Valor (The Faithful and the Fallen, #2)

by John Gwynne

‘Strike first,’ he said, ‘else you might not get a chance to strike at all. That’s a Darkwood education.’

Come then, Death, take me across your bridge of swords, but know this: I won’t be coming alone.

The Kurgan here, ruling in the south, the Jotun in the north, the Benothi in the west, the Shekam in the east, and the Hunen in the central regions–where Helveth, Carnutan and Forn are situated now.’

‘And what of the Firstborn? Where are they now? In the end-days they shall tread this earth, Halvor says, the Faithful and the Fallen, strange-eyed men clothed in flesh and bone, one Ben-Elim, the other dread Kadoshim. One Lightbearer’s servant, Black Heart, Spider that spins the web, high king’s counsel, one guide of the Hundred, Outcast, messenger of dread.’

You humans are all the same. Willing to live a lie, any lie, as long as it is prettier than the truth.

Is the human heart so fickle? So ready to embrace such evil? He snorted at himself. Listen to me. I am the heart of this wickedness, its root.

‘Memory is a double-edged sword, Uthas. It can keep you strong through dark times, but it can also cripple you, keep you locked in a moment that no longer exists.’