The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book Read online

  “Are you ready?” Rob asked.

  “As I'll ever be.”

  “I'll help as much as I can,” Rob assured him.

  “Thanks, Brat.”

  Rob nodded, his lips in a tight line, Galen could feel concern radiating off of him. Rob was worried, and that bothered Galen. Worry like that was not generally a part of Rob's make up, so feeling that buzz of emotion ramped up the tension at the base of Galen's neck. Rob waited another moment, then moved to mount his horse, drawing his sword and smiling at Galen, throwing the bond wide open so Galen could draw on his power as he needed it. “We'll attack as soon as it's ready,” Rob said.

  “Right. Be careful.”

  “You, too, Galen.”

  “I will.” Galen scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. It was time.

  He began by reciting the words Guy had given him, holding the silver disk in his hand and letting the words flow through his mind. The song in the amulet gained volume, the notes humming under his skin and along his spine until his entire body was vibrating with it. He held the music in check, building it carefully, the words now flowing easily from his tongue as he sang. The melody pooled around his feet, light joining it until it warmed him and began to surround him. He was drowning in it, the song, the light, filling every part of him until he couldn't breathe, couldn't think beyond what was happening. His hands started to move, drawing an intricate pattern in the air. The light increased, he was blind, he was deaf, it was all around him, the music steadily building to a crescendo. He gathered himself and brought his hands together, trapping the disk between them. Everything stopped for long seconds, like the world had taken a giant breath and held it. Waiting.

  Light whipped through Galen as the spell built itself into what it would become. Some of it escaped his hold, moving outwards, racing across the dark field towards the opposing army. The raw power tore deep furrows in the ground as it moved, gaining speed as it approached the waiting feorhbealu and their ranks. Galen dimly heard Rob's order to charge and the ground around him trembled as the Hunt moved out. The feorhbealu shouted their ferocious challenge across the dark fields.

  Galen tried to move, tried to join the charge. He had no intention of letting Rob fight this battle alone, but he couldn't break free. He knew had to stay focused and keep the spell and its power flowing to give his brother and the others a chance to destroy the dark army and drive the feorhbealu back where they belonged. The knowledge of what he must do to accomplish that filled him with an icy calm. If there were stragglers amongst the opposing army, he could imprison them. Still, Galen wanted—needed—to be there fighting beside Rob. He was the king's champion, but more importantly he was Custodes Noctis, he belonged beside Rob, fighting the dark, fighting the things that even the night feared.

  The thought warmed him. He was a Keeper. Galen had never allowed himself to believe that, always worried about the Legacy, about who they were and what could happen and trying to keep his brother safe from the darkness that still pulsed in the scar the Old One had left in his heart. But it didn't work that way. They were Custodes Noctis, the Ritual of Swords tied them together to fight, to die if need be. Galen reached out and touched Rob through the bond, drawing gently on his energy to build the wall of light and attack the feorhbealu when the Hunt and the others reached the creatures.

  “Sorry I can't be beside you,” Galen said.

  “You are, Galen. We're at their line.”

  “Ready?”

  “On three,” Rob said calmly.

  “One,” Galen said out loud.

  “Two,” Rob said through the bond.

  “Three.” Galen let the song loose, let the power free from the hold he'd had on it.

  The world exploded.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rob

  Rob's horse was nearly on top the feorhbealu when Galen's count of three rang through the bond. He braced himself for what was coming, but even knowing what might happen didn't prepare him for the blast of white light that shook the world, all the worlds, around him. To his left he heard the shout of surprise as a rider glanced back at the explosion that was racing towards them. Rob was reminded of newsreels he'd seen of atomic explosions as the great shock-wave of light blasted out from the dark shadow where Galen was still standing. It engulfed them, swallowing first the Fae and others on foot, then the Hunt was caught in it, their forms silhouetted in the bright light. It swirled past him, the power warming him, giving him strength, the light burning his eyes.

  The wave reached the feorhbealu and they were buffeted, hit by the massive power of the blast. The line didn't completely break, but Rob saw several creatures turn and run from the light. The Hunt was on the feorhbealu a moment later. Rob swung his sword and connected with dark flesh, the black slime of the creature's life blood splattering his face with icy drops. Surprise coursed through him, something had change, the essence of thing that faced him was vastly different. The creature didn't come for him again, as they had before, it was on the ground writhing in its death throes. Considering what had happened earlier, that seemed almost too easy. He pulled his attention back to the fight and lifted his blade again as another one closed on him.

  Guy came up beside him, parrying a blow from a human-looking creature with wild eyes. Rob turned on the thing and realized it was like the man who'd come into the shop looking for the charm. Rob's horse reared up and kicked out, catching the man on the head and knocking him to the ground. One of the Fae closed in on the man, weapon raised, bright claws glittering at the end of its left hand. Rob plunged forward, pressing deeper into the line of the feorhbealu and their ranks. His horse fought as well, the kick it had aimed at the man was merely the first of many blows.

