Moonblood

by Martin Ash

  ‘I apologise. For eons I’ve lived with this memory, yet the pain of it never dies.’

  ‘No apology is necessary. Your suffering is undeserved; I only regret that it can’t be eased.’

  The intensity of his emotion bore upon me, radiating from him in waves, so that again I drew back.

  ‘Perhaps now it can,’ he said. ‘I have arrived at the crux of this issue, the bane that was laid upon my house, Ravenscrag, and its consequences and the part that you must play.’

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ‘I won’t linger over descriptions of Molgane’s end,’ Lord Draremont went on. ‘Or her earlier pleadings with me when she understood what her fate was to be. No, I must pass over that, or I will break down. But listen: as she died, in her final agonies she was transformed. Her face, twisted and tortured, came to resemble another, a face I’d never before set eyes on. And a voice screamed out, uttering the curse. It came from Molgane’s agonized lips, but the voice wasn’t hers. It was an alien, terrible sound, and its tones, seething with hatred, still echo in my mind, relentlessly taunting and reminding me of what I’d done.

  ‘The voice said, “Ravenscrag, you wish to end my reign, but though I perish now I shall never be gone. Beware all things, for you have provoked me and I shall have retribution. Through me, by your own doing, Ravenscrag will know its end. Beware, then, the prophecy, for in it I shall ensure your destruction.

  ‘ “This is my bane: My spawn will be about you and among you forevermore, but you will not know them, nor will they know themselves. But they will oversee your misfortune until the child you all await is born. And then shall you know me!

  ‘ “Observe this prophecy! Waver so much as once from that which is said to be, remould or recast to the most paltry degree, and your hopes and your longings will scatter. There will be the Shadownight! Then you will see that Ravenscrag’s birth will be not to its saviour but to its Iniquity. And by my doing you shall all see its Iniquity rise.

  ‘ “The blood of the moon shall be shed and then will come death as foretold, and then will be corruption, and the blood shall be shed once more. It will be so, for then is my time, and here will be my instrument. The corruption is complete. Through the power of the woman’s sin and the woman’s wound, it shall be born. For you are not free of sin; you are not pure. Nor shall you ever be! I will have my way!” ’

  Lord Draremont was silent for a moment. ‘Those were the last words that my wife ever uttered, but I say again, they were not hers. She should not even have been living at that point. It was not her.’

  The phrases resounded in my mind. The foreboding I’d felt earlier intensified. Lord Draremont was studying me intently. I said, ‘These words… many of them are familiar. I dreamed them, or imagined them, for they’ve never been spoken to me, nor have I ever read them.’

  Draremont gave a nod. ‘Our efforts were not entirely in vain, then, though I wish we could have impressed more upon you.’

  ‘It was your doing?’

  ‘When we learned that you had been appointed to solve Ravenscrag’s mystery we endeavoured to communicate the words of the bane to you. We tried to contact you in moments when you were receptive, to aid you. But we are the dead; our capacity to interact with or influence the living is limited.’

  ‘You speak as though you’re not alone.’

  ‘I’ve helpers. Other shades who come from the world of the living, knowing something of Ravenscrag’s fate. They are few in number, their time with me is not long. It’s only I who must persist over ages, but they do what they can.’

  ‘My understanding is that there is yet more to the bane than you’ve told me. A reference to one who comes from afar, bringing strange knowledge and shattered gifts. This one may discover the means to lift the bane, but in doing so may also perish.’

  Lord Draremont spoke thoughtfully. ‘There’s much yet to tell, but you are correct. It’s written thus. I’ll explain how it came about.

  ‘The bane was not taken lightly. Fortunately few had been present when it was uttered, for though by rights Molgane’s execution should have been public, I’d succeeded in keeping it behind closed doors. A handful of family members and close officials bore witness, though I was afterwards obliged to expose my wife’s remains for all to see, and hand them over for public incineration so that the people might be assured she was gone.

