Read Lord of the White Hell Book One lotwh-1 for Free Online

or apples, delighted him. But he loved horses most of all. Kiram noted the irony in the fact that he, who was terrified of the beasts, was forced to ride them every day, while Master Ignacio only allowed Fedeles to watch.
    "Nestor? Would you mind if I gave one of these sketches of Firaj to Fedeles?"
    Nestor looked at Fedeles for a moment then shrugged. "I want to turn in the one of him running, but any of the othe rs should be all right."
    "Which one would you like, Fedeles?" Kiram leafed through the drawings watching Fedeles' eyes as they flickered down to the pages.
    "Firaj," Fedeles whispered as Kiram came to the drawing of the horse's head. Kiram handed it to him and Fedeles crushed the drawing against his chest.
    He sang quietly to himself. Strung through the lyrical murmurs of gibberish and horses' names, Kiram suddenly caught a strange refrain and he glanced to Fedeles.
    "Help me. Please help me." Fedeles' dark eyes were wide and terrified. His constant smile looked suddenly like a terrible grimace. Alarm shot through Kiram.
    "Fedeles?" Kiram asked. "Is something wrong?"
    Fedeles bowed his head, his unkempt black hair falling across his face, and Kiram thought he saw a shudder pass through Fedeles' body.
    "Lunaluz," Fedeles whispered dreamily. When he lifted his face to Kiram's his expression was soft, sweet, and lost.
    The school bells rang out the end of the lunch hour. All around them students stood and gathered their belongings. Fedeles sprang lightly from the table, laughing, and skipped away.
    Kiram turned back to Nestor, who was gulping down the last of the stew.
    "Did you hear that?"
    "The bell? Of course," Nestor replied.
    "No. What Fedeles just said. I think he was asking for help. You don't think he's hurt or something, do you?"
    "He seems fine. I mean, as fine as he's ever been since his seizure." Nestor gathered his drawings and corked his inkwell. "He picks up phrases and things. He probably heard some one praying for luck with the next math test and was just repeating that."
    "Maybe," Kiram replied. Fedeles had looked so stricken; it was hard for Kiram to think it was just some kind of mimicry. What if he was ill or in some pain that he couldn't communicate? "What kind of seizure did he have?"
    "I wasn't at the academy when it happened, but my brother Elezar said that the hand of the white hell reached out and grasped him."
    "You mean Javier caused it?" Kiram lowered his voice to a whisper as other students strode past them.
    "No, it was the white hell itself," Nestor said. "Fedeles is Javier's cousin and the white hell has a taste for their bloodline. That's what Elezar says. And he was there when it happened."
    "Yes, but what exactly happened?" Kiram asked.
    "It was three years ago, when they were all first years. Elezar and Fedeles were leaving Scholar Donamillo's class when black sparks suddenly burst up, dancing across Fedeles' body, burning into his flesh. Fedeles was screaming and thrashing as if he was on fire. The white hell was trying to get into him."
    "What did Elezar do?" Kiram couldn't imagine what his own reaction would be such a sight.
    "Elezar didn't do anything. What could he do?" Nestor straightened his spectacles. "Javier heard the screaming and came running. He grabbed Fedeles and drew the hellfire off him. If you ever see Fedeles without his shirt you'll see the scars where the hellfire burned his body. He's been…odd ever since then."
    Kiram studied Nestor's face intently.
    "I'm not making it up," Nestor said. "Ask anyone. That's really what happened to Fedeles."
    "It doesn't mean he doesn't need some help."
    "If he needs help, Javier will give it to him." Nestor waved his hand as if brushing the thought aside. "Javier doesn't let anything happen to Fedeles. Why do you think everyone puts up with Fedeles running all around the academy?"
    That afternoon, Kiram tried to concentrate on his work but throughout the fine arts class his mind continued to wander back to that brief glimpse