Dead Time Series

by Jason Wilcox

  DEAD TIME

  SERIES

  Combined Edition

  NOVELS

  BY

  JASON WILCOX

  Seventh Wave Books, LLC

  Book One

  Dead Time: Azgiel’s Return

  Book Two

  Dead Time: Redemption

  Coming 2014-15

  Book Three

  Dead Time: Dead Sea Horsemen

  Dead Time Series

  Combined Edition

  Copyright ©2012 by Seventh Wave Books, LLC

  All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Seventh Wave Books, LLC

  2012

  Seventh Wave Books, LLC

  www.seventhwavebooks.com

  First Electronic Edition: 2012

  The characters, names, incidents, organizations, dialogue, and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Dead Time: Azgiel’s Return and Redemption: novels/ by Jason Wilcox. -Combined ed.

  ISBN-13: 978-0615650449 (pbk)

  Cover design by Jason Wilcox

  Printed in the United States of America

  For

  My Love

  Katie

  &

  In Honor of

  My brother Danny

  Who serves his country with honor, and valor.

  And to all others that are serving to protect our freedoms.

  BOOK ONE

  AZGIEL’S RETURN

  CHAPTER 1

  A deep, low-toned snort woke Tagen. He stayed perfectly still, wide-eyed, and nostrils flaring. All of his senses alert and focused on the edge of the forest. His black oily skin aided him in blending into what little darkness was left of the night. Deep and rapid breaths wafted steam into the air, but years of experience took over subtly and automatically, as he quickly slowed his breathing.

  Peering through the darkness in the direction of the snort, Tagen could only see the thick interweaving screen of enormous trees in the ancient forest. Lying there, Tagen tensed his body, preparing for any possible danger that might come with his next move. With one quick movement, he came to his feet. Taking two short rapid steps, he moved even deeper into the shadows of a large boulder.

  Following the single snort, a loud silence filled the woods. All of the normal sounds associated with the woods at night had now ceased. He continued to look over each of the shadows that formed under the thickness of the trees, seeking to identify which might mean danger, or even his life. He narrowed his dark red eyes to mere slits in order to see farther into this forest that he had been charged to patrol, but he found nothing. Swallowing his fear, Tagen clutched onto the massive boulder at his back. Using his black-clawed hands, he readied himself to enter the rock.

  Tagen worried that creatures were peering out from the forest, searching just as intently over the landscape as he. The feeling of malevolence that hung in the air gave an impression that unalterable events were yet to come.

  The border of the forest stood a short distance away from Tagen’s position, which added to his heightened awareness. That snort had come so quickly, he had not been able to tell what caused it and felt unprepared with what might happen next. Hundreds of years had passed since the last time creatures had ventured forth, but rumors were spreading of sightings happening more frequently, putting everyone on edge.

  The creatures within were unpredictable. Tagen himself had seen demons at the edges twice in the last week. They had stood in the shadows just staring at him. In both instances, they moved back into the deep forest and out of sight. These sightings had left him feeling uncomfortable and anxious.

  The eerie silence that surrounded him now only made his fears worse. He could feel his taut muscles already beginning to twitch slightly. A twig snapped in the woods. After a couple of long drawn out minutes, a series of heavy footsteps followed. Pushing his back against the cold, rough surface of the boulder, he watched and waited, aware of everything around him.

  Finally, a dark figure emerged, but remained within the shadows. Long, wicked looking horns glowed in the setting moon’s light. Tagen tried to swallow, but the tightness of his now dry throat made it impossible.

  He hated demons. Nasty creatures! He felt comfort in knowing that chances were the demon would just stand at the border for a moment and then move back into the shadows, like the others in the past. They knew better than to come out of their land. Doing so would cause a war that supposedly no one wanted, but that’s why Tagen was there, to watch.

