“Are your parent’s home?” he asked, glancing at the hut where she lived with Mama. Papa had been put in the earth in the spring, taken by a fever that also claimed her younger brother.

She shook her head.

“Well then, I should keep you company,” he stated, sliding off his horse.

At his wide grin, a frisson of unease went through Fionna, and she took a step back. “I don’t need company. Mama will be back soon.”

“Then we best be quick.” He lunged and she shrieked, darting out of his reach, racing for the hut. Her fast little legs got her inside and she slammed the door shut but couldn’t get the bar across in the hooks. The door was kicked open and the big man stood in the doorway, his smile no longer friendly.

Fionna retreated, but there was nowhere to flee in the small space.

“Be a good girl now. Don’t make me hurt you,” he cajoled.

“Get out of my house!” Mama’s shriek from outside relieved Fionna who didn’t understand what the man wanted.

The big fellow whirled. “Mind your business.”

“Excuse me? This is my home, and you have no right to enter it.”

“And who’s going to stop me?” The man stepped out of the doorway and Fionna crept forward to watch.

Mama stood a few paces from the man, her market basket hanging from her arm, looking fierce, but also frightened. “The Duke won’t—”

“Won’t know a damned thing because you’ll keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.”

“Leave and I won’t have to say anything.” Mama’s chin tilted.

“I’ll leave when I’ve done my business.”

“You have no business here,” Mama insisted.

“Will you shut up for a coin?” The man held out his hand and Mama recoiled.

“What kind of demon are you? Trying to buy a child?” Mama screeched. “Wait until the Duke hears.”

“Oh no he won’t,” growled the man. “Nattering nag.” The man lunged for Mama, who swung her basket. It connected with the man but didn’t stop him from grabbing her by the neck and lifting her.

Mama’s eyes bulged. Fear filled them and she gasped, “Run, Fionna.”

Fear froze Fionna in place.

Crack.

Mama went limp and the man dropped her and then turned to face Fionna. “Where were we?” The expression on his face terrified.

Once more, Fionna went running, her little legs pumping, and she might have made it to the woods if she hadn’t tripped.

The man fell on her, grabbing at her tunic with one hand, grunting as his other fumbled at the rope holding up his britches. Sheer terror had Fionna trembling, but also fighting like a feral cat. She clawed and thrashed, but he was stronger. As he held her down and tore at her clothing, he told her what he would do.

Awful things.

Cruel things.

Fionna felt her emotions boiling, hot and cold as fear, anger, and desperation churned.

And exploded.

Literally.

The man turned into chunks of bloody meat.

A shocked Fionna lay on the ground, wide-eyed. It took her a moment to realize the threat was gone. She raced back to her mother’s body, but the unseeing eyes brought a wail to her lips.

Mama was dead.

A passing neighbor found her sitting on the ground, holding her mother’s lifeless head. They also saw the remains of the man who’d killed her.

“Come with me girl,” he muttered.

Fionna went in silence with Horatio who brought her to the town magistrate. When questioned, she told them what happened, about the man who’d killed her Mama, and how he’d tried to hurt her but exploded.

“How did he explode?” asked the magistrate.

Fionna shrugged. “Perhaps it was Mama’s ghost protecting me.” What else could it be?

They placed her in a room used for the storage of linens and kept the door locked. She saw no one except the magistrate’s wife, who brought her meals but didn’t speak. She’d open the door, slide in a bowl, and shut it quickly.

Five sleeps later, the door opened, and a woman strode in, her skin the rich brown of the trees in the forest, her hair a lustrous black. Her eyes were a startlingly beautiful shade of green that matched her cloak.

“Hello, Fionna,” the woman greeted her softly.

“Ma’am.” She gave a curtsy to the fine-looking lady.

“I hear you ran into some trouble.”

Fionna bit her lip. “A man killed my Mama.”

“And what happened to the man?” asked the woman.

“He exploded.”

“So I hear. Do you recall how you felt when it happened?”

She shrugged. “Scared. Angry.”

“Has that kind of thing ever occurred before?”

She shook her head.

“May I hold your hand?”

Fionna hesitated only a moment before sliding her small fingers into the woman’s palm. Heat emanated from the woman, a tingle that felt good and brought a smile to her lips. Colors danced before Fionna’s eyes, wispy tendrils that she wanted to pluck.

