Benjamin Ashwood Series: Books 1-3 (Benjamin Box)

by AC Cobble

  “Damn,” whispered Saala.

  Lady Towaal glared at the stain then commanded, “We need to check the pigeon coop. The signal fire wasn’t lit, but maybe they got off some messenger birds to warn others.”

  “Karina, there were a hundred trained guardsmen up here and who knows how many merchant guards. We need to leave. Now.”

  “I understand, Rhys, but we have to know if they sent a warning.”

  “Hold on. What is the significance of that stain? We have a right to know what is going on,” demanded Amelie.

  Saala answered slowly, “It’s demon blood. If there was a large enough swarm to take out this entire garrison, then I’m not sure we’ll be sufficient. Lady Towaal, I agree with Rhys. We must leave now. Regardless of whether any pigeons got out, we can warn others in the Sineook Valley and they can get word to Whitehall. Others will see what happened with the dead guards on the road and turn around before they get here. The only thing we can do staying is risk ourselves. I cannot let Amelie take a risk like this.”

  Lady Towaal grimaced. “We cannot go until we check on something. The Captain of the station had an artifact, one that I must recover.”

  “Bloody Sanctuary politics,” snarled Rhys. “You could get us all killed.”

  Lady Towaal regained her calm and stated, “I insist.”

  None of them were happy about it, but no one wanted to openly defy Lady Towaal either.

  “We stay together then,” muttered Rhys.

  Rhys again took the lead as they moved toward the north end of the square to the officer’s quarters, and hopefully the artifact they needed to find. They moved quickly and quietly. Now that they knew what they faced, the fear was still there, but it was manageable.

  The officer’s quarters proved to be nearly empty. The men who stayed here must have been somewhere else or must have rushed outside when the attack started. The one body they did find was a half-dressed man lying prone in his doorway. His head had been torn off and tossed into the room across the hall. The scene was surreal. If it wasn’t for the destruction outside, Ben would have thought it make believe at first. He made eye contact with Meghan as they passed and saw the sentiment mirrored in her eyes.

  Finally, they found what had to be the captain’s room. It was the only one in the building that had a seating area. It had a large map of the pass and surrounding territory on one wall. Lady Towaal pushed past everyone into the man’s bed chamber while the rest of the group waited. Saala stepped back into the hallway and stood guard.

  While they were waiting for Towaal to search the man’s room, Rhys began examining the map and called Ben over. “See these pins? These tags on them are dates. It looks like they started up in the mountains here,” he pointed to a peak about fifteen leagues from Snowmar Station, “and they slowly moved toward the pass.”

  Ben nodded. “Yes, but what does it mean?”

  Rhys shrugged. “I don’t know. Demon sightings maybe? That doesn’t make sense, though. They had men to hunt down a lone demon that was loose in the hills. They would have sent for help if it were something they couldn’t handle. From these dates, there would have been plenty of time to make Whitehall and back.”

  They were still examining the map when Lady Towaal returned. “It’s not here and neither is the captain. We must find his body. He might have kept it on him.”

  Rhys rolled his eyes at her back and led the way past Saala into the hall and out toward the square.

  By the time they entered the mess hall, they had already searched most of the buildings at the station and had come up empty handed. They were all in similar states as the officer’s quarters and the square. In some, it was obvious that the occupants had warning and had attempted to defend themselves. In others, they had simply died.

  The mess hall was the first sign of real coordinated resistance. There was a barricade of flipped over tables and benches that had been shoved aside. Ben cringed when he thought about the strength it would have taken to move the pile.

  They also found the first dead demons. Six of the creatures lay between the barricade and the back of the hall. The demons were covered in arrows and some had long spears sticking out of them. There were numerous wounds from edged weapons that had come from the piles of dead men scattered around the floor.

  Ben stared at the dark shapes. They matched what he remembered from the attack in Farview. They were barrel chested and had thick, overlong arms and stubby legs. Despite the appearance, he knew they could move quickly. The largest one of these would have come up to his chest, but likely weighed twice what he did.

