Read Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition for Free Online

boys and
halted a man’s length away from them. Vartan stood slowly and
raised an arm towards the unicorn’s neck. It instinctively moved
its head away for a moment and stared at the glowing bow with wide
eyes.
    “It’s okay, my friend. We shall
not harm you,” Vartan said gently.
    Finn reached up and touched the
unicorn’s horn, and he was surprised by its texture.
    “Vartan, the horn feels warm,”
Finn giggled.
    The unicorn turned to Vartan and
cocked its head to the side.
    It is not your
presence that I fear, human. Leave this place as soon as you can.
It is not safe here for any of us, said a
voice in his mind.
    Vartan jumped back and looked
around in confusion, only to find no other presence in sight.
    Did a unicorn
just talk to me? Am I losing my mind? thought Vartan.
    Of course I spoke to you. We
should not be meeting like this. The time isn't right. Are you not
aware—
    Suddenly, and without warning,
it turned its body sharply and stared deep into the darkness.
    Vartan whispered, "What's
wrong?"
    The beast's voice reverberated
in his head.
    Run!
    The unicorn snorted and galloped
away at full speed until its white glow could no longer be
seen.
    Vartan caught a quick glint of
moonlight through the blanket of trees, reflecting off a metallic
object flying through the air with penetrating speed. There was no
time to waste on thinking. As if time itself had slowed to a crawl,
he leapt backwards and shoved Finn out of the path of the unknown
missile slicing its way through the icy air.
    Vartan landed heavily on top of
his brother, who yelped in pain at the weight suddenly crushing
him. Finn's voice shrieked, "I’m scared!"
    There was a loud thud as the
weapon embedded itself in the trunk of an oak tree, only a body
length away from where the boys lay. Vartan looked up and saw what
appeared to be a plain dagger, but just as it came into focus, it
quickly dissolved into nothing.
    Vartan blurted involuntarily,
"Dark magic..."
    A voice whispered from within
the darkness. "Fools!"
    Suddenly, something darted
between the trees, like a moving shadow.
    “Who are you? Tell us what you
want with us!” growled Vartan angrily into the darkness.
    There was a moment of uneasiness
as the boys found their feet. Not a sound could be heard aside from
their lungs expelling air. The night became noticeably cooler, and
a chill found its way up their spines as their hot breaths formed
mist in the air.
    “ Brother, I want to go
home now ,” cried Finn.
    “Stay still and don’t move a
muscle!” hissed Vartan, pushing his brother back onto the muddy
forest floor and once again readying his bow. His slow steps
crunched the twigs on the forest floor beneath his weight.
    “You shouldn’t be here!”
reverberated a dark voice that sounded as if it came from all
around them.
    Suddenly, Vartan realised what
had found them. They had truly ventured too far into the forest
this time.
    Shadow
demons , he thought.
    His father had warned him about
the Forces of Darkness that preyed on innocents in the woods and
had no compassion, not even for children. They could move wherever
no light shone, and they used the shadows as portals to their
realms.
    Vartan heard the sound of leaves
rustling all around, and spun on his heel when he heard rough
movement behind him.
    “He’s toying with us,” he said,
as he turned in all directions, desperately seeking any signs of
movement to give away the being’s presence.
    Finn ran toward the darkness
with his sword drawn, slashing wildly at the shadows. His tears
shone in the moonlight as he screamed, “I’m not afraid of you!”
    “Finn, no!” cried Vartan.
    A shifting figure of darkness
slithered out from behind a tree, jerking Finn to a sudden stop
mid-jump as it grabbed hold of his frail neck, making it appear
that he was suspended in the dark air.
    “ Pathetic creatures! You
think you can attack me and live to tell the tale?”
The demon twisted and threw Finn like a toy doll against the trunk
of