Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two Read Free Page A

prayer for the safe rescue of Neala. After all, what harm could it do if you had a God on your side, as well as one of her paladins.
    As Lusam sat there with his eyes closed, praying to Aysha for a favourable outcome to his quest to save Neala, he felt a wave of calm wash over him like a warm ocean wave. A great sense of well being infused him, creating a euphoric feeling, the likes of which he had never felt before. The feeling vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him grasping at the memory of the sensation. Seconds later he remembered to breathe, and gasped for air as he opened his eyes to find Renn standing in front of him, looking down on him with a knowing smile on his face.
    “What was that?” Lusam whispered to himself.
    “That my boy was Aysha's light, I too felt her presence within you. You are indeed truly blessed to have felt her light Lusam. Many of her most devout priests and paladins go through their entire lives without ever feeling Aysha's light upon them. I have never heard of anyone other than a priest or paladin of Aysha receiving  such a blessing before today.” Renn knelt down at Lusam's side and put his hand once more on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Remarkable. Truly remarkable.” Then, still smiling at Lusam he stood slowly and went to claim his sleeping area, not far from his sword, that still remained buried in the earth.
    Lusam remained in a sitting position with his back against the fallen tree for what seemed like a long time. His mind was trying to make sense of what he had felt during that brief encounter. He had always prayed to Aysha throughout his life, but he would not have considered himself an especially religious person. In fact, thinking about the times he had prayed during his lifetime, he now realised with a certain amount of guilt, that he had only ever prayed to Aysha during his times of need. His mind simply could not accept that he had just encountered a true God. Neither could he deny the fact of what he had just experienced.
    Lusam found himself staring up at the stars, but he couldn't remember changing position and lying down to do so. He could see the twinkle of the stars through the dense canopy of trees as they swayed in the breeze high above; a breeze  that never reached the ground below where they both lay. As he looked at the stars he smiled to himself, knowing somehow everything would be all right, and they would rescue Neala in time. After all, why would Aysha have come to him like that if it wasn't true. He closed his eyes, and almost immediately fell into a deep restful sleep. His dreams were filled with a strange far away magical land, filled with even stranger creatures, but throughout it all he felt happy and safe, because Neala was there beside him.

Chapter Three
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    In his dream Lusam could hear the terrible inhuman wailing of a creature approaching. Mixed in with the other-worldly noise of the creature he could hear someone calling his name, over and over. The voice sounded very close, but also very distant; like a dream within a dream. He felt a hand close over his mouth as he was shaken awake from his slumber by a man kneeling over him. It took him a few moments for his mind to recognise Renn in the almost pitch blackness of the forest night.
    Lusam could just about see Renn put a finger to his lips, indicating that Lusam should remain silent. He wasn't sure where the small amount of light was coming from that enabled him to see even that much, until he sat up and saw it with his own eyes. Renn's sword still remained upright in the ground where he had placed it earlier, but now it glowed with an eerie soft blue light. Lusam thought he could even hear it making a sound like a very low humming noise, barely loud enough to hear, but he couldn't be sure above the loud inhuman wailing noise coming from somewhere very nearby in the forest.
    Lusam had never heard any forest creature make sounds like that before, or