Shadowheart lotr-2

by James Barclay

  'We have your Lord,' said The Unknown, coming to his feet and dragging Heryst with him. 'No one is killing anyone in here. Least of all you.'

  'You don't want her to die,' said the soldier, fear in his voice.

  He retreated, his back to a wall. The Unknown saw him swallow hard as he watched The Raven close in but focused his attention principally on the door behind him. Darrick was beyond it, that much was sure, but how many others? Mages. Prepared and ready to cast. And an honour guard of anywhere between two and six. Not great odds and they had little time before the door above them was breached, trapping them.

  Erienne was calm, waiting for what she expected to be the inevitable. In front of the soldier, Hirad and Thraun obstructed his view of Denser. The soldier was naive. And in a magic college, that was unforgivable.

  'Idiot,' hissed Heryst, his voice choked by The Unknown's powerful grip.

  'Shame,' muttered The Unknown.

  'When you're ready,' said Denser.

  Thraun and Hirad parted. Denser cast. He was a very accurate mage. His tightly wound spell snapped out, catching the soldier square in the face. Blood spattered from his broken nose and in his surprise, he dropped his weapon, both hands clutching at his face. Hirad moved in and put him on the floor.

  'Good work,' said Hirad. 'ForceCone, was it?'

  'You're learning,' said Denser. 'Are you all right, my love?'

  'Never better,' said Erienne but she was pale and a deep frown pressed on her eyes. 'Bit of a headache, though. Too much focused mana in here to do what I was trying.'

  'Raven, let's step it up!' ordered The Unknown. 'Denser, Spell-Shield; Hirad, come take your charge back. Thraun, you're with me. Erienne, stand down, we'll take what comes through here.'

  The room beyond was proofed against sound from without. It was to protect both those inside and those in the cells awaiting their fate. Not that a condemned of Darrick's calibre would cry out for mercy. But even he would wish to enjoy his last moments in peace. The Raven, though, had no intention of letting these moments be his last.

  The Unknown drew his sword.

  'Everyone inside signed up to Darrick's sentence. Kill if you have to.'

  'Unknown, the Code.' Hirad had his sword drawn but he was uneasy.

  The Code: to kill but never murder. It had guided The Raven for more than fifteen years. Raised them above mere mercenaries. Earned them a respect they had never abused. Made them legend.

  'They would murder an innocent man,' said The Unknown. 'A Raven man. They forfeit their right to life within the Code. But remember. Only if you have to. The Gods know we need everyone we can get for the fight against Xetesk.'

  'I don't understand,' said Heryst.

  'No,' said Hirad. 'You don't.' He turned and faced the door. 'Raven. Time to take our man back.'

  It wasn't a cell door. Thraun and The Unknown shouldered it simultaneously, the timbers cracking under the sudden, brutal force. Denser followed them as they tumbled in, scattering wood and heavy drapes, his SpellShield covering them. Behind them came Hirad and Heryst, the Lord Elder Mage bowed and humiliated.

  Thraun rolled to a crouch and sprang at two soldiers standing opposite the door. Neither had a weapon drawn. The Unknown moved smoothly to his feet. To his left, two mages from the law council sat behind a table. Darrick sat in a plain, hard-backed chair to the right, writing in a book. He was flanked by guards who dragged swords from scabbards and paced towards The Unknown. Across the room, Thraun clattered his fist into the face of one soldier, stood and threw the other man at die advancing guards, a growl escaping his lips.

  The Unknown put his sword's point to the neck of a still seated law council mage.

  'Enough,' he said into Thraun's echoes.

  The standing guards lowered their swords, taking in The Raven, Heryst and dieir senseless comrades.

  Darrick completed his thought, scanning the words he had just written before looking up, a rare smile edging over his features. He closed his book.

  ‘Iwas wondering when you'd get here,' he said, standing up and straightening his shirt.

  'Not even you can be that cool,' said Hirad.

  Darrick grinned. 'Well, I must admit, I feel you cut it a little fine.'

  'And we're not out yet,' said The Unknown. He took in the room, its dark candles on tall iron stands, die dark drapes hanging from every wall, the chill in the air. Every bit an execution chamber. His gaze came back to rest on the law mages. 'Let's get these men into cells. Weapons stay here.' He pushed the point of his blade a little harder. 'My Lord Simmac, if you'd be so kind.'

  'You will all die for this,' he sputtered.

  The Unknown sighed. ‘Idoubt that, Simmac. What we will do is rejoin the fight against Xetesk. We've already lost two days. Time you saw the bigger picture, little man.'

  Thraun picked up unconscious soldiers by their jerkin collars, one in either powerful fist and dragged them from the execution chamber. He moved at a loping run, the men's boots rattling across the stone flags. Denser encouraged the two remaining guards down the corridor with a meaningful wave of his sword, and The Unknown ushered die law mages along right behind him.

  The Raven worked fast, splitting die soldiers and mages between cells, Darrick helping Thraun clear the corridor of men, both still and stirring, With a set of keys taken from a guard, the cells were locked down one after anotiier but before locking die final cell door on Simmac, The Unknown paused.

  ‘Iknow you can break this door down in a heartbeat. That's why Heryst is coming witii us. Any noise from down here and he dies. You do understand me, don't you?'

  The Raven set off at a run› taking the stairs at speed and reaching ground level to find the pair of guards still down under Denser and Erienne's spells. From the main door, there came the sounds of furious activity and heavy impacts. But the door was still holding.

  'They're getting close,' said Denser.

  The Unknown saw the slight shake of Heryst's head as he turned to face them.

  'So, mighty Raven,' he said. 'I've been waiting for this. Escape through that angry mob of loyal Lysternans is going to be a challenge.'

  'Yes,' agreed Denser.

  ‘Ican't wait to find out how you plan to get away. I can hardly be a shield for all of you.' He smiled, enjoying himself a little.

  'Oh, Heryst,' said Denser. 'You've been out of the game too long.'

  ‘Ibeg your pardon?'

  Denser indicated the wall opposite the main barracks door. 'The stables are this way and we have no intention of using the door.'

  'I-'

  'Watch and learn,' said Darrick, voice cold. 'Like I did.'

  'Stand away,' said Denser.

  'No,' said Erienne. 'Let me do it.'

  'Can you?' he asked.

  She nodded. 'I'd better, I think. Quieter my way.'

  Heryst's eyes had narrowed in confused suspicion once more. The Unknown ignored him.

  'Don't take on too much.'

  But Erienne was already lost inside her mind, standing absolutely still, facing the wall, her arms by her sides. The Unknown watched her in profile, mesmerised by the movement of her lips, the narrowing of her eye and the rapid movement of its pupil. A wind blew through the guard room, ruffling papers and blowing through clothing. Heat, like the summer sun bursting through cloud, surrounded them. Smoke poured from the wall, which cracked and moved. A glowing red line, rough but shaped like a doorway, etched and burned in the stones. Beneath the red line, stone became dust, dropping to the floor with a sound like spilled grain, leaving an opening into the night.

  The Unknown gasped, feeling the power surging through the elements around him. He glanced at Heryst. The Lord Elder Mage's face was taut, his eyes wide. Erienne swayed and fell into Denser's arms.

  He looked down at his wife then back at the opening she had created.

  'Bloody hell,' he breathed.

  'Not seen that sort of thing for a while,. then?' asked Hirad.

  'Hirad,' said Denser. 'No
one has seen or done that sort of thing on Balaia for hundreds of years.'

  Hirad shivered and glanced at Thraun and Darrick who moved carefully over to the smoking opening which overlooked the stables and paddocks beyond. Outside, the way was clear and quiet but the sounds of the crowd filtered round the sides of the building.

  'We should go,' said Darrick. 'Quickly.'

  'Come on, Heryst,' said Hirad. 'We need you to order the gates opened.'

  Heryst made no move. 'We never close our gates,' he said vaguely.

  He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, his gaze tearing from Erienne to The Unknown.

  'She possesses it,' he said. 'Everyone will want her and what she carries.'

  'Not if they don't know,' said The Unknown.

  Heryst gestured behind him. The sounds of spells impacting the door to counter Denser's WardLock had ceased.

  ‘Ifelt it. So did Denser and every mage in this college. The Gods only know how far the ripples will spread through the spectrum. We all know what it means. It was no college-based casting because there was so much more involved than mere mana. The Nightchild told us that much.'

  'But her identity need not be known,' said The Unknown.

  'The connection will be made.' Heryst shrugged. 'She will be safer here. You all will.'

  'Except Darrick,' said Erienne weakly.

  She was still clinging on to Denser. Her face was white and drawn and she was shivering.

  'You know we can't stay here. We have made a promise to Ilkar.

  Julatsa's Heart must be raised and Xetesk has to be stopped. That isn't going to happen if we sit here under your questionable protection,' said The Unknown. 'The question really is, are you going to make it difficult for us to ride away from here now?'

  Another spell struck the outer door. Timbers heaved. The sound of angry voices grew louder.

  'Darrick is under sentence. I can't change that,' said Heryst. 'But Erienne must stay. Xetesk must not be allowed to take her.'

  'She's Raven,' said Hirad. 'And Xetesk, nor Dordover, nor you will ever own her. Let's go.'

  Heryst was going to be a hindrance.

  'He stays,' said The Unknown. 'Denser?'

  Denser nodded, released Erienne into The Unknown's arms and turned on the Lord Elder Mage of Lystern who stiffened. Hirad's sword point rested gently on his heart.

  'It doesn't hurt,' said Denser.

  'Pain I can handle. The stain on my reputation will take longer to clear.'

  'You opposed us. You pay the price,' said Hirad.

  'You'll be hunted out there,' said Heryst. 'At least I offer you life.'

  'Life?' said Hirad. 'Hear that, Darrick?'

  ‘Ihear.'

  Denser spoke his short incantation. Heryst slumped backwards, Hirad cushioning his head. The main door splintered.

  'Run,' he said.

  The Unknown swept Erienne up and followed Thraun and Darrick across the short space to the stables. The shapechanger hurdled the paddock fencing and ran in through broad, open doors. Darrick pulled open a side door and disappeared inside.

  The Unknown ran in after Darrick with Denser and Hirad right behind him. One man lay on the ground, groaning and clutching at nose and groin. 'Thought you said it was empty.'

  Hirad shrugged and pushed past him, leading the way through the tack room, past the saddle bars and on into the stables themselves. The pungent smells of dung and wet straw filled the air; the sounds of agitated horses mixed with the calls to arms from outside. Thraun's silhouette was framed against the night sky as he worked in the dark stables, unlatching gates and pulling horses out, his eyes piercing the shadows easily.

  'Hirad, take the spare. I'll carry Erienne, she can't ride. Let's go, let's go!' said The Unknown, turning his head as he ran.

  Lysternan soldiers Were moving quickly through the tack room. Ahead, Darrick had vaulted into his saddle the way only a cavalryman could and had snatched up a rake. Hirad was climbing aboard and Thraun had opened the last stable gate*.

  The Unknown switched Erienne from his arms to over his left shoulder, put a foot in the stirrup and heaved himself on to his mount, pain flaring in his hip. He moved Erienne to sit in die saddle in front of him. An arrow thudded into a timber by his head.

  'Ride, Raven. Ride!'

  He yanked hard at the reins, turning his horse to the entrance. He dug in his heels and the animal sprang forwards. Darrick rode back down the stables, whirling the rake in his right hand. He heard the whistle as it whipped through the air and the dull thwack of wood on leather.

  The Raven surged out into the paddock. Next to The Unknown, Denser was preparing. Just behind, Hirad hunched low, his left hand clutching the reins of Erienne's horse. Thraun came to The Unknown's right-hand side and he heard Darrick yelling his horse to greater effort.

  In front of them, the low paddock fence neared. Beyond it, the walls of the college loomed above. Buildings rose on either side. From between these buildings, soldiers and mages ran to try and cut off their escape.

  'Hang on, Erienne,' said The Unknown.

  'I've got nothing better to do,' she said.

  Denser had cast a SpellShield which flared deep blue under attack from Lysternan mages. The Unknown hadn't seen a cast and that meant a ForceCone or mind attack. While relieved they weren't going for the kill, he knew there was only one way to stop what could quickly become a barrage that Denser, on his own and riding, would find difficult to repel.

