Shadowed by Demons, Book 3 of the Death Wizard Chronicles Read Free Page B

of a madman, being Laylah’s friend was more than he deserved.
    With the onset of morning, the tunnel leading to the interior of the cave became partially illuminated, but darkness still obscured Torg and Laylah’s whereabouts. If Lucius were to find the courage to crawl inside, he would need to bring a torch of some kind with him.
    “Elu made this for you,” a high-pitched voice proclaimed.
    Lucius yelped and sprang to his feet so fast he grew dizzy, staggering sideways against a boulder that fronted the cave. Elu stood nearby, holding a torch—not yet lighted—that he had constructed using bark stripped from a birch tree and rolled into a tube.
    “Elu, you scared me half to death,” Lucius said, his cheeks stained with crimson shame.
    Rathburt sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What’s all the shouting about? Isn’t it a little early for fussing?”
    Bard and Ugga continued to sleep, but now they snored loudly.
    “Well, I can see everything has returned to normal around here,” Lucius huffed.
    Elu shook his head. “Not yet,” the Svakaran said, handing him the torch. “You must go to the great one and his pretty lady.”
    “ I must go?” Lucius said. “What’s so special about me? Why don’t you go? You can squeeze in there better than I. Or how about Master Rathburt? He’s the only one of us out here who wields any magic to speak of. I have no desire to go in there, believe me.”
    “Elu does not believe you. We all know that you love the pretty lady. And you are stronger than you look. Go to them. They need you.”
    Groaning, Rathburt stood and walked to Lucius’ side. “For once Elu is right. Someone needs to go inside, and you make the most sense. But hurry up. As much as The Torgon annoys me, I have to admit that I’m worried about him . . . and your sweetling, too.”
    “She’s not mine,” Lucius said, motioning toward the cave. “She belongs to him .”
    “This is hard enough on all of us without you causing more problems,” Elu said to Rathburt. Then the Svakaran swung toward Lucius. “There are many ways to love someone—and be loved. She might be lost to you in the way you most desire. But she does not have to be lost to you entirely.”
    Elu pulled a sliver of flint from a pouch tied to his breeches and held it close to the torch, striking it against the blade of his Tugarian dagger. Instantly the birch bark caught fire.
    “Beyond belief, Elu is right twice in the same day,” Rathburt said, but this time his voice was kind rather than derisive. “Lucius, you must go to her  . . . to them . You are connected to her in ways that we are not. And you say I have magic? Maybe so. But I don’t have your courage or strength.”
    Lucius didn’t feel the least bit courageous, but it was obvious that none of his companions were in the mood to make things easy for him. Finally, his love for Laylah—along with an ever-growing curiosity—compelled him to slither inside the mouth of the cave. Elu and Rathburt huddled by the opening, while Bard and Ugga continued to snore, heedless of anything but their dreams.
    Lucius crawled deeper into the tunnel, sliding the torch along the floor of the cave with his left hand. The flames crackled merrily, but cast only enough light to see about two body lengths ahead. Again Lucius’ heart pounded erratically. He could not pinpoint why he was so frightened, but he felt as if he were on the verge of entering a place he did not belong, interrupting the reverie of a pair of divine beings who might smite him for his insolence. After the previous night’s display of power, Laylah no longer seemed like a mortal. Instead, she felt more like a creature of supernatural magnificence—and not necessarily safe for someone lesser to be around.
    Suddenly the chamber before him was illuminated, revealing a pale mass pressed against the stone. His first glimpse of flesh did not look human, resembling a grotesque blob. Had Laylah blown herself and Torg to