The Vitalis Chronicles: Tomb of the Relequim by Jay Swanson Read Free Book Online Page A

his ears. It had happened so fast. But it had all come so naturally. He hadn't thought about it for a moment; and now here he was, on the verge of gaining his freedom.
    He had to get through the security doors, pass yet more orderlies and guards. But the thoughts of those obstacles beaded up and rolled off his mind like raindrops. He wasn't afraid any more, he realized. He was powerful, truly powerful; it felt good.
    He walked over the writhing guard on the floor, making sure to step on his shattered knee as he passed. The man screamed afresh. They would think twice about attacking a cornered, helpless kid again. He smiled as he felt the crunch under his foot and moved on. No one would ever touch him again. Not ever.
    The hallway remained empty, the screams of his victim blending with the moans and yells that echoed through the building. Ardin hugged himself against a chill, the gown providing poor protection from the draft that blew across his skin. He stood on the old filthy floor for a moment longer, feeling the cold edges of each tile with his toes. He closed his eyes and envisioned walking out of the place.
    He was cold. He didn't want to be cold any more.
    And with that he started forward, the walls catching fire on either side as he passed. The flames started at their base, born of naught but malice in the thin, crusty drywall. They swept upwards until the whole hallway was a blazing inferno. Smoke reached one of the working detectors. Soon the ill-maintained fire system spewed water with what pressure it could muster. The water flew and hissed and steamed in vain.
    The place wasn't made to burn, all cinder blocks and cement and rusty steel. But he could make it hot enough. He could burn anything. And he would be damned if he left a square inch of this place untouched.
    Ardin opened the first set of doors as a group of orderlies burst out of the security seal at the other end. A cheer erupted from his fellow detainees, ready to see a fight, unaware of their share in their captors' fate. Ardin slowed. He stopped. He smiled.
    The group of men hesitated only for a moment before charging forward. The sight of a loon out of his cage wasn't anything to balk at. They were more concerned with putting out the fire, as the extinguishers in their hands betrayed. But Ardin wasn't moving.
    The first to reach him raised his extinguisher over his shoulder as if to batter Ardin down, but he never made the connection. Ardin flung his arms out, sending a shock wave through the man that nearly cut him in half. The impact nullified his forward momentum so that he dropped, dying in a bloody heap.
    The rest of the men in the hall behind him were thrown back momentarily. When they regained their composure, they found a new fear for the kid in front of them, water flowing off of his hidden brow. Charsi chose me... to be her form of vengeance. A tool of destruction. His face was dark, with the flames blazing beyond, but a white smile slowly protruded from his silhouetted form. It's not what I want, who would want something like that? Smoke filtered through the flying water as Ardin adjusted his stance and relaxed. But can I fight it?
    He hadn't even made it through the hall and already he felt free. This was who he was made to be, if he was made to be anything. The power was seductive, a simple extension of himself that needed exercising. It felt good. Woke him up like stretching tight muscles. He took a step forward, the men took a step back, and he knew he was in control.

    The fire alarm sounded shrill in the glass offices of the asylum. It was startling to hear. As they never ran fire drills, this was the first alarm to go off in ages. The system hadn't been used since being tested after its installation. The three doctors, feeling much like inmates themselves, stepped out of their offices to inspect the commotion.
    Not knowing who was responsible for which duties, the orderlies were quickly organizing themselves. Before anyone could say