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    Oblivion Gate Episode Three
    Oblivion Gate Episode Three
    Oblivion Gate Episode Three
    Ebook163 pages1 hour

    Oblivion Gate Episode Three

    By Odette C. Bell

    2/5

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    About this ebook

    Grace is safe. For now.
    To transform, she must go through the trials in the Shrine of Ascendants. Even then, her troubles are only beginning.
    All of Xandia is plunged into chaos as the separatists run riot over the land. They’re led by a faction with plans to not just push Earth back, but claim it for good.
    To do that, they must open the gate at the heart of Xandia. It’s one of pure destruction. Open it, and you will invite chaos to swallow all.
    ....
    Oblivion Gate follows a soldier and a prophesied weapon fighting for the truth in a far-distant realm. If you love your fantasies with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Oblivion Gate Episode Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateOct 24, 2018
    ISBN9780463741030
    Oblivion Gate Episode Three

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      Torture my self to reading it but I curious how it is going to end

    Book preview

    Oblivion Gate Episode Three - Odette C. Bell

    Chapter 1

    Grace Brown

    Safe.

    I was safe.

    For now.

    As I lay back, still splattered in the babook’s blood, I tilted my head all the way up as I stared at that flickering shield.

    It looked as if it was out of some sci-fi movie. It was complete, covering the shrine and the air above it for a several-meter radius.

    It was astounding.

    I could feel it. That wasn’t to say that the air crackled as if it was some enormous manifestation of electricity.

    It was as if it was coming from me, instead.

    And maybe it was.

    As the top of the peak continued to descend into the mountain, I drew my hands up and stared at them.

    There was now no mistaking the lines glowing across my skin, tracing from my elbows up over the midline of my fingers.

    I could feel them on my face, too, brighter than ever. And I got the unshakable impression that they were somehow powering the shield above us.

    Jarrak hadn’t said a word until now. He’d been too overcome by the sudden change of events, too drawn in by the view of that impossible shield above us. But now he spluttered, turned, and took a staggering step toward me.

    He was injured, a large gash trickling red-blue blood down the side of his face.

    Though I’d acted quickly, I hadn’t been able to prevent him or the babook from being injured.

    Are you okay? Jarrak’s voice was choked. It wasn’t just with fear and surprise, though. More than anything, it was with wonder. Wonder that only grew all the brighter and more powerful as his eyes fixed on my markings.

    I took one more second to bring my hands up and stare at those blue lines, then I pushed to my feet.

    Though we were still descending through the peak, that didn’t matter. While the stone beneath me was shuddering, my balance was perfect.

    My legs felt so strong and agile that even if I stood on an asteroid as it crashed to Earth, I’d still be able to stay on my feet.

    I’m fine, I managed as I pushed toward the babook.

    It was resting down on its haunches, its shoulders pressed high, looking just like a cat in pain.

    Though I could tell that Jarrak wanted to continue the conversation and understand everything that had just happened – including the sudden manifestation of that shield – he followed me.

    Though I still didn’t know exactly what kind of man he was, I could appreciate my first impressions in his carriage were wrong. From the compassion that suddenly stretched his features and paled his cheeks, I appreciated he loved this babook just as much as I did.

    He let out a heavy, defeated sigh, brought out a hand, hesitated, then stroked the babook’s mane.

    It instantly reacted to his touch, shuddering into it with a mournful moan.

    The scene wrenched at my heartstrings. As I’d already said – I’d always been an animal lover.

    But this seemed even more sorrowful than one of my own pets dying.

    This babook had given its all to get us up this peak, and without it, we’d be dead at the hands of those jatas.

    I took a shuddering breath, emotion pooling within me. Just before I could conclude there was nothing I could do, I instantly reminded myself of the spell I cast on the babook before.

    Once more I brought my hand up and I stared at my palm. I fixed my attention on the whirls in my skin, on the marks and lines. I stared at them as if somehow they were a map to my power.

    Did I remember who I was?

    … No. Not exactly. I’d remembered only enough to reach into that doorway, control whatever power was inside, and initiate the shield. But my memories were still disparate. They were a mess as if someone had taken a photo album, shredded it, then given me only a few scraps of what had remained.

    I could piece together tiny bits of knowledge, enough to save me when I’d needed it, but nowhere near enough to appreciate what I truly was.

    And yet, I could not shake the desire that I had to do something to save this babook.

    Letting out another shuddering breath, I shifted forward and locked my hand on the babook’s mane, just beside Jarrak.

    He shifted his attention to me, his gaze fixed and unblinking, his cheeks pale with anticipation. But he didn’t say a word.

    I settled a breath deep in my chest, clenched my teeth, closed my eyes, and tried to think.

    How exactly had I initiated that healing spell back on the babook when we were traveling up the peak?

    Had I muttered some unknown words under my breath?

    Had I found some power within me and grasped hold of it?

    Or had it just happened? Had it arisen within me as a natural consequence of some deep-seated desire?

