by Kit Hallows
“Have you been bitten?” the man demanded.
I shook my head and did my best to avert my eyes from the long sword resting by the fire. “Thank you,” I said and watched him closely to gauge his reaction.
He nodded. “I heard them coming.” He pointed up toward the crest of a hill. “They’re still there, on the other side, but they’re stupid. They won’t find us.”
“And the demon?”
He spat on the ground. “He can’t stray this far. Someone or something has bound him to that old house.” His eyes shone with fury as he added, “At least until tonight.”
“What happens tonight?”
He looked me up and down and didn’t seem overly impressed by what he found. “I’m going to kill him. I hate the fucking things. Finding one all on its own is a blessing. It means I can deal with it myself.” He checked the pan resting over the fire where a haunch of what looked like venison sizzled and spat.
“Yeah, I guess I can see that.” I said, hoping to gain favor. He seemed annoyed and I needed help; information and directions, and I had to know if he was going to be a hindrance or not. “Demons aren’t too popular where I come from either.”
“Are they not?” Anger simmered below his words. “Has one wronged you too?”
“I’ve had my fair share of scrapes with them.”
“Have you now?” He regarded me closely. “Scrapes… me too…the bastards slaughtered my wife and daughter.” He spat on the ground once more. “How’s that for scrapes?”
“I’m so sorry.” I looked around, realizing I was completely and utterly lost and had no idea where Astrid and Samuel might be. I was about to ask about the nearest town or village when he spoke again.
“You know Heathersage?” he asked, his gaze fixed on my sword.
“I’ve heard of it. A man told me there were demons there.”
“That’s where I lost them… my loves. My wife and my sweet, sweet child. And after that I vowed to kill every single demon I can get my hands on. Until they’re all gone from this world, or I am.”
He looked like he was handy with a sword, but this sounded like a suicide mission and by the resigned look in his eyes, he knew it. I offered him my hand. “Morgan Rook.”
“Thomas Fletcher.” His grip was like iron and he gazed into my eyes as if searching for something, before finally releasing my hand. “You’re not from these parts, are you? Are you lost?”
“Lost? Possibly,” I smiled, as I considered Sindaub. I had no idea what the afterlife might entail for anyone, let alone a demon, whether it was hell or something else, but he was still around, on some level, I was certain of it. Just as I was certain his meddling had brought me to this point. “You’re right, I’m not from around here, I’m from another world.”
“You have that look, even though you try to hide it. So what brings you to Huntfall Forest?”
“My friends and I were waylaid on our journey South…” I tailed off as I wondered if it would be wise to reveal we were attacked by soldiers.
Thomas’s keen eyes read me like a book. “On the road were you? When you were waylaid? Soldiers?” He smiled. “Don’t worry, they’re no friends of mine either, even though I once served alongside them. Those bastards did nothing to stop the massacre, nothing to aid Heathersage. All they do is hound and tax decent folk, stopping them on the road under the guise of searching for dark sorcerers and invisible conspirators.”
“Why?”
“To line the King’s pockets and ensure his castle’s walled off before the real battles begin. We’ve paid for a grand fortress so that he can wait out the coming war in, while we’re all slaughtered.” Thomas cursed below his breath but when he looked at me again, his face softened. “You say you lost your friends?”
“Yeah. I’ve no idea where they are, or where I am for that matter.” I glanced around the trees. If Sindaub really had led me here, to this man whose goal matched my own blood pact, then it seemed there was nothing to do other than get on with it. “Is Heathersage close?”
“Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Because I made a pact to slay a demon named Maladee De’ Nix, and I was told she’s been seen there.”
“A pact with who?” He regarded me even closer.
I thought about lying, but that wasn’t my thing. Besides, he’d saved my ass, so he deserved the truth, even if complications might arise by telling it. “With a demon named Sindaub.”
“So, you’re in league with them, are you?” He stepped toward his sword. I chose to ignore it.
