Brotherhood of the Strange (Kingship, Tales from the Aether Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

the seat of the device. This shot also struck the machine and Degory heard a loud crack followed by what sounded like marbles being thrown at the ceiling. “The levitite,” Degory groaned to himself looking up to confirm that which he already knew; Maxfield’s second shot had struck the anti gravity levitite crystals mounted in the center of the nine rings imbedding the shattered purple fragments in the wooden ceiling of the office, each straining to break through to the aether above. The machine was powering up quickly, the multi-hued energies again swirled around the rings while the generated wind scattered the black powder smoke from Maxfield’s wasted shots. He ejected the two shells and reached in his desk for more. Taking this opportunity Degory emerged from behind the Accelerator, sword brandished high, hoping to reach his foe before he could reload. He slashed at the hand holding the pistol, forcing Maxfield to drop it as blood erupted from the clean, though superficial, slice Degory had made. Taking advantage of his reaction, Degory then brought the pommel of the sword into contact with Maxfield’s temple, stunning him into unconsciousness.
    Knowing he might only have seconds, Degory quickly crossed the room and secured the door with a chair. It would not stop someone determined enough, but may buy him the precious moments he needed. The fact that Maxfield was a man of small stature, and combined with the surge of adrenaline coursing through his body, Degory was able to force the slack body into the device’s seat, a device which was now practically straining against its own reality bending energies. He then attended to his original purpose, Pandora’s Box. He looked at the intricate surface, its ticking gears concealing a locking device so complex even the best minds in the Brotherhood, his own included, could not begin to conceive of a way to open its contradicting mechanisms. The best they were able to achieve was a deciphering of the symbols, which led to a realization it was counting down. This countdown coincided with many of the machinations of Maxfield which Degory had been able to uncover. Although he did not yet know the full implications of that countdown, he knew he had to stop it, that the secret to discrediting Maxfield lay with the Box. And to stop it he needed more time to learn more about it. If he read the Box correctly, he had a mere eight months until the ancient clock reached zero, much less than he had first guessed.
    What Degory did not expect was the sheer feeling of hate and long endured despair which seemed to flow through his hands and into his very soul when he grasped it. It was cold, colder than it had any right to be and it was only by his adrenaline fueled will that Degory was able to place it into the Temporal Accelerator, in the lap of the very man he had come here to wrest it from.
    He heard banging and shouting at the door. He was out of time. Degory quickly changed the destination from one hour to one year into the future. He then reached into his frock coat pocket and started the countdown watch Cordelia had built. He hoped one year would give him enough time to save the Brotherhood and possibly, the world. As for the exact exit coordinates, he would have to figure that out later, a prospect all the more daunting due to the damage inflicted by Maxfield’s shot. Degory himself had planned to leave with the machine, how would he now convince anyone he was still to be trusted? With no other option, he turned the knob to again focus the energy into the perfect glowing sphere which encapsulated the machine. He then threw the switch and jumped out of the range of that sphere lest he travel to the future as well. The machine gave a shutter as it began to leave reality. What he had not counted on was the vacuum created by its departure. Pulled off balance he pitched forward, his right arm piercing the blue energy as the Temporal Accelerator vanished.
    The cut was so quick and so