{"id":165,"date":"2012-08-20T10:34:46","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T14:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=165"},"modified":"2012-08-20T10:34:46","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T14:34:46","slug":"zervakan-free-fantasy-novel-chapter-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=165","title":{"rendered":"ZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 37"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"\"<\/a>
Cover by TJ Lomas.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\nI’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan<\/a> above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me at robsteiner01 [at] gmail [dot] com.<\/p>\n

If you’re uncomfortable getting something for nothing, you can hit the PayPal Donate<\/a> button in the Tip Jar section to the right. If you donate more than $3, I’ll send you a non-DRM ebook once the book is published (summer 2012). If you donate more than $20, I’ll send you a printed copy.<\/p>\n

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ZERVAKAN<\/h1>\n

by Rob Steiner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 37<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your daughter is very beautiful, Zervakan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kumar Ladak said, glancing back at Mara.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A little young for my tastes, but still…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Taran stared at Kumar Ladak.\u00c2\u00a0 A harrower?\u00c2\u00a0 Him?<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 How had he exited the shield without disintegrating?\u00c2\u00a0 But as Taran thought back, he could not remember seeing Ladak since before the harrower attack began on the Heiron.\u00c2\u00a0 Perhaps he had slipped away in the ensuing chaos.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran had been so preoccupied with the attack, and then Wielding, that he had not even thought of Ladak since then.<\/p>\n

However he had slipped away, he was here now, and he was threatening Mara.<\/p>\n

Taran snarled, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll rip your heart out if you touch her.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ladak laughed.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now that is the reaction I wanted.\u00c2\u00a0 Your anger feels good, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Ladak turned and started toward Mara.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was not what Taran felt at the moment.\u00c2\u00a0 At the moment, there was nothing he wanted to do but kill Kumar Ladak.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ladak!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran screamed.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I swear, if you touch her\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll what?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladak said, standing before Mara and looking up at her.\u00c2\u00a0 She struggled in her bindings, her glances shifting fearfully between Ladak and Taran.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll what?\u00c2\u00a0 Wield a peaceful little rain shower at me, like you did in the library?\u00c2\u00a0 If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t noticed, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re quite wet as it is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

He reached up and began to stroke Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ankle.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Daddy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mara moaned.\u00c2\u00a0 She tried jerking her ankle away from Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s touch, but the harrower grabbed the ankle with his other hand to hold it steady.\u00c2\u00a0 Mara kicked him in the face with her other foot, and Ladak snarled at her.\u00c2\u00a0 He grabbed the other foot, and then yanked her down from the vines that had bound her.\u00c2\u00a0 She fell to the ground behind the stump on which she had been sitting when Taran found her.\u00c2\u00a0 He could not see her, but he heard her scream, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Daddy, help!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

With a terrible laugh, Ladak jumped on top of her, and Taran could no longer see either of them.\u00c2\u00a0 But he still heard Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s screams.<\/p>\n

The rage and frustration exploding from Taran was more than he had ever felt in his life.\u00c2\u00a0 In desperation, he raised his right hand to the rings, screamed with all his hatred for the power to kill Ladak, to save Mara…and then he felt a power surge through him that made his boiling anger as weak as the breath of a butterfly.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a cold heat and a dark flame that filled his soul.\u00c2\u00a0 And he reveled in it.<\/p>\n

Taran looked at the vine that had wrapped itself around his feet, and it seemed to wither at his gaze, bowing to its master.\u00c2\u00a0 The vine eased him to the ground, and then released him.<\/p>\n

Taran scrambled to his feet.\u00c2\u00a0 He looked to the branches above where Ladak and Mara were struggling.\u00c2\u00a0 The branches twisted and shrieked\u00e2\u20ac\u201dshrieks only Taran could hear\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut he did not care, as long as they did what they were told.\u00c2\u00a0 The branches gave in, and turned into tentacles with brown scales and barbs that flailed about for a moment, adjusting to the pain of their new forms, and then shot down toward where Ladak had disappeared behind the stump.\u00c2\u00a0 The tentacles pulled him up into the air.\u00c2\u00a0 He screamed as the barbs embedded themselves into his legs and torso.\u00c2\u00a0 The tentacles hung Ladak upside down, just as Ladak had done to Taran.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now what should I do with you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran growled up at the struggling Ladak.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please, Taran,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladak said, blood pouring down over his face from the wounds on his legs and torso.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kill me.\u00c2\u00a0 Your daughter is safe, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really here.\u00c2\u00a0 Look, look!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Taran snarled, and then peered around the corner of the stump where he had last seen her.<\/p>\n

She was not there.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What did you do with her?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran roared.<\/p>\n

Ladak flinched and began to whimper.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing, I swear to you, Taran, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really her, it was just an illusion to get you here, oh, please, it hurts, please release me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cowardly cries sickened Taran.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why did you create an illusion of my daughter?\u00c2\u00a0 Why did you bring me here?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll kill me, please…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Answer me or I <\/em>will kill you!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Taran told the vine wrapped around Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leg to tighten.\u00c2\u00a0 The deeper the barbs went, the louder Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shrieking grew.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know his name, please, I swear to you, please…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why did you to bring me here?\u00c2\u00a0 Tell me!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The rage coursing through Taran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soul made him want to end this interrogation quickly so he could make Ladak suffer pain that would make talking impossible.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladak screamed.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I only do what he tells me!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Impatience finally conquered Taran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s curiosity\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor rather the rage burning in his veins.\u00c2\u00a0 He told the vines to rip Ladak apart.<\/p>\n

And they did.<\/p>\n

Different parts of Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body fell in different places throughout the clearing.\u00c2\u00a0 And Taran felt a satisfaction that he had never felt before\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe satisfaction of watching a hated enemy get what he deserved.\u00c2\u00a0 And the satisfaction of being the instrument of that justice.<\/p>\n

But as he watched the body fall to the ground, Taran realized that he had just killed a man.\u00c2\u00a0 The rage flowing through him ebbed as more and more horror at what he had just done began to leak through.<\/p>\n

And then the rage turned off as if it was a wiretype, and all Taran felt was disgust.\u00c2\u00a0 He looked down at the bloody remains of Kumar Ladak, a man he had just tortured and then torn to pieces.<\/p>\n

Taran sat down, ignoring the rain, staring at what he did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-stuff","category-novels","category-zervakan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}