The Shadowed Throne (19 page)

Not for the first time, Laela wondered what had happened to Kullervo. There hadn't been any news of him; it was as if he had vanished off the face of the earth the moment he left Malvern. She hoped he was safe. He was the only person she knew aside from Oeka who would still tell her the truth.

Lunch arrived to interrupt her brooding. She ate it unenthusiastically and washed it down with some herb-flavoured water. Wine didn't hold any attraction for her any more.

She was picking through the bowl of strayberries provided for dessert when Inva came in. Beside her was her new partner, Skarok. He was white mixed with mottled grey, only half-grown, with the gawky, scrawny look griffin youngsters often had. Despite that he, and Inva went oddly well together, and Inva had that new air she had had ever since becoming a griffiner—that proud, dignified way she carried herself.

Seeing them together gave Laela a stab of pain in her heart. “How's it going?” she asked tonelessly.

Inva came to the table and made a quick bow. “My lady, a griffin has landed and wants to speak with you.”

“What griffin?” said Laela, instantly suspicious.

“She will not give a name. But she has brought a rider—”

“A freak,” Skarok interrupted harshly. He tossed his head. “I would have killed it, but the female would not let me.”

“Freak?” said Laela. “What sort of freak's this, then? Human?”

Inva's look was guarded. “It is . . . a winged man.”

“Wait, what?
Wings?
Like griffin wings?”

“Yes. And the tail and fur of one as well. He seemed eager to see you.”

There was only one man in the world who fitted that description. “Kullervo! He's back!” And Laela jumped out of her seat and was through the door before Inva or Skarok could react.

S
he ran up the corridors and the ramps until she reached the entrance where the guard was still posted to keep people away from the audience chamber. Luckily, there was another way to the tower-top, though—a trapdoor meant for emergencies. Laela had had a ladder installed, and she climbed it now, ignoring it when she trod on the hem of her expensive velvet gown. The trapdoor was closed but she all but head-butted it open before pulling herself up and into the open air.

It was freezing on the flat tower-top, but Laela didn't notice. She saw the nameless griffin, resting just by the other entrance, and close by its side there was—

“Kullervo!”

He turned at the sound of her voice and ran toward her. Or, at least, tried to run. He made a clumsy, shambling rush toward her, stumbled, and fell flat on his face.

“Gryphus' talons, what are yeh trying to do?” Laela exclaimed as she pulled him to his feet. “Kullervo! It really is you!”

His face was covered in tiny feathers, but the grin hadn't changed. “Laela. I'm so glad to see you!”

“I'd say the same, but yeh kinda look . . . nothing like how yeh did before. What in blazes happened?”

“Oh, don't worry about it,” he said. “The change went wrong. I can fix it when I want to; there just wasn't any time.”

“Fair enough. Where have yeh
been
?”

“Dangerous places,” said Kullervo. He gestured with an arm that had a raw red scar down its length.

“Holy gods, what did that?” asked Laela.

“I'll tell you later. Come on, you have to meet my new friend! Where's Oeka?”

“She's . . . uh . . . busy.” Laela looked at the griffin, who had been waiting patiently. “Who's this?”

Kullervo leaned on her as they moved closer. “Laela, you won't believe who this is.”

The griffin stood up. She was brown and looked as if she were getting on in age; her haunches were bony, and her beak was chipped. But she carried herself with immense dignity. “So this is the half-breed Queen?” she interrupted, bringing her head down to peer at Laela's face. “Yes . . . I see it. The mixed colours are obvious.”

Laela glared. “Who are yeh, an' why should I care?”

“I am Senneck, and your griffish is pathetic.”

“Thanks. I love makin' new friends, it's great fun. Have yeh got anythin' useful to say, or should I come back later?”

Kullervo, as always, had to play the peacekeeper. “Laela, this is
Senneck
. She was Erian's griffin.”

Laela's sneer disappeared. “What?”

“My human was brother to your mother,” Senneck said. “I remember you when you were a squealing pup in her arms.”

Laela swore. “
Senneck!
Erian's—really?”

“She is,” said Kullervo. “She was here when our—when Malvern was taken.”

“I thought yeh were dead,” Laela said with an edge to her voice.

“So did every human and griffin in the North,” said Senneck. “But almost no-one knew that you even existed.” She brought her face close to Laela—so close that her breath ruffled the Queen's hair. “Spawn of
Kraeai kran ae
. I remember the day when your mother showed you to us. Erian told her to smother you.”

“Senneck—!” Kullervo exclaimed.

She lifted her head away. “Your mother would not listen. Erian could not understand why she would keep the child of her father's murderer. She should not have brought you to the North, and she paid for it with her life.”

