Dark Soul Silenced - Part Two (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nathan stared at Josef, shaking his head in disbelief.

“No!  No!  They can’t be.  That’s… that’s… it’s… how could that be?”

“
I don’t know, but it is true,” Josef insisted.  “Every one of them has fallen to the darkness.  Think about what happened, about how the Major has acted.  Think about the day they ambushed us with your help.  They wanted to strike down both Daniel and Jon.  Why?”

“
They said Daniel was exceptionally dangerous.  That if he joined with Rafael they would be almost unstoppable.  He proved them right.  Look at how he escaped.”

“
Yes — escaped.  If he was as powerful as they say why didn’t he fight?  He could have killed many.  If he had scaled the other cliff the few archers at the top would have stood no chance.  If he was so seeped in darkness, and if the Bronze Order stand in the light, why did he escape without striking any blow?  Particularly after seeing Jon killed.”

“
I don’t know.  I can’t make sense of it.” Nathan said.

“
But if am right the danger he posed to the Major was very different.  He would have seen the same things I did.  He would have seen the darkness the guards harbour, and he would have had a good chance of escaping and spreading the tale.  How would the Order, our order, react if this news reached them?”

“
An offshoot of the order that had fallen to the darkness?  They’d declare a crusade.  They’d push for an army to be formed from all the southern lands.  An army to sweep the darkness away.”

“
Exactly.  Think about it Nathan.  I don’t think they expected to kill Daniel, or maybe they hoped they might get lucky, but the most important thing was to drive him away.  They probably feared Jon could expose them too, though I doubt he could have sensed the darkness.  Killing him was a bonus for them.”

“
If you are right then… I can’t even consider what it means.  Are you suggesting they are in league with the night walkers?  That they dragged Thomas and Cal out into the darkness and handed them over to their allies?”

“
No.  I fear it is even worse than that.  I told you I can see the darkness in these people.  All of them are lost, but some are farther gone than others.  One in particular has so much darkness inside it almost screams out at me.”

“
The Major?” asked Nathan grimly.

“
Yes.  The Major.  At night my new abilities can let me sense things that I cannot see.  Last night I woke to shouting.  Your shouting.  I heard little of what happened but I knew something was very wrong.  Then I sensed the Major passing nearby before leaving the camp.  Walking out into the darkness with a number of other tainted souls.  Not long after I heard the scream, the scream that must have been Thomas.  A while later the Major returned.  The darkness within him was stronger, fiercer.  Something I would have said was impossible before.  Nathan, I think it was the Major who killed Thomas.  Probably Cal too.”

“
But why?  They aren’t night walkers, that’s one thing I
am
still sure of.  They can’t feed like the night walkers do.  Can they?”

Josef spread his hands.  “I don’t know.  Truly I don’t.  I have read old records that speak of many other kinds of darkness, and I have seen some with my own eyes.  All I know for sure is that the darkness works in many ways and with whatever tools it can find.”

Josef fell silent.  Nathan considered everything he had heard.

“
They will come again tonight, won’t they?” Nathan asked softly.  “They will come again and take someone else.  Bruno or William.  Or maybe one of those who followed you.”

“
Yes.  But we won’t let them,” Josef replied firmly.

“
How can we stop them?”

“
By standing together.  We call their bluff.  I don’t think they are ready to kill us all yet.  They still need at least some of us.  They can’t have got a good look at Daniel or Sarah during the ambush.  Your description would have been enough to pick Daniel out from our small band, but would be useless for finding them inside a large town.

The Major’s arrogance caused him to make a mistake.  He should have kept you by his side as an ally, pumped you for information.  Instead he felt the need to belittle you.  To capture you.  Now that mistake gives us power.  We stand watches tonight.  When he comes for someone again we refuse to let him.  If we stand together then he won’t kill any of us.”

“Bet your life on it?” Nathan asked darkly.

“
Yes.”  Josef’s reply was firm.

Before Nathan could say anything more the Major’s voice boomed out.

“Wonderful!  Good to see you both getting along, despite one of you betraying the other.  Maybe we should make things more interesting tonight.  I’ll take one of your men for bait, but you can decide between you whose it will be.”

Josef and Nathan stood, turning to face the Major who came close but remained out of easy reach.  Several guards flanked him on each side.

“No,” Josef said firmly.

