Three Kings (Book 3) (14 page)

Heat poured from the molten surface below that roiled and bubbled noxious fumes, and as they stood there on the ledge they could feel the heated air whipping past them, gaining speed and momentum by the second as it climbed all throughout the caverns above. He couldn’t resist. He wanted to see the heated air escape the vents above.

With all his goblin cohorts’ attentions drawn to the view beyond, he took a risk he normally avoided and closing his eyes he shifted.

In a lair formed of nothing but darkness, there before him, atop a throne of living, twisted beings, Gnak looked upon his goddess as the tortured faces of the device moaned in silence their agony and despair. Dropping to his knees before the all-powerful being, he lowered his face to a floor he could not even see. So pure was the darkness around her that it had become a solid substance creating all that she wanted and altering to suit her will.

In skintight leather that clung to her every curve she rose from the wicked throne, a darkness shining off of her sculpted body that reminded him of the tar the goblins used. Only she could be so powerful as to make darkness shine.

Striding to where he prostrated himself upon the floor, she looked down upon him, a wicked smirk upon her face that spoke of mischievous deeds and twisted fantasies. Gnak wondered what he could learn if he had access to
her
mind.

“Stand, cowering mortal,” she demanded him.

Without even a single thought, Gnak scrambled to his feet in instant obedience. Looking upon her he was accosted by mixed emotions that made him both desire her and loathe her. Her beauty was unequaled among any of the races, and though he was drawn to drink in her every feature, he felt disgusted by the desire and fought against it as her own gaze swept over him with disgust.

“You have done well,” she stated simply.

Gnak relished in the praise but said nothing in return. If she wanted him to talk she would tell him to. He waited to see if she would speak further and remained unmoving, torn between the desire to look upon her and the need to look away.

“For your obedience I will create more champions among your people, though they, like you, are still ignorant. Prepare for the arrival of my other servants and learn well your abilities. If you were not so limited by your weak mortal brain I would give you more power. Yet even now you have not yet realized the power you have already been granted. Return to your pathetic plane and see to it that all is prepared. I grow impatient. The time is upon us.”

Opening his eyes, Gnak found himself still within the shell of the goblin king. His shift had not completed. The goddess had snatched him from his mortal shell before he could even make the switch. Shaking his head as a means to clear it, he thought about all that yet needed to be done in preparation and barked at those closest to him to send them back to work.

Promised more power and blessed champions, Gnak had been told that a war was coming and soon. He only wished he knew what ‘soon’ meant to an immortal. Though there was yet much to be done, he vowed his people would be ready and waiting when again the goddess called upon them. Turning, he strode back into the darkened cavern with his guards hot on his heels to make his rounds with the goblin slavers.

Books by Jeremy Laszlo

Clad in Shadow (Poetry for a Burdened Soul)

The Blood and Brotherhood Saga

The Choosing (Book One of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Chosen (Book Two of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Changing (Book Three of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

Crimson (Book 3.5 of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Contention (Book Four of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Champions (Book Five of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Crowned (Book Six of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

Orc Destiny Trilogy

Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny, Volume I)

Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny, Volume II)

Three Kings (Orc Destiny, Volume III)

The Beyond Series

Beyond The Mask (The Beyond Book One)

Beyond The Flesh (The Beyond Book Two)

Beyond The Soul (The Beyond Book Three)

About the Author

I live in southern Louisiana with my wife and children, and work full time as a civilian employed by the federal government. I like to spend time with my family and am excited that we will soon have a new addition in February of 2014.

I spend as much time as I am able writing, but also enjoy downtime with the wife and kids, and am a bit of a movie buff as well. I thrive on sarcasm and nerdism and am currently addicted to The Big Bang Theory amongst other things.

Fantasy has always been my reading genre of choice, though I am picky about who and what I read, and I refuse to read a series out of order. I have been known to devour entire sagas in mere days, emerging only when necessary for survival.

I love to hear from all of my readers, and hope to chat with you on the Blood and Brotherhood fan page on Facebook, here:

http://www.facebook.com/bloodandbrotherhood

Or feel free to contact me through my website and send me an email, here:

http://www.wix.com/jeremylaszlo/author