The Ghost Princess (Graylands Book 1)

by M. Walsh

  Krutch resisted the urge to start screaming at the man—knowing he was most likely referring to Lily. If he was going to convince Drake and the Sentries to head west, it wasn’t the time to call him out on his fanatical cult crap.

  “Say you’re telling the truth,” said Drake. “How long until this Daredin sacrifices the woman?”

  “The—um—what was it..? Devil’s Moon!”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “That’s awfully convenient for you to say, isn’t it, Leeroy?” Wells snarled at him. “That leaves us with no time to get reinforcements, no time to drop you off, and pretty much forces us to bring you along, doesn’t it?”

  Krutch’s eyes widened. That is actually pretty smart. Wish I thought of that.

  “Major,” she continued, turning to Drake, “we can’t believe this little bastard. He’s setting us up.”

  Drake sighed. “This is why we need a Mage. They’d know if something was going down.” He shook his head and looked at Vogel. “What do you think?”

  “I’m no Mage,” Vogel replied. “But there are definitely dark energies at work here. I wouldn’t trust Mr. Leeroy, but I think there might be some truth to what he’s saying.”

  The camp fell silent, trying to decide what their move should be. Then an idea occurred to Krutch—a shady one he was reluctant to pursue. Although he felt uncomfortable doing it, he said, “You know Lily Blackthorn is down there, too.”

  Vogel was visibly struck. Krutch had his undivided attention.

  “Blackthorn..?” said Drake. “Isn’t that the girl you’re looking for?”

  “What do you know of her?” Vogel asked.

  “She’s caught up in this, too,” said Krutch. “I was traveling with her. She’s trying to save Katrina.”

  Vogel’s eyes narrowed. It was an unpleasant look that made Krutch even more ashamed he dropped her name. “You say you were traveling with Lily Blackthorn?”

  He nodded.

  “And she’s trying to ... save ... this Katrina woman..?”

  There was something about the way he said it Krutch found peculiar. Almost like he was surprised she would try to help. He decided not to dwell on it, thinking there was no sense in attempting to guess what this guy thought of her.

  “Major Garrison,” Vogel said. “I don’t know what you and your people intend to do, but it seems I’ll be heading west.”

  “Wait a minute,” Dillon cut in. “You’re not really buying this shit? Not from him.”

  “He couldn’t know what I was after unless he actually has met Lily Blackthorn. And I do believe she’ll be there, one way or another. And if what Leeroy says is true, then I absolutely must be there.”

  Drake nodded, thinking to himself. Finally, after pacing around some more, he said, “Okay. Vogel, if you’re heading west, then we’re going with you.”

  “But sir,” said Dillon, “After that shit with the gargoyles, we won’t have reinforcements for at least another day. We’d be going alone.”

  “And what about Leeroy?” asked Wells.

  “If this is as serious as he claims, then we can’t afford to spare anyone to take him to Canton. So that means he’s coming with us.” The other Sentries looked displeased with this, but Drake added, “Who knows? The little prick might actually come in handy. Rest up. We move out first thing.”

  * * *

  The night was cold, and the moon offered little light in the dark. Lily didn’t bother to camp or rest, feeling she’d best try to cover as much distance as possible since she was traveling on foot. Even if she found a horse, it wouldn’t have done much good. As a demon, animals didn’t like her—which was a shame, she felt, because she always did want a pet. Probably a dog.

  Fortunately, feeding on Carlyle Hawke gave her a healthy boost of energy. Even though she didn’t gain his knowledge of sorcery, his power would allow her to push herself all night without rest. She figured that just as well. Aside from needing to get to Katrina before they killed her, Lily didn’t want to consider trying to sleep and feeling Carlyle’s essence haunt her nightmares.

  The choice wasn’t easy, but the tough truth was saving Katrina needed to take priority over Krutch. The Sentries were law enforcers—they wouldn’t just kill him in the middle of the road and dump his body in a ravine. As harsh as it sounded, and as much as Lily hated to admit it, the truth was Krutch could wait.

