by William King
“Just you wait until you’re in my position. You’ll be obsessed with it too.”
“You were right. You’re going to have to pry this sword from my cold dead hand.”
“Let’s pray to the Holy Sun that I don’t have to do it today then. It’s been a while since I held a dwarf-forged blade.” He brandished the mace with one stubby hand. “And this will not be nearly as effective.”
The dogs started to growl as Rhiana pushed her way through the crowd. Gerd eyed her with a mixture of appreciation and suspicion. “Who is this?”
“Captain Rhiana, late of Port Blood and parts beyond.”
“She coming with us?” Gerd looked dubious. The gills marked Rhiana as a child of Saa-Aquor, not a follower of the Holy Sun. He was wondering what her relationship with Kormak was.
“Yes, she is,” Rhiana said. “I didn’t pull you out of the belly of Leviathan just to watch you get yourself killed here.”
“The belly of Leviathan? I hope you are not speaking literally,” Gerd said.
“She is,” Kormak said.
“You’ll need to tell me about that.”
“You can write up the report for the Grand Master if you want.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. You know how much I love paperwork.” Gerd’s sarcastic tone was not lost on Rhiana. She smiled.
“Rhiana, this is Abbot Gerd. He’s a master of the quill.”
Gerd gave a slight bow. “Mightier than the sword so they say. Though I can’t help but feel the man who first said that had not tried defending himself against a blood-mad orc with one.”
“Whatever you do, don’t ask him how much it costs to feed his dogs.”
“He’s right, captain. The cost would frighten you to death. Better let them get a sniff of you. They might be unfriendly otherwise.” He moved over to the dogs and said, “Balthus, Slasher, Fang. This pretty lady is a friend. Don’t bite!”
The dogs glared at Rhiana less fiercely.
She frowned. “You’ve shielded your dogs. The runes on the collars . . .”
“It’s not the only thing they protect them from,” said Gerd. “But perhaps we can discuss that on our way to view the Imperial Treasure Vaults.”
“You’d better take a lit torch and some spares,” Kormak said to Rhiana.
“You want me to be your linkboy? I have this!” She reached inside her pouch and produced a pearl that Kormak well-remembered. Even in daylight it gave out a faint green glow. In the darkness it would produce as much light as a torch.
“A torch will be a better weapon against an Old One than your spear. Fire burns the Eldrim.”
“You can bet your life I’m carrying a torch,” said Gerd. “Rodric too. Only this lazy Aquilean bastard won’t. He claims it takes all his strength to lift that dwarf-forged blade.”
Rhiana laughed and took a torch.
“Let’s get hunting,” said Kormak.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THEY MADE THEIR way down the stairwell into the catacombs. The green glow of Rhiana’s pearl gave as much light as the smoke-spluttering torches. The smell of oil and burning rag drifted through the close air. Shadows danced away from them. Moss clung to the walls and emerged from gaps between the paving stones.
The dogs snarled. The biggest, Balthus and Slasher, eyed the small one, Fang, as if considering him for a meal. Fang growled back at them, undaunted by their size.
“You sure you remember the way,” Gerd asked.
“Yes,” Kormak said.
“I recall how you got us lost in the night marches round Aethelas.”
“You were the one leading.”
“Still trying to shift the blame I see. You’d think that after all these years you would just admit it.”
“I take it you two have known each other for some time,” Rhiana said.
“Since he was dragged to Mount Aethelas as a snot-nosed pup by Master Malan. Although, come to think of it, that was before Malan became a Master,” said Gerd. “He was a troublemaker even then I can tell you. Started a fight the day he arrived. Would have got handed his sorry ass as well, if I had not pulled him out of it.”
Rhiana looked at Kormak. He shook his head.
“He can shake his head all he likes but he knows it’s true.”
“Gerd always talks when he’s nervous,” Kormak said.
“I am not nervous. I am scared shitless. I saw what that thing did to you and I am not carrying a dwarf-forged blade.”
