Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (28 page)

"Company is coming!" Azalea shouted from behind Ean.

The rune flared once and then sank into the ground, creating a hole the size of a barrel top. A blue and purple mist filled the opening, making it impossible to see much past the surface. Ean always wondered if that mist was the Abyss itself or just part of the gateway between the two worlds. A question for another time. Bracing himself, Ean mentally prepare for the pain that came from a summoning.

But the pain never came. Ean watched in surprise as a clawed paw reach out and clamp onto the stone ground. The claws dug into the stone like it was dirt, raking marks as thick as fingers. Another paw quickly followed, and then his hound's massive head poked through the opening. It took a quick look around for a moment and then pulled the rest of its enormous oily black frame free. And the entire time, the only thing Ean felt was the pressure of the Plague. Standing, Ean couldn't help but smile with relief. Was he rid of the pain of summoning forever?

"I hope you know what you are doing," Zin murmured. The imp was suddenly standing right behind Ean's legs. "Wait, shouldn't you be wriggling around in pain?"

"Yes, I should. Zin, I don't feel a thing."

"Well, that's great and all, but we can celebrate some other time when there isn't a killer animal staring at the two of us."

Ean nodded, turning his full attention to the Hound. The beast was looking around, its nose sniffing at the air every now and then. Glancing at Azalea, it paid a considerable amount of attention to Zin before finally resting its gaze on Ean. Despite the animal's relaxed posture, Ean couldn't help but feel it was just moments away from springing at him and Zin.

"Here, boy," Ean said softly, frowning at his own timid voice. "Come here." This time there was a bit more authority in it. A small amount.

The Hound looked at him for a moment longer, then walked over to the nearest corpse and began to gnaw on its leg.

"I would laugh if I wasn't scared for my life," Zin said dryly, moving slightly out from behind Ean.

"Yes, well, give me a chance here."

"I would get a grip on the Hound fast," Azalea shouted over to them. "Those blurs are getting closer. And there are a lot of them. And most look red."

"Right," Ean said, moving away from Zin and towards the Hound. He got within a few paces of the beast before it looked up at him. Ean froze. The Hound didn't growl or show its teeth, but Ean distinctly got the impression that he shouldn't get any closer. The Hound watched him for another moment as he stood there before returning to its meal. It seemed to be having a bit of trouble with the armor, which seemed to be too tough for the hound's teeth and acidic saliva.

"Uh, stop eating and come here...now." Pathetic. If the roles were reversed, Ean didn't think he would even listen to such a wimpy command.

"There, see?" Zin said, sounding a mixture of annoyed and worried. "Doesn't listen to you. Best to either send it back or just leave it here for those coming out the mountain to deal with."

"Maybe..."

"The rune..."

Turning slightly so Ean could keep an eye on the Hound and look at Zin, he frowned at the imp. "What did you say?"

"I said to send it back or..."

"No, after that. About the rune."

Zin cocked his head and gave Ean a weird look. "I didn't say anything about the rune. What are you talking about?"

"I could have sworn you said something about--"

"The rune...absorb...into yourself..."

Ean froze. That voice certainly wasn't Zin's voice. It was much higher pitched, almost feminine, and very faint. Ean risked taking his eyes off of the Hound for a moment to look around the entire clearing. Azalea was still watching the slope, her foot tapping lightly on the ground. Although Ean was sure Azalea could change her voice just as easily as her appearance, he doubted it had been her that he had heard.

Turning his attention to Zin, he found the imp staring at him intently. "You feeling alright, boss?"

"Yeah, I just keep hearing this voice..."

"Ean, now is not the time to come unhinged. Why don't you focus your attention on the giant eating machine behind you?"

Ean found that the Hound had moved on to another body part, this time the torso. He was eating out of the armor like dried meat from a dog bowl. That was fine with him. As long as the Hound was eating, it was probably happy.

"Take the rune...part of yourself..."

The voice was so faint that Ean could almost believe he was imagining it.

