Enchanter

by Sara Douglass

  By his side Borneheld was struggling to best a particularly large Skraeling, and Ho’Demi seized its hair and pulled its head back, giving Borneheld the chance to puncture its great silver eye.

  Blood spattered over the three of them.

  Borneheld nodded his thanks to Ho’Demi, then glanced along the line. “They falter.”

  Yes, Ho’Demi thought, exhausted after a long day fighting, they falter. Many had cursed Borneheld as they had struggled for months to dig the system of trenches and canals that stretched between the Azle and Nordra rivers, but now all could see their brilliance. The Skraelings could not attack in mass as they had at Gorkentown. The canals forced them to splinter into small bands as they wound their way around and between the waterways. Instead of attacking as they preferred, in a great mass of writhing, nibbling teeth and claws that panicked and overwhelmed most opponents, the wraiths were forced into pits and traps. There the defenders were able to deal with them more easily than if they had been forced to meet a mass charge.

  But they were still vicious and deadly and Ho’Demi wondered how Borneheld’s forces would cope with the full weight of the Skraelings massed in southern Ichtar if Gorgrael managed to breach the canals.

  Several hundred paces to the west came the faint cries of battle, and Borneheld climbed wearily out of the trench and strode silently towards the sound.

  Ho’Demi looked at Inari. “I need to speak with the elders this night, Inari. Can you hold for a few hours?”

  Inari’s teeth gleamed. “I shall stick your share of Skraelings as well as mine, Ho’Demi.”

  “Make sure the men get something to eat, Inari. That was the fifth attack in as many hours.”

  And with that Ho’Demi was gone.

  Behind him men slumped wearily, snatching what rest they could. Many took the opportunity to pray, the Ravensbundmen to their ice gods, the Coroleans to the bronze deities that hung at their belts, and the Acharites to Artor.

  But not all the Acharites mumbled Artor’s name under their breath. A small yet increasing number of soldiers muttered Axis’ name. Rumours of his survival were spreading, and those among the five thousand who had accompanied Borneheld to Gundealga Ford told of the golden man who rode out to meet their own dour and singularly unmajestic King. The Forbidden circling in the sky had been black and ominous, certainly, but they had done them no harm, though it was clear they could have rained death down from the skies had they a mind to.

  And with rumours of Axis’ survival spread word of the Prophecy.

  Too weary and worried to waste the night in sleep, Ho’Demi called a secret Gathering of the Ravensbund elders and advisers in his tent.

  After Sa’Kuya had served Tekawai to those gathered in the circle, she sat down by Ho’Demi’s side.

  Ho’Demi opened the Gathering with ancient formalised and ritual words, then spoke what was on his mind. “You know I spoke with the StarMan, Axis SunSoar, at Gundealga Ford four weeks past,” he said bluntly, and the assembled Ravensbundmen nodded solemnly. The Prophecy swirled about them all.

  “I have wrestled with my conscience every waking moment since then,” Ho’Demi continued. “My soul and heart cry out for me to lead my people to Axis SunSoar’s side where we belong, but my mind and conscience know that to do this now would be to leave Jervois Landing so vulnerable that Gorgrael would break through and claim Achar.”

  “Yes,” Elder Tanabata said. “I am glad it is your choice and not ours. But tell us, have you reached a decision?”

  Why else call us here? their faces seemed to say as they watched Ho’Demi drain the last of his Tekawai from the tiny cup emblazoned with the blood-red sun.

  Ho’Demi nodded slowly. “I yearn for the StarMan, but I am also committed to fighting Gorgrael. We stay here until it appears that Borneheld can hold without us.”

  The others nodded. It was the decision they had expected.

  “But,” Ho’Demi’s eyes were dark with worry, “I told Axis SunSoar we would join him when the first winter snows fell. We have now been blanketed with snows for three weeks and I worry that Axis will think we have abandoned him.”

  “He must be fighting as heavily as we are,” observed Elder Hamori.

  Ho’Demi considered Hamori’s words. “Sa’Kuya will lead a party to Sigholt to tell Axis what is happening.”

  All nodded. It was a sensible plan.

