The Malazan Empire Series: (Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone, Assail) (Novels of the Malazan Empire)

by Ian C. Esslemont

  ‘Been here too long …’ Jheval muttered.

  Kiska stepped forward. ‘We are travelling to solve the mysteries of this Whorl.’

  So this Cloaked One with you claims. Beware, then. Many are gathered on its verge, intent upon capturing its power. Dangerous beings. Ones even I choose not to consume.

  ‘Our thanks.’

  It is nothing. This Whorl troubles me. Remember, all you meet need not be hostile. But beware the Army of Light.

  The cloud peeled away, churning and spinning, rising like smoke. It drifted off the way it had been flying – away from the blot of the Whorl. The three watched it go. Kiska jumped then as the twig- and cloth-guide stirred to life under her cloak and leapt high into the eerie non-sky.

  Jheval was dabbing at his face. ‘That thing is fleeing exactly what we are headed for.’

  ‘It can’t eat a hole,’ said Warran.

  Kiska eyed the priest. ‘What is this Army of Light?’

  Warran cocked his head, indifferent. ‘I assure you I have no idea.’

  Jheval muttered something sour. They continued walking. The Seven Cities warrior paced along next to Kiska. ‘I don’t know why you try,’ he said.

  ‘Try what?’

  He jerked his head at the priest. ‘Him. Asking him questions. He’s done nothing but lie to us. He’s hiding something, I’m sure of it. Did you hear what that thing called him? “Cloaked”? He’s a scorpion disguising himself with us.’

  ‘You have not been so forthcoming yourself,’ the priest called loudly from where he walked some distance off, and Jheval growled his anger. ‘Who is not hiding things, hey, Jheval? Why is it, I wonder, that it is always those with the most to hide who accuse others? Why do you think that is … Jheval?’

  Kiska cocked a brow to the Seven Cities native, who glowered, jaws clenched, saying nothing. There was no more talk that day and as the dimness of night gathered they found another of the small pools where pale transparent fish lazed. She and Jheval took turns washing and treating their wounds. Returning from the pool, Jheval was clean of his blood, but the angry red dots of the countless bites on his face and hands made him look like the victim of a particularly virulent pox. She supposed she looked no better.

  Lying down on her spread cloak, her rolled gear under her head, she thought of the words of the D’ivers creature. Powerful beings had gathered to the Whorl. Beings even it chose not to attack.

  And it had chosen not to attack them. Or rather, perhaps she should say that it had chosen not to attack Warran. There it was again. Cloaked. She agreed with Jheval, of course. Yet maddeningly there was nothing she, or he, could do about it.

  The next day they continued on after breaking fast on the raw flesh of the fish. Oddly enough, it was Jheval and she who did all the catching – Warran wouldn’t go near them. Their usual walking order was she and Jheval leading, Warran bringing up the rear. This was how they were when, from beneath disguising layers of sand, armoured figures leapt up to bar their way.

  There were more than twenty of them: some sort of patrol or guard, similarly clad in pale enamelled armour of cuirasses with scaled sleeves and leggings and white enamelled helmets. They carried pale shields, cracked and yellowed now, and the blades of their bared curved swords gleamed yellow.

  Warran came up to stop beside Kiska. ‘The Army of Light,’ he announced.

  Thank you very much.

  One called something in a language Kiska did not know. The man tried several more until finally speaking in Talian. ‘Drop your weapons.’

  ‘Who are you to threaten us?’ Kiska shouted back.

  ‘Your companion also,’ the man answered.

  ‘We can take them,’ Jheval murmured, hardly moving his lips.

  ‘You do not really think this is all of them, do you?’ Warran said. ‘Best comply. Let’s not make a scene.’

  ‘Easy for you,’ Kiska answered under her breath. Louder, she called, ‘Very well. But this is hardly the way for civilized folk to behave.’ She knelt to set down her staff. Snarling his disgust, Jheval threw down his morningstars.

  The party surrounded them, marched them on. The ground became more and more uneven. Their path wended round rocky outcroppings, boulders the size of buildings. At one point their escort stopped and spoke among themselves, their tone surprised. Then the white hound appeared, pushing its way through them to come to Kiska’s side. It paced there for a time with her; dried blood flecked its white and streaked-yellow hair.

