by Tom Lloyd
‘My Lord,’ General Lahk continued, ‘we have no choice now! They’re outnumbered; if we sit and watch they’ll be massacred and we’ll be next.’
‘The last grains are falling,’ came the mocking singsong whisper at the back of his mind.
Isak felt his body go rigid, every muscle tensing as the enormity of the decision crashed down on top of him. The clatter of voices and weapons faded to nothing and he was left in silence, staring out across the untended fields. All he was aware of were the heaving clouds above and the cold taste of mud on the breeze.
The scent of the grave filled his mind. His fists clenched so tightly that his hands shook like an old man’s, but still Isak did nothing but stare over the drab fields where he would die.
Oh Gods, is it really true? I can’t… The thought died unfinished. It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe it; the problem was that he could. What he couldn’t do was disbelieve, though he had tried for months, hoping and praying, ignoring his instincts in favour of the preferable alternatives: possibilities that were all perfectly plausible, even likely…
It changed nothing, for the fact remained that he knew it was coming. The Reapers in his shadow could sense it; they were licking their lips in anticipation of the spirit that would be released when Isak died.
He could not escape it. He could not run, or pretend or delay. The sands of time had run out; he could not abandon his fighting men and turn home again, for they would be slaughtered and that would give the enemy the reason to march north, confident that Isak would do nothing but cower at home.
The Farlan would be broken by a leader who betrayed the men he marched with. He had to give the order, and trust in a quiet little man to save him. He had to ignore the terror and pain and put his entire trust in a man whose whole life was centred on failure.
‘Isak!’ Vesna bellowed, grabbing his arm in a desperate attempt to get a reaction.
Isak flinched, staring wild-eyed at his friend for a moment before obeying the burn in his lungs and gasping for breath like a man emerging from deep water,
‘Go,’ he said, his parched throat making the word an unintelligible mess. Isak coughed and swallowed his fear. ‘Sound the attack,’ he croaked.
I’m frightened.
CHAPTER 35
Kastan Styrax turned the page as his eyes drifted over the words without even registering their meaning. All around him a heavy silence reigned. There was only one other person in the Fearen House, an elderly woman who seemed oblivious of events beyond the library. The fact that Styrax was dressed in a full suit of armour had prompted a puzzled frown when he first entered the building, but it had been momentary.
Had she recalled the provenance of the armour - forged by Aryn Bwr, stripped from the corpse of Prince Koezh Vukotic -that might have sparked her interest, but he guessed she was not sufficiently engaged in the Land’s events to make the connection. He’d discovered that even the sounds of a man moving in heavy armour were not enough to disturb a rather deaf academic.
A few minutes more, Styrax thought with anticipation, and I might just capture your attention.
Without warning the great doors of the main entrance crashed open. Styrax heard Kiallas gasp in shock, but he didn’t look up. He knew who it would be, just as he knew what he was about to say. Brisk footsteps approached the desk, a man determined not to run for his lord, no matter how urgent the news might be.
‘Lord Styrax,’ Larim said, in carefully measured tones. In the stillness the white-eye mage’s deep voice carried all around the room, echoing up from the tiled floor.
‘Lord Larim,’ Styrax acknowledged. At last he lifted his eyes from the book and looked directly at Larim. The man wore the patchwork robes of Larat’s Chosen, but unlike his predecessor, he had no objects of power sewn into the cloth. Here and there were patches that were encased in silver frameworks, charms of all sorts, but they were all minor, defensive. ‘You bring news?’
‘Your wyvern has been loaded and awaits your order.’
‘Excellent,’ Styrax said with a smile. ‘How fares the battle?’
Larim shrugged. ‘They attack, we defend.’
Styrax could see the man was surreptitiously trying to identify the open book on the desk and he smiled inwardly. Clearly Larim hadn’t realised they had been playing red herrings with him, carefully choosing which books he would see whenever he was in the room.
