The King's Bastard (33 page)

What could he do about Cobalt?

He couldn't confront Cobalt. There was a great deal of sympathy for him at court. And Byren had no right to reveal Orrade's secret. The dilemma was really Orrade's not his. It only became his problem if he was implicated. Frustration chewed away at the lining of his stomach. His instinct was to take action.

At last he rolled to his feet, wrapped his fur cloak tighter and went to check on the night watch. With his back to the fire, he closed his eyes for several heartbeats then opened them, sight adjusted for the night. The stars were bright enough to cast shadows now that he was out of the fire's range.

He sucked in a deep breath, but it left him unsatisfied. This pass was not as high as the Snow Bridge between Rolencia and Merofynia, but the air was thin. Even though Byren filled his lungs with each breath, he felt light-headed.

They were lucky, they hadn't run into any leogryfs, or centicores. And he hadn't seen any of the warlord's lookouts, but that didn't mean the lookouts hadn't seen his party. He had made no attempt to hide his arrival. This was an official visit, not a punitive raid. Here he was, at the Upper Portals, first camp over the pass and they still hadn't run into Unistag defenders. Odd.

He heard someone humming under his breath, recognising Garzik. Strange what men did to keep themselves awake. 'So, that's how you plan to warn our attackers of your presence?'

'Byren? Uh, sorry,' Garzik whispered, sounding shamefaced. 'I didn't think.'

'Not thinking can get you killed.' He didn't want to carry Garzik's dead body back to Dovecote estate. Not that the old Lord would let him in the front gate. Ah, Elina... somehow he had to make things right between them. For now he concentrated on the things he could control. 'Silence and vigilance. We are in the territory of a warlord who has not renewed his fealty oath.'

Garzik nodded and, with a touch on his shoulder, Byren moved on to the next man on night watch. Orrade's outline was hard to pick out against the rocks.

Creeping up as silently as possible, Byren whispered, 'No trouble?'

'Heard you coming,' Orrade muttered.

Byren could hear the grin in his friend's voice, and a reluctant smile tugged at his lips. He could never stay angry with Orrade.

'Couldn't you sleep, Byren?'

'I like doing extra night watches after marching all day.' He lowered his voice. 'Must keep an eye on your brother, Orrie. Garzik's a brave lad but he's got a lot to learn.'

Orrade sighed. 'I know. Were we ever that young?'

Byren laughed softly. He wished Orrade had never confessed how he felt.

Since they'd marched out of Rolenhold, Orrade had said nothing about his confrontation with Cobalt, even though Byren had made an effort to be alone with him on several occasions. Byren didn't know what to do. He couldn't believe Orrade would betray his plans to Cobalt, yet, considering the alternatives, he found it hard to think otherwise.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to broach the subject tangentially. 'It's a surprise to see Illien back, see him as Lord Cobalt.'

He felt Orrade stiffen.

'Do you know what he argued with his father over all those years ago?' Orrade asked.

'No.' Byren was surprised by the question. 'Lence and I were only seven at the time. The grown-ups never told us.'

'I think it would be worth knowing.'

'What are you saying, that Cobalt can't be trusted?'
Tell me
, Byren willed Orrade to speak,
tell me so that I can help you
. Though, in truth he did not know how he could help either of them.

'I did not say that. But I think it is odd that Utland Raiders risked the winter seas to attack Port Cobalt precisely when he was there.'

'He explained that. There were spies in Ostron Isle who knew he carried a king's ransom in jewels.'

Orrade let his breath out slowly. 'That sounds believable. But what of his bride? It's rare for raiders to kill women and girls.'

'An unlucky blow, I guess.' Byren didn't want to defend Cobalt, least of all to Orrade. He decided to throw caution to the winds. 'If you were in trouble, you'd tell me, wouldn't you, Orrie?'

'You mean apart from being disinherited and having the possibility of being accused as a Servant of Palos hanging over my head?'

