She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) (27 page)

‘What do you mean, General?’ old Tudor asked with puzzlement.

‘You cannot cross the mountains.  The way is blocked by a horde of desert-men.  Surely, you will be turning back.’

‘That is not possible, General.  We will not return without the Empress and her son.  You mentioned other ways through the mountains, across the high paths?’

‘That is madness, My Lord,’ he retorted, incredulous at the notion, before recovering his sober demeanour.  ‘I beg your pardon, My Lord.  Please excuse my surprise.  The high paths are treacherous at the best of times and
,
at this time of year
,
it is suicide to venture so high.  If you took a hundred men through, perhaps five might survive.’

‘Be
that
as it may, General, we are magicians and we cannot turn back.  We will leave our Imperial escort behind
if need be
and proceed on foot,’ to which Captain Orrell nodded his agreement.

‘Is it wise to abandon our escort?’ Goodfellow asked worriedly.

‘I understand your concerns, Master Goodfellow,’ Tudor responded over his shoulder, raising a finger of calm, ‘but it would not be wise for Captain Orrell and his men to accompany us.  We could not protect so many.  They would only be a hindrance.’

‘It does sound rather
risky
,’ Samuel added.

‘You forget yourself, Lord Samuel,’ Tudor replied, his patience wearing thin.  ‘We are not oafs fumbling around in the darkness.  I am a Lion of Cintar, and you three are Magicians of the Order.  We will cross the mountains
together
.’

Samuel felt Turian stubbornness affecting the Grand Master’s decision, but he could say no more.

‘Then so be it,’ General Mar agreed.  ‘I can provide you with a guide who knows the mountains well.  When it is time for you to leave, I will summon him.’

They were taken to small, yet comfortably furnished, rooms to retire for the evening
—
tiny cells
sculpted
into the outer walls of the tower.  As night fell, Samuel closed his tiny window tightly shut for
,
with the sun’s setting
,
the already brisk air now carried a frigid bite.  Goodfellow
’s
bunk
shared
the tiny room
with him
,
leaving
barely walking space between them, and
Goodfellow
had slipped out to fetch their dinner. 

Samuel was just sitting on the side of his bed, scratching his chin and making some notes in his journal
,
when there was an insistent tapping on the door.  At first
,
he thought it was Goodfellow returned, but the energy of the person on the other side was not his, although familiar.  Samuel pulled open the door to find Lady River facing him.  She brushed past him at once and swept into his room.

‘Close the door, Magician,’ she told him.  ‘We must be quick.’  Samuel did as he was told, not quite sure what to expect.  ‘I have much to tell you, and I am watched closely.  I can tell Lady Leaf I became lost in the halls, which is not far from the truth, but I can only make excuses for so long.  This may be the
last
chance I have to speak with you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘These people, my countrymen, have been sent here to achieve some secret purpose.  They have sacrificed countless lives to reach your lands and will stop at nothing.’

‘What do you mean?  To what end?’

‘I don’t know, but everything Canyon has told you is
a
lie.  He belongs to a secret group that holds great power.  They have stolen our god from her temple and set her on this accursed voyage.  There is some reason why they have brought her all the way here, but I don’t know what it is.  All I can say is that it must be of extreme importance to them, and of extreme evil.  Whatever their plan, I am sure it has something to do with this place, for otherwise Canyon would never have agreed to come.’

‘You know nothing about his plans?’

‘No.  But please be careful.  He is without conscience and I know he has already met other members of his brethren here.  I had no idea they had infiltrated even so far away from Koia as here.’

‘The Circle of Eyes,’ Samuel said.

Her eyes went wide, revealing the whites around her brown coronas.  ‘How did you know?  Are you with them?’ and she stepped back against the wall.

‘No, I am not with them.  They exist here, too, and I learned of their ways long ago.  I have not heard from them in a long time, but that means little.  They are always up to no good, as you say.’

The explanation seemed to placate her fears.  ‘They must be stopped.  I am sure they plan to use our god in unspeakable ways.’

‘What ways?’

‘She does not want to do bad things, but Canyon can make her.  He knows how to make people do things they don’t want to do and our god does not know the common ways of people.  She has been cared for in the temple all her life and does not know when people lie to her.  She can do terrible things, Magician.  More horrible than you could imagine.’

‘What things?  I don’t understand.’

‘Do you know what happened to all the people on our ship?  Some died of starvation and some died of other things, but most of them were sacrificed to keep her strong, or to remove them from Canyon’s way.  Anyone who threatened his plans soon disappeared.  I heard them screaming, Magician, and the sounds haunt me to this day.’ 

The girl sobbed into her cupped hands and looked set to collapse, so Samuel stepped towards her and held her by the arms.  She was trembling with fright
,
a tiny frail thing looking at him with a pleading expression.

‘What do you mean?  What did she do to them?’

