Taker Of Skulls (Book 5) (23 page)
Read Taker Of Skulls (Book 5) Online
Authors: William King
The smoke almost choked him. The monstrous figure of the Goblin lord erupted from the flames, arms outstretched, claws flexed and ready to rend. His mouth was open wide. Madness filled his eyes, a sick determination to kill his tormentor if it was the last thing he did, apparent for all to see. He sprang at Kormak with the ferocity of a blood mad panther. The Guardian raised his sword and impaled the Old One on the dwarf-forged blade. The force of the impact drove him to his knees. Graghur’s weight pushed down on him. Talons scrabbled against Kormak’s armour. The Old One’s tusks snapped closed inches from his throat. For a moment Kormak inhaled his foul breath and the stink of his burning flesh.
Graghur’s scream rose above the clamour of battle, as he dissolved into a foul, black oil which caught fire and was consumed by the flame.
The sight of the death of their king demoralised the goblins. They turned to flee, leaving the small group of dwarves and humans standing amid a pile of corpses.
Kormak raced over to where the bodies lay. One glance told him that Boreas was dead and Karnea was dying. The scholar lay there, very pale, eyes dimming.
“You get him?” she asked.
“Yes,” Kormak said.
“I am glad,” she said. “Get the Lost Rune back to Aethelas! Tell the tale of what happened here. Tell the dwarves of Aethelas about their kin.”
“I will.”
“Some good might come out of all this yet. The dwarves might yet be saved. More blades might be forged.”
Kormak looked at the small band around him, thought about the numbers of dwarves left here. They were dying off and nothing was going to change that but he did not want to disappoint the dying woman. “I pray that you are right,” he said. She was already far beyond hearing.
Ferik’s heavy hand fell on his shoulder. In his other hand, he held Utti’s head. “Come, we’d best get out of here before the goblins regroup. The monsters from the pits will keep them busy for a while longer. They are running out of control.”
“I kept my part of the bargain,” Kormak said, pointing to the outline of a body where Graghur had fallen.
“And we will keep ours,” said Ferik. “You have the word of a dwarf on that. Without Graghur to lead them, we can take back the mine and reclaim the netherium.”
In his heart, Kormak wondered at the truth of that, but right now he could not bring himself to care too much. He felt bad about abandoning Karnea and Boreas without burial. Still, there was something he needed to do. He reached down and unclamped the rune from the sorceress’s arm and he picked up her sack.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
KORMAK WATCHED AS the caravan prepared to leave Varigston. He felt better himself now he had a horse under him and a road out ahead.
There were a score of wagons all loaded with artefacts taken from the ruins of Khazduroth and there were armed men there to protect them. He looked down at Sasha. She adjusted little Tam’s cloak, looked back and said something to her sister. The boy glanced at Kormak and smiled. He was glad that he had managed to keep one promise at least.
“You sure you won’t come to Aethelas?” he said. He kept his voice low so no one could overhear him. “You had an agreement with Karnea. The rune was hers. You were to receive one quarter of its value. It could be worth a lot.”
She smiled and spoke back just as softly, “And they might just decide to lock me up and keep what I know a secret. No, you were more than generous with Karnea’s gold and letters of credit. We’ll take the next caravan out and we’ll quietly vanish once we hit some big city.”
Kormak could not help but feel that might be the wiser course. Grand Master Darius might choose to be generous but then again, he might want the secret of the netherium kept safe for a few months longer. “As long as you keep your mouth shut, no one will come looking for you.”
“You promise?” she said.
“I promise.”
“What about you? Won’t you have some explaining to do, with Karnea gone?”
“I have the rune and the promise of netherium. I am sure that will excuse a lot of failure on my part.”
“I am sorry she died,” Sasha said. “She was a nice woman even if she was a sorceress and she probably saved both our lives.”
Kormak nodded and felt gloom settle on his shoulders like a weight. He looked at the mountains around him and back in the direction of the lost city. Clouds hung there, obscuring the sun.
A horn sounded, the wagons began to roll. He turned and waved farewell to the two women and the small boy and then they disappeared into the distance behind him.
THIS BOOK WAS helped along its way by many people. I would like to express
gratitude to my test readers, Bjorn Tasto, Michael Mooney and Jeff Rubinoff as well as my cover designer Clarissa Yeo, map maker Chazz Kellner and proofreader Angela King. Thanks everybody!
WILLIAM KING LIVES in Prague, Czech Republic with his lovely wife Radka and his sons Dan and William Karel. He has been a professional author and games developer for almost a quarter of a century. He is the creator of the bestselling Gotrek and Felix series for Black Library and the author of the bestselling Space Wolf books which between them have sold over three quarters of a million copies in English and been translated into 8 languages.
He has been short-listed for the David Gemmell Legend Award. His short fiction has appeared in Year’s Best SF and Best of Interzone. He has twice won the Origins Awards For Game Design. His hobbies include role-playing games and MMOs as well as travel.
His website can be found at:
www.williamking.me
He can be contacted at
[email protected]
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MORE E-BOOKS BY WILLIAM KING
THE KORMAK SAGA
The Kormak Saga Omnibus Edition
THE TERRARCH CHRONICLES
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