Free Blood of Mystery by Mark Anthony

castle.”
    “Is it a storm, Travis?” Lirith said. She was curled up on the floor under Travis’s gray mistcloak. Sharing the cloak was Sareth, who still appeared to be sound asleep.
    Travis stood, stretching stiff limbs. “It’s blasting. Over on the south ridge of the mountain I suppose.”
    Durge’s forehead furrowed. “Blasting?”
    Lirith sat up and wrapped her arms around herself. “They’re making more holes in the land. But what magic do they use to work such a feat?”
    “It’s not magic,” Travis said. “It’s explosives. Dynamite, maybe nitroglycerin. I’m not sure what they would have used back then—I mean, now. I do know they can blow out tons of rock with a single charge.”
    Durge shook the grit from his brown hair. “I think I should like to see this
blasting
, as you call it.”
    Sareth let out a groan. “These are without doubt the loudest dreams I’ve ever had. Would you all go away so I can sleep? And take your blasting with you.”
    The night had been better than the first, but not by much. Even with the chinking and the fire, the cabin was wretchedly cold not long after dark. Travis hadn’t bought any blankets at the store, and the only cloak they had was his frayed gray mistcloak, which had been wadded at the bottom of his sack of belongings. He gave the cloak to Lirith and Sareth, after the two lay down close to one another, huddling for warmth.
    As the two curled together under the cloak, Durge had given Travis an appraising look.
    Travis had done a double take. “You’re not serious?”
    The practical Embarran had let out a snort. “Last I knew, Goodman Travis, you favored knights with fair hair rather than dark. And I favor knights not at all. So I think we are safe on both accounts.” He lay down on the floor. “Now put your arms around me before we freeze solid.”
    Travis had spent the night pressed close to Durge’s hard, compact body, and he supposed that had saved him from the worst of the cold. But he still felt as stiff as if he had spent the last eight hours hanging from a hook in a meat locker.
    Another boom rattled walls and roof. A chunk of wood fell directly on Sareth’s head. With a hot Mournish oath that required no translation, he flung back the cloak and sat up.
    “I see fate has decided it is not my lot to sleep.”
    Travis couldn’t help laughing. “Feeling better, Sareth?”
    The Mournish man’s glare transmuted into a look of mild amazement. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
    Durge rose from the floor, joints emitting a symphony of pops and snaps. “My lady,” he said to Lirith, “is there any sign that the...snare you set was sprung?” The knight tried not to look uncomfortable as he spoke, which of course had the opposite effect.
    Lirith stood and dusted off her dress, which bore hardly a wrinkle. Before sleeping she had woven a small rope of dried grass, which she laid across the threshold. Now she knelt to examine the grass rope.
    “No, the spell was not broken. Nothing tried to enter here last night.”
    “Save the cold,” Durge said, flexing raw-knuckled hands.
    “And loud noises,” Sareth said sourly.
    Travis ignored them and looked at Lirith. “What do you think it was you sensed last night?”
    The witch shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
    “Could it have been an animal? A bear maybe, or a mountain lion? There are probably dozens of them up here.”
    “No, the presence of an animal would not have affected me so adversely. But whatever it was, I only glimpsed it for a moment.” She lifted a hand to her chin. “In a way, it reminded me of...but, no, that’s impossible.”
    “What is it?” Travis said, feeling a gnawing in his gut that wasn’t just hunger.
    “In a way, it reminded me of the way I felt in the Etherion.” They all exchanged startled glances. Could some of the demon’s magic have followed them through the gate?
    Travis made a decision. “It’s too isolated up here, and we still have some money left. I