Then, suddenly, it was all over. Gansukh launched a flurry of strikes and his opponent was too slow to counter them. The first landed, then a second, then a third rattled through one of the slits in the helmet, the blade crunching through bone into brain, killing the Yahmet warrior almost instantly.
Gansukh celebrated his victory and the Oliguds cheered wildly for their hero.
Soren looked about him. Somewhere among this group the Oligud had a magic user of their own.
Bolormaa approached him, a sly kind of smile on her face.
And then it clicked.
‘Oh, I see,’ he said, as she sat next to him.
‘Well done, Soren,’ she replied. ‘I knew your life was worth saving. Now, all we need to do is keep my son alive for seven days.’
It was a strained journey across the Lantinen Sea. They all wanted to get back as quickly as possible, and fears about what was happening in Dalriya made people anxious and short-tempered. Maragin and Hakonin perhaps felt it the most, since they were absent when their clans needed their leadership.
Kharovian ships could be seen to the north, tracking their movements, still not making a move of their own. Their presence added to the tension on board, and Rabigar let out a sigh of relief when he saw the Krykker coast come into view.
When they had docked, they immediately went their separate ways. Farred left for the south, travelling to the lands of men to warn them of the new threat. Hakonin remained, to guard the coast from the Kharovian threat. Maragin and Rabigar took half of Hakonin’s Swarten soldiers and headed east, to the border threatened by the Isharites. They would pick up her soldiers from the Grendal clan on the way. They had to hope that when they got there, the border was still intact.
Before they reached the border, they met a defeated army coming the other way. The first few soldiers could be seen emerging from the tree-line ahead of them, and the two forces came together in a rock-strewn mountain clearing. The retreat seemed orderly enough, but Rabigar could see the panic in Krykker eyes and the relief at seeing Maragin with her Grendals.
‘I need to speak with the leaders. Gather them here!’ she shouted.
The troops under Maragin’s command were ordered to help carry the supplies and the wounded. Keeping the Krykkers moving was essential, because it wasn’t clear how far behind the enemy were.
It was a sorry looking group that appeared to speak with Maragin. Jodivig, the new chief of the Dramsens, looked fraught and out of his depth. Kelemen, the Grand Caladri governor, was also there, leading the remnants of his people.
‘Where’s Guremar?’ Maragin demanded.
Guremar’s clan, the Plengas, controlled this area.
‘He stayed behind with a group of our soldiers,’ said a Krykker Rabigar didn’t recognise. ‘He said he would hold them off while we escaped, otherwise it would turn into a massacre. I—I don’t think there will be any survivors.’
‘Shit,’ Rabigar muttered under his breath. There was no love lost between himself and Guremar, but he was one of the strongest clan leaders. If he was gone, that put even more responsibility onto Maragin’s shoulders.
‘What happened?’ asked Maragin.
‘A huge Drobax army entered our forest,’ explained Kelemen. ‘There was no stopping them, we were forced to retreat west into Plengas lands. Guremar raised an army and led it to the border. He prepared well enough, using the high ground. I thought the Drobax would give up, our position seemed impregnable. But then the dragon came—’ He stopped, as if unable to continue. But no-one else stepped in. ‘It flew above our position. We fired some missiles, but we didn’t have many. Nothing stopped it. It flew over and blasted fire, again and again. We had no protection, it killed scores each time it passed. That’s when Guremar ordered the retreat.’
Drobax and a dragon. What could the Krykkers do against such monsters? Rabigar looked at Maragin as she looked at him. They both knew the answer.
‘I need to see,’ he said. ‘I need to see them before I leave.’
‘I’ll come too,’ said Maragin.
It went quiet. Clearly, not a popular request.
‘I’ll take you,’ said a voice.
Rabigar turned. Standing behind Jodivig, so that Rabigar hadn’t even seen him, was Stenk, the young Dramsen Krykker he had befriended. Stenk, after some persuasion, had arrested Rabigar upon his return to his homeland last year. They had fought side by side against the Isharites in Haskany. Rabigar was happy to see him alive.
