GRIMORICON: Pathway to Terah Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Acknowledgments

  Map

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  About the Author

  Pathway to Terah

  Copyright © 2018 B.D. Suever

  Cover art by Mikey Brooks www.mikeybrooks.com

  Interior design by Mikey Brooks

  Map by B.D. Suever

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author. For information regarding permission please visit: www.bdsuever.com

  eBook Edition

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First and foremost, I must thank my wife for putting up with me through this whole process. All the nights I woke her up from a deep sleep simply to tell her an idea or something I felt was wrong with the plot of the story. I’m surprised she didn’t start swinging at me those nights. She has helped me to bring life to this book and has been my rock through it all.

  I am very thankful to Mikey Brooks (www.mikeybrooks.com). The work he did on the cover design was way beyond my expectations and gave me the motivation to make this book the best it can be, so everything inside would be as great as the outside.

  My novel wouldn’t be what it is without my editor Cas Peace (www.caspeace.com). I am so grateful to her for her hard work and suggestions for my novel. Her tips and ideas helped my story flow like a calm river.

  I wanted to send out a special thank you to one of my college professors, Matthew Masucci with Southern New Hampshire University. He challenged me to take my writing in a different direction. I used to be so fixated on horror with everything I wrote. He helped open my mind to another genre and I am so glad he placed that challenge in front of me. I feel as though I was meant to write fantasy all along and he helped me to realize that.

  And finally my most important thank you goes to………COFFEE!! Without it I would have slept through the whole writing process.

  Ting-a-ling!

  The small bell on the door chimed as Ethan and his father entered the antique store. Ethan immediately saw the large library of books they had, and his mouth dropped open as he glanced around the store. His dad closed it as he walked past and grinned. “Try not to drool all over the floor, buddy.”

  Ethan chuckled and went to look at the books. He had always enjoyed reading. Even from an early age Ethan always had his nose in a book. He loved to read no matter what the subject was. He'd soak up every word, whether it was in a schoolbook or his favorite genre: fantasy.

  Ethan sifted through the titles, looking for something he could get into. “I don't think I've ever seen this many old books in one place,” he said. He pulled two books off the shelf to read the first few pages. Nothing caught his eye. He glanced up to see his dad looking at some antique mirrors: a gift for Mom, he thought. As he reached up to grab another book, he bumped the shelf, causing a few books to fall to the floor. Ethan barely glanced at all the fallen books, ignoring the mess he had made, and instead continued surveying the shelves.

  “Please clean up this mess, child.”

  Ethan turned to see an old woman standing behind him, staring at him and the surrounding mess. “I don't work here. Isn't that your job?” he said with a cocky grin. “Oh, and I'm not a child. I am twelve, thank you very much.”

  The old woman looked annoyed. “You should show respect to others, and to the books.”

  Ethan stared. “Why should I show respect to the books? It's not like they have feelings.”

  The old woman gave him a creepy glare. “These books are ancient, older than me even. Some are precious and should not be mishandled. Some say these ancient books hear things and can even call to certain people.”

  Ethan chuckled. “Yeah, right.” He turned his back to the old woman.

  “You've been warned, boy. Not everything is as it seems.” The old woman walked away from Ethan and went to talk to his dad. Ethan could see her making gestures towards him and knew she was telling his dad about Ethan leaving the books there. Who cares, Ethan thought as he grabbed another book to look through.

  As Ethan sifted through the vast library of books, he heard a loud thud behind him. One book had fallen off the top shelf to land near Ethan's feet. He picked the book up and turned it over. “What's this? 'Grimoricon.' This looks interesting.” Ethan ran his hand across the cover. The book itself was larger than most normal books. The cover was a dark green color. It had a silver diamond with an emerald eye in the center. At the bottom was an inscription that read: “The light shall shine through.” The book looked ancient to Ethan. He opened the first page and saw a passage:

  Darkness and light reside in the souls of all.

  Without one there cannot be the other.

  Two sides of the same coin.

  Balance and Chaos.

  As anger takes hold, the struggle for power is torn.

  Should the darkness rise against the light, the world will be consumed.

  A single ray of light is all that is needed to fight back against the darkness.

  When the balance has shifted, the doorway will open.

  “Whoa! This sounds cool,” he said out loud. He turned and headed towards his dad, who was still talking to the old woman. “Hey Dad, can I get this book?”

  His father was in the middle of a conversation with the old woman. He raised a finger to Ethan, signaling him to wait his turn.

  “Helloooooooo! I asked a question,” Ethan said.

  The old woman stopped talking. His dad turned to him with an angry look in his eyes. “Ethan, we've talked about how you interrupt someone politely and that's not how you do it. Also, this woman here tells me you were disrespectful to her when she asked you to clean up your mess.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “Well, it's not like this is my store. Why should I clean it up?”

