He turned onto a quiet street that led directly to the Cragg. A little girl was leaning out of an upper floor window, moving her blue frocked doll so its button eyes could follow him along the street. As he passed beneath, she waved its hand – but he didn’t wave back. Further on, a bald man was slumped in the doorway of a watchmaker’s shop. A quick glance at his tattered cloak and filthy stubble marked him as a beggar and a sign on the shop door above him read: Back at noon tomorrow. He had found a comfortable place from which to solicit spare change. But it was a poor choice as all the money was flowing up and down Reader Way. As he walked by, the beggar lifted his head. ‘Pssst’
He didn’t slow or even look in his direction. He had never been one to encourage beggars and wouldn’t have tossed him a coin even if he’d had a pocket full. But once he was past, the man got to his feet and called after him. ‘Ormis.’
He turned and after a deeper appraisal spoke his name. ‘Hayhas!’
‘Come quickly. You’re being followed.’ And without further explanation the shabby exorcist walked past him and hurried down a narrow alley.
Ormis looked back down the street and saw a man ducking into a doorway directly below the little girl. She was leaning further out now; angling the doll so it could see where he was hiding. But Ormis didn’t wait to see if he would reappear. He backed up and ran after Hayhas, catching him up at the end of the alley. They jumped a wall, crossed several back yards and were soon making their way down a street lined with houses that had been razed by the recent fire – black ruins that still smoked and smelt of charred wood. Hayhas turned onto a narrow street and after a quick look back to ensure they weren’t being followed, went to the red door of a timber framed house and pushed it open. ‘Quick. Before we’re seen.’
Ormis ducked in and stepped into a scullery. Hayhas hurried in behind him, bolted the door and gestured for him to sit at a table. ‘You’ve heard the news?’
‘At the Wall.’
‘Kass was my oldest friend. My only friend if truth be known.’ They locked eyes and Ormis could see the depth of the old man’s sorrow. Someone else might have gripped his shoulder or offered words of condolence. But his noble emotions had gone back to sleep and sympathy was temporarily beyond him.
‘I don’t know how long we’ve got, so I’ll get straight to it… I was the first to confront the spirit the night Kass died. It was sent by Izle and we suspected it might even have been one of his fifteen, but its skull was deformed and its spectre composed of smoke and flame. I tried to draw it, but it was like trying to lift a boulder with a strong sniff and when Kass arrived it swatted me unconscious…
‘I woke in the infirmary and one of the orderlies told me he’d caught someone pressing a pillow to my face. He challenged him and he jumped through a window and ran off. Still weak and unable to get out of bed, I sent word to Lord Beredrim, requesting he pay me an urgent visit. But he never came. The next morning Atto came to see me. He was answering the recall, but the gate guards told him I was in the infirmary and he decided to look in on his way to the Cragg. I shared my concerns and sent him to alert the others. He was to return as soon as he was done, but when he wasn’t back by nightfall, I began to fear the worst. I think I sent him to his death that morning Ormis, I really do.’ He rubbed his face and shook his head. ‘I knew I had to get out of the infirmary, so I shaved my head, swapped clothes with a dead man and left. I came straight here. This is my sister’s house and it’s the only place I felt safe.
‘Kass thought Izle had an end game in the city and what I’ve seen over the past few days confirms it. I saw men I don’t recognize going up and down the Cragg and two of them broke into my home and turned it upside down. What’s more, I got a good look at the man who exorcised the spirit after Kass collapsed. They’re saying he’s an exorcist and in a way they’re right – only he’s another one of Izle’s fifteen. He calls himself Ri Paldren now and he comes and goes from the Black Tower like he owns it.’
He stiffened as a group of men passed by outside, shouting and laughing. ‘I’m getting out of the city with my sister tonight. They’re asking questions and it won’t be long before someone points them in this direction. I stayed only to warn you. We’ve got more men coming in for the recall, but I should be able to stop them before they reach the city… Now tell me your news; Kass told me about your assignment.’
