by Ian Irvine
“With Cython fallen, our final refuge lost,” said Errek, “our people are more troubled than ever.”
The eruptions at the Vomits had picked up in the past day and the land was quaking all the time now. Though Lyf had not told his people the true reason for it, every Cythonian knew that something was badly wrong, deep down.
“It will take a great victory to turn their morale around,” said Bloody Herrie.
“That’s what I’m planning.” Lyf opened the door and called to his attendant. “Order my armies to get ready. We’re marching north to Reffering in the morning.”
Lyf came back inside and closed the door.
“Are you intending to fight the chancellor?” said Errek.
“Not unless I’m forced to it. Our real enemy is Grandys, and if two sides are there, preparing to do battle, you can be sure he’ll turn up.”
“And then?”
“Grandys doesn’t know what the key is, but he knows where he hid everything he stole from my temple. I’m going to deal with him and get the key,” said Lyf.
CHAPTER 106
“You look dreadful,” said Rix from the entrance to the chancellor’s quarters. He could see the man himself, at the rear, bent over a stack of papers.
The chancellor’s head lifted and he gave a sardonic smile. “If I looked as bad as you do, I’d know I was about to die. Come in and get it over with, whatever it is you want.”
Rix limped in on Glynnie’s arm. Three days had passed since the fight with Grandys but his face was still swollen and covered in yellowing bruises, his split lip was scabbed and blue, and he ached all over. But at least he was getting better. Whatever ailed the chancellor appeared terminal and it had affected the whole army. The officers Rix had met on his way through the camp all looked defeated. They were going through the motions, waiting for the inevitable end.
Nonetheless, he felt that familiar gnawing in his belly. The chancellor had publicly condemned him and there was no saying he felt the way he had at Glimmering, when he had held Rix up to the world as a hero. If the chancellor was on the way out, he might feel that it was time to settle old scores, permanently.
They stared at one another for a long time. Finally the chancellor said, “Well?”
“You may take it that I’m no longer under the thrall of Grandys’ command spell,” said Rix.
“So I’ve heard.”
“What have you heard?”
“The tale spread across Hightspall like a forest fire.” The chancellor’s eyes slid sideways onto Glynnie. “May I see it?” He held out his hand.
After a brief hesitation, she reached into her bag, brought out the black opal armour broken off Grandys’ nose and dropped it in the chancellor’s small, wrinkled hand. He looked down at it, then laughed until tears flooded from his eyes.
“How tall are you, Glynnie?”
“Five foot two,” she said, frowning.
“And Grandys is six foot eight.” He looked up at Rix. “It’s true then? She knocked the bastard down?”
“Glynnie got in five blows with a six-foot baulk of timber,” Rix said proudly. “Flattened his ugly nose against his bloated face, knocked him to his knees and had him howling and spitting blood.”
“Ah, thank you, thank you,” said the chancellor. “You’ve done me more good in a minute than all my healers and all their blasted potions have in a week.” He handed the piece of opal back and wiped his face. “You’ll want to keep that to show your grandchildren.”
“It wasn’t just me,” said Glynnie. “Rix fought Grandys to a standstill. He knocked out two front teeth, gave him a black eye and, but for a greasy plate underfoot, would have won. And Rix stole his horse. Don’t forget that.”
The chancellor’s lip twitched. “Did he now? Ah, that’s the icing. Well, Ricinus, you find me brought to a new low. My arm gone —” He flapped his stump. “Half my army lost or deserted. Hope fading by the minute and, according to my spies, Lyf is already marching north to attack us. I’m in such desperate straits that I’m even prepared to enlist vagabonds, traitors and condemned shifters, so why should I baulk at a Herovian, dead-handed horse thief?”
“I don’t believe I am Herovian,” said Rix. “And I can’t say I go for their ideals.”
“Whatever! Is that what you came for – to hear that all is forgiven?”
“No,” said Rix. “I haven’t forgiven anything. I want a commission in your army – a captain’s rank.”
“A captain’s rank?”
