‘The scientists of Rahain discovered this many years ago.’
‘And, apart from our piece of land, is the rest just sea?’
‘That is not known for certain,’ Laodoc said, ‘though we have no evidence of anyone else sharing this world with us. It has been many centuries since Rahain tried to explore the ocean. The storms out there are devastating, and too many ships did not return. It may have been different before the Collision.’
Agang nodded. He flicked the reins, and the oxen began pulling the wagon down the path on the far side of the ridge, towards a lonely cottage.
‘Something about the Collision bothers me,’ Agang said. ‘You say it happened ten thousand years ago?’
‘Indeed,’ Laodoc said, ‘our records detail it. ’
‘But the five landmasses must have been moving before that?’
‘Indubitably.’
‘Then don’t you think it an unlikely coincidence that they all smashed into each other, as if they were attracted to a central point?’
‘A mystery, my friend,’ Laodoc said, ‘one that has exercised the best minds of Rahain for millennia.’
Agang frowned. ‘Does it not point to the Holdings’ Creator being real?’
‘I think chance just as likely. And if not chance, then perhaps some geological phenomenon currently beyond our understanding.’
‘Kalayne thought the Creator was real. He said that he could see into his mind.’
‘I would very much like to meet this Kalayne fellow,’ Laodoc said, ‘and put a few questions to him.’
‘Who knows, you might get the chance one day,’ Agang said. He pulled on the reins, and the oxen halted on the path before the lone cottage. ‘Here we are.’
Laodoc gazed at the low, stone structure. Signs of repair were evident on its roof, with fresh thatch covering one side. A thin trail of smoke rose from a chimney. Agang jumped down off the wagon and stretched his legs. He walked round to the other side and raised his arm for Laodoc.
‘Thank you,’ the old man said, taking Agang’s hand and climbing down to the ground. He wrapped his cloak around him as a blustery breeze came in from the ocean. They walked to the front of the cottage and knocked on the door.
It opened, and Bedig appeared in the doorway.
‘Laodoc!’ he cried, lifting the old man into the air and embracing him.
‘It’s nice to see you too, Bedig,’ Laodoc said.
‘What are you doing here?’ Bedig said, lowering Laodoc to the ground.
‘Didn’t Conal tell you?’
Bedig rubbed his chin. ‘Maybe. He was round a few nights ago. ’
‘This is Agang,’ Laodoc said, gesturing to the Sanang man.
Bedig eyed him up and down.
‘I remember you.’
‘Have we met?’ Agang said.
‘No. But I was in Plateau City with Daphne when you and your army put it under siege.’
‘Before I joined the alliance,’ Agang said.
‘May we go inside?’ Laodoc said. ‘My old bones are weary from travelling.’
Bedig laughed. ‘Of course, sorry.’ He swung the door open, and they went into the cottage. There was a fire burning in a hearth on their left, and a single other door led off to the right. The interior was furnished with a few odds and ends, a couple of wooden chairs, a bench and a scarred old table.
‘Bridget,’ Bedig yelled, ‘we’ve got visitors.’
‘If it’s Dyam,’ a voice cried from behind the door, ‘just send her through.’
‘It’s not.’
‘I’ll just be a minute.’
Bedig turned to Laodoc and Agang. ‘Whisky? Ale?’
‘Water, please,’ Laodoc said.
‘I’ll have to go out to the burn for that,’ Bedig said, picking up a large jug. ‘Be back in a minute.’
He went out by the front door just as Bridget emerged from the other room.
‘Laodoc,’ she said.
‘Miss Bridget, a pleasure to see you again,’ Laodoc said, bowing. ‘This is Agang Garo.’
‘Aye,’ she said, nodding, ‘Keira’s friend.’
‘The way she behaved was reprehensible,’ Agang said. ‘I’m not here to defend her.’
‘Then why are you here?’
‘We’ll come to that soon enough,’ Laodoc said. ‘For now I just want to hear how you’ve been. ’
Bridget shrugged. The lines under her eyes were deeper than before, though the bruising on her face had healed.
The front door opened, and Bedig came back in, splashing water onto the rug by the fire.
‘Oops,’ he said. He put the jug down, and scooped a mugful. ‘Here you are,’ he said, handing it to Laodoc.
