‘Again,’ Kyleen muttered under her breath.
‘Let’s get ourselves a wee drink,’ Keira said, starting to walk towards one of the large tunnels that led off from the cavern, ‘and I’ll tell you all about it.’
They followed her.
The rough tunnels were lit with lamps affixed to the walls, but this made them smoky, and people tended to congregate wherever there was ventilation. It was also damp and hot in the caverns, and this combination made for an unhealthy and uncomfortable environment. Under these conditions, with many people going for days without seeing the outside, the clansfolk had become short tempered and mean-spirited. Fights were common and, in the last few days, cases of food being stolen from the weaker civilians had begun to increase.
The Domm contingent in particular, which was comprised solely of warriors, had become unpopular with the non-combatants, and the older people, and children, eyed them fearfully. The one hundred Domm within Kyla’s battalion had been ordered to wear their dark green Kell-issued leathers, to disassociate themselves from the regular Domm warriors, who strutted around in their black armour. Aside from the thirteen thousand Lach civilians present, there were also two thousand from Brig, who had been living in the upper Threeways valley before Kyla’s battalion had swept through it. With their farms destroyed by their own side, many of them felt aggrieved, especially at being displaced to the temple caverns, and they held an animosity aimed at everyone in uniform. Their own leader, Braed, who commanded five hundred warriors, was unpopular among the Brig civilians, due to his support for Kyla’s destruction of their homes and farms.
Conditions had been bearable before the Rahain army had turned up, but for the last fifteen days, the atmosphere underground had grown as rank and fetid as the air they were forced to breath. Hunger was exacerbating the currents of hostility and tensions among the different clans, and between the warriors and civilians. If they stayed down there much longer, Killop suspected, they would do the lizards’ job for them.
The tunnel opened out into an enormous cavern. Towering stalagmites rose from the floor to meet the ceiling, creating a forest of pillars. Every space was occupied, with tired families, greasy hawkers, and grimy warriors sitting around, or working. The noise was intense, the smell fierce. Keira’s face was well known, and as the sole mage present, she had garnered a certain amount of fear and respect from the others. Many nodded to her, or got out of her way as she passed.
They reached a small area nestling among several stalagmites, where a middle-aged man lay on a blanket sleeping. Next to him was an untidy pile of stacked crates.
Keira gave him a light kick to his side.
‘Wakey, wakey.’
The man groaned, and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ he said, looking up at the mage, who was standing with her hands on her hips.
‘Need some bevvy.’
‘Tough shit,’ he shrugged, ‘I’m all out of whisky.’
‘Yer fucking kidding me,’ she snarled. ‘Are you not the man who can get anything?’
He put his palms out. ‘I can get you booze,’ he said, ‘but only the firewater that’s made here in the caverns.’
‘That stuff’s horrific, but.’
He shrugged. ‘Take it or leave it.’ He lay back down and closed his eyes.
As Keira pondered, Kyleen went to her side.
‘You know somebody who’ll have whisky, don’t you?’ she whispered in the mage’s ear.
Keira frowned at her bodyguard, then turned and stormed off, a menacing look on her face that sent clansfolk scrambling out of her way.
‘Who?’ Killop whispered as they followed her.
‘Kylon,’ Kyleen said, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Lacey rolled her eyes.
Keira led them through more tunnels, heading upwards for long sections of the journey. They passed multitudes of people. Faces were thin, and many frail old folk looked grey and ill. Dirty children were everywhere, some running barefoot through the dim and smoky twilight world of caves and tunnels, their shouts echoing, while others sat staring into space. Warriors lounged around looking bored, and barking at any civilian who bothered them.
They passed one of the great ventilation shafts, which rose hundreds of feet to pierce the mountainside. The shafts were a popular place for folk to gather for a feel of the fresh breeze. Kyla had ordered that all shafts be widened, and Killop could see a few workers high up, chipping away at the stone. It was only in these places that he felt the old spirit of his people. Just a few breaths of the fresher air seemed to rouse everyone, and make them smile. Even the warriors seemed more patient and at ease here. The areas around each shaft were cleared each night, and folk would queue early to get a good spot when they re-opened at dawn.
