‘What have you done?’ moaned the usually reticent Tiniq.
Isak tore his eyes away from the bats for a moment; General Lahk’s twin looked like he was about to be sick. He felt a shudder echo through the air from the wall and looked back to see the bats had vanished, to be replaced by a tall figure holding aloft a tall silver standard topped by a stylised sculpted shape.
‘What is that?’ Vesna asked grimly, loosening his sword. ‘Have you woken another elemental?’ His tone wasn’t accusatory, just determined.
‘Piss and blood,’ Tiniq replied, dazed, ‘look at the standard.’
They all did so, then Vesna hissed with trepidation, ‘Merciful Death, Isak, it’s the Gatekeeper.’
‘Gatekeeper?’ Isak said. He thought he recognised the standard from somewhere - a circle open on one side with a fist pushed in -but the memory was old, indistinct. Suddenly his heart chilled. ‘The Herald of Death?’ he gasped.
‘It must be,’ Vesna said, though he sounded scarcely able to believe what he was saying. ‘The Herald takes the dead through his hallway, “where only bats and Gods may linger”, and on to Death’s final judgment. He holds the keys to the throne room of Death.’
‘And he’s here to help us,’ Isak finished. ‘Perhaps the Gods have not entirely abandoned this city.’ He pointed to the soldiers on the wall. Those that hadn’t fled were silent, staring in horror at the motionless figure, completely oblivious to what might be happening in the streets of the city.
‘My Lord, you don’t understand!’ Vesna sounded aghast. ‘The Herald of Death does not leave his halls, he does not appear before the living. He isn’t a Bringer of the Slain, he’s not one of the Reapers -he should not be here!’
‘Well he is,’ Isak snapped firmly, ‘and whatever portent you intend to read into his presence, it helps our cause. This is a city of the dead and we hunt a necromancer, so I think the rules are changed. Now move yourselves!’
Not waiting for the other four, Isak broke into a run towards the wall. There was a deeply set postern gate to the right but he ignored that, instead heading directly for the nearest part of the wall. From the corner of his eye Isak could see the others making for the gate, Shinir first, ready to scramble up and over to unbar it from the inside, as planned. It was Isak’s task to leap straight onto the wall and kill the guards before they could raise the alarm.
He let energy flood his body, infusing his limbs with a burst of new strength. The wall was ten feet of fat grey bricks, but he vaulted up onto the walkway effortlessly. The nearest guard turned at the sound of metal on stone and died before his eyes could focus on the massive white-eye. A second died in the next heartbeat, still staring at the black skin and crimson robes of the Herald of Death. Only the fourth managed to raise a weapon in his defence and Eolis sheared through the spear-shaft and into the heart with ease.
Isak caught a glimpse of the Herald as two more Fysthrall, shaken out of their trance, ran down the walkway towards him with spears lowered. The Aspect of Death was taller than he, and had perfectly black skin. There were no eyes nor mouth, only slight indentations in an androgynous face. The smooth curve of its skull was broken only by its ears -and at that, Isak’s memory stirred: the Herald could not see the dead and had no words for them, though Death himself saw all in those halls, and His words were as tangible as the pale grey stone walls.
Isak dragged his mind back to the present in time to deflect the two Fysthrall soldiers, turning into one spear with his shield while felling the other with his sword. The rusty-skinned soldier didn’t check his stride in time and Eolis flicked out to pierce his chest. The other tried to pull back, but Isak was faster. He drove his sword across the man’s throat. Both fell silently.
He looked towards the postern; the two corpses above it told him Shinir was already at the gate. That moment of distraction almost cost him dearly as a blow to his shoulder spun him around and almost knocked him off his feet. Looking past the motionless Herald, Isak saw a soldier desperately trying to reload his crossbow, and another spearman on the wall, looking bewildered and terrified. Isak, realising he couldn’t risk being hit by another bolt, flung Eolis overhand twenty yards. The sword buried itself into the crossbowman’s chest, as easily as a knife sliding into butter.
Seeing Isak unarmed, the spearman found his courage and rushed forward wildly. Isak didn’t bother drawing the dagger at his belt. Balling his hand, he drew a fistful of warm night air and punched it forwards. The soldier was two yards away when the blow hit him and rocked him back on his heels. He stopped dead, confused by what had happened, and took a moment to look down and check for injuries. The Fysthrall was still bewildered when Isak smashed his shield into his head and dropped him for good.
