The Shadow's Heart

by K J Taylor

  The two groups broke up and filed over to the ramp that led down into the tower. The griffiners there who lived in Malvern flew away instead, returning to their homes via the outside exits. Senneck and Kullervo went that way too. Kullervo wanted to see Laela, but he knew she would be too busy for the time being, and he and Senneck should rest and tidy themselves up first anyway.

  Their rooms in the Eyrie hadn’t been used in a long while, of course, but someone had been in and cleaned them out. There was fresh nesting material for Senneck and clean sheets for Kullervo, and a good fire burning. There was even some food laid out for them both, and water boiling for Kullervo to have a bath.

  He bathed, ate and had a nap, glad to be in his own bed again. In her own room Senneck attended to her needs and slept too. She had flown a long way, and she would have to be alert tonight.

  Kullervo was well rested and had just finished putting on some clean clothes when a servant arrived with a summons to go and see Laela in her audience chamber.

  Senneck had woken up by now, and she and Kullervo went up together at once.

  Laela was waiting for them in the marble audience chamber, but thankfully Skandar wasn’t with her. She hugged Kullervo. ‘I’m so glad yer back.’

  ‘Me too.’ Kullervo grinned shyly.

  Laela was looking up at him. ‘Holy gods, were yeh always this tall?’ She exclaimed a moment later, as her brain caught up with her eyes: ‘Good Gryphus, what happened? Yer a bloody giant! Tell me yeh weren’t always like that, please.’

  ‘I wasn’t,’ said Kullervo. ‘I grew a lot while I was away.’

  Laela raised an eyebrow. ‘You ain’t gonna keep on doin’ it, are yeh? Yeh won’t be able t’get through doors if yeh do.’

  ‘No, it’s all right, I’ve finished now.’ Kullervo felt himself blushing. ‘But you’ve changed too, you know.’

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ said Laela. ‘Everyone’s changed. C’mon, sit down an’ let’s talk.’

  Kullervo took the chair she offered him. ‘Laela, why is Skandar here? Where did he come from?’

  ‘I would like to know that as well,’ said Senneck. ‘I heard that he had left Malvern with his human. Why is he back?’

  ‘He decided to come,’ said Laela. ‘An’ I talked him into helpin’ me. He wanted t’rule again, he needed a human t’do it, an’ … well, there yeh go. Plus, he’s angry with Saeddryn. She made Arenadd run off, after all.’

  ‘And Oeka?’ said Senneck. ‘Where is she?’

  Laela’s mouth tightened. ‘Well … her body’s down in the crypt. Nobody knows where her mind is.’

  Senneck had become very still. ‘She has finished working her magic?’

  ‘I s’pose,’ said Laela. ‘Couldn’t get much sense out of her. She drove poor Yorath insane. He locked himself in the library an’ filled a book up with horrible stuff. Wouldn’t sleep or eat or do anythin’ except write nonsense. He died when he was finished. Just put his head down on the book an’ died. As for Oeka … we see her every now an’ then. As a vision, I mean. She talks sometimes, but it’s all gibberish. She talks to people who ain’t there, griffins who died years ago … last time it was the Mighty Kraal, an’ before that it was someone called Hemant, whoever that is. Was.’

  If Senneck felt any triumph at that moment, she didn’t show it. ‘I warned her,’ she said. ‘She did not listen, and now she has paid the price. The griffish mind and body were never meant to contain so much power. No living creature can do that. Your partner is insane now and will never recover. She has lost everything.’

  ‘I know,’ Laela said grimly. ‘Now, Kullervo — tell me about yer trip, why don’t yeh? An’ tell me how yeh got so big while yer at it!’

  Kullervo nodded cheerfully. ‘I’ll do my best!’

  He described his and Senneck’s journey, leaving nothing out. Laela listened with interest, particularly when he talked about his unnatural growth spurt. She asked a few questions, but not too many until he reached the part about the temple in Maijan.

  ‘Wait, yer sayin’ yeh couldn’t go in there?’

  ‘I could, but I didn’t like it,’ said Kullervo. He rubbed his hands nervously. ‘If I had any doubt about whose son I was, it’s gone now. You told me about how he couldn’t go into holy places. Now I know they have a bad effect on me, too.’

  ‘It didn’t hurt yeh, did it?’ Laela looked anxious, and more of her old accent had come back.

