A demonborn man stood in the doorway, staring at him.
The man looked no more than twenty years old. He wore a black cloak, scuffed boots, ragged trousers, and a worn leather jerkin over a coat of mail. A sword and a dagger hung from his belt.
He had the red eyes of a possessed man.
Despite his sudden fear and shock, Ganlon thought he had never seen a man so young look so weary.
“I don’t want trouble,” said Ganlon.
The red-eyed man sighed. “Nor do I. I don’t want your coin, your goods, your inn, your virgin daughters. All I want is some food and something to drink.” He hesitated. “I have coin.”
“Aye?” said Ganlon. “I’ve…some fish left from last night. Some ale, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t,” said the red-eyed man. “I’ll take it outside.” He tried to smile. It only made him look grimmer. “No sense bringing evil into your house.”
“Aye,” said Ganlon. The demonborn man left. For a moment Ganlon considered barring the door. Instead he took some fish, some cheese, and a wooden mug of ale and went outside.
Ganlon’s inn sat on a bluff overlooking both the village and the sea. High grasses waved in the salty breeze, and the red-eyed man sat on a boulder, staring at the ocean. A magnificent warhorse grazed nearby.
“Thank you,” said the man, taking the food and pressing a silver penny into Ganlon’s leathery palm.
“So…what brings you to the village, then?” said Ganlon. “Business?” Mayhap the red-eyed man was from exotic lands, though his accent marked him as Khauldish.
“The ocean,” said the red-eyed man. “I wanted to see it again.”
“You did?”
“I love the ocean.
Ganlon considered this. Any man who loved the ocean couldn’t be all bad. “As do I. I am Ganlon. I keep the inn.”
“Raelum, once of Khauldun, now of nowhere,” said the demonborn man. He took a bite of fish.
“Nowhere?” said Ganlon. “A mercenary, then?” Raelum looked haunted. Perhaps he had survived some dreadful battle, though he looked too young to have fought with Lord Corthain at the Dark River.
“No,” said Raelum. “But I’ve traveled far. To High Morgon, then to ancient Arvandil, to the Silvercrown Mountains and the very edge of the Old Empire ”
“Have you?” said Ganlon, smiling. Those were names from a song. But, then, maybe it explained the man’s red eyes.
“You don’t believe me,” said Raelum. “I don’t expect you to. But I’ve seen things that would drive you mad. Perhaps they have driven me mad.”
“A ghoul tried to break into the village, once, about five years ago,” said Ganlon, shuddering at the memory. They had feathered it with burning arrows. How the hideous thing had screamed! “But we drove if off.”
“I’m sure you did,” said Raelum. “But I came to the edge of the Old Empire and back to here. I wanted to see the ocean one more time.”
“Aye,” said Ganlon, still uneasy. “And now that you’ve seen the ocean, what will you do?”
“I don’t know,” said Raelum. He bowed his head and sat in silence.
A scream echoed over the village.
Raelum’s head snapped up.
Ganlon frowned, shuffling to the edge of the bluff. He glimpsed women and children running from the village. Behind them ran hulking forms in gleaming armor. Further up the coast lay a pair of beached longships, their bows carved in shapes of hideous beasts.
A terrified chill shot down Ganlon’s spine.
“Oh, no,” he said. “Northmen.”
“What?” said Raelum, moving to his side.
“No, no,” said Ganlon. A house caught fire. “The Northmen. They must have beached their ships, come ashore in the night! They’ll carry us off as slaves…”
At the word “slaves” a low growl came from Raelum’s lips.
“My bow,” gasped Ganlon, “my bow, I’ve got to get my bow…”
He turned and froze at the expression on Raelum’s face.
All doubt and weariness had fallen from Raelum’s red eyes. In their place rose a grim, unwavering determination. Raelum pulled a helmet from its shoulder strap, set it on his head, and leapt up onto the horse’s back.
As Ganlon watched, he galloped down the bluff, black cloak billowing behind them.
###
The chieftain of the Northmen laughed. “Come, you dogs! Get these rabble into chains!”
He watched as his Northmen shoved the terrified fisher-folk into shackles.
This was more like it, the chieftain thought. To think they had raided the desolate northlands! Here there were fat merchant ships, ripe for the picking. Here were healthy folk and beautiful women who would fetch a fine price in the slave markets of Carth and Khauldun.
And, thought the chieftain with a shudder, no red-eyed devils lurked here, ready to spring from the shadows with a sword of fire.
“Move!” roared the chieftain, brandishing his broadsword.
Someone screamed, and steel clanged on steel.
The chieftain frowned, turned, and saw three of his men fleeing towards him. They ran past him, sprinting for the ships.
“What?” he bellowed. “Cowardly dogs! Come back!”
He saw the horseman.