“That tickles,” she giggled.

“Aren’t you a lovely surprise,” the woman murmured. “Tell me, would you like to leave this room and come with me to a place where you won’t have to be afraid?”

“Is it far?”

“Yes, but we shall ride a horse.”

“I’ve never ridden a horse,” Fionna admitted, wondering if the lady would change her mind.

“Then you shall learn. The place we shall go to has teachers.”

“A school?” Her eyes widened. She’d heard of them. Places of learning for those who could afford it.

“Of sorts. We teach more than just your letters and numbers, though. In addition to lessons, you will have your own room. Proper meals. And fine clothing to wear. What do you think?”

It sounded like a dream. She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Fionna left with the woman, whom she noticed everyone kept a wary distance from. The horse was huge in her eyes, but the woman had no problem lifting Fionna to sit before her on the saddle.

The journey was wondrous, and she learned much. Such as the woman’s name—Amelia—and the fact she was a witch who sought out children with the gift of magic like Fionna. They travelled to Mystic Keep, the home of the reclusive witches in the Acca marshes, a stone fortress with many hidden passages and secrets.

What began as a tragedy turned out to be the best thing for Fionna. She became a novice who caught on to her lessons quickly. As a teen, Amelia took her as an apprentice. By the time she’d turned twenty-one, she’d become a full-fledged witch with a strong gift in all of the elements. When Amelia ascended to the throne, Fionna was by her side, glad to serve the woman who’d changed her life for the better.

She would have most likely never left the Keep if evil hadn’t emerged to plague the world. A world that suddenly had a use for witches.

Chapter 1

Decades later…

The soldier arrived in Kormac’s war room dusty and exhausted. According to a whispering Lomar—Kormac’s general who had eyes and ears everywhere—the soldier’s steed collapsed the moment the man slid from its back. Judging by the marks at its mouth and the cold sweat sheening its body, the horse had been ridden hard.

The soldier, unshaven and smelly even from a distance, staggered in Kormac’s direction. The guards he passed did not offer any aid. To do so would be an insult.

Sitting on his throne carved from a single piece of obsidian, Kormac studied the weary man and wondered what had befallen him. He didn’t recognize the fellow, but that didn’t surprise. His horde numbered in the thousands.

“Warlord.” The man dropped to a knee and thumped his chest while dipping his head in respect.

“Your name?” Kormac asked while wondering why his forearms tingled where his long sleeves hid the bracers he wore tight to the skin. An odd sensation that he’d never experienced before.

“I am Ioan, formerly of Greenhead Valley, Warlord. I come bearing grave news from the garrison at the Risead Pass.” A pass to the far east of Kormac’s territory, eternally guarded despite the lack of civilization past it. The Andeir mountain range separated them from the valley of mist beyond it.

Many didn’t understand why the warlords—not just Kormac, but those who came before him, as well—kept sending soldiers to the Risead Pass to stand watch. It seemed pointless and yet “Guard the Risead Pass” was part of his oath when he took command. That was it. No reason given as to why, but out of respect for his ancestors, he still did it to this day.

Kormac’s brow arched. “A long journey. You’d best have a good reason for abandoning your post.”

“Not abandoned, Warlord. Sent by Lieutenant Khaal, the garrison commander, due to an emergency.”

“An emergency that merited you travelling leagues and days rather than sending a message by bird.” The fort at Risead kept a coop of kalmais, birds trained to fly back and forth between the Wexkord, the capital of Srayth, and whatever garrison they were assigned. Using the birds avoided delays in imparting important developments.

“The kalmais are dead, Warlord. Everyone is,” Ioan blurted.

The news rocked Kormac, and it took him a second to control his reaction. His nearby general didn’t hide his expression of shock.

“Everyone?” Lomar asked in a low tone.

The soldier nodded.

Disturbing news, and not something that should be common knowledge until Kormac knew more.

“Lomar, clear the room,” Kormac ordered his second as he eyed the guards at the far end of the room manning the doors. Far enough they shouldn’t have heard, and even if they had, they knew better than to talk. Still, best to not test them. He’d hate to have to make an example because of loose lips.

Lomar shooed the guards from the room and barred the doors to avoid interruption. As this occurred, Kormac stared at the soldier who’d left his post to bring this dire news in person. Stared long enough the man fidgeted. He should, after claiming to be the sole survivor of a garrison a hundred men strong.

