by Den Patrick
‘At least the forges were warm.’ Tief crossed his arms and rubbed his shoulders, scowling into the darkness.
‘I dislike snow the most,’ said Taiga softly. ‘Pray that it doesn’t snow, big brother.’
‘Will you ever grow out of calling me that?’ he replied in mock-irritation. She took in his dark hair, shot through with white, and the lines on his serious face.
‘Making you feel old, am I?’ said Taiga with a smirk.
‘I can manage that all by myself,’ said Tief, scratching at his greying hair. Marozvolk sat apart from them on a wide flat stone, sharpening her sword and keeping watch. The sound of the whetstone on the blade set Taiga’s teeth on edge; it reminded her of Vladibogdan and the forges. She was loath to ask the former Vigilant to stop. Their survival might depend on the sharpness of that sword in time.
‘Dinner will be ready soon,’ said Taiga, trying to distract herself from the sound of the whetstone.
Marozvolk had said little in the week they had travelled north east. Tief had been quick to state that suited him just fine when she was out of earshot. Taiga by contrast wondered what it must be like for their companion to be so alone in a land so dismal and desolate. Marozvolk’s anger at Kimi’s decision to venture to Khlystburg lingered over them all like a pall of smoke.
‘At least we haven’t had any more trouble,’ said Tief, casting his eyes west. They had kept the forest at a safe distance since their encounter with the Grave Wolves, though the undead creatures howled late into the night. The sound haunted Taiga’s dreams during the few hours when sleep finally came.
‘I lived in Yamal for the first fifteen years of my life,’ said Kimi, ‘and no one ever spoke about Grave Wolves. Not once.’
‘Most people in Yamal know better than to go into the Izhorian forest,’ replied Tief. ‘I’d have thought they’d have taught you that, highness.’
‘Most Yamali never cross the river,’ said Taiga in an altogether kinder tone of voice. ‘We’re originally from the Midtenjord Steppe, near the border with the Novgoruske Province, but we always kept one eye open for Grave Wolves.’
Kimi frowned at Tief. ‘No one likes a know-it-all, old man.’
‘Knowing it all saved you from being killed,’ said Tief. He fixed his pipe and toked a while, his face stern in the firelight.
‘Besides,’ continued Taiga, ‘the folk in the south don’t really believe in Grave Wolves. The creatures tend to stay further north.’
‘So how do you know so much about them?’ said Kimi.
‘It comes from having a sister who is a priestess of Frejna.’ Tief smiled sadly. Taiga could tell how much he missed Sundra, and how much being apart from her was costing him. She felt the bright pang of missing her sister just as keenly. She took his hand and squeezed it.
‘When I first met you I assumed Sundra was your mother,’ said Kimi.
‘Our parents fell pregnant young,’ said Taiga. ‘Then not again for twelve years.’
‘And then I was born,’ added Tief. ‘And Taiga followed a decade after. They say trouble comes in threes.’ Tief laughed and rubbed his eye with the back of his hand, though Taiga couldn’t tell if he was wiping away a tear or the great tiredness that weighed upon him.
‘Sundra would hate this,’ said Kimi, looking around at the moonlit swamps. ‘No tent and no tea.’
‘I think I saw some tea somewhere,’ said Taiga, and began to rummage through the packs.
‘You can bet your boots she’d hate it. If she were here she’d say that Grave Wolves were never meant to be.’
‘They are an affront to Frejna,’ said Taiga, still searching the packs. ‘Just as they are an affront to all living things.’
‘But where did they come from?’ pressed Kimi.
‘For centuries there were more wolves than people in Izhoria,’ explained Taiga. ‘There were a few villages dotted around, but nothing significant.
‘The wolves were normal back then’ – Tief blew out a long plume of smoke – ‘before the curse took hold of them.’
‘What curse?’ said Kimi.
‘It may have been during the Age of Wings,’ said Taiga. ‘But could just as easily have been during the Age of Tears … Bittervinge the dragon had a disagreement with one of his kin, a dragon called Veles. Somehow Veles escaped, but not before Bittervinge had torn the wings from Veles’ back. Veles found his way here, to Izhoria, if the story is to be believed.’
‘But the Age of Tears was over a hundred years ago,’ breathed Kimi.