How disappointing of you, Larim. Even Amber caught on to that one. Today he had picked a book almost at random to read. He had finished his research and solved the puzzle of the heart, so now he was simply waiting for the rest of the Land to fall into place around him.
‘A little more detail, if you please.’
Larim’s white eyes gleamed as he fought the urge to retort. The Chosen of Larat remained, at heart, as aggressive and argumentative as any white-eye. The more power they gathered, the less willing they were to accept the authority of any other man.
‘My coterie tells me they have prevented Chalat from breaking the line. The reserves have joined the battle. Lord Isak’s army has not yet engaged; they are stationed in battle order outside Byora.’
‘They will have to join the battle soon,’ Styrax said confidently. ‘Without them Chalat’s troops will be slaughtered.’
‘Why would he hold back?’
‘Why indeed?’ Because there’s something in Byora he wants - that can be the only reason we’ve been promised support from the lovely duchess, and why she will provide it. Our friend the shadow feels the pinch. ‘Go and join General Gaur,’ Styrax said after a moment of thought. ‘I will be along presently.’
‘As you command,’ Larim said icily. He bowed briefly and strode out through the still-open doors. Styrax looked out for a moment and saw the darkening colour of the clouds above the cliff-wall.
‘Isak Stormcaller,’ he said softly, ‘let me educate you on how a master does it.’
He waited a few minutes to ensure Larim was well on his way out of the valley before closing the book. To his mage’s senses the library felt dull and dormant; the air was so dry to the taste that there was barely even a flicker of anticipation in his stomach for what he was about to do.
Are the years catching up with me, or does this lack the sense of occasion I felt on Thotel’s Temple Plain? he wondered. He stood and looked around the room, ignoring Kiallas’s suspicion look. Gesh, the greatest of the winged white-eyes, had abandoned him for the first time since he had arrived at the library. He was busy overseeing their defences, Styrax imagined, leaving the older but no-less-haughty Kiallas as chaperone. So much the better; Kiallas was by far the stupider of the two.
‘Kiallas,’ he began, noting the slight widening of the eyes, ‘have you ever wondered about the puzzle of the heart?’
The white-eye stared at Styrax for a time, then shook his head. ‘I do not waste my time with childish games.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Styrax agreed, ‘the duty of the guardians of the library is too solemn for that. I would appreciate it, however, if you would indulge me.’ He gestured towards the column in the centre of the library and as he did so, he saw the Litse’s hand tighten on the shaft of his javelin.
With exaggerated care Styrax’s hand went to a sheath on his belt and he pulled out a trio of stilettos, which he fanned out in front of him. Styrax watched the Litse’s face; Kiallas obviously realised it would be foolish to raise the question of what was and wasn’t allowed in the library in terms of weapons.
‘Please take one,’ he said, offering them over hilt-first. Cautiously Kiallas did so, and Styrax walked over to the black stone column. The golden half-sphere at the top gleamed with a warm yellow light, attesting to the purity of the gold that had been used. Styrax knelt down and pointed with one armoured finger to a rune.
‘Do you see this rune? Could you put the tip of that knife to the cross-piece?’
‘What is all this?’
‘I’m going to solve the puzzle, of course, but it requires th
ree daggers to be used at once and I have only two hands. It would be a little undignified if I have to take my boot off,’ he said with an apologetic smile, pointing at his armoured foot.
Kiallas didn’t share the humour, but it seemed to do the trick nonetheless. Javelin still at the ready, the Litse knelt and placed the stiletto at the appropriate spot, while still contriving to keep his spine as upright as possible. Styrax walked to the other side and took up position. He took a moment to identify the correct runes, then placed the knife-points at the centre of each, one on a horizontal bar across the rune, the other vertical.
‘On the count of three, push the stiletto into the stone,’ he said.
Kiallas peered around the monument at him. ‘In?’
‘It will go easily enough. One, two, three.’
The two men slid the stilettos forward in unison, and both felt something inside give way under the pressure. The thin-bladed knives pushed smoothly into the rock until their hilts met the column.
