I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Presents: Excerpts for Alexander Drake Tour ~ Roman and the Giant Snake

While the rest of the realm settled in for the night, deep in the mountains of Acadia, a banished Empyrean by the name of Roman stirred restlessly in his dungeon cavern. Something dreadful was approaching. “Hissss….” The scales of a giant snake scraped the walls of the cave, causing it to creak and shift. The flames in Roman’s dungeon suddenly went out. He knew Imperius was close. “The boy musssst be destroyed.” The snake glided over to Roman. Its long tongue slithered across the Empyrean’s face. “Yes, well, um, my ravens returned. The boy entered the passageway. Um, I’ve been thinking, if we attack Paraclete—” Before Roman could get his words out, Imperius’s yellow eyes blazed and turned flaming red, burning the tip of the Empyrean’s nose. “Your whining is beginning to wear on me! You will have your vengeance on the king. First, I want the boy!” Imperius sneered. Its rattle shuddered, piercing Roman’s ears and shaking boulders off the tip of the mountain. “Yes—yes, I-I-I understand. I will send the murks out to hunt him down,” said Roman nervously. With one last hiss, Imperius slithered away, and the flames in the dungeon reappeared. Roman was beginning to second-guess his decision to become Imperius’s ally, as he felt like more of a servant than a partner. However, vengeance in the form of a surprise attack fueled his hate. Roman needed the alliance. His army consisted of Imperius’s followers. He only wondered if he could trust something so evil. The banished Empyrean shoved his doubts to the back of his mind as he shuffled through the caves. “The sooner we finish that boy off, the sooner I will get my attack.” He swung open the heavy wrought-iron gate and freed just enough vicious murks to get the job done. “Don’t return without the grandson of the king!” he cackled his orders to the murks, and the hunt was on.