Slow Turns The World (35 page)

Torrin let his sword arm hang limp at last, and felt the failure overwhelm him.  It was only then he let his gaze rise higher to the second face, to the man who stood now cradling his young friend’s body and whose cheeks were wet with tears, whose clothes were cut and bloodstained from the assault upon the Cloisters; Cardinal Saloxe.  As Cardinal Saloxe stood forward now, preparing to speak to those assembled, Torrin’s hand tightened again on his sword.  He had his own words to say, and they would be loud and angry.  Then he felt the knife prick his skin and heard the whispered words in his ear.

“I regret,” said the Captain, “that I cannot let you speak.”

Other figures sidled to him.  A second dagger teased his skin.   They pulled him towards another doorway, blades threatening to puncture when he resisted.   All eyes were turned towards Cardinal Saloxe and none saw Torrin taken.  

 “Brave men of Etoradom,” the Cardinal called out, “noble men, blessed by God in your victory over evil and oppression….”

Torrin heard the beginning of the speech but then the words were lost as he was dragged and bundled along a dim passage. They pushed him into a dank unlit cell and manacled his wrists; the cold metal clasps pinching his flesh as they were snapped shut and locked.  Then, without a word, his captors left him; the door slammed, the bolts latched, and the waiting began.

The flagstones were chill beneath him but his chained wrists were anchored to the floor such that he could not stand or even rise above a crouch.  As the time passed in chill darkness, sound became his only contact with the world.  The speech begun by Cardinal Saloxe continued.   He could not hear the words but he did hear the chorus of the audience, of the men he had fought beside.  First murmuring in approval and agreement, then roaring and cheering as the speech reached its conclusion.   When the ovations finally faded other sounds began.  

There were shouts of orders being given, some muffled, some distinct, and heavy footsteps passing with a clank of steel.  There were the echoing thuds of prison doors thrown open, and then sometimes sobs of joy and gratitude from those released.  There was angry cursing too, with protestations of innocence and betrayal, as the newly emptied cells received fresh occupants.   Finally, marching feet approached and halted at his door; a key turned, and a figure was silhouetted in the open doorway.

“Vasagi?”

“Lordship,” replied Torrin with an undertone of both relief and lurking suspicion.  Then his anger eclipsed the other emotions and he spat out his next words.

“I somehow guessed you had a part in this.  Now tell me why Saloxe walks free and why I am in here.”

His Lordship did not reply at once but pulled the cell door closed.  He crouched down until his eyes were level with Torrin’s and set between them a flickering lantern.  Torrin squinted, dazzled by the little beacon that dispelled the long darkness as His Lordship began to speak.

“While you were making your attack upon the gates, Saloxe, very wisely, saw the time was right to change allegiances.  It would seem the commander of the tower guard was also persuaded.  The other members of the Synod were butchered, quite savagely, before Saloxe brought his men here to deal with the Brotherhood.”

 “Saloxe.  Saloxe,” Torrin spat the name out distastefully,  “ he of all men.  Have they forgotten who he is?  He was the Synod, and now they stand and cheer his words.”

“How would they know him, Vasagi?  The Synod had neither names nor faces.  As my protector you glimpsed what others could not.  You know the name of Saloxe, and where his duties lay.   But who else now knows this?  And do not say the Brothers of these Cloisters because…”  

His voice became quieter, like a bitter wind that whispers and chills in the night.

“Because they are all dead, Vasagi, like the Synod.  There are very few of us who know the truth of Cardinal Saloxe.”

His Lordship took a breath and paused.   He seemed to be uncertain for a moment, hesitant, like a messenger whose words could spark much anger.

“You know,” he continued, “that it was Saloxe who ordered Valhad to be taken.  He judged it would be easier, with the great heretic gone, to crush those that remained.    He would have been right, but you were there; a man not tangled in their petty feuds.    Perhaps you were more than that, Vasagi, for you seem to have some power in the leading of men.    But with all your bravery you could not save him in time.   I knew this, which is why I did what had to be done.”

He paused expectantly, looking Torrin in the eye, awaiting his reaction, which flared angrily a moment later.

“You went to Saloxe!  When we were fighting at the gates!  Brave men were dying and you were plotting with our enemy!”