‘Now we will turn the whole column to the right,’ he said, ‘using the handles.’ Kiallas, now intrigued, did as he was told and they found it turned with oiled ease until it came to an abrupt halt. Styrax smiled. ‘At this point, if it hadn’t been for Major Amber, I might have looked a little silly.’ He drew one of the stilettos halfway out and turned the column an eighth of a circle back the way it had come. ‘Impatience will do that, I suppose,’ he added, watching the column rise very slightly as the base moved onto what looked like a sloped track.
Kiallas didn’t reply. He was still staring in wonder at the column which had never moved an inch throughout his entire life. Styrax didn’t take the lack of conversation to heart; that would be churlish under the circumstances.
Instead, he was still smiling amiably when he whipped one of the stilettos out of the column and into Kiallas’s neck.
The razor-sharp blade slid into flesh and bone even more easily than it had into the stone. Kiallas continued to look surprised as his fingers loosened from the knife hilt and his corpse overbalanced. He sprawled untidily on the floor, trapping one elegant wing under his body.
‘Interested yet, dear?’ Styrax said quietly to the elderly scholar.
Her head remained bent over a parchment; she appeared to have noticed none of the drama being acted out ten yards from where she sat.
‘No? Well, I shall not be deterred,’ he said and crouched a little lower. He placed his hands on either side of the column and tensed his massive shoulders. With one smooth movement he lifted the column up a good eight inches and let it fall to one side. The solid block hit the tiled floor with an enormous crash, shattering the tiles underneath and - finally - causing the old woman to shriek in alarm.
Styrax respectfully inclined his head to her before looking down into the hole in the ground. There, nestled in a close-fitting depression and surrounded by markings in the same script as those on the column, was a Crystal Skull.
‘The Skull of Blood,’ he said to himself. ‘Three down, nine to go.’ He paused. ‘Two of which are about to be delivered to me.’
He reached down and pulled the Skull free. He felt a shudder run through the building, followed by a sudden rushing sound that he sensed as much as heard. He stood, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs, and a gasp of pleasure grew into a great laugh as he felt magic flood through his body.
The cool air shimmered all around him as the spell was broken and magic returned to the valley, rolling down from the heavens to fill the parched ground with tang and fire, swirling around Styrax like a lightning-filled storm-cloud.
He blinked as the colours of the Fearen House blazed brighter and more brilliant, while the weight of his armour disappeared. In the grim winter light, tinted in Styrax’s eyes by the aching absence of magic, the Fearen House had looked impressive, but soulless. Now he took a moment to admire the building anew, wondering at the glorious grandeur of the high walls and their vibrant, gold-edged flags, staring up at the intricate carvings on the dome’s supporting beams.
A soft sound beyond normal hearing drifted through the room and broke his concentration. His quivering senses immediately snapped to attention as he became aware of a slow sense of vastness coming awake: a mind, huge and ancient, but not yet aware.
‘Ah yes, the guardian,’ he said, looking down at the discarded stone column. With magic coursing through his body the gold looked dull, insignificant. ‘The threat that has stayed countless hands. Zhia Vukotic, let this be an object lesson; I am not like the rest of humanity.’
Styrax pushed the Crystal Skull to his chest and held it there until the object melted into the black whorled metal. That done, he headed for the doorway, collecting his helm as he passed and giving the old woman another respectful nod. ‘You might want to stay there and keep quiet,’ he advised cheerily. ‘The librarian is in something of a mood.’
As he walked outside and saw the first shocked faces, Styrax felt the awakening mind growing stronger and more distinct. Looking over towards the gate he saw more Litse guardians milling in disarray, their panicked voices lost on the wind. Through them raced his wyvern, its powerful legs driving it forward in leaping strides until it had the space to unfurl its wings and push up into the sky. It drove forward thirty yards towards its master, but instead of landing in front of him, the creature hung uncertainly in the air, sensing that strange mind.
