“Don’t bother getting up,” said Fisher. “We can find our own way out.”
“You’re not going anywhere just yet,” said the Duke.
Armed guards suddenly appeared all around Hawk and Fisher, their swords already in their hands. Hawk and Fisher moved quickly to stand back to back, but made no move to draw their weapons. Exhausted as they were, they didn’t want to start something they might not be able to finish.
“I haven’t forgotten how you humiliated me at Court yesterday,” said the Duke. “I never forget a slight. I think you should both apologize to me before you leave.”
Hawk looked quickly about him. There had to be forty armed guards in the circle around him and Fisher. Big, professional-looking men. Bad odds, even if they weren’t so drained by the healing spell. There was only the one door, and it seemed a very long way away.
“All right,” said Hawk. “I’m sorry we offended you. Can we go now?”
“Captain Fisher hasn’t apologized yet,” said the Duke.
“Go to hell,” said Fisher.
“Say it,” Hawk said quietly. “We’re in no position to stand on our pride. It’s only words.”
“I’m sorry,” said Fisher, just loud enough to be heard.
“I really don’t think that’s good enough,” said the Duke. “It didn’t sound like you meant it. I think you need to do it properly. I think both of you should kneel down before me and bow your heads till they touch the floor, so that I can put my feet on your necks. So that there will be no misunderstandings about who’s in charge here.”
“Sorry,” said Hawk. “We don’t do that. We’d rather fight and take our chances.”
“But your chances really aren’t very good just now,” said the Duke. “Not in your present weakened conditions. And you can’t attack me, because of my charm. It’s really very simple. If you don’t do exactly what I say, Captain Hawk, I’ll have my men kill Captain Fisher. And vice versa, of course. Either way, at least one of you will bow down to me.”
“You’d never get away with killing us!” said Fisher.
“Oh, I think I will. Remember my army waiting at the borders? You’re not important enough to be worth fighting a war over.”
“You’d start a war just over your own hurt pride?” said Hawk.
“Oh, he would,” said Fisher. “Nothing’s ever mattered more than his pride.”
“My reputation is all I have left to savor in my life,” said the Duke. “No one speaks to me as you did and gets away with it.”
Hawk and Fisher turned and looked at each other. They both knew that if they tried to fight, they’d lose. And probably die. Hawk remembered dueling the Champion all those years ago in the main courtyard of Forest Castle, remembered how that terrifying warrior had beaten and humiliated him, and left him lying in his own blood. He’d promised himself then that he’d never allow anyone to treat him that way again, but he couldn’t risk Fisher’s life.
It wasn’t such a big thing. He’d suffered worse, for her sake.
“All right,” he said finally. “We kneel, we bow, and then we leave. Agreed?”
“Of course, Captain Hawk. You have my word.”
“We can’t do this, Hawk,” said Fisher. “I can’t. Not to him.”
“We have to. It won’t kill us.” Hawk lowered his voice to a murmur. “There will be time later, for revenge.”
“Hawk—”
“We have to.”
Hawk walked forward, knelt down before the Duke, and pressed his forehead to the cold marble floor. He was trembling with suppressed rage, and the taste of humiliation was bitter in his mouth. He would never have done this for himself, but this was for Fisher. He heard her kneel down beside him. There was a pause, and then a quiet creaking of straps and cables as the Duke lifted his feet and set them on Hawk’s and Fisher’s necks. And then he laughed quietly before he took his feet away again. Hawk and Fisher scrambled to their feet. Fisher’s face was scarlet with shame and barely controlled rage, her hand shaking beside her holstered sword. Hawk’s face was cold and composed, and his single eye burned with a cold and deadly fire. The Duke looked at him thoughtfully.
“Interesting. You did it, but you still plan to defy my will. It didn’t break you. What will it take, I wonder … Ah, yes. That’s a very pretty axe you have there, Captain. Very pretty. I think I’ll take it, for a keepsake, so we’ll both always remember this moment. Give me the axe, Captain. Now.”