  Daredin was going to sacrifice Katrina in an old watchtower near the Blind Cliffs. The land between the ruins and the cliffs was harsh badlands—not quite a desert, but dry, rocky, and rough terrain. Powdered snow sprinkled the ground in patches, and were she a human being, the bitter, cold air would no doubt cut into her skin.

  Luckily—to a certain and dubious extent—she was a demon and therefore immune to the elements. Besides, as cold and raw as it was, the Dark Lands were much worse. She remembered that much.

  What Lily tried not to dwell on was what she would do once she reached the tower. It was a massive stone spire, standing at least a hundred feet from the shore—connected to the mainland only by a single bridge. Jagged mounts of rock lined around the tower, like spiked platforms, and all stood about two hundred feet above the ocean.

  Even if she got into the tower unnoticed, Daredin had a small army of followers—around thirty disciples, a dozen orcs, and some remaining gargoyles. He even had a handful of mercenaries to act as guards. Although she had found Krutch’s gun before she left the ruins, it only had one shot remaining. Aside from that, she just had her daggers.

  Coming over the summit of a tall hill, Lily saw a small shack not far off. There were no lights or sign of life, and she assumed it to be abandoned. She had a few hours to dawn and still a ways to go before she reached the tower, but decided to indulge a brief rest—and maybe figure out just how the hell she was going to save Katrina by herself.

  The shack was a simple rectangle with a single half-wall in the center dividing the two rooms. The wooden walls were bare and worn, and there was only the faintest scent of age and dust. It otherwise smelled like the outdoors, which told her this place had been abandoned for so long it might as well not even be there. The floor creaked beneath her feet, and she decided she wouldn’t linger or touch anything out of fear the place might collapse.

  She looked up at the moon above—now almost full. The Devil’s Moon was tomorrow, and that, apparently, was critical to Katrina’s sacrifice. She wondered why that was—in fact, that often seemed the case when dealing with these things. If not the moon, then probably the alignment of the stars. Or maybe it had something to do with the tide. The humidity ... it was always some seemingly arbitrary thing.

  Thinking about it, she found herself sympathizing with Katrina. Here they all were, random strangers that had nothing to do with one another, all drawn together because a long time ago, some old coot declared at a certain place, during a certain time, if a certain woman was killed in a certain way, something would happen.

  She thought the whole idea of destiny was there was some great plan behind everything. That some force—be it a god or simple fate—had a grand design for everything and everyone. And yet, in truth, it seemed more like the whims of madmen manipulating random events.

  When she was traveling with Katrina through the woods, Lily never ruled out she might indeed be the girl Kader was searching for. How could she have known? For all she knew, Kader did need a demon for some purpose.

  Either way, she didn’t want to get drawn into anything that might expose her. It was always wiser to steer clear of the affairs of wizards and seers—especially when one is a demon. More often than not, when a demon was involved in the schemes and plans of men manipulating destiny and prophecy, it was usually as a slave or getting burned at the stake.

  Then why are you not running in the other direction? Lily asked herself. You’re no hero.

  No, she wasn’t. She knew that. But Katrina had been kind to her. She was willing to stick her neck out for her, despite knowing so little about her. Krutch did,
too—even if she suspected that might have more to do with her succubus charms—and once Katrina was safe, she was not going to leave him to the Sentries. Lily did not abandon her friends, and for better or worse, she allowed herself to consider Katrina and Krutch friends.

  And she supposed, in the end, a part of her wanted to stick it to destiny, too.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” said a voice behind her.

  She screamed and bolted out the door, feeling like she discovered a bug in her hair. Catching her breath, she looked inside and saw she wasn’t alone. Standing in the shadows, lighting a cigarette, was a short, thin man with scruffy brown hair and two scars marking his unshaved face. He had a strange smirk and stared at Lily with empty, gray eyes.

  “You..?” she said. “I remember you. You ... your name was ... Scifer, right..? Scifer ... Bréag..?”

  “It’s what some people call me.”

