by Matthew Ward
"Zorya's a serathi?" Arianwyn asked.
"Not just a serathi, a serathiel. If we survive this, I'll be more respectful."
"And she's here?"
"She is."
"And my father?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry." I'd completely forgotten about Koschai.
"He's still here," Arianwyn said with certainty. "Azyra dropped plenty of hints as to what would happen to him if I resisted. Not that I've seen her much of late – the 'lessons' stopped the day you... Well, the last day you were here."
"And did you cause any trouble?"
"Not unless you count talking with the Radiant. To be honest, I wasn't sure what else to do. I was angry, furious even. I didn't want to make things worse, but now..." Her voice faded to nothing.
"Now we do everything we can," I finished. "Can you draw on the Radiant's magic as well as your own?"
Arianwyn shook her head. "No. And to be honest, I'm afraid to try. It's been bad enough waking up in strange places, not knowing what the Radiant's been about while I've slept. I haven't wanted to push, in case I never awoke again." She smiled maliciously. "I don't think Azyra wanted that either. In one of my earlier lessons, I dug deeper than she anticipated, and she siphoned off the magic very quickly. I think she was afraid that either I or the Radiant would lose control if the transition occurred too soon."
Jamar strode back down the street towards us. "It is a pleasure to have you back with us, savim, but I'm afraid we must keep going."
"Of course," Arianwyn said. "I've no shortage of scores to settle."
*******
We set off again, Adanika always pushing us to greater effort. Elspeth's strength flagged further and, freed of the need to safeguard the Radiant, Jamar once again took it upon himself to share his strength with the Daughter of the Moon. I was increasingly unsure what Elspeth thought she could do to help us, but there was no point trying to send her away. It was clear she wanted to see this through, and there was no point wasting time and energy on an argument I couldn't win.
The further we walked, the more obvious the signs of battle became. Here and there, a wall had partially collapsed where a serathi or sentinel had slammed through its stones, their body often lifeless in the rubble. Smoke danced on the wind, twitched from great black columns spiralling up from the palaces around the Courts of Heaven. Skyhaven was burning as its defenders died. Despite the events that had brought us all to this point, I found it all inexpressibly sad.
We rounded a corner to see revenants swarming up the walls of a tower a short distance ahead. They massed against the windows and doors in a desperate press of inky-black bodies, their swords and skull-helms glinting in the sunlight.
Jamar frowned thoughtfully. "That's unusual."
It was indeed. This wasn't opportunistic predation on serathi, but something else entirely.
White light burst from one of the upper windows. It blasted three revenants into the street, their bodies bursting into smoke.
Suddenly, I understood. "Come on!"
Adanika shook her head. "Leave them be."
"We can't. Why are they so desperate to get into that tower? They haven't bothered with the others. They're drawn to a dead man who shouldn't be in this world. Koschai's in there."
Adanika took to the air at once, plunging like a thunderbolt into the revenants crowding about the door. Jaspyr and Fredrik struck next, loosed to the hunt at Arianwyn's command. Revenants vanished into ash and smoke. Others pressed on, oblivious to the danger at their rear.
It was only when the rest of us reached the tower that the revenants seemed to notice their peril, and I think that was only because they noted the presence of another vagabond soul – namely myself. Blinded by their hunger for the rebellious dead, the revenants paid my companions no heed – much to their cost. By the time I'd despatched my first foe, the battle was already won. At least three quarters of the revenants had been banished, the others fled.
I tried to open the door, but met no more success than the revenants.
"Father!" Arianwyn called. "They've gone. Let us in."
Koschai's face appeared through a jagged hole in the glass. He took one look at our motley group, and ducked back inside. Moments later, there was the sound of something heavy being dragged back from behind the door, and the Tressian emerged into the street. He embraced Arianwyn, and greeted the rest of us in turn – including Elspeth, once Adanika had introduced her.
As Koschai's gaze met mine, a shadow passed over his haggard face. "I'm sorry, my boy. It would have better for us all if you'd let me take your place." He sounded exhausted.
