‘The Damned?’ she asked.
‘Aye, the Damned,’ replied Nikka, ‘but not those we faced upon the Rathou. Sordir has been consumed from within.
‘Even the Volni have forsaken their ambitions of capturing my former home, so far has it fallen. Only the Damned patrol its grand walkways now. The great watch-fires which burned day and night have been left to expire.
‘I am not sure why I should grieve for a city that I left a lifetime ago. There are none whom lived there whose passing I shall mourn. Yet it pains me that they shall never live to learn the folly.
‘At least I was correct in one thing,’ he continued after a moment. ‘There was nothing to be found in Sordir except death.’
‘I thought that he might have shown one of us the answer for the Damned;’ she said, ‘how to fix the break in the world.’
‘Well, he certainly never let me see an answer,’ said the dark dwarf.
‘But that was not all that I saw,’ he continued. ‘I also saw myself as a younger man. Killing for pay and trying to lose myself in the wealth that I gained. Did Wist tell you I was once an assassin, amongst other unsavoury employments I undertook?’
Aviti shook her head. Wist had said he was dangerous, but she had not thought he would be capable of this. Nikka shrugged and then continued, ‘Yes, I was mired in a well of despair, but you would not have known it to see me. Carousing, whoring, doing all the things young men with money do.’
She stared at Nikka in shock. Although she had lived a sheltered life on her parents’ farm, she had heard tales of the hidden brothels that operated in Mashesh. She had never understood why the Church had never closed them down, but after her encounter with Kerk, she was sure that the Church knew all about the underbelly of Mashesh. She was certain who had held the purse strings too. She was ashamed of her naivety, but she tried not to let it show. It unsettled her to hear someone talk of such things in so casual a way.
Nikka’s grin returned once more. ‘I digress from answering your question, Aviti,’ he offered a partial bow, by way of an apology, as much as he could manage from his position on top of the horse - and with Wist’s hands gripped around him. ‘I saw the folly of my former life and the consequences of the rot that I left behind to consume my city. If you wish to hear more details of my life, then Wist can fill you in when he recovers.’
Nikka patted Wist’s hands paternally. ‘What did he show you, boy?’ he asked. ‘Must have been something wicked to leave you in this state.’
‘Do you think he...?’ began Aviti, but her voice failed her before she completed the question. Despite his failures and weaknesses, there was an innocence in Wist for which Aviti felt responsible. She felt that she could even grow to like him, if he could grasp his chances.
Nikka smiled and clasped Wist’s hands once more, and the horses walked on through the trees.
--*--
Dregan lurched violently as the pressure within him increased. Tyla grabbed his arm as he fell and propelled him onwards. At least the Lyrat understood the urgency of the situation. Tyla never spoke to him, which was just as well; Dregan was incapable of speech now. He should have ridden, but the action of walking lessened the tension in his body. If he sat still, he felt that he might implode.
He owed Eliscius this. For everything he had done, for everything he had shown him, for everything that he had been given; he owed Eliscius this.
--*--
The jungle had thinned after the second hour of the trek, and the sun now lit the trail they walked. The combination of the rising sun and the thinning vegetation allowed the party to increase their pace. Now those who went on foot were forced to jog to keep pace with the horses. Periodically, Tyla shouted for them to move faster. Aviti had initially been startled to hear Tyla, but when she looked up, she saw Dregan being dragged along by the powerful Lyrat. What had Enceladus done to him?
What had she gotten herself involved in?
Leaving her parents’ farm had not felt like a conscious decision. Up until she had emerged from the Corb, she had simply drifted along with the flow of events. She had reacted to them, but she had not shaped them. As horrific as her immolation of Kerk had been, it had been the trigger that forced her to take a measure of control.
A stray branch struck her on the face, causing Nikka to chuckle. ‘I thought you were meant to be the accomplished horse rider,’ he teased.
Aviti shrugged to hide her embarrassment, so she thought of a question to deflect his teasing. ‘Why did those - light dwarfs come to our aid, on the Rathou?’
