The Compass by Cindy Charity Read Free Book Online Page A

immense talent. But, fear not, there was a reason why she was merely my student, and never my equal.”  He gave another wave, and the scenery returned to normal. “Time will also become our enemy. The Autumn Equinox, when day and night are nearly equal in length, will be celebrated. I must have all of the Fragments in order to push back the light. Agrona has placed blind faith in her warriors, in these women.”
    Lugus gave one of his rare smiles. It was filled with twisted glee. “And how does the fierce leader fare?”
    Showing his own humor, Mikel enlightened Lugus. “She slumbers in between worlds. I have given her enough awareness so that she will know when her warriors are defeated one by one. She will know when I reach in and extract the souls of the ones who hide the Fragments.” The wind rose up in reaction to his words. “The mortals she so feverishly defended will be the very thing that destroys her.”
    But Lugus had only one more concern. It was the one thing that consumed his every breath, the one thing that kept him subservient to Mikel, “And what of my revenge?”
    Turning his black eyes on Lugus, Mikel reassured him with great confidence. “Your thirst for revenge will be quenched Lugus. You will have all that I have promised you.” Shifting, Mikel gazed back at the direction Rocco and his rabble had gone. “In the meantime, follow our new recruits. I have a feeling they will be tempted to play with the gifts I have given them before fulfilling my request.” Turning back, he let his mouth curve in a smile. “Let them have their fun, I want them to taste the essence of the darkness, to feel the power only I can provide them with.”
    Lugus bowed his head and shimmered out of sight. Mikel’s eyes stayed on the spot where his commander disappeared, appreciating the finesse in which he had departed. Not many had such a subtle touch. Many preferred to make a scene, to flex their muscles. It added a level to Lugus’ already impressive arsenal—stealth.
    It was time to get things in order. Lugus had been right; Agrona’s warriors would eat through his mortal puppets quickly, just as they had always done. While replacing them wouldn’t be a problem, he couldn’t afford to have his attention divided; it would require too much energy. Energy he couldn’t afford to spend. His powers—his magick, had been altered when he had first sifted through the veil; another twist in his former student’s cleverly woven spell. While he was far from being helpless, he did have to be careful. As it was, providing this wave of puppets with dark energy had drained him.
    Over the years that followed his entrance into earth’s realm, he had been able to undo some of what Agrona had done, allowing him to take the energy he needed from the smallest of sources. His former student had been so very careful. She knew just where to place each obstacle, and each one took more energy to overcome. He had marvelled at the level of talent it took to create each snare. She knew where his weaknesses were. Of course, she knew these things because of her lineage; she was after all a daughter of two of the original guardians. The central part of her spell was time. Layer upon layer of fairytales and folklore had given her that time. She had made it so that the ones who housed the Fragments had a chance to grow and gain strength, thwarting his original plan to take them when they were children. So, he had been forced to wait.
    Oh yes, she had indeed been clever, but not as clever as he. On that fateful night, the night Agrona had severed the Star, He had ensured that he would be able to locate where the Fragments ended up—well, at least one of them. The war goddess had been able to thwart his plan for all the pieces. But all he needed was to find the one, and he was very close. Once he had all the Fragments, the next stage of his plan could begin to unfold, one that would require instruction. How fortunate for him that in his