‘Izle’s been living beneath Joebel, on the edge of the Abyss. We think he turned Karkus and his men in much the same way he did the other fifteen and sent them to kidnap the girl. We rescued her, but Izle got away. We think he’s here now.’
‘What did he want with the girl?’
‘Kass told you what the boy said she could do?’
‘He did. Is it true?’
‘It is. She calls it Absence and it’s the reason she got mixed up with Izle in the first place…’ He recounted the girl’s tale, beginning with her encounter with the monster and how she became host to Izle’s extended consciousness. And as he spoke he could see a slow amazement working into the creases of the old exorcist’s face. ‘…Now he’s whole again we think he came here for the Reader Ceremony.’
‘Why?’
‘For another reading.’
Hayhas frowned. ‘Whatever for?’
‘To take possession of the Creator Stone.’
‘The what?’
Ormis repeated everything Della told him at the tower now. Hayhas listened without interruption, but this time he looked affronted; as if each word was unravelling his reality. And when Ormis finished he leant back as if from an enormous meal. ‘That’s some tale.’
‘Do you believe it?’
‘Do you?’
Ormis nodded.
‘I don’t know what to say; it’s almost too much to hear all at once. But if it is true, how does he plan to take the stone? The Reader rejected him once already.’
‘He’s not been idle with his time. What he practises now is nothing you would recognise. Not only can he project his scour, he’s developed a way to bind spirits to jungle creatures. And he’s been using the souls of his followers for this purpose – presumably to ensure their loyalty. We were attacked by two of them. One was bound to a clutter of spiders and the other to a monstrous fish and the water it was swimming in. The girl thinks he’s here for another reading. She believes he’s found a way to hide his foulness from the Reader and I think we should take her seriously.’
Hayhas puffed and shifted in his chair. ‘Today’s the second day of the ceremony and no one of any substance has been up yet. It’s been open readings, but with one difference - the hopefuls have to register at the tower and they’ve been allotted times… New rules decreed by Beredrim they say. But I think this Ri Paldren’s behind it. Most of those who’ve been up so far have been; how can I put it? ... Of interesting pedigree. But it’s proved popular with the people and letting a bunch of drunks and petty criminals have a go certainly adds spice to the proceedings….’ He broke off suddenly, his eyes widening. ‘… He’ll attempt it tonight.’
‘Why?’
‘There’s talk in the city about a man with a chance. He’s a woodcutter from Abroath – a humble man who was bullied by his friends to come. And it’s like most of his village is here to watch. I heard one of them telling how he rebuilt the local school after it was destroyed in a storm and how he took his neighbour’s young sons on when she passed away. Sounds just the sort don’t you think? He’s up tonight and I reckon Izle will be right in front of him. If he’s heard the same talk, he won’t risk this woodcutter getting in before him. He’s probably been waiting for someone like this to come forward so he can take his reading while the walls are packed.’
‘We have to stop him.’
‘I agree, but how?
‘Expose him. Have him arrested.’
‘By whom? If this Ri Paldren character has got some kind of influence over Lord Beredrim, he’s got control of the city guard. We try anything like that and we’ll be staring out fro
m behind bars… If they don’t kill us first.’
‘Then I’ll kill him before he sets foot in the enclosure.’
Hayhas studied him. ‘Sounds good to me, but I don’t think it’ll be that simple. He’ll be well guarded and you’ll have to find him first.’ He got up, shuffled to a cupboard and took out a bundle of clothes. ‘If you’re to have any chance of getting close to him, you’ll have to change your appearance. These beggar’s rags have been working so well for me, I thought I’d get some for you.’ He threw them onto the table. ‘When you dress like this people look straight through you. It’s like you’re invisible… Go on, put them on.’ Ormis wrinkled his nose, but started to change without protest. ‘Take that mist stone off while you’re at it… And that walk of yours. It’s too stiff. You need to tone it down a bit and shed some authority.’ Ormis stepped back from the table when he was done, pulling a loose thread from his frayed cuffs and brushing at some dried food that caked his torn breast pocket. ‘Where’s the girl now?’
