The Shadow Of What Was Lost (37 page)

Wirr's response seemed to satisfy
Aelric, and the conversation drifted to lighter topics. It did not take Wirr
long to grudgingly decide that he was beginning to respect the older boy, maybe
even like him a little, despite his first impressions. Aelric knew without
having to ask that Wirr was keeping a vigil, waiting to see if Davian would
miraculously emerge from the mists of Deilannis during the night. Rather than
tell him the foolishness of the task, he seemed content to simply keep Wirr
company.

Finally the conversation ceased
and they lapsed into a companionable silence, each lost in his own thoughts. A
silent understanding had passed between the two young men, and both were
content to sit there quietly as the night slipped by.

Dawn came too soon, yellow and
bright. Wirr and Aelric rose and headed back to camp. The others were already
awake; no-one needed to ask where they had been.

They gathered up their meagre
possessions, the silence sombre. Soon they were on the move again, upward for a
time along stairs similar to those on the Desriel side of the city. They
crested the steep hillside, then began to walk the gentler slope downward. Wirr
glanced back over his shoulder, watching as the mist-bound city was lost from
view.

He turned forward again and
swallowed a lump in his throat, forcing himself to finally admit the hard
truth.

Davian
was gone.

Asha gave an inward groan as she
saw the line of nobility waiting outside Elocien's study.

She gritted her teeth, ignoring
the stares as she passed. It had been weeks since she'd been officially
introduced as Tol Athian's Representative, but more often than not, she was
still looked at like something akin to a dog that had suddenly learned how to
talk. The worst of the offenders were people like those waiting for Elocien.
They wouldn't be happy about what she was about to do... but the duke had sent
for her, and it had sounded urgent.

The hallway had gone silent at
her appearance, but now a low, annoyed muttering started up behind her as she
knocked on Elocien's door. It was well-known that she was only at court through
the Northwarden's insistence, and few people tried to hide their disapproval
away from Elocien's sight. This would only serve to reaffirm their opinion that
she didn't know her place.

There was silence for a few
moments, and then the door opened. A man Asha didn’t recognise peered out at
her with a frown.

“The Northwarden is busy,” he
told her, his tone stern. He tried to shut the door again, but Asha jammed her
foot in the crack.

“Tell him that it is
Representative Chaedris. He sent for me.”

The wiry man hesitated, then gave
a sharp nod. A few seconds later the door opened again and the duke appeared,
ushering out a disgruntled-looking older man.

“This will not take long, Lord
si’Bandin,” Elocien said. He turned to Asha; his expression was smooth but she
could see a strange combination of concern and excitement in his eyes.
“Representative Chaedris. Please, come in,” he said politely.

As soon as the door was shut, the
Northwarden’s manner changed. He collapsed wearily into a chair, but despite
his obvious exhaustion, his mood seemed upbeat.

“Ashalia. Thank-you for coming,”
he said with a tired smile, gesturing for her to take a seat. "I have news
of Torin. He's alive."

Asha stared at the duke for a
long moment, barely daring to believe her ears. She sat, a sudden burst of
emotion dizzying her. She'd hoped, of course, but to have it confirmed...

She laughed delightedly.
"That's wonderful!" She was about to say more when she realised that
the other man, who had opened the door the first time, was still standing by
another chair in the corner. She hesitated.

The duke caught her glance and
nodded to himself.

“Ah - of course. How rude of me.
Ashalia, meet Laiman Kardai, my brother’s closest friend and most trusted
advisor.”

Laiman grimaced at the
introduction. He was an unassuming-looking man, thin in both body and face,
with wire-rimmed glasses that lent him a scholarly air. “Until recently,
anyway,” he said with forced cheerfulness, running a hand through his
mousy-brown hair. He nodded to Asha. “A pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard much about
you from Duke Andras.” He gave a slight smile. “And from others, too, these
last few weeks. You’ve managed to make quite a stir.”

Asha made a face. “Not
deliberately.” She bit her lip, glancing again at Laiman. She was ecstatic
about Torin, but she could hardly have this discussion with Elocien while there
was a stranger in the room.

Elocien followed her gaze.
“Laiman knows everything, Asha. About Torin, and about the Augurs. You may
speak freely in front of him.”

