“James. Come on, man. Over here. The cold will kill you.”
James hesitated as he searched for the other ship and realised with sicking dread that she had already sunk, almost certainly taking Dee and Faith with her. All that remained was burning debris and corpses floating on the fog-shrouded water.
“James, come on.”
“If you don’t mind, Milord, I’m going to check the debris for survivors.”
He heard the grief and futility in his voice.
“I am sorry for it, James, but no one could have survived the fire Baryon unleashed on that vessel. She’s gone, man. Both of them are. Best you come with us.”
James knew the commander was right on all counts. But life really didn’t matter to him right now. He just needed to be near Danielle and that meant going to that ship, or what was left of it.
“Sorry, Milord. But I have to go.”
Colita nodded grimly. “Then our gods go with you, brother.”
James acknowledged the commander’s kindness and swam off into the fog. He pushed through the debris searching for life and calling out, hoping to hear Dee or Faith reply. But there was only the quiet of lapping water. He choked against the repugnant stench of burnt flesh as he checked body after body. Most had been badly burned or torn apart by Druid’s fire and the task left him gagging on more than a few occasions. He knew this was folly, but could not stop until he found them. He just had to find them.
He eased past one of the larger fires and began to search the wreckage and dead floating on the other side. That’s when he spotted a head of long dark wet hair a short distance away. Its owner had straddled a piece of the ship’s timber beams and lay there limp and unmoving.
“Faith?”
Ignoring the aching chill in his bones James swam over as quickly as he could. He knew even before he could wipe the hair from the woman’s face that it was Corenbald’s First Sword. She was cold to the touch, her face as pale as milk, but to his relief she stirred slightly.
“Faith? Are you harmed?”
James patted her cheek to rouse her and her eyes fluttered open. She recognised him and hesitantly shook her head, the cold making her shiver violently.
“Dee. Did you see her?”
Faith’s face immediately contorted with grief and she began to quietly sob.
James embraced her. The ach in his chest made it difficult to breathe for a moment. The look in Faith’s eyes had extinguished the last slither of hope he had harboured that he might find his fiancée alive.
Bitter tears stung his cheeks and the thought of giving up and letting the cold take them surged forward. But he knew Danielle would never forgive him if he let Faith die on account of his grief, so he forced back his tears, took a firm hold of the broken beam Faith was lying on and set out into the fog, his back to the distant sound of Amthenium’s tolling bells.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Leefton stood at the end of the Wildling Cove wharf, mulling over what he had just been told. It had been a good half hour since Sir Colita and his few surviving men had come ashore on the nearby beach. Word of what had happened aboard the Lela was the worst possible news. He had immediately issued the order to begin a search. Not that there was much hope they’d find anyone alive, and even if they did, Colita had made it blatantly clear he did not believe Faith and Danielle would be among them.
Leefton stared out at the ebbing fog as he considered the magnitude of their loss. He could hear the search parties out on the lake, calling to one another. The men who were unable to join the search because of their wounds were boarding a ferryman’s barge for the long trip back to Amthenium—again, too many were on stretchers, and he knew some would not live to see the sunset.
How he was going to reveal to the world what had happened this night, Leefton wasn’t yet sure. Most would not believe him, and those that did would find no comfort in what he had to say. More troubling still was how the member realms of the assembly would react to the news that a new Hand had raised in Maig’s service, and was bent on restoring the dark goddess’s authority across the face of the world. He didn’t expect many would run to form an alliance against an enemy who could wield a mythical weapon like the Twenty Three, particularly with Danielle and Faith now unaccounted for and almost certainly dead.
He bit back the tears that threatened to blur his vision as he thought of those two. Faith and Danielle were like daughters to him, more precious in many regards than his own children. Deep down he’d always feared they would over-reach themselves some day. And now that day had come and the world would suffer for it in ways that were still unimaginable to most. How they were going to confront this present evil without them, he had not a clue.
The sound of beating wings and the flash of white light, made Leefton spin around. He was just in time to see a large white falcon settle on the wharf behind him and transform into Lord Baryon.
Naratha and most of his kin had remained up in the woods to see to the cremation of Lady Vanessa’s remains, when Leefton had given the order that they were going down to Wildling Cove, and with what had happened out on the lake since their parting, he had been expecting this visit. Though he would have preferred that it was Lord Naratha, rather than this man.
“Lord Baryon, I hear you abandoned my commander and his men aboard the Lela, lost the Seer’s bones and have likely cost my niece and the Lady de Brie their lives.”
“I can understand that you would see it that way, Milord. In truth it was a fight that was lost the moment your niece failed to kill the priestess, and saving my people took precedence over your commander and his men. Given our ability to harm the enemy in future clashes I’m sure you won’t begrudge my decision.”
“You could have at the very least given Lord Colita fair warning of your intentions, and help with the search would have been appreciated as well.”
“There was no time, I’m afraid. And it would be folly to venture too far from shore until this conjured fog has dissipated. It seems Keira added a disorientation spell to this primordial ooze to prevent anyone stopping their escape. And other than your men floundering about out there, we can sense little else because of Keira’s spell. Its strength will be formidable for some hours yet so I suggest you delay your departure until it has dissipated.”
