The Silver Sphere
Authors: Michael Dadich
Copyright © 2012 Michael Dadich
Cover Art Copyright © 2012 Mallory Rock
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Edited by Lane Diamond
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Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.
For Jenna and Jax; when they smile my heart is whole.
of Contents
"Your world will be over soon, won't it, dear Bianca?"
The cloaked creature rasped out the syllables one at a time,
and each sound pushed Bianca closer toward the cold stone floor. Moonlight splashed
across the room from a wall of windows. Even if she could have yelled, no one would
have heard her. Pain made her dizzy.
As the assault on her consciousness raged, she struggled to her
feet against the heavy stupor overtaking her body. Her limbs shook. The long table
in front of her provided only a moment of support before she collapsed upon the
solid oak board.
Her vision blurred from the pressure, and a murmur gurgled from
her throat as she tried to call out to the Assembly members hunched in their chairs.
The maroon wine spilled across the table told of their downfall. Were they unconscious
or dead? She couldn't begin to guess. Her goblet remained almost untouched.
"How easy this was...."
The din of his words made her gaze upward, where a hood surrounded
his darkened features. Screams echoed in her head, though no sound broke from her
lips.
He knelt beside her and whispered, "Dear Bianca." His
hands caressed full chunks of her raven hair, and he started pulling the strands
through his fingers.
Horror traveled down her spine and numbed her. She felt the escape
of fainting descend upon her, fogging her mind; how she wanted to drift off and
shun the maddening fear. Yet he would not let her. She tried in vain to pull away,
but his power over her was too great.
"Don't." She must have said it aloud because his grip
tightened and he jerked her head back, forcing her to look at him. She gasped as
he pulled the cowl away.
Her tormentor had a pallid complexion and a high forehead. Long,
wiry auburn hair framed his narrow face, at the center of which sat a nose snubbed
like a snout. It was the piercing glare of his eyes that caught her, though. Their
intensity made her skin crawl.
"Malefic," she mouthed, her breath releasing in a terrified
wheeze.
He loosened his grasp and eased her to the floor. Then he stepped
over her body and slithered to the head of the table, admiring his handiwork.
Bianca's legs and arms stiffened. Malefic oozed power, and as
she watched him, her mind reeled. What had led to such laxness in their security?
Where had he come from?
We were betrayed, of course,
she thought, as unconsciousness
bid her closer to blackness.
Malefic turned and glared into her eyes, a sneer twisting his
expression into a grotesque mask. "The Aulic Assembly is mine." His harsh
voice pulled her to the brink. "Father will be pleased."
Shelby Pardow sat across the table from the beast. Her cereal
rested on her tongue like paper, and she melted the particles to avoid any crunching.
She planned every movement she made. Were it possible, she'd escape the beast without
exchanging a single word with him.
Her father, Byron, had barged in from his night out. At eight
o'clock that morning, the sickening-sweet scent of alcohol and cigarettes remained
on his breath.
She needed to be cautious; after he drank gin, the devil possessed
him. She glanced up at his rumpled clothes, haggard expression, and gray stubble
along his jaw. His depression had worsened since Mom abandoned them.
He munched a slice of cold pizza left over from dinner earlier
that week. His behavior turned her stomach sour. She needed him—well, except when
she needed to avoid him.
Dang it all. How did I forget to set the iPod alarm last night?
The beast glared at her from across the table. "So, to what
do I owe the pleasure, missy?"
The beast only called her "missy."
"Nothing, Dad. I just wanted to see you before I left for
the library."
Her sweet reply was countered with a snarl. "Oh, really?
Or did you oversleep before you cut out to your precious book cave, huh, missy?"
She took small bites of cereal and kept her eyes locked on the
blue, flower-patterned bowl. Usually he ignored her when she did not look at him.
She hoped today would be the same.
"Answer me!" the beast roared, jarring the table and
sending her saucer crashing to the floor. The beast had consumed him.
Shelby winced. Maybe it believed she was her mother. Everyone
always said she resembled Samantha.
She glimpsed her father in the beast's face. He scanned the ground
with remorse, and for a moment, she thought he might return after all. Hope, however,
was shattered.
The alcoholic creature rose with a howl.
Trembling, she stood and backed away. Her foot slipped on the
cereal and milk now layering the slick linoleum, nearly tumbling her down.
"Look what you've done now, missy!" The beast growled
as he whirled around the table and grasped her by the neck.
Her heart throbbed and her legs buckled.
"I'll teach you to respect food, missy. Children are starving
in this world, some even here in town. Now you eat that food, missy. You eat it
right off the floor."
"Daddy... please...." She managed to choke the words
out in between gasps for air, and she sniffled in fear. On the ground, the dish
wobbled and skidded a few feet.