The Darkslayer: Bish and Bone Series Collector's Edition (Books 1-10): Sword and Sorcery Masterpieces

by Craig Halloran

  “A pity for Brak,” Melegal said, removing his cap and holding it to his chest. “I’ve been through some things with that oversized lad.” He scratched his head. “I think you’d have been pretty proud of him the day he skewered that underling to the ceiling with a sword. Cut from the same stone, the two of you are.” He eyed Venir’s pack. “Did you try … you know?”

  Venir nodded.

  “Sorry,” Melegal said, watching the barkeep pour his wine. “Maybe Kam will think of something.

  About then, the one-eyed man covering the door walked over, said, “They’re gone,” and sauntered back. Venir nodded. Some others entered, and a couple left. Melegal fanned smoke from his face. In the back and darkest corner, hefty men and women made haughty giggles.

  “It’s not the Octopus, but it will do,” Venir said, taking a sip. “Is there a name for this place? I didn’t notice a sign.”

  “The Serpent Pit.”

  “Does it have rooms?” Venir asked. He didn’t see any stairs.

  “I think not.”

  “A basement, perhaps?”

  “What am I, an innkeeper?” Melegal snapped.

  “My, a little touchy, aren’t you?” Venir looked at Melegal’s belly. “Carrying all that weight around is making your skinny butt grumpy. You look like you lost Quickster.”

  Melegal’s smooth forehead creased. Venir felt a tingle in his arms.

  “You did lose him.”

  “I didn’t lose him,” Melegal said, clenching his fist. “He was taken.”

  “By who?”

  Melegal’s smooth expressionless face was riddled in notable creases. Nothing ever rattled the sly man. Sleek. Confident. Now there was a restlessness about him. It had first become apparent on the trip back, but it had passed after their encounter with Scorch. Now it was back.

  “Well?” Venir said, leaning forward. He reached for his bottle.

  Melegal stayed his arm. Keeping his voice low, he said, “At least in Bone, you knew everyone was an arsehole. Here, it’s hard to tell who the arsehole is. I’ve got trouble.”

  “What kind?”

  “Royals, I believe. Wizards, here.”

  “I suppose that’s my fault.”

  Melegal shrugged his narrow shoulders and said, “Well, I can’t blame you this time.”

  “So how’d this come about?”

  “It seems this time they are just interested in me.”

  “Good.”

  “I might need some help.” His grey eyes flashed. “Do you have it?”

  “Have what?”

  Melegal lifted his brows.

  “Serious?” Venir patted his backpack. “I don’t go anywhere without it anymore. Why?”

  “I may need some help.”

  ***

  Jaw muscles clenched and lower back tightened, Melegal choked down his pride.

  Can’t believe I’m asking the lout for help.

  Venir’s rugged expression didn’t change. Hard and scarred, he offered a single word.

  “Sure.”

  Melegal’s wiry muscles eased. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t felt relief when Venir walked into the Serpent Pit. He’d been expecting someone else, but he had no idea who. Jaen hadn’t given him a description. She had just said to start here and wait. Two days ago.

  “What kind of trouble?” Venir added.

  Still keeping his voice down, Melegal told him everything as the two gazed into the room. The skirmish in the streets. The meeting with Jaen. The trip to the tower. Jaen’s acknowledgement of watchers. The pick-up and delivery he’d been charged with.

  Venir soaked it all in, nodding and grunting.

  “We should tell Kam,” Venir suggested.

  “Did you not hear me say that I was supposed to come straight here? Any diversion, and I’d never see Quickster again?” Melegal whispered.

  Venir pointed to his missing ear.

  “You can hear fine through that hole,” Melegal hissed, “Just not near as good as me.” He eyed the lout. “And since when do you make excuses?”

  Venir shrugged his big shoulders.

  He seems bigger than ever. Some of the fires in his sullen eyes are lit again. The hunter is back. And that’s just what I need.

  “Melegal, do you think it’s worth it?” Venir said softly.

  “Getting Quickster back? Of course it is.”