  A large cloud of steam rose from the darkened figure as it breathed. Then two more demons appeared; all of them now in close proximity. Tagen’s widened eyes took in everything. Cautiously, he shifted into shadow form, which made him invisible to most demons, but unfortunately, not all.

  Moving warily, all three of the demons now emerged from the thick forest. Dark horns stretched upward from their heads. Black obsidian eyes scouted the area as they stayed close to the perimeter of their land. Since nothing had come out of the ancient woods over many hundreds of years, the patrols were reduced to almost nothing, reassigned to other tasks. This left the solitary Tagen in no position to take on three demons, especially with no backup available.

  The dim morning light illuminated the demons’ diverse pigmented colors of skin, one red, one brown, and the last black. With no further warning, the red one came completely in to view. Involuntarily Tagen sucked in his breath.

  Kaz!

  Tagen’s muscles tightened and his breathing grew heavier. Tagen hadn’t seen Kaz in over a thousand years. He pushed himself harder against the rough surface of the moss-covered boulder. What would bring Kaz out of hiding? He was the last demon Tagen wanted to mess with. Making matters worse, Kaz glanced in Tagen’s direction, tilting his head and narrowing his cold, black eyes. Black tattoos in ancient writing lined the side of his face.

  Being in shadow form, Tagen melded into the rock’s surface. Only his face remained, partially sticking out. Kaz looked away and the three demons marched forward, passing by. Closing his eyes for a second and taking in a deep breath, Tagen relaxed. He took one last deep breath. Now he had to get back to give his report that demons had come out of their land. Snyp wasn’t going to like this news.

  Moving slowly, Tagen exited the cold stone, causing the rock to let out a groaning sound. Tagen froze. Holding his breath, he looked in the direction the demons had gone. Nothing. He slowly let out a breath. They’re gone. Relief flooded him.

  Something moved behind Tagen. He swiveled, but it was too late. Green sparks and chips of rock flew in Tagen’s face as a double-bladed axe slammed into the boulder, missing Tagen by a hair’s breath. Grimacing at the miss, the large black demon brought the axe back, his white tattoos of ancient writing on his face and right arm glowed in the morning light.

  Wasting no time, Tagen tore off through the boulder. Another near miss from the axe struck next to him, nicking his shoulder as he exited the opposite side of the rock. The large axe’s blade had a strange, small vein of something green crisscrossing in a web-like pattern. With ease, the black demon came in for another blow. Tagen dodged and twisted, moving with supernatural speed to the backside of the demon. Tagen slashed him across the back. His venomous claws caused black smoke to waft from the wounds. The demon growled and fell forward against a tree.

  The large wounds grew in size as a thin, black oily venom moved across the surface of the flesh. Screaming in pain, the demon dropped his axe and reached
his arms in the air.

  “Degnar mekna”, the demon screamed in an ancient language. Tagen recognized the healing chant.

  Turning his head slightly, the demon looked at Tagen. Red flames shot from his eyes as well as the wounds. Tagen wasted no more time, bolting straight into the ancient forest.

  The wounds would slow the demon, but the healing would be rapid. If Tagen could enter the thick woods without any of the demons seeing, he might be able to make an escape. They would never expect him to enter their domain. It was a death wish for a dark soul to go in there.

  Tagen dashed through the shadows of the demon’s woods. Shafts of light from the rising morning sun pushed the night away, stabbing through the canopy of leaves. Tagen zigzagged to stay in the darkness. He glided with inhuman speed through the cold mist that still clung to the ground. It twisted and swirled in his wake. He knew his life would be over if the old powers in the woods caught him here. The risk was necessary.

  Something flickered by a thicket of trees in front of Tagen. He jerked to a halt, instantly blending into the branches and foliage of a low hanging tree. Eyes wide, he did a 360-degree scan of the woods. Did I lose the demons? Everything was silent and still. He rubbed a hand over his face. As long as he hadn’t been seen by whatever had flickered, he might be okay. His odds of surviving were improving.