The dog-handler looked at the abbot, appalled. Kormak wondered if he had ever heard Gerd express himself in quite this way before. Or perhaps it was just the confession of fear that had him worried.
The steps ended and they were on the level of the vaults now.
“I am surprised the King-Emperor trusts you to come down here,” Gerd said. “Aquileans are famous for their looting.”
“The King of Siderea obviously does not share your Taurean prejudices.”
“He has his own. He does not need any of mine.”
“I always heard that Aemon was a saint.”
“Cast your mind back to your scripture lessons and you will recall that not a few of the saints were vicious bastards. His hands were stained crimson and he bathed in the blood of heretics. That was written about Saint Aloysius, not coincidentally known as the Bloody-Handed.”
“The stories I have heard all say Aemon is a humble man and a great temple builder. He gives alms to the poor and he heals the sick. I’ve not seen anything yet that makes me disbelieve that.”
Gerd looked over his shoulder then at the dog-handler then at Rhiana. “You are just trying to get me into trouble, aren’t you, Kormak? Always the bloody same with you.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“It would not surprise me if, even down here, Aemon’s bloody brother had eavesdroppers.”
“So?”
“What do you want me to say? That the King builds temples and gives alms to the poor to ingratiate himself with the people? He does it because the nobles hate him for limiting their privileges and building a professional army. The preachers’ sermons praise the King’s virtues because he pays for their stipends as well as their temples.”
“I have met Aemon. He does not seem so cynical.”
“You have met Aemon so you think the same as me. King Aemon believes in the Light of the Holy Sun and in the Angel Zhamriel’s blessing. But most of all he believes in the righteousness of King Aemon. Not least of the believers in the sainthood of King Aemon is King Aemon.”
It surprised Kormak to hear his old friend speak so strongly on the subject. “I just hope that your lady friend here is not a spy in the pay of our saintly king,” said Gerd. “I know I can trust Rodric here. I owe him too much in gambling debts for him to want me dead.”
Rodric looked scandalised. Rhiana said, “Your secrets are safe with me.”
Kormak felt tempted to tell Gerd that she had been an agent of the King-Emperor back in Port Blood. Just for a moment, he wondered if she still considered herself such. Perhaps that was why she was here now.
As they approached the vault, the dogs began to whine. It was alarming hearing beaten-puppy noises coming from the throats of those fierce beasts. Shadowhounds had been bred for generations to hunt monsters through the stink of blights. Nothing was supposed to frighten them. Both the bigger dogs were reluctant to proceed. Fang bared his teeth and growled as he crept forward.
Rodric said, “Never seen them behave like this before, abbot. Not even when we were hunting those spider-demons in Bogwood.”
Gerd nodded. “Maybe they’ve been listening to me too much. Now, boys you know I was only joking. There’s nothing that bad down here. Ask Sir Kormak, he’ll tell you.”
“They’re dogs, Gerd. They can’t understand what I am saying.”
“With that Aquilean accent of yours, you’re probably right. I struggle with it myself.”
The smallest of the dogs continued to move forward. It crept along on its belly, as if
it was stalking something. Kormak looked at Rhiana.
“I don’t sense anything in there. Doesn’t mean there is nothing there,” she said. “It could be masking itself. “
“If anything can do it, a bloody Old One can,” said Gerd. “They are masters of magic. Live and breathe it. Comes as easy to them as eating expensive meat and farting does to my dogs.”
Kormak moved beside Fang. The dog looked up at him and did not growl. Kormak went up to the vault door. It swung open easily on its hinges. Fang whimpered but kept moving forward. The other Shadowhounds kept their distance.
Kormak entered the vault.
He moved to the spot where the chancellor had fallen. The dog scampered along with him, as if desperate for the company. It sniffed the area where the body had been, alternately whimpering and growling.
Kormak strode deeper into the room, heading towards the sarcophagus. The others followed. Rodric had to drag the other dogs. Rhiana looked gloomy. Gerd looked worried as he limped along.
