Black Sun Light My Way

by Spurrier, Jo

  ‘But Mother, are you sure that’s wise? If someone did kill Osebian then exposing it can only embarrass us.’

  ‘Would you have us deny what is obvious even to a halfwit? Do you think it won’t be remarked upon that the heir to the throne has vanished? We’re laughing stocks already, you dolt. Our only possible course is to find out who is responsible and make a spectacle of them. We must deliver upon them a punishment that will be spoken of for generations. I will have blood for this insult, and by all the Gods, I will have vengeance.’

  By late morning of the following day, Cam decided he’d slept enough. The fever had receded, his raw and ravaged throat was healing and, while he was not yet well, he was very much on the mend.

  The final straw, in any case, were the noises he could hear from the hillside — sharp, staccato blasts that echoed over the neighbouring slopes. It sounded much like trees exploding in the depths of winter, when the pressure of the freezing sap tore the trunks apart with a sudden retort, but it was the wrong season for that. Cam told himself it was merely rockfalls, as the ice that welded fractured rocks together weakened and gave way, but that didn’t seem right either.

  When the third such outburst startled him from a doze, he decided enough was enough, pulled on his boots and another layer of clothes, and ventured out into the daylight.

  The camp was quiet and mostly empty. A large party had set out at first light to fish and forage. Mira had gone with them for the sake of fresh air and a change of scenery, and only a handful of people remained behind — Rhia and Amaya, a few warriors standing guard, and Delphine, who was bent over her books once again. She looked up as Cam emerged, her lips pressed together in such a way that Cam couldn’t tell if she were hiding a scowl or a quirk of amusement.

  ‘Madame,’ Cam said with a slight bow of his head. After their exchange the day before, he wasn’t certain just how to treat her. He’d been so sure, at first, that she was only using Isidro. Her reaction had surprised him completely, and he wasn’t quite sure he dared believe her explanations. She was in a position to do them too much harm.

  ‘If you’re wondering about that noise, ask your brother,’ Delphine said. ‘You’ll find him over that way.’ She pointed to the east.

  He found Isidro a few hundred measures from the camp, sitting at the edge of a clearing with his back against a sturdy birch. Perhaps a dozen paces ahead of him, a finger of rock jutted from the ground with the earth around it torn up, as though some mad creature had been digging at it in fits and starts.

  As Cam came close, Isidro glanced up at him with a half-smile that swiftly faded.

  ‘What are you doing out here?’ Cam asked. ‘Your woman sent me this way, saying you’re the cause of all this noise.’

  There was a small pile of stones at his side, arranged in a pyramid. With a sigh Isidro held one out to him. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Throw it against that boulder. Just … make sure you don’t fall short. And by all the Gods, don’t throw it at anything living.’

  Cam gave him a sharp look, but Isidro said nothing else. He simply leant back against the tree-trunk to watch.

  The stone was a good size for a slingshot missile. With a shrug, Cam rolled it around his palm, and then hurled it at the stubby finger of stone.

  It struck the boulder and detonated with a flash of light and a ringing crack that echoed around the hills. The missile burst with a puff of dust, leaving the boulder cracked nearly in two, and a freshly chipped crater where the stone had struck.

  ‘Fires Below!’ Cam said. ‘What in the Black Sun’s name was that?’

  ‘It was meant to be a firelighter,’ Isidro said. ‘Something went wrong when I was making it. I still haven’t figured out just what, and I’m too cursed clumsy to hit a target.’

  ‘Wrong? These aren’t wrong, Issey, they’re brilliant!’ Cam glanced down again at the little stack of stones by Isidro’s side. There were at least a dozen of them. ‘If it was a firelighter, why are there so many? I didn’t think enchantments were something that were destroyed by use.’

  ‘Well, the first one I made kind of … melted,’ Isidro said. ‘I suppose that was a clue something was wrong, but I just thought I needed to spread the power over more stones.’

  ‘It may have been a mistake, but Fires Below, it could be a useful one’ Cam said. ‘Can you imagine using these in battle?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Isidro said. ‘It’d work brilliantly, until the Akharians got hold of one and worked out how to make them.’