“At Glimmering you sang my praises,” Rix said defensively. “You told the world how greatly my victory had improved morale.”
“Glimmering, yes,” said the chancellor, as though that had been a lifetime away. “But a captain’s rank… I’ll have to think about that.”
Rix swallowed. It did not appear as though the chancellor had forgiven anything either.
“But, surely —?” said Glynnie.
“I said I’d think about it,” the chancellor said mildly. “In a day or two we’ll ride to Reffering. You can be sure Grandys won’t be far away, but which side will he fight on? Sit down. Eat, drink. We’re all going to die and I’ve broken out the best bottles I have. Let’s raise a glass to the end of the world.”
CHAPTER 106
“You look dreadful,” said Rix from the entrance to the chancellor’s quarters. He could see the man himself, at the rear, bent over a stack of papers.
The chancellor’s head lifted and he gave a sardonic smile. “If I looked as bad as you do, I’d know I was about to die. Come in and get it over with, whatever it is you want.”
Rix limped in on Glynnie’s arm. Three days had passed since the fight with Grandys but his face was still swollen and covered in yellowing bruises, his split lip was scabbed and blue, and he ached all over. But at least he was getting better. Whatever ailed the chancellor appeared terminal and it had affected the whole army. The officers Rix had met on his way through the camp all looked defeated. They were going through the motions, waiting for the inevitable end.
Nonetheless, he felt that familiar gnawing in his belly. The chancellor had publicly condemned him and there was no saying he felt the way he had at Glimmering, when he had held Rix up to the world as a hero. If the chancellor was on the way out, he might feel that it was time to settle old scores, permanently.
They stared at one another for a long time. Finally the chancellor said, “Well?”
“You may take it that I’m no longer under the thrall of Grandys’ command spell,” said Rix.
“So I’ve heard.”
“What have you heard?”
“The tale spread across Hightspall like a forest fire.” The chancellor’s eyes slid sideways onto Glynnie. “May I see it?” He held out his hand.
After a brief hesitation, she reached into her bag, brought out the black opal armour broken off Grandys’ nose and dropped it in the chancellor’s small, wrinkled hand. He looked down at it, then laughed until tears flooded from his eyes.
“How tall are you, Glynnie?”
“Five foot two,” she said, frowning.
“And Grandys is six foot eight.” He looked up at Rix. “It’s true then? She knocked the bastard down?”
“Glynnie got in five blows with a six-foot baulk of timber,” Rix said proudly. “Flattened his ugly nose against his bloated face, knocked him to his knees and had him howling and spitting blood.”
“Ah, thank you, thank you,” said the chancellor. “You’ve done me more good in a minute than all my healers and all their blasted potions have in a week.” He handed the piece of opal back and wiped his face. “You’ll want to keep that to show your grandchildren.”
“It wasn’t just me,” said Glynnie. “Rix fought Grandys to a standstill. He knocked out two front teeth, gave him a black eye and, but for a greasy plate underfoot, would have won. And Rix stole his horse. Don’t forget that.”
The chancellor’s lip twitched. “Did he now? Ah, that’s the icing. Well, Ricinus, you
find me brought to a new low. My arm gone —” He flapped his stump. “Half my army lost or deserted. Hope fading by the minute and, according to my spies, Lyf is already marching north to attack us. I’m in such desperate straits that I’m even prepared to enlist vagabonds, traitors and condemned shifters, so why should I baulk at a Herovian, dead-handed horse thief?”
“I don’t believe I am Herovian,” said Rix. “And I can’t say I go for their ideals.”
“Whatever! Is that what you came for – to hear that all is forgiven?”
“No,” said Rix. “I haven’t forgiven anything. I want a commission in your army – a captain’s rank.”
“A captain’s rank?”
“At Glimmering you sang my praises,” Rix said defensively. “You told the world how greatly my victory had improved morale.”
“Glimmering, yes,” said the chancellor, as though that had been a lifetime away. “But a captain’s rank… I’ll have to think about that.”