Once Lomar reached his side, Kormac growled, “Explain.”

“The troubles started with Peol. He was the first to go missing. Went on patrol in the Pass and never returned. We assumed one of the maakath got him.” Aggressive creatures that were part bear, part feline, and lived in the higher elevations.

“You didn’t find a body?” Lomar clarified.

Ioan shook his head. “Haag and Wexl went looking for him and never reported back. Neither did the next pair of trackers. which led to Lieutenant Khaal doubling up the patrols from two to four men.”

Kormac said nothing and waited for the man to take a breath.

The soldier’s voice dipped. “Even with four men, it didn’t stop the disappearances. We lost two more groups before Lieutenant Khaal suspended the patrols.”

“Suspended the patrols? The whole point of the garrison is to watch over the Pass,” Kormac remarked. Never mind the fact nothing but maakath and other high-altitude beasts had ever been seen in that cold and barren gash through the mountain.

“The lieutenant knew you’d be displeased but he didn’t want to lose more men. He decided to set baited traps at the entrance to the Pass and around the garrison. Freshly slaughtered lamb along with live ones. Whatever took out the missing soldiers didn’t take the meat. Rather, it toyed with us by tossing the bait aside and replacing it with those who went to check in the traps.”

Lomar interjected, “Replaced? That kind of action doesn’t sound like an animal.”

“And yet, what was done…” Ioan swallowed hard. “I saw the bodies. They’d been strung in the snares, heads cracked open, innards pulled from their stomachs.”

Savage, but most definitely not the actions of an animal. Hungry beasts ate what they hunted.

Kormac tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. “So many dead and yet I never heard anything? Your tale seems unlikely.”

“Up to this point, Khaal still assumed we dealt with a maakath or another beast gone rabid. The display made of those men forced the lieutenant to realize we might be dealing with something more. He wrote a missive to you.” The man fumbled at his jerkin, leading Lomar to put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “However, he couldn’t send it. When he went to the aerie, not only were the birds all gone, Unwe—their keeper—was dead, too.”

“Something infiltrated the garrison.” A quiet statement.

“That’s what we all assumed even as we couldn’t figure out how. There’s only one door to get in, and it was never left unguarded. The lieutenant doubled the garrison perimeter guards. Ensured the entrance was secured. It didn’t help. Every night after, we lost several men.”

“Several?” Lomar burst out. “And you’re telling us you found no culprit? Bullshit.”

“It’s the truth,” Ioan insisted. “It was eerie as none of those killed screamed or even struggled. The next morning we’d just find them, some killed in their bunks, others left eviscerated on the parapets.”

“Always killed in the same fashion?” Kormac asked to clarify.

“Mostly. Slices to the gut were the most common. Some got it across the neck, too. A few had their heads caved in.” Ioan paused and took a breath before continuing. “After the third night of losses, and down more than thirty soldiers, Khaal ordered us to saddle up and ride out.”

“Abandoning his post rather than digging out the root of the problem.” Kormac’s lip curled. He had no patience for cowardice.

Ioan tried to defend his lieutenant’s actions. “What else could he do? We couldn’t figure out how and who was killing us.”

“So, you deserted and what? Knowing of their disgrace the rest of the garrison fled, leaving you to be the only messenger. Brave of you to volunteer.” Kormac’s smile had the soldier quaking.

“No, it wasn’t like that. We were supposed to leave together. The night before our departure, whatever hunted us went after the horses. We woke to find them slaughtered in the barn. The soldiers guarding them, more than a half dozen, left in pieces.”

“And yet you arrived on a horse?” Lomar pointed out.

“By chance. A mare running a fever had been housed separately in case she proved to be contagious. With only one steed left, and no birds, Khaal entrusted me with his messages explaining what happened and told me to bring them directly to you.”

“You said earlier everyone died. How would you know that if you left?” Kormac questioned, clenching his fists. His arms still tingled, and he wondered why but couldn’t exactly pull up his sleeves in the middle of an audience for a peek.

“I don’t know for sure.” Ioan’s lips turned down. “Khaal was supposed to have those remaining barricade themselves in the watchtower. He promised to light the signal every night at dusk. On my third night of travel, it failed to appear.”

