Even Gods Must Fall - Christian Warren Freed Page 0,84

make Piper believe each corpse had been drained entirely. A closer look showed their throats and wrists had been slit. He took in their desiccated figures, immediately noticing how shallow their midsections appeared. The sergeant stopped him before he moved closer.

“They’ve been gutted, sir,” he explained and gestured towards the far corner of the room.

Piper’s gaze followed the pointing finger. He bent over to void his stomach. Intestines were nailed to the wall in intricate patterns lost on the world of Men. Flies and gnats swarmed over the piles of organs on the floor. He regretted his decision and looked away. Piper stared back at the grinning corpses.

“They died with smiles on their faces,” he breathed.

The sergeant nodded. “Be damned if I can figure out why.”

“What dark arts have been at work here?” Piper asked a seemingly unanswerable question. The vast majority of the army knew nothing of the fell powers lurking behind Badron. The scene played out in this room was one of nightmarish intent. Piper felt his knees weaken.

“Sir, I believe these fellows came here willingly,” he said.

Piper’s eyebrow rose. “Sacrificed? For what purpose? This was Badron’s last defense. He had nothing to accomplish by holding it further.”

The sergeant shrugged, answerless.

“I want the task force ready to march at once. General Rolnir and King Aurec must be notified of this…this ritual. Burn this building to the ground. In fact I want the entire redoubt razed from existence. Evil cannot be permitted to remain in Delranan unchecked.”

Saluting, the sergeant wheeled about and began barking orders. Piper didn’t know why, but he had a sinking suspicion that foul times were fast approaching. He was no practitioner of magic but knew it when he saw it. Whatever, whoever, had invoked this ritual had done so with purpose. Evil had been loosed in Delranan. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.

TWENTY-TWO

With All Due Haste

“Six hundred and thirty-two.”

“So many? How does this compare to the amount of dead on the field?”

Rolnir took a bite from a green apple. The juice trickled down his chin. “Insignificant but more than could be expected.”

The battle was over almost as soon as it began. Less than an hour saw the demise of Badron’s main army. An army of conscripts and has-beens. They were never more than an idle threat to the combined armies of Delranan and Rogscroft but presented a major hindrance in the march west. The true battle awaited them somewhere around Chadra. With the link-up fast approaching, both men agreed they had lost valuable time dealing with Badron’s loyalists.

Their urgency was foreshadowed by an ominous threat lurking ever out of eyesight. Rolnir and Aurec both agreed that as long as Badron remained unaccounted for the threat was valid. There was no telling how many forces the former king had amassed in the capital or word of the defenses around the city. None of the scouts dispatched had returned--a minor but worrisome fact that didn’t sit right with Rolnir.

“We don’t have the capacity to deal with so many prisoners,” Aurec told him.

“There’s not much that can be done about that now. Executing them isn’t an option.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that, General,” Aurec said quickly to avoid raising unwarranted suspicion in his closest ally. “Nor can we leave them here.”

“Making our position undesirable at best,” the general concluded. “We’re going to have to take them with us.”

“A risk at best.”

Their respective columns had converged after the battle. Rolnir immediately dispatched riders to summon the king. The battle proved significant in that it removed a massive fighting force in the central portion of the kingdom. It was an army they could ill afford to have roaming behind them. Rolnir hadn’t required the additional strength in defeating the loyalists but was experienced enough to recognize the evolving threat. He didn’t know what lay ahead but the ill feeling settling on the back of his neck was enough to change the plan.

Aurec wasn’t that far away and their forces converged scant hours after the battle. Word was sent to General Vajna’s column as well but with orders to carry on according to schedule. This way they’d at least be screened from any large forces moving down from the north. Aurec didn’t suspect Badron had that many units to spare but without being able to discern where the battle against the rebellion was he wasn’t willing to take the chance.

“Most of them were forced into service. They’re not warriors, Aurec.”

Rolnir took another bite, the tart fruit making him salivate. Fresh fruit was