Shadow’s Lure by Jon Sprunk

him.
    “It seemed like the darkness shattered into pieces and came to this man’s aid,” Arion said. “Like they were his pets, or guardians.”
    A couple of the captains chuckled. His father just looked away.
    Arion struck the table with his open palm. “Ask the others if you don’t believe me! Better yet, go down to the infirmary and see what those things did to Okin’s face. It doesn’t matter. Stiv and I are going back out to find this man.”
    The duke rubbed his lips. “That’s out of the quest—”
    “An excellent idea,” Sybelle interrupted. “You should find this person and bring him to justice. Lord Soloroth will accompany you.”
    Arion shoved himself back from the table. “I don’t need any help from your demon spawn—”
    “Careful.” Sybelle raised a finger. The dark irises of her eyes reflected no light. “Soloroth holds his honor as dearly as you. Erric, as you have heard from your progeny’s own words, the maneuvers in the south are well under way. It is time to consolidate your control of this land. We cannot strike southward until our flanks are secure.”
    The duke reached for his cup. “As you say, Sybelle. It is time for Eregoth to bow to one master. Wine!”
    Arion stood up. Without a word, he turned away.
    “Son!” his father called. “Come and we’ll have supper. A feast to celebrate your return. We’ll broach a cask of wine …”
    But Arion kept walking, out the door and down the empty hallway. And the witch’s laughter followed him.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    C aim awoke to the smell of wood smoke and opened his eyes to see Kit floating above him. Her long, silver hair hung loose about her shoulders.
    “Good morning, sunshine.”
    Caim opened his mouth, and then closed it. He hadn’t expected her back in such a good humor. It made him suspicious. But now wasn’t the time to get to the bottom of it. Knowing Kit, she would let him know why when she was good and ready.
    Hagan bent over the fire pit. His pan nestled in the embers, giving off an aroma of sizzling meat. Beef this time. Caim pushed away his blanket and took stock of his condition. His leg was stiff, but it felt better than the day before. His face didn’t hurt as much either. When he probed the area around his ear, flakes of dried blood came away on his fingers. The gouges in his back weren’t as deep as he’d feared. Good thing , or I’d be crippled .
    When he reached over to put on his boots, a jolt ran up his right forearm. Pulling up his sleeve, he peeled back the bandage. The flesh underneath was torn like his leg wound and sore to the touch. He pulled off his shirt and started ripping it into strips.
    When he had rewrapped his arm and donned a fresh shirt from his pack, Caim scooted up to the fire. The morning was bitter cold. Holding out his hands to the warmth, a memory came to him of another bitter winter, of him and Kas sitting across the table in their ramshackle cabin, shivering over plates of beans and mutton while a blizzard wailed outside. He could see the old soldier’s grim smile as he joked about people someday finding their frozen bodies.
    Hagan held out a steaming cup. “ Cha ? Not strong enough by a fair measure, but it’ll warm you up.”
    As Caim took the cup, Kit brushed against him.
    “I already checked for poison,” she said. “But he’s a good man. You can trust him.”
    Caim almost choked on the hot, bitter liquid. If this was weak, he didn’t want to know this man’s idea of a proper cha . Still, it was hot, so he drank until the cup was empty, whereupon Hagan filled it with browned meat from the pan. They ate in silence. More snow had fallen in the night. It covered their tracks and made everything look new and clean, as if he had dreamt the apparition that attacked him. He would have liked to ask Kit about it, but while Hagan looked rather old, he didn’t seem hard of hearing.
    They washed out their cups in the snow and packed up. Grabbing his gear, Caim walked out from