“You are riding towards something that you do not understand,” he said; and his voice was so strong and terrible, that Heidi could scarcely bear to hear it. It inspired a deep feeling of fear; but also a sense of foreboding, as if the very voice were the warning within itself.
There was no need for him to go on. His voice had already caused a riot inside Heidi’s thoughts, which she had fought so long to keep straightened, angles facing outwards and edges neatly aligned.
Yet his words called to memory the conversation (if that was indeed what it could have been referred to as) that Heidi had had with the Sorceress, when she drew Heidi near from her place on the deserted road.
What exactly was it, that they did not understand? If he meant only to tell them of an evil that knew no bounds, and of an enemy more formidable than most – well, he had no need at all to squander his breath.
“If you wish to enlighten us,” said Heidi, “then please do. But if you mean only to deter us, then you have come in vain.”
He turned his eyes, blue and wild, full upon Heidi. And that was when she recognised him. The man from the Aria! The one who had watched her; the one who had whispered to her noiselessly, across the dense crowd of river-crossers. She still did not understand the situation in its entirety – and would not for some time.
But now, at any rate, the black rider was watching her closely. He seemed to have eyes only for Heidi, and was indeed ignoring Dera almost altogether. He seemed to know already what was to be said; and did not appear to be thinking upon his words. It was more, really, as if he was timing himself, and pausing for some kind of effect.
“You are more courageous than I thought,” he said. “But also more foolish. Your sight has been clouded by recent events, and you do not see things as they truly are. Allow me to make them clearer for you.”
Heidi said nothing.
“You are thinking only of what can be gained,” he went on. “You seem to have forgotten about what you can lose. If you go on – if you insist on forging your path past the boundaries of what is safe – then you will suffer great pain. I come not as a mercenary, not as a dealer of pain or death. I am only a voice of reason.”
“Who speaks for whom?” asked Heidi.
“What does that matter?”
“In deducing your motives, it is the only thing that matters.”
It seemed that he smiled, then – though his face was so far above them, that it was difficult to tell.
“Do I amuse you?” asked Heidi.
“To the contrary,” he said. “I am only marvelling at the way in which you have taken hold of what you believe to be true. It is reminiscent of the mouth of a dog, attached to a heel.”
“What I believe to be true?”
“You know next to nothing of the truth. It is better this way – but if you will not refrain from proceeding, you can make no furtherance without it.”
“And will you tell me of this truth?”
“No. You must learn it for yourself.”
“Then why the midnight meeting?”
“To attempt to dissuade you.”
“That won’t happen,” said Heidi. “The stakes are too high.”
“You are right enough about that,” he said, moving a little closer on his great, hulking horse. It was rather a frightful sight. “But the game has not even begun.”
“Is that what this is to you? A game?”
“Not to me. Only to the one who has initiated it.”
“And who is that?”
He retracted his steps. “You are not ready for that. If you are still in the midst of this, when the time comes – only then will you know the truth.”
“Do you think me stupid?” asked Heidi. “I already know who commands this fight.”
“You will say Dain Aerca, and you will be wrong.”
“I suppose you shall say that you command it, then?”
“Of course not. But I can say no more.”
“Fine,” said Heidi. “Go back to her, then. And tell her that I said hello.”
“You understand nothing,” he said. A faint light, the same colour of white that had filled the air with his arrival, began to glimmer around him as he added:
“You call this a fight, but you are wrong in your thinking. This is the organisation of – the very beginning of – a war. If you are not prepared to do battle, then go home.”
The light erupted, then, swallowing both him and his giant horse. Heidi and Dera raised their arms to cover their eyes; and when they lowered them, they found that he was gone.
~
If the mysterious man upon his unearthly horse was in fact the only consequence of their entering the Abandoned Earth, then Heidi considered them quite lucky. As they came nearer each hour to the wall of the city, it seemed that their travels were not to be impeded again. The sun was shining brightly now, and all that lay betwixt them and the wall was visible. Nothing moved, and nothing breathed.
“We’ve finally made it,” Dera whispered, looking up at the high stone wall before them. “I cannot believe we actually made it.”
“I told you we would,” said Heidi.
“That you did. But what do we do now?”
Heidi pointed to a wide gate, about half a mile away. “That is the only break in the wall,” she said. “We must seek admittance there.”
When they arrived at the gate, they saw four men standing on the other side of it. There were two to one side, and two to the other. When they saw Heidi and Dera appear, through the slats between the iron bars, they all took a step forward; but only one man came near to the gate.
“State your business,” he said gruffly.
“We wish to speak with the Princess,” Heidi said.
“You are not a citizen, and you have no appointment. I cannot grant your request.”
“Is it not the Princess’ place to decide if she will grant it?”
The soldier straightened up, his dignified expression somewhat ruffled. “I am First Guard at the North Wall of Onssgaard,” he said. “It is my place to decide who enters, and who does not. My decision is that you do not.”
He stepped back to take up his place with the others.
