Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (27 page)

TWO SEPARATE CROWDS HAD gathered. The one closer to Ean was composed of all the workers and other members of the caravan. They seemed to be highly agitated about something. The second crowd stood near the warehouse and were a sharp contrast to the first. Under the red light of the fading sun, their dark blue skin took on the hue of a mottled purplish bruise. They all wore clothes of similar design and condition to the man Ean had seen early with the clipboard.

These were the Living Dead of the village, no longer in hiding. It was hard to see much else of them from his spot behind the crowd of workers, but not a single person looked like a decaying rotted corpse. They looked normal, if you could overlook the old clothes and their skin color. They stood completely still, watching something that was happening between the two groups.

Wanting to get a better look and hear what was going on, Ean began to weave his way through the crowd. This was where being thin and lanky had its benefits as he made his way towards the front. He got a few grumbles and even more elbows as he maneuvered through, but he soon found himself at the front.

In the open space between the two crowds, four men and two guards in red armor stood around a lone man who was down on his knees. Meganan was arguing with the man with the clipboard, one of his guards standing right behind him. The strange man with the clipboard wore a stoic expression as he listened to Meganan's words. The man down on his knees was Fredren.

"...doesn't have to be this way," Meganan growled, pointing down at the cowering Fredren. "He's just a stupid boy."

"It is the law," Clipboard man said. His voice was flat, emotionless, and had a small scratchiness to it. He still had the scarf around his face. "He was caught up by the mine. The punishment is death."

Fredren let out a little whimper. Bruises were starting to appear on his face, and there was a small cut above his right eye. He was as pale as a ghost.

"Now, wait a minute, Ulften," Meganan said, addressing the man with the clipboard. "I've been making this run for close to fifteen years now. Not once in the dozens of trips I've made all those years has a person broken your laws. Don't you think you can be a little lenient for this one boy?"

"No."

"Ulften, I--"

"It begins with a little leniency," Ulften cut in. "Then I have to start being lenient with my people. From that point, the rules of the village start breaking down. This village falls to chaos and then it spreads to the other villages. The chaos reaches all the way to the Eternal King. And who will he blame? Humans from the south? No, he will blame lenient Ulften. There will be no leniency while I am in charge here."

"Take his life now!" shouted someone in the opposite crowd.

"Spare him, you monsters!" said another man somewhere over Ean's left shoulder.

Both sides took to yelling, the combined voices like a rumble of thunder. Fredren was openly weeping now, his face in his hands and his body shaking. Ulften was staring at him, like a man staring at a rabid dog that needed to be put down. At the same time, Meganan was motioning for the men on either side to quiet down, although his efforts were having no effect on the Living Dead or the humans.

Ulften looked up to scan the bystanders with his cold eyes, singling out the most vocal with a gaze like sharp daggers. A hush fell over the crowd, until only the heart-wrenching sobs of Fredren remained.

"The laws for humans were made before the first caravan came here by the Eternal King. You agreed to those laws, did you not?"

"Yes," Meganan sighed in defeat.

Fredren lifted his head. A wild look, like an animal cornered in a cage, shined in his eyes. "I'm just making maps. Maps! I didn't mean any harm. Oh, someone help me. Deities save me!"

Ean cringed when Fredren's eyes settled directly on him. Not wanting any attention, he tried to melt back into the crowd. Unfortunately, they had tightened into an impenetrable wall, forcing him to remain up front.

"Ean!" The boy pointed right at him. "Tell them, Ean! I just make maps!"

Every eye, it seemed, shifted from Fredren onto Ean. He made one last vain attempt to push his way back into the crowd and then gave up with a sigh. With nothing else to do, he met Fredren's eyes. He at least owed the boy that.

"Ean, please..." Young Fredren's pleas ripped at his heart.

"Hey, wait a second, I know that one," one of the guards by Fredren said, pointing with a gauntleted finger. "I saw that one near the path to the mines, as well."

Ulften let out a sigh and gestured towards Ean. The guard that had pointed him out drew his sword and started to walk over. Cursing Fredren under his breath, Ean took a step towards the guard... and suddenly found a few of the wagon drivers standing in front of him.

"You're not taking another one of ours, rot face," one of the men growled. "You like to threaten little boys, let's see how you fair against a man."

As much as Ean hated being called a boy, he was more surprised by this sudden show of support by a complete stranger. Whether the man was standing up for him on principle or simply hated the Living Dead, at this point Ean didn't care.

"Boyd! Traiz!" Meganan yelled. "Do not interfere!"

