What Lies Within (Book 5)

by Martin Ash

  'All this is yours, Swordbearer? I am impressed. Truly, until Master Urch revealed you to be king of this land, I had no idea. No idea at all. You are a dark one, aren't you. All that time we spent together and you didn't give even a hint. Well, it's fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. Where is your fabulous palace, Swordbearer? Is it close by? I would love to see it, really I would. And I would add, I am overwhelmed. When Master Urch told me that he was actually sending me into the Godworld to bring you back, I could scarcely believe it. And yet . . . well, perhaps I am rather underwhelmed, if the truth be told. For it’s different here, and yet . . . in many ways much the same. I mean, where are all the gods? Those peasants back at the lakeside were hardly godlike, were they? And look at you with your hands tied and a noose around your neck. No, that isn't godlike. Not at all. Perhaps apotheosis is conferred only as a natural consequence of the process of transition to our world. That's an interesting thought. Can I be a god, here in your world?'

  Leth declined to respond. Harg seemed unperturbed. He talked on, as if to himself, then fell back to take up the rear until something else prompted him to call upon Leth again.

  The children were complaining. They were hot and weary and wanted to rest. In a low voice Leth urged them on. He did not want to stop yet. 'Soon. I am sure we will rest soon. But not here.'

  'Oh but I'm tired!' wept Jace, her face red and streaked with tears and dust. 'I won't go any further! I won't.'

  Galry, though he struggled to bear his travail with greater stoicism, was also visibly close to tears.

  'Harg, let the children ride upon the horse,' Leth called.

  Harg took time to consider this, possibly wary of some trick.

  'They are worn out, Harg, that’s all,' said Leth. 'Let them ride.'

  'Very well.' Harg brought the company to a halt, then strode to the children and lifted them, one at a time, and placed them upon the chestnut mare's back, between the baggage. He sauntered back to Leth and grinned, his smouldering blue eyes alight. 'You see, I am not all wickedness.'

  'May we drink?' asked Leth.

  'Why, of course.' Harg took a water sack from the mare's back, unstopped it and held it to Leth's lips. Leth drank thirstily. When he had done Harg gave the water sack to the children. 'Be sure to replace the stopper securely.' He patted the mare's broad rump. 'I apologise for the view, Swordbearer. It must be tedious for a monarch like yourself to spend the day staring at a nag's arse. Unfortunately, I can think of no preferable arrangement, given our circumstances. Still, now your two cherubs may gaze down upon you. I think you will like that.'

  Leth stood silently, sweat gleaming upon his brow. Harg gazed upwards through the canopy. 'Perhaps we will stop soon. I admit, I wouldn't mind a rest. I haven't fully recovered from our battle in the Fortress of the Dark Flame, you know. Bit of a stiff shoulder, and I rather strained a muscle in my thigh. But not yet, I think. So chin up, Swordbearer. Heave ho and onwards!'

  They set off again, the five Abyss warriors at flank, fore and rear, watching the forest, Count Harg sauntering along at Leth's shoulder, whistling to himself between his teeth when he wasn't talking. Galry and Jace quickly began to doze, even as they clung to the mare's harness.

  'They truly are very sweet, aren't they,' observed Harg presently, apropos of nothing. 'I do hope no harm comes to them.'

  A frisson of alarm brought Leth's sagging head up. 'What do you mean?'

  'Mean? Nothing, Swordbearer. Nothing beyond the sentiment expressed.'

  'If you touch them, Harg--'

  'I? I have no intention of harming them, Swordbearer. Unless of course you bring it upon me.'

  'Then what do you intend?'

  'As I have already stated, to return you to Master Urch, as he has charged me to do. Ah, but he I cannot vouch for. He is not pleased with your conduct, Swordbearer. Not pleased at all. The names he called you! I almost blushed. He deems you most discourteous. A veritable firebrand. And I think he means to tame you.'

  'As he has tamed you?'

  Harg glanced at him aside, and smiled thinly. 'I think not. I have told you before that Master Urch and I have an understanding, that is all.'