  The light of Galen's spell still surrounded them, the ground undulating and the air vibrating with the aftershocks. One of the feorhbealu's supporters broke loose and ran, a tendril of light struck out and stopped him long enough for two of the Hunt to attack it. It howled in pain, then blasted apart as they delivered a final blow.

  His attention was yanked back to the field in front of him when his horse suddenly stopped, tensing underneath him. One of the feorhbealu was in front of him, larger than any of the others, the huge mass of it pulling even Galen's light into itself. To his left he saw a rider try to attack it, the horse was brushed away as easily as a fly. Stephen halted in front of the thing, his weapon raised. The feorhbealu growled, the sound sending slivers of terror coursing up Rob's spine. His mount reacted as well, whinnying in fear as it pawed at the ground.

  The feorhbealu lowered its head, sniffing at Stephen as it continued to growl, the sound paralyzing those within hearing. It reached out with a huge claw and prodded Blake. The touch looked gentle, except Rob could see the damage the single claw had done. It nudged Stephen, shoving him to the ground, then it turned back towards Rob.

  He yanked on his mount's reins, trying to get the animal to move, but the horse was held immobile by the feorhbealu's voice. It approached slowly, taking its time, sniffing the air as it got closer. The battle raged across the field, but Rob was held in a crystalline bubble unable to move or breath.

  “Ah, the king,” it said, its voice vibrating with amusement.

  “Let us kill him!” someone shouted. Rob looked up, several riders were behind the feorhbealu their swords raised. “He has betrayed us.”

  The king hissed, his anger flooding Rob. “You betrayed me!” Rob said, the king's voice mingling with his own.

  “He is mine! When you are gone,” the feorhbealu growled, “the rest will fall.”

  “No,” Rob said simply, tightening the grip on his sword. It was simple, the world wouldn't go down with out a fight—and neither would he.

  The feorhbealu laughed, the sound booming over the fields. It reached out and grabbed Rob's shoulder, holding him steady as it bent towards him. The cold of death began to fill him as it held him motionless. It lifted his head with the other hand, the grip on his chin as painful as a d
eep wound. It forced his head up until it met his eyes—Rob tried to look away but couldn't. The light was disappearing into it and now it started to pull Rob's Gift away, stripping him of everything, his Sight, the healing he had, the first edges of the bond with Galen. This was worse than death, it was condemning him to a hell that no one had even mentioned for thousands of years: The Dark Death, soul gone, forced to serve the feorhbealu like the riders who'd betrayed the Hunt, like the other creatures who offered fealty to the feorhbealu.

  “I was wrong, there is no power for us here,” the king's deep voice echoed through Rob.

  “You? You did this?”

  “I considered their offer of power, yes, but it was a mistake. We need to lead the Hunt, not serve this filth.”

  “Filth?” the feorhbealu growled. A shaft of pure agony cut through Rob, he heard his voice scream, but he couldn't do anything, couldn't move, couldn't break free, it had complete control. He saw another feorhbealu approaching, it joined the first. “We will feast on this one, then finish the rest,” the one holding Rob said. It dug its claws into his shoulder.

  “I will help if I can, my brother, myself,” the king whispered.

  “Thank you, my brother, myself,” Rob answered. It was hopeless, they both knew it. The king struggled against the creature as Rob tried to bring the tiny bit of the Gift he had left to bear. Once the other feorhbealu joined to devour him, it would be over.

  Rob thought he saw something moving on the other side of the feorhbealu but his Sight was gone and his eyes were dimming. The only thing keeping him on his horse was the hold the feorhbealu had on him. Regret washed through him, he hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye to his brother. There was more movement, his brain couldn't make sense of what it was seeing. It was too late. The second feorhbealu reached out to grab him.

  “Now!” Galen shouted.

  A hole opened up in the second feorhbealu, followed by the crack of a gunshot. The creature roared in fury, turning away to face his attackers. The feorhbealu holding Rob looked away to see what was happening, as its eyes broke contact with Rob's he felt a whisper through the bond. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to pull away as far as he could from the mass of the feorhbealu. Galen's sword struck out in the next instant, slicing the thing's hand from its arm. Rob collapsed forward on his horse. Galen's hand steadied him for a moment, then his brother swung his horse in front of Rob, blocking him from the creature. Rob took several deep breaths and pulled the thing's claws—still attached to the dismembered hand—from his shoulder. He raised his head to look across the battlefield.

