Born of Darkness (William King) - William King Page 0,22

growled as he crept forward.

Rodric said, “Never seen them behave like this before, abbot. Not even when we were hunting those spider-demons in Bogwood.”

Gerd nodded. “Maybe they’ve been listening to me too much. Now, boys you know I was only joking. There’s nothing that bad down here. Ask Sir Kormak, he’ll tell you.”

“They’re dogs, Gerd. They can’t understand what I am saying.”

“With that Aquilean accent of yours, you’re probably right. I struggle with it myself.”

The smallest of the dogs continued to move forward. It crept along on its belly, as if it was stalking something. Kormak looked at Rhiana.

“I don’t sense anything in there. Doesn’t mean there is nothing there,” she said. “It could be masking itself. “

“If anything can do it, a bloody Old One can,” said Gerd. “They are masters of magic. Live and breathe it. Comes as easy to them as eating expensive meat and farting does to my dogs.”

Kormak moved beside Fang. The dog looked up at him and did not growl. Kormak went up to the vault door. It swung open easily on its hinges. Fang whimpered but kept moving forward. The other Shadowhounds kept their distance.

Kormak entered the vault.

He moved to the spot where the chancellor had fallen. The dog scampered along with him, as if desperate for the company. It sniffed the area where the body had been, alternately whimpering and growling.

Kormak strode deeper into the room, heading towards the sarcophagus. The others followed. Rodric had to drag the other dogs. Rhiana looked gloomy. Gerd looked worried as he limped along.

Kormak saw nothing except the mounds of treasure chests. He paid particular attention to the area on top of them. The monster might still be lurking there.

Gerd slapped the head of the mace against his palm. He squinted into the darkness then limped up behind Kormak. He was quiet now, giving his full attention to their surroundings. Kormak missed the man’s chatter. The silence was ominous.

He moved up to where the open sarcophagus lay. He checked the angles of attack from the aisles of treasure chests.

None of the dogs, not even Fang, wanted to get close to the coffin. Rodric glanced around fearfully. He had clearly never seen the hounds behave this way before.

Rhiana moved over to Kormak’s side. Shadows danced away from the flickering torch. He noticed how clean the edge of the pearl’s glow was compared to the constant shifting of the pool of torchlight’s boundaries.

“Well, it’s open, you were right about that much,” said Gerd, bending to inspect the coffin. He squinted at the runes.

“You’re probably right about them being binding signs although I have no idea what some of the other ones are for.” Gerd leaned closer and gestured for Rhiana to bring the light closer. “It looks like some of them have been damaged.”

“Deliberately?” Kormak asked.

“Take a look for yourself.”

Some of the runes were defaced. It was possible someone had done that with a chisel when they were attempting to open the coffin. He said as much.

“Maybe,” said Gerd. “But who would do that? All of the sailors know they would be skinned alive for tampering with the Treasure Fleet’s cargo. Why take the risk?”

“Because they were greedy,” Kormak said.

“Royal Marines guard those chests,” Gerd said. “No one is more loyal to the King-Emperor.”

“Still they can be tempted, like any other man.”

“Maybe but it does not make any sense. Why this particular thing, a coffin, why not a casket of jewellery?”

“Because they wanted the seals broken and whatever was in it to get out,” Kormak suggested.

Rhiana said, “Cargoes get tossed against each other, particularly when the seas are rough. You’ve seen what a storm on the World Ocean is like, Kormak. This might all have been an accident.”

“When it comes to Old Ones being unleashed I don’t believe in accidents,” Kormak said.

“It doesn’t mean they can’t happen,” said Rhiana.

Gerd shrugged. “Does not really matter. Someone tampered with the coffin or it was smashed open by accident. The main thing is that whatever was within it got out and we need to find it.”

“The coffin could have been tampered with here in the vault,” Kormak said.

“By who? The chancellor? That old man served the bloody King for twenty years and the king’s father before him for twenty-five more. He was no more likely to take anything from here than I am.”

“So it’s a fifty-fifty chance then,” said Kormak.

“I suppose you think that’s funny.”

“Well, I know you need the gold, Gerd. You’ve told me often enough since you got to