Rix swallowed. It did not appear as though the chancellor had forgiven anything either.
“But, surely —?” said Glynnie.
“I said I’d think about it,” the chancellor said mildly. “In a day or two we’ll ride to Reffering. You can be sure Grandys won’t be far away, but which side will he fight on? Sit down. Eat, drink. We’re all going to die and I’ve broken out the best bottles I have. Let’s raise a glass to the end of the world.”
CHAPTER 107
“I should have realised I had no talent for leadership,” said Tali as she, Tobry and Holm headed across country to the hill where they had left the horses. “Let Radl lead the Pale to war. She seems born to it.”
“Leadership is a thankless job,” said Holm. “You’re well shot of it.”
Since the land seemed empty and there was no longer any need for secrecy, they rode through the day and well into the night. The ground shook a number of times on the journey, though not in the way Tali remembered from the time, months back, when the Vomits had been building up to an eruption. Those quakes had been short, sharp jolts, quickly over. The ones she felt now were deep, rolling shudders that began gently, built up to a climax over a minute or two and slowly died away, as though the whole of Hightspall was being shaken.
“I’m worried about the circlet,” said Tali. “We should go —”
“Shh!” said Holm. “Lyf might still have a trace on you.”
“I’ve got to do something.”
“Wherever you go, someone will see you. You’ll lead Lyf – or Grandys – to it. We’ll go back to the camp and ask the chancellor’s advice.”
“I wonder what he’s planning,” said Tali. “Do you think he’s strong enough for war?
“No,” said Holm. “What do you reckon, Tobry?”
Tobry grunted. He had barely said a word since leaving Cython, and Tali knew what ailed him. His physical decline was accelerating, his ability to hold back the shifter madness weaker every day, and he had retreated to a place where no one could reach him. That was the saddest part of all.
They arrived to find that the camp at Nyrdly had grown enormously. Tents now extended out from the ruins for half a mile, and even at this hour the lantern lights were like nets of small, bright jewels draped across the gently undulating landscape.
They were challenged three times on the way in, and each checkpoint had the same message. “You are to report to the chancellor with the utmost dispatch.”
“You’ve got a nerve, Tali,” he said when they were finally brought before him, in his quarters in the haunted ruins.
The draped canvas had been replaced with a proper tent the size of a small house, otherwise everything was as it had been when they had left. Everything except the chancellor himself. He was more hunchbacked and twisted than ever, and seemed to have shrunk.
“What do you mean?” said Tali. “Risking the master pearl in Cython? Or coming back?”
“Both.” Before Tali could respond he said, “Have you eaten? Drunk? Washed?”
“No,” said Tali. “We haven’t stopped all the way.”
It was as if the chancellor was putting off hearing their news. He called for food and wine, bowls of water and towels. They washed their faces and hands. Platters of hot meat and bread were set before them, a jug of wine and a goblet of cordial for Tali.
“I’ve heard rumours from the south,” he said, smiling and pouring the wine liberally.
“They must have flown here,” said Tali.
“They say that Cython has fallen to rebellion and its masters have abandoned it.”
“They speak truly.”
“A famous, unprecedented victory.” The chancellor went to rub his hands together, remembered he only had one, and dropped his hand, frowning.
“It changes the landscape,” said Tali.
“Rumour also says that a great army is marching north from Cython to join us. An army of small, pale folk.”
“An army, though not a great one,” said Tali.
The chancellor’s smile faded. “I heard figures of fifteen, even twenty thousand.”
“The figures are right – but only a quarter are fighters. The rest are mothers and children.”
“Five thousand? You’ve only brought me five thousand men?”
“I haven’t brought you anyone. Radl is leading them, not me.”
“Only five thousand?” he repeated. “What’s the matter with them?”
“The Pale fought bravely for their own realm,” said Tali, “and thousands of them died for it.”