  “Over the next weeks I want to send small parties, mainly of women and children, to Sigholt. Borneheld and Gautier will never notice they are gone.”

  No-one was concerned at the thought of their wives and children making the dangerous journey to Sigholt. The Ravensbund women could fight as well as the men, and despite the bells the Ravensbund wore, all possessed the almost supernatural power of moving completely silently and invisibly when they needed to.

  “If the fighting lessens, if Borneheld’s own forces are strengthened by the arrival of more fresh Corolean mercenaries, then I will order the complete withdrawal of Ravensbund assistance to Sigholt.”

  “Borneheld will never let us go,” a warrior remarked.

  “No,” Ho’Demi replied. “Borneheld will not want to see us go. Nevertheless, I intend that by spring I and the Ravensbund people will fight by Axis SunSoar’s side. I will not remain allied to Borneheld if he wars against his brother.”

  All nodded, relieved.

  “I will leave tonight,” Sa’Kuya said, “and I hope to be at Sigholt in less than two weeks’ time. Which of your wives and children will come with me?”

  Axis left for his command in the WildDog Plains four days after Caelum’s birth. He hated leaving, but he was needed, and Azhure and Caelum had recovered well.

  Since he could not use the Song of Movement to travel to the camp site he had left, Axis rode with a small unit of reinforcements. It had been years since he had ridden any horse but Belaguez, and it exasperated him that his current mount did not respond to his every wish. He had formed such a bond with Belaguez over the years that he now found it hard to ride another horse.

  Riding at their limits, they arrived in the makeshift camp in just over four days. Both Belial and Magariz had heard the news of Caelum’s birth from an Icarii who had flown in earlier that day, and both were there to congratulate Axis. Axis was all broad smiles as he explained how remarkable the baby was, and only halted when he realised that both Belial and Magariz were staring at him with fixed expressions on their faces that unsuccessfully hid their boredom.

  “Well,” Axis subsided, remembering how he had reacted with similar boredom in past years to tales of newborn babes. FarSight pushed through the tent flap to join them, his wings crowding what spare space there was. Axis greeted him, accepted FarSight’s congratulations on Caelum’s birth, then moved on to more pressing problems. “Enough of women and babies. What news of the Skraelings? Has the SkraeBold managed to push them to new efforts?”

  “We have held them back along this line.” Belial’s finger traced along a map of the WildDog Plains. “Gorgrael seems to have infused new purpose into both SkraeBolds and wraiths this year. The SkraeBold is cunning. He directs the Skraeling attack here, and here, and here,” Belial’s finger jabbed at several spots on the map, “where our line is weakest. Two nights ago he almost succeeded in breaking through. He learns from experience. No longer does he direct mass attacks against the length of our defences, but concentrated attacks against the weakest points.”

  Axis looked at him sharply, his earlier excitement forgotten. The SkraeBolds had been deadly last year—one had all but killed him—but they were inconsistent and easily diverted. The three that attacked the Yuletide rites at the Earth Tree Grove had failed to push home their advantage and had eventually suffered a devastating failure of purpose and loss of Skraeling lives. The SkraeBolds at Gorkenfort had won through the town to the fort, true enough, but they had then let themselves be taunted into sending their entire force northwards after Axis and his men, leaving those inside the fort free to flee south to Jerv
ois Landing.

  “How does he deal with the Icarii?” Axis asked FarSight.

  “He was the one who thought of removing spent arrows from the ground, and of sending the wraiths leaping to seize the low-flying Icarii,” FarSight replied. “He rarely shows himself. Do you think he is frightened of the Strike Force?”

  Axis shook his head. “Not for himself, although you are obviously hurting his Skraelings. He is just being wary, I suspect. With his powers—Gorgrael has taught his SkraeBolds limited use of the Dark Music—he would probably come out the victor in any skirmish with members of the Strike Force, even if there were Enchanters with them. Belial, what do you make of him?”

  “He is the mind behind this push south through the WildDog Plains,” Belial replied without hesitation. “Without him I am certain the Skraeling attack would fall apart and we could clear the plains relatively easily. However much Gorgrael has infused the Skraelings with new vigour and purpose, I believe they still rely on the SkraeBold for directions and encouragement. They are incapable of coordinating any attack themselves.”