‘That’s true,’ replied Tief. ‘But curses are persistent, and so was Veles. He killed the few people that lived here and made servants of them.’
‘You mean he made cinderwraiths?’ Kimi’s hand strayed to her neck where the last fragment of the Ashen Torment hung from a chain.
‘You should get rid of that awful thing,’ muttered Tief.
‘No,’ said Taiga, cutting off her brother. ‘Without the Ashen Torment Veles could only reanimate their bodies. The creatures he made are hideous. Veles called them gholes and declared himself ruler of Izhoria, a dismal kingdom of the dead.’
‘And Veles claimed the wolves as well?’
‘Not exactly. Gholes exist only to kill. When they encountered the wolves …’ Taiga pulled a gruesome face. ‘The crows came of course, to peck out the eyes of the dead wolves, but then something terrible happened.’
‘The wolves came back,’ said Marozvolk. She had set aside her whetstone, looking tired yet fierce in the firelight.
Taiga nodded. ‘Somehow Veles’ corruption had seeped into the land,’ she said. ‘Into the water, the earth. Nothing that dies in Izhoria stays dead, or so they say.’
‘But that was over a hundred years ago,’ said Kimi. ‘Dragons can’t live forever.’
‘You know better than that, Kimi,’ said Tief. ‘Dragons, given the right conditions, can do anything they please.’
‘I found the tea!’ said Taiga cheerfully, but no one had much to say after that.
Marozvolk led the way after a meagre breakfast the following morning. The renegade Vigilant marched at least a hundred strides in front of Tief and Kimi. Taiga followed close behind them, humming softly to herself.
‘You think we can trust her?’ said Tief, nodding to Marozvolk. ‘She’s barely said a dozen words all week. How do we know she’s not an Imperial spy?’
‘Tief! Don’t start with that business,’ chided Taiga.
‘She’s not a spy,’ said Kimi. ‘She could have given us away in Virag, but she wanted to leave more than I did. I’ve journeyed with her. I trust her.’
‘But we barely know her,’ said Tief. ‘She could be biding her time, keeping an eye on you until …’
‘Until what?’ said Kimi. ‘I barely know what day it is, nor what’s on the horizon, and my own brother wants me dead. Hardly a threat to the Emperor, am I?’ Taiga could hear the bitterness in her friend’s voice, and the irritation.
Tief shrugged. ‘I just don’t trust her is all. Why did she never come to you on the island?’
‘None of us wanted to be here,’ said Kimi. ‘And Marozvolk’s loyalty to the Empire was already waning when Steiner arrived.’
‘She has lost so much,’ said Taiga. ‘First her family, then Felgenhauer, then the island itself. So much loss.’
‘As if anyone could miss Vladibogdan,’ said Tief over his shoulder with a dark look.
‘True, but familiarity is often preferable to …’ Taiga gestured to the misty swamps. The water appeared as dull steel between thickets of tall grasses, and everywhere mud waited for them. Mud that sucked at your boots. Mud that soaked in and dried to a crust. Mud that slowly sucked you down to the deep places in the earth to drown you. ‘Loss and uncertainty.’
‘I think she’s glad to be free of the Empire,’ said Kimi. ‘But she can’t find her place in the world.’
‘You two have a lot in common then?’ said Tief. They walked in silence for a time.
‘Are you sure ab
out heading north?’ asked Taiga. ‘I want the Emperor dead as much as the next Spriggani, but there’d be no shame in heading back to Shanisrond.’
Kimi shook her head. ‘My place is in Khlystburg, where the Emperor is. It’s Marozvolk that wants to set out for Shanisrond.’ The princess shot a hard look over her shoulder. ‘You’re free to go with her if you’re having doubts.’ Taiga felt herself blush and cursed herself for saying such a thing.
‘Let’s just escape this infernal swamp,’ said Tief. ‘One problem at a time.’
The mist grew thicker as the sun edged behind grey clouds and did not return. Marozvolk became a dim silhouette in the distance, another phantom in the desolate swamp. Taiga slipped in the wet reeds and stumbled. She took a moment to steady herself and glared at the marshy ground. A pale grey cat stared at her from the long grasses, the first living creature she’d set eyes on since they’d left Yamal.
