Martyr (The Martyr Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

about worlds.  Worlds are like this –
disparate strands that are not supposed to cross.  But rarely, there is a
crossing, an exchange in the substance of reality itself.
     
    Silence…a
blank stare…
     
    This
is what must have occurred.  Tal-Makai is dead in this world.  But there has
been an intersection of worlds.  The Tal-Makai of that other world has come to
us.  There is no reason for it.  It was not anticipated, much less planned. 
Let’s just say the Deity has made a mistake.  The only question is, what do we
do about it?
     
    “I
thought it would be over when I killed him.  Even without this, his death has
only served to increase his legacy.  ‘Martyr’, they call him.  Like it’s a
badge of honor!  He died, I prevailed, and somehow he is the victor!  Smirking
at me from beyond the grave.  Gods!  What should I do?”
     
    Tell
me what you see as the options.
     
    “I
could reveal him to the resistance.  Use him to demand their surrender.”
     
    But
to show what would seem to them a living Tal-Makai…to their simple minds it
would seem a resurrection from the dead.  It wouldn’t matter if you killed him
again, the fools would find hope in it; they would wait forever for another
resurrection, fighting all the while.
     
    “Indeed. 
Then it would be no better to stage a public execution.  There can be no
advantage to retaining him alive.  Here is the situation as I see it: the Deity
has made a mistake.  It falls to me to correct it.”
     
    Like
lichen creeping over a stone, it dawned on me that I was the object of
consideration.  I took action.  Grabbing my companion (I would have to remember
to ask his name when time was not such a key factor), I ran back into the
previous chamber, and dived behind one of the larger couches.  I heard the fall
of heavy feet behind us, but he didn’t seem to have detected our presence.  I
could see his black boots as he passed beyond our chosen hiding spot, and my
eyes panned to his face.  It was only the briefest of glimpses, but there was
little doubt.  The voice, the smug look….it was Maitland.  He headed for the
door to the dungeon.  A dungeon he would soon be finding disappointingly empty.
     
    “We
need to run.”
     
    As
soon as we heard the door clamp shut behind him, I edged toward the door at one
end of the hallway we first emerged into.  I tried it, and found it unlocked. 
As I pushed it open I encountered some resistance, and discovered why; Maaike
was standing on the other side.  Clearly relieved, she said, “Oh, thank
Chaer-Ul!  Come on!”   There was another hallway leading to the right, and a
high-ceilinged room with big bay windows to the left.  That was the way we
took.  I could see some leafless treetops from the windows, and I drew closer. 
I was able to see a portion of the building we were in.  Not a castle or
fortress, it had paned glass windows and a peaked slate roof.  The structure
itself was constructed of stone.  In the front I could make out fragments of
asphalt amidst the yellow-brown grass that could have been the remains of an
old driveway.  It looked like the private mansion once belonging to someone of
means, long since neglected.  Two guards wearing what looked like mechanics’
jumpsuits conferred near a broken stone wall about fifty paces south of the
building.  They appeared to have swords at their belts.
     
    Maaike
took my hand, leading us through another door to the top of a carpeted
staircase.  Without a sound, she reached a hand behind her to stay us, and we
watched as another guard paced slowly to the right on the floor below.  We
waited until he passed out of view, and a few seconds longer, then Maaike said,
“Let’s go.”  We descended the stairs with a few quick steps, turned to the
left, and started toward a windowed door.  Before we had gone more than a few
paces, we heard a shout from above.  Turning, we saw the guard we had so
cleverly evaded emerge from around a