‘Thank you,’ Laodoc said.
‘What were you after, Agang?’ Bedig said.
‘Could I have a whisky and some water, please?’
‘Sure,’ Bedig said.
Bridget took a seat while Bedig prepared the drinks.
‘Sit down,’ she said.
Laodoc perched on the end of the bench, Agang sitting a foot to his left.
‘I’m not as busy as I used to be,’ Bridget said. ‘Draewyn and Dyam are pretty much handling the settlement by the clan, distributing houses and farms, and using Daphne’s gold to purchase whatever we need.’
‘So you’ve been taking a well-deserved break,’ Laodoc said. ‘You’ve been working hard for years, you should enjoy your time off.’
Bedig passed out drinks to Agang and Bridget, and sat, holding a giant mug of ale.
‘We’re going to be farming this land,’ he said, ‘Bridget and I. We’ll have to learn how first, of course.’
‘It sounds fascinating,’ Laodoc said. ‘Were you thinking of cattle, or crops? Perhaps a vegetable garden? I tried my hand at growing, when I was staying in Slateford in my youth.’
‘The last people to live here had sheep,’ Bedig said, ‘but we haven’t decided yet.’
Laodoc glanced at Bridget. Her face was relaxed, but she was gripping onto her cup of whisky.
‘How you been getting on with Keira, then?’ Bedig said.
Bridget muttered something under her breath .
‘I have been learning,’ Laodoc said. ‘Keeping my ears open, to the fire mage, and to what Flora and Agang have told me.’
‘Have you seen much of Dean?’
‘Yes,’ Laodoc said. ‘He has a girlfriend. Dora, a young woman his age.’
‘Good for him,’ Bedig laughed. ‘Is she cute?’
‘She’s a delightful young lady.’
Bridget sighed.
‘What’s up with you?’ Bedig said.
‘They’re not here to chat about Dean’s fucking girlfriend,’ she said. ‘They’re here because they want something.’ She faced Laodoc. ‘Is that not correct?’
‘We should have a few more drinks first,’ Bedig said, ‘and some food. Then get all their stuff brought in. I take it they’re staying here? Get that out of the way before we start on some heavy discussion, where we’ll probably shout at each other and fall out.’
‘I certainly hope that isn’t the outcome,’ Laodoc said, ‘but what we have to talk about is serious, so perhaps you’re right.’
‘I just want to get it over with,’ Bridget said.
Bedig stood. ‘I’ll make a start on dinner.’
Laodoc glanced at Agang.
‘Miss Bridget,’ the Sanang man said, ‘have you ever heard of a Rakanese high mage called Shella?’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Aye. Daphne rescued her from the refugee camp in Rahain, the one that Keira destroyed.’
Agang nodded.
‘What about her?’
‘Do you believe in the prophecies of Kalayne?’
Bridget frowned. ‘I remember the name from somewhere.’
‘I know him,’ Bedig said from the stove, where he was stirring a pot. ‘He helped us when we were fighting in Kell. I believe in his visions. He always knew exactly where the enemy was, and what the
y were going to do. ’
‘Was he the one who saw Killop and Daphne getting together?’ Bridget said.
‘Aye,’ Bedig said.
Bridget nodded, and glanced back at Agang. ‘All right, so I know of Kalayne.’
There was a knock at the door, and Dyam peered in.
‘Smells good, Bedig,’ she said, then noticed the others. ‘Visitors.’
‘Hi, Dyam,’ Bedig said. ‘You eaten? It’ll be ready in twenty minutes if you can wait.’
‘If that’s alright,’ she said, coming in and closing the door.
Laodoc stood. ‘Greetings, Dyam. Have you met Agang?’
‘I have,’ she said, glancing from them to Bridget. ‘Am I interrupting something?’
‘They were just about to tell me why they’re here,’ Bridget said.
Dyam chuckled. ‘I thought getting away from Keira would be reason enough.’
Laodoc sat again. ‘It’s certainly nice to have a break,’ he said, ‘but there is something we need to discuss with Bridget.’
A suspicious look crossed the Domm woman’s face. ‘Mind if I listen?’
Bridget shook her head. ‘Get yourself a drink and sit down.’
