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

“Back,” said Penelope, pointing in thedirection they had come from. “I still need to findhim.”

“What if it happens again,” askedWalter.

Gareth spoke then, “It won’t. Theexplosion was caused by the destruction of his enchantment. Hecould not easily create another like it.”

“Could he be…?” asked Penny, notwanting to finish the sentence.

“Dead?” said Gareth bluntly. “He diedsome time ago, but if you mean ‘gone’, I’m afraid not.”

The Countess kept her featurescomposed, but underneath she felt a twisting pain in her chest. Herresolve had not changed however. “Fly dammitt,” she urgedKarenth.

Traveling back, they covered the milethey had lost and soon were within half a mile of the area whereMordecai had been. Walter had replaced their semi-invisible shield,but he had reduced the amount of light and aythar that they couldsense even further. He was taking no chances.

Then he closed it completely, leavingthem flying through what seemed to be an endless black void. “Ican’t tell which way I’m going,” complained Karenth.

“Turn around and head toward theground,” said Walter. “I’ll give you enough to see a bit on yourway down. We can’t go any closer in that direction.”

“I felt nothing,” saidMillicenth.

Gareth spoke then, “Mal’goroth hasarrived.”

“I would have felt that,” insisted thegoddess.

“My magesight is far better than yoursat a distance, Lady,” the archmage told her. “Especially when we’recloaked in this shield.”

The goddess didn’t reply.

Carefully, Karenth made his way to theground, and as soon as he had set talon to earth Walter resumed hisabsolute invisibility, sealing them away from all sight andmagic.

“How close are we?” askedPenny.

“Too close,” said Walter, “less thanhalf a mile probably.”

“We can’t help him if we can’t see,”she pointed out.

Gareth interrupted, “Exactly. We cando nothing.”

“That isn’t why we came,” sheargued.

“Then you’re deluded,Countess,” said the archmage sternly. “What you failed to sense,while Walter’s shield was faintly open, is that there is a beingbeyond it that can crush us with nothing but a thought. The veryfact that you can breatheright now is only thanks to the amazing gift yourwizard here possesses. No human could produce a normal shieldstrong enough to prevent just the pressure of the aythar out therefrom crushing your will.”

Penny chewed her lip. She hadn’tcaught even a hint of the sort of pressure she had once felt whenconfronted by one of the gods. It gave her new respect for Walter’sspecial gift, but at the same time she was frustrated by theirhelplessness.

“What should we do now, Countess?”asked Millicenth demurely.

“We wait.”

A sudden booming rumble echoed acrossthe valley, sending vibrations through the ground. “We shouldprobably excavate a bit,” suggested Karenth helpfully. “It might bebest to be slightly below the ground level.”

They agreed, so the god of justiceused his power within the confines of Walter’s invisibility shield,making a six foot depression in the soil.

More booming noises followed, leavingthem to wonder, blind, at what might be happening.

“It should have stopped by now,”declared Doron, puzzled.

“Why?” asked Walter.

Karenth took up the question, “Becauseof their relative strengths. Mal’goroth should have finished itwithin seconds.”

“He’s playing with his food,”suggested the Lady of the Evening Star.

“No,” said Gareth, “they’re stillfighting. There wouldn’t be so much noise if it werethat.”

Penny had taken a seat onthe ground. She held a hand in front of her face, but the darknesswas absolute, and she couldn’t see it at all. Listening to theconversation around her she struggled to retain hercomposure. Think about somethingelse, she told herself, but it washopeless. In the black earth she felt tears begin to roll down hercheeks, and for the first time she was grateful for thedarkness.

Another rumble rolled out, shakingthem in their hidden cavity.

“How is he doing that?!” said Doron,still incredulous.

“The man has an amazing proclivity forsurprises,” observed Gareth dryly.

A rosy light began to filter in, andthey could see a painful expression on Walter’s face.

“What are you doing?!” shouted Gareth.“He’ll find us!”

“The mist,” said Walter as sweatrolled from his forehead. “Help me.”

Able to sense the outside world again,Gareth felt the red spellwoven mist that Mal’goroth had summoned.It had covered their niche, and like some strange acid it wasdevouring Walter’s shield. His body relaxed, and his eyes unfocusedwhile the red haired archmage reached out, listening to the voiceof the earth. A moment later it flowed over their small pitcreating an earthen ceiling. They were fully entombednow.

Walter’s face relaxed as he restoredthe shield. “That worked,” he said after a second. “But beingcompletely under the ground will make us noticeable. It won’tmatter if we’re invisible once Mal’goroth notices a strange emptybubble in the earth.”

Gareth’s voice answered him in thedarkness, “He won’t find an empty place. The earth believes thisplace is whole. It will not betray us.”

“I wish I understood how that worked,”said Walter wistfully.

“Me too,” said Garethhonestly.

The earth continued to shake until atlast it seemed to jump under their feet, threatening to dislodgetheir makeshift ceiling.

“That had to be it,” said Doron with ahint of something like hidden glee.

The world grew silent, andthen an even greater blast shook them. Minutes passed and nothinghappened. Penny thought of her children, and began to regret herdecision. I’m stupid. We’re going to die,and I’ll have accomplished nothing.

In her memory she heardMort’s favorite saying, “Stupid neverdies.” Inside she was wound so tightlythat the phrase, which she had never thought much of before, almostmade her laugh.

That was when the screamingstarted.

The first was impressive, an agonizedcry of someone being tortured, but the second, which came a halfminute later was so loud that it seemed as though the world itselfwas dying. Penny’s hands were over her ears but they hardlydiminished the sound. Worse, she could recognize the voice.Mercifully, Walter adjusted his shield to prevent sound fromentering as well.

In the silence, there was nosolace.

***

Time passed slowly, with nothing tomark it. In their dark and silent womb the world had ceased toexist. Deprived of her senses Penny’s mind began to create sightsand sounds to fill the emptiness. At first they were small,imaginary noises or half-heard phrases, some accompanied by asudden image or a flicker of light, but as time dragged on, theygrew more real.

“It’s over now,” said Mordecai,sitting beside her.

She ignored the illusion, for she knewher mind was playing tricks on her.

“I’m