The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book (3 page)

“Galen,” Rhiannon said, pulling up beside them and getting out of the truck. As always she came over and hugged Galen. She met his eyes with a frown and he smiled down at her. “Rob, Flash,” she said, smiling at them.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” Greg said, stopping beside Rhiannon.

“We stick together,” Rob said before Galen could speak.

“Together?” Greg asked with a frown. Galen understood the look, usually when they were hunting they split up to cover more ground. “Why?”

“We’re moving out into the fields, we can fan out, but still be essentially together,” Rob answered.

 
“Okay,” Rhiannon said. “We’re with you.”

“Yes,” Greg affirmed with a nod of his head.

Rob led the way through the dark grass. As they moved away from the light, the night closed in, even though they were still in the city. Small animals were moving through the field, Galen could hear the soft rustle of the dead vegetation as the creatures ran from the group.

“There’s something in the trees,” Rob said softly.

Galen turned to look towards the darker shadows on their right. He knew from other visits that the field was bordered by oak trees on one side. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s tracking… There’s more than one out there,” Rob said, drawing his sword in a smooth, silent motion. “They’re coming.”

“Right,” Galen said, pulling his falcata out. Greg and Rhiannon moved off to his left, Flash took a step back to protect the rear of the group. “How many?” Galen asked, taking a stance beside his brother.

“Two.” Rob’s voice was calm, but Galen caught the wave of fear washing off his brother.

he asked silently through their connection. It took a lot to get that kind of reaction, Rob, for better or worse, didn’t fear much.

Rob broke off. “Veering left!” he called, moving towards Rhiannon and Greg.

In the next instant, Galen saw them, black shadows, pulling the little light there into themselves, like black holes moving through the grass. Without thinking, he fell in beside his brother, feeling the hum of their connection deepen as they prepared to fight. He knew where his brother was going before he took a step and easily followed, moving to stop one of the shadows. There were no details in the creatures, just the massive black shapes, but judging from the emotion flowing off Rob, his brother could see far more of what they actually looked like.

One of them headed straight towards Galen, breaking off at the last moment to race around him and head towards Flash. He heard a shout from his brother and a cry of pain from Greg, but he didn’t let it break his focus. He followed the shadow as it moved, slashing at it with his blade. He felt the sword slice through something, it sent a cold shock up the blade. The shadow turned, swiping at him and opening a bloody wound in Galen’s forearm.

“Galen?” Rob shouted.

“I’m okay, Rob.”

“Greg’s down.”

“Okay.” Galen glanced towards his brother, one of the black shadows was between Rob and Rhiannon. She was standing in front of Greg, who was on the ground.
 
He took a breath, knowing he didn’t have time to worry about his friend right now.

A roar brought his focus back on the shadow in front of him, the sound sending a chill down his spine. He stepped forward, lifting his blade again. With another growling roar, the creature swung away, moving so quickly that Galen barely registered the movement before he heard Flash’s shout of terror. “Flash!” He dove towards the shadow, driving his blade into it. The shadow thrust back, Galen held on, twisting his sword into the creature’s back. It shoved him again then, with a final roar, collapsed. Galen stood, drawing his sword from its body.

“Galen!” Rob’s shout of alarm came through their connection as well.

Galen turned in time to see the black shadow moving towards him, then it was on him. He swung wildly as he sensed his brother moving up behind it. His sword cut into it and it stopped, roaring in defiance. It stood in front of him for a moment, then stooped, picking up the other dark shape. With a horrifying sound that Galen was sure he’d remember for the rest of his life, it devoured the other shadow-body and turned back, facing him, its dark shape now twice the size it had been before. It roared again and struck out, connecting with Galen, sending him off balance. Rob’s sword pierced it, the tip of the blade coming through the creature’s body, Galen raised his own sword and drove it into the body as well. Its roar changed to a scream, then it was falling. He stood, the slash the first creature had given him throbbing in his arm.

“Flash?” Galen called.

“Here,” his friend said, approaching them. “Shit, I didn’t get to use my hammer.”

“Galen!” Rhiannon called. “Greg’s in bad shape.”

Galen walked to where she was kneeling beside Greg. He dropped down beside her, and gently pulled the torn fabric away from the wound on Greg’s body. It was bleeding, but something else was pulsing through the wound. Galen laid his hands on Greg’s head and chest and focused the healing. The lash of darkness that whipped up his arms was nearly enough to push him physically from the other man.
 