"This?" I ran my fingers down the pale, white skin of my face. "It doesn't matter now," I lied. "It seems that the one who brought me back couldn't manage as good a job as the one the serathi did for you."
And it was true. I hadn't had cause to think on it before, but Koschai, though a dead man in the world of the living, was clearly not a fallen. Was this some side effect of Sidara's heritage?
Koschai regarded me with a peculiar expression. I'd misunderstood him, though I wasn't sure how.
"Father?" Arianwyn drew back from him, lips tightening. "What is it?"
"The Light of the Radiant," he said. "I repaired it."
A chill passing over my heart. "You did what?!"
He wouldn't meet my gaze, and no wonder. "The serathi don't comprehend machinery, and the Light of the Radiant is as much machine as magic. It's not really any different to the arrangement of mirrors I installed in the Tower of Stars' observatory."
Had he been another man, I think I'd have killed him then and there. With the Light restored... The possibilities were horrendous.
"But why, father?" Arianwyn demanded angrily. "Why help her?"
"Because she told me Skyhaven would otherwise fall from the heavens, and because she threatened to kill you otherwise," Koschai rejoined bitterly. "What else could I do?"
I clenched my fists. "You could have said 'no'. Azyra needs Arianwyn to bring the Radiant back. She can't kill her."
"I didn't know that," Koschai snapped. "How could I?"
"Even so, father, you shouldn't have done it." The anger in Arianwyn's voice faded. "My life isn't worth the thousands she'll kill."
He hung his head. "It is to me. I couldn't abandon you. Not again."
Those words, so wretchedly said, plunged Arianwyn, her father and I into a loud and pointless debate. I daresay none of us made much sense – we were venting emotion, not reason. Afterward, I couldn't even recall what I said. Words couldn't do justice to my rage. It was fury born from despair, from betrayal and desperation. The Tressian had handed Azyra the means to destroy my people with utter impunity. That a man who I'd liked and respected could have done such a thing was bad enough, but it wasn't the worst of it, not by far. Ashamed as I was to admit it even to myself, had our situations been reversed – had I been offered the chance to save Arianwyn by sacrificing Tressian lives – I feared I might have taken that bargain. Even as I argued, I knew our quarrel helped nothing. That knowledge made me angrier still. I was supposed to be better than that. We were all supposed to be better than that.
Thankfully, one amongst us was.
"That's enough!" Jamar bellowed.
His voice had brought order to routing armies, and it clove our quarrel apart with ease. The thunder in his face outmatched my own wrath twice over. No longer was he my bodyguard, or even my friend. In that moment he was what he'd been long before I'd first known him; a havildar of the royal guard, and Ashana help anyone who crossed him. "Adanika, will Skyhaven fall if the Light of the Radiant is destroyed?"
The serathi considered. "No."
Jamar grunted. "Good. There's no point saving Tregard from one fate only to drop a city upon it. Koschai, you helped the serathi repair the Light of the Radiant. Can you undo that work?"
The Tressian nodded in no small relief. "Yes, if I can get there."
"Then that's where you and I are going. As for the rest of y
ou, this changes nothing; Azyra cannot set the Light loose if she's a captive, or dead. One way or another, you stop her." He looked at Adanika. "From where can the Light be triggered?"
"Two places: from the Courts of Heaven, or from the throne overlooking the Farsight. Salkard was destroyed from the former."
Elspeth staggered unevenly away. "The Courts of Heaven it is."
"No!" The others rounded on me, Jamar bearing a warning expression I'd never before seen. "If Azyra's to use the Light of the Radiant, she'll want to see her handiwork. She'll be at the Farsight."
Adanika nodded, already moving. "She will. We must hurry."
*******
We separated, Jamar and Koschai running headlong to the Light of the Radiant, the rest of us for the Farsight. Skyhaven was already in position over Tregard – now it was a race against the growing energies of the Light of the Radiant. The problem was, we had no idea how far along that race we had already come. Tregard could be destroyed at any moment.
