin on her flawless face that she was enjoying the pressure from both sides.

“Just say the word, my queen,” one man with deep chestnut-brown hair growled as his glowing silver eyes danced across our group. “We’ll tear them into shreds, and it will only take a minute or two.”

“Soon enough, Aron,” Samara purred with her hand raised in the air. “I’d like to set some rules first. By my word, you may torture or kill whomever you wish, but make sure you leave the male witch for me. I’d like to kill him myself and take back the artifacts he stole from me.”

“Yes, my queen,” the elder soldiers all responded at once.

As the goddess’ smile widened, and her hand slowly dropped, I gripped my wand tighter, focused on her men, and prepared myself for one of the bloodiest battles yet.

“Now,” she ordered in a deadly calm voice, and her men began to pull out their weapons.

“Attack!” I cried out, and my voice sounded like a crack of thunder.

My women and the familiars let out ferocious war cries before we bolted toward the elder men with our wands steadily pointed out. Their faces grew eager with bloodlust before they all screamed with fury and charged, but before any of them could lay one spell on us, my women began to tear into the holy soldiers with every attack they had.

“Segmentum!” Circe cried out with all her might.

A spurt of icy yellow light erupted from the tip of the serpentine Wicca’s wand and soared toward the closest group of elders who were running across the surface of clouds. When her curse hit them, their weapons melted from their hands, and small but deep cuts spread all across their bodies. They wailed in pain and quickly cowered back as their tattered gowns were stained with blood, and then, when they were distracted, Akira flicked her wand.

“Illuminana!” the ebony-eyed Wicca yelled, and she sent a ball of fire soaring toward the screaming elders.

Vanessa then raised her palms, and her face was set in stony determination as she stared at the wailing elders.

“Motus!” the professor screamed, and the flames grew into a cloud that set the militia on fire.

Samara’s face darkened as her first group of men burned, shrieked, and begged for mercy, and a twinge of satisfaction flowed through my body before I raised my wand higher. The smell of decay wafted through the clouds,