“Argh!”
Toowah! Toowah! Toowah!
More darts penetrated his back. A burning sensation coursed through his entire body.
He hacked at the underling, cut into its other arm.
The quick fiend dodged, countered, and stabbed. Its sword tip lanced the leather breastplate at Brak’s gut and bit through to the skin.
Brak’s free hand clamped down on the underling’s wrist. Brak hoisted the fiend up by the arm, lifting it from the ground and jamming his sword through its chest.
Toowah! Toowah! Toowah!
Still holding the underling by the wrist, Brak spun around and flung the dead body at his dart-spitting assailant. The underling corpse crashed into one underling and startled another. Full of anger, Brak flung his shoulder at the astonished underling. The pommel of the heavy blade hit the fiend square in the head. Brak went after his sword. The burning stopped. Numbness filled his limbs, and walking on his legs felt like he was walking on noodles.
What is happening?
He stretched his fingers out for his sword, which lay on the ground beside the underling. His fingers stretched out like wavy snakes. The tips of his fingers opened, tongues flicked out, and they began to hiss.
“Gah!”
He staggered backward, gawking at his living fingers.
What’s happening to me?
He bumped into something and turned to face it.
It was Jarla on Nightmare. The horse was huge and snorting fire. Jarla’s hair was a nest of black snakes alive on her head.
She was speaking. “You fool. What are you doing?”
Nightmare snorted in Brak’s face.
He punched the fiery-breathed horse in the snout.
Horse and rider were toppled and laid out on the ground.
Brak fought for his balance. He staggered toward a tree, grabbed it, and held on. Everything in the world was spinning but him.
“Make it stop!” He moaned. “Make it stop!”
***
Jarla jumped off the back of her horse and landed like a cat. Nightmare lay on the ground, not moving, and Brak was staggering around as if drunk. “You fool!” she said. “What are you doing?”
Brak was hanging onto a tree, screaming like a baying hound. His blood-soaked back was full of darts.
A hatchet-swinging underling charged into her path.
She aimed for the throat.
Slice!
The underling died, clutching at its neck. It didn’t matter. Jarla was surrounded by a dozen more underlings. She hovered over Nightmare. “The first one of you who hurts my horse will be dead.”
Chittering, the bright-eyed underlings moved in.
CHAPTER 8
“It’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Venir.” Melegal sat on a stone bench inside a dungeon cell. So far as he could tell, it had never been occupied before.
“Me?” Venir was in the same cell as Melegal. His fingers were locked around the steel bars. “I haven’t seen the woman since we’ve been here.”
“She’s not a woman,” Jasper said from the cell across from Venir’s. Her cheeks were the color of roses. “She―or it, rather―is an underling! You should have killed it in the Outland.”
“I agree,” Kam said. She, Joline, and Erin were in the same cell as Jasper. Venir, Melegal, Billip, and Nikkel were locked up in the other cell. “The only good underling is a dead underling, remember?”
“Underling or not, I’ve never slain a female,” Venir said.
“No doubt she would have slain you.” Billip cracked his knuckles. “What would a man such as us do if we were to face an army of women?”
“Lose,” Jasper said.
Kam and Joline chuckled, Kam bouncing Erin on her hip.
Nikkel started laughing out loud, pointing at Billip. “You would rush in without your trousers, singing ‘I surrender! Take me!’”
Billip locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the wall. “Perhaps. I’m sure they’d take me prisoner and subject me to a long and sweaty interrogation.”
All of the men chuckled, including Melegal. The women giggled a little too.
“Seriously, Venir,” said Melegal, “Mood has locked us up? Really? I thought he was our friend.”
The jovial spirit in the dungeon faded.
Venir had known Mood since he was a boy. The Blood Ranger had taught him most of what he knew. Their bond was deep. It didn’t make any sense that Mood would imprison him.
Of course, Mood was King of the Dwarves, and he needed to protect his people. The dwarves had to come first. And murder in Dwarven Hole, well, Venir could only imagine that was never heard of. The murder of two innocent dwarvesses at that. Caregivers. Their deaths stunk of the underlings.
