‘It’s obvious,’ said Corthie; ‘we need to go back the way we came, and head further north; that’s where Naxor noticed the God-Queen’s powers.’
‘That was a while ago now,’ said the demigod, ‘and there’s every chance that my deranged grandmother would have moved on. However, we have a more pressing problem – even if we wished to travel back to Kinell, we can’t afford it. Most of our gold went on the horses and wagon, and the passage here; we have very little left over.’
Van narrowed his eyes. ‘How long can we afford to stay here?’
‘Three days.’
The men groaned.
‘I’ll have to get another job,’ muttered Van. ‘Back to unloading crates of fish again, but that will only be enough to buy food, not to fund any trip north.’
‘Or we rob someone,’ said Naxor. ‘A rich merchant, perhaps. That would be easier than manual labour on the harbour front, and, let’s be honest, a lot more fun. There’s also the possibility that Vana is here in Capston; she had a fair amount of gold on her when she left.’
‘Have you looked for her?’ said Corthie.
‘I don’t need to. If she’s here, then her powers will detect my presence before too long. I’ve already used my vision a half dozen times; I would be like a beacon to her.’
‘So we wait here and see if she shows up?’ said Corthie.
‘Exactly. In the meantime, I can scout out some rich residences, and see if any are ripe for a midnight robbery.’
Sohul frowned, but said nothing.
‘What about you?’ Corthie said to the lieutenant. ‘What do you think?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said, his eyes downcast. ‘I’ve lost sight of what I’m doing here. Everything’s upside down. If I go back to Implacatus, then there’s a good chance I’ll be arrested for what happened in Yoneath, but I don’t want to stay in Khatanax; I don’t belong here. I never intended to get involved in a fight against the Ascendants, and now I’m adrift. Sorry, I don’t want to sound despondent, but I did a lot of thinking on the voyage here, and I came to the conclusion that my future is bleak.’
‘You and I are in the same situation,’ said Van, ‘and I know what you’re going through. We just have to take things one day at a time.’
‘At least you have a purpose,’ said Sohul. ‘You want to find Kelsey, because you made her a promise; and Corthie wants to find Aila as well as his sister. And Naxor, well, he’ll get by no matter what happens.’
The demigod smiled as he sipped his raki. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
‘You’re free to go your own way,’ said Corthie to Sohul; ‘you’ve already gone beyond any handshake contract we had, and I’ve no more money to pay you.’
‘Thanks, but you three are all I’ve got,’ said the lieutenant. ‘My priority is to make myself useful, so you don’t decide to ditch me.’
‘We’d never do that,’ said Van.
‘I agree,’ said Corthie; ‘not after everything we’ve been through together.’
A serving boy appeared at the top of the stairwell, blinking in the bright sunshine. He approached the four men.
‘Which one is Naxor?’ he said.
The demigod raised a finger.
‘You have a visitor,’ the boy said. ‘A woman.’
‘Oh,’ said Naxor.
‘Should I send her up to see you?’
‘Of course, yes. Thank you,’ said the demigod.
The boy nodded then returned to the stairs and disappeared into the gloom.
‘See?’ said the demigod. ‘All we had to do was wait. Good old Vana.’
Corthie puffed out his cheeks and readied his apology. It would have to be grovelling, and sincere. They watched the stairwell, and Naxor’s smile faded as a woman emerged from the shadows onto the roof.
‘It’s you?’ he said. ‘How disappointing.’
Silva glared at him, then walked toward the table where the men were sitting. Her eyes fell on Corthie as she entered the shade of the canopy.
She bowed her head to him. ‘I’m glad to see you alive and well.’
‘Take a seat,’ said Corthie; ‘and ignore Naxor; it’s good to see you, Silva. I know we mistrusted each other at first, but that seems a long time ago.’
The demigod sat. ‘I still mistrust Naxor; that hasn’t changed, and never will. All the same, it was his powers I sensed and without him, I wouldn’t have found you.’
Naxor snorted. ‘Glad to be of use.’