“No. I made an agreement with one demon, in return for him sparing my life. He’s dead now, I killed him.”
“And what does that have to do with De’ Nix?”
“She slaughtered his family, just as she slaughtered yours.”
“Why would she attack another demon?”
“Who knows? But it doesn’t matter, I just need to kill her and be done with it.”
“Why did she come here?” he asked, as if I might know.
I shrugged. “I expect it was at the behest of Rowan Stroud. No doubt to cause strife and a distraction. Those were his tactics in my world.”
“I do not know that name. But I know of demons, and I’d say it’s no coincidence that you were on the road to wherever you were going and just so happened to stumble upon this corner of the realm. Exactly where your foe is.” He inched closer to his sword. “And here we are, you from another world, and me in the woods, and both of us with the same ambition.”
“I suspect my situation’s been somewhat manipulated.”
“By who?”
“By Sindaub.”
“You said he was dead.”
“He is, but I’ve no idea what that means for demons.”
“Me neither.” Thomas studied me closely. “I won’t lie, Morgan Rook, you’ve the look of a man with a devil inside him, and that makes me nervous.”
“I’ve been told I suffered a split when I was removed from this world, but my other’s no devil. At least not in the literal sense. And does it really matter how I came to be here? We have the same aim. Alone, I expect we’re grossly outnumbered; we should strike together. ”
“Well whoever your other is, he has power. I can see that.”
“So let’s use it to get what we need. Let’s go and take the head of the demon who wronged you.”
Thomas looked to the sky as he seemed to weigh things up. Finally, he spoke. “I’m not one to piss on fortune, but you should know that there are eight demons alongside the one you seek, not counting the one bound to that abandoned house. Hopefully he’ll stay there for now.”
“Five for me, four for you. I think we can manage that,” I said, forcing a confidence into my voice, that in truth wasn’t there. “And, it’s not like I have a choice, because it seems like I’m going to keep getting turned around until I’m done with it.”
“So be it.” Thomas strode to the fire, pulled a knife and speared a cut of venison. I watched as he wrapped it with dark leaves, before handing it to me. “Eating the leaves with the meat, will bring you strength, and you’re going to need it. Let’s feast then travel, and either you or me will gain some heads or lose ours in the trying.”
35
After we ate, I washed my face in the icy pool to revive myself. The water was as smooth and clear as glass and I drank several handfuls and it had to be the purest thing I’d ever tasted. As I cupped my hands for more, I spotted dazzling fish darting like gemstones among the reeds. The moment was calm, wondrous and peaceful and I fixed it in my mind. Considering our aims, it seemed vital to carry something good of Penrythe with me, something I could look fondly back on, if I ever returned to the blinkered world.
“Ready?” Thomas asked, as he kicked the fire out.
“Sure,” I said, trying to inject enthusiasm into my response. The truth was I was filled with doubt and desperate to find Astrid and Samuel, to know they were okay. But first I had to get De’ Nix out of the way and m
y blood pact fulfilled. After that, I hoped our mission to find Stroud would go easier.
We headed through the woods in silence. Birds skittered across the branches, most as common as what we had back in the city; sparrows, thrushes and robins, but there were others I’d never seen before. Huge birds with purple velvety feathers and widely crowned heads and they stared at me like they knew I did not belong to this world, and maybe they were right.
Brackets of black and coral-colored fungi clung to the tree trunks and some of the trees had primitive markings that resembled animals scraped into the bark. Thomas explained that the glyphs were guides left by fellow hunters, to identify game trails and let others know where to find viable herds that could provide them with prime meat. He’d carved more than a few himself before his conscription into the King’s army and the dark days that had followed. As he shared tales from his life, I found myself warming to him and was glad fate, whether natural or demonically inspired, had thrown us together. I wanted to help him.