  Leth knew better. But how deeply were Harg's beliefs about himself, his very sense of self, implanted? Could Urch-Malmain's work be undone? Was it possible to break through the commands and beliefs that the Noeticist had constructed and recover the person who had existed before Harg ever encountered him? If so, what effect would such a reawakening have on Harg? To rediscover himself and learn what he had become, the monstrous violations he had committed as Urch-Malmain's creature. Would his mind be able to bear it?

  Or was Harg, and all of Urch-Malmain's prodigies, wholly lost?

  'That is what he has told you - that is all, Harg,' Leth said, testing, carefully probing. 'I know of your past, your true past. It is not as you believe it.'

  Count Harg's brow furrowed momentarily.

  'Regard these Abyss warriors,' Leth continued. 'They help you now; they do just as Urch-Malmain requires. They do not question it. Yet you know that he has altered them. He has gained their loyalty through destroying what they previously were and transforming them into new beings wholly obedient to him. You know it is so with them, why can you not accept that it could, it just could be the same in your case?'

  Harg bowed his head in concentration, compressing his lips, his frown deepening. Then his brow cleared. He looked up, smiling, 'You are a devious fellow, Sworbearer. Master Urch is so right to distrust you. You will stop at nothing, will you? Ah, but you are wasting your breath. And if Urch did not have better things in mind for you I would kill you now, even though, I confess, I do not dislike you. Quite the opposite, actually. You intrigue me, though I must say your mystique is not quite what it was. When you were equipped with that lovely pink sword of yours you were so… intriguing. Without it you are a diminished a man, though still quite enchanting. But please, no more of your desperate wiles. Let us talk of other things. Like the wildlife, or the weather, perhaps. Clouds - now there is a fascinating phenomenon. We have them in my world, of course, though from what I see - ' he nodded towards the north '- they are often much denser here. Have you ever watched them and wondered at the shapes they form? Yesterday I was fascinated to observe a cloud that bore a remarkable resemblance to a leaping horse with very large ears. Most uncanny. Sadly, today there are only feeble wisps. Still, at least we won't be rained upon.'

  Leth tried no further. If he was to somehow break through Harg's defences, this was not the time. Yet how much time did he have?

  Harg chatted blithely on for a short while then fell back a few paces and resumed his whistling. They plied on. Half an hour later Leth called, 'Harg, I can go no further without resting. Look, there is water over there, and I know this spot. Do your Abyss warriors have a taste for raw trout? The fishing is excellent here. If you search I think you will find my own fishing spear beside the rocks at the stream's side.'

  Harg considered a moment then gave a nod. 'Fresh trout? Yes, it sounds good to me.'

  He called the company to a halt, helped Galry and Jace from the mare's back, then took the noose from around Leth's neck. 'Rest here. Do not try anything, Swordbearer. We will be watching you at all times.'

  As Leth and his two children moved off to sit at the bole of a nearby tree, Harg signalled to a pair of the Abyss warriors. 'Watch them.'

  The warriors positioned themselves a few yards from Leth. Harg and the other three warriors, leading Bicault's mare, walked over to the stream.

  'But Daddy,' Galry began, 'this is where--'

  'Silence!' hissed Leth sharply, his voice low. He glanced edgily at the two guards and added, 'Say nothing!'

  Bicault's chestnut mare drank deeply from the stream. When she had done, one of the Abyss warriors led her to a nearby bush and tethered her there. Count Harg was standing upon a flat slab of rock at the water's edge, peering into the stream. He turned back to Leth, smiling over his shoulder, and called, 'Oh yes, Sw
ordbearer. Lots of lovely big fishes! You were right.'

  He spoke a few words to one of the warriors, who set to kindling a fire. The remaining two, taking their own short spears from the mare's back, waded carefully into the water, seeking out the fish. The water came high up on their thighs. Harg watched them, his back to Leth, arms folded upon his chest, feet planted firmly apart.

  Leth eyed the two guards, who had seated themselves on rocks nearby. One was watching him and the children almost indifferently; the other seemed intent upon the fishing. Quietly Leth said to Galry and Jace. 'Be ready for my word. When you hear it, run, that way, as fast as you can. I will come after you.'

  He cursed the fact that his hands were still tied behind his back, but he could not risk asking Galry to untie him for fear of catching the eye of one or more of the Abyss fighters.

  There was a shout from one of the men in the stream, then laughter as he lifted his spear from the water to show a sleek brown trout skewered on its tip. He pulled the fish free and tossed it onto the bank, then turned his attention back to the stream.

