The decision had been made to cover the ground in a wide arc and track back along the most likely route Merke's cell would have taken on leaving Xetesk. There was some risk attached to the tactic as Xeteskian mage-defender trios were out looking for the same quarry. Ilkar was the southernmost, Denser nearest to the walls of Xetesk but a good four miles distant, with Erienne in between them, slightly ahead of both and with a brief to look as much into the sky ahead as at the ground below her.
They flew a mile ahead of The Raven, who split as necessary to check knots of trees, heavy bushes and areas of taller bracken. With the horses going at little more than a trot, Auum and his Tai had taken the chance to dismount and track. But for hour after hour there was no sign.
From where he flew some fifty feet from the ground, Denser could see the plains south of Xetesk stretched out before him. Several miles ahead – it was difficult to guess exactly how many – he could see the smoke from dozens of fires and the off-white of tent canvas that must be the Black Wing camp.
It was large and within half a day's march of the walls of Xetesk but Denser still didn't feel they presented a threat. With no magic in their ranks they were terribly vulnerable to spell attack, and that was what would pour from the city walls should they approach too close. No doubt the Black Wings had already been scouted from ground and air and Xetesk was happy they could be contained. All that would worry them would be the drain on their mage resources.
Xetesk itself was wreathed in a heavy mist. It was a still morning and the mist wouldn't lift too quickly. Behind them the battle had already been renewed, while ahead the Black Wings seemed in no particular hurry. Of the Xeteskian hunters, there was currently no sign.
He cruised over a dozen hues of green empty but for birds, a rabbit warren and a wandering fox on the trail of prey. Over pockets of mist in dips and shallow valleys. Nothing. Glancing behind, he saw the rest of The Raven trailing them and the specks that had to be the TaiGethen a little further in advance, tracing a cross pattern as they studied the ground.
A sudden rattle of wings and the harsh calls of birds as they took flight caught Denser's attention. Away to his right, crows and seagulls rose out of a misty hollow on the plain, spooked by something. Probably that fox. Denser watched as the crows flew back down in ones and twos while the seagulls circled, waiting their chance. Curious, Denser drifted across and closer to the ground, the birds around him paying little heed, their attention focussed on whatever carrion lay hidden by the mist.
He overflew the area, hearing the irritated bark of a fox or wild dog and a scuffling on the ground as he approached. Just a few feet above the ground and what lay beneath the calf-deep mist revealed itself. A glint of metal, hair waving in the wind, a broken bow standing half proud from the ground, an empty face with dead eyes pecked out.
Denser landed. This close, the mist was thin enough to see through. He checked the bodies quickly, saw Black Wing tattoos on the necks of every dead man and found the bodies of three elves. Auum was not going to be happy. Of Yron, though, there was no sign, but here is where the hunt would truly start.
He took off again, signalled The Raven and waited, hovering above the corpses, seeing his friends galloping and flying towards him, the TaiGethen sprinting at remarkable speed. With them all nearing, he landed again and dismissed the wings, anxious to maintain as much stamina as he could. He stepped away from the scene and let the experts come in to assess what had gone on. Thraun, Ren and the TaiGethen examined the bodies and the area around them, occasionally kneeling to check a print in the grass or standing to talk and point.
Quickly, with Ren translating, there was consensus.
'The Black Wing riders came in from the south. Twenty, judging by the density of prints and the tracks we've found,' said Ren. 'Can't tell why a fight started but the TaiGethen caused mayhem when you consider where the Black Wing bodies have fallen. The survivors rode off back the way they came. We have to presume they took Yron with them. None of these dead have the thumb.'
'Well let's pray he still has it. How long ago did this happen?' asked The Unknown.
'A day, day and a half at the most. The Tai can track them.'
Denser looked at the TaiGethen and Rebraal. They had moved their dead from the mist and laid them out beneath the warming sun. Auum was crouched at their heads, leading his Tai in prayer. The Raven fell silent out of respect, heads bowed as the mist gradually cleared, Auum's low voice in their ears, his tone reverential.