Dyam took a mug of ale and sat. ‘Have I missed anything?’
‘Not really,’ Bridget said.
‘I think it best if Agang tells his story,’ Laodoc said. ‘Then we can talk.’
Bridget nodded. ‘Go for it.’
Agang cleared his throat. ‘The first time I heard the name Kalayne, I was a captive. It was Winter’s Day. Keira had conquered Sanang, and she was assaulting the Holdings frontier wall, and I asked Kylon why they were trying to destroy the world…’
Agang spoke for an hour, continuing while they ate the dinner served up by Bedig at the small table. Bridget and Dyam remained silent throughout, as he described the visions of Kalayne, and the attack on the imperial capital by Keira. Their expressions grew more intense as he told of what the Emperor had done from the battlements.
When he finished, the others sat without speaking for a long while.
‘Thank you for dinner,’ Laodoc said.
‘No problem,’ said Bedig. ‘If you’re planning on staying for a while, I can nip over to the market for some blood pudding and bread in the morning.’
The Brig man got up, and started to clear the table of plates.
‘Let me get this straight in my head,’ Dyam said. ‘You’re saying that this emperor, Guilliam, now has the powers of every mage in the world?’
‘We think so,’ said Agang. ‘We saw him use fire, flow, vision and stone at least. We’re just assuming he probably has life powers as well.’
‘So Keira failed to stop him,’ Bridget said. ‘Kalayne was wrong.’
‘No,’ Agang said. ‘Kalayne was right. He said that the church was planning something, and they were. We arrived too late, though.’
‘And the Emperor slaughtered the entire Sanang army?’ Dyam said. ‘Leaving who, just you and Keira?’
‘And Flora,’ Agang said.
‘I don’t understand. How did you three manage to survive?’
‘We ran away.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Excuse me?’
Dyam shook her head and turned to Bridget. ‘They must think we’re as gullible as bairns.’
Agang said nothing, biting his lip.
‘Come, my friend,’ Laodoc said. ‘Everything you have said is the truth, is it not?’
Dyam laughed. ‘Only if you believe that the Emperor was clever enough to use different powers to destroy a whole army, but then somehow he missed the fire mage. Are you saying he just let her go?’
Agang bowed his head. ‘No. ’
‘Tell us what really happened,’ Bridget growled, ‘or you’re not welcome here. I won’t have liars staying in this house.’
Laodoc’s tongue flickered, and his heart pounded. He gazed at Agang, willing him to speak.
‘When he was finished with the army,’ Agang said, his voice a low whisper, ‘the Emperor then struck down Keira. He stopped her heart. I guess he didn’t want to mutilate her body like he had with the Sanang, so he could show it off to the people of the city, I don’t know.’
‘He killed her?’ Bridget said.
‘And Flora. And me.’
Laodoc frowned. ‘You left out that part of the story when you told me, my friend.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Agang said.
‘Wait,’ Bridget said. ‘The Emperor killed you and Keira and Flora?’
‘He stopped our hearts.’
The others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Agang stood, and went over to where the bottle of whisky sat. He poured himself a large measure and drank.
With the eyes of the others on him, he raised his head.
‘I am a life mage,’ he said. ‘As Laodoc knows, I can heal.’
Laodoc nodded. ‘He can; I’ve seen it.’
‘But I’m not just a hedgewitch. My powers go to the top of the scale.’
‘My friend,’ Laodoc said, ‘what does that mean? I have researched all the skills of the various mages that inhabit this world, and have read nothing of any higher Sanang power.’
‘When the Emperor stopped my heart,’ Agang said, ‘my healing power restarted it. And then I restarted the hearts of Keira and Flora, and put life back into their bodies.’
‘You brought them back from the dead?’ Bridget gasped.
‘I did.’
The room fell into silence.
‘I heard Leah died outside the walls,’ Bedig said. ‘Could you not bring her back too? ’
‘The Emperor had burnt her body up,’ Agang said. ‘I couldn’t do anything for her, I’m sorry.’
Bedig bowed his head.
‘My friend,’ Laodoc said. ‘I’m confused, but at the same time exhilarated to think that you possess such power. Bringing life back to the dead?’
Dyam frowned. ‘I might need to see some proof.’
