by Mark McCabe
Warriors would often be lost achieving an objective; that was to be expected. But Hrothgar knew that he hadn’t achieved his. That cursed human female was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t even say that his men had died valiantly in battle. Perhaps they had, but unless they turned up, no one would ever know. They had just disappeared without a trace.
Hrothgar could hear that swine of a brother of his now. He would relish this little bit of news, that was for sure. And he wouldn’t forget it in a hurry either. Seven warriors lost in a search for one defenceless human female, and after all that, they hadn’t even found their quarry.
Hrothgar kicked at the embers of the fire in frustration. The dog had set him up for failure and he had been fool enough to let him. How could anyone hope to find one female in all this wilderness? And what was the point of this ridiculous mission anyway? She was probably dead by now, fallen down some ravine, or drowned in a river. Let the Guardians play their games with each other, the sligs had no need of them. Where was the honour in hiding behind the robes of a wizard? Cold steel, thought Hrothgar, that was what the sligs had built their reputation on.
Hrothgar’s eyes, which had been wandering over the warriors spread around the campsite, came to rest finally on a solitary slig. He was smaller than the rest of the warriors and was seated alone, away from the bulk of the group. It was Norvig. He was always alone. Hrothgar knew that none of the rest of the hunt cared for his cousin. And Norvig had never been one to cultivate friendships.
He had turned up at the ford two days earlier, as agreed, having successfully delivered the information which Hrothgar had wanted sold to Kell. Though he welcomed the bags of gold Norvig had returned with, he found little else to celebrate about his cousin’s arrival. First, there was the simple fact that he just couldn’t stand the sight of the snivelling little runt. But secondly, and more importantly on this occasion, his report of his meeting with Kell and the message that the Guardian had sent back with him had served to turn Hrothgar’s foul mood even fouler, as if he didn’t have enough on his mind as it was.
The Second Warrior had never had any liking for any of the Guardians, least of all Kell. He wondered how he would have reacted to the insults Norvig claimed he’d had to endure at the wizard’s hands. He was certain he wouldn’t have been able to show the restraint his cousin had exercised. Perhaps he would have finally found out just how good the wizards really were. From what Norvig had told him, it sounded as if Kell had pulled off one almighty bluff, and Norvig, of course, hadn’t had the guts to call it. Hrothgar wondered if the Guardian would have dared such a sham if it had been him instead of his cousin he’d been dealing with.
The Guardian’s offer of further money for more information was equally galling. Five hundred gold crowns was a lot of gold, by anyone’s standard. What was annoying, however, was that Hrothgar didn’t have the information Kell sought. He knew that the girl was important, but he didn’t know why. Then again, maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t been able to locate her. If Kell placed that much value on finding out more about her, then perhaps it would be better if she was still out there somewhere. Perhaps she would keep Kell and the other Guardians busy tracking her down while the Sagath got on with dismembering the Algarian empire.
For the moment, then, it seemed that Norvig had outlived his usefulness. In fact, if anything, he was now a distinct liability. Hrothgar could see that it would be difficult to extract any more gold from Kell for the moment. By the time he found out what the wizard wanted to know, he’d be unlikely to be in any position to negotiate its sale. In fact, if he had his way he’d soon be back with the bulk of the army. There’d be little opportunity for that kind of maneuvering then.
Besides, the whole arrangement was becoming just a little bit too risky to Hrothgar’s way of thinking. His brother had played his hand and Hrothgar had done what he could to ensure that all would not go exactly as planned. As far as he could see, it was in the hands of Zar now. There was nothing more that he could do other than ensure that he was ready to seize whatever fresh opportunity the God of Battles should decide to throw his way.
Norvig, however, was another matter. Hrothgar didn’t like loose ends. Better to take your blade and chop them off before they have a chance to unravel, that was his motto. Something would have to be done about his little cousin and Hrothgar realised this could be just the opportunity he’d been looking for. Why take his anger out on some unfortunate member of his hunt when little Norvig was so close to hand? Besides, if he played his cards right, he might be able to make himself look good at the same time.
Hrothgar felt better now that he’d decided what to do. If Larnük and the rest of the missing warriors didn’t turn up by high-sun, he would send the remainder of his hunt off to join the battle against the Algarians. He was the hunt leader, though. He wouldn’t abandon his missing men without first ensuring he had done everything he could to find them. He would stay behind for one last, albeit brief, search; and Norvig would help him.
There would be no one else around to interfere with Hrothgar’s plans then. And if Norvig got a bit careless and met with a little accident, then who would know that he didn’t go missing, just like all of the others. Hrothgar could feel his mood brightening already. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as his mind filled with a vision of cousin Norvig kneeling before him, snivelling like a baby and begging for his life.
Chapter 10
The surface of the mirror shimmered and rippled as Golkar passed through it, settling once more as the last portion of his body cleared its frame. The wizard stood still for a moment, taking a deep breath and steadying himself as he surveyed his surroundings and allowed the thrill that accompanied the passage to course through his body. His eyes came to rest on the sole occupant of the room he had entered.
