Crown of Steel (Chaos Awakens) by Heath Pfaff Read Free Book Online

away. 'I'm not afraid of you.' I told it, trying to hide the fear that I was most certainly feeling. It was impossible not to see this thing that was me, but clearly wasn't, and not feel some shade of fear. 'Not afraid of you.' It parroted in a voice that was nothing like mine. If a man was drowned and resurrected after a hundred years, it may have spoken with a voice like the one this thing possessed. It gurgled and groaned, clearly articulate, but awful and inhuman. I wanted to yell at it, to scream and make it flee, but I was afraid that it would mimic me again and its voice was terrifying. The thing smiled, revealing terrible black teeth. This was the rotted mouth of a drowned corpse, a horror to go with the voice. It was me on the outside, but inside it was all rot and corruption. 'I'm not afraid.' It spoke again, reaching a hand out and placing it against the barrier. Was it simply parroting again, or was it telling me that it wasn't afraid of me?
    "My magic flared to life attempting to dissipate the threat, and the things hand burst apart like a barrel that has been too tightly sealed with fermenting beer. Black decay splattered away from it but the thing, whatever it was, hardly seemed bothered. It charged forward. The barrier took the blow, but I watched as my own visage tore apart explosively and splattered all through the woods in a horrifying mockery of my own death. There was no power in the barrier that should have caused such a violent reaction, but the spray of blood, bone, and all too familiar bits of tattered skin was beyond denial. Seeing oneself completely destroyed is an experience that really staggers the mind. I knew that thing hadn't actually been me, or anything like me, but it had looked like me. It triggered a primal fear, and I'm ashamed to say that I dropped my barrier and ran without clear direction. I was already exhausted, but the flood of terror that washed over me was more than enough to propel me onward. I was moving so quickly I couldn't even see the forest in front of me through the mist and darkness. I slammed face first into one of those wood-headed monstrosities and knocked myself to the ground.
    "I was still trying to gather what was left of my wits and figure out exactly what I'd hit when it reached down and grabbed me with its branch arms and twig fingers. I let out a scream and tried to break away, but the thing was far stronger than I could have imagined. Its wooden fingers seemed to twine around my wrists as though it were growing itself into a cuff from which I couldn't claw my way free. If you've ever tried to rip the bark from a branch with your bare fingers, you'll know it's a difficult task. Then once you're through the bark itself, the branch beneath simply can't be penetrated. I tore my nails ragged trying, but the hollow-headed thing just twitched its empty skull, sending that bass drum beat signal off through the woods. Then it began to drag me away. Steel would have been less restrictive than its grip.
    “I tried to get to my feet a few times, but each time I'd get as far as my knees the wretched thing would yank hard on my arm and I’d be thrown back to the ground. It moved onward quickly, faster than I would have thought it could possibly carry itself on those stiff wooden legs. It seemed to have a destination in mind. I struggled as long as my strength would hold, certain that I was at the end of my existence. I'm not certain how long it dragged me, but by the end of the experience I had long since given up fighting. I simply had nothing left to give the effort. I couldn't cast a barrier while being dragged, and I am ashamed to say I had never learned offensive spells. Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I simply have no ability for offensive spells. I can't cast them at all. I'd never felt quite so helpless.
    "After what felt like hours I found myself being hauled up the side of the hill with the giant stone on top. I don't believe that distances or