Hawk looked down at the axe on his hip. He drew it slowly, the great weight dragging his tired arm down.
“Don’t do it, Hawk,” said Fisher. “Oh, God, don’t do it.”
“The High Warlock gave me this axe,” said Hawk, his voice calm and thoughtful. He looked at the Duke, and smiled slowly. “It has a singular, very useful property. It cuts through magical defenses. Very probably including the Candlemass charm of yours. Fisher and I are leaving. Because if anyone tries to stop us, I swear I’ll take this axe you want so much and bury it right between your eyes.”
The Duke started to say something, then stopped. Hawk and Fisher turned and walked toward the door. The guards fell back out of their way. The only sound in the quiet, airy room was Hawk’s and Fisher’s departing footsteps. They left the Duke’s apartments, and for a long time neither of them had anything to say.
Lightfoot Moonfleet, barely half an inch tall but still perfect in every detail, buzzed along the corridor after Hawk and Fisher. Her head was still spinning with all the suspects and theories they’d turned up, and she decided it was time to return to the Magus to tell him what she’d learned. She worried about him when he was out of her sight. She stayed with him because she loved him, even though she knew what he really was. And that the day would come when she’d have to leave him, because she couldn’t be part of what he was planning to do. She fluttered off down the corridor, dive-bombing a slow-moving mouse along the way.
CHAPTER SIX
* * *
Explorations into the Soul
Jericho Lament, not in the least tired after many days traveling on foot, walked out of the Forest and strode steadily across the great open clearing toward Forest Castle. He didn’t hurry. He wanted the Castle guards watching the clearing to have plenty of time to see him coming, recognize who he was, and panic. Lament had no wish to face an organized resistance. Practically speaking, they couldn’t keep him out of the Castle if they lined up in ranks before him with a sword in each hand. He was the Wrath of God, and could not be stopped by anything in the mortal world. But Lament preferred to keep innocent casualties to a minimum wherever possible. For all his reputation, Lament still liked to think of himself as a kindly man, doing only what was necessary; like a surgeon cutting away diseased flesh so that the body as a whole might thrive. There was no anger or malice in what he usually did. He did God’s work, killing only when he had to, and it grieved him that not everyone could see it that way.
Still, his reputation did come in handy sometimes. All the Castle guards had to do was lower the portcullis, raise up the drawbridge, and station a whole bunch of archers at strategic points on the wall, and he’d have a much harder task getting in. But he was already halfway to the Castle, and the only guards he could see were running frantically back and forth on the battlements, and trying to hide behind each other. They knew who was coming. Probably passing the buck further and further up the chain of command, rather than have to decide for themselves what to do about the imminent arrival of the dreaded Walking Man. With any luck they’d still be panicking, wetting themselves, and running around in circles by the time he got to the entrance Keep.
And so it proved. Jericho Lament strode unhurriedly across the drawbridge, the thick wood trembling under his heavy tread, and whatever currently occupied the Castle moat took one quick look and then wisely decided to keep their heads well down until he was past. Lament walked through the great stone passage of the Keep, not even glancing at the still-raised portcullis, and entered into the main courtyard beyond.
And there he stopped for a moment, leaning on his long wooden staff, to study the huge crowd arrayed before him, silent and staring. They were mostly peasants and traders, with a few guards, standing well back. Everyone present knew who and what Lament was. Even those who didn’t know his face or his description knew him the moment they saw him. Knew him on some deep, instinctive, spiritual level that could not be denied. Lament smiled on them, and something like a shudder ran through the packed crowd.
He started slowly forward and the crowd drew back to form a wide central aisle for him to walk through. No one said anything, and the silence now was so strained and heavy that it had an almost tangible presence. Lament walked unhurriedly forward, looking straight ahead, and on either side of him men and women sank down on one knee or two, crossing themselves, clutching crosses and rosaries and the sign of the fish, mouthing quiet prayers and pleas. No one tried to touch Lament’s clothes or beg for favors or even bid him welcome. People might crowd to holy men for advice or wisdom or even instruction, but no one wanted to be noticed by the Walking Man. He might be an avatar of the good and the just, but it was not a forgiving aspect, and everyone knew there was no mercy to be found in Jericho Lament.
