Faster, faster, Logan raced through the trees, dodging through the brush as best as he could. Branches clawed at his face and roots tried to grasp hold of his feet. They couldn’t stop him. He wouldn’t let them.

  His head still pounded, but it wasn’t his quickened heart that beat in there. Ever since the deal, it was like there was too little space in his head. It was as a brick wall built in his mind, making it impossible to think clearly.

  ‘You’re agile for a human,’ Talan said within his mind.

  Logan ignored her, concentrating on his path. Behind him, the wailing cry was fading. Whatever it was, it wasn’t able to move nearly as quickly as he could. There was something to be thankful for at least.

  “This thing, what is it?” Logan asked between breaths.

  ‘A savod,’ Talan said. ‘That’s all that matters.’

  “Stop saying that.” Logan stopped, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. “Savod aren’t real. They’re just stories.”

  ‘Well this story is after me,’ Talan said. ‘That means it’s after you.’

  Logan wanted to curse, but his chest burned too hotly. He bent down, gasping for air as he tried to put his thoughts in order. It would have been more helpful if he didn’t have a voice whispering to him.

  “I’m going back to the caravan,” he said.

  ‘There’s a smart idea,’ Talan said. ‘Draw the monster straight to your friends. Do you want to get them killed?’

  “Shut up!” Logan yelled. “I can’t think with you in there.”

  Silence. There was no witty retort to what he said, no sarcastic remark to bite his words. Logan paused, searching for a moment with his eyes. He couldn’t see her; he couldn’t hear her. Had she left him with just that?

  “Talan?” he whispered.

  The creature was coming closer. He could hear every footfall of it now, as if the pact amplified his hearing. Logan’s heart wouldn’t stop racing out of control; his hand barely held it to the confines of his chest.

  “I’m sorry, Talan,” Logan said.

  ‘Good.’ Again, her words filled his head. ‘We’re in this together now. It’s best you don’t forget that.’

  “And what are we in, exactly?” Logan started up again, taking to a steady jog. “Why is it after you?”

  ‘You humans haven’t heard the whispers in the night?’ Talan’s annoyance nearly knocked Logan over. ‘The savod are returning; their seal has cracked. Soon they will walk Nelim again. Only I can stop them.’

  “Then why did they keep you alive in the cage?” Logan asked. “They need you for something, or they would have just killed you.”

  ‘You might not be a bad host, after all,’ Talan said. ‘They need me to open the seal fully, but only when the time is right.’

  He continued for a while, not saying or thinking anything. He wasn’t sure if the pact meant that the darkling could read his thoughts, or if they were still safe from scrutiny. All he knew was that he needed to get back to the caravan. Adrian might be able to help him.

  “What do you know about the savod?” Logan asked finally, breaking the silence. “Are they anything like the old stories?”

  ‘Monsters, carved from the night sky. The savod came here from the planes through the hubris of the Sylvestri.’ Talan’s guilt wrapped around his mind; he had to force himself to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. ‘They were forced back to the Veil and sealed away, but there was a high cost.’

  “If you sealed them, how can they be here again?” Logan asked.

  ‘We hoped that our spell would last forever,’ Talan said. ‘Even as the magic of the planes affected our bodies and minds, a few of us knew that it could not. I am the last that remembers the seal. The rest of us have become darklings, as your kind has so aptly named us.’

  “And you want my help in this?” Logan asked.

  ‘I’m bound to you now,’ Talan said. ‘And your fate is bound with mine. The savod won’t stop chasing you until this is done.’

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Unless there was another way out, the thought crossed Logan’s mind before he could stop it. He hoped desperately that she could not hear his thoughts. She didn’t say anything. He was safe for now.

  ‘Listen. It’s no longer following,’ Talan said. ‘It’s lost the magic’s trail.’

  “Good, we’re almost out of the forest,” Logan said, slowing to a walk. “We can get to the caravan once I see the trail.”

  ‘It is still unwise to go there,’ Talan said.

  “So is listening to a voice in my head.” Logan snarled, ducking under a limb. “If you want my help then I at least need to tell them that I’m leaving.”

  ‘Fine,’ Talan said, leaving him again to silence.

  Logan rubbed his head as he exited the shadowy covering of the trees. It hadn’t felt like long, but the sun was already high up in the sky. He shaded his eyes from the light, searching for the ruts that would mark the caravan’s path.

  He found them quickly, the signs easy enough to spot to even an untrained eye. The caravan was following its northern route with a careful meandering pace. According to the tracks, everything was going well. There was no sign of odd prints in the dirt.

  Logan started north, following the tracks. It would take a while to catch up, but there was no danger of them leaving him behind. He kept part of his attention focused on the ground as he walked.

