‘Like what?’
‘For a start, I have an arm’s-length list of new duties to attend to now that I’m Throne. I cannot come with you.’
‘I know that,’ said Bel. ‘I never thought you would. It’s precisely why I did not want to be Throne.’
Fahren looked a little abashed. ‘Secondly, if you do catch scent of the Stone, there’s no telling how long you’ll be on its trail, or where it may lead. In the meantime, other preparations must be made. Brahl is right, unfortunately – we must build our army. You heard me tell the nobles to start gathering their resources, and they will be given the full support of the treasury. These things take time, and the more time we spend doing it, the stronger we will be. I just hope that by pre-empting war, we do not cause it to start prematurely – although I have a sense of wheels turning.’
‘I suppose having an enormous army can’t hurt,’ said Bel. Imagining it made him feel heady – he remembered the ecstasy of Drel, and knew that soon he would feel like that again. In the heart of battle, he had known what it was like to truly belong.
‘I intend to muster our strength at a central point not overly distant from the border. Kahlay, I think.’
‘Excellent,’ said Bel.
‘I will also want to be able to contact you.’
Fahren produced two intricate golden carvings of birds like the sundart who had just left. He slid one across the table, and Jaya reached for it.
‘Always after the gold,’ chuckled Bel.
Jaya ignored him. ‘What are they?’ she said, testing the weight of the bird in her hand.
Fahren held out the other, and touched the tiny carved scroll around its leg with his finger.
‘Good fortune to you,’ he said, then removed his finger. After a moment, the other bird surprised Jaya by opening its mouth and chirping.
‘Touch the scroll,’ Fahren told her, and she did so.
The bird’s beak dropped open, and there was a slight hiss as steam escaped from its mouth. ‘Good fortune to you,’ came Fahren’s voice from the steam, as clearly as if he’d just said it himself.
Jaya grinned. ‘Handy.’
‘You never told me such a thing existed,’ said Bel.
‘They don’t really,’ said Fahren. ‘These are the only two, created by the High Mage Reikel, and no one has ever been able to work out how he did it. They’ve been in safekeeping until a time of extreme need, and I find this to be just such a time. Take great care of them, for there is no replacing them.’
‘What if I want to tell you something but you aren’t there to touch the scroll?’ said Bel.
‘The message will remain until it’s released,’ said Fahren. ‘The bird will continue to chirp every now and then when it contains a sending – but it can only keep one at a time.’
‘Very well,’ said Bel. ‘What else remains?’
‘Who you will travel with. I wonder if you’d agree to taking a troop with you?’
Bel considered this briefly – a troop at his command might be useful, but it would also make for slower progress.
‘I think not,’ he said. ‘I will want to move freely and quickly.’
‘Yes,’ said Fahren, as if he’d known that would be the answer. ‘However, I have to insist that it’s not just the two of you. Gellan will join you at Cadmir, but until then a man of your looks may need a little extra protection. A further trusted companion or two will not go astray.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Bel.
He could not help but remember Drel Forest, when his dance to victory had failed to save his fellow soldiers.
He glanced at Jaya, whom Fahren had casually included in his companion list. Could he really risk taking her? Then again, could he stand to be without her? Their conversation on the way here, his assurances that they would stand side by side, could all be undone if he did not choose his words carefully.
She arched an eyebrow at him in silent question.
‘Are you sure you want to come with me?’ he said. ‘It might be dangerous.’
‘What do you think I was doing before I met you?’ she replied. ‘Wearing a skirt and having my nails painted?’
‘Of course not,’ said Bel, ‘but this may be more dangerous than sneaking into people’s houses after dark.’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Perhaps there will be danger the likes of which neither of us has faced before. And anyway, what’s your offered alternative? That I wait here for you, dutiful and well behaved, while you head off for Arkus knows how long?’
Contrary creature , thought Bel. Before she was objecting to the notion of following me around; now she won’t hear of anything else.
Fahren waved his hand dismissively. ‘I don’t think there’s any arguing with your lady, Bel,’ he said. ‘You two are bound together whether you like it or not. I’m just grateful that fate did not deliver you some shy, retiring flower, but rather a woman with wits, and weapons for that matter, about her.’
Jaya seemed surprised by Fahren’s words. ‘You know what,’ she said, ‘I think I just grew to like you a little bit more, old mage. And because of that …’ She produced a tiny jade carving of a dragon from her sleeve that Bel recognised as belonging to Fahren, and placed it on the table.
‘Most kind, I’m sure,’ said Fahren, though his eyes twinkled. ‘And now we must decide – who else will you take?’
Battu stood at the edge of the border, trying to summon the will to cross. Behind him all of Fenvarrow seemed threatening. Any shadow could hold Losara, shadows that should have been his to traverse. There was no one he could turn to, no safe places, and servants – who yesterday would have grovelled at his feet – were now standing ready to stab him in the back. He still could not truly believe that he’d lost his throne.
His stomach rumbled, distracting him for a moment. He hadn’t dared to stop and eat, or to stop at all in fact, and thus had no possessions with him save the robe on his back. From the ruler of Fenvarrow to the owner of a piece of cloth , he thought bitterly. No amount of gorging would fill the emptiness created when his connection to Skygrip had been torn away. An almost unconscious moan escaped his lips. He felt as if someone had pulled the rug from under him, and it had ripped off both his legs.
The brightness on the other side of the border hurt his eyes, but he forced himself to stare out into it. Suddenly sick of delay, he leaped across as a dark tangle of swirling cloak and pale flesh, his bare feet landing in dust on the other side with a squeak that made his guts quiver. Then came the touch of light on his skin, hot and harsh. It was not the first time he had felt it, but the fact that he could not turn back, could never retreat, filled him with dread. He was going to have to get used to it.
He pulled his sleeves down over his hands, then lowered his hood over his face. This robe was going to become his home for a while, and already it was warm under the folds of black cloth. Vaguely he wondered if he might dry up like a snail in its shell.
Standing apart from the shadows made it harder to replenish his power, and he knew that during daylight he was going to have to rely on his stores. It was dangerous here – not only was he still just paces from Fenvarrow, but on this side of the border Kainordans patrolled heavily. Any mage who came close enough would know he was a creature of shadow, and any magic he used would make him even easier to sense. He had ways of keeping his magic contained, but out here in the open, arid plains, he dared not take the risk. For a time at least, he would travel on foot, unaided, saving his power to flee if necessary.
He tried to remember maps, and his travels in shadowform, to decide on a direction. He’d fled so fast through Fenvarrow that he wasn’t quite sure where he’d reached the border – somewhere south-east of Holdwith, perhaps? He spat on the ground and immediately regretted the waste of precious moisture.