‘You’re the perfect man for the job,’ he said to Stenk. ‘Now, you just need to take us close enough so that we can see them, then you turn around and come back to join this army, understand?’
‘Keep moving,’ Maragin said to the rest. ‘We’ll catch up.’
Rabigar pushed his face through the rock, looking carefully about. There were no Drobax. They were using the path twenty feet away to climb the mountain. It was high up here, high enough to burn the lungs of Krykker folk, never mind creatures such as Drobax, whose bodies weren’t used to it. There was no reason for them to come this way anymore.
He pushed through, emerging fully from the rock while glancing at the sky above. By the time Stenk had shown them this location, the dragon was gone. It had perhaps found somewhere to rest. Rabigar didn’t know anything about dragons, but he imagined that flying around at this altitude, casting fire, was exhausting.
Maragin pushed through the same section of rock. Wordlessly, they began to look about. The floor was covered in a grey soot. Charred bodies littered the area where Guremar had made his stand. The place still stank of burned meat, and something about that upset Rabigar’s insides. He tried not to think about the suffering too much. But soldiers clad in metal armour, exposed to fire of these temperatures, would have died in agony. They had come to bear witness, and to check for survivors, however unlikely. Clearly, there were none here. If Guremar had Rock Walkers with him, they may have been able to escape. But there was nothing else they could do now.
‘We’d better head back,’ he said to Maragin. ‘What will you do?’
‘We have no choice,’ she said, and he already knew that. ‘We must order the tunnels closed and we must evacuate.’
The underground tunnels and caverns were the last line of defence for the Krykkers. They could explode the tunnel entrances, creating an underground lair that was virtually impregnable. Certainly, not a place a dragon could do any harm. But only a few Krykkers could live in those conditions for long. All the rest would have to leave their homeland.
‘I will lead the group who stays,’ he said to Maragin. ‘You will be needed elsewhere.’
She smiled at him. He had thought he would never see that sight again. He stopped talking, so that her smile stayed on her face for as long as possible.
‘We both know that’s not going to happen. The Rock Walkers will follow me; not you. You are the one who claimed Bolivar’s Sword. You must see that through. You need to go back to Halvia to find the Spear.’
‘I don’t know that,’ he argued. ‘You can do all that instead of me. Here,’ he said, unbuckling the sword. ‘Take it.’
The last thing Rabigar wanted was to see Maragin buried alive in the mountain caverns. That wasn’t the last image of her he wanted in his head.
She snorted disdainfully. ‘Please, no romantic gestures at your age. It’s sad. I am the best person to lead the defence here; you must find the Spear; Hakonin must lead our people in Halvia. We both know those will be our roles, so stop wasting your breath.’
Rabigar felt he had never loved, never respected her more than in that moment, when the chances of seeing her again suddenly dropped to virtually nil. Not that he had the right to feel sorry for himself. He had killed his chieftain. He had killed Maragin’s father. That act still—would always—stand between them. So Rabigar stopped wasting his breath, and they both returned to the rock.
14
Consummatum Est
LYSSA SKIPPED ALONG THE STREET, pleased to have escape
d the Temple.
It wasn’t that she hated it there, exactly. The people were sort of kind. But they were always making her do things. She didn’t mind it so much when Belwynn made her read, because she liked spending time with her. But she hated it when the women kept making her learn to sew. In Korkis, she was used to doing what she wanted, when she wanted. She didn’t want to go back to that life. No way. It was just that, now and then, she needed some time to herself.
Coronos was on guard duty at the castle.
‘Welcome back, Your Highness,’ he said to her, bowing deeply, before allowing her to pass through.
Lyssa giggled at him. Walking into the castle did kind of make her feel like she was a princess, though.
She went to the Tower where she shared a room with Belwynn, but half way there decided that she wasn’t in the mood to sit around. She’d much rather go exploring around the castle.