When he had finished his prayer, he touched each one of the elves on the forehead and stood up. His face was expressionless but his eyes betrayed his anger. He motioned to his Tai and they trotted away, following the trail left by the Black Wings.
'Well, aren't they going to bury them or something?' asked Hirad.
'No,' replied Rebraal. 'Nature will consume them.'
'I just want everyone to know now that if I die I don't want to be consumed,' said Hirad. 'Burned or buried, all right?'
The Unknown clapped his hands together. 'All right, Raven, let's get moving, I-' He broke off. 'Ilkar, are you all right?'
Denser beat them to the Julatsan, who was on all fours, coughing violently at the ground and drawing in great heaving agonised breaths.
'Ilkar?' he said, crouching beside him. 'Something wrong?'
Ilkar turned his head. His face was grey with pain, his eyes sunken and dull like he hadn't slept for days. 'Yes, something's wrong.' His mouth was covered in blood and where he had been coughing the grass was stained red.
'Relax,' said Denser. 'It'll pass. Probably something you ate last night.' But Denser's heart was quailing. He could sense the others standing around them, no one able to utter a word.
Ilkar took them all in and managed a sad smile. 'No, it won't, Denser. You know that. We all do.'
Denser sat back on his haunches, feeling true helplessness sweep over him as it must be sweeping over them all. He could hear Ren begin to cry and saw her rush to Ilkar's other side and cradle his head against her chest. He looked around at them. The Raven. Strong people. But this was surely beyond any of their capacities.
Hirad was staring at Ilkar. Denser could see the barbarian's chest moving with his measured breathing and saw the refusal to believe in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was husky, barely in control.
'Aeb, Ilkar will ride with you. There's been a change of plan.'
Chapter 46
The Raven followed Hirad because they trusted him, because they would not let him do what he planned alone and because, if by some miracle they were to save Ilkar, there really was no other choice.
They reined in briefly by the TaiGethen. Auum looked up from the trail, took in Aeb holding Ilkar before him in the saddle, and for the first time Hirad saw a gentle emotion in his eyes. He nodded to Hirad in sympathy and looked questioningly at Rebraal.
'Tell him this,' said Hirad. 'Tell him that we don't have time for him to follow a trail. Tell him we have to know right now if those bastards have taken Yron and where. Tell him he's welcome to come with us if he can keep up but our friend is dying and it's become personal now.'
And soon they were all galloping west. The TaiGethen's natural sense of balance just about made up for their lack of skill in the saddle but still none of them was able to hold the reins alone and all clutched saddle pommels as their horses sped along beneath them.
Hirad spared them a glance, glad that they were with him. His head was full of rage and a sense of injustice he hadn't felt since Sirendor Larn had died under an assassin's poisoned knife in the time before Denser cast Dawnthief.
He was furious at the Black Wings for stopping and killing the TaiGethen. He was furious at Yron for stealing the thumb and condemning so many elves, and maybe Ilkar, to death. But mostly he was furious with Xetesk for what it had so casually brought about. Revenge for that would come later. Right now he cared about one thing only.
They tore towards the Black Wing camp, Hirad not knowing what he'd do when they got th
ere but sure he'd think of something. With people coming and going from the camp on foot and horseback, and with the slackness inherent in a non-military organisation, The Raven rode right up to its edge before being so much as challenged.
Arriving at the mass of tents, weapon stands, wagons and fires, The Raven reined in. Three men walked towards them calling others as they came. Hirad slid from his horse and strode towards the three, seeing them falter as they recognised him and those behind.
'Aeb, stay with Ilkar,' he heard The Unknown saying. 'Denser, we need a HardShield. Erienne, ForceCone – something to hurt them, not kill them. Remember who most of these people are. Form up, Raven. Let's keep close.'
Hirad knew he'd be protected so he carried on, not even bothering to draw his sword. He focussed on the guard in the centre. He was no soldier. A trader by the look of him. Soft hands. He had no stomach for trouble. The barbarian grabbed him under the chin.