“I’m sure we won’t be in here very long,” Venir said. “It’s just a precaution for the benefit of his people. We’ll be out in no time. Without a doubt they’ll put an end to the female underling.”
“The sooner, the better,” Jasper said. “I’m sure none of us but Melegal will miss her.”
“Oh, stop your brooding, woman.” Melegal smoothed over the cap on his head. “I’m honest enough to admit the female underling is beyond fetching.” He glanced over at Billip, Venir, and Nikkel. “And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
“She is a marvel,” Billip replied.
“I heard that,” Joline said.
“I can’t argue with it,” Nikkel said with a little smile. “But how can something so beautiful be so deadly?”
“You haven’t known many women,” Venir said. His thoughts drifted to Jarla. A tingle started in his lower back.
“Ahem,” Kam said, eyeballing Venir. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Naturally, I wasn’t talking about you.”
“I know that. I was more concerned about the many,” she said.
“Many would be an understatement,” Billip added. “Unless you were talking about a single night. Then it would be accurate.”
“Venir!” Kam yelled. “Is it true?”
“He’s jesting,” Venir said with a shrug. “You know Billip.”
“I’m sure Melegal can confirm it. All men are lust-filled hounds.”
Studying his nails, Melegal said, “I can only speak for myself, and a thief never tells. Besides, I don’t keep count.”
Nikkel got up from his seat, walked up to the cell bars, and said to the women, “I’m not a lust-filled hound. I’m a one-woman man.”
“Now you are. You haven’t seen enough seasons yet, but once you do, you’ll be much like your father.” Billip toyed with his goatee. “A one-woman man? One woman a day, more like.”
Bouncing Erin in her arms, Kam turned the little girl toward Venir. “See your father over there? He’s a pig.”
“No, he’s not a pig,” Jasper said. “He’s just a man.”
“What’s going on here?” Venir said. “Am I the enemy again?”
The dungeon quieted.
Melegal finally spoke up. “No, but you’re the easiest to blame.”
“Why is that?”
Nikkel patted him on the back. “I suppose because your shoulders are big enough to hold it. Just imagine what would happen if we dumped it all on Melegal. He’d be in a deep hole by now.”
Melegal looked at Jasper and replied, “I am in a deep hole right now.”
A pair of dwarven guards opened the iron doors protecting the entry into the dungeon. Mood came through. He was dressed in leather armor dyed a deep green. He stopped at the cell nearest the main doors and gazed inside. His meaty hands touched the bars.
It was the cell that held Elypsa. Venir couldn’t see her and hadn’t heard a peep out of her since she’d been inside.
What’s he doing?
A dark little hand appeared and touched Mood’s fingers for a moment and vanished again.
Venir’s neck hairs rose. “Mood!”
Mood shook his head and backed away. He walked over and stoppe
d between the men and the women’s cells. “An investigation is ongoing. A trial will be held. You’ll be confined until the investigation is completed and the culprit is brought to trial.”
Venir didn’t like the way Mood said it. There was something different in the dwarf’s tone, and Venir couldn’t find Mood’s eyes. They remained hidden beneath his bushy red brows. “Mood, you know we’re not guilty of such an atrocity. Let us out from behind these bars. You know the little black fiend did it.”
“Be patient,” Mood replied. His fingers clutched in and out. “This will be handled according to our laws and customs. We’ll find the blood shedder and shed their blood as well, but we must be right.”
“I agree,” Venir said, grabbing the bars. “And how long will this take? You can’t leave us in here like animals forever.”
“I’m bound by the custom, but you will be well cared for. All of you. Food. Drink.”
Venir searched for his friend’s eyes again, unsuccessfully. “Mood, how long are we talking about?”
“We have declared war. We march for Bone. The investigation will be ongoing, but the trial will be held when the war is over.”
“That’s madness!” Venir blurted out. “I thought I was going to lead!”
“It is the law.” Mood marched out of the room.
The iron doors closed behind him.
