Wall of Spears

by Duncan Lay

  ‘Come back in here or I shall make you, and you won’t like that,’ Sumiko said.

  For a moment, Jaken was tempted to make a run for it. If he could but get to his clan, he could end this treachery by sundown.

  ‘Don’t be a fool,’ Sumiko said, and he felt a tendril of magic curl around his legs. ‘Walk back or be dragged.’

  Angrily, he turned and stormed into the tent, right at her.

  ‘You will pay for this,’ he threatened. ‘As soon as I speak to my clan you will be executed for being a trai—’

  But she gestured at him and he felt his tongue turn to stone, then his legs and arms, freezing him in place.

  ‘I have had enough of listening to you,’ she told him coldly. ‘Now you will listen to me. You will speak to nobody. You will be riding with me tomorrow, as normal, but you will not have the power of speech. Try to run and I will kill you. Try to do anything foolish and I will kill you, do you understand?’

  He could only stare mutely at her, unable to believe what was happening. Her hatred shone out of her eyes and her voice dripped with venom. Yet for the past year he would have sworn to Aroaril that her love was genuine. Since she had given him back his elfhood they had shared both passion and tenderness. Incongruously, he found himself thinking of how he had wanted to speak to Archbishop Fushimi and set aside Noriko so he could marry Sumiko. And now she wanted him dead?

  She walked around him. ‘I will take that as acceptance. It is enough that you know the penalty for disobeying me. I want you to understand there is no escape for you, no way for you to turn the tables on me. The people mistrust you but are ready to accept me, thanks to the work you have done. Now I will become lord of these pitiful human lands. Magic will rule, as it was always meant to. Your fate is to watch your memory being destroyed, your power taken away. If you do not give me any trouble, then I shall let you die honourably in battle with the humans. Try to stop me and I shall ensure every last elf in Dokuzen knows you are a limp excuse for a warrior. Elves will laugh about your impotence for the next hundred years, then shudder at the manner of your death at my hands.’

  Jaken’s mind raced as he tried to see a way out of this and his eyes darted from side to side, looking for a weakness in her face.

  Sumiko laughed. ‘I know how your mind works. I know you are thinking I must have left a loophole for you to wriggle through, a way for my plans to be foiled. But you are wrong. I have thought of everything. Thanks to the Forlish, there is not one elf who is prepared to speak up against me. After a few days of receiving orders through Magic-weavers, the elves will accept that as normal and come to expect it. I shall not give you back your voice until you have taken a mortal wound, then I’ll let you scream your hatred and anger and frustration out all you want. Until then, you shall be silent.’

  Jaken fought against the weakness of his body, trying to bring his little magic to bear to free just one hand, enough to hurl a blade at her.

  ‘Pitiful,’ she sneered. ‘Do you really think I would let my guard down like that? Sit down.’

  She sent a chair skidding across the grass and then pushed him in the chest, toppling him into the seat.

  ‘I need you to know why I am doing this. Do you remember my father?’ she asked gently, staring into his eyes.

  Jaken struggled helplessly against her magic, trying to tell her with his eyes how he would get free and make her pay for this. But she seemed lost in her own memories.

  ‘I loved him. I worshipped the ground he walked on — thought there was no better father in all of Dokuzen. I thought all respected him as I did, admired his command of the magic. Then I watched you humiliate him, make him cry with your careless arrogance and enormous pride. I swore an oath as a small girl to avenge my father, to give the Magic-weavers the power and respect they deserved and to humble you, bring you the punishment you had earned. It took far longer than I expected and the price was high indeed. I loathed your touch and had to hold back my shudders of horror every time we were together.’

  She leaned in and cupped his chin in her hand. He wanted to tear himself loose, to close his ears to her words but she would not even give him this small mercy.

  ‘When you told me you wanted to marry, that you loved me, I went home and laughed until I cried. The great Jaken, reduced to a little boy. The impotent weakling, thinking he was strong again. After I had to go through all that to get you here, I am not going to make the mistake of letting you go at the moment of my triumph.’

