Sons of Evil: Book 1 Book of Dread

by Adams, David

  “Of course,” Kaelesh said, adding a small bow, a gesture of his willingness to serve even these humble people. Once outside he told the guards that it was time to return to the castle. As his escort reformed he mounted his horse and stared at the Stoneman residence, as if trying to read the minds of those inside. He turned away and smiled to himself. He had no doubt that the Stonemans had seen their daughter, but whether they knew her current whereabouts was another question. He’d have the answer soon enough, but not with this lot of soldiers about. They talked too much. Kaelesh would return, and then, he thought with some amusement, he would see just how well Kevin and Marissa Stoneman could play the game they’d begun.

  Chapter 8: An Old Friend

  A week had passed since they had come upon the carnage at the farm, and although they had not sighted the bat-things since that day under the trees, they had seen the gruesome evidence of their passage. For the most part it was wild animals, although an occasional horse, cow, or pig had fallen victim as well. There had been no scene as awful as what Adrianna witnessed in the farmhouse, and for that they were thankful, but they realized that meant only that they had not come upon the end result of such an attack, not that one had not occurred. Corterra was a large world.

  They had reached the Vale River and then followed it north, and the life in and around such a body of water helped sustain them and make their journey somewhat more bearable. True rest was difficult to come by with one wary eye always turning skyward, searching for the flying black forms that might signal their doom.

  Luke was the first to spot New Bern, or rather the tell-tale wisps of smoke from forges and cooking fires that marked the place. The relief was almost palpable, a sense of added safety from a busy city luring them to quicken their pace as if racing for shelter before a storm broke.

  Darius, staying well-grounded, reminded them of what they carried, and that they were still fugitives in their own land. “Landri will have many men in New Bern, and there are far more ears listening for anything they could use for profit. We need to be careful.”

  “You’re right,” Silas said. “And we aren’t headed directly there. Barlow forsook the city life some time ago. He lives on this side of the river, somewhat in isolation. And he’s why we’re here.”

  “Do you know how to find his place?”

  “Follow me,” Silas said.

  An hour later they stood fifty yards from a small home or a large shack—it was hard to tell which. What it lacked in size it made up for in sturdiness and appearance. The building was well-constructed, and a fresh coat of paint had been recently applied. The area around it was neatly manicured, with colorful flowers in bloom and a stone path leading to the door.

  “Guess he’s not much for house guests,” Adrianna said. “I doubt the group of us could even sit down inside.”

  “Too nice a day for that,” Silas replied, ignoring the first verbal volley of the battle he was sure would need to be endured. He led them to the door and rapped sharply two times.

  Adrianna only waited a few heartbeats before saying, “Like to think he’s out, but we aren’t that lucky.”

  Silas shot her a quick scowl, then hit the door again. “Open up, Barlow! It’s Silas!” he bellowed.

  Just as he finished shouting the door was flung open. “Give a man a second would you, I—” Barlow stopped, seeing Silas was not alone. When he saw Adrianna his eyes narrowed. To Silas he said, “Should I assume these young gentlemen are of similar character to this witch? If so, I’d rather you all departed.”

  “Sorceress, Barlow,” Silas said.

  “Mere wordplay. Changes nothing.”

  “I suppose not. Would you care to insult my friends in some other fashion before I introduce them? I’m sure you’re making an excellent first impression.”

  This seemed to strike home with Barlow. He bowed his head once, then looked Darius and Luke directly in the eyes, one after the other, and said, “I beg your forgiveness. I had no right to offend you, regardless of the company you keep.”

  “We travel with Silas, as well,” Darius said. “I was led to believe he was your friend.”

  “So he is,” Barlow admitted. He bowed again in a show of courtesy. “I am Percival Barlow, as I assume you already know. How can I be of service?”

