The Raven Collection

by James Barclay

The Garonin were wavering in front of them. There were no gaps in the Protector defence barring those torn by the desultory white tears that some from the rear risked around the bodies of their fellows. Blank masks faced flat faceplates. Pitiless enemies squaring up. Ark buried his axe in the top of a Garonin skull, splitting it open and showering gore. He wrenched it clear. Orn clattered his axe flat into the waist of another.

  Ark could see beyond them. The plain was empty. The remnants of the Garonin force broke and ran, blinking out of sight as they went.

  Hold, my brothers.

  Ark looked about him. The shield was thirty yards to their rear. Protector bodies covered the ground, two hundred and more taken by the white tears. He could feel Sol’s tension in his mind. He asked of him.

  ‘They are not gone. They’ve drawn you out a long way,’ said Sol. ‘Fall back.’

  A shimmering in the air appeared less than twenty yards ahead. Garonin dropped into Ulandeneth. Hundreds of them. They stood like statues for a moment, gathering themselves. Weapons were raised to fire. It was going to be a slaughter.

  Back, my brothers. Back to the shield.

  Above, the sky was dark again. The images changed.

  ‘Fall back.’

  Sol’s voice sounded through each and every one of them. Above, the black images had changed. Demons tortured souls where they stretched away from the Soul Tank. Protectors had masks ripped from their faces and they died in torment.

  Strength. Move fast. Don’t look back.

  The Protectors turned and ran. Behind them, the Garonin unleashed a storm of raw white power.

  Chapter 47

  Hirad watched helpless while the Garonin slaughtered the Protectors. Erienne’s shield had strengthened. The images had changed away from her personal torment, leaving her free to concentrate, with Thraun acting as strength and comfort right by her. But the cost had been savage and was worsening.

  The Garonin had materialised in huge numbers just too far away for the Protectors to reach. Their only course was to try and get back inside the shield. The white tears spoke another outcome. Protectors were hurled forward. Backs of skulls were crushed in. Holes were punched through chests and legs were blasted from beneath strong bodies.

  Hirad could see Ark, and now Aeb, running headlong. Arms pumping, weapons flashing in the glare of the tears. Fire was back on the shield too, rattling and fizzing, reminding Erienne of the grim task before her. Garonin closed in on all sides. He could even hear weapons fire behind the edifice now, blasting through the stone, leaching away the belief of every soul still yet to cross home.

  ‘Be ready, Raven! Steady, Erienne. Sirendor, looking forward.’ Hirad’s voice couldn’t cover that of Ilkar. The elf so recently disappeared was plainly back amongst them and he was raving about something. ‘Ilkar! Drop the speech. Get casting.’

  ‘No! You don’t understand. Well you do but you don’t. Gods drowning, what am I saying? You lot only believe so far. I see it now. I see everything. We are just spirits. They cannot even touch us if we don’t believe they can. They only hurt us because that is what we expect! Listen to me. They cannot break us. They cannot!’

  ‘We haven’t time for this, Ilks. If you believe, cast something to help us.’

  Hirad never took his eyes from the Protectors. White tears splashed against the few that remained. Less than fifty. A masked man fell against Aeb’s legs, bringing him down. Ark stopped to drag him clear. Fire splashed across Aeb’s body, tearing it apart where he lay. Ark ran on. The few ran through the barrier, stopped, turned and faced.

  The mass of the Garonin surged at them.

  ‘Listen to me, Gods drowning, listen!’

  ‘Cast, Ilkar you bastard. Just cast!’

  ‘All right, I will.’

  Hirad drew a deep breath and picked his first target. He dared a glance left and right. The line was solid but there was precious little in reserve. The TaiGethen held the flanks by the edifice. The Raven warrior trio had the centre with Protectors filling the gaps in between. The Garonin came through the shield.

  Darrick fenced a weapon aside. He found a gap in the enemy defence and slid his sword up under his arm. The soldier fell. The one behind him opened fire. White tears splattered against the shield. He closed, still firing.

  Hirad tore into the Garonin ahead of him. He batted away a weapon, smashed his fist high into the soldier’s faceplate and dashed the pommel of his sword into the side of his helmet. The soldier fell. Hirad leapt over him.

