Bridget looked at the tabletop. ‘It is.’
‘Then we’ll be leaving.’ She opened a purse, and passed over a handful of coins to Kendrie, who had been lurking by the doorway. She nodded to Bridget, and they trooped out of the chamber. Kendrie followed them out, closing the door behind him.
Bridget broke down in tears.
The others glanced at each other. Dyam put her arm over Bridget’s shoulder, but she shrugged it off.
Brodie poured himself an ale. He took a sip, and nodded. ‘That’s it then. The clan’s done.’
‘No, it’s not,’ Dyam said. ‘You heard what she said. We can form our own settlements and farm our own land. We can keep on being the Severed Clan.’
‘What’s the point?’ Brodie said. ‘If given the choice, I’d rather go back to Brig. I heard that more villages are being repopulated there, just beyond the eastern end of the Domm Pass.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Draewyn said. ‘We should stick together. I’m looking forward to setting up a village with a few of the lassies that I knew at Slateford.’
‘But you’re Domm,’ Brodie said. ‘This is your home.’ He pointed to the east. ‘My home’s that way, over the pass to Brig.’
‘We’re all Kellach Brigdomin now,’ said Dyam.
Brodie shook his head. ‘What a surprise, you’re Domm as well. Of course you’re saying that, because it’s like we’re all guests in your home. We all know that the majority of folk that survived are Domm, you just want the rest of us to become Domm as well.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Dyam.
‘We wouldnae have ye anyway,’ Draewyn chuckled.
‘I know what he means,’ said Liam, the old sparker, ‘but at least settlers are starting to return to Brig. Lach is a wasteland.’
‘Aye,’ said Dyam. ‘It’ll be a while before anyone lives there again, but one day they will, Liam. One day.’
The pale blonde woman paused, and glanced at Bridget, who was sitting with her head in her hands.
‘You’ll always be chief to me, Bridget,’ she said, ‘no matter what anyone says.’
‘Ye did a grand job,’ Draewyn said. ‘Ye should be proud.’
Bridget looked up, and dried her tears.
‘How soon can we get out of here?’
‘The clan’s already moving down the road into the lowlands,’ Dyam said, pulling a map from her cloak and unfolding it onto the table. ‘We can be on our way first thing tomorrow morning. I’m for taking what the council said literally, and forming our own settlement area. Now, Draewyn’s old village is here, aye?’
Draewyn nodded.
‘And we agreed to re-settle this area,’ Dyam said, tracing out a region of the map. ‘So we stick to our plan, and send the clansfolk to assemble here.’ She glanced at Bridget. ‘That’s what I think, anyway.’
‘And that’s what we’ll do,’ Bridget said. ‘You and Draewyn know the geography, and you know what we’re looking for.’
‘You can see the ocean from here,’ Draewyn said, pointing at the map.
‘So it’ll be fucking windy, then,’ Brodie said. ‘Does the wind ever stop in this fucking place?’
Bridget frowned at him. ‘You don’t have to come. Go back to Brig if you want. Personally, I’d rather you stayed with us. I’ve got plans for a great big clan brewery and distillers, see if we can make gin and ale like we did at Slateford, then maybe we can sell it to the other settlers.’
Brodie narrowed his eyes.
‘And how would we afford to build such a facility?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Bridget said, ‘I have the gold for it, and for all the houses and schools we’ll need.’
‘You have gold?’ Draewyn said.
‘I do,’ Bridget said, ‘and I apologise for telling no one except Dyam about it until now, but I wanted to ensure it remained intact, to fund our settlement.’
The others glanced at each other.
‘Where did you get it?’ asked Draewyn.
Bridget smiled, for the first time in many days. ‘Let’s just say that Daphne wasn’t a poor woman.’
Laodoc leaned against the fence, watching the vast sunset unfold before him. He was standing in the same spot as he had that morning. It was a good spot, he reflected, away from the prying eyes of most.