  Silas guffawed at the display and the formal words, but Barlow simply stood tall with as much dignity as he could muster. He was taller than any of them, and still trim and fit, but the passage of years could be seen in the lines on his face, his thinning gray hair, and the white mustache and tuft of beard on his chin. After Darius and Luke had introduced themselves, Silas grew serious and said, “We do need your help, my friend.”

  “All of you?” he asked, casting a look of disdain at Adrianna.

  She nearly rose to the bait, but caught herself. “I’ll let you boys work things out,” she said, and then turned and walked off before anyone else could speak.

  Silas made a point of watching her for a time, then said to Barlow, “You know, sometimes I’m amazed you never married.”

  “It appears the help you needed was only a target upon which to sharpen your wit,” Barlow retorted. “If you’re finished, I’ll bid you good day.”

  “I just wish you two could get along.”

  “As long as we need not see one another, I believe we both get along fine. I assume you must have a good reason for bringing her here with you. This certainly is no social visit.”

  Silas turned to Darius. “Show him the book.”

  Darius opened his pack, pulled out the book, and presented it to Barlow.

  Barlow’s bushy eyebrows knit together in a scowl as he looked at the book. He made no move to take it. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked Silas.

  “Blood Book,” Silas answered in affirmation.

  “You’ve tried to open it?”

  “Tried and failed,” Darius replied.

  Barlow finally managed to take his eyes from the book and looked at his long-time friend. “I cannot open it. I hope you haven’t come all this way thinking I could.”

  “Not at all. I’m not sure any human we’d want to open it could. We’re taking it to Aerlos.”

  “Another wi—…sorceress,” Barlow said, but his tone was not harsh. “But an elf, and elves are different than men. A perilous journey though. Even if she can open it, why would you want to? The book is evil, as is everything that might spring from it. Best it be destroyed, and if that can’t be accomplished, lost somewhere it’ll not be found.”

  “I don’t disagree. But Darius here did not simply find this at market in some bookseller’s stall. It was previously in the possession of King Landri.”

  “Landri!” Barlow exclaimed. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. “Perhaps you had best tell me the story of how you came to be here with this dread thing.”

  Silas let Darius tell the story, and Barlow took it in with a look of open surprise and dismay on his face. When Darius was finished, he said, “This may explain much of what has befallen our world of late. If Landri was using it…you have done well simply to deprive him of it. If Aerlos cannot help you, I’d suggest the book stay in the Far North, preferably in some hole that’ll be covered in ice for all time.” He turned his attention back to Silas. “You’ve still not said why you’re here. What help is it you think I can provide?”

  “I want you to come with us,” Silas answered.

  Barlow laughed, but it was a laugh with no mirth. “I’m an old man, Silas. My days of chasing after heroic feats are over.”

  “What of your days of caring? Of serving the Savior?”

  Barlow sighed. “Understanding one’s limits is a sign of maturity and wisdom. If God wanted me to go on such a foolish quest, He’d let me know.”

  Now Silas smiled. He threw his arms open wide and said, “Behold His messenger.”

  “Don’t blaspheme.”

  “Are you sure I am?”

  Barlow shook his head. “You should have chosen
a different line of work. You’re brilliant at twisting words to your advantage.”

  “It’s a gift, I suppose. What He provides, one should use.”

  Barlow just shook his head again, and avoided meeting Silas’ eyes.

  The cleric said softly, “If you two gentlemen don’t mind, I’d like a word alone with my friend.”

  As Darius and Luke wondered off after Adrianna, Barlow invited Silas into his home with a silent wave of his hand.

  The interior was much like the exterior, humble but neatly kept. He offered Silas the room’s only chair and then busied himself with a stew cooking over a small fire.

  “You need this,” Silas said.

  Barlow kept his back to him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Purpose, Barlow. You lost that years ago, and I’ve watched you go further into your shell ever since.”

  “I’ve already said with age comes—”

  “You can try that guff on the others, but don’t waste it on me. You’re no coward, my friend, and I’ll not name you one, but you’ve given up on this world and yourself, and every day your focus turns a little more to the end of your time on Corterra.”