Both men stood their ground for a moment, then with a glance back at Ean, stepped aside.

Taking a quick glance to the horizon, Ean saw the bottom of the sun just starting to touch the peaks to the west. If Ulften even suspected Ean, he would have no chance of ever reaching the mine.

The guard sheathed his sword as he approached, then grabbed Ean by the arm. Immediately Ean felt the power inside of him surge. He felt like a pitcher of water, full to the brim, being carried around by a drunk. It was all he could do to contain the energy inside of him, to the point where as soon as the guard started pulling him along, Ean tripped and almost fell.

"You've already made me regret letting you go," the guard growled quietly. "Stay on your feet and stop trying to make me look like a fool."

But Ean couldn't get his limbs to work properly. His power was reacting to something, and he had no idea what it was. Just like the Plague had been trying to bore into him, now his power was straining to burst out. Gathering all of his will power, Ean attempted to steady himself. He gripped the guard's hand tightly...

...and the runes on his arm burst into a blazing light.

His glove and half of his shirt were gone, leaving his right arm, shoulder, and side completely exposed. The tattoos that he thoght had only extended to his shoulder had made their way down his torso. They now covered his entire right side and even stretched out to part of his chest and stomach. But Ean had no time to examine the radical change.

The guard screamed as the power rushed out of Ean and into him, the light of it flowing into every hole of his armor. Ean closed his eyes tightly as he felt the power stretch forth from his own body like a million little hands. Mystical fingers of power took hold of the guard's body, covered him like a blanket, and seeped into his pores until it fused with mortal flesh. At first, Ean had no idea what the energy was doing. It was a force of nature, unstoppable. The more it surrounded and infused the terrified guard, though, the more familiar it seemed...

He knew when the power had felt like this before. Back in an old forgotten temple. Back when he had been in the presence of a goddess. Back when he had pulled the energies of the Abyss right out of the ghost of the old priest. Ean's eyes shot open at the realization of what was happening.

The unbridled energy of the Abyss latched onto the plague-infected energy in the guard. The latter energy resisted the former, but it was like a trickle of water trying to hold back a raging river. The pure energy that was flowing through him overwhelmed the corruption, burning it clean. All that was left behind in the guard was the same pure energy that flowed through Ean.

And then all of that energy, both Ean's and the guard's, flowed back into him.

The guard let out a blood-curdling scream. Ean watched in horror as the guard's scream quickly turned to a gurgle, and then a gasp as the guard's body went limp and collapsed to the ground. At least, it looked like he collapsed, until the armor rattled on the ground and each section came apart. The guard's entire body was simply gone. All that was left was the dark red armor, with piles of what looked like sand and dust pouring out of the edges.

Complete silence fell over the Deadlands.

Slowly glancing around, he saw everyone staring at him. Mouths hung open. Some people were huddled together, frozen in place. Others were still covering their ears as if the guard's screams were still echoing down the street. However, all eyes, including Fredren's, were dead-centered on Ean. Their expressions ranged from horror, to bewilderment, to anger--as if they were gazing at a murderous demon that had just crawled up from the depths of the Abyss. And the worst part was wondering if maybe they were right.

"I didn't mean to--"

The village erupted into chaos.

"GET UP!"

A woman was yelling at him. When Ean opened his eyes, he was on his back staring up into a hazy mist. How did he get on his back?

"Get up, you idiot!"

Hands grasped what was left of his shirt. The right half was completely gone. That seemed strange. The crisscrossing runes on his right side were glowing faintly, casting light around him.

When the hands forced him to sit up, a flash of pain went through his head, scattering his thoughts. He brought his hand to his temple and felt wetness. Was it raining? When he lowered his hand, it came back red. Was rain in the Deadlands a dark red? His head felt all muddled.

So many questions...Ean tried to grasp for at least one but was rattled more as he was lifted up onto his feet.

"If I have to carry you, I swear by the Abyss, I will never let you live it down."

That voice. Azalea. She was helping him up. That was nice of her. There were other sounds too. People yelling. Should he be worried? His muscles tightened as fear gripped him. There were blurs of things moving all around. Actually, a particularly red blur was coming straight at him.

"Wonderful."

Ean was about to ask what was wonderful when he suddenly found himself face down on the ground. Turning to his side, all he could see were a pair of red-plated boots and the brown sandals that Azalea always wore. The four feet were dancing around each other, sometimes close together, other times far apart. Then the red boots were gone for a moment, and all he saw were Azalea's feet.