Dire news if true. What could have killed an entire garrison of soldiers? And how could it have been unseen?

Kormac stared at Ioan before asking, “What do you think attacked them?”

“The puuka.” The fabled ghosts that lived in the land of mist beyond the mountains, not real, and yet some believed in their existence. Blame the stories passed down through generations, speaking of monsters and magic, neither of which existed.

Ioan’s reply led to Lomar blustering, “That is superstitious nonsense. Most likely either a stealthy invader or a wild animal.”

“Animals that can open locked doors without leaving a trace? Animals that can sneak up on a man and kill him without a single scream escaping?” Ioan became agitated.

“Probably asleep at their posts.” A denigrating reply from Lomar, but in his defense, those sent to the garrison were the weakest of the horde. The slovenly, the poorer fighters, the disgraced. A posting to the Risead Pass was the ultimate insult to a soldier as it meant they were deemed not good enough to defend the citadel or their borders.

“Who else have you told about this?” Kormac asked.

“No one, Warlord. I rode straight and hard here to give you the news.”

“Where are the other missives Khaal entrusted with you?”

The man dug in his tunic and pulled out a parchment, rolled and bound with wax. Kormac gripped it but didn’t open it to read. First, he had to deal with the soldier.

“Lomar, have Ioan escorted to a cell. One away from the others. He is to speak to no one.”

“You’re punishing me?” The man seemed shocked.

“As if I’m going to believe your wild tale without confirmation. Lomar is right. It is implausible that an entire garrison would be wiped out without a single sign of the enemy.”

“But it’s the truth,” Ioan exclaimed.

“Then you won’t mind sojourning in a cell while I verify it.” He glanced to Lomar. “Ensure no one is allowed near him. I don’t need him spreading rumors and panicking the populace.”

“As you command, Warlord.” Lomar stepped forward to grab Ioan by the arm.

Ioan didn’t go quietly. “You have to listen to me. There is a grave danger brewing in the Pass. My great-grandmother lived her whole life in Greenhead Valley only a day’s ride from the garrison and she used to tell stories of a monster that lurked within the caves of Andeir.”

“There are no caves and stories are just that, stories.” As a young man, Kormac’s father had taken him to their eastern mountain and shown him the Pass saying, “We don’t know why the oath insists we guard Risead Pass but our ancestors must have had their reason and so we honor their wishes.”

“What if it’s true? What if that’s why the garrison is there, to protect against monsters?” Ioan shouted as Lomar dragged him away.

“Then you failed, and you know what the punishment for that is.” There was no mercy for deserters.

“And you’ll fail too,” Ioan snapped. “It’s easy for you to judge. You weren’t there.”

Kormac’s lips pinched at the insult. Lomar took it even worse. He knocked the pommel of his sword against Ioan’s temple and the man collapsed.

“Mouthy coward,” the warlord’s second muttered.

“All the more reason to keep him separate. Make sure you tell no one,” Kormac advised unnecessarily.

“No shit,” Lomar muttered. “Imagine thinking ghosts and monsters are real.”

“They aren’t, but I’ll still want you to head out and make sense of the situation.”

“Aye, Warlord. I’ll leave for the garrison in the morning.”

“Excellent.”

Lomar left with a limp Ioan slung over his shoulder. Once the door shut, the odd sensation in his arms disappeared. Kormac still pulled up his sleeve but there was nothing to see. Just the dull metal of his bracers, intricate in appearance, inherited from the last warlord, their version of a crown.

He pushed the fabric back over his arms before opening the first missive Khaal supposedly meant to send. It held a brief recap of what Ioan told him.

Warlord. This is Lieutenant Khaal of Risead Pass informing you we’ve lost some soldiers in the line of duty. I’ve included the names so you can compensate the families. Most likely a maakath is to blame. They’ve been nosing around the garrison of late instead of staying in the mountains. I’ve assembled a hunting team. Expect some skins if successful.

Maakath fur made great winter cloaks.

The first note seemed normal, advising him of the deaths so the families could be notified. The second, though, seemed as if written by a different person. Khaal’s usually tight and concise writing, a shaky scrawl. It began with an apology.

