by James Dale
Heir of Sword and Stone
Book One
Whisper of Blood
Chapter One
When Dreams Walk
As the Toyota FJ Cruiser barreled down the muddy logging trail, a wave of water cascaded over the hood of the speeding SUV, coating the windshield with a thick coat of sludge. The road had not been used by anyone except the occasional hunter for more than two years, but the FJ had little trouble negotiating the rugged path. With a custom all-wheel drive package, beefed up suspension and deep tread, 31-inch Bridgestone tires more suited for this rough terrain than the paved freeways of civilized man, it tore along the trail easily. Although the surrounding forest was quickly welcoming the coming night, the Toyota's powerful halogen head lights illuminated the road a good thirty yards in front of the SUV, giving its driver ample time to avoid anything but the most unexpected of obstacles. If, that is, it had been traveling at a more normal speed.
"Whoo yeah!" the driver shouted as he flipped on the wipers, not bothering to ease up on the accelerator.
"Matty! You're scaring me!" a young woman cried from the back of the FJ. Jennifer, Jen to her friends, was a petite brunette with hazel eyes and a cute, upturned nose. Just a week removed from her seventeenth birthday, she was the youngest of the group and had been the most reluctant to come on this outing.
“Slow down,” Robbie Norton pleaded from the front passenger seat. His right hand had a white knuckled grip on armrest of his door while in his other hand he clutched an old forestry service map. “You’re scaring the girls.” He added quickly.
"Slow down Matt!" insisted the other girl in the back with Jen. Although a year older than her companion, Karen Hodges had been Jen’s bestie since they’d met a decade ago in youth group at Saint Sabastian’s. She had been dating Robbie since both were sophomores at Science Hill in Johnson City. She, Robbie and Matt were seniors now, only two months from graduation. "I didn't lie to Jen's dad so you could kill us out in the middle of nowhere!"
"Okay. Okay," Matt relented, finally reducing the Toyota's speed to a less reckless pace. "I was just having some fun."
"How much fun is it going to be when you wreck your new truck?" Jennifer pointed out.
"I get it, Jen," Matty sighed. "Jeez."
"Robbie, do you have any idea where we are?" Karen asked her boyfriend.
"Uhhm…well, " Robbie said hesitantly, releasing his grip on the armrest and spreading the map out on the dashboard.
"Great," Jen complained, "We're lost Karen. Dad is going to fuuh...dad is going to ground me for a month!"
"Jennifer Hurst," Matt scolded, briefly taking his eyes off the mountain road to grin at the pretty teenager. "Did you almost drop an F bomb?"
"Shut up, Matt!" Karen snapped. "Well, Robbie?"
"Karen, I..."
"Men!" Karen muttered angrily, "Give me the map Robert. Matty, quit screwing around and turn on the GPS."
"I…I don't know how to work it," Matt admitted quietly.
"Dad is going to kill me," Jen whispered, now on the verge of tears.
"It's going to be okay Jen," Karen said, taking a second to pat her friend reassuringly on the knee before reaching up front to snatch the map from Robbie. "Matt, just stop the damn truck!"
"Now listen Karen," Matt began...
"Just stop Matty," Robbie seconded, coming to the aid of his girlfriend. If he didn't do some-thing quickly, the entire reason for bringing the girls out here was going to be wasted. Jen's dad, who would only ground her, would absolutely whip his and Matty's ass! "For once in your life, drop the macho crap and listen to someone else?"
"Fine," Matt snapped, and slammed on the brakes. The Toyota fishtailed briefly, then skidded to a stop.
"Dammit Matty," Rob sighed.
"We're stopped. Okay? Now what?" Matt said petulantly.
"Turn on the light," Karen instructed him, handing the map to Jen and leaning forward so she could get a good look at the Roadmaster GPS mounted on the Toyota's dashboard. "Okay, push the power button."
Matt stabbed at the On/Off button and the GPS glowed with life. It took only few seconds to power up, then the menu screen came sharply into view.
"Okay," Karen said, examining the screen. "Press POS. That's position, not Piece of sh…"
"I'm not an idiot," Matt muttered, pressing the button.