Nikka’s face lost its joviality.
‘I do not know for certain. I guess that their cities are as riddled with this curse as mine was. Perhaps they chanced to be there; perhaps they felt the tremors of the army on the move. Sounds carry a very long way under the ground.
‘Perhaps they sought to repay a little of the evil they had inflicted upon the world,’ said Nikka, grinning ruefully.
An uncomfortable silence descended upon them then. The horses’ footfalls were louder now; fewer leaves lay on the ground to soften their passing.
Seeking to relieve the tension, Aviti asked, ‘What do you think he intends to do once we reach the end of the trees?’ Aviti gestured towards Dregan, who had managed to regain his feet and jogged along unaided.
‘No idea,’ replied Nikka. ‘In many ways, I am glad that thing back at the lake sought only to torment me with visions. It looks like whatever happened to Dregan has a finite limit.’
Wist still clung insentient to Nikka’s midriff, his grip solid and unchanging; trapped in his private hell.
‘You should take him to the desert,’ said Nikka.
Aviti looked at him dumbfounded.
‘Not Wist;’ he said, ‘Dregan. Get him on the horse and get out of here. We will catch you soon enough.’
Aviti considered it for a minute, but she knew it was the right thing to do. With the ground becoming easier to ride, they could get to the desert on horseback faster. She kicked her mount forward and left Nikka behind. She pulled up beside Tyla and Dregan a moment later.
Dregan slumped to the ground and began to convulse violently.
‘Get him on the horse!’ she commanded Tyla. Without meeting her eyes, Tyla slipped an arm under the writhing man’s cloaked body and lifted him to lie in front of Aviti.
‘Ride,’ said Tyla, and Aviti stuck her heels into the horse's flank. She gripped the body that lay before her and the horse’s mane, just as she had done during her flight to the Rathou. Aviti winced as her face was lashed by the branches that whipped out at her.
After a few moments, she felt the tension leave Dregan, and his convulsions subsided. Was she out of time? There was nothing to gain by considering that they were already damned to failure, so she pushed the horse as hard as she dared – all the while praying that the path would not desert her.
They passed Faric as the ground dipped and the sun broke through the canopy, blinding her for an instant. The horse was undeterred by the change in environment. It thundered on, bearing its load as it had before.
Aviti blinked to regain her vision. There it was! There was the edge of the jungle. Through the trees, at the end of the next rise, she could see the ochre hue of the open desert. It was different from the piercing yellow light that she had been used to in her childhood. This light looked burned, like bread left too long in the oven. She had no time for such subtleties; she had to get Dregan to the sand.
She leaned down on the horse’s neck, pushing Dregan to her mount and asked the horse to give more. It seemed impossible that it could have anything left in reserve, so enthusiastically had it grasped the chance to run. Somehow the horse increased its gait, lengthened its stride and flew through the last few trees.
They burst out from the shade into the blinding light of the unmitigated sun. Aviti pulled the horse to a stop with little effort, as if the horse had been aware of its destination. She lifted Dregan to the desert floor and she laid him prostrate.
Eagerly, the sand claimed its prize.
What now?
She waited for several heartbeats, but nothing happened. She could hear the noise of the rest of the party. They would be here within moments. Had she been mistaken? Should she not have intervened?
Moaning with the effort, Dregan sat up and took in his surroundings. Then he knelt and placed his palms on the sand. He looked as if he meant to begin an act of worship. Aviti stood and watched, helpless, as Nikka rode up next to her.
He slipped from his horse and, together, Nikka and Aviti lifted Wist to stand beside them. Wist stood and stared through Dregan, his eyes focused at an undefined spot somewhere a thousand yards beyond him.
A massive concussion knocked them from their feet; all of them apart from Wist. Aviti looked up to see a ripple shoot out across the sand.
A second massive blow to the ground sent more waves cascading out into the desert. By the time the third concussion occurred, Aviti had figured out where it had emanated from.