‘I shall never forgive the way you betrayed my mistress,’ said Silva. ‘You broke her heart, despite being unworthy of her love. She’s over you now. She’s put all that behind her. I, however, shall bear her grudge for her.’ She turned back to Corthie. ‘Her Majesty sent me here to look for you.’
‘Belinda knew I’d be coming here?’ said Corthie.
‘Not at first. She told me you were in Kin Dai, and I was making arrangements to sail there when she informed me that you had embarked upon a ship heading south. She needs your help, Corthie.’
Corthie felt an unfamiliar feeling flicker in his chest. It was dread, he realised.
‘Her Majesty is alone,’ Silva went on, ‘and she cannot overcome the two Ascendants in Alea Tanton on her own; she needs you.’
Corthie got to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof, his heart racing. Memories of Leksandr pushing the sword into his heart flooded him, and he felt dizzy and sick. Behind him, he could hear the voices of the others, but he wasn’t taking in their words; all he could think of was how to avoid what Silva was suggesting.
Van walked to his side and gazed out at the view over the harbour.
‘I was wrong,’ said Corthie.
Van said nothing.
‘I was wrong about having a destiny; I was wrong about everything. If I face the Ascendants again, they will kill me again.’
‘Maybe,’ said Van.
Corthie felt tears in his eyes, and he grew angry with himself. Van placed a hand on his back.
‘I failed,’ said Corthie, wiping his eyes; ‘why can’t Belinda see that?’
‘She knows you better than I do,’ said Van. ‘If she thinks you can do it, then I believe her. Come back to the table, and we’ll talk. That’s all – just talk.’
Corthie nodded, and they returned to their seats under the canvas canopy. Naxor raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Corthie’s face, but said nothing.
‘Lady Silva was just telling us,’ said Sohul, ‘about the Third Ascendant.’
‘Yes,’ said Silva. ‘My mistress has been pretending to be loyal to Leksandr and Arete, but her heart lies with the common folk of Khatanax. Her Majesty has been attempting to obstruct the Ascendants, but it is only a matter of time before they realise this.’
‘And the Sextant?’ said Naxor.
‘So far they have not been able to operate it,’ said Silva. ‘Lord Bastion visited. Leksandr and Arete will face the wrath of Implacatus soon if they cannot get the device to work.’
‘Lord Bastion?’ said Corthie.
‘Yes. He is the Second Ascendant’s most powerful emissary. A vile creature, who serves an even viler master.’
Sohul frowned and looked away. Silva glanced at him.
‘Sohul has, um, some religious feelings about the Second Ascendant,’ said Van; ‘as, of course, do many who serve in the Banners.’
Silva narrowed her eyes. ‘Can he be trusted? Perhaps I shouldn’t be revealing secrets to someone who worships Edmond.’
‘Well?’ said Naxor.
‘Is this what it’s come to?’ said Sohul. ‘Are we actually considering opposing the most powerful deity in existence?’ He shook his head. ‘I didn’t sign up for this. It’s insanity, as well as deeply and profoundly blasphemous. The Blessed Second Ascendant is on a level above us all; he is the builder, the creator…’
‘But you’ve already fought the Ascendants,’ said Corthie. ‘You led Fordians against them in Yoneath.’
‘I know,’ snapped Sohul, ‘but
that was different; I was under contract to you, and was obeying the rules of that contract, as any in the Banners would do. And, to be accurate, I was fighting soldiers employed by the Ascendants; I didn’t actually oppose Leksandr or Arete.’
Van gave a wry smile. ‘It might be time to pick a side.’
Sohul glared at him. ‘Have you?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ve always lacked respect for the gods,’ said Sohul, ‘and I’ve always overlooked it, because you were my commanding officer, and a friend. But to rebel against the Ascendants? I don’t think I can.’
‘My mistress is the Third Ascendant,’ said Silva. ‘Could you work for her?’
Sohul stared at the ground, a cigarette burning in his fingers.
‘It might not come to that,’ said Corthie.
They turned to him.
‘I can’t help Belinda, I’m sorry. I have to find Aila and Kelsey. I’ve let them down, and I need to put it right before I can think about doing anything else.’