“Vasagi, we both sought to save Valhad; each in our own way.” His Lordship spoke quietly but the words trembled slightly as if some troubled emotion lurked beneath them.

“And what bargain did you make, my Lordship?”  Torrin spat the words at him, eyes burning with accusation. Then His Lordship raised his voice almost to a shout, the first time Torrin had ever witnessed such a loss of control.

“I went to the outer gate of the spoke wall and surrendered myself!  You may have risked your life with a sword to save him, but I chanced mine too.   And not just from a stab or an arrow.  They would have brought me here and made a very slow vengeance for my treachery.  That is the risk I took, so don’t judge me.  Yes, I made a bargain, one that saved your life and many others too.  Why do you think the gates were not defended?  Cardinal Saloxe is no fool.  I gave him a last chance to make the choice and join us.  Only he could enter here before the Brother’s work on Valhad was complete, only he had the power to save him.”

His Lordship’s voice faltered and he lowered his eyes as if he knew what Torrin’s reply would be.  

 “But, Lordship, he did not save him.”

A slow shaking of the head came before the answer.

“Vasagi, we cannot know what happened here; Saloxe may have come too late.”  

“Or perhaps he finished the task for them.” Torrin’s quiet words smouldered with a dark fire.  “Now, tell me what else was bargained.”

His Lordship raised his eyes again to meet Torrin’s stare before he made his reply.  

“Etoradom!  Etoradom; that is what was bargained.  No man can rule from the high tower if it burns and falls.   That is why I made my pact with him.  I despise Saloxe but I will share Etoradom with him before I see it broken.”

“And what suits Etoradom best?” came Torrin’s bitter question, “Valhad alive or Valhad dead?  How much of his blood stains your hand?”

His Lordship’s temper flared again. “I swear to you in God’s name there was nothing more I could do to save him.”

“God, now is it?  And what would you know of Him, ‘priest’?”  

There could have been no more venom in Torrin’s scathing words but His Lordship did not respond angrily.  Instead, he leaned forward and a calmness seemed to settle over him.  There was a quiet conviction in his voice that Torrin had never heard before and a light glinting in his eye that was brighter than the reflected lantern flame.

“You know,” he said, “when we first met upon the ship my faith, my belief, had grown so thin.  And then God revealed himself, and gave to me a gift.  Two men floating on the sea, each to serve me in their own way.  Each to play their part in the building of empire; an empire blessed by God and trusted by Him to my stewardship.   God has judged that Valhad’s work is done, but mine only now truly begins and will not be complete until this world is governed from His appointed crown of Etoradom.”

“Your empire, Lordship?  Did Cardinal Saloxe agree to that too?  And does Etoradom not already have an Emperor?”

“There is an old man brooding in darkness who will find no more provisions delivered to him.  The few that remain with him will slip away to join us; his court will grow smaller, and colder.  And as for Saloxe; he and I have reached an accommodation that will suffice for a while.  He will concern himself with the governance of Etoradom and I shall have dominion over our… foreign policy.  But do not be too concerned with the Cardinal, he may be secure for now, but I suspect that the new church will enjoy its first excommunication before too long.”

“The new church?”

“A new church for a new empire.  For what other purpose would God bring Valhad to me?  He was a great prophet and must have his rightful place amongst the most Holy saints of the Text.”

“Lordship, Lordship,” sighed Torrin with a disbelieving sadness, “did you ever listen to Valhad’s words? To have understood so little?”

“I listened many times and I understood very well.  I saw the power God had given him to gather and unite the masses under a new banner.  His words were not meant for my ears; God gave to him one purpose and to me He gave another.”  

“Lordship,” said Torrin, “are you so foolish, so mad, so blind, that you will kill, enslave and torture in Valhad’s name?”

His Lordship’s face grew stern and he jabbed his finger in the air between them.

“You will mind your words with me; it is no time since I was your master, do not forget that, and I will still have respect from you.”        

“Yes, Lordship, you were my master but now you are my jailer.”

His Lordship’s anger died away and his reply was quietly spoken.

“No,” he said, “I am your protector.”