“
No?  You refuse my offer?  Then I will have to choose who it is.  Or maybe… yes.  I will take two men unless you give me a single name between you.”

“
No,” repeated Josef.  “You won’t take anyone.  If you try to you will have to kill us all.”

The Major’s eyes widened in anger.  “Really?” he barked out.  “And have you asked your men what they think?  Are they willing to pass up the chance to live?”

Nathan turned to look behind him.  Bruno stood and came to stand with them.

“
They speak for me,” Bruno said firmly.

Nathan smiled at him.  All the fear was gone from Bruno’s eyes, replaced by a fierce determination.  Samuel stood and walked over, followed by the other three from Josef’s group.  All shared the same determined look that Bruno wore.  That left William.  He looked puzzled for a moment, then his face cleared.  He walked over to join the others.

“I stand with my friends,” William said firmly.

Nathan turned back to face the Major with a grim smile.

“Maybe you underestimated us,
Major
.”

“
Then you all die tonight,” the Major said dismissively.  “With so much bait we will be sure to catch a few night walkers.”

“
There is no bait,” Josef said loudly.  “There are no night walkers stalking you.  Why would they bother?  You are so seeped in darkness they would be your allies, not your enemies.  If you choose to kill us we will die fighting.  One way or another your dark appetite won’t be fed by our blood.”

The Major stared at Josef shocked.  Many of the guards looked guilty.

“How do you… how could you… you couldn’t possibly have seen…” spluttered the Major, then he stopped as he realised what he’d said.

Nathan fought down a wave of fury.  Despite everything he hadn’t fully believed Josef, hadn’t been certain the Bronze Order were seeped in darkness — though he knew something about the situation was very wrong.  Now the Major had confirmed the worst.  Staring at the nearby guards Nathan could tell this wasn’t news to them.

“Very good,” ground out the Major.  “So what is to stop me killing you now?  You and all your men.  I have no further use for you.”

“
Don’t bluff Major,” Josef said.  “You need us if you want to find Daniel again.  You either need to get us to town to get the information out of us, or use us as bait to catch him.  Maybe both.  Until then you need us.”

The Major looked ready to explode.  For a moment Nathan thought he was about to order their deaths, regardless of Josef’s arguments.  Somehow Josef stood calmly despite being the focus for so much rage.  Despite everything, Nathan felt a grudging respect for Josef at that moment.

Finally the Major started to calm down.  Nathan thought he saw a grudging respect in the Major’s eyes too.

“
Very well.  You are right.  I do need you.  For now.  When that changes, though, I will make your every waking moment such agony that you will wish I had ordered you killed.  Tell your men we are moving out soon.”

“
Wait!” ordered Josef.

The Major paused in the act of turning away and turned back.

“You aren’t tying us to our horses again, or binding our hands,” Josef said.  “I am not stupid.  Once that was done we could do nothing to resist you.  We ride our horses without being shackled.”

The Major grinned in apparent good humour, though Nathan could see it was a thin veneer.

“Very well,
Ser
Josef.  But each of your horses will be tied to two of my men’s — one in front and one behind — in case any of you get any silly ideas of escape.  Is that acceptable?”

“
Yes.  That will do,” Josef replied calmly, ignoring the sarcasm in the Major’s question.

“
See to it!” the Major growled at one of his men before stamping away.

Nathan felt a little light headed.  Not only had they avoided almost certain death, they had stopped their group being slowly whittled down and ensured they would be able to ride in reasonable comfort.  For the first time he started to believe there might be a way out of the situation.  Catching Josef’s eye he bowed deeply.

“Congratulations Ser Josef.  I have to admit to being deeply impressed.”

Josef clapped him on the shoulder.

“We did it together.  All of us.  Remember that, all of you.  If we stick together we can get out of this.”

Conflicting emotions churned in Nathan.  At Josef’s touch he had remembered the darkness he suspected Josef harboured, and which Josef had as much as admitted — though denying it
was
darkness.  All his adult life Nathan had set himself against darkness in any form.  Now he faced a situation where to defeat, or at least escape from, a terrible darkness he would have to ally with another who was sinking into darkness himself.  Nathan knew he had no choice.  He also recognised that those very words had led many good men astray.  Would he become the next?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daniel and Sarah followed the road until it opened into another, larger square.  This one was completely different to the one they had left.  The buildings on all sides were shops and inns and the square was packed with market stalls.  Daniel stared around, trying to decide what to do.

