The Curse of Deadman's Forest Read Online Free

Goodwyn. Their schoolmaster had helped translate the prophecy with their friend, the ancient Greek expert Professor Nutley. “I think the part we should be mostconcerned about are those lines that say a serpent will enter the keep and attempt to kill two of us.”
    For the past several months, especially since the weather had turned warm again, Ian, Carl, and the keep’s groundskeeper, Landis, had conducted regular inspections of the grounds, looking for any snakes that could present even a remote threat to the keep. But their searches had been futile, as they’d done little more than turn up a harmless garden snake or two. “I’d wager it’s an adder,” said Carl smartly, pointing to the line mentioning the serpent. “They’re quite poisonous, you know.”
    But Ian wasn’t as certain. He knew about adders, but they were reputed to be shy of humans, and he’d never heard of one biting more than one person at a time. He also knew from the book he’d read on native reptiles of Britain that the adder’s venom was typically not poisonous enough to kill a person. The more common reaction was swelling and discomfort around the bite mark.
    Ian had the distinct feeling that Laodamia meant something far more deadly would enter the keep during the height of the summer, but he felt he would not know what that was until they all encountered it.
    That was why he was so intent on discovering how the sundial worked. He believed that if he could simply unlock its secret, he might be able to bypass all that nasty serpent business.
    Still, it appeared that there were far greater dangers in store for him even after the serpent appeared. A terrible curse and an old crone awaited them through the portal.Laodamia’s prophecy suggested that Ian had met this old crone before, but he could not remember ever meeting anyone who fit her description.
    As Ian continued to gaze down at the prophecy, he realized that Carl was still reading over his shoulder, and when Ian caught his friend’s eye, Carl blushed slightly. “Sorry,” he said, stepping back with a sigh. “I’m afraid I can’t make sense of any of it. Serpents, fevers, curses, crones, and this bit: ‘Loam of ground no longer tamed.’ … What does that even
mean?”
    Ian had a theory, but he’d not had the courage to voice it until Carl asked. “I think she’s talking about Lachestia,” he whispered.
    Carl stared at him with wide unblinking eyes, and the quiet of the tower room seemed to settle about them eerily. “You think she’s talking about Magus’s sister?” he said in a hushed tone.
    Ian nodded. “She’s the sorceress of earth, remember?”
    “Oh, I remember, mate. I also remember the professor telling us she’s the most dangerous of that awful lot. But I thought he told us she’d been killed three thousand years ago.”
    Professor Nutley had managed to uproot a few legends about the four sorcerers of the terrible underworld god, Demogorgon. Magus and Caphiera they’d already had the great displeasure of meeting, but the other two, Atroposa and Lachestia, remained a bit of a mystery. Atroposa was the sorceress of air, and she appeared to be the least terrible of thefour demigod siblings. But Lachestia was said to be the most deadly creature that had ever roamed the ancient world. Legend suggested her capable of causing destruction on a massive scale. But a story that had emerged from a forgotten reference text in the professor’s library suggested that after destroying a series of villages in eastern Europe, Lachestia had vanished into the heart of a cursed forest and was never seen again.
    It was widely accepted that the sorceress had perished, but Ian felt strongly that the legend was wrong. He had a deep nagging suspicion that Lachestia was merely lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to rain down havoc again, and as the newspapers were widely reporting the increasing tensions of Europe these days, Ian was filled with dread that her reemergence