by K J Taylor
Kullervo turned to her. ‘We’re done for,’ he said. ‘The Unpartnered will destroy the city. It’ll be Skenfrith all over again. We’ve got to do something.’
‘Like what?’ Laela said sharply.
‘Leave!’ Kullervo urged. ‘Run away! Or surrender. If we take Caedmon’s offer …’
‘Too late for that,’ said Laela.
‘The Mighty Skandar has lost his territory,’ said Senneck. ‘This Shar is stronger than I thought.’
‘Is that so?’ Laela snarled at her, and walked off.
Kullervo followed anxiously. ‘What are we going to do? What are we going to do?’
Laela rounded on him. ‘Just shut up, will yeh? I don’t bloody know what we’re gonna do, all right? I’m callin’ an emergency meetin’ of the Council.’
They hurried on down toward the Council Chamber. But Laela didn’t need to call anything. The Council was already there, along with plenty of other griffiners.
Laela unceremoniously climbed onto her platform. ‘Skandar’s gone, and the Unpartnered have betrayed us,’ she said abruptly. ‘We need t’come up with a plan, an’ fast.’
‘Surrender,’ a councillor said immediately. ‘We have no other choice.’
Laela opened her mouth to reply, but a sudden commotion made everyone stop.
A griffiner and her partner had pushed their way into the meeting. Ignoring the Council, the griffiner went straight to Laela’s platform and glared up at her.
‘Lady Arwydd,’ said Laela. ‘What do yeh want?’
Wydd’s face was full of fury. ‘I know what to do,’ she said. She raised her voice and spoke to the whole chamber. ‘I know exactly what to do.’ She turned to Laela, and spat at her feet. ‘I’m leaving. You’re a monster, and Essh and I are going to join up with our rightful leader.’
Rage suffused Laela’s own face. ‘Arrest her!’ she roared.
Several councillors moved toward Arwydd. But then the Master of Healing suddenly rushed forward. His griffin shoved the other councillors aside, and in a moment the pair of them had joined Wydd and Essh and were fleeing from the chamber.
Chaos erupted around the Queen’s platform. The two rebel griffins seized their humans and flew away through the openings in the ceiling before anyone could stop them. But that wasn’t all.
Everywhere in the gallery, other griffiners were leaving. As if acting on some plan they had made beforehand, they climbed onto their partners and flew away after Arwydd. More followed them — even some of the newer griffiners who had come as freed slaves from Amoran.
Worse, half the Council went as well. The Master of Law followed the Master of Healing, and the Masters of Building and Trade were quick to follow.
By the time the confusion had died down, only a bare handful of griffiners remained. Former slaves, Akhane’s Amorani friends, and the Southerners Kullervo had brought.
In the silence that followed, Kullervo could only stare in utter shock.
Laela stood there frozen for a moment. Then, utterly expressionless, she strode out of the Council Chamber without a word.
Kullervo looked at Senneck. ‘What are we going to do?’ he asked weakly.
Senneck looked inexplicably calm, even to him. ‘Your sister has destroyed herself,’ she said. ‘We should not stay here.’
THIRTY-SIX
THE WHEEL TURNS
Caedmon didn’t waste any time once the Unpartnered had joined him. By evening, his followers had completely surrounded the city. Griffins went up onto the walls and disabled the giant bows, destroying them through sheer weight of numbers. Once they had done that they took up station on the walls, festooning every rampart like flocking pigeons. But they didn’t enter the city itself.
Caedmon, supported by dozens of loyal griffiners, stood by while Shar screeched a warning at the Eyrie. ‘Surrender! Surrender now! This is your last chance! Surrender now or die!’
Kullervo, remaining loyally by Laela’s side, heard it and grimaced in fright. ‘We’ve got to do what she says.’
Laela scowled. ‘No.’
Kullervo stared at her. ‘What? Are you mad? You know what’ll happen if we don’t!’
‘I don’t care,’ said Laela. ‘This is my home an’ my throne, an’ they ain’t takin’ either one without a fight.’
‘But people will die!’
‘So what?’ said Laela. ‘What do I care? I got no friends here, an’ neither have you. It’s all about fear an’ control. The throne’s still mine, an’ I’ll stay on it until I’m dead.’