CHAPTER 9
“Be still,” whispered a harsh voice in Fogle’s ear. “And be quiet.” She pulled the gag out of his mouth.
“Oh, thank—”
Jubilee clamped her hand over his mouth and whispered, “What did you not understand about what I said? Shush.”
Fogle nodded and held up his bound wrists.
She sliced through the cords with her knife.
Fogle rubbed his wrists.
Oh, feels so good.
The battle still raged nearby. He peeked around the tree. A dozen yards away, two gem-eyed underlings gored a brigand with their javelins. One of the underlings turned and looked Fogle’s way.
He jerked his head back. “I think it saw me.”
“Be still and hope it didn’t.”
Fogle could feel his heart pounding in his temples. He found Jubilee’s eyes. “You came looking for me?”
She nodded. Jubilee was turning into a pretty little woman, a girl grown up too soon. Her once-full face had become slender and distinguished. There was an air of nobility about her, but the feistiness in her eyes was still there too.
“That was a brave thing you did. At least now I can take a swing at them before I die.”
“I know you can do more than that,” she said. There was a smile in her eyes. “That’s why I came.”
“Really?”
“Shush.” She peeked around the tree and slid back. “One comes.” She slapped Fogle’s knee with the back of her hand. “Do your thing, Fogle, and do it quick.”
Fogle stuck his hands in the dirt and mentally ran through some incantations. Jubilee’s hunch was right—he still had magic within.
A good wizard always has something stored inside. A great wizard always has more than you think.
His body drew new magical energy from the dirt. His dormant confidence surged.
Jubilee stood, put her hands up, and stepped out from behind the tree. “I surrender,” she said. She backpedaled and turned and ran.
The underling charged past the tree where Fogle huddled and bore down on the girl.
Fogle gestured, and the shrubbery came to life and seized the underling’s feet, coiled around its legs, and wrapped around its arms.
The underling opened its mouth and started to chitter for help.
Jubilee flicked her knife into its throat.
Gurk!
Getting up, Fogle said, “Nice throw.”
“Nice trick, wizard who has no magic.” She pulled the knife out of the underling’s throat. The shrubbery continued to consume its body until it was seen no more. She lifted her chin. “It got awfully quiet all of a sudden.”
The raging ruckus of the fighting and wounded was gone. The woodland had settled into an eerie silence.
Fogle noted soft chitters not so far away. “Why do I get the feeling we’re the only humans left alive?”
She flipped her blade over in her hand. “We should find Brak and run while we can.”
Fogle pulled his shoulders back. “I’m a Boon. We don’t run from underlings. Especially when my spellbook is nearby. And I will find it.” He headed toward the sound of the underling chitters with his fingers twitching at his sides.
Jubilee slipped in behind him and tugged at his robes. “Are you crazy? You’re going right at them.”
“That’s right.” Fogle pushed the branches aside and stepped into a clearing.
More than a dozen underlings surrounded Jarla. Her horse appeared to be dead. Her face was marred with sweat and reddish-black blood. Her eyes found his.
Fogle stretched his hands out. “Pardon me, fiends.”
The underlings faced him. Their faces grinned with evil. They were wolves ready to prey on the lambs. One underling wearing a shirt of black chain mail and brandishing a sword with jagged edges chittered a command.
“Watch this,” Fogle said to Jubilee. With a single syllable, Fogle loosed his power. His arms glowed like geysers of silver. Lightning shot from both hands, striking the closest pair of underlings. The cords of silver ripped through their dark bodies and punched into the next nearest one. The chain of lightning tore through each and every underling, to the left and right, one at a time.
Ssrazz! Ssrazz! Sssrazz!
Their bodies twisted and convulsed. Their eye sockets lit up with bright flames. The two strands of lightning collided back together inside the lead underling behind Jarla, unleashing a powerful explosion.
Boom!
Chunks of fiery and scorched flesh scattered into the trees. The other underlings fell over with burn holes in their chests. Their lithe and agile bodies became bloodless husks of char.