  The sun was setting when he finally caught up to the caravan. They had chosen to stop in a small vale, surrounded by the few hills that marked the approach to the mountains. He stumbled down to the camp on numb feet.

  Logan slipped in with ease. The men on watch gave him no notice. A chilling thought raced down his spine. He was the only one who knew. Should he even tell anyone of what he saw? They would think him mad.

  Maybe it was better then, to slip off quietly in the night.

  “No, that isn’t right,” he whispered to himself as he reached the blazing fire.

  All of the camp gathered around it, singing songs so achingly familiar to his ears. The firelight danced with the song, twisting with serpentine grace. Adrian was at the center, circling the fire while his voice rang deep.

  ‘You haven’t thought this through, have you?’ Talan asked, breaking back into his thoughts. ‘Don’t tell him anything about the savod. They have allies everywhere.’

  Logan ignored her. He took a seat at the edge of the fire, halfway listening to the conversations around him as he thought. There were more than enough things on his mind, but one thing bore testing first.

  ‘Can you hear me?’ He did his best to direct his thought to Talan.

  No response. There was something to be glad for.

  “You’re back, Logan. Good to see you,” Adrian said, leaning down over Logan. “We were about to send out some men out for you. Is everything okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Logan said.

  “Something’s on your mind then.” Adrian sighed, placing a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Let’s go then, no sense in weighty words bringing down their fun.”

  They walked away from the camp, leaving the warmth of the fire to the cold dark. Logan knew that he couldn’t tell Adrian everything. He couldn’t leave without telling Adrian anything. He had been with the band for over five years; he owed them all at least an explanation.

  “I need to leave,” Logan said, turning and watching the rising moon as twilight faded to night. “I can’t tell you why, but it’s important.”

  “I don’t know if I can accept that,” Adrian said, cracking his knuckles absently. “I can’t just let you go without knowing why.”

  “I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Logan sighed. “I have to leave.”

  “Well.” Adrian rubbed his balding head. “I can’t really stop you. I just wish you would trust me with why.”

  “I’m sorry,” Logan said. “Maybe after it’s finished I’ll come back and tell you. I barely even trust what I saw.”

  “Well, since you don’t feel inclined to share, I guess we should celebrate,” Adrian said, turning Logan back toward the camp.

  “A few barrels of ale should help.” Logan grinned.

  For a while it did, the night whittling away as songs and stories pushed with the firelight against the night. Even the guards joined in, stepping away from their post and into the company of their brothers.

  As the moon rose to its highest, Logan walked away from the fire, out into the night. The cool air washed over his skin, sending an icy chill down his spine. He sat down on the grass and stared up at the white moon, sighing as the heat of the fire and ale left his body.

  “You won’t be gone forever,” Talan said, rising from the shadows to sit beside him. “You shouldn’t be so sad.”

  Her form was still as surprising as when he first saw her. Logan sighed; she was right in a way, he could never be sure what could happen while he was gone. The life of a mercenary was an unpredictable one.

  “The Crows are my family. Adrian’s been like a father to me for these past five years. You have friends, family, don’t you?” Logan asked. “Didn’t you have to leave someone behind?”

  “They lost who they were long ago,” Talan whispered, drawing her legs close to her body. “When we fell we lost much of what we once were. They left me behind when they lost their pride as sylvestrians.”

  “What were your people like, before the savod?” Logan asked.

  “We were hateful, arrogant and quick to distrust. We saw ourselves as greater than our own mortality,” Talan said. “For a while, we were right. We lived for centuries and had real power at our fingertips.”

  “Then you found the savod,” Logan said.

  “We thought ourselves invincible,” Talan whispered. “We were wrong, and everyone on Nelim paid for our hubris. I won’t let it happen again.”

  “I guess I’m along for the ride too now,” Logan said. “So where do we need to go and what do we need to do? ”

  She turned away from him, suddenly going quiet.

  “You do know where we need to go, right?” Logan sighed, hoping dearly that she did.

  “I need something first,” Talan said. “A map from before we fell to ruin. One from before the war.”

  “That might be difficult,” Logan said. “Only the Order and the Tower keep stuff that old.”

  “Do you know where they are?” Talan asked.

  “The Order of Astor has a library in Nethas which is in Tyra,” Logan said, pointing southwest. “The Tower is somewhere in Lyon, but I’ve never been there.”

  “Then you’ll need to take me to them.” Talan faded back into his shadow, leaving him alone again. ‘After that, I can find where we need to go.’

  Logan sat alone in the dark after that, listening to the cool wind blow across the plain.