Kris Greene - The Demon Hunt: A Dark Storm Novel

THE DEMON
HUNT

St. Martins Paperbacks Titles by
KRIS GREENE

The Dark Storm

The Demon Hunt

THE DEMON
HUNT

Kris Greene

St. Martins Paperbacks

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE DEMON HUNT

Copyright 2010 by Kris Greene.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-0-312-94423-0

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martins Paperbacks edition / August 2010

St. Martins Paperbacks are published by St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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PROLOGUE

When he was a little boy still studying the first circles of Sanctuary, Julius had loved to sneak off from his lessons at the Great House and catch the Saturday afternoon horror movies. There was something about the terror in the victims eyes right before the monster got him or her that gave Julius an indescribable rush. But now that he found himself living in his own horror movie, he wished he had been more compassionate.

Julius was completely naked, his arms pinned above his head to a wooden pillar that overlooked the oceanif the murky black waters below him could even be called that. Through the spill of white hair covering his face he could see the black liquid and the faces of the poor souls trapped beneath. They were the forgotten, spirits too weak or too vile to make the trip to either heaven or hell. Julius tried to close his eyes and imagine he was on a peaceful voyage across the Atlantic, but when he sucked in the cool air he tasted no salt, only death and sorrow. As the pinging of the dinghy a few yards off filled his ears, he feared that it would be the last thing he heard. All passengers on the Jihad had one-way tickets.

In all his years of training with the order he had never seen the likes of the things crawling from the ground at Sanctuary. Monsters, so hideous that they could only have been spawned by the pits of hell, had destroyed everyone in their wake, including the High Brother Angelo. When the battle had erupted, Juliuss blade was the first to taste the blood of the orders enemies, laying low as many as he could before he was struck down by a goblins ax. His terrified eyes watched as the foul beast reared back for the killing blow, but he could remember nothing past that. He had awoken as a prisoner on the Jihad , the Ghost ship used to transport departed souls to the Deadlands, and at the mercy of something far more fiendish than the brutish goblinsthe ferryman Ezrah. Julius tried to call on his seldom-used magic to break his shackles, but there was nothing. He couldnt muster even a spark of the power passed on to him by his wayward father in the lands of the dead.

You have no power here, so save your strength, Ezrah said as he stepped from the fog that was covering the deck of the Jihad with his hands folded behind his back. His skin was so transparent that Julius almost couldnt see him through the fog. However, the closer he got the more solid he became, as his skin darkened to its original bronze color. He wore a thin breastplate of leather armor over a white tunic that stopped just above his knees. The single braid that hung from his shaved head blew softly on the ghostly winds that pushed the ship.

Julius craned his neck and watched the approaching specter with a fierce sneer. If youve come to take me to the hereafter, then get on with it.

Ezrah smiled, and when he did so he looked almost human. Hardly, brave soldier. I have come to offer you a bargain.

After what you and your wraiths did to the order, Id rather die than serve you! Julius said venomously.

Ezrah gave him a look of amusement. I think that the fact that you are here to even have this debate with me proves that death is just a relative term. He waved his hands through the mist and Julius caught a glimpse of himself being struck down by the goblin ax on the steps of Sanctuary. Quite a few of your brothers have crossed these waters tonight and more will surely travel on my ship before its all said and done. The only reason you still live is because I have need of a unique vessel such as yourself.

Julius averted his eyes. There is nothing special about me. I am but a soldier and servant of the order.

Come now, Julius. There are no secrets here. I know just who and what you are, mage.

Liar. I am a child of the first order! Julius shouted, jerking at his chains.

Ezrah laughed. You are the child of a turncoat and a whore. It was only the mercies of Brother Angelo that saved you from becoming a victim of your own self-hate.

The truth in Ezrahs statement cut Julius like a knife. Outside of his parents, the secret of Juliuss heritage had only been known to Brothers Angelo and David. Since he had been adopted by the order, he had used his hatred for his father and his people to mold himself into one of the orders most devoted followers.

Save your tall tales for someone who has not peeled back the layers of your soul and seen what lies beneath. Ezrah took Juliuss face and turned it toward him. A thing of great power has been unleashed upon the world, and I will have it and my revenge on the ones who betrayed me and condemned me to this hell. Ezrahs eyes grew bright and in them Julius saw the vision of the crew members of the Jihad being locked below decks just before the agents of the church set the ship on fire. Tell me, Julius, have you ever heard the screams of a man being burned alive? The scream of one man is more horrible than anything you can imagine and there were twenty in my crew.

A fitting punishment for the agents of Satan if you ask me, Julius said with a smirk.

Ezrah thought about it. Possibly, but we can debate what is fitting and not after you have done my bidding. Serve me and I will give you back the life stolen by the goblins.

Julius gave a maddened laugh. You have wasted your power and your time, hells spawn. In life or death I am loyal to my order and will not serve the likes of you. If I am to choose between your offer and death, I choose the latter. He then spat at Ezrahs face, but the saliva passed through him and landed on the deck.

And who says you have a choice? Ezrah raised his hands and called the fog to him. A ring of mist encircled Ezrahs feet and from the fog came ghostly shapes. Be it as my champion or my slave, you will serve me.

Ezrah pointed his finger accusingly at Julius and the ghosts descended on him. Julius could feel the flesh being stripped from his back as the ghost rode him, the wounds spewing forth fog instead of blood. As the mist rolled from his back it thickened and lay across him like two sheets of chilled silk. Soon the vision of the Jihad s deck was gone, replaced by the swirling forms ripping him limb from limb. When the spirits finally faded, Julius was gone, leaving behind something dark and frightening.

What is your will, Master? the shadowy figured asked in a distorted voice. The thing that had once been Julius knelt at Ezrahs feet.

Ezrah smiled like a proud father. Bring me the spark and the head of Gabriel Redfeather.

CHAPTER ONE

Redfeather, are you still with us? Asha snapped Gabriel out of his daze. He had been sitting completely motionless for the last ten minutes and it unnerved her.

Gabriel blinked and looked around as if seeing the faces surrounding him for the first time. Yeah, Im good, he lied.