  'Let's get amongst them!' roared The Unknown.

  He kicked his heels into his mount's flanks again, gripped Erienne tight and jumped the fence, landing and turning left immediately, heading straight for a line of soldiers forming across the path to the gates. He looked quickly behind left and right. Denser and Hirad were in his wake. Thraun and Darrick had taken the flanking positions. The former Lysternan cavalry general veered far left, the rake now in his left hand and sweeping out, scattering soldiers unwilling to strike one of their own.

  Ahead the soldiers, who included no archers, began to move. The Raven were not going to stop and their horses were trained and experienced at facing men on foot. They would veer to avoid contact but they wouldn't pull up.

  'Clear the path!' yelled The Unknown. 'Stand aside!'

  And then they were in the midst of the crowd. Without orders, the defence was non-existent, with no soldier willing to put himself in die way of a charging horse. Weapons and spells were no longer an option.

  The Raven bore down on the gates which were open but blocked with carts too high to jump. Denser knew what to do.

  'Don't fail us now, Denser,' said The Unknown to himself.

  The mage straightened in his saddle, dropped the reins and pushed his arms forwards, palms facing up and outwards. The ForceCone roared away, catching one of the carts square on. Wheels shrieked on cobbles, wooden sides buckled inwards, canvas coverings tore. The cart tumbled away, soldiers diving for safety.

  'Come on!' yelled Denser triumphandy.

  The Unknown laughed and chased him out into the streets of Lystern.

  Chapter 6

  Auum edged a little further back into the shadows while the college guards, three of them, walked past. They didn't stray far from the walls of Xetesk's college of magic, walls that burned bright with the light of torches, lanterns and spells, but their eyes were forever on the murk at the edge of the light. They knew a threat was near but had never laid eyes on it and wouldn't until the time was right.

  It was Auum who had to decide that time, yet he had to admit to himself and his Tai that gaining useful access to the college was going to be very difficult. His and four other TaiGethen cells had been watching the college for five days. The elite elven hunter-warriors had remained undetected for the whole of that time, looking for any gap, any way in and, just as importantly, any way out.

  But Xetesk was on high alert. Ever since the theft of the Yniss statue fragment by one of their own, the Xeteskian college guard had been stung into action. Gate
s and doors had been reinforced, patrols had been doubled and trebled and the lights on the walls left little in shadow. Mages had joined the archers on the ramparts and the four main gatehouses vetted everyone who approached them, only opening for the minimum time needed to let people in.

  Auum watched the guards walk past. They were young men, scared and uncertain. His Tai could have killed them all before they knew they were under attack but it wasn't necessary and might only draw unwanted attention to them. He had no particular desire to kill, despite what the Xeteskians had stolen. Most of the men he had seen walking past were the same. Recruits who had little idea of the crimes their superiors had committed.

  Inside the college, it would be no different. All he, as leader of the TaiGethen, desired was to recover the sacred texts stolen from them. He wanted to take them back to Aryndeneth, the temple of Yniss deep in the rainforests of Calaius. He wanted the mages inside to be unable to use them, as they currently were, for research into ways to dominate the elves. Revenge on those who had perpetrated the sacrilege could come later.

  He turned to his Tai, the elves he trusted with his life every day and who trusted him without question. Both Duele and Evunn were painted in the deep greens and browns of their forest camouflage. It worked equally well here in the stinking alleys and quiet, cramped back streets of Xetesk. An alien landscape to Auum but one he could use. They had prayed to Yniss, the God of the Harmony and Tual, Lord of the Forest Denizens. More than once, Auum had wondered what the gods of the elves would drink, looking down on their people.

  The city was foul. It made him shudder. It closed in on him, an offence to his senses. The TaiGethen were far from home, as far as they could get from the embrace of the forest and the calls of its animals, the scents of its flora and fauna and the feel of the rain on their heads.

  'This place gets under my skin,' said Auum. 'We must reassemble outside the walls and pool our information.'

  'We will need all the Tais to get in and Al-Arynaar mages to shield us,' said Duele.

  'There is very litde in our favour,' said Evunn.