Kormak 01 - Stealer of Flesh (8 page)

“A land torn by war. A woman on her own. Too much like a victim.”

“He might use it as a trap.”

“You do think like a hunter.”

“I can help you hunt this bastard demon,” she said. “It killed my brother.”

“I am not sure I want any help.”

“You going to do this all on your own?”

“I don’t want to hunt a demon and look after you at the same time.”

“You are the soul of chivalry, aren’t you? A real knight.”

“A real knight would beat you for showing such disrespect. They don’t like uppity peasant girls.”

“So I should be glad you’re not? And I am not a peasant. I am a freeholder.”

“You got any place to go, or were you and your brother just fleeing?”

“My father’s sister has a place down in Steelriver. She would take us in. Or she’ll take me in now.”

“How far is Steelriver?”

“It’s the main town about five leagues ahead. It’s mostly a Sunlander place and it’s too big for the Wolves to attack, yet. All the Sunlanders are heading that way. What? What did I say? You look as if you swallowed a lemon.”

Kormak thought about what she had said. He suddenly saw a pattern to all the burnings. “It’s a cattle drive,” he said. “They are burning you out and driving you all to one place.”

She looked at him. Her mouth opened as if she was about to contradict him but then it closed again. “You know, you might be right.”

“There’s been a lot of feuding between the Sunlanders and the moondogs hasn’t there?”

“Always has been since Kyril the Conqueror claimed these lands in the name of the Holy Sun. The moondogs don’t like that one little bit.”

Kormak nodded. He could tell the girl was talking about humans when she mentioned moondogs. Further west that particular name was reserved for the Old Ones themselves not those who worshipped them. Here the words had the sound of a most bitter insult.

“You think they are going to get everyone in one place and then burn it?”

“It’s an old trick in siege warfare. Force your enemy to open the gates to refugees from their own side. If they open the gates, it’s more mouths to feed. If they turn them away, it demoralises.”

“Lord Martin would not turn any one of the True Faith away. The city council might. They are a bunch of money grubbing bastards by all accounts.”

“You always use such language?”

“Who are you, my father?”

“Where is he?”

“Dead, like my mother. Red plague took them.”

Kormak could tell by the set of her mouth that she was not going to say anything more on that subject.

“You can walk with me to Steelriver. Razhak is most likely going that way anyway.”

And that would not be good, Kormak thought. There would be many new bodies there, and in a big town he could hide all too well.

“You not going to ask me to ride with you?”

“My horse does not need the extra weight and I don’t need anyone behind me who is so ready with a knife.”

They had been on the road for hours and Kormak was tired of fending off the girl’s endless questions. He just stared at their surroundings and let her chatter flow over him. She did not seem to care so long as he grunted occasionally as if he were listening.

It was getting dark. The mountains which mere hours before had been vast and clear, dappled with woods, bright with snow on the peaks, were becoming mere gigantic shadows that loomed menacingly all around. Clouds hid the face of Our Lady of the Moon. It did not look like they would make the town this evening so it was time to make camp.

Kormak swung his steed off the road when he found a convenient hollow. It was cold, with the chill of oncoming winter. He began to gather sticks for a fire. Petra began to help. He noticed that she had a leather strap in her hand now with a stone in it and he watched her warily. Many a warrior had been killed with a sling. It made him reluctant to remove his helmet. He had known some men who would have mocked him for that but he was still alive and they were long in their graves.

“You any good with that?” he asked.

She nodded and began to whirl the sling. He kept his eye on her, ready to throw himself to one side if she looked like she was bringing it to bear on him. The stone whizzed away and brought down a squirrel in a nearby tree. It was an excellent shot in the bad light.

“Impressive,” Kormak said.

“Dinner,” she said. She nodded at the sword. “You any good with that thing?”

“I don’t intend to bring down any squirrels with it.”

“It was not squirrels I was thinking of,” she said. She nodded towards the mountain slope. There was something moving amid the undergrowth there. It might have been a wolf or a bear. Kormak returned to getting the fire lit. It might prove useful in keeping beasts at bay as well as keeping them warm. Petra moved closer. She set the squirrel down and began to clean and skin it. She carefully placed the pelt aside. He guessed she might be able to sell it or the tail. Or maybe she wanted to use it herself.