"Zin, if I said 'take the rune into myself,' what would you think I meant?"

Again the imp stared at him funny for a few moments before responding. "Well, Ean, don't you know if you are the one saying it?"

"Humor me. Did you ever see your old master do something like that? Absorb a rune or transfer a rune?"

"No, but he rarely let anyone see what he was doing unless it involved torture or death."

Frowning, Ean walked over to the summoning rune. It glowed faintly on the stones, the light barely fighting back the evening darkness. Kneeling down, he looked at the rune with no idea what to do.

Am I really listening to some voice in my head?

He placed his hand on the rune. As soon as he did, he heard a low growl to his left.

"I'm not sending you home," he said, turning to look at the Hound quickly. The Hound was staring at him, its jaw dripping with pieces of meat. It looked at him a few moments longer, then either understanding or not caring, returned to its meal.

"Alright," Ean mumbled to himself. "Take it in. I want to take it in." Nothing happened. Staring at the runes for a few moments longer, he began to laugh. Of course nothing was happening. Why would something he heard from a voice in his head work? He really must be going crazy to think that he could just absorb--

The runes on his body came to life, glowing brightly and casting their dark azure light on the area. The summoning runes on the floor responded in kind, the light coming off of them just as bright as those on his arm. Ean felt something too, a connection between the runes on the ground and the ones on his arms. No, not just a connection. The runes on his arms were pulling at the summoning rune.

The rune on the ground gave one last bright flash and disappeared. No, not gone. It was resting on the back of his right hand, much smaller, overlying the tattoos that were already there. Ean watched in wonder as it flashed a few times and then began to move. Over his wrist, up his forearm, across his elbow. It shimmered as it moved on its own, weaving in front of and behind his tattoos. Once it reached the top of his bicep it stopped, as if waiting. On cue, the tattoos that were already there began to shift and writhe, slowly clearing a space for the summoning rune to fit. Once a space was cleared, the summoning rune settled in, and Ean's other runes began intertwining back into it.

By the time the tattoos had stopped moving, the summoning rune looked like it had always belonged there. It wasn't just a cosmetic addition to the design. Ean felt...stronger. Stronger than what small boost holding the energy from the Abyss provided. He felt more energized, like he could run for days. His sense of smell was heightened as well...and with all of the dead bodies lying around, that was a perk he did not particularly appreciate.

There was more, though. He could feel the Hound. Not just the sense of the Abyss that clung to everything that came from that world. He could feel the Hound's satiety as it filled its stomach. Feel its desire to hunt and stalk prey. Feel its attention now move away from its meal and focus squarely on him.

The Hound tilting its big head as if it had the intelligence to study him. Its dark purple eyes were almost invisible behind the black of its fur, but even at this distance, Ean could make out the red slits of its irises. A small bit of something hung from its mouth, which it continued to chew slowly. Ean felt a wave of curiosity wash over him through their new bond.

"Here, boy," Ean managed to get out, waving the Hound over. It came without hesitation, padding over lightly to stand in front of him.

"Watch him," Zin said, clutching at Ean's leg. The imp's claws dug into Ean's skin to the point where he was sure the slightest bit more pressure would probably break the skin. "Just because you've done something new doesn't mean it's safe."

Ean nodded, keeping his attention on the Hound.

"Sit."

The Hound sat.

"Down."

The Hound lay down.

"Roll over."

Ean didn't actually expect the last command to work, but sure enough the Hound did one roll and then remained on the ground. Laughing, he reached down and patted Zin's back. The imp released his hold, but still remained behind Ean.

"Come on, Zin, isn't this great? The Hound is finally listening to me."

"Right... so you have complete control over it now?" The imp sounded less than convinced.

"Well..."

Control wasn't the right word. Ean could feel the Hound think about each command for an instant before following his directions. It certainly felt more compliant. But if Ean told it to go take a leap off the mountain, he highly doubted the Hound would follow. It was more like they had come to an understanding.

