Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

on for over a hundred meters from where the gate stood guard to where it ended in another staircase. As the head of his small party descended, the view that met his eyes was astounding. Andr stopped at the top step staring out in wonder at the vision before him. Kaep paused, standing silently at his side.

The wide steps descended into an enormous crater in the mountains. The interior of the yawning expanse was filled with building after building. Light from torches or fires spilled out through open windows, illuminating the sprawling city around them. Avenues lit by tall lanterns crisscrossed their way between the buildings, forming immaculately organized blocks.

To his left, he could make out the outlines of colossal buildings carved directly into the sheer mountainside. In the fading light of the day, he could still clearly see a multitude of people moving about.

The city that spread out before his eyes was massive. How had something like this existed in complete anonymity for so long?

“Not what you were expecting, is it?” Kaep commented, her voice unusually sweet.

Lost for words as he scanned the city below, Andr shook his head in disbelief. Not in his wildest dreams had he expected to find a city hidden deep within the hostile embrace of the Outlands.

The profound wonderment mixed with another, conflicting set of feelings.

Relief.

Trepidation.

He'd delivered Ryl to safety. He'd found the Phrenic. He could finally rest.

Then what?

Chapter 23

For the first time since the clearing, since defending Andr from the horde, Ryl woke to a moment of pain free clarity. His thoughts congealed, focusing with effort into an overwhelming mix of sensations. The most blissfully satisfying of them all was that he was certain he was still alive.

The extreme dizziness, the nauseating sensation of the world spinning around him had become a constant. Thankfully, the uncontrollable rotation had now all but subsided. His body no longer felt the paralyzing effects of the fever. Ryl inhaled a deep breath; the air had a pleasant odor, of a curious mixture of scents none of which were immediately discernable. There was a muffled sound of distant voices, their words however were indistinguishable.

With his mind clear of the pain, dizziness and hallucinations, he focused with his mindsight. The blackened voids he acknowledged as the Outland Horde were absent from his field of vision. He watched a solitary pinpoint of bright yellow light travel from left to right some distance to his front.

A tribute?

A phrenic?

Ryl tried to blink open his eyes. He panicked as the lashes stuck, fused together from disuse and the accumulation of salt from his tears. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, carefully forcing his eyelids apart. Although the light was dim, his eyes blinked involuntarily and water leaked from their corners leaving warm, salty trails down his cheeks.

Between blinks, Ryl viewed the basic outline of the room he had woken in. He was lying in a bed positioned in the corner of two walls. To his left, a single door led from the room, with a small table positioned just out of arm's reach from his bedside. A couch dominated the wall at the foot of his bed; the single large window above its middle provided the only illumination in the room.

The curtains were drawn, although their thick fabric swayed ever so slightly from the mild breeze that ruffled their folds. The daylight snuck into the room through the ever-changing openings between the cloth. His heart raced as he noted his cloak neatly draped over the arm of the couch. His custom bracers and Leaves peeked out from underneath the grey hood.

The confusing sensation of opening his eyes, waking to an unfamiliar location was strangely reminiscent. He had flashbacks of when he’d awoken after Andr had pulled his body from the churning depths of the pool in Tabenville. A sickening sense of nostalgia flooded through his body as he thought of his friends who still languished in The Stocks.

Ryl closed his eyes, focusing again on locating the telltale signature of any with alexen in their blood. Although still some distance away, the yellow, glowing orb was becoming brighter, though he couldn’t tell if it was moving in a path toward his location. He severed his connection as his energy faded rapidly. The effort it took to maintain the mundane skill was exhausting.

Gritting his teeth and using his arms as leverage he forced himself upward into a sitting position. The effort was excruciating, his head swam as a result of the rapid movement and unexpected exertion.

His vision blurred as the room spun violently around him. Ryl squeezed his eyes shut with a groan, collapsing back onto the bed, panting from the effort, at the same time gasping for breath. His thoughts fragmented rapidly, losing focus again. Emotions triggered by scattered memories and faces long since forgotten assaulted him. Painful memories he’d repressed into the deepest corners of his beleaguered mind surged into his view.

Ryl saw himself playing.

He was a carefree child, laughing wild shouts of mirth as he chased his sister in circles round his parents. They laughed along, happiness written across their faces as they reveled in their children's joy.

He saw his friend Elias.

He watched as the closest person to a brother to him winked the instant before being swallowed up by the hungry shadow of the Pining Gate.

The tears flowing from his eyes now were those of heartbreak. He crashed back down into the bed, rolling on his side, curling into a ball, weeping like a child. Pain tore through his body with every wracking sob. The tears pooled on the soft pillow before soaking into the cushioning fabric.

The door to his room burst open, slamming against the wall with a resounding crack of wood against stone.

“I need the mender,” a familiar voice boomed back through the open doorway. The door still shook on its hinges from the violent impact. There was a momentary commotion outside the room, a shuffling of startled feet, followed by the echo of