So he was more than a little surprised when a tattered old man stepped out of the crowd to block his way. Lament stopped and studied the defiant figure with the woad and clay-marked face, and knew who this had to be. He’d heard of the Shaman, the hermit and holy man who’d made politics his religion. There wasn’t much to the Shaman, but he had a certain bitter charisma. Lament inclined his head courteously, one servant of God to another.
“I know you,” said the Shaman, his voice a harsh, almost painful sound.
“And I know you,” said the Walking Man.
“Have you come for me?”
“No. I know who you are. I know what you’ve done. But it’s not for me to judge you. God has a use for you, holy man. And it’s not the one you think.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” said the Shaman.
“Yes, but that’s because you’re crazy,” said Lament kindly.
“These are my people,” said the Shaman, gesturing widely at the watching crowd. “I won’t let you hurt them.”
Lament could have said something cutting, but in the end he settled for a milder answer. “The innocent have nothing to fear from me.”
The Shaman snorted. “Everyone has cause to fear your heartless ideas of justice.”
“I go where I must, and do what I must,” Lament said patiently. “I am the Wrath of God in the world of men.”
“Which God?” asked the Shaman.
“There is only one.”
“Shows how much you know. Why are you here, Walking Man?”
“To punish the guilty and redeem the fallen.”
“Then why don’t you start by killing off all the damned aristocrats, the privileged few who live off the sweat and blood of the many?”
“I deal in God’s laws, not man’s,” said Lament, just a little sternly. “Think about it, holy man. Would you really want someone with all my power taking an interest in politics and wars?”
The Shaman opened his mouth but realized he had no answer to that, and had to close it again. Lament started forward and the Shaman fell back, out of his way. Those peasants nearest the Shaman formed a protective wall around him, clapping him on the shoulder and on the back, and even daring to murmur words of support and admiration. There were few indeed who dared stand up to the Walking Man, and even fewer who lived to tell of it.
Lament entered the Castle proper, and no one tried to stop him. He walked purposefully through the corridors, unaffected by the strange twists and turns of the Castle’s unique inner structure. He had never been in Forest Castle before, but his inner voice told him where he must go, as it always did. Everyone hurried to get out of his way, including the Castle guards. Lament had no doubt that increasingly urgent messages were being sent to whoever was in charge of Castle security, but as yet no one showed any interest in interfering with his mission. Instead, a few guards followed him at a very respectful distance, hoping fervently they wouldn’t be called on to actually do anything, while others went running ahead of Lament to spread the news and clear the way.
And then Jericho Lament stopped suddenly and turned to look at the hall of the magic-users. They’d closed the door against him, as though that made any difference. The usual deafening babble of voices was stilled, but Lament could almost hear the strained breathing of the magic-users massed on the other side of the closed door. They would have known he was coming, but not the details of his mission. Such information came from God, and could not be Seen or known by mere magic-users, however skilled or talented. Lament stepped forward and tried the door handle. They’d locked it and reinforced the lock with binding spells. Idiots. Lament lifted his staff and pounded on the door with the end tipped in cold iron. The heavy wood split apart under the first knock and the second threw the door inward, torn free from its hinges. The door hit the floor like a thunderclap, and Jericho Lament stepped into the hall of the magic-users.
They stared back at him, wrapped in their gaudy robes and cloaks, surly and rebellious, but already just a little shocked at how easily their first defense had been swept aside. Lament could feel magic building in the great hail, like the pressure of a coming storm. The fools were going to make a fight of it. He looked unhurriedly about him, taking in the witches and hedge-wizards, conjurers and magicians of varying calibers, but none of them were a threat to what he was. Jericho Lament had put down sorcerers in his time. Everyone in the hall was scared. He could feel it. No magic-user rises to power without making questionable deals and compromises and sacrifices somewhere along the line. Every man and woman in the hall had every right to feel guilty. But if Lament were to pursue every sinner he came across, he’d never get anything important done. Only one man here interested him today.