He took a deep breath and concentrated, struggling with what was there, what the shadow had left in Greg’s body. It was taking a lot of energy to heal, the black pulse of the wound running up his arms as he guided the light into Greg. It awakened something in Galen, something dark that usually slept quietly in the scars the Old One had left. He shoved it away ruthlessly and focused on healing. Galen was lightheaded when he pulled his hands away. He took a deep breath and stood.

Cold mist suddenly surrounded him. In the distance he heard the ringing of bells, baying of hounds, horses on the gallop. The sounds wound around him, twisting through him, pulling him further into the night.

His brother’s voice slammed into him with physical force.
“Galen!”
There was a desperate edge to the tone. Warm light flooded his body, Galen took a breath, the darkness fell away. He opened his eyes and looked into Rob’s panicked face. “You with me?” Rob asked.

“Yeah,” Galen said.

“Galen, honey?” Rhiannon asked, concern in her voice. Galen saw her glance at Rob, his brother shook his head and she smiled. “Let’s get Greg back to my truck, I’ll call Mike and let him know to stop by.”
 
Mike Silva was a friend and ER physician, and despite being only twelve years older than Galen, he treated him more like a son than just a friend.

“He might not be in the mood for a house call.” Galen chuckled. When he bent to help, Flash shoved him away. “Flash?”

“You’ve done your bit, I can at least help carry him off.” Flash frowned at him.

“I can get to the truck myself,” Greg grumbled. “Help me up.”

“Okay,” Flash said, offering a hand and pulling him onto his feet.

“Might need a little help.” Greg was swaying on his feet.

“Let me,” Galen began.

“No, honey, you’ve done enough. Mike can take care of it from here. Flash, give me a hand,” Rhiannon said, putting a hand on Greg’s back.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I am not a ma’am,” she said, swatting Flash’s head.

“Yes, ma’am, not a ma’am, ma’am.” He grinned at her, then moved to help Greg back to the truck.

“What is it?” Galen asked Rob, his brother was examining the body of the creature. He was aware of the emotions flowing off Rob—fear and concern overlaid everything.
Something happened.
Galen shifted, the wound in his arm was throbbing more with each moment. He focused the healing, it was slow to respond, he’d used most of it up on Greg. Enough of the light slid down his arm, though, to prevent him from asking Rob for help just then. He had a funny feeling that the request would increase the worry emanating from his brother.

“I’m not sure.” Rob prodded it with the end of his sword. “Huh.” He reached out to touch it. As soon as his hand came into contact with the body, he snatched it back. Galen sensed the burn as it buzzed up Rob’s arm. “Shit!”

“Rob!’

“I’m okay, just remind me ‘no touching,’” Rob said with a sardonic smile. “It’s dissolving.”

“What?”

“The body, it’s dissolving, fading.” Rob poked it with his sword again. “I wonder… Hmm… It…” He drew his small dagger and sliced a piece off the body. He dragged it away from the mass and picked it up on the end of the knife. “Huh.”

“Rob?

“It’s not completely corporeal.”

“But we killed it with…”

“I know, but this piece.” He held out the knife. “It’s not…” Rob made a frustrated sound. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s not solid, not in the way it should be.”

“Not solid?”

“No, it looks almost like a piece of a spectral body, like it’s…” Rob broke off with a frown.

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

“That little bit of the Saga you can’t quite remember?” Galen asked. He blinked when Rob blurred out for a moment.

“Yeah, I think that’s it. I need to remember what it was.” Rob flicked the piece off the end of his knife and turned his attention to Galen, his eyes unfocused, still using the Sight. “Galen,” he began, then stopped with a smile. “We should get back to the car before Flash starts playing with everything in
 
the back.”

Almost in answer, a loud crack sounded from the direction of the parking lot. “Too late,” Galen chuckled, and led the way back to the Jeep.

Rob headed up the stairs after locking the door behind Flash. He knew Flash had a key, but he liked to double check the door anyway. Since he’d moved back it was one of the little jobs he’d assigned himself to help. There were others, more subtle, as well. The apartment was well protected magically, but he’d added a few small charms and spells here and there. Nothing like what Galen was capable of, but a little more than there had been, adding his own unique “stamp” to the place as well. Over the last two months, he’d been steadily adding to the magic already there. Something was going on with Galen, he caught the very edge from his brother’s nightmare, and, contrary to what Galen thought, he wasn’t hiding it well. Once or twice, he’d actually cried out in his sleep, and since Rob rarely slept, he’d heard it.