“You don’t seem too worried,” she said. He could tell whatever was out there was on her mind.

“If we have to fight, we have to fight,” he said. “I am not worried. I have an expert slinger on my side.”

“It was a lucky shot,” she said. “And I can’t bring down a bear.”

“It seems to be heading away anyway.”

“It might come back.”

“Worry about it when it happens.”

“Can you really do that? Push everything out of your mind.”

“No,” said Kormak. “But I can try.”

She put the squirrel on the end of a twig and began to roast it over the fire. “You want some?” she asked.

“I have waybread.”

“You going to offer me some?”

“I thought your offer of roast squirrel was not entirely altruistic.” He offered her some of the waybread anyway and shook his head as she pushed the squirrel forward. She took the waybread.

“You speak like the preachers who used to come round the villages.”

“I was educated in a monastery.”

“Mount Aethelas?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not a Sunlander. Why did they take you in?”

“The Holy Sun accepts all those who accept him.”

“And you accepted him?”

“The Aquileans worshipped the Sun before the Solari came from over the World Ocean.”

“You did not answer my question.”

“That might give you a clue that I am not going to.”

“Keep your blade handy. The Wolves roam the night.”

“I think we’ll notice if a band of riders comes thundering out of the dark.”

“Sometimes the wolf-men hunt on their own.”

“You’re not frightened, are you?”

“Why should I be? I have a Guardian here to protect me.”

“Who is going to protect me?”

“You are not quite as reassuring as the stories say you should be.”

“Worry about the wolf-man when the wolf-man comes. Or leave it to me to worry about. Get some sleep.”

She seemed to already have taken him at his word. A sound of snoring emerged from the other side of the fire. Kormak made sure his blade was close at hand, wrapped himself in his cloak and stared at the sky. There was a moisture in the air, a dampness that reminded him of the mountains of his homeland. It made him feel almost nostalgic. He avoided looking at the fire. He did not want to ruin his night vision.

The whinnying of the horse woke Kormak. His steed was a warhorse, trained to remain calm in the face of battle, fire and monsters. It was nervous now though and that in turn made him nervous. He rose to his feet, reaching for his blade. The girl was already up with her knife out.

“Planning on slitting my throat in the dark, were you?” Kormak asked.

“Your horse woke me. There’s something out there. Maybe the bear has come back.”

“Maybe,” Kormak said. He sniffed the air. There was an odd scent to it, of fur and something else. It was not the rotten smell he would have associated with Razhak’s walking corpse.

Something big emerged from the shadows. Kormak turned to face it. He did not draw his sword despite feeling an almost overpowering urge to do so. The creature was bigger than he was and covered in fur but it was not a bear. It walked upright like a man and its body resembled that of a man save for being broader and more stooped. The arms were longer and the hands ended in claws. It had a wolf’s head although the brow was higher and the eyes wider, and there was an odd intelligence in them. Around its neck was a choker of night-metal like the other wolf-men had worn.

“It’s one of Massimo’s Wolves,” said Petra.

“I worked that out all by myself,” Kormak said, not taking his eyes from the creature.

“Are you going to kill it?”

“Not unless it attacks us,” said Kormak loud enough so the wolf-man could hear what he was saying. Looking at those huge pointed ears he suspected it would have been able to do that even if he whispered. It opened its muzzle and let its tongue loll out, almost as if it was laughing. Kormak took a slow step closer. He wanted it to understand he was not afraid of it either. It looked at him with those fierce, red, miserable eyes. Kormak could see its muscles tense, as if it were about to spring.

“I would not do that if I were you,” he said. “Not unless I wanted to die.”

That seemed to be all the trigger it took. The wolf-man sprang, an avalanche of fur and muscle and rage slammed into Kormak. Its weight knocked him over but already it was ceasing to struggle.

“I don’t believe it,” said Petra. “You drew your sword and put it through the wolf-man’s chest in a heartbeat.”

