Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Myst used a gust of wind to turn her massive body in the other direction. His protector dove toward the earth and caught whatever had grabbed him in her huge talons.
He was nearly knocked off his feet, but Oleksandr clutched his elbow before he connected with the ground.
“Open the barrier, Lazaar!”
He heard the order but didn’t know how to respond.
“Hold your palm out and shoot your energy forward, the left one, not your dominant. I don’t want you to destroy it.”
Lazaar’s core sizzled like burning wood as he thrust his left arm forward, sending a fraction of his power into the atmosphere, making the air shimmer iridescent silver.
A ripple of his force ruptured the invisible blockade, splitting it in two, creating a hole only large enough for them to fit through.
“Close it, close it!”
Lazaar waited for Myst to turn sideways and fly through the obstruction before he thrust his hand out and watched the atmosphere reseal them inside.
They never stopped running, but he was able to take a semi-relieved breath when the footfalls trailing them slowed before screeching to a halt.
Lazaar took one final look over his shoulder, catching the woman’s bloodshot eyes, which seemed to promise it wouldn’t be the last time he’d see her.
“Give her no thought.” Oleksandr pumped his short legs as fast as he could. “She has no authority here.”
Lazaar couldn’t focus on what his guardian was saying, nor could he take comfort in Myst just above his head. She had to spin and twist to maneuver her massive body through the trees without breaking one of her long wings.
If Lazaar thought his senses had been overwhelmed when he left his Shadow Realm, Chessuven, he’d been mistaken. The moment he entered what his guardian called the Volkov stronghold, his core ignited with adrenaline.
His gums tingled—which was a new sensation—and his stomach revolted at the rank, unusual smells.
The many varieties of trees, bushes, and fragrant flowers overwhelmed his delicate senses. Lazaar didn’t know what to think of the mass of critters and rodents that infested these lands.
It disgusted him so much it made him run faster than he normally could. So fast he was keeping up with his raptor.
Lazaar figured it was a fight-or-flight response continuing to drive him, getting him far away from the discomfort and fear.
He leapt over fallen branches and protruding roots as if they were mere pebbles. Lazaar ran so fast that the landscape began to blur. And the faster he went, the more aware he became of his new strength.
Lazaar
Lazaar didn’t decrease his speed, even when Oleksandr yelled for him to slow down.
Myst soared past him and released a drawn-out, laughing cackle, coasting on the hot breeze and flipping over so her chest was exposed to the radiant ball of gas in the sky.
Lazaar didn’t stop until there was nowhere else for him to go.
He dropped to his rear, ignoring the sharp-edged rocks digging into him.
Lazaar gasped for breath while staring at a beautiful mass of crystal-blue water nestled in the uneven landscape. The land seemed to stretch farther than his enhanced vision could see—or maybe the lands didn’t end.
The stories his own people had written about other realms and landscapes did not do the real thing justice.
It’s all real.
The riveting stories his elders told around their nightly bonfires of fantasy worlds like Earth, which was mostly covered in vast oceans, would fuel his daydreams for hours.
The tale about planets orbiting a solar system had been one of his many favorites. He’d enjoyed it almost as much as the story about the Land of Three Suns.
Lazaar choked on a sob.
He was even crying for the first time, having never thought sadness and heartache could touch him.
Why wasn’t I allowed any of this beauty? What did I do to be cast into a land covered in shadows and darkness?
Myst landed beside him, perhaps sensing his discomfort, and covered his back with one of her wings.
Lazaar nestled his face into her soft black feathers and cried until he no longer hurt. But the rage in his chest remained constant.
Oleksandr finally reached the top, his steps hesitant…and they should be.
“Why, Olek? What have my people and I done to not be worthy of this?” Lazaar swept his arms in a wide arc.
“Lord. Forgive us for not telling you sooner. But I thought I had more time, that we all had more time.”
Us? All? So he was the only fool.
Lazaar balled his fists and slammed them into the ground, causing the terrain to shake hard enough that Oleksandr lost his footing and Myst took off into the sky.
“Lord, you must calm yourself. If you take a moment to breathe and look around—thoroughly look—you will notice that the stories we told you were never a lie. Concentrate, and you’ll recognize everything you gaze upon.”
Lazaar got to his feet.