“So we assume no more survivors will be found,” Leefton said curtly, feeling the bitter sting of that. In his heart of hearts he had still hoped for a miracle.
“That would be best.”
“Your grief is overwhelming,” Leefton snapped angrily. “My niece was aboard that ship.”
“This is not a time to be sentimental, Milord. Abbagay might have been your niece, but you know well enough as a friend to the Aquarius brotherhood the evil her womb was fated to bring into the world. In truth this is a merciful end for her compared to what might have been if she had remained in the priestess’s hands. And the Lady de Brie is a loss, of course, the first Child of Light to bear the purple aura in a thousand years, but she was utterly uncontrollable, and in truth there is another child we can use.”
“Use! Danielle and Faith were a great deal more than simply instruments in your god infernal war with the Larniusian.”
“Let’s not play games, Milord. Our high elder apologises that he cannot be here in person; you know how exhausted he is after the fight in the woods and how the death of three of our number affects his power. He also requests that you give us the name of Danielle de Brie’s sister; the second Child of Light.”
Leefton was somewhat surprised by the request. “You do not know who she is?”
“Unfortunately not. Only the guardians of the path of enlightenment know the identity of a child before she begins her journey.”
“I see, and Cargius is dead. Well I am afraid I cannot help you because I do not know who this other woman is, and nor do any of my colleagues. Those that do are out there somewhere, and on your calculations will take the secret to the grave.”
“What of de Brie’s
fiancé or her undersecretary, or even the young prince, they were in her confidence. The former certainly knew enough about who she is to sneer at her mention like he did earlier this morning.”
“James is likely dead if Colita’s reckoning is correct, which you would have already known had you not fled the fight. As for the other two, you will not be permitted to see them.”
“This is hardly the time to be stubborn, Milord. If we are to have any chance of ending this prophecy, we need to recover the Book of Minion. For that we need de Brie’s sister, and even then it will take months to sufficiently prepare her to retrieve the cursed thing. And don’t be foolish enough to think you can retrieve it for yourselves. We have already been down that road with the Aquarius brotherhood, and I think we all know that if they had given the book to us when they first stole it two hundred years ago, rather than dumping it in a damned lake, we would not be facing the very real threat of another Reign of Terror.”
“Lord Leefton! Lord Leefton.” A soldier had just ridden onto the wharf and dismounted. He was making his way through the bustling crowd of soldiers who were boarding the ferryman’s barge. The man broke from the crowd and approached the end of the wharf at a run. He drew up and removed his helmet. “Milord, excuse the interruption, but more survivors have been found. They appear to be swimming toward a small cove at the bottom of a cliff about four miles east of here. Prince Michael and Arkaelyon’s undersecretary are working on finding a way to get to them as we speak.”
“How many?” Leefton began to return down the pier.
“Two. A man and a woman.”
“A woman? Are you sure?” His heart raced a little harder.
“We think it is your royal niece. Her hair appears to be dark, but they are too far away to be sure, and with this fog …”
“Fetch me a horse at once.” Leefton turned to address Lord Baryon but found the young Druid had gone.
***
Faith was utterly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She was lying on a small pebbly beach in a rocky cove surrounded by craggy cliffs that rose more than a hundred feet up to thick woods. She was shivering with cold. The world around them was shrouded in white fog. How they had managed to swim ashore she could not honestly remember, though she knew it was James’ doing—not hers. After carrying her out of the freezing water and up the beach he had collapsed to his hands and knees and was now working to catch his breath.
“Are you certain she is dead?” he asked.
It was the first they had spoken since he found her amongst the debris of the Vafusolum trader.
Faith understood the quiet desperation in his voice. “James, I’m sorry. There was no time. I tried.”
He had his back to her and she saw his head drop and a shudder go through him. She crawled over and wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
His face twisted as he fought back a wave of grief. “I should have done more,” he said. “She needed me and I wasn’t there. I should have been there … for both of you.”
“There was nothing you could have done.” Faith eased him back, tears in her eyes now too. “We have to honour her wishes. We finish what she started.”
“I know.” He brushed the tears from his face and got stiffly to his feet and offered Faith a hand. “We have to go. We have to keep moving.”
“Ahoy there!”
Faith glanced out at the lake as she stood. A small fishing boat was coming round the rocky point. She squinted, trying to make out who was aboard through the fog. The man hailed them again, his voice echoing off the cliffs, and she realised it was Michael standing at the stern of the boat, the tiller in his hand. One of the six men at the oars looked like Bastion and her uncle had just stood up at the bow of the boat. Faith choked back the torrent of emotion that came rushing forward and wearily returned his waved. She could see their relief was tempered by Danielle’s absence. James slipped his hand around her shoulders and they stood there together waiting.
Oars were stowed as the boat ran up the beach. Michael leaped out, and approached, removing his warm, fur collared long coat, which he wrapped around her shoulders. Bastion and two knights of her uncle’s personal guard were a few steps behind. Michael’s tight embrace was more than welcome.
