Sons of Evil: Book 1 Book of Dread (6 page)

“Shut up,” the man said,
annoyed at having been interrupted. Once his compatriot had lowered his head in
obedience, he addressed the brothers once again. “One can’t be too careful in
the business I’m in. Trading information, that is. If I was to lead the wrong
sort of people to some of my contacts…well, let’s just say I’d like to keep my
skin.”

“You needn’t worry about us,”
said Darius. “We’re not here as the law or as spies.”

“So you say,” the man replied.
“And I want to believe you. I
do
believe you. Problem is, the first
mistake I make could be my last.”

The man pondered things for a
few moments, then turned to Luke. “You always so quiet?”

“With a knife at my throat,
yes,” Luke answered, returning the man’s hard look.

“Where are you from?”

“A farm perhaps thirty miles
from Old Bern, as the crow flies.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’ll give you mine when I’ve
heard yours.”

The man laughed, a short bark.
“That you shan’t have. You’re not easily cowed, I’ll give you that.”

Luke simply waited for the man
to go on.

“Where are you going?”

“We told you what we seek. We’re
moving toward Anson’s Furnace, since that’s where the Old Road heads, but it’s
not our destination.”

“Then what is your
destination?”

“I don’t know. We’re looking
for help, and we aren’t sure where, or if, we’ll find it.”

“Why does your friend here
have a uniform?”

Luke sighed. “I heard his
answer as plainly as you did, and I wouldn’t say different now even if it
weren’t the truth, which it was.”

The man plopped on the bed
next to Luke and pressed the knife more firmly against his throat. “You’ve a
smart mouth for one your age. Maybe I should do something about that.”

Before Luke could process the
threat and decide whether to reply or not, the room was shaken by a loud boom,
and a flash of light so intense that all within were blinded by it. He felt the
hands that held him go lax, and the knife moved away from his throat. He
started to sit up, but was overcome by a sudden and surprising wave of
dizziness. He fell back upon his pillow and lost the brief battle he waged to
keep his eyes open. In seconds he was fast asleep.

Darius awoke in what seemed a
familiar position, his back propped against a tree, the dull ache already
working its way into his muscles. Seeing a hooded figure bent over him, he
reached reflexively for his sword, but found only damp grass.

“Your weapon is safe, as are
the rest of your belongings,” said the figure, the voice soft and melodic. “You’re
welcome to it once you’re fully awake.”

Darius
strained to see the speaker’s face, but the meager moonlight was not enough to
penetrate the shadows cast by the hood. He suddenly felt panic rising inside
him and started to look about frantically.

The figure pointed, the hand
which emerged from under the cloak small and delicate, not skeletal as Darius
had irrationally feared. “Your brother’s over there. He’s fine. I’ll wake him
next.”

She started to rise and Darius
took hold of her arm. “Who are you?”

“A friend,” she replied. “At
least for now.”

He let her go and watched as
she ministered to Luke. She spoke to him quietly for a few minutes, then
returned to Darius. “Feeling more awake now?”

He nodded.

“Let me help you up. If you
feel dizzy, lean on me.”

He got to his feet, swayed
once, and then his legs found their strength. He took a few deep breaths, and
then released the arm she had proffered. “I’m fine.”

“Good. Once your brother is
up, we’ll be off. Those men who held you will be out a few more hours. I want
to be miles away before then.”

“But what—”

She stopped him with a raised
hand. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk on the road. Let’s get away first. Get
your things.” Darius did as he was told, happy to have his weapon again, and
relieved to find the book back in his pack.

She was equally reticent to
answer Luke’s questions, so they set off in silence. She led at a quick pace,
and showed no hesitation about where she was headed. They saw signs of neither
the tavern nor the Old Road as they started out—in what direction neither
brother could say—and they moved across open country as opposed to along any
defined path.

They came to a dense patch of
trees and entered in. She glided through gracefully, and it seemed to Darius
she could have easily lost them in here had she wanted to. She slowed and glanced
back from time to time to be certain they were keeping pace. After a time they
came to a small clearing, and here she wheeled about and threw back her hood.

Even in the darkness they
could see she was a beautiful young woman, her delicate features framed by wavy
locks of raven hair. She looked at them with eyes both deep and playful, and
the edge of her lip curled into a smile. “I think we can tarry here safely for
at least a brief time. Where should we begin?”

“I’d say we should begin with
‘Thank You,’ ” Darius said, giving a small bow. “What happened back there?”

