Free The Shattered Land: The Dreaming Dark - Book 2 by Keith Baker Page A

it is the darkness wants from you, Daine. Some secret has been locked within your mind. These memories are from the night before the Mourning, are they not? That alone should give you pause. Perhaps the secret of that terrible power is hidden within you.”
    “Why me? Why now? Jode was with me; he must have seen everything I saw.”
    “You have seen Dal Quor—the billions of dreams that swirl around the edges. Most likely, some spirit stumbled into your dreams recently and saw some hint of what was contained within. By that time, Jode was already dead.”
    “I suppose,” Daine said. He thought about the blue vial hidden in his pouch.
    “Whatever mystery is hidden in your mind, il-Lashtavar cannot be allowed to claim it, and I will do whatever is necessary to prevent it.”
    “That’s reassuring,” Lei said. “It seems to me that if it wasn’t for Daine, your innards would be decorating the docks of Sharn.”
    Daine glared at her, but Lakashtai seemed unruffled.“Tashana is a powerful warrior, and her presence is a sign of the importance of the secret within Daine’s dreams. We are stronger together than apart, and all that strength will be required if we are to survive the days ahead.”
    Daine yawned. “Well, now you’ve got me scared to close my eyes, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep them open. So you said you can do something that will allow me to sleep safely?”
    “For now, yes, and you as well, Lei; they may not have found your dreams yet, but they may try to find Daine through you; we must be cautious.”
    Lei shrugged. “Are you going to tuck me in, too? Or make a cold fire candle for me? I’ve always been afraid of the dark.”
    “Then there may be hope for you yet,” Lakashtai said, as she lowered the shutter on the lamp, filling the room with shadows.

P ierce emerged on the deck of the
Kraken’s Wake
. The ship was entering the waters of the Thunder Sea, and the coast of Breland was falling behind and disappearing into the night. Pierce had never seen an ocean before, and he was fascinated by the scope of it—water stretching across the horizon, as far as the eye could see. To the southwest, occasional flashes of light suggested the presence of one of the storms the region was known for, but for now the waters were calm. Pierce gazed down along the side of the ship, watching the prow cut through the water. He could sense the spray and the moisture against his skin, and as he often did, he tried to analyze these feelings, to justify them. He had no nerves, and his “skin” was steel and mithral, so how was it that he could
feel
the drops of moisture rolling down his arm?
    Most warforged had been created with the capacity to read so that they could convey messages and read maps and instructions. In the past, the warforged had no time for leisure pursuits, but recently Pierce had taken to reading while the others were asleep. He was particularly intrigued by the subject of spirit binding, and the creation of the warforged, though he could find little reliable information on either subject. Much about the warforged was a mystery—either secret knowledge hidden away in the vaults of House Cannith or simply unknown. From what Pierce had learned so far, the process leading to the creation of the warforged was as muchluck and chance as it was skill. House Cannith had produced magical constructs for many centuries. These golems were powerful creatures; they had the strength of stone or steel and felt neither pain nor emotion, but they lacked true awareness; they could follow simple instructions but could not adapt to unexpected situations, display initiative, or learn from their experiences. When Galifar collapsed into civil war, Cannith artificers sought to improve their golems, to produce sentient constructs with enough intelligence to employ strategy on the battlefield—tireless soldiers that could be sent into enemy territory with only general instructions, who could devise their