Silva looked at him in horror. ‘But my mistress is depending on you. Every day that passes in Alea Tanton brings her closer to danger. She risked everything to revive you in the cavern of Fordamere; how can you even consider abandoning her when she needs you the most?’
Corthie said nothing, his guts churning with a barrage of emotions.
‘May I speak?’ said Naxor.
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ said Silva, folding her arms across her chest.
‘All the same,’ Naxor went on, ‘I do have an opinion. Firstly, I think Silva is right. What good will finding Aila and Kelsey do if we lose the worlds we come from? We’ve been lucky, and this may be our last opportunity to stop the Ascendants. Secondly, even if we fail in our primary objective, there will be Quadrants in Alea Tanton, Quadrants that we can use to rescue Aila and Kelsey, and then use to get off this cursed world. I do not intend to die on Lostwell.’ He glanced at Silva. ‘I am well aware that neither you nor Belinda will ever trust me again, and I can live with that. Having said that, I am also perfectly capable of looking after my own interests. If the Ascendants find a way to operate the Sextant, then none of us here will have a home to go to.’
‘I have to agree,’ said Van. ‘I promised Kelsey I’d find her, and if we sail up the west coast, then Alea Tanton’s on the way to where we think she might be. Could we really pass the city and not stop to help?’
‘Belinda should flee,’ said Corthie.
Silva shook her head. ‘That, her Majesty will never do. She has fled in the past, but she has changed since those days. I think she means to stay until the end.’
‘How often does she contact you?’
‘Every other day, usually.’
‘What?’ said Naxor. ‘Her vision can reach all the way down here?’
Silva smiled at him. ‘Yes. Her powers are improving all the time. She could be in your head right now and you wouldn’t know.’
Naxor’s eyes widened. ‘She isn’t, is she?’
‘No, but she could be.’
‘The next time she speaks to you,’ said Corthie, ‘tell her to steal a Quadrant and come to Capston, and then we can rescue Aila and Kelsey, and get out of here.’
‘Were you not listening to me?’ said Silva. ‘Her Majesty would never agree to that, and you should be ashamed to have suggested it. Your world is in mortal peril; would you go back there and blithely hope that your troubles were at an end? It is too late for that; the Ascendants are aware of the Holdfasts, and they will not stop until your family have been destroyed. They cannot tolerate the idea of mortals with powers that can match them.’
‘Hypothetically,’ said Naxor, ‘if we agreed to go as far as Alea Tanton; then how would we fund the trip?’
‘I have plenty of gold,’ said Silva; ‘more than enough for the voyage. For the two mercenaries among us, I’d be happy to draw up a contract that would see both of you well rewarded for your service. Sohul, your honour would remain intact if you worked for the Third Ascendant; she is the Queen of Khatanax, the supreme sovereign authority on Lostwell, and a far more worthy object of your pious devotion.’
‘I don’t need a contract,’ said Van, ‘though I appreciate the offer. As Sohul knows, I’ve always had misgivings about our illustrious Ascendants. I’ve seen them throw their weight around, suppressing worlds and peoples, and crushing anyone who opposes them. They will do to the hidden worlds what they have already done to Lostwell and Dragon Eyre, and the thought sickens me. When I watched Corthie fight Leksandr and Arete, a small glimmer of hope arose in me, that maybe the Ascendants could be beaten. We lost that day, but with Corthie and Belinda together? The two of them destroyed the Banner of the Golden Fist, and they could beat Leksandr and Arete. I don’t need to be paid for this; I’m happy to do it for free.’
‘So, we may have a compromise,’ said Naxor. ‘We sail north, as Corthie wishes, but we go up the west coast, which will bring us close to Alea Tanton, and the Ascendants. Let’s take a boat to Cape Armour, and decide what to do from there. Can we agree to that?’
Silva glared at him. ‘I still don’t trust you, despite your words. But, I acquiesce in this plan.’
‘Me too,’ said Van.
Corthie and Sohul glanced at each other.
‘I would like a contract,’ said the lieutenant. ‘It would go some way to assuage my doubts.’