"He won't have you as a meal, I think I can promise that." Was that disappointment he suddenly felt coming off the Hound? Best not to mention that to Zin.

"You think? That's reassuring..." Zin mumbled, moving away from Ean while still keeping one eye on the massive beast in front of them.

"If you two are finished playing with your new pet," Azalea shouted from her spot looking down the path, "you might want to think about what we are doing next. There is a large group of those blue freaks getting closer, and they look heavily armed."

Azalea quickly took a step to the side, an arrow glancing off the stone where she had been standing a moment later. "And I don't think they are coming to apologize."

Decision time. Stay here and face the mob or venture into the mine and risk running into whatever it was that had torn these guards apart. It really wasn't much of a decision, but Ean felt a little better heading into the mine with at least one more ally.

"Let's go, hopefully we can lose them in the mine."

"Easily," Zin said, starting for the mine entrance. "It might have been a long time since I've been here, but I used to know these caverns and pathways like the back of my clawed hand."

Azalea pushed past Ean, moving towards the mine as well. "Unless of course they've already explored the entire mine and dug new paths of their own."

Ean started after them, then paused and glanced back to the Hound. "Come on, then."

The Hound looked at him, and then swept its gaze around at all of the bodies still lying around. Ean felt its reluctance at leaving so many easy meals behind. He wasn't positive, but Ean thought that if the Hound's belly hadn't already felt full, it might have ignored him. Thankfully it complied, and they both hurried towards the mine entrance.

"ANYONE HAVE A LANTERN handy?" Ean asked as he peered into the mine. He had been the last to get to the entrance, following the hound to walk up to where Azalea and Zin were standing around, staring into the dark depths of the mine.

"The three of us don't exactly need one," Zin said, shrugging. "But yes, we do have one." He gestured at the runes glowing dimly on Ean's body.

"Oh, right." With some effort, Ean let the energy he was holding back flow through his body, lighting up the runes on his right side. The glow was strong enough to penetrate the darkness, but it also cast shadows everywhere. The effect made the sharply descending mine even creepier.

Azalea grabbed Ean's hand and started pulling him down the slope of the mine. "Best get started so we can figure out how to lose the crowd behind us."

So down they went into the mine, Azalea dragging him along, with the imp and hound close behind. They walked along quickly, the noise of their feet stepping on the stone floor making the only sound. They had yet to come to any branching paths or side tunnels. He had the eerie feeling that they were being watched by eyes sitting just behind the curtain of darkness ahead and behind them.

He couldn't tell what the Yulari or imp was feeling, but the hound seemed completely relaxed. It loped along casually, sniffing at the air and occasionally looking back behind them. Every time it looked back, Ean felt a small pang of disappointment. Probably missing all of those easy meals. It seemed content to follow along, though, which was all that really mattered.

After a brief walk down the same rocky path, they came to their first junction. Two paths opened up to their right and left, running perpendicular to the main tunnel. The group slowed as they approached the openings, everyone except Ean who sniffed at the air. The hound sniffed a few times at the path to the right, then the one to the left, and returned to Ean's side. Ean got the distinct feeling that the hound smelled something, but whatever it was did not cause the beast any anxiety.

"Humans have been down here very recently," Azalea whispered, a small frown touching her lips. "More than a few. They were in a great deal of pain as well."

"How do you know?" Ean whispered back.

"Their body odor is faint, but the emotions they left behind remain strong. It's a confusing mixture of pain and pleasure. It tastes...wrong."

The Yulari seemed to lose herself in her thoughts, so Ean turned his attention to Zin. "Which way should we go?"

"Straight. These two side paths are new. The Living Dead must have dug them out sometime after my old master died. The first real sections of my master's old lair start much, much deeper down."

"Alright then, let's keep going."

"The humans went straight..." Azalea said, still sounding a bit off.