Jubilee plugged her nose and said in awe, “It smells awful, but I liked it!” She hugged Fogle from behind.
Jarla stuck a sword in one of the underling bodies. Its brittle flesh drifted away. She scanned the surroundings. “We need to make sure that’s all of them.”
“It is,” Fogle said, dusting off the mystical wisps of energy dancing on his fingertips. “Trust me.”
“Trust you? You deceived me, wizard.” Jarla sheathed her sword. “I thought there wasn’t any magic left within you.”
“I found some untapped reserves. Now, with my hands and mouth free, I can go back to doing just about anything.” He blew the mystic tendrils from his fingers. “Anything.”
Jarla kneeled down by her horse and rubbed its neck. “I will have to bind you again, then.”
What? I must have misheard her. Best clarify.
“After I just saved your life? That’s how you would reward me?”
“Hah! I could have handled this pack of underlings.” Nightmare stirred and rose up onto his hooves. Jarla climbed into the saddle. Sitting tall and proud, she said, “You need to remember who’s in charge. Jubilee, find some rope and bind him.”
Brak let out an awful moan. The huge man was latched onto a tree, holding on for dear life and staring at Nightmare.
Jarla doesn’t have a handle on the situation at all. But she’s haughty enough that what she knows is free for the asking.
“What’s wrong with him?” Fogle asked her.
“It’s the underling poison. The wicked little things have many tricks. Their juice can turn men against one another. The brute slugged my horse. He’ll have to pay for that.” Nightmare trotted up to Fogle and snorted in his face. “Jubilee, don’t make me tell you again. Bind him.”
Jubilee looked up at Fogle and swallowed. She slinked into the woods and returned moments later with some cords. Close behind him, she whispered, “Do something!”
Jarla’s a good fighter, and we’ll need every one of them we c
an get in this war against the underlings.
“Can we not have a truce, Jarla?” asked Fogle. “I’ve not committed any offense against you. And by the looks of things, you don’t have any brigands left but the three of us. I’ve just shown what I’m capable of. Wherever you want to go, you’ll need me. It appears this world is filled with underlings.”
“I don’t need anybody! Jubilee, bind this man, or I’ll slit you from head to toe!”
Fogle sighed. “I tire of this.” Behind his back, he grabbed the cords from Jubilee and flung them at Jarla.
The cords came to life and ensnared the woman, making her drop her sword.
Astonished, Jarla yelled, “Don’t you dare—”
The cords secured her mouth.
Fogle smiled pleasantly at the imprisoned woman. “You’re not in charge. I am.”
CHAPTER 10
The bickering. The murmuring. The grumbling. Elypsa lay in a cot inside her cell within earshot of all of the humans. A smile played on her lips. She wasn’t out of danger yet, but things were working in her favor.
They are foolish not to kill one such as me.
It had all started with the compassion of the dwarves. The beast’s kick had done plenty of damage to her. Its hooves had jostled all her guts and broken some bones. It had knocked her out cold, but her spine had not been broken as the men suspected, so once she awoke, she had played along. She was still playing along. The longer she appeared harmless, the easier it would be. People didn’t have any idea what to do with a female underling. She lay back on her hands.
Fools.
The females of the bearded ones were excellent healers. They knew the secrets of Bishen soil. It had rejuvenated Elypsa more than they suspected.
Moreover, when the opportunity presented itself, Elypsa had worked with the dwarves’s vials and jars to come up with her own concoctions. Like most underling women, she’d been encouraged to spend decades dabbling in potions and mixtures. It had bored her, but now she was seeing the benefits.
It’s only a matter of time.
Her abilities had gained her influence over Mood. A single touch had put him under her spell. She could learn much from him. She had learned much already. All she needed to do was convince him his friends had betrayed him. And this was quite possible, because she hadn’t killed the dwarvesses. The tiniest smile touched her lips at the memory of watching it happen.
The Darkslayer: Series 2 Special Edition (Bish and Bone Bundle Books 6-10): Sword and Sorcery Adventures Page 4