Jon Sprunk - Shadow’s Lure

As Arion remembered, his stomach clenched. “The inside of the house became as dark as night. And there were these… things…”

Sybelle pushed away from his father. “What kind of things?”

“I don’t know how to explain them, except that they seemed…”

He would have stopped there. Every eye was on him, magnifying his shame. But Sybelle leaned closer. Her gaze burned into him.

“It seemed like the darkness shattered into pieces and came to this man’s aid,” Arion said. “Like they were his pets, or guardians.”

A couple of the captains chuckled. His father just looked away.

Arion struck the table with his open palm. “Ask the others if you don’t believe me! Better yet, go down to the infirmary and see what those things did to Okin’s face. It doesn’t matter. Stiv and I are going back out to find this man.”

The duke rubbed his lips. “That’s out of the quest-”

“An excellent idea,” Sybelle interrupted. “You should find this person and bring him to justice. Lord Soloroth will accompany you.”

Arion shoved himself back from the table. “I don’t need any help from your demon spawn-”

“Careful.” Sybelle raised a finger. The dark irises of her eyes reflected no light. “Soloroth holds his honor as dearly as you. Erric, as you have heard from your progeny’s own words, the maneuvers in the south are well under way. It is time to consolidate your control of this land. We cannot strike southward until our flanks are secure.”

The duke reached for his cup. “As you say, Sybelle. It is time for Eregoth to bow to one master. Wine!”

Arion stood up. Without a word, he turned away.

“Son!” his father called. “Come and we’ll have supper. A feast to celebrate your return. We’ll broach a cask of wine…”

But Arion kept walking, out the door and down the empty hallway. And the witch’s laughter followed him.

C aim awoke to the smell of wood smoke and opened his eyes to see Kit floating above him. Her long, silver hair hung loose about her shoulders.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

Caim opened his mouth, and then closed it. He hadn’t expected her back in such a good humor. It made him suspicious. But now wasn’t the time to get to the bottom of it. Knowing Kit, she would let him know why when she was good and ready.

Hagan bent over the fire pit. His pan nestled in the embers, giving off an aroma of sizzling meat. Beef this time. Caim pushed away his blanket and took stock of his condition. His leg was stiff, but it felt better than the day before. His face didn’t hurt as much either. When he probed the area around his ear, flakes of dried blood came away on his fingers. The gouges in his back weren’t as deep as he’d feared. Good thing, or I’d be crippled.

When he reached over to put on his boots, a jolt ran up his right forearm. Pulling up his sleeve, he peeled back the bandage. The flesh underneath was torn like his leg wound and sore to the touch. He pulled off his shirt and started ripping it into strips.

When he had rewrapped his arm and donned a fresh shirt from his pack, Caim scooted up to the fire. The morning was bitter cold. Holding out his hands to the warmth, a memory came to him of another bitter winter, of him and Kas sitting across the table in their ramshackle cabin, shivering over plates of beans and mutton while a blizzard wailed outside. He could see the old soldier’s grim smile as he joked about people someday finding their frozen bodies.

Hagan held out a steaming cup. “ Cha? Not strong enough by a fair measure, but it’ll warm you up.”

As Caim took the cup, Kit brushed against him.

“I already checked for poison,” she said. “But he’s a good man. You can trust him.”

Caim almost choked on the hot, bitter liquid. If this was weak, he didn’t want to know this man’s idea of a proper cha. Still, it was hot, so he drank until the cup was empty, whereupon Hagan filled it with browned meat from the pan. They ate in silence. More snow had fallen in the night. It covered their tracks and made everything look new and clean, as if he had dreamt the apparition that attacked him. He would have liked to ask Kit about it, but while Hagan looked rather old, he didn’t seem hard of hearing.

They washed out their cups in the snow and packed up. Grabbing his gear, Caim walked out from under the tree with only a slight hobble. Hagan didn’t wait for him, but started off toward whatever landmarks he used to guide his path. Caim was content to trail behind. It wasn’t like he was going to lose the old man out here in the wilderness. While he walked, Kit kept pace with his strides.

“Where have you been?” he asked her in a low whisper.

“Right here. I was watching you sleep.”

“I mean last night.”

“Why? Did something happen? Did the old guy try to cut your throat in the night?”

“Of course n-I thought you said I could trust him.”

Her laughter rang like a chorus of bells. “I’m just teasing. He’s a good egg.”

“Good egg, eh? Well, to answer your question, yes, something did happen last night.” He told her about the strange apparition and how it vanished into the night.

“That’s odd,” she said. When he gave her a strained look, she asked, “What?”

“Well, for a start you could tell me what it might have been.”

“Do I look like a ghoul hunter?”

Caim sighed and shifted the bundles on his shoulder to a new position. “Don’t get pissy. I just asked a question. It’s just that you’re… you know…”

“What? Fae?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.”

Hagan turned his head to the side as if he’d heard something, and Caim dropped his voice ever lower. “I figure you would know more about this stuff than me.”

“Not without being there to see it myself, or getting a better description than what you’ve told me so far.”

“I didn’t get a good look at it. The darkness seemed to, I don’t know, gather around the thing.”

“Well, that’s interesting, but what I was going to say…” She paused until he nodded for her to proceed. “I was going to say maybe I don’t know any more than you about such things.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it sounds like something from the Shadow.”

“Our guide says people disappear a lot out here.”

“So you’ll be careful?”

“That’s why I keep you around.”

She floated closer and put her arms around his neck. “I thought it was because you couldn’t resist me.”

“Go see where we’re going.”

Her teeth snapped at the end of his nose. “Fine. Be that way.”

Then she was gone. The sky had lost some of its color and now glimmered with an icy grayness. The breeze was slight, but with the exertion of hiking he didn’t mind the chill. In all, Caim felt like he was finally heading in the right direction. But within a candlemark, he started to slow again and pulled down his hood over his eyes. They kept traveling cross-country and stopped at midday to share a cold meal of bread and cheese provided by Hagan.

As the afternoon waned, Caim began to wonder where they would make camp. Hagan surprised him with an invitation.

“My home is close by,” he said. “Just past the next stand. You’re welcome to stay for the night.”

Tempted by the idea of sleeping under a roof, Caim assented, and Hagan adjusted their path a couple points westward. As the sky darkened, a ridge appeared before them. Denuded trees sprouted from its snowy slopes. At the base of the hill stood a small cottage. Tufts of grass showed through the snow covering the low roof. Squares holes covered by hide panes served for windows.