Lament opened his mouth to speak, and the magic-users’ nerve broke. They hit him with everything they had, all at once. Magic crackled and spat on the air, lightnings flared, and unnaturally colored fires warred about him. Holes opened up in space, and horrid voices spoke, and there were new and awful presences in the hall. Hands gestured with unearthly skill, and strained voices chanted incantations in tongues never meant for humankind. And none of it could touch the Walking Man. All the various magics, Wild and High and Chaos, broke harmlessly against him, or earthed themselves through his staff. Potent energies shattered against him, and all the summoned presences fled rather than face his gaze. And when all the spells and curses were exhausted, Jericho Lament still stood there, untouched and unharmed. He was God’s warrior, and nothing in this world could have power over him. The magicusers stared dumbly at him, not used to feeling helpless. Not used to feeling frightened.
“I am here for only one of you,” said Lament, his voice clear and distinct in the strained silence. “Russel Thorne, come forth!”
There was a disturbance at the back of the crowd as someone tried to run, but those magic-users nearest him grabbed him and thrust him forward, happy to do anything that might turn aside Lament’s wrath from them. Eventually a small, nondescript man was pushed out of the crowd to stand unhappily before the Walking Man. Wrapped in a dirty gray cloak, his hands hidden inside greasy bandages, he looked more like a merchant than a magic-user; the kind who’d let his thumb rest on the scales as he weighed out your purchase. He was trying hard to look defiant, even innocent, but his trembling mouth betrayed him.
“That’s not my name!” he said loudly. “Ask anyone here!”
“It was your name,” said Lament. “When you lived in the small town of Shadetree. You should have settled in a city, Thorne. Your practices might not have been noticed so easily there. I know who you are and what you are, and all the evil things you did in that unfortunate place. You escaped their justice by running for your life and hiding here, but you shall not escape God’s justice.”
“You came all this way just for
me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, necromancer. You’re not that important. You’re just something I have to deal with on my way to my real work.”
“What right have you to judge me?” asked Thorne, glancing about him in hope of support. “I don’t believe in your god or his laws! And as Walking Man you’ve broken every law there is in pursuit of your victims! How many people have you murdered over the years? Everything I’ve done is nothing compared to your crimes!”
He gestured suddenly with both hands, and blasted black and twisting energies straight at Lament, only to see them fade away long before they reached him. Thorne whimpered and tried to force his way back into the crowd, but they wouldn’t have him.
“You can’t harm me,” said Lament. “You can’t touch me. I am under God’s protection.”
“We all know about the contract you made,” Thorne said breathlessly. “But are you sure who you made it with? Are you sure where all your power comes from? Think of all the things you’ve done, all the blood you’ve spilled, all the lives you’ve ruined! All that, to serve a loving and merciful God?”
“Even God has to take out the garbage now and again,” said Lament.
“Everything I did, I did for knowledge,” said Thorne desperately. “Your god wants to keep people ignorant so they’ll never become powerful enough to challenge him!”
“Innocents paid the price for the foul knowledge you gained, necromancer. How many children died horribly, screaming for help that never came, in that awful cellar under your house? You savored their screams and washed yourself in their blood. Do you even remember their names?”
“They didn’t matter, they were just peasants. Leading squalid little lives, of no importance to anyone, even themselves. I saw a chance to become a god and I took it! Anyone else would have done the same!”
“No one else would have done what you did,” said Jericho Lament. “I was there when they brought the bodies out. Those terribly small and broken bodies. There’s nothing more to be said. Now everyone here knows your crimes and your guilt. It’s time for justice.”
Beyond the Blue Moon (Forest Kingdom Novels) Page 35