  She crossed paths with him once before. He was a man of ... enigmatic reputation. In some parts, he was regarded as something of a hero. In others, he was a shady mercenary. Most places hadn’t even heard of him. And almost nowhere was anyone sure of his real name. Whatever he was, he was someone who only appeared where there might be violence.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Oh, you know,” he said, shrugging. “Just lurking.”

  That didn’t tell her anything, but based on what little she knew about him, it was probably best not to press the matter. But then again, she thought, maybe their goals were linked?

  “You’re a little out of your way, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “I could say the same about you.”

  “Okay, enough. Are you doing anything about Jacob Daredin?”

  He only stared at her, blankly.

  “Come on, Scifer. There’s no other reason for you to be out this far in the middle of nowhere. If not Daredin, then something to do with his planned ceremony.”

  “Maybe I just ran out of pirates,” he murmured.

  “What..?”

  “Suppose I do. What’s it to you..?”

  “Daredin and his followers kidnapped a friend of mine. They’re going to kill her, but I’m going to try and save her. Unless that clashes with your plans, maybe we can help each other..?”

  He yawned. “I wouldn’t say ‘clash,’ but helping you might complicate my ambitions.”

  She sighed. Scifer Bréag—if that was his real name—could be a difficult man to deal with. In fact, it was often best not to deal with him at all. But there was one thing Lily knew she could appeal to. If there was one thing Scifer had trouble turning down, it was bloodshed.

  Putting on a girlish, cutesy smile, she said, “Please..? You’ll get to kill things.”

  He stared at her, with vacant gray eyes. He finished his cigarette and threw it to the ground. “You drive a hard bargain kid.” With a sigh, he said, “Oh well, you can’t spell slaughter without a laugh.”

  24

  Katrina nursed the bottle of liquor, but by the following morning, she had finished it and was pretty drunk. The thought occurred to her to break it and use the shards to cut her own throat—but unfortunately the bottle couldn’t be broken. It was either not glass or an especially hard kind. Either way, hitting it against the floor did nothing except attract the attention of her guards.

  She was not usually an angry drunk. The only times she ever got into a fight at the bar was when she’d gotten black-out drunk and was provoked. However, the more she drank, the more sullen and hostile she felt.

  Her depression from learning her own people hated her and sold her out to Rasul Kader transitioned to a seething anger. She felt restless and mean. She felt like an animal trapped in a cage—which she kind of was.

  When she saw the bottle couldn’t be broken, she checked her pockets for anything that might be useful. All she found was a pair of matches and the talisman she was given back in Dictum. Upon finding it, she grimaced in disgust, spit on it, and threw it at the far wall of the cell.

  Her guards weren’t cultists. They appeared to be low-level mercenaries Daredin hired to act as guards. They watched her with a kind of bemused interest. Occasionally, one would try to taunt her or goad her into a conversation. She responded with foul words in a variety of languages. Speaking Eldér made cursing sound too pretty and amusing. Common would get the job done. Asperan was better. Graigish cursing was always the best.

  But really, she paid little mind to the guards standing around, trying to make her do drunken tricks. Sometime around noon, a guard approached the bars offering food. Katrina responded by throwing the empty liquor bottle at him.

  “If you shits want to get me something,” she snarled. “Get me another bottle.”

  The guards all laughed amongst themselves, and one said, “You heard the lady! Get her some more booze!”

  Another large bottle of liquor was rolled into the dungeon, and Katrina started drinking, hoping she’d black out sooner or later. The guards—aside from finding their drunken prisoner entertaining—believed getting her intoxicated would make her easier to handle when it came time to sacrifice her.

  This would prove to be a mistake.

  * * *

  Lily and Scifer stopped for a brief rest shortly after dawn—not that the sun brought much light with it. Like Lily, Scifer had been traveling on foot—apparently animals didn’t like him either—and walking through the southern badlands was tiring. They spoke little, and she figured that just as well. He had agreed to assist her, but she knew enough not to trust Scifer Bréag.

