Into The Fire: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Caitlin Chronicles Book 2) by Daniel Willcocks & Michael Anderle

Author:Daniel Willcocks & Michael Anderle [Willcocks, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2018-08-20T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Silver Creek, Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario

Dylan and Ash sat in the corner of Mother Wendy’s tavern, taking refuge in the shadows. It was quiet, with only a few groups of revelers lingering as Mother Wendy cleaned up after a long night.

Dylan took a long drag of his pipe. It was a habit he hadn’t particularly had before, but after finding the object in the governor’s room with a decent stash of dried herbs beside it, he thought he’d give it a try.

If the rest of the world is looking to set fires, might as well start a mini one of my own.

He coughed gently, his lungs almost used to the gritty texture of the smoke through his airways. Beside him, Ash took a deep draught from his drink and set it back on the table, his eyes wandering to Mother Wendy’s mammoth behind as she bent to pick something off the floor.

“You ought to watch that,” Dylan said.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Ash replied with a grin. When Dylan’s face remained straight, he added, “I know. I can’t help it. I’ve never been tied down before, and it’s difficult to keep myself under control.”

Dylan mulled this over. It made sense, really. Ash had been one of Trisk’s goons until recently. Even if he had the moral heart of a unicorn, he had always hung around with bad types. Some of that would have rubbed off on him over the years.

That didn’t stop Dylan feeling bad for Alice, though.

“Try harder. The CoR is unstable enough as it is, let alone the damn town. I hardly think a domestic between you love birds is going to help our cause, do you?” Dylan took a deep puff of the pipe, closed his eyes and reveled in the warmth of the smoke. “The last thing we need is for anyone to fall out or for word of a fracture to spread beyond our group. It’s all about confidence and the illusion that we’ve got everything under control.”

“We have, now. Haven’t we?” Ash asked. “We’ve got them all—the missing ones. Everyone is accounted for and dealt with.”

“That doesn’t mean we trust them. One of them tried to hide and sat in one of our houses, suffering from the friggin’ Madness. How can we be sure that no one else is at stage zero?”

“Stage zero?” Ash asked.

Across the bar, two gentlemen with thick mustaches and well-worn clothing chatted frantically, their heads so close to each other it looked like they were making out. A few tables behind them, a woman not much older than Belle sat, her body wracked with tears and a filthy cloth to her face.

“It’s what we call the beginning stages of the Madness. Before the outward signs show. When it’s nothing more than a parasite swimming in your bloodstream, waiting for its chance to attack you from the inside out. Stage zero, by all accounts, is the worst.”

“Which is why you’re so uneasy?” Ash said.

Dylan side-eyed his companion for a moment, studying his face.

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