Maria Snyder - Taste Of Darkness

“I’ve heard rumors about a Skeleton King down in Ryazan Realm. He’s gathered an army and is marching north.”

“Bad news. We encountered him once when searching for Avry, and barely made it out alive.”

“I sent a scout.”

From Ryne’s dour expression, Kerrick braced for more bad news. “And?”

“The scout returned with a package for me. The Skeleton King sent me a crown made from human bones and a note.” He sighed. “He warned me that he was coming and he planned to conquer—his word, not mine—both Cellina’s and my forces. And that when he is victorious over us all, I will crown him with this special crown.”

“How much of a threat is he?”

“Pretty big for us. For Cellina, not so much. She has over two thousand living troops and close to a thousand dead ones. Plus a dead-ufa pack or three.”

“Could that be another reason she’s pulling out of Zabin? Clearing the way for the Skeleton King to come after us? Then with the sneak attack from the north, you’ll be caught between them.”

Ryne cursed. “Another reason why I need you, Kerrick. To find out how many troops the Skeleton King has. My scout learned nothing of value.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

Kerrick wrote a message to Noak and left soon after, heading south to Zabin. Traveling through the night, he avoided the various patrols, but he kept track of animals in the forest, seeking a loose horse. In the morning, Kerrick skirted small towns and farms, hoping to find someone willing to sell or rent him a mount.

By midafternoon he finally spotted two horses grazing in a large pasture near the woods. Summoning all his magical strength, Kerrick turned his skin and clothes to normal before leaving the forest. Each step forward required a concentrated effort. By pure determination, he reached the farmhouse.

He found the horses’ owner and, if the man thought Kerrick’s strained demeanor odd, he didn’t seem to care once the two gold coins hit his palm.

“No saddle,” Kerrick whispered to the farmer. “Just a bridle. Please bring him to the forest. I’ll be waiting there.”

Kerrick’s legs shook as he hurried to return to the living green. As soon as he entered its domain, he collapsed.

Two seconds later, or so it felt, the man arrived with the horse in tow. “Hello?” he called, almost stepping on Kerrick. “Harper’s all ready.” He walked farther in.

Drawing on his final reserve of energy, Kerrick stood, changed to normal and caught up to the man, who jumped about a foot when Kerrick approached from behind.

“Thank you,” Kerrick said, taking the reins.

The man nodded and then bolted back to his farm.

He’ll have an interesting story to tell his family. When the man disappeared from sight, Kerrick mounted Harper. The dark brown horse instantly turned green, brown, orange, red, and yellow, exactly matching Kerrick and the rest of the forest. Handy.

Kerrick had a day and a half to reach the rendezvous spot. He spurred Harper into a gallop.

CHAPTER 8

“You can’t,” Flea said after I explained what I needed to do to save Yuri’s life.

I placed the syringe carefully on my pack to free my hands. “It makes the most sense.”

“What if the serum doesn’t work?” Flea dropped Yuri’s hand and moved around to my side of the cot. “You can’t die. We need you.”

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