Sons of Evil: Book 1 Book of Dread

by Adams, David

  Adrianna smiled and pulled her cloak more tightly about her. “I think you both just said ‘Yes.’ ”

  *

  Two days after the Book of Dread and its current guardians left the dwarven realm, Praad knelt to the south of the Long Shadow Mountains. He reached out and touched the ground, and then sniffed his fingers. A smile cracked his ghoulish face, a smile that would have chilled the heart of anyone that beheld it. He laughed to himself and thought, This is precious. This is perfect. He wondered which of the party had fallen, decided it was worth finding out, that any delay would be short. He knew he was close to his quarry, and wanted to get on with his business with them, but understanding whose blood he currently smelled would make the torments he planned for the living all the more powerful.

  He easily followed the path they had taken into the mountain, the scent he followed all the stronger now with the spilling of blood and of death. He paused only a moment or two before he found the secret door, and he grudgingly admitted to himself the dwarves had some skill, not that it mattered.

  With a thought the door opened and he entered.

  Chapter 17: Glimmers in the Dark

  When they had first looked upon the north face of the Long Shadow Mountains, they had noted right away how much more of the dark stone was covered with snow. Now the mountains were just gloomy shapes on the horizon, and the snow hard to distinguish from the thick clouds that currently hung about the mountain peaks. The terrain over which they traveled was hilly and wooded, and each of them often looked back toward the now-distant mountains, marking their progress but also wistfully, as if they were a barrier crossed between this foreign land and home.

  If Adrianna had not known what had happened to Luke, she wouldn’t have been able to guess it from Darius’ behavior. He was a bit quieter perhaps, sometimes his mind drifting to some other place, but that was not uncommon for one traveling throughout the day with little to occupy one’s time other than infrequent conversation and one’s own thoughts. She was unsure what to make of his behavior—everyone dealt with death in their own way—but it worried her. They camped that night in a fairly well-sheltered grove, so they braved a fire to warm themselves and their food. After dinner was finished, and before they had to set the night’s watch, Barlow and Silas were engaged in reminiscing about past days, and Darius had wondered off a bit, sitting against the trunk of a thick oak and gazing skyward. Adrianna took advantage of the opportunity presented, making her way over to him.

  “Mind some company?”

  “Sure,” he said without taking his eyes off the sky. “Just looking at the stars.”

  “Making a wish?”

  “Hardly,” he said with a tired laugh. “Just thought I might see a few new constellations this far north.” He pointed from spot to spot while he called out a few common southern constellations by name, then added, “I see some new stars, but I guess I’ll need to connect them myself and decide what they should be called.”

  “The elves can probably give you the proper names, when we arrive.”

  “True. Kind of fun to do it yourself, while you can. Once someone puts the outline together for you, it’s hard to see anything else.”

  They sat in silence for a time, enjoying the soft sigh of the insects and the low chatter of their friends’ conversation.

  Darius glanced once at Adrianna, and was glad to see she was looking at the sky, rather than at him. Even so, he said, “I’m okay. I don’t need you to worry about me.”

  “We need to look out for one another.”

  “Like we did for Luke?” He regretted the words immediately. “I’m sorry. I’m not blaming any of you.”

  “Are you blaming yourself?”

  “A bit,” he admitted with a sigh. After a short pause he added, “Maybe more than that.”

  “I won’t bore you with a long speech about why you shouldn’t do that, how it wasn’t your fault. Time might give you a better perspective on that, assuming you’ll forgive yourself. You’re the only one that can do that, and nothing any of us can say will get you to do so until you’re ready. But we need you with us, all your mind and all your energy. None of us knows what else we’ll face on his journey, just that, whatever it is, we’d be best served facing it together.”

  Darius nodded, then went back to stargazing. After a time, he said, “I miss him.”

  “I do, too.”

  He looked at her, saw she was sincere, and smiled. “Luke always could make friends quickly.”

  “Must run in the family.”

