Shadow Lands Book Six the End of Everything

J. R. Colson

Description

Finally, the end of the war was near. Friends and family who were once thought lost have returned in the final hour to lend aid to those whose destiny is to be determined by the outcome of the war that has embroiled the Shadow Lands for years. Love blooms in the most unlikely of places even as the world around them threatens to collapse. Hope lies in the hands of Electra, a mortal girl, who feels as if she doesn’t really fit in. Her life changes when she is chosen to save Beor and lure him back to the sides of his family and friends. Electra has an important decision ahead of her. Should she do as Phoenix says or should she go after Zander, a man who she is drawn to and one that she has known in a previous life? Will her choice help save the Shadow Lands?

Sujets

• Everything
• The End
• Shadow
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669869979
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

SHADOW LANDS BOOK SIX THE END OF EVERYTHING
J. R. Colson

 
Copyright © 2023 by J. R. Colson.
Library of Congress Control Number:
2023904549
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-6995-5

Softcover
978-1-6698-6996-2

eBook
978-1-6698-6997-9
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 03/08/2023
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
851747
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Character List

I dedicate this book to the characters in my story. This book wouldn’t have been written without them. They told me their tale and all I did was wrote it down.
CHAPTER 1
Nerida paused before the ornate doors to the palace. She had no idea what the doors had looked like before she’d arrived, but they were beautiful now. The doors were made of giant solid oak planks. Intricate swirls, letters, and shapes were carved into the door and inlaid with gold. Over the top of the door was silver lattice work that divided the door into little panels and each panel showed a different scene of strange lands and battles long lost to history.
“I wonder who made these doors,” Xantho commented as she stepped up beside Nerida.
Nerida looked over at her twin to see her with her hand raised running her fingers over the intricate designs. Avicia was peering closely at the stonework of the walls while Jamarie was busy gazing up at the battlements over the door. Nerida began to look for a way through the doors, but they appeared to be solid. She couldn’t see any hinges or a doorknob and there was no line or crack to discern where the doors opened or closed.
“How do we get in?”
Jamarie threw an annoyed glance at Nerida. “How do you think Nerida? They are not just going to open the door. We have no idea if there is even a porter waiting to open the doors. Most likely we have to go around the walls until we find a portal.”
“You don’t have to be mean Jamarie. I can still beat your ass in a game of rumeric.”
Jamarie stuck her tongue out at Nerida before she headed right along the walls. The others followed her. Avicia followed more reluctantly than the others. Avicia had a weakness for anything made of quality wood and that had sometimes caused problems for them when they were on assignment.
The four sisters wandered around the wall looking for a way in. They had to be careful of their footing because the ground around the base of the walls was very uneven and rocky. There were a few close calls when rocks tumbled down the slope and their feet tried to slide out from underneath them.
Jamarie was still in the lead with Xantho following when a hidden door swung open in front of them. Jamarie dropped down into a crouch while Xantho drew her sword and Nerida grabbed a throwing dagger. Avicia leveled a taut bowstring with a deadly arrow at the gaping doorway.
No movement greeted them and it was many minutes before Jamarie cautiously moved forward. She drew even with the door and kneeled just behind the door frame. Jamarie motioned to Nerida. Nerida stepped around Xantho and inched her way forward. A swirling gray orb passed hands as Nerida knelt beside Jamarie.
A sharp nod from Jamarie caused the others to shield their eyes and turn their heads. They all heard the orb go clattering down the passageway before there was the soundless boom and a flash of light causing heat and smoke to pour out of the doorway. A growl emanated from the passageway and the women had to throw themselves flat as a shape shot out of the portal.
They had to shield their eyes as wind and gravel whipped about them, pummeling their exposed skin. The wind blew and ripped at their clothing and tossed their long hair about them. The sisters were unable to move because of the wind that buffeted them. They huddled against the walls and waited for the wind to abate.
The whipping wind finally abated at the same time that the ground shook with a mighty boom. The sound of shifting and sliding rocks sounded as something shifted and moved on the hillside. Heavy breathing filled the air and the ground groaned as something heavy settled on it.
“Who are you?” a voice growled in their heads. “You better give the right answer, or you lives will be forfeit for the unprovoked attack on the palace.”
Nerida looked up and froze at the huge draconian face that was staring down at her. It was a dragon! Nerida wasn’t afraid of dragons, but this was the first time that she had seen one this close before. She pushed her back against the wall without conscious thought. Her mouth worked soundlessly unable to get a word out.
The huge reptilian head pulled back. The dragon turned his head to the side so that he could peer at them with one giant purple eye. He stared at them for an indefinite amount of time before the head moved. The dragon shifted and blurred far too fast for them to see what was happening till it had already happened. By the time it took their eyes to readjust a man with brilliant purple hair and eyes stood before them.
“Follow me,” was all the man said as he led the way into the opening that he’d originally come out of.
*         *         *
Thrandr sensed the women following him as he led them through the maze of tunnels that now encompassed Phoenix’s Palace. These tunnels had always existed, but Phoenix had made them even more difficult to navigate. Benrir, Aelfdane’s wolf companion, had tracked several scents down to these tunnels. Thrandr believed that was how the enemy was getting into the Palace.
Thrandr divided his senses between the tunnel and the women who followed him. They stunk of magic and it just wasn’t any type of magic. It was the type of magic that clung to Ashkar and his siblings. Thrandr flared his nostrils at the stink of it. These women must be Ashkar’s sisters. He was sure of it.
“Where are we going?”
Thrandr turned his head and gazed at the woman with copper colored hair and red eyes. Nerida was her name and the other woman who looked like her must be Xantho. Thrandr gazed at the other two women and guessed that the white haired one was Avicia and the silver haired one was Jamarie. He could be wrong, but he believed that was who they were. He remembered that Branwyn had once asked Ashkar what his remaining sisters had looked like, and these sounded like his description of his sisters.
Thrandr turned his attention back to the one who had spoken. “We are headed to the throne room Nerida. That is where you shall stand before Phoenix. Pray that she is in a good mood today, otherwise she just might kill you for trespassing.”
“How do you know her name?” Asked the silver haired woman angrily.
“I know all of your names,” Thrandr said as he faced forward. “I know quite a bit about you.”
“How?” Demanded Jamarie. “How do you know us?”
Thrandr gave a shake of his head causing his long purple hair to rustle and glint in the torch light. Thrandr didn’t speak for the rest of the journey through the tunnels even when he was asked more questions. He pulled up short and studied the wall in front of him. The tunnels divided into two passageways; one leading right and the other left.
Thrandr blinked and his eyesight shifted. Words appeared on the wall and magic shifted and curled over the surface of several stones. Thrandr cocked his head slightly as his dragon vision sorted through the words and magic. One brick caught his attention and several words shifted to form a short sentence. Thrandr read the words before he reached up and raked his forefinger against the brick. The screech of his talon on bricks made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He always hated it when his nails made that sound for it caused his ears to hurt.
Thrandr blinked and his vision went back to normal and a line of white appeared down the brick that he’d scratched. The brick glowed bright white before the brick split open. Light poured into the tunnel and Thrandr raised a hand to shield his eyes against the sudden brightness.
A sound of crashing boulders filled the tunnel as the floor began to shake. Thrandr softened his knees and felt his muscles flex as the floor shifted and moved beneath his feet. He heard several cries from Ashkar’s sisters as the tunnel shook. The shaking and rumbling gradually faded away as did the light.
Thrandr lowered his hand and looked at the new passage