‘But all those people in the city — there are innocent people there who’ll die!’
Laela shrugged.
Kullervo’s face slackened in disbelief. ‘How could you be so callous?’
Laela prodded him unpleasantly. ‘I tell yeh, Kullervo, it’s a good thing you’re never gonna rule a damn thing. Yer too soft by half. Take it from me, griffin-boy, nobody ever got a throne or kept it without bein’ callous. I learned that from our dad. Yeh know why he died in the end? Yeh know why he lost everything? It’s ’cause he started caring. Havin’ a heart doesn’t work for a man with no pulse. He was doin’ fine until then.’
‘He saved your life!’ said Kullervo. ‘The Night God wanted him to kill you!’
Laela shrugged again. ‘An’ now he’s gone. These days I never get nothin’ but grief from family.’
‘I’m your family,’ Kullervo pointed out.
‘Yeah, an’ yer givin’ me grief now. Go away.’
‘You’re mad,’ said Kullervo.
Laela rubbed her face. ‘Just go away. I ain’t gonna tell yeh again.’
Kullervo couldn’t think of anything else to say. He left, hating himself for being such a coward.
The moment they were out of earshot, Senneck came to his side. Keeping pace with him, she lowered her head to speak into his ear. ‘Lady Isleen wishes to speak with you. Come with me now.’
Kullervo followed her. ‘What does Isleen want?’
‘She will tell you. Come.’
Senneck didn’t take him to Isleen’s temporary home, as he had expected. Instead she led him down the tower then across one of the covered walkways and into one of the adjoining towers, where the lowlier griffiners lived. Kullervo didn’t know the building very well, but Senneck seemed to know exactly where she was going. She loped unhurriedly along a corridor and into a dining hall.
It was full of people. Every one of the Southerners who were staying in the Eyrie was there, along with three of Akhane’s griffiner friends. They were gathered around the table, the humans seated and the griffins sitting on their haunches to take up less space. Kraego was there too, sitting by the door.
Isleen stood up when Kullervo came in. ‘Welcome, Prince Kullervo.’
Kullervo stood in the doorway, bewildered. ‘What’s all this about?’
‘Come in,’ said Isleen. ‘Sit. We need to talk.’
Kullervo took the seat she offered him at the head of the table, thinking that maybe she and her friends had come up with a plan to save Malvern. Once he was seated, Senneck pushed the door shut with her beak and sat down in front of it so that it couldn’t be opened again.
Everyone there focused their attention on Kullervo. He shifted nervously, and looked at Isleen. ‘What is it? What’s so important?’
Isleen glanced at her friends, and got several encouraging nods. She took her cue, and coughed. ‘Ahem … Prince Kullervo, before I begin I want to give you my assurance that everyone in this room can be trusted. All of us are true believers, and we’ve taken oaths that none of what’s discussed here will be shared with anyone else.’
‘That’s good, but what are we discussing?’ Kullervo began to get impatient.
‘Malvern’s future,’ said Isleen. ‘And the future of the North.’
‘You have an idea, then?’ said Kullervo.
‘We do,’ said Isleen. She smiled at him. ‘When I first saw you, I admit that I didn’t know what to make of you. You didn’t look like
a noble, and you were alone except for your very fine partner.’ She nodded respectfully to Senneck.
‘Go on,’ the brown griffin said impatiently.
‘But when I saw your wings, everything fell into place for me,’ Isleen resumed. ‘I knew that you had been sent as a sign, a message from Gryphus.’
Kullervo’s eyes narrowed. ‘I told you: I’m not holy and I didn’t come from Gryphus, or any god.’
‘But that doesn’t matter,’ Isleen said smoothly. ‘Gryphus works in mysterious ways, and I believe that you’ve been carrying his message all this time without even realising it.’
Kullervo sighed. ‘Stop it. What do you want from me?’
‘Fine.’ Isleen pulled herself up. ‘I’ll tell you what’s become apparent to all of us here, and to your partner. Your sister has failed. The dark griffin is dead, and she is not a griffiner any more. Very soon she will have lost her throne to this Caedmon, and the chance to make peace between North and South will be gone.’