“I beg you,” said Heidi desperately. “I need only to speak with the Princess. It concerns a foe that we share.”
“What foe?” asked the soldier.
“Please,” said Heidi. “Will you only pass my request on to her? If she does not come, we will leave without another word.”
The soldier whispered to the man beside him, and then clapped him on the back. The second soldier turned on his heel, and hurried to a group of horses tied near the gate. He climbed up onto his own, and then rode off towards the castle, which stood some miles away from the wall.
Heidi turned her eyes to the castle, and took in its full majesty. It was built all of white stone, with thick, sturdy walls, and pointed towers. Heidi’s eyes slid all the way up to the top of them, remembering the sight of them from back across the plains. There were enormous windows in the towers, round and wide. They appeared almost as dark eyes in a white face, keeping watch of the grounds more effectively than any soldier could have ever hoped to.
The three remaining soldiers said nothing more to Heidi. They only resumed their gazing into the empty plains, looking past the women as if they were not there at all.
Part the Second
Episode III
XVI: Strangers at the Gate
Immediately after she had risen, Lila climbed the stairs to meet Samson Trippe and Silas Perco in the Rally Room. (As she had suspected would happen, Quincy Lareau and Xavier Menna had declined to further partake in any manner of politics, so long as Lila was behaving so “unreasonably.”)
Lila had to grant him – if he was anything at all, Jonathan Payton was a persuasive devil.
When she arrived at the first door at the left hand side of the fifth floor corridor, she found that Silas and Samson were already waiting for her. She entered the room, shut the door
behind her, and went to take her usual place at the table.
“How goes it, my friends?”
“Quite the same as always, Princess,” said Silas. “I think we are all relieved to hear that there have been no more strange goings-on inside the city.”
“Anything else, and I fear that they shall all come in an attempt to torch the castle,” said Samson. “Faith in Eredor has died, I think.”
“I fear that you speak the truth,” said Lila. “But it cannot go on like this. We shall simply have to –”
There came a knock at the door, which interrupted Lila’s sentence. She sighed, and said wearily: “Come in.”
Francis Solomon, Second-in-Command of the First Regiment, opened the door just a bit, and directed his words to Lila.
“You have visitors, Princess.”
“I am expecting no one today,” said Lila. “They are unanticipated visitors – and surely someone else can see to them.”
“I am afraid not, Princess. They are asking specifically for you.”
Lila looked to Samson and Silas. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It seems that we shall have to put a hold on our meeting.”
“It’s no matter,” said Samson. “Only call when you want us.”
Lila rose, somewhat irritated, from her seat, and followed Solomon out into the hall.
“Where are they?” she asked.
“We held them at the gate,” said Solomon. “As were your orders.”
“Good man. Did they give you any names?”
“No, they didn’t. They said only, that they wished to speak with the Princess; and something or other, about a common enemy betwixt yourselves. Naturally, I asked them to expand upon that bit – but they will speak to no one but you.”
“All right, Solomon. I shall come and see for myself.”
“Would you like me to fetch your horse?”
“No need. I will meet you at the gate.”
They separated at the South Door, which was the nearest exit to the stables. Lila walked quickly to a row of low, barn-shaped buildings, which stood a few hundred yards from the door. Her own horse was situated in the first stall of the first stable. She opened the door, and held out her hand to Sonya, a tall grey mare with a shiny black mane. The horse stepped forward immediately, lowering her head to nuzzle Lila’s hand.
“That’s a good girl,” said Lila. “You just come on out, and we shall take a little ride. How does that sound?”
Sonya followed Lila out into the bright sunshine, and stood perfectly still as Lila jumped up onto her un-saddled back. Lila clicked once to the horse; and then they were off, in pursuit of the North Gate.
Solomon had positioned himself before the gate, along with four other men who were on duty there. They all stared straight ahead. The guards’ faces were not raised towards those of the visitors, but were kept level, awaiting Lila’s orders.
Lila had to squint through the sunlight. She saw that two people, on two horses, stood outside the gate; but she could not see them very clearly. She inched Sonya forward, the better to see their faces.
The party consisted of two women. Two women and, she saw now, three horses. The one which lacked its rider stood there in between, its reins held by the churlish-looking woman to the left. Lila looked from her to the other, and realised that she had never seen either of them before; and had in fact no idea at all who they were.
“State your names, please,” she said.
“My name is Heidi Bastian,” said the woman on the black horse. She gestured to the woman on the brown, and said, “This is Dera Black.”
“I was told that you wish to speak with me,” said Lila. “Given the rather strained nature of my city’s state of affairs – which has resulted in an effort to offend no one without just cause – I chose to grant your request. What is your business at the Gate of Onssgaard?”
“I shall say what I said to your men,” said Heidi Bastian. “We wish to speak with you of a shared enemy.”
Lila gave her an appraising look. “I was told that already,” she said. “Who is the enemy you speak of?”
“Dain Aerca.”
Lila narrowed her eyes. “Are you from this land?”