  Tagen peeked through the leaves, and saw a flash of silver. He strained his dark red eyes, peering toward the area of movement.

  A preel!

  The demons used the silvery, beetle-like creatures as scouts, to warn them of intruders. They had the ability to see dark souls, whether the dark souls were in shadow form or not. This was not good. Spotting the preel was a huge blow to his hopes of getting out of the woods, which contained all sorts of creatures. They were merciless and relentless about keeping everything off their lands. There weren’t nearly as many of them after the ancient wars took their king Azgiel. After his demise, the Witch took command, but her fight was short lived, and all the remaining ancient powers remained in these lands. A stronghold, but also their prison.

  Rubbing his claws together, Tagen scanned the area, studying every shadow and object. He checked for more preels or worse, demons. What if the Witch had already been notified? Not seeing movement, he wondered if the small preel had seen him. He had to act. If he retreated, the preel might see him and raise alarm. He had to kill it. Without another thought, Tagen dashed toward the beetle-like creature, claws extended.

  His speed gave the preel no chance as it turned dark orange and emitted a high-pitched squeal. Tagen grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth. With his sharp, black teeth, he tore it to shreds. Satisfied, he swallowed. Just as the lump of shell and legs made its way down Tagen’s throat, a large shape emerged from a group of bushes about ten yards away. Leaves and twigs clung to the brownish skin. The preel must have been traveling with a demon. The large demon stood tall and broad, but his response to the scream was slow.

  Tagen dove through a large bush and bolted. He heard a loud horn as he darted through the trees. It echoed through the forest. His life was on the line, and the line was dwindling. He had to get out of the woods. I should have never come in here. He ran as fast as he could, making the trees blur as he passed them.

  Suddenly a creature with the head of a jackal jumped out and slashed at him with large claws, splitting his right bicep. Black blood spattered across the undergrowth and poured down his arm. A rank, pungent, odor wafted from the blood, until the wound quickly healed. Tagen didn’t miss a beat as he dodged and accelerated. The edge of the forest neared, the trees grew less dense, and the sun shone stronger. All signs he was almost out, he needed to keep moving faster.

  The jackal-headed beast breathed heavily. The sound of his paws pounding the ground grew more remote as Tagen outran him.

  Tagen wanted to turn and destroy his pursuer. It would be so easy since it wasn’t a demon, but he couldn’t indulge the urge with the numbers that weren’t far behind.

  The rising sun shone stronger, and the thick, dank air thinned out as he exited the old growth. Tagen slowed to look back, his eyes searching the thick, unwelcoming, woods that he just left behind. Nothing came out. The relief was short-lived as a white, glowing figure appeared at the edge of the dark forest. Tagen stumbled.

  The Witch.

  He caught his balance and accelerated again. She never shows herself, and I don’t want to find out why she was willing to step to the edge of her woods. He knew there were multiple creatures and demons hiding in the shadows around her, and they would have snuffed him out like a small candle flame if he had been even seconds slower.

  Furthering his distance from the Witch’s territory, Tagen ran at a quick pace, passing around trees and through breaks in the thinning woods. He tightened his fists and growled. Going through woods had almost cost him his life. His heart was racing, and even though he wanted to sit and catch his breath, he knew he needed to get back and report to Snyp.

  A familiar scent wafted up Tagen’s skeleton-like nostrils, and he instantly stopped. He stood in a black shadow of a large tree, sniffing the air. He dug his claws into the bark with worry. He cautiously peered around the tree, his nostrils flaring, inhaling the scents. The tree let out a loud moan from his venomous claws. As he stepped forward, the lush greenness of the leaves transformed to brown and fell to the ground.

  The smell emanated from a small cabin that could barely be seen through the thickness of a grove of trees. Tagen had run farther then he thought. Humans didn’t live close to the ancient forest, or at least he didn’t think they did.

