Reign of Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page A

Lurker smell was nauseating, and Caelan gagged and choked. He
had no weapon, not even a tinder strike or a coal box. Lurkers were skulkers,
cowards who preyed on carrion and stragglers. Although vicious, they were
easily frightened off by simple tactics such as armed resistance or even lire.
    With
regret Caelan thought of the knife he kept hidden in his clothes chest in his
quarters. He’d bought it at the fair from a Neika tribesman last summer. It was
forbidden, of course, and certainly not allowed at school. But he’d managed to
keep the proctors from finding it during their periodic room searches. What he’d
give to have the weapon at hand now.
    Stupid
to be caught like this. With the wide, paved road bordered on either side by
deep ditches kept cleared by imperial order, he had felt safe. He hadn’t even
been thinking of lurkers this close to the hold or the nearby town.
    Sniffing
along Caelan’s throat, the lurker laughed low. For a moment it sounded almost
human.
    Horrified,
Caelan jabbed it in one eye with his thumb.
    The
creature reared back with a howl, and Caelan was able to scramble free. He gave
it a kick that knocked it over, gained his feet, and ran for his life.
    Shrieking,
the lurker lunged after him, and the chase began in earnest. Caelan knew if it caught him it
would tear him apart in its excitement, or else drag him off to feed a colony.
    Lurkers
were fearsome things, half human and half animal. Man-sized when grown, they
could walk upright or drop to their knuckles. Hook-nosed and fanged, they had
faces that looked semi-intelligent, and they were certainly cunning. Their skin
was usually mottled or covered with warts. Long silver hair grew to their
shoulders and hung in tangled locks filled with twigs and burrs. Said to be
originally spawned of demons, they skulked the fringes of fields and hid in
mountain passes. They preferred fresh meat, but they were also carrion eaters.
If they were hungry enough, they would even prey on each other.
    In
springtime they were especially bold, seeking field- maids to force. If the
villagers did not kill women who were attacked, often they killed themselves
rather than give birth to such monsters.
    Peasants
slaughtered lurkers at every chance. Whenever the creatures ventured too near
villages, the men formed hunting parties and rounded them up, driving them to
their deaths over cliffs. But still the bestial creatures increased in number
every year, migrating in from other regions.
    The
one coursing at Caelan’s heels now was more than enough. Snuffling, it kept up
with him easily. Caelan ran flat out, arms and legs pumping, straining to hold
his short lead.
    His
cut knee began to twinge, then hurt. He ran anyway, ignoring it, but the pain
intensified until every step brought a wrenching stab of agony.
    The
lurker was closer now, snuffling and grunting in excitement. It lunged at
Caelan, and the graze of its claws on his back made him leap forward.
    Howling,
the lurker lunged again.
    This
time Caelan’s leg buckled under him without warning. He went down hard, the
lurker clawing his back with shrieks of triumph.
    Mashed
beneath it, Caelan felt it grip his neck to snap it. Fear convulsed him, but he
was pinned and helpless.
    The
lurker squalled anew, uttering a bellow of triumph that changed to a weird,
high-pitched sound and ended abruptly.
    It
fell across Caelan with a thud and did not stir.
    Breathing
hard, terror still running through him in waves, Caelan did not at first
realize what had happened.
    Then
he heard running footsteps and voices. A light from a lantern shone in his
eyes.
    Dizzy
with relief, Caelan raised his head. “Help me!” he cried. “Get it off.”
    The
soldiers surrounded him and dragged off the lurker’s dead body. Sitting up,
Caelan saw the haft of a javelin sticking up from the lurker’s back. One of the
soldiers pulled out the weapon, and dark green blood dripped off the point.
    A
noxious stench rose up from the wound, driving the