    Just before my frustration could conclude I was inadequate, I grasped hold of that burning sensation that now perpetually filled me.

    I had no idea if it was just a consequence of the transformation process, or if I would now continually feel like this, as if my form was nothing more than a furnace for the bioluminescence that played across my skin.

    It was as I grasped hold of it, settling my full attention onto it, that I finally caught hold of a spell.

    Yes, a spell. Because that’s what I was casting.

    That thought didn’t have time to settle.

    I shifted closer to the babook, getting down on one knee, drawing my arms around it and hugging its mane until my face was buried in the blood-splattered fur. I didn’t care. I forced a smile as I brought my luminescence as close to it as I could. And within, I grabbed hold of that fire.

    I had no idea what I was doing.

    I could navigate only on feel and desire alone.

    And thankfully, they were enough.

    Far from shifting away from me as if my light was burning it, I felt the babook lean into me.

    If I were still my ordinary old human self, it would have crushed me, but I pushed into my shoes, shoring up my strength, angling my shoulder against the babook until we propped each other up.

    Jarrak gasped and yanked his hand off the babook a second later. I heard him take a staggering step back, the thick soles of his boots squeaking against the polished stone beneath us.

    Words started to appear in my mind. The words of the Xandians. Fast, they flitted by, leaving impressions of written symbols. The very same symbols I’d seen adorning various sacred objects in Xandia, and the very same symbols I’d sworn I’d seen out of the corner of my eye my entire life.

    They now lined up in front of me, one after another, a pathway to healing.

    The next thing I knew, the babook let out a happy, satisfied bark. It was miles away from the tortured groans and gasps it had been giving since it had fallen still by my feet.

    Back on Earth, I’d occasionally played games and RPG’s, so I was familiar with the genre. Enough to know that when someone cast a spell, it wasn’t like this. Because this was all to do with emotion and intent – the crossroads of perception and desire. It was nothing to do with some sacred object within me or some precise set of words.

    My magic – if you could call my light that – followed my will. And together, I hoped it would reknit the injuries scattering the babook’s hide.

    Did I heal it completely?

    No. Not even I could do that.

    I kick-started the healing process, giving the creature the energy it needed to finally shift away from me when it was done.

    It broke my grip around its neck, stood, shook out its mane, whipped its tail about until it banged Jarrak in the leg, then promptly shifted in and licked my face.

    It was a surprise, and not a particularly pleasant one as its saliva slicked my face. I just pressed my lips into a small smile, opened my eyes, and let out a deep-bellied laugh.

    The babook licked me once more, and I made no effort to stop it as I brought a hand up and patted its fur fondly.

    Then?

    My attention was drawn back to where we were and what was happening to us. For the descent of this platform hadn’t stopped. In fact, if anything, it had increased its pace. We were now deep within the mountain.

    I could only see a glimmer of the sky above us, and even then, it was only discernible because of the frequent flashes of lightning tracing through the clouds above.

    I heard Jarrak take a wheezing breath. Your transformation is almost complete.

    I paused, then turned to look at him.

    I was way beyond denying what was happening to me now. I was starting to embrace it. And in doing so, I was appreciating that I was now far more powerful than Jarrak. It had been one thing for him to kidnap me back when I was nothing more than a human. Now, it would be almost impossible for him to keep a hold of me.

    In other words, the situation had completely changed. So it was now up to me what happened to him and not the other way around.

    Maybe recognition of that fact flashed through his gaze, because the skin around his eyes tightened. His lips stiffened, too, paused, then opened. There is much you don’t know.

    That was an understatement. I almost had to stop myself from laughing. There was much I didn’t know? I didn’t know a thing. The knowledge I had could be counted on one hand. The questions I had instead were as numerous as the particles in the universe.

    I stared at him steadily.

    Why did you kidnap me? I’d asked that question once before. But now, I was in the right frame of mind to watch his every reaction.

    I was hardly trained, and I had no idea how to assess the micro-movements of someone’s face to detect a lie. But I had something else now, didn’t I?

    The combined hope and power of my light.

    Jarrak’s face stiffened, and the move was strong enough that I watched the muscles down into his neck tighten.

    But if I thought that was an admission of his guilt, the move didn’t last.

    He pressed his lips together and let a breath through them. You call it kidnap – but trust me, it was liberation. If I hadn’t brought you to Graves Peak when I had, you would’ve died.

    I gave myself all the time in the world to assess his reaction.

    And it wasn’t until I was satisfied that I conceded his point with a nod.

    Hope infiltrated his gaze, spreading like wildfire until it pulled his cheeks up and he smiled in the most relieved move I’d ever seen. Do you trust me—

    Don’t jump ahead, I said firmly.

    I shouldn’t have to tell you that I was never that much of a firm person.

    With all of the uncertainty and anxiety poisoning my mind, I’d never known myself well enough to challenge others.

    Now the old me was being pushed away.

    It was more than that, though. I appreciated that if I didn’t take the reins of my own life right now, I would be used by others to far more devastating effect.

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