The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book (20 page)

“My brother, myself, let it begin,” Rob begged again.

The king placed a hand on his head, the touch agony, burning into his brain, a violation, welcomed and terrifying. “My brother, myself, it is begun,” the king said.

The dancers increased their pace, swirling around them like the sparks from the flames, the horses were grunting softly in the night and the small dark creatures were there, joyous, at the edge of the trees. The sounds filled Rob before the first touch of the night claimed him, the empty dark burning into his veins and he was pulled away. “It has begun,” he heard himself chant as the world slid away.

Pain, an eternity later, returned first.

Burning his chest, his throat, his head, his hands.

Then cold.

Filling his body, seeping up from the ground under him and from the icy mist surrounding him.

The light came next.

Against his eyelids, the brightness burning his eyes. He tried to put a hand over them to stop the burning light.

Smell awakened.

The remnants of a smoldering fire, the sweet unguent on his chest, blood, something acrid and vile.

Memory, last of all.

The riders, the king, the ritual. “My brothers, my king,” Rob whispered.

Rob paused, a groan of pain was pulled from him as his memory shifted. He tried to move again, his body refused to answer his commands. Someone should be there, who? Galen! His brother should have been there. Rob could hear someone coming. He braced himself, wondering what would happen. “
It is good, the ritual will be met,”
the king’s voice whispered in his head, bringing the fog and the ringing of the bells. Rob struggled to sit up, but he couldn’t move, the remnants of the ritual holding him in place. “Galen?” he called. When there was no answer, dread began to fill him. Something was wrong.
“Galen?”

 

Galen said through the connection. Someone dropped down beside him, a hand, gentle, warm, was placed against his forehead and chest and the healing flooded him. “Rob?”

“Galen?” Rob said, opening his eyes, blinking against the bright light. The healing was chasing the fog away, releasing paralyzed muscles so he could push himself into a sitting position. “Galen?” he said again, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. “Where were you?” Galen had a mark on his face that looked like a burn—except it was shaped exactly like a hand.

“Long story, Brat, I’ll tell you over breakfast.”

“Is he okay?” Flash shouted, the call coming from behind them.

“Yes!”

“Thank god!” Flash came into view a moment later, he was pale, a large bruise blossoming on his face.

“Are you two okay?” Rob tried to bring his Gift into play, but it was muted again. Focusing inward, he discovered he’d damped it down during the ritual at some point. Taking a deep breath, he released it, knowing it would take time to return.

“Mostly,” Flash said, stopping beside them.

“Can you get up?” Galen asked.

“Yeah.” Rob held out his hand and his brother hauled him to his feet. Reality was shifting, the fog still there, the voices gently singing to him. He tried to push them away where he couldn’t hear them.

“Can we eat? All that fruit last night made me hungry,” Flash grumbled.

“Breakfast sounds good,” Rob said, the voice sounding more and more like his own. Galen walked beside him, his movements stiff, Flash was limping. “And you two can tell me what happened to you.”

It was warm in the restaurant, the smell of coffee comforting. Galen had driven directly to the pancake house they’d eaten at the day before, ordering coffee for all of them before they even sat down at a table. The waitress appeared with a pot and cups and after looking them over, left the pot with them. The burn on his cheek was aching, and it resisted all attempts to heal. He was planning on stopping at the small pharmacy in town to get something to ease the annoying sting before it became more than a distraction.

Rob’s eyes were on him, watching him as he sipped his coffee. His brother’s eyes were clearer than they’d been since first arriving at the beach. Galen could feel the bond slowly strengthening as Rob’s Gift came back, and Galen wondered how he’d been able to ignore the slow dissolution of that connection over the weeks he’d been affected by the Hunt, it was so obvious now.

“Not your fault,” Rob said softly, proving just how much of the bond was back.

“What’s not?” Flash perked up when he saw the waitress headed towards them with several plates balanced in her hands.

“How much did you order?” Rob asked him, diverting his query.

“Stack of blueberry pancakes, sides of sausage, bacon and hashbrowns with toast. I might need eggs later.”

“How can you cram that much food into your body?”

