Shadow of the Raven (The Reckoning Book 1)

by Ward, Matthew

  "Nice to have done something right these last few days."

  Quintus gave a last terrible cough, and his eyes focused on me one last time. "Do what I couldn't, Edric. Save my city."

  "I will."

  I clasped his hands in mine, willing him to believe my words. To this day I don't know if he heard my promise, for a moment later he was gone.

  It wasn't until hours later I realised that had been the first and last time he'd ever addressed me by my first name.

  Fifteen

  "He was a good man, and he died well."

  Jamar towered over me. So caught up in the event had I been, that I hadn't realised our line had been driven back almost to my position. The royal guard were still fighting, but their numbers were thinning fast.

  I closed Quintus' eyes. "It's not enough."

  I looked at Zorya, but couldn't tell if she too was lost to us forever, or simply too weak to move. Either way, I could do nothing for her.

  "It is more than most earn, and we may yet join him."

  Jamar wasn't wrong. If I were to keep the promise I'd just made to Quintus, I'd have to do it soon. At least Morecet still held the cathedral doors. An attack on two fronts would have ended us.

  I felt knotted up inside. Anger at Arianwyn's foolishness clashed with sorrow at Quintus' death and the desperate knowledge that victory was slipping away.

  With a battle cry that was equal parts grief and frustrated rage, I rejoined the fight. I may not have been able to untangle my feelings, but I knew I'd feel better if I hit something.

  And hit something, I did. Many somethings. A hulking fallen legionary, his battered praetorian garb betraying him as a recent recruit to Malgyne's army, took the brunt of my frustration. My blade caught him in the side of the neck as he stooped to finish off a wounded guardsman.

  A revenant closed with me, clearly intending to take advantage whilst I was off-balance. I took my own blade in a two-handed grip and wrenched it free of the corpse. My parry checked the revenant's strike, and my riposte hurled the creature into oblivion.

  A great rush of fallen forced me back, but my intervention had given the guardsman's fellows time to pull him clear. Jamar reached my side, and we faced this new assault together, though in truth I don't know if the havildar would have fared any worse if he'd fought alone.

  Jamar had discarded his short sword, and instead taken up a long-handled mace. It would have been a fearsome weapon in any man's hand; in Jamar's it was unstoppable. The steel head battered aside weapons and caved in skulls, each blow the crack of hammer on an anvil. Few of Jamar's opponents had chance raise a shield or sword to their defence, and those who did he battered aside. It fell to me finish them. This I dutifully did, whenever my own battles permitted, each time taking care never to step within one of the mace's crushing arcs.

  Still the fallen came. No matter how many succumbed to the royal guard's blades or were crushed beneath Jamar's mace, there were always more. When I'd fought fallen before, they'd proved as prone to dismay as mortals, but they displayed no such weakness with the gaze of their dark master upon them.

  Jamar's mace slammed into a shield. The battered boards shuddered, but held. The havildar scowled with surprise. Seeing his distraction, a pair of legionaries pushed past the shieldsman. One perished on the point of my sword, his parry fatally disrupted by the impact of my foot in his groin. The second cut his way past a royal guardsman and lunged. Jamar twisted clear at the cost of his balance. Before he recovered, the shieldsman rammed forward, the impact knocking Jamar clean off his feet. The shieldsman moved forward to finish him. I gripped the rim of his shield, tore it aside and speared my blade into his corrupt heart.

  Jamar, scrambled to his feet. "Thank you, my prince." He knocked the legs out from under a fallen, then brought the mace down to shatter her skull. "This gets us nowhere. We need another plan."

  I parried a strike meant for my ribs."Any ideas?"

  "No," Jamar brought the mace down to shatter my opponent's skull. From his steadiness of speech, you'd have thought he and I discussed some abstract woe, rather than our imminent deaths. "If I may say so, ideas are your concern. I just kill things."

  As if to reinforce the point, his mace swung down to crush a fallen's ribcage.

  I cast desperately around for inspiration, once again cursing Arianwyn's impetuousness. If she were conscious, she could have ordered the guardians to help us. With her unconscious, two of our most powerful weapons stood idle.

  Or did they? Perhaps they awaited for instructions.