Dregan had been the source. Each rolling shockwave had started in his hands. As the fourth tremor shot out across the desert, the two Lyrats ran up beside her to complete the party.
A final booming wave crashed from Dregan’s hands, and then he collapsed to the sand. Nikka rushed forward to lift him. Dregan’s breathing was fast and ragged, but he was conscious and the frantic dread was gone from his tanned face, but Aviti could see that he would survive.
This was the power that Enceladus had given him. Had Dregan simply been too weak to contain it? It seemed impossible that he could have controlled such power until they faced Tilden. Was their chance gone? Aviti stood up as Nikka moved over to Dregan.
‘I saw it happen,’ said Wist.
Aviti looked away from Dregan to find Wist looking straight at her. ‘I watched it and didn’t do a thing.’
Aviti took a step toward Wist. He had emerged from his stasis. ‘I could not stop him either,’ she said, gesturing to Dregan. ‘What does all this mean? What has he done?’
A single tear cut its way down Wist’s cheek. It fell from his chin to the barren desert, where it was consumed by the endless regolith.
‘I watched him die,’ said Wist. Aviti stared at him blankly. What was he talking about?
‘Who, Wist? Who did you watch die?’ she asked
Dread grabbed at her, as she thought of Wist’s visions the previous night.
‘Was is – Was it Eliscius?’
Wist blinked rapidly, as if he only just realised to whom he had been talking. Slowly, he shook his head.
‘My father,’ breathed Wist.
Aviti looked from Wist to Dregan. Should she go to Dregan and the others now and find out what to do? After a moment’s thought, she decided against moving. If she left him now, he might slip back into paralysis or worse.
‘Tell me -’ said Aviti, ‘tell me what happened.’
Wist continued to shake his head as if he sought to drive the memories from his head; purge his mind clean once more.
‘They kicked him to the ground; beat him until there wasn’t enough left of his face to recognise him.
‘I hid where I was told to. He warned me not to come out until he told me it was safe.
‘So, I sat and hid; and watched.
‘We were out walking, returning from an errand. It wasn’t late – it had barely gotten dark.’
Wist’s tale tumbled out in fragments, each as broken as he was.
‘I cowered in the shadows. Behind a bin. In the filth and waste, I watched as they beat the life from my dad. We never had any money. I guess they did it out of frustration; or because there was nothing better to do.’
Aviti had no tears for Wist. She had shed her last over her own father. She had sworn that she would cast no more.
‘Even after they had finished, I couldn’t move. They walked off laughing. I was so terrified that I sat and looked at my dad’s body - praying that he would get up. Hoping and praying that he could come over to me. I was so afraid, I never even called out to him.
‘I prayed for him to rescue me,’ said Wist numbly. ‘Can you believe that? I watched him be beaten to death and I wanted him to rescue me.’
Aviti had no words of comfort for him either. Part of her was ashamed of her revulsion.
‘Why did you not help him?’ asked Aviti.
‘I was a child, for fuck’s sake,’ spat Wist. ‘A fucking child. I didn’t know what to do, so I did what I was told.
‘“Hide”, he said, “Stay safe and I’ll get you” and that’s what I did.’
Wist glared angrily at Aviti now. ‘But he never did come.’
Aviti looked down to the desert, ashamed of her judgement.
‘I was there all night; silently looking at my dad’s corpse.
‘Even when they discovered his body, I stayed hidden. I don’t remember it, but someone must have found me there. The next thing I remember was being back home and my mother pretending everything was OK. She never spoke about it – never mentioned him. It was as if he had never existed.’
Aviti watched him as he fell silent, his anger spent. As painful as his story had been to hear, she could not give him what he needed. It was not her place to absolve him from his guilt. She had to turn and walk away. She took the few paces over to Tyla. Nikka left Dregan and walked over to take her place at Wist’s side, sitting him back down on the sand.
‘What has happened?’ asked Aviti absentmindedly, her thoughts tumbling around her. A shudder passed through her as she thought of Wist’s words.
