Dawn of the Aspects: Part II by Richard A. Knaak Read Free Book Online Page A

Kalec demanded of the unseen relic. He did not expect an answer, of course. He expected only more questions, only more mysteries. Only more madness.
    The calm, almost detached attitude that he had developed while part of the past had once again vanished with his return to the present. Now all the stresses struck Kalec so hard that he abruptly drove his fist into a nearby rock wall. Had he not also instinctively shielded that fist, it would have been his bones, rather than the wall, that cracked. As it was, the shattering rock still splattered him in the face, making the former Aspect step back in surprise.
    And only then did he see the footprints in the hard soil.
    A hundred thousand beasts and a fair number of sentient beings had no doubt traveled through this canyon during the vast length of time since Kalec’s previous sojourn, and these prints could have belonged to any of those, but once more, Kalec knew that these were not random footprints. The first ones were those of some fairly giant creature of a reptilian appearance: a proto-dragon. They came from the same direction from which Malygos had come in those last moments before Kalec had been thrust back to his own time and form. He even recognized places where the proto-dragon had paused before the barely seen flowing shape had fallen upon them.
    Thinking about that other figure, the former Aspect turned his attention to another set of prints a little behind those he was certain were Malygos’s. Smaller prints. The prints of a booted or sandaled two-legged form such as an elf or a human.
    It brought to mind the cloaked and hooded shape that Kalec had caught a brief view of more than once, a being somehow tied to the artifact.
    As the blue studied the footprints, he noticed that they went on beyond those of Malygos. Despite the ages, Kalec found it easy to follow them for as far as he could see. They continued on to the south, each step seemingly seared into the rock just for his benefit.
    With a bit of trepidation but even more determination to find some answers, Kalec traced the footprints. They quickly moved beyond those marking where Malygos had stood. Kalec wondered what had happened at that point. Had the proto-dragon turned? Had he discovered whatever it was Kalec now headed toward?
    That he was still concerned for what had happened so long ago frustrated Kalec. All that should have mattered was to find some escape from the artifact’s incessant intrusions into his mind before it destroyed his already wavering sanity.
    Kalec did not know why he had transformed into his current shape, but at the moment, he found it comforting despite having to climb over several parts of the rocky path. He had spent so much of his recent past in his humanoid guise, especially when he was with Anveena or, of late, when dealing with Jaina. Once, when he had known Alexstrasza’s legendary consort, Korialstrasz, Kalec had wondered why the crimson male had spent so much time in a humanoid form, pretending to be the wizard Krasus. Now Kalec no longer questioned that preference.
    The path led into a shadowed region that reminded him that much of the area through which he had tracked had also once been shielded from the sun. Yet, despite the obvious upheaval needed to bring down so much rock, either the prints had remained uncovered, or someone had taken time to clear the rubble away.
    Before he could follow that line of thought, the trail turned toward the rock face to his left. Kalec frowned, then saw a narrow cut in the rock, an opening just wide enough for him to slip into in his present form.
    For some reason, he did not think that a coincidence.
    The slit proved even narrower than Kalec first calculated, forcing him to wriggle to get through. The darkness within stirred uncomfortable memories of the utter blackness that overcame him almost every time he slipped from reality to the visions and back again. Kalec shivered but pressed a few steps deeper before finally