Corthie smiled, and she glanced away.
‘You’ve caused quite a commotion,’ she said. ‘I hear the streets are crowded with people trying to catch a glimpse of you.’
‘Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to give you a headache.’
Aila said nothing, and Corthie wished he could just push Quill out of the room for a moment so he could talk to the demigod properly, without all of the awkwardness of pretending not to know each other.
The door swung open.
‘Welcome to my home,’ said a woman as she walked into the room.
‘This is my cousin,’ said Aila; ‘Lady Ikara, Governor of the Circuit.’
The governor stretched out her hand and Corthie shook it.
‘Nice to meet you, ma’am,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘The pleasure is all mine. I thought the reports I was receiving were too far-fetched to be believed, but no, the famed Champion of the Bulwark is in the Circuit. I see my assistant has already got you a drink. Aila, be a dear and get me one too; there’s a nice white from Port Sanders in there, I think.’
Corthie caught Aila rolling her eyes as she went back to the cabinet.
‘So, tell me,’ said Ikara, ‘how is life in the Bulwark? I hear you’ve cleared the walls of the green devils that plague us.’
‘I’ve separated a few from their heads.’
Ikara laughed. ‘You’re so funny. And how have you found the Circuit? I hope you’ll not judge it too harshly; unfortunately there exists a bitter element among a small section of the Evader population, and trouble does occasionally flare up. It’ll all be sorted soon, I’m sure, and perhaps then you can visit us again, in more peaceful times?’
‘I’m sure I’ll be back at some point. Maybe your… assistant could give me a tour of the place?’
‘Nonsense, I would conduct the tour myself; your status demands it.’
Aila handed her cousin a glass of white wine.
‘Sorry, ma’am,’ said Quill, ‘but your official mentioned a barge?’
‘Of course, I won’t keep you; I’m sure you’re very busy. My assistant will escort you to the canal terminal in a moment. Before you go however, I would ask a favour.’
‘Aye?’ said Corthie.
‘Yes,’ she said, her smile vanishing. ‘The next time you wish to visit the Circuit, I would be most grateful if you could send advance notice first. That way we could avoid the pitched battles that are already underway in the streets as we speak.’
She turned and walked from the room without waiting for a response.
‘Something tells me that didn’t go too well,’ said Corthie.
‘You think?’ muttered Quill. ‘Next time, boss, listen to me.’
‘Don’t worry about my cousin,’ said Aila, ‘you’re completely beyond her jurisdiction.’
Quill eyed her. ‘The barge, ma’am?’
‘Sure, yeah. Follow me.’
Aila left the room and Corthie and Quill followed. He could feel a rising tide of frustration build inside him; he had come all the way to the Circuit to see Aila, and there she was, a yard in front of him, but he couldn’t speak to her, or acknowledge what had happened between them. And now it looked as though they would be put on a barge and sent away before he had a chance to spend any time with her.
‘Can I ask something, ma’am?’ said Quill as they walked through the passageways of the palace.
‘Yes?’
‘It’s about the building that the Taran militia burnt down with all of those folk inside.’
Aila narrowed her eyes. ‘What’s your question?’
‘We heard, ma’am, that the Tarans said they had evidence the tenement was being used by rebels. Was that true?’
‘So they claim. They say they recovered the body of a dead Taran inside; a soldier killed when rebels attacked a convoy.’
‘And their officer, Aurelian, just stood there and watched the building burn to the ground?’
‘That’s what the rumours say, but it’s unclear what happened exactly. I’ve interviewed survivors who claim a lieutenant ordered the rear doors of the building to be opened, so they could escape the flames.’
‘Have you spoken to this Aurelian, ma’am?’
‘I tried, but he’s already been transferred back to Roser territory.’
‘Thanks, ma’am. It’s not every demigod who would answer the questions of a sergeant in the Blades.’
Aila smiled as they reached the rear door of the palace. ‘I’m not every demigod.’
She opened the doors and they descended to a well-lit wharf. A few Evader militia were standing waiting for them under the oil lamps that hung from a long chain.