  Leaving Jamar to direct the shrinking group of royal guard, I dragged Constans towards Arianwyn.

  "What's going on?" he asked, puzzled.

  "If we're to win this, we need to get you to that portalstone," I said. "Brute force isn't working, so we'll try something different."

  "I understand that," Constans said patiently. "I just don't understand what you're proposing instead."

  I took one last look at Arianwyn, then knelt before Jaspyr and Fredrik. Feeling more than a little ridiculous, I started to speak, addressing not Constans, but the guardians. "I don't know if you can understand me. I don't even know if you can hear me..." This at least I quickly had an answer to, as the lions turned mournful gazes away from Arianwyn and onto me. "...but I need your help. I know you want to protect your mistress. I do too, but if Constans and I don't get over there..." I pointed to the altar. "...then everyone, including Arianwyn, will die."

  Constans stared down at me. "That's your idea? That's ridiculous."

  "So says the man with a great power inside him," I retorted.

  Unfortunately, Constans seemed to have the right of it. The two guardians just stared back, showing no indication they'd understood a word I'd said.

  I stood up. "Anyway, it doesn't seem to have worked, so we can try whatever brilliant plan it is that you've been saving up for this moment," I said acidly. "After all..."

  I broke off as Jaspyr nudged his head against the back of my leg. It was like being nuzzled by an affectionate battering ram. I didn't care. The sense of jubilation was more than worth the numbed limb. Fredrik had also risen, and had moved to stand beside Constans.

  "Well I'll be..." the eternal breathed. "What now?"

  "Get on."

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "You ride that one, and I'll ride this."

  The look Constans shot me left me in no doubt as to what he thought of that idea, but he said nothing. Perhaps he didn't want to be proved wrong again so quickly. Probably he'd realised that there wasn't really any other choice. Jamar was almost done. This was our only chance.

  Without waiting for Constans' answer, I sheathed my sword and climbed onto Jaspyr's back. My knees clamped tightly about his flanks, and my fingers sought the best grip they could upon his sculpted mane. I didn't feel at all secure but, as I'd said to Constans, we were out of options. Constans mirrored my movement, far more gingerly than I. He opened his mouth to say something, but the lions chose that moment to spring forward, and the words were lost.

  The guardians ran at a terrific pace, sprinting sure-footedly over the dead and dying. I hung on for dear life. I didn't dare look to see how Constans was doing, as I worried even that slight distraction would send me tumbling from my steed.

  As we reached the beleaguered royal guard, the lions sprang, sailing effortlessly over the press of bodies. Jamar roared with laughter, then turned his attention back to the fight.

  We landed in the fallen's rear ranks, the impact scattering wretches and legionaries alike. The lions were on the move before so much as a single fallen could bring a weapon to bear, leaping in another great arc that cleared the abyss. With a scrape of metal on tile, we skidded to a halt in front of the altar and the portalstone resting atop it.

  At least, that was the idea.

  Malgyne snapped out of his trance, he swatting Jaspyr with a massive, taloned hand. I lost my grip on the guardian's back, and crashed to the floor midway between the altar and
the abyss. My erstwhile steed tumbled away into the mists.

  Fredrik sprang vengefully at the God of the Dead, dislodging Constans from his back. Malgyne knocked Fredrik from the air as easily as he had his fellow.

  With a screech of claw on stone, Malgyne landed behind me. "You are insufferable," he hissed. "This world is mine."

  I scrambled to my feet. "Not yet."

  Malgyne gave a throaty chuckle. "And who will stop me? You? The realms of the dead and the living are as one. The moon is gone from the sky, Ashana can see you no longer. What she can't see, she can't protect, and I have much to repay you for."

  I vaulted the altar, snatching the portalstone as I went, and headed towards Constans. Behind me, Malgyne gave a shriek of rage and surged forward in a storm of wings.

  I threw the portalstone to Constans. He caught it easily and nodded with satisfaction.

  Malgyne screeched in anger.

  "Whatever you're going to do, you need to do it now," I said.

  Constans did nothing.

  My stomach twisted. Had Jack betrayed us? The fault was mine. I'd struck the bargain. I'd not challenged Constans when I'd seen fragments of Jack's personality creep through. "You said you could end this!"

