Stormwielder (The Sword of Light Trilogy Book 1) by Aaron Hodges Read Free Book Online Page B

heard? There’s nothing us mortal men can do to fight the likes of that. No one but the Goddess could stand against such darkness. And the Goddess aren’t exactly easy to reach these days.”
    Gabriel shook his head. “The Goddess be damned, if she cared she would have stopped this. No, it’s up to us mortal men ,” he stressed the last two words, staring hard at the guard. “We may not have magic, but I have a sword and last I heard a demon still dies when you stab it.”
    The guard looked down at Gabriel, a strange look on his face. “You’re just one man.”
    “Join me and there will be two.”
    The silence stretched out but Gabriel held the man’s gaze.
    With a grim smile, the guard nodded. “You’re a tough little bugger. Ay, but you’re right, someone’s got to stand against this evil,” he held out his hand. “The names Tom.”
    After that two quickly turned to twenty, and then fifty, then a hundred. All across Oaksville the word went out of the young man gathering fighters to hunt the demon. Many brought horses and weapons to spare. Gabriel soon found himself surrounded by a small army – an army of desperate men with nothing left to lose.
    Word came at dawn the old man and boy had been spotted fleeing east through the forest. Several soldiers had followed but so far none had returned. That had been hours ago; there was no telling how far they could have travelled in that time. But sooner or later the forest to the east would run out and they would be forced to return to the Gods Road or risk crossing the Wasteland.
    By sunrise Gabriel had sixty mounted men and almost two hundred footmen. He gathered his cavalry at the eastern gate, himself riding a horse one of the recruits had provided. He left orders for the rest to follow down the Gods Road while the cavalry rode ahead to cut off their quarry. 
    Gabriel waved to his foot soldiers at the eastern gate, then turned his horse and led the horsemen through the tunnel beneath the wall. His mind was already preoccupied with the chase, obsessed with bringing death to the two they hunted.
    The clatter of hooves on the cobbles were deafening in the darkness of the tunnel. Ahead the bright light of the world outside Oaksville beckoned. Gabriel kicked his horse into a trot, eager to return to the light and begin the chase in earnest.
    As they emerged he kicked his horse again, forcing the beast to a canter. The wind picked up around him and pulled at his clothes and hair. Within minutes they had reached the forest, and Oaksville had disappeared behind them. Trees towered either side of the road, their branches stretching overhead to blot out the sky. The rising sun flashed through gaps in the canopy as they raced onwards.
    The iron-shod shoes of their horses tore the damp ground. The fury of their passage sent leaves whirling into the air behind them. Gone was the stench of the burning city. Gabriel found himself enveloped by the earthly scent of the forest. His horse snorted beneath him, unused to the hard pace he set.
    Gabriel was not concerned about the health of their horses. There was only one thought on his mind now. To get ahead of the two they hunted. If they could do that their quarry would be trapped between his cavalry and the men who followed. They would have them – and if it cost a few horses, so be it.
    Gabriel smiled at the thought of victory. He could almost see the fear on the demon boys face as he plunged his sword into that black heart, almost smell the blood; taste the thrill of revenge in his mouth.
    Yet the memory of their previous encounter still gave him pause. Tom had been right about one thing, the two they faced were no mortal men. He had no doubt it would cost lives to bring an end to them. He prayed the sixty men at his back would be enough.
    Ahead the bend in the road straightened. Gabriel felt his heart stop and then start to race. There, not thirty feet away, two horses stood in the middle of the road. Each bore a rider, one