Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves (86 page)

“
It is The Way,” explained
the woman who made no noise. “Unfortunately, I am the only one who
can open one to our world. Though at one time, there were many,
many Ways to the World of Man, connecting to all the known
universes out there. A long time ago, the Lord of the Light
sundered, shut, closed and/or sealed them to keep my great Lord at
bay. Now, there is only one Way, the one I create.” Her eyes
twinkled with ghoulish delight. “But!” she said, raising her voice,
her orbs for only her Loki. “We plan to remedy that soon
enough.”

They were nodding,
sage-like.

“
So which one of you brave
children will go first?”

They all exchanged
glances, faces filled with dismay.

Jeremy heard Marissa clear
her throat and knew in an instant what she about to say. “I will,”
he volunteered in a rush before the small girl could open her
mouth.

She peered up at him, an
odd look on her face.

“
Together, then?” he
asked.

She was bobbing her head
up and down. “We all go, together.”

He couldn’t have agreed
with her more.

The two of them beckoned
the others.

Soon they were in a tight
knot, holding hands, shuffling toward the mysterious portal. They
did not speak. They made no sound, other than the scraping of their
shoes across the lacquered wood.

When the edge of The Way
touched him, Jeremy felt freezing cold spread throughout his body.
He gasped in shock, hearing the others do likewise.

The grayness took him, but
not before he heard Rasputna say, “How adorable. They’re going to
die together too.”

Then there was nothing but
pain and nausea, and he could think no more.

How long his was within
the clutch of The Way, he could not say. But when he and his
companions came free of it, he found himself at the edge of a vast
clearing. It drifted off into oblivion the farther he looked away
from their position. Brilliant, sticky snow covered the entire
expanse, shrieking winds blasted the land. Everywhere hung a
mind-numbing chill that clawed its' way through every layer of
clothing he wore.

Jeremy could not see fifty
yards in front of him.

He was in a forest of pine
and oak, though there were some trees that looked completely
unfamiliar to him. They were outlandish in appearance, some of them
quite menacing.

“
Put this on and take
this,” said a voice near him.

He turned to see four more
Loki standing in a broad wedge about the portal, one of them was
handing him a heavy coat and a large backpack.

“
Be quick, you idiot.
You’ll freeze solid in minutes without the gear,” it urged him
roughly.

Jeremy snatched the coat
from the Loki and put it on. The creature was right, though. It was
cold in the extreme.

The others began to take
their heavy outerwear and rucksacks from the other Loki about the
trees. None more than Vanessa who wore only her nightgown and
panties.

Rasputna and the three
original Loki came through The Way, a magnificent smile upon her
face, her hands held above her head.

“
Welcome, one and all, to
the Melded World!”

With that, the portal
leading back home to their families and everything they loved,
closed.

The Seeker’s laugh was
fiendish upon the wind.

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ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

About the Author

Richard Heredia was born
in 1969 in the Canal Zone of Panama City, Panama. Having spent the
first year of his life there, he has since moved to Los Angeles,
California where he lives with his wife and children. Wanting to be
a writer at a very young age, he began learning his craft through
avid reading, after his mentor suggested he read as much as
possible in order to learn from the best. Since that summer day in
1984, he has never stopped.

After a long hiatus, six
years ago, he finally decided to sit down and commit himself to his
lifelong dream of writing novels. He is the author of the first two
volumes of the Saga of the Twelve’s –
The
Unwanted Winter and Winter’s Fury
– and
book one of the Shadow Seed Series –
The
Misbegotten
.

The Birth of Bane
is his first foray into the supernatural and is
based primarily on a series of incidents, notions and feelings from
his childhood (which ones exactly, he will
never
tell).

Aside from reading and
writing, he enjoys listening to music, dancing with his babies,
camping, fishing and playing the odd video game with his
son.

Keep an eye out for
The Aberrant,
Book Two
of the Shadow Seed Series due out in summer 2015.

Richard has slated Volume
Three of the Saga of the Twelve’s –
Storm’s Revenge -
for publication
sometime in 2016.

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

Hopefully, you have
enjoyed Winter’s Fury as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please visit
the following links below and let me know what you think about the
second installation of The Saga of the Twelves at:

@Smashwords.com

Thank you so much,
precious reader,

Richard M.
Heredia

September 2014

in the night.
They could be grateful, caring, even convey love when compelled,
had enough strength. At first, I was amazed. It was wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless.
in the
night. They could be grateful, caring, even convey love when
compelled, had enough strength. At first, I was amazed. It was
wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless. in the night. They could be grateful,
caring, even convey love when compelled, had enough strength. At
first, I was amazed. It was wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless.