I dreamt.
I roused, coughing, waking into darkness so black I felt blind. I reached out with my hands, feeling for the bed hangings; had Nurse drawn them around me to shut out the light? I groped like a blind man.
‘Who’s there?’ A harsh voice out of the darkness.
Dazed with sleep, I sat still as a stone, trying to silence my heartbeat. There was a rasp of metal on metal, the sound of a sword being pulled from a scabbard. I lay back hastily, trying to be invisible. Instead of the softness of a mattress, the thick warmth of bed coverings, I rested on hard stone, cold under my thigh.
I was so tired. Please, no dreams tonight, let me sleep.
‘What is it?’ said another voice.
Will! Will’s voice! I turned towards it, trying to see him.
‘I thought I heard something,’ said the first voice, slowly.
‘It’s so dark,’ said Will. ‘Do you think it will rain?’
‘Don’t smell like it.’
‘Strange,’ Will yawned. ‘At night, all places look like home.’
The other man snorted. ‘It’s in the morning that things change. You going to stay talking all night? ’Cos if you are, you may as well stand watch.’
I straightened on the hard rock, trying to find somewhere comfortable to place my hips.
‘Ssst,’ hissed the man. ‘Hear that?’
‘It’s me,’ I called, my voice drowsy with sleep.
‘Who’s that?’ called Jed sharply, but Will didn’t need to ask.
‘Dana! Dana!’ There was a sharp fzzt of a tinderbox, and a light glinted. ‘Dana?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘Where are you?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, confused. ‘It’s all dark.’
The little spark moved towards me. ‘Here you are,’ Will said, joy in his voice, and put his arms around me. I pressed my head against his chest, hearing his heart thud and his breath moving in and out. Common, everyday sounds, but oh so precious.
‘Best put that light out,’ said Jed.
Will shut the lid on the tiny flame and we were back in darkness, twice as black as before, but now I held Will’s hand. It was warm and soft against the cold rock.
‘Come on,’ he said and pulled me up. We stumbled our way towards Jed’s impatient breathing.
There were other sounds too. Horses snuffled in their sleep and, over to the right, the call of a bird, a thin shriek suddenly cut off.
‘Why don’t you have a fire?’ I asked ‘Where are we?’
‘Does she always do this?’ Jed asked Will.
‘What?’
‘Pop out of nowhere.’
‘Not usually,’ he said, a smile in his voice.
‘Don’t have anything against you, missy,’ said Jed kindly. ‘It’s just disconcerting. Still, came in handy a few months back.’
‘A few months?’
‘Aye.’
So Rosa had been right; I was moving about in time. What time was now, then? And where were we?
‘Where are we?’
‘Out on the grasslands. South of the mountains.’
That didn’t tell me much.
‘Don’t have no fire,’ Jed added, ‘because we’re on the run.’
‘What?’
‘Bit of a long story. You tell her, Will, since you seem to be awake. I’ll try and kip a little, missy, hope you don’t mind.’ He yawned.
Will pulled my hand. ‘Come here,’ he said, and put his arm about me as I sat against him. I rested my head against his strong shoulder. Was it to keep me warm or as an embrace? Either way I didn’t mind, as long as he kept it there.
‘We’re waiting for the light,’ Will said. ‘We don’t think we’re being followed, but you never know, not with these guards.’
‘What guards?’
Will whispered of their adventures; they’d found the king, he said, but they’d not been able to see him. He lived in a golden palace, surrounded by soldiers, all fine warriors, expert swordsmen and archers.
‘There is a city,’ said Will. He told me of its crowded streets, its silver fountains, the fortune-tellers, the beggars and the slaves.
‘Is the king really eternal?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘No-one lives forever. He probably has died and they don’t want anyone to know. That’s why he never comes out.’
‘No,’ Will said. ‘He comes out at the moon’s eclipse. They say that from year to year, as far back as their ancestors remember, he has done this and he has never changed. There are carvings, illustrations, Dana; some beautifully worked on fine paper. The guards told me that the old paintings show him much as he is now: shrunken, white-haired and unchanging.’
With a pang I thought of Rosa; she was shrunken and aged. If only she, too, was unchanging.
‘So, what happened?’
‘We ran away,’ Will said, ‘because of this.’
He jabbed me with his elbow as he fumbled in his belt. ‘Sorry.’ He pressed something small and rough into my palm.
‘What is it?’ The size of a bean, it felt rough under my fingers.
‘It’s an entry token. To the Kingdom.’
I’d seen one before, but where? The sky was lightening with the dawn. Off to the east, the grey shapes of trees were dimly visible, growing below this outcrop of rock on which we sheltered.
‘It fell from my belt when I was sparring,’ Will said.
‘And that’s why they want you?’
He nodded, his face ghostlike in the grey light. ‘Their king has been seeking the Kingdom for decades. There’s a reward offered for one of these. I had to kill three guards to get away.’
Why should this king who has everything want us?
‘They’re readying for war, Dana. A navy has been prepared, the like of which has not been seen for many generations. And an army. They are recruiting soldiers.’
‘They told you all that?’
‘Of course. I was an elite guard. They trusted me. They told me that the ancient one has sent out spies. They have discovered the Kingdom, Dana. The Arm of the Eternal is heading west, towards us. Towards you.’ Will swallowed. ‘I was distracted. I was stupid. I’d sewn the token into the inside of my jerkin. The threads must have worn; it came loose, then fell out. Kasar caught it. The guards stared at it and at me, and I could tell that they knew I was a spy. I had to kill them. Otherwise their king might use me to betray you.’
‘What happened?’
‘Two of them reached for their knives. They were on me so fast, I didn’t have time to think. I reacted; they died. But the third, he was my friend. I didn’t want to hurt him.’
I reached for his hand and held it tightly. When you kill someone, you take away all he has, and all he will ever be.
‘What did you do?’
‘A choice between you and Kasar? No choice at all. I strangled him. He wasn’t expecting it; it was easy.’ His voice was sad. ‘But, Dana, he took a very long time to die. Jed and I hid the bodies and ran. We’ve been running for a week. We think we’re safe, but with that city, how can we be sure? They have soldiers everywhere.’
We sat quiet, then I realized what he had told me.
‘The king sent out spies?’
Will nodded. ‘An odd group: a general, a sorcerer and a merchant.’
‘What does this merchant look like?’ Please, let me be wrong.
‘The guards told me he was very old, and spoke their language like a child. His wife, though, spoke “as one with education”…’ Will’s voice trailed off, as if remembering. ‘Dana, I think I met them. They were at the Crossing.’
Fatima. Hadn’t she been in my dream too? I had been so busy thinking of the villagers and the raised sword that I had forgotten she, too, had a token to the Kingdom.
Then, I remembered: ships, and fishermen blown off course, and my father’s nervousness. Everything had been forgotten in the retrieval of Alden. How blind, how stupid we were.
‘Those ships.
’ I lifted my head from his shoulder. ‘Will. You must come home.’
He stared at me. I told him of Alden’s rescue, about the soothsayer that N’tombe had fought and killed and of the ships that the fishermen had seen.
‘Do you know how far away we are, Dana? Even the stars are different.’
The sun lifted above the horizon, a ball of golden fire, as I reached to Will’s face, pulling his head down towards me. ‘Come home, Will,’ I said, and kissed him fiercely. His lips were warm and soft.
I looked into his green-brown eyes and said the words I’d been carrying in my heart. ‘I love you. You must come home.’
34
Surrounded
Why did we always kiss just as we were being pulled apart? I lay in bed, trying to retain the taste of his lips on mine.
I need to talk with you. A murmur on the wind, a sigh of breath. If I hadn’t known the voice, I would have thought I had drifted into another dream. Rosa spoke again. Tell Leovane.
‘Tell him what?’ I asked aloud, and opened my eyes. My bed curtains stirred in the draught from the window. There was no answer. I sighed, got out of bed. My rooms were quiet, no sign of Nurse or any maids. Life was always strange after Festival.
I knocked at my father’s study door. ‘Come in,’ he said.
He was standing at his window, staring at the view. ‘When I was a boy, I dreamt I could gallop to the coast and there would be a boat waiting. Just for me.’ He turned to look at me. ‘Do you know, I’ve never seen the sea.’
‘You can see it now,’ I said. A thin blue line, darker against the light blue sky.
‘Not up close.’
‘Why not?’
‘I never had the time.’ He sighed. ‘And now I never will.’
‘What do you mean?’ But I knew. After all, I’d heard the news of the ships. He must have realized that I’d understood, for he didn’t bother to explain.
‘Rosa wants us.’
‘I know,’ he said glumly.
‘Come on, then.’
Daddy hesitated, looking at the stairs as though there was a dragon at the bottom.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’ve never visited her before.’
‘Never?’
He shook his head. ‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Fear, I suppose.’
At the base of the stairs stood a sentry, standing at attention.
‘Why were you afraid?’ I asked.
We walked together across the courtyard. Servants bobbed bows or curtsied or backed away. Daddy didn’t seem to notice, walking fast without acknowledging them. ‘I’d heard so much about the necklace. It frightened me.’
‘Did your parents visit her?’
‘Of course not.’
‘Will you visit when it’s me in the tower?’
He brushed strands of hair from my eyes. ‘Do you want me to?’
I nodded, and pretended that my eyes were watering from the hair caught in my eyelashes. We continued walking, and he added, ‘Mind you, you might not want me visiting.’
‘There’s that, of course.’
‘Who dressed you this morning?’
I glanced down at my brown skirt. ‘I did. Why?’
Daddy smiled at me and, just for a moment, I saw his usual sunny grin peeping through the worry in his eyes. ‘You’ve got your top on back to front.’
I checked with my hands. He was right. It laced up the side, so I hadn’t even noticed. No wonder it seemed tight under my neck.
At either side of the door Gregor and Reginald stood, hands resting on top of sword hilts.
‘Good morning,’ I said.
‘Morning, miss,’ Reginald grunted. Or was it Gregor? He bowed stiffly in his armour. ‘Welcome, Your Majesty.’
Daddy looked from one to the other, probably trying to work out whether they were twins or just men who looked alike. ‘I’ve seen you before,’ he said.
Reginald (or Gregor) nodded. ‘That’s right, Your Majesty.’
‘Surprised you remember,’ said the other.
‘It’s not the sort of thing one forgets,’ said Daddy.
We climbed slowly up the stairs, the torchlight casting shadows that dipped and swayed as we passed.
‘It’s strange,’ Daddy said, panting a little from the climb.
‘What?’
‘Those guards. I’m sure they were the same men.’
‘Same men?’
‘They were the guards for the last Guardian.’
I stopped, glad for an excuse for the break. ‘But that was …’
‘Yes,’ he said, also stopping. ‘Twenty years ago. But they look no different.’
Daddy didn’t seem to notice servants much; it was quite possible he hadn’t judged their age correctly. We continued up the stairs, our breathing loud in the stillness of the stairwell. The tower had never seemed this high before. I was sixteen now. Maybe my age was making me slow.
‘Welcome,’ said Rosa, as we reached the top.
As usual, all the shutters were open. The wind whipped with great force through the chamber, blowing drapes about, crackling loose papers. Heavy wooden paperweights, some with intricate patterns carved on their ancient surfaces, sat on top of parchment piles. The room felt like it was moving, flying through space, blown along by the breeze. I was suddenly dizzy.
‘Leovane,’ said Rosa.
‘Rosa,’ Daddy puffed.
‘Come in,’ she said, gesturing to a chair. ‘Please, have a seat.’
N’tombe put her book on the table and pulled out a chair. ‘Your Majesty,’ she said, and nodded her head.
‘It’s nice to see you, Leovane,’ Rosa said.
‘You’re looking well, Rosa.’
To me she seemed ill. Clad in her white shift, she rested on her elbows as though her spine was too weak to bear the weight of her head. The neck of her top gaped as she moved. Over her heart was a thick white pad. A bandage.
