When he had finished his breakfast, he dumped his bowl into the sink and went back to packing; neatly rolling up his clothes, and stashing away a small bag of coins he had saved up during his time in Severton. He placed a knife in the bag, and strapped another to his belt, then placed the full pack by the front door. He was ready.
For no reason he could think of, he sat back down at the table and held his head in his hands. Was he doing the right thing? Aye, he had to leave. He must. There was no alternative; he had to move on with his life.
There was a knock at the door.
‘Aye?’ Lennox called out, lifting his head.
The door opened and Cain walked in. He closed the door and glanced at Lennox, his eyes darting from side to side.
‘I thought I’d make it easy for you,’ he said, ‘and save you the trouble of having to look for me.’
‘What?’
‘I’m not sorry for what I did,’ Cain said. ‘You had it coming, but… I don’t know, maybe I went too far.’
‘What the fuck are you talking about?’
Cain opened his mouth and spoke, but to Lennox his words sounded like meaningless nonsense, and he frowned.
‘Well?’ said Cain.
‘Well, what?’
Cain glared at him. ‘Are you fucking with me? I could understand if you wanted to kill me, but this? Fuck you, Lennox.’
Lennox blinked. ‘Hold on a minute, I’m not trying to fuck with you; I genuinely have no clue what you’re talking about. Look, it doesn’t matter; I’ve decided to leave Severton.’
Cain’s eyes went to the packed bag by the door. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Not sure yet, but I’m leaving today. I was just about to go when you knocked.’
‘What about Leisha and Carrie?’
Lennox shrugged. ‘What about them? I’ll miss them, sure, but they’re happy here. It’s only me who’s failed to settle.’
Cain spoke again, but his words made no sense, and Lennox forgot them immediately. He stood, and pulled another tunic over his thick lambswool sweater. The journey was going to be a cold one.
‘Answer me, dammit!’ Cain cried.
Lennox glanced at him. ‘I would if you were making any sense.’
‘So this is how you’re going to play it? Just act as if it never happened?’
‘I want to forget all about Severton, and make a new life somewhere else.’
Cain started to pace up and down the room, his eyes narrow.
Lennox watched him for a moment. ‘Why don’t you come with me?’
‘What?’ Cain said, almost spitting. ‘You’d want me by your side, after everything?’
‘Of course; why not?’
Cain raised a finger and pointed at him. ‘You are fucked up. This place has messed with your head. If this is all a trick, then it’s bullshit. If you want to fight me, then let’s do it right now, not wait until I think we might actually be friends again.’
‘I don’t want to fight you,’ Lennox said. ‘It’s sounds to me like you’re the one who’s crazy. I ask if you want to leave Severton, and you react by threatening me? Stay if you want, Cain; either way, I’m going.’
He picked up a winter cloak and pulled it over his shoulders, then made for the front door.
‘Wait,’ said Cain.
Lennox turned to him.
‘Are we.. are we still friends?’ Cain said.
‘Aye, Cain. Always.’
‘And all bullshit aside, whatever’s happened between us, you don’t have a problem with it?’
Lennox shook his head.
‘So say I came along,’ Cain went on, ‘what would we do?’
‘I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe it’s time to go back to soldiering.’
Cain glanced up at him. ‘You mean that?’
‘Not as a fire mage, though, just as an ordinary soldier. That day in Rainsby, when Libby died, will stay with me forever, and I never want to repeat it. What I want… I’m not sure, but I think I need the discipline and purpose being a soldier once gave me. Here in Severton I feel, I don’t know, lost, I guess; that’s why I need to leave.’
‘If I suggest something, will you listen?’
‘Alright,’ Lennox said. ‘Want some tea?’
‘That barley shit? No, thanks. Got any ale?’
‘Just water or tea.’
‘It’s fine,’ Cain said, as they sat at the table. Cain drummed his fingers on its surface, his face pensive as Lennox waited for him to speak. ‘Alright,’ he said at last. ‘Do you remember those weird Holdings folk on the caravan? The ones that never left their carriage, except when they killed those ex-bandits?’
