by Den Patrick
‘We go up,’ she said gleefully, then sprinted ahead. Kimi and Marozvolk exchanged a puzzled look and dutifully followed.
‘This must be the only hill in all of Izhoria,’ wheezed Tief as they climbed the steep slope. The mail armour he’d found in the dragon’s stash was slowing him. Kimi had insisted he wear it along with the crossbow slung over his shoulder. Marozvolk had chanced across a padded leather coat that reached her knees and a sturdy circular shield hung from her left arm.
‘Is that the sword I bought you in Virag?’ said Kimi.
Marozvolk nodded. ‘It’s not every day a Yamali princess buys me a sword. I wasn’t going to leave without it.’
Kimi had also found a mail shirt, though she wondered how much good it would do against Veles’ teeth. Another collection of standing stones awaited them at the top of the hill, just like the shrine they had camped in before.
‘Wait,’ said Kimi. ‘Taiga, you need to tell us what’s going on. How are you still alive? Do you have a plan?’
‘At first I didn’t really believe it was happening and then I realised I was going to die.’ The priestess smiled so broadly that Kimi wondered if her brush with death had left her unhinged. ‘Then I lost my temper a little bit but it worked out fine in the end.’
‘Taiga.’ Tief stared at his sister, concern etched into his lined face. ‘You’re not making any sense. Who gave you those silver weapons?’
‘Frøya did! They’re Frøya’s very own, or they were before she gave them to me.’ Taiga reached into the neckline of her dress and plucked at the chain that lay hidden there. ‘I almost forgot.’ A moment later she had removed the artefact from around her neck and held it out to Kimi in both hands with reverence. The chain was familiar, the bronze links were delicate yet dark with age and bore a faint green patina, but the finely-crafted stone dragon had been replaced with something else, something that glittered green in the dismal light.
‘What is this?’ said Kimi, eying the jade dragon. ‘Where is the Ashen Torment?’
‘This is the Ashen Torment,’ said Taiga. ‘It’s been calling for you ever since I woke up.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Kimi couldn’t bring herself to take the artefact, horrified that it had somehow been made whole again.
‘Perhaps I’m not explaining myself very well.’ Taiga sighed. ‘I met the goddess. She took the poison out of my body and gave me her very own sickle and dagger. She must have made this for you while I was sleeping.’
‘Frejna’s teeth,’ muttered Marozvolk. ‘She’s completely lost her mind.’
‘Yes! Frejna was there too.’ Taiga stroked her silver weapons. Kimi wondered what the ghole’s poison did to a person’s mind. Taiga held out the necklace. ‘Will you take this from me? It’s very insistent that you do.’
Kimi obeyed the priestess of Frøya and held the jade dragon up higher so it caught the sombre daylight.
‘But I haven’t worshipped Frøya for years,’ said Kimi, ‘not since I was sent to Vladibogdan. I’m sorry, Taiga, but I don’t believe in her.’
‘Perhaps it’s time to rediscover your faith in the old ways.’ Taiga looked over her shoulder. ‘And quickly.’ Kimi looked down the hillside to where five gholes were scrambling up the grassy slope. They ripped clods of earth from the ground as their claws sought purchase. Kimi slipped the chain over her head and tucked the artefact inside her shirt.
Kimi Enkhtuya
‘What the Hel? It speaks!’ Kimi jerked backwards, trying to get away from the artefact hanging around her neck.
‘I did warn you,’ said Taiga, drawing her dagger and sickle. ‘What a pair we are, the high priestess fighting alongside the champion of Frøya, facing down the undead hordes in the misty swamps of Izhoria!’
‘She’s completely lost it,’ muttered Tief, shaking his head.
‘Be grateful she’s still alive,’ replied Marozvolk.
The gholes were close now and Kimi let out a great war shout as Taiga raised her silver blades and uttered an invocation to her goddess. The gholes paused, as if staggered by the words alone. Kimi stepped in and swung the great sword, snarling with fury. A moment later and a ghole’s head tumbled down the hillside, the corpse followed, arms and legs flailing as it went. Marozvolk mashed her shield into the cowled face of another ghole, knocking the creature off its feet, while Tief stamped a solid kick into the chest of the next of them, sending it back down the slope.
‘Frejna’s teeth, I hate these things!’