“I’m not sure how you do that,” exclaimed the woman who stood facing him, “but it’s very distracting. Can’t you use the door like everyone else? I might have been in the middle of dressing, or just about to hop into my bath. Can’t you knock . . . or something.”
Golkar laughed. He wasn’t taken in by her charade of modesty for an instant. “Then the pleasure would have been mine, I’m sure. Perhaps if you hung the mirror on your parlour wall instead of in your bedchamber you wouldn’t have to worry about such things.”
“Hmmm. Perhaps.” The woman’s smile betrayed her good humour. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this time, my lord Golkar?” she continued, seemingly ignoring his jibe. “Is this business, or . . . something else? My room is a mess today.” As she spoke, she turned her head coquettishly in Golkar’s direction, batting her eyelids gently and peering at him from beneath her long lashes with twinkling eyes.
Golkar couldn’t help but smile in return. The room didn’t look at all messy to him. It looked just like it had the last time he’d visited Tay-rala, cozy and inviting, even if it was just a touch too feminine for his taste. His eyes wandered to the large four-poster bed he knew from experience had the softest mattress he had ever laid down on. It all looked very inviting indeed. But that was how a woman’s bedroom should look as far as he was concerned. Golkar knew from experience that the other chambers of her small cottage were much more pragmatically furnished.
In his view, it was Tay-rala herself who added the touch that gave the room its real warmth though. Without her, the room was just a room; but she was something special, a striking specimen, tall and slender with thick, long, brown hair that seemed to cascade down her back like a shimmering waterfall, catching the soft candle-light in the room as she moved to and fro, pretending to busy herself at her dresser. Her features were fine and her slender face matched her physique. She was an attractive woman, even more so when she used just a hint of Glamour to enhance her looks, as Golkar could see she had done today.
She had probably cast the spell as soon as she’d seen him coming through the mirror. She had no real need of it, nor had she the skill to make anything more than
subtle enhancements to her appearance, but Golkar guessed that vanity compelled her to try and look her best for him. Having won his friendship, she seemed to work hard at maintaining his interest in her. Though she was clearly attracted to him physically, it wasn’t hard to see that she was equally drawn to his power and standing and he, in his turn, found that particularly gratifying. There was nothing more pleasing than bedding a woman who knew the full value of his place in the world, and who adored him for it.
Perhaps it was the after-effects of the transport spell, but for a moment he was tempted to put his business to one side for a while. Tay-rala was, after all, his closest female companion, with the twin virtues of being both an occasional lover of some skill and a charming companion. And it was not as if she didn’t know her place. He knew that her pretence at ease in his presence was just that, a sham. Though she had some small capacity for magic herself, she obviously knew she was hopelessly outmatched by his power. That scared her a little; he could sense that, and he liked it. But he also knew that, like him, she was incredibly ambitious. She had skills of her own after all.
She was a seer. She had the gift of foresight and what’s more, when the circumstances were right, she could focus her skill quite tightly. Without that, her visions would have been nothing more than an interesting jumble of snippets of what was to come. Many could claim that ability. It was only when those visions could be harnessed that they became an asset rather than a liability. Very few could achieve that, and Tay-rala was one of those few, the best in fact that Golkar had ever known.
And that was what drew him to her even more. She knew where his plans were taking him. He had confided in her just enough to see what would happen, knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist exploring where his schemes would take him. And yet she had stood by him. If anything, her devotion to him had increased. Clearly, whatever she had seen of his future, she’d decided that she wanted to be a part of it as well, or perhaps she had simply seen the alternative and didn’t want to be a part of that.
Golkar didn’t mind. Her motivation was her affair. One needed company at times after all. What were friends after all but people you used when your own company was no longer enough? Even a Guardian had to unwind occasionally. After the day he’d had thus far, he could do with some time to relax. Unfortunately, now was not the time. It was her talents, both as a healer and a seer, that had brought him to Tay-rala’s abode.
“Business this time,” he replied. “You don’t know how much I would love to spend the afternoon in your arms, my dear, but right now I need your assistance.” Easing his coat down his back, Golkar turned to display the bloodied bandage he’d managed to wrap around his shoulder. Though the wound the gryphon had given him was still throbbing, he kept a tight rein on his feelings. His pride wouldn’t allow him to let Tay-rala see the extent of the pain he was in.
Pride or not, however, he knew that the wound was in bad need of attention. He had lost a considerable amount of blood already and even he could tell that if something wasn’t done to properly seal the wound soon he would find himself in dire straits. He needed to recuperate his strength after his battle with Kell and he wouldn’t be able to do so properly until his shoulder was seen to.
“Ahhhh. I see, my lord. And I thought this was just a social call. Let me take a look at that. Come into the parlour and let’s get that dressing off. And then you can tell me how it is possible that a Guardian can be given a wound like that!”
Golkar’s assessment of Tay-rala’s skills wasn’t unwarranted. Within a short time, he was seated before her fire sipping a herbal brew which she assured him would do him the world of good in his current depleted condition. His wound had been cleaned, stitched, poulticed and freshly dressed, and he felt immeasurably better than he had done when he’d arrived at her house. Already the pain in his shoulder was receding.
