Forest Kingdom Trilogy 3 - Down Among the Dead Men Read Free

poking around inside the fort,” said the Dancer. “Investigating a baffling mystery will make a pleasant change from chasing footpads through the Forest. A deserted fort, alone and abandoned to the elements … doesn’t it just make your flesh creep?”
    “You’ve been listening to those damned minstrels again,” said Flint disgustedly.
    “Can I help it if I’m a romantic at heart?”
    “You’re morbid, that’s what you are. Don’t blame me if you get nightmares. You know those Gothic tales upset you.”
    The Dancer ignored her. Flint looked at Constance, waiting patiently beside MacNeil at the end of the trail.
    “Giles,” she said thoughtfully, “what do you make of our new witch?”
    “She seems competent enough.”
    “Green, though. Never been on a real mission before. Never been tested under pressure.”
    “She’ll settle in. Give her time.”
    “She’s certainly no replacement for Salamander; she knew her job.”
    The Dancer looked at Flint affectionately. “You couldn’t stand Salamander and you know it.”
    “I didn’t like her much, but she always pulled her weight. A vital mission like this is no way to break in a new witch. If she fouls up, we could all end up dead.”
    “If there’s a storm tonight we could get hit by lightning,” said the Dancer. “But there’s no point in worrying about it, is there? You worry too much, Jessica.”
    “And you don’t worry enough.”
    “Then you can worry for me.”
    “I do,” said Flint. “I do.”
    They fell silent as they drew up their horses beside MacNeil’s. He nodded to them briefly. “Anything to report?”
    “Nothing so far,” said Flint. “We backtracked a way, just in case we were being followed, but we didn’t see anyone. In fact, we haven’t seen anyone for days. This part of the Forest is practically deserted. I haven’t seen a village or a hamlet or a farm in almost a week.”
    “Hardly surprising, with the Darkwood boundary so close,” said MacNeil.
    “The Darkwood’s quiet now,” said the Dancer. “It won’t rise again in our lifetime.”
    “We can’t be sure of that,” said Flint.
    “No,” said Constance oddly. “We can’t.”
    MacNeil looked quickly at the witch. She was staring out into the clearing, her eyes dark and hooded.
    “What is it?” said MacNeil quietly. “Do you See something?”
    “I’m not sure,” said Constance. “It’s the fort….”
    “What about it?”
    “There were giants in the earth in those days,” she whispered, and then shuddered suddenly, looked away, and pulled her cloak about her. “I don’t like this place. It’s got a bad feel to it.”
    MacNeil frowned. “Do you See … anything specific?”
    “No. My Sight is clouded here. But I’ve dreamed about this fort for the last three nights, terrible dreams, and now that I’m here … The clearing is cold, Duncan. Cold as a tomb. And the fort is dark. It feels … old, very old.”
    MacNeil shook his head slowly. “I think you’re letting your feelings interfere with your magic, Constance. There’s nothing old about this fort. It was only built four or five years ago. Before that, there was nothing here.”
    “Something was here,” said Constance. “And it’s been here for a very long time… .”
    Her voice trailed away. Flint and the Dancer looked at each other but said nothing. They didn’t have to. MacNeil knew what they were thinking. If Salamander had said such things, they would have taken it seriously. She’d had the Sight, and if she said a place was dangerous, it was. No argument. But this new witch … as yet her magic hadn’t been tested under pressure, and until it had, no one was going to take her warnings seriously. Constance looked at MacNeil for his reaction, and he was careful to keep his voice calm and even.
    “We’re not going to learn anything about the fort just sitting here looking at it. The sooner we get in there and check the place out, the sooner we’ll know where we’ll be