‘Aye. That was some fight. You missed it.’
‘I was pissed.’
‘Aye.’
‘Anyway,’ Cain went on, ‘there’s been some talk in town about them. Apparently they’ve set up a base in the Domm Pass, where they’re recruiting folk.’
‘For what?’
‘Mercenary service.’
Lennox frowned.
‘I knew you’d react like that,’ Cain said. ‘Hear me out. They’re offering good pay; great pay in fact, more than we’d earn here in ten years. And they’re going to cover the cost of all the equipment – the armour, weapons, supplies; the lot. This is no ragged band of bandits they’re hiring. There’s a strict entrance examination, and many who have applied have been refused. They want the best, or so I’m told, and they have the money to pay for it. The guy I spoke to said he saw chests of gold; and armourers and smiths were queuing for contracts at their front door.’
‘How many recruits are they after?’
‘Not sure exactly. A few hundred?’
‘What? You mean they’re raising a fucking army? Does the Domm Council know?’
‘It’s all legal,’ Cain said. ‘Word is that the bribe they paid the council members will keep them in silk pyjamas for life. The Holdings pair have promised that their force will not be used anywhere within the boundaries of Kellach Brigdomin; or against the empire.’
‘And how are the council going to enforce that?’
‘Not my problem.’
‘So who are going to fight?’
‘They’ve not said.’
Lennox glanced out of the window at the brightening day, his thoughts on where in the world the mercenary band was going to be deployed.
‘Sounds like a raid into Rahain,’ he said, ‘if, that is, they’re not lying about their intentions towards the empire.’
‘That was my thinking, too,’ said Cain, ‘or maybe they need something protected, something valuable. I thought of garrison duty as well, but let’s face it, we’re just guessing.’
‘No one would traipse all the way down here to hire soldiers for a garrison. They could have done that in the Plateau for a fraction of the cost.’
Cain smiled. ‘You seem interested, at least.’
‘I don’t know. Maybe we could head up to the Plateau and volunteer for the imperial army.’
‘You what?’ Cain cried, glaring at him. ‘You’d fight alongside the bastards that killed so many of the folk we grew up with?’
‘I don’t want the Rahain to win.’
‘Aye, but the imperials? No way. You can count me out of that. I’d rather rejoin the Army of Pyre.’
‘You know what I think of that idea.’
‘Then the mercenaries could be our compromise.’
‘Depends on what their aims are.’
Cain snarled. ‘Then why don’t we fucking go and check them out? And if they pass your high, moral standards, you might consider it?’
‘I might.’
‘Pyre’s arse, you’re hard work. Alright. All I need to do is get my stuff and we can be off. There’s nothing tying me here. We should say goodbye to Carrie and Leisha all the same.’
‘No,’ said Lennox, feeling a surge of anxiety at the thought, ‘leave them be. As I said before, they’re happy here. I don’t want to ruin that for them
.’
Cain shook his head, his eyes narrowed at Lennox. ‘Can I say one last thing about what happened?’
‘Say what you like.’
Lennox’s attention drifted as Cain spouted more unintelligible nonsense, the garbled words slipping by unheeded like leaves in an autumn breeze.
‘Whatever, Cain,’ he muttered.
‘Fine,’ Cain said, bowing his head. ‘I won’t ever talk about it again. A new start, then?’
‘Aye. That sounds good.’
They got to their feet and Lennox opened the front door. The weather had cleared up a little, but more clouds were approaching from the west, promising further rain to come. The wind gusted across the flank of the hill, biting through the layers of his clothes.
‘Going to be a wet one,’ he said, picking up his bag as Cain joined him at the threshold. They walked out of the cottage and Lennox closed the door; then stepped back a couple of paces to gaze at the building. He had tried his best. Had things worked out, it might even have made a pleasant home. It would have suited a couple better through, he thought, or a young family; it wasn’t a place for a man to live alone.