Asha tried not to look surprised;
after all Elocien’s talk about keeping the Augurs a secret, he had told the
king’s closest friend? Still, it was hardly her place to question the duke's
judgment.

She relaxed a little, allowing
her smile to return. "So... where is he? What happened to him - is he
safe?"

"Details are scarce at this
point," Elocien admitted. "We do know for certain that a couple of
weeks ago, he was in Thrindar."

Asha stared at the duke. "In
Desriel
?"

Elocien nodded grimly. "He
made contact with Princess Karaliene at the Song of Swords - she let me know as
soon as she arrived home this morning. He's on his way home too,
apparently." He rubbed his forehead, looking as though he didn't quite
know whether to be pleased or irritated at the next part. "She says he
didn't even know about what happened at Caladel - that he'd left before the
attack, to investigate the weakening of the Boundary... it was all very vague,
to be honest. I don't think he told her much at all."

"The Boundary? The one up
north?" Asha frowned, trying to remember what she knew of the far north.
"Does that mean...."

"I don't know." Elocien
sighed. "These invaders - the 'Blind', as they're being called now -
are
coming from the north. If Torin thought there was a problem with the Boundary -
enough of a problem to risk sneaking into Desriel - then I suppose it's
possible they're from Talan Gol. Some sort of... Andarran ancestor, maybe,
descended from those who were trapped in the North when the Boundary was first
created." He shrugged, glancing across at Laiman. "We'll find out
soon enough, anyway."

Asha frowned. "What do you
mean?"

Elocien hesitated. "King
Andras has decided to send the army out to meet the Blind. Nine thousand men,
all told."

Asha stared at him in horror.
“But you know what happens,” she said, a note of protest edging into her tone.
“The invasion reaches Ilin Illan. Surely that means.....”

“A lot of those men may be going
to their deaths. I know,” said Elocien. “This is why I had to tell Laiman
exactly what was going on. The king wanted to send
everyone
, Asha. All
fifteen thousand troops, leaving the city defended by only a handful of
soldiers. My pleas were doing nothing, but Laiman got him down to nine
thousand.”

“It’s still many more than we
wanted,” added Laiman quietly, “but it was the best I could do. Given the
circumstances.”

“The circumstances?” repeated
Asha.

Elocien glanced at Laiman, who
gave him a brief nod.

“My brother is acting…
irrationally,” said Elocien. “We’ve been noticing small things for weeks, but
since war was officially declared it seems to have become much worse.
Much
worse. He rants against the Gifted, but is perfectly content to have Dras
Lothlar as one of his closest advisors. He has started refusing to see all but
his most trusted lords, advisors and servants. Karaliene came home this morning
after being away for months, but he's not even changing his schedule to see
her. I’ve
never
seen him do that before.” From the duke’s tone, he was
genuinely worried. “We know something is wrong, but no-one is in a position to
find out what.”

“What about the Assembly?” asked
Asha. "Can't they step in?"

“Andarra is at war, so the
Assembly has been dissolved until further notice.” Laiman's tone was calm but
Asha could see the concern in his eyes, too. “It was announced yesterday. His
Majesty has absolute control over the country until the Blind are defeated. And
he
insisted
on sending the troops. At the urgings of Dras Lothlar, I
might add,” he said, unable to repress a scowl.

The Northwarden leaned forward.
“Nine thousand is more than we should be sending, but... there are other things
to consider. We have people, thousands of people, outside the city in the path
of the Blind. Those troops will give them a chance to escape. And even if our
soldiers don't stop the invasion, we don't know what impact they will have.
Sending them may weaken the enemy enough that we will be able to defeat them
once they breach the city. We could gain valuable intelligence on who they are,
what they want, and how they fight."

Asha processed what Elocien had
told her for a few seconds, then gave a reluctant nod. "I hadn't thought
of that."

Elocien’s tone became milder.
“Just remember, Asha, that even if what the Augurs See is inevitable, it
doesn’t mean we can just wait for it to happen. Fessi saw the Blind inside the
city, yet we’re still going to man the Shields at Fedris Idri when they come.
Why? Because even though good men will die, and those walls will eventually be
overrun - who knows how many of the enemy will be killed in the process? The
damage we do them there may end up making the difference between victory or
defeat.” He sighed. “Regardless, all we can do is make preparations based on
what we know. And I promise you, I am doing that.”

