A Darker Shade of Sorcery - - (leveled readers .txt) 📗

class="calibre1">From shirts, trousers and skirts to breeches and tunics, (all a pristine white) her uniform consisted of clothing styles from medieval to modern. Instructions on her

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door said Venators could wear boots and cloak of any colour they wanted. They could have accessories and customize their uniform too.

Brooke thought she’d mix and match medieval with modern; there wasn’t much colour to work with after all.

She looked out her window, still not used to the two suns now sinking. Her first full day at Veneseron had been intriguing, weird and frightening all at once.

She gazed at the magnificent view outside for a long while, lost in her own thoughts and not knowing what to expect next.

*

Brooke pulled on the uniform after her shower. She'd realised she hadn’t washed since arriving and had asked one of the other Novices where the bathroom was.

Apparently every corridor that quartered Venators had a huge bathroom. They resembled Roman bath houses she'd seen in history books, but with added shower stalls and scarlet-steam hot tubs. Brooke was relieved to find the water was normal.

She'd been beginning to believe everything was different in this world.

It was dark as she left the bathroom. She'd left her shoes in her room and the floor was ice cold. The nagging feeling of being watched enveloped her as she walked. Her skin prickled and her spine tingled.

She glanced behind her, but no one was there.

Brooke walked faster now, her heart hammering against her chest.

Was that a footstep?

She whirled again.

Nothing.

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The only light in the hallway came from the few magical spheres embedded in the walls and the glow-in-the-dark moss growing on some of the stones. Their luminosity caused eerie slivers of shadow, igniting her unease.

She’d never been afraid of the dark, but who knew what lurked in the shadows here. Brooke had the innate feeling someone or something was following her.

She listened intently for any sign of noise.

Was that someone breathing?

She wheeled round to look behind her for the third time. All she saw was empty shadows.

As she turned back a soft chuckle made her scream and jump violently.

Lok stood before her, smiling crookedly. His nose ring, a brilliant blue, glinted in the half light.

“What were you doing? You scared me half to death.” She was sure he’d done it on purpose.

“You shouldn’t be wandering the Fortress so late,” he replied, lifting a strange pipe-like object to his lips and inhaling. “The statues here come alive after dark.”

“Seriously!”

Lok chuckled, “Only some of them, and they’re not dangerous, mostly.”

Brooke watched, enthralled, as he exhaled and purple smoke billowed out.

It jogged something in her memory and she blurted out. “Hey, I saw you on the way back from school, didn’t I? Before Tay found me in the warehouse. You were smoking that pipe.”

Lok’s smile might have slipped an inch, but it was gone so quick Brooke must’ve imagined it.

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“Ah yes, sorry. I couldn’t help but catch a little glimpse of you. I was scouting the area. Once I saw how beautiful you were, I had to get a closer look.”

Brooke felt the blood rush to her cheeks and became very self-conscious.

“Better not tell Arantay and Tyrell you saw me first. I might get into trouble for not following specific orders, you know.”

She nodded.

“So,” Lok said, changing the subject smoothly, “you look different now you’re not so hysterical.”

She noticed the blatant way he was staring at her, his eyes wandering.

“I like the wet look.” He smiled, touching a strand of her hair and pulling it away from her face. She looked at him curiously; his eyes were filled with lust.

“Well what did you expect? You didn’t exactly explain anything when you took me. I thought you might kill me.”

He laughed quietly, plumes of purple smoke skating about his face.

“Yeah, sorry about that, babe. We’re told to do it quick, in case any demons or Dark-Venators show up.”

“Dark-Venators?”

“There’s more than just us roaming the realms you know. Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” He winked.

Brooke decided he was being far too friendly for someone she barely knew.

“Well, thanks- I guess.”

“My pleasure. What do you think of the place, now you’re not whimpering like a baby that is?”

Anger surged inside her, but she refused to let him tease her.

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“It’s amazing, it really is. I don’t like it when people creep up on me in the dark though,” she added.

“So, you’re ready to leave your old life behind?”

“I-It will be hard, especially not seeing my family too much. But I haven’t decided what I'm going to do yet.”

“Family, huh?” Lok’s smile vanished. “Luckily my old man snuffed it before Veneseron found me.”

“Lucky?” she asked, perplexed.

Lok looked at her through strands of his white-blond hair. “He wasn’t a nice man,”

was all the elaboration she was going to get.

He took another drag on his pipe and then offered it to her, but she declined, not knowing what it would do.

“What’re you doing walking the castle so late?”

“Just been assigned a mission,” Lok said.

Brooke was intrigued. After all, didn’t the people here expect her to go on missions one day? “To do what?”

Lok smiled again, but this time it was unsettling. “Kill demons.”

Brooke gasped. “You’re really about to go off hunting demons?”

“Yep,” he said, nonchalant.

“Do you have to… you know… travel to a different realm?”

