Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (3 page)

"I only have the one bedroom, so you two will have to sleep in the barn." Waving a hand at Ean, the old man motioned him inside. "Why don't you take your things inside and find a nice place for the two of you to sleep. Your sister can accompany me inside while I get dinner started."

"We don't really have much to--" Ean began, but Azalea cut him off.

"That sounds like an excellent plan, and it will let Dotain and I get better acquainted." Turning towards Ean, her voice became more drawn out and serious. "You go ahead Ean and find a good spot. You can take your time. I'm sure Dotain will be pleasant company."

"But..."

"Run along now and we'll see you inside a little later," she said, her voice stressing the end of the sentence. All Ean could do was stand there and watch as the two of them headed into the house.

"Don't forget that I'm your big brother," Ean called out to her in warning. "And I have more power in my one arm than you do in your whole body. Don't try to eat anything I'd disapprove of or we'll have a serious problem."

"He's so over-protective," Azalea said with a chuckle and linked arms with Dotain. "Of course, I can't blame him. I have been known to break a few rules every now and then."

Dotain joined in with her laughter. Ean fumed.

"And that's why you can never completely trust a Yulari. They always have their own agendas."

Ean almost jumped out of his skin. He had completely forgotten about the imp. "Is that wise," he growled at the now visible Zin. "He could come back out here any second."

Laughing, Zin shook his head. "I doubt that. That man's full attention is on Azalea. The only way he would come back out here is if she told him to, and from the looks of it, that girl wanted some time alone with him. Probably wants to feed off of the lust the man was feeling towards her."

"What? If she feeds off of him, won't that kill him?"

"No, no, I doubt she would do what she tried with Bran," the imp said, raising his hands in a soothing gesture. "Yulari can feed off of emotions without killing a person, without even touching them actually, although they enjoy direct contact more. Think of it this way. When you smell something delicious being cooked, it makes you hungry right? But you're not truly satisfied until you actually get to eat the food. It's similar for Yulari. They can survive off the emotions that creatures put out, but they are much more satisfied drawing them directly out of a body. It's just unfortunate for the victim that having them drawn out usually kills them."

"You're sure she won't kill him?"

"No, I never said that. I just said she didn't need to kill him."

"Oh, that makes me feel much better." Dismissing the other questions he had for Zin about their new companion, Ean decided it would be best if he got into the house as fast as possible. Moving into the barn he found a spot that suited their needs, dropped his things, and was back outside before Zin had even taken a step inside.

"Come on," he said to the imp. "Let's make sure she doesn't get us into trouble."

"No thanks. I'm going to look around for my own dinner. Good luck, though."

Ean frowned as the imp turned invisible and disappeared around the edge of the barn. Mumbling to himself, Ean walked into the house.

The front door brought Ean to a narrow hallway. To his left was a sitting room with a chair and a barren fireplace. A little way down the hall on the right was a staircase that led to the upper floor. The first thing Ean noticed as he entered the house was how run-down the inside was compared to the outside. A thick coat of dust covered the furniture, most of which had seen better days. The paint was filthy, with thick strips curling away from the walls. Save for one large window that let in a swath of natural light, the shades were drawn and the house was dim. Overall the place barely seemed lived in. Judging by the light and sound of voices coming from behind a door at the end of the hall, the kitchen and his Yulari were in the back.

The second thing he noticed as he walked towards what he believed was the kitchen was the smell. It wasn't a putrid smell or anything too offensive, but the place did smell musky. Like wet clothes left too long to sit in the dark. That combined with the general disrepair of the entire house was starting to make Ean feel a bit uneasy. He moved at a brisk pace to the end of the hall, not bothering to pause and announce himself as he pushed open the door.

Stepping into the next room, he sighed with relief at what he found. The room was indeed the kitchen and it was in much better shape than the rest of the house. Candles were lit and a large open window looked out onto the plains, allowing a great deal of light into the room. A table, in much better condition than the rest of the furniture in the house, sat in the middle of the room surrounded by five equally well put-together chairs. Against the far wall was a stove; the door opened showing off the fire inside. On top sat a pot, steam and the smells of meat and vegetables wafting out of it. Both Azalea and Dotain were standing in front of the stove, speaking loudly over the crackle of the fire.

They stopped speaking when Ean entered and turned to face him.

"Well, you moved a lot faster than I thought you would, brother," Azalea said through a tight-lipped smile. "I was hoping to get a little more time alone to talk to this pleasant man."

"No worries," the old man said quickly, "I'm sure after dinner your brother will want to catch up on some sleep. We could continue our conversation then."

"I'm not sure that's--"

"An excellent suggestion!" Azalea said, cutting Ean off. "My brother has been pushing himself a great deal and could use the rest."

The look Azalea directed towards Ean sent a chill through his body.

"You're right, of course, sister. A little extra rest will be good for me. Especially knowing that the two of you will be safely inside."

He tried to put as much emphasis on the word 'safely' as he could. Azalea had agreed to listen to him, and she was smart enough to understand what his words really meant. The smug grin that his words earned from Azalea did nothing, though, to ease his worries. Ean shook his head, the realization that he might not get much sleep that night souring his mood even more.

"Take a seat." Dotain stirred the pot as he spoke. "Tell me your story. I want to know why anyone with a lick of sense would stray from the main road through the forest."

"I didn't want to leave the road," Azalea said, sending Ean a glare. "You see, my brother means well. I love him to death, but he's a headstrong fool like our father. May the gods give me the patience to continue to travel with him on our way to the city."

"What my sister isn't mentioning is that we ran into some bandits on the road and had to abandon most of our supplies to get away from them." Ean flashed Azalea a self-satisfied smirk. He could lie just as well as she could.

