Bones of the Empire (40 page)

It was a somber sight watching the people go. Estin had watched far too many refugees sadly leaving their homes over the years, but these people had managed to weather the majority of the war, only to be sent packing by a cloud. It was humbling and terrifying at the same time. Had it not been for the mists, they and any other cities like them out there might have made it through the war unscathed.

Turning to the south, Estin could easily see the mists closing in on Jnodin. The faint glow covered much of the southeastern section of the city, slowed momentarily by whatever magic Turess had woven over the temple. It spread along the wall of magic, sweeping over any section of the city that it could reach, tearing away entire sections of the stone walls. Every hour or two, the mists would suddenly lurch, advancing into the city another few hundred feet. What Turess had once said would keep the mists miles away now only kept them about a mile from the temple itself.

“How long until the last of them is out?” Estin finally asked, forcing himself to look away from the mists. They were almost hypnotic, making it difficult to keep his thoughts straight.

“Any minute now,” Turess confirmed, leaning on the wall beside Estin. “I do wish this was first time I have seen this. I lost five cities this way before I found right magic to deter the mists. Rather, until Nenophar showed right magic.”

“Can we hold out?”

Turess eyed Estin skeptically before shrugging. “Last time, cloud came through hole in the world to feed, not to survive. This time, is much more determined. It likely does not even see us, only feels the magic it needs to feed on to live. A cornered or starved animal is far more deadly…same applies to mists. No offense meant about animal.”

Estin watched as one of the guard towers in the south seemed to turn transparent before vanishing entirely. It would not be long now before the mists had the majority of the southeastern city engulfed. “Is Turessi any safer?”

Turess scowled at that. “Horrible name for the place. Was supposed to be temporary only until we had starved the mists. Less magic in the north. I made choice and am to blame for it. My people were to go back to their cities after a generation of hiding. Still, I built large structure in north that every wizard across eight lands worked to shield against mists. Jnodin and other cities were my quick attempts to spare lives. Place felt like grave. Was why I called it the bones of my empire. Was never meant to hold the mists forever.”

“You know your brother is sitting at the middle of that shield, right?”

Nodding, Turess said nothing.

“Can you stop him?”

“No,” Turess admitted, glancing both ways down the wall to be sure no one was listening. “Dorralt is better wizard than I. With two thousand years and hundreds more wizards linked to him, I am little better than small and annoying bug. I only matter because he think our people will follow me.”

“What does that make me, if you’re a bug? They consider you one of the greatest wizards of all time.”

Turess glanced over at Estin, smiling and shaking his head. “Never trust old stories. They lie very much. What this all makes you is a better man than I. You found your love and kept her, no matter cost. I lost everything, only to empower my insane brother. I would trade an eternity of praise on my name for a day as you, Estin. Not to take what you have, but to enjoy the same type of blessings that you do. Would never wish to take from you.”

Estin reached out to pat the man’s shoulder, but Turess flinched away in much the same way Estin remembered Dalania doing. After a moment, he let his hand drop. “Why the prohibition on touching among your people?”

“Was not meant to be so,” Turess said, smiling as he looked down at Estin’s hand on the wall. “I had bad beginnings as leader. You understand…I have seen your scars. I endured much pain, until I shied away from any contact.”

Leaning back onto the wall, watching the mists slowly approach, Estin said, “I welcomed the pain of the whip.”

“Your breed likes pain? Was not something I would have guessed.”

“No,” Estin laughed, getting a chuckle from Turess as well. “We’d rather run from anything that even hints at pain. When I was taken captive, I had my children with me. Every time the taskmaster threatened to whip them, I begged to take it myself. I had to appreciate being beaten, knowing it spared my children from that kind of pain. I could endure anything so long as they endured nothing more than a cold winter and too little food. The only way you survive that is to convince yourself that you are doing the right thing, and then, even pain will make you smile.”

Turess studied Estin a long time before looking back to the mists in the distance, where they were uprooting several large buildings. “May I ask rude question?”

“Only if I can too.”

Grinning, Turess asked, “Would you have changed your life to make it easier, if you knew that you would never meet Feanne? All of the pain and sorrow could have been avoided, but you would never have seen her face. Is a question I struggle with much in regard to my wife.”

“I don’t know your wife,” Estin said, hesitating as the mists vaporized the government building at the southern entrance to the city, “but if you’re asking me that, you went through things easily as bad as I have—”

“Worse in some ways, better in others,” Turess said.

“—but I would never question it. Even if I lived two thousand years, I would never wish for a second that Feanne wasn’t part of my life. I’ll take any pain, any torture, any misery this world can create to be with her. Even if she had died—and stayed dead—and you asked that same question, I would only replace her name with those of my children. There is nothing I wouldn’t suffer for my family. Do you really think I’d still be here if it wasn’t to save one or more of them?”

Shaking his head, Turess replied, “No, I would not expect that. This is why I ask. You are better man than I am. I died not knowing how my wife could have betrayed me. She was the reason I died all those years ago. I loved her as you love Feanne, but I cannot forget the betrayal. I want to know how she died out of revenge, even as I hope that I was wrong. It makes me question my choices.”