  ‘Ah. Yes. I should have thought of that.’ Cam heard someone approaching, and turned to see Delphine picking her way towards them.

  ‘Issey? I think I know what went wrong,’ she said. Her eyes flickered to Cam as she came near, but otherwise she ignored him. ‘One of your factors was far too strong: it ought to be reduced by a power of ten. I’ll go through it with you when you come back to camp.’

  Cam had stooped to pick up another of the stones, and he rolled it between his fingers as he studied the pebble in the sunlight. ‘He’s getting quite good at mage-craft, then, is he?’ he asked Delphine.

  ‘He’s made rather impressive progress,’ Delphine replied. ‘Between the Blood-Mages blasting open his channels and Sierra feeding him power on tap, he’s skipped right over those tedious years of expanding his store of energy, and he has an instinctive understanding of the principles of the craft.’

  Isidro shoved his hand into the pocket of his sash and scowled at them both. He looked about to speak, but Cam turned his attention back to the stone. ‘I wonder what would happen if you set one off under water? Or under a pile of rubble? You’re right, Issey, it’d be a mistake to use them in battle unless we can keep others from copying them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not useful.’

  Isidro’s eyes brightened, but after a moment he looked down with a shake of his head. ‘But those stones … it would be a waste. And I ought to get you to show me where the error was, Delphi —’

  Delphine stepped forward and took his face in her hands. ‘Isidro. You’ve been working every hour the Good Goddess has given you. Don’t worry about the stones; they’re a penny a bushel, and I can soon show you how to make more. Go have fun with your brother! It’ll blow the cobwebs out of your head. In fact, as your teacher, I command it.’

  They spent the afternoon scrambling over the hillside like boys. A pond, they discovered, would erupt like a geyser and, when the frothing water settled, the fish stunned by the blast could be collected by hand as they floated to the surface. A rotten tree-stump was even better — the brittle and decaying wood caught fire as the blast tore it apart in a hail of burning fragments. It took them the better part of an hour to find all the smouldering coals and stamp them out, but both agreed it was worth every minute.

  Best of all, though, were rocky crevices with a device placed at the bottom and pebbles and stones carefully packed in around it. They would retreat to some vantage-point and watch as Isidro set the device off with a touch of power. When the stone blew the crevice spat the stones out like a slingshot with enough force to send even a head-sized stone sailing through the air in a slow and ponderous arc.

  They saved the last of the stones for one such demonstration when Ardamon, Mira and the others returned, and then repaired to the camp for a veritable feast, for between the foraging expedition and the fish Cam and Isidro had collected, for once they had an abundance of food.

  That night, as Delphine was drifting off to sleep with Isidro’s warm body pressed against her back, a distant rumble of thunder brought her awake again.

  Only it lasted too long for any mere thunder. For a while she tried to convince herself it was only a far-off storm, but as the sound grew stronger, she knew it was nothing so simple. Something just didn’t seem right.

  Delphine laid her hand on Isidro’s arm, and knew from the tension in his muscles that he was awake and listening, too. ‘Does that sound like an ordinary storm to you?’ she murmured.

  ‘It doesn’t,’ Isidro said i
n a low voice. ‘Let’s take a look.’

  By the time they dressed and crawled out from under the blankets, it was clear they weren’t the only ones woken by the noise. Ardamon and his second, Floren, were wrapping coats around themselves as they stumbled out of the tent, and the thunder was growing still louder, an incessant growl like some great wounded beast. Within a few minutes the whole camp was stirring, and so uneasy that Ardamon assigned some of his men to stand guard while the rest of them set off to climb the ridge.

  Delphine breathed in deeply of the night air, but there was no scent of rain or thunder on the wind. The moon was nearing full and a few scudding clouds caught the moonlight as they raced overhead, but the pale orb lacked the halo that she had learnt was the herald of bad weather. Beside her, Cam began to cough, hard enough to break his stride. The afternoon of scrambling around the hillside had left him exhausted, and now the cold air was feeding the dregs of illness that still lurked within his chest.

