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    Cystal King
    Cystal King
    Cystal King
    Ebook194 pages3 hours

    Cystal King

    By D.W. Jackson

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    About this ebook

    Thad is nearing the end of war with the scions but that means that soon he must give up what little time he has had with his son. His love for a new woman casts a shadow over his heart as he has not seen his wife in countless years. Everything is coming to a head, but will he live to see the conclusion.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherD.W. Jackson
    Release dateJan 27, 2020
    ISBN9780463647257
    Cystal King

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      Book preview

      Cystal King - D.W. Jackson

      Copyright © D.W. Jackson Smashwords Edition

      Names, characters, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual event, organizations, or persons, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

      If you would like to be placed on a list to be notified of future works from this author or if you would like to comment on the book you may send an email to forversidiot@yahoo.com

      Your email address will not be sold or given to any third parties or used outside to promote other works.

      Chapter I

      Looks clear, Thad said as he checked the road for a third time before they crossed it. They had been running from the capital without much in the way of rest, after killing the emperor and scion lord. I had been a hard four days now and the distance they had travel had been limited. If you only counted the moments they were moving, they had only done two days’ worth of real traveling as they had to keep stopping to hide when armed patrols were searching the area.

      We should just cut through anyone who blocks us and just run for the gate, Schep a good natured but surly dwarf grumbled.

      I don’t think we have enough arrows or lives for that,Talos a tall elf said. Maybe we could just put them downwind of your smell and they would die.

      While the dwarf’s stench is extraordinary I don’t think it will be enough to kill yet, Humanius a godling who had once been human said with a mask like face that hide his true thoughts on the matter.

      I don’t know about that, Bren chuckled. He was Thad’s son and just like Humanius was a godling though a new one.

      You boys should behave yourselves, Vanessa said with a stern warning as she checked her retied her light brown hair back with a dark purple ribon.

      Lory are you ok? Thad asked the youngest of the group. She was Nessa’s handmaiden and friend, Lorelei. She had not been used to long trips and had tired easily. Nessa was a little better as she had been trained in swordsmanship since young like all royals and nobles.

      I’m fine, Lory said politely refusing Thad’s help. She had never taken much of a liking to Thad and seemed to blame him for everything that had went wrong. The night before a caterpillar had fallen into her soup and she had sworn that it was because Thad had chosen to make camp near so many trees. Thad could have sword that if it rained she would blame him for picking the wrong path.

      Sighing Thad retracted his hand and turned his attention back to the open clearing ahead. We should stick to more covered areas and try to move around it, He said after a few moments’ thought. We cant waste on strength on unneeded fights.

      Thad I am sure that you are just trying to be careful but at this rate it will take us a year to reach a destination that was originally no more than a few weeks away at best. We need to get to the other side and running around from bush to bush, while safer is just giving them more time and opportunities to find us. Right now, pressing forward is our best option to get through this as intact as possible, Humanius said in a commanding tone but it was not like the godling had any other tone. The man was used to being listened to and after countless thousands of years it had become so ingrained in him that it had become his normal way of speaking.

      I second that. All this running around and crouching is getting us nowhere fast, Schep added in.

      Sorry dad, but I have to take their side on this one, Bren said with a weak smile and an apologetic look.

      Fine, Thad said as he looked toward Nessa and Lory. Then we better go before someone comes along. I want to get out of the open as soon as we can.

      Agreed, Bren said as they took off across the open field as quickly as they could.

      They didn’t see anyone as they moved but Thad still didn’t like being out in the open. Things always seemed to go wrong for him when he showed the smallest amount of relaxation. It had happened so many times that he had long since lost count of how many times fate had bit him in the rear just as he thought he was safe. The last time was just a few days ago during the fight with the scion lord Jin. After his head was removed and Thad thought he was dead he used his last spell and hit Thad with a ball of black fire that had a hidden element to it that was still slowly eating away at him. Thad could feel a small itch under his skin, but it was only a light itch. It didn’t bother him unless he stopped to think about it. He wasn’t sure if it was just in his mind or not but he knew that if the mother didn’t know a way to cure him the black flame would kill him in the end. Most likely slowly and very painfully.

