‘No,’ he said. ‘Look. I am going to the king.’
I stared at him in total stupefaction.
‘The king?’ I asked him with a slight voice.
‘The king, yes,’ he said. ‘I spoke to Illastria. And their old keep? I peeked in. Listen.’
And he died.
A whip-like voice rang through the woods. We turned to look up the hillside. ‘Fire! Fire at them!’ we heard a man yell imperiously.
‘No! Hold!’ Another answered. It was a Brother’s deep voice, and the archers he had told to stand down had already acted and released their missiles. Arrows rained down on us. Some hit the grave mound, others the muddy yard, some went through shrubs, and one pierced Sand’s face. He fell howling, shuddered and then he went very silent, his eyes open and bloodshot. I turned in horror to look up to the wooded hill. The White Brother Knight was up there, holding the dreaded whip and the sword, gazing down at us. His archers were spreading out. I hesitated and pulled at Sand. An arrow hit the mud before me, and I let go of him. ‘Stop firing you dog-faced mongrels!’ the Brother hollered. I grabbed the bag with the book, cursed and wept and ran away, looking back at the terrible Brother, who was now mounting a horse. His hand glowed, and I heard him calling a name. Mine. My hair stood upright on my neck.
I vaulted on my horse. Despite the order, arrows flew around me again, and one struck Sand’s horse and the beast fell, whinnying, the sound strangely like that of a child. I whipped my horse for the darkness. I rode like a madman and heard some of the king’s men ride after me. I heard a deep thrumming noise, a horse heavier than the others beating the ground with its dreadful hooves, and so I knew the Brother was leading them. I stroked the amulet, knowing he could not find me, not quickly if I did manage to escape.
I rode to the south, crossed the Broken Crown Road, took to the cliffs and meadows before the Arrow Straits, and turned to the west. I rode carelessly, then waited. And rode again. I was soon breathing hard, but still I went on, riding and stopping every ten minutes. There were no sounds that I could hear from the men pursuing me, the houses I passed were asleep. I hesitated for a moment as I considered my situation. Sand was dead. It was my fault. Should I go back? Yes. Where else could I go? Shaduril needed me. I considered the bag. I spied a branch on a curiously twisted tree, one that was dead and sturdy. It was by a stream of silvery water, and there were mossy boulders around it. I sighed and hefted the bag. Then I threw it. It spun in the air, twisted as it flew and got caught on a sturdy branch. It was swinging there, apparently well stuck. I nodded. I would never find it again, I was sure.
I shook my head as I tried to memorize the place. A stream led south, and there I heard the noise of the waves of the Arrow Straits. The sea was hitting the cliffs. The land was open there, and I hesitated, and then I forced myself forward. I had lost them, had I not?
I rode on, slowly believing I had made it. I had to get back to the Crimson Apex and face Balan. I stopped at the cliff’s side. The Straits were below me, and there were series of dagger-like boulders down there. I turned to squint up to the woods and saw the tree. I might find it again.
Then, behind me, there was a neigh of a horse.
Shit.
I turned to look that way, the impending doom pressing heavily on my heart. There, three shadowy archers were riding forward; their bows held comfortably on their sides. A dark knight sat on his horse, his hand glowing gently, and the dreaded whip uncoiled as he rode forward. ‘Take him. Alive,’ he rumbled. Birds flew from the woods around me, startled by the armored men. They were very careful and spread to right and left. ‘Come smoothly, Maskan,’ the Brother said.
I shook my head and held onto Larkgrin. ‘You killed my friend.’
‘I’ve killed a lot of friends to someone, boy,’ he said. ‘But this one was a mistake. One I didn’t make. I didn’t give the order. You heard me.’
‘It’s my mistake,’ I whispered, for I should have done something a long time ago to get them buried. Sand would be alive, I thought.
‘Whom are you staying with, boy?’ he rumbled as they spread out around me. ‘We need to know. It’s crucial.’
‘Torture me if you like,’ I said defiantly. ‘I’ll not talk otherwise.’
He laughed so hard inside his helmet that his white horsehair crest flew to his chest and face. He pushed it away from the helm’s eyeholes. ‘I don’t have to torture you, you ridiculous fool. Morag will make you sing, easily he will,’ he laughed. ‘He will be euphoric.’
I got ready to die. My horse was suddenly supremely nervous as the men guided their horses around us. It whinnied, and more birds flew out of the branches of the trees, wildly, shrieking in fear.
White Brother raised his head in alarm.
A small army of men charged out of those woods. They wore dark leathers, no insignia on them, and they were fast and looked deadly. They carried long spears and axes, and their faces were covered. An archer turned and fired his arrow at one, sending the man face down to the ground. Another shot his arrow, but it went wide.
It made no difference. There were fifty of them.
One sat on a horse, a dark beast of noble bearing. While the newcomers swarmed around me to chop at the hapless archers, this figure was pointing a finger at the White Brother.
The beastly Knight was pulling at a sword, his white horsehair flying around him wildly as his horse reared. The dark mass of warriors stabbed and ripped at the archers and their animals and soon formed a spear bristling crescent around the fearless Brother.
‘Kill him,’ whispered the rider, and I knew it was Taram. He was not supposed to know about our business. But yes, of course, he did, having read my letter. But where did the men come from? Balan’s men? Was he there to save me for Balan, or to kill me for his pleasure, later?
The mass of men charged. The White Brother rumbled something, and I felt a wonderful tug of power fluttering around me in the air, but the result was not as pleasant. All of us fell to our knees as a wickedly fiery storm of fire whipped up amidst this mass of charging men. Cinders flew; flames danced in a whirlwind of death. A dozen men fell in blazing flames and made no sound as they died. Others fell down, dazed, but most went forward. They were no longer organized, and the knight charged the mass. The whip went up, came down and ripped a man nearly in two. A sword stabbed down at one man, then another, and both fell on their backs, shuddering. Spears emerged from the shadows to stab the knight, and then I felt another tug of power. The Danegell Brother was using mighty artifacts, as the fierce enemy covered himself with dull, gray stone skin. I could not believe it. He looked like stone, and probably it was rock, for the deadly spears shattered on him like icicles. The knight was moving slowly now as if the spell was hampering him, but he let the enemy come to him. The whip went up repeatedly, the enemy swarmed him and tried to pull him down, but could not. It was like ants trying to tear down a mounted mountain. The sword stabbed, it backed up, then stabbed, and the horse carried the deadly thing around.
Some twenty men were left, a ragged band of very silent warriors. They hesitated.
Taram cursed softly. He shuddered and swayed, and I realized he was also doing something with magic. ‘How—’ I began.
‘Silence!’ he hissed and released the power. I felt it. Dark vines grew from under the Brother’s horse, and there were thorns in them. They entwined the beast and the men around it and tightened around the Brother and his mount. A line of fire left the knight’s hands, rushed near me for Taram, who pulled his horse away. He shook his head and uttered a curse. He charged forward and dragged me on top of his horse. ‘Kill him!’ he yelled at his remaining men. ‘Die rather than get caught!’ he added as I dangled before him, rather ignobly as his horse swerved too close to the Brother. The whip went up and reached for us. Taram howled as it ripped at his back. The knight screamed in anger as he tried to release himself from the vines; masked men died as the sword came down again and again, but we were riding to the night.
&n
bsp; I struggled in his lap, but he slapped a hand across my neck. He leaned over. ‘Silence, I said it once.’
‘Let go of me, Taram,’ I hissed.
‘You saw what he did,’ he spat. ‘They have powerful artifacts. I could not touch him, not even with what I have.’
‘What artifact do you have?’ I spat. ‘Everyone has something. I thought your father did not trust you.’
‘He had none else when we found out Sand was gone,’ he said dourly. ‘Before that I was curious and read your letter. And learned of his plans at the same time. I heard from a guard Sand had left. I rode out, but Father sent those men to find me. They did. Don’t ask how. They told me to obey him. Now I am in, no matter what.’
‘You read my letter,’ I spat.
He said nothing, but the grip on my neck was constricting. ‘I did. I read it. I don’t approve. Not at all. I knew he was plotting, but I had no idea how high ambitions he has. But now he has to trust me. And I’ll face you when it’s done. I’ll fight to keep you far from Shaduril.’
‘Fight me now,’ I said.
