Born of Darkness (William King) - William King Page 0,14

soldier screamed and fell. Then a torchbearer went down, landing on his torch. Flesh sizzled. Skin burned. It became darker.

His enemy tossed aside two men as it closed. Kormak stabbed. His foe writhed to one side, avoiding the blade’s point.

A blow of sickening force struck Kormak on the side of the head. All went black for a second and then stars flickered across his field of vision. As in a nightmare, he moved too slowly to counter attacks he could see coming. The thing struck him again. A spike of agony ripped through his chest.

A flare of light erupted all around him, bright as day. As he rolled clear of his foe, Kormak caught sight of King Aemon surrounded by an incandescent halo of power.

He turned his gaze back on the thing that had attacked him. Its form flowed as it sought to adapt to the light that pained it. Its limbs lengthened and shortened. Its skin became scaly and reflective. Its head always remained wolf-like. Glowing eyes glared around with malevolent hatred.

Gathering all his strength Kormak sprang forward, lashing out with his blade. It cut into the creature’s leg, drawing greenish blood. Flesh burned where the blade bit. The thing pulled its limb away and hurled itself into the air. It landed atop a pile of treasure chests and skittered away into the darkness. Its agonised shrieks receded into the distance. The soldiers pursued until Prince Taran pulled them back.

King Aemon looked down at Kormak’s bleeding form. “Are you all right, Sir Kormak?”

“I’ve felt better,” Kormak said. He tried to pull himself upright but the world spun and he fell forward into darkness.

CHAPTER SIX

KORMAK WOKE IN the chambers assigned to him. Morning sunlight filtered in through the drapes. A man in the crimson robes of a physician stood over him. When Kormak tried to sit up his chest burned. Red stained bandages covered his ribs. His sword and his amulets lay close to the bed.

Rhiana leaned over him. “What happened to you?” she said.

“I forgot to wear my armour.”

“It looks that way.” She smiled in the tight nervous way that people do when confronted by the sick.

“I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Let’s hope.” She sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out and took his hand. “Seriously—what happened? I’ve seen you fight your way through a mansion full of armed men and barely take a scratch. You look as if you were tied in a sack full of starved ripper-fish.”

“An Old One,” Kormak said. “A powerful one. Somebody unleashed it in the Imperial Treasure Vaults.”

“What? How did it get in there? We are in a fortified citadel, ringed round with magical protections, under the light of a sunstone, near a Cathedral in which the armour of the Angel Zhamriel sits. I would have thought that if any place in the world was safe from Old Ones this would be it.”

Kormak shook his head. “The coffin itself might have protected whatever was in it. It was made of orichalcum. That shields against magical influences. The question is who put it there?”

“You think this was aimed at the King?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

“Why? The thing almost killed you.”

“That’s one of the reasons.”

“I am glad to hear you say that.” King Aemon’s soft voice carried across the room. Kormak wondered if he had just entered or whether he had always been there. The former seemed most likely. He doubted that even Rhiana would have spoken the way she had if the King had been present.

“Forgive the intrusion,” the King said. “I came to see how well you responded to my prayers.”

“You healed me, sire?”

“I prayed. The angel answered. Your wounds closed.”

“Thank you.”

The king reached down and patted Kormak gently on the shoulder. “It was nothing. The thing fled in fear of your blade after you wounded it. It was all I could do to hold it at bay. It was very strong.”

“It was, sire, and very fast too. Stronger and faster than almost any Old One I have ever encountered.”

“It is loose now in my palace. It slaughtered the men standing guard at the vault door and escaped into the dungeons below Palace Rock. Unless it has died of the wound you gave it, it is down there still.”

“It won’t have died.”

“That is unfortunate. As it fled, it killed a score of my best men, left almost as many crippled and it took only the one wound you gave it. Something needs to be done. I