The Lesser Kindred (ttolk-2) (48 page)

I shook myself. She understood! It would take me a little time to realise that even if they looked like younglings, even if their speech was yet new to them, these creatures were aware and intelligent and to be treated as such.

I was a little ashamed of myself.

"We do not know, littling. Forgive me, I would call you by name. I am Shikrar, Eldest of the Kantrishakrim and Keeper of Souls," I said, bowing again.

"I am Ssallerra," she said, managing the T reasonably well for so new a speaker. It is a hard sound for us to make. And then she astounded me again, for she nudged the man who stood now a little behind her to come forward. "Tthis iss my ffatherr."

He bowed and laughed. "I am called Willem of Rowan-beck, Master Shikrar," he said. "I never dreamt I'd ever meet one of your people. I'm honoured to know you. I am no more Salera's real father than you are, of course, but I raised her from a kit and I love her like a daughter."

"It is well, Willem of Rowanbeck," I said, hissing my amusement. "You have been singularly blessed. She is a wonder."

"I know it," he replied, full qf delight as he gazed at her.

I enjoyed that moment of joy even as it passed. Varien called us to join them all at the fire.

Finally we were all met under the shelter of the trees. The bright morning had clouded over and it was grown cold. Vilkas and Aral, roused from the sleep of utter exhaustion, sat nearest the fire drinking chelan.

Many of the Lesser Kindred had left the plain, and those who remained had congregated at the far end of the field. I learned later that Salera had asked them to leave us in peace for the moment. It was well thought, for I had seen how they watched Shikrar's every movement. There would be time after our council for a wider meeting of our races. We had other things to consider now.

We shared out the cold food from our packs as we talked, for none of us had eaten much since the night before.

"You're not going alone, you know," said Rella to me as she passed around her store of oatcakes. "You'd have to kill Jamie to stop him."

"I would as soon cut off my right arm," I said. Jamie caught my glance and nodded. I saw then the coldness that had taken him. It saddened me, but I recognised it. Indeed, at that moment I welcomed it.

"That means you get me too," said Rella, raising an eyebrow. "Just so you know."

I bowed. "Three," I said.

"Alas, Varien. After so many years of life I had hoped you would be able to count by now," said a voice from high above. Shikrar settled on one side of the fire and brought his head down to a level with mine. "Four, at the very least. Or perhaps I count for more than one, if only by virtue of sheer bulk?"

"Four, then, Shikrar. Forgive me, my friend. There is no levity in me."

"I know it," said Shikrar gently. "But for all that, keep hope, Akhor. If he wanted her dead he could have killed her here. Keep hope, my friend."

I sent him a swift thanks in traespeech, grimacing at the twinge even so small a usage brought.

"The real question is, where do we start to seek her?" I said.

"Find Berys," said Jamie, his voice like ice. "Verfaren, surely."

"Not necessarily," said Vilkas. "Though that would be the first place to look." He spat. "Those damned demonlines can go anywhere in an instant."

"Demonlines?" asked Jamie. Cold, cold his voice, even the one word.

"Hard to set up, costly to the maker, but once they're in place you can go from one spot to another in the blink of an eye. Then they're gone. Once through only."

"Hells, Vil, how did you know that?" said Will, startled.

"I can't fight the things with my power, Will," said Vilkas grimly. "I've made damned sure I know all there is to know about them in case I can fight them any other way."

"Even if we know not where Berys may be, we must begin somewhere," I said. "If he is not there at Verfaren, perhaps we can find those who will know where he is gone."

"Only if he doesn't know we're looking," said Rella. She glanced at Shikrar. "Forgive me, Shikrar, but you might just be a little obvious."

He snorted. "True enough, lady, but I am only the first Soon there must be some kind of reckoning, for the Kantri are coming to Kolmar."

"When?" she asked.

"A moment," he said. I heard him bespeak Idai and knew he had left his truespeech broadscattered that I might do so.

Shikrar bespoke me at last, his voice subdued and weary. '7 am safely arrived, Idai," he said, "though I have ill news. There has been a great battle here. A rakshadakh called Berys sent an army of Rikti on to Varien and Lanen. She is stolen away."

