The Place of Dead Kings by Geoffrey Wilson

Author:Geoffrey Wilson [Wilson, Geoffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Alternative History
ISBN: 9781444721140
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2012-10-11T21:57:30+00:00

17

Wind blew down from the mountains, whipped up the snow and spun it into eddies. Flakes splattered Jack in the face and the cold seeped through his clothes and into his skin.

‘It’s coming down hard again.’ Rao shivered and hugged himself.

Jack looked up. Rao was right – swarms of snowflakes were tumbling once more from the clouds. He could still see the savages’ tracks ahead of him, but within a quarter of an hour they would be smothered.

Damn. When would the weather clear? He and Rao had had a good morning and made excellent progress, but now, with the snow setting in, they would have to find shelter again.

He glanced at Rao. He couldn’t risk a repeat of last night.

Rao must have understood his thoughts because he managed a tight smile and said, ‘I’m fine. Much better than yesterday.’

Rao looked well enough so far, but Jack wondered about himself. His leg muscles ached and his chest was tight. Shooting pains jabbed his torso, bad enough for him to have to shut his eyes and concentrate for a moment to blot them out.

They plodded on for half an hour, the wind building, the flying snow thickening and the late afternoon light starting to fade. Finally, Jack had to admit that the tracks had completely vanished. He would have to go into the trance again, but he knew that would weaken him further.

He was about to stop, when Rao pointed at a stand of trees to the left and said, ‘Wolf.’

Jack squinted, blinking flakes from his eyes. A grey-white shape flitted within the woods, followed by several others.

‘Those damn things just keep following us,’ Rao said.

‘They’re hungry.’ Jack drew his pistol. He was going to have to use a precious bullet. ‘I have to meditate again. I’ll scare them off first.’

He blasted once into the air and most of the wolves vanished instantly. A few remained, however, prowling up and down and watching with their yellow eyes.

Jack fired twice more, the wind kicking the acrid smoke straight back into his face. Finally, all the wolves slipped away. But now he had no bullets left.

All they had was Rao’s weapon.

He scanned the area for somewhere sheltered enough for him to meditate. A fir a few yards away looked suitable, but then he noticed black marks in the snow near to it.

Tracks?

He started off towards the tree, Rao following close behind. As he drew closer, he could see the indentations were human footprints, slowly being buried by snow, but still clear.

A shiver ran up his spine. He didn’t like the look of this.

Rao peered at the ground. ‘Savages?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good, then we’re still on their trail.’

‘No. Look, there’re only a few footprints. Must have been only two men.’

‘So, they separated from the main group?’

‘Looks that way. But there’s something else.’ Jack crouched and studied one of the marks more closely. ‘These tracks are fresh. Can’t be more than fifteen minutes old. Otherwise they’d be covered by now.’

‘Fifteen minutes?’ Rao’s moustache stiffened and he cast a wary look around him.

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