  ‘No, I’m fine. I just felt sick and nervous.’ Kullervo took a deep breath and continued with his story. He even told her about how Vander and Inva had become a couple. The only part he left out was his own love for Senneck. It was too complicated and strange, and he was too shy about it anyway.

  Laela took all this in, and smiled when he told her about Inva. ‘That’s nice. I always thought she was lonely here. An’ if Vander’s retired, then maybe he’ll stay with her. I’m glad Vander’s here, too.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Kullervo.

  ‘I’ve met him before,’ said Laela. ‘He was a big help in Amoran. I’m thinkin’ he’ll give us more good advice now if we ask. Did he tell yeh he knew our father? Before they met in Amoran, I mean.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. He knew him when he was just a boy, back in Eagleholm. I dunno much more than that, but they had a history. I listened in on ’em once, an’ by the sounds of it Vander saved his life … So, is that everythin’?’

  ‘I think so,’ said Kullervo.

  ‘Good.’ Laela clapped him on the shoulder. ‘It’s good t’have yeh back, Kullervo. I’ve missed yeh. Livin’ here like this gets lonely.’

  ‘I know,’ said Kullervo. ‘I mean, I can guess.’ He looked proudly at her. ‘But it looks like you didn’t need my help much. You’ve done so much while I was gone!’

  ‘Done this an’ that.’ Laela shrugged. ‘It’s all just busywork when all’s said an’ done. But the cities are secure, Caedmon’s disappeared, an’ everything’s just about how I’d like it t’be. But not quite.’

  ‘Not quite?’ Kullervo put his head on one side, griffin-like.

  ‘No. It ain’t gonna be right until Saeddryn’s dealt with. As long as she’s out there we’ll never be safe.’

  ‘Is she doing anything, though?’ asked Kullervo.

  ‘She is,’ said Laela. ‘She hasn’t tried comin’ back to Malvern, but she’s been seen in the cities. She’s killed a lot of people. Some of ’em were my officials. She even killed two of my new governors. For effect, mostly. She got to ’em from behind locked doors or in front of other people who never saw her.’

  Kullervo shuddered. ‘That’s horrible!’

  ‘Scare tactics,’ said Laela, almost dismissively. ‘They’re workin’, though. It looks bad, see. Makes us look weak for not bein’ able to stop her or even find her. But there’s nothin’ we can do about it that I’ve been able t’figure out. I thought maybe Skandar could do somethin’, but fat chance of gettin’ him t’do anything he doesn’t want to.’ She scowled.

  ‘Why wouldn’t he help you fight her?’ asked Kullervo. ‘She’s his enemy as well, isn’t she?’

  ‘I dunno,’ said Laela. ‘It doesn’t make much sense. He’s got this bad habit of not goin’ where I ask him to. I make plans t’go to Skenfrith, he flies to Fruitsheart. I say let’s go to Warwick, he flies to Wolf’s Town. Even if he says he’s gonna go where I decide, he changes his mind at the last moment. There’s not a damn thing I can do about it. Anyway, I don’t reckon he could find her even if he wanted to. Shadows That Walk ain’t that easy to find, not even for him.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ said Kullervo. ‘But maybe Akhane can help you.’

  Laela smiled. ‘I’m sure he will, one way or another.’

  ‘What about me, then?’ said Kullervo, getting to the question he wished to ask the most. ‘I’ve done what you wanted me to.’

  ‘An’ yeh did a good job of it,’ said Laela. ‘If yeh want a reward, name it.’

  ‘Well …’ Kullervo looked at
the floor. ‘Well, er … Senneck was saying that maybe … er, that maybe we could have an official position of some kind.’

  ‘Done,’ Laela said immediately.

  Kullervo looked up. ‘What, just like that? What position is it?’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ said Laela. ‘You’ve already got an important position — the position of bein’ my brother. Do yeh really think yer inferior to all them lords and ladies what yeh saw up there today? They’re just griffiners. Masters, sure, but you’re a prince, ain’t yeh? You’re higher’n the lot of them put together.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Kullervo. ‘Yes, I see.’

  ‘No, yeh don’t,’ Laela said firmly. ‘You’re King Arenadd’s son, so that makes yeh a prince. An’ don’t think I’ve forgotten that. While you were away, I drew up some documents recognisin’ you as my brother and Prince of Malvern. An’ if anythin’ happens to me an’ I die without an heir, you’ll be king. If I have any children an’ they’re orphaned, you’ll be their guardian an’ you’ll be Regent until they’re old enough. There. Hope that makes yeh feel important enough.’ She grinned.