“
Where do we go?” Sarah asked.

“
I do not know.  I need to rest and think for a few minutes.”

That was as much as he dared say.  There were too many people around to discuss what had happened in the tunnel.  He needed to find somewhere quieter where they could talk.

“I’m hungry, and I really want something other than travel food.  Why don’t we get something from there?”

She gestured towards a stall selling cakes and pastries.  Daniel nodded and followed her.  Sarah asked for two pastries and carefully reached into her purse for a coin.  As she did a girl who was running past crashed into her.

“Sorry,” the girl shouted without stopping.

“
Daniel,” Sarah hissed.  “My purse!  She took my purse.  It’s got my wedding ring in.  I took it off to keep it safe.”

Daniel grabbed her hand.  “Don’t shout.  Don’t make a fuss.  We can’t risk a scene.”

He concentrated for a moment, reaching out with his powers.  He managed to locate the girl who had slowed but was still walking swiftly away.  Focusing hard he created a complex net like pattern and dropped it around Sarah’s purse.  Now he could track the purse wherever it went, even if the girl handed it off to someone else.

“
Come on,” he said, pulling Sarah.  “I can follow her.”

“
Hey!” shouted the stall holder.  “Wait!  What about your food?”

Daniel ignored him and in moments they were lost in the throng of people.  Daniel led, forcing his way between people without them noticing.  Using his senses to understand the flow of the crowd and slip through it far quicker than most could manage.  Sarah followed close behind, pulled along in his wake.  Daniel still had trouble keeping up with the thief.  She flowed through the crowd, instinctively reading it in much the same way as Daniel did using his powers.

They followed her through the thronged market.  Her path switched back and forth but constantly led them deeper in, then through to the other side.  Daniel caught a brief glimpse of her disappearing into a narrow street, confirming that she still had the purse.  He thought it unlikely she would pass it on now.  Any switch to an accomplice would have taken place soon after she snatched it.

Daniel and Sarah followed down the narrow street, then turned into another that was even narrower.  The buildings were becoming more run down.  It made sense he thought.  A thief was more likely to come from poverty than plenty, though it was far from a hard rule in life.

They followed down several more roads with far fewer people.  Daniel was slowly catching the girl.  He caught more glimpses of her, then started to see her for longer periods.  She didn’t once look back.  At first he thought it strange, then he realised doing so would make her look suspicious.  Without his talents he could never have tracked her.

Now she slipped into a narrow alleyway between two houses.  By the time Daniel reached it she was gone from sight, but he could still track her.  She had already travelled down two more alleys.  Finally she stopped — probably to see what she had stolen.  He knew they had to move quickly — she might drop the purse having emptied its contents, and the close packed buildings were making it hard for him to sense the girl.

Pulling Sarah after him he broke into a jog.  He raced around the first corner, down the alleyway and then round the next corner to confront the thief.  She stood there with her arms crossed but that wasn’t what bought him skidding to a halt.  A handful of tough looking men stood with her, every one aiming a loaded crossbow at Daniel.  Keeping Sarah behind him he summoned his powers, raising a powerful shield.

“
Wait!” the girl shouted.

Except she wasn’t a girl.  Now he saw she was woman in her early twenties at least, but so short he’d mistaken her for a child.  He doubted he was the first to do so.  She reached up and pushed the closest crossbow down, so it aimed at the ground.  The other men lowered theirs too.

“He’s the one,” she said.

Then she tossed Sarah’s purse to Daniel.  He only just managed to drop the shield in time to let the purse through and catch it, though he snapped it back into place immediately after.

“Very impressive,” the woman said, stepping forwards and smiling warmly.  “You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you.”

Rafael’s eyes snapped open and he jerked upright.  Something was wrong.  He sensed a threat, a danger, somewhere nearby.  Scanning the room he found he was alone, other than the girl child.  Concentrating hard he stretched out his senses.  The danger wasn’t close, not in the building or nearby, but it was definitely within the town.  Somewhere out there something dangerous was stalking.

He focused even harder, trying to tell where exactly the threat came from, or what it was.  It didn’t work.  The sensation faded again, disappearing completely, but he knew it was still out there.  Stalking the town.  Stalking
his
town.