Kormak pushed the heavy corpse off him. “Yes,” he said sourly.

Kormak looked down at the wolf-man. It was already beginning to change. A pinkish-grey pus was leaking from its flesh as it lost mass and began to revert to something more human. In a few heartbeats a tall man clad in what looked like rags was lying there. He was still alive despite the fact that Kormak’s sword was embedded in his abdomen. Kormak had no intention of taking it out until he was certain the man was dead.

“Thank you,” said the man. It was not exactly what Kormak had expected.

He hunkered down beside the man. “Why?”

“You have freed me, freed my soul. The demon in me is gone. It could not stand your sword. It burned.”

“Massimo bound something into your body?”

The dying man nodded. “When Massimo brought Jaro back from the dead, he called for volunteers. He said Massimo would work magic, that would make us invincible, let us take back what was ours from the Sunlanders. He showed us what had been done to him, how the wolf spirit had been bound into him and made him mighty. I stepped forward.”

“Kill the moondog bastard,” said Petra. “He’s slaughtered hundreds.”

“I want to hear what he has to say.”

The man’s lips quirked in a sour smile. “She’s right. I did. Men, women, children. It was not what I expected. Not what I was told. He put a demon in me, Massimo did. At first I thought I could control it, use its power but over the months it grew stronger. It fed on the rage and hate and pain. In the end it controlled me. It made me want to kill everything within reach…”

“Typical moondog bastard, always giving excuses when they are caught, when it doesn’t matter. Tell the folks you killed you’re sorry!”

“I am not sorry I killed most of them,” the wolf-man said. “You came here and stole our land and you raised your false god. You persecuted those who followed the Old Ways and you were always so righteous about it. We showed you that Our Lady still has power.”

Petra had drawn her knife. Kormak gestured for her to stand back. He did not want this man’s throat cut, not yet anyway. “Massimo did this to you.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you come here? Why did you attack us? Did you just find our trail, catch our scent?”

“I was sent to find you. Many of the Wolves were. You are a champion of the Sun and you are pursuing Massimo’s new friend. There will be others after you now. I was just the first to catch your trail.”

“New friend?”

“Something strange. It rode up yesterday and chatted with Massimo for hours. It smelled of death and old magic. When he was finished, the sorcerer gave us our orders.”

Kormak looked up at the sky. The clouds had parted. The waning moon blinked mockingly through the gap. “Where can I find Massimo?”

“The Devil’s Peak,” said the wolf-man.

“That’s where his tower is,” said Petra. “No one goes there.”

“You can show me to this place?” he asked her. She looked at him for a long time, swallowed and nodded.

“I could but I won’t. I am not mad. No one comes back from Devil’s Peak.”

“Razhak is there. He killed your brother. You said you wanted to revenge. You said you wanted Massimo dead.”

“And you will kill him?”

“If I have to and I suspect I might.”

“You don’t lack confidence do you, big man?”

“I do what I have to, like everybody else. Massimo wants me dead. His Wolves want me dead. Razhak is with him. Under the circumstances, someone is going to die and it’s not going to be me.”

“If you go to the tower you will die, Guardian,” said the wolf-man. “What’s left of Jaro’s army is camped in the valley and the Wolves guard Massimo. Not even your blade can kill all of them.”

“There’s more than one way to skin a wolf,” Kormak said. “I don’t plan on hacking my way in.”

“I said you were not entirely stupid,” said Petra. Her voice sounded so shaky Kormak knew she was still considering helping him. “You really mean to kill Massimo?”

“If I can.”

“If you do there will be no more Wolves.”

“Not unless Massimo’s apprentices have been taught his secrets.”

“Massimo has no apprentices,” said the wolf-man. “He guards his secrets from all.”

“Why is he helping Razhak?”

“I think Razhak has promised Massimo the secret of immortality. Does he really have it?”

“Only the Old Ones know that,” said Kormak. “And he is not a true Old One.”

The wolf looked curious. “I am sorry I don’t have the time to find out what you mean.” Blood was leaking from the corners of his mouth and from his nostrils now. His breathing was a hoarse rattle. There was a bubbling sound from inside his chest.