Spirits of Light and Shadow (The Gods of Talmor) by India Drummond Read Free Book Online Page A

father sat inside, dressed in a tattered robe that looked like it had been savaged by a wild animal. Graiphen still had a strong, jutting jaw, short salt-and-pepper hair and sharp cheekbones, but his eyes were wild.
    “By grace,” Korbin muttered.
    Graiphen stared up, his expression slack. “Grace, grace... what of it? I have none. None at all. The demons took it.” The Dul giggled. “They won't return it to me. They won't. They won't.”
    Korbin’s chest tightened. This man could not be his father.
    “I am leaving.” Graiphen’s fearful expression showed none of his usual commanding confidence. “I must go, boy. Don't you see? Yerwood is trying to kill me.”
    “Father? Who is Yerwood?” The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Korbin couldn’t place it.
    “Yerwood the Great, they call him. Ridiculous! Great indeed. No one is greater than I. Soon the world will call me Jorek the Great.” Graiphen lowered his tone. “I must kill him before he kills me.”
    Jorek? Jorek had been emperor two hundred years before. Korbin exhaled loudly.
    “You are Dul Graiphen Ulbrich. I am your son, Korbin. We are at home.” When Graiphen offered no response, Korbin repeated, “Home, Father?” This place hadn’t been home to Korbin in a long time, but he hoped his words would help break his father’s delusion.
    Graiphen spat his disdain. “Home? I have no home. It's infested with rats and spiders. Shadows lurk in every corner.”
    Unsure what to say, Korbin replied, “Father, you’re safe here.”
    The Dul stiffened. “You’re trying to protect me, boy? I have fought on the bloodiest battlefields and not only survived, but came through unscathed. I have commanded legions against overwhelming odds and burned cities to the ground. You do not need to tend me.” The glazed eyes came into sharp focus. “Where am I?”
    “Your manor in Vol.”
    “Who are you?” Graiphen stared at Korbin. “I know you.”
    “Korbin Ulbrich. I am your son.”
    Clarity returned to Graiphen’s eyes. He nodded and gave Korbin an appraising stare. “I need your help. Someone is trying to drive me mad.” He reached out and Korbin went to him. His father so rarely touched him, even as a little boy. Graiphen grabbed Korbin’s arm and pulled him down so he knelt beside Graiphen’s seat.
    Korbin’s heart clutched at the desperation in Graiphen’s eyes. “What do you want me to do?” This man that he’d come so close to hating now needed him. Korbin didn’t want anything to do with him, but a sense of duty compelled him. Was duty enough?
    “Find the one who is doing this to me, son.” His eyes glinted. “I have so few moments of clarity. But something happened this morning. I feel better. Stronger. Still, I need help.”
    The only thing Korbin could do was nod. Could Octavia’s magic have made a difference?
    “I’ll search the house for items of black magic,” Korbin said. “Eliam and Tarsten believe you have been cursed by a Kilovian witch.”
    Graiphen scowled deeply. “Cursed,” he murmured. “By an enemy.”
    Korbin opened his mouth to speak, but Graiphen cut him off, behaving more like himself than he had since Korbin arrived.
    “We must find out who. Find him and end him.” Suddenly Graiphen winced. “Before he ends me.”
    Out in the corridor, voices rose. Eliam and Tarsten.
    Graiphen tightened his iron grip on Korbin’s arm. “Don’t trust anyone. Not even those who claim to be my allies. Promise me, son. I need your help.”
    Korbin felt trapped. The words sounded like an order. They filled him with an equal measure of anger and dread. Nothing good would come of this, but could he turn his back on his father? What if the old man was simply going mad, sending Korbin on some dangerous chase with no true enemy at the end?
    A knock at the chamber door saved him from having to answer Graiphen’s request. Dul Tarsten entered without waiting for an invitation, and Eliam followed close behind, his eyes full of