An odd feeling of sadness gathered in the pit of his stomach, though he didn’t know why. It was time to look forward, not mourn the things of the past. And yet. He allowed his eyes to take in every detail of the exterior of the cottage, and he remembered the long, dark evenings he had spent outside, repairing the roof and guttering, or fixing the stonework of the old walls. It had meant something, he felt, though exactly what he wasn’t sure. His heart ached for a moment as if he was missing something important, and his legs felt frozen to the damp earth. The feeling passed. It was time to go.
He slung the pack over his shoulder and nodded to Cain.
Two hours later, the two former soldiers of Pyre were ascending a long gentle slope, heading east along the road from Severton to the Domm Pass. With each step, Lennox’s heart felt lighter, as if a great burden he hadn’t known he was carrying was being lifted from his shoulders. He tried to think what it had been that had made him want to leave so much, but his time in the town seemed almost dream-like.
Cain paused. ‘Time for a quick break? I’ve still not had any breakfast.’
‘Aye.’
They pulled off their packs by the side of the road, and sat on a large boulder that served as a marker stone for when it snowed. They had bought provisions from the market prior to leaving the town, and their bags were stuffed with dried food that would last them a few days; at least until they reached other settlements in the Domm lowlands. Cain ripped a chunk of bread from a loaf, split it in half, and handed a piece to Lennox.
‘Thanks.’
‘No regrets, then, eh?’ Cain said.
‘None,’ said Lennox, though he wasn’t sure if it was true.
‘Good.’
Lennox gazed at the view of the flat lands at the bottom of the slope. The river could be seen as a thin silvery line, wending its way through the green countryside, before disappearing into the settlement in the distance. Even from several miles away, the huge bulk of the distillery was visible.
Cain pulled a bottle of whisky from his bag. ‘I grabbed this when I was getting my stuff from the apartment. It’ll keep us warm at night.’
Lennox nodded.
‘I hope you’re not going to be this quiet all the way to the Domm Pass,’ Cain went on. ‘We’ve ten days of walking ahead of us, unless we can cadge a lift, and I can’t handle doing it in silence.’
‘Sorry,’ said Lennox, ‘but I don’t know what to say. I’m set on leaving, and making a new life, but part of me feels as though I’m missing something.’
Cain opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated, and closed it again.
‘Thanks for sticking by me, Cain,’ Lennox said. ‘When I woke up this morning I was determined to do this on my own, but I’m glad you decided to come along. You’re a good friend.’
‘So are you, Lennox.’
‘Do you still think about Libby?’
Cain stared at him. ‘Aye. Every day.’
‘I’m sorry about how that happened. When I started seeing her, I knew how much it would hurt you, and yet I did it anyway.’
Cain looked away, his eyes dark. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Fine. Just know that I’m grateful that you’ve never held it against me. Others would have, but not you.’
‘Forget it, Lennox. It’s all in the past now.’
‘Aye. The past.’
‘And we’ll leave it there, eh?’ Cain said. He finished the bread, stood and picked up his pack. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
Lennox got to his feet and pulled the pack over his shoulder. He glanced back at Severton one last time, then they turned their backs to the town, and walked away.
Chapter 25
Fire and Death
Rainsby, Imperial Plateau – Year’s End 525
On the last day of the year, the Inner Sea was heavy with storms. Even while the sun was shining down upon Rainsby, a hundred miles to the north the waters churned in a raging foam, with swells reaching fifty feet and more. Keir laughed as his vision tore through the thick, dark clouds; his powers tingling from the force of the storm. He joined his will to a sheet of lightning that ripped across the sky to the west, revelling in its raw power. He glanced down, but no boats were braving the sea that day. It wasn’t until the second third of Spring that the sea was usually calm enough for the large galleys and bulky troop-carriers of the empire to make the crossing to Rainsby, but there was a hope burning in the town that this year, the Empress might risk an early voyage.
