Missing Magic by Karen Whiddon Read Free Book Online

flickering torches.
    She seemed to float ahead of them into the
passageway, calling over her shoulder, “Come with me.”
    “Where?” Dee looked at Cenrick.
    The Oracle answered for him. “We go deep into
the bowels of the earth. There, I keep the soulless ones. Come,
both of you, and see what has been done to our people.”
    Silent, they followed as she led them further
and further down. Around each jagged corner, torches flickered on
the walls and lit the way. The air became thinner and cooler the
deeper they descended.
    Finally, the Oracle stopped. “They are here.”
She waved her arm, the white fabric glistening as her ruby eyes
glowed. “Here, where magic once coalesced. They gather around the
Pool of Dreamers, hoping the power of the waters will restore
them.”
    Her words gave him hope. “Have they begun to
heal?” “No.” Though her voice rang with authority, sorrow threaded
needle-sharp through her tone. “Look for yourself.” She stepped
aside, her brilliance going ashen as she appeared to blend with the
stone walls.
    Even though Mort had warned him, Cenrick was
shocked when he saw his people. The Soulless ones , the
Oracle had called them, and he saw exactly what that meant.
    They milled about aimlessly, like beautiful
cattle. Nothing of their spirit peered out from behind dull eyes.
Even the murky water of the underground pool sparkled far more
brightly.
    Worse, the malaise had rotted more than their
bodies. With horror, he saw that their auras, which should have
been shining with the brilliance of copper and gold, were black and
interspersed with soot.
    Ruined. Horribly, awfully damaged.
    His people. His family. His friends. Though
he didn't know all of them intimately, in Rune all were
connected.
    How many friends does Mick have?” Dee
sounded shocked.
    It took Cenrick a moment to understand her
meaning. “Not that kind of friend.”
    “Still, Mick knew all these…” she waved her
hand in front of her.
    “Nay.” The Oracle’s voice echoed. “This
sickness began with those closest to Talmick. Since then, the
disease has spread. There are men and women, those that prefer
their own sex and those who desire the opposite. The only
similarity is that they are all Fae.”
    Dee persisted. “Have they all lived in my
world? Or did some of them become infected here in Rune?”
    The Oracle’s eyes glowed softly, telling
Cenrick she understood why Dee questioned. It was Dee’s nature as a
police officer to get all the facts.
    “They were all in your realm.”
    Again Dee glanced around the room. “Really?
Then how many Fae would you estimate live undetected among
humans?”
    “The number is unknown.”
    “Can you guess?”
    Cenrick stepped in. “I would say
thousands.”
    Dee nodded. “Then how many Fae live here in
Rune?”
    “No one knows.”
    “You don’t count? Do any sort of census?”
    “No.”
    When Dee opened her mouth for another
question, the Oracle lifted her hand. “Enough. Prince Cenrick, look
at your people.”
    “Prince?” Dee stared. “Did you forget to tell
me something?”
    He gave a half shrug. “Does my social
standing matter?”
    The puzzled look she gave him answered for
her. “You’re the strangest man – er, Faerie – I’ve ever met. You’d
better go, Prince Cenrick , and see your people.”
    Throat tight, Cenrick moved among them,
touching a man’s shoulder. Realizing, with shock that this, this
hollow shell was all that remained of a man named Galyeon, whom
Cenrick remembered from his youth. He had been a cheerful sort,
always ready with a joke or a laugh. Now, empty eyes peered out
from a gaunt face.
    A great sorrow filled him. “Do they ever
speak?”
    “Not at all.” He heard echoes of his own
emotion in the Oracle’s rich voice. “I do not believe they can. If
they could, I would ask them who has done this to them, and
how.”
    Galyeon shuffled away from him and rage
pushed away Cenrick’s sorrow. “I will stop this,” he vowed. “No
matter