Elfsorrow

'Then we will take it from you,' said Merke. 'Give me the thumb. No stranger should carry a shard of Yniss. You cannot help us.'

The man nodded and dug in a pocket, producing the statue fragment. Beside her, Vaart and Inell dropped to their knees in prayer. The stranger held out the piece reverently. Merke took it, kissed it and offered prayers that it had been returned.

'It is ours once more,' she said. 'Harmony will be restored.'

She turned and gestured her Tai to rise, catching Vaart's eye. He nodded minutely and she looked back over her shoulder.

'You are hunted here,' she said to the man.

'Yes,' he said. 'I am…' He struggled for the word. 'Unpopular.'

Merke smiled briefly. 'You have done us a great service. We will take you out of here.'

'Thank you,' he said.

She shrugged. 'Auum will want to know why. Follow. Do not tire. We will not wait.'

Chapter 43

'My Lord, please calm down,' said Ranyl.

'I can't think of a single reason why.' Dystran nursed his cheek, feeling the tender bruising that covered it for the most part.

'He will be found,' said Ranyl. 'But you have other matters to attend to urgently.'

'Excuse me, dear friend,' said Dystran, 'but I do not. In case it escaped your attention, that bastard marched right into my bedroom and all the while my Protectors, whom I mistakenly assumed had no option but to protect me, were staring at their boots.'

'My Lord, it isn't-'

'I could have been killed!' Dystran heaved himself from his chair by the study fire, walked past the nervously fidgeting Ranyl and went to the windows to look out at dawn breaking over Xetesk. 'Gods burning, I know Lords of the Mount have been assassinated in the past but never in the central Tower bedroom. That is not the sort of history I was planning on making.'

'My Lord, you were in no danger of death,' said Ranyl.

'Oh, I am so relieved. Just a beating, then,' said Dystran, turning back into the room. 'And how did you come by that knowledge? The Protectors tell you?'

Ranyl nodded. 'We are undertaking a thorough investigation.'

'Hold on. Are you telling me that Xeteskian Protectors were complicit in the theft?' Dystran frowned. 'Is that possible? How did Yron gain such influence?'

'Not Yron. He was merely the beneficiary of arrangements made for others.'

'Then who…?' But he knew. He bloody knew. And Ranyl's nod merely confirmed it for him. 'The Raven. Is there something else you want to tell me about last night's events?'

'Our strike team was unsuccessful.'

Dystran shook his head slowly and kneaded his forehead. He was still slightly muddled from the spell Erys had cast but it was clearing fast.

'Please entertain me with the details.'

'As you know, my Lord, you yourself only authorised three Familiars, six mages and twelve swordsmen due to the war situation we find ourselves in. We have heard nothing from them. Word from the Soul Tank is that The Raven killed them all.'

'Dear Gods, I am defended by incompetents and cretins. It was the middle of the night. They should all have been asleep bar a guard.'

Ranyl made an apologetic gesture. 'The Raven are an exceptional group of people.'

'I just don't understand it,' said Dystran, feeling the rage build inside him. 'I do not understand it! I am supposed to be the most powerful man in Balaia yet some bunch of ageing mercenaries thirty miles away is managing to screw up all my plans. They turn Protectors into pussycats at will and it's probably them that sent the elves in to snatch Yron from under our noses. This is a bloody walled city. How the fuck did they get in and out so easily? How is all this possible? Please tell me, Ranyl. I'd be really interested to know.'

Dystran watched for Ranyl's reaction. He'd suffered these outbursts before and like the previous times his calm was commendable.

'We will have answers to all your questions in due course. However, I think you will find that the elves are acting quite independently. And remember, we have the Aryn Hiil and a wealth of Al-Drechar research. Your original plans are still achievable.'

'That makes me feel so much better,' said Dystran caustically. 'And how many years do we have to keep Dordover and the elven nation from our gates until we're ready to use our new knowledge, eh? Let me tell you what's going to happen. We are going to find Yron and the statue fragment and both are to be brought back to me undamaged. Commit as many men as you can without compromising our city defence and our main battle fronts. That is all that matters.'

'And The Raven and Aeb?'

'Use them. Track them and you'll track the thumb; we know it's what they're after. As for Aeb, we'll take him back when the time is right, but for now he's more useful where he is. Now then, these more pressing matters?'

'The war outside our gates, which has taken a turn for the worse,' said Ranyl.

'Oh yes, how could I forget?'

Dystran closed his eyes and listened. The Raven woke to a misty, dew-heavy morning. Having left their last camp in the middle of the night to find a safer spot, sleep had been in short supply. They had eventually decided to rest with their backs to a low crag overlooking a sweeping hillside above a wooded valley. The mages had laid alarm and trap wards a hundred and fifty yards away on the open ground and, with Denser, Darrick and particularly Aeb needing healing spells, mana stamina was low.

The prevailing mood had not been improved by Thraun and Ren's lack of success on the pre-dawn hunt, making breakfast a thin stew of root vegetables cooked over the fire they'd only dared light as dawn edged the sky.

More than all that, their plans had been rendered useless by the news Aeb had heard from the Soul Tank.

'And what did they say, exactly?' asked Denser.

'My brothers did not impede Captain Yron or the mage, Erys. Captain Yron escaped the college. Erys was killed.'

'So where is he? Yron, I mean.' Hirad took a spoonful of the stew and grimaced.

'He was chased,' said Aeb. 'He escaped but he had help. Two of my brothers were killed. We believe the TaiGethen have him.'

'Well, that's excellent,' said Hirad. 'Just make sure they don't leave without us because of what Erienne has to do. Why are you looking like that, Unknown?'

'There are other issues this raises,' he replied. 'Ilkar, can you commune with your Al-Arynaar contact? Make sure we link up.'

'I can. Just don't ask me to cast anything else today.'

'I'll do my best,' said The Unknown. 'Aeb, tell me about the college reaction.'

Aeb was standing near the fire. He had been lent a white undershirt by The Unknown. It covered the burned skin on his back but looked incongruous. Protectors only ever wore black.

They are searching for him,' said Aeb. 'Mages, soldiers and Protectors all left the college before dawn when the city sweep was complete.'

'That isn't what I was asking.'

Aeb's stare signalled he knew that. 'There is suspicion. The brothers of Dystran's personal guard are under investigation. There could be difficulties.'

'For you?'

'My name has been mentioned.'

'Then we have to get to Dystran,' said Hirad. 'Stop him recalling Aeb and invoking punishment.'

'No,' said the Protector. 'There is no time.'

'Aeb, the implications for you…' Denser trailed off.

'Master Denser, I acted by choice. So did my brothers who looked away. It is a freedom we had almost forgotten. What comes after is understood. Delay will kill more elves.' He indicated Ilkar, deep in concentration, and Ren, who sat stroking his hair.

There was a moment's silence before Hirad spoke. 'That's a Raven speaking.'

'Nothing is certain,' said Aeb.

'Don't hide the risk you're taking,' said The Unknown. 'Styliann is long dead and the current Lord of the Mount is clearly capable of any atrocity. But whatever happens I'm going to make it my business to see your sacrifice, if it comes to that, is the last.'