by K J Taylor
But Skandar wasn’t there, and she knew that Arenadd would be with him. Laela swung around and went back toward the trapdoor, her heart pattering frantically.
“Laela!” The cry came from above, and something big rushed straight at her.
Laela screamed.
“Laela! Laela! Do not do that!”
“Oeka!” Laela clutched at her chest. “Don’t ever do that again!”
“Sorry.” Oeka dipped her head briefly. “I was looking for you. Where have you been?”
“I went inside,” said Laela. “Did yeh see where Arenadd went?”
“The Mighty Skandar has gone back to his nest, and his human with him,” said Oeka.
“Then that’s where we’re goin’.”
“Why?” Oeka complained. “I am tired, and I have eaten too much; I want to sleep.”
“Later,” said Laela. “This is important.”
“What is it?” said Oeka.
Laela was already going inside. “I’ve got somethin’ to tell Arenadd, an’ I need you with me.”
“Of course I will stay with you,” said Oeka.
Arenadd’s chambers were directly below the feast. Laela went into the audience chamber, noting the lack of any guards. At the far end of it, she knocked on Arenadd’s door.
No-one answered.
She knocked again, harder. “Arenadd! Arenadd, it’s me!”
The door opened, and there he was, still dressed and looking slightly surprised. “Laela. What’s wrong?”
She pushed past him and into the bedchamber. “Are yeh alone?”
“Aside from Skandar. He’s probably asleep right now. Laela, what’s going on? You look frantic.”
Laela pulled herself together. “Arenadd, it’s yer cousin. I heard her, with Penllyn an’ their griffins.”
“What?” Oeka pushed in. “What is this, Laela?”
“Saeddryn’s plottin’ against yeh, Arenadd,” said Laela. “Plannin’ t’kill yeh! She’s—”
“—not even slightly surprised,” said a voice.
Laela turned. “You!”
Saeddryn stood in the doorway, her arms folded. “See, this is what I told ye from the start, Sire. Never trust a half-breed. They’re half one way an’ half another. Which half are ye going to trust?”
“Yeh followed me here!” Laela accused.
“Of course. Ye didn’t think I was going t’trust ye that easily, did ye?”
“Well, it’s too late,” said Laela. “Arenadd knows now, an’ you’re dead.” She glanced at Arenadd, to see how he was taking it.
Arenadd watched as Saeddryn stood aside and Aenae came in after her. Quickly, he crossed the room and took something from his desk. He stuffed it into his robe, and then turned to face his cousin. “Well,” he said. “You finally decided to make your move, did you, Saeddryn?”
Saeddryn froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Arenadd sighed. “You really thought I didn’t know what you were up to, didn’t you? After all these years, you still underestimate me.”
“I don’t know what ye’re talking about,” said Saeddryn.
Arenadd stood very still in the firelight, seeming to grow taller every moment. “No-one can creep up on the Shadow That Walks. No-one can kill him. No-one can withstand him. Did you really think you could outmanouevre me, Saeddryn? Defeat me? You, a mortal?”
“I’ve seen ye defeated before, Sire,” said Saeddryn.
“And you’ve seen me outlast and destroy everyone who ever did,” said Arenadd. “Haven’t you?”
Saeddryn drew herself up. “Tara needs a new ruler, Arenadd,” she said. “It has done for years.”
Arenadd paused. “I agree.”
Penllyn appeared, coming to join Saeddryn. “Then ye’ll step down?” he said.
“Yes.”
“No!” Laela went to Arenadd, taking him by the arm. “Arenadd, no!”
Arenadd grinned horribly at Saeddryn. “If you want this Kingdom so badly, cousin, then have it. But listen to me and remember this forever: I will never leave this land again. One day you’ll die. Every day your death comes closer. But I will be here until the end of time.”
“I know,” said Saeddryn. “An’ that’s why we have to do this. I’m sorry.” She stood aside, and Aenae charged, straight at him.
Laela screamed.
But Arenadd only laughed. He put his arm around Laela, holding her tightly to his chest, and stepped sideways, into the shadows.
