The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (21 page)

“
Alright! Okay, okay!” Jadin spluttered. Thadius released his
grip, and the gatekeeper scrambled with his keys, unfastening bolts
and latches and locks and threw the door open. “There. It’s open.
You can go!”

“
That’s the spirit Jadin,” Matthias quipped,
winking at the guard as Thadius and Josephine darted through the
opening and out into the night beyond. “He’s harmless really.” He
patted Jadin on the back and stepped briskly through the gate. “You
can keep the change,” he added, nodding to the scattered coin on
the floor. “Oh and one more thing.” He dove into his pocket one
final time, and threw another gold coin towards the gatekeeper, who
caught it clumsily. “Don’t let
anyone
else through.” He jerked a thumb towards
the shadowy outline of Thadius. “He wouldn’t be happy if you did.”
He disappeared a moment and then reappeared again one last time.
“And keep yourself
safe!
” With a nod and a final grin at the bemused man, Matthias
disappeared with the others into the darkness of the night. The
sounds of whispering among the three people dispersed into the
distance as Jadin watched them go.

The
gatekeeper scratched his head and then, dismissing his musings
about the trio with a shake, turned his attentions to the more
important matter of the coin at his feet.

“
Well, I’ll say one thing for that boy. He is
certainly one generous young man.” There was more here than he
could earn in a month!
Six
months perhaps! He closed the gate, re-bolted the
many, many locks and sat back down again on his old barrel to keep
watch, clinking the money between his hands.

The
alley grew silent again and Jadin enjoyed a little snooze on his
rickety perch. He pulled his coat tighter around him. There was a
chill in the air tonight.

There was a clatter from the shadows, and with a start Jadin
lurched up. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and his
eyes strained as he peered into the shadows. Watching the darkness
in front of him, he fumbled behind his back until he found the
handle of the small, brass oil lamp propped on the crate and
gingerly held the light up.

“
Hello? Who goes there?” Silence. Jadin took a step forward,
and the faint sound of stifled breathing carried across the air.
“Come on! Out with you! I’ve had more than enough crap for one
night! Jacob, if that’s you mucking around-”

A
figure emerged from within the shadows, and it was not Jacob, nor
was it anyone the man recognised. Jadin’s breath caught at the
sight that lay before him, and his eyes widened in fear. His lip
quivered. “Now, now! I don’t want no more trouble. I-”

The
figure moved fast. The knife whipped about quickly, expertly, and
Jadin’s body fell to the ground. Blood spilled from the wound in
Jadin’s throat, and the figure stepped over him and picked up the
keys.

“
The
first blood...” the figure voice whispered. “Just as it was
foretold.”

“
Do
you intend for us to walk the entire journey to Olindia on foot
with those creatures in pursuit?” Thadius whispered as they
continued to wade quickly through the long, damp grass beyond the
gate. The outline of Rina stood tall behind them in the moonlight,
in spite of how quickly they moved. They had been out of the city
for nearly a half - hour and nothing else had appeared to follow
them the way they had come.

“
Horses would have attracted too much attention,
don’t you think?” Matthias replied. “Besides, there was hardly
enough time to
breathe
let alone get to the stables. I wasn’t going to mess about
with saddles and stirrups with a twenty-ton demon breathing down my
neck!”

“
Well I am just glad that we made it out of there,” Josephine
said. “Those creatures were terrible. I have never seen the
like.”

“
Some call them demons, others call them helspawn,” Matthias
advised.

“
I know what a
helspawn
is, ambassasor,” Josephine whispered
tersely. “There are very few in Aralia who do not know of them. We
share a border, after all, with the wastelands of Helriven. What I
was
speaking
of was their strength and size. The beasts I have seen
brought back to Rina on occasion from the abandoned wastelands are
emaciated,
skeletal
creatures. These were very different.”

“
They come in all shapes and sizes,” Matthias replied. “Those
creatures your people encounter in Helriven are weak from their
struggle to survive on scraps of food. These ones are different.
They’ve been bred for a purpose, like a pack of hunting
dogs.”

“
Four hundred years of us slaughtering their kin
should have
taught
them their place,” Thadius growled. “They must be
either
desperate
to be killed or just plain mad.”

“
Or
afraid of something far more than your king’s armies?” Matthias
ventured.

“
Who
are these people who want me dead, that they could command demons?”
Josephine asked.

“
Your guess is as good as mine, princess,” Matthias
said. “But my people intend to find out. Whatever could cause
the
gods
to be afraid enough to send a seeing stone down to Erithia
surely cannot remain hidden in the shadows for
long.”

“
I
wish I hadn’t asked,” Josephine shivered.

They
carried on walking in the darkness, stumbling across the grassland.
Rina grew smaller as they made their way down the sloping
grassland, until the tops of the city disappeared into the
dark.

“
What exactly did Jadin
do
in that tavern Thadius?” Matthias asked to
make conversation as they continued.

“
I
don’t feel it would be quite appropriate to tell you with the
princess present,” he replied, coughing awkwardly

“
I
see
,” Matthias said, smiling to himself in the
darkness.

“
My
feet are hurting already,” Josephine said, changing the subject. “I
am unused to walking in such terrain. How far are we to the
nearest-” Josephine was cut off by a surge of flame and a mound of
earth exploding from behind. Her legs flew from under her, and she
stumbled to her knees.