He looked down the sheer slope, and considering jumping. Today had been a good day. He had felt a flicker of interest in the workings of the Domm Council, and it was a rare day when he was interested in anything. And Bridget had smiled, also a rarity. Leading the clan while it had journeyed from Rahain to Domm had borne down upon her shoulders with the weight of a mountain. He wondered if she would feel relieved once it dawned on her that she was now without any legal responsibility for anyone else, but he doubted it. She cared too much, like he once had.
No, he wasn’t going to jump today.
He frowned as he remembered that they were leaving in the morning. He would quite like the chance to see if he felt like jumping every day.
‘Hello,’ a voice said.
Laodoc’s frown remained. ‘I came out here for some quiet, thank you very much.’
‘Do you not remember me?’ the voice said.
Laodoc turned to glance at the stranger, and his tongue flickered in surprise.
‘Agang,’ he said.
‘May we talk?’
Laodoc sighed. ‘Very well.’
‘Dyam told me I’d find you out here.’
‘And so you have. Well done.’
‘I thought you’d want to talk.’
Laodoc snorted. ‘Really? Just because we are two failed rulers of our respective countries, you think we share a bond?’
‘Why are you being so rude?’
‘Let’s just call it my revenge for the way you treated me during the alliance invasion of Rahain,’ Laodoc spat. ‘Do you think I have forgotten your behaviour? You were insufferable.’
Agang bowed his head. ‘You’re right. I apologise. I’ve changed.’
Laodoc laughed. ‘Strange how humiliation does that to people. I see that you are now a friend of the woman who overthrew you. You must have wallowed deep in the pit of shame and self-loathing, how else would you be able to look at her without breaking?’
‘You know nothing,’ cried Agang, his face turning red. ‘You haven’t the faintest idea of what happened to the Emperor, of what he’s now capable of doing. I saw him use the powers of many different mage lines: fire, water, stone, vision.’
Laodoc frowned. ‘What?’
‘The Emperor is now like a god.’
Laodoc shook his head. ‘We did hear some fanciful rumours when we were entering the Kellach Littoral a couple of thirds back. Are you saying you were there?’
Agang nodded. ‘You need to hear Keira speak.’
Laodoc’s tongue flickered again. ‘No, thank you.’
‘Look,’ Agang said, ‘I’m sorry for getting angry. I know you’ve been through a lot, but I need to explain to you what’s been happening. You’re one of the few people here who will grasp the full significance of the events in Plateau City that we witnessed.’
Laodoc shrugged. ‘I don’t care. Now, if you would kindly leave me alone.’
He stared back out at the sunset, its red hues spanning the vast sky.
‘Then I have to apologise again,’ said Agang.
‘For what?’
‘For this.’
Agang reached out with his hand and took Laodoc’s arm in a tight grasp. Laodoc opened his mouth to protest, but he began to feel a powerful surge of energy grow within his body. He arched his back, as every strain and sprain disappeared in a golden glow of well-being. All the old aches that he had lived with for years, vanished in an instant. He felt the surge pass into his head, and he nearly passed out, and would have fallen had Agang let go of his arm. He felt euphoric as the power passed through his mind, and a feeling of pity and love flooded him.
He broke down, and began to sob, and Agang put his arm round
his shoulder.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I must have used too much power, you’re not supposed to be weeping.’
‘It’s all my fault,’ Laodoc cried. ‘Killop would never have left if I hadn’t bullied Daphne into looking for Douanna. It’s my fault he’s not here with his sister, all because of my blindness, my selfish stupidity. I cared more about Douanna’s death than the lives of my friends.’
‘It’s alright,’ Agang said. ‘It is what it is.’
Laodoc glanced at the Sanang man. ‘You’re a mage?’
Agang nodded. ‘I’ve been hiding it for years.’
‘You healed me.’
‘How do you feel?’
‘Amazing,’ Laodoc said. ‘Thank you.’
‘Dyam told me you were feeling…’
‘And I’m healed?’
‘No,’ Agang said. ‘The mind doesn’t work like that. I’ve corrected the balance within your brain, but if there’s something else that’s making you depressed, then it might come back. Your memories, for example. My power doesn’t reach them.’
