The Living and the Dead (Tyler G Book 3) by P. S. Power Page B

seeming. He had a fake smile on his lips too, and a day's
beard growth or so.
    It was the man in front of them
that got Ty's attention however. He seemed to be a mountain man. A trapper from
a seventies Disney movie if Ty had it right. The man was dressed in all leather
buckskin, with moccasins on his feet made out of something similar. He had a
lot of muscle, and a salt and pepper colored beard that looked like it never
had seen either a comb or a pair of scissors. The eyes were a plain brown, but
held something that seemed wild behind them.
    Not anger, as much as a lack of
sensibility.
    "Hello!" Tyler didn't
know what else to say, but when no one else said anything he went on anyway.
    "I'm Tyler Gartner. From the
Coalition of Nations. Do you need my help?" Really, he should have plugged
the band too, while he was at it, but none of these people seemed like the kind
to like standard pop music.
    In fact, the idea of the man in
the front doing that kind of thing, listening to any sort of entertainment,
felt off. Wrong.
    It was that one that finally
spoke, his voice deep, booming and a little off.
    "I am Goethe. Known as The
Wilding. I seek The Storm. Do you offer her your protection? If so, prepare for
battle!" He started to move in, but with a roughly Human speed, which
meant that it was a bluff. A threat, rather than a deadly attack.
    Because Goethe was the name of a
Greater Demon. The one that was hunting The Storm. So, as far as he went, one
of the good guys. At least a weapon for his own side, which had to count.
    " Protect her? No. I
don't know where she is , but I might be able to find out. Eventually.
She kidnapped me three weeks ago. I haven't seen her since then." Holding
his walking stick, ready to use it, even if that wasn't going to help him,
Tyler wondered what was going to happen.
    It was different than he would
have figured.
    "I see. Tell ya what. You
get me The Storm, and I'll trade with you."
    Tyler looked at the wild man and
figured that it was probably better than being eviscerated, more or less. Not
that he'd feel it, but his leg wasn't totally healthy yet, so having it ripped
off would probably be a bit annoying.
    "If I can do anything, and
I'm not saying that I can, what are you offering for it?" He was thinking
favors, since that was mainly what he'd dealt in so far with Greater Demons,
but got just from the look in his eyes that this man wasn't one to trust that
way. "Also, I can't take down a Greater Demon. I could find out where she
is, or at least recently was, maybe. Is that good?"
    "What I meant. You stupid or
something? Get me The Storm, tell me where she is, and I'll... Fuck. I don't
know. You want this bitch here?" He waved at the woman with him, who
didn't really respond at first. Not until the man finished talking.
"You're dead. You eat her kind, right?"
    That was a bit more astute than
he really liked. The wild eyed man with his bushy beard and funny leather
clothing stared directly. Looking for some kind of lapse on his part. For him
to demand the slaves, which was what they probably were, to be freed. That
wasn't happening. Ty couldn't even do that for himself.
    Though he had heard that living
people could die to get away from their Demon masters. If it was done
correctly, it seemed like most of the ones he knew could pull it off. It cost
though, and was rare. Dangerous too, most likely. Most living people didn't
easily come back from death.
    Glancing at the two people, the
broken seeming man and the still beaming woman, Ty shrugged.
    "You want me to go up
against a Greater Demon, just for two Humans? Ones that are already
yours?" He didn't add the magical part, since he didn't know for certain.
    Goethe laughed.
    "I said the bitch, not the
man. They're mine, true. I ain't asking you to take out Stormy. That's my job.
That slut wants me dead. That won't be happnin." The Demon was working
really hard to play up his hillbilly trapper persona.
    Ty did not let himself be
fooled by it. No Greater