Aware that a group of people were sitting in a chamber in Rainsby waiting for him to complete his sighting, he pulled himself away from the storm and shot his vision northwards, skimming over the roiling waters until the coastline drew into view. It was the first time he had visioned to Plateau City for a long time; his attention being concentrated on the Great Tunnel in the Grey Mountains to the south, and he smiled as he recognised the tall towers and high walls of the imperial capital. The sun was shining there, too, and the streets were full of life, from the Rahain quarter in the south-east, to the Old Town and the New Town to the north. Keir focussed on the enormous harbour that lay at the mouth of the river that divided the city in two.
Beyond the commercial quays and long piers where fishing vessels berthed, the imperial dockyards were full of masts, rising like a forest in winter. At least three dozen enormous ships were anchored in the broad basin, with hundreds of workers bustling over them. Smaller vessels were ferrying supplies and building materials from the docks to the ships; and wooden cranes were loading and unloading from the sides of the long wharf.
Keir got in closer and saw that, while many of the ships appeared ready to sail, others were still in various stages of completion. He frowned. The fleet wouldn’t be setting out any time soon. Raising his vision, he caught sight of the grounds of the Imperial Cavalry, across the river by the Rahain quarter. After Duncan Gardens, it was the largest open space in the city, and was filled with long lines of tents; the marshalling yard for the reinforcements that would, in time, be boarding the fleet sat in the imperial docks.
Having seen enough, Keir whipped his vision back to his body. He coughed, his body jerking as hands went out to steady him.
He opened his eyes, feeling Thorn’s powers revive him. He smiled at her. ‘Thanks.’
‘Any news, sir?’ said Commander Nykka. ‘Did you reach the imperial capital?’
‘Give him a moment,’ said Colonel Falstead. ‘Using powers at that level must be draining.’
‘I’m fine,’ Keir said, ‘though thanks for your concern.’ He took an offered glass of ale and drank some. ‘I got to Plateau City. The fleet’s there, but it’s not ready. About two-thirds of the ships looked finished, but the others are still being worked on. I saw the troops, too. To be honest, I’m not sure how good I am at estimating numbers, but it looked like there were thousan
ds.’
‘So,’ said Belinda, ‘they’re probably a third away from arriving.’
‘At least,’ said Nykka. ‘Last year, the first reinforcements didn’t get through until well into the second third of Spring. The Rahain had already attacked by then. The Army of Pyre got a lot closer than we would have liked, but we drove them back in the end.’
‘And how many soldiers did Rainsby have defending it then?’ said Belinda.
‘About twenty thousand.’
The room quietened.
‘Aye,’ said Sergeant Demi, ‘but we have the two witches with us this time. Fire and Death.’
‘Storm and Soul,’ said Keir, putting his boots up onto the table in front of him. ‘Though, as far as the Rahain are concerned, “Fire and Death” sound about right.’ He lit a cigarette, and began to ready himself for the second use of his powers that had been requested of him.
‘We were lucky that Nyane was ruling the town in our absence,’ said Thorn. ‘With every day that passes, I see more evidence of the work she did here. She is a true servant of the empire, and I earnestly hope that the Empress shows her clemency when she gets back to the capital. Thanks to Nyane and Ravi, the Outer City is better fortified than it has ever been; if we can lure an invading army into that labyrinth, none will emerge alive.’
She glanced around the chamber, and Keir gazed at her, his eyes drawn; his heart aching. It wasn’t just her beauty, though that played its part; it was her poise, and strength; her will that called out to him. He glanced around the room, and saw that many others were gazing at her with the same intent. He shuddered. She could choose any lover she wanted, and while he was still able to imagine that it might be him, he couldn’t bear the thought of asking her, in case her rejection brought all of his dreams crashing to the ground.
‘Therefore,’ she continued, seemingly oblivious to being the focus of everyone’s attention, or perhaps simply used to it, ‘I remain confident that we shall prevail, even with the small number of soldiers we have.’
‘Shall I perform the second sighting?’ said Keir.
‘Are you able to,’ said Commander Nykka, ‘so soon after the first?’
The Magelands Epic: Soulwitch Rises (Book 7) Page 37