  “We believe the same thing, Silas. Death is not an end, but a beginning. A glorious one.”

  “Yes, a transition. But while we’re here, we serve here.”

  Barlow sighed and paused for several minutes. When he spoke his tone was quiet, and he still spoke toward the wall. “I’ve done what I thought was right. I wanted this world to be a treasure, a reflection of what was to come. Now, everything has gone to ruin, and I am past my prime. Even thirty years ago I doubt I could have… You don’t need me, Silas, and I don’t want your pity.”

  “I don’t pity you, and the only thing you’re getting close to is a swift kick in the rump. You have a noble heart, my friend, but if you set out to make this flawed world into paradise, you were bound to come up short. But I’ve seen you wield that sword, I’ve seen the light come upon you when you’re battling for right, I’ve seen your healing touch. We need you for this journey. I need you. And you need it for yourself. Get out and act. You’ve seen the book, you’ve heard the rumors of what’s happening in Corterra.”

  “What if it’s too late?” Barlow asked, finally turning to face Silas. He bit at his lower lip and tears rimmed his eyes.

  “Then we’ll all pass away, and then on to better things. The question is, do you want to wait here for evil to find you, or do you want to go out there with us and try to fight it?”

  Barlow shook is head, but a smile played on his lips. “I don’t know why I bother to argue with you. When you’ve set your mind to something, you’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met.”

  “Well, I learned from a master in that area.”

  Barlow held up his hands in submission. “No more. You win.” His face drew down a bit as he added, “I suppose I shouldn’t waste my time asking if we need to take Adrianna along.”

  “Start packing,” Silas answered with a sly smile and a shake of his head. He went to find the others, happy at his success but wondering how he would keep Barlow and Adrianna from each others’ throats. Despite the many dangers they might face on this journey, it was the possible self-inflicted wounds the small party might endure that currently concerned him the most.

  *

  Kaelesh looked up at the full moon and smiled. He had not planned his visit to coordinate with this particular phase, but he enjoyed the added touch it provided. People were so superstitious, especially at night.

  He bent low and drew several lines in the dirt with an experienced hand. When he was done, he took a small dagger from under his cloak and made a quick slash across his palm. He made a fist and squeezed until the blood dripped freely into the markings he had made. For a moment the blood merely darkened the soil, but then it began to bubble and sizzle like oil in a hot pan. Wisps of smoke began to rise, to the untrained eye just a continuation of the apparent boiling of the blood. But Kaelesh knew better, and he stepped back with a smile.

  The rising smoke came in three columns, which started to whirl about one another even though the night air was completely still. The vapors drew together into a form, a shape like a stooped man with long arms, but the phantom was solid in no way, and the mist that had risen was still visible within the creature’s shape.

  Kaelesh spoke a few words to it in an odd tongue, upon which it moved with a swift, easy grace toward the Stoneman residence. The house was shut-up, the windows and doors closed and locked, but such a fact did not even give the shadow-creature pause. It slid under the door, undid the latch, and waited for its master to enter.

  Kevin Stoneman awoke with a start, his heart pounding and sweat covering his body. It has been like this for the last several nights, the nightmares jolting him awake, the images of the suffering of his wife and children so vivid he wanted to weep. As he had each previous night, he looked upon his wife and found comfort in the gentle rise and fall her breathing imparted to her sleeping form.

  Something toward the window caught his eye, a subtle change in the moonlight that streamed through the glass. A passing cloud, he started to tell himself. He reached toward the table beside his bed, trying to find the candle and lighter that sat there, but another shadow, this one more solid, made him freeze.

  “I had a few more questions, Mr. Stoneman,” Kaelesh said, his voice like an icy dagger.