“
Stay down!” Matthias yelled back, and Josephine covered her
head with her hands and screamed as flame burst inches from her
face and smattered her cheeks with mud. Thadius threw their bags to
the ground and took his sword in hand. The blade gleamed in the
moonlight. Matthias whirled around as another surge of flame
ruptured the ground nearby. Dirt exploded into the sky and covered
them.

A
figure darted through the grass towards them, bolts of light
shooting from his hands. They struck the earth all about them and
ruptured the ground, the mud surging into the sky with the force of
the impact. Matthias threw an arm forward, palm outstretched, and a
fireball began to form, growing larger until it encompassed his
entire hand. His arm reeled as he let it fly, hurtling towards the
dark figure, who dodged the flame, forward - rolling through the
grass, before springing up nimbly and launching towards
Matthias.

As
he drew close, the attacker’s features were revealed. He was a
human man, with knotted, greasy black and grey hair curling down to
his shoulders. He wore all - black clothing; muslin breeches were
tied up with string and a loose - hanging cotton shirt, open at the
collar, clung to his sweaty, skeletal form. He was an almost
invisible silhouette in the deep darkness of the night, except for
a silvery blade he clutched in his left hand, which he now whirled
at Matthias. The wizard deflected it, pulling his staff from his
back with seconds to spare and thrusting it into the sword’s path.
The moonlight shone off the polished weapon and the man’s face was
briefly illuminated off the blade's reflection: his hawked nose
jutted out from a thin, emaciated face and a narrow, grinding jaw
flanked with high cheekbones. His rotten, yellowed teeth, encrusted
with muck, were bared in fury as he swiped savagely at Matthias
again and again.

Thadius swung at him but the man managed to spin away from
the longsword almost inconceivably given his decidedly delicate
frame, and let a bolt of energy burst from his palm, striking the
soldier in the chest. He went down like a wounded bear. The man
turned and flailed at Matthias again but the wizard ducked down,
narrowly avoiding a deadly slash at his neck, before bringing his
staff back around at the attacker, striking him heavily on the
temple. The man fell but before Matthias could pin him he kicked
out and caught the wizard on his left shin. Matthias lost his
footing, and stumbled to the ground. Throbbing pain seared up his
leg. He cursed and grimaced at the man before him, who nodded
triumphantly, muttering to himself and fumbling through the grass
with his blade towards Matthias again.

Matthias rolled as the blade sliced into the wet soil where
his head had been and stuck in the mulch. He outstretched his hand
and used the earth power to push the man to the ground, the air
groaning with the effort of being manipulated. As the assassin
landed on his back with a thud, Matthias sprung himself up using
his legs as a counterbalance, and quickly pressed the end of his
staff against the man’s neck. There was a sucking noise, and the
man’s body seemed to grow rigid. It was over.

“
Who
are you? Why did you attack us?” Matthias demanded. Thadius came up
beside him; a smoky tear burnt into his shirt and stuck his blade
next to Matthias’s staff at the man’s neck.

“
Answer him, or I’ll cut your throat!” he growled. “Did you
send those monsters?”

The man spluttered and coughed, but Matthias
didn’t release the pressure of his staff on the man’s neck. The man
began to laugh manically. “
Cut
my throat!” he bubbled. “It will make no
difference. You are all dead! We’re
all
dead!”

Matthias looked down at the man with dazzlingly blue eyes,
shimmering like sapphires held against a candle, his face intent.
As he did the man’s brow contorted. A thin vein snaked from his
hairline to his nose, and it pulsed menacingly.

“
I can do far
worse
than cut your throat, if you force me to. I can
make your blood
boil
beneath your skin.”

Thadius turned his head to Matthias. “You
can
do
that?” he asked, astonished. Matthias ignored him and
continued.

“
Right now your skin feels as if it is just a
little sunburnt and you feel a little sweaty. That’s your blood
just
slightly
raised in temperature. Now, feel the
fire
coursing through your veins.” The man
began convulsing. “I could
cook
you from the inside out!”

“
What are you doing wizard?” Thadius asked.

“
I
know
what I’m doing,” Matthias said angrily. “Now I ask you
again,
friend
,” he said, as the man’s body shuddered and blood dribbled
from his nostrils. “Who the hell
are
you?”

The man looked at him wildly. “Alright!
Stop!
” He growled through the pressure on his neck, as his face
began to smoke in the cold night air. Matthias released the staff
from his neck and his eyes dulled back to hazel. Thadius kept his
sword pressed to the man’s neck.

“
Speak
then,” Matthias commanded.

“
My
name…” he wheezed “…is Taico Grimm.”

“
Taico Grimm,
” Matthias repeated, weighing the name out on his
tongue.

“
An appropriate name for such an unappealing man as
yourself!” Josephine sniffed as she approached, brushing grass from
her skirt and her hair. “I am
fine
, by the way,” she snorted at Matthias and
Thadius.

Grimm’s face grew soft as he saw her. “You are
so...
different
in the flesh,” he whispered, and his eyes flickered between
anger and what appeared sorrow. “You are so beautiful without the
blood drenching your hands!”

The
princess looked to her palms. “Whatever do you mean?” She asked.
“What blood?”

“
The blood of thousands of men and women.” He
smiled. “The wizard will come and the cycle will start, his
intervention will tear the
world
apart,” Grimm breathed, nodding.

“
Answer her
properly
,” Thadius barked and pressed his sword harder
into the man’s throat.

“
Burly man with arms of steel: curiosity and
heroism will be his heel!” Grimm chimed, his eyes working madly as
he stared from one of them to the other. He began to laugh. “Oh you
cannot
know
what terrors await this world now!”