The armored rider galloped through the village, striking down Northmen right and left. Those that stood against him fell. The others turned and fled in terror, shrieking. Even as the chieftain watched, the man galloped past the terrified villagers, his sword striking the chains from their arms.
The chieftain laughed and strode towards the rider, broadsword at the ready.
Then the chieftain saw the helmeted rider’s face.
His throat went dry.
It was him, the red-eyed devil from the northlands.
Somehow, somehow he had followed them here.
The chieftain screamed, and screamed, and did not stop screaming until the red-eyed man’s sword came down.
THE END
Thank you for reading THE TOMB OF BALIGANT. Look for more adventures with Raelum, Rachaelis Morulan, and Corthain Kalarien in late 2014 or early 2015. To receive immediate notification of new releases, sign up for my newsletter or watch for news on my Facebook page.
About the Author
Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.
He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write THE GHOSTS sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE series of computer books, and numerous other works.
Visit his website at:
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com
Visit his technology blog at:
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed
Contact him at:
jmcontact@jonathanmoeller.com
You can sign up for his email newsletter here, or watch for news on his Facebook page.
Other books by the author
The Frostborn Series
Frostborn: The Gray Knight
The Orc's Tale (Tales of the Frostborn short story)
The Third Soul Series
The Testing
The Assassins
The Blood Shaman
The High Demon
The Burning Child
The Outlaw Adept
The Black Paladin
The Tomb of Baligant
The Third Soul Omnibus One
The Third Soul Omnibus Two
Computer Beginner's Guides
The Ubuntu Beginner's Guide
The Windows Command Line Beginner's Guide
The Linux Command Line Beginner's Guide
The Ubuntu Desktop Beginner's Guide
The Windows 8 Beginner's Guide
The Linux Mint Beginner's Guide
The Ghosts S
eries
Child of the Ghosts
Ghost in the Flames
Ghost in the Blood
Ghost in the Storm
Ghost in the Stone
Ghost in the Forge
Ghost in the Ashes
Ghost Dagger (World of the Ghosts novella)
Ghost Aria (World of the Ghosts short story)
Ghost Claws (World of the Ghosts short story)
The Demonsouled Series
Demonsouled
Soul of Tyrants
Soul of Serpents
Soul of Dragons
Soul of Sorcery
Soul of Skulls
Soul of Swords
The Dragon's Shadow (World of the Demonsouled novella)
The Wandering Knight (World of the Demonsouled short story)
The Tournament Knight (World of the Demonsouled short story)
The Tower of Endless Worlds Series
The Tower of Endless Worlds
A Knight of the Sacred Blade
A Wizard of the White Council
The Destroyer of Worlds
$1.99 Dark Fantasy
Driven and Other Stories
The Devil's Agent
Angel Sword and Other Stories
Table of Contents
Description
Other books by the author
The Third Soul VI: The Outlaw Adept
Chapter 1 - Departures
Chapter 2 - Wards of Alarm
Chapter 3 - Blood Sigils
Chapter 4 - Wrath of the Conclave
Chapter 5 - The College Historia
Chapter 6 - Ancient Lore
Chapter 7 - Thoughtmeld
Chapter 8 - High Art and Blood Sorcery
Chapter 9 - The Renegade
Chapter 10 - Tribunal
The Third Soul VII: The Black Paladin
Chapter 1 - Ghouls in the Wood
Chapter 2 - Demonborn
Chapter 4 - The Ruined Keep
Chapter 5 - The Dead Monastery
Chapter 6 - The First Brother of St. Arik’s
Chapter 7 - Marsile’s Tribute
Chapter 8 - Northmen
Chapter 9 - The Orphanage
Chapter 10 - Allies of Necessity
Chapter 11 - The Abbey of St. Tarill
Chapter 12 - Murderer
Chapter 13 - The Knight in the Green Cloak
Chapter 14 - Draugvir
Chapter 15 - Nightmares in the Dark
Chapter 16 - Shrine Duel
Chapter 17 – Blood Scent
Chapter 18 - Hierarchs of the Old Empire
Chapter 19 - The Making of a Paladin
The Third Soul VIII: The Tomb of Baligant
Chapter 1 - Pursuit
Chapter 2 - Servants of Baligant
Chapter 3 - Arthuras
Chapter 4 - Abbotsford
Chapter 5 - The Guardians
Chapter 6 - Silver Knights and Demon Knights
Chapter 7 - Recruiting
Chapter 8 - The Nameless City
Chapter 9 - Stench of the Dead
Chapter 10 - A New Master
Chapter 11 - The High Temple
Chapter 12 - Catacombs
Chapter 13 - Hunters and Hunted
Chapter 14 - For Justice
Chapter 15 - Ashborn
Chapter 16 - Moragannon
Chapter 17 - Those Who Wait
Chapter 18 - Baligant
Chapter 19 - Broken Sword
Chapter 20 - The Ocean
Epilogue - Black Paladin
About the Author
Other books by the author