But The Unknown stepped in between them, facing his friend.
'No, Hirad,' he said. 'The fight is over. It would be murder.'
Hirad looked at him, his blood boiling for him to strike the Black Wing down, but The Unknown held his gaze and spoke softly.
'Hirad, we have a Code.'
'Yes,' said the barbarian. He put up his sword and pointed a finger at Selik. 'One day, The Unknown won't be there and I'll be waiting. Remember that every day when you wake up.'
Selik spat on the dining room floor. 'Honour. It'll be the death of you, Coldheart. Now, Vuldaroq, when are we going to leave this bastard island?'
'Come walk with me, Hirad,' said The Unknown.
It was late in the afternoon and so much had changed. The Dordovans had gone back to their ships, taking their wounded and Selik with them. Whether the Black Wing made it to Balaia was a matter of some conjecture but Hirad rather hoped he did. He wanted the satisfaction for himself.
Ilkar was once again watching over Thraun and he remained a mystery. Soon, they would have to wake him and see if he was either man or wolf inside the hybrid body. Denser had taken Erienne out into the gentle sunshine and had laid her on a grass bank near some of the ancient graves to sleep under a WarmHeal spell. It would do nothing to ease the agony of her mind, but it gave her body respite from the trauma. And Darrick walked alone, no doubt picking over the holes in his tactics and wondering whether anything could have been made different. Elsewhere, the six surviving Protectors, including Aeb, conducted ceremonies for their dead.
The Unknown limped beside Hirad as the two old friends wandered out through the rubble of the house and down the path towards the beach.
'How will she cope do you think?' asked the big man. 'Either of them for that matter.'
'Erienne?'
'Who else.' The Unknown fell quiet for a few paces. 'Losing a child, however it happens, must be a devastating blow. But it's happened to Erienne twice. First the twins, now Lyanna.'
'We'll be here,' said Hirad.
The Unknown smiled. 'I know but she'll need so much more. Imagine. All her children are dead. Her spirit will be shattered. Her belief in herself as a mother gone. I doubt it's something she'll ever really come to terms with. Lyanna was her world.'
'Denser's the key, isn't he?' said Hirad. 'He's the only one that can really share her grief or understand what she's going through and make her believe in herself again.'
'And he'll need our help too. This is going to be a difficult time. Mostly for Erienne and Denser but we're all going to need patience and tolerance in abundance. You included.'
'Point taken,' said Hirad.
The friends walked on, Hirad seeing a faraway look in The Unknown's eye. He didn't think the walk had been just to remind him to keep his temper.
'What is it?' he asked.
'Can you feel those who need you most?' asked The Unknown.
'How do you mean?'
'Well, do you know inside that they are alive and waiting for you?' explained The Unknown.
Hirad shrugged. 'I guess so. Put it this way, if Sha-Kaan was dead I would feel it.'
'So he isn't?'
'No,' said Hirad shaking his head. 'In fact, he might even enjoy this climate for a time. Heat and humidity. Much more like home.'
'I hope so.'
'You're thinking about Diera and Jonas, aren't you?'
The Unknown stopped and rested against a fallen tree.
'I just want to know they're all right.'
'Well, you'll be home soon enough.'
'No, not soon enough,' said The Unknown. 'Soon enough is now, today.'
Hirad walked on, hearing the big man limp after him, his left leg dragging a little.
'And you expected to feel them inside you?' he asked after a pause.
'I suppose so,' said the Unknown. 'Silly, isn't it?'
'Not at all.' Hirad put an arm around his shoulders. 'They'll be fine. Tomas will have looked after them.'
They rounded the right-hand corner and crunched across the sand. Myriell was standing there, Ren by her side, looking out to sea. She turned as they approached.
'So, Raven men,' she said, her voice tired and weak. 'Why so glum?'
'We aren't used to failing,' said Hirad.
'Failing?' replied Myriell. 'Who says you've failed.'
'Lyanna is dead,' snapped The Unknown. 'We came here to save her. We failed.'
'I understand how it looks to you,' said Myriell. 'And I understand Erienne's reaction. It saddens us too that we have lost two sisters. But Lyanna was a very special child and she will never truly be gone. Only her body is at rest.'
'What are you talking about?' asked Hirad. 'You killed her, didn't you?'
'She was dead already,' said Myriell. 'You have to believe that.'
'It's Erienne you have to convince, not us,' said Hirad.
'I know.' Myriell's eyes glinted with sudden energy. 'But you have to understand that you haven't failed. Far from it. You mark me well, Raven man. You have just secured this world a saviour. And this world will need a saviour, believe me.'
'I don't get it,' said Hirad.
'Erienne,' said Myriell. 'What she now carries has to be kept safe. It is fortunate the Dordovans thought their job done with the death of poor Lyanna. The One is a power that cannot be allowed to fade from this dimension, not yet. It isn't easy to describe in words you would understand but the fabric of magic and of the dimensions is strained, out of alignment with the natural order, and the One is the binding. Until that fabric is settled once again, the One is critical to everyone, even those that believe it an evil force.'
Hirad frowned. 'So if Erienne dies, the world dies with her?'
'Oh, there would doubtless be a new order but the chaos that would reign across Balaia and interdimensional space would seem like the end of the world to those who witnessed it. Keeping the One in existence for now is infinitely preferable, believe me.'
'Oh, I see,' said Hirad.
'You don't, but you will,' said Myriell, smiling. 'Now I wonder if you two youngsters will carry me back to the house. I'm feeling very tired.'
'Youngsters?' said Hirad. 'She can't mean you, Unknown.'
