By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,15

balled her fists.

One day I will kill you. Then we will see which one of us is truly alone.

His hollow voice still echoed in her mind.

“Commander Jalarn,” began Ittonifer in a loud voice, “you have proven to be my most worthy commander. You cleverly gained King Seraphim’s trust, took all of his wealth, and now you have fully submitted yourself to the prince.”

Talya gritted her teeth. She wanted to drive her blade right through Jalarn. He had killed Cardamon’s king – her king!

Her gut knotted at the thought of him entering into eternity after denying God.

Then again, what about me? I haven’t stepped foot inside a church for years, let alone prayed. What if I had died back in the forest?

Ittonifer tapped the flat part of his sword on his nephew’s left shoulder.

Then, Jalarn stood.

“Malinor, behold your General. My left-hand man!”

The auditorium roared with thunderous applause and loud cheers.

Several ladies threw flowers and jewelry onto the field. Ittonifer’s guards gathered up the items.

A line of cloaked men entered the stadium and bowed once they reached Ittonifer.

Once again, the people stilled and silence settled in.

“They’re sorcerers,” whispered Edandir.

Talya rolled her eyes.

What kind of a ruler would be naive enough to believe that magic is real? I thought Ittonifer was clever.

“Aterun, high priest of Malinor, please step forward,” said Ittonifer.

A shriveled elderly man stepped out from the line of warlocks and hobbled over to the ruler. He knelt.

“Citizens of Malinor,” said Ittonifer, “I bring you our lord’s devoted servants. Through their devotion to the dark arts, we will conquer Sanctus! We will send thousands to their deaths by our lord’s power. He will give us what is rightfully ours!”

The crowd cheered.

“Aterun will lead us all in a chant. Together, we will curse the rebel nation and their warriors. Their destruction will begin today.”

Edandir turned to Talya and leaned close.

“Guard your heart, Talya. Pray,” he said.

“Why?”

She couldn’t remember her father ever talking about prayer. Sure, Sanctus was a God-serving nation, but a lot of the military people didn’t really practice it. He had apparently changed a lot since she moved to Cardamon.

“This is a matter of life and death, Talya. Trust me. Pray.”

The strange music started to play again. A chill ran down Talya’s spine.

Life and death. What is he talking about?

On her other side, Tanel shifted in his seat.

“We shouldn’t be here,” he said.

Maybe there was more to this magic stuff than she had thought.

“But magic isn’t real, right?” Talya whispered, feeling childish.

“Magic is just a fancy word for devil worship. It is powerless against God, but it can deceive and conquer humans,” said Tanel.

“Well, then. I guess we had better pray,” said Talya.

His eyes bore into hers for a moment before he closed them.

Talya started to cover her ears as she tried to focus on saying something to God, but the music was… beautiful.

The sorcerers began to chant in perfect harmony to the song.

Beyond the music, beyond the noise, Talya thought she heard a thick, soothing voice whispering to her. She moved her hands away from her ears.

“Talya…”

She shook her head, but it had already permeated her mind.

“You want this. You know you do. I’ve been watching you, and I know what it is that you seek. Your so-called God has failed you. His people have held you back. I will make you more powerful than you could ever dream. I can give it all to you. Just submit your life to me.”

Talya trembled. It was the dark lord. She knew it. But she liked what he had promised, even though it was wrong. She had ignored God for years, but she could never follow the devil. Not for any reason.

Talya clenched her jaw.

No!

Chapter Five

Jalarn lost himself in the melody of the seductive song. As he chanted along with the warlocks, a warm sensation crawled up his back. He willed it to permeate deep into his soul, as it had in the sorcerer’s lair.

Jalarn felt energized by the dark presence encircling him, but he wanted so much more.

A faint mist formed in front of Aterun and grew into a thick cloud that spread across the coliseum’s field.

Images formed inside. Powerful, winged demons danced and jumped in the fog. Some of them rode on skeletal unicorns. The supernatural riders joined a great marching army – Malinor’s army.

It is showing us the future.

The warlocks ceased their chanting and the fog vanished.

Malinor’s citizens sat in awestruck silence. No one had ever seen anything like it.

“Men of Malinor,” Ittonifer said. “Through our prince’s guidance, Aterun