Ean shrugged and started down the path, this time pulling Azalea along behind him. Zin fell behind for a moment until he realized he was close enough to touch the hound, then quickly jogged up past both Ean and Azalea. Ean would have laughed if he wasn't so nervous.

They continued on, passing more junctions with a single path to either side or two like the one they had passed. Each time the paths ran perpendicular and away from the main one, vanishing into darkness. They paused at each for only a moment, Zin instructing them to continue on each time. Azalea kept a slightly confused look to her face as Ean dragged her on, but it lessened at each junction. Either the tastes were fading or she was getting used to them.

When they finally reached two branching paths running diagonally in either direction, Zin called the group to halt.

"Home, sweet home," the imp announced. "This is where my old master's domain truly starts. The tunnel to the left goes down to where the kennels and Carnslug hatchery used to be. Straight ahead leads to the quarters where the various hordes of creatures he controlled used to live. Finally, this way," he pointed to the right, "leads to my old master's throne room and personal lodgings. All of the paths eventually connect, of course, but the path to the right is the most straightforward way to where we should look first."

"Wait," Ean said, releasing Azalea and moving closer to the imp. "If it's so easy to get to, wouldn't it be likely that the people in the village below would have looted everything there already?"

"They might have found some trinkets or statues, but I doubt they would have been able to enter his inner sanctuary. That was magically locked behind stone doors."

"But we'll be able to get in?"

Pointing at Ean's glowing arm and side, the imp smiled. "With those tattoo lamps we will. I'm sure of it."

"Then let's press on," Azalea said, her mouth twisted in a frown. "I'm really starting to not like this place. Plus, we do still have that angry mob somewhere behind us. By now they've probably found the remains of their friends, so I'm sure they want young Ean's blood more than ever."

"Good point," Zin said and immediately began walking down the path to the right. The others followed along quickly.

As they moved down the path, Ean began to notice that the walls down this path were slightly different. Still consisting of the black rock of the mountains, the walls of this path were much smoother. Moving a bit closer, Ean thought he could even see a few designs running down the walls. It made him more excited about exploring the lair.

The path began to snake in one direction and then the other. It made a sharp turn to the left, followed by a sharp right turn, then another abrupt left. At every sharp turn they would move ahead slowly, being careful just in case something jumped out at them. By the fourth sharp turn with nothing around the corner they began to relax. Unfortunately at the fifth sharp turn, they found that the pathway was completely caved in.

"Well, this is just wonderful," Azalea mumbled.

"How was I supposed to know this section had a cave-in?" Zon shot back.
"It's not like I've been here recently."

"One excuse after another. You're no better than every other insignificant speck of your kind. If anything, you are more annoying than the average imp because you can talk."

"I can bite, too, you ugly Brayurat. I don't know why I agreed to convince Ean to let you come along in the first place. You'll probably turn on us the first chance you get."

"Yes, I really showed my disloyalty when I saved Ean's life TWICE so far. And don't even try to act like you are completely on his side. You really don't want to go there, imp."

Striding in-between the two, Ean raised his hands to signal calm. "Enough, both of you."

The Yulari and imp continued to glare at each other but remained quiet. After a few moments, Zin threw his hands in the air in disgust and stormed back to the corner. Azalea stuck her tongue out at the imp as he went then turned her attention to Ean.

"You really don't need the imp around, you know. The two of us and your mutt would be fine without him."

"Zin has always been with me. He is the most loyal person I know." Ean raised his hands quickly in a calming fashion as he saw Azalea's eyebrows rise. "That's not saying I don't trust you. I appreciate everything you've done for me. But Zin is part of our group, and you two have to try to get along. At least until we get out of here."

"But that little stain..."

"Azalea, please, at a minimum, try not to push his buttons as much?"

"Fine, fine. I'll leave the imp alone, for as long as we are down here and in danger."

"Thank you. That's all I ask."

"If you two are done," Zin said from his spot by the corner. "We should probably get back to the main junction. The next quickest path will be past the living quarters and the kitchen. Hopefully, that mob has not reached the first junction yet or gone off in another direction."