Aenae’s charge came up short. He ran into the fireplace and stumbled backward, shaking his head and snorting. Saeddryn ran forward to the spot where Arenadd had been and thrust an arm into the shadows, trying to find him.
There was no sign of him anywhere.
Saeddryn screamed. “Damn him! Penllyn, get out of here! Alert everyone. I want him found. We have to finish this, now.”
Aenae rubbed his head against his flank, cleaning off the ashes. “Do what you choose,” he hissed, rising again and stepping toward the archway into Skandar’s nest. “I will finish my own battle tonight.”
A small brown shape stepped in front of him.
Aenae paused. “Move, little griffin, or die.”
Oeka hissed softly. “You will not hurt my human, or her master.”
Aenae said nothing. He lifted one huge forepaw, and brought it down on Oeka’s head.
Oeka closed her eyes. An instant later, her entire body went rigid.
• • •
Laela was terrified. She didn’t know where she was or what was happening. Everything around her had plunged into icy blackness, as if she’d gone blind. All she could feel was Arenadd’s arms, holding her tightly to his chest. Laela struggled, but a terrible strength had filled the King’s body. His chest felt as hard and cold as stone, and when she pushed against his arms, they didn’t move even slightly. She was utterly helpless.
The darkness seemed to rush past them, full of cold wind and howling voices. Laela didn’t know where they were, but she knew they were travelling. Somewhere.
Then, as quickly as it had begun it was over. The darkness disappeared, fading into ordinary night. Arenadd let go of her, and she staggered away, gasping.
“What was that? What happened? Where is this?”
It took her a few moments to calm down enough to realise they were in a perfectly ordinary alleyway. It looked as if it was somewhere in the city.
Arenadd leaned against a wall and looked up at the sky. “Relax,” he said. “We’re safe.”
The moon still felt unnaturally bright. Laela could see Arenadd perfectly. “Where’s Oeka?”
“I don’t know. But don’t worry; she can look after herself.”
“What was that?” said Laela. “That . . . darkness.”
Arenadd shrugged. “I took you through the shadows,” he said. “It was the best way to escape. We’re in the city.”
“The shadows? Is that yer power?” Laela was shaken.
“Yes,” said Arenadd. “I’ve got it back now, it seems.” He breathed deeply. “Gods, that felt good. No—stop!” Laela had started to walk toward the end of the alley.
“Don’t go out there,” said Arenadd. “Just stay here for a bit. We can’t risk being seen.”
“Why are we here?” said Laela. “Saeddryn’s—why did we leave? Why ain’t we goin’ back? She’s a traitor; she ought t’be in a cell by now!”
“We’re waiting for Skandar,” said Arenadd, ignoring her. “He’ll find us soon enough.”
After that, he refused to say anything and only kept his eyes on the sky.
Eventually, Skandar did indeed find them. Laela saw him flying overhead, and Arenadd sent out a call to him.
Moments later, the giant griffin landed. He was dishevelled and looked furious. “Why you here?” he demanded.
Arenadd went close to him, speaking rapidly in griffish.
Eventually, Skandar calmed down. “Go, then,” he said.
Arenadd got onto his back and leant down, off
ering a hand. “Get on,” he said. “Hurry.”
Laela glanced back, toward where the Eyrie rose high against the night sky. But she knew she couldn’t go back there without him. She didn’t trust anyone else there, not any more.
The moment she was on Skandar’s back, the giant griffin took off with a lurch and a flick of his wings.
Laela had thought they were going back to the Eyrie. But they weren’t. Skandar turned himself and flew away from it—away from the city. The walls passed beneath them, and they were flying over open country. And still they kept going.
Skandar flew over a river. Ahead, a second river gleamed silver in the moonlight; between them was nothing but forest. A little further southward the two rivers met, and that was where he landed, touching down in a small clearing where the moonlight made the snow look like crushed diamonds.
Laela landed and nearly slipped over. She clamped her hands under her arms and hugged herself tight; it was freezing. “What in the gods’ names are we doin’ here?”