Kormak saw nothing except the mounds of treasure chests. He paid particular attention to the area on top of them. The monster might still be lurking there.
Gerd slapped the head of the mace against his palm. He squinted into the darkness then limped up behind Kormak. He was quiet now, giving his full attention to their surroundings. Kormak missed the man’s chatter. The silence was ominous.
He moved up to where the open sarcophagus lay. He checked the angles of attack from the aisles of treasure chests.
None of the dogs, not even Fang, wanted to get close to the coffin. Rodric glanced around fearfully. He had clearly never seen the hounds behave this way before.
Rhiana moved over to Kormak’s side. Shadows danced away from the flickering torch. He noticed how clean the edge of the pearl’s glow was compared to the constant shifting of the pool of torchlight’s boundaries.
“Well, it’s open, you were right about that much,” said Gerd, bending to inspect the coffin. He squinted at the runes.
“You’re probably right about them being binding signs although I have no idea what some of the other ones are for.” Gerd leaned closer and gestured for Rhiana to bring the light closer. “It looks like some of them have been damaged.”
“Deliberately?” Kormak asked.
“Take a look for yourself.”
Some of the runes were defaced. It was possible someone had done that with a chisel when they were attempting to open the coffin. He said as much.
“Maybe,” said Gerd. “But who would do that? All of the sailors know they would be skinned alive for tampering with the Treasure Fleet’s cargo. Why take the risk?”
“Because they were greedy,” Kormak said.
“Royal Marines guard those chests,” Gerd said. “No one is more loyal to the King-Emperor.”
“Still they can be tempted, like any other man.”
“Maybe but it does not make any sense. Why this particular thing, a coffin, why not a casket of jewellery?”
“Because they wanted the seals broken and whatever was in it to get out,” Kormak suggested.
Rhiana said, “Cargoes get tossed against each other, particularly when the seas are rough. You’ve seen what a storm on the World Ocean is like, Kormak. This might all have been an accident.”
“When it comes to Old Ones being unleashed I don’t believe in accidents,” Kormak said.
“It doesn’t mean they can’t happen,” said Rhiana.
Gerd shrugged. “Does not really matter. Someone tampered with the coffin or it was smashed open by accident. The main thing is that whatever was within it got out and we need to find it.”
“The coffin could have been tampered with here in the vault,” Kormak said.
“By who? The chancellor? That old man served the bloody King for twenty years and the king’s father before him for twenty-five more. He was no more likely to take anything from here than I am.”
“So it’s a fifty-fifty chance then,” said Kormak.
“I suppose you think that’s funny.”
“Well, I know you need the gold, Gerd. You’ve told me often enough since you got to the palace.”
“If the sarcophagus was damaged, it might be mentioned on the manifest,” Rhiana said. “The Admiral would have had to sign for it and he would have to certify that it arrived in the same condition as it set out. It’s his responsibility after all.
“More bloody paperwork,” muttered Gerd.
“Did I just hear you volunteering to check it,” said Kormak.
“Still looking for ways to skive off, I see.”
Fang had returned to where the chancellor’s body lay. He sniffed and growled. He seemed to have screwed up his courage. The other Shadowhounds clustered around him. Their tails were down but their teeth were bared.
“Looks like Fang has picked up a scent,” said Rodric. He looked at the abbot, then at the dogs, then at his feet.
Gerd glanced at Kormak. “I know what you’re going to say,” he said.
“We’d best see what we can find,” said Kormak.
***
Rodric moved slowly over to his hounds. “Now boy, seek,” he said. His voice was low and encouraging, like a man talking to a nervous child. “Seek!”
Fang sniffed. His nose wrinkled as if he did not like what he smelled. His ears pricked up and his lips drew back in a snarl and he began to move forward. “Balthus, Slasher, follow Fang! You’re not going to let yourself be shown up by the runt of the litter, are you?”
With visible reluctance, Balthus and Slasher slunk after Fang.
“Either those are the most cowardly Shadowhounds I have ever seen,” Kormak said. “Or there’s something about this Old One has them really troubled.”