  ‘I took immediate steps to ensure that knowledge of what had been uttered was kept secret. Then I established a program of research, designed to test the validity of the bane, and search for means to negate it. To this end I recruited surviving members of the Sisterhood of the Hallowed Blood, and other persons of knowledge and wisdom from all over Wansir. It was during this time that I first learned of Mososguyne and his terrible influence. Before this I knew nothing of him. He, of course, was not to be found.

  ‘The research was conducted in secret, for I had now banned the practice of magic upon pain of death. It became plain that the bane was interwoven with the prophecy and that its effects would not be wholly realized until the conditions of the prophecy began to come into being at some future time. But no one doubted the validity of the bane. We’d witnessed Mososguyne’s power, and knew at least something of its origins. Ravenscrag had been visited by an evil and that evil would return to ensure its eventual downfall. It was depressingly plain that we had no power to lift the bane. The only way it might be negated was to somehow prevent the future corruption of the prophecy upon which the bane relied. But how could we achieve that? In what form would that corruption manifest itself? And when?

  ‘A suggestion was made by one of our number to the effect that there might yet be a way to discover more. Iliss, an erstwhile member of the Sisterhood, spoke of the giants who lived in the north – ‘

  My ears pricked. ‘There are giants?’

  ‘The Thótan. Small, isolated communities lived at that time in the mountains north of Ravenscrag. They had little contact with men and were rarely seen.’

  ‘And now?’

  Lord Draremont lifted his shoulders in a weary shrug. ‘I know nothing of now. But the Thótan were an ancient race whose history preceded ours by centuries. They had a love of lore and tradition. Their sagas, poems and songs chronicled the deeds of races, nations and individuals throughout history, and as such constituted a great repository of knowledge. Iliss thought that the giants might provide new insight into Ravenscrag’s prophecy, and perhaps also the bane. It was proposed that I should leave Ravenscrag and journey north to try to solicit their aid, and this I did.

  ‘My journey took several weeks, and I had no specific destination in mind, for no one knew the precise location of a settlement of giants. Nor did I know what to expect. Past times between men and giants had been marked by conflict and blood, and the Thótan had purposefully removed themselves from the proximity of men. Now, for all I knew, I might be slain out of hand as soon as I was spotted.

  ‘But that didn’t happen. I asked at every village I came to, and was directed deeper into the wildlands until I came eventually upon a small community of the big folk. They received me politely, if warily. I explained my business and was taken to the village head. After much discussion I was permitted to attend a moot that night, in which songs were sung and tales were told around a fire. I’d never experienced anything like it, and nor have I since. The voices of giants raised in song are like oracular thunder; when they dance the earth shakes. Strong wine flowed like rivers and the songs went on through the night and well into the morning. A song was sung of Ravenscrag and its prophecy, and also of the bane, but it told me little that I didn’t already know. The next day I was taken from the village.

  ‘ “Do not return here,” said the village head. “For one man coming with open hands signifies the imminence of many more with swords and bows, who will hunt us like beasts, force us to fight them in return. Men cannot help themselves. It’s always been that way. Thus tomorrow we will be gone, and you won’t find us again.”

&
nbsp; ‘They stood and watched as I left, and I was deeply saddened. To think that my coming meant they would now be forced to uproot themselves, leaving their homes to start anew somewhere else far away. I wondered that they’d not simply killed me.

  ‘I’d ridden less than half a mile when my horse shied at a disturbance beside the track. From between the trees stepped a giant, a young male who I recognized from the previous night. “May I talk with you awhile?” he asked, and we at beside the trail and he told me a strange tale.

  ‘His name was Eldhorn and he had had a recurring vision, which is the means by which giants gather much of their lore. He told me that he had seen, time and time again, among the myriad interweaving strands of future time, one which became prominent and which showed a malevolent visitation upon Ravenscrag which would bring about its end. When I asked him to describe it in detail, Eldhorn closed his eyes and shook his great head. “Everything is hazy,” he said, “but I see a child who is the blood of the moon, in whom resides the potential for both death and life. And a second child, an infant, who is longed for and who vanishes. There is anticipation and confusion, and great terror. And there is another strand by which I perceive one who comes from afar, bringing strange knowledge and shattered gifts. And this stranger may help to end the darkness that lies upon your home, but he will not do it alone, and the price he pays for success may be his own life. The vision is confused and difficult to grasp. I can’t tell you more, but it will be passed on to my descendants, as is our way, in the hope that we can build upon it and understand more.”

