The Korellian Odyssey: Requiem by Vance Bachelder Read Free Book Online Page A

an exquisite edge as a flash of movement appeared and reared up over him. Reflexively, he raised his hands, grasping vaguely in the direction of the shape now becoming clearer. As he took hold of the hard, slime-wet, and sinewy object, he recognized a mouth full of keen, razor-like teeth that narrowly missed his throat as their trap-like jaws snapped shut, nearly severing his ear. He grappled with the flailing thing for some moments as an assortment of croaks and cries hissed past its wicked teeth, sounds very similar to the pathetic mewling he had heard countless times in recent days—in fact, identical to the same pitiful sounds from the same pitiful creature that had followed him to this place.
    Korel flung Hurnix to the side as it continued to whimper in miserable heaving gouts of self-pity. The old burning flared again, his gut searing with anger as it rose within him.
    "Again I ask you, why do you attack me?" Korel nearly spat the question.
    "I must . . . I must," answered the voice dry as dust. "It's what I am." Hurnix then abruptly turned and with paradoxical agility performed a limping circus flip that rolled into a four-limbed scuttle, ending in a shallow dive into the nearby scrub. The bush hid him lamely in plain sight as he wept in silent paroxysms.

Chapter 4
    K orel set off again, following the faint path leading east across the meadow. Hurnix still followed but did so several yards behind. The path climbed steeply through a narrow band of fir trees that gave way to a small plateau of slate-like scree and grey rock. The scree rose gently before them, giving way to a ridged outcropping of rock on the right to then continue up toward a final pinnacled edge of mountain range, stark against the sky.
    There upon the ridge, as though part of the rock's basic essence, a grey tower stood, its pinnacle pointing to the heavens; stark, solid, and powerful, an expansive hollowness born of isolation seeming to resonate over an unheard frequency deep within the stone and below the edge of hearing. A second tower of equal strength rose beside it, and between them a rampart of solid stone bound them together. A massive door of solid oak was set within the rampart and small patterns of stained glass adorned the facade, where small, rounded windows and other cunning openings traveled the full thickness of the rampart.
    Korel knew of these ancient, solitary monasteries, where forgotten brotherhoods of old priests and old priesthoods observed obscure rights passed down through the ages, their works remembered by only a precious few. The Priests of Obsidian had great power when the world was new, and few were the kingdoms or realms immune to their sway. Their power dealt with knowledge of the arcane, and such knowledge commanded the respect of men.
    Yet the priests had grown covetous of their understandings and now in their decline shared little with any. They were grown very long-lived and perilous, with few men having even the knowledge of how to find them. With long life, their numbers also dwindled until they began to fade into the realm of myth. But their influence yet touched Westoreth, revealing potency behind the legend, and Korel knew of its caress.
    As he approached the foot of the stair between the towers, the soaring oak door swung silently open. Korel, followed closely by Hurnix, walked into the vaulted entryway, which revealed four massive columns rising one hundred and fifty feet to support a massive arched ceiling, inset at its center with a large, intricate stained glass representation of the priests of old. Within the wane pillar of floor light filtering through the stained glass high above, a figure stood. A severe form, nearly seven feet in height with a thin, gaunt face and long, slender limbs, the man wore gray-black velvet robes and a dark sacred headpiece rising like the miter of a bishop.
    "I know you," said a dry, weathered voice that seemed as old as the stone surrounding them. "I know what you seek.