Excerpt: The White Tower

--- Children often fear the dark, but then as they grow they learn that there is nothing to fear, it is only like closing one’s eyes, everything is the same, just out of sight, there is nothing to be scared of. Little do they know that there is more to fear in the dark then they could ever know. Heed the warning: sometimes it is best to die in the light, then to live a damned life condemned to the shadows. ---

---“You are just lucky my eyes are not what they used to be, the request for so much light is not often needed, but I often study with it. History should be read with a hot cup of tea and a lot of light. Now my son, you must sit yourself down and tell me why perplexity has bored itself into your poor brow. Expressions like that will get you nowhere but looking like me,” he chuckled as he lowered himself down into the arm chair. ---

---“This shard, a thing that has caused more blood shed then five lifetimes of wars.”---

---“Temper, temper, there really is no need to shout,” came the same mysterious voice from before. “And where have you been keeping yourself?” His voice seemed to draw nearer with every breath. “But leave it to a keeper to know how to dodge a Hellian. "---

---“You don’t honestly think, after the deaths of so many of my kindred and loved ones that I would give you the shard? No, no, I leave you with nothing but a giant headache you damned Knight of Hell, I leave you,” his hand slowly opened, his fingers peeling back to reveal nothing but bare skin, “With nothing, the same thing your kind left me with.”---

---She stirred, rolling to the side but her legs caught in the sheets and that, in addition to rolling too far, she fell to the floor with a ‘whump’ “Ouch! Bloody Hell!” the woman cursed, rudely awakened from her sleep. ---

---As Rogers has said, Gethin was often around, bothering her, spouting off yet another proposal for the umpteenth time. He’d start brawls and thus end up breaking something of hers and she’d end up either throwing him out, or sending everyone to their rooms like children being scolded by their bother. Hatie wasn’t one to nag, but when it came to her inn, her baby, then she got protective.---

---“In honesty I think you’re a bloody loon Thanatos. I just run an inn.”

“Used to,” Thanatos said inspecting his hand and picking at an old scar.

“Fine, but still,”

“That’s why you’d be trained. You want to know about eh hellians, now you’ll know more then you ever wanted to know.”

“But…”Damn, he was right. ---