  Axis’ fingers slowly tapped the map as he thought. “I don’t think Gorgrael really expected to break through here, he’s just keeping us occupied…”

  “While he directs his main attack against Jervois Landing,” Belial finished.

  Axis nodded. “Yes. And he has succeeded in tying us up. If we continue the way we are then we’ll spend further weeks stuck out here in this wilderness picking off wraiths one by one.” He paused. “I suspect Gorgrael has something special to throw at Jervois Landing and would prefer that I and the Icarii Strike Force waste our time fighting back this Skraeling push through the WildDog Plains.” He studied Belial, considering. “Your assessment of the situation is a good one, Belial. I think the SkraeBold is our key to a quick and decisive victory. Destroy him and we destroy the Skraeling attack.”

  He looked at his three senior commanders. “Do any of you know where the SkraeBold nests at night? From where he directs his Skraelings?”

  FarSight indicated a spot on the map. “This ridge overlooks much of the area we have been fighting in and is relatively isolated. He could be there. Do you want me to send farflight scouts to have a look?”

  Axis shook his head. “No. I have a better idea.”

  The eagle soared above the WildDog Plains, his sharp black eyes scanning the country below him.

  Far below him Axis sat alone on the plains, the cold wind blowing his hair about his face. He saw only what the eagle saw. He did not feel the hard dirt and pebbles beneath his buttocks, but only the sweep of air beneath the eagle’s wings. West, his mind directed, and the eagle tipped his balance towards the Urqhart Hills.

  Over the past weeks the eagle had spent a great deal of time watching the creature. The eagle considered the creature particularly ill-formed, worse even than carrion vultures. It was leathery and lizard-like, silver-eyed and fierce-clawed, and even though it had wings to fly and a beak to cry with, the eagle felt very little affinity with the creature. It soared, but it did not enjoy it.

  But now the man needed to know where it was, and the eagle undertook to take the man to the SkraeBold.

  The SkraeBold sat on a ledge high on the rocky ridge that FarSight had indicated to Axis. His leathery wings encased his body entirely from his jaw down. To a casual eye, or even to the gaze of someone who looked for him, the SkraeBold simply looked like one more grey and featureless rock on the ridge. Only his narrowed silver eyes moved as they surveyed the WildDog Plains before him.

  The SkraeBold was pleased with his efforts so far. Gorgrael had sent him down the WildDog Plains with instructions to keep Axis busy. The less support Borneheld had at Jervois Landing, the better. He had numerous thousands of Skraelings to work with, and he had learned early that it was better to use the wraiths in concentrated attacks than mass surges down the entire width of the WildDog Plains. If it had not been for the Icarii Strike Force, the SkraeBold thought he might actually have been able to break through to the Nordra. The Icarii were far too good at decimating any surge or probe the SkraeBold sent southwards. Their cunning arrows floated from the sky, rarely failing to strike a wraith in the eye, and the SkraeBold blinked in painful sympathy. And there had been those nasty, agile archers on horseback too.

  So, despite his relative success at keeping Axis’ force occupied, the SkraeBold was learning to loathe arrows. His wraiths had orders to retrieve any arrows and bring them back to the SkraeBold. Now several thousand of the vile feathered implements lay in a deep crevice at his feet.

  But the arrows were not the SkraeBold’s only concern. Where was Axis SunSoar? He had not seen the man for a week or more now. He had not left his camp, of that the SkraeBold was sure, because his wraith-grey horse was still tied up in the horse lines. So why had he not seen him, when Axis was usually at the forefront of any action?

  He noticed the eagle as it drifted. overhead, but did not think to give it a second glance. Then, unexpectedly, it swooped down and landed on a rock just out of the Skrae-Bold’s reach.

  “SkraeBold,” it said, and it spoke with Axis SunSoar’s voice. “I greet you well. You are proving a worthy opponent.”

  The SkraeBold was so shocked he could not move.

  “My forces cannot move against you, my arrows are numbered, and one of your late-night Skraeling attacks has left me terribly injured.” The voice faltered a little, as if he who spoke was gasping for breath.

