Into The Dark Flame (Book 4) by Martin Ash Read Free Book Online Page B

weapon with lusty righteousness, that all will fall down before you and worship the ground you walk upon, and maidens will line up beside your bed at night.'
       'Hellia, that is enough,' scolded Urch-Malmain.
       Hellia turned back to stare into the flames.
       'She means no offence, Swordbearer,' Urch-Malmain said.
       'She appears not to like me,' said Leth as they passed from the chamber, 'or at least to harbour distaste for what she imagines I stand for.'
       'I will enlighten you in due course.'
       From the hallway outside they descended via a flight of curving stairs set against the wall - from its concave form Leth judged it to be the outer wall of Urch-Malmain's tower. Leth breathed deeply, thoughts swimming in a slow fog.
       Urch-Malmain! The name came back to him now, out of his inner murk. He stared at the bent back of the man preceding him, the clumsy lurching gait, deformed arm stiffly swinging. 
       'You are the Noeticist, the manipulator of memories.'
       Urch-Malmain spoke back over his shoulder. 'Is that how I am called these days? Ah well, it could be worse. Be patient, Swordbearer. All will be explained.'
       They passed along a short corridor where two of the black-armoured, pallid-skinned warriors played cards at a table. The two turned their faces away as Leth and Urch-Malmain approached, and Leth noticed that Urch-Malmain gave them a wide berth. They continued to descend. At length Urch-Malmain paused before a stout portal of solid timber plank. From within his gown he withdrew a large iron key on a chain which hung around his neck. With this he opened the portal, took a lamp from a nearby shelf and lit it from a torch set upon a sconce. He beckoned Leth through, locking the portal behind him when he had entered. He gave Leth a quick smile and continued along a short passage to another similar door. A second key opened this, and they passed through into a large chamber filled with nameless apparatus.
       'Now,' he said, a little breathlessly, and indicated a bench, 'the secrets.' He passed around the chamber, lighting torches from his lamp. The chamber was without windows, and Leth suspected that they were in fact underground.
       'I have been long ages here,' said Urch-Malmain presently, lowering himself onto another bench some distance from Leth. 'Long, long ages. It has not been an easy time, for I do not belong in this world. I found myself here as a result of scheming duplicity and, with the exception of my sweet Hellia, have discovered little to comfort me here. It is a hollow place, joyless and miserable. Worse, many of the privileges of my nature I am deprived of here. So I think it can be truthfully said that we share a common goal, you and I.'
       'And what is that?'
       'To return to our own world. That is the end to which I have devoted myself almost exclusively since first finding myself here. That is the primary purpose of this bizarre apparatus that you see arrayed before you.' He gestured towards the machinery. 'It is a most delicate assemblage. I have laboured long in its construction, and in the process have incurred more liabilities and obligations than I care to recall. It is in large part a living artefact, composed of essences and sentient and semi-sentient agents and entities drawn from numerous dimensions, worlds and time-flows beyond this and beyond our own.'
       'Indeed, it’s impressive,' commented Leth drily.
       Urch-Malmain gave a nod. 'Its function is to forge a portal, opening a way between this world and our own, thus permitting me to escape this damnable existence. In my own land, with my fullest powers intact, the construction of such an artefact requires no especial effort, nor the expenditure of unreasonable amounts of time. Certainly it does not demand the construction of a monstrosity such as this. But here physical and metaphysical laws are not harmoniously aligned with those of our own domain. This has made the work arduous and