"Then prove it you ass," Karen snapped.
"Tracking satellites," Matt said, reading the screen.
"It'll take a minute," Karen explained. "Okay, what's it say at the bottom of the screen?"
"Nothing yet..." Matt said, becoming interested, "Okay, okay. N 27.45.00 W 96.27.14."
"That's our Lat/Long," Karen said. "Latitude and…"
"Longitude," Matt nodded, relaxing a bit. "See? Told you I'm not an idiot."
"Okay, Jen," Karen said, giving the map her friend. "The latitude runs north to south. See the lines?"
Jen wiped a tear from her cheek, then nodded. "Okay. Longitude will be east to west, right?"
"That's right," Karen smiled. "Now. Find where 27 and 96 intersect."
"Got it," Jen nodded.
"Now 45 will be about halfway up and 27 will be just a little over a quarter of the way between the 96 and 97 lines. See it?
"Right about here?" Jen said, pointing at the map. Maybe she was going to avoid being grounded after all?
"Do you see anything that looks like a ridgeline with a hill to the west?" Karen asked. "Matt, there should be a directional arrow on the GPS…"
"It's pointing...Northeast," Matt replied.
"I see one!" Jen said at the same time with excited relief.
Karen looked at the map quickly, running her finger along a brown ribbon which might actually be the ridge the logging road was following. "Matt, there should be a curve up ahead and a hilltop on the left in another...half mile?"
"Here we go," Matt nodded.
"Slowly, please Matt?" Robbie sighed.
Matt shot his friend a glance plainly stating he had learned his lesson. He knew if they didn't find the camp site soon, he was going to have absolutely no chance of scoring with Jen.
Matt reached up to turn off the overhead dome light and slowly eased the Toyota forward. The curve Karen had predicted appeared in just a few short minutes, and she handed the map back to Robbie with a triumphant smile. Robbie grinned back at his girl and winked, thinking the night might be salvaged in spite of Matt's prior recklessness.
"There's the cut off," Matt said a few minutes later, pointing up ahead to a clear spot illuminated by the truck's headlights. "See? What did I tell you, piece of cake?"
Just as Matt was about to turn onto the side road that would lead them to their intended camp site, a large white tail buck bounded in front of the Toyota. He slammed on the brakes and stopped a few feet short of the deer as it also skidded to a halt in the middle of the road. The buck’s antlers were just beginning to regrow, but if his size was any indication, they would be magnificent. The buck stood in the middle of the road, quivering from exhaustion, mucus spraying from its flared nostrils. For a long second, it stared at Matt, its big brown eyes open wide in fright, and then it dug its hooves into the muddy road again and disappeared into the woods.
"Man!" Matt said, "Did you see him? He must have weighed one fifty at least!"
The words had no sooner left his mouth when a pair of does came bounding across the road, their white tails flashing briefly in the headlights.
"Wonder what spooked 'em?" Robbie asked uneasily. He was an experienced sportsman, and had been hunting white tail deer since he was ten. In his entire life he'd never seen a buck that looked so...terrified.
"What do you mean Robbie?" Jen asked nervously.
"Must have been the lights," Matt shr
ugged. "Probably hasn't been anyone up here in a long time."
"Robbie?" Karen asked. She knew Robbie’s affection for the outdoors. She loved it when he talked confidently about hunting and fishing and his other manly adventures in these mountains. It was the first time she’d ever heard him sound…worried about anything to do with the woods.
"Matt's probably right," Robbie said slowly. "Just our headlights. Go on Matt, but nice and slow?"
"Jeez," Matt forced a laugh, "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"
"That would be the first Matty," Karen said, still looking at Robbie curiously. She could barely tell the difference between a white tail deer and a Canadian moose, but she knew when Robbie looked worried. She knew he didn't think for a second it was just headlights that had spooked the deer.
"Robbie? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine Karen," Robbie said, flashing her a reassuring smile. "Headlights. That's all. Matt, could you get us to the damn camp site? Sometime tonight if you don't mind?"
"Relax," Matt said. "We're almost there. It's gonna be fun," he promised, turning to smile at the girls in the back. "Lighten up Karen. Robbie and I have been camping in these mountains hundreds of times. Okay Jen?"
