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

ordered.“There is little time.” My alter-ego sounded different now, morepompous. He had probably picked up a lot of our enemy’smannerisms.

I liked to think that I knew he wouldwin, but I hadn’t been certain. My only reassurance had been thatif Brexus was truly like me, he had to be far smarter thanMal’goroth. It had probably been an arrogant assumption, butsometimes it was all that I had to work with.

Gareth and the others didn’t appear.They were far too sensible to come out of hiding simply becauseMal’goroth had told them to.

Brexus was in no mood to wait,however. Shouting the words that commanded their bindings, hecalled Millicenth and Doron to him. Walter’s shield hadn’t beenmade to stop sound, and soon enough they were stepping forward. Thetwo wizards and Penny stayed hidden, though.

My isolation was completenow.

The effect of over forty Celiors ofaythar on the spellweave that contained me had been to make itimpregnable. My only source of information now was that allowed tome by listening directly to Brexus’ thoughts. I wasn’t sure if hecould hear mine in return either.

Nor was I sure he wasreliable.

He had surprised mebefore, with Penny, demonstrating that he was almost as much ‘me’,as I was. Now though, I couldn’t be sure. My merger with Mal’gorothhad nearly destroyed my identity. If not for the re-establishmentof my magical prison, I was worried I might have been morehim than me.

Brexus had taken the blowfor me in a sense. He actually wasthe spellweave that imprisoned me, just asMal’goroth had been the one that had created him originally. Nowthat the two had merged…

I was a bit worried.

Throwing his head back,Brexus/Mal’goroth screamed at the heavens, “I am ALIVE, Mordecai.Deliver on your promise, or I will make good on mine!”

Flanked by Doron and Millicenth, whowere now bound to obedience, I couldn’t help but believehim.

In his mind Brexus responded to aquestion from Millicenth. She was confused by his actionssomehow.

”I am feeding you my power,” he toldthem. “You will keep it in my stead, until I call for it again. IfI am still alive after an hour, or if I cannot call for it, youwill use it to bring an end to this world. Do youunderstand?”

A second later I heard the memory ofher response, although I couldn’t hear her directly. “I would lovenothing better,” she had replied with a chilling tone.

Doron’s response was even moreenthusiastic.

Since binding the Shining Gods to mywill, it had been almost easy to forget their true motivations.They had been created as slaves, and they hated humankind for it.Like Mal’goroth, the only thing they truly desired, more than anend, was revenge. Having experienced the world from theirperspective, I couldn’t really blame them.

What are you waiting for,Peter? I wondered. Kill me.

I did all I could,came Brexus’ thought, directed at menow.

Are you still incontrol? I asked.

Destroy us, or we willdestroy everything else,was his only reply.

Chapter 46

It had been over an hour since theyhad closed the door leading from the hidden sanctuary to CameronCastle. Initially there had been a lot of confusion when it wasdiscovered that several key people were missing. An argument hadbegun over whether or not to hold the door and wait.

No one had thought to ask George aboutit, for which he had been grateful, but eventually he had beenforced to reveal what he knew, to keep them from searching for themissing Countess and his father.

Rather than share his information withhis family, George told only Ariadne, allowing her to make thedecision privately. She had had the door closed immediately, andthen she had shared the news he had given her.

As per his prediction, his sister,Elaine, had reacted badly to the revelation. She might have gone insearch of her father, but for the door being closed and barredalready.

Currently neither she, nor her mother,were speaking to George, but he bore it with his customarystoicism.

Meanwhile, the others had spread outaround the house. While it was spacious it was nowhere near largeenough to hold several hundred people. Thankfully it wasn’t far up,having been situated in the middle part of a secluded mountainvalley, so the temperatures, even in the fall, weremoderate.

Even so, there would soon be adesperate need for housing. Ariadne already had the soldiersgathering firewood and considering their options for buildingtemporary shelters.

Peter Tucker sat in the cold mountainair behind the secret home that Mordecai and Penny Illeniel hadmaintained for years. Seeing it had been a revelation to him. Thesimple fact that they had been able to keep it completely hidden,even from his eyes, troubled him.

When he had first taken service atCastle Cameron, they had shown him trust and kindness. At the timehe had thought it was simply in their nature, but now he knew theyhad done it in spite of his murderous intent. He had hated theCount di’ Cameron intensely then.

Over time he had been given greaterresponsibilities. Lilly had begun to help them care for theirchildren, who, despite his own prejudices, he had come to love. Hehad told himself that he worked to gain their trust, so thatsomeday he would be in a position to avenge his grandfather, buteventually he had given up on it.

As his youthful temper had mellowed,so had his memories. His grandfather had been kind, and Peter hadalways known he would have disapproved of his plan. Withoutremembering the exact moment, he had at some point become what hepretended to be, a loyal servant, a friend—even family.

The hidden house in the mountainschallenged that somewhat, though. He had thought himself privy toall of their greatest secrets—trusted above all others.

They knew all along, butthey held you close anyway. Why?

He had once heard someone recite awise man’s quote, ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemiescloser.’

Was that what he was, a closely heldenemy?

He stared at the knife in hislap.

“Are things that dark?” asked awoman’s voice.

Glancing back, he was startled by LadyRose Thornbear’s nearness. He had not heard her stepsapproaching.

“No, my lady! Forgive me,” heprotested. “I was only thinking. This is not what it might appear.”Lady Rose had hardly spoken to anyone other than her children andher mother-in-law since her husband’s death. Peter was curious asto why she had approached him now.

“If you have