His mind flashed to the last time he'd seen Rydstrom - when Cadeon had been only seven.

Most saw this sight and grew weak with fear. Rydstrom removed the helmet, revealing his battle-scarred visage. It was King Rydstrom, leader of all the rage demons. The leader, clad in light armor, wore a fearsome black helmet - a notorious one. As the bastard slumped to his knees, still digging at the arrow, a troop of cavalry neared. Without warning, an arrow embedded itself into the assassin's neck he dropped his sword to futilely claw at it, ripping at his skin while Cadeon watched dispassionately. 'Be done with it,' Cadeon whispered as a stream of blood welled at the edge of the sword. By the look of his weapon and tunic, he was an assassin dispatched by Omort. 'My master said you would return,' the swordsman said. A demon had hidden behind the tree, and now had drawn on him. The one who controls Tornin controls the kingdom.Ĭool steel suddenly pressed against Cadeon's neck. He'd been ordered to return to Castle Tornin to defend the capitol.Ĭadeon had disobeyed. But he'd been born a prince and was his brother's sole heir to the throne. To most who knew him, Cadeon was a simple farmer, with few cares. The threat of Omort had hovered idly over the land for decades, yet the dark sorcerer had chosen this time to attack. In the space of a day, everything he'd loved in the world was dead. Running his forearm over his face, he staggered to an old oak, sinking down against it. He lurched outside, retching until his throat was raw. Their muscles had contracted in the heat, their little bodies curling up on the floor. They'd been burned, and while they were still alive. In the area where the hearth used to be, he found what was left of his younger foster sisters. Sweat rolled down his face and into his eyes, mingling with the swirling ash and soot. Heart thundering, he searched the ruins, praying to find nothing within. His foster sisters might have escaped into the forest. Like a shot, he charged up a hillock to the smoldering shell of the family's house. He shuddered in stunned disbelief, his mind refusing to accept this. Cadeon recognized the merciless slaughter as the work of revenants, corpse creatures dispatched by Omort the Deathless, their kingdom's most dreaded enemy. Their remains littered the ground near a demolished section of the barricades around their farmstead. Rothkalina, the Kingdom of the Rage DemonsĬadeon Woede came upon the headless bodies of his foster father and brothers first, the three slain in a desperate defense of their home. All fabulous authors and amazing friends.

And much love to the usual suspects: Gena, Boo, Beth, and Rocki. You know cryptography, so I don't have to. My heartfelt thanks go out to the Gibson Hall Grid. Because you're like Rain Man with numbers,Īnd you don't laugh at me 'cause I'm not.

Dark desires after dusk