Witchsign

by Den Patrick

  – Untainted Histories Volume 3: Serebryanyy Pyli

  Steiner stepped off the deck of the Watcher’s Wait and looked up the rocky stairs of Temnet Cove and the black rock that towered above him. Vladibogdan was no more welcoming, and there was no way of knowing what had happened since Själsstyrka had spirited him away on her silver wings.

  ‘Steiner?’ A voice bellowed from the gatehouse. ‘Is that you?’

  Steiner waved and saw arms and hands waving back from the top of the steps. Marek came down the gangplank behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

  ‘Looks like you’ve made a few friends.’

  ‘Reckon I did that,’ Steiner grinned. ‘Come on, I’ll introduce you to them. I’ll introduce you to everyone.’

  They spent an hour all meeting and hugging. For all the laughter there were just as many tears, some of relief and some of sadness. Tief took it upon himself to tell Marek about all the stupid things Steiner had done when he had first arrived, before regaling him with how Steiner had never given up or lost hope. Steiner drifted away from the two men, surprised to see Marozvolk without her mask, and more surprised that she hailed from Yamal.

  ‘You have your sister?’ said Marozvolk.

  Steiner nodded.

  ‘When the Empire discovers what happened in Cinderfell—’ said Marozvolk.

  ‘The whole town will be destroyed,’ said Kimi, who stood beside the Vigilant, almost protectively Steiner thought. Taiga lingered close by, drinking up every word.

  ‘It was always going to be so,’ said Steiner. ‘Shirinov was determined to raze the place as an act of revenge for his demotion. Anyone with any sense will leave. I told them as much.’

  ‘It’s a hollow victory is all,’ said Taiga, looking away and taking an uneasy breath. ‘But I’m glad you’re safe.’

  ‘The victory wasn’t as hollow as you might think,’ said Steiner.

  ‘You killed Shirinov?’ said Taiga.

  ‘The bones are silent for the Vigilant.’ Sundra appeared out of the crowd, inspecting a handful of bone tokens and scraps of debris. ‘His time is no more.’

  ‘How did it end?’ asked Taiga.

  ‘It ended with a beached and burning ship,’ said Steiner. ‘It ended in a fierce storm called up by my sister and Sharpbreath. It ended when I finally landed a blow on him, just as it did for Matthias Zhirov.’

  ‘Seems that hammer isn’t just for show,’ said Kimi.

  ‘Seems that way,’ replied Steiner. ‘But I couldn’t have done it without the help you gave me.’

  ‘Do you still have the Ashen Torment?’ said Kimi.

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Steiner saw the way she looked at him, as if giving back the artefact could guarantee the safety of all the Yamal people.

  The revellers swirled about Steiner and someone pressed a mug of ale into his hand. Sundra and Taiga entered into a hushed conversation with Kjellrunn, obviously keen to meet her, while Kristofine regarded Kimi with less enthusiasm.

  ‘You didn’t tell me your Yamal princess was quite so beautiful,’ said the tavern-keeper’s daughter quietly.

  ‘I …’ Steiner had no answer for her. He supposed Kimi was attractive, but he’d never had much time to give it any thought, much less pursue her.

  ‘Did anything happen between you two?’

  Steiner shook his head and found himself glad to be on the right side of the truth. ‘No, too busy staying alive for anything like that.’

  ‘But if you hadn’t been busy then perhaps something might have happened?’ said Kristofine.

  ‘What? No, I didn’t mean anything by it, I just …’ But Kristofine had headed off into the crowd. Steiner started after her but found his way blocked by Silverdust, who loomed over him. The Vigilant made a beckoning gesture and Steiner nodded, resigned to what must come next.

  For a moment, he thought they might slip free of the mass of bodies in Academy Square, but Steiner found himself joined by Kimi, Sundra, Tief and Taiga. It seemed fitting, given these were the people he’d lived with in the very forges Silverdust led them to.

  ‘What happened to Själsstyrka?’ said Kimi, as they descended the stairs into the bowels of the island for what Steiner hoped would be the last time.

  ‘I left her on the roof of a tavern in Cinderfell. She was wrapped around the chimney warming herself last I looked.’

  ‘Aren’t you afraid she’ll eat the townsfolk?’ replied Kimi.

  ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ admitted Steiner with a grimace.

  ‘How the Hel did you persuade Romola to sail back here?’ said Tief. ‘I never thought we’d see her again.’

  ‘I didn’t speak with Romola, I spoke with her crew,’ said Steiner. ‘I told them there was an entire island that they could ransack if they provided passage for Kimi and the Spriggani.’

  ‘Never underestimate a pirate’s greed,’ said Kimi.

  ‘It’s going to be a little crowded,’ said Steiner, ‘but it’s the best I could do.’

  ‘You did just fine,’ said Taiga.

  They were almost at the main cavern now, and stood on the balcony looking over the many furnaces, now cold and dark. The Vigilant was radiant in the darkness, the aura warm and safe. Silverdust turned to them and Steiner felt the expectation weigh upon him.

  You made a promise. Steiner shivered as the phantom words appeared in his head.

  ‘I know, and I intend to see it through.’

  Orange eyes appeared in the gloom below, from one side of the furnace chamber to the other. The cinderwraiths were invisible in the darkness but for their eyes.

  ‘There are so many of them,’ breathed Steiner.

  ‘A lot more since the battle in Academy Square,’ said Kimi, and Steiner felt the twist of disapproval in her words. She’d found a lantern from somewhere and stood close, eyeing him with a look of worry on her face.

  ‘They came without summons,’ said Sundra.

  ‘Might as well get on with it,’ said Steiner. ‘They stood by me when I fought Shirinov and his soldiers, and now I have to keep my side of the bargain.’

  ‘The Ashen Torment,’ whispered Sundra with reverence as Steiner lifted the artefact from his tunic. He slipped the chain over his head and regarded the artefact, the finely carved dragon, the exquisite detail.

  ‘We could defeat the whole Empire with such a thing,’ said Tief, a wistful note in his voice.

  ‘Wherever there is fire there is death,’ intoned Kimi, eyeing the jag of rock as it hung from the chain. ‘You could give that back to me and my people would be safe.’

  ‘It won’t make any difference, Kimi.’ Steiner looked out over the Ashen Court, a sea of ghosts, a black and grey tide of lost souls that gathered at the base of the balcony, illuminated by Silverdust’s aura and Kimi’s lantern. ‘The Empire will send someone to Cinderfell soon enough, and someone will tell them what they know.’

  ‘Think about it, Steiner.’ Tief edged closer, his eyes transfixed on the artefact. ‘An army of ghosts to command, an entire Empire to defeat, unlimited power. You could be Emperor yourself. Think of all the good you could do!’

  ‘No. I won’t forge a new way of life with the souls of dead children.’ Steiner placed the artefact at the edge of the balcony, then pulled his sledgehammer from where it rested in a loop on his belt. ‘They helped me stop Shirinov, I owe them a debt of gratitude.’

  ‘You’ll never have this sort of power again,’ said Tief, shaking his head.

  ‘It’s not too late to give it back,’ said Kimi.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ was all Steiner said, raising the sledgehammer high. When the hammer fell a nimbus of light shone, brighter than any day they had seen. The Ashen Torment split in three, dissolving into sand after a stunned and breathless moment. The nimbus faded from yellow to white, turning blue before fading to darkness. A chorus of sighs sounded from below them and the dark shapes of cinderwraiths dropped away like cloaks discarded. A stark white light took the place of every phantom, glittering sta
rs in the gloom. A handful ascended, slowly at first, the others trailing after.

  ‘What are those?’ asked Tief.

  ‘Corpsecandles,’ said Steiner.

  ‘They are souls,’ said Sundra, ‘souls released from obligation.’

  The lights drifted higher, a constellation of stars beneath the iron-grey and soot-stained rock.

  ‘Where are they going?’ said Steiner.

  ‘They are finally going to Frejna. Some she will send back, born into new bodies.’ One by one they blinked out, melting into the cavern roof above. The priestess sighed. ‘I have never seen such a thing in all my six decades. You have done a great thing.’

  Steiner was surprised to find himself smiling, smiling with joy and smiling with relief. He was suddenly exhausted and leaned on the sledgehammer like a crutch.

  Silverdust had not moved from his place on the balcony. He had not moved at all.