Aila gestured towards the barge. ‘As my cousin said, this will take you close to the Middle Walls.’
Corthie turned to her. ‘I’d like to come back to the Circuit.’
‘I’m afraid that might not be possible for a while.’
He noticed Quill was a few yards away, and he lowered his voice. ‘I’d like to see you again.’
‘I’d like that too,’ she whispered, ‘but I can’t see any way that this will work.’
‘We can make it work.’
Quill glanced over. ‘Boss, you ready to go?’
He turned his head. ‘Aye, Quill; I’m just coming.’
A cry rang out behind him, and four hooded men appeared by the side of the wharf, carrying crossbows and running towards Corthie.
‘Death to the Blade!’ one of them cried, and the four men halted, raised their bows and loosed.
Aila sprang in front of Corthie, and three bolts hit her; two in the abdomen, and one in her right thigh. She cried out as she slid to the ground. The Evader guards charged at the four men, and they bolted back along the wharf. Quill stared at the body of Aila.
‘Get after them!’ Corthie cried.
Quill nodded, then sprinted up the side of the wharf, in pursuit of the hooded men and the Evader militia who were chasing them.
Corthie sank to his knees, and pulled Aila towards him. His mind was frozen in shock. Why had she done that? He stared at her, his eyes welling. It couldn’t be happening; he was having a nightmare, he told himself, even though he knew it was a lie.
‘Aila,’ he gasped, holding her close, her blood covering his hands and the front of his coat.
She spluttered, staining her lips and chin red. ‘Get them… out.’
‘What? Aila, what? You’re alive!’
‘Get them… out of me.’ Her hand came up and she brushed one of the bolts protruding from her abdomen. ‘Out, or I can’t heal.’
He blinked as realisation struck him. He took a grip of the first bolt, and ripped it out of her thigh. He grabbed the next bolt and pulled; then the final one. Aila cried out as he tore it from her abdomen, then she closed her eyes again.
‘Aila? They’re out, Aila; I got them.’
‘I know,’ she groaned. ‘Just give me a minute, I’m healing.’
He held her close, and wiped his eyes so she wouldn’t know he had been weeping. ‘I thought you were gone.’
‘It’ll take more than a few bolts to kill me, Corthie,’ she said, reaching up and turning his face towards her. ‘I’m a demigod, remember?’
He gazed down into her eyes as relief and joy flooded him, along with the realisation of how close he had come to losing her. She smiled, pulled his face down, and their lips met.
Chapter 19
The Harbinger
Arrowhead Fort, The Bulwark, The City – 24th Koralis 3419
‘There,’ said Hilde; ‘how does that feel?’
Maddie lifted her left arm, wincing at the small aches that remained, but marvelling at the sight of the limb without the splint and sling that had covered it for so long. She flexed her fingers.
‘It feels good,’ she said. ‘Still weak, and it hurts a bit, but thank Malik the bandages are off at last.’
‘And not too much longer for the leg; another ten days, maybe?’
&nbs
p; Maddie lowered her arm, feeling it tire already.
‘We’ll build up to it,’ Hilde went on; ‘we’ll start by getting you to exercise it more… are you listening?’
‘What?’
The captain got to her feet. ‘Never mind. Anyway, it’s live-goat day, and I know how much you hate that, so rest your arm and I’ll take care of it.’
Maddie frowned. ‘I don’t want to hear it bleating. Can you cover its mouth or something as you go past? I don’t see why we have to give her live food; it’s disgusting.’
‘Come on, you know it’s Blackrose’s favourite day.’
‘Yeah, she was telling me everything she was going to do to the goat yesterday, in great detail.’
‘You know how much she exaggerates; she never actually tortures the goat. It’s dead and eaten in about three seconds.’
Maddie made a face. ‘Still.’
‘Has your family never sacrificed a goat on New Year’s Day?’
‘I made them stop years ago. I’m not having live animals slaughtered in my home, and sacrifices are a load of superstitious nonsense anyway.’