‘Of course,’ said Silva. ‘I shall have one drawn up before we leave.’ She turned to Corthie. ‘And you?’
‘You lose nothing by agreeing,’ said Naxor, ‘and you’ll have plenty of time to think about it on the voyage.’
Corthie ground his teeth, then picked up the bottle of raki and filled his mug.
‘Fine,’ he muttered. ‘Let’s go to Cape Armour.’
Chapter 16
Apology
F ordian Wastes – 22nd Luddinch 5252
As a child, Sable had loved walking through the desert. Her parents had often taken her to the eastern region of the Holdings, where the grasslands turned into mile after mile of golden sands, a land where wild beasts roamed. Sometimes, when she had been gazing into the desert, she had tried to imagine what it would be like to be completely alone, cut off in the middle of the wasteland, and the thought had sent a thrill of horror down her spine.
The reality was worse than she had imagined. That went not only for the desert, but for her parents too. They had never told her that she was not their natural daughter, that she was, in fact, the illegitimate child of Godfrey Holdfast and Queen Miranda of the Holdings. Deep down, she still thought of herself as a Blackhold, not a Holdfast, and she had never properly digested what it meant to be the daughter of a queen.
She glanced up at the horizon, a hand shielding her eyes from the rays of the sun. Her parentage hardly mattered, not when she was about to expire from dehydration and sunstroke. On the previous day, she had walked until she had collapsed, and then she had awoken in the middle of the cold night, and walked again. The sun had arisen and still she walked, trudging along the hard, dusty ground.
The last time she had thought she was about to die, in the aftermath of Maisk’s death, she had called on the name of Daphne. This time was different. Instead of beseeching her help, Sable used the memory of her half-sister to keep her going. If Daphne wouldn’t give up, then neither would she, no matter how pointless and hopeless the outlook. No one would ever be able to accuse her of being weak, of giving up. She would walk until she fell over and couldn’t get up again, and then she would die.
Despite her situation, she regretted nothing. If she could do it all again, she wouldn’t change a thing. She had been right to keep the existence of the Quadrant a secret from Blackrose, and if the black dragon disagreed, then the black dragon was wrong. How Blackrose had discovered the truth was another matter, and Sable went over everything, trying to grasp an inkling of what had gone awry with her plan. Maddie couldn’t have told her, nor Millen, and Sable herself had been very careful, yet she was convinced t
hat the black dragon hadn’t been bluffing. She had known.
Daphne pushed her way back into her mind. Why couldn’t she shake the memory of her half-sister? She had barely met the woman, let alone got to know her, and yet her thoughts kept returning to the matriarch of the family. One image in particular stood out from the others – the moment Daphne had realised that Sable was a Holdfast. Prior to that, Daphne had been calling for her execution, but when Kelsey had told her the truth, her expression had undergone an immediate transformation, and she had looked at Sable with something approaching sympathy and kinship. The Empress, of course, had been outraged by Daphne’s change of mind; Sable was a traitor who deserved to die, regardless of which family she belonged to, but the Holdfast matriarch had stood her ground, and her half-sister had lived.
Only to die in the Fordian Wastes, she thought. Still, every day beyond the one on which she should have been executed was a day extra, and she had been glad of the time she had spent with Sanguino. Her bond with the dragon had made her last month one of the best in her life. Together they had flown, when everyone else had thought it impossible. They had shown the doubters; they had killed Grimsleep, and no one could ever take that away.
She pushed the dark red dragon from her thoughts, aware that it was one of the few things that might cause her steps to falter. She loved him; it was undeniable. Like him, she was broken and maimed, and they each had a past in which they had done things that had tarnished how everyone else viewed them; but despite that, they had believed in each other.
She fell to her knees, swayed, then toppled over, lying on the baked surface of the desert. The sun was climbing the eastern sky, and the heat was growing with every minute that passed.
Get up, said the imaginary voice of Daphne in her head. Rest when you are dead.
Sable struggled back to her feet, her mind swimming in a cloud of exhaustion.
‘Thank you,’ she muttered. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ said a voice in front of her.
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