  Darius felt his cheeks flush and was suddenly glad it was dark. He never was good at taking a compliment. “Thanks,” he finally managed.

  “I’ll leave you alone now. But if you need to talk, about anything…well, you know where to find me.”

  “I appreciate it.” As she walked away, he realized she meant it, was comforted to know he could speak to any of his companions had he wanted support or advice. But the wound was still too fresh, too raw for him to want to deal directly with the pain and guilt he was fighting. She had mentioned time giving him a better perspective. He could only hope that would prove true.

  *

  The next night they camped within sight of Lake Fostoria, the largest lake in Corterra. They had crested a hill in the late afternoon and seen it to the northeast, a great sapphire gem sparkling in the waning light of day. The sight of it gave them a feeling of progress, and the Long Shadow Mountains were no longer how they measured the ground they had covered. They knew the next key landmark was the Auerl Forest, home of the elves.

  As much as they enjoyed the view from the tops of the hills they crossed, the wind picked up and they chose to shelter that evening in one of the valleys. As was now their habit, they found a good spot for a small fire, which they tended through most of the night.

  It was around three in the morning when Darius stirred the fire, adding a few small branches to keep it going. He was halfway through a two-hour watch, and after he was sure the fire wouldn’t die on him, he started another slow circuit around their little campsite. As much as he hated taking his turn in the middle of the night, as fuzzy as his head got at times, he took the duty seriously, and had never come close to nodding off, even though they been undisturbed for days, making the watch a monotonous undertaking. The recent quiet had led them to start posting only one guard, risky though that was, but in a way that only heightened Darius’ alertness when on duty. He had seen too much on this journey to be lulled into lowering his guard, especially when the others were asleep.

  The trees were fairly thick around this night’s camp, and Darius found himself weaving between the trunks in an irregular pattern as he circled. As he was angling around an old elm tree, he saw something in the near distance that made him pause. He froze and tried to focus his eyes.

  Something was there that hadn’t been there before. He guessed it was thirty feet away, suspended maybe eight feet off the ground. All he could make out was a grouping of faint glimmers, as if the fading light of their fire reflected off a set of black rain drops magically held in the air.

  Darius squinted, looked again. He shifted, ever so slightly, hoping he was just seeing some leaves or some other plant at an angle he hadn’t seen earlier, or perhaps that stirring the fire had lit something previously hidden by the night. He held fast a few more heartbeats, then took a quick glance back at the fire. He could get closer without interposing himself between the fire and whatever it was he was looking at, which was of some relief. He didn’t want the light of the fire to outline him and his movements. He took a few tentative steps, moving with all the stealth he could muster, making sure his feet found quiet ground upon which to tread.

  After his third step the glimmers moved a few inches to the right—the direction from which he was approaching, then went up at least two feet. So much for the mysterious objects being glossy leaves swayed by the wind.

  Darius froze again, staring, the shiny spots staring back at him.

  S
taring.

  A hand seemed to grip Darius’ chest and squeeze as he realized what he was looking at: eyes.

  It was quick, but not as fast enough to close the gap before Darius could react. Darius’ sword was already moving up into a defensive posture as it sprang at him. It reached him in two great bounds, materializing out of the darkness like a nightmare come to life.

  Darius was able to fend off its first rush with his sword and his forearm. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, a younger version of himself realized what it was and screamed in terror, and even the adult version of Darius might have done the same if he had time to consider rather than just time to react in order to stay alive. He had always hated spiders, especially fury ones, and the one swiping at him with its forelegs had a body half as large as Darius, and was covered with white-tipped hair that made it all the more alien. He hacked at one of the legs, then dodged behind a tree to gain time.

  The advantage was gone in an instant. If the spider was concerned about Darius’ weapon, it must have thought the best way to deal with it was to press the attack. If Darius’ life hadn’t been on the line he might have marveled at its speed as it moved around the tree. He gave ground, half-stumbled, caught himself. He was certain if he fell it would be the last thing he would do.

