The Raven Tower

by Emma Miles

  On their third night out from Taurmouth Jorrun came into the cabin to wake her.

  ‘My turn?’ She stretched like a cat.

  ‘We’ve reached the Borrows. Can you take over for a moment while I speak to Osun?’

  ‘Of course.’ Her stomach tightened into a knot. They were at the Borrows already? She laughed at how quickly Jorrun darted out of the room when she sat up to grab her tunic.

  ‘We’re close to land now, Azra.’ She tried to reassure the drake.

  Jorrun was waiting just outside the door, his cheeks still slightly flushed. ‘Would you use your knowing to feel for anyone nearby?’

  She nodded, clambering past him to check the sail and take the rudder. The stars were mostly hidden from view and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She reached out her knowing, feeling the cold rejection of Jorrun’s amulet and the slippery spark of Azrael’s alien mind. She could feel nothing else but vast emptiness. Slowly a dark shape formed before her, not a single light showing along the length of the Borrow island.

  She started as Jorrun came out of the cabin.

  ‘Osun has found us a place three miles west of Navere,’ he almost whispered. ‘We’ll approach it at night, of course, but we will have to leave the Borrows before nightfall tomorrow to be able to reach Chem before dawn. I’ve been thinking that if we work together, we might be able to create a fog bank to follow us out to sea.’

  ‘We could try it.’ She shivered.

  ‘I’ll get you a coa—’

  ‘It’s not the cold.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s the lack of life on the islands. I should feel something.’

  Jorrun’s face grew paler. ‘Blood magic. Animals hate it. The necromancer’s have left its stain upon the land. Not just the humans have fled the Borrows.’

  ‘But it’s spring,’ she said in shock. ‘What of all the nests, the seal pups?’

  He put his hand on her shoulder for just a few seconds but said nothing.

  She clenched her teeth and snarled. ‘The sooner we get this done the better!’

  ‘I’m going up the front; let me know if you feel anything.’

  She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.

  ***

  They passed midway between two of the islands and Jorrun came back to take the rudder and steer them around the north side of the westward one. At last Kesta felt the touch of life, a flock of horned sheep; their heightened level of fear was heart-breaking.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Jorrun asked.

  She forced a smile. The newly rising sun had given his skin a golden tint, making his Fulmer heritage more evident. ‘There are some domestic animals on this island. They have no way to escape the unnatural feel of the land. It … is hard for me to feel, but I’m okay.’

  He took a step toward her and lifted a hand but stopped abruptly and let it fall back to his side. ‘It will fade. Blood magic leaves a stain, but nature heals it in time.’

  ‘Will Mantu feel like this if they win?’

  He hesitated but decided on the truth. ‘It could. It depends on what spells are cast and … and on the amount of blood that’s used. Let’s put in here, we should be hidden unless anyone sails in from the same direction.’

  They set down the anchor and as always took turns to rest and keep watch; although they both read rather than slept. Jorrun brought some food out for her at midday and sat with her on the deck while he ate his. They didn’t speak, but their silence no longer felt uncomfortable. Azrael even dared to come out of the cabin and join them for a while.

  Jorrun transferred everything he wished to take with them into the smaller boat and Kesta added her bag. As shadows lengthened Jorrun became restless, and she guessed that anxiety at what they were about to attempt was setting in. It didn’t help her own nerves, and she didn’t dare try to comfort him in case he withdrew from her again.

  ‘We need to go,’ he said finally. ‘For sea fog we need to warm the sea and then run a cold wind over it. We’ll then need to keep it with us with as long as we can.’

  ‘Well I should probably balance the wind while you steer us.’

  ‘Agreed.’

  He fetched Azrael in his lantern house and stowed him carefully. The boat they’d been towing was somewhat smaller than Kurghan’s fishing boat, but it had canvas stretched over the front of it to form a small shelter. Jorrun rowed them to the edge of the cove before they unfurled the sail. Leaning over the side he called up heat to warm the shallows of the sea. When he felt it was ready, Kesta began to summon a cold breeze from the air. She was delighted when fog began to form and thicken.