“I was hoping nothing,” she
replied. “Nigaf and his lot are usually better for a threat than any real
action, but once they get to drinking they can be a bit rash. I was afraid he’d
really do some harm to your brother, so I had to intervene.”

“You were in the room?” Luke
asked. “But where—”

“Wasn’t. I was outside the
window. They came through the door, and likely thought one of you had left the
window ajar to let a breeze in.”

“And we thought they opened it
to get in,” Darius said, finishing the thought.

“Exactly, which is how I could
follow along, being just outside.”

“But why were you there? Are
you saying we were saved by chance?”

“Hardly. I’ve been on your
trail for more than a day. I was just waiting for the right time to make an
appearance.” She shrugged, then added, “This wasn’t the way I would have
chosen, but I suppose it’ll have to do.”

Darius folded his arms. “I
have to admit you’ve lost me.”

“You were looking for someone
with special ‘talents.’ I’m not sure why, or if I want to help you any further,
but I’m willing to hear you out.”

Luke’s eyes grew round. “You’re
a wi—”

“I prefer ‘sorceress.’ ”

Darius struggled for words,
then finally settled on, “You aren’t exactly what I was expecting.”

“I would guess not. Probably
thought you’d find a gray-haired old man with a pointy hat.” Seeing she had hit
the mark, she smiled softly. “Nothing to be ashamed of…and there are a few like
that. They tend to be a little more eccentric. Hard to fit into a crowd when
you stick out like a sore thumb.”

Luke lowered his brow in
thought. “So did you use spells to track us?”

“Nothing that exciting. I have
contacts too, and when someone might have need of my particular skills, word
reaches me. Your approach wasn’t bad, but I doubt anyone would have led you to
a wizard. If we want to be found, we’ll appear at a place and time of our
choosing.”

“Okay, but what happened back
at the tavern? That was a spell, right?”

She nodded. “Best way I know
to knock six men out, eight if you count yourselves. So, I’m here, I’ve given
you a little demonstration, and perhaps gotten into your good graces by pulling
you out of that room. Now it’s your turn.”

Darius hesitated. “I’m not
sure where to start.”

“Names are always a good
place.”

“Of course,” Darius said,
slightly embarrassed. “Darius, and this is Luke.”

“I’m Adrianna.” She waited
patiently for one of the brothers to go on.

With a sigh, Darius took up
his backpack. Despite what she had done, he still felt hesitant to reveal why
they needed her help. If they could have traveled together a few days, built a
little more trust… But such a request seemed inappropriate, and insulting a
sorceress was likely to have unpleasant consequences. Slowly, he pulled the
book out and offered it to her.

She didn’t take it, but rather
studied it for a time with her hands at her side. “Where’d you get that?”

Darius cleared his throat. “I’d
prefer not to say, at least for now. I’d like to get it open, but it appears to
be held fast by magic.”

“No doubt,” Adrianna said,
more to herself than Darius. She reached a tentative hand out, and ran her
extended index finger quickly along the edge of the book’s cover before pulling
away again. “I don’t think I can open it.”

Darius’ heart sank. “Are you
sure? We’ve tried forcing it, even an axe. I was sure it was bound by some sort
of magic.”

“Oh, you’re right about that.”

“But you can’t help,” Luke
said.

“I didn’t say that. I can’t
open it, but I might be able to help. There are others more versed in such things.
We need to seek out an old friend of mine.”

“You’d take us to this
person?” Darius asked.

“At least part-way. But you’ll
need to decide whether to trust me, and him, before we arrive. You’ll have
several days to make up your mind, but we’ll need to know everything you can
tell us about the book.”

“Fair enough,” Darius said. “We
can’t pay much.”

“I have no need of your coin. I’ve
decided for now that this could be worth my time. If that changes, I’ll let you
know. Now, if you’re ready, we should press on a bit further before the sun
rises.”

Darius and Luke watched her
start off, exchanged a look, and both shrugged together. Feeling they had
little choice, they followed.

*

The small thicket of woods
they passed through on their first night together proved only a prelude, as
Adrianna led them straight into Wyndham Forest. It was dense with oak, pine,
and poplar, and after a few miles the brothers realized they could easily be
lost forever in this place. It covered several hundred square miles, and was unmarked
by roads or any lesser sign of human passage. It wasn’t a particularly dark or
foreboding place, but the sameness of the close-packed trees gave a traveler
the claustrophobic feel of being trapped in a maze that might have no exit.