‘I still feel wonderful,’ he said. ‘The pain and grief haven’t gone, but I feel as if I’m capable of hope again.’ He smiled. ‘I also feel like hearing your tale of what happened to the Emperor, but unfortunately, the Severed Clan is due to leave in the morning.’
‘That’s the other reason I’m out here,’ Agang said, ‘to try to persuade you to stay.’
‘Here with the fire mage?’ Laodoc asked, narrowing his eyes.
‘And me and Flora, a Holdings woman,’ Agang said. ‘If you don’t like it you could always re-join the clan.’
‘So tell me,’ Laodoc said, ‘is living with Keira tolerable?’
Agang shrugged. ‘I like her. She takes a bit of getting used to. Drinks too much, a bit like the Sanang do, and I’ve had to heal her more than once after a bar fight, but you need to hear her story.’
Laodoc turned from the sunset, his heart full.
‘And where is Keira just now? I think I would like to talk to her.’
Keira was holding court in a small alcove within the busy tavern. The shutters along the western wall were spread open, allowing the last rays of the day to flood into the room. At Keira’s table sat four others. Two were young and pretty Kellach women, one was the older owner of the place, and the last was a dark-skinned Holdings woman, clutching a glass of whisky as Keira talked.
‘If we’d been born in Sanang, none of us would have seen the light of day until we were led out to be married. And even then we’d be covered up in big sheets, so nae fucker could look at us.’
‘Why?’ asked one of the young women.
‘The men there treat women like possessions, and get jealous if any other man speaks to them, or even fucking looks at them. It’s mental.’
The Holdings woman looked up and saw Laodoc and Agang approach.
‘We could ask the man himself,’ she said. ‘Here he is, the ex-king of Sanang.’
They reached the table.
‘Keira,’ Agang said, ‘this is Laodoc.’
The fire mage glanced over. ‘Aye? I met him last night. A right miserable bastard, didn’t say one fucking word to me.’
‘You barely gave me a chance, madam,’ Laodoc said. ‘You punched Bridget in the face not two minutes after you sat down. And then, I believe, the evening was over.’
Keira squinted at him. ‘Think yer funny?’
‘Not at all, madam. I am merely interested in listening to the tales you tell here each day. Agang has assured me that I would find them fascinating.’
He sat, and poured a glass of whisky. He held it up.
‘The fabled whisky of Kellach Brigdomin?’ he said. ‘In all the chats I used to have with Killop, when he lived in my house in Rahain with Bridget and Kallie, they never failed to mention how much they missed whisky.’
He took a sip, as Keira sat in silence watching him.
‘Lovely,’ he said. ‘Now, madam mage, I would like to stay here in World’s End and listen to your tales, and in return I will tell you everything I know of Killop. Where he lived, what he did, right up until the day he risked his life to save the woman he loved.’
Keira frowned, then raised her glass. ‘Alright.’ She glanced at the older Kellach woman.
‘That’s fine by me,’ she said. ‘I’m Kelpie, by the way, proprietor of this establishment. I can put you on the same ticket as the others, which means you get a room, shared with Agang, and your food and drink. All you have to do is sit by Keira each day as she speaks.’
‘It’s a deal, madam,’ Laodoc said.
Kelpie chuckled. ‘Just think, my tavern will be hosting folk from three foreign countries, the ape-folk, the dark-skinned folk, and now the lizard-folk.’
She looked around the table. ‘No offence.’
‘There’s one more,’ Keira said.
‘Eh?’
‘Where is he?’ Keira muttered, scanning the people in the tavern. ‘There he is. Hoi! Over here.’
Laodoc’s tongue flickered as Dean emerged from the crowd and walked over.
‘This is Dean, Kelpie,’ Keira said.
‘Aye, so?’
‘We need to add him to the ticket too.’
‘And why would I do that?’
‘Because he wants to stay here, with me.’
‘So what?’ Kelpie said.
Keira leaned over, grinning. ‘He’s a fucking fire mage.’
