the darkness they would be easy prey.
“How far down do these things go?” Rhiana asked. “All the way to the Kingdoms of Dust?”
“Not quite that far, I hope,” Gerd said.
Rhiana said, “They stink of age.”
“The catacombs were here before the palace was,” Gerd said. “A long time before. The Solari built a fortress on this spot long before the Sunken Kingdoms vanished beneath the waves. It was their first outpost in the Old Kingdoms. Legend has it that they found the armour of the angel waiting for them in an abandoned temple complex.”
The image of the great citadel of Khazduroth filled Kormak’s mind. In some ways these catacombs reminded him of the dwarven city. They were not built on the same epic scale but they seemed to go almost as deep and cover a similar area.
Rhiana said, “My people’s legends say that the angel was always here. They thought it was a sentinel guarding against something.”
“I wonder if it was meant to guard against things like the Old One we’re hunting,” Gerd said. “A bloody hand would be nice.”
“We’re on our own,” said Kormak. “No angel is going to help us here.”
***
Vorkhul moved deeper into the darkness, eyes adjusting. He had no sense of colour anymore. All he could see were shades of grey. No matter. He could rely on his enhanced senses of smell and hearing.
The hunters would never give up as long as there was life left in them. So far they had not been tempted to unleash their hounds.
It came to him that he knew this section of the labyrinth. He had been here before in his wanderings. These corridors and cells were laid out in a skewed grid. He could circle back and come upon his pursuers from behind.
He bared his fangs in a snarl. If he moved fast enough he could be upon them while the hounds still led them on his trail. He could pick off their rearguard, take them all one by one.
A growl of satisfaction rumbled deep in his chest. He would be the hunter. The humans would be his prey.
***
“By the Holy Sun, I’ve never seen an Old One change shape so quick,” said Gerd. “And I’ve fought almost as many as Kormak here. This one was different.”
“They’re all different,” Kormak said. “Every last one of them. They all have strange powers. They all have different shapes. They all do different things. It’s what makes them what they are.”
“Why the hell would anyone sent one to the King of Siderea,” Gerd said. “Couldn’t they just have sent normal assassins like anybody else?”
“I don’t know but I intend to find out.”
“And I’ll help you but first I think I’ll need to have a little lie down. My bloody leg is killing me.”
Gerd’s limp was more pronounced. He brought up the rear. Kormak gave his attention back to the hounds. Fang had slowed a little and was sniffing the air in a puzzled manner. The torches flickered as if the flow of air within the catacombs had changed.
Fang gave a faint whimper, as if he sensed something was wrong.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
VORKHUL PADDED CLOSER through the gloom. A green glow marked the presence of the hunters. The odours of their weapons irritated his nose and made his eyes water. His heightened hearing picked out the bickering of the humans and the whimpering of the smallest hound. It sensed his presence somehow. No matter.
He extended his claws and sprang. Ahead of him stood the squat human who had thrown the sunflare. Vorkhul’s claw took him through the chest. Long sharp talons pierced the links of the armour, penetrated flesh and slid through the gaps between ribs.
Razor edges ripped through human meat. They sliced vertebrae and nerve cord, slashed internal organs. The Old One howled with pure pleasure as his prey screamed. He licked the metallic tasting blood that splashed his lips. He closed his jaws on the man’s neck, rending flesh, tearing arteries.
The human with the deadly sword turned his head. His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, blade bared. The sea-woman with the odd scent whirled her torch to make it blaze brighter. The big man unleashed the dogs.
The largest of the beasts coiled to spring. The smaller bared its fangs and growled. Vorkhul threw the spasming body of his victim towards the humans then sprang back into the darkness. He raced away, daring the mortals to follow.
***
Kormak watched Slasher bound off into the darkness, howling. Gerd fell, blood fountaining from his throat.