Laela's stare had become very steady. “Ole Uncle Erian was a twit. An' from what I hear, he paid for that with
his
life. A life
you
didn't save. That sound right?”

Senneck drew back, hissing. “How dare you speak to me that way! You have no right—”

“Stop it!”
Kullervo's yell broke into the argument, and he pushed forward and actually put himself between them. “Stop it!” he shouted again. “Don't
be
like this!”

To her shock, Laela saw there were tears in his eyes. “Kullervo—!”

“Stop it.” Kullervo gave each of them a fierce, distraught look. “You're not meant to do this. You should be friends.”

“Why?” Senneck rasped mockery.

“Because—because you're
family
.” Kullervo almost wailed the word. “You knew her uncle, Senneck. You knew her mother. You said you knew her grandfather, too. You're one of us.”

“Griffins do not care for family,” Senneck said at once. “And no human is family of mine. Nor a friend.”

“Well, you should!” Kullervo roared. “Unless you want to be all alone forever.”

Laela grabbed him by the arm. “Kullervo, for gods' sakes calm down! Yer goin' hysterical!”

He took several deep breaths. “We
should
be friends,” he insisted. “All three of us together.”

“Yeah, right,” Laela sneered.

Kullervo looked away from them both, toward the Northern horizon. “We have a common enemy,” he said. “Don't we?”

“The shape-changer is right,” Senneck said abruptly. “I have not returned to spit insults at you, half-breed. Once, I wished for nothing but to kill
Kraeai kran ae
, but now I know he is dead. But his cousin is alive, the one who helped him to destroy my home. If I cannot have revenge on him, then I shall take it from her.”

Laela cracked her knuckles. “
Now
I like what I'm hearin'. So yeh wanna help us fight the one-eyed hag, eh?”

“No,” said Senneck. “I am going to kill her.”

“Even better.” Laela drew herself up and adjusted the circlet on her head. “But I gotta say I'm surprised you'd fight for me, what with me bein' Arenadd's daughter. You fought him, an' all us Northerners once, right?”

“I did, but that is in the past,” said Senneck, unmoved. “I am a griffin, and I do not serve ideals. The cause I fought for once was lost long ago. Now, I will fight for revenge. And if I must fight beside half-breeds and Northerners, so be it.”

“All right then,” said Laela. “My way is to take help when it's offered, an' yours'd be damned useful. So I'm gonna make yeh a deal. I'll give yeh somewhere to live an' food to eat. While yeh rest up, I'll have a good think an' talk to some people an' when I'm ready I'll tell yeh an' we'll make some plans.”

“I will not wait,” said Senneck.

Laela shrugged. “Fine, but yeh might wanna stay. If yeh do what I asked, then when I'm ready I'll tell yeh exactly where she is an' what t'expect when yeh get there.”

“You know where she is?” said Kullervo.

“Kaanee did a good job,” said Laela.

“Very well then.” Senneck made a rattling noise in her throat. “I shall wait. But be warned: I shall not wait long.”

“Yeh won't have to,” said Laela. “Don't worry.”

Senneck inclined her head briefly and began to move away. “I shall find a place to sleep and come to find you later.”

Laela nodded and waited until she had flown away.

When they were alone, she turned to Kullervo. “Now what was
that
all about?”

His eyes had gone red. “She shouldn't have talked to you like that.”

“That's just how griffins are, Kullervo. Don't be such a baby.”

He jerked as if she had just slapped him. “I didn't want it to be like that,” he mumbled. “I thought . . .”

“Thought what?”

“I thought you'd be happy to see her. That she'd be happy to see
you
. You must look like her human did, and I thought . . .”

“Griffins don't think like that. Don't yeh know?”

“Not really. I don't know.” Kullervo sagged. “I like her. I thought she would be kinder to you.”

“Fat chance.” Laela gave him a lopsided look. “Yeh really are innocent, ain't yeh?”

“Am I?”

“Anyone what thinks a griffin could be
kind
has gotta be innocent. Where did yeh find her?”

“Hiding in the mountains,” Kullervo lied. “But that was after I found someone else.”

“Who? I know it wasn't Saeddryn.”

“It was your father,” said Kullervo.

Laela went rigid. “What? He ain't—?”

“I found his body.”

“But—but what was it doin' there?”

“Skandar must have taken it with him,” said Kullervo. “He was there, guarding it. I'm sorry, Laela. I tried to bring it back here, but Skandar wouldn't let me. He almost killed me.” He held up his arm, displaying the scar.

Laela winced. “I wouldn't've asked yeh to do that if I'd been there. But look—my father's . . . the King's body . . . what was it . . . like?”

