torg 01 - Storm Knights by Bill Slavicsek, C. J. Tramontana Read Free Book Online Page A

protested, but Bryce waved her off.
    "That's all right. Let me tell you a secret, little girl." Bryce leaned closer, like he was going to share something very important with her. She leaned forward to meet him, resting her tiny head against his bald forehead. "I only go when they make me."
    The little girl laughed, and her mother smiled at the sound.
    "Do you know what's happening, Father? Do you know when the trains will start running again?"
    Bryce shook his head. He had no answer for the young woman, no words of hope he could spare.
    Rat produced a pack of gum from one of his many pockets and offered it to the little girl. She looked at it hungrily, then turned a dubious gaze on Rat.
    "Sugarless?" she asked.
    "Four out of five doctors recommend it," he answered, and she quickly snatched it away.
    Coyote, his eyes darting constantly, tapped Bryce on the shoulder. He pointed toward a bench some twenty feet away. Bryce followed his finger and saw the ragged man sitting there. But he was doing more than just sitting. He was shaking uncontrollably. He stood up, a wild look in his eyes. The ragged man started walking toward Bryce. As he came forward, he reached up and buried his fist in his thick, unkept beard. Then he started to pull on it, and Bryce grimaced at just the thought of the pain. But the ragged man seemed to enjoy it, tugging harder as he approached.
    "I am surrounded by corpses!" he called out, fixing his gaze on the priest. "I am trapped in the land of the dead!"
    Coyote moved to stand in front of Bryce, placing himself between the others and the ragged man.
    "But I have heard Lanala's voice," the ragged man continued as he stopped a few feet from Coyote and Bryce. "I hear the song that the Jakatts sing! They sing of Baruk Kaah! They sing of Life!"
    "What do you want?" Bryce asked, trying to move Coyote aside. But the youth would not budge.
    "I want everything," the ragged man said, his voice growing wilder, more guttural. Bryce noticed that he still tugged on his beard, and the priest could see blood dripping down the ragged man's fist. "I want everything."
    Now the man began to hunch forward, his limbs seeming to re-form as Bryce and Coyote watched. His arms elongated and his legs shortened. Then his face changed. The jaw jutted out and the bridge of his eyes grew thicker, more pronounced.
    "Everything," he repeated, forcing the word through crooked teeth.
    "Run," Coyote ordered without turning his head from the ragged man.
    "But ." Bryce began to argue, but Rat grabbed his arm.
    "Coyote said run, you run," Rat explained, handing the little girl to the priest. Bryce looked at the young woman as she lifted his mass kit. They started to run.
    They had only gone a little ways when Bryce halted. The young woman looked at him, confusion in her eyes, as he set the little girl down in a deserted corner. He turned to the woman, wanting to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. He couldn't quite get his hand to do that, however.
    "You'll be safe here," he assured her, awkwardly dropping his arms to his sides.
    "Where are you going, Father?"
    "Take care of my mass kit," he said, avoiding her question. "And watch out for your little girl."
    Then he ran back the way they had come, back toward Coyote and Rat.
    Bryce arrived to find that a crowd had gathered. Many of them were shouting and carrying on in a way that scared the priest. He pushed through the throng, using more strength than he would have expected to. In the center of the crowd was a small, circular clearing. And within that clearing, the ragged man lunged for Coyote.
    The youth kicked out violently, but the blow seemed to actually amuse the ragged man. He laughed out loud as each punch connected, relishing the sensations that wracked his deformed body.
    Then, quite suddenly and with a speed that caught Coyote off guard, the ragged man's large, hairy hand shot forward. Thick, knobby fingers wrapped tightly around Coyote's arm, and the larger man lifted the youth