“This place gives me the
creeps,” Luke whispered to his brother.

“Me, too,” Darius answered. He
pointed at Adrianna. “Focus on her. She seems to know where she’s going.”

“I hope so. If she would
collapse from exertion we’d be in a fine spot.”

“That’s unlikely to happen at
the pace you two move,” Adrianna called back to them without turning around. Surprised
at her acute hearing, the brothers quickened their step.

By the time the sun was
setting Luke had been grumbling under his breath, and Darius was ready to
swallow his pride and ask for a rest. Any notion that Adrianna’s slight form
meant that she was in any way frail had been forgotten, and the brothers
quietly marveled at her stamina. They had thought their gait on the road had
been aggressive, but this journey in the forest was far more so.

When it became so dark that
the assorted hazards of walking in the woods became hard to see, Adrianna
finally called the day’s march to a halt. “How are you fixed for food and
water?” she asked.

“Enough water for a couple
days, and food, too,” Darius said. “We had been replenishing as we went.”

“It’ll
do,” she said. “I know of no good source of water in these woods. There is some
game if needed, but I’d rather not slow to hunt it.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Luke said. “We
have no bows.”

“I wouldn’t need one,” she
said with a grim smile that convinced Luke of the sincerity of her words.

“How much longer until we’re
free of this wood?” Darius asked. “I’m assuming our destination is not within
Wyndham Forest itself.”

“It’s not,” Adrianna replied. “Two
more days, if we can keep to our pace. If we have to travel at night, we can,
but it’d be better for now if we rest and be ready for tomorrow.”

“Can you see in the dark?”
Luke asked, half expecting her to reply that she could.

“No better than you.” She
stretched her forefinger into the empty air in front of her, and a small orb of
light grew there like a bubble. After it was six inches in diameter, she
withdrew her hand, and the orb ascended a few feet above their heads, casting a
pale blue light upon them.

The brothers were too
astonished to speak. Adrianna pulled her hood over her head, leaned back
against a tree, and folded her hands on her lap. “Take some food if you wish
and get some rest,” she told them. “We’ll be off before the sun rises.”

*

They cleared the forest an
hour before nightfall two days later. The days had been warm but the shade of
the trees had aided them, and they still had a few sips of water between them. Still
unsure where they were going, Darius was nevertheless happy to be free of the
wood, and the open plain before him promised easier travel if more was
required.

Adrianna kept on, obviously
still well aware of where she was headed. They had traveled almost directly
north through the forest, but now she led them in an easterly direction. Knowing
they would be curious, she said, “We still have most of a day before us. I know
of a spot we can spend the night. It’ll be several hours yet, but we’ll have
the moon to light our way.”

“Not that we need it,” Luke
said, remembering the orb of light Adrianna could call into existence.

“But if magic need not be
cast, it shouldn’t be,” she said, understanding his meaning. “Using such power,
even in small amounts, must always be done with caution. It has a way of
attracting attention, almost always attention that is not wanted.”

“You keep your powers hidden,”
Darius stated.

“Yes. From the curious, and
now even more so from those who fear it, or would wish to bend such power to
their will.”

“From what I’ve seen,” Luke
said, “you can take care of yourself. I don’t see anyone being able to make you
do anything you don’t want to.”

“I hope you’re right,” she
said with a forced smile. “But much trouble has come to Corterra, and there are
other powers in the world, powers that must be respected, if not feared.” She
glanced at Darius as she said this, and for an instant their eyes met. She gave
an almost imperceptible nod, acknowledging that at least to some extent he
understood.

“I think you’re trying to
scare me,” Luke said, in a lighthearted way.

She stopped and faced him
squarely. “Not really. Not yet. But being scared isn’t the worst thing in the
world. Sometimes it can even keep you alive.” With that she marched on.

Luke stood there, numb, unsure
how to react or what to say. Darius took him by the arm and pulled him along. “I
told you this wasn’t a game.”

“I never said it was,” Luke
protested. He pulled free of Darius and trudged along in silence, trying to
convince himself that he had understood the possible danger they might face all
along, the wrath of a king. Was there something more, he wondered, something
worse? He pushed the thought away but shivered anyway. “Getting chilly out,” he
mumbled aloud. Getting no response, he realized the others hadn’t heard, and
was glad for it. He knew they would say otherwise.