He hummed. ‘Later. Where is Sand? I tried to find him before Father’s men found me.’
‘Why?’
He leered and shrugged.
To kill him, I thought.
He went on, with a bored voice. ‘I’m happy I found you, though. Had no damned idea you would be this stupid. It cost the house a lot of men, just when we need them the most. Best hope they won’t recognize any of them. But they won’t talk. That is for sure.’
‘Sand is dead. That Brother killed him. Like he did our family,’ I said, and I thought of my poor friend. ‘You wanted to kill Sand.’
He chuckled. ‘I might have been tempted. But I was given the men to keep me in line.’
‘They are not here now,’ I taunted him.
He said nothing and rode for a time. He led the animal deeper to the wooded hills, rode around villages and houses and seemed to know the ways very well. Finally, he stopped to sit on his horse, steadily, listening. He pushed me off the horse and nodded for northwest. ‘That way.’
‘How far are we from the Crimson Apex?’ I asked him.
‘An hour, two, depending on if there will be unfortunate accidents on the way there,’ he said darkly. ‘Your friend got us into some serious trouble.’
‘Your father has enough trouble with Crec and Gal,’ I whispered.
‘They are no trouble,’ he spat. ‘If the Brothers guess it is the Blacktower family plotting against the crown? There will be armies marching our way. Happily there are hundreds of noble families along the road, and some are much more likely suspects that the Tenth House.’
‘He followed me. That knight.’
‘He did,’ Taram agreed. ‘I trained those men for five months. Your Sand deserves a bigger punishment than death. And they called me reckless.’
‘My medallion should have stopped the White Brother from finding me,’ I told him. ‘But he did. Perhaps he still can.’
‘Perhaps he was following your horse?’ Taram snickered. ‘Did he know its name?’
‘Sand is dead, and you are joking?’ I spat at him with spite.
‘I’m always having some fun, Maskan. Life is dreadfully short without pleasure. But I will help Father from now on, and you relax. The Brother won’t find us now. Perhaps Father’s craft with his books and artifacts is not so keen after all. Perhaps it only works for our family. I don’t know how he builds them. I know not.’
‘Balan said they were looted from Hel’s armies,’ I said.
‘And perhaps they were,’ he told me impatiently, thinking me tedious.
‘Where is Lith? If she was not available to go after me?’ I asked him.
He chuckled. ‘Lith and Shaduril. How you all vex me. I really hate the thought of you buzzing around them. And Shaduril seems to love you. Gods know what you thought when you reached for her, peasant, but that letter was pretty indicative why Father wanted to keep me in the dark. He agrees. Incredible. Shaduril and you. I cannot fathom it.’
I cursed, turned, and ripped him from his horse. His eyes betrayed incredulity as I slammed him onto the leaves and grass. His hand moved for his dagger, and I suddenly remembered the magic he had wielded, but I was beyond caring. Sand was dead. He mocked Sand. And me. ‘Balan promised me Shaduril. And she loves me more than anything. And I love her. Nothing can change that.’
‘Really?’ he chuckled. His face flared in a hideous grin. I blinked a few times, but when I looked at him again, he had calmed himself. His eyes were cold and calculative. ‘Does she?’ Taram hissed and ripped himself off me. ‘We will see.’ He pushed past me and mounted his horse. We traveled through the night and came to the Broken Crown road. We traveled hills and meadows by the road, avoiding it. There were riders on it, mostly peasants working very late, or early, depending on the point of view. They were hauling food and drink for Dagnar, which was preparing for Yule feasts. Finally, we arrived at the end of the road and went past the familiar village. Taram stopped suddenly in front of the whitewashed tavern where I had gotten the horse from. He guided his horse aside and gazed at the stables by the tavern. They were full of horses. He dismounted, tied his horse to a pillar and walked into the tavern. He turned to look at me. ‘Come then. Let us go apologize for your lost beast.’ He laughed and went in. I hesitated and followed him.
Inside, there had been a massacre.
Lith raised her face to look at me, in shock. Shaduril turned, equally shocked. Both were covered and spattered in blood, and so were their men, a gloomy band of Blacktower men. There were dead everywhere. On the stairs, the tables and the floors. Many had been wrapped up for removal and burial.
Taram snickered. ‘Is this the Shaduril you love?’