She walked up and down the corridors. As she walked along she saw Queen Irina leaving the castle library and closing the door behind her. Irina turned to walk in her direction, and it was too late for Lyssa to change course, so she kept on walking towards her. When they passed Irina gave her the look of displeasure she always gave her, while Lyssa kept her eyes on her shoes.
She kept on walking and stopped outside the library. She looked back down the corridor, waiting for Irina to disappear. The Queen was one of the few people who ever used the library, so there was a good chance it was empty now. Nervously, she turned the handle and peeked in.
Yes! It was empty!
Lyssa slipped inside. She liked the smell of the room. There were several shelves of books, and comfy chairs to sit on. She didn’t like the room because of the books, though. She liked it because of the secret door she had found.
She went straight there now, pulling at the door that was painted to look like it contained shelves of books.
No-one had exactly told Lyssa she wasn’t allowed to go into the secret passage. She knew that Belwynn hadn’t lived in the castle very long, and might not even know about the secret door to tell her not to go in. Queen Irina had lived here a long time. She might know about it. Maybe that was why she was here before? Anyway, whoever knew or didn’t know about it, to Lyssa it felt like a forbidden part of the castle.
She walked in and pulled the secret door shut. The passage was very narrow and not very high, but they weren’t problems for Lyssa. It was almost completely dark, which she didn’t like so much, but she crawled along on her hands and knees and that helped her to avoid bumping into the walls.
She stopped when she heard voices. This was where Sebastian’s rooms were, and she recognised his voice first. Second, Theron. They were always talking about boring things up here. Nevertheless, she peered into the room.
There were four of them altogether. Tycho was there. He always wanted to arm wrestle with her, even though she always beat him. Remi was there too. He always winked at her when he saw her, but didn’t talk much.
She listened in. They were kind of arguing with each other about what to do with Count Ampelios’s lands. The Knights seemed to think they were on the good side, but they had just killed Ampelios and now they were taking his family’s lands. Theron wanted his friend Tycho to have them, Sebastian said Remi should have them. If they really were good, maybe they should give his lands to people who didn’t have any of their own? Maybe they shouldn’t have killed him in the first place, then there wouldn’t be anything to argue about.
Theron and Tycho left Sebastian’s room.
‘I’m sure we can find a compromise,’ Sebastian said to Remi.
Remi shrugged. ‘I don’t care. I have more important concerns.’
Sebastian frowned at him. ‘Oh? Like what?’
‘This.’
Suddenly, Remi drew a dagger, leaned over to where Sebastian was seated, and plunged it into Sebastian’s chest.
Lyssa had to grab her mouth to stop herself from crying out. She didn’t want to look, but she couldn’t make herself stop watching.
Sebastian tried to stop Remi, but the other knight pushed him back with one hand, while pushing the dagger deeper in with the other.
‘You thought you could stop us?’ Remi hissed. ‘You thought you could invade our lands with no consequences? You fool!’
Lyssa turned away. She wished she hadn’t opened the secret door now.
Moving slowly to avoid making a sound, she began to crawl back down the passage.
Belwynn half-walked, half-ran through the garden at the Temple of Madria. She had to stop suddenly to avoid crashing into Elana and Prince Dorian, coming the other way.
‘Sorry,’ she said breathlessly.
‘Is something the matter?’ Elana asked.
‘Have you seen Lyssa anywhere?’ Belwynn asked, slightly embarrassed. ‘She seems to have run off without telling anyone.’
Dorian smiled kindly. ‘I’m heading back home,’ he said. ‘If I see her on the way, I’ll be sure to bring her back.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll help you look,’ said Elana.
‘It’s alright, I don’t want to waste your time.’
‘I’ll help,’ Elana insisted.
They said farewell to Dorian and began to search the grounds of the Temple, where an unruly child might have decided to have an adventure.
‘I’m not sure what to do with her anymore,’ Belwynn confessed. ‘I feel like she needs her time structured properly, learning something useful.’
