The Elements of Sorcery (27 page)

I don’t know how long I was unconscious.

When I came to, it felt like I’d been immersed in an ice bath, and it was the most incredible feeling I could ever have imagined.

My eyes opened after a time and I stared at the distant ceiling of the cavern.

All around me, blue light shone down.

Eventually, I picked myself up off of the stone floor. Crystals and rubble had come down from the ceiling everywhere, leaving the once-mostly-clean cavern littered with debris. The giant manna crystal in the center had gone dark, with an enormous crack running down the center of it.

Havox Khaine was nowhere to be seen.

My first thought was that the daemon had killed him, and my second—equally horrified—was that perhaps I’d misdirected the
Verse
and targeted him at the same time. Both of those fears were alleviated, though, when I noticed that his manna sword had gone missing as well.

Apparently, he’d had no further use for me, and had simply left me behind. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I shrugged. That suited me just fine, and I genuinely hoped he’d found what we’d come looking for.

I stretched and flexed my fingers. I, Edar Moncrief, had achieved something that no other sorcerer in living memory had done.

Edar Moncrief had killed a daemon.

Well,
I amended mentally.
With a little help.

Speaking of help, there was one more thing I needed to do before finding a way out of Grysalta and settling down to thoroughly research my new condition. I turned my attention inward, seeking out that hungry flame that lurked in my mind.

Can you help me?
I asked it.

It flickered.

Somewhere beyond the trees to the east, dawn broke, and golden rays of sunlight filled the sky.

The waves roared as they crashed against the rocks. The tide was coming in.

Trying to suppress my panic, I dug in the sand with both hands until my fingers brushed over something with an entirely different tactile sensation.

With utmost care, I pulled the fragile form of the heartblade that I’d lost out of the sand, and tucked it away in my tattered clothing.

Thank you,
I whispered to the little presence. The hungry flame flashed an acknowledgement in my mind's eye.

I licked my lips, and regarded the sea with wary respect. Many things needed doing. I could see my future spinning out ahead of me in my mind’s eye.

Someday, someone would say that Edar Moncrief unraveled
all
of the secrets of the Arbiters. The truth was buried in a thousand ancient tombs, a hundred lost and forgotten sites scattered all around the Old Kingdoms and beyond, and when I found it, I would hold it aloft and scream to the sky that
Edar Moncrief
understood.

See?
I told my mind.
Self-interest.

That was all well and good, but one thing had to be done first.

“I'm going to find a place somewhere near a mountain,” I said aloud. “Far, far away from water. No offense.”

To its credit, the sea made no reply at all.

<<< | >>>

Thank you for reading this electronic omnibus edition of
THE ELEMENTS OF SORCERY
. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it.

Sorcerer’s Code
was originally devised as a prequel to my fantasy novel series, the
Arbiter Codex
. During the writing process for the second book in that series, I met this strange character by the name of Edar Moncrief, and one of the first things that my protagonist, D’Arden Tal, said to him was: “Didn’t I tell you I’d kill you if I ever saw you again?”

That question begged for an answer.

In late 2011 I set out to write Sorcerer’s Code, and discovered who Edar Moncrief truly was. Originally I’d planned for it to be a single story telling how the two characters had met, but my astute readers promptly informed me that there had to be more to Moncrief than that.

As it turned out, there was.

This edition is the culmination of two and a half years of work, and now it is complete. Thanks for joining me on this journey, whether you came in early or only discovered these stories in omnibus form.

If you happen to be looking for other great books to read (and come on, who isn’t?) I highly recommend looking at the Genre Underground, where we search out and collect the diamonds in the rough, the underappreciated and the true gems of fiction. We want you to find your next favorite book, and it might come from the place you least expect!

www.genreunderground.com

Thank you again, and may you find your next great adventure!

Christopher Kellen is an Amazon.com best-selling author and co-founder of the Genre Underground. To date he has published two fantasy novels (the
Arbiter Codex
), six fantasy novellas (
The Elements of Sorcery
and
The Corpse King
) and one science-fiction book (
Sins of the Father
). He is a gamer and IT professional in his copious spare time.

He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and a

giant black dog.

Connect With Me Online

http://www.christopherkellen.com
http://www.twitter.com/eisengoth

http://www.facebook.com/authorchristopherkellen

www.genreunderground.com