by Roger Taylor
Thyrn gestured vaguely. ‘I didn’t talk to him, if that’s what you mean. It’s just that he thought my thoughts, and I thought his. We were one person for an instant. He’d see the fighting. He’d… just a moment.’ He sat up very straight, took in a long slow breath and released it even more slowly, noticeably relaxing as he did so. His companions watched in silence. ‘He’d know I was trying to catch and control the horses – and look after Uncle. He’d feel everything I felt then.’ He gave a short scornful laugh. ‘And good luck to him. I hope he nearly messed his trousers too.’ The concentration returned. ‘He might well have noted my intention to return. It was near the surface. It depends on how sensitive he is, of course. It could be that the shock of our Joining may have jolted everything from his mind. He was definitely disturbed. But on the other hand, if he’s part Caddoran… I don’t know.’ His expression darkened. ‘It doesn’t matter anyway. Whether he felt it directly or not is irrelevant. The thought’s in there somewhere now and he’ll act on it sooner or later.’
‘What do you mean, the thought’s in there?’ Hyrald asked.
‘Just that,’ Thyrn replied. ‘Most of our thoughts are below the surface, most of the time, aren’t they? We drag them up as we need them – or they come of their own accord. The point is, when he’s thinking about what you might do, he’ll have the answer already even though he doesn’t know it.’
‘It’ll guide his planning knowingly or unknowingly,’ Endryk said.
‘Splendid,’ Rhavvan said sourly. ‘It was going to be hard enough getting back to Arvenshelm anyway without him knowing we were coming.’ He threw up his hands in annoyance. ‘What am I talking about? I don’t believe any of this nonsense. Exchanging minds – reading one another’s thoughts. It isn’t possible!’
‘Believe what you like, Rhavvan,’ Thyrn said angrily. ‘I’ve spent my life doing something which I’m only just beginning to realize defies all explanation, so I understand your doubts. But I owe my life to you all and I’m telling you what’s happened so that you’ll know as much as I do. Make of it what you will. The knowledge might be difficult to deal with, but it’s a damned sight better than ignorance.’
Hyrald and Adren both turned a look of amused expectancy towards a wordless Rhavvan as this outburst concluded. Endryk smiled openly at the big man’s discomfiture then spoke to Thyrn.
‘Is it possible that you could control this contact you have with Vashnar?’
Thyrn’s face softened. ‘No, I don’t think so. It didn’t announce itself in any way whatsoever. It just came, and then went. Very quickly.’ He frowned. ‘Veryquickly,’ he emphasized. ‘Almost as though it took place without time passing.’ He shook his head and stood up, dusting down his trousers. ‘This is as bewildering to me as it is to you. Worse, in fact, I can assure you. If it’s any consolation, I think Vashnar may be coping even less well. I never realized how disciplined I was – what control I had over my mind – until I touched his. Quite a revelation. I’ll need to think about it. Anyway, all I can do is tell you what happened and I’ve done that now. I think we should move on. I’ll go over it all again as we travel. If anything else occurs to me, I’ll tell you.’
He looked expectantly at Hyrald who levered himself to his feet. His manner ended any further debate.
‘Which brings us back to where we’re going next, and what we’re going to do about Aghrid,’ Hyrald said, accepting Thyrn’s decision.
‘Maybe he’ll give up,’ Nordath said. ‘They’ve three horses less and at least one wounded man.’
‘If our prisoner was to be believed, there are nine of them and they’ve lost others on the way here, whatever “lost” means,’ Adren said.
‘It means they’ve been riding like the devil, and that they’ve abandoned men on the way,’ Endryk said darkly. ‘You know this man better than I do, but I’ve a feeling he’s not one to give up. Not everyone tends their wounded, by any means.’
‘It’s difficult,’ Hyrald said. ‘I’ve met him but I wouldn’t say I knew him. From what I do know I’d say he’s capable of anything – certainly abandoning people. But whether he’s got the personal resources or the leadership to carry on pursuing us after yesterday, I’ve no idea. I wouldn’t have thought he could get from Arvenshelm to here so quickly, to be honest.’
‘Something’s driving him then,’ Endryk said. ‘We’ll have to assume that he’ll keep coming after us.’