We headed down a steep slope toward a band of water that ran russet red in the late afternoon sunlight. It would have been a picture-perfect scene were it not for the horror of the bodies snagged in the river bend. People, their limbs lax and fluttering as if they were floating on the water after a swim, only they weren’t. There had been a massacre.
“Wait!” Thomas whispered, as he clutched my arm in a vise-like grip. And then I heard the scream, a woman, her voice filled with terror.
We ran through the trees, silencing the clank of our weapons and the contents of the sack Thomas carried on his back. Someone moved below; a man and woman wading across the river. They threw frenzied glances behind them and the woman screamed again, the sound blood curdling. A blur of movement came up from behind them and I spotted three demons pursuing them.
One was a small red, puckish creature with a snout nose and strands of greasy black hair. It toyed with a ball of bright blue flames, tossing it from one hand to the other, before throwing it at the woman. It jumped up and down as she cried out, and began to skip like a child while the creature beside it flexed two ragged wings that drew her sleek, naked body up into the air. Spines protruded from her back and they quivered as she swooped over the couple trying to reach the bank on the far side of the river.
The winged demon soared down and slashed with her claws. The man gave a hoarse cry as he stumbled and fell into the water.
One demon lagged behind, a grey scaly male with mirrored eyes and a tiny mouth. His hand was tucked into his loose woolen trousers and he grinned as he watched the people’s torment.
“Deviant scum!” Thomas growled. “The bastards are taunting them and they’ll drag out their suffering for as long as they can.” He seemed ready to charge toward the creatures when I grabbed his wrist. He snapped his head my way, his eyes ablaze with fury. “What?”
“You take the grey one lingering by the bank,” I whispered, “while I draw the other’s focus away from the people. Okay?”
His ire dimmed amid a flash of understanding and he nodded. “Right.” He placed his sack on the ground and drew his sword.
I set off through the trees, the sword of intention in my hand and my own lust for slaughtering the demons spreading through me like wildfire. I slowed as I passed an old, ragged standing stone sculpted into the shape of a bear. Runes had been laid out in a rough circle around the granite monolith. Tentatively, I placed my palm in the center of the markings, hoping for energy.
A warm blast of power charged through my hand. It was strange, old magic that hummed like an alien song. Whatever its purpose, it gave me a much needed boost and my entire body tingled as I set off toward the river.
I looked up to see the airborne demon circling the couple. She wheeled around, preparing to dive. I grabbed a stone from the riverbank and infused it with intent and it sailed toward the fiend with magical accuracy, striking her in the back of the head. She let out a coarse, furious roar and jerked around to face me.
The squat demon followed her gaze, turned and looked me up and down like I was something he’d accidentally trodden in, while our large grey scaly mark strode toward me and pulled a barbed sword from his sheath. I held their attention as Thomas crept from the trees behind him, brought his sword up and slid it across the demon’s throat.
It barely made a scratch.
A shadow enveloped the snow and I dived aside as the winged demon stormed over me, the wind from her wings bearing an icy blast. She landed in the snow with a crunch and turned her back on me while she tensed her long, quivering spines.
I scarcely had time to throw my coat around myself before she fired. Several of the barbs pierced the fabric, but as my shield sizzled with power, they burst into flames and fell to ash.
A fireball struck me as I pulled the collar of my coat back to gauge where the demon was. The imp was scuttling toward me, his little red body burning so hellishly it liquefied the snow around him.
“End!” I cried. I pulled the sword of intention back and threw it like a spear. It sliced through the air, struck the imp through the chest and sent him flying back dead into the snow.
I ran to recover my weapon from the corpse as the winged demon threw back her head and howled. She flew at me before I could wrench my sword free. I dodged and she shot past. Before she could turn, I tore a branch from a tree and smashed it over her head.
She stood, shook off the blow and charged at me. I hit the snow hard, her knees on my chest as she exposed her fangs, preparing to bite. I punched her hard. Her head snapped back and I landed a blow to her throat. She shrieked as I focused the magic I’d taken from the stone bear and scorched her. She pulled away and shrugged it off. The blackened finger marks smoked on her throat as she turned, and a fresh batch of spines glistened on her back.
