The Paladins by James M. Ward, David Wise Read Free Book Online Page A

crossed the deck, checking to each side for live crewmen. He bounded down the hole in the ship’s main deck, into the cargo hold, and paused while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. No one had left a lantern, as the zombies needed no light. After a few moments, he made out a pair of walking dead close by, lifting a crate together. Jacob pushed one of them aside, tripping it over his foot. It tumbled to the ground and he stamped on its neck, crushing the bones with his boot. The zombie shuddered under his weight and fell still.
    “Here, allow me to help,” he whispered in a cracked voice.
    Along with the other monster, the man lifted the crate. He squinted through the darkness, across the crate’s upper side, at the decayed face of his co-worker, which stared back at him without recognition. Pity filled his heart, and Jacob thought that if he were a paladin, he could put this poor creature and all of its fellows to rest. Perhaps, when this quest was completed, he would receive an invitation from the Knights of Holy Judgment, or better yet, the Knights of the Holy Sword! That latter group of Tyr’s paladins wielded blades, just like him. He and the zombie began to move together, toward the steps, but the undead sailor came to a stop at the base, and wouldn’t begin its climb.
    “Come on!” urged Jacob. “It’s time for me to go!”
    At that moment, he realized he was not alone among the dead.
    With a jerk, he twisted his head to the right and peered into the deep darkness, where seven decrepit zombies rippled and transformed into gray-skinned humanoids—dopplegangers! Jacob opened his mouth to shout, at the same time releasing his side of the box so he could reach for his sword. The closest doppleganger shoved its hand into his mouth, cutting off his air. The others tackled him, dragging him to the floor. Their hands reformed into spike-lined stocks that screwed themselves into the deck, attempting to pin the fighter down. The first assailant’s hand liquefied in Jacob’s mouth and oozed down his throat. He seized that one and began to tug at its arm, gagging against the intrusion. If he could only roll on top of them, he might be able to reach his sword….
    *****
    “I ran into a bit of trouble,” Jacob admitted when he joined the party, back at the boat. “But no one noticed and I handled it quickly.”
    “How did you help your zombie?” Kern lightly asked Aleena as they cast off and headed back into the bay.
    “I opened a door for one.”
    “That’s good enough?”
    “That was good enough for me.”
    “These creatures understand law,” observed Miltiades, “but they know nothing of its spirit.”
    They rowed to the mouth of the cave that led upstream along the Sargauth, and as the grand cavern of Skullport curved down to meet them, the skulls once against boiled up from the deep. “Hast thou performed thy service as commanded?” they whispered. “We shall know if thou lie’st.”
    “Oh, we helped them, all right,” answered Kern.
    Aleena seized his arm and squeezed hard, silencing him. “We have done as thou ordered, Watchers,” she declared solemnly.
    Silence closed over them. The gentle lapping of water against the boat filled the air. Then pass,” whispered the voices, and the skull sank into the depths once more.
    The paladins dug in deep with paddles and began to force their way against the Sargauth’s deep, slow current. Behind, the dim light of Skullport faded completely, as Aleena pulled a magically lit beacon from her pack and placed it at the bow.
    “Don’t they even want to know what we did for their precious zombies?” asked Kern, looking back.
    “No!” snapped the wizardess, “and neither do I!”
    Somewhere deep in the void beyond, a crazed voice erupted into fits of laughter. The hilarity escalated to hysterics and then faded away.
    “Who was that, Aleena?” asked Noph, unnerved.
    “Halaster, the mad mage. This is his territory.” She sighed dejectedly. “I really