  When Krutch told her of his strange curse, she was skeptical. But she sensed no evil in his soul—not like her preferred choice of prey. He was not a perfect man, but Krutch had a decent heart—despite everything his reputation said about him. Lily was able to realize he must’ve been telling the truth.

  Scifer was different. She sensed darkness in his heart and could see malice hidden behind his staring eyes and empty smile. She didn’t know if he knew what she was, but she knew from the moment she first crossed paths with him what he truly was. In a world of demons and beasts, Scifer Bréag was a human monster. Under different circumstances, she might have chosen him for her next prey, but he had his uses, and she needed them now.

  “So what’s the deal with this Daredin fellow?” he asked, smoking a cigarette.

  “He’s some kind of warlock,” she said. “He believes if he kills my friend with this magic dagger under the Devil’s Moon, he’ll become a god of evil.”

  “I see,” he said. “How does that work?”

  “Some prophecy, apparently,” she said, shrugging. “I’m sure there is some explanation for how magic dagger, plus certain woman’s blood, times special phase of the moon, equals power—but I have no idea what.”

  “Math was never my strong suit either.”

  “He thinks if he becomes this god, he can become the next Dark Emperor and unite the Dark Lands under his rule.”

  Scifer chuckled, though dismissively. “I guess if you’re going to dream, dream big.

  “He’s a fool.”

  “Eh..?”

  “Daredin,” she said. “Even if this stupid prophecy of his is true and works, he has no idea what he’s getting into.” She paused and continued, more to herself, “There’s a reason there’s only been one Dark Emperor in a thousand centuries.”

  Lily reflected on her conversation with Krutch the other day and her explanation of what the Black is. She tried to explain it as simply as possible, but she knew firsthand there was far more to it. Evil was as good a description of the Black one could find, but the truth of the matter was evil is just a word.

  In her time living among humans, Lily had experienced what they referred to as evil. Marauders, killers, rapists—pretty much all the people she preferred to feed on—and the cruel people like Daredin and his ilk that use and abuse the innocent for their own gain or satisfaction. But true evil—what dwells deep in the heart of the Dark Lands—was something beyond
mortal understanding.

  And that was why Jacob Daredin, his cult, and all the other would-be dark lords and warlocks were fools. They merely dabbled in the Black. Children playing villain. If they truly gave themselves over to it, the Black would swallow them whole. If any of them dared travel to the heart of the Dark Lands and see the powers that called it home, they would tear their own eyes from their heads.

  Even demons like her—succubi, orcs, gargoyles, and the like—were at the lower levels of the Black. There were no names for the abominations that lived beyond the Dark Lands’ borders. Evil—true evil—was something few could comprehend.

  Except that it was always hungry.

  She expected Scifer to ask more questions, but he only shrugged and finished his cigarette. In the distance, by the horizon, she saw the moon glowing through the clouds—a bright, reddish-orange—and felt a chill. Even in the morning, the Devil’s Moon was upon them, and by nightfall, it would be glowing from the top of the sky like some demonic eye.

  “Let’s get going,” she said. “We still have a long way ahead.”

  As they resumed their trek, Lily took a final glance at the moon. She honestly did not believe stopping Daredin was a matter of saving the world or making it a better place, even if his prophecy was true. She just wanted to save Katrina’s life and the lives of any other innocent people who would get trampled by Daredin’s childish idiocy.

  She could only hope she might succeed where she had failed the Hammonds.

  * * *

  The Sentries were moving before the sun was fully up—not that anyone could see the sun. The days had grown dark, and the thick clouds above were gray and threatening. There was a gentle breeze and some occasional flurries, but the day was otherwise unnaturally calm. There was a foreboding energy in the air. A distinct feeling of dread like one before a violent storm.

  To the annoyance of Lt. Wells, Krutch shared her horse. Because they were so pressed for time, and lacking a spare horse, they propped him up behind her and strapped him down to ensure he didn’t try anything. As they rode, he could feel her tension and discomfort. Every so often, she glanced over her shoulder and flashed a look that said: Even think of trying something, I will kill you.