The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

that was not the actof a stranger. Only Mort would say that to Peter.The more she considered it, the more firmly shebelieved it. The man inside the armor was more than a dead body,more than a magical copy. He was her husband, in every way thatmattered.

The cold behavior andconstant insistence of a different identity had been carefullycalculated to make things easier for her. So I could let go. It would be much harder for me if I knewhe was still in there, still suffering, if the man I loved weredying again, today. Unbidden, the visionof Dorian Thornbear’s diamond bladed hands struggling to push Roseaway appeared in her mind.

Her heart and mind came together then,her emotions crystallizing into one hard resolution. “To hell withthis!” she growled, startling Gareth from his ownthoughts.

“What?” he asked as his eyes focusedon her. In one hand he held a small white figurine.

She scowled. “I said, ‘to hell withthis,’” she repeated. “If he thinks he can have things his way andrun off to die, while I hide in a hole, he’s never been morewrong!”

Gareth stared at her curiously, unsurewhat to say. Despite his constant and unwelcome contact withhumans, he still found them alien in subtle ways. Penny placed ahand on his arm, sending involuntary shivers up his spine. Garethdisliked being touched.

“Will you carry me to him?” she asked,her eyes burned into him with fiery determination.

The dragon-mage blinked. “If we areseen, your children will be orphans,” he warned her. “Mal’gorothwill not let us escape.”

“We won’t be seen,” she assured him.Raising her voice, she called to Millicenth, “Lady, I require youraid.”

The goddess came closer, her bodyseeming to glide across the intervening space. “I am bound to heedyour words,” she answered.

Perfect,thought Penny. “Gather your brothers, Karenth andDoron. We are leaving. Wait for me here,” she commanded.

“That is unwise, Countess,” advisedthe goddess.

Penny ignored her and ranfor the key chamber, hoping Walter would still be there.I’m tired of being told what’s wise and what’snot, she thought.

She nearly ran headlong into GeorgePrathion exiting the key chamber. His father was close behind him.“Countess,” said Walter, greeting her. “Shouldn’t you beupstairs?”

“Is that where you’re heading?” sheasked him.

“Of course,” he answered. “I’ve leftthe shield up as requested.”

“We’ve had a change of plans,” shesaid quickly.

Walter’s eyes narrowed. PenelopeIlleniel was a strong willed woman, but she was a poor liar. “We?”he queried.

She pursed her lips, “I.”

He nodded, preferring honestly, “Whatdo you want me to do?”

“Turn off the shield, and go with meto find my husband,” she answered with a perfectly straightface.

Walter was a cautious man, somethought him a coward, but time and experience had taught him somehard lessons. “Why?” he probed, “Is there something we cando?”

“I’ve been a fool, and now he’s goingto make a martyr of himself. Hide us, let me reach him. If nothingelse you can help him escape. You’re the only one who could do it.Only a Prathion would have a hope of eluding the power of a god,”her words were firm and unapologetic.

“One mistake and we all die. If notfor your children’s sake, what of mine? I don’t want my familyfacing the terrors of our future without their father beside them,”he argued. In the past, when Mordecai and Penny had firstencountered him, Walter’s family had been held hostage. Kept fromthem for years before reuniting, his sense of duty to his wife andchildren was paramount to him now.

Penny didn’t hold back. “You wouldhave no family if not for Mordecai, nor would you be alive. Youdied and he brought you back. You owe him everything.”

George spoke up, “Let me go withyou.”

Walter stiffened, “No, son. This is myburden.”

“But…,” George started toprotest.

The elder Prathion held up his hand tosilence him, “Will you be alright without me?”

“Of course,” said George. “I canoperate the shield to let you out and back in again.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” said thefather. “Will you be alright without me if I don’t return? Do youunderstand?”

George’s face became animated.Normally his expression gave the people the impression that he waseither uninteresting or, at best, uninterested in the rest of theworld. Swallowing, he looked seriously at his father, “I wouldn’tlike it, but I would carry on.”

“And your mother, yoursister?”

The young man blinked, eyes watering,“Neither of them are so weak as to fall apart from life’s trials.We would take care of each other.”

“Get inside the key chamber,” orderedWalter. “When you see us at the gate, open it and then close itbehind us. Then you join the others. If Elaine asks you where I am,tell her I am already inside. She’s far too stubborn to beobedient.”

“And mother?”

“Tell her I love her,” said Waltersolemnly. “Afterwards make certain that no one comes back. Ever.That door must stay closed. Assume the worst. If by some chance wesurvive, I will find you. The Countess knows where you will be. Shecan guide me.”

“Yes, father,” said the youngestPrathion, bowing his head slightly.

“Whatever you do, don’t let them keepthe door open. Everyone is in danger until it is shut andMal’goroth can no longer find you. This shield will hardly evenslow him down,” added Walter and then he hugged his son.

“I love you,” whispered George, in avoice almost too hoarse to understand.

Walter smiled and kissed his son’scheek, “I’m proud of you son. You’re a good man.” Then he turnedand walked briskly away. He never looked back, and Penny didn’tcomment upon what she saw in his face.

“Let’s be fools together,” he said asthey began to jog down the corridor.

For the first time, Pennydoubted her decision. Not for herself, but for the price herfriends might pay trying to help her undo her mistake.One more regret, shethought, but there’s no turning backnow.

Chapter 42

The pain was beyond belief, but itended as abruptly as it began. It was remarkable mainly in that Ihad felt so little physical pain since my death. It was no longer asensation I knew very well. It was almost a welcomechange.

Pain makes you feel alive.

I had drawn as much of thepower in as I could before the enchantment failed, and then, withan extreme effort of will, I had contained the majority of theexplosion. There wasn’t much