The Darkslayer: Book 04 - Danger and the Druid Read online

  Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk …

  No life was worth living like this. Nothing was worth this. He should have let the underlings take him long ago.

  “OH, GO AWAY!” he yelled from an otherwise dry throat. He said it, but he wasn’t sure he heard it. All he had to note it was a sore throat, busted teeth and, he was pretty certain, a foot full of broken bones, not to mention that his head still ached from the initial contact he made when he fell to the floor.

  Something flustered and flapped, and the chronic tapping was gone. A shadow fell over the room, leaving everything dark. Finally, they’re here. Certainly my punishment won’t be as bad as the tapping. Something powerful snatched him from the floor and shook him like a rattle. Pain erupted in his eyes.

  “OW!” he cried, his head smacking hard into the metal. Something was looking at him as his vision blurred and everything went black.

  ***

  Fresh air, pain and annoyance.

  Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk …

  “Aghk …,” Boon said.

  It was bright now, so bright he could not see. The air was warm, no longer dank and moldy as he was accustomed to. Still, the new scenery did little to improve his bleak situation. Something was still pounding on his casing, and his brittle bones ached at every joint. Where am I now?

  The giants. It seemed likely that only they would relocate him to another place, something more secure. But outside? Now that was hardly likely. Hmmm …. He recalled a black shadow falling over the room and leaving a dozen knots on his head, each of which throbbed like a painful cyst. What had befallen him? But the smell of grass was good.

  SPLASH!

  Panic seized him. They’re drowning me! All the things I’ve done for them and they drown me.

  SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

  That’s strange. Does one usually hear splashing when they're sinking?

  A wave of water cascaded over his sarcophagus, icy and drenching. A sound of beating wings flapped away. Where in all of the Under Bish am I now? Boon knew little about the Under Bish other than what he’d seen in the Ziggurat. Everything was enormous in scale, odd and strange, the river he knew was wider than the eye could see. There was Blackie the dragon and little more that he knew.

  THOOM!

  That was a giant’s footstep. At least now he could get some answers.

  THOOM!

  Closer it came, shaking and shifting him.

  “GO AWAY, TINY BIRD!”

  The voice was unfamiliar, strange and garbled. A shadow came, a glimpse of skin, then the dark again.

  “Hello!” he yelled.

  He was suspended in the air, a feeling he’d gotten used to, but it still jostled his innards, leaving him queasy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ridden on a raft in the river, but this felt something like that. Slowly, he heard the sound of skin peeling away from the metal, and for the first time he came face to face with his oppressor. And for the first time in years he let out a curse word.

  “Slat.”

  A large droopy eye squinted and shook him around.

  “You in there? I heard you. What did you say, Smat?

  Boon realized that his situation, bad as it had been, just got worse. Barton! Of all the giants, why Barton? The one-eyed boy man, a giant miscast of sorts, was a trouble maker he’d sought to avoid in all of his time in the Under Bish. Boon knew Barton, but Barton, who was never around the Ziggurat for long, did not know Boon. The giants had seen to that. As far as he understood things, the giant boy man, for lack of a better word, was cursed, dangerous, and maligned. And based off the look of things, Boon didn’t see any reason to take him at his word. Perhaps they’ll find me and rescue me.

  “Hello!” Barton yelled inside his cage, his breath as foul as waste water.

  Boon sighed. Perhaps I deserve this. “There is nobody home. Now take me back to the Ziggurat!”

  “Huh!”

  “Take me now or the giants will be very angry!”

  Plunk!

  “Ow!” Boon screamed. Everything inside him shuddered painfully as Barton dropped him to the ground. “You blasted idiot! You’re going to kill me! Then how angry will the giants be!”

  THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

  Icy water drenched him inside his casing. Barton had run away, leaving Boon all alone.

  Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk. Tunk …

  Boon learned one thing: It’s a bird. The hours kept passing, and the bird kept pecking. I can’t take this anymore. Where are you, Barton?

  Note from the Author

  I want to thank you for reading and buying my books. I am truly grateful. To think that people all over the world have followed this series through 4 books is amazing. Your support has helped make me a successful writer and a better writer at that. And it is my hope that I reach a point where I can do this for a living one day, so I can devote much more time to writing stories. Anyhow, you might want to kill me for this quicker than expected ending, but never fear, Book 5 will be out very soon (Late Spring 2013). The thing is, I had so many underling heads in the air, and I wanted to make sure I devoted enough time before I brought them back down to Bish. When a writer gets towards the end of a book, he tends to rush things. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want devoted readers waiting two more months, either.

  That said, I’m fired up with what is about to happen next, and I didn’t want it all happening too fast. Mayhem, carnage, drama, destruction, surprises, and lip biting what-is-gonna-happen-next galore are right around the corner. So forgive me if this one seemed a tad short, but I did reach my goal of 100k plus words.

  My apologies, too, if you have one of the earlier versions of Book 1 and had already read about the fall of Outpost 31. I hope you agree that it fit better in this book, and that you forgive me if you ended up seeing it in two books. Besides, I plan to combine all books into a monstrous tome one day down the road. Anyway, with all the work involved, 100K words is the right mark to get my stories out faster, which some of you are asking for.

  With all that said, I continue to hope The Darkslayer will be a big success. Right now, not so much, but it is growing, so anything you can do to spread the word, such as posting reviews and recommending to other readers, is appreciated. I want to make The Darkslayer a household name. Feel free to check in with me on Facebook at The Darkslayer Report by Craig. I like hearing from fans and knowing what you like, too.

  Fight or Die,

  Craig Halloran

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Craig Halloran is a veteran, husband and father. He enjoys sports (mostly football), working out, fishing, writing, watching TV and entertaining mankind. His books are filled with endless action, exciting characters and compelling stories. He resides with his family outside of his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. When he isn’t writing stories he is seeking adventure, working out or watching sports. To learn more about him go to: www.thedarkslayer.com

  Other works by Craig Halloran

  The Darkslayer: Wrath of the Royals (Book 1)

  The Darkslayer: Blades in the Night (Book 2)

  The Darkslayer: Underling Revenge (Book 3)

  The Darkslayer: Danger and the Druid (Book 4)

  Zombie Day Care: Impact Series: Book 1

  Zombie Rehab: Impact Series: Book 2

  Jerk of all Trades: It's Not Him; It's them

  In the works by Craig Halloran

  The Darkslayer, Hunt for the Brigand Queen (A short Darkslayer novel)

  The Darkslayer: Book 5

  Connect with him at:

  Facebook: The Darkslayer Report by Craig

  Twitter: Craig Halloran

 

 

 
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