A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,166

giving us a better chance of approaching unseen." Jake, nodding his understanding, began to slather the mud on his breastplate. After they inspected each other to make sure all of the exposed metal was covered, they went back over to Jonas.

After one final check of the horses, Jonas had them move off. They made their way back to the top of the hill, trying to move stealthily, watching the surrounding woods, angling away from the forest trail. Making sure that no enemies were in sight, they slowly worked their way down through the trees, stopping just beyond the tree line, behind some large rocks. They peered around the rocks, their angle giving them a clear a line of sight ahead.

They could see that the tumbled rocks created jagged obstacles, flowing down the hillside. At the bottom of the hill, a clearing appeared, the rocks seemingly pushed back. The bare stone clearing spread out along the face of the cliff that loomed behind it. They saw that there was a large natural opening at the base of the cliff. They scanned the cliff for other openings, not seeing any others at first.

While they were surveying the cliff, a small group of eight half-men on horses appeared, riding out of the opening. They watched as the group made their way up the trail and into the forest. As they turned back, Jake caught a glimpse of movement away from the opening, near where the cliff merged back into the hills. He tapped Jonas and pointed.

From behind a rocky outcropping, two half-men appeared, carrying something wrapped in a rough blanket between them. They took it away from the cliff, then threw it towards the ground, pulling the blanket away. Jake saw a naked body drop towards the ground, then vanish. It took him a moment to figure it out what happened. With the sun was getting lower, the clearing and base of the cliff were in shadow, but he was barely able to make out a darker opening in the ground. There was some sort of pit there. The half-men turned and went back behind the outcropping.

Jonas drew them close together. "I think we have found our way in." He said, voice barely a whisper. "We will wait until dark, then move along the rocks, making our way towards that outcropping."

They waited anxiously for the sun to set, glancing all around for any hint of their enemies. As night slowly settled over the forest, they watched as several half-men came out of the main entrance, set up some torches to light the area and stood guard.

Jonas addressed Jake and Hailyn. "When we start in, do not use your power unless I do so first or our enemies are on us. We will try to avoid confrontation, if at all possible."

Finally, Jonas motioned them to start moving. Marcus took the lead again, slowly working his way along the rocks, watching the cliff for any signs that they had been detected. They moved deliberately and quietly. They made it over to the far hillside undetected, then started to navigate down the rocks, trying to keep low to allow the rocks to block their passage from the main entrance.

As they got closer to the cliff, a stench of death and rotting flesh grew stronger. They were nearing the pit, clearly a place where the demons' victims were disposed of. It became difficult to breathe and Jake clenched his teeth together, trying not to vomit. As they got close, near the start of the clearing, they were forced to stop to study the way in. The stench seemed to surround Jake like a physical presence.

They could see a dark opening behind the outcropping of rock, only wide enough to go one at a time. Jonas pointed to himself, indicating that he would go first. Marcus would follow, then Hailyn with Jake to bring up the rear. Jonas studied the opening for a few moments, listening for sounds or hints of anyone inside. After a quick glance to make sure the guards at the main entrance were not looking, he rose and ran quickly over to the opening, skirting around the black maw of the pit.

Marcus, Hailyn and Jake followed quickly. As soon as they crossed, Jonas went into the opening, the end of his staff held out in front of him. The darkness seemed to swallow them up as they made their way in. They advanced slowly, listening intently for approaching threats while Jake kept an eye