After the shaft, they moved into a region of smaller caverns that were occupied by squads of warriors. Many loitered in the tunnels outside their quarters, and the atmosphere had a hostile undercurrent.
They reached a small chamber, and saw Koreen and Bridget sitting outside the entrance. Each had a crossbow propped up against the wall within arm’s reach.
‘Morning, bosses!’ Koreen called out. ‘Weren’t expecting you back quite so soon.’
‘They kicked her out,’ Kyleen smirked. ‘She insulted the Domm commander.’
‘Now she’s bored,’ Lacey said, ‘and wants to get drunk.’
‘Ahhh,’ said Koreen, rubbing her chin. ‘After last night, I’m not sure our beloved squad leader will be in the sharing mood.’
‘I’m the fucking mage,’ Keira shouted, jabbing a thumb at her chest. ‘He can’t hold out on me.’
Koreen raised an eyebrow. ‘In you go then, mage.’
Bridget pulled the curtain aside and they entered the dark, smoky cavern.
Members of the squad lay on pallets, or sat round a table playing dice. Kylon, Conal and Domnan, were sitting at the back of the cavern next to the squad’s strongbox, where they kept their valuables and any extra supplies they had procured. In the caverns, anything left lying around vanished before long.
Keira walked over to them.
Kylon looked up at her, saying nothing.
‘Look,’ Conal said, breaking the silence. ‘See what Kallie and Kelly’s traps have brought us.’ He held out the bodies of four plump birds. ‘Going to eat these tonight, if you’re all staying.’
Killop glanced around. ‘Is Kallie up on the mountain just now?’
‘Aye,’ Conal said. ‘They’re due back soon, but.’
The shared childhood experience of hunting and trapping had forced the twins back into a working relationship. There were a small number of intact tunnels that the Rahain mages hadn’t yet obliterated, and though they were kept hidden from the crowds of clansfolk, they allowed access high up onto the southern slopes of the mountain, where birds and forest animals could be trapped and caught. It was nowhere near enough to feed the thousands of hungry people, but it kept Kylon’s squad well fed, even though they gave away most of what they caught.
Keira was still glaring at Kylon, who was staring back.
‘Whisky,’ she said, her eyes narrowing.
‘No.’
‘I know you’ve got some.’
‘Aye.’
‘Hand it over then, ya fud.’
He shook his head.
She took a pace forward, and Kylon got to his feet. Domnan stepped between them.
‘Now, now,’ he said. ‘The bairns get upset when mammy and daddy fight.’
‘Wait!’ said Kyleen. ‘Did you hear that?’
A shout came from the door. Bridget was poking her head through the curtain, waving at them.
Killop set off for the entrance, the others following. Pulling the thick curtain back, he saw that a crowd of warriors had gathered in the passageway outside. Koreen was standing in front of them, waving her crossbow.
‘Keep yer distance,’ she was shouting.
Killop strode up next to her.
&nb
sp; ‘What do they want?’
Before Koreen could reply, one of the warriors stepped forward. He wore the black leather of the Domm, and reeked of alcohol.
‘We’re not after any trouble,’ he called out, ‘only, we believe you’ve got somebody in there who belongs to us, see?’
‘No,’ Killop said. ‘I don’t.’
He felt Keira appear by his right side.
The Domm put his hands up when he saw her.
‘We know you’re the mage,’ he said, ‘but we don’t think it’s right how a twin-killer, who ran away from justice, gets to hide out with the Kell. Give him up, and we’ll leave ye in peace.’
‘And what if we don’t?’ Keira jeered. ‘What ye gonnae do then, ya pricks?’
She picked up the stool that Bridget had been sitting on.
‘There he is!’ one of the Domm cried, pointing over Killop’s shoulder.
‘Domnan!’ Kylon yelled. ‘Get back inside!’
‘No, boss,’ he said. ‘If there’s to be a fight, then I’m by your side.’
‘Fucking twin-killer!’ a Domm shouted, and the crowd of them started to jostle their way forwards.
‘Crossbow down, Koreen,’ Killop said, eyeing the lead Domm warrior.
