'They aren't advancing.'
The light grew to a watery green, strengthened a little by the relighting of a few fires behind them at the shrine. As it did, the clamour and the panic died away. Two thousand Karku and two hundred Estorean guard stared out over the Eternal Water. Some Karku began mumbling prayers. Harkov shivered, feeling cold deep inside. Next to him, Jhered's face was set.
The beach was crowded with the dead. Before them, under their feet, those of their like that had fallen, discarded now like grotesque unwanted dolls. Thousands of them. They had spread all around the island as far as Harkov could see before the shrine obscured his view. He was in no doubt they were encircled.
'How?' began Jhered.
The answer was walking from beneath the lake's surface. All those they had thought perished in the deep. Some just breaking surface, heads and eyes above. Others wading chest and thigh deep. Yet more moving to stand with their comrades. Water dripped from them, poured from opened mouths. Cough reflexes sent spasms through bodies but the sound was guttural, sub-human. These were the only sounds that the dead had made.
From the mouth of the outflow, the ice was growing again. More slowly this time. The dead crowded the entrance, waiting their order to march. Harkov glanced up to the passageways and tunnels. All sounds of conflict there had ceased. Not even a gorthock roar punctuated the quiet.
Harkov's heart missed a beat.
'Mirron,' he said. Her place was empty, her fire smoking gently in still air.
Jhered turned to him. 'She can't burn and she can't drown. So long as she survived the impact, she'll be all right.' 'But she can't help us.' Jhered shook his head. 'No. But who can?' 'What can we do?' asked Harkov.
His mind was filled with images of his family. Dangerous thoughts to harbour right now. He tried to push them away and believe he would survive. He just didn't know how.
'I don't know,' said Jhered. 'Beyond surrender.'
Harkov looked at him sharply. 'You mean that?'
'It is a bitter drink but it might save us for another day if Gorian or whoever is commanding these corpses will listen.'
'You aren't serious. You heard Harban. The mountain will fall.'
'Do you really believe that, General? It is figurative at best. It certainly has no basis in geology or physics. Remember yourself.'
'I didn't believe the dead would walk or that the Ascendants could tame the elements.'
Jhered's smile was brief and without humour.
'Harkov, look around you. Do you think for one moment these Karku have the courage to stand together against this enemy? I can't even vouch for our own people, not if those they are here to help cannot fight.'
'But they have no choice, they have nowhere to run. You said it yourself, this is an island.'
'Speak logic to a panicked man. How far do you get?'
Harkov's response stopped in his throat. In his heart, he knew Jhered was right. And there was that part of him that was already prepared to cling on to any vestige of hope he might see the daylight again. Thoughts of a heroic death faded. What heroism was there dying at the hand of a rotting dead man here in a cold, dark cavern.
The temperature fell away again like it had before. Wind played across the island. The ice fled out ever faster and the dead waiting in the outflow began to walk. The fires guttered. The algae and lichen dimmed. Darkness closed in once more and they heard the dead moving forwards.
The screams and shouts started afresh. The running of feet and the calls for order too. Harkov and Jhered stood their ground trying to pierce a blackness that was so complete that neither could see their hands in front of their faces. The crush and tumult was all behind them. Harkov knew a few Ascendancy guard stood with them but the bulk of the broken defence was swarming in, over and around the shrine.
So it was that Harkov knew the dead had stopped walking after perhaps only a couple of paces. It dawned on the terrified Karku stumbling about in the dark with agonising slowness and it was only then that the shouts of Jhered and Harban began to be heard. The island fell silent once more, bar the whimpering of those too scared to know reason. And they waited.
'You are beaten yet I will be merciful.' The voice was carried easily over ice and water.
'Gorian.' Jhered's gravel whisper made Harkov start, the fury it contained feeling like murder.
Not another sound. How many could understand him was hard to guess. Not many. But enough. And all of them knew a voice of evil when they heard it.
'I will take what I came here to take. You can choose the manner in which that takes place.'
