The Broken Kingdom (46 page)

The creature stopped, its head moving slowly
from side to side. It was covered in blue plates, decorated in
silver. Its head was pointy, mouthless and noseless. There was only
a dark slit where eyes should be.

And then the creature pulled its head off.
The tribe was momentarily amazed and disturbed, until another head
came into view. Beneath the pointy blueness was a human face,
golden and striking.

He opened his mouth and said something.

By then Riley and Vann had arrived.

‘Hello.’ Riley said, her eyes narrowed.

The man turned to her.

He opened his mouth again and funny sounds
came out. Then he coughed and rubbed his throat.

‘Hello.’ he finally said, his accent strong.
‘I think I’m lost.’

‘Who are you?’

‘I am Ellis. I’m looking for a great
empire.’

‘A what?’

‘It’s not here?’ he frowned. ‘You haven’t
heard of it?’

‘This is the closest you’re going to get
around here.’

‘Are you sure? It’s led by a powerful
warrior who defeated the God Andalla. I’m looking for him.’

‘Andalla?’

‘No, the man who defeated him.’

‘I killed Andalla.’

The man stared at her. After a slight pause
he said, ‘maybe you mean a different Andalla?’

‘I only know one. He lived beyond the clouds
and commanded a people called the Andallites.’

The man looked around again and shook his
head. ‘I must have been misled. Do you know the valkar by any
chance?’

‘Why do you ask?’ Riley asked, her eyes
narrowing.

‘They’ll be able to direct me to the
empire.’

‘And how do you know the valkar?’

He smiled, it was a tad condescending. ‘I am
descended from them.’

‘Really?’ Riley said coolly. ‘Which valkar,
where?’

‘The valkar who live across the sea. I’ve
come a very long way, and it wasn’t to chat with you. I’m looking
for a great empire.’

Riley spoke quietly to Vann, who quickly
walked off.

‘This is as close as you’re going to get to
an empire around here.’

A spasm of disgust crossed his face. ‘It’s
nothing but tents!’

Riley crossed her arms and smiled
thinly.

Vann returned a moment later with Rose.

The man’s eyes lit up when he saw her. ‘A
valkar!’ he bowed. ‘I’m looking for an empire.’

Rose regarded him dispassionately. ‘This is
the closest you will get.’

He frowned, but more politely than before,
he said, ‘I see… I’m looking for the man who defeated Andalla.’

‘This is her. You claim to be of the
valkar.’

A range of emotions crossed his face.
Nodding he said, ‘Yes. I am descended from the valkar who left
their kind after Kalkaluna committed her crime.’

Rose’s eyes widened. She looked him over
with more interest. ‘You have some valkar within you, but you are
not a valkar. Do any more valkar exist?’

‘Only one still lives.’

‘And where are you from?’

‘Across the sea.’ he smiled. ‘I can describe
my journey to you, so you may find my homeland. But first I have
some business to attend to.’ He turned to Riley. In a loud, regal
voice he demanded, ‘I challenge you for control of your collection
of tents.’

Riley raised an eyebrow. ‘Fine.’

He put his helmet back on. The crowd parted
and moved around until Riley and the man were in the centre. From
across his back he drew a greatsword, it was nearly as tall as he
was.

Riley waited, dressed only in black cloth as
he approached, utterly covered by the blue and silver metal.

Vann stood next to Rose as they fought. The
stranger was faster than Vann would have thought possible with all
that armour. He swung the giant sword around with little effort.
And yet compared to Riley he lumbered around. Though Vann wondered
how she was going to
hurt
him with her sword- that looked
small in comparison to his- and all his fancy armour.

‘Did you know about them?’ Vann asked
Rose.

‘We’ve never had contact with them. This is
amazing, I will go myself and speak to the survivor. Those that
left never committed any crimes. If the survivor wishes it, he or
she may return to the city.’

‘Do you think there are many like him over
there?’

‘Half valkar? I am quite surprised, he
seems… he does not seem damaged. I doubt there would be many.’

‘Maybe they know something that could help
Riley.’

Rose said nothing.

Riley danced around Ellis easily. With
astonishing precision, she found the gaps in his armour. As Vann
watched she slid around behind him. He couldn’t move quite fast
enough. Riley hit the rim of his helmet with her sword, sending it
flying. Ellis’s wide-eyed, pale and sweaty face was suddenly in
view.

‘I think you’d better give up.’ Riley
said.

Ellis turned. ‘What are you?’

‘I am a Mixed.’

‘That tells me nothing!’

‘I am half human, half valkar.’

‘As am I.’ He lowered his sword. ‘Hm.’

‘Do you yield?’

‘Yes.’ he frowned. ‘I guess I do.’

‘Fine. What is that you’re wearing?’

‘Armour, valkar made, as is my sword.’

Riley looked thoughtful for a moment before
saying, ‘hmm… I think I’ll take it.’

‘You’ll what?’

‘You came here trying to take my tribe from
me. Now that you’ve lost, I want your armour and weapons.’

He stared at her.

‘Do you need a tent to get changed?’ Riley
asked innocently.

Ellis’s face clouded over. ‘To the victor go
the spoils! Very well.’

After he’d changed and handed his
possessions over to Riley, Ellis was sent off to tell Rose what she
wanted to know.