‘Come here,’ Styrax growled, letting a shred of magic roll out with his words, redoubling the charm placed on the creature many months ago. It obeyed without a second thought, darting forward so quickly the beastmaster on its back yelped in surprise.
It landed and dipped its head so low it ran its throat over the grass at Styrax’s feet. He reached down and patted it, and the wyvern turned its sinuous neck to watch him mount while the beastmaster scrambled off the other side.
‘Run,’ Styrax ordered the man, ‘run for the gate and try to catch up with Lord Larim. Everyone else is panicking, so don’t worry about being stopped, just make sure you’re not here in a minute’s time.’
‘What’s happening, my Lord?’ the man yelled, and as though in reply the ground trembled and shuddered like an earthquake.
‘Something even a lifetime in your profession could not hope to control,’ Styrax replied. ‘Now run, you damn fool!’
The man didn’t wait any longer and scrambled back the way he had come, towards the gate leading to Ismess. Styrax checked his saddle and found Elements and Destruction, the two Skulls he had been made to leave in the guardhouse before he entered the library, along with Kobra, his massive fanged broadsword. Its black surface was dull and faded, for it had been starved of both blood and magic for weeks, but some of the lustre returned when he slipped Destruction over the sword’s guard. The other he added to his chest as he clipped his dragon belt onto the wyvern’s saddle. Above the valley, the air began to shimmer and tremble as the mountain itself heaved underfoot.
Styrax looked around at the library and gave a grunt of acknowledgement. ‘It appears everything has gone to plan,’ he commented to the wyvern as he gathered the reins that had been tied to the horn of the saddle.
A shadowy blur flashed past his eyes and his sword was drawn and raised in an instant - but the blur continued past him and stopped beside the monument to Leitah a dozen yards away. His mouth filled with the bitter, coppery tang of magic, but even as he drew on the Skulls fixed to his armour, the dark swirls evaporated to reveal a figure in armour very like his own. The ground shook once again, even harder than before, accompanied by the groan of tortured rock.
The figure turned to look at him. Styrax knew immediately who it was, and why the black whorl-patterned armour completely enclosed the body, hiding it from the weak sun. He looked back and saw another figure on the cliff behind. The distance was too great to make out much more than a black silhouette against the sky, but he did not need to guess its identity.
‘Surely not here for revenge?’ he murmured, readying his defences.
&nb
sp; As though in response the armoured figure turned appraisingly to the great crescent-shaped mound of earth that sheltered the monument.
So, Zhia, what do you do now? Nai wasn’t wrong when he said the face on the monument looked familiar, was he? You brought your father’s corpse here for a final resting place and set a terrible guard - Styrax stopped dead. Gods. Unless I’ve underestimated you…
‘Leave now,’ Zhia called over the sound of a mountain trembling, her voice rolling like thunder around the valley. ‘Leave, or we will kill you.’
Styrax looked back at the other figure, who drew his sword to add weight to the point. Both with Skulls, two immortals together? Not the best odds.
Zhia did not wait for a reply but kicked the stone monument. The solid block tipped onto its side as easily as an upturned chair, but Styrax felt the heavy thump reverberate up through the wyvern’s body as tonnes of stone were smashed asunder.
‘Leave!’ she commanded with bone-shaking volume. Styrax knew he wouldn’t get another warning. He gave the reins a tug, but the wyvern had no wish to linger in the presence of these alarmingly powerful creatures and hurriedly began flexing its pale blue wings before leaping up into the sky. Three strong strokes took them to cliff level and into a rising thermal before Styrax wheeled the beast around so he could watch events unfold beneath him.
The sour taste of having been bested filled his mouth. He watched as Zhia looked once more at the mound of earth beside her, then she punched the underside of the monument with her mailed fist. The stone shattered under the impact and Styrax saw a momentary blaze of white light burst out.
If her father’s grave was underneath the monument, she paid it no attention - but that hardly surprised Styrax as he realised what she was doing. She hit the underside of the stone again, and again, and as the shards of stone fell to the ground a massive pulse of energy was expelled.
