The Hungering Flame (19 page)

The flap of the tent in front of him flew open, and a bleary-eyed man in his underwear, holding a sword, blinked at him.

“
Hi,
”
Garrett said, and turned to run up the lane to the left.

“
Hey!
”
the man shouted, giving chase,
“
One, moving east!
”

Two armored soldiers skidded into the lane in front of him, and Garrett turned sharply, nearly losing his grip on the scroll tube behind his back. The tent flap beside him jerked open, and Garrett darted inside.

“
Thanks!
”
Garrett said, rushing past the confused soldier who held the flap.

“
You
'
r
e
wel... Stop!
”
the man blurted out, making a grab at him, but Garrett dove forward and rolled beneath the canvas at the back of the tent.

He came to his feet, face to face with Johann Prex.

The Inquisitor stood there, dressed in a red silk nightgown, with a burning torch in one hand and a gilded
war hammer
clutched in the other. A crazed grin split his face, his eyes glinting in the torchlight. Behind him loomed the dark outlines of jagged boulders and, beyond that, the sheer drop of the cliffs.

“
Oh, no!
”
Prex laughed, gasping for breath,
“
You aren’t escaping justice!
”

Garrett lurched to the side, but strong hands seized him from behind. More armored soldiers and men in varying states of dress surrounded him, their weapons drawn.

“
One down. South depot perimeter!
”
the man on his left shouted, so loudly that Garrett’s ear stung.

“
He had this, Inquisitor,
”
the man on his right said, holding out the scroll case.

Prex sneered, handing his torch to a nearby soldier. He stepped forward to take the scroll.
“
What are you stealing?
”
he said.

“
Inform the Skyhammer,
”
one of the soldiers said.

Prex’s eyes flashed in anger.
“
Don’t bother to wake him,
”
he said,
“
I can deal with this.
”
He looked down at Garrett once again.

“
You’re going to regret waking me, boy,
”
Prex hissed, leaning so close that Garrett choked at the smell of his breath,
“
You’re going to regret it very...
”

“
Foe! One! Ghou...
”
a soldier’s shout was cut off by the solid smack of fist on flesh.

An inhuman roar split the night, a
s well as
the scream of a Chadiri soldier as he sailed
through the air
, just behind the bewildered inquisitor.

Two more soldiers wheeled, dropping into fighting stances, only to be knocked aside by a charging ghoul.

“
Warren!
”
Garrett shouted.

“
No!
”
Prex screamed,
“
I will not...
”

Warren’s hairy fist drove upward into Johann Prex’s belly, lifting him off his feet. The man landed a few feet away, his knees wobbling beneath him. Prex fell on his backside in the gravel, his eyes bulging.

Warren turned, his eyes blazing red, spit flying from his ragged jaws. It was the most beautiful thing that Garrett had ever seen.

The two soldiers released Garrett’s arms, but not quickly enough. Warren seized both men’s heads in his claws and smashed them together as Garrett ducked. He turned and caught the downward-swinging haft of a
war hammer
and bashed its owner in the face with his own weapon.

Three more Chadiri charged forward. A sword blade whistled through the air, aimed at Garrett’s head. He let himself collapse to the ground, neatly ducking the blade, and rolling toward the soldier’s feet. A boot came down on his back, pinning him to the ground. Then, just as quickly, he found himself crushed at the bottom of a pile of soldiers, only one of them still conscious.

Garrett groaned for breath. He felt the boot of the swordsman kicking at him as the man tried to extricate himself from beneath his downed comrades. Warren roared, adding his weight to the pile, and Garrett’s ribs bowed under the pressure.

The meaty
thunk
of steel on fur turned Warren’s roar into an agonized howl. Garrett sucked in a breath as the ghoul and the swordsman rolled off the pile, locked in a death struggle. Garrett tried to crawl out from under the senseless soldier still atop him, but the rush of energy he had felt in his wild escape attempt had spent itself. He lay there, exhausted and helpless, gasping for breath.

A man screamed once, and then a series of three heavy blows, landing in rapid succession. Then Garrett heard only Warren’s labored breath, ragged and wet. Then Warren let out a whining growl and loped over to lift Garrett free.

“
Thanks, Warren,
”
Garrett gasped.

The ghoul grinned at him. The gray fur of Warren’s left shoulder glistened, dark and matted with blood. Warren set Garrett on his feet again and turned him around. He grasped the shackle cuffs between his great claws and pulled hard, grunting in pain. The chain links broke, freeing Garrett’s hands. Warren released him, and Garrett stumbled forward before Warren caught him again.

Garrett wrapped his arms around his friend, squeezing with all the strength he had left. He let his arms drop to his sides then as Warren held him by the shoulders and looked down at him.

“
Dogs, Garrett!
”
Warren groaned,
“
You look terrible.
”

Garrett laughed,
“
You should see yourself.
”

Warren frowned, then his eyes lifted toward the sound of men approaching.
“
We’ve gotta go, Gar.
”

Garrett nodded, following Warren toward the cliffs. Then, suddenly, he turned and ran back to where the scroll tube lay on the ground near the Inquisitor.

