Shadowblade by Tom Bielawski Read Free Book Online Page B

men became vessels for the powerful forces and soon the wizard felt the time was right. He called out the words in the language of the Shadow and traced the outline of those Sigil command words in the air.
    As the elf wizard finished the words of the spell, black flames erupted around the mound. The earth beneath the wizards’ feet began to rumble and buckle and shift. Then, after a few moments of this, the top of the burial mound exploded and showered the four wizards with dirt, rocks, and other debris from within the tomb.
    “Excellent!” Shalthazar shouted, laughing at the same time. He was enlivened and energized by the power he was wielding. Of the three apprentices, Urelis seemed to be enjoying the experience almost as much as he did.
    “It’s done, Master!” shouted Urelis with glee. To Shalthazar, Charl seemed indifferent to it all but was doing what was expected. But the dark elf was beginning to sense fear in Hinrik and the man was acting clumsily. Although he performed his part of the spell, he did not do so without error.
    As the debris settled and the Shadow Tide receded, something began to crawl from the top of the burial mound. A great head appeared, a head that looked like ten human heads fused together in a ball of flesh, eyeballs, and hair. The skin over the hideous head was stretched taught so that all ten mouths were connected as one great, looming, maw. Then the rest of the creature climbed from the hole and emerged into the wintry afternoon sunlight, and it was every bit as hideous as its head.
    The body was a haphazard mass of bloody flesh and bone and pulsating organs. Bony spikes protruded from its spine, shoulders, arms and legs. Each limb seemed to be made from ten appendages held together by the dark forces of the Shadow, and Shalthazar wondered if it was as strong as ten men. From his studies, he expected that the corpse golem would grow stronger each time it fed and it would use the bodies of its victims to fill the gaps in its body.
    The creature stood atop the mound and let out an inhuman roar as it flailed multiple arms in the air, testing their movement. The creature was weak, Shalthazar knew, and it needed to feed soon for the effects of the spell to become permanent.
    “Hinrik, feed my golem,” Shalthazar said simply as he pointed to his apprentice. The dark wizard enjoyed a moment of panic and terror on the man’s face as he realized that his master was not kidding. Hinrik moved as if to open a portal or otherwise flee but Shalthazar locked the Tides so that the man could no longer call on them. Shalthazar laughed and activated the compulsion spell he had placed upon his apprentice, Hinrik’s limbs locked to his sides.
    Shalthazar approached the terrified man and looked him in the eyes, noticing that the man was breathing hard and sweat was beading on his brow despite the cold air. The wizard slowly circled the lesser man and his apprentices looked on as he spoke to the man.
    “How did you ever become one of my apprentices?” asked the master wizard scathingly. “You are a pathetic waste. You are fearful and weak and you will now die.”
    The man whimpered and tears rolled down his cheeks as his former master looked upon him scornfully.
    “It seems you can do one useful thing for me,” said the wizard, enjoying the game. “You can feed my golem!”
    The hideous beast launched itself from the mound in a great leap and landed near the wizard and his paralyzed apprentice. It landed with a thud that shook the ground and caused the man who was about to die to shudder, despite the effects of the spell. Shalthazar only laughed louder, watching the golem sniff the man before it bit him in half and swallowed his body in two great noisy gulps.
    Shalthazar was pleased to see the golem immediately grow stronger, its flesh darkened and another set of eyes and a mouth appeared on its great head.
    “Congratulations, Master,” said Urelis. “Your spell was a success.”
    “Indeed it was