by Adams, David
At the far end of the dungeon a cell which was had never been occupied stood locked. As Kaelesh and party approached, a guard unlocked the door, moved into the cell quickly, and unlocked a second door at the back of the cell. Beyond this another stair descended, a spiral stair which fell into shadow after only a few steps.
Kaelesh excused the guard with a nod, took a torch from the wall just outside the cell, and led the way down the darkened stair. Landri followed, his insides already turned to ice from Praad’s insistent grip, his mind unable to even start wondering why Kaelesh had brought him here. His breath came in short, shallow gasps, his lungs having to fight to keep working. He was only faintly aware of Praad closing the second door behind them as they descended the stair.
Landri had never ventured into this lowest part of the castle, did not even know it existed. His father had been here once, exploring as a young boy, had descended these same stairs to find it led to a rat-infested access area to the sewers. But what Landri saw when he reached the bottom of the stairs was a large room, larger than any in the castle. It was well-lit, with torches along each wall and several braziers placed about the room. The area was warm and close, but did not reek of the sewers and was clean and dry. Landri took no note of the other doors which provided alternate egress from the room, doors which connected it to secret entrances outside the castle walls. It was through these that Kaelesh had been able to arrange for the construction of the chamber, right under the king’s nose.
The chamber was filled with over two hundred men and women, each dressed in black hooded robes highlighted in red. They faced the bottom of the stairs, each kneeling, and as Landri, Kaelesh, and Praad entered they bowed as one, their hands stretched out and their palms flat on the ground as if in worship.
Landri did not think they bowed for him, but even had he hoped so, the notion would have been quickly dispelled as Kaelesh said, “Rise, my acolytes."
They did as he told them, then waited in silence for him to command them.
“What do you think?” Kaelesh asked Landri.
Landri could not make his voice work, but he had no reply regardless. He could almost feel the life being sucked out of him through Praad’s relentless and now vise-like grip, as if Praad were some sort of vampire.
“That’s right,” Kaelesh said. “You do not think. You never really did. I should tell you how much I appreciated you opening the way for us to enter Corterra. In that you proved of some worth, and your role as king has yielded certain advantages as well. But you have always been but a pawn in a game, Landri, useful in your way but easily sacrificed when the time comes. I suppose it would not shock you to learn that the time is at hand.”
Landri was only vaguely aware of the meaning behind Kaelesh’s words. He only wanted the energy to pull free of Praad, to curl up somewhere and have the world go away, to be rid of the paralyzing fear and dread. Little did he understand that Kaelesh was ready to grant him this last, unspoken wish.
“Behold, my king, the Servants of the New Order. Skilled in the dark arts. Fearless. And hungry. They will rule not just in Longvale, but in Corterra. The dark powers are ready to claim this world, and to rule it forevermore.” He turned from Landri to his expectant servants. “Corterra is ripe. Take it. It starts now, here. The old must pass away so that the new may rule.”
Kaelesh stepped to one side and gestured at Landri with an open hand. “Feast upon him.”
Landri had never shown true courage, and the end of his life would not bring about such a transformation. But such was the effect of Praad’s grip upon him, upon his mind more so than his arm, that when the Servants of the New Order closed upon him, he did not even scream.
Epilogue
Uesra’s belief that the norgoblins would not return had proven correct. It had been five days since the encounter, and they had traveled undisturbed, with no indication that they were being followed or tracked, and with nothing impeding them. They knew that was a circumstance that would not last, but they were grateful for their good fortune while it lasted, and covered as much ground as they could each day.
The weather had been brisk but clear, but today heavy gray clouds covered the sky. Darius looked off into the distance, and through the gloom could see the shadowy outline of the Grim Mountains. A gust of wind made him shiver, and he pulled his elven cloak more tightly about him to ward off the cold. He looked up at the clouds, missing the sun already, thinking this day would be a less comfortable one but glad they were already moving. As he gazed skyward his eyes caught movement, and he squinted to better focus on what it was he saw.
The first snow had begun to fall.
End Book 1
(The story concludes in Sons of Evil: Book 2 Reckoning)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dave Adams lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife, daughter, and son. He has had over twenty short stories published in various magazines, mainly in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. This is his third novel.