Despite knowing Turess’s reluctance, Estin put his hand over his. Turess flinched, but made no effort to pull away. “There had to be a reason. Remember who she was before then, and maybe if we’re very lucky, we will learn what happened to her when we get to Turessi.”

Pulling his hand from under Estin’s, Turess rubbed at the silver bracelet he wore, scowling at the mists, which had advanced to another street. “I do hate that name,” he said, turning toward the stairs down, below which Estin could see the last of the people of Jnodin running for the northern plains. “Once my brother is gone, we will find new name. Maybe Estinia or something equally absurd. Anything without my name on it. Make someone else be embarrassed for what people living there do.”

Laughing, Estin followed him down off the walls, the echoes of the mists crushing buildings in the distance.

*

The army fled north for the next two days before Turess directed them slightly east, toward an area he explained would be better-sheltered from the weather. It took most of that day on horseback to reach the canyon ahead of the walking army, but when they did, Estin could see why Turess had chosen the place, even as the snows fell in sheets that limited their ability to see far.

Two massive flat-topped mountains stood in the middle of the snowy plains, so close together that they likely had once been a single block of stone. The split between them was their destination, shielded not just from wind and snow, but also narrow enough that a dozen men could hold the entrance against an army. Feanne had chosen a similar natural barrier for her pack during the early days of the war.

“Found this place when I was taking people away from mists,” Turess explained without Estin having to ask. “They make legends about how I fought stone elemental lord here and this is all that is left of it.”

“Did you fight a stone elemental lord here?” Feanne asked, keeping her attention on the mountains.

Turess peeked out the corner of his hood at her and then over at Estin before replying. “I did not fight one here. Certainly not here, and certainly did not defeat it. Besides, elemental lords are old gods…much like dragons. They don’t exist, my people always say. You agree, yes, Estin?”

Estin’s skin prickled with chill that did not come from the wind, but Turess kept watching him with a knowing stare. Finally, the man looked away and grinned.

“The elemental lords do exist, god or not,” Feanne said, apparently having missed the silent exchange. “I saw them as we fled Lantonne. The four appeared and nearly destroyed the whole region. We were lucky to drag Estin out in time. Had I been slower in finding him, I doubt we would be having his conversation.”

“And they say I have had adventures,” Turess said to himself, getting a sidelong glance from Feanne. “How often have you saved Estin from lesser gods or more mundane things?”

Feanne turned in the saddle to look at Estin, but he shrugged. He was not about to restrict whatever she wanted to talk about. If she bragged too much, he had enough on her to turn the conversation around, and she knew it.

“I have dragged him back from the brink of death no less than four times,” she said after thinking a moment. “He has brought me back from far past the brink once, and I would not dare to count the times I would have died if he had not intervened.”

Turess did not say anything at first, but he nudged his horse closer to Feanne’s. To Estin’s surprise—and Feanne’s, judging by her snarl—Turess grabbed Feanne by the wrist and examined her hand before she pulled free.

“Your kind are very worthy warriors,” he explained quickly. “We had an entire contingent of lions in our army. I thought I recognized the claws. My apology for touching, but you keep your fingers hidden often and curl your toes when riding. Have been trying to get a look for week or more.”

“I am a fox,” Feanne said firmly, tucking her hands under her cloak.

“We had those too,” Turess added, grinning. “They were fine scouts, though we keep them separate from prey breeds. So many conflicts. Your people were simple, because we knew which ones would attack each other. Among mine…not simple. In my day, I would keep you and Estin far apart so I do not have to get long explanation for why my scouts are missing when I wake.”

“Why would you have to do that?” Feanne asked, giving Estin a confused glance and an annoyed flick of her tail.

“You are many kinds of predator, and Estin’s breed was prey…and rare even then, so would not want lionesses killing them off. We only had one of his kind, though she was a truly talented scout. She practically led our campaign into the forests to the far southeast. Others handled battle, but she was never even spotted by our enemies. I doubt my brother even knew I employed that woman. I wonder what ever happened to her.”

Estin hurried his horse up to Turess’s side. “You’ve seen my breed before?”

“I have.”

“What am I?” Estin demanded. “I’ve spent my life trying to find out.”

“What you are a man who has a heart larger than most,” Turess said. “Would knowing your breed’s name change who you are to your wife or children?”

“No…”

“It might,” Turess replied. “Knowing what you are puts you into a little cage of expectations. Your instincts already tell you to hide or run—I can see in your eyes at times. You do not know what you are, so you become what you wish. These days, that is far more important. Would you prefer to tell your children that you fought a war as a valiant hero of the living armies, or tell them that you are simply a male of your breed?”

“I’d rather be myself,” Estin admitted.

“I will tell you if you wish. You must ask, knowing what it means for yourself.”

Estin glanced at Feanne and then back to Turess. Finally, he replied, “I’ve done just fine not knowing what I am.”

“You know what you are,” Turess answered, smiling. “You simply do not have a word for it. If anything I have learned since I first heard your language, there is no shame in seeking the word you need. It takes time to find it…and you already have, Estin. Your words are: father, husband, mate, protector, and friend. You do not need another. Too many words already.”