Free CHOSEN by Jolea M. Harrison

existence could swing too far the other way, and our actions give aide to our enemies.”
    Maralt wasn’t sure what he was talking about, or who, trying to think whose existence was so secret. It didn’t seem like Gradyn would say.
    “They’ve done something I didn’t foresee,” Gradyn said, turning from the window. “Our primary concern for so long has been for Dynan and Dain, and rightly so. Never before have our enemies been able to cross the boundary between us. I’m not sure which one of the Six came here. Not that it matters.”
    Maralt suppressed a shudder, closing his eyes against welling fear. That one of the Six could cross the barrier that had contained them for countless ages was almost beyond contemplation. One of them crossed the endless dark and handed Dynan Telaerin a thing of evil. All of it was intended to pull Dynan into their realm of existence.
    “It’s one of their goals,” the High Bishop said, reading Maralt’s thoughts. “Another means to an end, the end. They have to have both Dynan and Dain, and one other.”
    “Another?” Maralt said.
    “There are others,” Gradyn said. “In my singular concern for Dynan and Dain, I’ve overlooked this danger, perhaps a greater danger. I didn’t believe it was possible they could take him. I’m going to tell you something that is extremely dangerous for you to know. Once it’s no longer necessary for you to have this knowledge, it will be taken from you. Do you agree to this? It’s important that you do so willingly, Maralt, or the extraction will be the most painful thing you ever endure.”
    He was taken by surprise by the demand and the warning, but Maralt understood it, though he wasn’t certain how he’d take a memory of his own. When he saw Gradyn biting back a smile, he realized the High Bishop would do it himself even though the High Bishop wasn’t a telepath.
    “I didn’t know you could,” Maralt said, and then he nodded. “All right. You know I’ll do anything I can to help you.”
    “Even when you hardly believe any of it is real?” Gradyn said with another slight smile.
    “Yes,” Maralt said. “Call it blind faith if you like.”
    “A thousand years ago, Alurn Telaerin died in a terrible struggle to preserve the world. He failed to stop the demon’s rise. It came into the world. The Gods responded. The world was cleansed and very nearly destroyed as it has been so many times beyond count.”
    “I know the story.”
    “You don’t know this. Alurn survived. He was given the opportunity to exist, not in the physical world, but here in the Temple.”
    “Alurn Telaerin is a ghost?”
    The High Bishop pulled in a sharp breath, reminding Maralt to be careful of his choice of words. Being called a ghost was nearly as bad as being called a wraith.
    “Soul spirit is the preferred term,” Gradyn said with an arched brow, but then he shook his head. “But yes. Alurn is the reason I can do the things I can. Down through the ages, each High Bishop has carried this weight and this power, all to bring Alurn here to this time.”
    “So he can face the demon again.”
    “Only the Gods can face the demon. With Alurn, it’s more a question of balance and order, and most importantly, knowledge.”
    “What’s happened to him?”
    “He’s gone,” Gradyn said. “The greater majority of his presence in this realm is missing. I’m not sure how it happened. He’s been taken, or most of him anyway.”
    “I don’t understand,” Maralt said.
    “Since the beginning of my tenure as High Bishop, through the years I’ve known of him, he’s left before, to heal the destruction he feels responsible for. He leaves something of himself behind to maintain the connection to me, so I have that still. When I fell yesterday, I felt as though I was being ripped in half, only it wasn’t me, it was that part of Alurn that resides with me, being torn in two. They’ve taken what they can of him and I fear the worst.”
    “What’s