"No, no, not that. It's Raal Haidar - can we trust him?"
"Trust?" she murmured, and shrugged. "All I can say is that he has proved a valuable travelling companion thus far. Wouldn't you say?"
The swordswoman looked sceptical. "Something about him makes my blood run cold. I just look at him and..." She shook her head.
Suviel frowned, wondering. What if she was right? Could this Haidar be an Acolyte priest, or a created Wellsource mage like the Warlord Grazan? But they had all been acted upon by Haidar's sorcerous shapings, and Suviel was sure that the tall man's power did not derive from the Wellsource. She remembered the feel of it, the hot-stone smell, the texture.
"I don't know what his purpose is," Suviel said, trying to sound assured. "But I don't believe that he's a danger to us."
Keren shrugged, a gesture eloquent with doubt, and slipped out past the ponies. After fixing the torch in a cleft in the cave wall, Suviel followed her.
By the time the rain eased off, the day was showing signs of dimming, the iron grey of the sky darkening towards the east. No-one was eager to spend the night in a cold cave though, so out into the cold and the damp they went, continuing north. The rain lessened to a sparse shower but the wind picked up, a true autumnal blast driving icy droplets into their faces. Suviel tugged the hood of her tattered cloak tighter and rubbed her cheeks and nose to bring warmth and feeling back. Through her own shivering she could feel her pony tremble and knew they would have to find refuge soon.
A copse of tall trees emerged from the darkness ahead and they came to a fork in the trail. Keren reined in her mount and pointed to the track leading off.
"I remember there being a holding behind those trees," she said. "We could ask them for shelter."
A holding there was but there were no lights to welcome them, only the abandoned shell of a farmhouse and a few huts. They found one with a mostly intact roof and after lighting a fire in the crude hearth and wringing out their wettest clothing, they settled down for the night with Gilly taking the first watch.
They rose early to the sound of wind gusting in the trees and sighing through the gaps in their dilapidated hut. Outside the sky was a vista of thunderheads and dark rafts of cloud hurrying north on the wings of a gale. Riding away from the wrecked steading, it seemed that the wind which had opposed their progress yesterday was now urging them onwards.
Before long they entered Ilonye Dale, the valley that led to the border of Prekine. It was narrower than Ubanye Dale, the ground more uneven, the mountainsides steeper and more densely forested. Mist hazed the distance and shrouded the heights as they left the main way for the concealment of the woods, picking their way along disused tracks. Whenever the vegetation thinned Suviel caught glimpses of the farmlands below, small neat fields, herds of cattle and goats. So peaceful and normal, she thought bitterly, almost as if the invasion and all its pain and destruction had not been felt here. Then shame touched her with the certainty that most of those below would have lost some loved one either in the invasion or as a result of the mad folly of Gunderlek's rebellion.
It was near noon when they cleared the trees. The valuable cover of dense wood lay on the other side of a hummocky incline thick with grass, fallen leaves and unseen mudholes. They were barely half way across when a group of riders emerged onto the slope further down. Keren cursed.
"Mogaun!"
"They have not seen us yet," Suviel said. "Just stay calm and head for that gap." She pointed to where the trees stopped before a sheer rocky outcrop that rose to join a great shattered ridge. Then angry cries went up behind them and as one they urged their mounts into a gallop.
"Honoured Haidar," said Gilly above the drumming of hooves. "A demonstration of your powers might be most useful."
"If we encounter genuine difficulty, I will give your request serious consideration."
"I am comforted," Gilly said. "Truly, I am."
They raced for the gap, slowing as they approached and in single file passed through at a swift canter. Beyond was a high-sided gorge with a stream that poured down to the valley. Upstream was a boulder-strewn slope and a jutting rock ledge. Without pause they turned away from the valley and rode along the shallow stream. Their pursuers were in the gorge by the time they reached the ledge and arows clattered on the rocks as they dashed away over the rise -
And found themselves riding into a small Mogaun camp. Startled warriors shouted and leaped aside as they galloped through, scattering sparks from the campfire and knocking over a crude tent. Gilly was out in front and he looked back with a wild look in his face as he pointed to a copse off to the right from which more spear-wielding riders had appeared.