‘I know,’ said Kullervo. ‘That’s why we have to do something, and fast.’
‘Exactly,’ said Isleen. She coughed again. ‘The law says that when an Eyrie Master or Mistress loses their partner, he or she must immediately step down. An Eyrie can’t be ruled by anyone except a griffiner. Your sister is a queen, but she still qualifies as an Eyrie Mistress.’
‘She’s still queen,’ said Kullervo.
‘Possibly.’ Isleen sniffed. ‘We in the South have no hereditary rulers, and normally when an Eyrie Mistress steps down her replacement is chosen by the council, usually from among its ranks. In this case, however, I assume that your sister’s succession is hereditary. And with no children, her only heir is you.’
Kullervo choked. ‘What? You want me to take over?’
‘You’re the logical choice,’ Isleen said blandly. ‘And your partner tells us that your sister has already decided that if anything happened to her, you would succeed her.’
‘Nothing has happened to her,’ said Kullervo. ‘She’s fine.’
‘But unpartnered,’ said Isleen. ‘And without a council. She has all but lost her power. With most of the griffiners in the Eyrie gone, we outnumber the rest, and if we put our support behind you, you could seize the throne without any trouble.’
‘I don’t want it,’ said Kullervo.
‘But we do,’ one of the other Southerners put in. ‘We want to follow you, sacred messenger.’
‘I’m not — ’ Kullervo began.
‘Listen to me,’ Isleen said sharply. ‘Something must be done. Your sister won’t listen to reason, and if you stand by and do nothing now then Malvern will be destroyed and all of us along with it. Someone has to act decisively, and you’re the only one in the right position to do it.’
‘But how will that help?’ said Kullervo. ‘Caedmon will kill us all no matter who’s on the throne.’
‘Agreed,’ said Isleen. ‘But you’ll have us. Depose your sister. Once you’re crowned, you’ll be in a position to negotiate with Caedmon. Make a truce, find some terms that appeal to him. Once the rebels have been neutralised, my friends and I can act. We may be from different Eyries, but we have a common goal. Once we send word back to our home territories, we can bring hundreds of faithful griffiners here. The North will be ours in a week.’
Kullervo gaped. ‘An invasion?’
‘Support,’ Isleen corrected. ‘For you, King Kullervo.’
‘But …’ said Kullervo. ‘But … but I … and you … We can’t do this …!’
‘Isleen is right,’ Senneck interrupted. ‘I have been speaking with her and all the others here. We made this plan while you were gone, and we have agreed that the time has come for you to claim the power that should be yours.’
Kullervo stood up. ‘No. I can’t betray Laela. She’s my sister.’
‘She betrayed you,’ Senneck rasped. ‘Or have you forgotten? Who made you watch the torture of Kraeaina kran ae? I know that you have never forgotten it. She calls herself your family and uses your love for her to manipulate you. You have been nothing but her lackey since you came here to Malvern. How many times have you almost died doing her will? She is not family to you, Kullervo. She uses you, and you allow it. And now she has told you that she will allow you and all your friends to die for the sake of her pride. That is betrayal.’
Kullervo quailed. ‘She gave me a home. She’s the only family I’ve got.’
‘No,’ said Senneck. ‘We are your family. Who has been more loyal to you than me?’
‘And us?’ said Isleen.
‘And me,’ added Kraego. ‘You raised me like your own son.’
‘You led all of us,’ said one of the Southerners. ‘You showed us your way, and we came here because we loved you.’
‘You’ve been like a father to us all,’ said Isleen. ‘Now we ask for you to lead us one more time. To save lives, and undo your father’s crimes. We Southerners are the only way to save Malvern, and you know it.’
‘You will not need to hurt your sister,’ Senneck added. ‘She has done enough, and now she must rest.’
Kullervo frowned. ‘Well …’
‘And remember that she has no partner,’ said Kraego. ‘My father is gone.’
‘But Skandar wasn’t her partner,’ Kullervo said quietly. ‘Oeka is.’
Senneck snorted. ‘Oeka is as good as dead. I saw that she would destroy herself with her mad quest for power, and I fooled her. Now she is nothing. A broken husk — ’
She broke off mid-sentence. Her eyes squeezed closed, and an ugly gurgling sound came from her throat.