  Delphine slowed as the party reached the crest of the hill, afraid of slipping on the treacherous rocks. Those who reached the peak ahead of her stopped in their tracks and gasped or murmured in wonder and alarm, although that distant, rumbling roar, now ever-present and still growing stronger, drowned out their words. Since these wretched northerners tended to be so tall, Delphine couldn’t see past them — all she could make out was a shifting, flickering light that stained the sky.

  ‘Is that the northern lights?’ she asked. ‘I haven’t seen them that colour before. And they didn’t make that sort of noise, either.’

  ‘Too near to the ground to be northern lights, miss,’ one of the warriors said. ‘And that ain’t north. It’s almost due west.’

  From somewhere up ahead, Isidro called her name, and the gathered folk opened a path for her. It was only then that Delphine saw what the clustered bodies had blocked from her view.

  Far in the distance, right on the horizon, colour flickered against the sky as lightning flashed and struck, again and again, in a mesmerising display of power and fury. Between and around that darting blue light was a deep red gleam, like the glow of lava against the mist in Earthblood. The stars near the horizon had all vanished, extinguished like coals cast into a stream. There was only a pall of blackness in their place, and through that darkness, between the blue spears of light and the sullen, ruddy glow there were sweeping, shimmering sheets of burnished gold.

  For a long moment they all watched in silence. It was Ardamon who broke the quiet first. ‘Cam, is that the Greenstone fort?’

  ‘It has to be,’ Cam said. ‘It’s the only cursed thing out that way until you hit the river-plain. Issey? Any idea what’s going on?’

  Isidro shook his head. ‘No. But I think I’d better try to find out.’

  Chapter 16

  ‘This is intolerable!’ The queen’s crimson skirts swept the ground as she paced. Kell stood in the centre of the room, his palms crossed over the handle of his cane. For once he was showing his age, his back stooped, his shoulders hunched. Rasten couldn’t gloat to see his master discomfited, though. Later, he would pay the price for this humiliation.

  ‘How could you allow this to happen?’ the queen demanded. ‘My dear boy, strangled like some wretched thief! I will have blood for this, Kell, and you’re cursed lucky I’m not demanding yours!’

  ‘My dear majesty,’ Kell said. ‘There is no proof —’

  ‘I have all the proof I need! That’s not my worthless son on the slab! Rumours are spreading through the camp like the pox through a whorehouse — are you completely unaware of that, you dolt?’

  ‘Rumours? What rumours? Has that bitch Cortana been speaking of things she shouldn’t?’

  Valeria narrowed her eyes. ‘Had the Gods been kinder, Lady Cortana would have been mother to a future king. In fact, it may yet come to pass, so have a care for how you speak of her, sorcerer.’

  ‘I have more important things to concern myself with than the bleating of a milksop slut,’ Kell said.

  ‘Indeed you do!’ Valeria thundered. ‘Like finding out who killed my dear Osebian! Do you have any idea what this will do to us, you wretched conjurer? Severian is tolerated by the men, but they loved Osebian — naming him heir was all that ended the unrest five years ago! Now look what you’ve done! Not only are we outnumbered by the Akharians, but with the cursed Wolf Clan making an alliance with them, how long do you imagine it will be before the rest of the clans revolt as well? The men would have given their lives for Osebian, but do you imagine they’ll risk an inch of skin for a mongrel like Severian? The desertions are already beginning!’

  ‘Your majesty,’ Kell said through gritted teeth, ‘I understand you are distressed, but this is hardly my fault.’

  ‘If you had kept your cursed appetite in check Osebian would still be alive!’ Valeria snarled. ‘I put my own men to work the moment I arrived, lord magister. Do you know what I discovered? The captain of the fort guard confessed that he was ordered to withdraw his men. Do you know who gave that order?’

  It was very rare to see Kell struck speechless, but Rasten was too much on edge to enjoy the sight. ‘You … had a man put to question without me, your majesty?’

  Valeria gave him a hard, tight smile through painted lips. ‘Indeed, I did. The order was given by Osebian, Kell.’

  ‘He … he was a traitor?’