‘With Suula and the boy. We took a room in The Daggers and Dice.’
Hayhas frowned. ‘It wouldn’t be my first choice.’
‘Nor mine; but you’ve got to take what’s available during a ceremony.’
‘Get Suula to take them to Bilfrey before you go looking for Izle. If she finds the local Farrier and tells him she’s lost an old horse – he’ll take them somewhere safe. And when you’re done here, do the same. I’ll meet you there.’ They went to the door and shook hands. ‘Good luck Ormis. I hope we meet again, under more favourable circumstances.’
‘Until then.’
Hayhas stuck his head out and looked up and down the street. ‘Quick now, before someone comes.’
Ormis stepped out and strode away. He was halfway down the street when he remembered what Hayhas said about his walk. He tried to relax; to saunter along in the easy way of the visitors when they had all day to kill. But he got the feeling he looked more like those who wandered the asylum and he stiffened into his regular stride; deciding the clothes would have to be enough.
The Daggers and Dice
Della felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes.
‘They brought food,’ said Kye. ‘And it’s not bad.’
She sat up and took the plate he was holding. They were in a first floor room of The Daggers and Dice – a rundown inn currently benefiting from a huge influx of visitors. They had entered via the back door and after being eyed by several rats and a pair of scabby dogs, they were shown to their room by a landlord with a tattooed face and a ring through his nose. There was standing room only in the bar downstairs and although the bare floorboards softened voices to murmurs, they did little to dampen the eruptions of hearty laughter and bad tempered language. Ormis had gone to the Black Tower to see Lord Beredrim, but he had left Suula behind to guard them. She was standing with her ear to the door now, listening to the comings and goings in the corridor outside.
She looked at the steaming stew on her plate and went to work on it. Her appetite was increasing every day and when the thick gravy filled her mouth she realised she was ravenous. She was halfway through before she paused to look up. Kye was laid on his bed watching her. She smiled around the chunk of stringy beef she was chewing and he smiled back.
He had been overly attentive since she woke up at the tower - offering food and water every few minutes and inquiring about her wellbeing. After their decontamination at the Wall, he tried to engage her in conversation. He was full of stories about his adventures in the Wilderness, but her exhaustion had rendered her a bad listener and he had chastised her a few times for not paying attention. She owed him her life, but so far she had given him nothing back.
‘I’ve been thinking about this Absence thing,’ he said as she slid her fork back into the stew. ‘Do you think you could teach me?’
‘I don’t think Ormis would approve,’ she replied, half-jokingly.
‘Well it’s not up to him,’ he said, lowering his voice as if Suula wouldn’t hear. ‘I’m asking you. I’d try really hard and I wouldn’t give up.’
‘I’ve never taught anyone before, but I don’t see why not. But you’d have to agree to certain rules.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like not frightening people or spying on anyone.’
He looked disappointed and she could tell he had intended to do those very things.
‘Alright,’ he agreed, but a little too begrudgingly for her liking.
‘And you’d have to promise to stop looking at me like that?’
‘Like what?’
‘Like I just stepped out of a fairy-tale.’
He smiled. ‘Okay - I promise.’
It was hard to think about anything beyond stopping Izle acquiring the Creator Stone. But she could imagine spending time with Kye. There was a strong bond between them now and she felt like she had known him a hundred years – the deep connection they shared, bypassing the manners and customs that delay one person’s acceptance of another. She never had a brother – but knew instinctively it wasn’t like that. And she never had a lover and didn’t think it was like that either.
‘Okay then. When this is all over I’ll teach you.’
‘How long will it take?’
‘A long time and some people never learn.’
‘Why?’
‘They just don’t.’