‘What — ?’ Isleen began. But then she too stopped speaking. She fell forward onto the table and began to convulse.
Off to the left, one of the Amoranis gave a strangled cry and collapsed. Then, one by one, every single conspirator, human and griffin alike, went the same way. Within moments, the room was full of cries of pain. Griffins rasped and threw themselves against the walls, humans clutched at their heads.
Above them all, something huge and horrible rose into the air. Something that looked like a griffin — or the coloured shadow of one. A griffin whose expanded mind had finally been roused out of its madness by the sound of treacherous words in the Eyrie she had once ruled. A voice screeched through every mind, including Kullervo’s. Liars! Traitors! Enemies!
Only Kullervo was unaffected. ‘Oeka!’ he shouted.
The mental projection grew darker and denser. I see all. I see your thoughts. Your treacherous, scheming thoughts! You cannot hide from me. I will kill you all …
Screams split the air. One young woman, a Southerner, curled up into a ball like a dying insect. Moments later she went limp. Dead.
Panicking, Kullervo ran to Senneck and tried to hold her still. She thrust her head into his arms. Blood was starting to bead around her eyelids. ‘Kullervo,’ she gurgled. ‘You must help … only you can reach her now …!’ Her voice ran out.
Kullervo stood there, frozen in horror, watching as his friends started to die. In his arms, Senneck faltered and twitched as Oeka’s power began to destroy her mind. Kraego collapsed at his feet, whimpering in pain.
Kullervo snapped. He let go of Senneck and sprinted out of the room, back to the Council Tower. From there he went down and down, running as he had never run before, spiralling along the endless passageways and onto the ground floor. From there he found the entrance to the crypts, and nearly fell down the steps.
Oeka knew he was coming. She started to try and attack him, thrusting into his mind. Pain lanced through his head, but it wasn’t enough to slow him down. His thoughts were clear. Even now, Oeka could not hurt him.
Down in the crypt, Kullervo ran to the middle of the room and threw himself down by Oeka’s limp body. The pain in his head grew as he reached out to touch her. Oeka was frantic now. She knew what he was doing. Confusion raged through his mind, his vision wavered, and he started to feel sick.
He could feel his talons growing longer. No killing,
he thought. Never kill again!
But the thought of Senneck’s death was too much. His beloved Senneck was enough to make him do anything.
Fighting off the mass of visions flickering through his mind, Kullervo lifted Oeka’s small head in his hand and effortlessly slashed her throat wide open with his talons. Blood gushed out, and the visions vanished at once, showing him a clear image of the limp body in front of him. He let go of her, unable to tell if she was dead or not. Her body was so close to death already that the signs were nearly impossible to see. And then …
Pain blinded Kullervo. All thought was wiped out of his mind, by a scream that became the whole world.
Then it stopped.
Kullervo opened his eyes, and found himself lying on the ground. He sat up, blinking away a headache, and tentatively touched Oeka’s body. There was no sign of a pulse, and the shallow breathing had stopped. She was dead.
Shakily, Kullervo got up and left the crypt as quickly as he could. The moment he felt strong enough he started to run again, back to the hall. The pain and the unearthly voice had left his mind, and only one word was left — his own word, repeating itself every time his feet thudded onto the ground. Senneck!
He found the hall door ajar and shoved it aside.
Senneck was lying where he had left her. Her head was resting on her talons, but when he came closer she raised it and peered unsteadily at him. ‘Kullervo,’ she said in a thin rasp.
Nearby the others were getting up, many of the humans grabbing the table and chairs to support themselves. The air was full of groans and mumblings.
Kullervo knelt by Senneck and took her head in his hands. ‘Are you all right?’
Senneck coughed. ‘When … you left, she saw where you were going. She forgot us and followed you. But she could not … stop you?’
‘No,’ said Kullervo. ‘She’s dead now.’
Senneck breathed in shakily. ‘I knew … that you would save me.’
‘You’re not hurt?’
‘No … Help me.’ Senneck tried to stand up. Kullervo helped her, and she was able to find her paws. She started to groom herself, mostly out of nervousness, and Kullervo felt light with relief. She was fine.
