Free Kormak 01 - Stealer of Flesh by William King

he knew that, she gave no sign. “He rode up, on a big horse. I thought there was something odd about him. It was the smell. We started to run but he rode Tam down. He just passed me by.”
    “I don’t think Razhak would want a woman’s body here. It would make him too vulnerable.”
    “You make it sound very cunning.”
    “A land torn by war. A woman on her own. Too much like a victim.”
    “He might use it as a trap.”
    “You do think like a hunter.”
    “I can help you hunt this bastard demon,” she said. “It killed my brother.”
    “I am not sure I want any help.”
    “You going to do this all on your own?”
    “I don’t want to hunt a demon and look after you at the same time.”
    “You are the soul of chivalry, aren’t you? A real knight.”
    “A real knight would beat you for showing such disrespect. They don’t like uppity peasant girls.”
    “So I should be glad you’re not? And I am not a peasant. I am a freeholder.”
    “You got any place to go, or were you and your brother just fleeing?”
    “My father’s sister has a place down in Steelriver. She would take us in. Or she’ll take me in now.”
    “How far is Steelriver?”
    “It’s the main town about five leagues ahead. It’s mostly a Sunlander place and it’s too big for the Wolves to attack, yet. All the Sunlanders are heading that way. What? What did I say? You look as if you swallowed a lemon.”
    Kormak thought about what she had said. He suddenly saw a pattern to all the burnings. “It’s a cattle drive,” he said. “They are burning you out and driving you all to one place.”
    She looked at him. Her mouth opened as if she was about to contradict him but then it closed again. “You know, you might be right.”
    “There’s been a lot of feuding between the Sunlanders and the moondogs hasn’t there?”
    “Always has been since Kyril the Conqueror claimed these lands in the name of the Holy Sun. The moondogs don’t like that one little bit.”
    Kormak nodded. He could tell the girl was talking about humans when she mentioned moondogs. Further west that particular name was reserved for the Old Ones themselves not those who worshipped them. Here the words had the sound of a most bitter insult.
    “You think they are going to get everyone in one place and then burn it?”
    “It’s an old trick in siege warfare. Force your enemy to open the gates to refugees from their own side. If they open the gates, it’s more mouths to feed. If they turn them away, it demoralises.”
    “Lord Martin would not turn any one of the True Faith away. The city council might. They are a bunch of money grubbing bastards by all accounts.”
    “You always use such language?”
    “Who are you, my father?”
    “Where is he?”
    “Dead, like my mother. Red plague took them.”
    Kormak could tell by the set of her mouth that she was not going to say anything more on that subject.
    “You can walk with me to Steelriver. Razhak is most likely going that way anyway.”
    And that would not be good, Kormak thought. There would be many new bodies there, and in a big town he could hide all too well.
    “You not going to ask me to ride with you?”
    “My horse does not need the extra weight and I don’t need anyone behind me who is so ready with a knife.”
    They had been on the road for hours and Kormak was tired of fending off the girl’s endless questions. He just stared at their surroundings and let her chatter flow over him. She did not seem to care so long as he grunted occasionally as if he were listening.
    It was getting dark. The mountains which mere hours before had been vast and clear, dappled with woods, bright with snow on the peaks, were becoming mere gigantic shadows that loomed menacingly all around. Clouds hid the face of Our Lady of the Moon. It did not look like they would make the town this evening so it was time to make camp.
    Kormak swung his steed off the road when he found a convenient hollow. It was cold, with the chill of