Free The Lord of Death (The Age of Dawn Book 2) by Everet Martins Page B

something about a warrior in the way they moved that always gave it away.
    “Yeah,” the king groaned. “These monsters must be your friends.” Walter noticed that Baylan, Nyset and Grimbald had come in behind him.
    “No sir, no that’s —” Walter shook his head.
    “Please my lordship,” Baylan said. He turned, addressing Lajoy, “Can you see the king is ill?”
    “Do not question his lordship,” the blonde guard snapped, hand on his sword hilt.
    The king’s eyes wrinkled and the corners of his lips rose in a disturbing grimace. “You will find who did this or I will have your heads, all you. You have three days or your heads will roll into the guillotine basket. Do not leave the walls of Midgaard.”
    Lajoy stepped close to Walter and jerked him to his feet, close enough to feel his breath. Walter didn’t find himself often intimidated by grown men. He found his body willfully complying with the Warmaster’s direction. The air of danger was heavy on this one. It was best to comply.
    “Be gone,” Lajoy said, leading them out and slamming the door behind.
    “This goes for you too advisor,” the king shouted from behind the door.
    Malek snarled, “Well done you fools.”

Chapter Six
    Disagreements
    “ The Cerumal are feral in nature, having no interest other than to pillage and slaughter. Without a Black Wynch to lead them, reports indicate they prefer to attack communities in the borderlands without warning and without quarter. They do not appear to care for marks of any denomination or women, only destruction.” -from the Death Spawn Compendium by Nazli Tegen
    I n the Temple of Meditation , Malek stood over his laboratory table, eyes shifting over the slew of curious artifacts. He grabbed a glowing scimitar with jagged teeth on one side and an eyeball that looked to be made of white glass. The Plague Blade and a Basilisk’s Eye should do nicely, he thought.
    “There’s something I must do, stay here and practice what I’ve taught you. Baylan can guide you in my stead,” he said, eyes protruding. Walter and Nyset exchanged glances. She swallowed under Malek’s gaze and Walter’s brows knitted together.
    “Where are you going? What are you going to do?” Baylan asked, rubbing his narrow chin.
    Malek marched up the stairs to the roof and a circular portal snapped open, revealing a lush environment before the backdrop of the Midgaard cityscape. He stepped through and the portal closed behind him, sparks sizzling in the air.
    “Darkthorne, you bastard,” he whispered.
    Before Malek was the mouth of a jagged cave surrounded by a thick wood, seemingly impassable. Midgaard was a small hill from this, far south, Ezra’s castle a cream insect on the horizon. Two Cerumal soldiers stepped from the entrance to Snowden’s Caverns, blocking his entry. One breathed heavily and the other let out a low growl.
    “Move,” Malek commanded. They responded by leveling barbed spears at him. “Alright then,” he said. He gently pressed his fingers against the white eye in his left hand and twirled the blade in his right. The white eye glowed with red light and Malek’s eyes burst alight with the same hue. The light spilled from eyes in the form of smoke, glowing and billowing over his head.
    The soldier on his left lunged with teeth bared. Two beams of red light erupted from Malek’s eyes, cutting the Cerumal from shoulder to hip in a diagonal slice. Its body split apart with a lovely fountain of blood. He slashed with the blade and a green streak of light cut the air. The other Cerumal’s skin exploded with pustules, bursting and popping with sprays of blood. It dropped its spear and clawed at its lizard like face. It screamed as muscle, bone and tendons were exposed with each sundering bubble.
    Malek strode into the cave, boot squishing on tattered skin. The light from his weapons dispelled the enveloping darkness. A group of Cerumal ran from the depths, armor clanging, skidding to a halt before