Hawkmoon (The Hawkmoon Chronicles) (21 page)

You must understand that this order was no easier for me to give than it will be for you to obey

Morah.

                                                                 
   The Void.

Hawkmoon let the axe  blaze to light the long dark. They were in a broad space, a tunnel at the far side. The floor was hidden in mist.   Shadows danced on the walls. Bekter’s foot was seized. He shouted as he fell, the mist covering him. Hawkmoon turned  and  pulled him backto his feet.. A  mass of scaled forms gathered at the edges.. They hurled themselves forward in a mass, impeding each other in their hunger to get at those who  had dared to come to the Halls of the Dead. They were  smaller than men; black eyes; a long tooth in the centre of their mouths

Hawkmoon shouted. “Stay beside me, don’t get separated.”  Soulbiter had no weapons, nor did it need them. It slashed with the left  claw, snatched the second in its jaws and gutted the third with its right. As they fell, they shrivelled. More rushed in.  The demon blocked one side of the tunnel; Hawkmoon the other. Bekter  stood behind, terrified..

A spear flew at Hawkmoon. He batted it to one side, flashing the blades. Fighting fury took over. They ran at him to burst at the touch of the axe. He roared. “Ngidla” I have eaten.

The demon uttered a guttural laugh. Time slowed; the press of hell fiends grew eyes feral with hunger…

Bekter  lashed down, striking his own foot... One had gotten   above Hawkmoon, clinging to the ceiling with its talons. As it gathered to drop onto his back. Bekter  ran at Hawkmoon and dragged him back ..He moved into his place striking with  the Tulwar. They fell in swathes around him. He chased them from the tunnel, emerging in a broad chamber. An icy blast   slowed him. He could hear them in the side tunnels. Silence fell, marred by the tread of heavy feet.

An immense shape loomed out of the shadows. It walked upright whipping a long tail, armoured and tipped . Hawkmoon came out too late to shout a warning and Bekter was unprepared when it seized his mind, searching as though it were an empty house. It pried in rooms that had never been opened. It unlocked doors to rooms he never knew existed. It showed him endless hope and utter despair.  All his memories were laid bare. His boyhood;the slavers that took his family... The day in the forest when he saw his wife. It spoke to him…

Someone was slapping him. He opened his eyes. Hawkmoon  was kneeling  at his side ,hand raised. Soulbiter was standing behind. The guardian  waited at the head of the bridge.

Bekter caught his tunic. “ Hawkmoon, listen to me. This is something  that cannot be defeated. It knows what you are about to do as you think it. You cannot stand against this and live.” Hawkmoon stared at the guardian. “Truly, my friend, I do not have a choice. This is a fight that has been a long time coming”. Hawkmoon crossed to the bridge where the Guardian stood barring the way.  Wiping the blades he calmed his breathing.

Soulbiter  waited standing at Bekter’s side. Looking at his friend Hawkmoon at his friend saw  the fear and the courage that held it in check. The demon would see his Bekter returned to the world. “If I fall, take the axe to the rangers.”

They were expecting a nobleman, as finely decked as the ambassador. No one  paid heed to the smelly little man begging scraps from the kitchen..Since no one  spoke Chian it was decided he was a vagrant who, when he was  fed, should be sent on his way.  Chagatai was saddking a horse at the main gate as he was leaving. The little fellow was  muttering. He stopped when the tribesman addressed him in his mother tongue.

Paldor was deeply embarrassed and utterly apologetic. The best rooms were placed at his disposal. When the girls brought him breakfast he sent it back asking for a plate of boiled rice with vegetables. He spurned the bed preferring to sleep curled up on the floor.

If his time with Chagatai had been difficult the regime set by the little Chian was beyond endurance. No running in heat with full packs, no beatings with wooden swords, no endless classes while his body craved sleep; nevertheless he found himself wishing for oblivion. A flat roof had been set aside for the training. No one could see them but if they had they would see a  small little man and a warrior, seated in meditative pose as the sun blazed for endless hours. At times the younger man would break into laughter, hysterical, and tinged with madness. On others he wept like a lost child.  He learnt about   the Void and how to survive the creatures that existed there . How to defeat them; how to avoid the ones that could not be defeated.   His greatest lesson was fear.

He showed the master what happened that day in the arena. One moment he was fighting for his life and losing. The next he was standing outside himself... It was the response of the body pushed beyond its limits. Most men died. A few  reached  for powers they had never suspected . It was  temporary, enough to deal with  the danger and  get away. The master warned him.  For a brief time he would be invincible. If it continued his body would fail and he would die.

A javelin darted from its claw. To the onlookers it was a blur of motion.  Hawkmoon lifted the blade, turning it to one side.   It came forward, its tail sweeping to take his legs. He swung the axe. The tip parted in a welter of black gore. Hawkmoon stepped to his left, his foot close to a crack in the floor. He stepped over it so that he was straddling the fissure. As it came close it raised the spear. He made no attempt to block, instead he let it pass  to  plunge into the floor. For an instant it held the spear as if not understanding what had happened. As it hesitated the axe came up; the blade flashing  through the its  claw Hawkmoon advanced on the Guardian.