  Small wings and horns on the larger ones drew the eye, but the real dangers were the curved claws at the end of each heavily muscled arm and mouthfuls of sharply pointed teeth that sprouted out of powerful jaws. Ben shuddered when he remembered how easily those claws had torn into William Longaxe’s stomach.

  “Six of them!” exclaimed Renfro. “Do you think they got them all?”

  “No,” answered Saala. “The men that were stationed here wouldn’t have fallen to just six demons. You saw the carnage outside. They were quickly overrun by a large swarm. It looks like they were able to slow them down in here and took some with them, but no one survived this.”

  Suddenly, Lady Towaal shot ahead and knelt next to a body. The man had taken a raking wound across his face but the sword next to him was stained in purple blood. He hadn’t gone down easy. Ben watched as she slid out her tiny belt knife and cut open the man’s shirt. It was glued to his chest with sticky blood. When she got his shirt open, she cut a cord and pulled out a small, silver amulet. She pocketed it before Ben got a good look at it. He had no doubt though it was the artifact she had been looking for.

  “Are we good?” Rhys was shifting his feet impatiently and looking toward the door. “It will be dark soon, and we don’t want to be in this place when the sun goes down.”

  “Yes,” she replied. “Let’s get out of here and put as much distance as we can before we stop. I hope everyone is prepared to walk tonight.”

  They didn’t need any convincing. A hot bath and a night under a roof had sounded nice before they got there, but now no one wanted to spend another moment in that butcher shop.

  As they exited the mess hall, they heard an enraged animalistic shriek behind them.

  “Out, now!” shouted Saala. He spun to cover the door as they rushed into the square.

  Ben glanced over his shoulder and saw a squat black shape charging across the floor of the mess. Saala slammed the door and kept backing up into the clear. “It will be through that in no time. Stay behind and give me room.”

  Suddenly, Ben heard a crash and turned to see Renfro on his back with a corpse at his feet. Ben was about to bend to pull him up when he saw a thin black mass gliding down from the roof of the barracks across the square. “There. Behind us!”

  “I’ve got it. Everyone stay close. Do not break out of the group,” demanded Rhys as he swooped in between the fallen Renfro and the demon.

  Ben yanked Renfro back upright and heard the first demon burst through the mess door. Saala was waiting and pounced on it before it could get its bearings. His two-handed falchion cleaved into the neck of the demon, spurting a fountain of purple blood that he danced back from. The thing took another step then collapsed to the ground, motionless.

  “Bloody hell,” yelled Rhys.

  Three more demons were gliding down on delicate wings from the roof of the barracks. Saala flew past the group to assist as Rhys engaged the first demon. This one was taller than the one that came through the mess, near the same height as Ben, but it was thin and didn’t seem to have the strength of the other. Rhys swiped a taloned hand aside and stabbed his long sword into its chest. He kicked it back off his blade and he and Saala spread out to meet the three new arrivals.

  The demons attacked quickly, but with no coordination and no thought of strategy. One charged at Rhys and two came toward Saala.

  Rhys jumped forward and Saala fl
owed to his left, taking one of his demons head-on while the second turned at the last second and crashed into the first. The first demon turned and snarled at the second. Saala took the opportunity to lunge forward, slicing into its throat.

  Rhys charged directly at his demon. It did not seem to expect his tactic and kept coming. He slashed it across the face. It stumbled backward and Rhys dropped to one knee, pivoting to swing behind him and cut across the back of the legs of Saala’s second demon. Rhys continued the motion and spun around to slice open his demon’s abdomen, spraying a horrific tangle of white and purple guts across the square.

  Saala stepped forward and neatly lopped the head off of the remaining demon as it dropped, crippled from Rhys’ attack behind it.

  Before anyone could celebrate the victory, Meredith screamed for help. They saw she had stepped away from the group and was facing across the square toward a charging demon. It was a short squat one and had a single wickedly curved horn. It was bounding in huge leaps across the square toward her. She only had her belt knife as defense.

