The Curse of Deadman's Forest by Victoria Laurie Read Free Book Online Page A

about it, the better he felt about leaving her behind. She would annoy him no end along the journey, anyway. He was resigned to traveling only with Caphiera when she turned her wicked face to him and announced, “Magus should go alone.”
    “What?”
he roared.
    Caphiera toyed with her spyglass, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her blue lips. “You’re the only one Lachestia likes,” she said simply.
    “Lachestia likes
no
one!” Magus spat back.
    Caphiera tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. “Yes,” she conceded. “You might be right on that, Magus, but she clearly dislikes you the least of all of us. I’m certain that if you find her and act quickly enough, you might convince her to help us before she does you great bodily harm.”
    “Oh, yes!” Atroposa said quickly. “Magus should go alone!”
    Magus’s temper began to flare again when he realized his sisters were joining forces against him. “You cannot expect me to locate Lachestia on my own!” he shouted. “No onehas seen or heard from the sorceress in over three thousand years!”
    Caphiera appeared unfazed by her brother’s outburst; she calmly placed the spyglass within the folds of her fur-trimmed cloak and said, “Now there, I might offer some assistance. I have heard of a seer who has told of our sister’s return. Word has reached me that the Witch of Versailles has been having visions, Brother. She might know where our dear Lachestia resides. I believe
you
should be the one to go to the witch and see if she will aid you in discovering our long-lost Lachestia.”
    Magus scowled and shook his head angrily. Leave it to Caphiera to send him on such a dangerous quest alone. He searched for an argument to get him out of the errand. “The prophecy is incomplete, Caphiera. We cannot be certain that if Lachestia kills the Guardian, it will be enough to destroy the One. Do you not remember that several lines of the prophecy are missing? What good would it do to awaken Lachestia if all she will do is kill the Guardian and not the One?”
    Caphiera’s blue lips pursed into a pronounced pout. “Oh, I remember that several lines are lost to us, Magus,” she snarled. “And I ask you: whose fault is that?”
    “Our brother’s,” replied Atroposa promptly. Magus smoldered where he stood, quickly realizing he would not win this argument. Granted, he
had
set the fire that had killed the archeologist who’d discovered the original prophecy, and that fire
had
resulted in the loss of the last few lines of the scroll, but he hardly thought it fair that thatshould be held against him. After all, they’d have nothing if not for his efforts. He was about to say as much when Atroposa added, “You should have been more careful, Brother. Who knows how important those lost lines are? It’s your fault we must guess at how to dispose of the One.”
    “Exactly,” said Caphiera, smiling gruesomely at her sister. “Which is why
he
should be the one to find Lachestia and entice her to join our quest. Once our wayward sister has been so directed, I’m certain she will handle the killing of two mortal children with ease, and then we can carry on with our plans unhindered by Laodamia’s pesky prophecies.”
    Magus’s cloak rippled with flames again and his eyes narrowed dangerously while he glared at his sister and fought to control his temper.
    “Yes, Magus should be the one to find Lachestia,” Atroposa eagerly agreed again. “It is only fair, since he ruined the prophecy in the first place.”
    Caphiera crossed her arms and stared at her brother contemptuously. “Shall we put it to a vote?” she asked.
    Magus spat into the water near his feet, and his spittle hissed when it hit the sea. Caphiera had tricked him into this, and he knew that if she and Atroposa went before Demogorgon and told him of their suggestion, his sire would certainly order him to find and free his sister on his own. And Magus had also heard the rumors about the