He reached within his cloak, keys tinkled and then the manacles were unlocked.  Torrin rose, rubbing his wrists and stretching his cramped limbs.

“The Captain speaks most highly of you,” said His Lordship, “ he regrets that it was necessary to place you here.”

“Necessary, Lordship?”

“The order was mine; given before you made your assault, but the Captain understood the wisdom of it.  You would not have stood quietly while Saloxe made his speech. If we had not silenced you, then the Cardinal’s men would have done so in a more permanent way.”

There was a hint of a smile on His Lordship’s lips as he continued.

“Regrettable that we both missed the Cardinal’s oratory.  It was, apparently, both poignant and stirring.  Mostly about ‘uniting under the banner of liberty’ and ‘a new age of prosperity and freedom’.  They say he was weeping as he spoke, as he stood there cradling the body of Valhad.  Now all the city talks of him; this strange man with wise words who so nearly saved The Healer.”

Torrin became pale and tight lipped with cold anger, but before he could erupt His Lordship spoke.

“Vasagi, you cannot change what has happened, you cannot alter the will of God.  You must leave now while you can, before Saloxe finds you.  Order is returning, a new garrison has left for the Havens.  A ship is being prepared to gather bounty from the excavations in the far south and to dispatch emissaries of the new church to our territories abroad.  You have time to be there before it sails, but you should not delay.”

His Lordship rose and pulled open the cell door.  Torrin followed him down the passage, past the rows of prison doors all locked fast.   Another corridor crossed their way and some commotion distracted Torrin.  He saw a struggling figure being held between cold-faced guards, caught a glimpse of a face he knew, and a familiar voice that shouted defiance.

“That is Aracus!” said Torrin, stopping to turn, “he fought beside me at the gate!”

“Vasagi, do not linger here,” His Lordship whispered, “I will do what I can for him, I swear that to you.”

Torrin walked on reluctantly, not entirely comforted by the words of reassurance.  In the courtyard a horse was tethered, saddlebags bulging with provisions; his sword, taken from him on his imprisonment, hung against the animal’s flank.

“There is sufficient food to take you to the Havens.  And money too, more than enough for the passage,” said His Lordship as Torrin mounted.  Then, as he took the reins, His Lordship reached up and clasped his arm.

“My friend,” he said, “for I will now call you that, let me give you final words of council.  When you go back to your tribe lead them far away, far from all other people; beware of strangers who may come. May God protect you all.”    

And he made the sign of the spiral horns in the air between them as the horse clattered away.

Torrin trotted from the gates of the Cloisters and past the smoking ruins of the priests’ villas.  He looked up and saw a new banner unfurled upon the tower top; the emblem of the spiral horns billowing in a brisk wind.   The guard at the burned gate let him pass and in the city beyond, the patrols of soldiers gave him no obstruction.  Some raised their arms in salute to the hero of the siege, but others, who had been Saloxe’s guard, gave a more wary and suspicious look.  There were many people moving in the streets and all seemed to be set upon some common destination.  Torrin slowed his horse and let himself drift with the tide of movement.  In one of the largest city squares a crowd was gathering and a platform had been raised.  Torrin dismounted, tethered his horse and hid himself amongst the multitude.

It was Saloxe who came to address the crowd.  It was Saloxe that they listened to in attentive, respectful silence.

“Citizens of Etoradom, we are chosen by God to live in glorious light on the summit of the world, and now we are blessed again, for He has sent His prophet to show us truth and lead us back to the path from which we have strayed.  In doing this, in setting us upon this path ordained by God, the prophet Valhad has surely saved Etoradom from darkness and Godlessness; in doing this he has become our Saviour.”

The crowd mumbled in agreement, some called out ‘God bless the Saviour’.  Saloxe let the voices cry out and then motioned them to silence again.

  “It was the last act of the false priests to slay our Saviour, but God, who sees how all things will be, knew this would be so, that we, His chosen people, would kill he whom God loved as His own son.  Yet we are forgiven.  God forgives us and will make no punishment if he sees the new church of our Saviour doing His work, here and throughout all the world.”  He paused, giving the crowd time to nod and call their blessings before speaking again.

“You will know that it was I who led the soldiers of the tower to liberate the Cloisters…”