Why now?  Was it coincidence that this danger arrived now?  Preparations for the ritual were already underway.  It would start in only two days.  Had the Chosen from the Citadel somehow learnt of his plans and decided to interfere?  Or did the danger come from another source.  Could it somehow be the Cursed One?  Surely not.  He must have perished at the keep.

Rafael paced around the room for several minutes, unable to return to rest.  Finally he stalked to the door.  Throwing back several heavy bolts he opened it.  The two guards on the other side stood to attention, no doubt having been warned of his approach by hearing the bolts.

“
Summon the Colonel!” Rafael ordered one of them.  “Tell him I want my personal guards increased, and those on the walls.  I want sweeps of the town too.  Tell him I want him here immediately and I expect all those things to be underway by the time he arrives.”

“
Yes sir!” the guard answered before sprinting away.  Rafael had made more than enough painful examples of those who failed to respond to his orders quickly enough. 

Rafael returned to his room and replaced the bolts.  He couldn’t relax though.  His plan was too close to succeeding to allow anyone to interfere.  All he had to do was keep the girl safe until the ceremony started, and then protect her until it was completed.  The second part would be tricky.  The temple was well hidden and completely underground but not impossible to find, and particularly difficult to defend.  Even after hundreds of years his guards still found new passageways hidden away in the rock surrounding it.  All employed elaborate mechanisms to allow access and were impossible to spot from within the temple.  They had all been created long before, when those visiting the temple had to go to great lengths to disguise themselves.  A time when darkness struggled to find a foothold in Echtberg.  A time before Rafael.

The temple itself was another matter.  That came from an even older time, a time when Echtberg bathed in darkness.  A time when the power of darkness was stronger even than the midday sun.  A time when dark power had poured through the temple.  As it would once again, once the ritual was completed.  By sacrificing the girl child Rafael would reopen the ancient portal to the Dark God, allowing it free rein in Echtberg once again.

Even after hundreds of years Rafael knew little about the temple’s origin or how the power there came to be so greatly weakened.  A few tantalising glimpses suggested a group known as the Golden Order had been responsible, and that the events had happened long before the first of the Chosen was created.  That would mean the events happened thousands of years ago at least.

It mattered not.  While studying it Rafael had spent much time in the temple.  At first he had sensed nothing more than a slight welling of dark power.  He found the place comforting somehow, so spent more time there.  Soon he started to sense a purpose to the darkness in the temple, an awareness.  He tried many ways to pour some of his own power in, to strengthen it, but none worked.  Even sacrificing lives made no difference.

Over time though, over years, the darkness strengthened on its own and it started to communicate with Rafael.  It taught him of the vast power that could be unlocked and of the means to do so.  The ritual required an innocent child of great magical power.  Finding such a one would have been difficult at any time.  With the witch hunter orders seeking near and far for anyone with such a talent, then killing them, it was almost impossible.  For years Rafael wrestled with the problem of finding such a child before the witch hunters did.

Then one day he realised he was looking at the problem in the wrong way.  Rather than racing against the witch hunters, why not turn them into his own hunting dogs?  Looking at the self righteous group in Echtberg that called themselves the Bronze Order he realised they would make the perfect tool.  It took many years, and many deaths, but slowly Rafael began to spread his influence amongst the Bronze Order.  He started with those at the top, those in power.  The old adage of power corrupting was as true as ever.  Those at the top were both arrogant and hungry for more power.  Rafael soon drew them into a world of darkness, binding their souls with dark ceremonies and the promise of one day becoming one of the Chosen.

With the leaders corrupted the rest of the order began to fall.  There were those who refused, especially amongst the younger and more idealistic of the order, but they were easily removed.  Then he sent his new servants out to hunt.  Even with the Bronze Order leading the search he had been unable to find a child who was powerful enough.  Most gifted with the power suppressed it during childhood, kept it hidden and weak.  All those the search located were either powerful enough but too old or young enough but too weak.

And then Rafael had stumbled across this girl, completely by chance.  Truly she was a gift from the Dark God, and with her death the Dark God would once again rule in Echtberg.  In reward Rafael would gain the power to expand his realm greatly, and eventually to march upon the Citadel with a mighty army at his back.

But only if the ceremony was successful.  It was a long process, involving several hours of preparation before the moment the power could be unleashed.  Rafael ground his teeth in anger.  Whatever was loose, whatever the danger was, nothing would stop the girl dying at the appointed time.