Page 29 of Crimson Skies

Izaran’s frown deepened. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Bostrof exchanged a guarded look with Eden and Loki. “What is it, my friend?”

“I wonder,” Izaran murmured. “There is a place one of our scouts found, many years ago. It’s in Jamugei.” He narrowed his eyes. “It was crawling with ghouls so he did not get far, but he did glimpse a dark alchemist entering some kind of fortress.”

Eden shuddered. Ghouls were not creatures she was particularly excited about meeting again.

“What’s Jamugei?”

“A range of mountains north of here,” Bostrof told her darkly. “They are famed for their bleakness and treacherous terrain. No living creature can survive there. No trees or beasts.”

“There is something you must know, my king,” Izaran warned. “That fortress I speak of? It is in the middle of a forest of Bloodsand.”

Bostrof froze. “What?”

Eden’s pulse quickened. The seven summoning staffs inside Woody and the few Cassius and Morgan had encountered while fighting Elios’s henchmen had been made from Bloodsand.

Shadows fluttered around Bostrof. He rose to his feet, his shoulders quaking with rage. “They’re growing Bloodsand in our kingdom?!”

His roar echoed around the chamber and rattled the crockery on the shelves. It was following by a loud crunch. The cup he held had been smashed to pieces inside his clenched fist.

“I’m sorry,” Bostrof mumbled, contrite.

“It’s quite alright, my king,” Izaran grunted. “You did better than me. I shattered an entire barrel of beer when I was first told this news.”

“Can you take us there?” Loki said sharply. “To that place in Jamugei?”

Izaran bobbed his head. “We should set off soon if we want to make it there by nightfall. The darkness should provide us cover once we reach the mountains.”

It took over half a day to travel to the place where Izaran’s scout had spotted the dark alchemist they suspected might have been working for Elios. Eden watched the massif growing against the darkening sky with mounting dread as they approached their destination.

Loki glanced at her when they entered the shadow of the tallest peak. “Are you thinking about the ghouls?”

“No.” Eden hesitated. “I mean, I’m not ecstatic about seeing them again, but that’s not why I’m worried.”

She clenched her jaw. The lack of reaction from the devilwood staff could only mean one thing. The artifacts they were after weren’t here.

Loki’s expression tightened when he saw the tense glance she directed at Woody. “He can’t sense them, can he?”

Bostrof stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Is that true?”

Eden faltered before dipping her head. “Yes. But we should still see what’s in that fortress.”

Izaran led them to a crevice that carved down the west flank of the mountain. The space was tight, the walls rising around them so narrow Izaran and Bostrof had to negotiate the passage sideways. The fissure gradually widened after some three thousand feet.

It brought them out onto a rocky promontory overlooking a valley swaddled in mist.

The stink of rotting meat reached Eden. She dropped down behind a giant boulder with the others.

A group of ghouls crouched on a ledge some fifty feet below. She counted ten of them. The creatures hadn’t noticed their arrival, their attention on the corpse they were busy tearing to pieces with their wicked claws. Her stomach roiled when she realized they were eating one of their own.

The wind changed.

The ghoul closest to them froze. He lifted his misshapen head and sniffed the air jerkily. He whirled around, his gaze shrinking to crimson slits as he stared at the rock formation where they’d taken cover.

Ice prickled Eden’s skin.Looks like our cover’s blown.

Loki stiffened when he sensed her intent. “Wait. You’ll give away our position!” he hissed.