A bow, Sardec thought. Why a bow? Perhaps Asea had some ancient enchanted arrowheads among her gear, he thought sourly. She seemed to have just about everything else. It was amazing that she had on her person so many relics of Al’Terra. Well, she was one of the First.
He put his spyglass to his eye and studied the pack. He was still annoyed about the way she had unleashed it while he was still in the courtyard. He was sure that had been deliberate, an effort to humiliate him in front of the men that had almost succeeded. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had not to draw Moonshade when those killers surrounded him. He could still remember their acrid reptilian stench, and the smell of rotten meat coming from their mouths. If her control had been less than perfect, or just one of the ripjacks had gone into killing rage, the whole pack would have fallen on him. He had seen such things happen.
The leading ripjack had its head bowed over the trail, sniffing. It was the dominant female, the one which the Leash would be attuned to most strongly. The rest of the pack would follow its lead. Even as he watched, they did, spreading out in wide hunting arc, searching for the prey they had been promised.
After a few moments he found his thoughts going back to the human girl. It embarrassed him but the encounter still carried a huge erotic charge for him. Perhaps when he got back from this mission, he would seek her out again. Or perhaps he would seek out another human wench, maybe two.
If he got back, whispered a small scared part of his mind.
They made camp close to their previous site. Rik joined the group of soldiers who watched, amazed, as Lady Asea set up camp. From the luggage on the side of her wyrm, the two servants produced what looked like a short metal pole.
A word from the sorceress and the pole telescoped upward to half again the height of a man. Moments later filaments shot out from the top and buried themselves in the ground. There was a blur of motion too fast for the eye to follow and a tent stood there. Its fabric shimmered oddly, seeming to blend in with the mountainous background, and Rik knew that from a distance it would be very difficult to see.
As if she has not just performed a wonder, Lady Asea strode off to set the wards around the camp, leaving her strangely robed servants to tranship her gear from the wyrm to the inside of the tent.
After a discreet nod to Weasel, Rik headed off among the trees like a man looking to have a piss. The former poacher joined him a few minutes later, and they stood watching the stars emerge above the mountains.
“I know what you are going to say,” said Weasel in a low voice.
“You do?” Both of them looked around to make sure no one was near.
“About Bertragh — it would be better for all of us if he was not taken alive. No knowing what he might tell Lady Asea or the Inquisition if he is given a chance.”
Rik looked at him for a moment, his natural reticence warring with the emotions that threatened to tear him apart.
“What else is on your mind? You’ve been sulky as a kid all day. It’s not the girl, is it?”
Rik thought about it for a moment. “Maybe. It’s part of it at least.”
“Then don’t be so bloody childish. If she likes you, she likes you. If you like her, you like her. The business with the Lieutenant was just that: business.”
“You think?”
“She certainly talked enough about you when you were away on your little mission. Maybe if you had stayed, the rest of it would never have happened.”
“You think?”
“Practising to be a parrot, are we? There’s only one way to find out what any woman is thinking and it does not involve magic.”
“What’s that?”
“Ask her.”
“I’ll think about it but it’s not just that…” Now that they had come to the crunch, Rik felt his reluctance to talk about it return. He saw Weasel was waiting.
“What else?”
“It’s the other thing. You think we did wrong with those books, that maybe you could go mad or be swallowed by the shadow just by reading them? Do you think our souls are in peril for what we did?”
“What am I, Halfbreed, a bloody priest? How should I know?” He tried to make a joke of it, but there was an underlying seriousness to his tone. “Maybe you should have listened to the Barbarian — he told you no good ever came of reading books.”
“I am starting to think he might be right. Make sure you mention Bertragh to him.”
“Oh I think that thought may have worked its way even through the armour plate he calls a skull.”
“He should give it a warm welcome. It’s in a strange place.”
“Ha-bloody-ha. Come on we’d best get back and grab some grub. At least the weather has improved since our last little jaunt up here.”
If it had, Rik could not tell. It was just as cold and just as windy. The only improvement he could spot was the lack of intermittent snow. Maybe that was what Weasel meant.
On his way back Rik was surprised to find Lady Asea looking at him. He shivered and it was not with the cold. What did she want, he wondered? She beckoned to him. He swallowed, tried to keep his guilt off his face, and strode as confidently as he could over to her.
“Can I help you, Lady?” he asked. She studied him for a while, head tilted to one side. She walked around him. He stood stock still wondering at this sinister inspection. She moved with the gait of a hunting cat. The ripjacks followed at her heel. Suddenly he was sweating. He felt the tension build within him. What did she know? What did she suspect?
“Who was your father?” she asked.
“I do not know, Lady.”
“Your mother?”
“She died when I was still a baby. I never knew her.”
She came to a halt just in front of him. He found he had to look up at her face. He saw his own features distorted in the mirror of her liquid metal mask. “You have Terrarch blood.”
“Many people have told me that, Lady, but I do not know.”
“I am telling you, boy, and I do know.”
Rik did not know what to say. He was more shocked than he would have expected. All his life he had wondered about this, but to have it confirmed by one of the First was more than he could have expected. She spoke a word and reached out and touched his brow. He felt the shocking spark of power pass between them. What had she done, he wondered?
“You have Exalted blood and something more, and yet you are a common soldier. That is a shame.”
“There is nothing I can do about it, Lady.”
“One more thing,” she said. “My agents in Redtower have reported certain rumours to me.”
“Milady?”
“They concern certain mystical books.”
It took every ounce of his self-control to keep from flinching. He had been a fool to imagine that they could get away with selling the books without it being noticed. Of course, the Terrarchs had informers everywhere. Of course, word had got out. He steeled himself for the accusation to come.
“Books, milady?”
“It seems they were being sold by a group of soldiers. Three soldiers. Would you know anything about that?” What does she know, Rik wondered?
“Why would I know about such things, milady?” She looked at him and gave a dazzling smile. Rik knew how a bird felt when confronted with a serpent.
“If you should hear anything about such a thing, please let me know.”
“Of course, milady.”
Without another word, she turned and walked away, the ripjack pack following at her heel. Rik stood absolutely still. He felt weak. It was a long time before he could return to his duties.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sardec was surprised when the dark servant arrived with a politely worded request that he join his mistress for conversation. He was even more surprised by the opulence within her tent. The floor was scattered with rugs and the air was filled with the smell of incense. A single tripod-mounted glowstone lit the interior and warmed the cold night air. Lady Asea certainly believed in travelling in comfort.