The man in red armor hit the ground next to him with a clatter, his helmet flying off. The man's head was face up and yet the rest of his body was face down. His neck didn't look right either. Or his face for that matter, which was completely missing its lower jaw. But by far the thing that struck Ean the most peculiarly was when the man started to push himself back up off the ground. His head flopped about on a neck that no longer provided any support. The sight was horrific.

Again he was grabbed and hoisted over someone's shoulder. The horror of the previous scene had cleared his mind, and going by the plain brown robe and how they smelled of lilies, Ean guessed it was Azalea.

"Hold on, Ean," she yelled. "I'll get you out of this yet."

Azalea had no trouble running with him draped over her shoulder. All Ean could do was hold on as the ground passed in a blur beneath him. Every now and then he would see an arm or a leg lying motionless on the ground, some having the pale purple skin of the Living Dead, other times the fleshy tone of a human. And all the while, the sounds of yelling and fighting surrounded him.

"So much for sneaking around," Azalea yelled as she leapt over a body. "If we're lucky, all the guards will be done in the melee, and we will have easy access to the mine."

She barked a laugh. "If we make it there alive."

With his wits slowly returning, Ean lifted his head to try and get his bearings. The dusk light mixed with the shallow glow coming off his tattoos cast shadows everywhere. They were moving around different buildings, currently in a spot free of the fighting. The pulse coming
off the mine mirrored the pulse in his body. It seemed to be coming from ahead and to the left, which meant they had somehow gotten to the north side of the village and were making their way south.

"You can put me down now," Ean managed to get out as he was being bounced around. "I can walk."

"Not yet, little one. We're still being followed, I think." She reached up and patted his backside. "You just be a good little lantern up there and let me handle things for now."

Ean gave her a scowl as a reply, which felt all the more stupid since she couldn't see it. So he contented himself with holding on while she ran toward the sunset. They skirted around houses, Azalea sometimes getting closer to the shadowy mountains and other times heading back towards the main road. She doubled back on herself a few times, all the while Ean kept a look out for any pursuers. By the time night had settled in, Ean's tattoos were providing more light then the three moons. Huffing only slightly, after a journey that would have killed lesser creatures, Azaelea finally stopped. She carefully set Ean down on his feet, keeping a tight hold on his shoulders.

"You ok? Test out your legs. Do you feel comfortable standing on your own?"

Standing on one leg and then the other, Ean nodded. "Yeah, I feel much better. What happened back there?"

"Someone, not sure from which side, threw a rock at your head."

"And then the people from the caravan came to my aid?"

She shook her head. "No, I think most of those humans were scared of you at that point, which is why I don't know who threw the rock. I did see a few stones get thrown into the crowd of Living Dead though, and I heard some not-so-nice words aimed at them as well. I think some of the men hate the Living Dead and just used this as an opportunity to start something. And start something, they did."

Just that moment, the sounds of shouting reached them, quickly followed by the clash of weapons.

"What about Fredren? Did you see him get away?"

"I didn't see him dead. So anything is possible."

"How about Zin?"

"I'm sure the imp is fine. I bet he is already waiting for us at the entrance to the mines. Speaking of which..."

She gestured behind her at a path that led up into the mountains. The ground was crushed flat and looked old and heavily trodden, following a nearly straight and steep line up into the mountain.

"Let's get going," Azalea said, giving him a gentle push towards the path. "I think I lost the mob, but we certainly don't want to just stand out here in the open waiting for them to find us."

"Good point. Hopefully the guards Zin saw earlier came down to help with the riot."

"Probably. Well, Ean, you wanted a distraction and you certainly got one."

"True," was Ean's only reply as he started up the path with a sigh. Azalea stayed back a bit and kept watch behind them.

A distraction. Ean had seen enough bodies on the ground as Azalea had carried him to know what his distraction had cost. The sounds of yelling and fighting coming from the village told him that the price was still climbing. It might have been Fredren's curiosity that started the ball rolling for the events tonight, but Ean certainly felt just as responsible for those that wouldn't make it back to Ven Khilada.

Trying to push thoughts of death and dying out of his head, Ean forged on. The path rose to a steep incline, higher and higher, zig zagging into the mountain as it cut a deep path into its side. Ean wondered if the armies of Zin's former master had cut the path or if the citizens that lived down in the village had made it.

Upward and onward they climbed, Ean looking back every now and then to take in the view and check on Azalea. The view left much to be desired, the fog and mist making it hard to see very far. Ean could barely see the top of the houses below or anyone pursuing them. Hopefully, they were high enough that the constant fog of the Deadlands put them out of sight from those below.

