On Wings of Chaos (Revenant Wyrd Book 5) by Travis Simmons Read Free Book Online

to hum louder, some breaking into song.
    The figure took no notice of Angelica and Jovian, or the armies of angels to either side.
    Come and see, Angelica and Jovian heard in their minds. It called to more than their ears, the summons repeated in their blood, less a call of invitation and more a command that their angelic side had to respond to, no matter how much their human side resisted.
    As Angelica arose from the dream, she saw a glint of gold light flash from within the shadows of the figure's hood.

    Jovian woke in the early hours of the morning, alerted to something in his room other than himself. Sweat soaked his sheets and matted his golden locks to his forehead. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart beat double-time.
    He tried to speak, to call out to whoever might be there, but his voice caught in his throat behind a dry lump his words couldn't get past. He grabbed water from his nightstand and took several deep pulls until he felt his throat loosen and moisten.
    "Hello?" he called into the dark, his voice hoarse. Through the filtered light from outside, Jovian could see something skirting the walls out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look directly at it, the thing faded into the shadows of the room.
    Again he turned away, allowing his attention to draw out the corner of his eye, and to study what was in the room with him.
    On the edge of his sight was a shadow, human-shaped, but small, indistinct, like smoke on water, ever shifting, ever wavering. From the shadow came a strange energy, seeking, inquisitive, like it didn't understand what Jovian was or why he was there. Jovian let his mind wander a little further. Since Joya had taught them how to harness their wyrd and use it more, Jovian had been working on sensing things with wyrd. He found accessing his wyrd and getting a general feel for it helped when he wasn't specifically able to cast.
    As he tapped into his wyrd, he felt something sifting through it. The only thing he could compare it to was the feeling dirt must have when bugs skitter through it, burrowing deep. This energy, this presence, was examining his wyrd, trying to understand what Jovian was.
    Good luck, Jovian thought. It took us a long time to figure that out, and I'm still not sure precisely what we are.
    Wyr. That's what the Norns called him. Sylvie, that's what Cianna called him.
    Jovian. That's what he used to call himself. Now he just wasn't sure any longer. What was Jovian, really? Even his flesh came from the union of his mother and father. Now he’d learned that his lives, his spirit, didn't come from the ether of all life, but instead from the very body that gave him birth, moments after he was born dead.
    A knock came to his window, and Jovian jumped. The shadow in his peripheral vision vanished. Heart racing once more, Jovian looked out the window to the falling snow beyond. At first he didn't see anything past the heavy green drapes, iron inlay, and glass panes. But when he looked again, he saw the most magnificent golden eagle he had ever seen, silhouetted against the light of the barracks’ campfires below.
    Jovian stood, and on bare feet crossed the granite floor to crouch naked before the window. The chill of the air made him shiver, even if it felt good against his fevered flesh. He would need to start the fire up higher before going back to bed, but it would be hard to sleep now that his sheets were wet.
    With a sigh he sat before the window. There was something about the eagle that he recognized, though he had rarely seen golden eagles. Something about the eyes looked intelligent, almost human.
    Jovian found himself reaching for the handle of the window before he could stop himself. Unlatching the window, he pulled open one side. A gust of wind intruded on the dark room, showering him in cold and snow.
    He stepped back as the eagle hopped into the room. Now that it was in the room with him, Jovian felt silly for having opened the window at all. Looking