  Kullervo reddened. ‘I’m not sure I deserve — ’

  ‘Yes, yeh do,’ Laela cut him off. ‘Yer a prince, so yeh can damn well act like one. I ain’t havin’ none of this I-ain’t-worthy crap, understand?’

  ‘Of course.’ Kullervo rubbed his forehead. ‘And … thank you. Is there anything you want me to do now, though?’

  ‘Yeah. Rest an’ recuperate, an’ come to the feast tonight for some grub.’

  ‘And after that?’

  ‘Sleep it off an’ hope yeh ain’t too hung over tomorrow,’ Laela cackled.

  ‘I don’t drink,’ Kullervo said rather primly.

  ‘Suit yerself.’ Laela saw his disappointed expression and caved in. ‘Oh, all right. There’s somethin’ else I was thinkin’ I might ask yeh to do. I was gonna leave it for a bit before I asked, though; let yeh rest a bit first.’

  ‘Tell me about it now,’ said Kullervo. ‘And I can think about it while I rest.’

  ‘All right.’ Laela looked uncertain. ‘Now look, yeh don’t have to do it. It’s a risky plan, an’ I can send someone else if you don’t think yeh can.’

  ‘Try me,’ said Kullervo.

  ‘Right, then.’ Laela took a deep breath. ‘I’ve had plenty of time to think while yeh were away, an’ one of the things I’m thinkin’ now is this. I’ve stayed queen here ’cause my father wanted me to, but also because I knew that if Saeddryn ever took the throne, there’d be war. She was pushin’ for Arenadd to invade the South, see, but he wouldn’t do it. Everyone else disagreed with him, but he never backed down. I think that’s why he made me his heir, ’cause he knew I was born in the South an’ I’d see to it that the invasion didn’t happen. The honest truth is, if I lost out here an’ Saeddryn or Caedmon took the throne, they’d probably go ahead with the plan. The South ain’t ready to be invaded, an’ if it was it’d be terrible. Thousands of people would die. Right now, I’m just about the only thing standin’ in the way of that. An’ maybe, one day, it’ll be your turn. Any case, the South owes us a big favour.’

  ‘So?’ said Kullervo.

  ‘So I’m thinkin’ it’s time we let them know about it,’ said Laela. ‘You an’ me ain’t immortal like our dad. If the South is gonna stay protected, then the only way t’keep it like that is with a treaty. Bring them into this an’ let them help us.’

  ‘You want me to go to them, don’t you?’ said Kullervo. ‘And make this treaty.’

  ‘Yeah, I do,’ said Laela. ‘Someone’s got to do it, an’ even if I don’t like sendin’ yeh out there there’s nobody here who’d be better. You was raised in the South, so yeh know their ways, an’ there’s the winged man thing too if yeh have to use it. But more than that, yer my brother an’ a promise from you’s worth more than anything I could send with Inva. Of course, if yeh don’t want to go I won’t force yeh, but that was the idea I had.’

  Kullervo thought about it. ‘I’d have to visit all the capitals. Canran, Wylam, Withypool and Eagleholm, if it’s still there.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Laela. ‘If everythin’ goes right, yeh could get them to send griffiners here as ambassadors. I’m gonna tell them that if they make peace with us, then I’ll grant them permission to come back here to live if they want to. Even commoners could come back to their old homes. Our lot in the North won’t like it much, but it’s gotta be done. Otherwise we’ll just go on hatin’ each other from a distance an’ get more an’ more scared of each other until the whole thing falls apart.’

  While she talked, Kullervo thought of a place he had visited and never forgotten. Gwernyfed, where Northerners and Southerners lived together in harmony. He had found Senneck there, and had met friendly, honest people who had treated him as an honoured guest and given him everything they had to offer. He had never told anyone about it, not even Laela. Gwernyfed was a secret place, and it had to stay that way. If the Southerners there were ever discovered, they would probably be killed.

  Now, though, he found himself picturing a future where Gwernyfed would not have to be a secret, a future where the two races lived peacefully side by side throughout Tara. Throughout Cymria, even. A future where there would be no more need for pointless hatred, and where his father’s story would never have to be repeated.

