Breathe (The Destiny Series: Book 1) by Christine Grey Read Free Book Online Page A

tone.
    Very well. But understand, Weapons Master, that I cannot tell you all, and before I begin, I will have your vow never to reveal what I say to you now, or no words will be spoken at all.
    Daniel mulled the imperious demand. I can live with that. On the condition, you understand, that if ever my king or my lord should demand of me this information, I will be duty bound to give it.
    Agreed, said the voice. I understand all too well the obligations of loyalty, but as they should never have reason to know this conversation ever occurred, I doubt that will be a problem.
    And as Daniel slipped deeper into his dream, the voice continued to speak…

Chapter 5
     
    When Dearra awoke early the next morning, she felt like she had not slept at all. She remembered a bizarre dream where a strange voice had been urging her to find something, an object, or something…it was all so confusing, it made her head spin. And then, for no reason at all, it just stopped. The voice had gone, but Dearra continued to run and search. She had woken exhausted, and with an odd ache in her right hand. She told herself it was just a dream and that it had meant nothing, really. Besides, with the Breken on their way, she had more important things to occupy her time than her dreams.
    Daniel woke to the same sense of sleep deprivation that Dearra experienced. Grim determination punctuated his movements as he dressed. When he was finished, he made his way to the sword that sat waiting for him in the weapons room. The dream, he knew now, was not a dream at all. It was a sleeping communication between himself and…well, let’s just say it was a being like none he had ever known in all his thirty-five years. While there were still many questions in his troubled mind, of one thing he was absolutely certain—the Sword of Cyrus now belonged to Dearra. The fact he had yet to hand the weapon over to her was irrelevant; it was hers. The physical transfer needed to take place as soon as possible, or the weapons master feared for his sanity. The voice was insistent, and it would not let another night pass where Dearra was not in possession of the sword.
    As Daniel neared the place where the box sat, his heart beat just a bit faster. Slowly, and with great care, he undid, first one latch, and then the other, holding the lid tightly sealed. His heart hammered in his chest as he peeled back the heavy, wooden lid. Anticipation of something to come ran like a current through him. He waited to hear the voice that had haunted his dreams, but there was nothing except the still silence of the room, and the beating of his own heart.
    Inside the box sat the Sword of Cyrus in pristine perfection, on a bed of silk. Though heavy clouds hung in the sky dampening the light, the sword still seemed to shimmer. This time there was no voice, no…nothing, just the sword, sitting as it had for hundreds of years, untouched and alone in its rough-hewn box of wood. Through the years, people had thought to place the sword in a more stately case, but it was believed safer where it was. It was hoped that any enemy who would make it past the Maj defenses would be unlikely to consider the box of any worth in their search for treasure, and pass it over for the more visible weapons around it, many of which were extremely valuable in their own right.
    The sword itself was a thing of tremendous beauty, but also an enigma. The people of Maj used steel blades, which were stronger than either bronze or iron. The steel was forged with the addition of charcoal during the smelting process, then quenched and tempered to strengthen the metal into a fine edged weapon, but the metal used to create the Sword of Cyrus was unknown to Daniel. The blade was slightly longer than those used by the Maj, with symbols etched, skillfully, all along the blade. When lifted and turned slowly in the light, the ancient runes seemed to glimmer subtly, as if diamond dust were imbued into the blade. The hilt of the sword