  Jaken looked back on the past few moons and saw a hundred tiny things he had missed. He cursed the warning signs he had ignored, the way he had dismissed Sendatsu’s concerns. He wanted to be free, to be able to talk and move, to fight back — but he also desperately wanted to say sorry to Sendatsu. If only he had listened to his son, then he would not be in this position.

  ‘Yes, you are seeing now what I have done, how I isolated you and backed you into this position,’ she said softly.

  He glared at her helplessly but when he saw how she was enjoying that, drinking in his discomfort, he tried to shut it out, give her a mask of indifference.

  ‘You could have had an alliance with the Velsh but I ruined that. I sent Asami’s father to his death at the hands of the Velsh as well, ensured he would never return to help you or hinder me, while ensuring that human Magic-weaver will never stop me. And do you want to know the best part of it?’ she asked, rhetorically. ‘I was the one who brought the Forlish in. I invited your wife Noriko to the Council Chamber, made sure that all the clan leaders were taken, got that mother to pretend her son had been killed and turned the people against you. You thought you were so clever; I made you look like a fool. I want you to know it all, for you will never have the chance to tell anyone but you will have a few days to think about it and suffer. The great Jaken, the cleverest of the clan leaders, the wonderful strategist and thinker. Brought down by me.’

  She leaned in and patted his cheek.

  ‘Thank you for this talk. I have enjoyed it more than any other we have ever had. Now I have to go and take control of the elven people. Think on that and weep. I have left you the power to cry — I hope you take advantage of it.’

  Jaken could not turn his head to see her go but the magic holding him prisoner did not slacken even a fraction, although he brought everything he had against it. He slumped back, panting, bitterness threatening to overwhelm him. He knew he should be planning a way out of this but, try as he might, he could not think of one.

  Sendatsu walked through the door, Mai and Cheijun holding his hands, to see an older woman in a beautiful red dress seated by the window, staring out. She sprang to her feet as soon she heard them.

  ‘What are you doing here? You stink! Get out this instant, or I shall call the guards and have you flogged,’ she snapped.

  Sendatsu pulled down the scarf covering his face. ‘We are here at your request, to free the elven prisoners and foil Ward’s plans,’ he said.

  The woman gaped, eyes flicking to the others as they walked in, revealing their faces.

  ‘I am Huw, High Councillor of Vales. You sent me a message and I responded,’ Huw said.

  ‘I am Queen Mildrith. Maybe you had better sit down,’ Mildrith said slowly.

  Instead, Sendatsu crossed to the room’s main door and opened it a fraction, enough so he could peer up and down the corridor. Here, in the heart of Ward’s castle, there were no guards and he breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door, turning the key in the lock for good measure.

  ‘It is safe to sit down and talk,’ he told the others.

  Mai and Cheijun were the first to react, rushing over to a large couch and flopping down upon it.

  Mildrith watched them with an obvious mixture of surprise at the group bringing children along and horror at their stained clothing on her fine furniture.

  ‘Velsh? How did you get here?’ she demanded.

  ‘Magic,’ Rhiannon said simply.

  ‘But I only sent my reply a turn of an hou
rglass ago!’

  ‘That would be the magic then,’ Rhiannon said wryly.

  Mildrith stared hard at her and Huw.

  ‘I know you both, don’t I?’ she said suspiciously. ‘You used to perform here and you, girl, you turned my husband’s head.’

  ‘I left so I would not have to go to his bed,’ Rhiannon said coldly.

  ‘We are not here as performers but as leaders of the Velsh. We need to speak to you,’ Huw said.

  She nodded and gestured towards the bank of chairs in her rooms.

  Huw sat down, as did Sendatsu, Gaibun and Rhiannon, while Cadel and Bowen stayed standing, one close to the door they had come through, the other next to the door Sendatsu had locked.

  Sendatsu spoke first. ‘We need to rescue our friends. Much depends on this. Your husband was tricked by a group of elves. His attack on Dokuzen has allowed a new leader to take control of the elves — the traitor who let Forlish into the elven city. Your husband thinks he holds power over the elves — he is about to receive a huge shock. We need to get the prisoners out of here and back to Dokuzen and attempt to overthrow the new leader, to right the balance once more.’