Jen took a second to answer, wondering how in the world she'd ever let Karen talk her into coming along. Matt was sweet, when he wanted to be, but he could also be an immature, first class douche. He also had the darkest brown eyes. And a cute butt…
"Jen?"
"I'm okay, Matt." she blushed, glad he couldn't see her well in the darkened truck. What was she doing, thinking about Matt's butt? They'd only been out a couple of times and she was definitely not ready to let him do anything. He did have a cute butt though. Maybe, just maybe she'd let him kiss her tonight? "Let's just go. If I'm not back by midnight..."
"Daddy will come looking for you and skin us all," Matt nodded. "Home by eleven. Promise." Matt shifted the Toyota into gear and turned down the darkened road.
The clearing was only about a hundred feet off the road, just like the map said it would be. Though it hadn't been used by the logging company which had worked this part of the mountain in two years, it was reasonably clear. The ground was a little soft due to the heavy rain which had fallen three days ago, but the thick grass which had grown over the site since the company moved on supported the Toyota's wide tires easily. Matt pulled the SUV into the middle of the clearing and turned off the powerful engine.
"Here we are, gang!" he smiled happily. He was probably more relieved than any of the four, though he didn't dare show it. Especially in front of Jennifer Hurst. This was only their third date, and if he'd gotten them lost in the mountains...well, it would have probably been their last. After her sheriff daddy had gotten through with him? It would probably have been his last. Ever. There was an iced-down twelve pack in the back of his new FJ, a fat joint in his pocket, and it was only a few minutes after seven. Plenty of time for the group to sit around a nice campfire and get a good buzz. Plenty of time to get Jen loosened upon enough for a few kisses and maybe...just maybe, a little more, then get her safely back home before her dad sent out a search party.
"About time," Robbie said, opening his passenger door and climbing out of the SUV. "Kay, you and Jen see if you can find a good radio station while Matt and I unpack."
"I could kick your ass," Robbie muttered as the two boys met at the back of the Toyota.
"What did I do?" Matt said defensively.
"Nothing! Just damn near screwed up the entire night! I'll be surprised if Karen lets me touch her after your stunt driving. What the hell were you thinking?" Robbie demanded.
"It's a new truck. I was seeing what it would do," Matt shrugged. "We couldn't have brought the girls up here in your rattle trap, that's for sure. Lighten up Rob. We're here. The beer is cold, and after a few tokes of this," Matt said, pulling the joint out of his shirt pocket and sticking it behind his ear, "Karen won't be able to say no to anything."
A slow grin finally spread across Robbie's lips. "You get the beer, I'll get the fire wood. Just don't do anything...stupid, with Jen."
"I'll behave," Matt promised, opening the Toyota's hatch door. "Find a good station yet ladies?" he called up front.
Robbie and Matt, working under the bright lights of the Toyota, quickly cleared out a space in the old camp site for a fire. Karen, unable to find anything decent on the FJ's radio, slid a Greta Van Fleet into the CD player and soon the throaty, Zepplinesque vocals of Josh Kiszka drifted out of the SUV’s speakers to be swallowed up by the surrounding night. Luckily, Robbie had possessed the foresight to bring wood and kindling for the fire because the nearby grass and twigs were too water logged to burn after the last few days. But Robbie was indeed an experienced sportsman, and in no time at all, he had a crackling fire going while Matt pulled over a couple of small logs for the group to sit on.
The preparations completed, Karen and Jen left the comfort of the SUV and joined the boys by the fire, Karen arranging a blanket across the log so the girl’s jeans wouldn't get stained. When the girls were settled in, Matt opened the cooler and began twisting off tops and passing out Miller Longnecks.
"Don't be a prude Jen," Karen chided, when her friend hesitated. "One beer isn't going to kill you."
"Ok," Jen sighed, and took the offered beer.
Matt could barely suppress his satisfied smile as he took a seat close to the petite brunette. It grew wider when she didn't move away from him.
"Cozy, huh?" Robbie said.
"Actually...it is," Karen replied, and leaned over to rest her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.