Azalea seemed to be faring well. She marched on with a smile on her face, which grew slightly each time Ean looked back. The Yulari was handling the situation well, but of course why wouldn't she? She lived off of emotions like pain and suffering, which there must be plenty of down below. And yet at the same time, with everything she could be feeding on, Azalea didn't have that drunken stupor she usually got after overfeeding. Was she abstaining?

Not paying attention to the path, Ean tripped and fell face first onto the ground. Instead of feeling the slope of the mountain beneath him as expected, the surface was a level plane. Barely catching himself with his hands, he gave a grunt as the hard stone ground scraped his palms. He expected to hear Azalea laughing at him, but he met with only silence.

When he rolled to his side and saw what he had tripped over, vomit rose in his throat. It was a severed arm encased in red armor. Sinew and bone were splayed out from where it used to be attached to some poor man's shoulder. The blood was still watery and fresh, so whoever or whatever had done this might still be nearby.

Jumping to his feet, Ean scanned the area for any sign of what had caused the carnage. They had reached a flat portion of the path, roughly the size of one of the houses below. There was a large opening cut into the mountain not too far from where Ean was standing with two lit torches framing it.

And littered around the clearing were bodies. Or pieces of bodies. All wearing the same red-plated armor.

Ean wanted to flee back down the mountain, but he couldn't move. His own fear had gripped him tighter than the strongest bonds. All he could do while he tried to keep from dry heaving was survey all of the damage done. Not only were most of the body's limbs torn apart, even the armor had deep rents in it. Whatever had done this was more of a monster than anything he could bring out of the Abyss.

Azalea, of course, was unaffected, strolling between body parts and guts as if they were nothing. She stopped at a few, looking down at the bodies and nudging them with a foot before moving on. While Ean felt like he was going to pass out, Azalea looked as if this was as common as a stroll in the woods.

"Eight, at least I think. These were the guards Zin had seen earlier."

"Do you think the fighting down below spread up here?" Ean managed to get out before gripping his mouth and holding back the bile that wanted to escape.

"No," Zin said, suddenly appearing near the mine entrance. "I came right up here as soon as the fighting started and found them already like this."

"Such a brave imp," Azalea said with a dark laugh, "to go running off and leaving your poor friend behind."

"I figured you could take care of him," Zin growled, "and it wasn't like I could do much against a mob of people and the Living Dead. And look, here you both are safe and sound, so I guess I was right."

"Yes, luckily for Ean I was there to take care of him."

"Enough!" Ean yelled, and immediately had to fight down another urge to retch. "We have enough to worry about now without fighting amongst ourselves. Zin, do you have any idea if whatever did this went into the mines or down to the village?"

The imp shrugged nervously, its eyes focused on the ground. "I can't be certain, but there is a trail of blood leading into the mine."

"Wonderful. We have something that can tear armored men apart in the mine and a mob down below that would love to string us up."

"I can handle whatever is in the mine," Azalea said a bit flippantly. "So let's just--"

"Really?" Ean cut in. "Could you have done this? Torn into these men like this?"

"Well, no but..."

"Azalea. We can't just rush in there without knowing what we are up against. What if it's a pack of...monsters...that did this? Do you think you could protect me and fight off a pack of anything?"

"It would be tricky..."

"It would be impossible and you know it. We need help."

"Now wait a minute." This time it was Zin's turn to jump in. "You're not suggesting summoning something else are you?"

"I am."

"But you can't even control a Hound!" the imp yelled, and then seemed to calm himself. "Ean, there is nothing you have summoned so far that you control. That Hound you are so fond of almost came after you and your friends last time. And a Cruxlum, well they can sometimes be pointed in the right direction like you saw, but I wouldn't count on one right now for a guard."

"Zin, we are out of options, and have very little time. I'm not asking your permission."

Before the imp could reply, Ean knelt down on an open patch of rock and placed his bare right hand on the ground. With a thought, a summoning rune began spreading out from his hand, one he had done a few times before. Ean heard the imp hiss behind him as the rune took shape. Clearly he recognized it.

Ean couldn't help but smile. So much easier than drawing the complicated rune by hand. Now if controlling the creature could be just as simple...

A few shouts and the scraping of stone behind him made Ean lose his concentration for just a moment before he quickly regained his focus. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Azalea move back towards the path down the mountain. Hopefully it was nothing. He had enough to worry about with whatever had killed all of these guards, but if there was something coming up, human or Living Dead, they would be better off with four in their group than three.