"Yes," Talon said. "I suppose that could be. Anyway, Fallion is not like his father. He loves, but not indiscriminately. He is a man of… tremendous discipline."
Talon seemed not to want to say more, but the emir said, "He is a flameweaver, is he not? It would take tremendous discipline for one like him to lead a normal life, to take on the responsibilities of a home and family, wouldn t it?"
"Yes," Talon said. "Yet you manage it, don t you?"
"I have never given myself to the flames," he said after a long moment. Then he glanced back toward his pair of roasting grouse.
The fire licked their flesh, and their fat dripped into the flames and sizzled, sending up a sweet-smelling smoke.
"It s time," he said. "I ll be facing Vulgnash, a Knight Eternal, a flameweaver of considerable power."
I should have begun this instruction years ago, he thought.
"Wait!" Talon said.
The emir turned to her.
"You re a generous man, too," she said hesitantly. "You re planning to end your life when this is over, give back your endowments-aren t you?"
"Let us just say," he answered, "that if you see me fall in battle at the end of the fight, do not come back to save me."
"Do you think that that is what Siyaddah would want?"
"I think that she would be hurt," the emir said, "but in time she would think of me less and less often."
"I think that some pain can never die," Talon argued.
"Whatever happens to me," the emir said, "tell her that I died valiantly, in battle."
"What if I don t want you to die in battle?" Talon asked.
Tuul Ra had no answer for that.
He rose, and climbed up from the cattails at the edge of the brook. He went beside the small fire. Little smoke came from the dry wood, and it was being dispersed by a light wind and by the trees.
In fact, the wind was strong enough that the flames sputtered with every gust, as if the fire would go out.
He had always felt uneasy around fire. He d always been aware of how it pulled at his sanity, sought to command him. But today he felt more wary than ever.
He had learned what kind of man he had been on the shadow world-faithless, brutal, an enemy to all of mankind.
Of course, that s not me, is it? That was someone else, in another life.
But somehow it felt like him.
Fire was the connection. Fire was always there, at the edge of his consciousness, calling to him: Use me. You need me. You are not whole without me, and I am not whole without you.
I was the most powerful flameweaver in the history of the shadow world, the emir thought. And I could be the most powerful in mine.
Yes, the fire seemed to whisper, its bright tongues speaking to some primal part of the emir s soul, piercing the base of his brain. You could be powerful. The world needs you to be powerful, to give yourself to the flames. How else will you conquer the wyrmling hordes?
How else indeed? Tuul Ra wondered.
It is a small matter, the fire whispered. Step into the flame. Give yourself to me.
It was a temptation. It had always been a temptation. Tuul Ra often suspected that his skills could blossom if he but let them. He d dared imagine himself fighting the wyrmling horde, striding into Rugassa with a ball of sunlight balanced in his hand, one so bright that it would make the wyrmlings eyes sizzle in the backs of their heads.
They are an evil people. Someone needs to destroy them.
The emir knelt in front of the fire, as if before an altar, and gazed into the flames.
Filled with curiosity, Talon, Daylan Hammer, and the Cormar twins all gathered around him.
The emir had long been able to bend smoke to his will. It was a talent he had noticed in childhood. And he could make flames rise up and dance like snakes at his command. But it was not a gift that he lusted for, or that he took pride in.
He studied the flames now. His pair of grouse was cooking unevenly. He sat staring at the flames, tried to twist them upward and to the south, so that the birds would cook more evenly.
But after what seemed like several moments, nothing happened. Fire was aware of him, of that he felt certain. He was drawn to it, as it was drawn to him. But it would not bend to his will.
"You can t just force it," Daylan Hammer said. "Fire always requires a sacrifice. Go fetch some wood. Try building it up."
"I ll get some," the Cormar twins said in unison, and they glanced at each other, laughed maniacally, and then leapt up and raced into the brush, each step choreographed, each move perfectly matching the other.
