PROLOGUE
The town had started to settle for the night as I left my home. I waved at a few shopkeepers as they closed up and sidestepped two drunkards, stumbling and laughing their way to wherever they were headed. The night was beautiful, the sky alive with stars, and I enjoyed the walk to work. I did better working nights, preferring fewer crowds. Plus, the lake came alive once the sun set, with or without the moon.
“You’re early,” my boss said, adjusting his straw hat. His white shirt strained around his lower midsection, the bulge of his belly enhanced by the worn dark pants he’d tucked into his knee-high boots.
The dock was abandoned, the lake empty, and the usual crowds were absent. All the boats were still tied to the pier, and from the looks of it, none of them had gone out.
“Slow night for lovers?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It’s not that. The moonkrests are nowhere to be seen.”
I frowned, and he nodded toward the lake, telling me to look for myself. The boards creaked as I crossed them. I stopped at the edge of the pier beside the barrels of sparklers and leaned against the railing. The trees were silent, and no bugs floated around the hanging branches that teased the surface. There were no signs of the moonkrests, even with the full moon casting bright beams of light deep into the inky depths. That was very odd. They were always active when the moon was out.
I turned to ask him what he thought was happening, but I was alone on the dock. Nothing seemed amiss, the stars twinkling above and the breeze forming soft ripples at the lake’s edge. Weird. Where had he gone? He wouldn’t just leave, and he wasn’t quiet or fast.
Screams and sounds of fighting pierced the peaceful night, and I spun toward town. I started back down the dock but froze when I heard the thick beat of wings above me. Something landed behind me, hitting the wood hard enough to jar me. When I turned around, I realized why every living thing around the lake had gone into hiding.
The massive creature folded its four wings against its back, the transparent membranes flashing iridescent in the moonlight. Dark brown, plated armor wrapped his shoulders and molded to his body, stopping just above his backward-bent legs. His lower bony mandible split into pincers and flickered, creating an ominous chittering noise. The sound activated my primal brain, sending shivers of alarm through me. I didn’t know what this creature was, but every instinct I had screamed that I was in danger.
I took a step back just as another thud sounded behind me, and the dock shuddered beneath my feet. I turned to run and slammed into the hard exoskeleton of a second creature. My ass hit the boards hard, and the creature reached for me with his four arms. Adrenaline surged through me, and I rolled toward the railing, scrambling to get back on my feet. I grabbed a paddle from a stack and swung. The creature blinked and chittered angrily as the wood splintered against his shoulder, but then he was atop me.
MY CHEST HITthe ground, dust scattering as my breath exploded from my lungs. My wrists stung from where they’d bound my arms behind my back, and despite my struggles, there was no give in the bindings. I groaned as long nails dug into my twisted and tied limbs. He hoisted me up, and I gasped in horror at the carnage around me. I blinked, certain I had died, and arrived in Iassulyn.
Flames crackled off the remains of the tavern and surrounding buildings, the dark smoke acrid and clogging. Creatures ransacked the shops, breaking windows and chirruping in their strange language. Screams rent the air as men, women, and children were dragged from their houses. Some had managed to escape and were running into the woods, creatures following both on the ground and in the air. Those who were able to arm themselves and do what they could to fight were quickly overtaken and consumed. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes as the sound of bones crunching filled the air.
It wasn’t just a nightmare. My mind could never imagine this horror. The Otherworld had opened up its horrible, rancid jaws, and a plague of demons had descended upon our town. My heart thudded in my chest as the scent of death clogged my nose. The monster dragging me further into town chittered with what sounded like excitement. My feet scrambled against the ground, and my muscles strained in the creature’s powerful grip. But no matter how hard I fought, I knew I couldn’t escape. The beast shook me violently until I stopped struggling, its talons digging into my shoulders. My chest heaved, my nostrils burned, and my eyes stung, terror consuming any hope I had.
I heard heavy, thick footsteps approach, and dread trickled down my spine, turning my guts liquid. My eyes shuttered, and I started praying to any gods still left in this world, praying to Samkiel himself. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see what was coming. The sounds were bad enough. The creature shook me again and screeched in my face, his hot breath hitting me hard enough to blow my hair back. My eyes snapped open, and I wished I had followed my instincts and kept them closed.
The beast loomed in front of me, his face inches from mine. His pincers clicked a few more times before withdrawing. He closed his bony mandibles and stood straight and at attention. It took a few moments for me to find the courage to look away, and when I did, there was a new nightmare to make my legs go weak.
He was taller than any being had the right to be. From the deep black pits of his eyes, poreless pale skin, and sharply pointed crown atop his head, it was clear this was not a man standing before me. He wore a dark coat that split into two large flaps in the back, the odd fabric flaring around his feet. He stood inside a double circle, and I recognized the runes within the perimeter. It was a teleportation mark. It glowed weakly and flickered. The power he had infused it with to transport himself and summon the ghastly horrors he’d brought with him was fading.
Fear was an overwhelming force that turned me almost numb. I found myself focusing on his chest because I couldn’t look at his face and stay upright. I squinted, watching as the material of his intricately embroidered clothing bunched and moved. Both his skin and clothes were ill-fitting, and I wondered if this wasn’t his true form. Power pulsed from him, and I forced myself to lift my eyes to meet his cold, otherworldly ones. My throat went dry as I finally put the pieces together. I knew who this was.
“I can smell the fear on you. Stronger than the piss that runs in your streets. Stronger than the blood decorating the ground. You know who I am?” he asked, his voice as deep and dark as the realm he’d ascended from. He crouched in front of me, his body moving in a nauseatingly alien way. Even in that position, he towered above me.
“Y-yes,” I managed to get out. “I heard rumors about the new age, a rebellion amongst the princes, and a newly crowned ruler. You’re the King of the Otherworld. Umemri.”
“Correct,” he said with a smile, and my stomach churned again. The twin lines that bracketed his mouth bisected his sharp features, ending where his ears should have been in this form. His mouth was way too wide, and I feared what I would see if he truly opened it. His hair looked stark black in the firelight, but when he turned to his general, I saw it wasn’t hair but jagged spikes vibrating with his every breath. He was a genuine horror brought to life. No one I knew had ever laid eyes on any of the princes of the Otherworld, much less its dark lord.
Unable to hold his gaze, my eyes flickered restlessly. Flames crackled throughout the ruined town, and a few feet away, two people lay face-first on the ground, bleeding out from their throats. Whatever answers he’d demanded, they had not given. Hope flared in me. Maybe if I answered his questions correctly, he would spare me.
“W-what do you want?” I asked, forcing myself to look at him again. “Whatever it is, I can give it.”
“Can you now?” Umemri tilted his head, his black eyes boring into me as if he could pluck the answers from my mind. “I am looking for someone important to me. Her last bit of communication was from this town. Since then, there has been nothing but … silence.”
The way he spoke the last part of that sentence made me wonder if something as horrid as he might have a heart.
I shook my head, blinking. “I haven’t … We haven’t seen anyone from the Otherworld here.”
He flicked his hand open, the long, curved claws tipping his three long fingers clicking against each other. I flinched, even though he had made no move toward me. “Oh, but I think you have. Her scent lingers in this town, and I can smell her blood on these wretched streets.”
Recollection hit me like a brick wall, and my heart started beating so hard it sounded like a drum to war. Umemri heard it, his cold, dark eyes dropping to my chest.
“Where is my murrak?”
Panic clenched my gut, and sweat formed on my brow. Oh gods. I couldn’t lie. I couldn’t hide the fact that she was …