"And Akhor?" I asked, hardly daring to breathe. He had no armour to protect him, no flame, no talons to rend or fangs to bite, what if he...

"Varien is well, save that his heart is riven in twain for fear of Lanen's fate," he said. I breathed again.

"Alas, Shikrar, would that I had better news to lighten your heart. I have—alas, Toklurik bespoke me as he was dying," I said. My heart was heavy with that loss, and now Lanen gone as well. "It is an evil day."

"It is, my friend. Let us then do what we may to mend it. How fare the Kantri ? "

"Rested and restless." I replied. "Is the way prepared for us?"

"I think now that it cannot be, Idai," he said. "There is none to ask and none to grant permission. However, there is a great demon master arisen in this land. All happens for a purpose, Idai, though the Winds might not make all clear at once. The Gedri have no defences against the Rakshasa." I felt the tiny smile in his mindvoice as he added, "I suspect if we simply follow our own instincts and rid the land of the Rakshi, we will be as welcome here as we could desire."

My heart lifted. My soul to the Winds, I had never dreamt of such a thing, but to arrive in all our power when the Gedri were in need—ah, yes, it would be the best introduction we could hope for.

"Come, then, Idai. Bring the Kantri home," said Shikrar. He told me again to keep high, and how to avoid the wall of air that was the edge of the Storms. "A moment, my friend" he said.

"I need your counsel," I said, turning to the other Gedri. "Where should we meet with the Kantri?" I hissed a little in faint amusement. "Where is there room for all of us to meet at once?"

"There's a plain just north of Wolfenden," said Will at once. "How many of you are there?"

"A hundred and eighty-nine," said Varien quietly.

"Then there should be enough space," said Will. "It'll be a good place to meet, there's little enough traffic comes down that road this time of year."

He told me how to find it and I bespoke Idai once more.

"Very well, my friend," she said, when I had instructed her. "We will meet there in about three days' time."

A thought crossed my mind. "What of Nikis, Idai?"

A dry little laugh escaped her. "Kretissh has said he will stay with Nikis for now, until we think of an easier way to carry her or until she wakes. All is well, Teacher-Shikrar. We come."

"Come then swiftly, my friend," I said. "We will meet in the plain in three days. Fly well and strong!"

It was done, then. The Kantri would arrive soon. But I had no intention of meeting my people on that plain.

Jamie turned to me as if he read my thoughts. "There is no need for us all to be there," he said. "I will not go. I am for Verfaren as fast as I can make those horses run. How much longer must we wait?"

"But a moment more, Jameth," I said. "I am as anxious to be gone as you are." I turned to Will and the young healers. "You have not spoken, Will, Vilkas, Aral. What will you do now?"

Aral opened her mouth and, looking at Vilkas, thought better of it. He spoke.

"I go with you, if you go to seek out Berys. The Lady La-nen will need us all, I think. And in any case I have a vow to fulfil." He glanced at Jamie and at me, half smiling. "Between the three of us, we may give Berys something to think about."

"Vil, you can't count any better than Varien," said Aral. She looked up. "Lord Shikrar, I hope you will forgive us for not accompanying you, but if we are to reclaim our lives we must seek out this bastard. Not what I'd choose to do, but there it is."

Shikrar nodded, but he was troubled. "I understand your desire for speed, my friends, but on behalf of my people I beg you to spare a brief hour to greet the Kantri." He gazed at each of us and I found that I was ashamed. "We have lost that only home that we have ever known, and we have flown to the limit of our strength to come here." He gazed full at me, then, and I heard the rebuke in his voice. "You at least must be here to greet them, my friend" he told me in true-speech. "For all that has changed, you are yet the Lord of the Kantri."

I bowed. "You speak truth, Hadreshikrar. I at least must meet with you all. La—" My throat closed as grief threatened to overwhelm me, but I took a long breath and spoke again. "Lanen would wish it so, I know it," I said.

It was Rella, ever practical, who then said dryly, "That field is right close to the road, and at this stage a small delay won't hurt. Surely we can all meet togemer and form a plan of action, rather than rushing into Verfaren waving our swords?" She turned to Jamie. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather have all the help I can muster."