‘I called you here for a reason,’ said Rosa, her voice breathless, as though she too had been walking up stairs. ‘As you know, my birds bring me news. Usually, what they speak of would probably be considered boring, although I find it fascinating.’ Her smile was like the grin of a skull. ‘They talk of the wind, the patterns of storm clouds; where the best food can be found and so on. But yesterday they began speaking of large groups of men wearing armour. That always excites their interest.’ As though suddenly weary, she leant against her chair back. ‘They are scavengers, after all. To them, men in armour mean food.’
I made a face.
‘Unpleasant, I know. Anyway. It’s not unusual to have reports of armoured soldiers; summer is always the most popular time for the mainland lords to go to battle. So I was not initially concerned.’
‘But now you are?’
She nodded at Daddy. ‘I am.’
‘Why?’
She hesitated then looked at me. ‘I looked in my glass.’
‘What did you see?’
‘Many men in bright armour, the like of which I’ve not seen before. They are on horseback, with bows across their shoulders. Curved swords.’ She waved her hand impatiently. ‘Oh, I know, you saw something similar, Dana. But the threat was always distant. Never now, never here. I thought we had time. But it appears I was wrong.’
‘TeSin,’ I said.
Father stared at me. ‘What?’
‘The warrior who escaped. He’s a general. Will told me battalions of soldiers were sent to find us.’
‘Will told you?’
I nodded.
‘How,’ said Father, ‘did he do that? I thought you,’ he looked at N’tombe, ‘had sent him away.’
‘I spoke to him. In a dream.’
He stared at me. ‘I suppose you are old enough for dreamspeaking. I hoped you’d be spared that.’
This was probably not the time to tell him that I’d been seeing things in dreams for years.
Rosa sat forward. ‘What did Will tell you?’
I relayed all he’d said, and while I talked their faces grew sombre.
‘You’re sure?’ Rosa asked. ‘Ships and soldiers. In the army of this king who calls himself eternal?’
I nodded. N’tombe and Rosa glanced at each other.
‘There have been hints,’ said Rosa, as if replying to a question. ‘Nothing I could put a finger on. Darkness in the east; clouds, storms, hints of evil. But it’s been like that for many years.’
‘How far away are these troops?’ Daddy asked her.
‘A day’s ride. Two, if the weather is unkind.’
‘Will it be unkind?’
She shrugged. ‘I can summon a storm. It won’t delay them much.’
He stood. ‘Anything will be welcome. I must raise the guard.’
‘Your Majesty,’ said N’tombe, as he turned to the doorway, ‘have you forgotten the ships?’
‘The ships,’ he said, and grimaced.
‘The storm will help,’ said Rosa.
‘The army will make for the Crossing,’ said my father.
I heard his steps fading as he ran down the stairs. ‘Will,’ I said.
‘What of him?’
It seemed desperately important to see him again. ‘He’s coming home,’ I said to N’tombe. ‘He won’t make it in time, will he?’
She looked at Rosa. ‘We need that boy,’ she said.
‘I know. But …’
‘There is much pressing on us,’ said N’tombe, with a wry smile. She put her hand on Rosa’s pale fingers. ‘Don’t worry.’
‘That,’ said Rosa, smiling in her turn, ‘is not very helpful.’
‘Can we help him?’ I asked.
It was N’tombe who answered. ‘I can try.’
It seemed that the sun crawled across the sky as preparations for war began. It was ironic that on the day after the celebrations of a famous victory we were preparing for an ignominious defeat.
There was a side benefit to the recent Festival; the Fire Master had not completely used up his stack of fireworks.
‘They do have some weapon-like abilities,’ he admitted, when Owein asked him. ‘But,’ he added with a sniff, ‘I prefer to think of them as art.’
Owein, deputized by Father to organize the Castle’s defences, looked harassed. ‘Fire Master, I really don’t care if you call it art or science or weapon-mongering, as long as you can damage our enemies. Can you do that?’
A Necklace of Souls Page 28