Stonewielder (91 page)

Discipline held, however; the complaints were few, and sotto voce. Goss and Twofoot saw to that. They came to one length of tunnel boasting several cut openings. The column stopped – some obstruction ahead. ‘What’s the hold-up?’ Pyke snarled, hunched. ‘These guys don’t know anything!’

‘Stop it up,’ Lard growled, ‘or I’ll do it for you.’

‘You and who—’ Pyke was beginning when an armoured figure stepped out of the nearby opening and thrust a spear completely through Lard, the point bursting from his back. Blood splashed all over Pyke. ‘
Hood’s balls!
’ Pyke howled, falling backwards.

All up and down the line men in dark armour stepped out of openings to thrust into the column. Suth fumbled, trying to swing his shield forward. The enemy wore cuirasses and full helms enamelled a deep blue, with silver inlay.

‘Korelri Stormguard!’ Gheven yelled, amazed.

Suth abandoned the shield and parried for his life. The wide-bladed razor spear-tips thrust expertly; he couldn’t get past them to engage the wielders. Troopers fell up and down the line, run through like pigs.

‘
Clear the deck!
’ a woman yelled. Squeaky.

Suth threw himself flat, pulling Gheven with him.

The eruption – in this narrow confine – blasted away his hearing
and his breath. He lay stunned in a darkness of swirling dust while earth fell on him.
Had the ceiling collapsed?
He was blinded and choking on the dirt. Terror threatened to strangle him. Then hands yanked him up. He fought at first but the hands weren’t at his throat so he clambered to his feet, staggering and running into things and people he could not see in the gloom. Roaring filled his hearing; he could just make out a trooper ahead and set a hand on the man’s shoulder. Someone clasped his belt from behind. In this manner, as a troop of blind men and women, they felt their way through a tunnel, seeking clean air.

They collapsed into a cave, coughing and gasping. Two troopers guarded the entrance, shields at the ready. He peered round, wiping at his eyes. He saw Squeaky, Pyke, Faro, the elder Gheven, a few of Twofoot’s troop, and the giant Manask, who was on his knees, the broken haft of a spear sticking from his wide stomach. He was struggling to wrench it free.

Suth went to Squeaky. ‘What happened?’

‘A partial collapse. We’re cut off.’

‘
Shit!
Now what?’

‘Let’s get outta here!’ Pyke yelled. ‘Those are Korelri!’

‘Shut the Hood up!’

Manask yanked the spear from his layered armour. He raised it up high. ‘I will lead us through this maze!’

‘You can find your way through?’ Suth asked him.

The man looked offended. ‘With my refined senses? Of course!’

Suth grunted his agreement then went to the 6th’s troopers. The clash of fighting from some other tunnel reached them and everyone stilled. Panicked yelling, then a muffled explosion shook everyone again. Dust and dirt sifted down from the rough uneven ceiling.
Going to bring this entire complex down on them!
He nodded to the three troopers, recognizing Fish. ‘Suth,’ he said.

‘Corbin,’ said the short stocky one.

‘Lane,’ said the other, his arm slashed and dripping blood.

‘Looks like we’re cut off,’ Suth explained.

‘Happens to me every night,’ Fish said morosely.

‘What’s the plan?’ Corbin asked.

‘The big guy, Manask, says he’ll lead us out.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ Lane said.

Suth nodded to this tacit acceptance of his offer. ‘I want the saboteur, Squeaky, in the middle in case things get hot. I’ll back up Manask. You, Fish, back me up.’

‘I can’t even
stand
up in this friggin’ mouse house,’ Fish grumbled.

‘Lane, take the rear with Pyke.’

‘Oh sure!’ Pyke yelled. ‘Rear! Who put you in charge?’

‘Put a rag in it,’ Squeaky snarled.

Suth went to the Drenn elder. ‘You walk with Squeaky here.’

But the elder’s dark eyes narrowed to slits. ‘No. I am sorry, soldier. But the Korelri are
here
. This changes everything. I will go for help.’

Suth studied him, uncertain. ‘You mean your Warren? Here?’

The elder wiped the grime and sweat from his face, gave an apologetic shrug. ‘Well … we can hardly pretend to be hiding now, can we?’

