Devri Walls - Venators: Magic Unleashed

2018 Devri Walls

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Venators: Magic Unleashed

Brown Books Publishing Group

16250 Knoll Trail Drive, Suite 205

Dallas, Texas 75248

www.BrownBooks.com

(972) 381-0009

A New Era in Publishing

Names: Walls, Devri.

Title: Venators : magic unleashed / Devri Walls.

Description: Dallas, Texas : Brown Books Publishing Group, [2018] | Series: The Venators series ; book 1

Identifiers: ISBN 9781612549873

Subjects: LCSH: Supernatural--Fiction. | Good and evil--Fiction. | Kidnapping--Fiction. | Imaginary places--Fiction. | Transgenic organisms--Fiction. | LCGFT: Fantasy fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3623.A4452 V46 2018 | DDC 813/.6--dc23

ISBN 978-1-61254-9-873

LCCN 2017964360

Printed in the United States

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For more information or to contact the author,
please go to www.DevriWalls.com.

For my love, who has turned his life upside
down to support me in mine.

The Other Side

Rain dripped from Tates nose and trickled into his ears. The clouds had threatened this downpour all day but in true form had waited until the temperature plummeted with the setting of the sun.

An unwelcome shiver ran from neck to knee. He scowled and scanned the area. Back and forth, then back again. The branches of heavy pines sloped down like the thick arms of giants dragging against the ground. Even larger, a spattering of mammoth oaks stretched for the sky, dwarfing everything beneath wide umbrellas. And then a break in the forest gave way to a meadow. It spread out in a carpet of green, interspersed by clumps of grass with razor-sharp edges that stood over six feet. They waved back and forth in the wind and seemed to be whispering, but the words were lost in the breeze.

After days of searching for the enemy, he knew how many steps were between each tree and the precise angle of the broken limb on the pine to the east. He knew where the meadow rats burrowedbecause hed almost put a bolt through one that set a patch of dead pine needles wiggling. He knew where a thick pocket of berry bushes had been hidingthey were just empty twigs now; hed picked the last of the fruit yesterday. The days of extended hypervigilance had taken their toll, chafing his nerves raw and setting them afire.

He was missing something. He knew it. But knowing hadnt done the least bit of good.

It simply wasnt possible that Zio remained unaware of what was about to happen. Arwin had alerted him four days ago to the magical frequency that preceded a portal opening. The vibrations the old wizard had picked up would continue to pulse until the gate actually opened. By now it wouldve alerted everyone listening... and probably those who werent. Hed been here, in this spot, waiting and watching. Despite his diligence, he hadnt seen a single one of Zios soldiers. That had ceased to be surprising two days ago. Now, it reeked of suspicion.

Leaning against the trunk of a tree, he pressed his back into the uneven bark and twisted to work out the knots in his muscles. His back began to unwind, but he still needed more relief. He lowered to sitting, grimacing as stiff muscles rippled and stretched.

Better.

But now a branch obscured his view. It twisted in the breeze, dipping beneath water droplets in a joyous dance. He glowered at the leaves, then kicked the branch into the mud, clearing a vantage point.

Something flashed, but then it was gone. Tate peered through the darkness, blinking water from his eyelashes. There it was again! And now gone. He snarled under his breath.

Staring at the same empty space for days must have been driving him mad. The longer he looked, the more the drizzles began to act like strange hallucinationsbending and waving like the start of something magnificent, teasing him with what he desired instead of leaving reality as it was.

The minutes ticked by, turning into hours. A deep heaviness pulled at his eyelids and added weight to his head until it seemed his neck wouldnt be able to hold it. Tate rubbed at bleary eyes.

He couldnt sleep. Not now. The gate could open at any second.

Still, a body was not meant to be awake for so long. His mind fluttered strangely under the exhaustion, peeling open memories hed rather not relive.

A flash of a sword, the metallic taste of blood, the fear of death permeating every room and every arena like a living, breathing thing. Gladiator. A throat opened, spurting blood, sliced by his sword. And then, mercythe smile that belonged to his light in the darknessbeautiful hazel eyes looking at him in a way that none ever had before.

He jerked to standing and slammed a fist into the tree. The bark cut his knuckles. The pain served its purpose, offering a passageway back to reality as the rain quickly sluiced away the blood.

That was quite enough memories for the night.

The bad recollections always came sharply, as if he were reliving them, and left a bad taste in the back of his mouthmetallic. The good ones were in the past now and therefore equally painful. Itd been years since hed seen his wife and son, and thinking of them nearly cleaved his heart in two.

Tate rolled his neck, stretching his sore body. Everything hed done since leaving was all for them; he had to remember that. There was no place for guilt or grief, two dangerous emotions that only served to cloud the senses. No. Staying alive required a clear headhe couldnt return to his family from the grave.

Offering commentary on his choices, the rain increased to a downpour. The water ran in a stream from the bottom hem of his trench coat down his black pants and seeped into tightly laced boots.

There was a small flash. He wrote it off as another illusion, but it grew brighter, starting as a pinpoint and enlarging to a free-hanging, glowing orb three times as tall and wide as him. It was the largest portal hed ever seen.

The curse was growing weaker.

He launched forward, but within four steps, Zios henchmen materialized ahead of him from the center of an oak tree that peeled apart like a beetle splitting its skin. It took only a moment for Tate to realize what hed missedthe largest oak in the area was really Zios shifter, sent to hide the goblins. Theyd been here from the beginning. One turned as it ran and grinned at him around grotesque tusks.

He swore and raced ahead, leaning into the rain, pumping as hard as he could. His crossbow bounced against his back.

But the goblins held a generous lead. Even running on their short, stubby legs, the greasy beasts made it to the gate before him and leapt through.

Tate dove through the opening, having no idea where the gate would drop him on the other side. But hed found the Venators oncehe could find them again. No matter where he landed.