      Are you ok? Nessa asked him in a kind voice when she noticed the worried look on his face.

      Just thinking, Thad said. He hadn’t told her about the black fire yet as he hoped that it could be cured before it became noticeable. Thad had never liked to bother others with his problems. He had grown up taking care of himself and dealing with everything on his own. Mother was the consciousness of the core of the world. If she didn’t know of a way to heal him then nothing could but he held out hope. He had never heard of something that was unfixable except death. Even the tares in space could be fixed with the right tools.

      Nessa gave him a warm smile and continued walking with Lory right beside her who often gave Thad harsh looks. Thad looked at the two women and smiled for a brief moment before he shook his head and quickened his pace. Thad tried his best to enjoy the scenery as they moved knowing that all too soon they would be back on the other side of the rift and in the crystalized world. As much as Thad wanted to be in a safe area once again he didn’t really want to be back in the world of crystals. It was almost as bad as being in the void and the only thing that made it better was that there was more people than just Humanius to keep him company.

      It took three hours for them to cross the open field but the next area was just a sparsely covered hilly area. It wasn’t much better than the open area but the hills would block the view of the people beyond though when they crossed over one it would also expose them to a large area. The one good thing through was that unless they were close no one would be able to make out who they were and even if they could it was not as if many people knew who know who they were. The only ones that the enemies would have a great deal of knowledge on would be Nessa and Lory.

      As night fell, they were still in the hilly area but they had found a place in the lower region to make camp. They lit a small fire to cook their food which was a couple of hares that Talos had killed earlier. Bren was using magic to keep the smoke from raising into the air and giving away their position. Nessa didn’t know how to cook but Lory did and she happily helped Humanius. The two talked and seemed to enjoy each other’s company, which made sense since they both loved to pick at Thad’s sore points whenever he made the slightest mistake.

      Nessa brought a two plates and handed one to Thad before taking a seat next to him. What is the scion world like? Nessa asked as she took a small bite out of the slightly overcooked meat.

      Humanius said that long ago it was much like your world or mine, Thad said wistfully as he looked at the godling who was currently turning a rabbit over the fire. That was until someone ripped a hole open between their world and the core of the universe. Slowly the world was saturated with magical energy. The energy slowly crystalized the world and its people. Now everything there is like the palace that you had lived in. The only living breathing beings are the ones the scions claimed as slaves and had brought over to keep them entertained over the countless centuries.

      Nessa shivered slightly. I hated the crystal of the palace, Nessa said after a long silence. I covered every inch of it I could so I wouldn’t have to see it. To me it signified my father’s power and the invisible bars that held me and my mother hostage.

      We killed your father, Thad said for the first time since they had escaped the palace and city.

      Nessa looked at him and her eyes slightly misted up but she wiped it away with her sleeve before it could form into a tear and drop from her bright blue eyes. He was never a bad father, She said as she looked up into the sky her voice quivering slightly. He would visit me often but he always seemed distant and then he ordered my mother killed for speaking out against him. I hated him for that. For taking her from me. Over the years he tried to talk to me but I would never listen to him. Each time I would just yell at him to leave and that I hated him. Now it all just seemed so pointless.

      Do you regret it? Thad asked as he looked at Nessa lovingly.

      I don’t know, she said honestly with a shake of her head. I wish he had not had my mother killed. We might have never been a happy family, but we might have been a closer family than we were. I still remember when I was little and father would lift me up in his arms. What were your parents like? Nessa asked quickly changed the subject not wanting to remember or dwell on her own past. It was all still a little too raw to go poking at.

      I don’t know who my father was and there is no way to figure out, Thad said with a sad smile. In Farlan women had all the power. Everything was passed down from mother to daughter and men were only seen as a tool to have children. In a lot of ways it was the exact opposite of some other countries. My mother didn’t want a male child, so she paid for me to be trained as a top class slave when I was around five or six years old. After that I only saw my mother one more time and that was when I was put on the auction block and sold.