  It took all of her concentration to keep the fog rising and moving while Jorrun himself created more. She almost missed the brush of emotion somewhere close by. She could feel at least four differing personalities, ranging from fearful to predatory. She touched Jorrun’s shoulder and pointed through the fog. They could see nothing, but a male voice came to them, its meaning deadened by the water in the air.

  Kesta hardly dared to breathe.

  Slowly the presence of the men moved away, and she fought to regain her concentration on the wind. A headache was beginning to creep in and she feared she was coming toward the end of her magical endurance. Jorrun seemed to sense it and he moved up to sit beside her.

  ‘Take the rudder,’ he said. ‘I’ll try to manage the fog from here if you can carry on with just your knowing?’

  ‘Thank you.’ She almost put a hand on his shoulder to balance herself as she stood, but she stopped herself at the last moment. With her knowing open she would have felt what he was feeling. He seemed to realise what she’d done, and his eyes followed her until she sat down again and turned his way.

  Night seemed to fall painfully slowly and Jorrun’s shoulders were hunched with fatigue long before he let the fog fall away. Kesta insisted that he take the first turn at sleeping. He curled up under the canvas, speaking softly to Azrael for a few minutes before his breathing told her he was asleep. She shifted in her seat to relieve the ache in her muscles, rubbing at the bridge of her nose to try to push away the headache. It was a risk, but she switched to using her knowing in much shorter bursts and relied more on her eyes to warn her if anything approached. She’d almost drifted off at the rudder when Jorrun stirred and slowly crawled up onto a seat. He stretched and cracked his joints before making his way around the sail to her.

  ‘Your turn. Have you seen anything?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she replied.

  There was no room beneath the canvas to do anything other than curl up. She snuggled into Jorrun’s blanket and used her own arm as a pillow.

  ***

  The shush and hiss of surf woke her with a start. Her head hit the canvas as she tried to sit up and she blinked at the grey light of pre-dawn. She’d slept more than half the night.

  She scrambled quickly out and stood to see Jorrun watching her with an amused expression on his face.

  ‘You let me sleep.’

  He put a finger to his lips and she spun about to see a low cliff line with jagged rocky feet. The cliffs themselves held a reddish colour, and she spotted a light not far away, set in an alcove so that it could only be seen from the sea. A lantern. He gestured to the rudder, and she took it while he rolled up and tied back the sail. He pulled out the oars but shooed her away when she tried to take one. She sat glaring at him with her arms folded, but he ignored her, a spark of humour in his eyes.

  A wave lifted them, and they hit the narrow beach hard, were dragged back out for a moment and then lifted again. A man appeared from behind the rocks, but far from being alarmed, Jorrun jumped out to help him drag the boat out of the water. He was just a little shorter than Jorrun, with wild black hair and a thick beard. His face didn’t have the severity of Jorrun’s, but the nose and the forehead were the same. His eyes were also blue, but darker; his paler skin held no touch of Fulmer blood.

  Jorrun held out a hand to help her out of the boat.

  ‘Kesta, this is Osun.’


  Chapter Twenty

  Kesta: Covenet of Chem

  Osun stared at her, taking in her eyes, her clothing, her uncovered face.

  ‘She is my wife, Osun, from the Fulmers,’ Jorrun said warningly.

  ‘Of course.’ The Chemman visibly shook himself and took a step forward to bow in her direction. ‘My lady.’ He spun quickly back to face Jorrun. ‘It is good to see you, master.’

  Kesta tilted her head, Osun’s accent was captivating, soft with rolling rs.

  Jorrun winced. ‘It is good to see you, brother.’

  Kesta studied the two of them, the way Jorrun took a small step forward suggested his wish to hug his half-brother, but Osun stood unmoving and tense.

  ‘Master, we should get up to the wagon,’ Osun said.

  ‘For goodness’ sake, Osun, my name is Jorrun!’

  Osun gave a slow shake of his head. ‘Not here, master, not if you’re adamant you must reach Arkoom.’ He turned to look Kesta up and down again. It made her want to growl.

  ‘Yes, we’d better start looking the part as soon as possible.’ Jorrun went to the boat and taking out Azrael’s lantern he handed it to Kesta along with her small bag. He buckled his sword belt around his waist, handed a bag to Osun. and then slung another over his shoulder. ‘Did you manage to get everything I asked for?’