  Leth waited, the tension mounting. Two more trout were caught, then another, with much banter and laughter from the Abyss warriors and Harg.

  The minutes went by.

  Leth began to fear that he was mistaken. They had been here for a good half an hour or more. The Abyss warrior had his fire ablaze, ready to cook the fish that Harg, Leth and the children would eat. A fifth trout was caught, and a sixth. Leth grew despondent.

  And then he felt it. There was no mistaking. Immediately his muscles began to contract, involuntarily. The hairs crawled on his arms and neck. He glanced at Galry and Jace and knew from their faces that they had felt it too.

  'Be ready!' Leth whispered. The air was suddenly unnaturally chill, host to a nebulous, unseen, creeping evil. Now he prayed that he had not miscalculated, that he and the children were not at the centre of what was about to happen.

  Harg had sensed it by now, as had the warriors in the stream and on the bank. Harg was turning, peering. The two fighters in the stream had frozen, warily eyeing the forest around them. Bicault's mare was nickering, tugging against its tether. The two warriors guarding Leth and the children rose slowly to their feet. Their eyes were sharp, apprehensive, staring into the forest shade.

  Then, without warning the ground erupted a few yards from the bank of the stream. Count Harg leapt back, startled, and fell from his rock into the water. The warriors in the water also moved backwards, one of them stumbling on the pebbled stream-bed and sinking beneath the surface. The warrior at the fire rose, turning, going for his scimitar, and with muffled cries was obscured from Leth's sight as the forest monster fell upon him.

  'Go! Now!' hissed Leth. He scrambled to his feet as Galry and Jace made off beneath the trees. The two guards were drawing their scimitars. One stepped hesitantly towards the water, emitting a strangled yell as the second creature burst out of the ground close upon the stream.

  Leth charged then, legs bent, head and shoulders low. He rammed into the nearest guard and knocked him headlong. But as he turned to flee in pursuit of Galry and Jace, the second guard spun around. Leth realized his error. He had calculated that the second guard was too distracted by what was happening around the stream-side to bother with him and the children. But the warrior ignored the plight of his companions and came at Leth.

  Leth backed away. His hands were tied, he could not defend himself. The Abyss warrior came slowly, warily, his scimitar readied, eyes never straying from Leth. Beyond him Leth was aware of the chaos by the stream but could not look to see what was happening. He moved back further. The warrior advanced, unhurried, undistracted, knowing his business. Leth knew he must surrender or die.

  The children - alone in the forest!

  He was overcome with a sensation of sickening cold. It had all gone wrong. What a fool he had been. He looked into the warrior's intent brown alien eyes and knew, no matter the outcome at the stream, that he had lost.

  Something whined. The Abyss warrior jerked, grimaced, sudden shock on his face. He turned with shaking jaw to look at his shoulder, from which the long shaft of an arrow protruded.

  Another whine. A second arrow thudded into the warrior's breast, piercing his hardened leather cuirass. He staggered back and sat down heavily, his jaw sagging.

  Leth stared about him. He could see no bowman. At the far side of the stream someone was struggling from the water. The two monsters reared at the water's side. Someone was screaming. The warrior he had rammed into was on his feet again, drawing his scimitar, but another arrow whizzed out of the trees and split his face. Leth turned and ran, awkward with his hands tied. Bent low and weaving he followed the direction he had seen Galry and Jace go.

  He could not gauge whether he was pursued, but guessed not, with at least two Abyss warriors down and the others preoccupied at the stream. But he did not slow his pace. Suddenly, less than thirty paces away, a figure stepped from behind a tree. A young man, broad-shouldered and of average height, with long straight black hair which fell to his shoulders. He wore light leathers and forest green, and held a longbow in one hand. With the other he beckoned to Leth.

  Leth barely hesitated, but ran towards the stranger. As he drew close the bowman gestured towards a slope a little way beyond him. 'Down there!'

  Leth ran on. As he passed him the bowman drew another arrow from the quiver on his back. Leth almost fell as his momentum carried him down the slope. He blundered through a clump of bushes, raced on, and was at the bottom. A short distance away he saw Galry and Jace, pale-faced, holding hands beneath the branches of a great oak. Someone rose from behind a boulder close by, and advanced upon Leth, a huntsman's knife in one hand.