Hilde smirked. ‘You’d better hope the God-King’s not listening to your wicked blasphemies.’
‘As if. Do you expect me to believe that garbage? Do you really think the God-King’s listening to what everyone says? It’s a tale to frighten the children.’
‘Quite possibly.’ Hilde walked to the door. ‘I’ll be back in ten minutes or so; could you go to the kitchen and warm some soup for me?’
‘Yeah, sure. Remember, no bleating.’
Hilde rolled her eyes and left the room.
Maddie raised her left arm again. It was stiff and sore, but the ache was bearable, and it felt like a pain of healing, rather than of injury or loss. She reached over and picked up her brush with her left hand, smiling as the fingers grasped it. She pulled the brush through her hair, feeling every muscle in her left arm tingle. She laughed, then glanced at her leg stretched out before her. Two splints were still in place, covered by thick bandages. Ten days, Hilde had said.
She heard a thump on the front door. Her first instinct was to ignore it, but she remembered that the captain was expecting a delivery of supplies for Blackrose, so she wedged the crutch under her left shoulder and pushed herself up.
The door was thumped again.
‘I’m coming,’ she yelled as she hobbled out of her room and down the hallway. She spied the soup pot on the stove as she passed the kitchen. ‘Soup,’ she muttered to herself. ‘The captain wants soup.’
Another thump landed on the door.
‘I said I’m coming; there’s no need to break the door down.’
She reached the entrance, slid the bolts free, then turned the key in the lock. She swung the door open a few inches, and peered out into the red light of evening.
‘Hello.’
She looked up.
‘I recognise you,’ he said. ‘Maddie Jackdaw?’
‘Eh, yes. Yes, that’s my name; you remembered.’
Corthie smiled. ‘So, can I come in?’
Fifty emotions flitted through Maddie’s mind, none fully-formed enough to grasp. She was a bit scared, yes, but her curiosity was threatening to explode. What was he doing there? Had he come to see her? No, clearly that was ridiculous; then why? Oh. Of course.
She glanced around, but no one else was in sight. ‘Tell me why you want to come in.’
He leaned down to her ear. ‘Because I know about the other dragon.’ He straightened, smiled and winked at her.
Maddie turned and looked back down the hallway, but Hilde was nowhere in sight. Time for an executive decision, she thought.
‘Alright. Just you, though, yeah?’
He nodded. ‘Just me.’
She leaned on the crutch and moved to the side, gesturing for Corthie to enter. He stepped over the threshold and Maddie closed and relocked the door.
‘What happened to you?’ he said, glancing at the crutch. ‘Or was that a really stupid question?’
‘It was her, I mean the dragon, but she didn’t mean it. She was fighting Buckler at the time and I got in the way.’
‘So it was her that wounded Buckler. The slippery lizard denied it as well. He told me that there was no other dragon when I asked him.’
Maddie started to hobble down the hallway and Corthie strode alongside her.
‘Could you heat up some soup for me?’
‘What? Aye, I suppose so.’
She led him into the kitchen.
‘The soup’s on the stove,’ she said. ‘If you could warm it up a little that would be great; oh, and remember to stir it.’
She watched him as approached the stove. He picked up a spoon then took the lid off the pot.
‘So,’ she said, ‘it wasn’t Buckler who told you about the other dragon?’
‘Nope,’ he said, moving the pot onto the hot part of the stove.
‘Then who was it?’
‘I’m not telling.’
‘I bet I can guess.’
‘I bet you can’t.’
‘Was it someone else in Arrowhead?’
He smiled at her. ‘Where is everyone? It can’t be just you down here. I’ve been to Buckler’s lair; he has about a dozen folk looking after him.’
‘We’re the poor relation. It’s just me and Captain Hilde.’
He stirred the soup. ‘And where is Captain Hilde?’
‘Feeding a live goat to the “other” dragon. Did Duke Marcus tell you?’
‘I’ll answer that. No, and he doesn’t know that I’m here, either.’
She opened her mouth.
‘That goes for Lord Kano too, before you ask.’
‘It’s nice that you answer my questions before I ask them.’