‘She is a god, Magician.  She did what gods do to us mortals when they are finished with us.  She ate them.’

Samuel did not know if he should believe her.  The girl seemed sincere, but her story was incredible.

‘Please,’ she continued, stepping out of his grasp and attempting to collect herself.  ‘You must help me to stop them.  I cannot do it by myself.  There is only one way to halt their plans, whatever they may be.’

‘What is that?’ Samuel asked.

‘You must kill her.  Listen to me.  The men guarding her are deadly and must be avoided.  They will protect her with their lives.  She must be stabbed through the heart or head or crushed beyond recognition—and it must be done quickly, before she can realise what is happening or she will have time to defend herself.  She only has to reach for you.  Her touch is death!’

Samuel shook his head.  ‘I will not kill her.’

‘You must!’ the girl pleaded, again stepping close to him and grasping his shirtfront.  ‘Or at least promise me this—if at last you see what they are doing with her, do
the deed
then, before it is too late.  I don’t know what they plan, but they have crossed half the world to achieve something and she is crucial to whatever it may be.  Do not
hesitate on
our god
’s behalf
.  I know she appears helpless, but her spirit is eternal.  The moment you smite her, she will be freed from her body and reborn once again.  There is nothing to fear from her death, but she should never have been brought to this land.  It is Canyon’s doing.’

‘Lady River,’ he told her.  ‘I will heed your words, but I will need to speak with the others.  It sounds quite fantastic.’

‘Do not!’ she gasped.  ‘Do not trust anyone.  If they suspect me of anything at all, they will kill me.  I came to you, Magician, because I have heard you are also in their plans.  I know you can be trusted.  No doubt, they have some evil intention for you, too.  I only hope I have not brought more danger upon you by coming to you, but I don’t know whom else I can trust.  I am the only one left.’

‘You can trust me, Lady,’ Samuel said, trying to placate her fears.  ‘I will keep your secret, but I will not kill her either.  I cannot kill an innocent woman, no matter what she
is capable of
do
ing
.  I will wait, and gather more information.  But
,
if the time arrives as you say, I will act accordingly.  You can be assured.’

With that, she nodded thoughtfully and pulled away from him.  ‘I only hope you can act in time.  Then good night,’ she said, and slipped back out the door, with Samuel popping his head out to follow her departure.

She had barely disappeared around the corner before Goodfellow came along the other
corridor
with two plates piled
high
full of steaming food.  ‘What are you doing with your head out in the hallway?’ he asked, but Samuel would not say.  They went inside to eat their meals, with Samuel’s mind set fairly on all the girl had told him.

His dreams that night were of a city in flames.  A black-cloaked figure stood overlooking the ruin, watching on in the flickering light.  Within the shadow of his hood
,
the figure bore a look of content
ment
, and the face within that cowl was
Samuel’s
own.  Wails and screams filled the air, but he did nothing to stop it, for everything as such was wonderful.  As he held out his hand and clenched his fist shut, the land before him turned black as ashes and all the lives were extinguished as one. 

He knew he should feel guilty, but the promise of such terrible power was truly thrilling and it was only a dream, after all.  As the clouds of his dream churned and boiled, he set himself into them willingly, searching for more such beautiful destruction.

The morning was freezing and Samuel had to trot across the narrow tiled floor in
their
room, making for the haven of the one small rug.  He washed
from
a bowl of hot water and dressed—thankful for his thick Order robes.  More than once during the night, he had been woken from his dreams and damned himself for being so reliant on the Argum Stone.  It would only have taken a trickle of power to warm his icy bones, but a trickle of power was something the relic could not offer him.  It was a weapon of all or nothing
,
and his attempts to control the object had still met such limited success.

He had half-expected the Paatin to attack while he slept, but no one had come to wake him in the night.  He vaguely remembered Goodfellow getting up earlier and leaving him to sleep in.  His stomach was grumbling and so he hurried from his room and began following the directions to the dining room that Goodfellow had given him in a lacklustre fashion the night before.  He could feel Grand Master Tudor and Master Celios not far away and so
,
between his magician’s senses and the occasional directions given by passing soldiers, he finally managed to find breakfast.  In the last few turns, the smells that wafted along the halls were all he needed to guide his way.

The room was warm and full of steaming goodness—bacon, sausages, eggs and the like—and the others were sitting together, already most of the way through their meal.  Goodfellow waved to Samuel as he neared.  Sir Ferse, as expected, was sitting tightly next to Master Celios and the Koian men were even dining at the table beside.  Only the Koian women were absent and Samuel assumed they would be eating privately in their rooms.  Soldiers were champing at their meals at the dozens of other tables; the room was full of the clattering and chattering noises of men and their breakfasting.

‘As you can see, the Paatin are yet to attack,’ said Grand Master Tudor as Samuel stepped over the bench and sat himself down.  ‘I presume you had a decent night’s rest.’