  “I’m certain you don’t want to go through something like you did back in Bone with Lord Almen.” Venir propped his elbows on the bar and leaned back so he could whisper near Melegal’s ear without looking like he was. “You and I both know royals are not to be trusted. And we don’t encounter many that aren’t troublemakers. And truth be told, we don’t know much about this city. And Kam’s pretty prickly whenever I ask her what happened the last time I was gone.”

  Melegal’s thoughts drifted to Lorda Almen. She was just as demanding as she was dangerous, yet he’d risked his neck for her anyway. Then there was the other one, Rayal. A fine piece of porcelain and nobility. Untainted by the royals’ hard edge.

  I wonder if they live.

  “It’s an errand. A test,” he said softly. “It will gain me knowledge of this city and its underworld.” He finished his glass and poured another. “In this case, I’m just as curious as I am greedy.”

  “But you said Jaen wasn’t going to pay.”

  “Ah,” said Melegal, pointing at Venir, “selective hearing, eh?”

  Venir watched walk by an attractive golden-blonde strumpet in a violet gossamer gown that revealed almost everything.

  “Sometimes my mind wanders,” he said. He watched as she waved goodbye, took a seat on a chestnut bearded dwarf’s lap, and combed her fingers through his beard. “It wanders to many things.” He turned to Melegal. “You were saying?”

  Melegal eased forward.

  “I was saying, if it were Chongo, would you not do the same?”

  Venir’s stern face darkened, and he grunted a nod.

  A woman walked up to Melegal and whispered in his ear. Jaen. Her hair, nails, lips and silk dress were midnight black. Frail and pale, she sneered at Venir and walked away.

  “Your suitor suits you,” Venir said. “Do you have time to play?”

  Melegal eased out of his chair, tied his jerkin, and said, “This is it. I’ve been summoned.”

  “To where?” Venir said, getting out of his chair.

  “The basement, she says.” He turned and followed the ghoulish little woman, Venir a giant shadow behind him. Around the end of the bar, a curtain concealed a narrow entrance he hadn’t noticed before. That’s strange. How’d I miss that? The corridor was long and sloping. A small torch lit one end and the other. She opened another doorway and passed through. Melegal ran his fingers along the wall. Dark oak. Absorbs the sound of many things. He could hear Venir breathing behind him and stopped at the door. He tilted his head. “Ready?”

  “Aye.”

  He went through. A host of men and women in a semicircle greeted him. The room was dim and otherwise empty. Rogues. An assorted lot: men, a dwarf, a halfling and a half-orc. Weapons concealed on some but not others. Their clothes were that of anybody: tradesman, merchant, watchman, or wine-seller. A few were rough-necked and so attired. But Melegal saw right through their veiled dishonesty.

  A chill went through his bones.

  Venir’s gone.

  He felt his own presence alone. He kept his eyes locked on the rogues, fighting the urge to turn back to his friend. There was no point in that now.

  Suck it up.

  Underling Rider

  CHAPTER 19

  I must know at least one word in underling.

  He glanced at Tarcot. The strider-turned-underling had a blank look in his eyes, and blades pointed at his chest. Boon started sucking for air, pointing his underling fingers back over his shoulder.

  The underling soldier shoved him to the ground and chittered in his face. A spear point dug into his legs. He bit his tongue. Little fiends are
a cautious bunch.

  The underlings shoved Tarcot to his hands and knees. They chittered back and forth at one another in suspicious tones. The lead underling screamed in Boon’s face, its face angry and its red eyes narrowed.

  Boon gasped and held up one finger. Buy time.

  The underling drew a wavy dagger from its belt and slit his cheek. It chittered again.

  Is my disguise so horrible? We should have walked right into camp as men. It might have been better. At least I wouldn’t be expected to speak Underling.

  Boon kept gasping and pointing.

  Tarcot started playing along, clutching at his throat and kicking.

  Good. Make them think we can’t speak until they let go.

  The underlings made curious sounds and spoke back and forth to one another.

  The leader reached down, grabbed Boon by the hair, and jerked his neck back. Barking a command, it dug the blade tip into his shoulder.

  Boon gasped and wriggled.

  The underling held him tight.

