City of Demons Read Online Free PDF

a smile from his own lips as Mandarack unknowingly named the very weapon he had used to dispatch the demon.
    The old man continued, “No, it is not strength, or rough courage, or even the weapon that matters. Fear is the key. Demons are covered with it like a stench. It strikes all those who are near.” He raised his cup slightly off the table, as if in a subtle toast to the boy in front of him. “Only those who have known fear as a constant companion and refuse to give in to it can stand up to the special terror a demon brings.”
    Mandarack stood, and the girl at his elbow opened the door in preparation for their leaving. It was obvious from her twitching nose that she wished to be gone from this poor house as soon as her master allowed it.
    â€œMistress Allaina,” Mandarack spoke to his mother as an equal and she rose and stood straighter than usual in acknowledgement, “the demons that have long plagued the cities of the South have appeared in the Midlands for the first time in history. We need all who can be trained to fight against them. It is the custom in the South to take those who can withstand a demon’s fear and train them in the Banehall of their city.” He glanced around the cabin. “There has never been a need for a Banehall in the Midlands, so we are taking any likely candidates to Shirath for training. As you are a Northerner and a stranger to our customs, I feel that it is right that we should ask your leave to do so.”
    Garet’s mother swayed a bit and grasped the back of her chair with both hands. “You mean to take Garet to Shirath? How will he live? Who will care for him?”
    Mandarack appeared not to hear Salick’s snort. “Banes are well supported by the city they live in, Mistress,” he replied. “Your son, if he becomes a Bane, will never lack for food or the means to live. If he cannot pass our tests, I will guarantee his safe return to your farm.” He held his good hand out towards her. “It must be your decision, Mistress.”
    It seemed an eternity of time to Garet as his mother stood looking at her son, searching his face, and perhaps looking inside her own heart for the strength to say what she must.
    â€œMy Lord Mandarack,” she said facing the grey-haired man again and putting her own hand in his, “as you have said, I do not know all your ways, but if you promise to give my son a better life than he would have here, you may take him.”
    Mandarack merely nodded, but Salick’s nose twitched again, and her expression seemed to say, “A better life than this? Any life would be better!”

The Plains were a revelation to Garet. He had spent his life trapped within the dark green hills that surrounded his father’s farm. Even Three Roads, the nearest thing to a village within walking distance, was hemmed in by those forested ridges, which ran for ten days’ travel from the edge of the prairies to the far mountains.
    Now his eyes ran along lines that did not end in a humped, green wall. Sometimes flat, sometimes gently rolling, the land was a continuous surprise. Even the colours were different. The grass, long enough to tickle the belly of the horse he rode, glowed golden in the setting sun. The wind sent great waves of the nodding, seeded stems bowing and straightening all around him. Looking up, the blue arc of the sky seemed deeper, wider, and more vibrant. And just when he thought that blue and gold were the only colours left in the world, they would ride through a patch of wildflowers, red poppies and tall, purple lupine, that stretched half-way to the horizon.
    The only visible barrier as the small party rode west was a thin line of clouds hovering above the distant horizon. At times the limitless views led Garet to think they made no progress at all, and the horses only walked in place while the sun swept overhead. Then he felt exposed and naked, a worm crawling across a