“Rotted,” Kullervo grimaced. “Falling apart.”

“Oh.” Laela's expression was unreadable. “An' Skandar?”

“I don't think he's going to come back,” said Kullervo. “He barely even leaves that corpse alone to hunt.”

“Didn't think he'd come back.” Laela looked relieved. “Just as well. Havin' him here'd be another complication. He's unpredictable, he is. An' bloody dangerous, but I'm sure yeh know that.”

“I do,” Kullervo said dryly. “I just wish I could have brought the body back. That way you'd have proof.”

“Doesn't matter.” Laela offered him her arm and led him away toward the trapdoor. “I lost the chance to make myself stronger with that. Looks like I'm gonna have to win this the old-fashioned way now: with a big ole heap of violence.”

“Oh no. What's been happening here?”

“Bad things,” said Laela. She helped him through the trapdoor and followed him inside. “I got a bad situation, Kullervo. Real bad.”

“How bad? What's Saeddryn doing, do you know?”

She took him down the ramps, back toward the dining hall. “Kaanee an' the rest did their work. Saeddryn's at Warwick. A lot of the old guard joined up with her. Her son Caedmon's at Fruitsheart, an' her daughter Arddryn's holed up at Skenfrith. We don't know exactly what they're doin', but the picture's bein' drawn better all the time. Warwick's got some big arrow shooters built up on the walls. Skenfrith's been having some loud gatherin's in the taverns. Fruitsheart looks like it's bidin' its time so far, but they've been askin' some tough questions whenever a griffiner comes to visit.”

“They're going to declare war,” Kullervo said at once.

“Probably. Only question is, what're we gonna do about it?”

“What does Oeka think?”

Laela's mouth became a thin, hard line. “Yeah, I got a few more things to tell yeh . . .”

B
efore going to talk with Laela again, Kullervo did something he had been meaning to do for some time. He locked himself in his quarters, barricaded the door, and began the transformation. It took more concentration and energy than it ever had before, but his body responded eventually, shifting back toward human. Fur and feathers shed onto the floor, and bones grated and shifted. His legs and hips had to change the most, but they managed it eventually.

This time, he didn't black out, and once the pain had cleared, he felt rather proud of himself. He slept for a while, and woke to find the sun going down outside his window. He tested his legs—they ached, but they worked, and, after a few false starts, he got up, pulled some clothes on, and walked stiffly out of the room.

A servant showed him to Laela's own quarters, and she answered the door. “Oh, Kullervo, there yeh are,” she said. “Come in.”

He entered, shutting the door behind him. “Sorry I took a while. I didn't think it was a good idea for anyone to see me like that.”

“Doesn't matter,” said Laela. She looked tired, Kullervo thought. In fact, she looked exhausted. There were dark smudges under her eyes, and her hair was greasy and tangled. She looked as if she hadn't rested or eaten properly in days.

Her room at least was warm and well lit. Two chairs had been set up in front of the fire-place, and Kullervo sat down in one, wincing as he bent his knees.

Laela took the other. “It's good to see yeh again, Kullervo,” she said. “It really is. I missed yeh. Worried about yeh.”

“I missed you, too,” said Kullervo. “And worried about you. I'm so sorry I didn't come back sooner, but I was hurt—”

“Never mind.” Laela waved his apologies away. “I'm just glad yer all right.”

Kullervo glanced around the room, but there was no sign of anyone else in it. “So where
is
Oeka?” he asked. “It's odd seeing you without her.”

“She's . . . in the audience chamber,” said Laela.

“Oh. What's she doing in there?”

“Ain't got a clue,” said Laela. “She hasn't come out. Nobody's goin' in either.”

“Why not? Is she sick?”

“Maybe.” Laela looked miserable. “I dunno what's wrong with her. It's nothin' I can understand; I'm human.”

“I don't get it,” said Kullervo. “What are you saying?”

“It's magic is what it is,” said Laela. “She's doin' somethin' with magic. Whatever it is, it's made that whole level impossible to go into.”

“How?”

“There's”—Laela waved a hand vaguely—“lights. Noises. An' somethin' else. It gets into yer head, does bad things. I don't reckon Oeka's controllin' it either because it got to me, too, when I tried goin' in there.”

Kullervo looked bewildered. “It must be magic, but I don't know what. To be honest, I don't know that much about magic. Griffins learn it from each other, but none of them would teach me, you see. I had to work it out myself.”

“Nobody knows what it is,” said Laela. “I only know what she told me. She went off, see. Flew away the same day you did. Went south. Came back a few days later, but wouldn't say where she'd been. All she said is she'd done somethin' to make herself stronger. Said she had to ‘unravel' somethin', so she could get new powers.”