  {{The portal will not close,}} said Jack, speaking through Constans. {{The Raven fights me. Were I here in person, I might prevail. As it is, I cannot break through. Slay his mortal form. That will disrupt his control long enough for me to end this.}}

  Somehow I knew he'd say that. It had been inevitable since I'd joked about punching a god.

  {{Pierce his heart. Nothing else will suffice.}}

  "And what will you be doing?"

  Constans backed away, still staring at the portalstone.

  Then Malgyne was upon us, and there was no more time for words.

  The God of the Dead attacked like the wild animal he so closely resembled. There were no insults, no bargains – just a corvine cry of rage.

  He was quick, terribly quick, and his claws raked the air with a force I had no intention of tasting. I made no attempt to parry those attacks, only to dodge his haymaking blows. I recalled all too well how easily he'd plucked my sword away the last time I'd faced him. How I was to cut out his heart, I had no idea. Earlier, I guessed that Malgyne was three times my height and, if anything, I'd underestimated. His gangling arms alone gave an advantage of reach that made my task almost impossible.

  I circled away from Constans, hoping to keep Malgyne's attention focused on me. The God of the Dead ignored me, and bore down on the eternal.

  As his back turned, I darted forward. My blade sliced through Malgyne's robes, and cut deep into his leg. With a screech of pain and fury, the God of the Dead wheeled about, his claws swiping at my chest. I ducked back, and a pillar took the blow meant for me. It exploded into dusty fragments, and the roof shook.

  Now at least I had Malgyne's undivided attention, though what I was to do with that, I didn't know. I ducked another swing meant for my head, and the blow took a chunk out of a statue. I back hurriedly away. I couldn't keep this up much longer. One mistake, and I'd lose my head, and a good deal more besides.

  Another backward step, and my right foot pressed down against nothingness. I toppled sideways. I hadn't realised how close I'd come to the abyss.

  I twisted desperately, grabbing at the ridge of buckled tiles. With a supreme effort, I hauled myself up out of the void, but I'd lost precious time. As I clambered to my feet, Malgyne lashed out again. This time I was too slow to respond.

  By rights, those talons should have taken my head off, and they would if Fredrik hadn't emerged from the mists at that moment and hurled himself at Malgyne's legs. With a piercing cry, the God of the Dead toppled backwards. Talons meant for my head instead sliced into my arm. I screamed, and clapped a hand to the wound.

  Again, the God of the Dead batted Fredrik away into the mists, but the guardian had bought me a little time. And a little time was all I had. Blood oozed between my fingers. The wound wasn't fatal, but pain and loss of blood would slow me. I backed frantically away from Malgyne, desperately trying to think of something to turn the situation around. Nothing came.

  Malgyne struck again. This time the blow missed by less than a hair's breadth. I was definitely slowing. It might take four or five more attempts, but sooner or later the God of the Dead was going to shred me. I glanced at Constans. He made no move to help, but I now saw that he wasn't as silent as I'd assumed. The eternal's lips were working furiously, though to what end, I had no idea.

  I'd taken my eyes off Malgyne for far too long, but once again I was saved by a guardian. It was Jaspyr this time. He'd landed on the god's back with staggering force, and sank his bronze fangs into the feathered neck.

  Malgyne screeched and tried to pull the lion free, but Jaspyr clung tight. Malgyne staggered backwards. For a moment, I thought he'd topple into the abyss. Then he recovered, tore Jaspyr free. He came for me again...

  ...and stopped abruptly as a series of whip-like tendrils entangled themselves about his legs.

  Strawjacks rose from the abyss, green light blazing from their eye sockets. Tendrils whirled, lashing and binding Malgyne's struggling form. Jack might not have had strawjacks in the city, but Otherworld swarmed with them. With the portalstone in his hands, all he'd needed do was send out the call.

  The God of the Dead tore one massive arm free, but more tendrils lashed out, snaring it anew. The air filled with the buzzing of angry strawjacks and Malgyne's shrieks, so much so that I barely heard the sounds of battle from further down the cathedral.