Elspeth made that final journey in Adanika's arms. Arianwyn and I sought other methods. Neither one of us wanted to be left behind, but our legs could hardly match Adanika's pace. Instead, we each rode atop one of the lions, clinging desperately to their sculpted manes.
It was not a pleasant way to travel. I'd journeyed thus once before, and then for only the shortest of distances, but had found the unyielding bronze hide a most uncomfortable seat. So it proved again. Bruised muscles and jarred bones moaned protest as Fredrik thundered towards the riverside. To my right Arianwyn clung to Jaspyr's back, looking far more secure than I felt. A shadow on the ground betrayed Adanika's presence overhead.
Where before, the battle for Skyhaven had been a matter of sentinels versus serathi, fighting had now broken out amongst the serathi ranks. Swooping battles of spear and sword raged in the skies above the river, and I supposed that there were more serathi than Adanika who had grown weary of their serathiel's madness. Not that I could tell the two sides apart, except where one or more graces were involved. I'd no doubts that the loyalty of the masked serathi still held true, if indeed they had enough will of their own to make a choice.
The riverside was gravely embattled, but Jaspyr and Fredrik carried us carried us safe through, skirting knots of combatants or else leaping over them. As Fredrik carried me beneath a bridge, I glimpsed Zorya on the roadway above. At her right fought another sentinel, at her left a wounded serathi. She caught sight of Arianwyn, and I wondered briefly at her thoughts. Then Fredrik missed his footing and skidded in the mud, and my own thoughts once again shifted to holding on.
At last, we reached the stairs leading to the Farsight. Only the eighth gate was guarded, and neither Adanika nor Arianwyn were of a mind to be thwarted. One grace perished on Adanika's sword, and Arianwyn's magic slammed the other against the gate with enough force to break her neck.
With the last gate open before us, I drew my sword. The Farsight lay undefended before us. It was time to end this.
Fourteen
The gates crashed back against the railings beyond, and we passed into the Farsight. The stone platform lay almost deserted, the space that could hold so many serathi seeming barren and lifeless in their absence.
Central Tregard gleamed in the black waters of the Farsight. The Emperor's palace dominated the image, the pool encompassed the bustling streets beyond. I saw see the baroque towers of the Imperial Council hall, the alabaster splendour of the Temple of Ashana, and the bright colours of the market. I even made out the villa that was my official residence, though I hadn't spent a night there in over a year. A crowd had gathered in the palace gardens, hundreds of citizens waiting to hear the Emperor speak. What the occasion was, I'd no idea, but the renewed war with Tressia gave Eirac much to say.
The heart of the Empire hung, unaware, on the edge of oblivion.
"Azyra!"
Azyra and three other serathi stood on the opposite side of the Farsight. They'd been deep in conversation – or possibly argument – as we had entered, but now they turned to face Adanika's wrathful onset.
"Traitor."
Azyra's face was flat and cold, her disdain at the intrusion obvious. She wore a sword at her waist, but was not otherwise attired for battle. The others were unarmed. They looked nervous, as well they might have done. I think those three would rather have been anywhere else at that moment, even in the battle below. The only other occupants of the space were three drudges, standing in silent attendance at the black throne set at the Farsight's edge.
Adanika and Azyra swept unflinchingly towards each other, neither willing to show weakness. The other serathi hung back, as did my companions; Arianwyn to my right, and Elspeth to my left. I'd no idea as to the protocol for what was to come, and I certainly didn't want to come within Azyra's easy reach if she refused Adanika's challenge.
For what seemed like a long time, the serathiel and the Speaker of Truth held each other's gaze, neither speaking as they gauged their opponent's intent. From corner of my eye, I saw Arianwyn settle into a crouch and whisper to Jaspyr and Fredrik. When she'd finished, the two sprang away as swiftly as they'd come.
"I've sent them to my father," Arianwyn whispered, regaining her feet. "He and Jamar might need help."
"We might need help," I pointed out, just as quietly. Granted, the numbers were equal – four serathi against four of us. However, neither Elspeth nor I could hope to match a serathi in single combat.