Chapter 4
Hold Fast
Hold Fast, Realm of the Holdings – 20th Day, First Third Summer 507
Daphne muffled a cry and fell back onto the warm straw, listening to the sound of Killop breathing, and feeling the touch of his skin next to hers.
There was a rustling noise, and she opened her eyes. A horse in the neighbouring stall was looking over the partition wall at Daphne and Killop as they lay together.
‘We might have an audience,’ Daphne whispered, reaching down and pulling her underwear and leggings back up.
Killop laughed.
‘We’d better go back out before anyone notices that we’ve been gone a while,’ she said.
He refastened his clothes and sat up. ‘That was great.’
‘I lost my virginity in a stable.’
Killop raised an eyebrow.
‘Not in these stables, I should add,’ she smiled. ‘At the academy in Holdings City. I didn’t have any proper boyfriends until I’d left home.’
They got to their feet, and smoothed their clothes and hair.
‘I lost mine in the toilets behind a tavern,’ Killop said. ‘Not exactly romantic.’
‘How old were you?’
‘Sixteen.’
Daphne opened the stall door and peered out. ‘It’s clear, come on.’
They came out into a long passageway, with lines of stalls down either side. Sunlight was pouring in from great openings in the roof, and the heat mixed with the heady smell of the stables felt more like home to Daphne than anything else in the world. She gazed up at Killop and smiled. He took her hand.
As they walked towards the exit, they passed the stall with the white stallion they had brought from Rahain.
Daphne stopped. ‘How are you this morning, boy?’ she said, rubbing the horse’s nose. ‘Shall we go out for a ride later?’ She glanced at Killop. ‘I must choose a name soon. I can’t keep calling him “boy”.’
‘What about using the name Karalyn has for him?’
‘What, Bedig?’
Killop shrugged. ‘She must miss the big oaf. Either that, or she sees a resemblance.’
Daphne laughed. ‘If he had a tuft of red hair on his head, maybe. I don’t know, I named my last horse after a friend who had died.’
She paused, her thoughts going back to Vince. Over a third had passed since she had learned the news, and she felt her sorrow return, though it was never far from the surface. The stallion nuzzled into the side of her face.
‘You alright?’ Killop asked.
‘Yeah,’ she nodded. She looked up at the horse. ‘See you soon, boy.’
Killop took her hand again, and they walked to the open sliding doors of the huge stable-block. Outside, the sun was shining, and the roads around the Holdfast mansion were starting to get busy. Garlands and flags were festooned from every rooftop and balcony, and the tall tower ahead of them was decorated in swathes of coloured banners.
To their left, the enormous covered pavilion was filled with traders and merchants setting up stalls, and sellers hawking food and drink wandered through the growing crowds.
‘I love festival time,’ Daphne said.
Killop narrowed his eyes at the crowds. ‘I take it that every Hold has its own?’
‘Yes,’ Daphne said, ‘though ours is held last. The festivals mark the anniversary of a Hold joining the Realm in the Founding Year of the Kingdom, so most are clustered around the start of spring. Hold Fast was the last to join, so we have ours in summer.’
‘Did the first king conquer all the other Holds?’
‘Mostly they surrendered,’ Daphne said. ‘The first king had the first prophet by his side, and was pretty much invincible in battle. Hold Fast held out the longest, but by then all the other Holds were allied against us, and so we joined the Realm. It might have been five hundred years ago, but the Holdfasts have always been proud that we were the last to surrender our independence.’
She glanced at him. ‘You ready for the heat?’
‘Aye,’ he said, and they stepped out into the road, where the sun beat down upon them with a searing light.
‘It’s hot today,’ she said, as they walked down the road to their right.
‘It’s like being in a furnace.’
‘It’ll be shaded over by the market,’ she said, ‘and we can get something to drink.’
They followed the road to where it opened out into a large square, with low stone buildings on three sides, and the Holdfast mansion set back on the left. In the centre of the square was a great marble fountain, twelve yards in diameter, sending cascades of water into the air. Children splashed and ran in the shallows by the outer circumference, shouting and laughing in the sunshine.
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