  ‘Yes, master.’ Osun smiled for the first time, like Jorrun, it completely changed his face.

  They made their way along the beach and then up a narrow path that clung to the side of the cliff. It was already starting to get light and as she reached the top she was greeted by the sight of a long valley between high hills on her left and the beginning of a mountain range to her right. Smoke drifted lazily from the flat summit of one of the peaks. It was incredibly green. A wide river shone silver and red where the sunlight caught it in sharp beams that felt their way between the mountains.

  She heard Jorrun draw in a breath and she followed his gaze. He was looking at a large settlement at the river mouth.

  ‘Is that Navere?’ she asked.

  Osun looked at her in shock, then closed his mouth quickly with a glance at Jorrun.

  ‘Yes, it’s Navere,’ Jorrun replied softly. ‘It was the seat of my father. Our father. Where we were born.’

  ‘Do you wish to go there?’ Osun asked.

  Jorrun shook his head. ‘No. No there is nothing there I wish to see.’

  ‘This way,’ Osun indicated, his shoulders and jaw seemed to loosen.

  Kesta instinctively reached out her knowing to check the area around them. Osun was experiencing a tumultuous mixture of joy and fear. Ahead she could feel the peaceful presence of two bovines, the flightier feel of two horses, and the gentle aura of a woman. They found her seated outside a small tent beside a large wagon, rocking gently as she hummed to herself. She was wearing a long green dress with a hood up over her hair and a veil that covered the tip of her nose and her mouth. On seeing them she stood, her eyes widened as she regarded Kesta and she took several panicked steps backward, almost falling into the tent.

  ‘Milaiya!’ Osun said in annoyance. ‘This is my master. The woman he has brought from the Fulmers. Fetch her the clothing I bought yesterday.’

  With a bow, her eyes not leaving Kesta, the woman climbed into the wagon.

  ‘What clothing?’ Kesta turned to Jorrun, her eyes narrowed.

  ‘Clothing that will keep you safer than any armour,’ he replied calmly. ‘In Chem only woman who are available for the use of any man go without any face covering. Women who have not been touched by a man go fully veiled, including their eyes. No one will be able to touch you without my permission, to do so carries a harsh sentence. It’s the best way to protect you here and will also hide what you are.’ He looked at her mismatched eyes.

  ‘Your permission?’ she growled.

  ‘Yes.’ He couldn’t help himself, he grinned. ‘You have to do what I tell you here.’

  She punched him in the arm, furious at the same time as trying hard not to laugh with him.

  ‘Master!’ Osun gasped in shock.

  Jorrun indicated Osun to make his point, his smile not yet leaving. ‘See.’

  ‘I think you’re enjoying the idea of our disguises a bit too much.’ She scowled at him.

  His smile faded, and he became serious. ‘Our lives will depend on our blending in and playing our roles.’

  She nodded. ‘I understand.’

  The woman, Milaiya, came back out of the wagon and cautiously handed Kesta a cloth bundle. It was soft, a dark blue colour.

  ‘For appearances’ sake my lady should sleep in the wagon,’ Osun said. He hesitated before going on. ‘As your servant I should sleep under the wagon and Milaiya with you in the tent.’

  Jorrun, Kesta, and even Milaiya all protested at once.

  ‘Is there room for both Kesta and Milaiya in the wagon?’ Jorrun asked.

  ‘If we move things about a bit. I can sell some stock on our way and not purchase more,’ Osun thought aloud.

  Milaiya and Jorrun both looked equally relieved and Kesta felt her own twinge of jealousy subside.

  ‘Good,’ Jorrun said. ‘Is it safe for us to stay here and sleep?’

  ‘Well, yes,’ Osun said. ‘But shouldn’t we be on our way?’

  ‘It was not an easy journey here, brother, I think we both only ever slept with one eye open. You are probably right though. Perhaps we could just sleep in the wagon for a while.’

  Osun nodded. ‘Milaiya, pack the tent away, we’ll move on at once. Would you like something to eat and drink?’ He offered Jorrun.