“What do you mean, their own realm? Hightspall is their realm and it’s their duty —”
“Give over, you bloody old fool,” snapped Holm. “Hightspall abandoned them a thousand years ago. Hightspall refused to ransom them, then blackened the Pale’s name to cover up its own betrayal. Do you think the Pale don’t know this? It’s burned into their very bones.”
“Are you saying most of them stayed?” the chancellor said savagely. “In the foul, stinking dungeon where they’ve been enslaved?”
“Cython is beautiful,” said Tali. “It’s spacious, airy, productive, clean – and warm. Above all, it’s safe. At least, it’s a lot safer than Hightspall can ever be.”
The chancellor sank his head in his hands. “Five thousand. Five – miserable – thousand!”
“Until a day ago, you weren’t expecting any aid from that quarter.”
“Got my damn hopes up when I heard the news.”
“It gives you fourteen or fifteen thousand, a mighty force. More than Grandys has.”
“It doesn’t give me anything like it,” said the chancellor. “My army lost two thousand on the way here, in a disastrous battle in the mountains. Another three thousand have deserted to Grandys since they crossed. I’ve only got five thousand men left.” He paused. “Five thousand and one, if one counts Rixium Ricinus, and I suppose I must.”
“Rix is here?” cried Tali and Tobry at the same time.
“Where have you been? His escape has been the talk of Hightspall for days.”
“Grandys is planning to hunt you down like a dog, Tali,” Rix said later that night. “He wants you desperately. He’ll never give in.”
Rix, Tali, Tobry, Holm, Rannilt and Glynnie had camped at the back of the ruins, in a small space where four broken walls rose above them to various heights. It was very cold, but Holm and Tobry had cut down a dead tree and made a roaring fire, and Rix and Glynnie had threaded chunks of meat and small whole onions onto skewers. With the heat reflected back from the pale walls it was pleasant enough, though the ground was quaking and shuddering again.
“I know,” said Tali, who was under a blanket with Rannilt snuggled up against her. Grandys was a problem she had no idea how to deal with.
Glynnie and Rix had made a rude couch from half a dozen slabs of fallen stone, which they had cushioned with dry bracken and covered in blankets and coats. They were sitting so close together that they touched from her shoulder to her ankle. Tali smiled to see
it.
Holm had formed a chair by lashing tent canvas across an arrangement of bound branches. He had made it while talking, not even looking at what he was doing, and she marvelled at his ability to create what he wanted from whatever was to hand.
Tobry was the only one on his feet. Holm had offered to make him a chair but Tobry had refused, curtly. He kept pacing around the walls, feeling his beard and the hair on his arms as if afraid it might, any moment, change to fur.
After his berserker horror in Cython, Tali also feared it. Tobry’s prodigious water-breathing magery, and then the treble dose of potion, had left him with no reserves. He had lost so much weight that he looked gaunt. She also knew, though he had tried to conceal it from her, that his attacks were getting worse and the after effects of the ever-higher doses of potion more terrible.
It was eating him away on the inside. How much longer could he keep the madness at bay?
Rix rose and came across to Tali. He looked almost serene, and that bothered her.
“I wanted to say how sorry I am, while I still can,” said Rix.
“What are you talking about?”
“I repudiated my oath to Grandys. And even though he forced the oath from me with magery, he won’t let go.”
“What a load of rubbish!”
“An oath is an oath, Grandys says. Once given, it holds, no matter the circumstances. And forever, no matter the circumstances. To Grandys I’m the worst traitor of all, an oath-breaker and deserter who’s helped to publicly humiliate him. When he finds me, he’s going to kill me. I know it in my bones, and I’ve got to make amends before I die.”
“There’s nothing to make amends for,” said Tali. “I treated you badly too. We’re even.”
“Told you,” said Glynnie to Rix. She patted the bench beside her. He sat down gingerly and she pulled the blankets around them both.
Rannilt wriggled but did not wake. Holm leaned back in his chair, staring up at the stars. Glynnie laid her head on Rix’s broad chest. Tali’s eyes followed Tobry as he stalked around the walls, never stopping. Why wouldn’t he let anyone in?
