The Curse of Oberon (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 3) by Jeremy Croston Read Free Book Online Page A

the dark on matters.”
    Either she played me like a chump or was generally happy that I apologized.  You can never tell with these crazy old women.  “The Teacher and my resistance to telling you about him have no place in current affairs.  What does is Oberon and his temperament.”
    “Yeah I gathered he was a bit of a jackass.  Why would he act like that to you after you saved his life?”  I never got the whole macho man thing.
    She almost looked at me in pity.  Was I missing something?  “Men in that generation are not like you Victor.  To have a woman save you was seen as a sign of weakness.”
    “Even though you’re more powerful than he was?”
    “That makes it even worse of a crime.  I think his resentment of me had been building from the moment we started courting.  That was the first time I openly used my true strength and I think it scared him, on top of making him feel weak.”
    I couldn’t help but notice even as she said it; she seemed to almost accept that all these years later.  “If you feel the need to save my bacon, go for it.  I have no problems in accepting help from those stronger than me.”
    An amused look crossed her face.  “You do not know it yet but the days of you needing help are limited.”  She stopped talking and silence filled the room.  The storm had finally blown itself out.  “I do not think there is much more here for you to learn from.  Let us return to our camp.”
    I looked at all the books still untouched on his desk.  “You’ve read them, are you sure there’s nothing here that I can use?”
    “Just his mad ramblings.  The only thing I wished for you to read here was his take on the Orcs and the wyrm.  From here onward, I can fill in the questions for you.”
    Hmmm, I wondered why she wanted me to learn this from Pan and not her.  Just another question to be probably never be answered.  “Before we go, where’s the Gem of Babylon?”
    She reached behind her and pressed a section of wall with her hand.  I heard a click and a secret compartment opened up.  She reached in and pulled out the bluish colored orb.  “Safe and sound, although…”
    What was going on in her head?  “Yeah?”
    Rummaging through Pan’s stuff, she found a piece of cord.  I couldn’t really see what she was doing, but when she finished, she presented the orb, tied to the cord to me.  “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
    “Putting it around your neck would probably be a good idea.”
    Well then, she had a way of making me feel dumb.  I did as she suggested, noticing the weight of the orb seemed lighter than I remembered.  “This ain’t much of a fashion statement.”
    “No, it is not.  But as the guardian of the orb, it is your responsibility to keep it safe.”
    Hold the phone.  “When the hell did I become its guardian?”
    “The moment you saved it from Jonathan my dear.”

Chapter 8
     
    “I need you to close your eyes and focus internally.”
    Our only light was coming off the campfire.  The Sphinx was just out of sight, hiding in the shadows.  “When you say focus internally, what am I looking for?”
    I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her look of annoyance.  “You are not looking for anything.  By focusing on yourself and not the elements around you, the power of the curses will find you.”
    “What do I do then?”
    “Would you please stop talking and close your eyes?”
    I could see this wasn’t getting anywhere, so I closed my eyes.  For a good long time nothing happened.  I heard bugs, the fire crackling, and the Sphinx breathing.  Smells began to reach me from all over the island.  Slowly, I was losing control of my enhanced senses and I started to feel overwhelmed.
    I opened my eyes, freaked out, only to find myself sitting on my couch, back in Arizona.  A chill ran over me, this couldn’t possibly be real.  But the couch felt real.  The breeze coming from the open window felt real.  If this was my