  Kevin couldn’t find his own voice. He wanted to rage at the man for violating the sanctity of his home, to order him out, to say he didn’t care who he was, he’d better leave or be tossed out on his ear. But instead he was paralyzed by some unknown terror, a creeping dread that was so palpable he thought he could reach out and touch it. He thought to at least wake his wife and tell her to run while he flung himself blindly at Kaelesh, hoping she might be able to escape, but the terror grew like a weight on his chest, and he simply sank back onto the bed, like a kid thinking the covers would protect him from the monsters that lurked nearby at night.

  Kaelesh walked to the side of the bed. “I’d like to introduce you to an acquaintance of mine. He has a way of getting people to open up when they are burdened with a secret they can’t bear to keep any longer. He’s kind of quiet actually, but that’s part of his charm.”

  Something seemed to rise up behind Kaelesh, indistinct but somehow ominous. It flowed around him and came at Kevin, and as it did he understood this thing, whatever it was, had been in the room all this time, and that it was the source of the terror that gripped him. It glided over the edge of the bed, went up in the air a few feet, and then arced down to fall upon him. Just before it reached him, Kevin could have sworn he saw a well-muscled upper torso, two long-nailed hands reaching for him, and a face—an unearthly face—with a snarl of cruel intent etched upon it. When it reached him there was no weight to be borne by his body, but the feeling of unbearable pressure was all too real.

  When Kevin’s tongue was finally loosed he let out a scream, a wretched cry of unfathomable despair and horror.

  Chapter 9: New Bern

  The small size of Barlow’s abode had allowed him to avoid deciding whether or not to offer hospitality to his new companions in light of the fast-approaching evening, and he and Silas parted company with promises that the group would rendezvous soon after sunrise the next day in New Bern, to gather supplies for the coming journey. Barlow was used to rising before dawn, and when the appointed hour came he had already been waiting nearly fifteen minutes on the east side of the bridge that crossed the Vale and carried the narrow road into the city proper.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, feeling more chipper after seeing the drowsy looks on their faces.

  “Well enough,” Silas said. “Found a few rooms at Mother Ellis’ Inn, and had a decent meal, too. Good suggestion.”

  Barlow nodded at the compliment, then went on. “We should buy what food we can carry for the trip, as well as some warmer clothes. Not sure what we’ll find for food and s
helter as we move north, so we best be prepared. I’ve got enough money to cover us today, I’d think. Real money,” he added with a knowing glance at Adrianna. “I want to be on good terms with the merchants when I come home.”

  He paused a moment, waiting for Adrianna to snap back at him. When she didn’t, he said, “Let’s go to the market first. Then we’ll see about the clothes.”

  New Bern’s market wasn’t what it once was, but that wasn’t unusual in Corterra these days. The trouble that plagued the world made crops scarcer and trade more difficult, and the selections invariably carried higher prices than what folks could commonly afford, so the crowds were small and more selective as well. The companions brought some fresh fruit and vegetables, but only what they could eat in the next few days. The rest was dried meats, hard cheeses, and other items with a bit more staying power. Even so, knowing they had an arduous journey ahead and would need to carry everything they purchased, the food they could take amounted to very little.

  “We’ll just have to replenish our supplies along the way,” Darius reasoned. “Not easy where the armies have been, but I’ve seen some soldiers scavenge a decent meal from what seemed to be a wasteland.”

  “If we’re lucky there might be some game once we pass Elysium’s Neck and move further north,” Adrianna added.

  They checked out the meager wares of a half-dozen clothing merchants who were at market and had decided to move on to the regular shops, when the sounds of growing panic reached them from the south. They only managed a few steps toward the screams and shouts when Luke called their attention skyward.

  The swarm of bat-things blotted out far too much of the sky, their numbers even more impressive than they remembered. The creatures circled and dove, striking at unseen targets below, but clearly the mass of them was moving to cover the city.

  “Get inside,” Barlow ordered in a calm voice.

  “May not help much,” Silas said, “based on what we’ve seen. But he’s right.”