      That is horrible, Nessa said a few tears streaming down her cheeks. Thad reached over and brushed the tears away with his finger and gave her a warm smile. I don’t blame my mother, Thad said after a few seconds. In a way, if not for her I would not have escaped and learned how to use magic. I would have never met Maria. We don’t get to choose our parents nor can we choose what always happens. The only thing we really have a choice in, is the way we respond to the things that happen around us.

      Nessa laughed a bright bell-like laugh. You sound like an old man, She said hitting him softly in the arm.

      I guess I am an old man, he nodded his head. I am what nearly forty-five years old I think. It is hard to keep track of the years I was stuck in the abyss.

      Well you don’t look a day over twenty-five, Nessa said with a chuckle. In fact you look younger than I do. This time her words were accented with a slight amount of self-ridicule.

      Thad gave Nessa a quick kiss on the lips. You are beautiful, and you look young enough to be my daughter.

      Wouldn’t that make you quite the pervert? Nessa asked in a joking tone.

      Thad sighed. Last time I try and cheer you up, he grumbled.

      Nessa laughed and gave him a kiss. I couldn’t help it, she said giving him a charming smile. Blame it on all the time I spent with those rogues from the slums.

      After meeting your handmaid I think if anyone was corrupting anyone it would be you corrupting the poor people of the slums, Thad said in jest.

      What is that supposed to mean? Lory voice said and when Thad turned he was faced with the very angry eyes of a very mad handmaiden.

      Nothing, Thad said quickly as he looked to Nessa for a helping hand.

      Don’t look at me, Nessa said with a thin smile on her lips. You got yourself into this one.

      Well? Lory asked pressing closer to Thad her eyes narrowed dangerously and her jaw slightly twitched.

      It is that you are less than genteel, Thad said. You tend to be a little…

      Abusive, Schep finished for that with a chuckle.

      Thad threw Schep a hard look but the dwarf just chuckled and turned away. He expected Lory to get mad but when he looked back at Lory her eyes were watering up near to crying. Is that what you really think of me? she asked with a slight hitch in her voice leaving Thad stumbling dor something tosay.

      Thad had dealt with many women in his life but most of those had been strong women who rarely cried which Thad was thankful for. Whenever a woman cried no matter the reason Thad felt as if he had personally caused it. The sound of a female crying seemed to strike at his very soul in a very real way. That is not what I was going to say. You are just a bit forward but I know that it is just because you are protective of Nessa. I know she means a lot to you.

      Really? Lory asked her large eyes looking up at Thad.

      Yes. Honestly I thought you hated me. I didn’t think my opinion really mattered to you.

      I don’t hate you, Lory said after a long silence her voice just above a whisper. It is just that Nessa it like a…mother…or big sister to me, and it was like you were taking her away, Lory said honestly with a tinge of loneliness in her voice and Nessa got up and wrapped her in a tight hug.

      Lory you are closer to me than anyone else has ever been except my own mother. I would never forget you just because someone else came into my life, Nessa said as she rubbed Lory’s back and the young lady started to cry as she apologized for how she had been acting. There is no reason for you to apologize. That should be my part. I didn’t even think of how you might be feeling.

      Thad watched the two and felt a warm sensation run through his body. Lory looked to be about sixteen to seventeen but she was only fourteen. Nessa had picked her up when she was just a small child. Her mother had died during childbirth and her father had been killed in the lower quarter of the slums leaving her alone. When Nessa found her she was searching through a pile of garbage for something to eat and was a mess. Nessa had taken her in and took care of her just like a mother would and it was clear to Lory that Nessa was her entire world.

      So which one am I a mother or a big sister? Nessa asked once Lory had calmed down.

      Lory looked down her face going a bit red. I am sorry Lady Vanessa I forgot my station.

      Nessa smiled sweetly at Lory. I am no longer a lady of the empire, she said warmly. Now we are just two people and I really want to know the answer. Do you see me more as a big sister or a mother?

      I would always imagine you were my mother, Lory said meekly her cheeks turning a deep scarlet color. I always wanted one. Dad never really talked about mother.

      Nessa tightened her hug on Lory. "If you want

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