‘True. Who – where will you go?’

The old man looked pained. ‘I can only think of one place … but I am sorry, I cannot make any promises.’

‘I understand. May the gods speed you.’

Pyke pushed his way to them. ‘He can take us all with him! We can escape!’

Suth restrained himself from striking the man. ‘We stay with the mission.’

‘I don’t like that Warren anyway,’ Fish said to Lane. ‘Looked dangerous.’

Lane nodded his profound agreement.

Pyke peered round at them. ‘What’s the matter with you all? We’re gonna get killed! You’re all crazy – I could do better on my own!’

‘Do your job or I’ll kill you myself,’ Suth said, matter-of-fact.

Pyke straightened, slowly nodding. ‘Fine. Okay. We’re fucked anyway.’ And he threw up his hands.

Suth turned to Faro, raised his chin. ‘You’re being real quiet.’

The little man raised and lowered his shoulders. ‘Just pretend I’m not here,’ he said, and gave his sharp-toothed smile.

That is bloody easier said than done
. He looked to Gheven. ‘What do you need?’

The man peered round the rough cave, carved from the broken sedimentary rock. ‘This will do. I can go from here.’

The troopers backed away to give him room. He crossed to the rear of the cave and pressed his hands to the rock. He bowed his head in concentration, and stepped into the wall, disappearing.

Suth turned to Manask. ‘Looks like you’re up.’

The giant fellow threw everyone a huge grin. ‘Do not fear! I will
winkle out the secrets of this maze in no time! Come!’ He lumbered in an ungainly duck-walk out into the tunnel. Suth followed, shield and longsword ready.

It was slow going. Manask’s great bulk completely blocked Suth’s forward vision. At every cave opening the man paused to poke in the broken haft of his spear and wave it around. Then he waved an arm. Finally, he hopped forward with a shout: ‘Ah-ha!’

The third time he did this he reeled backwards accompanied by the thumping of heavy objects striking something. The giant staggered on to Suth. Two spears stood out from his thick armour like proud quills. ‘You see!’ Manask puffed, winded, ‘one merely has to disarm them!’

Suth squeezed past and into the chamber. The Korelri Stormguard had already swung shields round and were prepared. Suth engaged one, Fish another. Suth fought extremely carefully: he probed the man’s defences, kept him busy. Openings came but he recognized them as traps meant to draw him out. Facing the Stormguard he quickly understood everyone’s dread – the man was fully the finest swordsman he’d ever faced: fearless, aggressive, and quick, a full-time professional fighter. But the Malazan infantry were trained for crowded shield and sword work. It was their lifeblood. These Korelri appeared to fight as individuals. Suth thought he and his squadmates might have the advantage in these circumstances.

A spear thrust over Suth’s shoulder. The Korelri blocked, but the point continued on, passing through his shield to impale him in the chest and push him back to the wall, where he hung from the haft like an insect. ‘Two can play with pointed sticks!’ Manask exulted, and he brushed his hands together.

Alone, facing outrageous odds, the second Stormguard gave no hint of asking for quarter. He backed against a dirt wall, shield ready. ‘Drop your weapons!’ Suth ordered. The full helm merely slid side to side. Eyes hot for battle glared out of the narrow vision slit.

Damned fanatic. They didn’t have time for this
. He, Fish, Corbin and Pyke spread out in an arc before the man.
Useless! To prove what?
Suth tightened his grip on his longsword, steadied his breathing.

The Stormguard looked past them all, gaping. ‘No!’

A crossbow fired just behind Suth made him flinch. The bolt took the Stormguard in the throat and the man slid down the wall, gagging. Suth turned to see Faro calmly tuck the slim weapon back under his cloak.

‘Let’s get going, shall we?’ Faro said, raising his brows.

Suth nodded, swallowing.
Ye gods! Forget this man is with them? Not damned likely
.

Manask led them onward, but their pace did not increase. Distant yells, the clash of fighting, and, occasionally, a report of munitions would reach them. They came upon scenes of battle: fallen Stormguard and dead troopers; caves blasted by munitions; tunnels partially collapsed. Suth was shaken to find Len dead, run through by a spear.
Len? You too? Somehow I’d imagined it couldn’t happen to you. I’m so sorry. You were a good friend. Looks like maybe Pyke’s finally got things right
.