Then there was what Rob could see. Galen had a ring of shifting mists around him, foreign, but there, surrounding him. Over the last four months the ring had gotten clearer, the mists more pronounced. Sometimes Rob thought he caught the sound of far-off bells moving through the mists. The fact that Galen was blocking Rob’s Sight and their connection was beginning to bother him. He wasn’t sure if it was conscious on Galen’s part, but something was blocking him. It wasn’t enough to sever their bond, but it was enough to be worrisome. One night, hearing Galen shouting in his sleep, Rob had tried to find his way into the dream, to no avail.

He’d learned the art of dreamwalking from the Shaman, Billy Hernandez. They’d spent a long time on it, with Billy carefully teaching Rob the way to slip in and out of others’ unconscious worlds. It was part of the training the shaman had given him to help control the Sight in the years when Galen was “dead.”

Using that training, Rob had tried to find his way into Galen’s nightmare, only to be blocked before he ever got in. He couldn’t even get far enough to find out the content of the dream, not even the vaguest hint. In frustration, he’d tried the next night as well, trying to slide in as Galen moved into REM sleep, and still nothing.

“Rob?” Galen said, breaking into his thoughts.

“How’s your arm?” Rob asked, walking into the living room.

“I think it’s okay.”

“Let me look at it.” Rob sat down at the table and Galen stretched his arm out. The wounds didn’t look too bad, but there was a darkness in the slash that worried Rob. He laid his hand on it, focusing the healing into the wound. It was rare for the younger brother in a pair of
Custodes Noctis
to have the Gift of the healing.
 
Of course, like everything else about him and Galen, they were unique, Rob having Gifts other Keepers didn’t and Galen was….

His brother sighed as the light moved into his arm, Rob felt him relax a little—and in that instant he had a flash of something, shifting mists, bells, the sound of a horn, then it was gone. When he looked up, Galen had his eyes closed, his head down. “Galen? Hey?” When he didn’t answer, Rob shook his arm. “Galen!” he said sharply.

“What?” Galen sounded annoyed, he glanced up and Rob got a good look at his eyes, at the
 
fog moving there. After a moment, Galen shook his head and sighed, the mists were gone. “I think I’d better crash, Brat.” He stood up and swayed, Rob put a hand out to steady him. “Sorry, healing Greg was a little rough.”

“I noticed,” Rob said.

“You did?” Galen headed towards his bedroom, Rob trailing after him. “I’m okay.”

“You’re completely drained, Galen.” It was true, the liquid silver shimmer of power that usually surrounded his brother was dimmed to almost nothing. He put a hand out as Galen stumbled when he reached the door to his room. “And a little more.”

“Yeah,” Galen said, reaching for the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sure.” Rob headed into the living room. He pulled several books down, set them on the table and straightened the shelf. When he’d moved into the apartment and added his library to the books there, they had to make another bank of bookshelves for the wall. He arranged the books on the table and went to check on Galen before heading downstairs to the store. Galen was asleep, the soft colors that preceded dream sleep moving around him. With a sigh, Rob walked down to the shop, he often opened after midnight, giving some of the non-human customers the chance to visit before the sun was up. Once he was there, he turned the lights on, unlocked the door and turned the coffeemaker on.

For the last four months, he didn’t seem to be able to sleep more than a few hours a night. The reasons varied, sometimes it was dreams, sometimes it was just the inability to fall asleep. At first he thought it might have something to do with surviving a near-fatal attack four months before, but he was becoming more and more convinced it had to do with his connection to Galen, and his brother’s nightmares. Whether Rob could see into Galen’s dreams or not, the emotions those dreams created affected him deeply.

Rob got himself a cup of coffee and sat down behind the counter. He needed to know what was going on with Galen, needed to know the meaning of what he’d seen while hunting the creature. After chewing on his lower lip for several minutes, he made a decision. He had to know, there was no choice, not after what had happened earlier. A soft disturbance sparkled at the edge of his vision.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Parry said as his form shimmered into existence. Sometimes the appearance of his father and uncle surprised him, they’d died six years ago. But since Galen had called the former Keepers into service to help with the Old One the year before, their father and uncle had been, as their Uncle Bobby said, “Haunting the place.” Like all the Emrys
Custodes Noctis,
Parry was named for a healer—Paracelsus—and his younger brother was named Robert—Bobby in his case. Rob remembered asking his uncle how many Roberts there had been, and why was it that way in the first place, and Bobby had just shrugged and said, “It is our Tradition.”

“And you’ve seen me sleep how much lately, Dad?” Rob chuckled, his father’s gently chiding voice always made him smile.

“Not much, we’ve been worried.”

“You should have said something,” Rob said, relieved Parry was there.

“Your brother always says that, too.” Parry walked over and laid his hand on Rob’s shoulder.

