Free Dead Time Series by Jason Wilcox Page A

stood
in the meadow in front of the retreat looking at the log building and the
darkened windows. Putting his nose in the air, he sniffed. Nothing .
    If
he’s in there, I’m going to kill him. Tagen
crouched and drew a squiggly line in the dirt below
the meadow grass. He surveyed the cabin for a moment taking in a deep breath. I
hope I don’t screw this up. Tagen
let out a scream. A black-like root flew through the top of the dirt and
slammed into the cabin. A small ditch was left in the dirt.
    The
structure moaned and creaked as the entire building lost its color, turning a
gray shade. After a couple of moments, it began getting its brown hue back. A
loud crack followed. Tagen jumped up with a smug smile and put his hands to his
waist. If he’s in there, he has to be dead.
    Moving
cautiously, he walked into the cabin, going through one of the walls in shadow
form. He could sense a couple of dead mice in the walls as well as a number of
different bugs. The cabin was barren of life, all of it slaughtered by his
power. Tagen felt his body relax as his nerves calmed, seeing that Mauldrin
wasn’t there. However, it was short lived as frustration that he hadn’t found
Mauldrin overpowered the relief.
    Everything
was tidy and clean, even the bed where Mauldrin had slept. He sniffed at the
blankets. The scent was old, but still useful. It led into the bathroom and
then around the room. Tagen followed the trail that led out of the building.
Six feet from the cabin was as far as he got before the scent completely cut
off, like it was erased. No wonder I didn’t get a strong scent out here. The
real question is who’s guarding him and hiding the trail? Something wasn’t
right.
    His eyes
studied the direction where the scent had been leading. The Witch! If the
demons had come out earlier that morning, what was to stop them from following
my trail to Mauldrin? They may have already taken him and killed him. They hated Mauldrin as much as they hated
Triaad; they wouldn’t hesitate to torture and kill him if they found him,
especially in the state he had been in.  
    He had to
know for sure if the Witch and her evil creatures had Mauldrin. He needed to
find out if he was still alive. There was no chance he could take that kind of
news back to Snyp without facts.   
    He followed
the path that he had taken the last time, heading towards the ancient forest.
Once he arrived at the wood’s edge, he hid in some bushes and peered into the
blackness. Tagen knew he needed to be cautious now that the demons had proven
they would come out this far. He looked behind him. Maybe I should just
leave now. I have enough evidence; I could even make some up. Who knows, maybe
I saw them drag Mauldrin away. Snyp would have to believe that. Shifting
his weight, he turned his gaze back towards the woods, the prickly branches stabbing   at his
face.
    On
the other hand, if they already did the dirty work for me by killing Mauldrin,
all I would have to do is get a piece of his body and take it to Triaad. I
would be a hero and take the credit for the kill. A smile stretched across his face. He licked his
black lips with his equally black tongue.
    Tagen
leaned down to the ground and sniffed to see if he could pick up any kind of
trail that might’ve been left if they had caught Mauldrin and dragged him away.
His eyes turned dark red as he sniffed, he bolted out of the bush, but it was
too late.
    A young
beautiful woman stood in front of him casting a white glow. She took a step
closer, her bare feet quietly ruffling the leaves on the ground. Her beauty captivated
Tagen. Her long, flowing, white hair accented skin that looked as soft and
smooth as silk, and her dark blue eyes, which could calm a restless ocean, left
Tagen in awe. He had heard about her captivating looks, but to see her
face-to-face and this close, made him forget her
abilities for a moment.   
    Once
Tagen came back to his senses, he quickly looked around to see if there was a
way to