Sorry Warlord, I have failed you. The garrison is just about lost to an enemy we cannot detect. If you receive this, then Ioan will have told you of the deaths. Or should I say, the slaughtering of the soldiers in my care. I should have sent you notice with the first kill, but I thought I could handle it. Whatever hunts us is wily. It leaves no trace. No tracks. It can enter rooms with closed doors. Awake or asleep, it does not seem to matter. We have locked ourselves in the tower and will take turns keeping watch. I still have hope we can stop whatever is killing us. If we fail, tell my family I love them.

There had to be an explanation. Something that vicious and wily didn’t suddenly start murdering. Whatever the case, Lomar would sniff it out and when they found out who dared to attack Srayth, he’d bring the horde down on their head and make them regret ever being born.

Chapter 2

Dinner time passed normally, the snippets of conversation Kormac overheard—and those Lomar spied upon—made no mention of the soldier from the Pass. Despite the flirting from several of the women in attendance, Kormac was not in the mood for company and ended up going to bed alone.

Perturbed by the day’s events, he found himself wondering what could have happened to the garrison. If Ioan could be believed, then it seemed unlikely a wild animal had killed all those soldiers. So what did that leave?

Most likely a new enemy. Many envied his territory, rich in metals mined in their numerous mountains, and an exporter of the best horses in the world. But it had been more than two decades since anyone last raided one of the outer villages in the north. While some tried to sneak in via the northern bluffs hundreds of feet above an angry sea, most vessels sank before any managed the long climb. Those that did attempt the treacherous ascent were easily picked off by Sraythians who guarded their northern coast.

To the south, Srayth’s relationship with Ulkruuba had been good for more than a century and their trading strong.

West lay Acca, the land of the supposed witches who’d spent centuries keeping to themselves, most likely because their kind were executed until recently, as Srayth took a hard line against charlatans who pretended to do magic.

That left the east, past the Andeir mountains, which he would have thought impossible. The mists beyond that range were known to swallow people and never spit them out.

No likely scenarios. Still, a complacent warlord wasn’t a long-lived one.

Given the decimation of the force watching the Pass, he’d have to replenish the garrison, perhaps with a better cadre of soldiers, until they’d assessed the threat.

The severity of the situation meant Lomar would be taking some soldiers with him. Perhaps Kormac would visit as well. It had been a while since he’d been to the Pass. His duties kept him tied to the citadel more than he liked. He missed the freedom of being his father’s heir and second, riding out to inspect garrisons, quelling disputes, conducting drills close to the border to remind their flanking neighbors not to tangle with them.

The more he thought of it, the more a trip sounded like a fine plan. His mother would most likely argue. His father, who’d retired from the warlord position, would understand, though. Sometimes a leader had to act in person instead of via an intermediary.

With that decided, Kormac fell asleep, a dreamless state that should have taken him to morning, only he woke suddenly. That never happened without reason.

He noticed the tingling in his arms had returned. Could that have been what woke him?

A still Kormac pretended sleep, keeping his breathing even, and listened, not just with his ears but with instincts honed by years of his father’s lessons, some of which included nighttime attacks. Nothing like being suddenly roused in the night at a tender age and expected to fight off a man twice his size. But his father never did anything without reason, and those lessons paid off.

Move. Now!

He rolled almost too late. The dagger swiped down and plunged into the pillow where the indent of his head still showed in the strange purple glow emanating from his bracers. Odd, they’d never illuminated before. But forget his ornamental armor. An assassin, how exciting. It had been ages since anyone tried to kill him in person.

Kormac bounded out of bed, his hand wrapped around the hilt of the blade he slept with. Without pause, he swung.

There was no sound as his sword slashed the assassin across the torso, a killing blow, the only kind anyone should ever use in a fight. His father always said, “Dead men can’t stab you in the back.” Good advice, except for the part where they couldn’t answer questions after.

As the figure slumped to the floor, Kormac leaned over and struck the flint attached to the lantern kept by his bedside. The oil within ignited, illuminating the glass. He saw the identity of the assassin: none other than the garrison soldier, a man who should have still been locked in a cell. Someone must have released Ioan since those cells were escape-proof. In the decades they’d been using them, no one had ever broken free, meaning the citadel had a traitor. Kormac would enjoy seeking them out and making an example of them.

He wiped his blade on the body and readied to call someone to remove it when the limbs twitched.

Probably death throes. It happened sometimes. What didn’t usually occur with corpses? The mouth opening to whisper, “This is not the end, descendent of Airiok the Destroyer.”