Kimi dodged backwards to avoid the raking claws of the next attacker. She stepped to one side and spun the blade, removing the ghole’s fingers in a single swipe. The ghole collapsed forwards on the grassy slope and Kimi brought the full weight of her weapon down, snapping its neck.
Marozvolk was fending off her own attacker with the shield she had stolen, jabbing her sword tip at the creature’s cowled face, but the ghole ducked backwards. Tief dashed in and dropped to one knee, slicing the ghole across the hamstring.
‘Now finish it!’ he shouted. Marozvolk kicked the ghole over, then took her shield in both hands and straddled the creature’s chest, bludgeoning its skull with the metal rim. The ghole’s head came apart with a series of wet smacking sounds. Taiga had dispatched the last of the foul creatures by the time Marozvolk has regained her feet. Spattered in black ichor, Marozvolk looked at her comrades, wild-eyed and trembling.
‘Are you hurt?’ asked Kimi.
‘I can’t change to my stone form,’ said Marozvolk with panic in her eyes. ‘I can’t change.’ Her breath came fast and shallow. They watched the lone ghole run back down the slope, loping across the swamps with a fevered haste.
‘They’ll be back with more,’ said Taiga. ‘Let’s head to the shrine. We can hide there.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Tief.
‘Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll look after you. I’m the high priestess of Frøya, blessed with the honour of carrying her holy symbols.’
Tief raised his eyebrows and sighed. ‘You’re serious about this, aren’t you? You really believe Frøya saved your life.’
Taiga nodded. ‘We can hide at the shrine, just as I did the night the goddess came.’
‘You’ve made a believer out of me,’ said Kimi. ‘Let’s get moving and hope Frøya is listening. We need all the help we can get.’
The rain was still falling when they reached the shrine and all were wet to the skin, teeth chattering.
‘Maybe we’ll drown before Veles arrives,’ said Tief. ‘I think I’d prefer that.’
‘Tief,’ said Kimi with a chiding frown, ‘that kind of talk isn’t helping.’ Taiga slipped through the gap in the standing stones and looked around. The shrine looked older than the last and one of the stones had slipped out of alignment with the rest. Taiga raised her eyebrows at Marozvolk.
‘So, what did you do?’ asked Taiga.
Marozvolk shrugged. ‘What do you mean?’
‘How did you re-consecrate the shrine when I was poisoned?’
Marozvolk looked at Kimi, who returned her blank expression with one of her own. ‘Consecrated?’
‘We made rabbit stew,’ said Marozvolk, ‘and Kimi was muttering about murdering Frøya if anything happened to you.’
Taiga grimaced. ‘No. That doesn’t sound right at all.’
‘Wait, I cleaned out those engravings,’ said Kimi, pointing to the base of each stone. ‘They were furred with moss. Perhaps that helped?’
‘The symbols are very sacred to her,’ said Tief, nodding. ‘At least that’s what Sundra always said.’
All four of them knelt before the stones, picking the verdant green moss from every groove and swirl with the tips of their knives and daggers.
‘And then I polished it a bit with my cloak.’ Kimi demonstrated. ‘Like this.’ The others followed suit and then stood up to admire their work.
‘So now what do we do?’ said Tief, cleaning his blade.
‘I don’t know.’ Taiga’s should
ers sagged. ‘She didn’t tell me.’
A great thundering roar of frustration sounded from outside the stone circle, carrying across the swamp like a rumble of thunder.
‘He must have returned to the cavern,’ said Marozvolk quietly.
‘Now we’re for it,’ growled Tief, wiping rainwater out of his eyes.
‘Wait,’ said Taiga softly. ‘Frejna said something about blood. The shedding of blood, symbolic of a sacrifice.’
‘Don’t look at me,’ said Tief. ‘I’m not dying just to consecrate a shrine.’
‘You don’t have to die,’ said Taiga.
‘Then what?’ said Tief.
Kimi rolled up a sleeve and drew her knife. ‘I think maybe this.’ She cut her forearm and winced, then smeared her blood on the tallest of the stones. Taiga dropped to her knees and began praying. Tief, Kimi and Marozvolk waited, barely daring to breathe until finally Taiga fell silent and stood up.
‘Did it work?’ said Tief, shivering in the rain.
‘I’ve no idea,’ said Taiga. She drew her holy weapons. ‘But the shrine is consecrated again. I have done my part.’