‘Which means what?’ Adren asked.
‘Which means that we watch our backs, protect our night camps properly, and keep leaving him false trails.’
‘Or wait for him and stop him,’ Rhavvan said, punching his palm with his fist.
‘Not yet, I think,’ Endryk replied. ‘We were lucky first time. They came recklessly and in a confined space and there were more of us than they thought. They won’t do that again. And don’t forget – they still outnumber us.’
Rhavvan seemed inclined to argue but Endryk anticipated him. ‘But we will, if we have to,’ he said coldly. He turned to Hyrald. ‘West, is it, then?’ he asked. ‘Back to your home?’
Hyrald looked at each of the others in turn and received their silent assent. ‘And you?’ he asked Endryk. ‘Are you still prepared to come with us?’
‘Yes.’
Nevertheless, at Endryk’s suggestion they set off not to the west but northwards towards the river. Reaching it they turned west again and began moving upstream. The river was wide, fast and turbulent for much of the way, making a noise which prevented any conversation. Twice they had to move away from the bank and over rocky ridges as the river came plunging, white-foamed and even noisier, through narrow gorges. Towards midday they came to a place where the river broadened and became much quieter. Endryk halted and studied the terrain for some time.
‘This should do,’ he concluded eventually. ‘We’ll move into the water then head upstream until we can find a place to come out without leaving tracks. With a little good fortune, Aghrid will think we’ve crossed over and he’ll either give up or go wandering off north. Either way, it’ll win more time for us.’
Both he and Thyrn stopped and stared across the river as their horses entered the water.
‘Can horses swim?’ Thyrn asked.
‘Yes,’ Endryk replied. ‘But it can be a bit alarming. Are you changing your mind about going home?’
Still staring across the water, Thyrn shook his head. ‘No. Whatever trouble’s waiting back home, there’s nothing over there for me.’ He paused. ‘Not until I can go there because I want to, anyway.’ Then he shivered and hunched his shoulders. ‘Men chasing after us like that. It’s so frightening.’ He looked at Endryk nervously and patted his stomach hesitantly. ‘But there’s all sorts of other feelings in here. Violent ones. I’m not sure what they mean – what to do with them. I’ve never hurt anyone.’ He bared his teeth. ‘Curse Vashnar and his crazed thoughts. The man’s a lunatic.’
Endryk clicked his horse forward and they began moving upstream. ‘You’re suffering from a sense of outraged justice,’ he said with a mixture of sympathy and humour. ‘All you can do with those kinds of feelings is accept that they’re there and focus them into a cold resolution to fight for what you know is right. As a friend of mine once told me, let the stomach drive and the head guide.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Yes you do,’ Endryk replied.
It was well into the afternoon when they came to a rocky section of bank on a bend in the river. Nals was waiting for them. He had been alternately swimming and walking along the bank.
‘This’ll do,’ Endryk said, motioning the others to leave the water. ‘Walk the horses up to that embankment over there.’ He watched them go, then followed very slowly, carefully removing any signs of their passage.
As they waited for him, Rhavvan’s expressions showed a mixture of impatience and curiosity. ‘No one’ll even see that,’ he chafed as Endryk replaced a tumbled rock before finally joining them.
Endryk
’s rebuttal was matter-of-fact. ‘You may be right. But if Aghrid gets this far, it means that he’ll have learned how to live out here – or started learning, anyway. Which means in turn that he’ll be even more dangerous than before.’ He cast a final eye over the path they had taken across the rocks. ‘I notice that while you obviously dislike this man, none of you have referred to him as being either stupid or cowardly.’
Rhavvan grunted. ‘He’s a city man born and bred; he’ll not get this far. None of us would have without you. I’ll wager he’s scurrying back to Arvenshelm right now.’
Endryk acknowledged Rhavvan’s oblique thanks with an inclination of his head but rejected his conclusion. ‘Someone who’s ridden so hard and abandoned men on the way has qualities which shouldn’t be underestimated,’ he said. Then, satisfied with the state of the shore, he indicated that they should move off. ‘But Aghrid or not, we’ve a great many problems that need to be addressed if we’re going to be travelling secretly through the country – the mountains, probably – for any length of time. I think it’s time we had a council of war.’
