Crimson Spear (Blood and Sand Book 1) by Jon Kiln Read Free Book Online

channels that ran under the city, and to the desert beyond.

7
    Vekal trudged in the darkness, knowing that his feet should ache and yet unable to feel them. The light guttered and flared, as the lantern that he had stolen from the storehouse faded to a bare, glowing ember.
    He was walking in a tunnel about twice the size of him, with both arms outstretched. Two small pavements of smooth rock were cut along the sides, with a deeper channel in the middle, filled with clean and clear water. These irrigation channels were as ancient as the city of Tir itself, older perhaps, and not even the Tower recorded who had first made them. They ran far underneath the desert sands, stretching out to ancient aquifers that kept the desiccated city alive through the long droughts. Vekal hadn’t chosen which one to walk down, so much as his feet had. Away from the sight of the destruction, away from the slaughter of his brothers and sisters at the Tower.
    At least I haven’t had want of fresh water, Vekal thought to no one in particular, only to find that he was answered by a burst of buzzing inside his own head.
    “Pfagh! No, we’ll only starve to death instead. What great fortune!” It was the creature inside of him. The demon from Marria, the daughter of Dal Grehb, the Menaali War Chief.
    For a time, Vekal had thought that perhaps the demon had been a trick of the mind, an illusion that had overcome him, distraught with grief and the arrow hole in his back. His hopes had been well and truly dashed on this journey however, as the demon made it obvious that it was not about to go away.
    “We can survive many days with water alone,” Vekal croaked, feeling tired. He eyed the guttering lantern warily. He had no oil left, and no idea what he was going to do if it finally went out.
    “I do not mean to merely survive, my little imp-chaser,” the demon scoffed. “ We must get to the surface. Find others! There must be other refugees fleeing the city as well.”
    “No, djinn. We are still too close. The Sand Seas stretch for many, many leagues and we can be spotted easily.” Vekal admonished himself, taking another step and wondering why he couldn’t feel his legs. Perhaps my body is finally dying… he thought, with an odd glimmer of something akin to hope.
    “Oh no, you don’t, mortal!” A jolt of something like lightening flared behind his eyes.
    “By the Halls of Annwn, why did you do that?” Vekal shook his head, leaning against the smooth wall of the irrigation tunnel. The lantern light guttered and flickered beside him, causing the tunnel to disappear into inky blackness and then reappear every few seconds.
    “I’ll not have my only body dying out here in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of transmission. Gah! I’ll be dragged back to the Halls of Hell! And if you think that I am going back there, then you are vastly mistaken.”
    Vekal thought that perhaps it didn’t sound too bad after all, as he slumped, exhausted and almost at his wits ’ end against the tunnel wall. All things die. Distantly, he felt one of his feet slip into the cool water of the channel.
    His thoughts were groggy and confused, and the light was fading and going out all around him. Instead of fighting the tide of unconsciousness however, Vekal Morson accepted it with open arms. As a Sin Eater, he knew that he was but a spirit destined for the halls of Annwn and Iliya, and this life was but a small trifle…
    “I said, no! You ungrateful sack of bones.” The demon’s voice, buzzing again painfully behind his eyes, forced him to gasp with pain. “ Do you think that you’re just going to float off up to the heavens to see your bird-brained gods if you die with me inside of you? No! You only do that if your soul is sinless, and believe me, Sin Eater, I have done a whole lot of sinning in my life. I’ll be so heavy that you’ll sink like a stone, straight to hell with me!”
    Vekal felt true terror clutch at his heart then. He had lived a good