Down the Dark Path (Tyrants of the Dead Book 1) by J Edward Neill

Author:J Edward Neill [Neill, J Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: J Edward Neill
Published: 2013-12-11T22:00:00+00:00

Glooms

For the fourth sunrise since entering Velum, Garrett saw no sign of the Furies.

The forest seemed a graveyard. Every dwelling he and Dank had happened upon was empty, every hamlet abandoned. Livestock roamed the open woods, but no sign of humanity remained. He had expected bodies, ruins, and the wails of widows and children in the night, but there are none.

“One wonders if this is Mormist anymore,” he grunted at Dank as he picked the thorns from his boots after a breakfast of bread and berries. “Or if you even know the way to Verod.”

“I know the way,” the little man said. “I could close my eyes and walk from Gryphon to Verod to Furyon and back. The forest is empty for good reason, my friend. The folk in the north served Lord Ennoch. They knew the Furyons were coming.”

“You imply they were in league with the enemy.”

“I imply nothing,” Dank retorted. “The truth is the truth.”

He frowned at that. “I assume you told this to Lord Emun. And if that is so, Emun knew all along. That would mean—”

“…that he sent his son willingly into a Furyon battleground?” Dank snorted. “No. He did nothing so wicked. I came to the truth only recently. It took Nentham Thure to show it to me. By that time, Emun was already gone.”

“The lords of Gryphon have long distrusted Nentham.”

Dank stood and slapped the dirt from his robe. “For good reason. It’s my belief Mooreye has allied with the Three Lords, and thus Furyon as well. The war goes too neatly for it to be an accident. The Furyons have their fingers in many pots, but those who bargain with snakes are oft bitten. If I guess rightly, the Furyons will honor none of the pacts they have made. The Object commands that only one shall be strongest, not many.”

Garrett shivered at that. The Object. He will not say what it is, and I will not ask.

The day’s journey began. The fog, thick and soupy as a Mooreye swamp, clung to every surface of the forest. More is the better, he thought as he marched. No one can see us. He walked for hours in the grey shadowstuff, clawing it aside with his fingers as though he were a breeze passing through. Later, when the air cleared and the sun tried in vain to shine behind a ceiling of clouds, he and Dank wandered through another three villages, all of them just as empty as the others. Doors were shut and marked with the letter ‘V,’ which he took to mean Verod. And I would be there, were I a better man. But instead I travel in the company of a warlock who meditates from dusk til dawn, mutters in his sleep about the stars, and cooks his suppers with violet fire.

Late afternoon, and the slopes became sharper, the trees closer together, and the vines more tangled. Velum’s floor, now a warren of fallen limbs and storm-slain leaves, stank of rot. We must be close, he thought.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.