“Don’t hurt me!”
“I am not here to hurt you.”
“Don’t kill me!”
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead already.”
Her voice was like the whispering of leaves on an autumn evening. Her vowels were the brush of branches. Her consonants were the creak of boughs in a rough winter wind.
The boy looked nervously about the ward. Everything was still. Silent. Trapped in a pocket of time.
“What do you want?” he squeaked, voice tiny, blankets clutched under his chin like armour.
“We want you,” breathed the Skogsgrå.
“Why? To kill me?”
“Not at all.” The face twisted into something horrific, something he could only imagine from tales of horror, stories of Hell, demons from a dark and deviant imagination. Bad stuff. Evil stuff. And then the boy realised . . . she was smiling. The Skogsgrå was smiling.
“What, then?”
“Let me tell you a story. It’s about a little boy who feels a calling. He feels it in his flesh, in his bones, in his very soul. And he faces great odds to answer that calling, because it is a part of him, something deeper than life or death, deeper than parents or religion. And he understands, intrinsically, that in life, there are things one must do. Things that are right. Battles one must fight. Elements of the very fabric of the world which are not . . . good, and must be put right, no matter what the cost.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Robert Jones. A great war is coming. Not in one world, but in two. They cross one another, run in parallel, and yet intertwine—like strands of cotton, woven together to form a braid. You will be caught up in this war—not in one world but both. And when things get bad, so bad you think it will never end, we will come for you, and we will do our best to help. To put an end to this atrocity. To stop this scourge against life.”
The boy had tears on his cheeks. He shook his head. “Why me? What could I possibly do?”
“You will be a hero,” growled the Skogsgrå, “but more importantly, you will strive to do what is right. For your people . . . and for mine.”
“You are part of the woods? The ancient trees?”
The Skogsgrå nodded, with a creak of timber.
“When will you come for me?”
The Skogsgrå smiled.
“Why,” she said, jumping backwards from the crushed brass bedrail, and landing with a clatter of thorns on the sterile, polished sanatorium tiles. “On the day that you die, of course.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to my little boys, Joe and Olly, for making me laugh so much! Thanks to Sonia, for all the good times, to Roy, for his filmmaking enthusiasm, and to my test-readers and proofreaders—I-owe-you-all-many-beers!! Thanks to John Jarrold, for his advice and pub lunches, and to Lee Harris at Tor for his unending support.
About the Author
Photograph by Joseph Remic
ANDY REMIC started his author career writing high-octane science fiction novels but soon graduated to epic fantasy. His writing is relentless, passionate, visceral. It’s the literary equivalent of an extreme sport and should come with a government health warning. Described by many as the natural successor to David Gemmell, Remic enjoys pummeling his readers with scene after scene of action and mayhem. He also enjoys pummeling his characters.
You’ll never be bored with a Remic novel!
www.andyremic.com
Also by Andy Remic
Kell’s Legend
Soul Stealers
Vampire Warlords
The Iron Wolves
The White Towers
The Dragon Engine
Spiral
Quake
Warhead
Serial Killers Incorporated
War Machine
Biohell
Hardcore
Cloneworld
Theme Planet
Toxicity
SIM
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Author’s Note
Part One
1
2
3
4
5
6
Part Two
7
8
9
10
11
Part Three
12
13
14
15
16
Part Four
17
17
18
19
20
21
22
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
About the Author
Also by Andy Remic
Newsletter Sign-up
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A SONG FOR NO MAN’S LAND
Copyright © 2016 by Andy Remic
Cover art by Jeffrey Alan Love
Cover designed by Christine Foltzer
Edited by Lee Harris
All rights reserved.
A Tor.com Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-8401-0 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-7653-8787-5 (trade paperback)
First Edition: February 2016
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