‘It will last quite a while,’ he said. ‘Better than sitting in the dark.’
Sket nodded, marvelling yet again at this man. He had never met Rhaki when he was in his Asatarian body. He would have looked something like his sister Lady Emla, Sket guessed: incredibly tall and thin, dark haired, perhaps the same green eyes. Sket had yearned to kill that man. But this man in front of him now, medium height, grey haired, dark grey eyes in a broad face, was a man Sket could like. That sudden compassion in leaving a small light glowing, that was the action of a kindly man.
They continued along to Cho Petak’s large room and watched Tika reseal the door.
‘How did Ren open that?’ asked Essa.
‘I didn’t secure it permanently,’ Tika explained. ‘At that point I thought Ren was still part of this company.’
‘And now?’
‘I could reopen it. Perhaps another could, but it would take them time and effort now.’
Geffal appeared at the door. He looked a bit green.
‘There’s a woman in a bed.’ He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ‘Next floor down. Not pretty.’
Tika sighed. ‘Finn Rah. It must be her. I’ll come.’
Darrick was leaning outside the door of the bedchamber, considerably greener than Geffal.
‘Wait here.’
Tika pushed open the door and entered, but found Sket and Essa stubbornly to each side of her and Rhaki trailing them. The shutters were closed across two tall windows and Essa went to throw them open. The bed was a dark crimson mess, the covers around the body drenched in blood and gore. Tika stared. Something had ripped into Finn Rah in a frenzied attack, dragging internal organs out of her torso and scattering them around her. Then her head had been removed and placed, almost daintily in the half empty cavity of Finn Rah’s belly.
‘Mother Dark be merciful,’ Essa whispered.
Tika bent closer. ‘Finger bones,’ she murmured,
‘What?’ Essa went to Tika’s side.
Tika pointed. ‘Finger bones,’ she repeated. ‘That’s what’s been used to keep her eyes open.’
Swallowing hard, Essa saw that Tika was correct. ‘Why?’
Tika straightened. Her eyes were shards of green ice when Essa met them.
‘For fun, I would imagine.’
‘Ren did this?’ Sket sounded as though he found it hard to believe the timid-seeming Ren could think of doing something this vicious, let alone actually do it.
The ice in Tika’s eyes thawed just a little as she answered Sket.
‘Whatever was using Ren did this, Sket. I doubt if there was much of Ren left by then.’
She headed out of the bed chamber.
Rhaki closed the door gently behind them. ‘What shall we do with her?’ he asked.
Tika, already several paces along the corridor, paused. ‘I’ll speak to Volk and Dromi.’
They found the company had set up a sort of camp in the same walled garden they had used before. Volk had a fire going, over which the tea kettle steamed. Tika saw Shivan, wrapped in blankets on a bed roll, sound asleep. Shea and Khosa sat beside him. By the time Darrick, Fedran and Dog rejoined them with the news that they hadn’t found any more bodies, alive or dead, the sun was sinking towards the west. It was a fairly subdued group that sat around Volk’s fire, waiting while Tika contemplated the flames.
Farn spiralled down to land, paced to Shivan and peered closely at the Dark Lord for a few moments, then paced on to Tika. When he had curved himself around her, he rested his chin on the top of her head.
‘Can we make this place fall down?’ He spoke to all their minds and watched smiles spread around the glum faces.
Tika reached up to stroke Farn’s cheek. ‘I don’t think so, dear one, although it’s a good idea.’ She saw three pairs of eyes gleaming at her across the fire.
‘No.’ she said firmly. ‘You haven’t enough of those things I’m sure, not to knock this building down and still keep enough for anything we might need them for.’
She watched the engineers’ faces fall with disappointment, and reconsidered. ‘Perhaps the – um – bed chamber could be -’
The three were gone before she finished. Tika raised her gaze to the top of the Menedula then mind spoke Kija. To her relief, the other Dragons had chosen to settle outside the walled gardens, a short distance into the parkland, rather than on the roof.
A slim young woman entered their garden and Tika recognised Hesla. Hesla bobbed her head in Tika’s direction.