  His dad glared at him and Ethan could tell he didn't appreciate his son’s little joke. “If you want that book, you will march your butt over there, clean up that mess and make it look nice.”

  “Yes, sir.” Ethan sulked back over to the book section and cleaned up his mess.

  His dad handed the book Ethan wanted along with some other trinkets to the old woman. As they walked over to the register, the old woman looked at Ethan just in time to see him make a rude gesture towards his dad. She placed the items on the counter and totaled up the cost. Ethan heard his dad asking her to wait a moment while he went to grab one other item. He saw the old woman sift through the items his father had handed her and pick up the book Ethan wanted. A look of confusion and worry appeared on her face. Ethan was curious what she was doing so he crept behind the bookshelf closest to her. “So, you have chosen this one?” she said. Ethan watched her op
en the book and read a passage. “If this book chose this boy, then he has hard times ahead of him. Perhaps he will come out of this adventure a better person,” she muttered. Confused at what the woman was saying to herself Ethan decided to finish cleaning, so he could get out of there as soon as possible, This lady gives me the creeps.

  Ethan met up with his dad after he had cleaned up his mess. As they approached the old woman, Ethan apologized for his behavior. She nodded her acceptance. They both gathered up their items, but before they headed out of the store, the old woman reminded Ethan, “Remember to respect others and respect the book. Not everything is as it seems.”

  Ethan didn't know what to say, so he simply gave a nod. “That was odd,” his dad said as they walked to the car. Ethan looked back and saw the old woman watching them through the store window as they drove off.

  “Why do I have to go straight to bed after my shower?” Ethan whined. “And why can't I have my book tonight?”

  Ethan's mom turned to him. “I am tired of your sarcastic and rude comments, Ethan. You seem to think they are funny, but the truth is they are rude and mean.”

  Ethan could tell his mom was angry and frustrated. “I said I was just joking,” he protested.

  She glared at him. “I have told you time and time again to keep your negative thoughts to yourself. You don't have to blurt out rude comments like verbal vomit. If you don't like the dinner we make for you then just eat what you can, don't say anything rude. Saying 'dog food tastes better' is insulting both me and your father. It's also very disrespectful.”

  “Just because you say it's a joke, doesn't make everything all better, Ethan,” his dad added. “A rude comment is a rude comment no matter what you say afterward. Your attitude has changed little since the antique store. Guess I’ll be holding on to that book until your attitude changes.”

  Ethan pouted. “You guys just don't have a sense of humor.”

  He stalked off towards the shower. He turned the water on, stepped in and instantly felt relaxed. He closed his eyes and thought about his favorite video game: Dark Torment. He was grounded from video games for a couple weeks and missed playing it. He stood there imagining playing his games, slashing at knights and goblins. The rush he got when his character did a death move and sliced off limbs from his enemies. He smiled thinking about it, I can’t wait to play it again. A loud knock woke him from his daydream.

  “Ethan, quit stalling in the shower,” his dad called. “It's time for you to go to bed now.”

  Ethan rushed to finish his shower. He wanted to make sure he didn't get in any more trouble. As he walked out of the bathroom, he saw his mom and dad coming towards him from their bedroom. “I'm sorry about how I treated that lady at the store today, and for my comments at dinner,” he said.

  His dad smiled. “Well, I appreciate that you see it was wrong to do that. This kind of attitude goes a long way toward earning back your games and your new book. Keep it up and you’ll get them back in no time.”

  “Thank you for apologizing, Ethan,” his mom said.

  Ethan gave them a hug and said his goodnights. He sat in his bed for a while, still upset he couldn't read his book. He decided to try to sneak it once his parents had fallen asleep. Ethan listened to the clicking of his alarm clock as the seconds ticked away. Then he heard a low rumble coming from outside. Sounds like that storm is here, he thought. He walked over to his door and looked towards his parents’ room. The lights were off, and he could hear the sounds of his dad snoring. “There's that bear snore I was waiting for,” he murmured with a grin.

  He walked down the hall towards his dad’s office and saw the book on top of the bookshelf. As Ethan walked closer to the shelf, a flash of light filled the room, startling him. Just lightning, calm down, he thought. He reached up and pulled down the book. He hurried back to his room, turned on his reading lamp and opened the book. As he moved back the cover he could hear what sounded like a cracking noise. “Wow, this book is old. I wonder when it was written?” He turned to the front page and didn't see an author name or publish date. Maybe in the back? he thought. Nothing there either. “Oh well.” He flipped back to the front and read:

  The world of Terah groaned in pain as the darkness rose. Creatures of the night were on the move. Many were not as afraid to come out and attack the population as they were before. As each day passed, the darkness became stronger. The glow of the moons of Terah dimmed.