Seeing the full squad file out behind Killop, the Domm hesitated, leering.
‘Come ahead, ya arse-faced Domm pricks!’ Keira cried, leaping forwards and ramming the stool into the face of the nearest warrior. Killop grabbed the lead Domm by the throat and punched him in the side of the head, knocking him senseless. Within seconds the passageway was filled with brawling warriors, black leathers against dark green.
Kallie returned two hours later, while Killop sat in the squad’s chamber with the others, cleaning and dabbing at the cuts he had picked up.
She stepped through the curtain with her sister, into the noisy cavern, and saw Killop.
‘What in Pyre’s name happened to you?’ she said, shaking her head, and looking around at the other bruised and bleeding members of the squad.
‘Had words with some Domm.’
She walked across the room to stand next to him, leaned over and poked the cut above his left eye.
‘Ah ya!’ he yelled.
Kelly pulled her heavy shoulder bags off and slid them to the floor.
‘Sorry to have missed it,’ she said, ‘but we’ve brought a decent haul with us. Plenty more birds.’
‘What was the fight over?’ Kallie said.
‘Him,’ Killop said, nodding over in the direction of Domnan, who was sitting across the table from him, nursing a broken nose. He raised a cup.
‘Is that whisky?’ Kelly said, sitting down next to him.
‘Aye,’ Domnan replied, pulling out a jug from under the table. ‘Kylon was feeling generous after the scrap. Want some?’
‘Too right,’ she said. ‘Ta.’
‘Where’s Kylon now?’ Kallie asked, placing her packed shoulder bags onto the table.
‘Went off with Keira,’ Killop said, refilling his own cup. ‘They made up.’
Kallie and Kelly glanced at each other, and rolled their eyes.
Kallie sat next to him. ‘You won, then?’
‘He’s still here, isn’t he?’ Killop jerked his thumb at Domnan, grinning.
‘It’s not a joke, Killop,’ she said. ‘In the tunnels on our way back from the mountain, near the southern ventilation shaft, we passed a row of bodies that someone had hung up. They were dead, and all cut up, and had signs hacked into their chests, branding them a thief, or a hoarder or whatever.’
‘The stench was unbelievable,’ Kelly said, grimacing as she sipped her whisky.
‘Who were they?’
‘Couldn’t tell,’ Kelly went on. ‘They’d been stripped naked and beaten first. From the looks on the faces of the locals round about, they were most likely Lach civvies.’
‘Fuck,’ Killop muttered. ‘Who did it?’
‘The civvies told us it was the Domm.’
‘And if you’d lost that fight,’ Kallie said, ‘Domnan would be up there now, swinging with the other corpses.’
Killop put his glass down.
‘I’d better go and report to the chief,’ he said, wincing as he got to his feet.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Kallie said.
He nodded.
They crossed the room and pulled back the curtain. Lachryn and Lyla were on guard outside, and they grunted a greeting as they left. The passageway bore the evidence of the recent fight. Broken chairs and table legs were scattered amid the bloodstains on the stone tunnel floor.
‘You getting on better with Kelly, then?’ he asked her as they walked.
‘So so,’ she said. ‘When we’re outside, we talk, but only about the traps, any tracks we pick up, the wildlife, the weather, anything except what happened between us. She’s still got that glare in her eye, and I’m worried about bringing it up in case she goes mental.’
‘She’s spending a lot of time with Domnan.’
‘Aye,’ she replied. ‘They’re best mates now. Both see themselves as loners, different from everyone else in the squad.’ She turned to him. ‘You’d know all this, of course, if you spent more time down here.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Kyla’s got me running around day and night. I only got away today because Keira got kicked out of the meeting this morning. The chief’s probably got someone out looking for me, with a list of jobs to do.’
She took his hand, stopped, and looked up at him.
‘And you’re heading right back to her now?’ she asked, arching an eyebrow. ‘No. Come on, we need some time off.’
Keeping hold of his hand, she diverted up a side tunnel. As the crowds began to thin out, she started to run, and Killop kept up with her.