"Is this dangerous enough for you?" Gilly said, glaring at Haidar. "Or has your courage failed you?"
The sorcerer gave him a venomous look. "We are in the shadow of the Acolytes, child. Any use of my powers here would be as a blazing beacon in the night to their eyes. Now hold your tongue."
Gilly flushed at this and Suviel spoke before he could reply.
"We do not have time for such pleasantries," she said. "This way - follow!"
She led them at a gallop away from the oncoming riders, down a bushy defile to where it joined a pass she was certain would bring them out near the edge of Prekine. She was right. The high, narrow walls widened to reveal sparsely wooded hills and a group of mountainous peaks beyond. There were also dozens of Mogaun on foot and on horse converging on the mouth of the pass, their whoops answered by others from above. Suviel slowed her horse to a trot and looked round to see more of the enemy up on either side of the pass. In despair she wheeled to confront Raal Haidar.
"Help us," she said. "What else can we do?"
When he refused to meet her gaze, she held back her anger, gathered what sense of inner calm she had and began the thought-canto of Cadence. She brought the elements together one by one, imagining it as a sequence of beads on a string, while constantly aware of the Mogaun coming nearer, their cries full of glee. She caught Gilly's eye.
"Cover your ears," she said as she felt the canto gyre in her thoughts and the Lesser Power respond, an ebbing, a flowing, a pendulum surge mounting higher and higher. Her breathing slowed, deepened, the air chilling her mouth, nostrils and chest.
"Now," she heard Keren whisper. "Now..."
The Lesser Power swirled up through her, caressing her spine, enfolding her senses, rising to her throat as she opened her mouth, lungs full to bursting, ready to release it all in a single, shattering, unstoppable -
And the power died within her.
In horror she regarded the oncoming savages, then snapped her head round to stare at Raal Haidar. The sorcerer had his head bowed, hands held slightly away from his body, palms downward. One Mogaun warrior was ahead of the rest and as he came running towards them, grinning madly, spear cocked to throw, Haidar suddenly flung his hands upwards and the ground around them erupted. Suviel saw the Mogaun torn apart by the torrent of rock and soil as a fierce drone filled the air and made the air in her throat rasp. Her eyes vibrated in their sockets, a stinging that brought tears.
Then the harsh sound was gone and a bone-white radiance bathed their surroundings. They were back in the desolate domain of Kekrahan, and the far-off immense cliffs Suviel had glimpsed before now towered above them, heights lost in cloud. Reining in her panicky horse, Suviel noticed Gilly riding towards her, down a barren slope, and heard howls in the distance.
"The black creatures!" he cried. "There's scores of them heading this way."
"Have you seen Keren and Haidar?"
"No, but I did see packs of those things converging on the other side of that hill."
The howls were getting closer as they rode madly for the hilltop. Suviel saw Keren and the sorcerer halfway up the opposite slope, fighting off dozens of the creatures, one with sword and shield, the other with red bolts of fire. Then she looked over her shoulder and saw that a hundred or more were almost upon them. She began the thought-canto of Ember and drew the long dagger she seldom used.
"We'll have to make our stand here," she told Gilly. White-faced, the trader nodded and readied his blade as the first wave of creatures crested the hill...and raced right past them.
"Why?..." Gilly said in confusion.
Suviel stared in disbelief at the coursing mass of black forms, then across at where Haidar and Keren were hemmed in by scores of attackers scrambling over one and another. Then the sorcerer laughed, raised clenched fists above his head and hurled a wide scythe of fire at the nearest creatures. There was a crimson flash, a roar and smoke. When the smoke cleared, Suviel saw that the ground was covered in mangled yet bloodless remains of the creatures. And at the centre of the dreadful carnage stood Raal Haidar, one hand holding Keren tightly by the neck, the other oustretched. For a moment Suviel thought the sorcerer was helping her stand till she saw the swordswoman's weak and futile attempts to break free. Then as more of the black dog-things arrived and moved closer, the sorcerer's form began to change.