'Where's Selik?' he demanded.
Another of the men grabbed at his arm. Hirad turned his head.
'Take your hand away or lose it.'
'HardShield up,' he heard Denser say.
The Raven closed in around him and the hand on his arm was gone, gripped and crushed by The Unknown.
'You heard him. Now get back.'
The man whimpered in pain. Hirad turned back to his charge, seeing people running in from all sides.
'Speak. Selik. Where is he?'
'I don't know,' stammered the former trader. 'Not here.'
'Gods burning.' Hirad thrust the man away from him. 'Get me a Black Wing.' He raised his voice. 'Any of you got the tattoo? Show yourself.'
By now quite a crowd had gathered. Not too close but there were hundreds of them. Hirad knew they were on dangerous ground but guessed none of them would want to make the first move. Someone shouldered his way through the crowd, a confident man with a bushy beard and grey-flecked hair. He walked into the space between the crowd and The Raven, taking them in and looking behind to where Aeb sat with Ilkar.
'I am Edman,' he said. 'Your mages can consider themselves under arrest as can the monstrosity on the horse there. The rest of you are complicit in supporting magic. I suggest you lower your weapons.'
Hirad waited for him to get to the point of no return before pacing out to meet him. But instead of facing him, he stepped in, grabbed Edman's lapel and swept his feet from under him, landing on top of him in the dirt. All around there was a concerted move forward but The Raven were in front of him in moments, the TaiGethen ready with bows to the sides.
'You've got about a heartbeat to live,' said Hirad. 'Some of your men took a Xeteskian soldier to the east of here. Got into trouble with some rather handy elves like the ones standing with us. Know anything about that?'
Edman struggled uselessly beneath him. Hirad fetched out a dagger and held it to his throat.
'I'm not going to ask you again,' said Hirad.
'You're way too late,' said Edman, forcing a smile onto his lips.
'They took him to Understone. He'll be dead by now. The cleansing is coming, Raven man, and you will be washed away like all the rest.'
'Not by you though,' said Hirad. He snapped the dagger into Edman's throat, holding the thrashing soldier there while his blood pumped into the soil.
'You shouldn't have done that, Hirad,' said The Unknown.
'Just wait till we get to Understone,' he said.
He stood and picked up Edman by the front of his armour, dragging him through The Raven line and dumping his body in front of the swelling crowd, which fell silent.
'Anyone tries to stop us leaving, it's the same for them,' he said. 'Gods, what are you doing here? You're sensible people with your heads turned. You're farmers, bakers, merchants. Husbands and fathers. Why don't you just go home?'
'Because we don't have homes,' said one. 'Magic took them away.'
'So build them again,' said Hirad. 'Why are you wasting your time here?'
He swung round and faced The Raven. An arrow whipped in, bouncing from the Shield. The answering shaft from Auum took the archer through the chest. There was a murmur in the crowd.
'I'm disappointed,' said Hirad, turning to face them once again, his voice loud enough to carry over their heads. 'We have no fight with you, just your Black Wing friends. You all know you could overwhelm us if you wanted to but how many of you are going to die first, eh?' He pointed at people in the crowd. 'It'll certainly be you. And you.' He shrugged and tapped his head. 'Just think about it. And think of the hundreds waiting for you on the walls of Xetesk.'
Slowly The Raven backed away to their horses, Denser keeping the Shield up, the TaiGethen and Ren with their bows trained on the crowd. Hirad had been right. None of them had been in a hurry to die. But as he spurred his horse away towards Understone, he wondered how many of them would waste their lives at the walls of Xetesk, helpless under a barrage of magic. They rode until exhaustion and The Unknown forced them to stop and rest. Ilkar had recovered during the ride, and although weak was no longer in any pain and took food with them around their fire. Denser had set alarm wards around the campsite and Aeb had chosen to patrol, declining both food and rest.
Hirad couldn't take his eyes off Ilkar. He was tired to the bone but could barely sit still and his mind was buzzing. Sleep would be a long time coming. They would all be feeling the same.