"The Kantri are life-enemies of the Rakshasa," added Shikrar quietly, and I saw the smallest touch of the Attitude of Amusement in his stance. "If you are to face down a demon-master, what better weapon could you hope for than several hundred souls who delight in destroying demons?"

Vilkas and Aral nodded, and we all turned to Jamie.

"No," he said quietly, in the dispassionate voice that fell cold as ice on the ear. "I see the sense of your words, but I will not wait even so short a time." He turned to Rella. "We should get back to Wolfenden in a few days. When we come to the road, you go with the rest and talk to the dragons. I'll go ahead on my own to Verfaren and learn what I can about Berys. Meet me at the gates to the College of Mages at noon the day after we split up."

"Are you sure, Jamie?" asked Rella quietly, her face and voice carefully neutral.

"Sure as life," he said. I shivered.

She turned back to Shikrar. "Very well then, Shikrar. All but Jamie will meet with the Kantri. Perhaps together we can find a way to defeat Berys and get Lanen back."

"We do not yet speak for all, Lady Rella," I said, turning to the two who had not spoken. "Will? Salera?"

I was proud of myself, for I could understand all that was said. It was harder to form words than to understand them, but I was certain that would improve in time.

The strangest part of that time was how swiftly we of the Lesser Kindred took to our newfound senses. We had been but a breath away in any case, so perhaps it was not so strange after all, but when Aral asked what Will and I were doing I did not have to stop and think.

"Hhow sshould I not seek to aid the Lady of my people?" I asked. "Sshe it wass who brought uss reason, sshe and the Ssilver King. It iss a great debt. I sshall go with you."

Will laid his hand on my neck. "Then off we go all. We can plan the subtleties on the way, but I for one cannot wait longer."

We all stood and began to gather up our packs.

Only one thing more happened to delay us. We were preparing to leave when a great shout came up from deep in the trees. Aral had gone to fill her water skin when she caught sight of something lying in the wood.

It was the body of poor Maikel, Marik's healer, near an altar surrounded by demon symbols. Vilkas said it was the base of the demon line and performed a swift ceremony to dispel the darkness. "There is no way to tell where it goes, but Berys was in Verfaren when we left. There's a good chance he has returned there," he said grimly. "As long as he didn't have another one ready, we may have a chance."

Vilkas seemed to think that Maikel had paid the price of service to the demons, but I saw the expression on that poor dead face, above the ravaged body, and I knew in my soul that Vilkas was wrong. Maikel's face was at peace, almost there was a glimpse of joy about him. He had died fighting, for my money, and I sent a swift prayer for the soul of a solitary warrior winging to the Lady. We buried him beneath the trees and built a cairn over his grave.

The sun was setting as we left the high field and set off down the mountain.

I woke after what seemed like many long hours. I tried to speak, to cry out aloud, to call to Varien in truespeech. I could not make a sound.

I had been plagued by evil dreams, but to be truthful the waking was little better. I woke to find myself lying on a hard bed in a cell deep underground, or so I guessed from the cold and the damp. There was a lamp at one side, a heavy wooden door that was locked from the outside—of course— and a tiny grate with a tinier fire in it. I rose and threw on more coals. There seemed to be plenty.

I knew Berys had caught me, I remembered that much of the battle. At least, I had assumed that the man with the hideous face was Berys. I also seemed to remember seeing Shikrar arrive just as I was taken. I could only hope it was so. I remembered Akor and the efficient contempt with which he had killed demons. Perhaps Varien and the others lived after all.

There came then a rattle at the door. I looked around wildly for anything to use as a weapon. I had started towards the lamp when the door opened.

It was Berys, if that's who he was. He had the body of a lad only a little older than me, but he moved more like an old man. It was deeply unsettling.

He smiled at me and that was more unsettling yet. He waved his hand in a curious pattern and suddenly I found I could speak.

"Who in all the Hells are you?" I demanded. "And where am I?"

"My name is Berys, and you are mine," he said smugly. "Marik of Gundar's blood and bone. Are you comfortable?"

"It's cold as midwinter down here. A blanket or a cloak would be useful."

"I will arrange for a cloak to be brought to you," he said. He lifted his left hand to make some gesture and I realised with a shock that "hand" was the wrong word. There was only a stump.