Squeaky knelt over the body for some time while everyone kept a nervous watch. Her final act was to close his eyes – the man’s shoulder bags had already been scavenged.

Soon after that the earth shook, sending them all to the beaten earth floor huddled for cover. Dirt came tumbling down in a wash of dust that blinded and choked. After the shaking passed Suth gingerly eased himself up, wiping his face and coughing. When they had all straightened, beating at their cloaks and clearing their throats, they glared at Squeaky. She glared back, raising her hands.

‘Hey! Don’t look at me. There’s no way we brought
that
many munitions.’

They continued through the half-collapsed tunnels. Suth couldn’t tell if they were making any headway, but he didn’t challenge Manask as he didn’t think he’d do any better choosing left from right, or which carved chamber to enter. It was a senseless jumbled warren of tunnels to him. Eventually, it seemed they’d been walking, hunched, on the adrenalin knife-edge of fear for far too long, and he called a halt. They chose the best defensible cave they could find, set a watch, and lay down to try to get some rest.

Suth stood his watch with Lane, then had his turn to lie down. Though he was exhausted beyond care, sleep would not come. He couldn’t shake Pyke’s words.
How many left now? What of Goss, Wess and Keri? Still alive? These Stormguard are butchering us! This obviously isn’t what Rillish and that priest had in mind
. It seemed to him that he’d just closed his eyes when a bellow wrenched him awake. A sword slammed into the dirt where he’d just been lying. A Stormguard stood over him, pulling back the blade for another thrust, and Suth swept a leg, bringing him down. He leapt upon the man, found a gauche scabbard at his side, drew the weapon offhanded, and thrust it home up into an armpit. The Stormguard
shuddered, but threw him off and leapt to his feet. He and Suth faced off, crouched, circling. A shape fell upon the Stormguard, Faro leaping, two long daggers flashing, and they collapsed in a tangle. Suth cast a frenzied glare around the darkened cave. Jammed shoulder to shoulder, troopers grappled with Korelri. A Stormguard duelling Lane retreated towards Suth so he stabbed him low in the back then drew his own blade. He saw Fish go down, dragging a Korelri with him. Manask was holding the corpse of one in front of himself, using it as a shield with which to bash another back until Corbin took the Stormguard from the side.

In that instant of fevered rush it was over – though to Suth it seemed to have happened in a half-lit sort of slow-motion. Dust drifted now in the dead air and he stood still, panting. He, Manask, Faro and Corbin alone stood. Of the Korelri attackers who had seemed everywhere, Suth counted a mere five.
Five! Gods below! Still, they were lucky to be alive at all
.

Peering around, he saw Squeaky slouched up against a wall. She’d been gut-stabbed. He knelt at her side; she lived still, but had lost a lot of blood. Her breaths came shallow and quick, like a child’s. ‘He took it,’ she told him.

‘Quiet.’

‘No.
He
took it. That prick, Pyke.’

‘What?’ He straightened, cast a quick glance around the cave: no Pyke, alive or dead. ‘Where is he?’

‘Who?’ Faro asked.

‘Pyke, the bastard. Who was he on watch with?’

‘Was with me,’ Fish said from the floor, breathing through clenched teeth.

Suth knelt next to Corbin, who was staunching the wound in the man’s side. ‘What happened?’

The man gave a weak shrug. ‘He took one side. I took th’ other. Later, I looked over an’ he was gone. Run off. Them Korelri charged in.’

Suth sat back stunned.
Deserted! Takes the munitions and runs off. Leaves them unguarded
. A blinding white fury made him dizzy.
Why didn’t I kill him? All those chances. And now this!
He went to his bedroll: he’d been sleeping in his hauberk and now he pulled on the rest of his gear.

‘What’s the plan?’ Corbin asked.

‘I’m gonna find and kill the fucker.’

Corbin spat aside, nodding. ‘Sounds like a plan.’

‘Not the mission,’ Faro warned from where he squatted cleaning his knives.

‘To Hood with the mission! This is personal!’