‘What are you doing out here?’ she whispered. The cat bounded from its hiding place, then slunk off into the mist behind her. There was a moment when her vision shifted, and there seemed to be two cats, walking side by side, and then they were gone.
‘Diplo? Lelse?’ When she looked around the others were long gone, the mist obscuring her view in every direction. ‘By the goddess, is this a sign?’
‘Tief!’ Kimi’s voice sounded in the mist ahead. ‘Where is Taiga?’
‘Taiga?’ He raised his voice. ‘Where are you, Taiga?’
‘I’m here. I saw …’ She looked around, trying to find the source of her brother’s voice. ‘I know I saw something,’ she muttered to herself.
‘What’s going on back there?’ shouted Marozvolk in the distance, her voice sounding strangely flat in the mist.
‘We’ve lost Taiga!’ shouted Kimi.
‘I’m here!’ shouted Taiga. ‘I’m over here.’
‘Wait there. I’m coming to find you,’ shouted Tief. She could hear the sloshing of swamp waters as he made his way back towards her.
‘Is she hurt?’ shouted Marozvolk. ‘Are you hurt, highness?’
‘I’m fine.’
The mist did strange things to the sound of their voices, and Taiga stared around, seeing indistinct figures in the shifting grey all about her. Some of the dark shadows were ahead of her, but two more moved in the mist behind her. ‘I’m here!’ she shouted again, fearful her brother had backtracked too far. The three of them arrived together.
‘What the Hel happened?’ said Tief, frowning.
‘I think the goddess sent a sign,’ said Taiga with a hopeful smile. ‘There were cats here. Grey cats. I think Lelse and Diplo were here.’
‘Well, I didn’t see any cat,’ said Marozvolk.
‘There’s nothing here,’ said Kimi. ‘We need to move—’
A darkness moved in the mist to their left and a dread passed over Taiga like a fierce chill. Marozvolk drew her sword as Tief lunged forward to grab Taiga.
‘Get behind me!’ he whispered. Other shadows moved in the mist, drawing closer.
‘They look too tall to be Grave Wolves,’ said Kimi, drawing her own sword.
‘Or cats,’ muttered Tief.
‘What’s happening to you?’ said Taiga, pointing at Kimi. Pale blue light escaped from the collar of her shirt, glowing through the fabric itself.
‘It’s the Ashen Torment,’ said Kimi. ‘But it’s been destroyed. I don’t understand where this light is—’
The nearest of the shadows emerged from the mist. It was a hunched thing shaped like a man, wearing crude faded black cloth. Its face was hidden in a vast hood and the robes reached as far as the knee, ragged and torn, stained with all manner of filth and dried blood. Tief drew his knife and crouched low.
‘Get away!’ But the ghole stepped closer, slowly as if prowling, just a dozen feet away. Its hands, if it had ever had hands, were crooked into long claws, the fingernails black talons. Marozvolk drew up alongside Tief and a faint aura of silvery light glittered as her skin turned to stone.
‘What do we do?’ Taiga hissed at Tief. Kimi checked over her shoulder at them, keen to make sure they hadn’t been surrounded as they had been by the Grave Wolves. Nothing moved in the mist behind them.
‘I said, get back!’ shouted Tief and Marozvolk lunged forward, the tip of her sword plunging towards the cowled head. The ghole stepped aside, almost dropping to a crouch as it did so. For an awful moment Taiga thought it might pounce forward like some feral creature, but then a shriek sounded in the distance and the ghole fled, joining the other shadows in the mist and disappearing from sight. Tief released a sigh of relief and his shoulders sagged. ‘Frøya keep me close. I never thought I’d actually live to see one of those things.’
‘There was a grey cat right here,’ Taiga said with a weak smile.
‘You think you saw a grey cat in the mist,’ said Tief then rubbed his forehead and sighed.
‘I know what I saw,’ said Taiga. ‘I think the goddess sent a sign. A sign that she’s with us.’
‘We stick together from now on,’ said Kimi. ‘I know you’re unhappy with how things are,’ she said to Marozvolk. ‘But we stick together.’
Marozvolk nodded her agreement. ‘It makes sense.’ She dispelled her stony skin with a gesture and sheathed her sword.
‘And I need you to stay where I can see you,’ said Kimi to Taiga.
‘Sundra will kill me if anything happens to you,’ said Tief.