  As a gust of wind ripped through the trees, Tagen jerked back into the shadows and hissed, waiting to see what would happen. After a minute passed and nothing transpired, he crept soundlessly toward the small cabin as his clawed feet stepped over leaves and twigs. He glanced around, hesitated, then snuck up to the log exterior; and walked through it as if it weren’t there.

  Inside, a man lay asleep; his body sprawled on top of the sheets. Next to the bed, a large yellow dog grunted in her slumber. The light coming through the windows grew dim as Tagen used his power to darken the room. A few creaks and moans rolled through the cabin, making it sound as if the foundation had shifted. Tagen inched to the bed with his claws outstretched. The man rustled in his sleep and moved his arm. Tagen froze. After several seconds, he sniffed the air, a long forgotten scent. He bent down, his black skeleton-like face inches from the man. He jumped back.

  “Mauldrin,” he whispered in a scratchy voice. How could it be? You disappeared ages ago, and yet here you are, or so it appears. Tagen leaned forward noticing something strange about him. You’re mortal and feeble.

  Tagen still remembered the day he saw Mauldrin wipe out an army with just a swish of his hand. He shook himself, not wanting to be distracted with Mauldrin lying in front of him. How can it be you? It has to be some kind of trick or illusion.

  Nervously, he looked around the small barren room. Tagen twitched his fingers. Not only do you appear mortal, but you also don’t have anyone with you. Not even for protection. Everything felt wrong.

  He narrowed his eyes. If you truly are Mauldrin, you’re too much of a threat.

  Focusing his power, the thick darkness in the room solidified, starting from the ceiling. Tagen’s red eyes blazed. There was no telling what was going to happen if it was truly Mauldrin.

  A growl from the floor broke Tagen’s concentration, and the blackness in the room vanished. With amazing speed and agility, Tagen moved into a corner and became a shadow, ready to abandon the situation. Mauldrin sat up, pointing a pathetic handgun in his direction. Tagen tilted his head slightly in confusion.

  Can’t he see me? Why is he pulling a gun? Why isn’t he just attacking me?

  Mauldrin had more power in one finger than Tagen had in his whole body, five times over.

  Squinting, Mauldrin examined the corner where Tagen stood.

  Tagen’s muscles relaxed and he lowered his
claws. Mauldrin can’t see me, or he would’ve done more than just pull a handgun.

  Having Mauldrin there and awake put Tagen on edge. It was time to go. He needed to stick with the game plan, retreat and report. Moving ever so cautiously, Tagen slipped through the wall and exited the cabin.

  Demons coming out of the forest, and now Mauldrin has returned? Slowly and hesitantly, he started back. The sheer magnitude of the news astounded him. Tagen feared how his master would respond to such a report. Snyp was known for his unpredictable savagery and temper. Triaad’s power, which stretched across multiple worlds, would be threatened for the first time since the ancient war.

  “Or will it?” Tagen whispered under his breath. He dashed off, heading at a quick pace towards the cave. A new gleam sparkled in his eye. “With such significant information, maybe I will finally be exonerated and released from this enslaved position.” He couldn’t help but let out a silent chuckle.

  CHAPTER 2

  In one swift movement, Caden shot up from his sleep, gun pointed in the direction of Mags’ growling. His blue eyes searched the corner of the cabin. He felt a presence. Dream or reality? He slowed his breath and patted Mags’ soft, golden fur. She immediately stopped growling, but he could still feel the tenseness of her body.

  Caden holstered the gun back on the worn, wooden bedpost. He stretched his arms up to the ceiling and arched his back. Bumps rose on his arms, making his hairs stand on end. The cabin remained silent, except for the echoes of Mags’ panting.

  “What happened, Girl?” Caden asked, rubbing Mags’ back. “Did you have a bad dream?” Pulling his hands away, he ran his fingers through his light brown hair and let out a big yawn. Mags sat up with a tilt of her head. She wagged her tail, and then without warning she pounced, landing on Caden, almost knocking the air out of him.