Sacrifice

by Christopher Mitchell

  Killop sheathed his sword, reached down and pulled the crossbow bolt from his thigh, grunting with pain. Celine handed him a rag from her pack, and he tied it round his leg.

  ‘Can you walk?’ she said.

  Killop nodded, then drew his sword again as a armed figure appeared by the cottages, running towards them.

  ‘Kylon,’ he said.

  ‘Back porch is swarming with Rahain,’ Kylon said, catching his breath. He gazed at Celine and Karalyn. ‘Ariel and her bairns not make it?’

  Killop shook his head.

  He pushed on, despite the pain, and the others followed, half-running, along the bottom of the steep slope towards the wide driveway that led from the front of the mansion. Two flying carriages were sitting before the grand steps leading to the main entrance, and soldiers were standing guard. Killop peered in the opposite direction. The road leading away from the estate house was empty, and they set off again, keeping the main road to their right.

  The slope levelled off, and they stopped. Killop looked back. The mansion, and every other building of the estate, was burning. Great pillars of smoke were rising, and among them were flying carriages, taking off and departing, one after the other.

  ‘I messed up, boss,’ said Kylon behind him. He turned.

  ‘How?’

  ‘I’m supposed to be looking after Karalyn,’ he said, ‘and when I was needed, I was sleeping off a hangover.’

  ‘It was Celine’s shift,’ Killop said, ‘and she did fine.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Kylon said, his eyes burning. ‘From now on, I’m always on shift. I won’t let you down again.’

  They gazed at the cauldron of fire engulfing the estate. Celine joined them, holding Karalyn, who turned her head to watch the fires.

  Killop kissed his daughter on the top of her head.

  ‘You’re a brave wee girl,’ he said. ‘You saved us today.’

  He glanced at Celine and Kylon, and covered his daughter’s ears.

  ‘Let’s get the fuck out of here.’

  Chapter 15

  The Scene of the Crime

  T ahrana Valley, Imperial Rahain – 15 th Day, Second Third Autumn 507

  A chill autumnal wind blew off the Rahain mountains, blustering down the long and deep valley. The small group of travellers sat together, sheltering behind the remains of a brick wall. To their right flowed a river, its clear waters glistening through the abandoned and devastated remains of Akhanawarah City. Acres of burnt-out streets and buildings lined the banks of the river, while mud and pools of viscous, oily liquid covered the ground. By the edge of the water, some life was returning. Reeds and grasses bent in the wind, and a few thorny bushes clung to the deteriorating brickwork of the old quays, their roots reaching down into the clean water.

  ‘This place stinks,’ said Dean.

  ‘Yes,’ said Laodoc. ‘Maybe we were wrong to come here.’ He glanced at his companions. ‘I’m sorry my sense of morbid curiosity has led us to this place of death, but I felt I couldn’t pass it without stopping by to take a look.’

  ‘Should we head back to the wagons?’ said Dyam.

  ‘We’re close to the centre,’ Bedig said. ‘I think I’d like to see it again.’

  ‘Thank you for guiding us, my friend,’ Laodoc said. ‘I know it must be painful for you, but maybe something here will spark your memory about the location of Silverstream.’

  ‘I don’t see how,’ Bridget said, gazing around at the charred brick walls and toppled masonry. ‘Keira did a pretty thorough job.’

  Dyam nodded. ‘I had no idea how big this place was.’

  Agang pulled the stopper from a water skin, drank, then passed it to Laodoc.

  ‘Remember to keep some of that for later,’ Bridget said. ‘That’s the only clean water we’ve got. The rest of us will be fine, but you two should drink only that until we’re clear of the city.’

  Laodoc nodded as he took a sip.

  ‘I should be able to heal myself if I ingest any toxins,’ Agang said.

  ‘I’m the only frail one here,’ Laodoc smiled. ‘What with your healing powers, and the Kellach’s natural immunity, it appears that, here in Rahain, I am the one in danger. Ironic.’

  ‘Why did they do it?’ asked Dean. ‘The city, I mean. Why did the Rahain destroy it?’

  ‘Fear,’ said Laodoc. ‘The government was afraid that the Rakanese would spread, that this city was only a first step to overwhelming the Rahain population. Lies, exaggerations and ignorance did the rest. It was like the ruling party was in the grip of mass hysteria. The siege nearly bankrupted the republic, leaving it open to invasion. The alliance was supposed to be in response to this great crime, to bring justice to those who had carried it out, but now I believe it was just an excuse, and that the Holdings wanted to dominate the world from the beginning.’