  The riders that supported the feorhbealu were under attack, members of the Hunt surrounding them, swords singing in the air. Other members of the Hunt were fighting up and down the line of feorhbealu and their supporters. Rob was surprised when Guy, Parry, Bobby and Rhiannon closed in on the one that had been wounded as it attacked Rob. Rhiannon steadied herself and calmly shot into it, the bullet passing through, leaving a gaping hole in its body.

  “No!” the feorhbealu who'd held Rob roared. The sound caused the ground to shake and the entire battle to pause momentarily, even the other feorhbealu stopped at the scream. “No! What have you done?”

  “Rob! Duck!” Galen called. Rob reacted without thinking, the thing's uninjured hand swept through the space where he'd been moments before. He saw the flash of Galen's blade, the metal disappearing into the creature's body. Galen groaned, the echo of the pain brushing Rob's consciousness.

  Rob shook his head, trying to dispel the affects of the attack. His Gift wouldn't return and he could feel icy blood slipping over his body, but he raised his sword and, with a shout, drove the blade forward, stopping the blow the creature had aimed at Galen. Rob tried to pull his sword free, it caught for a moment on something hard in the feorhbealu. It growled and tried to grab Rob again, but Galen moved in, driving his sword into its neck, the power of the blade leaving a white wound in the black flesh. Rob followed his brother's movement and sliced across the thing's chest, then thrust forward, driving metal into its body. The feorhbealu reared back, pulling itself off their blades. Dark slime flowed freely over its body as it howled in rage.

  “You won't escape,” it said. “The Fae creature who turned on us has trapped you here.” It laughed.

  Rob didn't have time to wonder what that meant. Galen caught his eye, Rob nodded. They moved in together, cutting at the feorhbealu, their blades leaving gaping wounds in it. Rage pulsed around it, even without the Sight, Rob could see the shimmer in the air as anger floated around it. The feorhbealu attacked, sweeping Rob from his horse. He hit the ground hard, a foot trapped him underneath it, crushing him into the earth. It laughed as it pressed down on him.

  “Rob!” Galen called. “Ready!”

  Rob didn't know what Galen was planning, but he tightened his hold on his sword. There was the explosion of a large-bore handgun and the pressure on his back released. He rolled over and cut into the feorhbealu, leaving a deep slash in one ankle. He pushed himself up, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to push him back down. As he rose, he thrust his sword into the center of the creature's mass, the metal slid in, bouncing off bone on the way. Galen's blade pierced it as well, without words Rob knew what Galen intended and he began dragging his weapon through the flesh, cutting deeply as Galen did the same. The feorhbealu was screaming in pain, thrashing as it tried to get free, a huge chunk missing from its neck. There was a last roar of pain from it, their blades slipped free of its body and it fell, almost cut in two. Dark blood spurted from it as it writhed, its remaining claws cutting into the earth. Galen stood over it and muttered a few soft words, light blazed from their swords, Rob felt the tug of power, and the feorhbealu blasted apart, the force of the explosion knocking Rob to the ground.

  “Rob?” Galen said, kneeling beside him.

  “Galen?” Rob asked, opening his eyes. “It over?”

  “Mostly, they're doing clean up right now.”

  “Good,” Rob sighed.

  “Mike!” Galen shouted, the doctor was beside them a moment later. “Can you help him? Stop the bleeding?”

  “God, Galen, I don't even know where to start,” Mike said softly.

  “Just zap him,” Flash said, swinging off his horse to join them.

  “Zap him?” Guy asked as he and Stephen walked up, Blake leaning heavily on Guy.

  “He means use the healing. I can't right now, Flash.”

  “What? Why not?” Flash demanded.

  “Galen?” Rob reached for him, closing a hand around his brother's wrist. “You aren't staying?” he asked, voicing a sudden fear. Galen had been planning to join the Hunt, maybe now... Rob unconsciously pulled Galen towards him.

  “Staying?” Galen frowned at him for a moment.

  “Here, with the Hunt?”

  “No, Rob, not by choice,” he said, putting his hand on Rob's chest. A tiny trickle of the healing slid into Rob before Galen stood.

  “Whatever you're doing, you might want to hurry, Galen,” Mike said, pressing his hands against Rob's shoulder. “I have no idea how to help here.”

  “Mike? How are you here?” Rob asked, confused. Rhiannon and his father were there as well.

  “Ask your brother,” Mike grumbled.

  “Later, Rob,” Galen said as he faced Stephen. “Rob needs a hospital, I can't save him here.” Galen's voice was calm and matter-of-fact, that was enough to worry Rob.

  “Sorry,” Stephen said with a shrug. “Even if I wanted to fix it, I can't.”

  “What are you talking about, Stephen?” Guy asked.

  “The spell I cast to free you and Robert, I can't reverse it.”

  “I thought it didn't work,” Rob said, blinking slowly, the king was dying.

  “It didn't free them, but it created the groundwork for today,” Stephen said, his voice full of regret.