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His grin evaporated as hefro revealed in a treod It may take decades, it may be that I will have you father sons on my puppet queen so they can continue the work But in tione, and I can finally move on”

He stepped closer still, voice dropped to a whisper “The grey stones were the foundations of our greatness, receptacles of hts across vast distances With thee of peace and wisdoht it another blessing Oh the gifts it gave, my wife the power to heal, her brother the ability to pierce the ifts, but not for me For me it had a curse Do you knohat it is to live in a world of harreed, and possess true power? The power to cole touch, the power to force abetter, soift, per it froain a gift, twice and you lose your soul

“So, year after year, decade after decade, I resisted ht, I spread wisdoift And es without the wit to even write their own naine themselves above nature What loyalty did I owe it now? Why not take what I had been denied?

“His name is lost to me, but he was the first to touch the black stone, the first to receive a gift A h there were occasions when he would de volunteers frozen for hours at a tiht think But I saw it for what it was, a barrier, the counter to the power I had been gifted

“In tian to contemplate the trials ahead, it was a small matter to persuade him to a final adventure, a second touch to the stone which would spare hiered in his blood

“I didn’t know, of course I didn’t realise what I would be unleashing We touched so, you see When we reached into the Black Stone We touched so beyond this world Another place, a place where what you call the Dark holds supre such a powerful soul touch the stone, I pierced the veil between the worlds and let it loose in ours, spreading out through all the world like a plague, latching onto a few souls, seeping into their blood so every generation would birtha snare for their souls For we hadthem a place to reside, we had created the soul We had created life beyond death It’s them that hold me in the Beyond Their power sustains me, feeds me, keeps me chained in that eternal prison I tried so hard not to, but even there, in a place without for save the endless cold, even there the instinct to feed is irresistible, and if there are none left here, there will be nothing h off this flesh”

He e returned to its previous blandness “In all honesty I wasn’t at all sure I could twist you toin malice to make suitable tools But then I saw you hack the head froenerous” He raised a hand and reached towards Vaelin’s forehead “I’ll od too, if you like”

The hand stopped, barely an inch froarded the fist clarew,” Frentis told him

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Frentis

The Ally slammed his free hand onto Frentis’s fist, his face contorted, the flesh turned red as he no doubt sought to suift Frentis slapped the hand away and pushed hi him to his knees

“They are forever bound to ures all around “Whilst I live in this world they are mine Only the death of this flesh will free the to the open door at the north end of the arena in expectation

“So that’s why Revek hung on to his shell for so long” The Ally gave a grating cackle “Taking another would have left hiave you his blood to free you as he had freed himself” His ht with baleful promise “You shouldn’t have revealed this little secret, boy All you have done is ensure the death of any forh it ine time is any barrier to me? The centuries I endured in the Beyond”

Frentis cuffed hih to leave the Ally stunned and barely conscious “You seeod”

“Beloved”

She stood next to the ape’s body, red froain, the rents torn into her chest sealed and saze was the sa the healer?” she asked