‘Riley, you’re looking a little too happy.’
Vann said as he put an arm around her as she knelt in front of the
pile of armour.

‘Hmm?’ Riley murmured as she looked over her
new toys. ‘This sword is too big for me, Vann, and so is this
armour.’

‘Did you want to wear it?’

‘No, it looks terrible to wear. But I don’t
want him having it.’

‘Uh huh.’ he said and kissed her head.

Smiling, Riley turned around.

Laughing, Vann broke away. ‘Stop, before I
forget why I came here!’

‘I thought that was it!’

‘The valkar are talking to Ellis now, do you
want to go listen?’

‘Hmm…’

Vann pulled Riley to her feet, who only put
up token resistance.

‘Alright, alright, we’ll go see what he has
to say.’

They headed over to Aerlid’s tent, where
Rose, Adila, Ladana and the man were gathered. Aerlid’s tent was
not made from animal skins, but from a silvery cloth provided by
the valkar. Riley figured it would have been too much for Adila and
the other valkar to stand around a tent made from dead animal all
day. Aerlid’s tone shimmered like moonlight. It was easy to spot,
even during daytime.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ the
man demanded, a tad sulkily. Out of his armour, he looked
completely different. ‘I may be young, but I assure you I am
capable and strong.’

‘Seems a long way to come to take over an
empire.’ Aerlid said, ‘didn’t have much luck in your own home?’

The man glared at him. He did not look quite
like the valkar. He could be mistaken for a human, Vann decided,
but there was something about him. The hint of otherness was there.
But if Vann hadn’t known he was half valkar he might have just
thought he was a very charismatic man. There was something magnetic
about him, despite his currently sulky expression. He had broad
shoulders and was about Vann’s height. His hair was golden and his
eyes were blue grey. He wore a simple long sleeved shirt and
trousers now that his armour had been stolen.

‘How old are you?’ Vann asked.

‘Thirty.’ the man snapped.

Vann’s eyes went wide. ‘Why do you say
you’re young?’ he asked, barely containing himself.

The man frowned at him. ‘My kind live around
two hundred years.’

Vann stared.

‘We’ll ask the valkar when he comes here.’
Aerlid said. ‘It’s possible he knows something that can help
Riley.’

‘Why, what’s wrong with her, besides her
kleptomania?’ the man demanded, glaring at her.

Riley looked back at him coolly. ‘I’ve been
told I won’t live past forty, at the most.’

He looked momentarily surprised. Then his
face went blank. ‘Hm. I see. Well, you know now how to find my
home.’ he said to Rose and the other valkar. ‘So, where shall I be
staying?’

‘You’re staying?’ Riley asked, she hadn’t
expected that.

The man stood. ‘Certainly. This is a great
empire after all.’

Riley looked at him for a moment. Then she
looked at Vann.

‘Why not?’

‘I’m sorry, why are you asking a human for
advice?’ the man asked.

Riley’s eyes instantly narrowed. ‘Because he
is my partner.’

‘No need to be like that. I just want to
know how this place works. Where I come from my kind don’t usually
mix with the humans.’

‘And why is that?’ Riley asked, her
expression darkening imperceptibly.

‘Our differences have caused some conflict
in the past, some just find it easier. I’m very sorry if I offended
you.’ he said, sounding contrite. He smiled a smile both charming
and repentant.

‘Oh- alright.’ Riley seemed a bit taken
aback. ‘You may stay. Do you have anything else with you, like a
tent?’

‘Do you want to steal that too?’ he asked,
and then he smiled brightly. His attitude completely changed, it
was revealed he had a tent. A space was found outside the shield to
set it up. He said he had some food with him.

Claiming tiredness, he was allowed to rest
for the evening.

While he was resting, Riley and Vann sat
with Aerlid to get his opinion on the newcomer.

‘So you think he really heard I killed
Andalla?’ Riley asked.

‘News like that gets around. Well… among
those who knew Andalla. But the valkar in his homeland would
certainly have noticed. It’s interesting, I wonder what his
homeland is like… I wonder if these half-human half valkar have not
become petty tyrants. It’s certainly the path Andalla and the
King’s children usually followed, or tried to at any rate.’

‘How long ago did the valkar leave?’ Vann
asked.

‘A long, long time ago. Before the
Sunsingers reached the sun. I think it must have been during the
original, or one of the very first, ehlkrid attacks.’

‘What happened? Why did they leave?’

‘Kalkaluna committed a great crime. She
locked herself in a desert with her victims, ehlkrid, I believe,
and died with them. It was… extremely upsetting for the valkar. One
of their kind killing always is.’

Riley and Vann waited, more aware than ever
of the different world Aerlid seemed to live in.

‘But those closest to Kalkaluna, her
friends, family, they left the valkar. I of course don’t know their
exact reasons. I imagine they must have been even more distraught
that someone they loved had done something like that. Perhaps it
was a self-imposed punishment for not seeing it or stopping her.
They weren’t forced to leave. Curious, I haven’t examined him
closely enough, but he does seem to have an awful lot of valkar in
him, considering how long it’s been. It’s thought around five left,
and no more than ten. I wonder how large the community is… I’m very
eager to find out how the valkar managed this. Ellis even seems to
have our ability with languages. I wonder if he can speak
valkar.’