  The spider didn’t miss the stumble. It flexed its legs and sprang upon Darius, hoping to catch him off balance.

  Darius saw what was coming and as he regained his balance he set his feet and held his sword braced before him.

  The spider was already committed to its leap. Its own weight and momentum drove the sword into its body as it came down hard, its legs slapping forward and flailing at Darius before man and spider both fell to the ground,

  For a frozen instant Darius was peering into that group of black eyes again. It snapped at his face, his arms pinned between him and the spider keeping it inches away from its target. He shouted then as he gathered his strength to shove it off, a shout of fear and anger and power. He managed to lift it enough while turning that it fell off to his right. The sword slid free, the spider’s dark blood staining it as well as Darius’ hands, arms, and chest.

  Despite its injury, the spider did not flee once free of the sword. Whether driven by rage, hunger, or some other base instinct, it attacked again.

  Darius was trying to rise so he could get some leverage behind the next sword stroke, but the spider was quicker. He again managed to get his forearm up and make the blow he received a glancing one, with the result begin both combatants rolling to the ground several feet apart. Each scrambled to gather themselves in order to be able to strike next.

  Suddenly the spider was awash in a purple haze, its hair standing on end and its body twitching. It stood on its rear legs, towering over Darius for a moment, then gave two great shudders. The purple aura vanished, and the spider collapsed, a smoking ruin.

  Darius refused to take his eyes off the fallen creature, except for a quick glance at his approaching friends. He had not thought to call out to them; once he recognized the danger the spider was upon him. He had been fortunate that his shout as he hefted the spider off of himself had woken them, and Adrianna had finished the battle he’d begun. He probed the spider a few times with his sword, assuring himself that it was dead.

  “You all right?” Silas asked,

  “Fine,” Darius replied. He saw Barlow looking at his chest with growing alarm, causing him to look down himself. He curled his face in a look of disgust. “It didn’t get me. The blood’s the spider’s.”

  Adrianna cast another spell, calling an orb of light into existence. She directed it away from them with a thought, then in a wide circle around the camp. Once the circuit was complete, she said, “Looks like it was alone, luckily.”

  “Ever know them to grow so big?” Barlow asked Silas.

  “I’ve heard stories, but wasn’t sure I believed them. Now I do. Never seen white fur like that, though. Hopefully it’s an oddity, and we just took out the only one.”

  “Anybody going to try to get back to sleep?” Adrianna asked with a heavy sigh.

  Darius shook his head. “Not tonight. Not here. You all go ahead if you can. I’ll finish the watch.”

  Barlow grumbled. “I’ll join you. No more sleep for me tonight.”

  “Going to be three of us,” Silas said.

  “Four,” Adrianna amended. “Might as well move on. I can light our way,” she stated, since the moon, just past new, was only a sliver in the sky. She glanced at Barlow.

  “Go ahead,” he said. “I’ve no interest in stumbling into another one of those spiders.”

  They put out their fire, gathered their things, and set off. As they did so, Darius asked, “Any chance we can find our way to the shores of Lake Fostoria? I’d sure like to clean up.”

  Silas clapped him on the back and smiled. “We’ll see what we can do.”

  *

  Praad never doubted he would be successful in his chase. He had little need for rest, and despite his appearance and the slow, steady way he moved under most circumstances, when he wanted to move quickly he covered ground as swiftly as a stallion. So it was that as the rising sun signaled a new day and he looked down upon Lake Fostoria that he paused and allowed himself a satisfied smile. There they were, bathing in the chilly water, the men together and the woman a discreet distance away.