The voice was so calm, so measured. It seemed to float in the air and caress the ear. And beneath it, the sound of countless echoes whispered in countless different tones. Harkov swallowed. He didn't need to see to know that the echoes came from the mouths of the dead.
'You will never take the Heart Shrine!' Harban, from somewhere behind them, voice choked with emotion. 'You will not overcome us.'
'I already have, Harban-Qvist.' Gorian's voice was all around them. 'And I have no desire to take your shrine, just those within it. Give them to me and none of you will be harmed, certainly not your Gor-Karkulas.'
'Take not one more step,' shouted Harban. And then he spoke loud in Karku. His people stirred and muttered their anger. 'We will not let you tear down our mountain while we stand and watch. We would rather die.'
'I can arrange that,' said Gorian, irritation edging his tone. There was a shuffling in the darkness from the dead. Whatever courage Harban had instilled quickly evaporated. 'Do not test me, Harban. We were friends once. It is because of this that I am offering you life in exchange for something I can take anyway.'
'We were never friends, Ascendant.' Harban's voice spoke of a loss of control. 'Karku—!'
'Harban, no!' Jhered's voice bounced from the walls of Inthen-Gor. 'Don't let him tempt you. He isn't bluffing.'
'Well, well, well.' The voice was so cloying, Harkov almost expected to feel Gorian's hand on his shoulder. 'Exchequer Jhered. Still my sister's protector and still failing in that task, I see.'
'You have not harmed her, Gorian.' 'Perhaps just her pride.'
'We've come for Kessian, you know that, don't you, Gorian? And we won't stop hunting you until we get him.'
Gorian was silent for a moment and Harkov thought Jhered might have made an error.
‘I expected nothing less. And he is safe and will remain so. He is a great talent, my son. And he is in the right place. But enough, Exchequer. Delay is not helpful for any of us. You can persuade them. You cannot win here. You understand that, just as you understand that every man who dies today merely adds to my strength.'
'Which is why you must be stopped,' said Jhered.
'You cannot,' said Gorian and there was regret in his voice. 'All you can do is bow to me. Harban will tell you that the world will tip and the mountain will fall. I've read the prophecy too. I had someone bring it to me. But it is not the Gor that will fall. The only mountain that will crumble is the Conquord. Think on it as I take what I want and you watch knowing there is nothing you can do to stop me.'
The darkness was oppressive. The stink of cold sweat was everywhere, mixed with the rotten stench of the dead. Harkov had never been in a hopeless situation before but hearing Jhered try to keep himself calm, slowing his breathing and clearing his throat, he had no doubt he was in one now.
'State your demands,' said Jhered.
'No, Exchequer.' Harban was trying to come to them. There was stumbling and cursing and the sound of him being passed almost hand to hand. 'You will not stand over our demise. The Karkulas may not leave Inthen-Gor. I will not allow it.'
Jhered turned and hissed in his direction. 'He will take them anyway. What chance do you think we have? Think, man. Stay alive for the fight to come. Your mountain will not fall. And if it does, Gorian will die right along with it. Think Harban. Order an attack in this blackness and you gain nothing and give Gorian everything. Think.'
The pause was for eternity.
'Gorian?'
'Harban.'
'We will deliver them to you.' 'Wise.'
'But know that you are now the sworn enemy of every Karku. That we will not rest until you are staked out for the gorthock to feast on your dead flesh.'
'If it makes you feel better, I will tell you that I will live in fear.'
'You little bastard,' muttered Jhered, then raised his voice. 'Allow light, Gorian. And call your dead back. Or so help me, we will kill the Karkulas and none of us will have them.'
'We should do that anyway,' said Harkov quietly.
'No,' said Jhered, 'Because it won't stop him, just slow him down. All it will do is rip the heart from the Karku. And the Conquord will need them in the times to come.'
The light began to grow again from the lichen and the algae. A shifting around them told of the dead moving backwards. However on the frozen path from the shrine to the outflow, they stood waiting.
'Give them to me,' said Gorian, voice lessened by distance now the light eased their fear.
Jhered sighed. 'This is the worst day of my life.' He nodded to Harban. 'Do it. And Harban, this isn't the end. You must believe it.'