“I suppose that must be what she's doing, then,” said Kullervo. “But we'll have to hope it doesn't go wrong somehow.”

“Yeah, I bloody well hope so,” said Laela. “'Cause if it does, I'm as good as dead. Now look, it's time I told yeh more about what's goin' on.”

“I'm surprised you'd trust me that much,” Kullervo said mildly. “You hardly know me.”

Laela smiled uncertainly. “Maybe. Truth is, I got no-one else much. Inva hardly speaks, I don't trust nobody in the Eyrie, an' Oeka's . . . not around. There's only Iorwerth. I'm makin' plans with him already, in case it comes to a fight. But that ain't why I trust yeh.”

“Why, then?”

“Yer an outsider,” said Laela. “Not from here. Yeh don't care about the Night God, or Saeddryn, or any of that, an' nobody else's got a stake in this except me.”

“I could be working for the Southerners,” Kullervo pointed out.

“Yeah right!” Laela laughed roughly. “The same Southerners what kept yeh in a cage an' called yeh a freak? I know what that lot are like, an' they don't take kindly to our sort.” She softened. “Yeh ain't given me no reason to think yer two-faced as well as two-shaped. Yeh said we were the same type, an' I believe yeh. That's why I trust yeh.”

Kullervo smiled. “All right, then. What do you want me to do?”

“We know where Saeddryn is now,” said Laela. “That's where I'm sendin' yeh.”

Kullervo lost his smile. “Why? I'm not going to kill her for you.”

“Relax. I'm sendin' yeh with a message, that's all. But it's gotta go straight into her hands, understand? No-one else's.”

“What message?” Kullervo clasped his hands together. “Are you really going to declare war on her? Is that the message?”

“We don't want war,” said Laela. “Not yet. The message is this: I'm givin' Saeddryn a chance to surrender along with Caedmon an' Arddryn. If they come here an' lay their weapons down, they'll be safe. I'll make Caedmon my heir, an' Arddryn and Saeddryn can go live in Maijan. They'll be left alone as long as they stay there, an' Caedmon'll be kept safe.”

“And if she says no?”

“That's the next part of the message.” Laela's eyes narrowed. “She says no, an' they all die. Starting with Torc. She says no, an' he'll be executed. Painfully. In public.”

“He hasn't done anything wrong!” Kullervo said. “You can't do that to him, Laela.”

“Don't worry, I ain't gonna do it. She won't let me do it. She'll surrender. No way she'll let her own husband die. Even if she tries to hold out, her kids won't let her do it. They'll want their dad safe.”

Kullervo relaxed. “So all I have to do is deliver this message?”

“That's right. I'll have it all writ down. Carry it over in griffin shape an' deliver it that way. When yeh get there, just tell 'em yeh got a message from the Queen—but keep it hidden. Don't let nobody take it from yeh. Don't let anyone else read it before she does.”

“I can do that.”

“Good. An' . . . be careful, all right? I ain't gonna lose yeh now when I've just got yeh back.”

“Don't worry.” Kullervo winked. “I'm a survivor.”

“We half-breeds gotta be, ain't we?” said Laela.

“. . . I
'm a survivor . . . gotta be . . . gotta be . . . s
urviv
or . . . I'm a survivor . . .”

High up in her lair, Oeka's beak opened and her tongue moved silently as the words echoed in her head. She hadn't opened her eyes or used her normal hearing in some time now—at first the senses had been too much of a distraction, and by now they were gone altogether. As she sat there, still as stone, taking each howling spirit apart and using its energy to build into her own mind, she felt the structure of her brain physically changing. With no room to grow inside her skull, the part that controlled her powers found other ways to expand.

She hadn't eaten once since her visit to the Spirit Cave. Normal griffins absorbed new energy from the food they ate, but the solid lump of pure magic lodged in her stomach made all that unnecessary. She could feel it feeding her body, replacing every scrap of energy she used and adding even more on top of that. Once, manipulating this much magic for this long would have killed her ten times over, but not any more. No, not any more . . .

Oeka gulped slightly—the only movement she had made all day. Around her, the spirits screamed in protest as they were unravelled and ruthlessly absorbed. It was becoming faster and easier all the time—so much so that by now she could begin to experiment with some of her new gifts. She reached out effortlessly with her mind and tasted the thoughts of Kullervo and Laela. Laela was easy.
Sad. Angry. Desperate.

Kullervo, much harder.
Secrets,
Oeka scented.
Hidden things. Something hiding. Fear, yes, fear. And . . . anger?
She grasped at the vague feelings as they slid out of her grasp, frustrating and elusive. This mind was impossible!

