Eye of the Oracle Read Online Free Page A

with the sword, slicing it cleanly in half. Kneeling, she picked through the flesh, collecting six seeds, then, spreading out her fingers again, she let the sparkling red seeds roll around on her stained palm.
    “They look like rubies!” Naamah said.
    Lilith dropped them into her pocket along with the others. “Much more valuable than rubies, Sister. They are the seeds of corruption. And those who control the corrupting influence wield the power to rule the corrupted.”

Chapter 2
    The Dark Side of the Rainbow
    Makaidos unfurled his wings in the stiff, damp breeze. “Thigocia, I still sense danger.”
    “As do I.” Twin plumes of smoke rose from the female dragon’s nostrils. “More Nephilim?”
    “I cannot tell. The danger is too far away to be sure, or perhaps my nerves are still rattled from the fight.”
    “It is not nervousness that troubles me.” Thigocia sniffed the air and stepped on a huge blackened body lying in the midst of the grassy meadow. “The stench of this Naphil carcass is making me ill.”
    Makaidos tried to calm himself, but the strange beads of water sprinkling from the dark sky seemed to strum his tightened awareness. The prophets had predicted this “rain,” as they called it, yet knowing it was coming merely enhanced the anxiety it aroused. Black clouds boiled over the mountaintops and streamed above their lush, orchard-filled valley, adding even more gloom to the dismal skies. He breathed a stream of flames toward a nearby fig orchard, brightening the area for a brief moment. “Maybe I sense his brother lurking in the trees.”
    “I doubt it. I scorched his arm to the bone. He is likely running home to his demonic daddy.”
    Makaidos pawed the moistening soil. “Is the Oracle safe?”
    Thigocia unfurled her wing. A lanky old man with thin, frazzled white hair and a ragged beard tripped over her pinion and tumbled to the grass. The man rose to his feet and brushed dirt from his knee-length robe. “If I can avoid killing myself,” he said, “I should survive, at least until the deluge.”
    Makaidos nudged the dead giant’s body with his clawed fingers until it rolled faceup. The Naphil flopped its arm on the ground with a heavy thud. Makaidos pricked the arm with a spine on his tail. No reaction, not even a twitch from his massive, six-fingered hand.
    “Are you making sure he’s dead?” the Oracle asked.
    “Yes. I have never been able to kill any of the Nephilim before, so I thought they might be immortal. But when I saw dark mist streaming from this one’s mouth, I hoped his foul soul was being dragged to the abyss.”
    “I torched the other giant,” Thigocia said, “but it barely fazed him, and we both still feel an evil presence.” Keeping her wing over the old man’s balding scalp, she gazed into his eyes. “Can the Ovulum see beyond our senses? Is danger on the horizon?”
    The Oracle held up a shining orb, egg-shaped and about the size of a large pear. As it rested in his palm, scarlet halos emanated from its smooth, glassy surface, painting his withered face in their glow. The rings of color radiated all around the entire company, creating an umbrella of light. “A Watcher is lurking,” he said, “but the Ovulum cannot tell me how close he is.”
    He mopped his forehead with his sleeve and breathed out a long sigh. “The king chose well to have you two guard me. I had my doubts about the female’s experience, but she has certainly proven me wrong.”
    “We are both honored to serve the children of Adam. And you are right about Thigocia.” Makaidos swished his tail toward her. “My father believes she is the most promising young warrior in his kingdom.”
    Thigocia closed her eyes and bowed. “Praise the Maker,” she whispered.
    The old man sighed again. “Yes . . . promising.” He held out his hand, allowing a thin pool of water to gather in his palm. “Earthly promises are washing away, as are the lives of Adam’s progeny. Life itself fades like