  He moved a bit closer, not near enough to hear them speaking to one another, but close enough to get a better look at their faces, and to observe their auras. He had expected to see the faint white glow of many he had dealt with in this world, although a crimson or black aura, such as Landri’s, would have made things interesting in its own way. The auras were white, but more intense than what he had expected. He could tell two of the men fashioned themselves servants of the Holy One, and the others were of similar heart, mind, and soul, whatever their beliefs might be. The older man also had a sword that made Praad hesitate, if only for an instant. He suddenly felt he understood what had happened to Ondrel, the demon Orgoth had sent to slay them and recover the book.

  Focusing deeper, Praad could see the despair mixed in with the aura of the youngest man, the one known as Darius, the one who had lost his brother. It swirled and twisted like tendrils of black smoke. The inner fire that created them was what Praad wanted to stir, so that those tendrils would grow and spread, and the gloom and despair caused by his brother’s death would consume him. The others might be more of a challenge, but in the end he intended for them to have the same fate.

  He wandered ever-closer as he watched them, content for now just to study his quarry. A gust of laughter from the group of men echoed over the lake and up into the hills, and the joy of the sound, short-lived though it was, made him wince.

  He circled around, heading north so they would move toward him when they set off again, planning all the while.

  Chapter 18: The Haunting Past

  They had put Lake Fostoria three days behind them. The hills had grown less steep and less frequent, and eventually gave way to flatter land. The trees here were not of good stock, sparse and spindly. At least they would be able to tell when they reached the edges of the mighty Auerl Forest. The further north they went, the quieter each grew, all of them spending more and more time alone with their own thoughts. So it was that when Barlow gave voice to something that they all had noticed with growing concern for two days or more but none had yet mentioned, they all started at the sound of him speaking.

  “I don’t like the way the land looks here. The grass, the plants, even the trees. Everything is all washed out and pale, like the world itself has become ill.” He looked at Silas. “You’ve been north before. Is this how you remember it?”

  “Not exactly. But that was a long time ago.”

  “I know. But it had crossed my mind that perhaps this is the way of things in these more frigid climes. I thought you would remember such a…lack of color.”

  Silas cleared his throat. “To be honest, I’ve never se
en the like, although I’ve heard tales.”

  “So it’s not uncommon here?” Adrianna asked.

  “The tales of which I speak were not of the north, but rather of the land appearing to be diseased in some way in other parts of Corterra, even before the famine hit.”

  “Parts of Dalusia and Westphalia,” Darius said.

  “Yes,” said Silas. “And now here. Makes you wonder how long we can be spared in Longvale.”

  “It’s certainly depressing to travel through,” Adrianna commented. “Makes you feel as if there’s a dark cloud over your head, even when the sky is clear.”

  “Sorry to say this,” Darius added with a wan smile, “but I’m glad you feel it too. I’ve been sensing something like a shadow for days now, an oppressive feeling. Part of me thought…well, you know, it was about Luke. But that didn’t seem right. It was something else, something elusive. I thought maybe I was starting to lose my mind a little bit.”

  “I’ve felt it, too,” Silas said.

  “All of us, then.” Barlow added. “I’ve been hoping the elven wood will be a more joyful place.”

  “If the trees there are like these,” Adrianna said, “I fear it will be all the more dreary.”

  That night was the first they felt the need to wrap their blankets about their shoulders while they gathered around the fire for their small dinner. It wasn’t truly cold, even by southern standards, but a chill was in the air, a promise of far more biting cold to come.

  If anything the land looked even more sallow and drawn the next day. The companions fell into sullen silence again, forgetting the brief spark their short conversation the day before had given each of them, a reminder of life and a burst of hope in the midst of such gloom. They trudged on, mile after mile, each of them drawing deeper into themselves, their eyes rarely straying to the horizon now, but rather downcast, focusing only on the next few feet of barren land.

  During much of their journey they had taken lunch on the move, but today they lacked the energy to do so, and by unspoken consent they sat beneath a small group of trees and gnawed on a sparse offering of dried meat and thin shavings of hard cheese. Each wondered whether the food and water the dwarves had given them would hold out until they could find the elves, as the landscape before them now seemed incapable of providing any sustenance.