The Devil's Armour (Gollancz S.F.) (73 page)

Still, his distant manner did not stop the girl from trying – or from being tempting.

The music of crickets was thick in the air when Mirage returned from tending the animals. She wore a long coat to stave off the cool air and a pair of riding breeches that
showed off her shapely frame. Lukien, hunched over a pot by the fire, had laid out metal plates for both of them, along with some cheese and hard biscuits. The donkey they had brought carried most of their supplies, including a chest with Lukien’s bronze armour. He knew it was an affectation, but he was determined to return to Liiria the way he had left it – as the Bronze Knight. He stole a glance at Mirage as she knelt down beside him. Her pretty nose sniffed at the steaming stuff in the pot, a stew he had made of meat and turnips and wild onions they had found on the side of the road. The smell of the stew brought a smile to Mirage’s face.

‘Ooh, I’m hungry. You’re a good cook, Lukien. I look forward to this part of the day.’

The compliment made Lukien grin. As a child of the streets, cooking for himself had been a necessity. Then later as a soldier he had continued the practice, feeding himself and his men whenever anything edible crawled past them on the battlefield. Things were better now, but Lukien still enjoyed mixing up a meal from time to time, if only to remind himself of younger days.

‘I used to be better,’ he told Mirage, taking her plate and spooning her some of the food. ‘There wasn’t much reason for me to cook in Jador. The palace folk took care of that.’

He handed the plate to the girl, who held it under her face a moment to feel the steam. With her eyes closed he had time to look at her. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see the scars beneath the Akari illusion. Nor had he really gotten used to calling her Mirage, but that was her name now and she insisted on it. Mirage opened her eyes, picked up her fork, and sampled the stew.

‘Hot!’ she said, pursing her lips. ‘But good.’

Lukien served himself some food and, after tasting it, agreed with her. Crossing his legs beneath him, he settled back and began to eat. The moon disappeared behind a cloud, and while they slaked the worst of their hunger they were quiet, eating and drinking from their waterskins while
the horses and donkey rested safely away from the fire. Mirage had already laid out their bedding for the night, near enough to the flames to keep them warm. The two blanket rolls were near each other, too, though Lukien pretended not to notice.

‘We made good progress today,’ said Mirage. She always started the night with small talk. ‘In four or five days we’ll be near Nith.’

‘We won’t be going through Nith,’ said Lukien. ‘We’ll go around.’

‘Around? That’ll take us time, Lukien.’

‘Nithins don’t like outsiders.’

Mirage shrugged. ‘Maybe they won’t see us.’

‘Maybe. But if they do they’ll question us, and if they find out we’re heading to Liiria they’ll have us arrested.’

Mirage nodded, because she knew the story. When he had gone through Nith, King Akeela had ravaged the principality. ‘Thorin has days on us, that’s all I’m saying.’

‘We’re going as quickly as we can,’ said Lukien, blowing on a forkful of stew. ‘Anyway, I should think you’d want to take your time. There’s no rush for you to get to Liiria, is there?’

Mirage stopped chewing and stared at him. ‘I am not a child, Lukien, despite what you think. If you were not here I would make it to Liiria on my own.’

‘Perhaps,’ said Lukien. ‘But to what end? What is there for you in Liiria these days? If it wasn’t for Thorin, I wouldn’t be going at all.’

‘And if it wasn’t for Minikin I wouldn’t be with you. Is that what you’re saying?’

‘All right, I shouldn’t tease you,’ said Lukien. ‘I don’t resent you being with me, Meriel.’

‘Mirage,’ she said crossly.

‘I just want us to understand each other. We won’t be on the road much longer. A week, maybe, and we’ll be in Liiria. You should think on what you mean to do when we get there.’

The girl turned her wounded face from the fire. She was quiet for a long moment before replying, ‘It’s obvious to you what I want, Lukien. And now you make me feel a fool for it.’

‘No,’ said Lukien gently, ‘but you have to understand. I did this as a favour, both for you and for Minikin. She was worried about you, and I was going north anyway. That doesn’t mean I wanted you to come with me.’

Mirage lowered her plate sadly. ‘I understand. When we get to Liiria I’ll be on my own.’

‘Unless you want to come back with me to Grimhold, yes?’

‘Or unless you want to stay with me in Liiria.’

She glanced back at him, but Lukien slowly shook his head.

‘No, Mirage.’

She gave a flirtatious shrug. ‘We’ll see. I know you, Lukien. You care about me. You won’t be able to leave me in Liiria.’

Lukien put down his fork. ‘Do not bait me, girl. I’m going to Liiria to find Thorin and save him from that cursed armour. And after I do that I’m going home – with or without you.’

His tone made Mirage retreat. ‘All right, but what about that? If we’re so close to Liiria now, you must at least have a plan.’

‘For what?’

‘For saving Baron Glass! He’s not just going to take off his armour and come home with you. You don’t know the Akari, Lukien. Once they bind with a person they can be very powerful. And an Akari like Kahldris won’t just let go. He wants to control Thorin.’

The statement ruined Lukien’s appetite. ‘I know. But there is a way. Amaraz said so.’ He looked down at his amulet. ‘I have to trust him.’

‘Trust him? He won’t even speak to you.’

‘True,’ said Lukien bitterly. ‘But I trust Minikin, and if
she tells me Amaraz is wise and knows what he’s doing, then I have to believe.’

‘That’s it?’ asked Mirage. ‘That’s your plan?’

‘Have you a better one?’ snapped Lukien in annoyance.

‘No,’ Mirage admitted. ‘Except to hope that Thorin will listen to us. If we appeal to him, perhaps we can reach him.’

Lukien grinned. ‘That might work. After all, you’ve always appealed to Thorin.’

