The Vial of Deziar (Mortal Secrets Book 1)
by Kevin BarrickPublish: Oct 16, 2020Series: Mortal SecretsBook Overview
An oppressive hierarchy pales in the shadow of a rebel leader’s disappearance. Drawn by an unknown desire and the urgency of finding his friend, Liam ventures into the forest of shadows forbidden by the Elders.Met with darkness, the legend of a mysterious evil becomes a reality disguised as myth. When hidden dangers begin to emerge, new heroes must rise. A history of gods and demons sealed beneath the sea reveals the dark secrets of mortals and strong powers.
Not all secrets are meant to be kept.
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CHAPTER 1 EXCERPT
The shadows called to him from the edges of his mind. His numbed fingers strength along the bottom of the wooden mug, drawing any warmth to fight back the chills ravaging his body. He ignored the sinister whispers flowing from the forest through the mountain pass. His eyes clung to the faint outline of the moon, a sliver of light against the immense darkness of midnight.
The village of Gh’oir burned brightly with pyres of celebration to the sacred harvest season, bringing to life a week-long festival. Yet, Liam found himself shivering in front a lone bonfire bemoaned with the melody of a hallowed evil.
Flaming tongues licked the sky above a group of young adults standing around a long bonfire shrouded in a veil of evil lore spun by a storyteller dancing in the glow of the fire. He twisted a crooked smile across his face as he smeared three lines of warm ash onto his forehead. He invoked the spirits of the ancients to craft a tale so haunting even the oldest of them trembled slightly from the thought of the demon roaming the deep forest.
Eyu chanted the verse, inciting horror and fear with each line. The legend of the demon that lurked in the forests forbidden by the Elders now breathed into the smoke. The voice of darkness crackled on the embers. Liam mouthed the words of the myth, finding himself entranced by the village’s storyteller. Liam refused to make his voice heard. Liam saw many frightening things in his life, but the notion of the mythical demon crashed over him like a freezing sea wave.
“With mouth dripping with darkness,” Eyu continued the recitation, “the Mountain Pass Demon stepped from the shadows. A shrill cry cut off by the silence of death is the warning sound of the evil monster. Devouring all who defy the Elder Law by venturing deep into the woods, the demon bares his yellow teeth. Cold winds swallow the light of hope. The fear of the wanderers summons the beast of darkness, calling forth their own fate.”
The face of his brother flashed across his mind as Liam followed the river deeper into the heart of the town. The lifeless eyes. The limp body. The placard that was strung from his neck, warning the village of any form of rebellion against the Elder rule.
Liam always questioned the ways of the Elders ever since, but the legend of the Mountain Pass Demon was one he could never truly shake off. The tale of evil within the forest bore a mystic realism that only just recently suggested a hint of truth.
When Liam’s best friend from childhood disappeared in the dead of night, erased from the world by the hidden hand of an unknown monstrosity, the dark woods became his first suspicion of ill workings.
Liam now knew the reality of this demon despite the mythic storytelling of Eyu to the other children of the village. He felt the cold whispers against his neck. He sensed an evil presence swirl in the breeze. His soul longed to know the entity veiled in myth, even though he knew it to be a childish and foolish desire.
The voice called to him, beckoning him towards the unknown.