A slight movement out of the corner of his eye made Ean turn towards the old man. Ean caught him glancing over his shoulder at the two of them but as soon as their eyes met, the old man quickly turned back to his cooking.

"Bandits, you say?" His attention on stirring his stew, the old man's voice sounded disinterested. "The traders that buy my crops have been talking a lot more about bandits. They say whole packs of them roam the land now, some even setting up camps in the forest somewhere. I don't much worry about that though. Only people I see out here are the traders. And now you, I suppose."

The old man leveled a hungry look at Azalea, and she returned an encouraging smile. Ean's stomach churned. He wondered if anyone would blame him if he hurled all over the table. The old man had no shame either.

Turning back to his pot, the old man continued on. "Off to the capitol you said, right? I haven't been there in years. No need to really. Too busy for my tastes, all them people running around doing who knows what. That city can be as dangerous as the woods. You two are better off finding a nice place in the country. You know, I could always use another hand around here, boy, and I'm sure we could find something for your sister to do."

"That sounds lov--" Azalea began, as she moved to take a seat across from Ean.

"That's a generous offer, but we have to go to the city. We've got business for our village that we have to take care of."

"Well, your sister could always stay here while you--"

"Again, a generous offer, but my sister will be staying with me." Ean had tried to keep his voice civil, but he must have missed the mark as a look of anger flashed across the old man's face. Ean watched as Dotain reached at his side, grasping for something that was not there.

A sharp pain struck Ean's left shin, and he bent over in his chair to rub at it. Looking up he caught Azalea frowning at him and shaking her head. She had kicked him! Ean sat fuming, rubbing at his leg while Azalea spoke.

"Excuse my brother. He gets a bit over protective. He often forgets that he's just a poor village boy while I've had much more experience out in the world. I've been trying to teach him to respect his elders, but as I've said, he is quite the hardhead."

Waving her off, the old man returned to his stew. "It's nothing. That's good that your brother is protective." Then Ean heard him say under his breath, "And even better that you don't listen to him."

Ean was done. If the fool man wanted to try and "take advantage" of his sister, let him try. It would serve him right if she drained every last drop of his life...

Flashes of his nightmares ran through his mind. Torture, corruption, murder...

He couldn't let her kill him, regardless of how little he thought of the man. He would not even entertain the thought. Ean would just have to have a talk with Azalea before anything happened. She had promised to listen to him after all.

"All ready!" Dotain said, interrupting Ean's thoughts. "I'm sure you'll like it. It's a family recipe. A rabbit stew with a few secret ingredients."

Grasping the pot with a towel, the old man carried it over and set it down in the middle of the table. Producing three bowls and a set of spoons from a nearby cupboard, he distributed the utensils and began dishing out the stew.

Ean's mouth watered as Dotain poured some stew into a bowl in front of him. He had been so worried about what Azalea might do that he hadn't realized how hungry he really was. Stirring around the contents with his spoon, it was easy to pick out the bits of rabbit meat, and the potatoes were a staple food in his village of Rottwealth. While his stomach growled he studied the flecks of oniony greens as they floated at the top. Not many people knew that onions could thin the blood; he had used them as a remedy often enough on sick patients. The peppery black herbs smelled similar to Balalur, an herb useful for fighting off colds. He had never thought to add it as seasoning to a stew before.

"This smells wonderful!" Azalea said, clapping her hands together excitedly. "I've never had rabbit stew before."

Ean couldn't help but laugh. "I know soup isn't your usual meal. Are you sure you can handle it?"

The look she shot him could have curdled milk.

"I don't understand where the sarcasm is coming from, brother. Why, only just this morning you were harping on me to try new things. Would you prefer that I go back to my usual menu? It would be a simple matter of..."

"No," Ean said vigorously. "My apologies. Go ahead and fill up on the stew. Lots and lots of stew. Only the stew."

Azalea's green eyes scrunched in merriment as her lips curled back in victory. It annoyed him the way she took such pleasure in seeing him squirm.

"Yes," Dotain encouraged, the real meaning of their conversation lost to the man. "Eat up. Plenty here. Enjoy."

Dotain pulled his own bowl closer and sprinkled something into it. He stirred the contents around before bringing a spoonful to his mouth. He took two more mouthfuls before he noticed Ean and Azalea staring at him. "What?" he mumbled.

Ean spoke first, more curious than anything else. "What did you put in your stew?"

"Just some spices, nothing special, just adds a little kick to the flavor is all." Keeping his eyes down, Dotain continued to shovel spoonfuls of stew into his mouth.

Moving closer to the man, Azalea reached over to put a hand on his arm. "I like a little kick in my food as well. Can I have some spices to put in mine?"

"No!"

Both Azalea and Ean were taken back a bit by the sudden outburst. Dotain had an annoyed expression as he looked at Azalea, but it quickly turned into one of embarrassment.

"Sorry, I...that was the last of my spices. I'm sure you wouldn't have liked them anyway. Just give the food a try, I promise it tastes good just the way it is."

Shrugging, Azalea pulled her bowl close and began to eat. She shoveled the food into her mouth and seemed to be enjoying it, but Ean couldn't tell if her expressions were sincere or just a part of her act. His rumbling stomach interrupted his thoughts and told him to get to eating. The stew did smell extremely appetizing, especially after a day without eating. Filling his spoon with stew, Ean took a tentative slurp.

The stew was as good as Dotain had said! Ean began to scoop spoonful after spoonful into his mouth. He could understand now why the man had said they wouldn't need extra spices. The broth had a little kick to it that was starting to numb his tongue. It wasn't enough to make him stop eating though, and he continued to scoop large spoonfuls into his mouth.