Read The Guardian Chronicles: Book 03 - The Dark Tide for Free Online

intelligent than I give them credit for.”  Darkness crossed his face as he said this…as brief as it was, Khalida took notice.  He knew that he was a little careless in sharing the vicinity of the orb with his council; however, it was high time that he trusted someone again.  It is when you do not trust others that mistakes get made.  They could not afford that right now.
    “I really hate to persist in asking, but what power does the orb possess?  We do not need to know the secret, but I think we need to know what it can do.  Are we in any danger from it?” asked Lord Keb evenly.  He had a dark look as he stared at nothing in particular.  He appeared to be almost translucent as his focus continued to shift and his essence swirled.  His focus was unshakeable as he looked at Lord Adair.
    “You have every right to keep asking…you have suffered greatly while trying to protect the secret of its existence.  We all need to be on our guard.  If Kana gains possession of the orb, she will be able to destroy anyone or anything in her path.  The Orb of Nitesh does have the power to inflict significant harm on any of us.  However, she would never be able to discover the hidden capabilities that would threaten our existence.  Even without the power to destroy us, we will be hard pressed to stop her if she gains possession of this powerful object.”  His features darkened slightly as he spoke.  It was clear that in Kana’s hands that this weapon would wreak havoc.
    “Is our top priority keeping the orb hidden or with the war that rages on?” asked Lady Necia softly.  She was clearly having a serious internal struggle that no one else seemed to notice.  She felt that Kana had turned against the council and not her as an individual.  She too had had issues with the council from time to time, so it seemed reasonable that the fallen guardian was somewhat justified in her actions.
    “I will deal with ensuring the orb remains hidden.  No one outside this council is to know about the existence of it.  Also, no one is to mention master Mahdi and his kind.  These secrets must be kept at all costs.  Khalida will continue to lead the war effort while I deal with several pressing matters.  Before I take leave of you, I would like to tell you about my encounter with the dark lord.”  He looked at Lord Keb as he said this.  A look of pity crept across his face while he looked at his friend who looked to be holding the weight of all of Tuwa on his shoulders.  Adair seemed to rush through this until he looked at Keb.  He knew that this matter required a delicate approach…something that he had always struggled with.
    “Please continue” said Khalida smoothly.  She was always able to sense his unease and knew that there were several things plaguing her master.  This was going to be difficult no matter how gentle the guardian tried to be.
    “Once I learned of Lord Keb’s disappearance, I knew that I had to find out what was going on in the north.  I immediately knew that he was being held captive in that dark mountain which is the source of all evil in the world of the living.  I determined that I would need to figure out who was in that accursed place before I simply walked in to retrieve Keb.  It became clear that Kana had released Drogan and his followers from their icy prison.  She had them watching over Keb in Mount Mephistopheles.”  A chill filled the air at this revelation.  The mountain was said to be one of the few places where the world of the keeper and the living met.  Entering that place meant risking an encounter with the underworld.
    “Kana released those foul creatures from the prison we placed them in?” asked Necia quickly.  She was still struggling with her former master’s betrayal and could not bring herself to fully face reality quite yet.  She cast a furtive look at Keb and then looked back at the guardian.  She was seriously conflicted with everything that she was