Descent into the Depths of the Earth Read Online Free Page B

himself for sleeping. Magic soft. Didn’t smell.
    “That’s all right.”
    It might have been a scrying spell. Certainly there was no
physical presence. No creature mortal, immortal, or undead could sneak past
Cinders. Jus buckled his helmet into place, swept the pelt about his shoulders,
and settled the hell hounds head atop his helmet.
    The big man nudged at Escalla with his foot and whispered,
“Escalla?”
    “No one wears underwear with these, Dad! I swear!” The little
faerie sat upright, a look of blank wonderment upon her face.
    With his attention on the windows, Jus moved carefully over
to one wall. “Escalla, there’s something spying on us. I’m going to investigate.
Wake the others and stay alert.”
    Silent and grim, he went hunting.
    “Yeah,” replied Escalla sleepily. Her eyes were wide open as
she sat in her bed of beaver fur. Jus gave her a glance, nodded as he saw her
awake and alert, then slipped stealthily into the dawn like a wolf upon the
prowl.
    Behind him, Escalla stayed upright in bed, eyes staring
blankly at the wall.
    “…but if it was orange, how would they put wheels on it?”
The faerie fell backward, continuing her rather strange little dream. At her
side, a fresh bouquet of flowers suddenly gleamed in the light—delicate
champagne roses, still frosted with dew.
    Escalla turned over in her bed and breathed the scent of
roses. Tucked into a ball, the little faerie smiled and hugged her pillow in her
sleep.
     
    * * *
     
    In the cold light of dawn, a soft mist filled the village
streets as sunlight warmed the nights dew. Even the old gray thatch on cottage
roofs seethed with steam as the warmth of morning set in.
    The Justicar stalked carefully, scanning for the slightest
marks upon the silver frost. He walked only in the lee of the buildings where
the dew lay thin and unfrozen. He kept low, moving as stealthily as a rustle in
the breeze.
    To the north, somewhere along the old weed-grown road, smoke
was rising slowly in the dawn—light, clean smoke, probably kitchen fires. Jus
filed the information in his head, never once ceasing his careful search of the
ruined village. Pausing at the huge skull of a long-dead giant. Jus watched the
empty streets.
    Magic. Cinders let the air run across his nose, his ears
pricked up into wicked points as he searched for signs of life. On the roof,
one house to left. More magic—house roof on right.
    The grass outside the tavern dripped. Something had brushed
the frost and set it melting. The Justicar knelt, scanned the roofs above, then
carefully examined the grass.
    One shutter had been opened—just a tiny slit scarcely large
enough to admit a cat. Caught on the wooden shutter, a thin silken thread
drifted in the breeze. Blue and almost metallic in color, the tiny thread now
hung like a microscopic banner. Jus left it where it lay, narrowed his eyes,
then faded behind a stand of dead, dry weeds.
    On the rooftops above, nothing moved, but he could feel
something there. Traveling with Escalla had taught him the knack of seeing the
faint ripples where an invisible creature passed. On the thatching, the neat
array of straw wavered slightly as an unseen creature shifted its stance.
    It could not help but have seen him. Jus deliberately rose,
passed his gaze across the rooftops as though seeing nothing, then went walking
slowly down the open street. Above his helmet, Cinders grinned a gleeful, manic
grin. The two partners moved quietly down the street. Obligingly, the attack
came from the roof just above.
    A blinding light stabbed downward. The Justicar whirled, put
his back to the blast, and hunched as a fireball exploded all about him.
Cinders’ black fur took the heat of the blast.
    The Justicar was already on the attack. Burned and streaming
flames, the Justicar leaped through the dissipating fire, his black sword
already clearing its scabbard. Cinders’ head swung, and a vicious column of
flame shot from the