‘How?’ Bridget laughed. ‘Yer not suggesting he kills one of us first, are ye? Or are ye expecting him to bring our dinner back to life?’
Bedig rubbed his stomach. ‘Please don’t.’
‘You may make light of it,’ Agang said, ‘but every mage of my kind is hunted down and killed in Sanang. That’s why I’ve kept it a secret for so many years, and why I found it so hard to tell you.’
‘We’re not making light of it,’ Bridget said, ‘it’s just a fucking lot to take in. So how does it work? Can ye go to a graveyard and summon the bodies to rise?’
‘No,’ Agang cried. ‘The person has to have been dead for a few minutes at the most. Their brain, heart and other organs must still be capable of working, otherwise, otherwise…’
‘What?’
Agang bowed his head. ‘If life is given to a corpse that is cold and beginning to rot, then the thing that rises is no longer the person they once were. Mindless abominations, grotesque puppets, under the control of the mage that raised them. Keira and Flora had been dead for only a few moments, for them it would have been like being in a deep, dreamless sleep.’
‘Could you do it to something small, like a rat?’ Dyam asked.
Bridget smirked. ‘I didn’t know you had a pet.’
Dyam scowled at her. ‘I’m the kind of person who needs evidence to believe the unbelievable.’
‘I’ve never tried,’ said Agang.
‘But you’d be willing to?’
‘I suppose so, if it’ll make you believe me.’
Dyam stood. ‘Stay right here. ’
She darted to the front door, and left the cottage.
Bedig laughed. ‘Is she really away to get a rat?’
‘Fuck knows,’ said Bridget. She took a sip of whisky. ‘So, boys, that was all very interesting, but I have to ask, what the fuck’s it got to do with me?’
‘Just before Keira began the assault on the city,’ Agang said, ‘Kalayne spoke to her. He said that only she could save t
he world, but also, that he’d had a vision of her with Shella, the Rakanese mage.’
‘So?’
‘Well, Miss Bridget,’ Laodoc said, ‘it would seem that in order to set events in motion, Keira and Shella must meet. Agang and I have already failed to persuade Keira to seek out Shella, so therefore only one alternative is open to us.’
‘Which is?’
‘We find Shella, and bring her to Keira.’
‘Do you know where she is?’
‘No, we do not,’ Laodoc said. ‘The last time I saw her she was in Plateau City, before the alliance forces set out for Rahain. As chancellor, however, I did hear that she had become the Rakanese ambassador to the Emperor’s court, but I don’t know if she still holds that position. In fact, with the current situation in the imperial capital, I would doubt very much that she still resides there.’
‘So you want to find Shella,’ Bridget said, ‘but you have no idea where she is, or even if she’s still alive. She might have died in the siege.’
‘No,’ said Agang. ‘Kalayne saw a vision of her in the future. She’s alive.’
Bridget rolled her eyes. ‘Let’s just say for now that that’s true. I’m guessing you want me to help you?’
‘We want you to lead the expedition,’ Laodoc said.
Bridget laughed, long and hard. Laodoc glanced at Agang, and shrugged.
‘Ye think I’m just going to pack up and leave, so soon after we got here?’ she cried. ‘Yer out of yer minds. We could be hunting this Shella for thirds, years, and never find her. She’s probably gone back to Arakhanah.’
‘I doubt it,’ said Bedig, looking up from washing the dishes. ‘She’d never go there to hide, too many folk know her there, and hate her.’
The others turned to the tall Brig man.
‘Of course,’ said Laodoc, ‘you were with Shella in Akhanawarah, and Plateau City. Do you have any idea where she might have gone? Where would she consider safe?’
Bedig rubbed his chin and stared into the fire.
‘Leave him a moment,’ Bridget said. ‘The gears of his brain grind slower than most.’
The door opened, and Dyam burst in, holding a leather bag at arm’s length.
‘Got one,’ she cried, walking over to the table. She held the writhing bag aloft. ‘Everyone see it moving, aye?’
Before anyone could reply, Dyam swung the bag down, battering it off the surface of the table, making the whisky glasses jump. She did it again, and a third time, then emptied the bag out onto the floor at Agang’s feet. Laodoc peered down at the dead rat, hiding a grimace. Bridget got up, and walked round so she could see.
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