Sons of Evil: Book 1 Book of Dread (15 page)

For three days they had
traveled across the open plains of Dalusia, moving northwest in as straight a
line as they could manage toward Elysium’s Neck, the band of land that
connected the southern kingdoms to the Far North. In different times they might
have gone directly north, until they reached the Northern Road, which ran along
the coast, a more roundabout but probably faster route, but the road would be
well-watched and well-traveled, and they wanted to pass unseen. The days were
uncomfortably warm, the summer sun scorching them and the air heavy and close,
but otherwise the traveling was easy, the land flat and the population sparse. If
any took note of the group of travelers they raised no alarm.

That night they made camp, the
routine becoming familiar now. A small grove of trees gave them some shelter,
and they had caught some small game, which they cooked over the fire. The fire
they intended to let die down once the food was ready, the stifling heat of the
day still fresh in their minds. They sat grouped a few feet apart from the
fire, all on one side so they could talk, Silas approaching the flames now and
then to turn the rough spit they had fashioned. Their conversation was muted,
the sizzle and pop of the cooking meat louder in the surrounding night than
their words. Even quieter was the almost imperceptible rustling in the trees
behind them.

Two of the hunters were
perched up in the canopy, having just found their quarry. For a time they both
sat and watched, making sure they each had identified their mark. These two had
traveled more or less together since Kaelesh had sent them off, the third
having turned south from the Stoneman farm, but now was the first time they
acknowledged one another, the hunt being all-consuming to each until this
moment. With a few quick motions they communicated a rough plan, with one of
the hunters remaining in place while the other slipped down the trunk of a tree
and moved away.

When the little creature was
out of sight of the camp, it bent to the ground, sketching a figure in the dust
with quick, confident strokes. Its head was on a pivot, looking up to make sure
it remained unseen, then back down to its work. When the drawing was done it
sank its sharp teeth into the meat of its own hand, allowing the blood to stain
the ground inside the figure it had drawn. Smoke rose from the ground, but
rather than dissipating or drifting away it coalesced into the rough shape of a
man, albeit one much shorter than even the small creature.

The smoking figure spoke, the
voice Kaelesh’s. “You have succeeded,” he said, a statement, not a question.

“Yes, master,” the creature
replied, its voice a tiny squeak. “Grashlek as well. Two are together.”

The smoking figure was a form
only, no facial expression visible, but the smile Kaelesh was wearing came
through in his tone. “Excellent. A pleasant surprise.” After a pause, he said,
“I wish to see.”

The
creature bowed obediently, then closed with the smoking figure, its mouth
dropping open as if it were letting out a silent scream. The smoke drifted up
and into the creature, disappearing down its throat.

Kaelesh sat in a chair in his
locked room, his eyes closed. But his mind’s eye now saw a clear image as he
gazed out from inside the creature. With a thought the hunter’s legs started to
move, taking it—and Kaelesh—back toward the tree in which its counterpart
waited. Its movements were different now, less herky-jerky, smoother, taking on
some of the calm, polished nature of the being that possessed it.

The second creature stiffened
slightly, realizing its master was present. It shook expectantly, its eyes
large and staring, waiting for a command.

Kaelesh studied the
close-huddled group below, their voices barely audible but their conversation
revealing little. He wasn’t sure which of the Stoneman brothers was which, not
that it mattered, but he easily picked them out of the group. What intrigued
him was the company they were now keeping. When they left the farm he was
certain they had been alone. Now they traveled with two men who had the mark of
the holy one on them, and the other, the woman… He wondered what power she
might have.

Kaelesh had not been overly
anxious about the book’s disappearance, and seeing the group that held it he
was even more at ease. Clearly none of them would be able to open it, and none
would be able to destroy it. While he waited for them to settle into sleep, he
considered for a time allowing them to continue on, to see what they intended
to try to do and where they were going, but eventually decided against it. They
were moving north, into more dangerous parts of Corterra, and there would be
others there who would try to slay them on sight, and if they found the book… Kaelesh
felt a smile curl the little creature’s lips, almost ruing the fact that such
interesting things would not come to pass.

It was well into the night
before the group took rest, and Kaelesh was not surprised that they set a
watch. He waited, patient as always, until they changed and the first two, one
of the boys and the woman, were asleep. He turned to the other hunter and
instructed it without moving the lips of the creature he possessed to go into
the camp and find the book, describing it and pointing at the small pile of
their belongings as the likely spot.

The second hunter obeyed
immediately, skittering silently down the tree and waiting for the right moment
to move again, timing the gait of the two sentries and watching the way they
moved their heads to-and-fro, looking for danger. But the dying fire, the
moonless night, and the creature’s size gave it an advantage…they were looking
for danger in a larger form without even knowing it, their eyes rarely going to
ground level.

When it
had its opening it moved with lightning quickness into the camp, melting into
their belongings. It waited a few heartbeats to make sure it remained unseen,
then started to methodically search for the book.

It was Darius who became aware
of it first, a small noise different from the shuffle of the feet of the pacing
camp guardians that set an alarm off in his subconscious and pulled him from
his light sleep. His eyes shot open and he grabbed the hilt of his sword,
mainly to assure himself that it was still there. He turned his head slowly,
seeing the fading glow of the fire, and beyond, Silas and Luke keeping watch. He
started to tell himself it was nothing, simply an animal somewhere in the night
or even just his imagination, when a quick flash of movement caught his eye.

He felt some of the tension
try to leave him; it was just a little animal rummaging in their packs for
food, but he warned himself to not let down his guard. He got to his feet, took
a couple of quick steps, and gave the creature a swift kick, not too harshly,
intending to send it on its way.

