Free The Shadowed Manse by David Alastair Hayden, Pepper Thorn Page B

was probably best to leave her alone for a while. Unfortunately, that meant having to sort through his thoughts. He’d almost rather go ahead and charge into the hall full of shadows, even if it meant dying, than to have to think over all that he’d been through … everything he’d learned today … everything he’d seen … from the terrifying to the absurd …
    He just might have a breakdown soon, as well. He really needed days, weeks … maybe even years to absorb all of this.
    He’d been right after all. He was meant for something more. He was supposed to be learning something more than Algebra and Spanish — only this was far more than he had expected — and it was too much, too soon. The entire universe — the Multiverse! — depended on him , Arthur Primus Paladin. All that weight on his shoulders, and no one had prepared him. Was there something wrong with him? Was that why his dad hid him away without training him? Or had his dad just been trying to keep him from getting assassinated like his mom?
    Arthur angled the sword across his lap and gazed at his reflection. I’m the only one left. He looked at Morgan fiddling with her computer. And it’s up to me; not just to take on the bad guys throughout the Multiverse, but to get Morgan back home safely … or at least keep her from getting killed. He couldn’t let her be like … like Derek.
    If only he’d known about all this sooner …
    Anger bubbled up from deep within. The shadows in here might be responsible for his parents’ deaths — at the very least they were threatening Lady Ylliara and Morgan. They stood in between him and his legacy and the truth.
    Arthur stood up and brandished the sword. “I’m tired of resting … tired of waiting. I’ve been waiting my whole life. This is my house, and I’m taking it back. Let’s go.”
    Lexi woke and sprang up. “That’s the spirit! Let’s get ’em!”
     

Chapter Eight
     
    To Arms! To Arms!
     
     
    Arthur stomped over to the doors, with Lexi hot on his heels. Valet stepped aside.
    Morgan stuffed her laptop into her bag, but left it sitting in the chair. “Wait up!”
    “You should stay here,” Arthur said. “Where it’s safe.”
    “Not a chance.”
    “Morgan, this isn’t your fight.”
    “It is now. I have a numen, and I’m your companion. You heard Lady Ylliara.”
    “Well … that’s fine, but … you don’t have any way to fight them.”
    “I’ll stick behind you, the numina, and Valet. I’ll be the brains of the operation. You’re going to need someone with brains for this operation. I’ll keep my eye out for the Armory.”
    “Whatever,” Arthur snapped.
    He grabbed the handle to one door, and Valet grabbed the other. Lexi and Vassalus stood nearby, waiting to attack. They pulled the doors open —
    A mass of shades charged them. Arthur readied his sword, and the numina bunched their muscles to leap into action.
    “Wait!” Morgan said. “Hold your ground!”
    Arthur paused. Apparently, he trusted her completely — this surprised him.
    The shades neared them. Arthur cringed, and Morgan, despite her command, eased backward. The sigil flared, and the space within the doorway shimmered like sunlight on a waterfall’s mist. The shades struck this energy field, and with a flash of smoke, disintegrated. A dozen perished instantly, clearing the nearest section of the hallway.
    The dimly lit Grand Hallway stretched before them, as long as the main hallway in his school, with polished wood floors and a cathedral ceiling. There were at least ten doors on each side and a final door at the end of the hallway. A glowing sigil floated before most, but not all, of the doorways. That was good news. They’d only have to face the bad guys one room at a time. The bad news was that the opposite end of the hallway was packed with shades and at least a dozen similar, but nastier looking monsters — wraiths, he guessed.
    “We need the Armory,” Arthur said to Valet. “According to