Starblade Chronicles - The Dark Army

284 Pages·2016·2.15 MB·English

by  Joseph Delaney

Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter 1: Like a Puppet
Chapter 2: Lukrasta
Chapter 3: Farmer Boy
Chapter 4: A Council of War
Chapter 5: The Haunted Attics
Chapter 6: A Little Detour
Chapter 7: The God-Maker
Chapter 8: The Dead Prisoners
Chapter 9: An Anvil of Pain
Chapter 10: Beaten and Controlled
Chapter 11: Endless Nightmares
Chapter 12: Shape-Shifting
Chapter 13: Blood and Spittle
Chapter 14: Prisoner of the Kobalos
Chapter 15: The Shameful Death
Chapter 16: Pause for Thought
Chapter 17: The Earth Witch
Chapter 18: Grimalkin’s Plans
Chapter 19: The Final Winter
Chapter 20: The Space Between Worlds
Chapter 21: A Globule of Acid
Chapter 22: Poison
Chapter 23: The Earth Screamed
Chapter 24: White String
3/284
Chapter 25: Wolf Meat
Chapter 26: Not Safe Anywhere
Chapter 27: The Body in the Sack
Chapter 28: The Promise
Chapter 29: The Butcher God
Chapter 30: The Night Attack
Chapter 31: Mirrors
Chapter 32: The Winter House
Chapter 33: The Round Loaf
Chapter 34: Toppling Like a Tree
Chapter 35: Boy of Tears
Glossary of the Kobalos World
About the Author
Also by Joseph Delaney
Sneak Preview
Copyright
About the Book
Terrifying warriors of the dark have formed an army,
the like of which has never been seen before.
They will spill human blood – enough to make the
waters that divide our lands from theirs run red.
Thomas Ward, the County Spook, fought the dark with his own
apprentice.Hetravelledfarfromhometoleadanuprisingagainst
a legion of beasts intent on locking the whole earth in a never-
ending winter.
ButTomnowliescoldinhisgrave,andthosewhoremainarein
despair.
Whocannowtakeupthebattle–beforethedarkarmybringsthe
fight back to the County, and the world is changed for ever?
Theclashwiththeforcesofdarknesscontinuesinthisterrifying
new tale from the bestselling author ofThe Spook’s Apprentice.

For Marie

We face a dark army, but its whole is greater than just the
Kobalosmilitarymight,andfarlargerthantheterriblebattle-en-
tities that they have created.
Itincludesthegodswhosupportthem–deitiessuchasGol-
goth,theLordofWinter,whowillblastthegreenfromtheEarth
andcreatearoadoficealongwhichtheirwarriorsmayglideto
victory.
Grimalkin
ABOUTANHOURafterdark,Jennybegantoclimbthespiralstepsthat
led to the tallest of the high eastern turrets. She was slightly
breathless,butitwasnotjustbecauseoftheexertionofthesteep
climb.
Shewasnervous.Herpalmsweresweatingandshecouldfeela
weakness in her knees. Theattic she was heading for was haunted.
Shewasonlyanapprenticeanditwouldbemanyyearsbefore
she’d become a spook. Was she taking on too much? she
wondered.
Itwascold,andherbreathwassteamingfromhernostrils.Step
after step she forced herself upwards.
Jenny was carrying a lantern; one pocket was filled with salt
andtheotherwithiron;additionallyshehadtiedthesilverchain
around her waist and was also gripping a rowan staff. She was
ready for any threat from the dark.
Thewaytodealwithghostswastotalktothem–totryandper-
suade them to go to the light – but Jenny wasn’t taking any
chances.Inthiscoldnorthernland,sofarfromtheCounty,who
knewwhatshemightencounter?Ghostsmightbeverydifferent
here. She felt better with her pockets full and a weapon in her
hand.
She reached the stout wooden attic door and tried one of the
eight big keys on the heavy bunch. She was lucky: although the
lock was stiff, the second key turned.
10/284
The door creaked open on rusty hinges, the bottom juddering
towardsherovertheflagsasshedraggeditopen.Ithadswollen
with the damp and probably hadn’t been opened for many years.
Jennytookadeepbreathtosteadyhernervesandsteppedinto
theroom.Shewasaseventhdaughterofaseventhdaughterwith
the gift of sensitivity to the dark; instantly she sensed that
something threatening was nearby. She raised the lantern high
andexaminedhersurroundings:asmallroom,thewoodenpanel-
lingstainedwithpatchesoffungus,andthetableandtwochairs
were covered in a thick layer of dust. Another door was directly
ahead of her, no doubt leading to the main chamber.
Sheshivered.Itwascoldenoughtomakehergladofhersheep-
skinjacket.Buttheworstthingwasthesmell.Thiswasjustabout
oneofthestinkiestplacesshe’deverbeenin.BackintheCounty,
she’doncewalkedoutontotheMorecambeBaysandstoseewhat
a crowd of people were staring at. There’d been a shoal of huge
fishwasheduponthebeach.They’dbeendeadforsometimeand
theystank.Whatshesmellednowwassimilar,buttherewassome
kindoflivinganimalsmellmixedin.Itwasabitlikewalkinginto
astableofsweatinghorsesandsoddensawdust.Thentherewasa
thirdelementtothemix–ahintofburningfleshandatasteof
sulphur on her tongue.
Bytheyellowlightofthelanternshesawabigspiderhighon
the wall above the inner door. As she approached, the creature
scuttled off towards a huge web in the corner.
Therewasnolock–justametalhandle.Sheturneditandtried
toopenthedoorbypushingitawayfromher.Therewasresist-
ance so she reversed direction, pulling it smoothly outwards.
Her sense of a threat from the dark was growing.
Thelanternilluminatedwhathadoncebeensomeone’sopulent
livingquarters,nowruinedbydampandneglect.Threehugefire-
placesgapedlikemonstrousmouths,theirrustymetalgratesfilled
with ashes. Water dripped from the ceiling onto a rusty