The emir considered waiting for the wood. But he knew that wood was not the only sacrifice that might be given. He reached up to his neck and pulled at a leather cord so that a sheepskin pouch popped out from beneath his ring mail. He opened the pouch and dumped a lock of hair into his hand, black and shiny.
He tossed the hair in, watched the fire consume it greedily, tiny flames flickering green and blue as they consumed the oils in the hair.
It had been the last memento from his dead wife.
In the hissing of the flames he heard the words "Serve me."
"I will feed you," he replied. "You may have my service, but not my soul."
18
A GATHERING OF HEROES
Joy is the object of our creation. When one is united with a wyrm, it produces an abundance of joy. Therefore, always conduct your affairs in a way that makes you worthy of a wyrm.
— From the Wyrmling Catechism
Once Talon and the others had finished eating and broken camp, the emir kicked the coals from the fire off into the nearest bushes; seemingly with a thought the fire raced among some dry leaves and began licking the trunks of the nearest oaks.
What good will it do him, she wondered, to give himself thus to Fire? All it will do is warn the wyrmlings. They ll see the smoke.
Daylan watched the flames for a long moment and said softly, "It is written that Raj Ahten fed his fires day and night, burning entire forests. I suppose that such sacrifices must be made if you are to gain his powers."
"It is not much of a sacrifice," the emir said. "There is a blight upon the land. The trees will be dead within a month anyway, I fear, and then the first spark would set this whole land alight."
"Sooner than a month," Daylan said, "unless we can break the wyrmlings hold upon the land."
Talon did not have any idea how that might be done. She wasn t sure that Daylan knew. How were the wyrmlings even poisoning the land? Was it some sort of rune lore, like the reavers had used at Carris in her father s day?
The Cormar twins laughed at some private joke, then sprang off along the road, their steps perfectly matched, their arms swinging in unison.
We can t be far from Rugassa, Talon thought, though she could see no sign of it yet.
They raced on with renewed fury, running forty miles in the next hour, until sweat weighed down Talon s tunic. They stopped to drink at streams along the way, but each time it was only a gulp, stolen quickly, and then they were off again.
Soon, a mountain began to loom in the distance, dark and forbidding, its coned peak looking blue at first, and then gaining definition as the heroes neared.
From time to time, they continued to pass villages-all of the houses broken and destroyed.
We re near the town of Ravenspell, Talon realized, consulting a mental map.
It was late morning when they reached it, crossing a fine stone bridge into a walled city. The walls here were not high, only twenty feet or so. The gates of the city had been broken down, and like the villages before, the houses had been demolished, their thatch roofs pulled off, their doors smashed.
Talon had no desire to inspect the ruins. But as the three sprinted through the city streets, rushing at forty miles per hour, it was as if her mind was storing pictures-a burned hovel, a dead man sprawled on his belly while a buzzard flapped heavily into the air, a frightened dog rushing into the ruins to hide.
Sudde
nly they rounded a corner in the market section of town, and there she was-a girl of five or six with long blond braided hair there at a market stall, hunched over a pile of cloth.
She must have heard the noise, for she turned and shrieked, peering at them briefly in terror but not really seeing them.
The girl leapt over the counter of the market stall to hide.
The company came to a halt, and all of them stood for a moment, panting, each wondering what to do.
"Looks like the wyrmlings missed one," the emir said. He peered to Talon, then to the others. "What shall we do with the child."
The Cormar twins laughed mirthlessly at some private joke, then said in explanation, "We re not carrying her into battle."
"We can t leave her here," Talon said. "She ll starve, if the wyrmlings don t find her first."
"Nor can we take her with us," the emir said. He looked about helplessly. "All we can do is pick her up on the way back. If all goes well, we will be done with our business before dark."
"She has managed to hide from the wyrmlings well enough for at least three days," Daylan Hammer said. "She should manage well enough for a few hours more."