'How're you feeling, Ilks?' asked Hirad.
'Since you last asked me just now, nothing has changed. I feel all right. I ache and I'm dying, but apart from that no problem.'
Ren pulled him closer and he rested his head on her shoulder.
'You might be dying but you won't if we get the thumb back to the temple,' said Hirad. 'Right?'
'Hirad, even if we had the thumb now, it's eight days to Blackthorne, another seven across the ocean and another three upriver. As far as we know, this thing runs its course in as little as four days.' Ilkar's eyes were glistening in the firelight. 'You work it out.'
'Let me worry about that. You just fight it. Don't give in.'
Hirad felt an arm around his shoulders. It was Erienne. She squeezed and he felt better for it.
'My dear old friend, there are some things even you can't sort out,' said Ilkar.
'But this isn't one of them,' said Hirad. 'If you don't stop believing, we can save you.'
'Hirad-'
'I don't want to hear it. You aren't dying on me and that's final.'
He was aware his hands were shaking. Erienne kissed his cheek.
'Keep on telling him,' she whispered into his ear.
He nodded.
'So,' said The Unknown. 'Before we all turn in, what's your plan for Understone? Would I be wrong in thinking it included a good deal of riding through the town laying about us with swords and spells until we find what we're looking for?'
Hirad couldn't stop the chuckle though the Gods knew he didn't feel like laughing. 'You forgot the bit about where I cut down Selik, but apart from that you're not far from the mark. You have something better in mind?'
'Well, actually, I do,' said Darrick. 'I know plenty about Understone, and with one small alteration and a slight detour, your plan might just work.'
Darrick sketched out his idea quickly and accurately. Later, as Hirad felt sleep steal his thoughts from him, he felt they might just pull it off. They had no idea how many there were in Understone or where exactly they'd be but they didn't have to. After all, they weren't rescuing anybody, just one object. And eventually they'd find it, no matter how many were killed in the process.
Hirad turned over, his saddle a pillow for his head, the ground soft beneath him and his cloak covering him against the night's cool. Only Ilkar's coughs and his occasional gasp of pain kept him from easy rest. Auum and his Tai sat by the fire long after The Raven had taken to their rest. They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of sleep and those of the night around them. The Protector, Aeb, was ill at ease as he walked the perimeter, sometimes stopping for an extended period i
n one place, his body quite still but his lips moving soundlessly. The ClawBound pair padded in some time after midnight, the elf sitting with his back to a tree stump, the panther curling up at his feet.
'The Al-Arynaar and TaiGethen should stay,' said Auum. 'We can return the fragment and the Raven mage will facilitate the binding. We still have sacred texts that must be reclaimed.'
Duele raised his eyebrows. 'Confident in their ability, are you?' he said, scepticism in his voice.
'They are certainly… determined,' conceded Auum. 'And they care, that much became apparent today.'
Evunn nodded. 'They move fast and are direct. We would have been a long way further back down the trail tonight.'
'I am confident enough that we can succeed on our own with them. Moving the rest of the elves will bring trouble. Ilkar was right. We should stop the withdrawal.' He turned to the ClawBound elf. 'You are in contact range?'
A nod.
'The elves must fight on. I have asked for this. I'd rather the Sorrow took them while they fought than uselessly on board ship. We will recapture the thumb. Will you relay these messages?'
Another nod.
'Yniss will see us safe. He has given us these strangers to aid us,' said Auum. 'We should not be ungrateful.'
The light of the next dawn was still faint when the panther began to growl and roar, the alien sounds of ClawBound communication echoing over Balaia for the first time. Ilkar felt every stride of his horse through his body as if the hooves were trampling over him. He'd demanded he ride on his own, determined not be an invalid. Against all odds, he'd had a fairly comfortable night and it was not until the panther had set up its unearthly resonant calls that the pain had gripped him again and all but taken the breath from him.
He still remembered Ren's touch and he recalled her tears as they fell asleep. He was just thankful she was still free. But his own sudden falling had been a stark reminder that in the next breath it could be her turn.
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