‘Don’t fret,’ said Elana. ‘It’s perfectly normal for children to go off exploring. It’s good for them. I’m sure she’ll turn up.’
‘Yes,’ said Belwynn absently. Lyssa wasn’t in the garden. She had gone into the city, she knew it.
‘Belwynn, I haven’t told anyone this, not even Dirk.’
This sounded serious. Belwynn gave Elana her full attention.
‘Before all this started, back in Magnia, I had a family. A husband and two children. Girls.’
Belwynn’s mouth dropped open.
‘What happened to them?’
Elana smiled. ‘Nothing, I hope. I hope very much that I will be able to go back when this is over.’
‘You mean, they’re back home now? In your village, what was it, Kirtsea?’
Elana nodded.
‘How could you do that?’ Belwynn blurted out. ‘Do they know what you’re doing, that you’re alive?’
Elana pursed her lips and Belwynn could see tears threatening to spill.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘I didn’t choose this, Belwynn, remember. Madria chose me. Sometimes I wonder why. But I have to see it through. And what would I tell them, so that they could understand why I left? How could I explain that I still love them, but can’t be with them?’
‘I’m sorry Elana. Truly. Soren will get the weapons. We’ll win, and you will get to go back home.’
Elana smiled wanly. It didn’t seem like she believed that. ‘Where do you think we should look next?’
‘Eh?’
‘For Lyssa?’
‘I think she went into the city. Hopefully just back to the castle. I’ll head there now.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
They made their way out of the Temple grounds and onto the street outside. They hadn’t walked very far when they saw her, walking towards them alongside Dorian. He had one arm around her shoulder protectively, as if shielding her from something.
‘Found her heading this way,’ he said. ‘Couldn’t get out of her where she’s been. She seems a bit shaken up.’
Belwynn looked at Lyssa, who stared ahead listlessly. She seemed withdrawn, removed from their immediate conversation.
‘Are you alright, girl?’ Belwynn asked her.
Lyssa turned to her. There was something in her eyes, something like fear, but she didn’t say anything.
Belwynn and Elana shared a look. What was up with her? Had something happened?
Before she had time to quest
ion her further, Dorian had turned to look back up the street.
‘It’s Sebastian!’ he said.
Sebastian was walking towards them. Belwynn watched him approach. He seemed stiff; older somehow. Perhaps recent events were weighing on him more than she had realised.
‘Well met, Grand Master,’ said the prince.
Belwynn wondered at Dorian. Sebastian had defeated his older brother in battle but a week ago. Theron had ensured that Straton was now locked up, unable to leave the capital again. What did the younger brother really think about these developments?
Sebastian nodded at them all. ‘I have come to talk with Elana.’
He sounded grave.
‘We’ll go back to the Temple,’ said Elana, and she and Sebastian left in that direction.
‘Well, I really should be getting home,’ said Dorian.
‘Thank you for finding her,’ said Belwynn, glancing down at Lyssa.
She was startled when she looked at the girl. She looked stricken, staring at the departing Elana and Sebastian in terror.
‘What is it?’ Belwynn asked her.
‘I-I saw Sebastian killed. By Remi.’
Belwynn frowned at her, but getting those words out seemed to open a floodgate in Lyssa. ‘I was hiding in the secret passage behind the library, I know I shouldn’t have been. Theron and Sebastian were arguing about who should get the lands of Count Ampelios. Theron and Tycho left the room. Then Remi killed Sebastian. Just like that. For no reason. Then—’ she stopped, pointing after Sebastian and Elana, who had now gone into the Temple.
‘Then you saw Sebastian alive?’ Belwynn asked.
Lyssa nodded, looking up at her like a little mouse, expecting Belwynn to solve the problem for her. Belwynn looked at Dorian.
‘Maybe you fell asleep, Lyssa?’ he suggested. ‘Had a nightmare?’
The Weapon Takers Saga Box Set Page 86