“Uh huh, loads of fiends are terrorising some world full of Gorgons. Apparently, an orc pack supplied these demons with some nasty plasma weapons. Our mission group will probably have to deal with them too.” Brooke noticed a feral glint in Lok's eyes. “You wouldn’t believe how fun missions are.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she said.

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“Well, peace-keeping missions are lame, but ripping apart demons is the most fun I’ve ever had…whilst fully dressed. I’m sure you’ll love it too.”

“Lok, c'mon!”

They both turned at the yell. A tall, haughtily beautiful girl stood at the end of the passageway. Her perfectly straight hair was both silver and gold and her eyes were a fierce blue-green.

“Alright, Lyella. Calm down.”

After another wink and a cheeky smile, Lok proceeded down the corridor to the impatient girl.

Lyella gave Brooke such a look of pure loathing it startled her.

She tossed her glorious mane of hair back as she linked her arm in Lok's and they departed.

Only Brooke’s brother had ever given her such a look of pure hatred before, and that had ended horrifically.

*

Tarensen looked up from the intricate, archaic scrolls cluttering his desk as Padrake materialised into view before him.

“Your cheap tricks don’t fool me.”

Padrake smiled. “How long did it take you to see through my invisibility?”

“Not long at all,” said Tarensen, returning to his rune deciphering.

“We have two new arrivals,” Padrake said.

“Very astute.”

“The girl is strong.” Padrake continued, “I have every faith she will do well.”

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“Good,” Tarensen grunted.

“And the boy?”

“Evan is…somewhat of a conundrum,” said Tarensen, “and it irks me.”

“Don’t you think he looks like Coridian?”

“Coridian?” Tarensen frowned. “The High-Realmer we exiled twenty years ago?”

“Indeed, he was slain by the Rakarn in the end,” Padrake said sadly. “He was a coward, yes, but he didn’t deserve that. He may have fathered this Evan though, there’s a resemblance.”

Tarensen shook his head. “The boy’s aura would be stronger if his father was a Venator. Before I saved him, he conjured fire magic. From what he described it was a spell some of our Mid-Realmers would struggle to invoke. But he had only the barest trace of an aura.”

Padrake’s smile was chased off by a frown.

“How can that be?”

“I don’t know, but I will find out. His sorcery isn’t strong enough for demons to sense, they must be after Evander for another reason. Maybe it was merely coincidence, but we both know coincidence is a rare thing.”

“Indeed,” Padrake agreed. “When can we expect Vanderain to return?”

Tarensen sighed, “I know not. Last I heard he was in some distant world, quelling a monstrous army that had arisen. Besides, I don’t think Evander is worth our

‘esteemed’ Master’s attention.”

“But he used powerful magic when under attack. What if he accidentally unleashes a spell on one of our Venators? Their safety comes first,” Padrake countered.

“You’ll be one of the Masters training him I expect, once Evander conjures sorcery again. Keep a close eye on him. He might be too strong for his own good.”

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“You know,” Padrake ventured slowly, “he could be one of the children Vanderain told us about all those years ago, he…”

“A myth,” Tarensen cut in. “Vanderain is full of legends and prophecies that never come to pass. What he told us to expect many years ago is simply not possible. We heard Akirandon attempted it, but she failed.”

“What about the latest rumours?” Padrake asked, moving on to a more sinister subject.

“If you’re referring to Akirandon’s Dark-Venators then I am not worried,”

Tarensen replied. “There are always whispers, they remain a considerable threat as ever, but at the moment not a dire one. If that moment were to arise I’m sure Vanderain would return to warn us. He always seems to know when he’s needed.”

Padrake nodded gravely. “Indeed. I’ve never doubted Vanderain’s abilities and decisions, but I must say I’m worried by the latest reports. For the children’s sake, not ours.”

“The children will always be safe at Veneseron, with or without Vanderain. I rule in his absence and I will do everything in my power to see no harm comes to our Venators.”

A smile, albeit a faltering one, again spread upon Padrake’s face. “Of course, Tarensen. You know me, always worrying.”

“Indeed,” Tarensen said succinctly, gesturing to the door and the exit.

As Padrake left Tarensen called after him, “Remember, keep an eye on the boy.”

Tarensen put away his rune scroll and turned to read the latest report on Queen Akirandon and her Dark-Venators. For the first time in a long time, fear clutched his heart.

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Chapter 6- An Orc, A Dwarf and an

Australian walk into a Bar

Evan jerked awake as three booming knocks reverberated through his room. Last night he'd been directed to a vacant Novice room, exhausted. He'd quickly fallen asleep. Now his slumber was interrupted as the booming continued.

He wrenched back the silken quilt and stumbled out of bed towards the door.

As he opened it and saw who was knocking his mouth dropped open.

A dwarf with a bushy beard and matted red hair stood glaring at him. He wore a pointed leather hat, the point only reaching to Evan’s chin, who himself was just under six foot. Despite his shortness the dwarf was stacked with hard muscle. The leather armour he wore bulged with his gargantuan girth. A huge axe and what might’ve been a laser-rifle were slung across his back, and one of his arms was mechanical.