The Beast sniffed the air curiously. This was not its normal range. Its hunting ground was gripped in the dead of winter, deep within taller, more rugged mountains. There were creatures here, large and small, in this place where nothing smelled the same and winter’s chill was many days removed. He could hear them scurrying for their dens in terror at his arrival, could smell their fear. But the Beast was not here to hunt them. Red Slayer had ripped him from his lair and winter slumber, had spoken to him out of the darkness in a voice of thunder and dread, and dropped him in this strange forest with a simple command.
“Hunt two-legs,” It had said. “Savage them. Feast on them. One will come for you. Slay him, and I will return you to your home.”
The Beast shuddered. Even now the dreadful voice echoed in its mind. The Beast had never known fear in all its long years. But it feared Red Slayer. For all its brute strength and wild nature, the Beast did not lack intelligence. It knew enough to fear what would happen should it fail in its task. It would drench this strange forest with blood until the two-legs Red Slayer wanted came for him. Then he would taste its flesh and be returned to his lair with a sated belly.
The first two-legs the Beast had found in this new range thought they were safe in their den of stone and wood. The Beast taught them differently. It slew the male first. Messily. Though the female fought back with a stick that belched fire and smoke, she was no warrior and it slew her easily as well. Then it stalked their two youngling pups, exulting in their terror as it played with them. It snacked on the smallest before moving on, a tender morsel which eased its hunger, but not its hate.
Now the Beast watched from the shadows of the gathering darkness as a strange animal with fiery eyes stopped in the clearing. It had never seen such an animal before, but the Beast had hunted many strange things. When the animal opened its belly and two-legs emerged, the Beast grew curious, but did not fear. Two-legs were the most intelligent of the Beast’s prey, but they were weak when they did not carry their bright, sharp claws or wrap their tender flesh in hard skin. These two-legs were not full grown, and half of them female. When the young males lit a fire, it became wary, but it did not fear. They were not here for battle. They were interested only in the warmth of the flame and the females.
The Beast, grew still and waited, already tasting their blood.
"I gotta take a leak," Matt announ
ced, tossing the empty beer bottle over his shoulder. He'd finished three already, while Robbie and the girls were still nursing their first.
"TMI," Karen laughed. Her mood had lightened, snuggled up to Robbie in front of a crackling fire. The beer was helping too. She wasn't much of a drinker.
"Be right back," Matt smiled down at Jen as he stood to stretch. "Keep my seat warm."
"Take your time," the young girl replied coolly. Her mood was definitely not improving. In fact, she was on the verge of telling Matt to take her home as soon as he returned.
"Does he always drink so much?" she asked Robbie and Karen when Matt was safely out of earshot.
"He's just nervous," Robbie said, coming to the defense of his friend. "He really likes you, you know."
"Maybe you can convince him to slow it down a little," Karen suggested. "He does have to drive us out of here."
"I'll take care of him," Robbie promised. "Okay Jen?"
"Okay," she replied hesitantly, "It's just...dad will literally kill me if we get picked up by one of his deputies for DUI."
Matt stumbled slightly as he entered the woods. Three beers in twenty minutes had went straight to his head... and his bladder. When he stepped into a small sink hole and nearly fell flat on his face, he actually decided on his own maybe he should slow down on his drinking. Jen was a nice girl. He didn't want to ruin any chance he had with her by getting plastered. Matt found a nice tree and leaned up against it, his head spinning. Yes, it was definitely time to slow down.
The Beast watched the male two-legs noisily enter the woods. Though it looked fit and strong, it was not a warrior, so the Beast was not concerned. Only cautious. If the young male made a great deal of noise as it died, the others might escape in the belly of the strange animal. That would not please Red Slayer. The Beast crept forward silently to within leaping distance of its new prey.
Though it made no sound moving across the damp forest floor, something, some instinct, alerted Matt. The hair on his arms and neck stood on end and a shiver ran down his spine. He peered into the dark woods, suddenly more terrified than he’d been in his entire life. When Matt's eyes finally adjusted to night outside the campfire, he saw the horror crouched nearly at his feet and his bladder let go.