Arenadd stood beside Skandar. His eyes were on the sky. “Laela, listen . . .”
“I ain’t gonna listen to nothin’ except the truth!” Laela blazed. “What’s goin’ on? Why’ve we come here? We’ve got t’go back, now, an’ stop Saeddryn!”
Arenadd finally turned his gaze on her. “She has followers, Laela. Plenty of them. And supporters in the city.”
“So?”
“The High Priestess is extremely powerful,” said Arenadd. “I rule the body, but she rules the soul. People believe that the Night God speaks through her. If I moved against her now, it would mean civil war.”
Laela couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “She’s a traitor! If people knew that . . . An’ what’s wrong with that, anyway? Since when were you scared of fightin’? I thought that’s what yeh wanted.”
“Human right!” Skandar interrupted. “Aenae enemy. Know it already. Fight enemy! Kill!”
“Not against Northerners!” said Arenadd. “No. Skandar, no. I will not fight my own people. I will not fight my own cousin.”
“Then you fool!” said Skandar.
“Skandar’s right,” said Laela. “If yeh don’t fight Saeddryn, yeh’ll lose yer Kingdom. An’ if she gets t’be in charge, she’ll attack the South right away. I know it.”
Arenadd looked upward again. “The moon’s still bright,” he muttered. “She’s watching me. Watching me close now. She knows . . .”
“What’re yeh talkin’ about?” said Laela. “Who knows? Knows what?”
“I don’t have much time.” Arenadd came toward her. “Laela, I have to tell you something important.”
“What tell?” Skandar rasped. “Not time talk, time fight!” He leant to the side, offering his shoulder. “Come. Come now. Come fly. We fight, like before.”
“No.” Arenadd backed away from him. “Skandar, no. I won’t. My fighting days are done.”
Skandar stood up straight, furious now. “Then I fight!” he said, and with that he ran away and hurled himself into the sky.
“Hey!” Laela took a few steps toward the edge of the clearing, staring helplessly skyward as the dark griffin disappeared.
“He’ll be back,” Arenadd said wearily, from behind her.
Laela turned. “What was that all about? Now we’re stranded!”
“He’ll come back,” Arenadd repeated. “He always does. Laela, listen. Please listen.”
“Fine,” said Laela. “I’m listenin’. Why’re yeh so jumpy?”
“We’re being watched,” said Arenadd. “Look.”
Laela looked where he was pointing and saw the moon. It hung directly overhead now, and if it had looked huge before, it was massive now. It looked as if it could fall on them at any moment. “What the . . . ?”
“It’s my master,” said Arenadd. “She’s watching. She knows.”
“Knows what?” said Laela, not looking away from the moon.
“That I’ve betrayed her,” Arenadd said softly.
“Betrayed her?” said Laela. “How?”
“In everything,” said Arenadd. “I promised to invade the South, but I didn’t. I made a treaty with sun worshippers. I found you at last, but I didn’t kill you. And she knows.”
Laela began to feel frightened then, more than she ever had before. “But she can’t do anythin’ to us, can she?”
Arenadd laughed bitterly. “She can do anything she likes with me. I belong to her. You’ll see.” He stopped suddenly. His good fist clenched, and a cold shiver went through him.
Laela moved closer. “Arenadd? What’s wrong?”
He groped for her hand and held it. “I feel . . .”
The moonlight was wrong. It shone down on the snow, painfully bright at first, but then brighter and brighter, impossibly strong. The snow shone with it, like a million tiny mirrors, and before long, the entire clearing had turned pure white.
Laela looked upward, and horror filled her soul.
In the sky, the moon was fading. Its light dimmed as the clearing grew brighter, and it shrank, moving through all its phases in a heartbeat until it was gone altogether.
But it wasn’t gone. All of its light was in the clearing now.
Laela couldn’t see. She shut her eyes tightly, unable to look at the light, and held on to Arenadd’s hand.
The light faded, just a little. When Laela opened her eyes again, the clearing was full of mist, and it gathered itself up like the fog in the Temple. And like that fog, it made a shape.