  Early in his life, Boon had taken ‘communicating in Underling’ off the table, telling himself the chittering language was nearly impossible for men to learn anyway. He regretted that now.

  Thoom…

  The underlings’ heads snapped up. Glittering eyes scanned the horizon.

  Finally! Boon gathered his knees under him as the underlings stepped toward the sound, heads cocking to one side.

  Thoom… Thoom… Thoom…

  Three giants appeared, great arms swinging. As tall as trees they came. Bald and bearded. Each carried a crude weapon in hand. Their thunderous steps created a dust storm.

  The lead underling glanced back at Boon.

  Holding his throat and waving his arm toward the giants, he gathered his feet beneath him, rose up, and started running toward the underling camp, grimacing. Well, he half ran, half limped. Held one hand over the bloody hole the underling had poked into his thigh.

  Tarcot came right after.

  Thoom… Thoom… Thoom…

  The underling soldiers sped by, leaving dust in Boon and Tarcot’s wake. He winked at Tarcot.

  “You’re crazy,” Tarcot said with his underling face, shaking his head.

  After the underlings they went, getting closer and closer to camp. There were grey tents in neat rows, and the wicked faces of the underlings started popping out, hundreds of them. He’d never been so close to so many before without killing any. Dread mixed with anger.

  I’m tempted to take out as many as I can and say, ‘To Bish with the plan.’

  He pushed through the gawking faces of the underlings and settled in behind them. Tarcot stood by his side, eyes scanning around. In moments, they were shoulder to shoulder with underlings, and his skin started to crawl.

  Thoom… Thoom… Thoom…

  The giants came. Their footsteps heavy and determined. Eyes bigger than men’s heads peering at them. The giants were grizzly men. Heavy limbed. Hairy. Precious metal adorned their wrists and fingers. Bones and colorful stones swayed and jangled on their necks. One grabbed a tree, ripped it out of the ground, and slung it toward the camp.

  Some underlings scrambled from its path. Others watched. The tree crashed through a series of tents. Someone in dark metal armor started chittering orders. They dispersed in a cohesive unit. Many shouted into holes in the ground. Sand spiders the size of ponies scurried out. In seconds, hundreds of grey and furry black-clawed underlings gathered on the backs of spiders, forming ranks between the giants and the camp.

  Boon’s heart thundered in his chest. He licked his lips.

  Oh, this is going to be something.

  A sharp whistle sounded. The underling riders surged forward on their eight-legged mounts, gliding over the sand.

  The stride of the giants didn’t break. Their tree-trunk arms were already swinging. Underlings and spiders were flung through the air by the dozens. Crude clubs and axes bludgeoned with devastating impact. Streams of black blood and underling guts were slung through the air.

  Boon laughed.

  A passing underling turned, its citrine eyes narrowing on him. It chittered and pointed toward the fracas.

  Boon and Tarcot remained still.

  It shouted. Other underlings surrounded them. Suddenly, their eyes widened and their faces showed first dismay, and then rage. He heard Tarcot say, “Boon, we are undone.”

  Boon glanced at his hands and Tarcot’s face. The disguise spell was gone. They were themselves among an army of underlings.

  Fogle—Hurry!

  ***

  Fogle sat cross-legged on the ground in a knot of concentration. He’d blocked out everything. The thundering footsteps. The shaking ground. The fear of a wandering underling slitting his throat as he read. His wide eyes followed his fingers as they traced the lettering on the spellbook pages. His lips chanted at incredible speeds. The final sound of his last word filled with power, and at last his body felt engorged with power. He snapped the spellbook shut and panted for breath.

  Fogle—Hurry!

  He jumped to his feet. Feeling the urgency in Boon’s thought, he rushed through the brush toward the underling camp. What a sight. Underlings on spiders. Giants pulverizing them. The ground shaking under heavy blows. He had no idea where Boon was. He summoned Inky. Connected the ebony hawk’s vision with his.

  In seconds, he found Boon and Tarcot. Surrounded by a throng of underlings with weapons poised at their necks and backs.

  No!

