Free One (The Godslayer Cycle Book 1) by Ron Glick Page A

never be the same again.  It would be best for all if you planned to bid farewell to all you know now, before it is too late to do so.”
    Before either man could speak in protest, the woman rose, pulled her cloak around her shoulders and made to leave.  Yet she paused before she walked away, keeping her face averted from the two.  “You are needed, young sir,” she spoke, her head cocked ever so slightly down and to her side.  “Far more than you realize.  And you will be called upon to fulfill your debt, whether you wish it or not.”  At this, the woman walked across the room to the door.  “We will meet again, Nathaniel.  We will.  And soon...” came her voice as she disappeared out the door and into the street beyond.
    Bracken relaxed visibly once the woman had gone from his sight.  It had almost seemed at the end that she might retaliate for the dismissal and every fiber in his being had stiffened in defense.  There was an obvious mystical quality to the woman's presence and dwarves had a natural aversion for such things.  It had taken a great force of will to summon the words he had and the effort had left him drained.  Had the stranger refused, Bracken knew he would not have been able to raise a finger in his own defense.  And this personal admission shook him to the core of his being.
    Hesitantly, Bracken touched the card lying on the table.  It was real and there was no mistaking its import.  Whoever the strange woman had been, she knew who Bracken was.  And more, she knew Bracken's past.  He had thought he had escaped it, yet here it was, upon a card of the Game, no less, immortalized for any to see.  And no matter what the stranger may have said, where there was one, there would be more copies of the same.  So was it a trap?  A warning?  Or was someone from his past searching for him even now?  No answer would sit well with him, nor could he see a positive resolution to the conflict he knew was forthcoming.
    “Goo' riddance to bad rubbish,” Bracken muttered, pocketing the card and turning his mind from the suggestions it imposed.
    Nathaniel however only stared after where the woman had passed from the room.  “I'm not so sure...” he mumbled at last.
    “Ya listen ta me, Goodsmith,” snarled the dwarf.  “I 'ave known my fair share o' trouble an' tha' one reaks o' it, through an' through.  In case ya di' no' recognize it, she was usin' magic ta control our minds, force us ta listen ta her words.  An' anyone that can so eas'ly charm a dwarven son is no' ta be trusted!”
    “ Even so...”  mused Nathaniel.  The young man turned to his friend, intensity in his eyes.  “I have heard that verse before.  I'm not sure where, or how, but I know it.  It's like I've always known it!  And now I can't not recall it, word for word...”
    “ For certain, 'cause she used magic ta ingrain i' 'pon yer brain!”  Bracken reached over and tapped two thick fingers atop Nathaniel's head for emphasis.  “It be part o' the spell!”
    “ No, it's more than that,” responded Nathaniel.  “As soon as she began, I knew what she was going to say before she said it...”
    “ Still par' o' the magic...”
    “ I'm not so sure,” protested Nathaniel.
      “ 'Gardless,” said the dwarf, finally taking a seat again, an exasperated sigh gushing from his lips as he did so.  “I be thinkin' i' is yet more cause tha' ya be 'pon your way back ta tha' refuge o' yers.  As welcome as yer comp'ny may be, somethin' ill is stirrin' and i' be sighted 'pon you.  First, tha' damnable priestess and now some intolerable witch o' some sort, both wit' eyes for Nate Goodsmith.  If I was ya, I would be no' wantin' ta be waitin' 'roun' for the third sign.  I would be puttin' some distance 'tween myself an' this town 'fore 'nother 'arbinger 'scended 'pon ya ta stop ya from goin' 't'all!”
     

Chapter Three
     
    Birds twitted from branch to branch overhead, taking advantage of the bright, warm day to do