The Sorceress Read Online Free Page B

thieves quickly slithered and burrowed deep beneath the soot to hide.
    Like Eris, the other depraved souls had been exiled to the Dark Realm, a holding place for wicked spirits. Though shamelessly immoral, none were as evil as Eris. Or as gifted. Not one corrupt spirit dared go up against the powerful, fallen goddess.
    Those who’d been cast to this smoky abyss for crimes that did not include thievery assumed they were free to continue snarling, biting, scratching, and screaming obscenities at each other.
    â€œSilence!” Eris shouted and shined her cobalt-colored eyes at the bawdy offenders. Arms flew up to shield eyes sensitive to light. A hush fell over the macabre assemblage of evil. Fear of her superior powers kept the malevolent spirits obedient to her every command. Eris ruled the Dark Realm, but found no joy in her prominent stature.
    Satisfied that she’d frightened the ghoulish horde into silent submission, Eris closed her eyes and knit her brows in concentration. Something—someone had been blocking her third-eye vision for quite awhile.
Xavier!
    Xavier was a masterful being. And malicious enough to block Eris’s vision just to be spiteful. He was enjoying his life as the offspring of a political couple and was busy planning revenge on his parents, who had betrayed him in a previous life.
    The last time Xavier had even bothered to communicate with Eris, he had casually mentioned something about working on building a bridge between their worlds.
Rubbish!
What a prankster. He clearly held a grudge against Eris and did not intend to help liberate her from the deplorable prison she dwelled in.
    She’d been sending images of her plight to her sister, the goddess Tara, appealing to the goddess’s well-known sense of compassion. Her mealy-mouthed sibling didn’t have the guts to confront the goddess council and insist that Eris be given a pardon.
    The council was too busy wringing their hands and fretting over the failed health of the goddess Kali to be concerned about Eris’s predicament. Eris couldn’t rely on anyone except herself.
    And now, after catching that little jewel thief wearing her goods, she was more determined than ever to break free.
    It seemed like years since she’d last set her sight on the Stovalls. And judging by the offspring’s size, several years had indeed transpired.But now that she’d finally managed to once again penetrate the barrier between earth and the Dark Realm, Eris was more determined than ever to maintain a watchful eye on the roguish child and her despicable parents. She’d deal with them more intimately once she was liberated from these accursed environs.
    The goddess Kali had cast her here, but her interference had come at a great expense to her. It was easy for Eris to fix her sight on the Goddess Realm. Perhaps that link was easier, being that it was her homeland. Who knew? Who cared? She hardly ever bothered to direct her gaze to the Goddess Realm. They were all so smug and pleased with themselves, she found them utterly boring.
    She looked in from time to time to snicker at the so-called mighty warrior, Kali. It looked as though Kali’s warring days were over. She lay encased inside a chamber that had the purpose of a coffin. Yet, no one would declare the meddlesome goddess, Kali, dead. The goddess council claimed she was merely resting.
Ha!
Kali had outdone herself by imposing herself in a battle that did not concern her.
    Now she lay in endless slumber; depleted of her strength and most of her life force. With Kali quarantined, Eris could wreak all sorts of hellish havoc on earth. If only she could figure a way to break free.
    If she couldn’t do it on her own and if Xavier continued to ignore her pleas for help, she’d work her mind craft on her sister. Tara’s compassion was foolish and ill-spent. Whoever heard of a goddess giving sexual pleasure to a hermaphrodite attendant?
    Eris was disgusted when her