World's End (19 page)

‘I never wanted to be a king of anything. Do what you want.'

Shilen stepped towards him. ‘Take care, man-lord. You speak now for your people. Your words matter. I give advice as parent to hatchling. Heed me! Something dangerous stirs in the Ash Sea. It may be they cannot awaken him. Men have not yet learned it is unwise to play with things beyond their measure. This business occurs in your realm, is done by your subjects. It is your business more than mine.'

‘She's lying,' said Loup wearily. He still wiped tears from his
cheeks, one of which was bruised from Sharfy's punch. ‘No way would the great beasts let old Inferno wake up, if they could stop it. Not old Inferno. No one wants him wakened. Man nor dragon nor Spirit.'

‘I answer you only if the man-lord asks,' said Shilen. ‘I am his link between humanity and dragonkind. Direct your questions through him.'

Eric held aloft the amulet. ‘What happened to Shadow?'

‘Ah, you have him,' she said. ‘Good! Be careful, he is dangerous. Even dragons cannot sense him, when he comes near. Your charm is a shadowtrap. Other shadowtraps have been made. They are few, and distributed with great care. They won't hold him long. Nothing can.'

‘How do I free him?'

‘Don't!' Again, just for an instant her eyes flashed yellow and were slitted. ‘As much as may be, he must be controlled. He has a purpose. Do not ask me! I do not know it. I will speak one final warning to you, man-lord. Another man-lord rises in the south. It is deemed he will be your foe.'

Eric laughed. ‘Deemed by whom?'

‘Of that I speak no more.' The thudding sounds had grown steadily louder. All turned their eyes south-east. ‘Whose hoofbeats are they? Someone comes.' She reached a hand to Sharfy, touched his face. His body flopped down. He went on all fours, coughing. ‘Who comes here?' she said.

‘Valour,' he said, then looked up at who spoke. Recognising Shilen he lunged for his sword. With a flick of her fingers his sword skittered away from him.

‘You'd better run,' said Loup. ‘Gods don't like dragons.'

Indeed when he turned back to her she had already gone.
The breastplate was the reason Shilen had drawn Anfen to swim at this lake, for she had perceived something of the power within it, and did not dare take it from him while he lived. He had freely chosen to discard it in the grass; he had asked to be slain. That made things much safer; no natural laws of the Parent had been broken. Loup was relieved, though Shilen's masters among the Eight would now extract the artefact's strange power, and undoubtedly shape that power into a key to unlock a way into the other realm, the adjacent realm which Anfen had called the quiet. The dragons had little knowledge of that place, which their Parent in its wisdom had hidden from them.

*

Terrible light gleamed from the slit of Valour's helm as his steed thundered into view and came to a halt by the lake's edge. He dismounted, the ground shivering where his boots fell upon it. His anger darkened the sky. ‘Where is my witness?' his voice boomed.

Eric found the words pulled from him: ‘Dead now, Valour. Slain by a dragon.'

‘What of the protection I gave him? What of the armour and sword? With those, nothing beneath the skies could do him harm.'

‘Stolen by the same dragon that killed him,' said Eric and Sharfy together, neither of them in control of their speech.

‘Where then is his body?' said Valour.

‘It sank in the water.'

Valour drew his sword. ‘You have failed and defied me, all of you here. You will join him. Step into the water, where you will sink in death beside him.'

It was as they took their first few involuntary steps that Vous's laughter burbled and fell about the fields like rain, dispelling
Valour's darkness. Valour mounted his steed and rode it to where Vous danced and sang through gardens he'd made there which were only half revealed. Quick and graceful he danced around the slashes of Valour's sword, did not seem to care that Valour's steed kicked and trampled fountains and flowers. Vous blew kisses in the air which burst into exploding sparks of gold. He turned Valour's parries and thrusts, and his steed's kicking legs, all into an unwitting dance. Ever came his laughter, more joyful as Valour's rage grew and grew, his battle cries becoming deafening. Off into the distance Vous led him until they were gone from sight and Valour's screams were no more than faint distant thunder.

Loup stared, mouth open, long after the two gods had gone, so gobsmacked he didn't see Eric climb aboard the drake again without him. Case took to the sky, leaving the others behind.

With Far Gaze captive, the mayor and his men arrived at the village where Gorb had dwelled. It was abandoned, with many of its homes smashed, parts of walls and roofs lying about like broken eggshells. Tormentor tracks here and there punched the ground. The broken body of one lay piled by the well.

The men paused to roast a goat they'd found tied in a yard. Tauk kept flexing with wonder his newly healed arm.

‘Where did the Spirit go to?' said Vade, examining the blessed armour he'd been given. It was between white and silver. Where firelight fell on it there sparkled patches of ruby light.

‘He went to fight the dragon he'd named his foe,' said Fithlim.

‘Nay! Not the one who flew over us: he went to fight one of the greats.'

‘You believe the mighty beasts are free now?'

‘Nay. I believe our patron rode to the very skies. He wished us to follow him, but we could not.'

