Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

into Bethany’s heart.
    Lightning strikes the floor beside the altar, opening up a hole
    in the stone. This has never happened before, but I ignore it and continue. Bethany’s eyes shoot open and the roar that leaves her mouth is so filled with pain and horror it sets the demons off. Their dark forms cover Bethany. They slash at her flesh while sucking all the blood from her body. I place my pendant above her heart and the demons tear at her soul. Bethany’s face is white and drawn, but she is still alive, still screaming. The colour of her eyes starts to drain. She looks at me, horrified, trying to claw at her face, but the demons push her soul into my pendant. Bethany’s eyes are completely white, her face frozen in a mask of anguish. The next part still shocks me.
    I can hear her bones crumbling. Her head twitches until all that
    remains is ash and hair. I close the ritual by thanking the demons,
    but they are already paid in blood and pain.
    The demons still linger in a circle around me. They normally
    leave after the sacrifice. Their unusual actions make me feel
    tense. The ground beside the altar starts to tremble. I get up
    off my knees. The hole that the lightning created is oozing with
    black liquid. The demons never move, but they all keep their
    eyes closed. I watch as a hand reaches out and grabs the side
    of the hole. Then a man climbs out with such ease and grace.
    When he stands, I can feel the power radiate off him. His gaze
    falls upon me. I inhale a sharp breath at the sight of his eyes.
    His lip curls into a smile. “I seem to have that reaction from most
    people. Is it my eyes?” He laughs at his own joke. I have never seen anyone with red eyes besides the demons, but he is a man.
    “Who are you?” I ask in a commanding voice.
    He repeats my question back to me with a few of his own.
    “Who am I? Where did I come from? And what do I want?
    They are the answers you really want to know.” He raises an
    eyebrow. “Am I not correct, Bellona?”
    My patience is running out. I turn to leave, but the man is
    right in front of me. “That’s no way to treat a guest. Usually
    they would be offered a drink, maybe a seat.” I am beginning to
    feel very unsettled with this man.
    “You may sit, but I have nothing to offer you to drink.”
    He smiles. His teeth have reshaped from straight to long, black,
    pointed ones. “Oh, but you do.” He springs and grabs my head,
    pulling it back as he sinks his teeth into my cheek. Pain shoots
    through my body, but I am unable to scream or move, which makes it more terrifying. Images start to play out before my eyes, a land on fire, and the heat is at boiling point. I can taste the hot air in my mouth, making it hard to breathe. People with hollow eyes and burnt skin, their bodies tied in chains while carrying large rocks in their hands. The weight of the rocks causes their backs to hunch over. It is an image of torment and pure horror.
    The man pulls his teeth from my face. I fall to the ground.
    Blood still runs from my puncture wounds. I look up at him in
    shock. He licks his lips and kneels down beside me.
    “I am Lucian, king of the underworld. This is the first time
    in twenty centuries I have stood on solid ground.” He moves
    around the room, but it looks like there is an invisible barrier
    that only allows him to go so far. He doesn’t look surprised by
    this at all; it is as if he was expecting it. I am unable to speak.
    The need to sleep makes my eyelids heavy. “Oh well, this will
    have to do for now. The day will come when I shall call upon
    you for one request that you must fulfil.” He grabs my chin. “I
    want your oath, Bellona.”
    I try to speak, but can’t. Lucian clicks his fingers and my mouth starts moving, my voice leaving, but it isn’t me. I grab
    my throat to try and stop the words, but they just pour out. “I,
    Queen Bellona, give you, Lucian, my word that I will grant you
    one favour whenever you need it.”
    He smiles and lets