The Hungering Flame (6 page)

Warren shrugged and swallowed.

“
Did you ever find your dad?
”
Garrett asked.

The older ghouls barked out rough laughter.

“
Yeah,
”
Warren said,
“
he’s all right... just not very happy.
”

“
Sorry,
”
Garrett said.

“
Nah, it’s not your fault,
”
Warren said.
“
I’d have come looking for him anyway.
”

“
Good thing you found us,
”
a brown-furred ghoul with a gravely voice said,
“
Otherwise you mighta missed all the fun.
”

Warren grinned.
“
Garrett, this is Chunnley,
”
Warren said, indicating the brownish ghoul. He gestured to a pair of ghouls with brindle fur beside him.
“
Those two are Diggs and Scupp, brother and sister.
”

“
Pleased to meet you,
”
Garrett said, nodding his head. He hoped they would not be offended that he did not offer to shake hands.

The ghouls nodded back at him with crimson grins. Garrett could hazard no guess as to which one was Diggs and which one Scupp, or which one was the sister, for that matter. Though ghouls wore no clothing, their lean anatomy, shaggy fur, and hunched postures kept things rather ambiguous.

Garrett took a large bite of his sandwich and chewed. Despite the tough outer crust, the brown bread proved spongy, soft, and delicious. He savored the crunch of he bacon within.

“
This is really good!
”
Garrett said, stuffing another bite in his mouth.

“
Thank you,
”
Chunnley said, nodding his head.

“
Chunnley’s the camp chef,
”
Warren said,
“
I had one of his pies this morning. It was the best I ever had!
”
Warren grinned at the brown-haired ghoul.
“
We’ve gotta convince him to come back with us when this is all over.
”

“
You’re not from Wythr?
”
Garrett asked.
Ghouls were a tribal folk, and h
e had assumed that all the ghouls in the army would be from the city.

Chunnley shook his head.
“
Me and some o’ the others are nomads now,
”
he said,
“
since the redjacks burnt us outta our home a few years back.
”

“
Where were you from, anyway?
”
Warren asked.

“
Daggelden,
”
Chunnley answered,
“
Upside they called the place Brenhaven.
”

“
Really?
”
Garrett said,
“
I’m from there too!
”

Chunnley grinned widely and stood up,
dropping a well-gnawed bone to
extend his paw to Garrett.
“
Good to meet you, neighbor!
”
he said.

Garrett
hesitated only a moment before
lean
ing
across
to
sh
ake
hands
with the ghoul. He did
his best to hide his discomfort at the dampness on Chunnley’s fur.

“
Hey,
”
Warren said,
“
Chunnley’s probably eaten your grandad or something! It’s like you’re family!
”

Garrett and Chunnley shared a nervous laugh as they sat back down.

“
I’m sorry about your... well,
our
town, boy,
”
Chunnley said,
“
It was a beautiful place.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Garrett sighed,
“
My dad and mom had a bakery there.
”

Chunnley’s eyes brightened.
“
Was it the little shop on Stannan Lane?
”

“
Yeah!
”

“
I loved that place!
”
Chunnley exclaimed,
“
I learned to bake there!
”

“
You knew my parents?
”
Garrett asked, his face incredulous.
Before meeting Warren, Garrett had never seen or even heard of a ghoul in Brenhaven.

“
Well, not exactly,
”
Chunnley said,
“
I knew their work well, though.
”

Garrett gave him a questioning look.

“
Your family used to leave the stale bread out at night... for the poor,
”
Chunnley said and then chuckled.
“
Stale
... their stale bread was better than most people’s fresh! Anyway, I would stop by whenever I could and pick up a loaf. The honey bread was... ahh.
”
A large, clear drop of saliva fell from Chunnley’s jaws onto the table with an audible
pap
.

“
I learned as best I could,
”
Chunnley said,
“
I had to sniff at it to guess the ingredients. Sometimes, your dad started work early enough, and I was able to peek in through the kitchen window to watch him work. The guard almost caught me once or twice, but it was worth the risk.
”
Chunnley sighed, lost in thought.

“
I didn’t know about them leaving the bread out,
”
Garrett said,
“
I guess they did it after I went to bed.
”

“
They were good people,
”
Chunnley said,
“
They helped people they never even knew that they helped.
”

Garrett nodded. He suddenly didn’t trust himself to speak. He sniffed, fighting back tears.