  ‘Not all the Holdings,’ said Bedig. ‘I met plenty of fine folk up in Plateau City, when I was living with Daphne and her family.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Dyam, ‘and how many young ladies did you get to know?’

  ‘One or two.’

  Bridget whacked him on the arm.

  ‘Ow,’ he yelled. ‘I couldnae help it.’

  ‘He has a point,’ Laodoc smiled. ‘Being a tall, handsome, exotic foreigner in the imperial capital turned a few heads towards Bedig. I remember it well.’

  ‘Aye?’ Bridget said. ‘But I’d rather not fucking have to hear it, thank you very much.’

  They laughed, and Laodoc thought what a strange noise it made in such bleak surroundings. Though most of the bodies had long gone, rendered to ash by Keira, or disintegrated over time, a few blackened bones still littered the side of the river, or protruded from stagnant pools like pale reeds. A sense of shame thickened his blood, and he bowed his head.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Agang asked.

  He shook his head. ‘This is where everything turned bad. My sons, my country. We committed the most heinous of crimes, and our punishment has been commensurate. We have lost everything.’

  ‘I like you, Laodoc,’ Dyam said, ‘but don’t expect me to have much sympathy for Rahain. I lost my family too, when your soldiers invaded our lands.’

  ‘We have all been wronged,’ said Agang. ‘My land was stripped bare by the Holdings for years before we were organised enough to fight back. But then we went and did the same to them.’ He shook his head. ‘It pains me to say it,’ he went on, ‘but the empire is a good idea. Imagine all five peoples living in peace, deciding their differences by talking, instead of killing each other. I’d love to see the other lands of this world. The wide plains of the Holdings that Daphne used to talk about, or the city of Arakhanah where Shella comes from. It’s all out there, waiting for us to stop slaughtering our neighbours and come to our senses.’

  ‘It sounds like a dream,’ said Bridget.

  ‘It is,’ said Laodoc. ‘It is we who have turned it into a nightmare. Our petty prejudices, our greed, and our pride. They have brought us to our knees.’

  ‘So we find Shella,’ Bridget said, ‘and bring her and Keira together. Then hope Kalayne was right.’

  ‘What if Shella doesn’t want to see Keira?’ Lola said .

  ‘Aye,’ said Bonnie. ‘I mean, look around and imagine this used to be your home. Would you want to meet the person that destroyed it?’

  ‘We’ll worry about that if it happens,’ Bridget said.

  ‘Shella knows it was the Rahain that did it,’ Bedig said.

  Dean glanced at the big Brig man. ‘Can she really kill folk just by waving her hand at them?’

  Bedig nodded. ‘Aye.’

  ‘Like the Emperor,’ said Agang, ‘and Keira.’

  Bedig frowned. ‘So, is the plan that Keira and Shella will fight the Emperor?’

  ‘Fuck knows,’ said Bridget. ‘Agang?’

  The Sanang man shrugged. ‘Kalayne didn’t say how it would happen, just that they have to meet.’

  Bonnie shook her head.

&nbs
p; ‘Don’t bite yer tongue,’ Bridget said. ‘If ye’ve got something to say, say it.’

  ‘I’m committed to the job, boss,’ Bonnie said, ‘but it seems like a fool’s errand to me.’

  ‘Maybe it is,’ Bridget said. ‘It’s better than sitting on our arses doing nothing, but. Talking of which, let’s get moving. I want to be out of the city by nightfall.’

  They got to their feet, some pulling packs over their shoulders. They had left the majority of their luggage with the wagons, hidden in some trees where the edge of the hills met the city, and were travelling light. Laodoc was carrying nothing but a walking stick, and he used it to help him stand.

  Bedig took the lead, and they left the shelter of the wall, and walked to the edge of the river, avoiding the oily, stinking pools of mud along the way. By the water ran a long brick-paved walkway. Parts of it had fallen away into the river, but it was easier to navigate than the debris-strewn streets. Laodoc had a light headache from the tainted air, but he managed to keep up with the others as they made their way towards the centre of the ruined city. The remains of the buildings to their left grew taller, with some over one storey high, though the inner floors had been destroyed. Blackened and charred bricks were everywhere, heaps of them littering the streets. They came to a canal branching to their left.