Chapter 15
‘Council of war?’ Hyrald echoed uncertainly. ‘What’s that?’
‘Precisely what it says, a council – an assembly – to discuss the war,’ Endryk replied.
‘What war?’ The pitch of Hyrald’s voice rose further than he intended.
‘The one we’re in,’ Endryk retorted bluntly. ‘Just because there isn’t cavalry and infantry tramping the countryside doesn’t mean there’s no war going on. There is, and you need to understand that if you’re going to survive. And that’s only a start – a great many things will have to be thought about if we’re to survive. Thyrn mentioned them the other day. How to live in this place – not for a few days but for months, quite possibly into the winter. How to cope with illness and injury. How to defend ourselves against Aghrid and anyone else who comes after us. How to find out what’s happening back in Arvenshelm if you want to return there. And, not least, how to do something about it.’
His words hung uncomfortably in the dull, damp air as they walked along. No one spoke for some time.
‘It’s a grim list,’ Hyrald said eventually.
‘It is,’ Endryk agreed. ‘Grimmer than you know, I suspect, but unavoidable given the decision you’ve made to return – which, for what it’s worth, I think is right,’ he added hastily. ‘Given that the alternative is fruitless – a wandering exile and no guarantee you might not be pursued even into that. Still, to quote Thyrn, knowledge might be difficult to deal with, but it’s a damned sight better than ignorance and while we accept the simple fact of our position we’ll at least have a chance.’
‘We’ve managed well enough so far,’ Rhavvan said defensively.
‘Well enough, yes,’ Endryk agreed. ‘But we can’t carry on like this for much longer. That was just to keep us going day by day while you were recovering from your flight and thinking about what to do. Plus we’ve been lucky – with the weather, the terrain, even the supplies. That won’t continue. But at least the situation’s clearer now.’
‘We’ve got a vicious enemy behind us, a definite intention ahead, and a long way to travel. We need to work out in detail what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, and who’s going to do what.’
It was Adren. There was an edge to her voice. Endryk acknowledged her summary with a gesture that indicated he had nothing further to say.
‘Council of war it is, then.’ Hyrald smiled ruefully. ‘A planning meeting, I suppose we’d call it.’ This inadvertent reminder of times now seemingly gone for ever, brought a long fretting thought to the surface. He looked at Endryk squarely and cleared his throat. ‘Back home, these two…’ He indicated Rhavvan and Adren. ‘Are my deputies, while Nordath and Thyrn would naturally yield to the authority of any Warden. But out here I’ve no illusions about my worth. Frankly, I’m lost. You’ve been our leader since we left your cottage. Will you continue to be?’
Endryk met his gaze and answered immediately. ‘No. I appreciate what you’re saying but we can’t work like that. It’s not appropriate. We’re not a battalion with our own long-established support structure and lines of communication back to a battle centre somewhere, We’re more what would be called a deep penetration group – a small patrol sent far into enemy territory to spy on troop dispositions, supply lines and the like… completely cut off from all external help, obliged to fend for ourselves totally.’
All three Wardens were looking at him, puzzled. ‘We’re not spying on anyone or anything. And this isn’t enemy territory,’ Rhavvan said. ‘All we’re trying to do is get back home.’ He laughed tentatively but no one responded.
‘Enemy territory is precisely what it is,’ Endryk insisted. ‘All of it, from here to Arvenshelm. Adren summarized our position exactly.’
‘But what are we going to do if you won’t act as leader?’ Hyrald fretted. ‘We have to allocate responsibilities and duties… decide who does what and when.’
‘Yes, obviously,’ Endryk replied. ‘But we’ll all of us need to make a deep change to the ways we think.’ He looked at Hyrald. ‘Warden, Caddoran, shoreman – they mean nothing out here. We’re going to be totally dependent on one another. We need to know one another’s strengths and weaknesses. And we’ve each got to be able to cope without the others. We have to become such that if one of us is lost, then that’s all we lose – one – not the entire group because we were too reliant on that one person.’
‘Sounds logical,’ Hyrald commented, though the doubt in his voice said more than his words.
‘Back to basic training, I suppose.’ Adren was scarcely more enthusiastic.