‘I thought you had a plan!’ shouted Tief. The rain slackened and grey clouds shifted, colossal and vast as they were. Taiga busied herself bandaging Kimi. Marozvolk slipped through the gap in the stones and Kimi followed her a moment later. They stood together in the sheeting rain looking for a sign of the gholes, or worse still, Veles himself.
Marozvolk sighed and shook her head. ‘Between her religious ecstasy and his constant bickering we may as well cut our own throats now.’
Kimi Enkhtuya, said the artefact in Kimi’s mind. It sounded like a wind chime in a gentle breeze, though it did little to calm her. Kimi touched her fingers to the jade engraving, so like the Ashen Torment and yet not.
‘Tell me what you do,’ she muttered to the artefact. ‘We need a miracle. Just tell me what you do.’
But the jade dragon remained silent.
‘At least the rain has stopped,’ said Marozvolk as the first of the gholes crested the side of the hill.
‘Come inside the circle,’ said Taiga quietly. ‘Quickly!
‘What use will that do?’ said Marozvolk.
‘Before, when the goddess came, she told me that circle is beyond the sight of Veles and his kin. They can’t see it.’
Kimi and Marozvolk entered the standing stone circle but the gholes were still running towards them.
‘It’s not working,’ said Tief, eyeing the unholy creatures with growing panic. Taiga stared at the standing stone that had come loose, leaning at an angle from the others.
‘Perhaps it’s damaged somehow,’ said Taiga. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘We fight,’ said Kimi. ‘No more bickering, and no more religious nonsense. We fight and we fight hard. Understand me?’ For once Tief was speechless. He dropped to one knee and readied the crossbow.
‘Frøya’s champion should not say such things.’ Taiga shook her head. ‘The goddess is not nonsense.’
‘Tell that that to him,’ said Marozvolk as Veles emerged over the lip of the hill, some forty feet away.
‘We stand together,’ said Kimi, ‘and try to cut the bastard’s tail off. The dagger will kill you just as easily as his claws.’
The gholes were approaching at a flat run and Veles scrambled behind them, his pale body coiling and surging furiously across the wet grass.
‘May Frejna’s eye not find me,’ said Kimi as she stepped out of the stone circle, hefting the sword over her shoulder.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Silverdust
Silverdust stalked through the Great Library of Arkiv like a vengeful shade and Streig followed close behind. The aura of argent light played about his feet, illuminating the pressing darkness that surrounded them and gilding the many bookshelves in a silver glow.
‘I can hear fighting,’ said Streig. Silverdust nodded.
As do I. The Exarch reached out with arcane senses, past rooms of tomes and countless shelves of books. He felt the panic and snarling hatred of minds locked in combat.
‘What are we waiting for?’ pressed Streig.
I am not waiting. I have no wish to rush to my death or for you to rush to yours. I am trying to find someone.
‘Felgenhauer? You’re really going to hunt her down?’
Come now, quickly.
Silverdust set off and Streig struggled to keep up, weighed down as he was by the heavy armour, mace and shield. They pushed past a heavy door and emerged in another shelf-lined room where a black iron staircase coiled up into the ceiling. Father Orlov stood on the lowest step facing another side of the room, with one hand raised. Somehow Orlov hadn’t noticed their approach, too intent on something else. Soldiers flanked either side of the staircase, weapons held low. Many had slung their shields across their backs.
‘You will surrender to me now,’ said Father Orlov. Silverdust knew this was no simple boast and drew closer until he could see Steiner and a young woman who appeared transfixed by Father Orlov’s enchantment.
‘You should be surrendering to me,’ replied Steiner. He looked more scarred and weathered than Silverdust remembered but there was no doubt that this was the thorn in the Emperor’s side; the sledgehammer was proof enough of that.
‘I think not,’ replied Father Orlov, reaching out with an open palm. The air shimmered as the arcane domination took hold and both Steiner and his companion’s expression became blank, their gazes unfocused. Silverdust had seen the enchantments of Academy Voda before, but it was a rare thing to witness such power.
‘You will drop the weapon,’ commanded the Vigilant. Steiner complied and the sledgehammer slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. The relief of the soldiers was almost palpable; no one wanted to fight the dragon rider, it seemed.