But Talon could not leave it at that. The girl was terrified. She had seen it in the child s face. That kind of fear can turn a person into an animal. If nothing else, Talon needed to soothe her mind.
"Stay here," Talon said.
She approached the market stall quietly. The roof of the building was made from pine poles draped with red linen curtains. The curtains were ripped and bloody, flying like banners in the wind.
Approaching cautiously, Talon called out, "Little girl? Little girl? Are you all right?"
She went and looked over the plank counter. There was a pile of cloth beneath it. The girl was hiding there beneath some rumpled cloth, trembling, so that the whole pile shook.
"Do you have a name?" Talon asked.
The girl was shaking frightfully. Talon could only see a portion of her leg.
"My name is Talon. I m here to help you. I m with friends, Runelords. We re going to go kill the monsters that attacked the city."
"You re monsters!" the girl cried. She pulled the wrinkled fabric away but merely sat there, in a fetal position, too frightened to do anything but look. Her eyes roved over Talon s face.
She sees the ridge bone on my face, and the nubs of my horns, Talon realized. I don t look human to her anymore.
"I m not like those monsters. They re called wyrmlings. They re larger than me, and they re very evil. If I m a monster, I m a good monster."
"How can I tell?"
"If I was one of them," Talon said easily, "I would have taken you already."
The girl thought about this, but kept trembling in fear.
"Do you have a family? Is anyone else alive in this city?"
The girl shook her head no both times.
"Do you have a name?"
The girl shook her head no again, and shrank back against the wall of her little cupboard.
"I think you re teasing me," Talon said. "Everyone has a name."
The girl turned her face to the wall, and just stared at it.
"I m going to have to go fight the wyrmlings now," Talon said. "I don t want to leave you alone, but I have to. I ll come for you when I get back. I ll take you to safety. You can wait for me, can t you? You can be brave until then?"
The little girl did not answer.
Talon turned to leave.
I can track her by smell if I have to, Talon told herself. She hesitated, and whispered, "Be well," then walked away.
"No!" the girl shrieked. Talon turned as the child came leaping over the counter of the little market stall. Then the girl grabbed her by the leg and held on, terrified that Talon would leave.
"Come here," Talon said, reaching down and grabbing the child.
"Don t leave me!" the girl shouted. "Don t ever leave!" She peered into Talon s face, stricken. The girl s eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, her face dirty. She smelled of dog hair and sweat. But she was a pretty thing, in a common sort of way.
Daylan and the others came over, stood at their side. "You can t take her with us," Daylan said in the tongue of the warrior clans. "We go to save a world. We cannot wait upon this child."
Talon gave him a reproving look.
"She can t just leave the girl," the emir said. "Her mothering instincts are too strong." He grimaced and looked down. "Nor can I leave her. What kind of men would we be to do so?"
"Wise men?" the Cormars said as one.
Daylan grabbed the girl and gently pulled her from Talon s arms. He set her on the ground. "We ll be back for you," he said sternly. "Go find a place to hide until then."
The girl lurched toward Talon, but Daylan reached down, grabbed her by the forehead, and pushed her onto her butt.
"Stay there," he warned. "I don t have time to be nice about this."
The child looked at him, terrified, and while she was frozen with indecision Daylan said, "Let s go."
The emir took Talon by the sleeve and whispered, "Hurry. Don t look back."
Talon ran, but her heart grew heavy as her legs stretched, carrying her away from the town. They raced through empty streets, where elms lined the path, and they leaped over another quaint stone bridge. She could hear the child screaming behind her, "Come back! Come back!"
What would I do if that were one of my own little sisters? Talon wondered. How would I want her treated?
And then she knew. She would want the soldiers who were out to save the world to turn a cold shoulder to her little sister. She would want them to fight all the more valiantly to avenge her. She would want them to do their job.
"Come back!" the girl called as they raced into the fields beyond the edge of town. Talon s keen hearing let her detect the sound two miles away.
