Of Dawn and Darkness (The Elder Empire: Sea Book 2) Read Free

around, though she caught no one. “I wanted to see its face.”
    The voice murmured something else, something she didn’t catch, and then even that vision ended. It didn’t cut off instantly, as the other scenes had, but slid down her eyes like rain washing away paint.
    On the other side of the abyss was the temple room, where the old men all waited in a circle. Her father was sprawled on his back, chest heaving as though he’d run a great distance. One of the older members of the group had a hand clapped to his eye, and blood oozed between his fingers.
    Only four robed figures were gathered around the green fire now. They had started with five.
    Jerri found herself wondering whether the others had seen the same things she had. She was willing to bet that they were allowed to see the giant worm’s face.
    The four remaining leaders of the cabal gathered themselves, each composed and kneeling before the fire. One of the men spoke up. “Great Ones, show us our guide.”
    From the center of the flames, a jewel rose up, flashing with light. It was an emerald, shining like a star as it hovered in the air above their heads. They whispered to each other in excitement, clapping one another on the shoulder as they watched it. Jerri’s father was ecstatic, his grin as wide as she’d ever seen it, eyes fixed on the gem.
    It hung there for five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. After twenty minutes of silence and green light, the circle of adults began to shift uneasily on their knees.
    “Should we…should we take it?” an old woman asked.
    Five more minutes passed before anyone tried it. Jerri’s father rose slowly to his feet, reaching a hand out for the jewel. It didn’t fly away and it didn’t slap his hand down, so Jerri was sure he’d grab it.
    Then the emerald became a stream of light, flashing away. In an instant, it appeared in front of Jyrine’s face.
    She jerked back in shock, almost knocking over her chair. If this was some kind of an attack, she had no idea what to do about it.
    That whispering voice from the void returned, and though it sounded quiet, it swallowed the room. “You look back. She looks forward. She will guide you into the future.”
    The trinket fell as though a string had been cut, falling into Jerri’s lap. It was so hot that it felt like it would burn her even through her skirt.
    “Bind this to her soul,” the voice said, and then a soft wind filled the chamber. As the wind left, the fire died.
    The adults murmured to one another, glancing at her in confusion. Only her father seemed like he was on the verge of laughter. After another hour of discussion, during which Jerri fiddled with her gem and snacked on the food from the service table, the old men and women began to file out.
    One by one, the three strangers put a hand on her shoulder and said words of farewell. She didn’t entirely understand what had happened today, but she knew enough to mind her manners, and she responded to each one.
    Her father was last. He knelt in front of her, gathering her hand up in both of his. “Are you all right?”
    She nodded impatiently. “Of course I am. But what happened?” She had waited over an hour to find out, and with curiosity burning a hole in her, it had felt like three days.
    He patted her hand gently. “It will take a long time to explain, but I’ll do the best I can. The most I can say is that you’re going to be very important someday, Jerri. Very, very important.”

CHAPTER TWO

    When Calder climbed up the ladder and onto The Testament’s deck, no one stood at the wheel. Andel was nowhere to be seen, and a pile of ropes sat at the base of the mast.
    Foster hurried up to him, blood running down into his beard from a split lip. The gunner spoke only two words:
    “She’s loose.”
    Then the darkness of Urg’naut himself descended over Calder’s vision, and something slammed into his back with the force of a stallion’s kick. He buckled and fell, his belly pressed against smooth,