The House of Grey- Volume 3 by Collin Earl Read Free Book Online Page A

opponent is gone.
    He will journey no more,
    From this place of death and gore.
    Others come.
    Others appear.
    Their fates all remain the same.
    To forget.
    To be forgotten,
    Left,
    In the time of death and gore.
    A man appears before me; in him I recognize,
    My reason,
    For fighting.
    For killing.
    For being.
    In this world of death and gore
    I attack this man with righteous might.
    Long lasting, the duel clashes
    Deep into this scarlet night.
    In this being of death and gore.
    We fight!
    A flash of Gray
    A flash of Silver
    A flash of Gold
    All come to a head in blades of black and white.
    I strike this man.
    And come to know...
    I will not prevail, nor overcome,
    As this man...is me.
     
    ***
     
    “As this man…is me.”
    Monson abruptly awoke, sensing another’s presence. His hand shot out with blazing speed, catching the arm of…Cyann Harrison.
    Wait…where am I?
    Lifting his head, he scanned his surroundings. He lay at the base of a massive oak tree. In the distance, he could see a portion of the back of the Battlegrounds.
    “Monson?”
    Cyann’s voice sounded pained. Monson grimaced.  He had almost forgotten she was there, and realized he was still holding her arm in a vice grip. The sound of Cyann’s shallow breathing and her slightly red face alerted him to the fact that he was hurting her. He immediately released her.
    “Where is Damion? Did he bring me out here?”
    “Damion? As Damion Peterson?” Cyann cocked her head in bafflement. “I haven’t seen anyone but you, Monson.”
    No…that couldn’t be right. His gaze shot downward, searching his body for injuries. That knife strike should have been fatal - he should be dead! His mind was so fuzzy he could not think clearly. Monson slowly sat up and did his best to sharpen his senses as he continued to examine himself.  He found no signs of injury: no holes or blood. He looked around him and listened. There were no fallen bodies or gory scenes, no agonizing sounds of the dead, but Monson was afraid to let his guard down. Was he awake? Was this real? There was only the normal campus scenery and Cyann Harrison, whose expression was becoming more and more perplexed as the minutes passed.  Damion was surely nowhere to be seen.
    Was it all a dream? Or did Damion really try to kill me? Monson’s thoughts came to a halt as he suddenly noticed Cyann’s arm; the bruised imprint of a hand was manifesting itself on her olive skin. 
    “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” He meant it. Shame was already gurgling in his stomach. He wanted to explain, to tell her why. Make her understand that it was not her fault that he was…was…. he did not actually know what he was.
    “It’s OK.” Cyann’s voice was gentle and soothing in a way that he had not known was possible, especially coming from her. “Are you OK?”
    “Am I OK?” he asked. The question confused him. Why would she ask that?
    “Yes. Are you all right?” Cyann pointed to where he was sitting. “You looked like you were having a pretty nasty dream.”
    She was concerned because she thought he was having a bad dream? He was not sure how to react. Was she making fun of him? Everyone has bad dreams. Why would she worry about his?
    “I’ll live.” His voice sounded slightly suspicious. “Comes with the territory. You know, being an ‘emo’ and all.”
    “What’s an emo?”
    His face contorted as he realized what he had just done. “Emo” was a word that many anime watchers used to describe an overly emotional individual. He had seen it used several times by Casey and Artorius on the various forums they frequented. But it was not a word he would use, and he could not believe he had just uttered it in conversation.
    “Never mind,” he said. He searched for something to else to talk about. “What time is it?”
    Cyann glanced at the watch on her wrist.
    “Four-thirty.”
    Where had the time gone?  “Really?”
    She nodded her head.
    What about Casey? Where did he end up?
    Or was that all