Rodric wrinkled his nose and glared. The way his lips drew back to reveal his teeth reminded Kormak of his dogs. “There’s nothing cowardly about my hounds,” he said. He sounded personally affronted.
“That’s what’s worrying me,” Gerd said. “I’ve seen those dogs hamstring a Shadow-blighted mastodon and look cheerful while they were doing it.”
Rhiana glanced at the dogs. She looked pale in the torchlight. She was becoming more wan by the moment.
“What is it?” Kormak asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “I just don’t like being cooped up in these tunnels.”
Kormak remembered how he had felt in the ocean’s depths and wondered whether it was the same for her down here.
“You don’t have to come with us,” he said.
“Try and stop me.”
“I would not dream of it.” Kormak glanced over at Gerd. “You got the essence of truesilver?”
The abbot nodded.
“It’s time to treat your weapons with it.”
CHAPTER NINE
GERD DRIBBLED THE last of the liquid metal on to the head of his mace. He smeared it on the runes with the sleeve of his tunic. The air smelled faintly of polish and something more acrid that made the back of Kormak’s throat tighten.
“We’ve got about an hour,” Gerd said.
“An hour of what?” Rhiana asked. She sounded tetchy. Perhaps because the abbot had treated his own weapon and Rodric’s but not hers. It would be easy for her to take it as a sign that they did not trust her. Maybe Gerd didn’t.
Gerd said, “An hour during which our weapons will cause an ungodly amount of pain to any Old One. It will kill any of their blood too.”
He paused for a moment as if considering his next words. “You had best be careful not to get yourself hit.”
It was all the explanation or apology Rhiana was going to get. Kormak waited for her angry denial but it did not come.
“Poison,” she said.
“In a sense,” Gerd said. “It’s something that burns the Old Ones like poison ivy burns us.”
Rhiana said, “The armour Kormak’s wearing will have the same effect, won’t it? That’s not just essence of truesilver. It’s made from it.”
“It’ll certainly ma
ke an Old One or one of their bloody servants think twice about hitting the wearer a second time.”
“You ever consider making weapons from it?”
Gerd grinned. “What do you think the runes on this mace are made from? The truesilver alloys that men make are not much use for normal blades, too soft and won’t hold an edge long, but they have their uses. The mace will hurt an Old One.”
“Your order believes in being prepared, doesn’t it?”
Gerd sounded serious. “Sometimes it’s the only advantage we have. You take whatever you can get.”
“It was the Solari who came up with all this stuff though . . .”
“They used it but they had better weapons. Sunblades, lightspears, dayshields, armour made from sungold. They picked up the knowledge from the Angels of the Sun when they warred against the Old Ones in the Dawn Ages of the World.”
Kormak remembered the thoughtful scholar Gerd had been as a boy. The smell of the old classrooms, and the way the light fell through the stained glass windows came back to him. He shook his head. It was the pain-killing potion. It was making him dreamy even as it numbed his wounds.
Gerd tilted his head to one side and studied the Guardian. “You all right? You look a bit sickly.”
Kormak wondered about that. If he was not at all right, he was putting their lives at risk. The Old One had almost killed him last night and he had been in better shape then.
Still, there were four of them and the hounds. Gerd and Rodric were better prepared than any royal guardsman, and Rhiana had strange powers of her own. If he left things much longer the trail might vanish and they would lose this chance to find the creature from the sarcophagus.
He hesitated for a heartbeat. Was he afraid? He remembered what his teachers on Aethelas had taught him.
Fear was just his body’s way of telling him to be prepared for danger. There was something large and predatory waiting for him out there in the darkness, and he was not sure he could deal with it. He turned that thought over and over in his mind.
“Let’s go,” he said. The others followed him with hesitant steps, as if they sensed his reluctance to go on.
***
The Old One heard the cries of hunting beasts seeking prey. They echoed down the damp-walled tunnels of the catacombs like the calls of restless ghosts.