  ‘Not far off enough, were you, hey?’ she told him – though she still dared not reach out to actually pet him.

  They climbed a tall slope of loose bare broken stones, winding back and forth across its face until they reached the crest and saw an army spread out before them in a valley of black rock. Kiska was stunned; it was one of the largest gatherings of forces she’d ever seen. Tents dotted away into the distance. Smoke rose from countless fires. Their escort urged them on down the valley slope. As they descended the hound loped off – it seemed he had no interest in entering the encampment. Kiska watched it disappear among the rocks, feeling suddenly alone and vulnerable; for some reason she felt she could count on that beast more than she could trust the two men she travelled with. And what of this force? The Army of Light? Was this one of those gathered to claim the Whorl? One of those the D’ivers would not attack – a hesitation she could well understand. Yet what could they hope to achieve? You couldn’t attack this manifestation. There was nothing there!

  They were led down and into the camp. Kiska saw that the force was composed entirely, as far as she could see, of heavily armoured infantry. All were alike with their pale narrow features, white or streaked fair hair. And just who were they anyway? Kiska was urged into a tent, separated from Jheval and the priest. She was alarmed by this but there was nothing she could do.

  Within she found a pallet and a small table containing a jug of water, a washbasin, and a platter of food: dried meat of some sort, thin unleavened bread, fruit and cheese. All very plain and austere. Like a goddamned monastery.

  A guard entered, helmet under an arm revealing long loose dirty-blonde hair: female. ‘Take off your armour and all your equipment.’

  ‘Is this how you treat all your visitors?’

  ‘We are within the shores of Chaos, not the concourses of the Glimmering Commons. Your equipment?’

  Sighing, Kiska complied. Each piece of armour, each weapon, the guard took and tossed outside the tent, leaving Kiska in boots, trousers, shirt, vest, and cloak.

  ‘Boots,’ the woman said.

  Kiska set her hands on her hips. ‘Really?’

  The woman merely gestured to the opening. ‘Shall I call in my companions and strip you entirely?’

  Kiska almost invited her to do so. Almost. She kicked off the boots. Searching them, the guard found the two throwing blades slipped down the lining of each.

  ‘Cloak.’

  Kiska stared, then she laughed. Hood-damned humourless methodical military order. Must be.

  She was reduced to the stained silk chemise and shorts she wore for comfort beneath everything. Only then did the woman relent and allow her to dress. When she finished the woman’s only comment was a curt, ‘Follow me.’

  Two more guards fell in behind as the woman led her through the camp. It was very well ordered, almost ruthlessly so. Off-duty soldiers sat before their tents repairing equipment or eating. All were quiet; their demeanour surprised Kiska, who was used to the noise and complaints and banter of Malazan troops. She also reflected that she hadn’t seen their tiny guide for some time. Good. The little thing was showing better judgement than they.

  She was escorted to a tent and the flap was tossed open to reveal Jheval and the priest. Her guide urged her in. ‘Wait here.’

  ‘Hurry up and wait,’ Kiska muttered as she entered. She nodded to the other two.

  ‘You’re all right?’ Jheval asked.

  ‘Yes. Who are these people?’

  ‘The Army of
Light,’ Warran repeated blandly. ‘I should have thought that was obvious.’

  ‘And what does that mean?’

  ‘Tiste Liosan.’

  Jheval cursed under his breath. The label meant something to him, that was clear, but it meant nothing to her. She knew of the Tiste Andii, of course, the Children of Night. She’d even heard of the Tiste Edur, the Children of Shadow. Now the Tiste Liosan? The Children of … Light? ‘What do they want?’

  The priest shrugged his bony shoulders. ‘I should think they are here to investigate the Whorl.’

  ‘In such force?’

  Again the maddening shrug. She was about to ask another question when the flap slid open and in walked several of their captors. Four had blades bared while the lead one, the fifth, stood with hands clasped behind his, or her, back. Other than the manner of assured command, there was no way to tell this one apart from the others.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ the commander asked, the voice revealing her as a woman.

  ‘We are here to investigate this manifestation, the Whorl.’

  ‘Whorl? We name him the Devourer.’

  ‘Him?’ Kiska echoed. ‘Him – someone? But how can it be sentient?’