‘Dregan has called a sand-whale,’ said Tyla.
“What?’ asked Aviti. ‘He has called what?’
‘A sand-whale,’ he repeated. ‘I did not know such a feat was possible.’
‘What is a sand-whale?’ she asked frantically.
‘The part of the Northern Desert that lies from here to Bohba is unlike the Great Desert. The Great Desert lies atop a massive broken layer of bedrock. The Northern Desert is said to have no such foundation. Some think that its depths are fathomless. Within its dark underbelly, massive creatures - unimaginable to our people - are said to move. It is one of these that Dregan has called.’
Aviti took a second to digest this information. Her next question was obvious.
‘What does he hope to do with it?’
Tyla’s expression never altered for an instant as he replied, ‘We shall ride it to Bohba.’
21 - To The Wall
The scream trapped inside Wist could not find a path to escape its prison. It circulated faster and faster within him, gathering momentum as it went; building, growing, intensifying. If he could not find a way to expel this primal tension, it would consume him from within. His only relief from its mounting pressure was the sharp stab of guilt: unremitting, immitigable, penetrating guilt.
Wist looked to his companions. They all stood, gathered around the dark mage. The concussions that Dregan had sent out into the desert had barely registered on his consciousness. He had turned away as the first call to the sand-whale was issued to see a flock of birds take flight from the jungle. He watched them wheel in the sky, their shouts of alarm lost in the waves of power that had followed. Wist had tried to lose himself in the complex patterns that the flock wove in the sky, letting them carry his thoughts far away. But soon the birds had disappeared from view, and he was left with his burdens once more.
His father’s face appeared unbidden in his mind, not as he should have remembered it - in life, with his warm smile and tender eyes - but as it had been in death, disfigured – brutalised.
How had he ever forgotten it? It had dominated his entire life.
He had promised himself he would never forget his dad’s face. But it had been eroded from his mind; stolen by time. His mother hadn’t permitted any photographs to be kept in the house. Any mention of him had been greeted with a blank refusal - or worse.
Soon, all Wist could remember was the dark alley, the smell of his own soiled clothes and the fear.
The guilt embraced him, like the waters from a baptismal font; only, he had never emerged. He had never risen to the surface to be reborn. He had let himself sink.
A stiff breeze blew his dishevelled hair across his face, forcing him to turn towards his companions once more. With the sun overhead, the reflected light from the desert sands should have been unbearable to his eyes, but he looked anyway.
The desert here was a flat and featureless place; the undulating dunes of the Great Desert absent. No caves or protruding bedrock broke the faultless vista. There was only an ocean of sand: sand that was eternally burned by the unforgiving sun. It cast its hypnotic haze over the party like a pall.
Wist watched enrapt as waves of distortion rose from the horizon. The line between sky and ground became indistinct, lost in a merging of realities. The inversion of the azure skyline and burned land induced instability in him. The longer he looked to the horizon, the more unsettled he became.
For an instant, the lines of the horizon were scattered. Then they snapped back into focus, but the perfect curvature of the earth had been altered. The deformation grew in the horizon, a small lump at the edge of his vision, as if the earth had grown weary of its bonds and yearned to explore the Never. The swelling gradually veered to the east, then it corrected itself, returning to its original position.
Had he been wrong? Had it advanced from its place on the horizon? Wist blinked once to clear his thoughts and vision alike.
It had moved. The distortion in the sand pushed forward, growing all the time – gaining volume and momentum as it approached. Wist’s isolation was pierced by the enormity of what approached.
By now, they all had seen it. Someone shouted – waving their arms in alarm, but they were quietened by Dregan. Dregan alone looked undisturbed by the approach of this hidden behemoth. Wist thought he looked – not quite relieved, but redeemed, saved from something worse than the physical consequences of failure.
The approaching giant gathered pace, forcing the bow wave that had formed in the sand onwards before it. In moments, it had closed half of the distance between the horizon and the companions.
The Redemption of Wist Boxed Set: Books 1 - 3: The complete collection Page 26