The Lost Years Vol 1 by Brian Lumley

Author:Brian Lumley [Lumley, Brian]
Language: deu
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780340649626
Amazon: B000PILT20
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

IV

EXILED - TO EARTH!

Going down from the heights of the barrier mountains into Starside, Radu came upon a ragged handful of pitiful ‘survivors’ of last night’s vampire raid: men of the Mirlus, like Bela Romani, and of the Szgany Tireni and Szgany Zestos. He told them who he was and what he intended to do: lay claim to an aerie among the several as yet vacant stacks, and people it with thralls of his own. They were reluctant to join him; they ‘belonged’ to Hengor “the Gust” Hagi, or Lord Lankari, or the Drakul brothers, or - Lord Lagula Ferenczy!?

What? Lagula, a Lord of the Wamphyri? But… the same Lagula? Well, Radu must wait and see. But meanwhile he offered the vampirized group a choice: he would guarantee them his personal ‘protection’, swear them to his service, and proceed with them across the boulder plains… or they could die the true death right here in these barren foothills, with crossbow bolts skewering their poor decapitated bodies. And without more ado they went with Radu.

Their presence was observed; giant Desmodus bats from the various aeries reported their progress; they were in any event ‘poor quality’ thralls who had not warranted transportation on the backs or in the belly pouches of their masters’ flyers. But when they headed for a middling, unoccupied stack in the outer circle of great upthrusting aeries, that attracted rather more attention. Too late to do anything about it, however, for Radu and his followers had taken all of the long Starside night to come across the mountains and boulder plains, and already the sun was burning on the higher ramparts of the greater stacks.

This was the time when the Lords slept, normally in north-facing rooms on the permanently dark sides of their aeries. It was not a time when they would launch out on their flyers simply to investigate the odd behaviour of a handful of ‘branded’ thralls! Perhaps the thralls themselves were merely being cautious and taking shelter from the sunlight. All well and good; this was a sign of some intelligence among them at least! Come sundown they’d doubtless proceed to the stacks of their rightful Lords, who had recruited them in Sunside.

But they didn’t. Radu, less fearful of the sun than most vampire Lords, had put his men to work at once. They had inhabited a cave near the foot of the stack, fortified its entrance, found bolthole passageways onto other levels and down onto the boulder plains, and generally made themselves as ‘comfortable’ as possible. Cold comfort, true, but Radu was still learning the way of things.

And a lot more to learn yet, be sure…

Sundown, and Lord Egon Drakul sent a thrall and flyer to see what was what. He had beasts to feed and two of these errant thralls were his, destined for the provisioning of Drakstack. The thrall landed his mount at the foot of the suspect aerie, went striding into the scree jumbles, and disappeared. And in a little while,

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