Seams burst, garments ripped open and fell away in tatters. Shoulders widened and arms lengthened while the head grew large and reptilian. Muscles shifted beneath skin pebbled with scales of ebony and emerald. The hands became big and powerful, the fingers tipped with short, pointed talons. A pair of enormous, membranous wings spread from the great shoulders and an armoured tail lashed lazily to and fro.
For Suviel recognition was immediate.
"Daemonkind," she whispered in horror.
The being tilted its head and warm golden eyes met her gaze across the intervening gap.
"How pleasing to be remembered." Its voice was rich and deep.
"Why are you here?" Suviel cried in anger. "Who called you?"
"Not so pleasing, however, is your disrespect." Some of the black creatures ventured close to the Daemonkind who knocked them back with a sweep of one spiny wing. "Know this, insect, that I am Orgraaleshenoth, prince of the Israganthir, and that I will have my vengeance!" The Daemonkind reached out to point at Suviel. "And I will have what you seek, woman. I had thought to make use of you all in my plans - " He looked down at Keren who hung limply in his grasp. " - but on closer inspection I see that this one will be enough."
A group of the black creatures moved towards the Daemonkind and were blasted into ruin.
"So you're going to slay us," Suviel said with forced calmness.
A dark grin came over that inhuman visage. "Ah, no – there are other choices more pleasing." He glanced up at the veiled heights of the cliffs. "But my bringing you here has attracted some unwelcome attention, so allow me to convey you both from this place." He looked at Gilly. "First you. Enjoy what is to come."
"No, wait!..." Gilly began.
Then his horse was empty. Suviel swallowed at the dryness in her throat, and wiped her perspiring hands on her cloak as she turned to face the Daemonkind prince. Keren was struggling against the fist that gripped her neck and Suviel's composure almost broke at the sight.
In the name of the Mother
! she thought in despair.
I've failed us all
.
The cruel grin widened. "I know exactly where to send you."
And suddenly she was plunged into darkness. For long, tormented moments Suviel thought that she had been blinded, then sight slowly came back. It was night and she was in a forest, sitting on wet, leaves under a thick canopy of vegetation that cut off even the faintest starlight. She stood, brushed decaying leaves from her robe and tried to guess where she might be. Then she was weeping, face bowed into her hands as the shock and grief of what had happened sank in.
She drew a shuddering breath, held it for several seconds before releasing it in a long exhalation. She had to be in command of herself or she was truly lost. Suviel leaned against a mossy tree, letting the calming silence of the forest imbue her thoughts with peace. Then she held her breath again, all motion frozen, her senses alert. There were voices, right at the edge of audibility.
Carefully feeling her way, she moved towards the sound. She slipped and fell several times but a vague glow appeared through the foliage and slowly grew. Soon she could see the flicker of a campfire in a clearing and figures sitting round it. Caution asserted itself and she studied them through the leafy branches - most seemed to be men, apart from one who looked female with short fair hair and a rangy physique. Suviel could see only part of the woman's face since she was concentrating on the blade that was balanced on her knees, hands working its edge with a whetstone...
Exhilaration and relief coursed through her at the sight of that familiar motion. Dizzy with joy she pushed aside the springy foliage to enter the clearing -
Someone grabbed her from behind and kicked her feet from under her. Pain shot up her right arm when she hit the ground.
"Who is this?"
"I followed her, a spy maybe."
"Please, no..." she gasped. "Keren! - it's me, Suviel..."
Hands seized her roughly and hauled her onto her back. A ring of men stared down at her, faces hard with suspicion, then another came into view, the woman, Keren...
...but not Keren. She gazed at Suviel and recognition lit up her features, along with a smile of hungry satisfaction.
"You!" Suviel whispered.
Byrnak's creation, the mirrorchild Nerek, squatted beside her and said;
"Retribution has begun."
* * *
Everything vanished with savage abruptness, and for an instant Gilly Cordale felt as if the very air was being sucked from his lungs. For one black, terrifying instant…
Then it was light and he was rolling down a steep slope of dry earth and pebbles, fighting to find a grip or even to slow his descent. To no avail. With his clothes covered in dirt, his mouth full of grit and his senses aspin, he came to a halt at the foot of the slope. Cursing, he spat out a few tiny rock fragments and lurched to his feet to discover that he was at the bottom of a dried-up flood gully.