‘I’m sorry,’ Endryk said.
‘It’s not your fault, is it?’ Hyrald retorted. He stopped and stood silent. No one spoke and the soft stillness of the damp day closed about the group. It was very quiet. The sound of the river, hitherto ubiquitous, was faint and distant. Even the birds and animals in the surrounding trees seemed to be waiting for something.
One of the horses stamped its foot softly then shook itself.
‘Damn Vashnar,’ Hyrald said through clenched teeth. ‘Damn him to hell.’ He set off again.
They walked for some time in silence until after a short rise they emerged from the trees to find themselves on the grassy shoulder of a hill.
‘Let’s see where we are,’ Endryk said, pointing to the crest.
Hyrald spoke to him as they continued. ‘I suppose what we’re intending to do wouldn’t be easy even if we’d been trained to it, would it?’
‘No,’ Endryk replied flatly. ‘But I don’t know that anyone could be trained for such a bizarre eventuality.’ He paused thoughtfully. ‘Yet Vashnar’s position is no stronger than ours.’
Hyrald looked at him, puzzled.
‘I hadn’t thought about that before,’ Endryk went on. ‘Apparently he has all the advantages. He’s safe in Arvenshelm with the Wardens and a mob at his back, while we’re hunted fugitives alone in the middle of nowhere.’ He paused, then nodded to himself as if reaching a conclusion. ‘But that very safety might well be preventing him from standing back and assessing what’s happening.’ He paused again. ‘If he’s capable of such an action any more. He’s a meticulous man, you say, obsessive almost?’
‘Yes,’ Hyrald confirmed. ‘I don’t know what he was like when he was younger, but even since I’ve known him, his skill as a planner – an anticipator of events – which is considerable, seems to have…’ he searched for a phrase, ‘… turned in on itself. Become self-absorbed. His plans can become very detailed – constraining. As though freedom of action unsettles him, particularly in other people.’
‘His plans are becoming more important than the goals they’re meant to achieve?’
‘I suppose so, yes. At times.’
Endryk seemed pleased with the answer. He cast a glance at Thyrn and then the others. ‘Well, it’s not much, but we’re a small group, determined, and not
without resources. If we stay careful, keep our thinking flexible, the more he plans like that the better – assuming he’s still capable of thinking rationally. Like us he’s no experience with a situation as strange as this. It’ll magnify any self-doubt he has, reduce his trust in others even further. And the more rigid he makes his schemes the more we’ll be able to respond to anything he does – move around him, slip in under his guard.’
Rhavvan frowned. ‘You sound as if you’re going to attack him,’ he said.
‘Of course,’ Endryk replied. ‘One way or another you’ll have to. You’ve no choice about that.’
Rhavvan stopped and his hands came out, palms forward, in a powerful gesture of denial. ‘Whoa! That’s not what I had in mind when I agreed we should go back.’
‘What else did you have in mind?’ Endryk’s question was winding in its simplicity. Rhavvan stared at him. Hyrald and Adren watched both men uncertainly, their thoughts chiming with Rhavvan’s.
‘But we can’t just… attack him,’ Rhavvan managed uncomfortably after a moment.
‘One way or another, I said,’ Endryk replied. He tapped his forehead. ‘But you need to be thinking about defeating him all the time! Nothing less is acceptable. It’s either us or him and we can’t afford the luxury of not accepting that; it’ll eat us alive when things get rough. As far as I can see at the moment, probably the only tactic we can adopt is to run him to exhaustion… somehow. Flit here and there – crack those rigid plans of his – make him destroy the morale of his own people. But whatever we do, when he’s down – in whatever fashion that occurs -we move in.’ He made a direct stabbing motion to Rhavvan’s chest.
‘We can’tkill him,’ Rhavvan said, eyes widening.
Endryk was abruptly stern, angry almost. ‘If it comes to that extremity, you will or you’ll die yourself – there’ll be no choice, and don’t think otherwise.’ Rhavvan made to speak but Endryk gave him no opportunity. ‘But I’m not talking just about killing him. I’m talking about defeating him and the need for you not only to realize that that’s what you’re going to have to do, but to be thinking about how you’re going to do it constantly.’