‘Nay! He wished us to remain here and guard World's End from other perils. A fight more to our degree. If we do this duty well, he will return for us, take us with him to help him slay the sky dragons.'

‘Greetings!' called another voice, causing all three men to
draw their blades and stand. Blain hobbled towards their fire with the help of his walking stick. Kiown followed him.

Quickly the mayor moved the haiyen's body away from the fire to where long grass concealed it. Blain raised his left arm, forearm to his forehead:
No weapon here, we wish to speak.
Vade and Fithlim kept their blades out nonetheless, pointed to the ground. ‘Hail,' they said.

‘Hail and be seated,' said Tauk. ‘Share the fire. But you both look fed enough and not in need of our meat.'

‘Your tied-up companion looks hungry,' Blain grunted, nodding at Far Gaze. He lowered himself slowly to the ground.

‘Never mind him, old man. He is a criminal by my city's rule.'

‘If the city no longer exists, does the rule?' said Far Gaze.

‘Shut up! I'll have that tongue of yours cut out.'

‘I know this “criminal”,' said Blain.

‘Is that so?' Tauk eyed Kiown. ‘A fighting man, I see. Your grandson? You little resemble each other.'

‘Well, that's high praise!' Blain laughed so hard he nearly fell in the fire. ‘No! No relation to this filth.' He shuddered in disgust, made perfectly sincere gagging and choking noises. The men looked at each other uneasily. All the while Kiown examined his amulet as if he were the only one here, dangling it by its chain like a pendulum. ‘Well, let's get this over with,' said Blain. He cast off the tattered cloak he wore. His robe's colours bled out into the night. Tauk's two men rushed to their feet. Tauk held out a hand to calm them. He said, ‘That is a Strategist robe?'

‘It is. Rather, it used to be, for I have fled the castle. I am Blain.'

‘So, you know a Strategist, wolf? We learn more of you yet.'

‘Come now, Mayor: he and I weren't friends,' said Blain,
laughing. ‘Don't worry about that! I tried to befriend him, but we battled. In the tower yonder, as it happens.'

‘You said nothing of him being a Strategist when he approached us?' Fithlim yelled at Far Gaze.

‘I forgot,' he replied.

‘Easy, Fithlim,' said Tauk. ‘For our part we forgot to feed him. He owes us no loyalty. Leave him be.' He tossed Far Gaze a shank of meat.

‘Yes, I was a Strategist,' said Blain. ‘But our world is changed now. Dwell in the past if you must. But know this: I was first to leave the castle, first to abandon Avridis to his doom. Betrayal can be a virtuous act. The soup-blesser disagrees, hence our quarrel, some days ago. It's good we meet, Mayor. I had hoped you would come. You are wise to return here. The tower has become a nest for the new folk! The new people, who call themselves haiyens. They build strange contraptions about it, and maybe elsewhere through the land too. Do you know anything of the haiyens?'

The mayor and Blain exchanged carefully worded stories, both omitting more than they told. Blain turned his attention to Far Gaze. ‘Must he remain bound up? A more sincere enemy of Avridis you shan't find. Has your city Aligned to the castle?'

‘Valour bade we tie him,' said Vade.

‘Pff,' said Far Gaze.

‘You cannot bind him, he is a dragon fighter!' said Blain, and snorted. ‘Did he tell you that tale too? I don't believe it. That same dragon bit my best Hunter in two.'

‘Of that, he spoke truly,' said Tauk uneasily. ‘Valour heard the claim too, and did not dispute it.'

Blain's ensuing bark of laughter stunned the mayor and his men to silence. ‘Do Spirits never lie, make mistakes? But forget
that. Perhaps we've a future, eh? An empire to build. We'll see. Keep the Spirit's gifts. Ignore his words and actions! You heard me, ignore them. I know a thing or two of Spirits. They are not men. They don't move, think or speak as we do. A Spirit's truth is several truths at once, some which make lies of the others! And a man – even a great man, Mayor – becomes someone else if brought into a Spirit's service. I studied many cases. We had to know Spirits well, for we meant to create one. Fallible as men?
More
so. More profound beings make more profound mistakes. Don't be angry! You need me. My knowledge is far more useful than your sword. Better than an army of dimwits willing to die at your word.'

‘I do not see my soldiers that way,' said Tauk, barely containing his fury.

Blain hardly noticed. ‘We shall have alliance. I offer it, here and now. If the Spirit returns, we'll see. Until then, be Tauk the Strong once more, strong as your own will ever has been. Ah, yes! I have been an enemy to you. I and the other Strategists: your enemies. But you alone of the mayors we respected, Tauk. We knew you for a renegade among that stupid bunch. It was no game for you. War with your city was something we feared.'

‘There is a tongue to cut out,' said Far Gaze. ‘I cast upon you when I was attacked, but never stooped so low as flattery.' One of the men kicked him.

‘None of that, you fool,' said Blain. ‘His speech can't hurt you. Restrict him, yes, till he shows willingness to work with us. Do not strike him! Our resources are few. Mayor, we five are alone. Six, if the mage will join us. Ah, but empires have started with less than what we have between us, and from beginnings less auspicious than these. The game's not done yet.'

