Death and Honor: Book 1 of 2 Read Online Free Page A

spend it on alcohol and females. Disgusting.
    Ick drew on his innate magic and sent his thoughts streaking through space to his waiting master. The vermin have still not arrived, master .
    Even the edge of his master’s fury sent a thrill of pain though the little demon. If they haven’t arrived yet they’re not going to. You may return. Gorn will be waiting .
    Yes, master .
    His master severed the connection and Ick allowed himself a gleeful chuckle. Gorn would pay the humans in blood and Ick’s misery would be washed away in it. “Humans, the meeting has been canceled. I will take you to collect your payment now.”
    Relief and excitement oozed out of them. They wanted out of the forest and back to what passed for civilization. It was a couple miles hike to the edge of the forest where they were to meet Gorn and Ick was as anxious to get there as the humans though for different reasons. The little demon spread his wings and leapt from the tree, gliding east to where his brother waited, the humans trotting along behind him.
    They reached the edge of the forest a few minutes before noon. Ick sensed Gorn’s presence even though he wasn’t in view. They emerged from the forest and found Gorn sitting on a boulder. He wore the form of a human warrior in black spiked plate armor. In the ground at his feet sat a cloth pouch. The humans eyed it licking their lips, eyes shining with greed.
    “Your reward,” Ick said. “Go collect it.”
    The humans needed no further prompting. The raced forward, each wanting to be the first to collect their payment. The humans were so focused on the pouch they never noticed Gorn hop off the boulder and straighten to his full seven foot height. Once the first human was within reach Gorn lashed out, striking the man with such force that his fist went all the way through the bandit’s chest and blasted out his back in a shower of blood.
    The moment he struck the illusion that cloaked Gorn in the shape of a man faded, revealing his true demonic body. Pebbly, reptilian skin covered a massive, broad shouldered figure. Bat wings sprouted from his back and a barbed tail lashed behind him. Gorn ripped his hand free of the human’s chest; in his clawed hand he held the human’s heart. The demon popped the morsel into a mouth lined with three rows of shark teeth and ground it up.
    The horror that was Gorn held the other humans rooted in place as surely as chains. Gorn flailed left and right, crushing the humans under his fists. All the while Ick flew over head chattering like a mad thing, dancing through the air around spurts of blood. Far too soon for Ick’s liking nothing remained of the humans but piles of quivering flesh.
    Gorn reached down to collect the pouch then gestured for Ick to join him. The little demon would have liked to play in the blood a little longer but he knew better than to keep his unpredictable big brother waiting. Ick landed on Gorn’s shoulder and the two of them teleported away.
----
    K night Commander Eric Ericsson contemplated the two inch tall pile of papers on his desk, each sheet detailing either a crime under investigation or one that his officers had solved. As a whole the stacked represented the corruption that was Lord’s Way. Sometimes Eric thought it would be best to wipe out the city and start fresh, like a farmer mucking out the stables.
    Eric picked up the top sheet, but before he could look at it a tingling in the back of his head interrupted. Eric leapt to his feet and tossed the paper back into the pile. He hurried over to his office door, locked it, and sat back down. With slow deep breaths he calmed his thoughts, preparing his mind to accept the master’s will. When the tingle became a steady buzz Eric pictured a door in his mind then he opened it.
    “Lord, Slevas?” Eric wasn’t comfortable enough with telepathic communication that he could send the words without speaking them.
    Knight Commander, there has been a setback . Even from a distance