  Ben started to sprint toward her but knew he was too far away to get there before the demon. Suddenly, a dark shape whizzed by from behind him in a blur and sank into the demon’s gaping maw as it reached the height of one of its leaps. Ben’s heart soared when he saw the wire-wrapped hilt of Rhys’ long knife. The demon’s momentum kept it going, though. It smashed into Meredith, sending her flying to the ground, the heavy black shape landing on top of her.

  Ben kept running toward Meredith but nearly had his head ripped off by another thin black demon that dropped into the square. It flashed in the corner of his vision and he dropped into a roll just in time for the thing to soar over with grasping clawed feet where he had been a heartbeat before. He sprung up to face it, and between its two wings saw three more shapes closing on the other girls and Lady Towaal. Saala hurled himself in between to defend them.

  Renfro was to the left of Ben, scrambling to hide under a wagon, but a huge slow-moving monster bigger than an ox gripped his leg and easily started hauling him back out. Rhys appeared out of nowhere and began hacking at its back. Its man-sized wings kept fouling his blade.

  Ben didn’t have time to worry about Renfro or the girls, though. His demon screamed a primordial howl and lurched toward him. In the second he had time to think, none of the forms Saala had taught prepared him for this, so he slashed quickly in a steady pattern in front of him, trying to keep the blade between him and the advancing nightmare.

  He had been right. The thin ones were not as strong as the short ones, but it was quick. He got in a few shallow cuts before it clamped down on his weapon with one hand and raked its claws across his other arm, leaving three parallel bloody gashes. Ben winced in pain but managed to twist his sword and yanked hard, pulling his weapon free and severing several taloned fingers in the process. The demon kept coming. Ben danced back quickly to avoid another slashing attack and a bite.

  “Damn it, Karina!” Ben heard Rhys shout.

  He spared a second to look to where the ox-sized demon was lying motionless. Renfro had managed to crawl back under the wagon but a new demon was digging and trying to squeeze under after him. Rhys was taking the charge of a muscular-looking squat one and rolled onto his back before kicking with both feet, sending the huge flailing mass of teeth and claws flying over him and trailing a stream of purple blood from his long sword.

  That second to look almost cost Ben his life. The skinny demon again caught his blade with its other hand and pulled him closer to its razor sharp teeth. Ben knew he was dead if he let go of his sword. He’d be dead too if those teeth got into him. He held his grip on the sword and struggled desperately.

  The creature smacked at him with its fingerless hand. Ben absorbed the blows. The demon wasn’t as strong as the shorter ones, but it was at least as strong as a man and it hurt. Better than those teeth sinking into this flesh, though, as he took another blow on the shoulder and struggled to keep his sword between him and the demon’s head.

  “Karina, now! We’re going to lose them!”

  Time seemed to freeze for an instant and then the hair on Ben’s neck and arms stood on end. There was a thunderous clap and a blaze of brilliant light and heat flashed across the square, impacting the demon in front of him. With a violent, spasmodic twitch and howl, the creature flew back away from Ben, taking his sword with it. He let go in a heartbeat. The leather-wrapped hilt had suddenly become scalding hot.

  The entire square crackled with energy as more arm-thick bars of incandescent light flashed back and forth. Everywhere Ben looked, demons were jerking and flailing crazily as the lights coursed through their bodies then arced across to another one. Only moments had passed, but it seemed like half a bell before over the snapping crackle of the lightning, he heard Rhys shout, “Down. Everyone down now! Shit…she’s losing control.”

  Ben dove to the ground and buried his head in his arms. Seconds later, there was a huge pop and the feel of electricity in the air dissipated. When he finally felt safe enough to raise his head, he saw Rhys had somehow managed to cross the square and was lying on top of Lady Towaal’s prone body. Saala, Amelie, and Meghan were huddled down in a corner together. The girl’s eyes were wide as saucers. Even Saala seemed shaken by the display of pure violent power.