'Eh!' Byren grinned, acknowledging a hit. 'But you're not a Servant of Palos, you're a...' He found he couldn't say it. The memory of Orrade in Cobalt's arms still made his blood boil.

Orrade snorted. 'A lover of men. Even you can't bring yourself to say it. And no one seems to be able to separate the two.'

Byren cleared his throat, aware that his face was flushed. He was grateful for the starlight that leeched colour from everything. 'I don't get it, Orrie. Many's the time you've gone wenching with Lence and I. What makes -'

Orrade turned to him. 'Many's the time you've bedded girls gifted by grateful villages, what made that last girl different?'

'I told you. Elina.'

'What about Elina?'

'I've given my heart and my body goes with it.' As the words fell from Byren's lips, he realised they were true.

Orrade said nothing with great eloquence.

Byren made the connection. Orrade loved him like that? He wanted to argue that Orrade's feelings for him were different, but honesty forced him to ask who was he to say? They had faced death together and lived. He had not shared that with Elina.

While Byren brooded over this, several shooting stars speared across the sky towards the pass. Star-rocks were highly prized by renegade Power-workers.

'What will you do when we get to Unistag Stronghold?' Orrade asked.

He had no idea. It all depended on how he found things. He gave himself a mental shake and checked the wandering stars. 'Almost time for the next watch. I'll go back and wake them.'

He would also check on the sentries on the other side of the camp. The path was narrow here with a big drop on one side. Jagged rocks poked through the powdery snow. The soft squeak of something heavy compressing the snow made him hesitate.

Whumpa
.

Something collided with him, but because he'd hesitated he took a glancing blow to the shoulder and not the full impact. The foetid stench of a carnivore filled his nostrils.

Chapter Sixteen

As Byren regained his balance he found his sword was already drawn. Ideal for warriors, not so good for the predators. He didn't want to get that close. With a yell, Byren threw himself back. A dark head with blazing eyes speared into the place where he had been a moment before, jaws slashing. A second blazing-eyed head lunged. Two of them.

He yelled again.

His boot snagged on a rock as he tried to back up. His legs went out from under him.
Thump
. He hit the ground, almost losing his grip on his sword. Two sets of blazing eyes reared over him. He saw long necks, vestigial wings.

Still, he could not make sense of what he saw.

'Over here!' Garzik yelled to distract it, charging in from behind.

'Freezing Sylion!' Byren muttered. They didn't even know what they were fighting and Garzik was going to tackle it alone. Byren struggled to his feet and felt Orrade almost collide with him.

Against the starry sky Byren saw Garzik wrestling with a man-high snake. No, it had small forearms and vestigial wings. Where its tail should have been a second head reared up, eyes blazing like lamps.

'Amfina,' he warned. Both heads had to be removed before the beast died. If only the primary head was removed the secondary would become primary by growing horns, and the damaged end would sprout a secondary head.

Garzik screamed with pain.

Byren lunged in, attacking the secondary head which turned and went for him, jaws snapping. He jerked aside, swinging his sword, but the amfina weaved away. At least the primary head released Garzik. To attack him. It darted in before Byren could bring the sword up. He only escaped the lunge by throwing himself back on the snow, narrowly missing a large, balanced rock.

Orrade had already run around and was dragging Garzik out of reach of the Affinity beast. Garzik left an ominous dark streak on the snow.

The secondary head speared down. Byren rolled, bringing the sword up, straight into the creature's mouth. The head reared back, pulling the hilt from his hands which left him with only his hunting knife. Again.

'Help Byren, not me!' Garzik urged.

The primary head swung in an arc, going for Byren's face. He slashed, leapt and rolled. Luckily the injured secondary head was slowing the amfina down.

'Garzik, are you all right?' Captain Temor charged down the path with the others puffing behind. 'Byren?'

'Over here. Watch out. Amfina!' Now that the pressure was off him, he felt dizzy from lack of air.