Garrett stooped to pick up the wooden tube, snatching it back as Johann Prex, still too dazed to stand, made a grab for it. Garrett looked into Prex’s bulging eyes and remembered the dragon rider’s words. Unfortunately, his mouth was far too dry for spit, but he grinned anyway.
“
I’ve had worse,
”
Garrett laughed.

Johann Prex made a feeble lunge toward Garrett as the boy hurried away toward the cliff face.

The night wind whistled over the bluff as Garrett drew near. Warren was desperately searching for something along the dark rocky edge of the cliff.

“
Boneash!
”
Warren growled,
“
Where is it?
”

“
Where’s what?
”
Garrett asked. Looking back, the soldiers were getting awfully close.

“
The way down!
”
Warren said,
“
We’re gonna hafta climb it, Gar.
”

Garrett stepped up to the edge of the bluff and stared down into the black abyss below. The clouds above obscured the moon and draped the Astorran lowlands in a sea of darkness. His foot slipped as a crumbling stone gave way beneath him, and Warren caught his arm.

“
Foes! Two. South wall,
”
a man shouted.

Garrett looked back to see two Chadiri soldiers closing in on them, blades drawn.

Warren growled in frustration and dropped into a feral crouch, waiting for them.

The two soldiers staggered to a halt, just out of striking range. They raised their swords defensively, waiting for others to arrive. They would not have long to wait.

“
Climb for it, Gar!
”
Warren shouted,
“
I’ll hold ‘em off.
”

Garrett held the scroll tube in both hands like a club and stepped up beside his friend.
“
I’m too tired to run anymore, Warren, Let’s just fight ‘em here.
”

Warren grinned, his eyes flickering red in the light of approaching torches.
“
Do you think we should give ‘em a chance to surrender?
”

Garrett laughed.
“
Wouldn’t it be great if we beat the whole army ourselves?
”

“
No reason we can’t!
”
Warren said.
“
Well, boys,
”
he growled,
“
let’s get started!
”

The ghoul feinted toward one of the red-armored warriors. The man raised his sword and stepped back. His companion, seeing an opening, lunged forward, swinging his blade at Warren’s flank.

The man screamed in alarm as black claws seized him by the shoulders and lifted him off his feet. With a beat of two great leathery wings, the man was carried over the edge of the cliff and released to tumble, howling into the abyss.

“
Devil-kin!
”
the other man cried out, his eyes wide with fear.

“
Garrett!
”
Marla’s voice called from above. Garrett looked up to see a black shape against the darkness.
A
great bat-
winged
creature landed
on its
gangly
hind and forelegs
on the ground next to Garrett with hardly a sound. The gaunt swiveled its eyeless, horned head toward him and made an annoyed clicking sound. Marla, dressed in a high-necked leather jacket and leggings, sat astride its back. She wore a pair of goggles with amber-colored hexagonal lenses over her eyes. She leaned over, extending her hand.
“
Get on!
”
she said.

Garrett took her hand, and she pulled him up behind her on the gaunt’s back.
“
Warren,
”
he gasped.

“
Don’t worry,
”
she said,
“
Claude will get him.
”

Suddenly a massive black gaunt landed between Warren and the remaining Chadiri soldier. The gaunt shrieked, an ear-piercing noise that made Garrett’s teeth ache. The man staggered back toward the line of charging soldiers behind him, his eyes wide with horror. Astride the gaunt’s back rode a pale, thin boy with long, dark hair, clad in the same riding garb as Marla. He half turned and shouted at Warren,
“
Get on!
”

Warren wasted only a moment in surprise before he leapt onto the back of the huge gaunt, already lifting from the ground. Marla’s gaunt as well stretched its wings out and loped forward toward the edge of the cliff on its long hind legs. Garrett wrapped his arms, still clutching the scroll tube, around Marla’s waist and buried his face in her flower-scented hair. The ground fell away beneath them, and they dropped in a stomach-churning fall. Darkness rushed past their bodies for a dizzying moment, then the gaunt caught the air in its wings and soared away from the cliff. The roar of the wind filled Garrett’s ears.

“
I’m so glad to see you!
”
Garrett shouted, his lips against Marla’s raven hair,
“
How did you find us?
”

“
I found the wolves,
”
she said,
“
but Warren had already gone to the camp to find you. His friend told us what happened.
”

“
Friend?
”
Garrett said.

Marla placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently. She looked back over her shoulder with a smile.
“
I’ll explain later. Let’s get above these clouds,
”
she said.

The gaunt beat its leathery wings, climbing higher. Cold fog buffeted Garrett’s face for a long while. Then, the gaunt burst through the upper layer of the cloud into the clear night air above. A full moon shone in the star-strewn blackness. Below them, an ocean of clouds rolled like a silvery mountain range. Marla laughed, spreading her arms wide, and leaned back against Garrett as her dark hair washed over him. He held her with what strength he had, the sick fear of his ordeal draining from his body, leaving him utterly exhausted with a dull ache that throbbed in every muscle. He had never felt better in his life.