‘How about you answer some of mine?’
‘I’ll consider it,’ she said. ‘Well?’
‘First, why is it a secret?’
‘I think it’s because she hates Duke Marcus and refuses to fly, so he’s embarrassed I guess, and would rather not have to be reminded of it all the time. He hasn’t executed her, or let her starve to death or anything, but the captain told me that was because Buckler said he would burn the duke to a crisp if he harmed her.’
‘Here, this soup’s ready.’
‘The bowls are by your leg. One portion, please.’
She watched him lean over and pick up a bowl. ‘What’s your second question?’
‘It’s a request,’ he said as he stood and served a large helping of soup into the bowl. ‘I want to see the dragon. What’s her name?’
‘Blackrose.’
‘Blackrose.’ He nodded. ‘Right, where do you want your soup?’
‘Oh, it’s not for me.’
‘Maddie?’ came a cry from the hallway. ‘Where are you?’
‘In the kitchen.’
The sound of footsteps came in from the hallway, then the captain walked into the room.
‘Well, that was fun. I…’ She tailed off as she saw the champion standing by the stove. She stared for a moment. ‘What in Malik’s name is Corthie Holdfast doing in my kitchen?’
‘Warming your soup,’ said Maddie.
‘Ah,’ he said, holding out the bowl for her, ‘so this is for you? Are you Captain Hilde, aye?’
Hilde remained unmoving, so Corthie placed the bowl down onto a side table and wiped his hands.
‘He knows,’ said Maddie.
‘Knows what?’ said Hilde.
Maddie raised an eyebrow. ‘About the, you know… other dragon.’
A slight change came over Hilde’s face. ‘There is no other dragon. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Pack Leader Holdfast, I’m afraid someone has been playing tricks on you, and without wishing to sound rude, I would like you to leave.’
He smiled. ‘So her name isn’t Blackrose?’
Hilde gave a scathing glance in Maddie’s direction.
‘What was I supposed to do?’ she said.
; ‘Deny it, of course.’
‘Well, I was put on the spot, and he was standing at the door, and I didn’t know what to do. I mean, you weren’t here, so…’
‘Don’t blame this on me. I left you alone for ten minutes. Ten minutes, girl, and I come back to find… this in my kitchen.’
Maddie narrowed her eyes. ‘Oh, sorry. I must have forgotten your lesson about what to do if the Champion of the Bulwark knocks on the front door.’
‘Don’t take that tone with me, girl, or you’ll be…’
Corthie coughed. ‘I want to see Blackrose.’
Hilde glared at him. ‘Well, you can’t.’
‘So you admit that she exists?’
‘I admit nothing. Until and unless you have a written command from Duke Marcus himself, I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss this matter any further. I swore an oath, as did Maddie, although she seems to have forgotten all about it; and that, as they say, is that. I will show you to the door; this way, please.’
Corthie stayed where he was. ‘I’m not going to speak to the duke about this; I want it to remain between the three of us in this room. The duke has no idea I’m here, and nor does Buckler for that matter.’
‘It wasn’t the duke who told you?’
‘It wasn’t,’ said Maddie; ‘I already asked him that. He wouldn’t tell me his source.’
Hilde frowned at Corthie. ‘Alright. If you tell me how you found out, then I’ll consider letting you see Blackrose for one minute.’
‘No. Let me see Blackrose, and speak to her, and then maybe I’ll consider telling you my source.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
Maddie caught Hilde’s eye. ‘I’m sure Corthie would tell the truth if he got to, eh, speak to Blackrose.’
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence, Maddie,’ he said, ‘but I’m not promising anything.’
‘No,’ said Hilde, ‘perhaps my young associate is correct. Would you be willing to swear an oath to me first?’
‘And what would the oath say?’
‘That you would swear by everything you hold dear not to tell a single person about any of this; not a word about Maddie or me, or what we do, the location of this lair, of anything regarding the existence of Blackrose.’
The Mortal Blade: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Magelands Eternal Siege Book 1) Page 27