“
We’re from Dunburrow,
”
one of the sibling ghouls said, breaking the awkward silence.

“
Yeah,
”
the other one said, her voice betraying her as the sister of the pair,
“
we heard about the war, and now here we are!
”

Garrett forced a smile and nodded again.

“
Well...
”
Warren began, but Prince Cabre’s arrival interrupted him.

“
Garrett, Warner,
”
the Prince said,
“
I’m glad I found you!
”

“
Warren,
”
the ghoul corrected him.

“
My apologies,
”
Cabre said,
“
I need...
”
His voice trailed off as he stared at the red-faced ghouls and the pile of half-eaten flesh heaped on the table before them. His gaze lingered on a Chadiri boot with a
shinbone
protruding from its cuff.

“
Hungry?
”
Chunnley asked.

“
Ah, no...
No
thank you,
”
the Prince said, tearing his eyes away from the grisly
feast
,
“
I hoped my two friends here could help me with a problem.
”

“
We
are
notorious problem
solvers,
”
Warren said, clapping
Garrett
on
the
back. Garrett cringed
at the paw-shaped damp spot
in the center of his back,
and managed a tense grin.

Cabre nodded.
“
I need someone to help me speak with Master Zara.
”

Jitlowe snickered into his wine cup.

“
Garrett
is
a notorious problem solver,
”
Warren said,
“
He’ll be happy to help.
”

“
Thank you, Garrett,
”
Cabre said,
“
I appreciate your assistance.
”

Garrett stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth and rose,
giving Warren a hard look before
waving goodbye to his
tablemates
.

He followed Prince Cabre through a shadowy maze of stacked crates, all painted with the symbol of a red hammer.

“
Chadiri supplies,
”
Prince Cabre said,
“
your friend would appear to be an accomplished tactician.
”

“
Yeah, I guess so,
”
Garrett said.

“
I’m afraid he doesn’t care much for Astorrans, though,
”
Cabre said.

“
You
said you
went to school with him?
”
Garrett asked.

“
Yes,
”
Cabre said,
“
we were classmates at the academy in Weslae.
”

“
Where is that?
”

“
It was a duchy to the North of Astorra,
”
Cabre said,
“
but the Chadiri burned them out and clamed their land. Duke Zara was your friend’s father. I was two years junior to the younger Zara at the academy.
”

“
And he’s mad at you because the Astorrans didn’t help them fight the Chadiri?
”
Garrett asked.

“
My father saw no advantage in it,
”
Cabre said,
stepping in front as they passed through a narrow gap between stacks of crates,
“
He didn’t want me at the academy anyway. It was my mother’s idea.
”
he looked back at Garrett and smiled.
“
My father said that books rob a man of courage and are suited only to women and monks.
”

Garrett laughed.
“
I don’t think my uncle would get along with your father at all,
”
he said.

“
In any case, I’m sorry that we didn’t help the Weslaens,
”
Cabre said,
“
When the great library burned, mankind lost a piece of its soul.
”

They emerged from the crates into a sprawling field of armor, weapons, and gear of all sorts, piled into heaps. Dim sunlight crept in through the main tunnel, adding to the green glow of dozens of witchfire torches affixed to poles atop the piles. Here and there, zombies moved among the gear, taking or leaving, accordi
ng to their orders. Near
the door, Garrett sighted
Max
and Cenick standing beside Marla
and
watching her as she
knelt and worked a stone pestle in the glowing bowl of an obsidian mortar.

“
Hi everyone!
”
Garrett called out.

All three looked up, smiling, but
Max
’s smiled disappeared when he saw the prince at Garrett’s side.

“
Have a look at this,
”
Cenick said, waving them over,
“
Marla’s showing us how to extract essence from the creatures of the swamp.
”

“
Hi Garrett,
”
Marla said, then nodding at his companion,
“
Prince Cabre.
”

“
My lady,
”
Cabre said, bowing deeply,
“
I had thought your exceeding beauty perhaps the fancy of my gratitude, but seeing you again, I must admit that my wearied eyes did fail to see the true measure of your grace.
”