I will, Talon promised. I will.
They had not gone ten miles when they spotted another Knight Eternal all dressed in red, flying from the south. They were walking along the road at the noon hour when they saw it coming over the treetops, not a mile behind.
"Flee!" the emir hissed.
But Daylan just stood for a second, gazing up at the Knight Eternal. It came hurtling toward them so swiftly that Talon almost didn t have time to draw her weapon.
"Fear not," Daylan cried. "It is only our friend Rhianna."
The robed figure landed before him in a flutter of wings, and Rhianna pulled back her crimson hood, her red hair spilling out in a tide. She smiled at them, and the emir and the Cormar twins all stepped back and gasped.
Much had changed. Rhianna shook her hair loose, and it seemed as if it was full of light. Her eyes gleamed like stars in a night sky, and seemed to beg for all to gaze upon their glory. Her skin had grown softer and more radiant than before. She was like some great queen of legend, so beautiful that she would turn men s knees weak with desire.
"Don t be afraid," Rhianna said. "It s only me." Her voice was as pure as water, as mellow as a woodwind.
Daylan peered at her angrily. "So, they re wasting forcibles on endowments of glamour nowadays?"
Rhianna looked down, embarrassed. "The horse-sisters gave them to me. It encourages others to do the same."
"How many?" Daylan asked. "How many of glamour, how many of voice?"
"Perhaps twenty in all," Rhianna said.
"Or thirty or forty?" Daylan suggested.
Rhianna shot him an angry look. She was obviously embarrassed. She had wasted forcibles taking beauty when she could have used them to boost her strength and stamina. "The people have been generous," Rhianna argued. "They ve granted me more than three hundred endowments in the past day. How many were you given?"
"Did they give them," Daylan demanded, "or did you steal them?"
Rhianna glared at him but held her silence.
"You know the law of the Ael. Taking another s glamour is forbidden!"
"I m not Ael," Rhianna shouted, "and I never shall be. Your grand folk in t
he netherworld wouldn t even let me stay a season there. I m a Runelord, and I ll do as I please. I ll do what I must!"
Talon glanced from face to face. She knew what Daylan was afraid of. He was afraid that Rhianna s beauty would corrupt her.
And maybe it shall, Talon thought.
"Let s go kill wyrmlings," Rhianna growled. She looked north. "I have a convoy of horse-sisters from Fleeds ahead. I saw them from the sky. They re only three miles from here. They have a wyrmling with them, a girl who can lead us to the dungeons."
The moment of tension eased.
"Why would she do that?" Daylan asked.
"She wants to fight the wyrmlings," Rhianna said. "In the binding, two of her shadow selves were bound-a wyrmling and an Inkarran. The Inkarran had been one of Gaborn s chosen ones."
Talon wondered at that, wondered how many more Inkarrans might be bound into the wyrmling horde, wondered how many of them Gaborn might have tried to sway.
"We saw your handiwork on the road a hundred miles back," Talon said. "Good job, that. Did you get many forcibles?"
"A few thousand. I couldn t let them reach the wyrmling horde."
"Some got through anyway," Daylan said. "We saw Knights Eternal flying north not an hour ago, carrying cargo. We must fear for the worst."
Rhianna bit her lip.
"We ll release the wyrmling girl," she said, "a few miles from the fortress. She can go to the doors, beg for mercy. The wyrmlings will take her to their dungeon for torture. I can track their path by smell. I promised that I would go in for her in less than an hour."
It did not seem like much of a plan to Talon. She wanted things locked down better, more secure. But it was the first and only plan that had been introduced so far.
Daylan Hammer said, "And once we get into the fortress, what next?"
"We kill anyone who stands in our way," Rhianna said, all business.
Talon could not help but hear the ghost of the Bright One s warnings. Erringale had told them to spare the enemy, be as lenient as possible, lest they stain their own souls.
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