  ‘I thought you might go with them?’ said Steiner, after the last of the souls had drifted into the rock above.

  Realization dawned on the faces of Kimi, Tief, Taiga and Sundra. Silverdust nodded mournfully, and clenched his hands before his chest as if he wore manacles.

  I am deeply conflicted. For over forty years I have haunted this place, and yet I desire nothing else but to see the Emperor brought low. Now, for the first time, I can admit that the Emperor’s destruction might be possible.

  ‘If only that were true,’ said Steiner.

  You have given me hope, Steiner. I think perhaps I will stay here on Vladibogdan. When the Vigilants come, as Vigilants will, I will lie to them. I will lie to protect you.

  ‘That’s going to have to be some lie,’ said Tief.

  I will tell them that you escaped by ship, but the ship sank and all lives were lost. It may not help for long, but it may give you some time to begin again.

  ‘It may be the lie to save my people,’ said Kimi.

  Silverdust knelt down and picked up the chain that the Ashen Torment had hung from. A sliver of rock remained attached, and this he handed to the princess.

  I will do whatever I can to make it so. Now go, it is time you were finally away from here. Head south with all the four winds at your back, and begin new lives in sunnier lands.

  Steiner hugged the Vigilant, worried the cinderwraith within the uniform might crumple, but Silverdust hugged him back.

  Thank you, Steiner. Keep fighting. Keep fighting no matter what the Emperor sends after you.

  Steiner left the forges in darkness. The only illumination was the aura of silver light that danced around the Vigilant, sparks of grit sparking and dying in the heat of his arcane power.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ said Tief. ‘We’re really leaving.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Steiner. ‘We really are.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Kjellrunn

  The Wreck of Vladibogdan, as it became known, was an incident that sent terrible fear through the Empire. All Vigilants felt the loss keenly, no matter how conflicted they may have felt about their old teaching institution. Soldiers worried at the escape of the dragons and Envoys and Okhrana were left wondering what had transpired on that bleak island, and who was responsible.

  – Untainted Histories Volume 3: Serebryanyy Pyli

  Kjellrunn stood at the stern of the Watcher’s Wait and watched the ripples of green and blue the ship left in its wake. They were many miles from the Nordscales now. The island’s forges were cold and silent, and the smudge of grey smoke that had haunted the skies these long decades had lessened. In time it would dissipate entirely, but not today.

  ‘Cinderfell on your port side,’ shouted Romola over her shoulder. The captain stood at the ship’s wheel with her feet planted wide, wrapped up in thick woollens to ward off the spiteful cold. ‘Best say your final goodbyes, right. Or pay your respects.’

  It was easy to see the truth of Romola’s words. Cinderfell was a dead town and anyone who stayed there would soon be dead too. Kjellrunn found herself thinking of Håkon and where the ugly stub of a man might fetch up next.

  Steiner approached and leaned on the handrail. He’d borrowed Kristofine’s travel cloak and stolen a Vigilant’s leather long coat. His sledgehammer hung from a loop on his hip. She’d never seen such a mismatched person, all burned and broken and fierce. He was almost a stranger to her, and he looked out to sea at their old home.

  ‘We’re really leaving,’ said Kjellrunn, though it barely needed saying.

  ‘We are,’ said Steiner, though his voice was a broken whisper. There was a redness to his eyes and he was dreadfully pale.

  ‘Father told you about Verner then,’ said Kjellrunn, and she placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. His head dipped and she could feel him holding on to all the pain of their uncle’s passing. She felt her own pain rise in response and gripped her brother a little tighter.

  For a long time they said nothing; Kjellrunn wrapped an arm about her brother’s shoulders and felt the Watcher’s Wait move across the Spøkelsea, wave by wave, league by league, heading south.

  ‘I’m going to kill all of them,’ said Steiner, straightening. His hands gripped the handrail as if he might snap it apart like kindling. ‘And I’m going to enjoy killing the Okhrana most of all.’

  His eyes were set on the grey horizon and Kjellrunn pulled him round to look her in the eye.

  ‘There’s no need to avenge Verner. I took care of that. I killed a score of them.’

  ‘It doesn’t feel enough,’ said Steiner, his face twisting in grief.

