Still, I had my zombie Crusaders. I’d grown accustomed to the steady stomps of iron-clad feet marching behind us. The Crusaders still mostly looked the part, although their plate armor was battered and bloodied. We’d returned to the cathedral to retrieve the items, and the zombies had been unable to activate the shields’ magical abilities like they had in life, but the spikes and blades would still be useful. They were even half-decent with their longswords and maces, as I’d seen when they’d executed the slavers in Erst’s marketplace. Great helms obscured the rotting flesh of their faces, but the festering stench was unmistakable.
As long as fellow travelers didn’t get too close, it would look like a merchant wagon was being escorted by elite soldiers in the Lord of Light’s army. It was enough to ensure no one asked stupid questions, even if they had to smother their noses in their garments to ward off the fetid miasma.
Grast mumbled something before he awoke with a start. He seized the wineskin from beneath his feet and swigged. “How long have I been out?”
“A few hours,” I said. “You haven’t missed much. A few merchants and pilgrims heading to Esrt.”
“Where’s the enjarta and the horned woman?” he asked after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and letting out a rumbling belch.
“Rami and Isu are scouting ahead.”
“I hope they find something. I wouldn’t mind seeing the new God of Death in action.” Grast took a long gulp from his wineskin and grinned.
I’d told him how I’d killed Isu with Grave Oath and become the new death god. He’d listened in rapt attention while I recounted the event, another tall tale to add to the antics of Vance Chauzec, Soultaker and God of Death. No doubt Grast would spread these tales like a fishwife’s gossip, and I figured that was a good thing. People needed to know that the Soultaker was no longer a simple assassin, nor was my magic that of a mere necromancer anymore. The people of Prand would soon discover that a new god had awoken.
“As much as I’d like more souls,” I replied to our driver, “obstacles in our path will only slow us down.”
“Vance Chauzec, God of Death, doesn’t want to fight?” Elyse’s mouth curled into a sly smile. “This is a rather surprising turn of events.”
I laughed. “Well, I suppose we could do a little fighting. If I know my uncle—which, unfortunately, I do—then he’ll be a perfect bastard to deal with. More souls can only help.”
“That might be a lot of fighting, Soultaker,” Grast said. “Word among travelers is that there’s been trouble on these roads. All sorts of dangers, they say. Aye, strange rumors are doing the rounds, stories of half-eaten corpses littering the roadside in places, or other travelers simply disappearing into the woods and never being heard of again. Creatures appearing that haven’t been seen in decades, centuries even. The road to Brakith is a perilous one, these days.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear in taverns,” I said. “Unless it’s about me, of course.”
Elyse rolled her eyes. “Someone’s a bit full of himself today,” she said, but there was a mischievous grin on her face. “How do you know that they’re saying good things about you in taverns?”
I grinned. “Who would have anything bad to say about me?”
“Would you like me to make a list?”
We both chuckled but stopped when two familiar figures emerged from the woods ahead. It seemed that Isu, the former Goddess of Death, and Rami, our exotic enjarta companion from Yeng, had finished their scouting mission. They walked to the wagon, keeping a respectful distance from one another. I‘d forced them to tolerate each other’s presence, but the truce between them was an uneasy one.
“There’s no sign of anyone ahead,” Rami announced as she sprang nimbly onto the back of the wagon. “Although there’s a lot of smoke rising from a place that looks to be about a half day’s travel north.”
“Smoke?” I asked.
She nodded. “From a village, I believe.”
“Bandits.” Elyse’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her flanged mace.
“Or perhaps something else.” Isu fired a quick sidelong glance at Rami. “We’d know exactly what it was if someone hadn’t been too afraid to scout further and—”
“We had orders to stay within a certain distance from the wagon,” Rami interjected as she spun around, hands balled into tight fists at her sides.
To her credit, she didn’t go for any of her weapons, and instead of trying to attack Isu, she simply glared at her with white-hot wrath bubbling in her dark eyes. Anger made her even sexier than she already was, and I was almost tempted to let the two of them argue a little more. As fun as it could have been, I didn’t need my women directing their aggression at each other. A difficult battle lay ahead, and I needed everyone on the same page.
“Isu, Rami’s right,” I said. “I told you not to go further, and she obeyed me.”
I made sure I emphasized the word “obey.” I stared intently at the former death goddess as I awaited her reply. Anger seethed like broiling acid in her pupil-less eyes, and every muscle in her jaw contracted.
“Fine,” she eventually said. She began to remove the cowl I’d made her put over her head.
“Who said you could take that off?” I asked.
“I’m getting into the damn wagon!” she snapped. “You said—”
“I said once you’re completely
