Dead Time Series by Jason Wilcox Read Free Book Online

which ones couldn’t.
    Moving
rapidly, Tagen circled the camp continuing his count of demons. With each step,
he took precautions not to make noise or do anything that might give his
position away. A strong wind whistled through the trees blowing against his
back as he came to the end where a large tent stood with demons around it. The
tent had to be Azgiel’s, since it was bigger and had many guards around it.
    He was in
shock. Triaad’s calculations of possibly an army over a thousand were way off.
There were only about two hundred demons and creatures combined. It was time to
hide out, stay out of sight, and watch. Excitement surged through him. He
couldn’t wait to see a good fight.
    Getting
out of the wind, Tagen pranced over and crouched down in several large bushes
that surrounded some trees. He snuggled down in the softened ground layered
with years of fallen pine needles. There’s no telling how long I’m going to
have to camp out before Azgiel’s army is finally eliminated, so I’ll need to
stay in the shadows- Tagen’s thoughts were disrupted. Something gripped his
shoulder and slammed him into the tree. Blackness followed.
    Tagen’s
vision was fuzzy when he regained consciousness. “Azgiel.” The large man stood
in front of him, his face showed the signs of war since the last time Tagen had
spied on him. That had been back when he still lived in the kingdom, before the
war. Dark bags hung under his eyes, and his unshaven face bore a grimace. A
large scar split his upper forehead, which was purple in the cool night air.
    “At least
this one acknowledges knowing my name.” Azgiel’s deep voice echoed. He looked
at Tagen, moving closer. “Let’s see if you’ll die like the others, or if you’ll
make the choice to talk before we torture you to death.” A sickening smile grew
across his face before he turned and walked away.
    Others?
What others? Triaad hadn’t mentioned others. Was he bluffing? Two demons held him tightly. A number of others
stood around. A greenish hued one,
taller than the others, came forward with a spiked wooden club. Tagen wasn’t
going to stick around. Time to leave .  
    Changing
quickly, he went into shadow form and slipped out of the demon’s hands. One
step was all he got. The greenish demon clawed into his neck and slammed him to
the ground. Sticks and rocks poked into his back, and he was unable to keep
shadow form.
    “You try
that again, and I’ll cut your legs off like I did to the others when they tried
to escape,” the demon said gruffly, spitting in Tagen’s face as he spoke.
    After
three hours, Tagen couldn’t take anymore. The extensive torture was too much. It
can’t hurt to tell them, since they will be dead soon. “I’ll talk.” Tagen
sputtered, black blood dripped down his chin.
    Grinning,
the green demon gripped his cheeks and squeezed. “What are you? Who sent you?”
    Tagen
shook off the demon’s grip. Azgiel still didn’t know anything about them?
Triaad was able to keep all of this a secret? Tagen felt both shocked and
amazed.“Triaad calls us…” Tagen swallowed the oozing blood down his
throat. “…Dark souls. He sent me.”
    The demon
got into Tagen’s face and squinted at him for a moment, trying to read him.
Finally, he stood up and looked at the group of demons that encircled them.
“Take him to Azgiel and report what he said.” Two demons grabbed him on both
sides and carried him towards the large tent.  
    The
morning light was dawning when the demons pierced a sword through his right
shoulder, pinning him to a tree. His dark shadowy body tensed from the searing
pain, and black oily blood ran down his chest, giving off a rancid odor.
    Tagen
looked around at the different demons and creatures in the camp, intermixed
with a few humans. A large, dark, silver demon stepped in front of him and
pierced another sword through his left thigh, which made a hollow thud as it
hit the trunk of the tree. Both of his legs dangled from