Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1) Read Online Free Page A
Motionless, the obelisks mocked her with their solemnity. Why had she brought Jade here? Anger darkened her mind. Her vision blurred. Anxiety rose in the pit of her stomach. All were emotions involving her afflicted mind swings, she knew, but cared not. Jade, her sister, her lifelong friend, the very person who’d helped her through the black times by putting up with her confrontational tongue and manipulative mind, the one who tolerated her illness for what it was, was gone!
Her eyes sought the symbol, lying chained and inert, in the book. A power still awaited there. She focused on it, got it floating between the obelisks.
The symbol spun translucent between the obelisks, the mist darkened behind it, azure lightning flashed.
Her anxiety rose, stronger this time.
The dark curtain began to recede.
Gathering her will, she concentrated on the symbols pattern, visualizing the intricate, interlocking lines and complex curves, the gateway hidden inside.
Once again, the doorway of spiraling darkness dropped to the floor.
Stowing the books in her pack, she picked up the black candle, and climbed onto the desk. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the swirl.
THE WHITE-LETTERED BOOK
Resting against rough stone in a narrow alley, Crystalyn found herself looking at two stout men facing a petite girl. The girl gripped a dagger outstretched in one hand. One man leered at the girl, his stance relaxed. His cautious partner glanced toward the mouth of the alley, then at the girl. Both men held short, hook-tipped swords.
Gazing the length of the alley, Crystalyn didn’t find Jade, though her sister must be close. They had both come through the same…gateway. Where was she?
Her gaze returned to the swordsmen. Both sets of brown eyes stared at her, scowls fixed upon their faces.
Suddenly, the girl spun, moving with blurring speed.
A flash of metal brought white-hot pain lancing through her midsection. Her head banged the wall. A second, lesser pain rang through her skull. Strength fled from her legs.
Time slowed. She slid slowly downward. Vague images of the girl and the alley floated in and out of her vision. Abruptly, she found herself half sitting, half slumped over. Confused, she tried to stand, but her limbs wouldn’t accept commands.
Darkness draped her mind.
Why was it dark?
Her eyes had closed. Forcing them open required a great effort. Distorted images flitted by. Blinking, she focused on her waist.
Her mind finally registered what her body understood. The hilt of a jeweled dagger protruded from her stomach.
Fatigue descended heavily upon her then, funneling her vision to a vortex. Closing one eye to focus, she fixed on the dagger, which seemed so far away, like gazing through the wrong end of a sight glass. The small hand of the girl encircled the dagger and pulled, releasing an appalling sucking sound. Her blood fountained.
Crystalyn plastered both hands over the spouting hole, despairing at the blood spraying from between her fingers. A cavernous cold leached into her bones then, adding to the weariness. Thoughts of sweet, dreamless, sleep slipped into her mind. She may heal with sleep…
A majestic white and silver image flitted into her mind. Lovely in its simplicity, the symbol was a perfect pentagram in shape, outlined in white, the fine silver lines inside matched a spider’s webbed design. Where had she seen it before? Oh, yes, in the white-lettered book.
Focusing on the symbol, Crystalyn projected it outward. The vortex of her vision expanded, snapping the world into acute clarity. The symbol hovered in the air near her head. Instinctively, she sent it toward her wound. Glowing silvery bright on contact, the symbol sank into her skin. Shockingly, her awareness still clung to it, caught in its wondrous webbed design.
Unraveling as it went, the white symbol followed the puncture, leaving behind a silver and white mesh as it pushed her vital life fluid before it. One-third smaller, it reached
Her eyes sought the symbol, lying chained and inert, in the book. A power still awaited there. She focused on it, got it floating between the obelisks.
The symbol spun translucent between the obelisks, the mist darkened behind it, azure lightning flashed.
Her anxiety rose, stronger this time.
The dark curtain began to recede.
Gathering her will, she concentrated on the symbols pattern, visualizing the intricate, interlocking lines and complex curves, the gateway hidden inside.
Once again, the doorway of spiraling darkness dropped to the floor.
Stowing the books in her pack, she picked up the black candle, and climbed onto the desk. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the swirl.
THE WHITE-LETTERED BOOK
Resting against rough stone in a narrow alley, Crystalyn found herself looking at two stout men facing a petite girl. The girl gripped a dagger outstretched in one hand. One man leered at the girl, his stance relaxed. His cautious partner glanced toward the mouth of the alley, then at the girl. Both men held short, hook-tipped swords.
Gazing the length of the alley, Crystalyn didn’t find Jade, though her sister must be close. They had both come through the same…gateway. Where was she?
Her gaze returned to the swordsmen. Both sets of brown eyes stared at her, scowls fixed upon their faces.
Suddenly, the girl spun, moving with blurring speed.
A flash of metal brought white-hot pain lancing through her midsection. Her head banged the wall. A second, lesser pain rang through her skull. Strength fled from her legs.
Time slowed. She slid slowly downward. Vague images of the girl and the alley floated in and out of her vision. Abruptly, she found herself half sitting, half slumped over. Confused, she tried to stand, but her limbs wouldn’t accept commands.
Darkness draped her mind.
Why was it dark?
Her eyes had closed. Forcing them open required a great effort. Distorted images flitted by. Blinking, she focused on her waist.
Her mind finally registered what her body understood. The hilt of a jeweled dagger protruded from her stomach.
Fatigue descended heavily upon her then, funneling her vision to a vortex. Closing one eye to focus, she fixed on the dagger, which seemed so far away, like gazing through the wrong end of a sight glass. The small hand of the girl encircled the dagger and pulled, releasing an appalling sucking sound. Her blood fountained.
Crystalyn plastered both hands over the spouting hole, despairing at the blood spraying from between her fingers. A cavernous cold leached into her bones then, adding to the weariness. Thoughts of sweet, dreamless, sleep slipped into her mind. She may heal with sleep…
A majestic white and silver image flitted into her mind. Lovely in its simplicity, the symbol was a perfect pentagram in shape, outlined in white, the fine silver lines inside matched a spider’s webbed design. Where had she seen it before? Oh, yes, in the white-lettered book.
Focusing on the symbol, Crystalyn projected it outward. The vortex of her vision expanded, snapping the world into acute clarity. The symbol hovered in the air near her head. Instinctively, she sent it toward her wound. Glowing silvery bright on contact, the symbol sank into her skin. Shockingly, her awareness still clung to it, caught in its wondrous webbed design.
Unraveling as it went, the white symbol followed the puncture, leaving behind a silver and white mesh as it pushed her vital life fluid before it. One-third smaller, it reached
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