  The Protector line struck their targets. Hirad felt the power. Axes came down in unison. Blood sprayed into the ivory sky. Swords flashed through. The Garonin juddered to a temporary standstill. The Protectors stepped up, still just inside the shield. Hirad saw an axe remove the arm of one Garonin. He saw that same axe turn out to block a thrust to a brother Protector. And he saw the Protector lose his head to a stream of white tears as it moved a fraction beyond safety.

  ‘The line’s not going to hold,’ shouted Darrick.

  The earth shook just beyond Erienne’s shield. Garonin broke off and stepped back. The Protectors stopped as one. Hirad looked out over the juddering landscape while beneath his feet he could feel nothing at all. He glanced over his shoulder. Ilkar was casting. He watched the elven mage stare out over the Garonin and raise his hands from by his sides.

  The ground of Ulandeneth heaved. Mighty spears of rock thrust up, spilling Garonin to either side. High the walls of bedrock climbed, and between them hundreds of enemy soldiers were standing and staring. The ivory mountains shuddered to a halt, loose pebbles running from their impossibly smooth surfaces. For a heartbeat the battle ceased.

  Ilkar clapped his hands.

  Hirad fell back a pace and had to turn his head away. The dread thump of the low mountains coming together was augmented in his imagination by the crunch of bones. Enemies, yes, but snuffed out so coldly. Surviving Garonin were too stunned to react for a moment. Above, the sky had returned to its bland ivory. Hirad turned to face Ilkar. The elf’s hands were still clasped together. The clap they had made had been heard across Ulandeneth.

  ‘That was some trick for an elf who can’t see a way.’

  ‘What did I tell you? They cannot beat us.’

  But outside the survivors reformed. Still over a hundred remained. They scattered themselves across the front of the shield, raised their weapons and ran.

  ‘Ilkar, we need another of those.’

  ‘No time. Just believe what I say.’

  ‘Ilkar. A shield,’ said Sol. ‘I need Erienne. And I need Hirad.’

  The Garonin breached Erienne’s shield. White tears flared across the space. Protectors fell. Darrick took a bolt across his left shoulder. Sirendor ducked and flailed his weapon. Hirad swayed and jabbed out, deflecting a weapon which fired high and wide.

  ‘No time, Unknown!’ he called.

  ‘Make time.’

  ‘Shield up,’ said Ilkar.

  Hirad was plucked away.

  ‘Unknown, no!’

  ‘It is our last chance. The Garonin will break us eventually. We have to complete the job and hide the door from them. First we need every soul to cross. Thousands are coming in from the void, heading for rest. Now we need the living to join them. Erienne will bring Densyr. You will bring my family.’

  Sol’s voice was like a warm cloak about Hirad’s shoulders. He could sense Erienne but could not see her, and if he looked at all, he could see nothing but a blurred mess all around him.

  ‘Why me?’

  ‘Why do you think she named our son Hirad?’

  ‘Thought that was your idea.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘She’ll want it to have been you she saw, big man.’

  ‘You’ll understand why I cannot move.’

  The Unknown’s voice was leaden. Hirad felt his regret as if it was his own.

  ‘It’s probably for the best,’ said Hirad.

  ‘I can think of no scenario where that would be true. Just tell them
I’ll be watching over them always.’

  The blur coalesced. Hirad and Erienne were standing in the ruins of Xetesk. Diera, the boys and Denser were running towards them. The wolves had peeled off and were harrying three Garonin, keeping them away. Both animals were badly wounded. Neither would last long.

  Denser could feel her before she appeared before them. The four of them were running towards a temporary haven in the ruins of the refectory. Garonin still prowled the grounds of the college but the vydospheres were gone, snatched away to some other task.

  Erienne stood with Hirad. Warmth flowed out from them. Diera and the boys saw The Raven duo too. Diera slithered to a stop, young Hirad still on her back. Jonas walked towards Hirad, sword still in his hands.

  ‘Hello, Jonas.’

  ‘You’re like that painting at our inn. How can you be here?’

  ‘It’s a long story. Your father sent me. But I’m here to show you to your new home. You, Hirad and your mother. Reach out to me; let me take you there.’

  Jonas turned to Diera.

  ‘Mother?’