‘Now draw your knife and kill the girl, we have no need for her.’ The girl flinched at this, shaking off the enchantment and stumbling away. Steiner tried to speak as his hand reached for the knife at his hip.
‘K-Kristofine …’ was all he managed. The woman slipped and fell against a bookshelf, then turned to Steiner with an expression of horror. The soldiers at the base of the stairs stirred uneasily, shocked at what they were about to witness.
Protect her. Silverdust pointed at the girl and Streig rushed forward, mashing his shield into the face of one of the soldiers.
Orlov! Silverdust lifted his reflective mask, revealing the cinderwraith beneath, his scream a vast exhalation of fire. Father Orlov dashed forward, preternaturally fast, and fled into the maze of bookshelves. Silverdust turned his fiery breath on the soldiers, igniting two of them in a heartbeat. They began to scream as they roasted inside their armour.
Steiner blinked in shock as if jerked awake. ‘What happened to me?’ He snatched up his sledgehammer.
An enchantment to ensure your obedience.
Silverdust surged through the library after his prey and Father Orlov snatched a glance over his shoulder just as Silverdust reached him.
‘A cinderwraith?’ he snarled in disgust.
So it would seem.
Silverdust grasped the Vigilant’s face and suffused the mask with heat and Father Orlov began screaming as the metal burned his face. For a moment the Vigilant slumped against the bookshelves, then seized a heavy tome and smashed the Exarch in the head.
‘Off of me!’ mumbled Orlov through burned lips. Silverdust stumbled sideways before composing himself. A javelin of arcane flame appeared in his hand as three soldiers emerged from the darkness, staring in confusion from one Vigilant to another, unsure whom to attack. Silverdust hurled a streak of flame at the nearest of them but the fire passed through the soldier and impacted upon some shelves a dozen feet behind. The illusion flickered and the soldiers faded. Father Orlov had fled in the confusion and Silverdust reached out for the Vigilant’s presence but found nothing. Orlov had shielded his mind.
Damn you, Orlov. Damn your ambition and damn your slavish devotion to th
e Emperor.
Silverdust spent long minutes retracing his way back to the centre of the room. The black iron staircase was easy to locate but Steiner and his companion were nowhere to be found.
Where are you, Streig?
A flurry of movement erupted from a junction of shelves nearby. Father Orlov approached at a run, a slender blade grasped in his fist. Silverdust summoned a javelin of fire, but the Vigilant responded with a blast of cold air from an outstretched hand. The arcane fire in Silverdust’s hand flickered and failed as Father Orlov pulled back his arm to thrust forward. The blade glittered too brightly and Silverdust felt a rare pang of fear.
‘Get away from him!’ Steiner bounded out from the darkness, sledgehammer swinging, cursing loudly in Nordspråk. The metal head smashed into Father Orlov’s chest and he sank to one knee, wheezing pitifully.
You should have fled when you had the chance, Orlov. Silverdust stood over the Vigilant. His hands began to smoke and then burst into flames once more.
‘The Emperor charged me with killing the Vartiainen boy.’ Orlov raised his head, revealing the burned and scalded mask. ‘And I will see it through to the bitter end.’
A great gale caused doors to slam all through the many chambers of the Great Library. Fires danced manically as the wind whipped past and smaller flames were extinguished. Soldiers were buffeted as the wind howled and Silverdust was smashed into the shelves as the wind reached them. Steiner dropped to his knees and shielded his face with one arm as books were wrenched from the shelves in a furious tornado.
Silverdust fired off arcane bolts of fire, yellow flame streaking through the darkness, but none found their mark. The fire guttered out in the high wind before it could reach Father Orlov. Soon the shelves at the base of the black iron staircase were aflame, books smouldered and smoke was swept up in the tornado.
‘You will surrender to me,’ wheezed Father Orlov, climbing to his feet with one arm wrapped around his broken ribs. The winds dipped and Silverdust felt a strong compulsion to do as the man said. ‘You will surrender to me!’ said the Vigilant with more conviction. Silverdust found it difficult to move, difficult to think. Something was wrong but he was powerless to resist. Orlov came closer and the Exarch felt something snag against the fabric of his vestments. He looked down through the fog of confusion to see a slim dagger protruding from his chest. The arcane tornado that had shrieked through the library with such ferocity was now silent. Silverdust raised his hand to remove the dagger, fearful for what would happen when he did.