Read The 13th Star: An Action Adventure Sci-F Apocalyptic Novel for Free Online Page B

not lament? Her heart wept with him
     and her fingers collected his tears like precious pearls.
    “Rettoul, my son,” she cried with him. “Your path will be paved everywhere. May the black weeping sky not deter you. Your
     success will be our success, my dear son.”
    Rettoul hugged his mother as he hadn’t since he was a child. “Do you think it’s true? Is this trip really necessary?”
    Benaya smiled. “Nothing is truer than this, and you will discover it for yourself. Life gives us the tools to move forward.
     Sometimes it’s through fire, but it’s the only way offered. And you, my child, will march through the fire, through the darkness,
     and your path will be the path of all of us. Right?” she said, smiling through her tears.
    Rettoul nodded. “Yes, Mother.”
    “And another thing,” she continued. “Your scar.” Her fingertip traced the scar on his forehead. “It was from playing with
     a Roll. Do you remember it—using a flying disc with jagged edges and a slashing Roll when you were only six?”
    “What?” he asked, surprised. “What’s the connection to my scar?” He didn’t understand.
    Her face was grim. “The scar was the result of a game with a Roll toy, and nothing else. Anyone who asks, anyone who investigates—that’s
     the answer. There’s no other!”
    “Mother, I know and remember that accident. Why do you have to go back to it now?”
    “Because,” she said with a stern look, “people sometimes don’t accept a simple answer and look for more. And so I want you
     to remember this very well.”
    He looked at Benaya and smiled at her face, furrowed with soft wrinkles. Her usual smile was absent, not even appearing in
     response to his. He realized things were much more serious than he thought. He hugged her and promised he wouldn’t forget.
     
    Years later, when he could only recollect, he remembered her wrinkled face and her concerned expression.

Chapter 5: The War Within
    It was impossible to ignore the fact that the
     commander was smaller than Rettoul, who was impressive in his
     stance and the width of his shoulders, even before discerning the
     strength in his face. There was no need for the man to shout again
     at the gang of kids dressed in black, which emphasized their pale
     gauntness and their frightened and sad faces. They listened to his
     order.
    These 32 young boys—new cadet trainees—had just
     left their homes and parents, and not all of them were happy to
     arrive at the camp. Some cried at night into their hard pillows, some got up with their eyes red from lack of sleep and yearning. They hadn’t yet made friends with each other and everything
     seemed scary, especially their commander’s fingers. None of them had ever seen such strange, enormous middle
     fingers . Over the years, stories about his hands had mixed and mingled, and no one dared to verify their authenticity. To his benefit,
     his fingers intimidated others and made him appear far more evil than he intended.
    Rettoul looked into the eyes of his officer, who didn’t take his eyes off the unusual boy. He’d never encountered so powerful
     a cadet, embedded with such natural ability just waiting to be exposed. Rettoul’s thoughts drifted off. He toyed with the
     idea of shouting “Rolltoy!” to see what those in charge of the training camp would do. Would they be allowed to take time
     out and play a bit? Would they be allowed a smile, or a word of encouragement? Would anyone understand that they were all
     just very homesick?
     
    Kantara had two distinct characteristics: one part was covered with extremely dense evergreen forests. The sun was unable
     to penetrate the branches of the enormous trees and they gained the name “Forests of Great Darkness.” The other part was a
     giant desert whose horizon was far distant. The desert areas were routinely used as firing ranges and training areas, while
     the Forests of Great Darkness were a wonderful place to practice long-range