The sibilant words almost brought a shiver because dead men didn’t talk, and Ioan was most certainly deceased. Between the gaping wound across the torso that exposed the guts, and the copious bleeding that left a huge puddle around the body, there should have been no way Ioan could speak.

Tell that to the dead man whose lips remained parted but didn’t move as it murmured in a raspy voice, “You cannot kill me. My imprisonment is about to end. My spirit set free—”

Smash. The pommel of his sword crushed the skull and silenced the eerie voice. A chill breeze swept past him, bringing goose pimples to his flesh before warmth returned. The bracers on his arms also stopped tingling and glowing.

Hmm. Could they be linked? His bracers had never reacted in such a fashion before. Nor had his father ever mentioned it when he passed them on along with the warlord title. It should be noted, his father had only done so after Kormac proved himself worthy, fighting in the competitions that helped them choose their strongest leader. It just so happened he, like his father and his father before him, was the worthiest. Some claimed Kormac’s family inherited their strength from their ancient ancestor, Airiok, a man who’d supposedly fought monsters and vanquished a great evil. Or so the storytellers told the children. Strange how the dead man had spoken his name.

Kormac stared at the body, which now lay unmoving and unspeaking, but he didn’t trust it and sliced off its head for good measure.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The pounding at his door led to him bark, “Come in.”

A grim Lomar burst into his room, sword out, exclaiming, “The prisoner escaped.”

Kormac nudged the body with his foot. “I found him.”

“Son of a whore,” Lomar swore. “He came after you?”

“With a knife, and he might have killed me, too, if I’d not woken.”

“I wonder if assassination was his intent all along.” Lomar scowled but not as mightily as Kormac.

“Someone let him loose. I want them found.”

“It’s hard to imagine anyone helped him,” Lomar stated with a shake of his head. “The guard who had the key to the cell is dead. I found him in the cell after Melody woke me in hysterics.”

“Melody?” Kormac questioned.

“Kitchen maid. She was bringing the night guards their meal and came across the carnage. It seems Ioan left a string of bodies on his way out of the dungeon. Every single guard in Ioan’s path is dead.”

“All of them?” Kormac couldn’t help his surprise. Ioan hadn’t seemed like the most adept of fighters.

“Yeah. Hence why Melody came screeching to find me. The moment I saw what happened, I came to find you.”

Kormac debated mentioning the voice but decided to keep that information to himself. Dead men didn’t talk.

“Given what the traitor attempted, I’m now more curious than ever as to what really happened at the garrison.” Kormac headed for his wardrobe to change from his nightclothes.

“You think Ioan lied?”

“I think the traitor found a convenient excuse to get inside the citadel.” Already bare-chested, Kormac slid on a shirt, the sleeve catching on the bracers wrapped around his forearms. While ornamental in appearance, they also offered protection when used to block a blow and apparently now occasionally glowed. Why? What about Ioan triggered them?

“I can leave now instead of dawn,” Lomar offered.

“Dawn is soon enough since I’m coming with you,” Kormac stated, ditching his breechcloth for britches.

“Is that wise? We don’t know what we’ll find.”

“Which is why we’ll bring a battalion with us. I want fifty men ready to go by first light.”

They actually set out earlier, the selected soldiers eager to ride, especially since they might get a chance to fight. Peaceful times led to bored soldiers.

Kormac led the battalion with Lomar keeping watch at the rear as they galloped on their war horses, fully outfitted in battle gear. Everyone came armed to the teeth: swords, daggers, bows, axes. Better to be prepared than caught off guard.

It took them several days of hard riding before they came in sight of the mountain named Andeir that stretched as far as the eye could see, impassable due to its height and sheerness but for a single pass. The fort sat on a gravel road a few hundred yards from the passage through the high peaks, the building made of stone blocks, sturdy and old. Very old. Also, highly defensible with only narrow window slits, perfect for firing arrows. A single massive gate at the front led inside to a courtyard and even if someone breached that, the fort itself had a portcullis that could be dropped over its entrance, making it virtually impenetrable. The walls had a slight lean outward, making them difficult to scale. From the base of the path going up, they could see the peaked roof of the watchtower which faced the Pass.

“Leave the horses here,” Kormac ordered, not liking the treacherous look of the road slicked with ice.