“Danielle, did you seen her?” he asked, his voice breaking with emotion.
Faith nodded, her teeth chattering. “I did.”
Her uncle was coming up the beach at a more sedate pace. His sad smile and the hug he gave her brought more tears to her eyes.
“Sir Colita suspected you and Danielle had both perished aboard the Ra’tane, and said that James was going to your aid and likely lost too.”
“She saw her,” Michael said, sombrely.
Faith nodded. “I’m sorry. I tried. They had her chained in the brig. I couldn’t get her loose.”
***
The boat trip back to Wildling Cove was a quiet affair. The oars steadily stroked the water with everyone lost in their own dark thoughts. A lone gull called somewhere out in the thinning fog. Leefton hardly noticed it. He still couldn’t quite believe Danielle de Brie was gone. Their precious Dee. Though Faith’s account confirmed it. It made him more furious than ever with the likes of Lord Baryon—the arrogant bastard could have done more—a hell of a lot more to prevent the slaughter that had ensued aboard the Lela and across the Downs.
It wasn’t exactly his decision to make, but Leefton seriously doubted they’d work with Naratha and his brethren again. Not that it made the way forward any less daunting. If the brotherhood were to look to secure the book for themselves and try and use its power to stop the prophecy reaching fruition, there would be extraordinary challenges to overcome. The first was securing the book from the bottom of the Arile or Brother’s Lake as it was often called these days in the Arkaelyon Mountains.
He let his gaze settle on his niece. She was sitting next to Michael on the stern bench. Her eyes were closed and the young prince had his arm around her as he manned the tiller with his other, his expression stoic and determined.
“It seems that Danielle made mention of this other Child of Light. James, I believe you referred to her as Bianca?”
“Uncle, can we not do this now. Please?” Faith said.
Leefton realised he was being insensitive and nodded his apology. There would be time later to discuss how to go forward from here. Besides, as Chancellor, he had the Grand Assembly and the aftermath of the terror that had swept through the Downs to contend with.
“What’s happening over there?”
Leefton was twisting one of his rings around a finger considering how best to address the assembly—what to say and what not to say. He hadn’t seen his niece open her eyes a second time or her sit up and peer out at the fog beyond his left shoulder. She was frowning. He turned, and like everyone else in the boat, looked through the fog. Wildling Cove lay a short way across the placid water and from what he could see through the mist a crowd had congregated on the dirt street outside the settlement’s largest inn. The building overlooked the small beach and was a mere stone’s throw from the wharf.
Leefton squinted, his old eyes weren’t what they used to be and the fog, even thinning and ebbing as it was, did not help. To his surprise he saw Captain Pullman on horseback and a cordon of knights and soldiers outside the front of the inn. It wasn’t possible to tell what had happened to provoke such a crowd but he could see the angry gestures and raised voices were beginning to reach them across the water, though what was being said was not clear.
“Is that Lord Baryon standing beside Sir Jamie Whallcoft,” Faith said. She was shielding her eyes against the glare of the sun lit fog.
Leefton squinted and saw the white robed figure amidst the crowd. “Dear gods, what now?” It had to be serious for a member of the Kathiusian Druid Council to show himself in public.
After a few minutes they reached the beach and began to disembark. The local priest, a man by the name of Father Darath was coming down towards them.
A member of the Orthodox clergy, he was attired in the stiff black habit worn by men of commoner rank with a red skullcap on his head. Following on his coat tails was a sizable number of the crowd who had gathered outside the old rustic inn.
“Lord Leefton, we much beg your assistance,” he said in a heightened state of agitation. “An evil most foul has been propagated in your absence. Six witches wearing white robes gathered on that spot right over by Mr Coheron’s fishing boat. You can still see the impressions their feet left in the sand. They summoned a beast from the lake. A sea sprite some say, others say it was a lewd mermaid. Whatever it was, it is witchcraft in broad daylight I tell you. And more troubling still, your Captain Pullman drove us back, cleared out Mr Johansons’ inn in the rudest manner and now he protects these witches preventing us from seizing them. I want them arrested, and if you will not act, sir, I will send word to his Holiness in Amthenium, and our men of the white sword will see that it is done.”
“Back away! Back away!” Captain Pullman shouted at the crowd as he hurriedly rode down the beach.
Leefton’s knights had formed a cordon of their own as the Chancellor got out of the boat. “I will see what this is about,” Leefton said, “You needn’t concern yourselves. Go back to your business.”
The crowd began to dissipate, muttering and throwing dark looks in the direction of the inn and at the knights and soldiers of the palace guard who were standing around the door and shuttered windows.
“Pullman,” Leefton said, wanting answers. “What in the god’s blessed name is going on?”
The captain dismounted and approached. “I’m not sure, Milord. I mean it is the Kathiusian Druids, and yes, they brought something out of the water, but they say it wasn’t them that did the summonsing.”
“Then who?”
The man hesitated. “I don’t know. They wouldn’t say, and concealed whoever it was the moment it broke from the water.” He cleared his throat and added in almost a whisper. “Some say it was the Lady de Brie.”
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