‘If I’m one of those people who can learn, how fast would I be able to go?’
‘How fast? ... As quick as any bird you can think of. Any faster and you’d black out.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know. You just would.’
‘I bet I could go faster.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘Oh really?’
He chewed his lip for a while then asked, ‘Have you ever been to the moon?’
She laughed and nearly choked on her beef. There was so much he could ask about Absence and these were his questions: how fast could he go? And had she been to the moon? Typical boy.
‘Why not?’ he said, looking offended. ‘It’s the first place I’d go.’
‘It’s too far. I flew towards it for hours one night and never got any closer.’
‘Well I’d keep going until I got there.’
‘Then you’d be riddled with sores and stiff as a board when you got back.’
He looked disappointed, but brightened again. ‘How far could I go into the ground?’
‘As far as you want,’ she replied with a frown. ‘But why would you want to? There’s nothing to see down there but endless darkness... When you’re Absent you can fly like a bird – isn’t that enough?’
‘Suppose so.’ He turned onto his back to stare at the ceiling and she smiled; knowing he was imagining this now.
When Suula whipped a dagger out Della jumped to her feet, spilling the rest of the stew onto her grey sheets. A familiar voice spoke through the door and the tracker relaxed. She lifted the latch and Ormis stepped in. He had changed his clothes and was dressed in a grubby cloak with a corn sack tunic and patched britches beneath.
‘We must leave at once,’ he said, striding over to the window and peering out. ‘Izle’s got a man in the tower who’s got influence over Lord Beredrim and he’s working with The Night Earl. There’s two of his associates out front and at least one in the bar… And I see another down there in the alley. They’re watching us.’ He turned from the window and fixed them with a look of grave concern. ‘There’s a man amongst the hopeful tonight who they say has a real chance. We think Izle will be there to take his reading before him.’
‘We have to stop him!’ said Della.
‘That’ll be difficult. Even if we lose these men, there’ll be more at the enclosure.’
‘If you can get us out of here, I can do it,’ she said, feeling a fresh plume of ancient responsibility. ‘Izle left me for dead in Joebel and these men don’t know what Kye and I look like. If we can get to the enclosure for his reading I can disrupt him in Absence, and it w
on’t matter how well he’s guarded.’
Ormis studied her. She could see him struggling with the idea – trying to conjure some logic to keep them together. But what she was saying made perfect sense.
‘Alright then. If they capture us all we’re finished anyway.’ He waved them over to the corner of the window. Below the sill, the ridge tiles on a ground floor extension ran out to a gable end, twenty feet away. ‘See the man?’ They did. He was pacing back and forth in the alley, looking up at their window every now and again. ‘Do you think you can reach him before he calls for help?’ he asked Suula.
‘It’ll be close.’
‘Good enough. I’d rather take our chances this way than going through the bar. I’ll go after and you two follow as quick as you can… If there’s still trouble when we get down there, we’ll hold them off while you get clear. Follow the backstreets to Reader Way and try to blend with the crowds. It’ll be best if you stay clear of the enclosure until right before the ceremony…’
He broke off and tipped his head as if listening. Della heard the whispers again, rising in volume and filling the room with an ominous mantra. She stiffened and when she looked at Kye, she could see he was hearing them too. They lasted all of about three seconds then they were gone.
‘He’s here!’ said Della.
‘How do you know?’ Ormis asked.
‘The whispers.’
‘You heard them again?’
‘Didn’t you? You looked like you were listening.’
He shook his head. ‘But if Izle’s close, we can’t delay.’
Suula waited for the watchman to look away, pushed the window open and leapt out. She landed in a crouch and raced across the ridge tiles, slates clicking beneath her soft boots as she angled down the roof. The man turned, his face expanding in a grimace of surprise when he saw the dagger in her hand. She jumped down and the two of them disappeared behind a wall; the warning they hoped to prevent, cutting the air in the form of a scream.
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