They passed through quieter tunnels, until they were alone, and kept going. They reached the point where the lamps stopped, and ran through the darkness, Killop trusting that Kallie knew the way. They reached a chamber where daylight spilled down from a shaft in the cavern ceiling. They stood and basked in the natural light and the fresh air. He felt himself smile.
‘I’m one of the lucky ones, Killop,’ she said, taking hold of his hand again. ‘Every couple of days I get to go outside, and breathe, and see the sun, and the seven stars. And then I have to go back inside again, into the dark and angry caves, where everyone snarls at each other, and children are starving. People are selling themselves for food. Soon they’ll be killing for it.’
‘Kyla’s doing everything she can…’
‘I know. I’m not blaming her. I’m not blaming anyone. Either that or I’m blaming everyone. We’re becoming like animals down here in the caves. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand it.’
He stood in silence, not knowing what to say to comfort her.
‘Today,’ she said, ‘for the first time I seriously thought about not coming back, just slipping away down the mountainside, finding somewhere, anywhere that’s too remote for the lizards to bother about. Somewhere outside, in the open air, free.’
Killop’s heart ached at her words. Part of him wanted her to leave, so that she would be safe, but the greater part knew that she was the main reason he kept going each day, and that without her he would be lost.
‘We could go,’ she whispered, her face brushing his. ‘We could leave.’
The image of it raced through his mind, of Kallie with him, together, living in some tiny shack up the high mountains. Children. He closed his eyes and felt the cold breeze blowing against his cheek. He thought about his duty to Kyla, and to the Kell, and to all the crowded masses of clansfolk.
‘What is there left to save?’ said Kallie.
He opened his eyes, and gazed at her.
‘The squad, Kallie,’ he said. ‘I love you, but I love them too.’
‘I know,’ she said, her head on his chest. ‘I do as well, the stupid bastards.’
‘If it all falls apart,’ he said, holding her close, ‘we’ll lead them out.’<
br />
Chapter 33
Blackened Bones
Temple, Fire Mountain – 5th Day, First Third Spring 504
‘Stop staring at me, Keira,’ Conal said.
‘I cannae help it, wee man. I’m fucking starving.’
‘I’m taking his right leg,’ Domnan said.
‘I’ll have his arse,’ said Bridget, poking at the fire.
‘You’ve already had yer share of him, hen,’ Keira said, ‘and ye spat it back out if I mind right.’
The squad laughed, but their hearts weren’t in it. Several days had passed since they had eaten anything substantial, and food was foremost in their minds.
Dawn was approaching, judging by the rose tints glowing round the edges of the thick clouds to the east. Killop smiled. There was no food, but at least they had fresh air and sunlight again. For eight days the squad had been up in the temple, watching the motionless Rahain in their camp down the valley. They were helping out with guard duty, but he and Keira had taken the decision so they could escape the squalor and desperation in the fetid caverns and tunnels below.
The temple extended a dozen paces from the front of the cliff face, and was comprised of two long colonnades, one on top of the other. On the lower level the pillars were thick and high, and the gaps between them led to a series of arched openings built into the cliff. The main temple halls and shrines were on this level, as well as the entrances to the tunnels below. The upper storey was more decorative, and its pillars were slender and graceful compared to the thick solidity of those on the lower level. There was a narrow walkway between the colonnade and the side of the cliff, and the space created was like a long balcony facing east, and it was there that the squad had set up camp. Chambers had been cut into the rock on the west side of the walkway, where priests had once lived. Most were small and cell-like, and the squad had paired up, with two to each room.
It had been twenty days since their first fight with the Domm over Domnan. He had lost an ear in the last exchange, just before they had decided to move up to the temple. Kyla’s control on the clans had come to an end as soon as the main supplies of food had run out. Warriors had deserted and secreted themselves in caves far from her authority, while the Domm had withdrawn all cooperation, and were now ruling a large chunk of the caverns on their own, an area where those from other clans no longer went, unless they were looking for a fight, or an end to their misery. Kyla had hardly looked up from her meeting room table when Keira and Killop had told her they were taking a squad and going up to guard the temple entrance. The chief had shrunk into herself during their time in the caves, losing weight, and aging before their eyes. She was defeated, before the final battle had been fought.
The Magelands Origins Page 44