‘We saw something leave here during last night. We’ve been following. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you would be here today.’
‘What did you follow Hesla?’ Tika asked, leaning forward.
‘It was a misshapen thing. Nothing that we’ve ever seen before. It carried the child, sometimes over its shoulder, sometimes under its arm. It moved fast.’
Hesla knelt by the fire, accepting a bowl of tea gratefully from Dromi.
‘It didn’t notice us at first.’ Hesla frowned. ‘We wouldn’t have expected to be noticed.’
Tika nodded her understanding.
‘But then it started to look up, and roar at whoever of us was closest. As if it knew they weren’t ordinary birds, but were Old Bloods. But people never recognise Old Bloods.’ Hesla sounded badly puzzled.
Tika looked between Volk and Hesla. ‘But where did this creature go?’
Before either could reply, there was a loud explosion somewhere high in the Menedula. People jumped and heads turned to look up at the building. A single window on the eastern side of the top floor emitted a cloud of smoke, or dust. After only a few moments, the three engineers ambled into the garden, looking immensely satisfied with themselves.
‘No bed chamber left,’ Dog reported succinctly.
‘Aah. Good.’ Tika ignored the three smug faces and turned back to Hesla.
‘Where did it go?’ she repeated.
‘Merriton.’
Tika looked to Volk for clarification. He was frowning.
‘South east, about five leagues.’
‘Is there anything particular there?’
Volk was shaking his head when Hesla spoke up.
‘It went into the old mine workings. Copper mines,’ she explained. ‘They closed up long ago, when my granny was a child I think. The thing just ripped away the rocks and bushes, then the rotten boards across the entrance, and went inside.’
‘Marvellous. Bloody marvellous. Bloody mines.’
Tika grinned at Onion’s irritated expression.
‘I am inclined to agree,’ she said. ‘But we’ll still have to check it out.’
‘I left people watching,’ Hesla told her.
Tika nodded. ‘That was good of you, and of them to stay. But mines have a nasty habit of going for leagues in all directions. That thing may even have popped up and out somewhere quite close to where it went in.’
‘No.’ Dromi looked apologetic. ‘Those mines produced excellent quality copper for many years, but they went deep down, not in horizontal seams. That was partly why it was closed in the end. Too many accidents.’
‘Ooh. It gets better and better,’ Dog smiled brightly, but unconvincingly.
The company laughed and the atmosphere among them lightened noticeably
‘Five leagues you said,’ asked Sket. ‘Do we need to get there fast Tika?’
Tika chewed her lip.
‘We can carry you easily enough,’ Farn commented.
‘I think we’ll travel together, on foot,’ Tika said finally. ‘Perhaps you could go ahead, with Hesla, and see if you sense anything?’
‘Of course we can,’ Farn agreed at once. ‘But you could come with me,’ he added craftily.
Tika laughed. ‘You go ahead first. I will fly with you later.’
Shivan woke the next morning, completely restored. He explained to Tika that he had never used cold fire for such a sustained period of time, or to the concentrated degree he had yesterday. Rhaki walked beside Shiva
n when they left the Menedula. Both men halted as the company cleared the southern outskirts of Syet, looking back at the great building. Shea stopped beside them, Khosa draped over her shoulders.
‘It looks sad now, don’t you think?’ she said. ‘Like people left it years ago and it’s just forgotten and useless.’
Rhaki studied the Menedula. Shea was right, he decided. The building had seemed dully threatening only days ago but he suspected it had looked very different when it was first constructed. He could imagine that black stone glittering and flashing, sparkling in sunshine. He wondered when it had lost that brilliant sheen and resolved to ask Dromi at the first opportunity. Shivan was staring back at the Menedula too.
‘It’s sad,’ Shea went on. ‘I think Farn’s suggestion was right.’
Shivan looked down at her. ‘What did he suggest?’
‘That it was knocked down.’
Shivan returned his gaze to the building. Slowly he nodded. ‘I think he’s right too. But it would be a tough job, dismantling a place like that.’