Bekter shouted. “Hawkmoon  be patient . Let it  bleed.”

Black gore  poured from the severed wrist.  It picked a heavy sword and leaped across  the intervening space . He watched the demon as it moved through the space in a weird slow motion. The sword struck granite in a shower of sparks and shattered.  It landed looking for its elusive foe. Pain lanced from both feet as  Hawkmoon darted past  slashing at the tendons. It collapsed on the floor, struggling to rise. Hawkmoon flashed the axe burying it in the demon’s chest.

It gazed at Hawkmoon. “You fight well, man of two worlds.”Leaving  the axe aside  he took a crystal and  placed it  against the wound. The bleeding ceased but started again. “Your magic has no benefit for our kind. “ Hawkmoon stood guard , keeping the fiends at bay as the  creature decomposed. Bekter came up with Soulbiter. He shook his head.

“I don’t understand how you won. He could read your mind”

“I didn’t think.”

“It said to tell you that if you won you would have free passage of the Underworld.”

“You understand his language?”

Bekter shrugged. “It’s a long story….Shall we get on? This place is beginning to wear on me”

They crossed the bridge in single file. Another Guardian  stood at the other side. As they approached it stood aside, bowing to Hawkmoon.

                                                                 The Hanging Tree

“Death is the only god who loves not gifts.” Aeschylus.

Their way led upwards but not to the light. After a measureless time  they emerged on a plain of jagged rock lit by a strange phosphorescence   Passing  through a wood of  broken trees.. one stood apart, decorated with corpses, hanging by ropes. Hawkmoon felt his friends’ terror. “Don’t look “

But he did look  and one of them looked at him. It was Shula . Her skin was grey.  A torn shift covered her to the waist. Blood ran in in gobs between her legs. Straightening her broken neck she looked at him through blackened eyes.

“Do you see what you have done? Are you happy now…?

Bekter shouted a strangled cry and reached to her...Hawkmoon dragged him away and propped him against a stone. It watched as he approached.

“Hawkmoon, how the girls love Hawkmoon”

“What is your name?”

It giggled. “You want to know our name? Come closer, we’ll whisper.”

Unwrapping the leather on the axe head he held it out. ”You know this?” The tree swayed  as the creatures hanging there became agitated. “Take it away…”

“What would happen if I laid the blades to the trunk? You would fall below where the Hiders wait… They are always hungry.” He put a finger to his lips” Be silent. Do not speak again” He returned to Bekter who was   nursing a bruise at the back of his head.

“You hit me”

“I will do it again if you don’t behave...”

“It was Shula”

Hawkmoon crouched, taking hold of  Bekter by the shoulders.”. Listen to me… Everything you see here is a lie meant to lead you to despair. You know your wife.  Is this how she will meet her fate? If the Dark One came to her she would spit in his eye… I should never have asked you to go on this quest. When we get out you are going back to your family. One of us will live through this…”

They took turns to stand guard while the other slept. Bekter asked Hawkmoon to call the Soulbiter but he refused. The less he saw of it the better. For all the trouble that came to them in the long watches of that endless night they slept like innocent children.

The food ran low. They cut it to handfuls, eaten on the move…. Water ran at every side, taunting them. It trickled from the rocks within arm’s reach. It only needed to stretch out a hand... Bekter tripped on a root.  He gotback to his feet wondering at the size of tree that could send its roots so deep... They stood at the lip of a long stairs cut from rock. It swept down into a wide hall, the floor strewn with broken furniture. To the left a dais topped by a vacant throne.  Their hope had been that the long journey in the dark was taking them  up to the world of light. Rather they contemplated a long descent to a ruined and sterile place. Gold  and gems sparked   on the floor  They crossed without a glance to either side... They hurried to where shadows waited. Bekter caught sight of stairs.  . Racing up the steps, his legs trembled with the effort. He leaned, one hand on  the wall. Perspiration ran in his eyes. Water ran over his hand
Just a sip, no harm in that… surely?

A shaft of light came from above. Hawkmoon shouted. “We’re getting close..”Bekter wiped his hand on his tunic and steeled himself. His legs buckled threatening to pitch him sideways where the abyss waited…Cold air brushed at them sweet with the tang of water. Stars loomed in a patch of lesser dark

Bekter stood to the edge of a long drop Sucking freezing air into his lungs, he started to cough.  It felt good... Snow clad  peaks glowered at them from their ice locked fastness. They gazes over a moraine of ice banded with lines of rubble.  On the heights mountain sheep gazed at the intruders..

They climbed to the summit. Daybreak was showing before they topped a rise to catch glimpses of the Challon  to the northwest.. They waited as cloud drifted to reveal the  Shanan where it made its junction with the main river. On Tarsis he told the Undine to come north of the small river. But crossing the Void had saved over a month. The Elves  might not have left the river valley  yet...  It would be too dangerous waiting in open country with  Reivers  hunting. They would make for  Elfhome. 