  She looked up and there was joy in her face despite the tears. ‘Why isn’t he here?’

  Hirad smiled. ‘He’s busy making sure every soul that ever was gets safely to the other side. You know The Unknown.’

  Diera smiled. ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘And he says he’ll be watching over you, keeping you safe.’

  ‘He actually means it, doesn’t he?’ said Diera.

  ‘You know, I think he does.’

  ‘Time for you to come too, my love,’ said Erienne.

  ‘Yeah, Xetesk-man. Get over here and feel my spectral boot in your arse for all the crap things you did.’

  But Denser shook his head, suddenly certain of his path. ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘What?’ Erienne and Hirad spoke together.

  ‘Not because of you, Hirad. I never was scared of you, not really. But there’ll be so many people left here, people that won’t cross over. So much work to be done if we are to rebuild anything of our former selves. And all without the aid of magic now.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked Erienne.

  ‘I’ve never been surer about anything,’ said Denser, and he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. ‘I can’t abandon those who cannot leave.’

  Erienne nodded. ‘The words of a true leader of men. You’ll make a fine king, Denser. I’m proud of you.’

  ‘Not a king. Never that.’

  Hirad chuckled. ‘Good job. Come on, you lot. Time to go.’

  Denser watched the three of them reach out to Hirad and disappear. Hirad nodded to him.

  ‘I’m glad, Denser. You’ve restored my faith in you. Something I didn’t think you could do. Never mind your college trappings. This is a destiny you can make all for yourself.’

  ‘I’ll do my best.’

  Hirad vanished, leaving Erienne standing in the light alone.

  ‘I will never cease to love you,’ said Denser. ‘Or our daughter.’

  Erienne smiled, blew him a kiss and was gone. Denser looked about him.

  ‘Interesting decision,’ he said. ‘Thoroughly thought through. Hero, king or utter fool. Time will surely tell.’

  Denser ducked into the refectory ruins as a Garonin soldier thumped past his hiding place. He could still hear the wolves but they were distant now, perhaps chasing Thraun’s soul. He hoped so.

  The Lord of the Mount watched the Garonin soldier march away.

  ‘Right. Well, best get started.’

  The Garonin were amongst them.

  ‘How long, Sol?’ asked Ilkar. He had kept his shield up against the few enemies who remained outside but increasingly he felt it to be a waste of time.

  ‘You’ll know,’ said Sol.

  ‘We could do with the others. Why won’t everyone see what I see?’

  ‘They are coming. And your time is soon.’

  Sirendor and Darrick fought back to back. Darrick’s left arm hung useless at his side. He was sweating heavily and struggling to keep up his defence. But there was no doubting his courage. He jabbed and fenced, keeping enemies busy while Sirendor killed with his trademark stylish efficiency. The remaining Protectors held the line as solidly as they could but were being worn down inexorably.

  Around them, the TaiGethen were a blur of ruthless murder. Every time a Garonin soldier got inside the shield, a TaiGethen was on him before he had gone five paces. Yet Ilkar could not relax. Surely the enemy were being snuffed out and indeed it did seem their numbers were thinning beyond the shield. Ilkar, though, felt the approach of something bad.

  Garonin soldiers broke through on the right again. Four of them. Thraun barked a warning and leapt. White tears tracked him, searing across his flank. With a yelp, Thraun crashed to the ground and slid against the side of the edifice. His body heaved and smoked, shuddering its last.

  Auum was already running, Evunn with him. The two TaiGethen rolled under streams of white tears flashing over their heads and into the backs of two helpless Protectors. Auum surged up and left the ground, going two-footed at the nearest enemy. Evunn made to do likewise, but at that moment Erienne and Hirad dropped back into the melee.

  Evunn collided with the pair of them and all three tumbled and rolled. In front of them the Garonin could not believe his luck. His weapon discharged. Evunn was caught by the stream of energy and his body blew apart, spattering gore in all directions.

  The Garonin hurdled his fallen body and raced towards Sol. Auum downed his man, turned and gave chase. Hirad was getting to his feet. Two other Garonin faced him. He had nowhere to run. Below him Erienne had begun to cast but would not make it.