They began to follow the rest of the company as Volk caught up with them. One horse was loaded with various packs; the healer Konya rode the second. Rhaki glanced up at Volk with a smile, resting a hand on the neck of Volk’s mount.
‘This one is very different from the other horses Volk.’
Volk grunted. ‘Daisy and me been friends for years.’
Shivan coughed. Rhaki stumbled. ‘Daisy?’
Volk glared down at them both then pushed aside a handful of mane. A small white mark was visible on the animal’s neck and Rhaki stood on tiptoes to peer at it. Thin straight lines radiated in a circle with a tiny white dot in the dark centre. Rhaki had to admit that on close inspection the mark did indeed resemble a small daisy. But stepping back, he regarded the solid muscular animal and wondered if such a delicate name was so suitable.
‘She’s of a breed that lives only in the north east now. Very few have been allowed south – they’d be in great demand for heavy work.’ Volk gestured at the rundown fields they were now passing through. His small eyes stared down at Rhaki. ‘They are not just beasts of burden.’
Rhaki nodded but said no more, not aloud.
‘Is this beast Old Blood?’ he mind spoke Shivan.
‘I don’t think so. But it definitely isn’t just an ordinary horse.’
Daisy’s head swung to the side and a large dark eye studied the two men before she snorted and turned back to the path.
The weather stayed dry although the sky was overcast with light pewter clouds, until mid afternoon when the sun forced the clouds apart. The company had passed through several small villages, all empty, all forlorn. Now they crested a long ridge and looked down over the empty fields directly ahead.
‘We go along this ridge,’ Dromi informed them. ‘Another league or so and we reach Merriton.’
The four Dragons landed in a flurry of wings and settled along the ridge top.
‘There is nothing,’ Brin told them. ‘Very few beasts even. Hoppers and sheep.’ He sounded slightly depressed, not having Farn’s fondness for hoppers and none of the Dragons much liked eating sheep.
‘But there are rivers not far, and fish,’ Storm added helpfully.
‘I presume you’re trying to tell us that you found no sign of whatever the creature was that took Mena?’ Tika put in.
Brin’s eyes whirred a rather darker pink. ‘That’s what I said.’
The Dragons remained when the company moved on, enjoying the brief burst of sunshine. It was not long before the ridge they followed came to an abrupt end and they looked down onto a collection of buildings, enough to be worthy of the name town rather than village. Many of the houses were tumbled and Dromi pointed some out.
‘When the mine closed, the town virtually died. Most people worked for the mining companies or supplied those workers.’ He gave a half shrug. ‘Used to be several thousand living here. A fraction of that would have stayed.’
Volk came up leading Daisy and the spare horse. ‘Winters can be bad here and the soil isn’t too good. Last time I came through, maybe six years ago, I’d be surprised if there were more than a couple of hundred still living here.’
Geffal had been staring down at the town and now turned to Tika with a frown.
‘A lot of those buildings to the north look as if they’ve fallen recently.’
Tika followed his pointing finger then looked to Volk. ‘When the earth shook – would that have caused the houses to fall?’
Both Volk and Dromi nodded.
‘And where is the mine?’
Volk squinted across the town. ‘A little way north.’
Tika saw the remains of a track way splitting away from what looked like a better made road. The track disappeared up the opposite slope.
‘Did men dig out this break in the ridge?’ she asked.
‘No.’ Dromi nodded down at the town. ‘See that little river? Once, it was huge, forcing its way through the softer rocks and then making the gap wider and wider. Then the water suddenly lessened and that little trickle is all that’s left. Two thousand years ago it was called Merriton Gap, or so it is written.’
‘Written where?’
Dromi’s eyes seemed to change from blue to hazel. ‘In texts I have studied during the course of my training.’
Tika chose not to press the point; hopefully there might one day be time to do so but for now, a mine awaited them.
They made their way down the side of the ridge, keeping to the north of the derelict town. Tika found herself beside Volk as they picked their way between boulders and smashed fence rails.
‘It isn’t usual for the ground to shake here Volk?’
‘No Lady Tika. I told you, far south of here and further east, but never up here.’