She angrily shut them away and turned her full attention back to her work. More power, more energy needed to unlock this mind. She
had
to know.

Gradually, though, other thoughts seeped through. Laela's emotions were worrying. She had been watching them over the last few days, and now that she began to think about them, she wondered what they could mean. How much time had passed? What could be happening out there while she was locked away?

A hiss snaked through the glowing air. Power would be no use if Laela failed while she was gone. Everything could be lost in a single stroke, then all she had put herself through would be useless.

Slowly, Oeka began to let herself relax. It took a huge effort to stop the process, and, for a few moments, she began to think she was stuck and would not be able to stop until the last of the spirits had been used. But the magic rushing around her finally slowed and drew inward at her command. She took a deep breath—deeper than should have been possible—and pulled it all inside her, back to the source in her stomach. The source absorbed it, and she could feel the icy burn in the spot where it waited. The feeling was far less powerful than it had been before, however, and she knew she must have used a good chunk of what she had collected at the Spirit Cave.

When everything felt normal again, she opened her eyes.

She was blind.

Panicking, she lurched up off the platform and toppled off the edge. She hit the floor with a thump and a jerk of pain—those senses, at least, were still there. But her eyes—her eyes were useless. She called out, but heard nothing. Was she deaf, or mute? Or both?

Oeka lay still for a time, paralysed with fear. What had she done to herself?

Little by little the enormity of it crept up on her. She had spent so long in that cloud of magic, using it to alter herself, and she had had no idea of how much it had changed—how much it had corroded away her mind. She had gained so many new powers, but she had crippled herself as well.

But that did not mean she was helpless now, surely . . . ?

Cautiously, she reached out with her mind. Tendrils of thought—her extra senses—extended to touch the room. Focusing now was far too easy, and she pushed harder, flexing new abilities that had gone unused until this moment.

It worked. Using forms of vision so sophisticated they went beyond mere sight, she built an image of the world around her. Its colours and details were wonderfully vivid and sharp, giving up information that normal eyes could never see. She saw the walls and knew where the marble had been mined and shaped, and how it had been cut and polished. The tapestries gave off odours of the hands that had woven them. Dead insects, caught in the spider-webs on the ceiling, sighed faint whispers of their lives.

Oeka concentrated on shutting out the unnecessary details and got up off the floor. Moving stiffly, seeing without eyes, she walked toward the door. Her body worked the same way it had before, at least. She wondered if she could still fly.

As she left the audience chamber, she selected a single sense and let it spread out through the Eyrie tower—searching for Laela's mind. She found it. It tasted of frustration and the tang of fear.

Oeka went to find its owner.

L
aela was in one of the unoccupied griffin nests, arguing with Senneck.

“I will not stay here,” the blue-eyed griffin warned. “The traitor shall die at my talons.”

“Not now,”
Laela said.

“You promised me that you would not make me wait.”

“I said I wouldn't make yeh wait
long
. Listen. We're still negotiatin', right? I ain't lettin' this turn into war unless I have to. I'm gonna try an' get her to settle this peaceful-like, before I go doin' anythin' else.”

“She will not
negotiate
,” Senneck said. “She is like her cursed cousin. Dominance is all she wants. Tell me where she is, and I shall kill her for you. That is my only wish.”

“If it comes to war, then so be it,” said Laela. “All I need is a day or so. Just long enough for Kullervo to carry his message an' come back.”

“So you are sending the shape-changer?”

“Yeah.”

“I shall go with him.”

“Oh yeah, why?” Laela gave her a narrow look. “So yeh can go behind my back? Don't think yer gonna fool me that easy, Senneck.”

“The half-shape is weak and a fool,” Senneck said evenly. “He will need my help, or he will not survive.”

“I see. An' why do yeh care, exactly?”

“He brought me out of my exile and told me that my human's murderer was dead. I will repay him this way.”

Laela looked puzzled—gratitude, from a griffin? “That's sweet of yeh, but I want yeh to stay here.”

“You cannot make me obey you, human,” Senneck hissed. “You do not even have a griffin!”

“I do, an' considerin' yeh were on the other side in the war I shoulda had yeh put down the moment I caught sight of yeh. So if I were in yer place I'd stop bein' so uppity.”

The threat didn't have the effect Laela had been hoping for. Senneck rose, rasping angrily, and took an aggressive step toward her. Laela held her ground, but prepared to back away fast if anything happened—

—and then the feeling swept over them.

Senneck felt it first. She halted and crouched slightly, her tail flicking uncertainly. She huffed and shook her head, hard, as if trying to dislodge something from her feathers.