The hunter had found the book,
had just begun to tighten its fingers around the tome’s spine when the blow
sent it sprawling. It wheeled, baring its teeth at the man that had denied it
its prize. The master would have been so pleased… It knew the man was far
stronger and it could see he was armed, and it knew the sound of even a short
scuffle would draw the others, but it had a task, and it would complete it or
die trying. It flashed its teeth once more, spitting fury, then sprang in one
lightning leap back toward the book.

“Hey!” Darius shouted,
surprised and annoyed. He had his sword out, but the little beast, despite the
show of teeth, still seemed intent only on what might be in their packs. Thinking
it meant him no personal harm, and unsure what it was in the darkness, Darius
pitied the thing enough that he simply used his boot again, forcing it away. He
moved to stand over the packs, thinking that might finally drive it off.

The hunter knew time was
growing short. The others in the camp had been roused, and the pacing guards
were now closing on it. If it were swift, it had time for one more attempt, and
if it were lucky, it still might escape with the treasure. It sprang left, as
if to leave, then back right and low, as if going for the pack again. The man
fell for the feint, the sword arm dropping a fraction and then the man leaning
just slightly backward in surprise at the sudden change in direction, throwing
his balance off. The creature had the opening it hoped for, and its last move
was not for the packs, but rather upward, teeth flashing while it clawed at the
man’s face.

Darius still had no idea what
he was facing, and the thing’s speed and agility put him on the defensive. He
threw up a forearm to ward it off, successfully protecting his face, but he was
forced backward several steps before he could regain his equilibrium. Just
before he shielded his eyes he caught a glimpse of its face, and knew he was
dealing with something potentially far more dangerous than a small forest
animal. He raised his sword, ready to strike now, expecting it to come lunging
at him again, but instead it was back at the packs, pulling one fully open and
trying to wrest something from it. He started for it, but Silas was there
first, and he started to shout a quick warning to the cleric, lest he also
mistake the creature for a raccoon or squirrel.

Darius need not have bothered.
Silas had seen much in the world, and he well understood what it was they
carried and the forces that might wish to retrieve it. He would take no chance
on something that managed to slip by him while he was protecting the camp. He
was a kind and merciful man, but he swung his staff now to kill. The little
beast, focused again only on freeing its prize from the wretched pack that
seemed determined to not easily give it up, was caught by the speed and force
of the blow. It crashed to the ground some ten feet away, its last breath
gusting out as it slammed into the hard dirt near the fire. As its life fled,
it disappeared in a quick puff of smoke.

Darius saw something in the
firelight, and knelt where the creature had fallen. As his companions gathered
around he stood and showed them what he had found.

“A coin?” Adrianna asked. “It
couldn’t have been looking for money.”

“I agree,” said Silas. “Maybe
it just had it in its hand when I struck.”

“Maybe,” Darius said, clearly
unconvinced. He shrugged. “Regardless, I agree it wasn’t after money. I guessed
food, but it was trying to pull the book from my pack. Do you think it was
looking for it specifically?”

“I’d say yes,” Barlow said,
“given the way it disappeared when it died. Sent back to one of the planes of
the underworld, from whence it came. Too much coincidence to be anything else.”

“Which leaves us the question
of whether it came on its own, drawn by the book perhaps, or was sent in search
of it.”

“The right question,” Silas
said, “but one we can’t answer for now. But if it was sent… We need to do a far
better job of watching over our camp, starting with me.”

“I was on watch, too,” Luke
put in. “Part of the blame is mine, if not all.”

“My words were not just for
you and me, Luke,” Silas said. “We have to remember we’re dealing with powers
and creatures we don’t fully understand. We stand watch as men, guarding
against the things of this world. We all need to realize the beings of this
world are not all we face.”

“Great,” said Luke. “So how do
we deal with that?”

“Stay alert,” Adrianna
offered. “And be ready for anything.”

“Not very comforting,” Luke
said with a laugh. “But I guess it’ll have to do.”

“Anyone think they’ll get any
more sleep tonight?” Darius asked. When no one indicated they’d likely be
enjoying any further rest, he suggested they pack up and move on. Less than
five minutes later they resumed their journey.

Kaelesh watched them go while
he pondered what had happened. Overall he was pleased, though disappointed the
little hunter hadn’t been able to escape with the book. That had been too much
to hope for, considering the group was well-armed, and the “loss” of the hunter
was irrelevant, since he could call forth others if he so desired. He had
already learned from the third hunter that Sasha was working on a farm some
fifty miles north of the city of Crescent, and that she did not appear to have
the book any longer. Now he knew it was the older Stoneman boy, Darius, who
carried the book, and that the company he kept seemed to have at least a
rudimentary understanding of what they were dealing with. Interesting…

I’m leaving
, he
communicated to the hunter he possessed.
Track them, but stay out of sight. Contact
me when they next set camp.

Yes, master
, the
hunter replied from some small corner of its own mind that Kaelesh had not
taken over. Then Kaelesh was gone. The hunter slipped from the tree and took up
the chase once again.

*

Kaelesh’s work this night was
far from done. Only moments after he had left the hunter and returned to his
own body and his own room, he was casting another spell, and was now conversing
with the field leader of Longvale’s army. “Orgoth,” he said. “How goes the
war?”

“Well,” Orgoth answered. He
stood nearly seven feet tall, and his muscles seemed to ripple with ever-subtle
movement. The black helm and mask he usually wore was behind him on a chair,
indicating he was alone in his tent, and that they could speak freely. “We have
taken Antigo, and now push toward Four Creek. If the Dalusian force chooses to
make a stand there we can take them at our leisure, or simply lay siege to the
place.”