“No.”
“Then where are you from?”
The woman took a deep breath. “Our home is far away, over the Snowy Mountains. We have traveled a great distance to see you.”
“If you are not from this land,” said Lila, “you suffer no immediate threat from Dain Aerca; for her abominable business lies with me. What do you do here?”
“I shall be glad to explain – if we could perhaps go somewhere a little more private.”
Lila took a few moments more, to examine the woman’s countenance. She looked tired, road-worn, and somewhat sad. Her face seemed to be shadowed, even as it was illuminated by yellow rays of sunlight. Her fair hair was mussed, and her pale eyes were blotted by something more than weariness. Lila took a quick look at the other woman; but she seemed utterly unperturbed.
“Very well,” said Lila. “Open the gate.”
Solomon reached up to unlock the heavy gate, and he and the others worked together to push it open. Then they stood aside, making a way for the women to enter.
“Thank you,” said Heidi Bastian.
“You are welcome,” said Lila. “But you may want to save your thanks, until after we have spoken. I still don’t even know who you are.”
“I promise to explain.”
Lila looked to the woman, who was looking at her as if expecting some kind of an answer.
But to what?
~
Lila rode more slowly on the way back to the castle. She stayed slightly ahead of the women, and was accompanied (as was the custom to be with the arrival of unknown visitors) by Solomon, and two of the guards. No one spoke a word as they went.
Burdened as she was with two strange bodies, Lila could not enter the castle through the door she had gone out of. She rode instead to the North Doors, and sent a guard round the side to have the doors opened. They stood for some minutes on the road, waiting to be admitted.
When one of the two great doors was pulled inward, Lila dismounted, and went to stand in the doorway. She gestured for Solomon and the women to follow. She gave instructions to the second guard to return Sonya to the stables, and then turned to lead the women – trailed by Solomon – to the Hall of Mirrors.
Lila offered chairs to the women, and then took a seat for herself at the end of the table nearest the door. Solomon remained positioned beside the door, eyes fixed on the opposite wall.
“You have told me your names already,” said Lila to the women. “And it seems that you are aware of who I am. But for the sake of Eredor’s dignity, I shall introduce myself to you as Lila Bier, head of this castle – and of this city. I command both its affairs and its armies. Though I am always willing to hear of foreign affairs, at the proper time and place, it is not my custom to be a direct audience to the issues and dilemmas of people outside this city. Knowing this, are you still certain that I am who you wish to speak with?”
She kept her eyes upon Heidi Bastian; for the other seemed to have neither the will nor the words to speak.
“I am,” she said.
“I grant you permission, then, to state your business. Be brief and direct.”
The woman swallowed thickly, as if afraid that she would stumble over her words, and waste the time she had been given. Lila offered her a small smile – not enough to quell her anxiety entirely, thus making her more comfortable in the situation than she should have been, but sufficient to give her courage to speak.
“I would begin with an explanation,” she said, “but I suppose, now, I will start to the point. I have already spoken Dain Aerca’s name to you. She is the only thing that connects me to you, and is the only reason I am here.” She took a deep breath before continuing, her face growing paler by the moment, her hands shaking visibly even as they sat folded atop the table. “My friend and I,” she said
, nodding to the one called Dera Black, “have become two of her targets. We have also another friend, whom we believe is in great danger. I don’t know how you can help us – or whether you can, or whether you will. Coming to you seemed the only thing left to be done.”
Lila was silent for a long moment, seeking for lies or deception beneath the woman’s words. She stared hard into her eyes; but she neither blanched, nor turned away. She only gazed back without expression; without confidence, but also without fear. There was no pride, no superiority there in her countenance. All of this, coupled with the way that her hands continued to tremble outside of her own notice – and there seemed no way that she could have been an agent of Aerca.
Yet that did not mean, of course, that she was to be wholly trusted.
“Why would you think that I can help you?” Lila asked.
“Like I said, Princess, with all due respect – I am not sure that you can. Yet it seemed worth the asking.”
“I suppose that’s fair enough.”
The woman sat quietly for a time, obviously awaiting more of an explication from Lila. But what was she to tell her? She had no idea who she was, or how she had come to incur Dain Aerca’s wrath. In all honesty, she did not want to know any more about any of it. She had quite enough troubles, without adding to them something like this.
“I know better than anyone what chaos Dain Aerca can stir,” said Lila, “but I know nothing about you, or your friend. The Sorceress has many enemies, and I cannot protect them all.”
The dark-haired woman maintained her stoney expression; though the stone did seem to grow colder at Lila’s words. But it was the other’s face, wrought with so much more than mere disappointment, that tugged at a stiff string in Lila’s heart. Every small piece of hope that had existed inside her, all coming together like an ill-fitting puzzle as she sat down at the table with Lila – all of it fell apart when Lila issued her decision, smashed back to the pieces what it had been to begin with, though perhaps more splintered and sharp than they had been at the first.
Broken Earth Page 21
