ARC: The Corpse-Rat King Read Online Free Page B

ARC: The Corpse-Rat King
Book: ARC: The Corpse-Rat King Read Online Free
Author: Lee Battersby
Tags: corpse-rat, anti-hero, battle scars, reluctant emissary, king of the dead
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sighed. No such luck. The real world was out of reach.
    “It is very far away.”
    “Yes.” Reluctantly, Marius’ eyes met the soldier’s one remaining orb.
    “Farther for us than you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Once the dead travel below, we do not leave.”
    “Oh.” Marius surveyed their mean surroundings. “Well, you know, a drape here or there…”
    “Perhaps you will bring some back with you.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    But the soldier had turned away, and gestured to the corpses holding Marius. They extended their arms, and Marius slid further up the wall. When he was dangling at the height of their reach, two more bodies detached themselves from the crowd and grabbed at Marius' kicking ankles. Before he could voice his objections, he was hoisted onto his back, limbs spread wide, high above the heads of the crowd.
    “What are you doing? Let me down.”
    The arms lowered him slightly, until he was at eye level. Marius was just about to issue further orders when bone-strong fingers grasped his jaw and turned his head towards their owner.
    “Don’t forget to hold on,” the soldier said, and let him go. Marius’ bearers heaved, and he flew up into the chimney. Reflexes did his thinking for him. His hands and feet dove for the chimney walls, finding sanctuary in the soft earth and clinging, leaving him wedged in the narrow space like a spider between the rough edges of a pub’s corner walls. For long seconds, the only sound was that of his panicked gasping. When he could trust himself to do so without fainting, he looked back down, and saw the soldier staring up at him. Marius had the overwhelming impression that his stiff, immobile face was smiling.
    “Find us a king,” the corpse called out.
    “What? Why?”
    “You stole his place. You are in our debt.”
    With the benefit of distance, Marius felt a small spark of courage return.
    “And if I don’t?”
    “We will come for you.”
    “And if I never come back this way?”
    The soldier shook his head, slowly, a movement of deliberate malice.
    “You will come back.”
    “What makes you so sure?”
    “Feel your heart.”
    The two men stared at each other for long seconds. The soldier placed his hand over his chest, and nodded to Marius to do the same. Marius inched around until he could wedge one shoulder into the crumbling wall, then slowly, carefully, did the same. He held it there for half a minute, eyes fixed upon the dead face below him.
    “We have your heartbeat.”
    Marius felt life draining away, leaking from his body and dissipating in the heavy air. The soldier waved a hand in dismissal.
    “You cannot escape us. The entire world is home to the dead. Now climb.”
    “Wait.”
    “What?”
    Marius risked a glance at the journey above him, closed his eyes in sudden dizziness, and glanced back down.
    “How will I contact you? Do I call out, or sacrifice a cat or something? I don’t even know your name.”
    “We will know,” the soldier returned. “Now go.”
    “Wait!”
    “No more.” The soldier stepped back, out of Marius’ circle of vision. “The path to the world above is closing. Unless you want to drown, leave.”
    As if summoned by his voice, a spray of fine earth fell on Marius. As he watched, the circle of air below him filled in, the earth rising upwards as if intent upon capturing him. With nowhere else to go, he dug his fingers and toes into the chimney walls and began to climb.
     
    The most wonderful smell in the world is that of fresh air. It hit Marius as his fingers crested the rim of the hole and clawed at handfuls of rough grass. After the heat and fetid air of the underground realms, the swirling breeze felt like an orgasm. Marius closed his eyes and almost lost his grip, until the pressure of earth against the soles of his feet reminded him of the urgency of his mission, and he scrambled over the lip of the closing hole and lay upon undisturbed ground for the first time in an eternity. Marius wasn’t ashamed to

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