  The commander pulled off her visored helmet and shook out sweaty matted blonde hair. Her features were blunt and heavy, her jaw square, her brow-ridges thick. The eyes captured Kiska’s attention: gold flecked the irises, which shone almost mauve. ‘It is summoned and sustained by a powerful magus,’ she said. ‘And it has broached the borders of Kurald Liosan – among many others.’

  Kiska hoped her face betrayed no reaction. A powerful mage. Tayschrenn. Yet … malevolent? Perhaps he has been driven mad … She missed what the woman said next and realized that they were introducing themselves. ‘Kiska,’ she blurted out.

  The woman nodded. ‘My name and titles happen to be rather long. I go by Jayashul. Commander Jayashul. I hear you were accompanied by a Hound of Light and that speaks well of you. Please be our guests. Abide by the rules of our camp and you are welcome. Obviously you represent organizations or political entities which are likewise troubled by the Devourer. Rightly so.’ She nodded to Warran. ‘I see from your presence that Shadow, too, is concerned. No doubt your patron resents the loss of any of what little Realm he has left.’

  ‘Shadow is everywhere,’ Warran replied, rather smugly.

  The woman’s gaze narrowed at that, but she offered a shallow bow. ‘Until later.’ They each answered the bow. The commander swept from the tent followed by her guards, leaving behind one man to watch them.

  ‘Would her highness allow us to walk through the camp, do you think?’ Warran asked the guard.

  The guard’s gauntleted fist went to his sword. ‘You will show respect. She chose not to honour you with her titles but you should know she is Jayashul ’Od Lossica. She Who Brings the Dawn. Daughter of our Lord Liossercal.’

  Kiska stared at the tent flap. Burn’s own blood. The daughter of Osserc, Lord of the Sky. Never did she think she would ever be in such company. Jheval, she noted, had gone almost green at the news; the name meant a great deal to him. Exactly what, she wondered if she would ever discover. For his part, Warran clasped his chin in one hand and mused aloud: ‘The fellow does seem to have a lot of daughters.’

  On the eighth day of their unopposed advance across Rool, Suth reflected that life was good. No one was trying to eviscerate him; no one was taking potshots at his head; he was even eating better than when growing up on the Dal Hon plains – meat every day! Unheard-of luxury. His only complaint was that no one was greasing the wheels of all the wagons and carts the army commandeered as it advanced across the countryside.

  This day it was their turn to rest in those vehicles. Suth sat with most of his squad in the back of a wagon, huddled amid cloaks and blankets. Keri was back with them, but so was Pyke: the man had simply appeared at their camp one morning looking far too well fed for Suth’s liking. Yana was of the opinion that he’d deserted to the Roolians during the stand-off and had been stuffing himself while the rest of them starved – and that now that the Roolians had been scattered to the winds he’d come slinking back. Suth was inclined to agree. It galled him no end that good-natured comrades whom he’d trusted with his life such as Dim and others would die in the fighting, while the shirkers like Pyke coasted on without harm. It was enough to tempt him to murder. He calmed himself with the thought that it wasn’t all over yet.

  While they lazed, the winter sun warming them, Suth stretched his leg, massaging the wound, then looked over to Sergeant Goss, head back, apparently asleep. ‘Sergeant … what’s this about you and the Claw?’

  Yana gave him a glare. Keri and Len perked up, eyeing the man, who hadn’t moved yet. Suth waited. The wheels squealed, columns tramped on either side. At least there was no dust as a cold sleet fell almost daily. Eventually Goss cracked open one eye to weigh him with a hard stare. Then the sergeant took a long breath, exhaled as if letting something go. ‘This is just for inside the squad, understand. Yeah, I was in the Claw.’

  Yana’s brows climbed almost comically. Lard let out a whistle. ‘I knew it!’

  ‘Don’t mean a damned thing,’ Goss growled at Lard. ‘I quit.’

  ‘Why?’ Suth asked, deciding that he might as well push while he could.

  A dark glower answered that and the man leaned his head back again. ‘Politics. Had a bellyful. Quit for some honest fighting.’

  Suth thought there was more to it than that, but knew that was all he was going to get. ‘And Faro?’ he asked. ‘What about him?’