  ‘This way,’ said Bedig, and they turned to follow it. The waterway was full, its gate long broken, and stretched for a hundred yards until they reached a great open square, covered in oily patches and bones.

  Bedig halted.

  ‘That was the palace,’ he said, pointing to the ruins on the right hand side of the square. He swung his arm round to the left. ‘And that was Shella’s headquarters, where I lived.’

  ‘With Leah?’ said Agang.

  ‘Aye, and Kylon.’

  ‘Shit,’ said Bonnie. ‘Everyone, get down.’

  She crouched by the remains of a wall at the edge of the square, the others joining her.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Bridget.

  ‘Someone’s been here,’ she said, ‘recently. Look.’

  She pointed over in the direction of the palace. The ruins were surrounded by a large, walled garden, its orchards shrivelled and dead.

  Dyam frowned. ‘What am I supposed to be looking at?’

  ‘There,’ Bonnie said. ‘That’s a fresh midden, among the stumps of the trees.’

  Laodoc squinted, and peered into the gardens. At last he saw what Bonnie was pointing at. There was a knee-high pile of rubbish over in the furthest corner from the ruins of the palace.

  ‘How do ye know it’s fresh?’ asked Bridget, her voice low.

  Bonnie shook her head. ‘Ye can tell that none of ye are hunters. There’s fish bones on the top, I can see them from here.’

  ‘Let’s take a closer look,’ Bridget said. ‘Follow me and stay low.’

  She set off at a run, crouching as she raced across the square towards the wall enclosing the palace gardens. Agang helped Laodoc to his feet, and they followed Bridget, keeping to the dry sections of the brickwork underfoot. The wall was three feet high, and they huddled behind it, peering over.

  Laodoc gazed into the gardens. The rubbish heap was clear to him now, but more alarming were the tents and wagons positioned under the eaves of the palace wall to their left.

  ‘Pyre’s tits,’ muttered Bridget. ‘Who the fuck are they?’

  ‘Judging by the number of tents,’ said Bonnie, ‘I’d say there’s a dozen or so of them. No one seems to be home at the moment, though.’

  ‘If they’re Rakanese,’ Laodoc said, ‘they might be able to help us find Silverstream.’

  ‘Want me to go and check, boss?’ Bonnie said.

  ‘Aye,’ nodded Bridget.

  ‘Be careful,’ said Lola. ‘They could be in the palace right now, watching us.’

  Bonnie caught her eye and smiled. She pulled off her pack, laid it on the ground, and ran by the side of the wall towards the palace gates. She gazed around, then sprinted into the gardens, keeping low through the lines of ruined tree trunks. At the corner of the palace she disappeared out of sight, and the others stared at the tents, waiting for her to re-appear.

  There was a strangled cry.

  ‘Fuck,’ said Lola, rising.

  ‘Wait,’ said Bridget.

  ‘No way.’

  ‘If Bonnie just walked into a trap,’ Bridget said, ‘then I don’t want you following her in. We need to think.’

  ‘No,’ said Lola, ‘we need to fight.’

  Bridget frowned, scanning the gardens for movement. ‘Right, here’s what we’re going to do…’

  ‘Come out from behind the wall,’ shouted a voice in Rahain. ‘We have your friend.’

  ‘Who are you?’ Bridget called out.

  ‘Come out or we’ll kill her.’

  ‘Lola,’ Bridget said, ‘stay down. Take Dean with you and find another way in.’

  The Lach hunter nodded.

  Bridget and the others stood, their arms raised. She gave a quick nod to Lola and Dean, who were still crouching, and began to walk towards the palace gates.

  ‘We’re not here to fight,’ she shouted as they reached the edge of the gardens. ‘Show us our friend.’

  ‘Come over and you’ll see her,’ cried the voice.

  Bridget glanced at the others. Dyam frowned.

  ‘I’ll go,’ said Laodoc. ‘They won’t shoot an old man.’

  ‘No,’ said Agang.

  Laodoc smiled, and strode through the gates before anyone could stop him.

  ‘Greetings,’ he said, coming closer to the tents. He glanced around, but could see no one. ‘We are merely passing through this place, and desire nothing more than to be on our way.’

  He passed the corner of the ruined palace and halted, his tongue flickering. Bonnie was lying in a pool of blood, three crossbow bolts protruding from her chest. Her lifeless eyes stared up at the sky.