‘Has Vous made the change?' said Far Gaze.

‘By now, he must have,' Blain grunted. ‘Who knows what he's become? To guess … beauty, vanity, something of the sort. It was his preoccupation, when human. Gazing at himself in mirrors. Collecting pretty things, and pretty people. Some of them he froze alive in ice or resin, kept in a hall like museum pieces. Destroyed anything that displeased his taste, with fury Inferno could never have matched. Ah, he was indeed a vile man to know!' Blain sighed, fondly reminiscing.

‘As It wills,' one of Tauk's men ventured. The other offered Blain and Kiown some meat. Both refused it.

Blain laughed. ‘As It wills? So, they still use that empty phrase. The giant slumbering thing has naught to do with anything. It wills nothing! Not till the Pendulum swings high indeed, and let's hope that's far from now. Tales speak grimly of times when it prowls the land, changing its world. As for Valour, you say he wished to ride across the boundary and fight? Then I'll wager another Spirit pulled him away before he could. That's why he fled north. The young Spirits are new to such times as this, you see. They were never here without the Wall. Nervous and skittish, all of them, I'll warrant. My guess? An old Spirit sensed Valour's intention, drew him away before he could cross. Perhaps Mountain. And away they'll keep him, if they can. Don't anger, Mayor. It's just a guess. The old gods have seen times like this before. They're older, wiser. They keep the young Spirits in check.'

‘He went to fight a dragon,' said Vade. The look in his eye demanded Blain agree.

‘As you like,' said Blain, shrugging. ‘Guessing the purpose of Spirits is an old and futile sport. I've played it longer than you know.'

‘Where is Siel?' said Far Gaze.

‘Yes, where's the girl?' said Tauk.

‘What girl?' said Blain.

‘She was healed by the haiyens,' said Tauk, a part of the tale he'd not told Blain. ‘We know not what traps or trickery went with their healing.'

Kiown had been twirling the charm on his finger, admiring the stone. ‘Siel did not come here,' he said.

‘Did you slay her?' said Far Gaze.

‘If I had, you'd do what?' said Kiown.

‘Shut your mouth, sapling!' Blain roared, his robe pulsing crimson. ‘Respect! Fighting
you
was like squashing a wet turd, only far less pleasant. This soup-blesser showed more fight than you by far. Now, Mayor, never mind the Spirits. What of us? I have troubled to find those who know opportunity. Want your city back? I'll give it. And more! Vanquish all your foes. Eh? It's likely the other Strategists will be among your new foes. I know em all, better than they think. I'll outwit the lot of em. If you reject my allegiance, you'll be no enemy of mine, just a lone wanderer in dark times. Magic armour and sword or not. Ever waiting for the return of the Spirit who barely noticed you in the first place. Who has now forgotten you. Bah! Whether it angers you or not, it's the truth. If you wish no alliance with me, say so now and I'll search for wiser men.'

‘I choose between my options, wizard,' said Tauk.

‘Bravo,' said Blain.

‘You say the new people are still nearby? The haiyens, as you call them.'

Blain pointed back at the tower. ‘Domudess is with them. Colluding. He speaks their tongue.'

‘Then we capture him. And them. And we take what knowledge they have, by force if they do not give it freely. What you say of Valour may be true. We care not. We were given his gifts
and blessing and we know honour. We will do what duty he has given us: protect this land from these unwelcome visitors.'

Blain tugged his beard thoughtfully. ‘Attack the haiyens? You have good faith in Valour's gifts, Mayor. I respect that wizard Domudess! He bested me once already. It cost me a Hunter, a good one. Are you sure this is a fight you wish to have?'

‘The haiyens beat these same men once already, with ease,' said Far Gaze, yawning. ‘They did not tell you that part of the tale.'

‘We lost a man, they lost one of theirs,' said Tauk, his voice edged. ‘But we are now refreshed and healed. Whatever you say of Valour, Blain, his blessing is upon us. We are not afraid to fight those beings again. Stay here if
you
are afraid, and mind the wolf-mage doesn't shift form.'

‘Pah! Let him shift.'

‘No! Strategist, I want no alliance. This is my offer: to employ you as an advisor. Get me my city back. I know not how or why, but these haiyens are key to that task, else Valour would not have blessed us and tasked us to guard against them. I need no “empire”, just my beloved city. You will have a place of privilege there, though it shall not be known who you are and where you come from. But you advise, you do not lead.
I
decide, you advise. Agreed? My offer to you is generous. I have not forgotten history.'

Kiown scoffed.

‘Manners, sapling!' Blain screamed, aiming a swat at him with his walking stick, which missed. ‘Fine, fine. Terms accepted. I'll serve you well, O Tauk the Strong.' Blain's bow – made with uncharacteristic physical grace – was somehow sarcastic and sincere at once. He hawked, spat and said, ‘Now. Let's devise a plan, and capture our prey.'