  'Bicault!'

  Bicault gave him a tense smile and swiftly cut through the bonds at his wrists. 'This way, Sir Clun. Quickly.'

  Leth glanced back over his shoulder, saw the young bowman descending to join them. He took his childrens' hands. Together they made off along the foot of the slope, deeper into the forest.

  iii

  'A moment!' said Bicault when they had covered about seventy five yards. He stopped and put two fingers between his lips, took a breath, and released a shrill whistle. They waited. Moments passed and Leth heard the pounding of heavy hooves. Bicault's chestnut mare, fully laden, broke out from beneath the trees and galloped towards them.

  'Good girl!' grinned Bicault, kissing the mare's muzzle and patting her neck. 'Good girl, Linka! Oh, I feared the shademorgs had got you.' He turned to Leth. 'We should get away from here quickly.'

  Leth was examining the booty on the mare's back, pleased to see his sapphire armour and weapons there as well as much of Count Harg's provisions. He took down the scimitar he had taken from the Abyss warrior in the Tower of Glancing Memory and buckled it about his waist.

  'By the way,' said Bicault as they moved off. He nodded towards the young bowman. 'This is my son, Gorro.'

  Leth grasped the young man's hand in gratitude. 'Gorro, Bicault, you are brave men. We are greatly indebted to you.'

  With Bicault leading the mare, Linka, they passed deeper into the wood. A short while later, satisfied that they had eluded Harg and were not being pursued, they paused to rest and eat. Bicault produced bread, dried meats and fruit from a knapsack on his back, plus a flask of cold water. He also recovered biscuits and more water and bread from the mare's saddlepacks.

  'I believe there's fresh trout a little way back, just lying there for the taking, if anyone wishes to go back and claim it,' Bicault said.

  There were no takers. They laughed and sat down to eat, except for Gorro, who took a few strips of meat and some bread, then climbed a nearby oak to keep watch.

  'Your intervention was perfectly timed, and I thank you both again from the bottom of my heart,' said Leth as he ate. 'But how did you find us?'

  'It was partly luck that Gorro returned within an hour of your being taken away,' Bicault said. 'I was itching to do something bu
t Dame Anacissia said - quite rightly - that I couldn't go after you alone. I was burning myself up wondering what to do, and then Gorro came. We wasted no time in getting after you, and you weren't difficult to track. But when we found you, just before you stopped by the stream, we were stuck. Even with Gorro's talents with the bow we didn't think we could disable all six of those bastards. I can use a bow myself, but my eye's not so sure nor my hands so steady as they once were, and I'm no great swordsman. We decided to wait, hoping that at some point the guards might separate or something. But when the shademorgs came we made the most of the opportunity.'

  'What are these shademorgs?' enquired Leth. 'I have never encountered their like.'

  'Dire things,' said Bicault. 'Enchantment creatures, almost certainly. Fortunately they're rare, and not quick. But they're deadly if they get a grip on you. People believe they come up unformed through the earth, like a vapour, and materialize only when they reach the surface. You can feel them coming, though. Like a sixth sense.'

  Leth nodded pensively. 'A tangible emanation of evil, unlike anything I have experienced.'

  'Aye, that it is. After the first encounter, if the shademorgs didn't catch you, you learn to get out quick the moment you feel it.'

  Leth was silent a moment, then said, 'You risked a lot, coming after us.'

  'Oh, but Sir Clun, do you truly think we could have left you to the mercy of those fiends?' Bicault nodded towards Galry. 'We saw what they had done to your boy. To think that they might now plan to finish the job . . . .' Tears misted his eyes and he shook his head emphatically. 'No, we could not permit that.'

  Jace, sitting alongside Leth, finished eating and laid her head upon his thigh. He stroked her fair hair, his mind for a moment far away. Galry snuggled up on his other side.

  'What now, Sir Clun?' Bicault asked with an anxious smile

  'I must carry on,' said Leth, though he was not certain where. If Giswel Holt had truly fallen and Enchantment's Reach was under seige or maybe worse, he did not know how he could hope to get back into the capital with the children. Where was Orbelon? How might he find him again? And Issul?