  He channeled his energy. Brought forth words of power and cast his spell. A black door opened up right behind Fogle. Where it led, he wasn’t sure. He followed Inky’s eyes. The other door hung in the camp twenty paces away from Boon and Tarcot. Underlings converged on it.

  They’ll never make it in there! We’ve only got seconds.

  Fogle charged his hands with power and jumped through.

  ***

  Hemmed in by a cluster of underlings, Boon’s eyes made a frantic search for the dimension door.

  Has he even cast it? He moves like an old fool.

  The underlings held them at bay with their blades. Others produced coils and grabbed their wrists.

  Tarcot jerked away. A javelin lanced the back of his arm.

  Boon whispered and summoned power into his hands.

  “Down, Tarcot!”

  The strider flattened on the dirt.

  Boon blasted arcs of energy from this hands.

  Sssraz!

  The throng of underlings skipped over the dirt.

  “Eat sand, fiends!” he said, sending another bright arc into them.

  Sssraz!

  Tarcot snatched up two javelins and hurled them into the underlings, drawing painful cries from their lips. The surprise ended. Another wave of angry underlings rushed in.

  Where is that door!

  ***

  Fogle stepped through the other side of the dimension door with his hands blazing.

  Sssraz! Sssraz!

  The arc of energy knocked a path through the throng. The blast sizzled the fur on their bodies. The air filled with painful screams.

  “Boon!” he yelled. “Boon!”

  There was dust and surging underlings everywhere.

  A figure appeared through the mist at a high rate of speed: Tarcot, carrying Boon in two of his four arms. A squad of underlings was right on his heels.

  Fogle waved Tarcot on and stepped to the side. He found a safe angle and sent another blast into the underlings.

  Sssraz!

  Tarcot dashed through the black door. Fogle jumped right in after. Instantly, they emerged back outside their camp a few hundred yards from the scene.

  “Close the door, Grandson!” Boon yelled.

  Three underlings appeared through the door, bright eyes narrowed and wary. The door closed behind them, cutting a forth underling in half.

  Tarcot dropped Boon in the dirt and stepped in their path. He spread his four arms out and spread his fingers wide.

 
; Boon stood with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Sweat dripped from his head. He fought to summon any power he had left.

  The underlings attacked.

  The tall and rangy strider struck like a cat. Tarcot wrenched a javelin from one underling and a hand axe from another. With his lower arms, he fended off a jabbing sword and twisted it away as well. Bigger and stronger, Tarcot used his weight and strength to bear down on the wrestling underlings. His low hands choked one. He rammed the javelin through another one’s chest, and the third he stepped on and chopped into.

  Hack! Hack! Hack!

  Blood flew, and the strangled underling gasped its last breath. Tarcot flung its corpse to the ground. The strider stepped over and helped Boon to his feet.

  “Wispy wizard like to dance with death. Another close one. Hah.”

  Boon stepped by Tarcot and watched the battle at the camp.

  “I’m not so sure we’re out of this one.” He looked back at Fogle. “Come, and well done, Grandson.”

  A battle raged in the distance. The giants were covered in spiders and underlings, like dogs being attacked by a swarm of rats. The valley filled with black blood and death. Weapons of destruction and giant footsteps shook the ground. Underlings were snatched up like rodents. Hurled. Flung. Smashed. Stomped. Spider goo and underling guts squished between giant toes. Fogle could see every bit of it through Inky’s eyes. And every time he watched an underling die, it felt good.

  “You’re feeling it now,” Boon said, “aren’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “They won’t last another hour,” Fogle said. “But if you summoned the giants, then won’t they come after us?”

  “Not if they’re dead,” Boon said. “My plan was to summon one giant. The underlings could have handled one. But three? That’s unlikely.”

  Fogle shook his head.

  “You want the underlings to win? Why?”

  “So the underlings will start a war with the giants. The giants won’t take their losses so well.”

  It was crazy, bringing the giants to this side of Bish, and yet it made sense. Fogle could live with that for now.

  “What happens when the giants win? Won’t they come after us? Kill us?”

  “Or take us to the Under-Bish,” Boon said, wiping the cut on his cheek.