Read Storm of Prophecy: Book 1, Dark Awakening for Free Online

already realized something was amiss but didn’t know of his invisibility shroud yet. He pulled harder on his shirt sleeve, not wanting to be here to discover the more clever means they would use next in trying to ferret him out once word finally reached them.
    He tore harder and finally ripped his shirt sleeve free. In no time at all he was back on his feet. The part of the outer wall where his team had entered was on the left side of the campus when looking out from his position near the gatehouse. This time instead of running, he walked quickly while trying to control the sound of his ragged breathing. He tried as much as possible to avoid getting close to the prowling wizards and sorceresses who were searching for him.
    The circular lawn in the middle of the buildings had a cobblestone road running through its center, straight toward the gatehouse of the fortress behind him. On the other side of the distant stretch lay the iron bar gate of the outer wall. There were a few people in the open expanse of the lawn, but it seemed most were searching elsewhere. This was troubling since many of the buildings enclosed within the campus walls were not always so far apart, certainly not as far as he would like. He just wished that he could recover his breath faster and be silent once again.
    He stealthily moved onward, passing by an unusually tall wizard’s tower which widely twirled and spiraled upward in a coil yet somehow maintained its structural integrity without collapsing. Thickly foliated stands of leafy trees stood to its sides save for the entrance at the bottom. Parts of it seemed like simple stone much like the fortress. Others appeared to be made of a smooth, glossy, wavy material that was greenish in places and opaque, rugged, dull silver in others. He didn’t bother to look up at the clear crystalline pointed roofing that he knew blanketed the very top. It was obvious to him that this was the notorious Tower of Prophecy where atmomancers were trained to read the arrangement of the stars in the heavens, attempting to discern what fate had in store.
    He smiled smugly to himself while he moved along, wondering if the fools had foreseen this or the full fury of the coming storm on the horizon. His own sect had known for several millennia. About the coming of the dark one. The one who would rain death upon all the land yet also be death’s master. The dark but true beliefs of his cult were not widely shared, and they dared not worship openly.
    The magic they used that was associated with it, necromancy, was also completely forbidden and punishable by death. Nonbelievers in fact frowned upon everything they did, even the necessary sacrifices of people which had allowed him to penetrate this far unseen. Gathering in secret, often at night in the forests, their numbers were few. It was therefore always more efficient to rely on captured heathens for use in their ceremonies.
    And their children were often easier still to capture.
    They had served their purpose and now he needed to serve his. He just hoped that the essence of the one shrouding him would be potent enough to last until he cleared the outer wall, the one thing foremost in his mind. He and the followers he led would be amongst the favored. The reign of the dark one was at hand.
    He maneuvered through buildings and ducked through alleyways, slipping past prowling initiate wizards as well as their instructors. Soldiers ran past. Often he heard some of the people call out to him to surrender, promising that he would be unharmed if he did. When they did this, he sometimes ducked behind tress even though he knew they couldn’t see him, such was his fear, and he didn’t want to take any extra risks since his shroud’s time was running out.
    It seemed that the entire academy had awaken this night to join the search. Some were now starting to use flame in certain places, testing for his presence. Others used small weak crackles of omni-directional lightning,