Three (The Godslayer Cycle Book 3) by Ron Glick Read Free Book Online

know about how much you knew - about the Godslayer, about Avery, about Galentine or Kelvor.  We needed to know what the Game knew, because we think we may have deduced who the real creator of the Game is.  And it all relied upon knowing how much information had actually made it into the Game.”
    The Player's mouth opened and then closed without a sound.  Swallowing, he deliberately tried to calm his racing heart before he tried again.  “Who?  Who created the Game?”
    “Who may not have been the best choice of words,” admitted the Witness.  “But we now know that only someone who had been inside Levitz could have known Glavin's involvement.  And there was only one God who was actually there.”
    “The one helping Avery,” said the Player.
    “The one helping Avery,” agreed Dart.
    “So if you find out who is really helping Avery...”
    “Then we answer the greatest mystery of the last hundred years.”  Dart's lips lifted in a sweet smile.
    “Who made the Game,” supplied the Player.
    “And you, of all people, desperately want to know that, don't you?”  Dart's smile turned wicked. “And that's how we know you won't say anything to your Conclave.  Because that piece of information is more valuable than anything else in existence.  And only the Witness and I are capable of finding out.”
    The Player moved his chair back and stood to face his fellow demi-Gods.  “My silence in exchange for the truth then?”
    “Oh, more than that,” purred Dart.  “You're going to continue to work for us, because this debt is one that is worth a lot more than just keeping quiet.  It's worth your life.  Which now belongs to us.”
    The Player actively considered the implications of what Dart had said.  His freedom, his committed loyalty, possibly for the rest of his significant life.  All for this one piece of information.
    “How could you possibly know you could trust me to keep my word?” asked the Player, trying to buy for time.
    “Because you're fair,” shrugged Dart.  “Because to you, rules are rigid and should never be cheated. You would never cheat, anymore than you would ever deceive.  There's no challenge if you rig the game.  Am I right?”
    The Player considered for a moment longer, then closed his eyes.  She was right, of course.  In everything she had said.  If he agreed to this, he would always agree to this.  And it was worth it.
    Without any further hesitation, the Player offered his hand.  “Provide me the name of the one who created the Game, and I will forever be your man.”
    Dart's hand whipped across the space between them.  “Done.”
     

Chapter 1
     
     
    The sun had only begun to rise, yet its colors had already spread through half the sky.  The light, airy clouds wafting across the sky carried the various shades of orange and yellow yet unseen from the great orb itself out and across the heavens, announcing for all to see the coming of the day.
    Nathaniel sat upon the edge of the wooden bar that had formerly served as the hitching post for the Wyrm Fang's Tavern, looking longingly into the distance.  Now with the old business burned to the ground, it was one of the few areas in town where people did not frequent - few were interested in a vacant lot that had only been partially cleared of debris, after all.  And those who had once tried to make shelter out of the ruins had been driven off by the dwarven proprietor.  It gave Nathaniel a small measure of perceived solitude, and he found himself coming here far too often to be alone.
    Yet it was not the raw vibrancy of the dawn which drew his eye, but an imagined location too far removed to actually be seen with his own mortal eyes.  It was lost to him now more than it had been before his grand quest seeking the fate of his son, and more than anything else in his life the reason for that loss heralded a change that would be difficult to ignore.
    The Old Gods had returned.  There was no disputing that now.