‘You bastard,’ Shaduril said and looked from Taram at me.
She had slain men. It was clear. Her beautiful sword was stained with it. At her feet, there were the bodies of the mop-haired boy and a woman. Others had been pages and servants of Crec and Gal. Blacktower warriors stood in silent ranks on the walls, eyeing her, waiting for her reaction. I took a horrified, hesitant step forward. Lith had been bent over Gal, whose face and chest was one ragged wound. ‘Maskan?’ Shaduril whispered.
‘What in Hel’s rotten tit is going on in here?’ Taram asked her with mocking laughter. ‘Excuse me, our friend has quite forgotten his voice.’
She straightened herself and glowered at Taram. ‘Get out!’
‘Oh, don’t think you need to explain yourself to him,’ he told Shaduril. ‘Lith had him this day. I heard it. They were at it for an hour. But I am going to be fair. She took your face. I doubt that matters to you, eh?’ The man laughed and bowed at her and went out.
Lith wiped her face on the back of her hand and adopted a stern look. She nodded at the guards, some of whom hauled still living men aside, some five villagers. They had not killed everyone yet. ‘It is not true, Shaduril,’ she said with a worried voice. I felt half grateful to her, but then I remembered she had planned on extorting me and now she could not. I looked at Shaduril’s face. The girl that had sat on the beach with me was gone. In her place, there was a hopeless thing whose eyes glowed with anger. She turned from me, her explanations banished, and walked to the side, where she sat down and stared at me and Lith. Lith looked at her carefully and then turned to me. ‘I don’t know if that can be fixed. She will want us dead. So. You have seen this. What now?’
‘Are you not supposed to be in Dagnar?’ I asked Shaduril while ignoring Lith. ‘Why did you kill these—’
‘She was needed here,’ Lith said softly. ‘Forget it.’
‘Yes, I see you were needed here,’ I told her and looked around the room. I blanched as I spied two very young boys amidst the corpses. And a maid. The floor was awash with sticky blood. I shook my head in shock when I spied Crec amidst the dead. ‘There are your people. The village is yours,’ I whispered. ‘And how will you deal with the quest now? You killed your allies.’
>
‘It was necessary,’ she whispered. ‘This was the ideal place to ambush them. But the villagers must not expose us.’ Lith sighed, and I fixed my eyes away from her. She pointed a finger at the dead. ‘This is part of the war. Murdering and killing in the dark are a means to an end. You knew we were capable of it,’ she said. ‘They made a mistake.’
‘How will you achieve anything without them?’ I despaired. ‘The two lords.’
‘Balan has a plan for that,’ she said. ‘I agree it is desperate. But we have you. We will use your face.’
‘I cannot …’ I began, but yes, perhaps I could. I went quiet and she nodded. Murderers. There were children.
‘It will be perilous and hard, and much will be asked of you,’ she whispered. ‘And I am sorry Taram screwed up you two.’ She nodded at her sister.
‘She will want to die now,’ I said, looking at Shaduril.
‘She will want to kill us first, I said. And if she does want to die,’ Lith said softly, ‘you have me.’
‘Gods laugh,’ I said and spat at her feet.
She frowned at that but went on. ‘Taram was cruel to bring you here,’ Lith said. ‘Love, you need not worry. One day all this will be over. You will smile again. Dreams are born of nightmares.’
I did not listen to her. I only stared at Shaduril. Something had died in the girl I loved. I saw it. She shook her head and went to stand in the corner, in the shadows. I looked at her and felt miserable. No matter the reasons, no matter what had happened, she was hurt. It was my fault, no matter if I had been fooled.
‘Gal was an ally we needed,’ I whispered. ‘He had a way to the Tower. I am not sure I can change that with a simple face trick. Keys and passphrases will be needed.’
‘There is a lot to learn, but we will do well. Crec is an issue, and the Brothers will have to be dealt with, but we will do our best. We have to think about it. Do not worry. Please. We have an excellent chance to change many things.’
‘I see,’ I told her, thinking how strange she was. She had been a loving, even vulnerable creature in my arms, not so long ago. Now, she was a practical killer who did not flinch standing over a child’s corpse. Like Shaduril.
The Beast of the North Page 24
