Benjamin Ashwood by A. C. Cobble

Author:A. C. Cobble [Cobble, A. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 2016-05-26T04:00:00+00:00

By the time they entered the mess hall they had already searched most of the buildings at the Station and had come up empty handed. They were all in similar states as the officer’s quarters and the square. In some, it was obvious that the occupants had warning and had attempted to defend themselves. In others, they had simply died.

The mess hall was the first sign of real coordinated resistance. There was a barricade of flipped over tables and benches that had been shoved aside. Ben cringed when he thought about the strength it would have taken to move the pile.

They also found the first dead demons. Six of the creatures lay between the barricade and the back of the hall. The demons were covered in arrows and some had long spears sticking out of them. There were numerous wounds from edged weapons that had come from the piles of dead men scattered around the floor.

Ben stared at the dark shapes. They matched what he remembered from the attack in Farview. They were barrel chested and had thick overlong arms with stubby legs. Despite the appearance, he knew they could move quickly. The largest one of these would have come up to his chest but likely weighed twice what he did.

Small wings and horns on the larger ones drew the eye but the real danger was the curved claws at the end of each heavily muscled arm and mouthfuls of sharply pointed teeth that sprouted out of powerful jaws. Ben shuddered when he remembered how easily those claws had torn into William Longaxe’s stomach.

“Six of them!” exclaimed Renfro. “Do you think they got them all?”

“No,” answered Saala. “The men that were stationed here wouldn’t have fallen to just six demons. You saw the carnage outside. They were quickly overrun by a large swarm. It looks like they were able to slow them down in here and took some with them, but no one survived this.”

Suddenly, Lady Towaal shot ahead and knelt down next to one body. The man had taken a raking wound across his face but the sword next to him was stained in purple blood. He hadn’t gone down easy. Ben watched as she slid out her tiny belt knife and cut open the man’s shirt. It was glued to his chest with sticky blood. When she got his shirt open, she cut a cord and pulled out a small silver amulet. She pocketed it before Ben got a good look at it. He had no doubt though it was the artifact she had been looking for.

“Are we good?” Rhys was shifting his feet impatiently and looking towards the door. “It will be dark soon and we don’t want to be in this place when the sun goes down.”

“Yes,” she replied, “let’s get out of here and put as much distance as we can before we stop. I hope everyone is prepared to walk tonight.”

They didn’t need any convincing. A hot bath and a night under a roof

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