“Years of excess.” Flash chuckled and sliced into the stack of pancakes with a grin.

“I guess.” Rob looked up at Galen. “What happened to you two last night?”

“We had so much fun,” Flash mumbled happily through a mouthful of pancake and bacon.

“Flash had fun,” Galen corrected.

“He did?” Rob asked Galen, then turned to their friend. “You did?”

“I did.” Flash washed some of the food down with coffee and grinned. “I finally got to use my war hammer. Whacked them good.”

“Whacked who?”

“These weird creature thingies and then one of the assholes,” Flash said with relish.

“One of the assholes?” Rob frowned, Galen felt his brother’s concern buzz along the link.

“Yeah, this fucker on a horse showed up with his little gang and slapped Galen. I took down one of his horse-riding asshole buddies.”

“What?”

“I think it was the king’s champion, Rob,” Galen said. Rob nodded, but didn’t say anything. “There were dark creatures last night, they first appeared not too long after you rode off with the
each uisge.
”

“Which stink, by the way,” Flash said.

“The creatures?” Rob looked confused.

“Well, them too, but that
each
thing reeked.”

“I’m getting confused, how about one of you start at the beginning, from the moment I left?”

“Flash, let me.” Galen held up his hand to stop the other before he could get started. There were things that Galen could tell Rob that Flash wouldn’t see as making any difference. Flash picked up his coffee and waved at Galen to continue.

Galen watched the
each uisge
carry his brother off into the fog. He kept his eye on them as long as he could, until the heavy mists obscured his vision. The only thing that echoed along the link was the soft chiming of bells and the call of the Hunt; Rob was gone—for the moment. If the ritual went well, and Hugh was right, the bond should return in the morning. At least Galen knew he would be there at the altar to watch the ritual and wait for his brother to return from his first ride with the Hunt. The next night would be Galen’s first ride, part of him sang happily with that knowledge.

“What now?” Flash asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“I head out there.”

“Out where?”

“Where we were this morning, that’s where the altars are.”

“You are not leaving me here and romping off alone. Nope, don’t even start with me, Galen. You two need someone watching your asses and that’s why I’m here.”

Galen knew better than to argue with Flash when he used that tone. He slapped the other man on the back. “Thanks. Let’s go grab the weapons and head out.”

“Weapons? I get to take my hammer! Bring it on!”

They quickly went to their rooms and collected the items Galen thought they’d need, then headed down to the parking lot. Flash was excited, talking almost non-stop. Galen smiled, his friend got that way sometimes, it was a way to cover nervousness and that ever-present fear that Flash took into every battle.

Galen had just stepped off the bottom stair when he heard an odd sound, half-growl, half something that made the hair on the back of Galen’s neck rise. Turning, he saw the fog move in non-existent wind, and something dark coming straight at them. “Flash!” he shouted a warning as he brought the falcata to bear. He had only a moment to get an idea of what was coming, gaping maw, black claws glittering in the motel lights.

The creature lunged at him, Galen landed a hard blow, nearly severing its arm. It swung at him with the other, knocking him from his feet. Pushing himself up, he braced himself for another attack, when he saw the reflection of something silver and Flash’s war hammer slammed up against the creatures head. It roared in fury, but the distraction gave Galen enough time to get to his feet, Flash was beside him a moment later.

The sound of galloping horses filled the air. Galen saw five riders headed their way. They pulled up at the edge of the parking lot, but rather than drawing swords as they had the night before, they sat there, alert, but not participating. Galen had no time to wonder why they were there and not at the ritual. They made no move to help and Galen had to turn his attention away as the thing growled.

It came at them again, Flash diving to the left as Galen thrust forward with his blade. It slid into the creature’s body as Flash came up behind it, bringing the hammer down again and again. Galen pulled his blade free and shouted to his friend. Flash stopped and Galen swung, taking the creatures head off in a single blow. It dropped to the ground, its back legs tearing through the air as it died.

Flash grinned at him, black ooze dripping from the end of his weapon. “Bang, bang, Flash’s war hammer came down upon its head. Who the fuck are they?”

“Part of the Hunt,” Galen said, starting towards the riders, before he could go more than three steps, they turned away, galloping into the thick fog.

