Dealers of Light Read Online Free

wasn’t real.
    “You must be careful, my dearest. A perilous evil is building . I feel it even in the afterlife.” She moved her hands to his shoulders and gripped him, her long nails scraping his flesh. “An enemy with strength to rival yours.”
    “I’m tired, Sakhet. I long to be with you.” He stepped back and her hands fell from his arms. He strode to the stone wall at the edge of the balcony. Weariness washed away the pain and left a gaping chasm of nothingness. The soft pat of her sandals on the clay bricks followed him. “The hunt has gone on too long. Let me pass and we can be together again.”
    “No, you must not let such thoughts enter your head. You must never think of giving up. Have you forgotten what they did to me?” She grabbed his arm, jerking him to face her. Gods, her beauty only grew with her anger, breasts heaving, black hair flowing out behind her like furious wings.
    He’d relived her murder in his nightmares for hundreds of years. With her ancient power, i t took ten of them to finally overcome her. After the beating and torture, they took her head because they weren’t capable of taking her Light. He came upon them at the end, bending over her, laughing and gloating at their great accomplishment. She was dead and nothing remained for him but revenge. He slaughtered them all and carried the Light-empty husks of their bodies into the desert where they rotted without last rites of death to ease their souls into the afterlife. And he had never stopped killing them since.
    Her fingertips caressed his shoulder, soft strokes along the hard curve of muscle that had always calmed him. “I am sorry, Bes—so sorry I had to leave you.”
    Pain and anguish welled in his soul . They should have been together forever.
    “You cannot give up. And when you need help, there will be a source.”Rolf raised his face to the sky. No one could help him. He’d been alone so long his heart had hardened against any hope of aid. She meant to comfort him, but her words were empty. He refused to allow any spark of optimism to blossom—it hurt too much when the flame was doused.
    “My poor love .” She glided away from him to gaze out at the scene of the twisting river and the fertile green delta. “What is worse, to be horribly murdered, or to live forever without love and peace?”
    He wondered the same thing. “Why are you here?”
    “To give you strength and hope.”
    “Hope?” He laughed in derision.
    “ Hope is there, but you must reach out and take it. You must be open to accept it. Sometimes in our darkest despair, hope arrives.”
    He hung his head, disappointment churning in the pit of his stomach, already full of rancid anguish. “You’re talking in riddles.”
    “The gods will permit no more.” She returned to face him and cupped his cheek. “You will understand, my beloved. In time, you will. Trust me.”
    He put a hand to his brow , the weight of saving the world pressing down on him and filling him with desolation. “You ask too much. I am weary of this task. Let the world pass, let me be with you again.”
    “You will find the strength you need when the time is right. Until then, know I will always be with you in spirit.” She reached behind her neck. The gold chain slid loose and a golden ankh set with a single ruby slid into her waiting grip. She turned his hand palm up.
    The metal settled against his flesh still warm from the heat of her skin. His heart dropped and tears burned his eyes. Her favorite necklace. “No.”
    She smiled and curled his fingers over the jewel, covering his hand with hers. “Take this to remember me and the promise of our love. Keep it close to your heart.”
    “ Sakhet, please.”
    “ Farewell, my love.”
    ###
     
    Rolf ’s eyes snapped open. He gasped and bolted up in the bed, heart pounding. The familiar sights of the bedroom in his rented house fell into focus. Dim light from wall sconces flickered across the tan walls, gold inlaid chests and