The Guardian Chronicles: Book 03 - The Dark Tide by Steven R. Burke Read Free Book Online Page B

forgotten.  Even the ancient order of druids did not know of the origins.  The only thing that they did not was that the curse involved the life of someone innocent.
    One of the soldiers who had watched Commander Nolan earlier quickly approached the general on his right side.  He was slightly out of breath because of the haste he had made in order to reach Tomo.  He had come to inform them of the Seda forming a wall behind them.  His eyes were drawn to a surreal scene unfolding itself before him.  General Tomo and the messenger watched as the commander was lifted high into the air by some invisible force.  Then with a sickening crunch, Nolan was twisted like a wet towel.  His body went limp and fell to the ground with a thud.  He had died the instant he had been wrenched in opposite directions.  His blood spilt all over the ground as he lay broken in the middle of the stained dwellings.  A black mist rose from the blood on the ground as is eerily seeped into the dirt.
    “No one is to come near this place...got that?  I want everyone assembled right now!” ordered General Tomo angrily.  His pride had blinded him to listening to his fears, which had warned him to leave the unholy grounds they had trespassed on.  Waves of heat radiated off him as he turned away from the broken body.  He had never heard of such devilry.
    “General, I have come to deliver a message…” began the shaken messenger.  He had temporarily forgotten his original purpose while watching the gruesome spectacle.  The black mist continued to swirl above the desecrated orc body.  The blood had vanished into the ground without a trace.  It was as though the dirt was drinking the orc’s blood.
    “Right…get on with it then!” shot the troubled general.  He eyed the soldier with a dark, lethal glare.  He was in no mood to waste time.  His massive shoulders heaved as he looked at his minion.
    “The Seda have formed a line directly west of us as though they are there to prevent us from going into the forest” the soldier replied quickly.
    “Like I said…gather everyone together and we will discuss what needs to be done next!” ordered the general with deafening finality.  He had not really heard what the messenger had said…he was still thinking of what action to take.  He had been shaken by the horrific death of his faithful commander.  He had to get his troops far from this cursed place before fear spread through his ranks like wildfire.
     
    After nearly an hour of Tomo’s troops gathering together, he addressed them.  “I wanted to bring you together to discuss some rules that will need to be followed for your own safety.  Commander Nolan demonstrated for me what happens when you venture into the cursed village to the west…you bloody well die!  No one is to go near that area.”  His voice echoed ominously as he spoke.  His temper had gotten worse with the hour that had passed, which was hard to believe.  He knew that they needed to be moving out, however, the size of his army was simply too great to move any time soon.
    “Commander Nolan is dead?” shouted one of the commander’s soldiers in utter disbelief.  A murmur rippled through ranks at this news and the blunt manner in which they were told.  Fear started to spread through the ranks like a wave heading to shore.
    “Yes, he got too nosy for his own good and paid for it with his life.  A good lesson for the rest of you lot…when I tell you to do something, you do it!”  The considerable muscles around his neck bulged as he strained to control himself.  Veins were pulsating on his forehead as he stood there.  The fear was eating away at every orc.
    “What about those wretched spirits from southern Renshaw?” another soldier asked as he looked over his shoulder at the moving spectral creatures.  It was clear that the orcs were more afraid of the wicked spirit fiends than what had happen to Commander Nolan.
    “They are of no concern…they are