  Ethan was glued to the book already. He couldn't wait to see what this story was about and where his imagination would take him. He turned to the third page and was breezing through the story. The light of the chosen shall awaken within and fight back against the darkness. Ethan had a large smile on his face. He was eager to read about all the interesting characters in the book and this new world called Terah.

  As Ethan read further, he didn’t notice what time it was. He glanced over at his alarm clock: 1:47 am. Wow, I've been reading for a while, he thought. He peeked out his window and saw the heavy rain coming down. Just a few more minutes and I'll stop. As he continued to read, he imagined the world of Terah. The smell of the world, the feel of the wind blowing in this mysterious place. His imagination took him to this world of wonder and excitement. As he continued to immerse himself in the book, Ethan felt as if he were being drawn into this world. He didn't notice the flicker from his night light as the storm outside drew closer. Then, a bright flash filled Ethan's room.

  CRACK!

  The room went dark. A faint glimmer from the cover of the book faded into the darkness.

  The gleam of her silver eyes flashed under her hood. As the storm clouds rolled in, that glow faded. Nera the hunter was perched up in a tree, keeping a wary eye on the field and the many animals that were grazing in the tall grass. She listened for any out of the ordinary noise. Something about the air didn't smell right and she could feel something bad would happen. “Blood will spill on this day,” she said.

  The storm clouds moved in. Thunder rumbled in the distance. A gazelle lifted its head from grazing to stare off toward the sound of the thunder. It hadn't noticed the shuffling in the tall grass. A goblin rushed out to attack the majestic animal. As the gazelle turned to run, it didn't notice the other goblin flanking its position. The knife dug deep into the gazelle's chest and it let out a pain-filled groan before collapsing to the ground. The goblins cut chunks from the animal, feeding on the meat and breaking off bones for trophies.

  “Delicious morsel,” one goblin exclaimed as he gnawed at the meaty bone. He pulled out an eye from the gazelle’s head and slurped on it before swallowing it. “Mmm, try the eye, Xavoz.”

  Xavoz said nothing. He continued eating his meal, slurping until ... “BUURP!”

  Both goblins sat back with a sigh of relief. “That hit the spot,” Xavoz said. The other goblin glanced over with a grin.

  “Yeah. I think I'm ready for a second helping, hehehe. Meat is always better when you hunt just for fun.”

  The goblins sat in the tall grass, laughing and belching. Xavoz watched as the other goblin reached over to the dead gazelle to grab the last piece of meat.

  “What do you think you’re doing? I killed it! That last piece is mine!” Xavoz screamed as he swung his club at the other goblin.

  The other goblin screamed back, “My plan, my food!” He raised his mace and swung back, missing Xavoz's head.

  They punched one another, fighting. Just as the other goblin was pulling back to throw another punch, his eyes widened in fear and he turned to run away.

  “Hahaha, you better run,” Xavoz gloated.

  “ROOOOOAAAARRRRRR!” The white striped bear came barreling down on Xavoz, knocking him over as it chased down the other goblin who was running away.

  As the goblin ran, he glanced back to see how much distance there was between him and the bear. The bear would catch up to him in no time. As he looked back, he saw someone riding on the back of the bear. The bear came to a stop as the figure drew the bow it carried. Silver
eyes focused on the running goblin. “You will harm no more, vile creature!” The arrow soared through the air and pierced the goblin through the neck. He dropped with a thud.

  The female hunter hopped off the bear’s back and walked over to the goblin.

  “Why?” The goblin sputtered out the question as blood bubbled from his throat.

  “You dare to kill an innocent animal on my land for sport and have the nerve to ask why?” The hunter spoke with anger. She pulled the arrow out of the goblin’s neck and walked away from the dying creature.

  Xavoz got to his feet in time to see the hunter pull out the arrow. He turned to run away but tripped over the dead gazelle. Struggling to his feet, he gained his footing and ran.

  The hunter spun around to see the other goblin running away. Where do you think you're going? she thought. She hopped on the bear’s back and gave chase.

  Xavoz was running out of breath and his speed began to slow. The sound of the bear became silent. He glanced back to see the hunter take aim with the bow.

  “Vermin like you doesn't deserve to live,” she said as she focused her aim.

  CRACK!

  The flash from the lightning was blinding. The bear jumped back in fear as the hunter fell off its back. She tried to regain her focus. Her vision was still a little blurred and she could see white and black spots in front of her eyes. As her sight cleared, she could see the lightning had struck the goblin. He was still alive and trying to crawl away. As the hunter approached the goblin, she could smell the burnt skin. It was enough to make her sick, but she felt satisfied that he was in so much pain. She knelt next to the goblin as he still tried to crawl away. The pain the goblin was feeling was unbearable. Tears fell down the side of his scorched face. He stopped crawling and looked up at the hunter.

  “Go on, you wretched forest dweller. End it already. I welcome death, hehe.” Xavoz gave a little chuckle.