“I’m losing him,” Rob said bluntly. “Its been getting worse, and tonight…”

“Tonight what?” Bobby said, appearing alongside Parry.

“Something happened while we were out, I was watching, things were going well, then he blanked out.”

“Blanked out? Galen?” Bobby asked with a concerned frown.

“Not for long, but long enough to affect the bond.”

“Tell us what happened,” Parry said.

Rob told them—about the creatures, about the attack on Flash and Greg, and about that moment when he was pretty sure Galen had died and his corpse had forgotten to fall. The terror of those moments pulsed through his veins. Parry put a shimmering arm over his shoulder and Rob drew from his father’s healing enough to calm the slamming of his heart.

“What do you see?” Bobby asked him.

“What do
you
see, Bobby?” Rob looked at him, his uncle shifted, the shimmering light surrounding him dimming. Rob glanced at Parry, he’d dimmed as well. “You don’t need to know what I see. You know, both of you, don’t you?”

“What do you see?” Bobby said again, his voice a harsh whisper.

“Mists, shifting around him, through his eyes. Sometimes I see horses, a stone circle. Tell me,” Rob snapped.

“We thought he’d escaped, Rob, we thought once you were back, it would solve the problem,” Parry said gently.

“Problem?” Rob looked from one to the other, watching the colors shift around them, dark shades of concern mixing with the usual hues he associated with his father and uncle. It was bad, whatever was coming was bad.

“It was seven years ago…” Parry began.

It was cold, the kind of damp chill that permeated the Northwest coast, and to add to it, there was fog wisping through the landscape. The evergreens along the road were black with wet, their stunted limbs lifting into a dull gray sky. Parry sighed as he turned onto the road he was looking for. He felt Bobby’s eyes on him, but just shook his head. They couldn’t talk about it now, Galen was in the backseat and the discussions with him never went well. His son was something beyond stubborn when the subject of Rob came up.

“This is the place, Dad,” Galen said from the backseat, his eyes fixed on the map he was holding. “There should be a path out to the beach.”

Parry pulled off the road. They got out of the car, Bobby wandering to the edge of the trees. Parry and Galen gathered up the weapons they were carrying, then walked to stand beside Bobby. “What do you see?” Parry asked.

“There’s something here,” Bobby said softly, his eyes unfocused as he used the Sight. “Something dark has moved through, there’s a trail of blood here.” He pointed at the path winding through the trees. “They went that way.”

“Are you sure?” Parry was staring at the trail, wishing he had the Sight for the thousandth time. He knew the bodies had been found on the beach above the high tide mark, so they hadn’t come out of the ocean, but that didn’t mean they had come this way.

“Pretty sure,” Bobby said, his eyes bleak. “Let’s go,” he added, leading the way down the path. Parry followed, aware of the emotion flowing off Bobby, whatever he’d seen was bad.

They walked down the path towards the sound of surf, it wound through a marshy area, the scent of decay filling the trees around them. There was a cliff, rising up more than a hundred feet on their right, just ahead the trail narrowed where a hill, looking like a giant boulder, thrust out of the ground. The cliff swept away from them as they approached the hill, opening up to a grassy area, leading to the beach.
 

“They broke off, there are two trails,” Bobby said, stopping at a fork in the path.

“I’ll go left and out onto the beach that way,” Galen said, coming up beside Parry. “I’ll meet you by that rock.” He pointed to a large gray stone sitting in the sand where the grass met the beach. Something in his voice alerted Parry.

“Galen?” Parry walked over and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. A wave of sadness flowed up the touch. “What is it?”

“I was just remembering the summer we went to the beach with Rob,” Galen said softly. His eyes were sad, but warmed as always when he spoke of his brother. “I’ll meet you.” He gently detached Parry’s hand and walked down the path, looking left and right, pausing to touch the trees, trying to get a sense of what had passed that way.

“What is it?” Parry could feel the worry flowing off Bobby as they stood watching Galen move down the trail.
 

“Sometimes it’s like he’s fading away,” Bobby said. “I mean that literally, Parry.”

“Bobby?”

“I can’t imagine living like that, without the bond.” Bobby looked at him, not that they needed a look for the concern to reach Parry. “Most of us wouldn’t have lasted this long, it’s only because Rob’s alive that he functions at all.”

“I know. We need…”

“To get them back together,” Bobby finished for him. “Any idea how? Rob called two days ago, his Sight, never mind, he called. I,” he paused, “I tried to tell him, Parry.”

“Yeah? You couldn’t?” Parry sighed. “I’ve tried, too.”

“You what?”