Riley's Journey Read Online Free Page B

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    Nothing could have prepared her for the first sight of these men. They were a hideous group; heavily built and squat, with protruding eyebrows and broad noses dominating their faces, with low, flat elongated skulls and receding chins. She was taller than even the tallest of the bunch, none measuring over five feet six inches at best. Stringy, dirty hair trailed from their large heads and the lower part of their faces. They were covered in a mishmash of animal pelts, and the skins they were wearing were filthy and poorly tanned. Altogether, they were the ugliest bunch of men she had ever encountered.
    They reminded her of pictures of gnomes she had seen as a child. The leader of the group—she presumed he was the leader—a red-haired, snaggle-toothed nightmare, moved closer to her, poking at her with his spear and making unintelligible sounds. Every single one was brandishing a club or spear of some sort and they approached her warily, as if they were stalking her. Totally frightened now, she backed up slowly as they formed a circle around her, poking, prodding and grunting excitedly.
    * * *
     
    Nathan had seen the smoke. Who wouldn’t have? The idiot who had made the fire either wanted to be found or was too stupid to realize he had sent out an invitation to everyone or everything lurking in the area. He didn’t like venturing into this section, too many of the others skulked around here and he didn’t like having to pretend he was one of them, although he had gotten pretty good at it over the years. Beside him, Demon, his partner in hell and his last contact with his previous life, padded along, stopping each while to sniff the air and check for intruders. Born of the huge female Mastiff, Lila, who had originally accompanied him, Demon was the only surviving pup of her litter.
    She had mated with a wolf and when the pups were only a few weeks old, a cave lion had attacked and she had been killed along with most of her pups. Nathan found bits and pieces of her and the pups when he returned later. Demon had only survived because he had managed to crawl into a rock fissure too small for the cave lion to follow. He named the pup “Demon” for the spunk the pup showed when he tried to pull him out, fighting and biting before Nathan managed to pull the pup free from the small opening. Demon was huge, bigger than his mother had been, with the wolf genetics as well, and his intelligence and canine abilities had proven invaluable on more than one occasion. They respected each other and he never left the cave that Demon wasn’t at his side.
    Demon stopped, going rigid, his hackles rose and a low growl rumbled from his chest. Nathan knew from experience that the only thing that would garner that response from the dog was danger and, more particularly, the others. The dog hated the others. Demon crouched down and ran to the top of a small hill ahead, his bearing cunning and wary. Nathan crouched down as well and followed the dog. Waving his hand, he motioned for the dog to be still while he took a better look. Down below, the others were circled around a single, taller figure, shoving and hitting at him, all the while grunting and squealing like a bunch of rabid pigs. The man was fighting and holding his own, but without help, he wouldn’t last. As Nathan watched, he realized the individual was using fighting techniques he used as well—techniques beyond the abilities or training of the others.
    Nathan waved the dog forward. Demon sprang up and rushed down the hill, barking and growling and snapping as he forced his way through the others. Nathan hurried behind, pulling a long knife from his pack and hefting a war club in preparation for battle. Whooping savagely, he entered the fray.
    The gnomes continued to shove and strike at her, never really delivering any severe blows, but hard enough to hurt, and she was bleeding from several small cuts. Thankful that Jonas had spent so much time on hand-to-hand combat, Riley