  ‘My husband thinks these prisoners can be traded for the secret of elven immortality. He will not believe you and will not give them up easily,’ Mildrith warned.

  ‘There is no elven immortality,’ Sendatsu replied. ‘I know. I am an Elfaran and these are my children. We are just the same as you. We are humans, but come from a different land, which is why our eyes and skin look different. Inside we are the same.’

  Mildrith chuckled. ‘So all his plots and plans have been for nothing? There never was a secret in Dokuzen?’

  ‘There are secrets. They have magic and healing powers that they have stolen from us. But we are going to take them back and spread them through all the lands,’ Huw said firmly.

  Mildrith smiled. ‘You sound almost like my husband. You would probably get on well, with your talk of making humans rise once more.’

  ‘Given he ordered the death of my father, I doubt that very much,’ Huw said, bitterness dripping from his voice.

  Mildrith looked at them all carefully and Sendatsu could see her mind working, trying to decide if she trusted them. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision.

  ‘I asked you here because I wanted to thwart my husband’s ambition to live forever, and to protect my life and the lives of my sons. But now it seems as if I must help his ambition to save Forland. He will not understand this and we will all risk a great deal.’

  ‘Our magic is strong. We were able to come here, after all,’ Rhiannon reminded her.

  Mildrith smiled. ‘I will help but I need to summon my son, Uffa,’ she added.

  ‘Why?’ Sendatsu asked immediately.

  ‘The prisoners are split up into several groups. If we are to succeed, we need to get them out as fast as we can. Splitting in two will mean we can do it twice as fast.’

  Sendatsu sighed. ‘Then summon him,’ he said.

  Huw flashed him a warning glance but he just shrugged.

  ‘Either we accept the queen’s help or we don’t. But I doubt we can do this alone.’

  Mildrith stood and they followed her towards the servants’ door, the one they had come through.

  ‘His rooms are next to mine,’ Mildrith explained. ‘It makes more sense to use this entrance.’

  ‘I didn’t think you would have used the servants’ passageways much,’ Sendatsu remarked.

  Mildrith smiled. ‘Your friends here, the two performers, could tell you what life is like in this castle. I know where these passageways lead because there were many times when I needed to move unseen, or wanted to overhear what was going on.’

  ‘Lucky for us, eh?’ Gaibun said.

  Mildrith ignored him and led the way down the passage, to the last door, which she opened and motioned for them to wait outside.

  Sendatsu tensed, keeping his hand on his sword hilt — but they could clearly hear her speaking to someone inside, telling him to lock the other door and take a seat, she needed him to help her.

  ‘Do this right and you or your brother will sit on the throne. I need you to trust me on this and do what I say.’

  ‘Of course, Mother.’

  Mildrith returned to the door and signalled to them. ‘Come in now.’

  Gaibun made sure he was first inside, but Sendatsu was right behind and saw Mildrith standing over a powerful young man in a rich red tunic and trews. He had a spoiled look about him, something about the set of his mouth and eyes that Sendatsu instinctively disliked.

  ‘Who are these people, Mother?’ he demanded, his voice a whine.

  ‘They are the ones who will help us, as I said, Uffa. They are elves and Velsh.’

  ‘What?’ Uffa gasped. He turned his greedy eyes on them all, and these widened as he looked at Rhiannon.

  ‘I recognise you,’ he said slowly. ‘You used to be a dancer here. But you are wearing more clothes now.’

  ‘There is no time for foolishness, Uffa,’ Mildrith snapped. ‘We are going to help them rescue the elves Edmund captured and you escorted down here.’

  ‘What? Why?’

  Mildrith leaned down and gripped his shoulder. ‘We do not have time for long explanations. I need you to trust me and to listen, then to obey without question.’

  ‘But they have brought children! How are we to —’

  ‘Do as I say!’ Mildrith ordered.