“Aren’t they supposed to be out at the ritual?” Flash said, getting into the car.

“Yes.” Galen started the engine and pulled out, the lights reflecting back, making it harder to see. The mists were so thick he could barely see the hood of the car as they crept though the dark. It was taking forever to get to the highway, let alone to the place where the ritual would take place. As he drove he could hear the soft chiming of bells, the song as the ritual began, the sounds echoing along the muted bond with his brother.

“What are those things?” Flash said, staring out the window.

Galen realized he could see a little into the night, small dark eyes were peering at him from the edge of the road. “I’m not sure,” he said.

“Creepy, just creepy.”

“I’ll give you that,” Galen agreed with a chuckle. Suddenly the eyes vanished, Galen sensed their fear washing through the night. He stopped the car and rolled down the window, eyes and ears straining to catch what had frightened the eyes away. Not able to hear well enough he stepped out of the car.

A soft growl cut through the heavy silence. Glancing in the direction of the sound, he thought he saw something moving in the fog. “Flash, we have company.”

“What?” his friend asked, getting out of the car, and walking to stand beside Galen.

“I’m not sure.” The growl came again, the sound causing an icy thrill to run through Galen’s body.

“It’s not good,” Flash said.

“No.”

A dark shadow moved through the fog at the edge of the headlights, the glow disappearing into the depths of whatever was out there. Fear tingled along Galen’s spine, raising goosebumps on his skin. It wasn’t what they’d faced ever before, not like the other dark things that had been appearing, it was something bigger, something so deeply dark it created night around it, sucking light and warmth into itself. Evil, hatred, surrounded it, flowing outwards like a huge wave, destruction of everything so clear in its intent, Galen felt his breath pulled away. He heard Flash’s intake of breath as the darkness of the thing flowed over them, the mists rippling away as the black mass moved.

It came without warning, one second it was lurking in the fog, the next it hit them, knocking them apart, its touch sending freezing cold through Galen. He rolled away, moving as far as he could from the thing. It had Flash pinned, something that looked like a giant hand with shining black claws holding him immobile. Galen shouted, drawing its attention, backing up against the car and opening the door to grab his sword. It came towards him, tossing Flash aside as easily as if he’d been a toy. Its low growl was more a physical sensation than sound, the cold touching the world around Galen, the darkness growing and rippling outwards.

Suddenly it lifted its head, listening, then Galen felt something that terrified him flow through the creature. It was happy, whatever it heard pleased it. The creature pulled away from Galen and growled again, more a pleased purr than a threat, then turned away, disappearing into the night, possibly going back through the Veil, he wasn’t sure.

Then he heard them, what the creature must have heard—horses. They were moving fast, coming towards them, the sound was coming from his right, pounding hooves getting close. The fog shifted as the horses plunged into view, he recognized them as those that had watched as he and Flash fought by the motel.
 
There were at least a dozen horses in the group.
 
They moved apart as two larger horses pulled up. One almost charcoal-colored, the other dappled gray and white, the bones standing out against the hide.

“It’s gone,” the rider on the dappled horse said. “They must have…”

“Be quiet. He’s listening,” the other said. Galen was sure it was the king’s champion.

“Why aren’t you at the ritual?” Galen said mildly, putting a threat into the quiet words.

“We serve our king,” the champion snapped.

“You do? By missing the ritual?”

“Do not address him like that!” the rider on the dappled horse said.

The champion reached down to backhand Galen before he could get out of the way, the blow hard enough to snap Galen’s head back. The other riders cheered their approval. Galen straightened and wiped the blood off his mouth, aware of the burn on his cheek.

“What the fuck?” Flash said, stepping towards them hammer raised.

“Flash!” Galen warned.

“Galen?” Flash asked.

“Stay back.”

“Your servant needs to learn manners.”

“What’d he say?” Flash demanded. Galen translated and Flash growled. “He said what? Hey, you, shithead.”

“Are you talking to me?” the rider asked Flash.

“Yeah you, shithead,” Flash answered. Galen knew he didn’t know the language, but the intent was clear in his tone.