The shape of a tall woman. A Northern woman. Her features were hard and cold, and sharp. She wore nothing but a light silver mantle that left most of her body bare, but she showed no sign of feeling the cold at all.
In one hand she held a sickle. In the other was the full moon, somehow no larger than the blank hole in her face, where her eye should have been.
The Night God held the moon, cupping her hand around it so that its light shone through her fingers. But her single pitch-black eye was on Arenadd.
The King of Tara let go of Laela’s hand, and fell to his knees. “Master,” he breathed.
The Night God stepped forward, leaving no tracks in the snow. Arenadd, she said, and her voice wasn’t so much loud as unbearable, so full of power it hurt to hear it.
Arenadd did not look up. “Master, I—”
The terrible eye turned toward Laela. She quailed and fell to her knees, unable to say anything.
Arenadd, why have you betrayed me?
He looked up now. “I did what was best for my people.”
What is best for my people is what I command, said the Night God. Are you a fool, Arenadd? Has drink rotted your mind so much?
Arenadd stood up slowly. “No, Master,” he said. “My mind is clear. What I did was for the best.”
The Night God’s light brightened again, searingly. You dare place yourself above me, little shadow?
“I did what my heart told me.” Arenadd sneered at the irony.
You knew what the consequences were, said the Night God. You knew that you faced your doom if you did not obey.
“Yes, I knew.”
Yet you disobeyed me all the same.
“Yes.”
The Night God sighed. Do you still wish to serve me?
“I serve my people,” said Arenadd.
Then serve them now, said the Night God. The sickle rose, pointing straight at Laela. Kill her.
Laela got up and tried to run, but the mist still filled the clearing, and she couldn’t escape from it. She was trapped. “No! Let me go!”
Arenadd turned to look at her. “Master . . .”
Do it, said the Night God. You know what she is. She must be killed.
Arenadd didn’t move. “But I—”
Kill her! the Night God repeated. Kill her, and your sins will be forgiven. Kill her, and you shall have your Kingdom back. Kill her, and all will be well.
Laela didn’t dare go closer, but she held out a hand to Arenadd. “Please,” she said. �
�Don’t kill me. Please, Arenadd.”
Do it, said the Night God. I command it.
Arenadd turned and looked her in the face. “I refuse.”
The Night God’s hand lashed out, hurling him across the clearing like a doll. He landed at Laela’s feet.
Laela knelt and helped him. “Arenadd! Please no—”
The Night God lifted the full moon and put it into the hole in her face, making a new and terrible eye. You know the price for your failure, she said, very calmly.
Arenadd raised his head. “Yes. I know it.”
Then obey me! The Night God pointed at Laela. She is the last of those I commanded you to kill. The last of the line of Baragher the Blessed. Her blue eyes are an insult and a blasphemy to me. She must die!
Arenadd struggled to get up. “Master, she’s only a child. She’s been a great help to me, and to my people. Without her—”
I warn you one last time, Arenadd, said the Night God. If she lives, she will take all you have. She will cost you everything, and you will be made nothing.
Arenadd got up and faced his master, one last time. “I don’t care what the cost is. I won’t kill her. Not now, not for anything.”
She is of the blood of Rannagon, who murdered you! She is—
“No!” Arenadd stood tall, facing her with the last of his strength. “I know who she is now. You knew, and you never told me. You lied to me.”
Kill her!
“She’s Arren Cardockson’s daughter,” said Arenadd. He put a hand on Laela’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “She’s his daughter,” he said again, more quietly. “She looks just like him. Poor Arren.”
Laela’s shock was too much to make her stay silent. “My father? You knew my—”
The Night God’s anger faded, and a terrible calm came over her. If you will not obey me, then I do not need you any more.
Arenadd pushed Laela aside and darted away from her. “Laela, get away—”
The Night God caught him, lifting him in one hand as if he weighed nothing, and plunged the point of her sickle into his chest. A deep hole opened over his heart, but no blood came out.
Instead, black mist poured out into the night. The Night God gathered it up in her hand and swallowed it, dropping Arenadd to the ground as if he were nothing but rubbish to be thrown away.