Game Play by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

travelers, did not speak a word. He merely worked his pole, turning the
raft toward the opposite shore. He paused a moment, then dug the pole into the
river mud and pushed. Slow to gain momentum, the raft moved a few more feet
away from the shore.
    "Wait!"
Vailret hurried to jump onto the raft. The lashed logs swayed as he gained his
balance. Delrael leaped over to join him. Bryl hesitated at the edge of the
River, then jumped across.
    Enrod's raft moved
with greater speed, rocking as the Sentinel worked his pole. They drew away
from the shore, then mist closed around them in a damp cocoon.
    The mist muffled
even the noise from the River, and all other sounds fell away. The line of
trees on the shore faded into murky skeletal shapes, then vanished altogether.
    The hush around
them made Vailret afraid to talk, but Bryl finally whispered, "I can't see
where we're going. How do we know we're making any progress at all?"
    Enrod gave no sign
that he even realized the passengers had joined him on the raft. The dirty
sleeves of his robe flopped around his wrists as he raised the pole, dripping
water and river mud, then pushed down again.
    "What if he
wants to keep us here?" Bryl whispered again. The half-Sorcerer's eyes
were wide, and he hunched down into his cloak, as if trying to hide.
"We're the ones who created the River. We're the ones he was coming to
blast with the Fire Stone. I don't see the Deathspirits here to protect us ― what if their curse isn't strong enough?"
    Vailret had no
answers for him, but Bryl's fear struck home. After another moment in silence,
Delrael said, "Shut up, Bryl. Thanks for pointing that out to him."
    Enrod gave no sign
that he had heard.
    Vailret stared at
the cursed Sentinel. Enrod's eyes were red and unfocused, possessed. He had
been driven into madness somehow, he had wanted to blast all the hexagons into
blackened cinders. Did he know that his imagined enemies stood directly beside
him? Did he know that Bryl carried his Fire Stone no more than two steps
away?
    "Enrod? Enrod,
can you hear me?" Vailret stood beside him, but the Sentinel did not
flinch.
    "I've heard
many legends about you. I know what you attempted to do for Taire. You remained
behind from the Transition to help rebuild the blasted lands. You wanted to
atone for all the damage done in the old Sorcerer Wars."
    Enrod fixed his
eyes at the blank wall of mist in front of him. He lifted his arms and pushed
down on the pole.
    "Enrod,"
Vailret continued, "we know the Outsiders put something in the east, a
monster called Scartaris who's going to destroy Gamearth. Can you tell us
anything about him?"
    The dark-haired
Sentinel seemed to be in a world of his own. He moved jerkily. His eyes did not
blink.
    "Enrod, please
help us!"
    Enrod lifted his
pole out of the water.
    "The whole
Game is at stake!" Vailret clutched at the Sentinel's tattered white
sleeve, trying to yank his attention away from the raft.
    In a lightning blur
of speed, Enrod snapped backward with his right foot, scooped it behind
Vailret's legs. He slashed with the mud-dripping pole and jabbed with his
elbow.
    Vailret tumbled,
sprawling to the deck of the raft. He skidded and grabbed at the pitch-covered
logs to keep from falling into the water.
    In a fluid motion,
Enrod composed himself again, thrust his pole back into the River, and pushed
on.
    It all happened so
fast that Delrael could do little more than bend over to catch his cousin. Bryl
blinked in astonishment.
    Enrod acted as if
nothing had happened at all.
    Vailret coughed and
tried to catch his breath, opening and closing his mouth. Then he climbed back
to his feet, brushing himself off. He said nothing, but continued to watch
Enrod out of the corner of his eye....
    Before long, shapes
appeared in the mist ahead of them, the dark silhouettes of trees from the far
shore. Vailret squinted as they approached closer until the fog around the raft
broke open, letting him see the hex-line of the shore.
    Enrod moved