'Remember what I told you about my fist?' said The Unknown.
They picked the old elf up and chaired her from the beach.
Once again there are people who have helped smooth the writing process and supplied the right answers when I needed them most. Thank you to Alan Mearns for providing a vital missing link during a walk to the pub in Killarney; to Lisa Edney, Deborah Erasmus and Laura Gulvin for the words they gave me; to Dave, Dick, George and Pete who keep on fighting the good fight on my behalf; and to Simon Spanton, whose support and insight have helped me through what at times was a very difficult year.
Elfsorrow.
For Michael, Nancy and Virginia.
Finer siblings a brother could not wish to have.
Cast List.
Chapter 1.
The Unknown Warrior reined in on the crest of a rise overlooking the once tranquil lakeside port of Arlen. In the gathering gloom and encroaching mist, battle raged through its streets. Buildings were burning across the town, a heavy pall of smoke thickening the mist. The thud and crack of spells echoed against the mountains to the north, blue-edged for Xetesk, stark orange for Dordover. The shouts of men and the clash of weapons, muted by the mist, reached his ears.
In the last two seasons, he had seen and heard plenty of evidence of deteriorating relations between the two colleges but this was infinitely worse. This was war. He'd hoped to get them out before it started. Even thought his plan could bring peace. But here was proof of that folly.
'And you expect us to ride through all that to the dockside?' Diera was right beside him, her horse nuzzling at his.
He looked over to her and down to Jonas, his baby son, cradled in one huge arm. 'I want to know you're both safe. And away from Balaia's the only way.'
'Tomas didn't think so,' said Diera, wisps of her light hair blowing outside the hood of her cloak.
'Tomas is more stubborn than any man I know,' said The Unknown, smiling. How hard he had tried to get Tomas to bring his family too, to leave The Rookery they owned together. An inn now ruined by a hurricane. 'Except one. He's never left Korina and he's blinded himself to the disease, the rats and the starvation. He thinks it'll get better now spring is here. I don't. I've seen Balaia. And it'll get worse not better. I won't leave you here. I can't.'
Diera shivered, and as if sensing her unease from where he lay in the safety of his father's arm, Jonas started to whimper.
'Shh, shh,' he said gently, rocking the child. 'It's all right.'
'It isn't all right,' said Diera. 'Just look down there. They're killing each other and you want us to ride through it.'
'And this is just the start, believe me.' He looked deep into her eyes. 'Please, Diera. War is here. Nowhere on Balaia will be safe.'
She nodded. 'How do we get to the docks?'
'On one horse we can ride where ten or more could not but I need you close. Sit in front of me and hold Jonas. I'll keep you from falling. Try not to be afraid.'
'Don't ask that,' she said. 'I'm terrified. You're used to the noise and blood.'
'I won't let anyone hurt you.'
'Better not.' Her expression softened slightly.
'Just remember to do what I ask. It'll be difficult down there and there's no time for debate. You must trust me.'
'Always.'
She dismounted and he helped her up in front of him before handing her their baby son. He kicked his big stallion to a gentle trot down the slope towards Arlen.
Riding in from the north-east along a narrow, barely used trail, The Unknown could see the fires of a camp some miles off to the east and a Dordovan column under torchlight heading down the main track into the heart of the port. Xetesk had been in tacit control of Arlen when he put into port two seasons ago and he had no reason to believe anything had changed barring the fact that Dordover was now on open offensive.
Closer to, the sounds of buildings aflame and collapsing, of spells crashing into structure and soldier and the roar of close-quarter fighting were deafening. Jonas was crying and Diera was rigid in the saddle.
'We'll be all right,' said The Unknown.
'Just get us there, Sol,' she said, trying to comfort their bawling son.
Entering the town on a dark and shadowed street with the din a terrifying press on their ears, The Unknown snapped the reins.
'Hang on,' he said. 'It gets tricky from here.'
He heeled his horse's flanks and the nervous animal sprang forward. In his ears the clash of metal and the shouts of warriors mixed uncomfortably with the wails from his boy. He fought to keep the horse in the middle of the street, galloping headlong for the docks. He aimed to ride down the eastern edge of the town past the Park of the Martyrs and through the Salt Quarter to emerge at the end of the docks where Captain Jevin had the Calaian Sun at berth.
But already he could see it would be difficult if not impossible to avoid the conflict around them. To their right, multiple FlameOrbs burned away the mist, their arcs of flight carrying them down to splatter into buildings and onto streets. The flat crack and orange flare of a ManaShield collapsing was succeeded immediately by the screams of those caught abruptly defenceless. Smoke billowed as mana fire gorged on wood and flesh, pouring out of a side street and billowing over rooftops, hemming them in still further.
Ahead of them, shapes ran, disordered and panicked; townsfolk trying to flee college blade and spell. There were dozens of them led by an uncertain trio of town militia. They were looking behind them more than ahead and all were weighed down by possessions or tiny human cargo. The Unknown cursed, the horse skittish beneath them and slowing automatically.
'Sit tight.'
The townspeople ran on, all but one heedless of the lone horse as they raced out of town, fear stalking every face below streaks of mud and soot.
'Turn around, the way is blocked!' yelled one of the militia as he closed.
'The docks,' shouted The Unknown. 'Best way!'
'No way,' came the reply. 'That's what the bastards are fighting over. Run, it's your only chance.' And then he was gone.
The Unknown pushed on, Jonas squealing and coughing in turn as the smoke thickened nearer the centre of the fighting. Diera's face was white and strained.