“It was a clean tear and nothing major was damaged,” announced Tay-rala, who was seated beside him. Her words had startled him for an instant. Apart from the occasional question, and a brief nod when he had responded, she had barely said a word while working on his injury. Golkar had been happy to remain silent; he’d sensed her need to focus her powers on the task at hand. Her words now were the first the two had spoken to each other for some time.
“The healing spell I used will speed up the regeneration process. The stitches are only a precaution really, in case you don’t keep it immobilised like I’ve told you to. My guess is that you won’t rest until you’ve settled this affair. Now that your plans are exposed, no doubt you’ll want to see them through to their conclusion. I don’t think your injury will hinder you for long now that I’ve seen to it. A wound from a gryphon is just like any other, it would seem. I detected nothing of concern in the wound. There was no magic at work there that I can discern.”
“It feels better already,” replied Golkar, nodding thoughtfully. “I’ve always said that your talents are many and varied.”
“Hmmm. Don’t try your sweet talk on me. You need a good night’s rest and then you should be fine. That draught you’re drinking will pick you up in no time at all.”
“Good. Now to my other business. As you said, now that my plans are in the open I must allow my opponents no time to plan an adequate response.” Golkar saw no need to let Tay-rala know that he had been forced to declare his hand somewhat prematurely. The girl was a detail he’d not shared with her either; though, for all he knew, her powers had already allowed her to see how he meant to achieve his aims.
“I have a need to draw on your other talents as well. I need to find out where Kell and the gryphon have gone. I’m sure they were in no better state than I was when they withdrew from our encounter. I mean to follow them up and finish them off as soon as I can. The old fool has no idea how long I’ve prepared for this or he wouldn’t have challenged me so openly. Now that I’ve rebuffed him once, I need to finish off before he can make better preparations for his own defences, or before he can do anything to put my other plans in jeopardy. But before I can do that, I need to know where he is.”
“I see.” Tay-rala sat quietly for a few moments before she continued. “Very well. I’ve not spoken to you of this before, but I’ve already had a vision of a confrontation between you and Kell. I sought and was given a glimpse shortly after you first confided in me. I couldn’t resist exploring that line, as I guessed you knew I would. You must have known my curiosity would be piqued, and I think you wouldn’t have confided in me in the first place if you’d not wanted me to seek such a glimpse.” The seer paused for a moment then, watching Golkar with an anxious look on her face. “I hope I did no wrong.”
“No, no. Of course not. Go on.”
Visibly relaxing, Tay-rala continued. “The glimpse I was given was quite a vivid one. Though I couldn’t see the actual outcome of the confrontation, I distinctly remember the feeling that Kell had fallen and that you were left as the sole Guardian of Ilythia. That last feeling, in particular, came through to me remarkably strongly. I couldn’t tell what had become of Tarak, but I had the sense that he was no longer a force to be reckoned with. I remember one portion of the glimpse quite clearly. I saw you standing alone at the top of a flight of broad stairs. As I said, you were alone, and you had your hands raised above you, as if in victory. The sense of exultance that radiated from you was unbelievably powerful. That was how the vision ended.”
Having related her tale, Tay-rala paused for a moment, watching Golkar’s face. She could see that she’d surprised him. “It was a very powerful glimpse, Golkar. Even now some of the images are still clear in my mind.”
“Really? Why didn’t you tell me about this before now?”
“I . . . I was worried you’d be angry with me for prying into your business. And I saw no need to tell you. In my experience, it’s a dangerous business revealing the future. My visions are only one view of what may happen. They’re glimpses, nothing more and nothing less. At times, the very knowledge of how something may unfold can l
ead to a different outcome. Complacency, for example, when the utmost preparation may be called for. I’ve learnt it is often better not to share such visions.
“But as for what you seek. I may already be able to help you there as well. While I was tending to your wound just now, I had another . . . ‘vision’. Not a glimpse this time. It was something different to that, but nonetheless, I believe that what I saw was real. It came to me as I was cleaning the wound, as my hand touched the torn skin. It was a vision of a beast that could only have been a gryphon. I’ve never seen one, of course, but that is what this must have been. It was large, very large, and it looked like a lion, except that its head was like that of a hawk, or an eagle, or some such similar bird, and it had two great wings folded against its sides. Its sides shone in the sunlight. They are very magical beasts, as you well know. Its recent touch to your wound must have left a residue that I could sense.
“I saw it lying, as if asleep. It was lying amidst the ruins of a temple. The whole structure was old . . . very old. Then that passed and I saw what I took to be the same scene, but from afar. I could see the ruins of some ancient place atop a small hillock. The whole thing was surrounded by desert. The sun was beating down on it and the hill stood out as if it was an island surrounded by sand. I’m not sure, but think it might have been somewhere in the Northern Wastes, unless it was somewhere on Liricor.
“Interesting,” replied Golkar, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That is very interesting indeed. It does sound like the Northern Wastes, doesn’t it; and I know of a place there that fits your description quite well. I must say, my dear, you are full of surprises. Did you see Kell in this vision.”