  ‘There is more to the story than that. I also heard about the little display you put on for the benefit of my nephew and his men —’

  ‘Your majesty, you gave permission months ago that I might use Cammarian as I wished, so long as he remained intact enough to have a public execution —’

  ‘Use him, yes, but in private, you foolish old man! I did not give you permission to parade him around the camp as your latest whore. Have you lost all your sense? You couldn’t be content with having a prince for a plaything, but you had to watch Osebian and his men shudder and squirm as well. You greedy fool, you’ve ruined everything for the sake of a moment of gloating! If you were anything less than what you are, I’d have your head for this!’

  ‘Madame, you forget to whom you are speaking,’ Kell said. ‘You’d never have touched the crown if it weren’t for my aid.’

  ‘And you’d still be stalking flea-bitten boys in the marketplace if I hadn’t given you the means to grow that pestilent power!’ Valeria spat. ‘I can only hope the situation is not wholly lost. Cortana may be with child — in fact, I’ve half a mind to make certain it is so. She will marry my son on the next holy day, and in due course she will be delivered of a son, whom Severian shall claim as his own out of respect for his cousin. Our men and the cursed clans both will know that in time they’ll have a real king, not some mongrel northerner.

  ‘This leaves us with one remaining problem,’ Valeria said. ‘Osebian’s death must be avenged.’

  Rasten held himself perfectly still, and kept his breathing steady with an effort of will.

  ‘Surely, your majesty, admitting to such a lapse can only do more harm than good,’ Kell said.

  ‘Do you think the men aren’t aware Osebian has vanished?’ Valeria snapped. ‘Do you imagine it will go unremarked upon when his mistress marries the king? Denying the obvious only makes us appear weak and foolish. We must demonstrate our total control of the situation, and show the men justice has been done.’

  ‘Very well, your majesty,’ Kell said through gritted teeth. ‘What did you have in mind? Just what explanation did your amateur questioners dig out of the fort guard captain?’

  ‘My dear nephew has always honoured his royal bloodline above all else,’ Valeria said. ‘Cammarian is a traitor, but his veins still carry royal blood. It seems Osebian was incensed at the dishonour it would bring to the royal line to see a prince turned into a whore.’ She glared at Kell. ‘I would have thought that even a degenerate like you might have learnt some notion of honour after all these years, but clearly I was mistaken. You should have known that Osebian would not abide such a disgrace! But
I shall settle my displeasure with you later; first we must extinguish this fire before it burns the whole garrison down.’

  ‘What do you propose, your majesty? The spies who freed Cammarian and left the duke in his place are either dead or long gone. It would be a simple enough matter to sacrifice a few pawns in their place, I suppose —’

  ‘And what would that do to silence the rumours that plague us?’ Valeria asked. ‘How would it erase the shame we bear for letting our walls be breached by agents of the Wolf Clan? No, I have a better idea.’

  Kell sighed and shuffled his feet. Rasten knew the old man was growing impatient, and tried to ignore the sweat beginning to bead on his own back. Every moment Valeria kept his master pinned under her gaze meant an hour he would have to endure to soothe the sorcerer’s pride. ‘Please do enlighten me, your majesty,’ Kell growled.

  But Valeria was well aware of his impatience. Rasten could see she was drawing it out, forcing him to wait upon her pleasure. ‘You are utterly unaware of the mood of the camp and the men, aren’t you?’

  ‘I have more important things to do with my time than listen to idle gossip, your majesty.’

  ‘So you have not heard the mutterings about that girl you have locked away in the cellars?’ Valeria asked.

  ‘The girl? What on earth could they have to say about her? Aren’t there enough whores in the camp to satisfy them?’

  ‘Kell, you spend far too much time shut away in your own domain,’ Valeria said. ‘You wouldn’t survive a year without me guarding your door. Do you think the men are unaware it was the wretched girl’s escape that saw them pitted against Akharian mages all winter? Do you think them ignorant of the fact it was her presence with the Wolf Clan’s army that kept the curs from being put back in their place? It is only because of her that the Wolf and the cursed Akharians were in a position to form their wretched alliance. The men know that all the troubles that have plagued us lately can be laid squarely at her feet. It will not take much to convince them that this matter is her doing as well. And I, in any case, am by no means convinced that she did not play a part.’