Harban's voice, faltering and choked, issued the order; into the face of the Karku's silence and tears.
Chapter Nineteen
859th cycle of God, 25th day of Genasrise
'How has he got to be this powerful?' demanded Jhered.
Mirron was still shivering and Jhered was worried about her despite all her talents. She had spent a long time in the water, under the ice that Gorian had created, only breaking through when he had gone and his hold over the elements with him. She had used so much of her inner energy to keep herself warm that now, despite the fire roaring at her feet, she couldn't warm up quickly enough. She was too tired to focus the warming trails through her body. Harkov put another cloak around her shoulders and she smiled up at him. Her clothes had all been burned from her and her hair was scorched. Her lips were blue and her eyes bloodshot.
'I saw it. Just as he struck out at me. But I don't know how he does it. What about my son? You let Kessian go.'
'We couldn't get to him, Mirron. We explained that. Please, I need you to concentrate.' Jhered glanced up at Harkov who raised his eyebrows. 'What did you see?'
Mirron screwed up her eyes and sighed, a melancholy sound that struck Jhered deep in his heart.
'He ...' She stopped and tears pushed out from behind her eyelids. 'He ...'
'Hey, take it easy.'
Jhered sat by her and pulled her into an embrace. She clung to his arm and cried, her sobs filling the cavern and turning the heads of all who remained there. The Karku shared her pain and understood her suffering. The Gor-Karkulas were gone. All but the very brave had left Inthen-Gor.
Jhered didn't think he could feel any lower but if he was honest with himself, the only reason he wasn't joining Mirron in grief was the need to remain strong for her. Everyone else was desolate, inconsolable.
It was only now he understood the desperation of Harban to keep the Gor-Karkulas. The heart of their belief was gone. Taken by a foe they could not touch and they were left with nothing. There were no lights in the Heart Shrine. No fires on its steps. Some stood and stared into the gloomy emptiness; others were clearing the island. It was an instinctive response, no more than that. Only Harban and a few of his closest friends believed anything Jhered had said. The Karku brave was leading a scouting party after Gorian and the dead. Others would follow the Tsardon forces.
None had any doubt that the next target would be the Conquord. The Karku, for what it was worth right now, would ally against the common enemy, hoping against hope that their treasured six would be returned to them alive.
'What will happen to them, do you think?' asked Harkov.
Jhered stroked Mirron's hair and kept her close while she gathered herself. The crying had stopped but still she shivered.
'I dread to think,' said Jhered. 'It won't even cheer them that the mountain will not physically fall, will it?'
'Why not?'
'Because the fact of its survival undermines their beliefs still further. You heard what Harban said before he left. They believe the will of the Gor-Karkulas keeps the roots of the mountain strong. Even he still thinks this place will crumble to dust and he's the most enlightened of them. None of them see the words are figurative. Harban's trying to keep them together, using some story about strength already invested in the roots but it won't wash for long.'
'Not least because he doesn't really believe it.'
'No indeed.'
Harkov rubbed his face. He looked exhausted and had a haunted look that suggested an urgent need to see sunlight again. 'How many did we lose?' asked Jhered.
'None,' said Harkov. 'It is the one blessing of the day. There are some injuries but nothing life-threatening. But it's their morale that really worries me. The nightmares are sure to come. And fear of the next contact with the dead.'
Mirron had relaxed just a little and her shivering was beginning to subside. One of Harkov's soldiers brought over mugs of broth. It was thin but felt like a feast fit for the Advocate.
'We'll have to work with them just like we'll have to work with every Conquord legionary. We need some tactics and weapons against them.' Jhered didn't speak what both of them were thinking. The weapon most likely to be effective was a crime in itself.
Harkov blew out his cheeks. 'Is there any room for debate with the Order, do you suppose?'
'You're joking of course,' said Jhered. 'I can only imagine in my darkest dreams the capital that Felice Koroyan will make of this. The Ascendancy is going to be under serious threat, Gorian has seen to that.'
