Read Amidst The Rising Shadows (Book 3) Online
Authors: Ken Lozito
“There it is,” Verona said.
They had used one of the smaller airships to bring them to the command center. The Hythariam had cleared a road to the place, but there were still remnants of the rubbled remains of buildings in this part of the city. The growing population had set themselves to the task of rebuilding. The progress they made was like night and day since Aaron had first seen Shandara all those months ago. It had been a long time since he had first left Earth, and yet so many things had changed. His life on Earth seemed like a dream.
“What is it?” Sarah asked gently.
Aaron looked at her for a moment, knowing that she was hurting inside and there was nothing he could do but give her time. Taking her father’s life had saved them, and he knew she didn’t regret it in the least, but still the pain was there along the edges of her eyes.
“I was thinking of my sister, Tara. I left her so she would be safe.”
“I’m sure she is fine,” Sarah said.
Aaron nodded, “I know, but it would be nice if the two of you could meet someday.”
“Perhaps,” Sarah said.
Aaron had no wish to return to Earth on any permanent basis. His home was at Sarah’s side here on Safanar, but Tara was his only link to a life he had before. In the wake of so much death and destruction, it seemed like such a random thought, but the more he thought about it the more he wondered if it would ever happen.
The small airship landed, and they followed a path that led them underground. Orbs lit the way, and the pathway opened up to two large metallic doors.
“Gavril, we’re here,” Roselyn spoke into her comms device.
Right next to the door was a silver panel, and Roselyn urged Aaron to place his hand upon it. The smooth surface warmed to his touch, but nothing else happened. He drew in the energy and probed with a tendril behind the plate, and a smaller panel opened above revealing a circular depression. Aaron withdrew the medallion and pressed it to the surface, and after a moment both panels withdrew into the wall. There was a great shudder beneath the floor, and bits of rock and dust sifted down from the ceiling. The doors slowly opened, and interior lights flickered on, revealing a large cavernous room that extended well away from them. Holographic screens flickered to life, and Aaron could hear the gasps behind them largely from the Hythariam. A map of Shandara came up on the main display with different sections reporting in sync.
They entered, with people exploring in different directions. Aaron eventually came to a set of doors across the way.
“One of those will take you up to the grounds near the palace,” Roselyn said after checking one of the screens.
Aaron came to the doors, and they opened automatically revealing a small chamber beyond.
An elevator?
He stepped on, and Sarah followed. His comms device chimed, and the panel lit up before them. Aaron selected the button that would take them to the surface. After a few moments the doors opened to an overgrown path. After a few minutes climbing through he and Sarah emerged into a grove.
“I know where we are,” Aaron said. “Come on this way.”
He and Sarah ran through the grove, coming to a clearing where a lone white tree stood bathing in the sunlight. Shimmering at the bottom of the tree was a translucent cloaked figure that beckoned them forward.
“Colind!” Aaron gasped.
Sarah threaded her fingers in his as they approached the tree where the shade of the last Lord Guardian of the Safanarion Order waited for them.
C
HAPTER
23
EPILOGUE
"Sir, have you seen the latest feeds?" the Zekarian soldier asked.
General Halcylon nodded, watching the summary feeds from the drones they had monitoring the continent. "They may be more powerful than we thought. There are definitely some things we can use."
“There is still the issue with powering our equipment,” Ronan said. “The power sources we brought from Hytharia will be depleted in a few months.”
“They have sources here we can use,” Halcylon said. “Besides, since we haven’t been able to find the safe haven where the traitors have taken refuge we’ve detected another alternative.”
“Where?” Ronan asked.
“Just moments ago a place showed up here on the eastern side of the continent. There is a source there that could power whatever we wanted for the next hundred years.”
Ronan glanced at the map, and his eyes widened, “Shandara?”
Halcylon’s lips curved into a smirk. “That’s what the humans call it. When we take over this place it will all be renamed in a fashion more befitting the Zekara. But I have another task for you.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to solve the problem with the longevity of the Akasul,” Halcylon said.
“I thought we only needed the one to put the locals off balance while we did more reconnaissance?”
Halcylon nodded, “That was the plan, but now I think we have further uses for them, and we’ll need many of them.”
Halcylon returned his gaze to the feed showing the battle that had unfolded in the center of the continent. The humans were more powerful than he thought, but were weak in every way he already suspected. The wheels spun in his mind as he proceeded with the next phase of his plan. His enemies already knew of their presence here even if they didn't know their exact location. It was a tactical risk to have the drones fire on the Alenzar'seth, and he shrugged off their failure to destroy him. After all, there was nothing one human could do to prevent what he had been planning. Safanar would be brought under the dominion of the Zekara.
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Safanarion Order Series:
Echoes of a Gloried Past (Book 2)
Amidst the Rising Shadows (Book 3)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First my thanks to you dear reader and to anyone who has reached out to me about the series. Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me and I am eternally grateful.
Next up is my family, you’ve all been the cornerstone to my foundation. To my children, who with silent demanding, dared me to be better than I thought could be.
My editor, Jason, thank you for all the feedback and words of encouragement.
Then there are my “beta readers,” Tim, Milosz, and Phillip who helped put the final touches on the book and provide an excellent sanity check for the story as a whole. Thank you so much for you time and support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I've been reading Epic Fantasy and Science fiction nonstop since the age of eleven. Before long, I started writing my own stories and kept adding to them throughout the years. As a father, I began telling my kids about the stories that became part of the Safanarion Order series. It was their enthusiasm and constant "Tell us more Dad," that lead me back to the keyboard. My main focus is to write books that I would like to read and I hope you enjoy them as well.
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Discover other books by Ken Lozito
Safanarion Order Series:
Echoes of a Gloried Past (Book 2)