  ‘And that is it,’ said Lord Draremont. ‘That was all that I was able to carry back with me to Ravenscrag. And so the bane, which became known as Molgane’s Bane, was written thus, but knowledge of it was kept secret from all but the immediate line and our closest advisors.

  ‘And my life, though I didn’t know it, was almost done. For I’d lost the woman I loved, and with her the will to live. I was racked with guilt and remorse, tormented by memories of my dear wife and the unspeakable agonies of her death. And now, without the Sisterhood, the lives of the people of Ravenscrag became hard, harder than ever before. This too I felt to be my responsibility. I was their lord and protector and I’d failed them. I’d allowed them – allowed us all – to become the victims of an insidious evil. I longed then for death, for an end to it all, but when death came it was, for me, only a beginning.

  ‘On the night I died, torn by visions of Molgane, a new vision intruded. I looked suddenly upon a face, dreadful to behold, mocking, malevolent and inhuman. And its lips moved and a voice spoke, spewing out the words: I will have my way! Whether it was the face of Mososguyne or that of the Enchanter he served, I will never know. But it was the last thing I saw in life.’

  Lord Draremont sat motionless, tyrannized by his memories, then said, ‘Then began my vigil, when I learned that for me death was no end and that my responsibilities towards Ravenscrag could not be so easily erased. And I’ve watched, over centuries of your time, waiting, knowing that the day must come when the prophecy will be fulfilled, but fulfilled in its grim entirety unless somehow the bane can be lifted.

  ‘I tried to intervene. When it became evident, from signs and information brought to me by newly-passing shades, that the time was near, I did what I could. I defied Moban’s laws and had a willing shade return to be born again in the physical world to attempt to prevent the wrongs that would come. But Moban can’t be defied: its laws are immutable. The physical world is no place for any of untimely birth. This shade was born back into Ravenscrag, knowing all there was to know. But his mind did not bear the exertions of corporeality; he was born an imbecile, knowing everything but not knowing how to use it.’

  A knowing imbecile! ‘Do you mean Hectal?’ I asked incredulously.

  Lord Draremont nodded. ‘That’s the name given to him at birth. More recently I tried again, dispatching another to Ravenscrag, hoping that Hectal’s condition had been a mere accident. But this one was also lost, swayed and seduced it would seem by the temptations of corporeality. I don’t know what became of him.

  ‘And now the Shadownight approaches. Moonblood, who holds power we don’t understand, has gone, as has the babe, Redlock, who should have been the saviour of my descendants and my ancient and noble House. And you are our only hope.’

  Not for the first time I felt that my powers were being overestimated. ‘You place too great a faith in me. I’m scarcely clearer now than when I arrived. I don’t know how to end this mystery.’

  ‘Seek out the giants,’ urged Draremont. ‘They’ll know something, I am sure.’

  ‘There’s no time. I don’t know where the giants reside, and this coming night, I fear, is Shadownight, and whatever that might entail. I’ve only the remains of a single day.’

  And I thought, No matter what I do, if the prophecy is right, I’ve only hours left to live.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ‘Yo, has anything happened in my absence?’

  ‘No, Master. There have been no disturbances.’

  I repossessed my corporeal self. ‘Come.’

  I glanced through the window. Thankfully, it was still morning. No great time had passed while I’d been in the company of Lord Draremont’s mournful shade.

  I left my chambers and went straight to Moonblood’s apartment. The corridors had still not been mopped: the servants cowered in their quarters, too frightened after the night’s horrors to attend to their duties. The bloody evidence of the carnage thus remained on walls and floor.