  ‘Yes, please.’ Jorrun put his bag down and sat beside it on the ground. Osun went to the wagon, completely ignoring Milaiya who struggled with the tent.

  ‘Take that angry look off your face,’ Jorrun said with amusement.

  With a snort she sat beside him. ‘On the Fulmers we help each other.’

  ‘This isn’t the Fulmers.’

  ‘Don’t I know it already.’

  ‘Kesta.’ The seriousness of his voice made her turn, his intense gaze made her heart catch. ‘While we are here, I may have to play a role that will not seem very pleasant, but it isn’t me.’

  ‘Like the Dark Man.’

  He didn’t reply but looked quickly away.

  Osun brought them both a cup of apple juice and a bowl of dried fruit. Kesta nibbled at hers while Milaiya packed up the camp and harnessed the bulls. Osun tied his newly acquired horses to the back of the wagon and shifted a few things inside to make room.

  ‘We’re ready,’ he announced.

  Jorrun climbed up into the back of the wagon, turning to take Azrael’s lamp and then reaching down a hand to help Kesta up. He placed the lantern on a box on a low shelf and then picking up two blankets shook them out and lay them in the narrow space on the floor. Kesta took a staggered step back as the wagon jolted into movement. Jorrun sat on the floor.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, lying down, and folding his arms across his chest before closing his eyes.

  She crawled into the space beside him, lying awkwardly on her back with her arms pulled in tightly so they didn’t touch. This was stupid, and uncomfortable! She rolled over to lay her head on his chest and slid her hand across to his shoulder. Almost at once he moved his arm to let her snuggle closer and lay it across her back.

  They fell asleep to the rocking and jolting of the wagon.

  ***

  Kesta waited until Jorrun had left and then slipped on her Chemman clothing. The long dress was a good fit, and she wondered if Jorrun had given his half-brother measurements. She looked at the head covering and veil. There was a panel of blue gauze to go over her eyes and allow her to see. She gripped the fabric and clenched her jaw hard, telling herself that it was necessary. If she and Jorrun didn’t succeed, then every woman on the Fulmers would have to wear something like this.

  Taking in a breath and sighing it out, she put it on and left the wagon.

  They had
stopped outside a small town and Osun was bartering away a set of bone handled daggers under the shade of some trees. Milaiya was watering the bulls and Jorrun had climbed up to sit in the driver’s seat of the wagon. He’d changed into some baggy trousers and a sheepskin coat.

  ‘Where are we?’ she asked.

  Jorrun turned to look her up and down. ‘In Chem, women are not allowed to speak until spoken to.’

  ‘What?’ She clenched her fists and glared at him. To make it worse he laughed. ‘I’ll get my own back, Thane Jorrun,’ she promised, secretly relishing his playfulness.

  She made her way around the two long-furred bulls, stroking one and reaching out with her knowing.

  ‘They like you,’ she told Milaiya.

  The woman regarded her with absolute horror, looking up at Jorrun as though expecting him to attack her there and then.

  ‘Oh, for spirits’ sake!’ Kesta cursed, putting her hands on her hips. ‘What now?’

  ‘They don’t curse by the spirits here for a start.’ Jorrun’s face became serious. ‘Come on, let’s take a walk and I’ll explain better how things are here before you get us all in trouble.’

  ‘You should have told me in the first place rather than having fun at my expense.’ She sulked.

  ‘Probably,’ he replied with no sign of remorse. When they’d moved out of sight and sound of the others Jorrun stopped and turned to face her. ‘I told you a little of my mother’s life. All women here are slaves, Kesta; all. They are treated the same as cattle – as property. They have no rights and no protection except for the laws against theft and damage. I warned you this is an awful place, there is a reason I wanted to keep you away. Chem will break your heart, Kesta.’

  She watched his face. Chem had broken his heart, and he’d only been a child. She wanted so badly to put her arms around him. He looked away and took a step back.

  She swallowed. ‘What rules do I need to follow?’

  He drew in a breath. ‘Women obey without question. They do not speak – even to other women – in the presence of a man, without permission or being spoken to first. You are allowed to call to me for help if someone tries to touch or take you without my permission. You can only talk freely when there are no men around.’