  ‘Yes, Mother,’ Uffa said automatically.

  ‘Good. Half of you come with me, the other half go with Uffa. The elves are held in four locations. Uffa will then help you get out into the city. After that, you are on your own.’

  ‘Just get us into the city and we can do the rest,’ Sendatsu said with a confidence he did not entirely feel.

  ‘It is settled then. Who comes with me?’

  ‘There was a female elf with magic brought in. We need to get her out first,’ Sendatsu said.

  Mildrith thought for a moment. ‘Yes. They spoke about how dangerous she was. She is with a couple of older elves. I can take you to her.’

  ‘I go with him,’ Gaibun said immediately.

  ‘The rest of us will go with Uffa,’ Huw said.

  ‘Agreed. But we need to be quick,’ Mildrith warned.

  ‘Then what are we waiting for?’ Sendatsu led the way back towards the passage.

  Asami lay on the hard bed, trying to clear her mind. The wound in her arm was healed now but she had another problem. The rough bread and strange meat they were given seemed to have turned her stomach and she was unable to keep anything down.

  She tried to stay away from Noriko and Retsu, partly because they only had eyes for each other, partly because seeing them just made her angry. She could have escaped, could have used her magic but she had listened to Noriko’s words about Sendatsu coming to their rescue, allowed herself to be persuaded to wait — and now she could feel her strength ebbing away. She had hoped some rest might have made her feel better but now she felt nauseous all the time. She doubted she had enough strength to get out of the castle, let alone the city.

  Noriko’s promises that Sendatsu and Gaibun would come for her also held little comfort. She feared they would do something stupid and heroic and end up dead. Even if they did not, the uncertainty over which one to choose was enough to make her feel sick. Sendatsu had changed for the better but nothing changed the issue of Gaibun’s child. Could she bring up a child without them knowing their father? No matter which way she looked at it, that seemed the insurmountable problem.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Noriko asked her and she opened her eyes, realising she had dozed off.

  ‘Not good,’ Asami admitted.

  Noriko offered her a cup of water. ‘You need to eat something.’

  ‘I cannot stomach that animal flesh they give us,’ Asami stated, her stomach lurching at the thought.

  Noriko moistened some of the bread with water but Asami turned away from even that.


  ‘It looks like you have child sickness,’ Noriko said grimly. ‘I had it myself. For the first few moons you are unable to stomach anything other than plain rice.’

  ‘Not much chance of that here,’ Asami groaned.

  ‘Sendatsu will come soon,’ Noriko promised.

  ‘It looks as though you and Retsu would be happy for him to stay away for a few more days.’ Asami mustered a smile but it was hard work.

  ‘If he is not here by dawn, we shall break out ourselves,’ Noriko said. ‘We cannot leave you here any longer.’

  ‘I don’t know if I will be much help,’ Asami warned.

  ‘Just get us out of this cell and Retsu and I shall do the rest.’

  ‘But don’t we need Retsu and the others to make it back alive, to stop Jaken’s madness?’

  Noriko nodded slowly. ‘That is true.’

  ‘Then what are we to do?’

  ‘Build up your strength and we shall worry about that tomorrow,’ Noriko said softly.

  20

  Life has a way of finding your weaknesses. It finds them and brings them out of your nightmare into the light. Then you find out what sort of a person you really are. I was found wanting but don’t despair if you are too — you can still redeem yourself.

  ‘There are two guards right outside the door. If they are alerted, they will sound the alarm and not even I will be able to help you then,’ Mildrith warned.

  ‘Perhaps I can run at them?’ Gaibun offered.

  ‘Leave them to me,’ Sendatsu replied, stepping out with Mai and Cheijun before either of them could do anything.

  As before, he had the scarf pulled up over his face as he strode confidently towards the two guards, who were watching him carefully but not making any move towards weapons. Once again, the presence of Mai and Cheijun allayed suspicions.

  Not entirely, however. ‘What are you doing here?’ one of the guards growled.

  ‘I was told to collect the nightsoil from the cells,’ Sendatsu said pleasantly.