  I passed the place where I’d fought to save the soldier. There, on the floor, lay the mutilated corpse of a raven.

  My spawn will be about you and among you forevermore, but you will not know them, nor will they know themselves!

  Thoughtful, I moved on.

  Moonblood’s apartment was as before. I entered unchallenged, for no guard manned the door now. I went straight to the bed and pulled back the cover, stared at the dried bloodstain.

  ‘The woman’s wound, Yo. Something, at least, is explained.’

  ‘What do you mean, Master?’

  ‘No foul deed was committed here, Yo. At least, that is, no blood was shed by violence. Moonblood’s disappearance remains unexplained but I will stake my reputation on the premise that she was not physically harmed in this room.’

  ‘Then is this the baby’s blood?’

  ‘Redlock’s? No. It is Moonblood’s.’

  ‘But you just said – ‘

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I don’t understand, Master.’

  ‘Moonblood is no longer a child, Yo. And this is the evidence.’ I pointed triumphantly at the bloodstained sheet. ‘And this.’ I lifted Moonblood’s night-robe, and then my heart sank.

  I had forgotten the tear in the material of her night-robe. There was no explanation for this. After Lord Draremont’s account I had been so convinced that I now had a non-violent cause for the bloodstains that I’d allowed the tear to slip my mind. It still spoke of use of force – yet my explanation fitted in every way. I couldn’t dismiss it.

  ‘Master, your words make no sense to me.’

  ‘Ah, Yo, you’re not of the physical world. How can you be expected to understand? You’ve so much to learn. I shall explain in detail at a more appropriate moment.’

  I turned, taking in the rest of the room. Into my mind came the words of the bane: The blood of the moon shall be shed and … shall be shed once more… for then is my time, and here will be my instrument.

  I shook my head ruefully. Small comfort if Moonblood had avoided violence. Her initiation into womanhood was yet another element that signified the validity, power and immutability of the bane. The first shedding had been her birth. Four siblings had died since then, as prophesied. And now…

  …and then will be corruption…The corruption is complete. Through the power of the woman’s sin and the woman’s wound, it shall be born.

  The woman’s sin? Did that refer to Molgane, or to somethi
ng else that I had yet to understand? I thought back quickly over the preceding days and nights. A vaguest inkling, a seed of suspicion, was beginning to germinate within me.

  Scanning the room I noted that the entrance to the secret passage was still open. The pitcher stood where I’d replaced it by the bedside table. Upon the dressing-table Moonblood’s jewellery and other items of girlish finery lay carelessly strewn. My eyes fell upon a small satinwood casket inlaid with abalone. Its lid was raised, revealing blue velvet upholstery upon which rested an object I recognized. It was the brooch I had noticed Moonblood wearing three evenings ago, when I’d first arrived, and which I’d subsequently remarked upon at the banquet celebrating Redlock’s birth.

  I picked it up, turning it over in my hand, impressed again by the delicacy of the work. The metal and crystals caught the light, shimmering and sparkling as I turned it. The tiny intricate figurines and designs were like nothing I’d seen before. But it was not thoughts of potential future profit that held my attention now. I was intrigued by this unusual artefact, and as I studied it more closely I realized that I was wrong. This was not the same brooch that I’d seen Moonblood wearing. It was its twin. I stared for some moments before I understood that I was holding an opposing section of that brooch. The two pieces would fit together to make one.

  I replaced the exquisite object in its casket. So much still remained unanswered! On an impulse I strode from the apartment and along the corridor to the nursery. Inside, it was exactly as I had last seen it, except – the pillow that Lady Sheerquine had dropped, and which I’d seen grow wet with blood, had gone.

  But had that been a dream? It was hard to know where last night’s dream had ended and the real, living nightmare had begun.

  Redlock’s crib stood unoccupied near one corner of the room. I ran my fingers along its charred ribs. A muted sound made me glance up; a woman’s voice, a cry of distress, and a muffled thumping, all issuing from somewhere close by to my left. A brief search and I identified the source: it came through the stone wall, from the chamber next door.