Pursuit Of Power

By Byron Gordon

Riordan is a magician, skilled in artifice and sleight of hand – and no slouch at actual magic either. For years he has sought the key to obtaining a relic of great power, one that would elevate him to the status of greatest magician in the entire land. And the key might be closer at hand than he realized.

But keys can unlock more than one door, and there is no telling what might be lurking behind the magical portals this key will open. Or what other parties are also seeking the relic.

A magician needs confidence and ambition to prosper, but is Riordan’s confidence well founded or is it merely blind arrogance? Can he out-wit his rivals and control the power he’s unleashed to obtain the relic? Or will he trip and become consumed by the power that he pursues?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Byron Gordon
• Release date: Sep 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370662906

Byron Gordon

Byron Gordon grew up in the rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA. One of six children, he soon discovered his love of reading, ranging from the clever humor of P.G. Wodehouse to the epic fantasy of Tolkien to the fast paced science fiction of Timothy Zahn. Fed on this widely varied diet, his imagination blossomed and he began to write, desiring to create worlds and adventures of his own.After realizing the bleak financial prospects of an aspiring writer trying to break into the fiction realm, Byron enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. He spent an extra week in Coast Guard Boot Camp (Cape May, NJ) for writing during the breaks between classes. After Boot Camp he traveled to California for training in radio communications. Following the completion of his training, he spent three years on a Coast Guard Cutter, interdicting and repatriating illegal migrants. He currently is still on active duty and plans search and rescue efforts on the east coast of the USA.Despite the intense, and often hectic, schedule that military life entails, Byron has continued to write in his free time. While writing a complete novel still proves elusive, he has composed multiple short stories and a small amount of poetry. In the spring of 2011, he started publishing his writings electronically and now has a fair number of short stories and poetry available online in a variety of formats.

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Pursuit of Power

A Short Story

Byron Gordon

Copyright © 2016 Byron Gordon

All Rights Reserved

Cover Art by Joseph Wheatley

Smashwords Edition

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Pursuit of Power

The lantern was a simple thing. A tin floor with five corners and a small spike in the center to fix the candle on. The walls were short, squat almost, and slanted outwards as they rose to the roof. Four of them were fixed in place, while the fifth was hinged like a door, to allow for the candle to be changed out. They all featured tin shutters that could be raised or lowered by means of an ash knob that perched on the roof and was carved in the shape of a gargoyle.

Turn the gargoyle to the right and the shutters raised, turn to the left and they would lower. The roof itself was concave, flaring out at the bottom and peaking sharply together to form the gargoyle’s perch. A ring of small holes had been punched in the tin around the gargoyle’s feet. The beast itself was contorted into a physically impossible stance that left it gazing upward, it’s head in the direct center of the lantern. The creature was snarling around a steel ring that was gripped in its wooden teeth, unwilling