  A wonderful excitement and joy rushed through him. ‘I’ll do it!’

  Laela smiled at his enthusiasm. ‘If yeh think yer up to it, then good luck. But yeh oughta talk to Senneck first.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Kullervo turned to see what she thought, but she had disappeared.

  For once in her long and ambitious life, Senneck hadn’t wanted to stay and listen. Even though she knew they would be discussing important things like rewards and advancement, she left the two humans to talk and slipped away through the chamber. A doorway hidden behind a tapestry, led to a corridor that ran around the outside of the chamber and into a luxurious nesting room. Senneck had never seen it before, and she marvelled at the hangings on the walls, the golden drinking trough and the shining gemstones scattered among the nesting material.

  At the moment the nest was unoccupied, but even though she knew she was intruding, she crouched down near the entrance and began to groom. She did so slowly and methodically, preening every feather and licking her fur flat.

  She pretended that she was grooming only to make herself neat, but the truth was that she was doing it out of nervousness as well. And no wonder, given whose nest this was. But despite the danger she would not leave it, and in between bouts of grooming she thrust her beak in among the dry straw and reeds and inhaled deeply, filling her nostrils with the rich, musky odour that had been left there.

  It excited her so much that it made her want to roll and wriggle around in it like a youngster, but she restrained herself. She was too old to let herself be so undignified.

  And then …

  And then he came.

  He came with almost no sound at all — just a sudden, slick whoosh of wings, and his paws touched the stone with a faint click of talons. One moment she was alone, and the next the stars she had been watching through the archway were blocked out by a massive shadow.

  Unable to stop herself, she moved back and pressed herself to the ground. Fear made her heart beat faster.

  Skandar had already seen her. He came forward, feathers puffed aggressively, and made an ugly rasping hiss.

  For an instant, Senneck nearly panicked. Old memories came back, of a time when she was younger and stronger, but when this griffin had been her enemy — and more than that, he had been the only thing she was afraid of. In all that time during the war she had never met him, or even seen him more than once at at distance, but that had only made him bigger in her mind, and more terrifying.

  Luckily, though, she managed to stop herself from running away. If she had, he would probably have chased her down and killed her. Instead, she stayed where she was and kept her submissive posture
, only raising her head a little so he could see her better.

  ‘Mighty Skandar,’ she hissed back. ‘I am Senneck.’ She knew the name wouldn’t mean anything to him.

  Skandar stopped briefly. ‘Why you here?’

  ‘To find you,’ she said. ‘But not to fight.’ She lowered her voice as she spoke, and it took on a soft, purring tone.

  ‘No griffin fight Mighty Skandar,’ he said roughly, but his feathers had begun to go down.

  ‘Not many,’ she said. ‘And I am so small beside you.’ Her confidence began to return and the fear seeped away. She moved closer, still keeping flat, and took him in properly for the first time. His huge size, the powerful muscles on his flanks and legs only hinting at the enormous strength he could unleash when he wanted to. And the scent as well. It was too dark to see much here, but she could smell him. He smelled of strength and virility, and overwhelming maleness.

  In that moment, as she took in that scent, Senneck knew that she had finally found what she had wanted her whole life. This was the male who embodied everything she had wished for in a mate, this was the one who should give her a new clutch to raise, this was the one she would claim as her own, not to manipulate him or to learn from him, but just to pair with him because she wanted to. It was the closest thing a griffin ever found to true love, and Senneck found it now.

  She advanced on him, lifting her head to rub it under his beak, and purred a rough griffish purr. ‘I am here for you, Mighty Skandar,’ she said. ‘I want you.’

  She didn’t need to say it; she could smell her own odour as it strengthened and changed, sending a signal to him that said more than words ever could.

  Skandar was more than male enough to pick it up. He rubbed against her in return, snuffing at her feathers, and purred as well, though it sounded more like talons on wood.

  ‘Come,’ he said, with surprising gentleness. ‘We fly now. Fly with me.’

  He turned and took off from his balcony, and Senneck went after him.

  It was dark outside, with no moon in sight. Normally a flight like this would happen in daylight, when ordinary griffins like Senneck could see better. But Skandar was a creature of the night, and darkness was where he felt at home. He led her on a chase between the towers of Malvern’s Eyrie, rushing past the openings where candles and lamps cast light over his sleek coat for an instant before he returned to the shadows.