  As he was about to cry out he saw a Rahain woman staring at him from a scorched window frame, her crossbow aiming at his head. The woman smiled.

  ‘Keep your hands in the air,’ cried the voice, and Laodoc glanced up. More Rahain were on the upper storey, pointing their weapons down at him from the ruins. One man was out on a half-collapsed balcony. ‘Call for the others,’ he said.

  ‘How dare you,’ Laodoc said. ‘We are peaceful travellers.’

  ‘Of course you are,’ the man said, ‘and you just happened to sneak into our camp as we were about to pack up and leave? Do you think I’m stupid? We haven’t spent the last third working our arses off just to be robbed at the last minute.’

  Laodoc gazed up at the Rahain, and frowned. Their bodies were covered in sores and rashes, and several looked underweight.

  ‘You’ve been looting the palace?’ he said.

  ‘None of your fucking business,’ the man said. ‘Now call the others.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I’ll have you shot. ’

  ‘I don’t care.’

  ‘Tiana!’ the man yelled. ‘Grab that son of a whore. Put your crossbow to his fucking head.’

  The woman on the lower floor jumped through the window, and approached Laodoc. She too, he noticed, had blisters and rashes on her face and arms.

  ‘You crazy old bastard,’ she cried, raising her crossbow and pointing it in his face. She wheeled round, until she was facing Bridget and the others.

  ‘Get over here,’ Tiana cried, ‘or I’ll shoot him in the eye.’

  Laodoc watched in silence as Bridget, Bedig, Dyam and Agang approached. Tiana kept her crossbow an inch away from his nose.

  The group stopped when they saw Bonnie.

  ‘You fucking bastards,’ Bridget cried. ‘What the fuck did ye do that for?’

  ‘She was sneaking through our property,’ the man yelled from the balcony. ‘Now throw down your weapons.’

  ‘We can take them,’ muttered Bedig, his face twisted in anger. ‘Rush the entrance, get up there and kill them.’<
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  ‘But how many would die?’ whispered Bridget. ‘You and Agang are the only hand to hand fighters here.’

  ‘But we cannae just surrender.’

  ‘Lola and Dean,’ she said, unbuckling her sword belt, ‘they’ll find a way.’

  Agang followed her lead, and threw down his sword, then Dyam did the same.

  ‘You too,’ shouted the man, ‘you giant red-headed freak. Drop your sword.’

  Bedig cursed, and did so.

  The Rahain woman named Tiana backed away from Laodoc, and turned her weapon to Bridget.

  ‘Are you in charge?’ she said.

  ‘Aye.’

  The woman pulled the trigger, and shot Bridget in the stomach. She grunted, and staggered backwards. Bedig raised his fists, but Agang grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

  ‘I’ll heal her,’ he said. ‘Don’t get yourself shot too.’

  Dyam and Agang rushed to Bridget, who was writhing on the ground in agony.

  ‘All of you,’ shouted the man on the balcony. ‘Get inside.’

  The Rahain woman waved her crossbow, and shepherded them into the ruins of the palace, with Agang and Dyam carrying Bridget. Laodoc noticed the Brig woman’s cries fade, and glanced over. Agang was sweating in concentration as he helped carry her. He noticed Laodoc’s gaze, and nodded.

  ‘I can’t do too much just now,’ he whispered, ‘or they’ll get suspicious. But I’ve eased her pain.’

  They were led into a large, empty chamber, where they were met by the Rahain from the upper storey. Dyam and Agang put Bridget down by a wall and Bedig knelt by her, taking her hand.

  Their leader paced up and down, staring at them.

  ‘Three Kellach, an old Rahain and a Sanang,’ he said. ‘Are you their guide?’ he asked Laodoc.

  ‘Let us go.’

  The man smirked. ‘I’m guessing that you hired yourself some muscle,’ he said, ‘and came to see what you could find. Well, tough shit, old man, we were here first. Everything in those wagon’s is ours.’

  ‘We don’t want whatever you’ve robbed from this tomb,’ Laodoc said. ‘You make me sick.’

  The man nodded to Tiana, and the woman sprang forward and clubbed Laodoc with the butt of her crossbow. He fell to the floor. Agang crouched by his side, raising a protective arm. Laodoc gazed up from where he lay. Agang placed his hand on his arm, and within seconds he felt himself heal.