Before I could draw my coat around me, she threw out a hand, staying my own with my spell. I winced as her spines quivered, their target inevitable.
In an arc of steel Thomas appeared, striking her neck with one swipe of his sword. Her head wobbled and fell suspended by a flap of scaly skin.
Thomas swung again, to finish the job and cut her head clean off. The fury and delight on his face as he watched it drop seemed almost as sadistic and possessed as the demons themselves, but I understood. “Come,” he said, pulling me to my feet, “that howling cry she let out was a call to the other demons.”
“You mentioned there was nine,” I said, wincing as we trudged through the icy river.
“Six now, not counting the one lost at the ruined house.” His eyes shone. “We might just get this done after all.”
I shivered as the river rose around my knees, and I scoured for a sign of the couple, but they’d vanished.
“Faster!” Thomas said as he waded on. “The others are coming!”
The sound of a bugle echoed through the trees. It was a hunter’s call, and we were the prey.
36
Horns blared behind us as we leaped out onto the river bank and ran. By the sudden frenzied cries it seemed the dead demons had been discovered. We needed to hide fast and I was glad Thomas seemed to know where he was going.
We scurried through the undergrowth and I spotted a building ahead, a small, ramshackle dwelling not unlike the one the lost demon had been trapped within. I scanned the clearing and tree line, then the evergreen branches that formed a canopy which blocked out the sky.
“Wait,” Thomas cautioned as he approached the shack, his head cocked. The door was ajar and darkness swelled behind it. He raised his sword and shoved it open, checking the corners as he entered. A moment later he nodded for me to follow.
The tiny house had a single room, and an old bed took up one corner, and a battered dresser took up another. Anything else that might have once been there had long since been looted or destroyed. I scoured the place as best I could but the dim light filtering through the mildewed window did little to flesh out any details.
“We’ll hide here,” Thomas said, “and wait for them
to lose our trail. The sun will soon set and nightfall will suit our purposes. Now wait here while I hunt us a rabbit, we must eat before we go after the demons.” He strode out into the snow as I shoved the door shut and sat on the edge of the creaking bed.
I closed my eyes and listened to the birdsong beyond the windows as I wondered about the people who'd lived here. With a long slow breath I looked down at the dry, dark stains pooled on the floor; it seemed they too had been slaughtered by the demons.
Placing a tentative hand on the wall, I decided to poke around the place and search for magic. Absorbing power from structures was becoming second nature to me, but Astrid’s warnings, along with the growing darkness inside me, made me hesitant. It seemed crazy, I’d lived with evil my whole life, and I’d controlled it. Heading out to face a gaggle of demons with nothing more than a coat and sword? It wasn’t going to be enough, that was for certain. Hell, even the Organization wouldn’t have sent me out without magic. Or a gun.
The wall hummed below my palm and it didn’t take long to find a few errant waves of energy. They brought glimpses of the occupants; a woman, beautiful in a simple, understated way, a man handsome, rugged and learned. They’d lived the best parts of their lives among the villagers, and as I drew in their remaining magic I saw the ghosts of their pasts. A sick child in the bed, her face ashen, her eyes older than her years. The lady clasped her hand tight and tossed brittle olive-colored leaves into a fire, to draw out the illness.
Further echoes of time passed before me and as I watched I got a deeper understanding of Penrythe. Of the world I’d left as a child. It was full of wildness and magic, and I felt sure that if I stayed long enough, I’d awaken the dormant abilities within me. For I’d lived here just as much as my other had.
Something snapped outside, breaking my thoughts. I reached for my sword as the door opened and Thomas entered, a skinned rabbit hanging bloodily from his belt. He glanced at my hand as I withdrew it from the wall. “You must have seen the people who lived here,” he said.