Her expression darkened. "We'll manage."
Adanika abandoned her silent battle of wills and drew herself up to her full height. "This has gone on long enough. Stop this now, Azyra."
Azyra laughed. "Yours is the only madness here. You have come at the head of an army, provoked a war amongst our kin. And for what? To deny prophecy? The Reckoning is coming. It cannot be stopped, but it can be won!"
"And then what?"
"Then I will build a better world. One uninfested by pretenders to the Radiant's glory." Azyra shot a shrivelling look at Elspeth. "She is the only true power. It is time that the others learnt their place."
"Listen to the folly of your words," Adanika pleaded. "You killed the Radiant. I helped you. This is not for her."
"It had to be done." Azyra voice crackled with fervour. "The mortals had corrupted her. She forgot our superiority. She lost her way. But when she returns, untainted and renewed, she will affirm the righteousness of my work." Her eyes gleamed. "She will forgive me."
And with those words, I knew Azyra's mind was broken. Everything she'd done was to gain the blessing of the mother she'd betrayed and murdered. Yet never had she considered that her dreams stood in contradiction to the Radiant's desires. Azyra would never receive the blessing she craved. The Radiant would oppose her as she had before, the serathiel would murder her a second time, and the cycle would begin anew.
Certainty overrode my intention not to interfere. "The Radiant didn't seem very forgiving when last I spoke to her. "'Let us put an end to my daughter's madness' were the very words she used."
"She is confused," the serathiel snapped. "Her mind is mingled with the mortal's. It blinds her. It will pass when the body is hers alone."
Adanika edged closer. "There was a time when I believed in you, Azyra. I followed you when you proclaimed that the Radiant had betrayed us. I helped you kill her. I helped you seek the vessel into which she could be reborn. I have been blind so long, but I see clearly now." She took another step forward, confidence filling her posture. "As you once accused the Radiant of having fallen from grace, so do I now accuse you, Azyra of the First Circle. Submit to the Trial of Swords."
Azyra laughed, the sound cruel and bitter. "You cannot be serious."
"I am the Speaker of Truth. I do not lie. Will you fight me, or yield?"
"I do not recognise your authority to make such a challenge, Adanika of the Second Circle," Azyra asserted, but her voice was wary. "By your own choice, you are an exile from our people and from this realm. None amongst the host follow you."
>
"Not long ago, you accused me of coming to Skyhaven at the head of an army, of provoking civil war," Adanika reminded her. "Have you forgotten your own words so soon?"
The two began to circle one another. I'd no idea whether either any longer sought to win a war of words, or whether this posturing was part of the rite of challenge.
"I forget nothing," Azyra said coldly. "And an army of drudges grants no authority."
"They are our sisters. They cannot help what we made of them."
"They are drudges! They always were. I merely gave them a form more suited to their grovelling nature."
Adanika said nothing, her face a mask of shame and anger.
"Nothing more to say?" Azyra mocked. "Then it seems I need not sully my hands with you." She addressed the serathi gathered around the Farsight. "Adanika has raised her sword against the Courts of Heaven. Kill her, and the pets she treasures so much, but do not harm the Radiant's host."
None of the serathi moved.
Azyra's face grew thunderous. "I am your serathiel! Do you defy me?"
The serathi came forward. Hesitantly, perhaps, but they came. I'd the sense they didn't agree with Azyra's actions, but feared her too much to object. It wasn't hard to imagine why. Who'd dare stand against a tyrant who'd once overthrown a goddess?
"Stop!" Arianwyn's words cut across the Farsight, cold and clear. "I support Adanika's challenge."
Azyra snorted. "A mortal's support counts even less than a drudge's."
But Azyra clearly hadn't yet learned a lesson that I'd accepted long ago. She'd underestimated Arianwyn. "But I am not a mortal, not any longer. You've seen to that. You said yourself that the Radiant and I are entwined, neither of us wholly who we were. If you cannot trust her wisdom because she sometimes speaks with my voice, who are you to say that I do not speak with hers now?"