Temor darted between him and the amfina, yelling to distract it. The old captain stumbled into a rock and lay still. Must have hit his head. There was little room to manoeuvre, too many rocks, narrow path, a terrible drop. The primary head swerved for Temor. Byren sprang to his feet. No point in attacking one head with a hunting knife and leaving himself open to the other head. He searched for inspiration; nothing but rocks and snow.

The other men-at-arms got in each other's way. Orrade stood over Garzik, prepared to defend him.

The secondary head writhed as it flung Byren's sword away. The weapon clattered, falling over the edge, striking rocks on the way down. Enraged, the amfina's secondary head turned on Orrade. He was the only person who did not back off, refusing to leave Garzik undefended.

Byren cursed again.

Throwing his weight behind the chest-sized, balanced rock, he thrust at it with all his might. It teetered. Muscles straining, he put his legs into it. The rock slipped off its perch, rolled and landed on the amfina's back. Pinned by the rock, the creature's two heads writhed, hissing in fury.

One of his men cheered and threw Byren a sword. He caught it, the hilt slapping into his palm. Now they could deal with the beast.

He ploughed in, distracting the primary head as he dragged Temor out of striking range. There was blood on his forehead but he was coming around.

Byren placed him next to Garzik and straightened.

'So that's why the pass was unguarded,' Orrade muttered.

Byren laughed, then took another deep breath. 'Why waste men, when a beast will do it for the price of a few tethered goats?'

The new warlord was a clever man. Byren stood back and let his men hack the amfina to pieces. With no Affinity warder to say the words, Byren whispered them hoping to settle the beast's innate Affinity. Then he and Orrade carried Garzik to the camp fire. Of course, the boy protested all the way. They peeled off his bloodied clothes.

'It's nothing,' Garzik insisted.

'You're lucky the amfina is not poisonous,' Byren told him.

Orrade and Temor caught his eye. The amfina's bite was not poisonous, but it was prone to going bad. Garzik would have to be treated by a healer, and soon.

'I'll wash the bite out with wine and pack it with herbs,' Temor announced. 'With his woolens and bearskin coat it isn't deep, but anything that breaks the skin is dangerous.' The bleeding from his head wound had slowed.

Byren nodded. 'Treat yourself, too.'

'I'll help,' Orrade offered.

'We'll ask the warlord's healer to take a look at Garzik,' Byren said.

Now there was even more reason to get down to Unistag Stronghold. Byren inspected the stars. 'Be dawn soon. We'll move out at first light. We'll need to build a litter for Garzik. Exertion will only weaken him.'

'I'm sorry,' Garzik croaked.

Byren laughed. 'You jumped in to save my life. I won't forget. It could have been me with the bite or worse.'

Garzik grinned, but already his face was flushed and his eyes too bright. Byren's spirits sank. It would break Elina's heart if anything happened to him.

Leaving Orrade and Temor to look after Garzik, Byren moved off to walk around the campsite, stopping to speak with the men and see how they had fared. He was annoyed because now he would be greeting the warlord from a position of weakness, needing a healer's help.

In the darkest time of the night, just before dawn, Fyn stood at Master Wintertide's side fighting exhaustion. They were surrounded by many abbey masters who had come to witness the starkisses bloom. Being allowed to attend was an honour, but he could barely keep his eyes open. If he could just stay awake long enough to escort Master Wintertide back to his chamber...

Sweat trickled down Fyn's face. Hot water - pumped up from the spring in the abbey's courtyard - usually kept the garden pleasantly warm, but tonight Master Sunseed had turned the heat up to encourage the flowers to open. The heat, the long sled trip and the beating all took their toll. Fyn felt so tired he caught himself drifting into a half-waking state where time slid past him.

Through the roof's glass panels he could see the night sky ablaze with stars. They were so thick in places that they formed clouds of rainbow brilliance. Blazing starlight filled the hothouse, also enticing the starkisses to bloom.