Mirage nodded as she picked up her plate again. ‘I know. He’s a good man. He always cared about me.’

‘Yes, he did,’ Lukien reminded her. ‘Even before you changed your appearance.’

‘Why are you talking this way to me tonight, Lukien?’

Without looking at her Lukien returned to his meal. ‘Forget it,’ he said softly.

They stayed like that for a half-hour more, neither of them speaking, Mirage toying with her food while Lukien devoured more than one plateful. As time progressed the moon got larger, bathing their camp in eerie light. Mirage stared into the sky, counting the stars through the thickening clouds. She was never afraid of the darkness or what it might bring.

Because she has been through so much
, Lukien supposed, stealing a glance at her. He tossed his empty plate aside and leaned back to rest his stomach.

‘Might be a bad night,’ he said, breaking the silence at last. ‘Might rain.’

‘I suppose,’ replied Mirage without interest.

‘Might attract garmys.’

At last she looked at him. ‘No. Do you think?’

Lukien didn’t think so really, but he liked teasing her about the creatures, the mention of which always made women cringe.

‘Hard to say.’ Lukien looked around, as if on guard for the manlike reptiles. ‘They like the woods and the wetness. And they’ll eat anything.’

‘Stop playing with me,’ said Mirage. ‘There aren’t garmys
this far south. Besides, the fire would keep them away if there were.’

‘You’re probably right. Still, I’d be careful sleeping if I were you.’

‘Lukien, stop!’

The knight laughed and smiled at the girl. ‘I’m jesting, girl. There aren’t garmys around here.’

‘How do you know? Oh, I wish you hadn’t even mentioned them!’ Mirage wrapped her arms around her body and slid closer to the fire. ‘Disgusting creatures.’

‘Have you ever seen one?’

‘No, and I don’t care to, thank you very much.’ She looked at him. ‘Have you?’

‘As a matter of fact, yes,’ said Lukien. It was almost two decades ago now, but he remembered the day well.

‘Really?’ said Mirage, instantly intrigued. ‘Tell me about it. Was it very ugly?’

‘Ugly? Grotesque would be a better word. And when I saw them there were three of them.’ His eyes narrowed in thought. ‘At least I think there were three.’

‘Three? Great Fate, what happened? Did you fight them?’

Lukien hesitated. ‘I don’t think we should talk about this, Mirage. The circumstances were . . . strange.’

She looked at him curiously. ‘Oh?’

‘It was a long time ago. We were heading back to Liiria from Reec.’

‘Reec? Ah, you mean with Cassandra.’

Lukien nodded. ‘I was taking her to be married to Akeela. I don’t think you want to hear the rest.’

‘No, Lukien, I do,’ Mirage insisted. ‘I want to know.’

‘About the garmys?’

‘Don’t play games. About Cassandra.’ She looked at him gently. ‘We never finished our talk about her. Do you remember? We were down in the prayer chamber. You told me she was beautiful.’

‘Yes,’ said Lukien sadly. ‘Very beautiful.’ His mind filled with a picture of her, raven-haired and smiling, kept forever
young by the same damned amulet he wore now. He still blamed himself for killing her. ‘I don’t know what you want me to say. I miss her. In all my life I never found a woman like her, not before or since.’ Catching himself, he grimaced. ‘Forgive me. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.’

Mirage stayed very still as she stared at him. ‘And you don’t think you ever will?’

Lukien refused to look at her. ‘I cannot. She haunts me, and that is how I want it.’

‘You waste all your life then, Lukien,’ said Mirage. ‘You will never be happy. But I can make you happy. I know I can.’ She slid closer to him. ‘If you would just forget her for a moment.’

Her body felt warm, warmer than the fire. So close was she that he could smell her hair. But all it did was steel him. He could never forget Cassandra. To Lukien, forgetting was betrayal.

‘No, Mirage. You don’t understand . . .’

‘I do,’ Mirage insisted. ‘I know you pine for her. You love her memory. But that’s all she is, Lukien – just a memory now, and I’m here for real, in the flesh.’

She put her face up to his, then moved her lips ever closer. Lukien felt the brush of them. Their hot sweetness lured him forward . . .

And then repelled him.

‘I’m tired,’ he said without emotion. He stood and brushed the dirt and leaves from his backside. ‘We’ll keep the fire going. By morning it will be out and we’ll be ready to ride.’

Ignoring Mirage’s disappointment, Lukien went to his bed roll and did not speak again that night.

Atop a pretty little valley on a cold spring morning, Baron Glass paused in his relentless ride northward, surveying the land below him with an uncommon sense of dread. Birdsong filled the air. His horse waited quietly for orders. In the valley was a town, and in the town was a castle atop a small tor, the modest home of Prince Daralor. Baron Glass had never been to Nith. Even riding south a year ago he had avoided the principality. Now, as he sat atop his horse and stared, he wondered about the wisdom of his choice.

In the weeks since leaving Grimhold he had travelled ceaselessly, almost without rest, bolstered by the inhuman strength the armour gave his old body. Five horses had been exhausted from the pace, ridden almost to death by Thorin’s zeal to reach Liiria. The first horse – the one he had stolen from Grimhold – had taken him as far as Ganjor before the poor beast perished, baked and battered by the desert sun. From there he had had gone north, through ugly Dreel and the forests of Lonril, stealing horses and sleeping under the stars only when sleep was absolutely necessary. Without company or conversation, Baron Glass had only Kahldris for comfort. But he had his arm again, animated by the dark angel’s magic, and for Thorin that was enough. Kahldris had given him something no one in Grimhold ever had – a reason to live.

‘It’s very quiet,’ said Thorin.