Sons of Evil: Book 1 Book of Dread Read Free

having
completed some great effort. “You’ll be back,” he muttered.
    Sasha held her breath, praying
the king had drifted off into a drunken sleep. Just when she began to hope she
could make her escape, he slowly lifted his head, his eyes suddenly wide and
bright.
    “You’ve seen it!” he shouted.
    “Sire, I don’t know—”
    “Liar!”
    His eyes went to the floor
once more, and she followed his gaze, and there saw that the corner of the book
yet peeked out from beneath the bed. Involuntarily she gasped, and as she
raised her eyes she met his, and she knew from the fire she saw there that all
was lost.
    “Now you know my secret,” he
said, his voice suddenly soft but holding dire malice. “No one can know that
and live.”
    “My king, I know nothing,” she
begged.
    “You know far too much.” He
struggled to sit up, his anger not quite enough to overcome the alcohol that
impaired his senses.
    Sasha backed toward the door.
    “Go
ahead, call for help, run out the door even. They won’t aid you.”
    Sasha did not doubt the truth
of these words, but still she reached for the door.
    The candlestick she had
knocked over earlier suddenly banged against the wooden doorframe, missing her
head by mere inches. The king rose and stumbled toward her, forcing her to
circle around the room, trying to keep the bed between them.
    Landri retrieved the candlestick
and stalked toward her again, his gait wobbly and unsure. “Hold still and we
can make this quick.”
    As he came around the corner
of the bed, Sasha rolled across it. He lunged forward, hoping to grab her
skirt, but instead lost his balance. His head smacked against then heavy wooden
footboard of the bed with a sickening, wet thud, and he slumped to the ground.
    Sasha stood in absolute
stillness on the far side of the bed for two minutes that felt like an hour. Keeping
as much distance as she could, she finally found the strength to move and check
on Landri. He was propped against the bed, a thin stream of blood flowing from
his right temple, which had already started to bruise and swell. His breathing
was deep and steady. She considered her plight frantically, believing she could
leave now, but sure he would come for her when he regained his senses. His
drunkenness had saved her for now, but his threats were far too real. She
looked at the candlestick and the unconscious king, a fleeting thought passing
through her brain that she could kill him, but she knew that wouldn’t free her,
wasn’t sure she could do that, even now. Flight was her only choice, but once
she left, she was sure she could never be safely seen again by Landri or anyone
else at the castle, that she would be a refugee with nowhere to call home. And
if that were the case, then there was little risk in learning what secret the
book might hold, and if that secret gave some advantage, some hope that she
might escape Landri’s clutching grasp, so much the better.
    Outside the door she heard the
guards muttering to one another as replacements came on duty. She heard a few
low, knowing laughs, and realized she was likely the topic of conversation. She
heard the shuffling feet of the relieved guards moving away, and then things
fell still once again. The brief interlude reminded Sasha that time was
passing. She decided she needed to move on.
    Sasha carefully removed the
chain and key from the secret panel, then laid the chain in the king’s
partially open hand. Thinking better of this, she risked slipping it over his
head, gently whispering in his ear as she did so, the king smiling through his
drunken stupor at the empty promises she made. She slipped the key down the
front of his shirt and left him to his drunken repose.
    For a long moment she stood
looking at the book. It felt foreign to her, a strange thing full of malice and
hate, but it was dear to this king who had brought so much harm to his own
kingdom, who ruled cruelly and without mercy, and who, upon waking, would never
allow Sasha even