Page 73 of Insidious Monsters
“Wow, someone’s feeling pissy.”
I crouched at the edge of the forest and pulled Luphin’s vine from my pack. What had he said to do with it? Oh yeah, press it to the ground. I did just that. The vine just lay there, looking up at me likewhat the fuck do you want me to do now?
Had I missed a step? I mean how could I miss a step in a one-step instruction? Sod it. I bent to retrieve the vine, but it slithered away from me and dove into the earth.
“Creepy.”
I leaned against the tree and waited, glancing at the timer on my tablet every few moments. I had forty-five minutes before I needed to head back to the rift. What if he didn’t show? Or what if he only showed at the last moment and I didn’t get to ask my questions.
He’s here.
I looked up to find Luphin striding toward me, flanked by two of his beast sentries. There was no sign of his steed today. How the hell had he gotten here so fast?
“August, you returned.” He smiled warmly. “Please tell me you have news of my missing guard.”
“We’ve done all the checks. He isn’t on our side.”
Luphin frowned. “That can’t be. He must have crossed. We’ve searched for him for days here to no avail. All tracks lead into Fer’bidn.” He pressed his lips together. “Maybe he has perished.”
“I’m sorry.”
He looked up at me in surprise. “Why are you sorry, you did not know him.”
Wow, was he serious? From the expression on his face, he was. “It’s customary to offer condolences when someone experiences a loss.”
“Even if the person you offer condolences to planned to execute the deceased?”
Oh. “Well, in that case, I guess the Fer’bidn did your job for you.”
He stared at me blankly for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. It was a warm, rich sound, pleasing to the ear. I wanted to hear it again.
He laughs like a hyena,Telarion said.
He does not.
Luphin recovered, his laughter falling into a smile. “We had a deal, and although you were not able to bring my man back to me to be properly executed, you confirmed he remained in this realm, and so I will answer three questions about my world.”
My face fell. “Just three?”
“Three or nothing.”
Shit, shit, shit. I’d thought we’d fall into conversation, and I’d ask whatever I wanted. I wasn’t prepared for this.
Ask him about the aberrations.
Good call. “What do you know about aberrations. They’ve been infecting rift walkers.”
He blinked in shock. “Aberrations? You’ve seen one?”
Careful here, August.
“No, but I know of rift walkers who have been infected and turned into monsters by them. There’ve been several infections and rift walkers are wary of coming through the rifts because of them.”
“Are you aware of how an aberration is made?” Luphin asked. “A sentient creature is tortured to the brink of insanity and then its soul is ripped from its body. Devoured or held captive in a phylactery. It’s a horrific act of creation.”
Rage flared inside me, and my heart pounded harder as Telarion’s emotions and influence asserted themselves.
I worked my dry mouth to moisten it. “I’m not making this up. There are aberrations in Fer’bidn.”
