Free Shadow Gambit by Adam Drake Page A

defense.
     
    Falling straight down onto it, I plunged my sword through its head. My weapon passed through its body so deep it clinked on the rocky ground beneath it.
     

     
     
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
     
    I leapt off the body in a mid-air roll, careful not to touch the vile thing.
     
    The huge spider's legs curled up underneath it in its death spasm and greenish blood oozed from its wounds.
     
    Mudhoof poked at the corpse with the end of his ax in disgust. “Is this thing really dead?”
     
    “Don't worry,” I said, “It's been skewered good. Maybe you can build a fire and cook it up.”
     
    The minotaur looked at me in horror, then stuck out his tongue. “Not cool, Vee.”
     
    “Get me out of here!” The little man pleaded from within the cocoon.
     
    “That's why we're here, apparently,” I said as Feign and I moved over to cut at his sticky bindings. After a few moments he was free.
     
    “Oh, thank the gods you arrived when you did!” He said, giving the spider corpse a look of disdain. “That thing would have eaten me.”
     
    “Who are you?” Feign asked. “And what are you doing here?”
     
    The little man dusted himself off and pulled webbing from his clothes. “I'm Tress, the town jeweler. I'd come here a few days ago to pick up an order of crystals when things suddenly went very bad.”
     
    “What happened?” I said. Mudhoof had moved in position next to the chamber entrance to post a watch. We wanted no more surprises.
     
    Tress shrugged. “I don't understand, to be honest. When I arrived no one was at the entrance to give me the jewels as usual. So I wandered in and ventured down to the lower levels.”
     
    “How many levels are there?” Mudhoof asked.
     
    “Oh, I'm not sure,” Tress said. “But I do know the mines extend all the way under the town. That is where most of the deeper digging takes place.” He sat down heavily and pulled webbing away from his neck. It exposed a necklace with a white crystal dangling from it.
     
    Tress sighed. “The miners had gone mad. That would be the best way to describe it. Black lines in their skin, running around screaming and hollering like it was the end of the world.” He shivered. “When it became clear I was in danger, I hid. Took me forever to work my way back up here. Then that thing,” he pointed at the spider, “came out of nowhere and dragged me in here. Never seen the likes of it before!”
     
    I waited a moment before saying, “So you are unaware of what has happened in Ashbrook?”
     
    Tress looked at me with surprise. “No! What happened?”
     
    “The same as the miners, I'm afraid,” I said. “Nearly the whole town has been infected with that black magic, I'd guess you'd call it. Now the Demon King rules it all.”
     
    Tress stared at me in horror. “But, what about my brother? Did he survive at least? His name is Perrin.”
     
    I perked up at this. “Yes, we met Perrin. He was hiding in a house near the town square alive and well. But I don't know if he's still okay or not.”
     
    “Oh, thank the gods! He's the only family I have left,” Tress said looking slightly relieved.
     
    “Let's blow this joint, Vee,” Mudhoof said, getting nervous.
     
    I pointed at the crystal on Tress's necklace. “What is that? It's quite beautiful.”
     
    “Oh, this thing? It's something Perrin, and I came up with. He'd discovered a good luck chant in some old books he's always buried in. And I found a batch of these white crystals which can hold the chant indefinitely. Has brought little luck, I'm afraid. But it makes for a pretty trinket to wear.”
     
    “Why are we talking about jewelry,” Mudhoof said, getting agitated. “We need to keep moving.”
     
    Feign sensed what I was thinking. “Perrin wore a crystal just like that,” the mage said.
     
    “Why, yes,” Tress said. “He and I are the only ones at the moment. Everyone else lacks good taste.”
     
    I looked to Mudhoof and Feign. “Perrin was wearing