Erlik called on the three mages to burn the houses down. The three stepped reluctantly forward, shackles on their ankles. The troops went silent, watching as the mages lifted their hands to begin to weave a complicated pattern in the air.
Somewhere in the night, a crow let out a harsh cry. Another followed. Within minutes, the sound of the crows cawing back and forth filled the air. The flutter of wings heralded the arrival as several very large crows flew overhead and then settled on the roof of the house the mages faced. With round sharp eyes, black as midnight and alive with intelligence, they stared down at the demons and vampires.
The demons and even the vampires stared uneasily at the large black birds. “Hurry, you dolts,” Erlik shouted at the mages. “The rest of you, shoot those birds. Set them on fire. Don’t just stand there, kill them all.”
Something about the steady stares sent a warning chill down Erlik’s spine. He wasn’t a demon to ever feel nervous. He had been put in charge by his mistress for a reason. Nothing frightened him. Once set on a path, he wouldn’t leave it until the job was done.
Fire-tipped arrows poured into the sky and rained down on the crows. The large birds stood upright on the roof of the house, spreading their wings, making themselves look enormous. Curved beaks opened wide, emitting harsh cries as they flapped their wings in what could only be construed as a warning.
The arrows fell harmlessly to the ground. Not one struck a bird.Not one fell onto the roof or stuck in the siding. The few that retained a flame sputtered out. Silence once more hit the ranks of Lilith’s army. The demons and vampires stirred uneasily.
The three mages ceased chanting, eyeing the odd-acting crows with trepidation. Erlik spewed a string of foul curses, raised his sword and hit the closest mage, splitting his head in two. He took a step and swung the blade at the neck of the second mage, whose head went flying into the air and then dropped to the ground to roll toward the silent army.
The third mage desperately raised his hands to begin his pattern again. He was shackled to the two dead mages and couldn’t run. There was no way to flee. The closest demons cackled and pointed, raising their voices to call out to Erlik. “Kill him. Stab him. Cut him to pieces.”
The crows shook their enormous wings, creating turbulence. All the while they rocked from foot to foot, voices harsh and unrelenting, adding to the chaotic scene—or orchestrating it.
Erlik roared as he ran the third mage through with his wide sword, using a vicious twisting motion as the tip came out the mage’s back. Demons cheered. Vampires shuffled closer, sniffing the air for the fresh blood. The crows took to the air, one by one lifting off from the roof and circling the long lines of the enemy.
“They’re counting your men,” Fulop, the master vampire, cautioned. “They will be reporting to someone. Follow them and you will find the cowardly villagers.”
Erlik shoved the dying mage from his sword with the help of his boot. The mage collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. Fulop casually pushed past Erlik, bent down and sank his teeth into the dying mage’s throat, gulping at the fresh blood. Several of the lesser vampires fell on the two dead bodies, but no one dared challenge Fulop for the fresh blood.
The crows squawked at one another once more as if consulting and then, forming a loose vee in the sky, flew away from the village toward the ancient forest.
“Hurry,” Erlik snapped. “Stay silent. Amon and Dagon are the best with scent and night vision. Get out in front and keep those birds in sight.”
“We’ve never found a way into the forest,” Fulop reminded. “It’s sealed against us.”
“The birds will have a way in,” Erlik said, impatient that Fulop would question him. “They are cowards, hiding in the forest, believing they are safe from us. We will follow the birds into the safe haven and kill them all.”
Amon and Dagon ran at a steady pace, covering the ground leading away from the village toward the dark forest with its ancient trees and veil of mists. Erlik sheathed his sword and then pulled a whip from his belt. Expertly wielding it, he cracked it above the heads of the demons as they ran toward the forest.
He flicked the whip so that it seemed to sizzle, burning through the night. The crack was loud, and every now and then a demon would howl as the whip caught him across the shoulders or back when Erlik felt they weren’t running fast enough. Erlik snarled, his lips drawing back, revealing his sharpened teeth.
“Quiet,” he snapped. “Catch up with the others, or you’ll be fodder for Fulop.”
The demons shuddered and ran faster, not making a sound when the whip cracked across their backs. They crossed into the meadow, pouring into it like locusts, so many the ground groaned under the assault of their feet. The entire mass halted at the edge of the forest.
The demons at the front of the lines cast fearful looks at Erlik. It was impossible to move forward, although there was evidence of animal trails and faint paths beneath the outstretched branches of the trees and the thick vegetation at the forest entrance. Looking in, they could see massive clumps of various flowers, including dragon lilies and peonies. Moss was everywhere, clinging to tree trunks and rocks and even small saplings.
Amon rushed up to Erlik. “There are at least three small openingslow in the trees where we observed the crows entering. I successfully followed them in. We tried each opening. There’s one to the north, south and east. We couldn’t find one to the west, but if you divide the troops, I can show you each entrance and then get inside to hold the portal open. That’s what Dagon is doing. He’s inside now, just in case the portal closes. We think he might be able to hold it open long enough for you to get several hundred through.”
Erlik growled his appreciation of the plan. He divided his troops quickly, sending three hundred to the south, four hundred to the north and the last two hundred to the opening in the east part of the forest. He liked that they would come in from three sides, sweeping through the forest, killing everything in their path. He would make short work of the villagers standing in his mistress’ way. She would reward him richly for this night’s work.
He gave the orders to kill every resident of the village, every man, woman and child. They weren’t to leave anyone alive. His chest swelled with pride as he led the largest group to the north. He went through the small portal first, showing no fear. He prided himself that he wasn’t a demon that felt fear, and he refused to ever fail. He ruled through cruelty and force, and his troops respected him. He had no problem slicing a demon in half if they disobeyed him.
The forest was shockingly dark, more so than some of the deep caves in the underworld. Erlik was used to the shrieking of souls being tortured, of demons being created in cruel ways. He was used to heat that never let up. The forest was ancient and smelled—different. The atmosphere was oppressive, the air heavy, making it difficult to breathe. There was a feeling of doom the moment they set foot inside the forest.
A crow took flight over his head, circling his men and letting out harsh squawks of outrage that the demon army had managed to sneak into the forest. He sent an arrow at the bird, but it fell short, and the bird opened his beak and let out another harsh call. At once, two more crows joined with the first one. They looked far too big to glide sosmoothly through the tree branches. Erlik decided it best to ignore the creatures; after all, they were only birds.
He signaled to his men to spread out, to cover as much of the forest as possible. The ancient forest wasn’t huge; his men would be able to ferret out the villagers quickly. His troops did as he asked, spreading out so they were a few feet from one another and several rows deep. They weren’t going to miss much. Satisfaction blossomed, although he had never liked things too easy. He wanted to hunt, to have his prey know he hunted them and be terrified.
The crows flitted from one branch overhead to the next, squawking in harsh voices every so many trees. They were high up in the canopy, and although annoying, he didn’t see that they were doing much harm.
The deeper they moved into the interior, the more oppressive Erlik found the air. Dark. Damp. Humid. Eerily silent other than the disturbing crows. Where were the inhabitants that would live there? Perhaps nothing could live in that strange, disorienting place.
Deliberately he stepped on several plants, smashing them, twisting his bootheel hard on the foliage and kicking at it with the steel forks that made up the toe. The ground shivered under his foot, and the feeling of power welled up. Even the ground feared him. Tiny creatures skittered in the underbrush, and the sounds gave him some relief. Eyes seemed to watch them from the clumps of moss on tree trunks and rocks. That made him feel even better. Reptiles, insects, birds and other creatures live in a forest. It is never completely silent.