Five men were left behind to watch their steeds. The rest of the battalion, led by Lomar and Kormac, set out on foot. The mid-afternoon sun provided a bit of warmth, and yet they’d neither seen nor heard any signs of wildlife. No scampering squirrels or birds. Not even a breeze to rustle the branches. The eerie stillness had them all on edge, the soldiers finding reassurance in gripping their weapons.

Kormac, though, pursed his lips as he glanced around. No sign of anyone or anything.

As they plodded slowly up the road to the gate, Lomar pointed to the ground. The light dusting of snow was undisturbed. “No tracks,” he remarked.

“If it fell overnight that’s not surprising,” Kormac murmured. As they neared the garrison, he noticed the lack of soldiers manning the ramparts. Heard not a single challenge to their approach. To his disquiet, the gate had been left slightly ajar.

Before Kormac could say or do anything, Lomar bolted past, axe in hand. His second wasn’t about to let his warlord walk into an ambush. At least that would be his claim. More likely he wanted first shot at any threat.

Kormac followed more cautiously. His tread crunched in the snow that had crystalized in the sun.

“Seems deserted,” a disappointed Lomar stated as he reappeared.

“Could be they’re hiding.” A glance at the parapet didn’t show any arrow tips or movement but that didn’t mean no one watched. His nape prickled in warning.

“I’ll grab some men and do a sweep,” Lomar stated.

“Take half. I want the rest to do a perimeter sweep,” Kormac commanded as he strode through the gate.

The stench of death hit him immediately and he glanced at Lomar. “When you said deserted…”

“I meant I found no signs of anyone living.” Lomar pointed. “The smell appears to be coming from the stable which would match Ioan’s claim the horses were slaughtered.”

“And left to rot?” Kormac’s brow rose.

“So it seems.”

“Disrespectful,” Kormac grumbled. His people had long valued the stallions and mares that they caught running in the wild and tamed. They were their greatest pride—and their most expensive export. To have them not only slaughtered but then left to rot? Khaal had much to answer for.

Kormac strode into the barn and the smell turned his stomach. Not that he gagged. A warlord couldn’t show weakness.

He glanced inside the stalls to see the remains of the once fine steeds lying where they’d died, their flesh ribboned. Why hadn’t Khaal had them removed?

The courtyard held no bodies. Neither did the main chamber once he entered the fort. The long tables, flanked by benches, held dishes, the food on them moldy. Further investigation resulted in them finding some bodies in the barracks, the soldiers murdered in their beds, the blood long dried, the bodies rigid.

Kormac’s lips tightened at the sight.

Lomar leaned close to murmur, “Think Ioan did this?”

“I don’t know what to think.” Ioan hadn’t seemed strong enough to be able to cause such carnage, but he only had to remember the dungeon to wonder if they’d underestimated the man.

Kormac pointed to some of his soldiers. “Clear the dead.” By clear he meant remove and burn. In his culture, they didn’t bury those who passed. Burying trapped the soul. Only fire could release it from its fleshy prison. The morning they’d left, Ioan’s body had been put on a pyre—a small one made up of trash and not the fine wood used for the soldiers—because even a traitor didn’t deserve to slowly decay.

“Only one place left to check,” Lomar murmured.

The watchtower where Ioan claimed Khaal had barricaded those who’d survived. He didn’t hold much hope for those men, not with the deep silence they’d encountered thus far.

The watchtower sat at the rear of the garrison, facing the pass it guarded. It went a full two stories higher than the fort and had a large window-like opening at the top where not only could someone watch, but a fire could be burned to provide a signal. At least, that was the original intent. The watchtower three days ride away that would have seen it had collapsed during a tremor more than thirty years ago and never been rebuilt. Why bother when they had the birds to communicate? In retrospect, not too smart since whatever enemy they dealt with had eradicated them early on. If not for Ioan, it might have been months before they noticed a problem with the garrison.

The door at the base of the tower, the only entrance, appeared barricaded from the inside. The exterior of the portal was untouched, no scratches on its surface, also no reply to their pounding.

Kormac glanced at Lomar with his massive axe. “Take it down.”

“If I must.” Lomar grimaced. “My poor blade.” He complained but he swung.

Thunk, thunk. His strong strokes splintered the seasoned wood. The thick panel took some time to penetrate and the moment Lomar created a small hole, they could smell it.

Death.