‘Honour,’ said P’Terra, which Fahren took as agreement. ‘One request?’ continued the High Priest.
‘Anything you need,’ said Fahren, against his better judgement.
‘We our goats all used up on the way here,’ said P’Terra. ‘Can you give us one? We must pray for our success.’
Fahren paused only for a moment, trying not to picture what the Syanti wanted a goat for. They had been given extravagant quarters near the top of the Open Castle, and he had a brief mental image of blood creeping across a marble floor, soaking into an ancient rug.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I shall see that you are sent a goat.’
A life here or there , he thought. A small price to pay.
Losara awoke not with a start, but suddenly. It was to be expected, for he found that while he was away from Skygrip’s saturation of shadows, in which he could drift between sleep and consciousness at will, here sleep was a far less controllable experience.
A ray of sun that crept in between the room’s curtains found his arm, warming it uncomfortably, and he withdrew it under the covers.
‘Don’t disappear back in there,’ came the voice of the room’s other occupant. He glanced over to see Hiza, fully dressed, gathering things into his pack. ‘Time to be off again shortly.’
Losara was pleased with how easy it had proved to maintain the illusion even while sleeping. Obviously, to Hiza he still appeared to be Gellan.
After a quick breakfast the group left Talforn. Losara was thankful that the brightness of Kainordas did not sting his eyes – as he suspected it would have before they’d been turned to shadow. He even dared to lead the group, taking them to Fazel about a league out of town. Fazel reported that he’d spent an uneventful night alone in the woods, and without much delay they journeyed onwards.
So , Losara sent to Fazel, what really happened? I felt a brief exchange.
A mage was heading towards the village .
Ah . And you …killed her?
Yes.
I’m sorry to have placed you in such a position. It is unfortunate she did not stay away longer.
There was a pause. Losara sensed that Fazel had not been expecting an apology, and was perhaps confused by it.
I do not desire the killing of innocents , said Losara. But I will do what is necessary to further my purpose. I could not afford to have that mage sense me, or see through my disguise.
There is no need to explain yourself to me, master , said Fazel bitterly.
No , said Losara, but why not? It is not as if you can do anything with the information. He frowned – that had not come out exactly the way he’d intended. I am not insensitive to your situation , he added.
Yet you will not grant me peace, though it is within your power.
Maybe one day. I’m afraid I still have use for you.
What use? You do not need me to lead you to the dragon’s lair, surely.
No, that I can find myself.
Then why? Not to operate the Stone …do you desire to be swallowed away?
Losara thought about not answering, but he knew Fazel could not use or repeat anything he told him. And, Losara felt, perhaps it would be nice to have a confidant whom he could trust absolutely, even if it was against their will.
If I decide I fear that outcome , he answered, I will steal the Stone away and ensure that Bel never uses it. But before I make such a choice, I want to understand more about him. I need to get a sense of who he is …and of what I lack. Perhaps it is unnecessary, for I have been Bel before, more than once, in dreams …but there are finer strokes to him I must take into consideration. He trailed off, realising he’d been rambling.
I’m not sure I entirely understand , said Fazel.
Nor I , said Losara, which was true. But I promise you – one day, when all this is over, I will release you.
Only if you survive it , said Fazel.
Well then , said Losara, you’re lucky I have you to watch my back.
They fell to silence as they trudged along. Losara reflected on what he had learned since he’d ‘joined’ the group. The thing that troubled him most was, absurdly, that story of the honey in Corlas’s leather polish. Try as he might, he could not think why it might amuse someone to do such a thing. It was crass, childish, reliant on the misfortune of another …how was that worthwhile? Was this another thing he lacked, this sense of playfulness, of mischief as Jaya called it …of doing something for the sake of it, a harmless sort of harm? He could not work it out, and whenever he tried, blankness took over. Was this more proof that he would be ‘swallowed up’, as Fazel had put it? Another reason to steal the Stone away and make sure Bel never had the chance to use it?
Perhaps , he thought …but there was a while to go on the road ahead, and plenty of time for more stories.
Day after day they moved along in the shadow of the mountains. Often it seemed they were deep in the wilderness, but every now and then another settlement like Talforn would appear, reminding them that they were not cut off from the world, merely skirting its edges.
As time passed Bel found himself growing restless. At first he had found this journey enjoyable, despite the danger that lay ahead. It had been good to have a direction, and be out in the world with Jaya. It was also nice to be his own man, nay, a leader in fact, away from Fahren’s nagging and procrastination. With nothing to do but trudge along, though, he began to feel bored.
‘I tell you this,’ he said one day to Gellan as they walked along a ridge overlooking a sea of treetops, ‘I would not mind some adventure in this adventure.’
Gellan gave him a strange look, which Bel was growing used to. The mage had in fact turned out to be a good deal odder than initial impressions had suggested …yet Fahren trusted the man, so Bel did also. Gellan might ask probing questions from time to time, but he had a directness about him that put Bel at ease. Sometimes he said things that, although Bel had not thought of them, seemed obvious when stated, as if the man was filling in a gap in Bel’s own thought process.
‘You mean you’d actively seek conflict?’ Gellan asked.
‘Well,’ said Bel, ‘when you put it like that …’ He tried to sound out what he was feeling, but as he delved beneath his restlessness, all became muddy very quickly. Nothing was clear save the hot spark of desire on the surface, and his mind kept jumping back to the sword in his belt; his hand kept yearning for a reason to swing it.
‘There is little doubt,’ said Gellan, ‘that bloodshed lies ahead. Is that not enough?’
Enough , thought Bel, trying to wrap his head around the word. For some reason, at that moment, it lost all meaning. Enough, enough. Enough.
‘I have to wonder,’ said Gellan after a while, ‘if you’ve given any thought to what you’ll do after you get the Stone. It won’t be a simple thing, to trap Losara long enough to work its magic on him. On you both.’
Bel frowned. ‘One step at a time. I’m sure that Fahren has been giving the problem some thought.’
‘Ah yes, Fahren,’ said Gellan. ‘He must be a useful one to have at your service.’
‘I’d hardly put it like that,’ chuckled Bel. ‘The man is Throne of Kainordas – not exactly at anyone’s service.’