  {{Take his heart, mortal. Finish it.}} Jack's voice issued simultaneously from Constans' mouth and those of the strawjacks.

  The God of the Dead teetered on the edge of the abyss, shrieking with anger and fear.

  {{Do it. Before he breaks free.}}

  I didn't need to be told again. Stepping forward, I took my sword in both hands and rammed the blade into Malgyne's chest.

  I'd expected the death of the Raven's physical form to be marked with something portentous: a tremor, an explosion of magic, or a gout of black blood. As it was, he barely even made a noise as I took his heart. As his struggles ceased, the strawjacks bore him back into the abyss until he and they were lost from sight. My sword went with him. No amount of pulling on my part could convince Malgyne's flesh to yield the blade that had slain it, and I was forced to let go or else be drawn into the abyss alongside.

  I breathed a heartfelt sigh, and sank to my knees. Wrapping the fingers of my left hand back around my wounded arm, I waited for Malgyne's work to be undone.

  Nothing happened. The abyss remained, the mists didn't clear, and the sounds of battle still raged. I choked back rising panic – we'd done everything we set out to do, but it hadn't been enough. Had the mists reached Fellhallow?

  Constans appeared beside me, the portalstone in his grasp. "Jack says you've done well." He was entirely too calm for my liking.

  "Then why is nothing different?" I bit out.

  "It is, you just can't see it yet. Jack says it'll take time for the abyss to seal and the balance between the realms to reassert itself."

  "We don't have that kind of time!"

  At least a hundred fallen and revenants stilled assailed Jamar's men – more than enough to kill us all. Arianwyn was on feet, and fighting with a borrowed sword. Jamar shielded her as best he could, but sooner or later an attacker would breach his defences. I wanted to go and help them, but I couldn't find the strength. It seemed so unfair to have triumphed in the face of such odds, only to perish in the moment of victory.

  "I know," said Constans. "That's why I'm going to help Jack seal it from the other side. He says that'll put things right. But it's a one way trip; I won't be coming back. The portalstone has enough power to close the abyss, but not enough to return me here."

  Relief and a new sense of loss swept over me. I'd known Constans less than a week, and it somehow seemed inconceivable that I'd never see him again. "This
is goodbye then?"

  "I hope so. I've lived long enough. Better to fade from the world having done some good. I wonder if Sidara would approve."

  I embraced him. "I'm sure she would."

  "You didn't know her," Constans said wryly, pulling away. "People think my sister a saint, but she'd a nagging tongue like you wouldn't believe." The smile faded from his lips, and he turned serious for a moment. "You'll take care of Ari?"

  I nodded. "To my dying breath."

  He grinned. "See that you do, and remember I won't be around to save you next time you get into trouble."

  With those last words, Constans Reveque – traitor, scoundrel, insufferable wit and one of the finest friends any man could wish for – turned and, with the portalstone clasped tight in his hands, surrendered himself to the Realm of the Dead.

  A change came over the abyss almost at once. Its seething energies slowed, stopped and then started flowing in the opposite direction. A howling wind swept through the cathedral and into the shrinking abyss, its energies tearing at the revenants and the fallen with thousands of invisible fingers.

  Under its onslaught, the skull-helmed spectres dispersed like smoke on the breeze, their essence and the mist that spawned them drawn silently into Otherworld. The fallen did not pass so quietly or painlessly. I'll hear their screams of agony in my nightmares until the day I die. The wind flensed them layer by layer, stripping them of skin and flesh until only blackened bones remained, and soon even those crumbled to dust. As the last of the fallen disintegrated, the wind gathered up the remains and swept them into the abyss. Finally, the vortex closed, leaving only shattered tiles to show it had ever been there.

  The noon-day sun shone through the cathedral's broken windows. Stunned silence reigned. Then Jamar let out a great bellow that was half laughter and half roar of victory. A moment later, the Hadari joined in, and I soon fancied I could hear other, more distant voices cheering as the shadow of Malgyne finally passed from the city.

  I'd kept my promise.

  Sixteen

  I'd always liked the night, yet never had it seemed so welcoming as now. The city slept, Ashana's light shone down from the heavens, and the cool air was just the right side of bracing. For the first time in many years, I was at peace.