Book 1 - The Tyranny of the Night Read Free

the size of real wolves, which had been exterminated in this region
ages ago. They did not fear men. They were amongst the most common terrors
generated by the Instrumentalities of the Night, known wherever men sat round
campfires and looked out at the eyes of the Night They were more dangerous in
number than as individuals. Any semicompetent hedge wizard could run a singleton
off or keep a pack from breaking into the circle of light. Even a normal,
unskilled man could handle a singleton if he kept his wits about him. Powdered
wolfbane would chase those spawn of Night
    Mohkam and Akir came running with the falcon, pushing the carriage. The
little brass cannon could be as dangerous to its operators as to its target It
had not been fired since its test shots at the foundry where it had been cast.
Falcons were new, secret weapons meant to be used only in desperate
circumstances.
"Firepowder!" Else thundered. "Get moving! Bone! You lazy old fart, let's go! Heged! Agban! Where are you? Move it! Come oft. Come on. Get that firepowder
loaded. Charge and a half."
    They looked at him warily but did as they were told. Bone arrived with the
gravel. "This shit is everywhere when you're trying to sleep on the ground. But
try to find a gallon when you need it."
    "Get the chest open. Just silver. Fast. Mix it with the gravel."
    "Captain! You can't..."
    "Bitch about it later. Akir. Prime it. Heged. Agban. Load the shot. Move.
Move." The bogon would not wait.
    Seconds later, Agban jumped back. "It's ready."
    "Get the ram out."
    "Oh. Yeah."
    Else said, "Good. Done with time to spare. Az. Get your ass over here. With the
torch."
    The wizard sputtered. He was no common soldier. He was a Master of Ghosts.
    "You're the one who knows when to touch the fire. Get in here and do it."
    The wolf shapes dared the light, testing the encampment's wards. The bogon
towered eighteen feet high and eight wide, hunched forward like an ape. Its eyes
had gained definition.
    "Az!"
    The wizard shook as he stepped up beside the falcon.
    "The rest of you, get down. Get behind something. Or go calm the horses and
oxen." He was pleased that the bogon had chosen to manifest on the side away
from the animals. And wondered if there was any significance to that.
    In an eye's blink the bogon finished manifesting.
    Al-Azer er-Selim set torch to match hole.
    The falcon gouted flame, thunder, and a vast cloud of sulfurous smoke. Else
understood instantly that he had been right to overcharge. The firepowder had
been damp. It had burned slow. It created so much smoke that, for half a minute,
it was impossible to discover the effect of the shot.
    Ah! That part had gone perfectly. The bogon was down, full of holes, with
darkness evaporating off it like little streamers of black steam. Shredded wolf
lay scattered around the monster. Beyond, brush had been leveled and trees
stripped of their bark. Several small fires burned out there, already dying. And
then there was the quiet, a silence as profound as that in the Void before God
created Heaven and Earth.
    Awed swearing began to leak from the nearest raiders.
    "Bone. Mohkam. Akir. Have you checked the falcon for cracks? Have you swabbed
the embers out? Are we ready if that thing gets up off the ground?"
    The Master of Ghosts said, "The bogon won't bother us, Captain. It won't bother
anyone ever again."
    "Then the bogon is no concern anymore, Az. Now we worry about the man who raised
it. It isn't him that we just killed."
    "Worth remembering. He'll know that he failed. And awareness of the bogon's
destruction will spread fast Though not how or why. A secret to be kept for
sure. A lot of folk will think that some terrible feat of sorcery did it. We
should get out of here fast. Before people come to investigate. We aren't
supposed to be here."
    "We can't move now. Not with our cargo. And I need to collect up as much of the
silver as I can."
    "This isn't our territory, Captain, whatever Gordimer and