  Goss’ gaze slid to him and lay there for some time, flat and hard. ‘We don’t talk about him.’

  Well … some progress, at any rate.

  Everyone was silent for a time, rocking as the wagon trundled over the rough road. Suth was grateful to Goss for opening up. He felt privileged. Part of a special brotherhood. Looking back, he could hardly remember the brash youth who’d joined up so many months ago. Then his goal had been to challenge everyone he met; to test himself against all corners. Now the last thing he wanted was to draw his sword in anger. He’d be happy if he saw no more action till the end of the campaign. And frankly, the way things were shaping up, it looked as though that may be the case. The Roolian forces were scattered over the countryside. Rumours of counter-offensives swept through the column occasionally, but nothing ever came of them. It seemed the Roolians were on the run, retreating north.

  ‘Where are we headed, anyway?’ Lard asked after a time, dreamily, as if half asleep.

  ‘The capital, of course!’ said Pyke, sneering.

  Len appeared about to say something but he pursed his lips, deciding against it. Idly, Suth wondered why the man would keep his opinion to himself.

  ‘Right. The capital, Paliss,’ Goss said, his eyes closed.

  ‘Of course,’ Pyke said again, glancing round. ‘Where else?’

  No one spoke and Pyke just snorted, waving his dismissal of Lard. Uncertain of the silences surrounding him, Suth cast a look to Yana, who gave the slightest head shake. Suth took the sign and eased back, closing his eyes.

  Towards noon a mounted junior officer came up alongside the wagon; he looked them up and down, making no effort to hide his distaste. ‘You 2nd Division, 4th Company, the 17th?’

  Goss straightened, saluting. ‘Yes, sir!’

  ‘New orders. You’ve been transferred to a cohort attached to Fist Rillish. Report to his banner.’

  Goss saluted again. ‘Yes, sir.’

  The officer answered the salute. ‘That’s all.’ He kneed his mount on.

  Lard groaned, ‘Just when I was enjoying myself.’

  ‘Rillish!’ Pyke spat. ‘A useless eunuch. What’re we doing with him?’

  ‘What you got against him?’ Yana demanded, taking the opposite corner as she always did.

  ‘Everyone knows Greymane has no time for the man. Why do we need him when we have the High Fist?’

  ‘Muzzle it,’ Go
ss said, his tone conveying his utter boredom with their bickering.

  Stretching and grumbling, they collected their gear and went in search of the Fist’s banner. They found it standing south of the trader road that the united Fourth and Eighth Armies travelled westward. Assembled around it were four other squads from the Fourth: the 20th, the 11th, the 6th, and the 9th. Suth spotted the Barghast girl, Tolat, among the crowd. She blew him a kiss and he, turning away, ran into Keri.

  ‘So who’s the big gal?’ she asked, a brow arched.

  ‘We were scouting together.’

  ‘Is that what you call it now?’

  He had no idea what to say but Goss saved him by bellowing, ‘Stake out some ground and set up camp!’ Then he and the other sergeants reported to the Fist.

  While they ordered their bivouac Suth hunched down next to Len. ‘What’s with you ’n’ Pyke?’

  The man said, low, ‘I’m pretty damn sure he crossed the river.’

  ‘So?’

  The old saboteur grimaced his disappointment. ‘So … was he caught? Did he cut a deal?’

  ‘What d’you mean, a deal?’

  Len glanced about to make doubly sure they weren’t being overheard. He needn’t have worried: as usual when there was work to be done Pyke was nowhere around. ‘Handing over intelligence. ’

  Suth found that incredibly hard to credit. ‘C’mon. On us? Who’s got foot-rot or the clap? Who cares?’

  Len nodded thoughtfully while hammering pegs. ‘General health – good point. But no, what I mean is deployments, strategic goals, all the rumours that run through the ranks.’

  ‘All that talk is nothing but horseshit.’

  ‘Not at all. Some is pretty damned shrewd.’

  ‘But who would he talk to? There’s no one around.’

  Len frowned. ‘Well, where’s the bastard off to right now?’

  Startled, Suth looked round. It was true: Pyke was nowhere in sight. Just what was the prick doing all the time? ‘I’ll fucking kill the bastard.’

  ‘No you won’t. We’ll just watch and wait. It’s Goss’ call.’