‘Sundra may not get the chance if those things come back,’ said Marozvolk. ‘Come on. We move.’
Taiga watched Kimi walking besides Marozvolk. The silence between them was as stout as any shield. Taiga and Tief followed behind, but neither had much to say, casting wary glances behind every so often.
‘No birdsong, no croaking frogs, no crickets,’ said Tief with disgust. ‘You can bet your boots everything here is dead.’
‘We’ll be in Midtenjord soon enough,’ replied Taiga, keen to change the subject.
‘And then we’ll get to Khlystburg,’ said Kimi. ‘And we’ll—’
‘Do you have any idea how well protected the Emperor is?’ said Marozvolk, frustration flashing in her eyes.
‘No. Not yet,’ admitted Kimi. ‘But I intend to study his movements before I commit to killing him.’
‘Study his movements?’ Marozvolk failed to keep the incredulity from her voice. ‘He’s not an animal to be hunted. He hides behind scores of Envoys and Vigilants, not to mention entire companies of soldiers.’
‘I never said I thought it would be easy,’ replied Kimi.
‘And you’ve never admitted it’s impossible either.’
‘I know there will be obstacles—’
‘You asked me to be your bodyguard back in Virag,’ said Marozvolk, her voice rising. ‘And I was glad to have something to do. To have purpose once more. Grave Wolves I can fight. Gholes too if I have to. But I can’t keep you safe from the entire Empire.’
‘Nothing will change if we don’t at least try,’ said Kimi. Taiga felt a surge of pride for the woman. Her dedication was admirable if nothing else. ‘Those children who died in Virag,’ she continued. ‘All the Spriggani who have died over the decades, the many Yamali imprisoned for speaking out. We have to change that.’
‘Do you know how many people have escaped Vladibogdan in the seventy years since the academies opened?’ said Marozvolk.
‘I know,’ said Kimi, sounding tired. ‘We’re the first, and we should be counting our blessings and live our lives.’
‘I can’t protect you from this death wish, your highness. And it’s driving me to distraction. I want to be loyal, I want to be a proud Yamali warrior, but not like this.’ She gestured north to the horizon. ‘This is suicide.’
‘Then I release you from being my bodyguard,’ said Kimi. ‘The clothes and the sword and whatever you’re carrying are yours but I can’t spare you much coin.’
‘This task doesn’t have to fall to you, Kimi,’ said Taiga. ‘Even now, Steiner could be—�
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‘Steiner isn’t here!’ shouted Kimi. She turned on her heel and loomed over Taiga, her face twisted in anger. ‘I want to meet the bastard that imprisoned me for five years! I want to meet the man who took my country, my family, my life. And I will kill him!’
No one spoke in the moments that followed after. ‘I’m sorry,’ said Taiga, crossing her arms and clutching at herself. ‘I said I’d help you’d do this, and I will.’
‘I’m heading for Shanisrond.’ Marozvolk said the words so softly that Taiga almost missed them. ‘And you should too. We could live good, honest quiet lives and—’
‘And then the Empire would invade,’ said Kimi. ‘It will happen, and in our lifetime. The Emperor will not stop until he has the entire continent in his grip.’ Marozvolk looked away to hide her disappointment.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Kimi. The silence between the two women returned more persistently than ever.
The mist began to clear, revealing the still waters of the swamp stretching ahead for many miles. All manner of wild grasses and reeds broke through the damp earth, some taller than Kimi. Marozvolk squinted into the distance and Tief cursed softly. No more than half a mile away were a dozen dim figures, all hunched and cowled.
‘May Frejna’s eye not find you,’ said Marozvolk under her breath.
‘And may Frøya keep you close,’ added Taiga from behind them. The gathering of gholes spread out, seeming to break apart like a flock of birds. They ran in all directions, some circling wide to flank their sides, others running headlong towards them.
‘Anyone have any bright ideas?’ said Tief.
‘Romola said don’t get dead,’ replied Kimi as she drew her sword.
‘Something more specific, perhaps?’ grumbled Tief.
‘We hit them hard and we hit them first,’ said Marozvolk. ‘And we stay together. Taiga?’
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ replied Taiga, unsheathing her dagger and pulling a sickle from her pack. ‘I’m with you to the end.’
The gholes sprinted through the mist, clawed feet sending up brackish spray.