Mirron moved in Jhered's arms, making herself a little more comfortable.
'You all right in there?' he asked, looking into the folds of her cloak where her face was just visible.
'I want to get out of here,' she said.
'I won't dispute that,' said Jhered. 'Sit up and drink your broth then we'll go. Your people ready, General?' Harkov smiled. 'After a fashion.'
Mirron moved back into the warmth of the fire and picked up her mug from the ground, sipping gently.
'The question is,' continued Harkov, 'where are we going to go?'
'A good question,' said Jhered. 'And are you able to answer yours, Mirron?'
She nodded. 'I know how he does it though I have no idea how I would do the same. Theory and practice, eh? Always a long way from each other for an Ascendant.'
'Who said that? No, let me guess. Father Kessian.'
Mirron smiled. 'Actually, no, not this time. A different teacher. Hesther. She uses it with all the new emerging talent. Doesn't make any difference, of course, they're still horribly impatient and frustrated.'
'So, expound on this particular theory.'
'Gorian can place his Works elsewhere once they are complete. He can lodge them in the mind of a latent, or presumably emerged, talent so that they run independently of him. That leaves him free to pursue other Works. Kessian, my little Kessian, was keeping the dead walking.'
Mirron swallowed and Jhered could see she was close to breaking again.
'It's all right Mirron. He's an unwitting victim.'
'But the harm it will be doing to him. We have to get to him.'
'And we will,' said Jhered. 'But I'm not with you yet on what Gorian is doing. You're saying Kessian was controlling the dead?'
'No,' said Mirron. 'Gorian was using Kessian's energy to keep them moving and doing his will while he worked on me and the lake. If he wanted to change their task, he'd have to take control of the energy map again. I don't know how he does it. It's like those jugglers that use gossamer cloth. They can keep plenty up at a time by moving from one to another in turn before they hit the ground. He's managed to corrupt Kessian's energies to keep feeding and amplifying into the Work that drives the dead. That's against all we know. Without the control of an Ascendant, a Wo
rk will dissipate because the energy map will collapse.'
'And can't Kessian do anything to break the map himself?' asked Harkov.
'You assume he knows it's happening. Or even if he does, that he understands enough to counter what Gorian is doing,' replied Mirron.
'So I wonder where he'll take his dead,' said Jhered. 'Straight through Atreska is favourite unless he plans to push west into Gestern. From the insignia we saw, he's already been there to kill.'
'You're missing the point,' said Mirron. 'He took the Gor-Karkulas to do with them what he did with Kessian. He has seven huge pools of latent energy now.'
'Maybe but it doesn't mean he can attack on any more than one front. Just that he can control larger numbers, no?'
'No, Paul,' said Mirron. She shook her head and Jhered found himself going cold. 'The Work that controls the dead uses the earth. He doesn't have to be next to them to control them. He doesn't have to be anywhere near them if he's good enough and I have no doubt he is. Gorian can control the dead using the Karkulas and Kessian as remote conduits. He can attack on multiple fronts yet be hidden far from any point of conflict. The only way to stop him is to kill him, just like Ossacer said.'
Jhered put a hand over his mouth. 'And if Harban loses him now, we could find ourselves with the whole of Tsard and the Conquord to search for him.'
'Unless I or my brothers can work out a way to trace him through the energy maps he is creating. Find a way to the source so to speak.'
'And can you do that?' asked Harkov. ‘I don't know,' said Mirron.
'Drink up,' said Jhered. 'We need to get a message to Harban and then we have to get back to Estorr.'
'Sounding the alarm all the way,' said Harkov. 'Dammit.' Jhered punched the sandy ground, invasion.'
‘I'm proud of you today,' said Gorian. 'Really proud.'
The boat was being rowed quickly down the outflow, heading for the sunshine of northern Kark and a quick exit into Tsard, where a rendezvous with King Khuran would take place. Other boats followed, all simple open vessels with a dozen oarsmen, carrying two of the Dead Lords, the six Karku prisoners and Khuran's observers. And what a victory they had seen.
A Shout for the Dead Page 19