A hush descended, cut only by a low string of curses from Isak. The line of wall was broken by fat square towers; Jeil had described them on the way, and he had been sure there that there would be no one in them -a major design fault meant the arrow-slit windows had no real views of the approaching streets. As a result, each section of the wall was isolated. They had gained the wall furthest from the main part of the palace and, thus far, they hadn’t been seen.
The Herald hadn’t moved. It stood and stared straight at Isak, its lack of eyes apparently no hindrance to knowing exactly where he was. Something about its stance spoke of a readiness, of impending movement. Isak suddenly began to feel vulnerable without his sword, but Eolis lay behind the nightmarish Aspect of Death, catching the moonlight as it stood out from the soldier’s impaled chest like a parody of the Herald’s standard.
He fought the urge to step back. The minor deity had helped them in some small way, but he had this strange feeling that the Herald was on the point of attacking him. In that expressionless face Isak sensed rage, a boiling anger that was hardly contained.
‘
You see me,
’ whispered a voice in Isak’s mind. ‘
You can smell your prey, but still I am beyond your grip
.’ He gave a slight start -then realised it was not the Herald, but Aryn Bwr, the spirit of the dead Elf king he held prisoner in his mind, on the threshold of Death’s domain. Suddenly it all made sense.
Isak pulled his helm from his head, revealing the blue mask that echoed Nartis’ face. As he did so, he felt the building tension break like a wave on the shore. Relief washed over him, but Isak was careful to bow deeply to the Aspect, ignoring the sharp flare of pain in his shoulder as the arrow-tip twisted in the shallow wound it had made.
‘Thank you, my Lord,’ he said formally. He had no idea if that was the correct way to address a minor God.
The Herald gave no indication of being either angered or flattered. The scarlet-robed figure inclined its own head and turned away. Isak caught a glimpse of an elongated ear on the side of its head before the night air blurred and the Herald seemed to collapse inward on itself, disintegrating into a fluttering mass of black shapes that exploded in all directions and then faded into the night.
‘Lord Isak,’ Vesna hissed, from the open doorway in the nearby tower housing the steps.
Isak blinked at the night, suddenly aware that he was staring into nothingness, exposed in the torchlight. ‘Give me a hand here,’ he said, dropping to one knee and fumbling at Siulents’ hidden clasps. His armour of flowing silver was remarkable to behold, mesmerising opponents and giving him a presence that no mere king could ever attain, but being unable to see joins and clasps until they were open presented problems sometimes.
‘How deep is it? Can we dress it and go on?’ Count Vesna sounded calmer, more assured. The distraction of battle had caused years of instinct to kick in. Isak was glad to hear the change in his voice, even though he was certain his most loyal of allies would never fail him.
‘Sliced the skin, I think, no more. Just help me get this damn shoulder-plate off and the bloody thing out of me - anything more can wait; I’ll not bleed to death from a scratch.’
Vesna did so, experienced hands sliding under the plate and bringing it up off Isak’s shoulder. The white-eye grimaced as the arrow jagged in the wound again, but Siulents had taken most of the force and the barb had hooked just inside the plate. Vesna quickly snapped the shaft and withdrew the crude iron head.
He checked the wound and, some of his old humour back, announced, ‘It’s bleeding happily enough, but you’ll live.’ Once Isak’s armour was restored and the reflective helm was back in place, Vesna pointed towards the doorway. ‘The others are waiting below there. Are you sure you know where we’re going?’
Isak nodded and began walking briskly, calling Eolis to him as he did so. ‘Purn is in there,’ he said, pointing to a circular tower that rose from the end of a large hall on the eastern side of the palace. ‘I can feel the magic.’
‘Can you be sure it’s him? I thought the Circle still had a number of mages left.’
‘It’s him. I can feel powerful wards there, and I think the vampire is the only other person here with the strength for that. He’s not tried to be subtle; they’re a warning as much as anything.’
‘But you can break them?’
‘One way or another,’ Isak said firmly, ‘but it won’t be neat, so let’s get there quickly and quietly. I’m betting every servant left in the palace is holed up in a wine cellar somewhere, drowning their terror, so we move fast and we kill whoever is in our way, understand?’