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Azalea exclaimed with a bit too much enthusiasm. "We will certainly follow your lead since you know this area the best."

Zin just stared at her, his mouth slightly open. Shaking his head, Ean walked away from them and was the first to head back. The two of them were eventually going to drive him insane--if his powers didn't corrupt him first.

Moving along at a brisk pace, Ean tried not to think about that possibility. The others followed along behind him, and they began to make their way back to the main junction. They reached the last major curve before the beginning of the lair. Ean slowed down and waved the hound to come up next to him. The hound trotted up to his side.

"Is there anything up ahead?" Ean asked the hound and got a blank stare in return. Scratching at his head, he tried to figure out the right words or thoughts. He had never had a pet before; not many people in the village had pets either. So his experience with intelligent animals was limited.

"Danger?" he pointed ahead of them. He tried to project the feelings of fear and caution through the bond that he shared with the hound. The dog immediately tensed, its attention focused ahead of them. Taking a few steps, it sniffed at the air then waited. Then it took a few more steps and repeated the action. It did this a few times then looked back at Ean. A wave of confusion washed over Ean through the bond.

"Nothing, huh?" That made Ean relax just a bit. Maybe the mob wasn't going to be as big a concern as he had thought. Ean was glad to have something to be happy about. Trusting the hound's sense of smell, Ean continued on at a faster pace, the hound at his side and his other two companions behind him. Glancing back he smiled slightly at the two of them, which earned him a smirk from Azalea and a frown from Zin.

It also made him miss seeing the armored man come striding into the junction at the exact same moment he did.

The two of them collided with a thud, the man's red armor absorbing most of the impact for him while Ean was knocked squarely off his feet. He fell back with a grunt, bouncing twice before coming to a stop a pace or two from the wall.

Azalea was at his side in an instant, grabbing him by the arm and lifting him up. Her eyes were on the path that lead back out of the mountain. A low snarl came out of her mouth that Ean would have expected more from the hound than the Yulari. Once Ean was finally on his feet and got some of the air back in his lungs, he was able to look up at what Azalea was staring at.

Ten, red armored men stood at the opening to the path back, each one holding a long wooden pole with a nasty spiked blade on the end. Behind those men and the ten spears all pointed directly at Ean, looked to be the entire town. Men and women of various size and all manner of clothing stretched back as far as Ean could see, each blue face staring at him with a mixture of hate and fear.

"Do not move," said a familiar voice from behind the guards. Two of the red clad guards moved to the side, and the man named Ulften stepped between them. "Surround them."

As a single unit, eight guards circled around Ean and Azalea, separating them from the hound and the now missing Zin. The two remaining guards placed themselves in front of the hound. Ean wanted to try to figure out where the imp had gone already, but the guards put the tips of their spears practically in his face. Once they were properly surrounded, Ulften stepped forward into the ring of guards.

"I'm not one to waste time on words," he said, addressing Ean. "I want to know how you killed one of our people, where you found that monstrosity," he pointed to the hound, "and I want to know how you came to wear those runes on your body."

Ean remained quiet, letting a few wheezing breathes of air back into his body. He shot the hound a look through the guards, sending the feeling of danger through their bond. The dog tilted his head and returned the feeling of confusion. It didn't consider any of those surrounding them as dangerous. No wonder it hadn't given any warning. What
did
a creature as big and potentially vicious as a hound consider dangerous?

"My name is Ean. I'm just a simple Healer--"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Ulften said, cutting him off. "I don't care who you are or where you are from. I want the answers to the three questions I asked. Now."

"I don't really know how I killed your man. It was an accident." Ean drew out every word, trying to think. "He grabbed me and then, well, you saw what happened next."

"Yes, I saw a man I've known for close to two hundred years, a man that has been with me almost since the founding of our town, reduced to dust in less time than it took you to answer just one of the questions I asked. And a poor answer it was."