  ‘No, it doesn’t,’ agreed Kjellrunn. ‘And I don’t suppose it ever will, but Verner gave his life trying to protect us. He wouldn’t want us to choose the lives of killers, of assassins.’

  ‘Then what?’ said Steiner, and she could feel the heat of his anger.

  ‘You wanted to be a blacksmith once, didn’t you?’

  ‘You think I can go back to that after all I’ve seen?’

  ‘That’s for you to decide, but I know Verner wouldn’t want us to go picking a fight we can’t finish.’

  Steiner shrugged her off and rubbed his forehead with a scarred hand. He grunted with frustration. ‘And if we don’t pick a fight, then who will? Not the Spriggani, what few are left of them.’

  ‘Not the peoples of Shanisrond,’ called Romola over her shoulder. ‘They live in separate cities, all bickering and feuding, they’re barely a country at all.’

  ‘Have you been listening to us this whole time?’ asked Steiner, his tone gruff.

  ‘There are no secrets on ships, Steiner,’ replied Romola. ‘Best you get used to it.’

  ‘What about Kimi?’ said Kjellrunn. ‘There’s no telling what Yamal will do once they have their princess back.’

  Steiner let out a long sigh and shivered in the wind. ‘I don’t know what will happen next, but I can’t let the Empire go unchecked and unchallenged. They’re calling me “Unbroken” below deck. I have a name, the Unbroken.’

  Kjellrunn frowned and shook her head.

  ‘Because the Vigilants tried to break me and I never gave up hope, though Frøya knows it was hard sometimes.’

  ‘So you’re a folk hero. Fine.’ Kjellrunn glowered at him. ‘Well, if you must go to war you can damn well promise me two things.’

  ‘Of course,’ he replied.

  ‘Don’t get yourself killed, and stop wearing your girlfriend’s cloak. Be a man and buy your own.’

  Steiner grinned, but Kjellrunn stalked off. She’d hidden her fear and her anger in the joke, but it remained all the same. She’d just got her brother back, and here he was desperate to get himself killed again.

  Mistress Kamalov stood at the prow, not in her guise as the bent and stooped widow of the woods, but the imperious and watchful rogue Vigilant that Kjellrunn liked best.

  ‘Give him time,’ was all she said before Kjellrunn could even put her thoughts in order.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Steiner. He has been through a lot,
and none of us acts wisely when we’re in the throes of grief. It’s easier to be angry than let ourselves be touched by pain, and Steiner has a lot of anger against the Empire.’

  Kjellrunn nodded, seeing the sense of it.

  ‘And you have been through a lot too, Kjellrunn. You have learned a lot in a very short space of time, a dangerous amount even. You have killed and lost loved ones. You have given up your home. All these things need time, just like any other wound.’

  ‘I need something to hold on to,’ said Kjellrunn after listening to the sea wash against the prow.

  ‘Something I can give you, perhaps?’

  ‘Certainty.’

  Mistress Kamalov barked a coarse laugh. ‘There is precious little of that in this cruel world.’

  ‘What will we do next?’ She toyed with the hammer brooch Marek had given her. ‘Where will we go?’

  Mistress Kamalov shrugged and turned to look across the main deck and the quarterdeck. Kjellrunn followed her gaze. Tief was telling tales to a crowd of novices, while Kristofine chatted to Sundra and Taiga. Kimi and Marozvolk were nowhere to be seen, huddled up below decks if Kjellrunn had to guess. Maxim had taken to following Marek around the ship wherever he went, and the blacksmith didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘They will all want to go to different places,’ said Mistress Kamalov. ‘And Steiner may have rescued them, but he isn’t responsible for them, though he may think otherwise right now.’ The old woman turned to Kjellrunn, her eyes bright and gaze firm. ‘Where do you want to go?’

  ‘Away from the Empire,’ said Kjellrunn. ‘Somewhere I can learn to use my powers. I nearly lost control in the forest and it …’ She chewed her lip.

  ‘And it scared you.’

  Kjellrunn nodded, remembering the vortex of earth and broken branches, the way the men had been flung around the clearing, mashed into bloody pulp.

  ‘We will go south and I will teach you, Kjellrunn. Of that I am certain.’ Mistress Kamalov gave a crooked smiled and sighed contentedly. ‘And now I am going below to sleep for as long as I can.’