  Ben rolled over and saw Renfro was curled up under the wagon still, the iron wheels smoking with heat. He looked like he was crying, but he was alive. Ben looked for Meredith next. All he could see was an arm sticking out from under the demon, which was still on top of her.

  He struggled to his feet and stumbled toward her, but realized he was too late before he got close. A large pool of dark blood, purple swirled with crimson red, was spreading from the two motionless figures.

  In the aftermath of the attack, Ben felt like he was in a bad dream. His companions were like ghosts, all of them moving quietly and using only gestures to communicate. They didn’t think anything survived what Lady Towaal had released, but they weren’t taking any risks either. The square was now littered with the bodies of upwards of twenty demons in addition to their victims. The charred and smoking demons added an acrid scent to the sickening charnel house odor of the human bodies.

  It was a victory of sorts, that such a small party had survived an attack by a large demon swarm. When he looked into the eyes of his friends though, it didn’t feel like a victory to Ben.

  They bound their wounds and the men quickly built stretchers for the unconscious Lady Towaal and for Meredith’s body. Rhys said that aside from a massive headache and a sense of lethargy for the next week, Lady Towaal would be okay. She would likely be unconscious for another day or two, though. What she had done took a lot out of her.

  Meredith never had a chance. When they rolled the demon away, they saw its single horn had pierced her chest and its momentum had driven it deep. She was dead before she hit the ground offered Saala. It was little solace to her friends. They would take her away from this place of death and find somewhere peaceful in the Sineook Valley to lay her to rest.

  11

  Sineook Valley

  It was a solemn procession that made its way down from Snowmar Pass. They were battered both physically and emotionally.

  Ben and Saala had bad-looking gashes that ended up being superficial. Some thorough washing and tight binding with supplies they found in the barracks was all the care they needed. It would leave scars, but nothing serious.

  The girls and somehow Rhys had gotten through mostly unscathed except for a few nicks and scratches. Renfro had deep lacerations on his leg and a severely sprained ankle where the demon grabbed him. Ben offered to carry his pack and he found a pair of crutches in the barracks infirmary. It was going to be a long, painful walk until they could find a safe place to rest.

  Over time, Ben knew the physical wounds would heal. Emotionally, though, it was crushing. Amelie in particular was affected. She had known Meredith her entire life. All of them had gotten to know her well. Tw
o months of travel makes for a lot of bonding time.

  That night, they slept in a cold campsite. No one spoke except when it was necessary. The next day, Amelie started to open up to Meghan. Ben tried to give them their privacy and not overhear, but they were clustered close and no one was interested in walking away from the group.

  “She was like a sister to me,” started Amelie. “I don’t have any other siblings. She was with me from when I can first remember. Her mother was one of my mother’s handmaidens. When they fell pregnant at the same time, it was natural for Meredith’s mother to become my nursemaid. Meredith was raised right alongside me in the nursery. We stayed that way since. It wasn’t until we were older and started to receive different schooling that I even realized she wasn’t a lord’s daughter. Oh, her mother,” she continued sorrowfully. “When we reach a town I must write her mother to tell her what happened. She was so excited for Meredith to accompany me and see Whitehall, Venmoor, the City, all of it…”

  “I’m sorry, Amelie,” consoled Meghan. “She was such a sweet person and we all loved her. I can’t imagine what it is like for you.”

  Later that evening after Amelie turned in, Meghan found Ben sitting alone by the fire. “I don’t know what I can say to her. It’s so horrible. We must find a place for Meredith tomorrow. Amelie will not be able to get closure until we do.”

  The next morning, a groggy Lady Towaal finally awoke. Rhys suggested they wait until she recovered some before they took the road again. The nearest town was only a few bells’ journey. They could rest that morning and still easily make it in daylight.

  Rhys called Ben over and asked him to help look for a particular bark he thought might grow in the area that could alleviate some of Towaal’s discomfort.

  “The rest of them couldn’t find an oak tree if it dropped an acorn on their head,” muttered Rhys.