  The SkraeBold hissed as he thought quickly. Axis had been injured! No wonder he’d not seen him!

  “I am tired of this impasse,” the Axis-voice said. “Why do we fight back and forth, back and forth, when we could so easily settle this once and for all?”

  The SkraeBold tilted his head to one side, his eyes bright as he regarded the eagle.

  The eagle hopped judiciously to a rock a little further away. “I have a proposal for you,” the Axis-voice continued. “We could settle this once and for all, you and I, just you and I. Why don’t we meet honourably? One on one. Fight.”

  The SkraeBold considered. Gorgrael had been so very angry whenever one of the SkraeBolds had countermanded his orders. SkraeFear had paid dearly for attacking StarDrifter at Yuletide.

  “The victor claims the field,” the voice continued. “The loser…well, the loser loses all.”

  But, the SkraeBold thought, what if he brought Axis down for Gorgrael? He briefly imagined himself dropping Axis’ torn body at Gorgrael’s feet.

  “One on one?” he asked suddenly. “No helpers? No assistance? No nasty feathered things?”

  “You have my word,” the voice said, and the SkraeBold fancied he could hear a fatal weakness creep into the man’s voice. Imagine the triumph if the SkraeBold could not only break through to the Nordra, but kill Gorgrael’s nemesis at the same time! The SkraeBolds had been sadly out of favour with Gorgrael since the disaster above Gorkenfort, but this…well, this might restore Gorgrael’s faith in his SkraeBolds. Convince him they were more worthy than the Gryphon.

  The SkraeBold launched himself at the snow eagle.

  The eagle, even wary as it was, was still only just agile enough to evade the creature’s attack. It twisted and wheeled out into the open sky, the SkraeBold, ominously silent, twisting after it.

  Far below, both Skraeling and human stood watching as the SkraeBold hunted the eagle through the sky. The Icarii, warned of Axis’ tactics, had positioned themselves along the cliff faces of the nearby Urqhart Hills, but they watched as silently as those below.

  The snow eagle led the SkraeBold high into the sky, always just out of reach, always managing to twist its way out of the SkraeBold’s claws just as it appeared the creature was about to strike. Both eagle and SkraeBold disappeared into the clouds, and for a few agonising moments none below could see what was happening. But then the snow eagle plummeted out of the clouds, wings loose, tumbling over and over. The SkraeBold dropped through as well, but his descent, even though fast and furious, was control
led where the eagle’s was totally wild and unrestrained.

  The eagle dropped like a rock through the air, plummeting to a point on the plain where stood a man alone.

  Axis.

  At the last possible moment the eagle pulled out of its mad dive. It checked and pulled its wings back, its claws extended, and, still travelling far too fast, careened onto the man’s waiting arm. Rocked by the force of the eagle’s landing, the man stumbled and took a quick step back, but he recovered just as the SkraeBold shrieked out of the sky above them.

  He did not even hesitate. He knew who the man was, and hungered for his blood. He went straight in for the attack, the claws of his hands and feet extended, razor-sharp beak open to tear at the man’s flesh.

  He hit nothing but hard ground.

  The man had been an illusion. A trickery.

  Half stunned, but knowing he was dead if he remained on the ground, the SkraeBold stumbled to his feet, one wing hanging brokenly behind him. Axis stood some five or six paces away, the eagle still on his arm. As the SkraeBold blinked in confusion and pain, Axis launched the eagle to soar free into the sky, then looked at the SkraeBold and laughed.

  “Did you like my mirage, SkraeBold? It is one of my new tricks.”

  The SkraeBold shook his head, trying to clear his mind, then screeched with fury as he realised that one wing was broken.

  “Have you hurt yourself, SkraeBold?” asked Axis, taking a step forward.

  The SkraeBold stepped back, hissing softly. He had no intention now of trying to battle it out with this fully fit man. He reached inside for the small well of power Gorgrael had given all of his SkraeBolds, preparing to fade from view.

  But Axis was ready for him. He reached out with the power of the Star Dance, using a Song of Muddlement that wrapped the SkraeBold’s mind in shadows, reflections and dead ends. Flustered by his inability to touch his power, the SkraeBold launched himself at the cause of his confusion and misery.