The Lord of Death (The Age of Dawn Book 2) by Everet Martins Read Free Book Online

Nyset and me… and one of them ran me through with its fucking claws. It was like something awoke inside of me, like —” The Dragon did, he thought, catching himself.“It reminds me of the first time I learned how to spin kick at someone’s head. Once I figured out what to do, it just became part of me.”
    “That is the experience most people have,” Baylan said.
    “Is there any way for Phoenix power to stop pain?” Walter asked, vividly remembering how it felt to be stabbed four times at once by each tine of the Black Wynch’s claw.
    “There is, through shields, but not at the wound site itself, unfortunately. Phoenix shields require a lot of concentration. Using them will leave you feeling quite drained, but they are effective.”
    “I still haven’t figured out how to do that yet, what exactly can they stop? I saw you use one against the Cerumal back at the cannibal Mar’s camp… so we can stop swords, but what else?” Walter asked, scratching his head as he pondered the question.
    “Anything physical will be prevented from passing through a Phoenix shield, however it does nothing to mute the impact of the blow. The blade may not cut your head off, but its force can still knock you over. Like anything, the more you use it the easier it gets. They can be used to stop Dragon attacks also, but that is a much more advanced skill, one that took me years to get a handle on,” Baylan said, regarding Walter with his wise eyes.
    “Hm,” Walter said, pressing his chin on his hands in deep concentration.
    “Don’t worry, when we have some extra time I’ll teach you how to create shields,” Baylan said, smiling.
    That would be a very useful skill, don’t forget to remind him, Walter thought.
    “And the Dragon?” Nyset asked, leaning forward in her chair and craning her neck.
    “We both know little, I think, but I’ll have to defer to Malek for this one, he can probably tell you more,” Baylan said, folding his hands. “If Lillian were still here…” He squinted his eyes and his lips trembled.
    “I know she was very important to you— she saved countless lives and we will never forget her,” Nyset said, putting a hand on Baylan’s shoulder. Baylan nodded and took a deep breath.
    Malek cut a large chunk of butter from a plate and stirred it into his elixir, making the spoon tinkle against the mug.
    “Good idea,” Grimbald said, dropping a hunk of butter into his elixir mug.
    Malek cleared his throat. “I suppose a formal discussion is in order, after all the training we’ve done with your natural talents. The god’s powers are quite complex, and we’ve barely scratched the surface in our training together,” Malek said. He took a sip of his elixir and licked the sheen of melted butter on his lips.
    “The Dragon is the chaos in the eye of the storm, the mouth of the volcano, the rage one feels towards a cheating lover. The Phoenix is a warm breeze at the end of a summer night, the currents of the Abyssal Sea caressing your toes, a warm bed after slaving in the laboratory,” Malek said with a sigh.
    “Never thought you for the poetic type,” Walter said with a grin.
    Malek’s cheeks reddened. He raised his large mug to his face and took another sip, looking at the ceiling. A knock to his literary prowess and the man loses his composure. Apparently even wizards have feelings. Walter couldn’t help but allow the beginnings of a smile to touch his lips at finding this flaw in his armor.
    “The power of the Dragon is manifested in the four principal elements. Fire, wind, stone, and lightning, in increasing order of difficulty to manifest. This is why I’ve started you with fire, Nyset. Were you aware of the other elements?”
    Nyset shook her head, “No, well not really. I thought there was something else I could feel, but I wasn’t really sure what to do with it.”
    “Sadly, as a man I can only teach you what I’ve learned from books, which is very little. If you eventually find your