Free The Scourge of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

thickened with emotion as the power of the Medium continued to rush through her. “By Idumea’s hand, you will live, Kieran Ven. You will live and you will heal.”
    The power of the Medium continued to surge through her. There were screams in her mind throughout Comoros. She could hear them all, a cacophony of despair and accusation. She could sense the blood of dead mastons calling out to her, clinging to her soul and shaking her with fury and revulsion. We are the dead mastons of this kingdom, murdered by our king because we would not forsake our oaths. The oaths which you have sworn yourself to pass the Apse Veil! Avenge us!
    The Medium was a roar in her ears. The ash and cinders thickened like hail. It was still growing inside of her. It raged like the fire within the crumbling tower. Lia straightened, her hand still held high in the maston sign. Her blood thundered and boiled. She could only see the blaze of the fire above her. Her hand was pointed towards it. Not to quell it, but to feed it. She sensed the fire’s greedy urge to consume.
    Unbidden words filled her mouth. They came in a foreign tongue, the ancient language of the Idumeans, given to her through her Gift of xenoglossia. “ Pyricanthas. Sericanthas. Thas.” It was the sacred language to control fire. In her mind, it was nightfall and she saw the Stews burning.
     
     

* * *
     
    “The Aldermaston of Dochte Abbey helps me a great deal. He explains the tomes in such a clear way that I am beginning to understand them. It used to be so frustrating when Colvin explained things, because I could not understand what he was saying, even though I wanted to and he grew angry. The key is to see the inner meanings. The Aldermaston showed me several passages today, for example, that spoke of the First Parents in the Garden of Leerings. It was of a serpent who whispered the truth of what they needed to do to gain the knowledge they required. The serpent is one of the aspects of Idumea. It is clear to me now. A way was provided to whisper the truth. That is a symbol of the Medium. The symbol of the serpent is the greatest manifestation of the Medium’s power. When I explained this knowledge to Colvin, he looked at me differently. It was a look of respect. I have never seen him look at me that way before. It happened often when Lia was nearby and it always made me jealous. Today it made me dizzy.”
     
     
    - Ellowyn Demont of Dochte Abbey
     
    * * *

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Flames of Comoros
     
     
    “He is finally waking,” Reome announced, drawing Lia away from the doorway to the bedside.
    Kieran’s eyes fluttered open and he stared up at Lia in confusion. Then his face grimaced with pain, uncontrollable pain. His teeth clenched and he groaned.
    “I fell,” he gasped. His neck muscles strained as he lifted his head.
    “You are alive,” Lia said soothingly.
    His face was tortured with pain. He clenched his jaw, willing to control himself, to keep from blurting out with his suffering. His fingers clenched within the blanket. “My back is broken,” he said darkly.
    Reome stifled a moan of horror.
    “You will heal,” Lia said, touching his shoulder.
    Kieran’s face contorted with pain, but he breathed through his nose and mastered it. “I smell smoke. Are we near Lambeth still?”
    “No, it is eventide. The smoke is on the wind. Comoros is burning.”
    He looked at her, his face confused. “The whole city? Ablaze? How?”
    Lia looked down at her hand. “The fires came from Lambeth. Everything was built so close together. It went from rooftop to rooftop. Then it burned the bridge. It rages still.”
    Sweat dripped down Kieran’s temples. He reached with his hand and gingerly touched the back of his head. He looked confused. He spoke to her in Pry-rian, masking his language so Reome would not understand. “I thought…I remembered…hitting my head. Then blackness. Then the Apse Veil.” He wiped his face slowly. “I died.”
    “It was not your time to