Asha inclined her head nervously;
when Elocien put it in such a matter-of-fact way, the prospect of invaders
inside the walls suddenly seemed more real. She'd been imagining that Fessi’s
vision had meant that the Andarran soldiers would simply wait for the Blind
inside Ilin Illan, make their stand from deep within the city. That what had
been Seen was before any blood had been shed.

But she saw now that the duke was
right - knowing they were going to lose the battle for the Shields didn't mean
they could, or even should, avoid it.

She took a deep breath, a little
dazed. Elocien watched her sympathetically.

"How is everything else
going?" he asked after a moment, his tone gentle. "Is the Shadraehin
still pressing you for information?"

Asha grimaced, nodding.
"They're contacting me once every couple of days, now," she admitted.
The messages were always essentially the same, and yet... in the last few, she
had begun to sense more than a hint of impatience.

Elocien frowned as he watched her
reaction. "If it becomes anything more than them just making contact, you
let me know straight away," he said quietly. "I can't see any reason
for the Shadraehin to think you are anything but loyal - he must have known
your getting information from me could take a while, months even. Still, there
are measures we can take to protect you if you feel the need."

Asha gave him a grateful nod,
silent for a moment. Then she stood, suddenly remembering the long line of
impatient nobility outside. “I should let you get back to your meetings, but
thank-you for letting me know about Torin," she said, managing a small
smile. "It really is wonderful news. Do you know when he will be
back?"

Elocien returned the smile,
standing too. “If there are no complications.... soon, I would hope. I'll keep
you informed if I find out anything more specific." He sighed, glancing at
Laiman. “But for now, it's back to hearing every single House tell us why their
interests should be protected against this invasion, I suppose.”

“Yes. Let the tedium resume,”
agreed Laiman reluctantly. He nodded politely to Asha. “It was a pleasure
meeting you, Ashalia. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

The duke opened the door, and the
murmuring from the gathered nobility outside stopped once more as Asha made her
way past. She tried to stare straight ahead as she walked, but she still caught
a couple of the half-disgusted, half-irritated looks she had already grown
accustomed to.

Rubbing her forehead, she made
her way back to her rooms. She only had a little time before her next lesson
with Michal, but it was enough to catch up on some rest, and a chance to try
and process everything she'd just been told.

Her bedroom was still dark;
rising before sunrise meant she rarely thought to draw back the thick curtains.
She left them closed and wearily lay down on her bed.

"Asha."

The male voice made her sit up
straight in alarm.

"Who's there?" she
said, trying to make the fear in her voice a warning. She scrambled to light
the lamp beside her bed, raising it with a shaking hand.

A figure shifted in the shadows
at the corner of her room. There was a clinking sound, metal against metal.
Then the intruder moved forward, into the light.

"It's good to see you,
Asha," said Davian softly.

Asha stared in disbelief. She had
to be dreaming, hallucinating. The man standing in the corner of the room was
Davian, but... he looked older.

Much
older.

Gone was the skinny boy from
Caladel. Muscles rippled beneath Davian's light shirt, which was tattered and
blood-stained. There was a strange scar, almost a tattoo, scored onto his neck
- three wavy vertical lines, all within a circle. And his face not only had the
old scar from Caladel but another one, worse, running across the other cheek
just beneath his eye. It looked deep, painful, not fully healed. Week-old
stubble made him look even more dishevelled.

Davian's entire body was bound by
a black, glistening chain with thick links; the metal seemed to writhe in the
lamplight as if alive. He shifted, and the metallic clinking echoed through the
room again.

Worst of all, though, were his
eyes. They were old. Full of pain as he looked at her.

"Is this a dream?"
asked Asha, dazed. "You... you're not real. They said you died. At
Caladel."

"They lied." Davian
made an awkward step back as Asha swung out of bed. "Please, don't come
any closer. It's dangerous."

Asha stopped. She wanted to go to
him, touch him, just to make sure he was really there. "Why?"

Davian grimaced, staring at the
ground. "I don't have time to explain. I'm... restricted in what I can
say. Who is the Shadraehin?"