He grabbed her arm as her ankle turned on loose pebbles. She stood for a moment, holding on to Volk’s arm and looking up into the sky.
‘Are Hesla and her friends still around?’ she asked, realising she hadn’t noticed any birds at any time since they’d left Blue Mirror.
Volk’s square white teeth shone through his beard. ‘Oh yes. There are fifteen or more close by.’
‘There are?’
Volk’s horse nudged her gently in the small of her back and Tika continued down the ridge. Volk took them along the track which Tika had seen from the other slope. It wound round and up, into the ridge again. They came to a large dark hole with broken boards, rocks and small bushes tossed around its opening.
Sket was at Tika’s side when she took a few cautious steps inside. They could hear water dripping somewhere ahead and there was a dank metallic taste in the air. Rhaki entered behind them and sent a light drifting inwards. The walls were rough hewn, a greenish blue beneath oozing water. The sides narrowed quickly and Rhaki summoned his light back. They went outside again in silence.
Tika was surprised by how warm the weak sun felt as she emerged. They’d only been in there a few heartbeats, yet the chill had penetrated fast. The Dragons appeared overhead and Kija and Farn landed while Brin and Storm flew on. Tika walked swiftly to Farn and climbed between his wings. He was aloft before anyone noticed. When they did, there was some consternation but Kija mind spoke them soothingly.
‘Tika needs to think and Farn needs to have her with him for a while. They will not go far and they will not be long.’
Khosa sat neatly, her tail curled round her front paws, watching the company make camp. After a while, she moved to the mine entrance, and disappeared within. Farn returned with Brin and Storm as the sky darkened towards nightfall. Konya and Volk had soup simmering over the fire and Brin dropped six rabbits beside Fedran. The guard picked them up and examined them closely before passing them to Darrick for skinning and cleaning.
‘They’re definitely dead,’ he remarked generally as he handed over the last. ‘But there’s not a mark on them. How do you kill them?’ He craned over his shoulder at the Dragons.
‘Scares them to dea
th I should think,’ Dog replied, and grinned at Brin. ‘Wish I could do that.’
Onion snorted. ‘You come round a corner on a foggy night Dog, you’d scare anyone to death, just by smiling at them.’
Prudently he sat some distance from Dog, on the other side of the fire.
‘I’m not happy about going in here,’ said Tika, when their supper was finished. ‘I am fairly sure the creature isn’t here now.’
‘But Hesla saw it go inside,’ Volk began.
Tika lifted a hand. ‘I know she did, and I’m sure she or her friends have kept watch and would have told us if they’d seen it come out again. I’m not sure if it has come out somewhere quite close, or perhaps – travelled.’
She met Shivan’s bright yellow eyes. He started to chew the side of his thumb and then hurriedly changed his mind.
‘Do you mean – used a gateway to travel?’ he asked.
Tika leaned back against Farn. ‘I did wonder that, yes.’
Shivan frowned. ‘But if it could use gateways, why didn’t it leave the Menedula by that method, instead of running all the way?’
‘I didn’t say I had any good reason for wondering this Shivan.’
‘No, no,’ Shivan interrupted. ‘I wasn’t arguing with you, just thinking aloud. Could it have met someone here, someone who could use gateways?’
A name hung unspoken between them for a moment.
‘Where could one of these gateways take them?’ enquired Dromi, his eyes pale grey in the firelight.
Tika gave a bitter laugh. ‘Anywhere Dromi. Anywhere on this world.’
Dromi pondered her answer. ‘Where would you think it most likely?’
Tika frowned but it was Khosa’s mind voice that answered him. She stalked from the gaping hole of the mine entrance and climbed onto Essa’s knees.
‘He has gone to the Splintered Kingdom,’ she said, and proceeded to begin a through washing of her feet.
‘How do you know that Khosa? And why ever have you been inside that mine on your own?’
Khosa paused, one back leg extended so that she could really get to work between her toes.
‘Don’t you remember? I can get in all sorts of small spaces. I can also smell things better than you, and that Splintered Kingdom has a smell. I only recently realised that, though.’
Perilous Shadows: Book 6 Circles of Light Page 18