Clouds were massing as they came to the treeline.  They clambered through knee high drifts, Bekter swearing, happy to be out of that terrible place. Light snow thickened to a blizzard. Resting behind a deadfall that gave them a measure of protection they tried and failed to start a fire...   Hawkmoon had lost two coats; one  at  the Gorge the other  stolen in the Void. Bekter’s was made from the hide of a Bison with strips of leather to draw the hood over the face.  He wrapped it around them. The coat was large but not enough for two big men. “Now we can  both freeze.”

The previous day they had seen a line of cliffs. Cliffs meant caves; cave that stored the heat of summer. They would be cool but not freezing. Rudimentary snowshoes were made of rawhide strips  and  pine branches It took most of the morning to pass the woods. The question of whether  the cliffs  had caves was never decided. In the afternoon they came upon a cabin half buried in the drifts With  skies looming, they cleared enough  to get inside.

Heaped snow insulated the house, muffling the wind. In the way of the wild a fire had been laid. A stack of  timber stood by the hearth. The cabin showed the handiwork of a craftsman; walls sealed with mortar, windows double shuttered with seasoned timber. A single bed spoke of a man alone.

Bekter exclaimed when he found the larder packed with dry goods. Underneath was a chestful of potatoes. Some had rotted but most were edible. Hanging from a nail in the back room Bekter found a side of cured venison.  Hawkmoon built  the fire  while Bekter prepared the food.  He roasted slices of  meat  and boiled potatoes... Bekter called down blessings on the owner when he found sealed pitchers of ale. “When will we meet the Elves?”

“The time I gave the Undine is wrong by a month. Nothing is moving in this weather”

“Except  madmen like us”

Bekter  found a  pouch of tobacco. A full stomach, log fire and a pipe meant only one thing. Bekter was about to start talking. Knowing the signs Hawkmoon pulled the cot in front of the fire and bid him good night.

The storm lasted a week .Their gratitude to the previous occupant knew no bounds on discovering a sled and the materials needed to make snowshoes. On the sixth morning they forced the door to find snow at the lintel. When they dug their way out the world was blanketed in drifts. The Shanan would freeze if it had not done so already.  The Challon would freeze if it stayed like this for long enough.  If that happened wolves would come on the Plains.

“Do you get the feeling that someone wants to keep us here?”

“I have never seen a year like it. Still the harder the Winter the longer it will be before they  start the invasion” Hawkmoon  looked back to the mountains.” If it stays clear for another day we will move. We have  snowshoes  and a sled. It will be hard but as we get near Elfhome it should get easier.”

They let a day pass as they prepared. Most of the venison was eaten. What remained was in their packs along with oats and dried apples.  They left the cabin in the woods after cleaning the fire and preparing it for the next traveller. Hawkmoon left a gold Ducat, Bekter ten silvers.

They were at the Shanan in three days. As expected the river was frozen. Mournful calls heralded the arrival of a pack of white wolves crossing from the other side. They gathered around Hawkmoon, who knelt in the snow as the leader came to him...The pack stood, gazing at Bekter with eyes of amber.  After a long pause, while wind whipped the branches the pack leader climbed the bank. They faded into the trees. Bekter let his breath out.

“There are  Reivers  in front of us.  They destroyed a troop of Elves, probably the scouts sent to meet us “

Bekter had fought Reivers. It came as no surprise that they would hunt Elves “Did your friend happen to mention where we might expect to meet them?”

” They are between us and Elfhome.  The screen gets thinner the further out we go. If we move to the Challon we can get round.”

They stopped at noon. Water dripped from trees and ran in gullies beneath the snow.  Bekter looked at the tracks left by the sled “If they cut our trail they will have no difficulty in running us down”Hawkmoon was about to answer when two figures emerged from the woods, dressed in buckskins, armed with longbows.  Bekter marvelled at the sight of feet leaving the barest mark in the snow. One was older, nut brown from years in the  wild. He carried a wicked looking knife in a sheath at his belt. The other was young, barely out of his teenage years. “Well met Hawkmoon, we have been waiting for you”

“Not so well met as in former days. I have brought trouble to your lands and now I hear that you have lost kin”

“War is gathering. It cannot be avoided...”

“This is Bekter, He is….”

“We know Bekter. He is valiant. You are both welcome. This is Logan, I am Shadrach. We will take you to the King.

“It was our plan to wait until dark and switch our path back to Elfhome. They cannot track us in darkness”

“There are hunters  behind  and more to the front. Others are closing in. It is their dearest wish to see your head mounted on the throne of the First Marshal. We heard of the destruction of the crossing. Those who lost the bridge have nothing to look forward to but lingering death unless they bring back the culprit.”Bekter looked at the Elf .”With enemies closing in from all sides I trust you know of a means of escape” Logan  shook his head. “Alas no, my friend, we will have to fight and I will not leave this forest until I have taken revenge for what they did this day”

“We were told that they had wiped out a troop of Elves”

“Seven were killed and one escaped. We found their remains.”

Hawkmoon took his pack and weapons. “We have to move. The place to make a stand cannot be in the open. I assume you know of such a place.”

Logan smiled. “Indeed I do, my friend. It will be an honour to fight with you”