Ghosts Of Alfhaven (Book 2) Read Online Free

glowing fungi clung to the thorny dome, giving it the appearance of a starry night sky. To his left, something out of his vision was giving off a bright white glow that brightened most of the city.
    He stood in amazement, with his jaw slack as he took in the beauty of the city. The guard pulled at his arm.
    “Come on Sawain, you can go sight-seeing later. You have an appointment to keep.”
    The guard whistled at an approaching cart that was being drawn by the largest badger Sawain had ever seen. Its eyes glowed like the other animals around the forest and it had bony growths puncturing its pelt. He assumed this to be one of the animals affected by the forest's magic. The cart driver eyed the guard and Sawain cautiously as he drew up to them.
    “Where to, then?”
    The guard hung his lantern on a hook by the prison door and flipped the driver a coin, which was snatched from the air by the driver. He ushered Sawain into the cart as he talked to the elf driver.
    “To Arborhart, please. We're in a hurry too, if you don't mind.”
    The driver nodded and waited for the guard to climb into the cart. Once both passengers were aboard, the cart lurched forward and began racing down the twisting streets. Sawain watched the city rush by as he tried not to throw up the contents of his virtually empty stomach. The guard spoke to him as they moved along.
    “We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Ilias. Nice to meet you, Sawain. Thought you might want to know a thing or two about the city and the Triumvirate before you face the trial. First of all, be on your best behavior while at the Arborhart. It's a holy place to the people of Alfhaven. The people here worship their ancestors. Two simple rules in Alfhaven: respect the living, revere the dead. The Arborgard protect the city, while the Ancestral Guard protects the Arborhart.”
    “ Ancestral Guard?” Sawain asked.
    Ilias nodded, “Aye, spirits of fallen druids that were so closely bound to the forest that when their bodies were destroyed, their spirits remained and took on a sort of semi-corporeal state. Put simply: They're ghost soldiers. Hard to kill someone who's already dead.”
    Sawain scratched his chin, “But how can a spirit hurt anyone?”
    Ilias smiled, “Remember, I said they were semi-corporeal. They retain a portion of their druidic powers. What makes them visible to the living is a sort of body the spirit forms out of mist. The spirit can also turn that mist into a weapon that is sharper than any natural sword.”
    Sawain nodded, terrified at the thought of ghosts wielding mist swords. He swallowed the lump rising in his throat.
    “ What keeps them from killing everyone?”
    Ilias replied, “Sense of duty, lingering morality. That, and they are bound to the light of the Arborhart. That means they cannot stray from it, even if they wanted to.”
    Sawain nodded, feeling a little more comfortable about the Ancestral Guard.
    They turned a corner and the city opened up. From Sawain's vantage point, he could see a breathtaking sight. A spiraling tower of white wood rose from the ground to the top of the dome. Three smaller towers of the same elegant build rose around it, tapering off with pointed domes of woven branches. Each one was connected to the main tower by two suspended hallways of woven white vines. The weaves of vines opened at points, creating beautifully shaped windows covered by stained glass. Each window was adorned by a glass mosaic of an elvish hero or robed cleric. The towers were surrounded by a wall of white briars that rose twenty feet into the air and surrounded the entire complex.
    Sawain let his mouth hang open. The wood itself, both of the buildings and the briar wall, glowed with a pure white light. A light haze of mist surrounded the entire citadel, giving it a ghostly appearance. Ilias chuckled at Sawain's reaction to this sight.
    “ Welcome to the Arborhart, Sawain. The Triumvirate is inside, at the top of the central tower. Good luck in