Lor Mandela - Destruction from Twins by L Carroll Read Free Book Online Page A

to your daughter,”
it advised. “You must go to Gracielle.”
    “Gracielle?” she asked.
She couldn’t imagine what she had to do with any of this.
    “Yes, Gracielle,” the voice of the soul
replied. “Go to her quickly. Once you are with her, call on me, and
I will show you both what can be done. There’s not much time,
Vritesse. Every moment is crucial. The process must be initiated
immediately.”
    “Of course.” She bowed reverently.
    Suddenly, another voice echoed through the
Caverns. “Vritesse! Vritesse, are you here?” It was General Kort,
and he sounded frantic.
    There was a rapid swoosh as the spirit of
Lor Mandela retreated back down through the center of the
Caverns.
    Lantalia quickly tried to pull herself
together. “Kort? I’m up here!” She stood, blotted her cheeks with
the back of her hand, and brushed the dust from her knees.
    Kort appeared at the bottom of the path,
visibly agitated. Vritesse! Come quick! Hurry! It’s Anika!”
     
     

CHAPTER V
THE ADVANTIERE
     
    L antalia didn’t wait for an explanation. The details didn’t
matter. Anything that was happening with Anika right now was
certainly not good. She rushed to Kort and the two of them took off
at a full run back toward the palace.
    Once they reached the gate, Kort tried to
explain. “Ultara is with her . . . she just fell and started
thrashing around. We couldn’t get her to stop! And . . .” His eyes
grew wide as he added, “She’s totally black now!”
    Lantalia touched Kort on the shoulder and
nodded. She hurried off ahead of him toward Anika’s room.
    Ultara met her at the door. “Vritesse!” she
blurted, “she’s gone!”
    “Wh . . . what do you mean? She’s dead?”
Lantalia tried to remain calm despite the panic twisting inside of
her.
    “No, Vritesse,” Ultara explained, “she just
vanished. She was jerking and convulsing for almost an hour. A few
minutes ago she stopped. I thought she was coming out of it, but
then she whispered something about Gracielle and disappeared.”
    “Oh no!” Lantalia gasped. “She knows!”
    Without further explanation, Lantalia dashed
down the hall and out of the palace. She ran through the doors and
while in a full sprint shouted, “Mandela Palace!”
    In a flash of blue, she vanished and
reappeared again outside a sprawling cluster of grandiose white
buildings, in the center of a large courtyard. She ran past rich
emerald hedges and up a large stone staircase. As she approached
the top, she waved her arm, and the set of tall etched glass doors
leading into the palace foyer bolted open.
    “Gracielle!” she shouted
feverishly, “Graaaciiieelle!” She sped through the elegant foyer, which was
surrounded by stories-high stained glass and marble, and into one
of the many tan hallways leading from it. The usually bustling
palace was oddly silent. “Gracielle!” she shouted again as
she maneuvered through the corridor.
    Suddenly, there was a
loud bang and a
lot of commotion at the end of the hallway. Without hesitation, she
flung her arm skyward, and one of the doors a few feet away blasted
open. A thick, pewter fog billowed ominously through the open
door.
    The same strange voice that had possessed
Anika in her room before oozed out from the fog. “Please,
Gracielle. We need your help.” The voice was eerie and hypnotic.
“Just take our hand.”
    “No! Don’t!” Lantalia burst into the
room. She was completely enveloped in a bright magenta
light.
    Gracielle was sitting on the floor in a
cloud of black mist, held in a trance by Anika, who looked like
nothing more than a black, three-dimensional shadow. She was
standing above Gracielle—her scraggly black hair floating all
around her head—with her hand outstretched to her niece.
    A dazed Gracielle reached forward.
    “No, Graci . . . don’t!” Lantalia pleaded.
Gracielle didn’t respond.
    Lantalia lowered her head and closed her
glowing eyes.
    The shadowy Anika sneered and growled and
all at once, gasped