  Time slowed for Ilkar. Him again. He could stop the lone Garonin. Possibly. But the consequence was stark. Move and attack and lose the shield keeping the remaining fire from the defenders. Enough fire to wipe them all out. He heard Sol’s last words repeat in his head.

  ‘Now or never,’ he said. Ilkar drove to his feet and dived headlong at the onrushing Garonin. ‘Shield down! Shield down!’

  White tears lashed into the open space. Protector, Raven and elf alike threw themselves to the ground. Ilkar prayed they all survived but knew they could not. His outstretched hand snagged the ankle of the Garonin. The soldier, in mid-run, sprawled to the ground. Ilkar scrambled up and dived on top of him as he tried to get back to his feet. White tears smashed all around him, ripping chunks out of the edifice but keeping well away from Sol, who held the door open, helpless to stop what came at him.

  The Garonin shoved Ilkar off. Ilkar rolled and rose. The Garonin was on his feet too. Ilkar got in front of him. The Garonin raised his weapon. He fired.

  ‘Ilkar!’ Hirad was screaming at him. ‘No!’

  The white tears flowed into Ilkar’s body. He spread his arms wide and he laughed.

  ‘See me, Garonin? See me? You cannot hurt me. You do not know how. I have mastered you. I understand. Raven. TaiGethen. Listen to me.’

  The Garonin ceased firing and made to sweep Ilkar aside. Ilkar raised a hand and clamped it under the chin of the soldier, holding him off while his blows slid from Ilkar’s body.

  ‘They can only do to you what you expect them to do. What you believe they can do. They cannot hurt me. You, my enemy, cannot hurt me. But I can hurt you.’

  From Ilkar’s hand the flame was the bright yellow of Julatsa and hot enough to melt metal. It scoured into the Garonin’s neck. His armour buckled beneath Ilkar’s hand. Ilkar closed it into a fist, crushing his neck like a twig, dropped the Garonin and walked into the midst of the white fire, letting it slam into his body, feeling nothing but an intense satisfaction.

  ‘This is us, Raven! We are spirits. We are souls. We cannot be killed because we are already dead. Let them fear us. They cannot hurt us but they know that we can hurt them. They are real. They bleed. They die. For us it is only memories.

  ‘Rout them! Rout them!’

  Ilkar ran at the nearest Garonin. He saw the soldier fl
inch, take his hand off his weapon and take a pace back. Behind him, he heard Hirad roar:

  ‘Come on, you fuckers! Fight us now, eh?’

  Raven, Protector and TaiGethen took up the cry. The Garonin were swamped. Armour could not deflect blades. Punches found their mark. Blood was spilled. Garonin blood. And though the fire still came back at them, the defenders let it slide over them, doing no more harm than would water or a puff of air.

  ‘Make a shield around Sol,’ ordered Darrick, his wound gone. ‘Let’s not forget what we’re here to defend.’

  Hirad, standing next to Ilkar, gave the mage a shove on the shoulder. The Garonin fire battered them. The soldiers feinted to attack. Auum prowled in front of the line, daring any to come close.

  ‘You can still feel me push you, then,’ said the barbarian.

  ‘Of course. I expect you to be able to. Be bloody boring if you couldn’t. Then I couldn’t do this.’

  Ilkar rubbed his knuckles hard against Hirad’s forehead.

  ‘I think I preferred you lacking in belief,’ he said.

  ‘Look.’

  Sirendor was pointing out at the Garonin. They had ceased firing and were moving slowly towards the defenders. One detached himself from the group of perhaps forty and walked to within a few paces.

  ‘The day is yours,’ he said, melodious voice tainted with discord. ‘But your new worlds will be ours. The fight will never be over. One day we will follow an innocent soul through the doorway and your efforts will be rendered nought.’

  ‘Not if we close it in your fat face, you won’t,’ said Hirad.

  The sound of water over pebbles.

  ‘How little you know, human. Your ignorance is our greatest weapon. Think on it and enjoy your rest if you can. The dead are irrelevant.’

  The last echoes of the Garonin’s voice rattled against the edifice. The plain of Ulandeneth was empty.

  ‘What was he talking about?’ asked Hirad.

  He turned and led The Raven, Protectors and TaiGethen back towards Sol, or the shimmering luminescence that represented where he was seated. He knelt by Thraun much as Auum did by what remained of Evunn.