There was the slightest of pauses from Vesna, and Isak felt the man’s weariness like the glow of a flaring ember before the count agreed.
They walked through darkened corridors with weapons drawn. The palace had the air of the recently abandoned; tasks were left unfinished, storerooms left open. There were no servants anywhere to be seen, no footsteps or voices echoing down the stone passageways, until they reached the inner parts of the palace, where the walls shook off their martial air and the red-painted plaster gave a more elegant look.
The first hall they came to housed a pair of soldiers, and Tiniq and Leshi ghosted forward to kill them both, with nothing more than a cut-off cough of surprise from one. The rangers dragged the bodies out of immediate sight, leaving nothing but a red smear on the flanks of the stag painted on the tiled floor.
Isak looked around to gain his bearings, looking like a hunting dog sniffing the air. ‘He’s that way, still in his tower.’
‘Surely he can sense you?’
Isak shrugged. ‘He probably felt something happen on the walls, but I suspect he feels secure behind those wards. No point looking for a fight. He’ll be wanting to save his strength.’
‘So what do you want us to do?’
‘A diversion of some sort,’ Isak said. ‘Set fire to a flour store or something, I don’t really care what. Just draw whatever guards he might have away so I can get a clear run at him.’
‘You’re going alone?’
‘Not quite,’ replied a deep, booming voice behind them. As one the Farlan turned, ready to attack, faltering when they recognised the two figures standing in the shadows of the corridor.
‘Ehla?’ Isak gasped, ‘Fernal? When—How did you get here?’
‘
With rather more subtlety than you,
’ the witch of Llehden replied, sounding like an exasperated older sister. At her side, Fernal flexed his massive taloned hands, staring fixedly at the weapons still levelled towards him.
Isak gestured and the blades were put up. Fernal stilled.
‘
Calling up an Aspect of Death to help you get over a wall? That smacks of showmanship, if you ask me.
’
‘It was hardly intentional,’ Isak said hotly, not in the mood to be chastised by anyone.
‘
You can manage something like that by accident?
’ She sounded horrified at the suggestion. ‘
I don’t know which would be worse; that your actions could have such consequences, or that a man with your power would want to show it off so badly
.’
‘My Lord?’ Vesna interrupted uncertainly, shifting his armoured body from one foot to the other. Isak nodded; they were rather too exposed for his liking as well.
‘Go. Lord Fernal, they could use your help.’
The Demi-God shook his mane of midnight-blue hair and gave a soft growl, until Ehla laid a thin hand upon his arm. Vesna hesitated, looking from his lord to the newcomers before realising it would be better for them to leave. He strode away, the others close on his heels.
Ehla spoke a few words of her own language, soft and soothing, and Fernal fired a brief volley of thick sounds back. Their voices were so different Isak couldn’t even tell if they had spoken the same language, but Fernal gave a curt nod and stepped forward to look Isak directly in the eye.
‘We have a form of kinship, you and I,’ Fernal said hesitantly, taking care over the words that fitted uneasily around his thick fleshy tongue and great incisors. The words were clear and easily recognisable, but Isak could see Fernal was determined to get them absolutely correct. He felt a pang of sympathy for the strange beast-man; Fernal must know better than Isak how appearance could be a hindrance to every other aspect of life. The care he took said very obviously
I am not the beast I appear
, in a way Isak had rarely bothered with. ‘I ask you to keep her safe, as I promised back in Llehden.’
‘I will,’ Isak acknowledged with a respectful nod, ignoring Fernal’s unspoken words of warning.
Two large men in a cramped room,
he thought,
neither of us wanting to jostle the elbow of the other.
Fernal loped off after the soldiers with long strides, his thick mane billowing as he caught them up.
Isak turned back to Ehla and immediately felt uncomfortable as he saw he was being scrutinised. There was something about her poise that set Isak on edge, making him horribly aware of every idle movement and pointless gesture, especially when compared to her disturbingly still presence. She was a handsome woman -he guessed her at close to forty summers -but her aura of utter self-assurance unsettled him. It was a mask even more effective than his own, and it ensured he remained a shade off-balance around her.