‘So enlighten me. You were in a position to threaten our greatest enemy and yet… what?’
‘He is protected by more than mere magic. My blade would not even nick his skin.’
Auum turned away. ‘Then perhaps you should keep your blades keener.’
‘Do not presume to judge me. I, who have presided over the deaths of so many, am the only one who can judge me.’ Takaar slapped the heel of a palm to his forehead. ‘And in here, in here, I hold the keys to our survival. You can wait until dawn to see the humans march from their city. I must begin my search for those who might, if you can thwart the humans just a little, return us to greatness.’
Auum was back at him, jabbing a finger into his chest. Takaar didn’t want to, but he whimpered at each impact.
‘And there is the root of my problem with you. Always seeking the ultimate glory. Always needing to be a head higher than the rest of us, desperate to feel the adoration that you once felt on Hausolis. Always keeping something back to retain one trembling hand on power.
‘The elves cannot afford to indulge your self-interest. We cannot afford your bloated ego, lusting after times long gone. So go, Takaar. Lose yourself in whatever quest it is you are so compelled to undertake. Chasing more practitioners, is it?’ Auum waved a hand and then pointed back towards Ysundeneth. ‘If the humans are coming then it is not magic in fifty or a hundred years’ time that we need. It is strength and honour and speed and warriors in the next handful of days.’
A blade was at Takaar’s throat and in truth he hadn’t seen Auum draw it.
‘Steel will win this war, if war it is. Man thinks his magic dominates all. But this is my forest. And it is a lonely place in which to die.’
Takaar backed away, and he knew he was shaking and could not control it. He pointed a finger at Auum but it carried no conviction.
‘Garan has already given me one great gift and he will give me another. He has said as much. So dismiss me at your own risk, Auum. I am Takaar. I am still the future.’
The blade was back in its scabbard but Auum was no less intimidating.
‘No, Takaar, you are yesterday’s elf, not tomorrow’s. Take any who love you and leave the rainforest. Find another place to peddle your insanity. The elves have no time or use for magic.’
Takaar opened his mouth to speak but there were no words.
Like I said: sharp, this Auum, isn’t he? Laid you bare with a handful of words.
Tears were flooding down Takaar’s cheeks. He wanted to bellow at Auum that he was wrong. That he had to embrace magic in any form they could because it was as natural as the breath in their lungs and the blood in their veins. But Auum was a warrior. He was TaiGethen. And there was nothing he had to understand that he did not already know.
You’re going to run, aren’t you? Scamper away like a deer with a panther bite in its rump. Another failure. Another act of the most supreme cowardice.
‘You are right and you are wrong, as I will show you.’
‘Are you talking to me?’
Takaar shrugged. ‘I’ll let you decide.’
And Takaar ran.
Koel nursed the barge around the final bends of the River Ix. The river ran below the level of the city, through a rock cleft thirty feet deep, before emerging to join the sea just beyond the river jetties and lumber mills. The flow was fast here, the cleft narrow and treacherous, affected by tides and rainfall like no other stretch of the river. It was a place where the piranha waited under overhangs; a place where elf and animal perished should they take a single careless step and fall into the current. If the river didn’t get them, the piranha would.
Behind Koel, the other two barges made slower progress, with the nets keeping the sodden lumber in place stretched between them, their crews busy fending the vessels away from the rock walls. They had passed the Senserii Approach, which led across the river and into the temple of Shorth, and had been seen by guards, who would ensure they met with a difficult welcome at the mill quay.
Ahead of them, out of sight for a little longer, was the Ultan bridge. Koel breathed the night air, fresh and beautiful, unsullied by the filth of the city. The sky was clear. Gyal rested and her cloud and rain rested with her. He could almost imagine himself free but for the stench of the city, so strong in his memory.
‘Koel.’
Koel stiffened. There should be no one with him at the tiller. He turned. There, on the aft rail, stood Auum. Koel took in his painted face and sensed the determination in him as he stepped lightly onto the deck. None of the others had looked up from their work, he was so silent.
‘Where did you come from?’ asked Koel. Auum’s eyes glanced up. Koel followed his gaze up the cliff. ‘What are you doing here? I thought-’
‘We have come to it already,’ said Auum.
Koel shook his head. ‘To…?’
‘I need you to be as ready as you can be for what is to come.’
‘You’re going to attack?’ Koel couldn’t grasp what had changed in so short a time. ‘Now?’
‘No,’ said Auum. ‘The humans are going to invade the rainforest. That is where the confrontation will happen and, whatever the outcome, you have to find a way to make all enslaved elves ready to fight.’
‘We can prepare,’ said Koel, and he could not stop the smile edging onto his face. ‘We have dreamed of little else.’
Auum regarded him for a moment. ‘I expected you to demand we free you. After all, much of man’s strength will be departing the city.’
‘Aye, but if you do not have the magic to divine wards and traps, it doesn’t matter how many men are guarding us. You’ll still all be killed. Better you take them on in the forest. It’s the chance you’ve dreamed of, isn’t it? Defeat them there and you can free us at your leisure. We’ve waited a hundred and fifty years. We can wait a little longer.’
Auum said nothing.
‘I understand, Auum. Don’t feel conflicted by your decision. To fight them in the forest is the right way.’
Auum nodded his thanks. ‘We will not necessarily win this fight. We will be tens against thousands. Should we win, I will need your people to help sweep the remnants of the human filth from the streets. Should we be defeated, you must kill every man you can when they come for you.
‘Make no mistake: this invasion is designed to rid Calaius of elves. First in the forest and then in the cities.’
Koel sighed. ‘The ClawBound have done this.’
‘They have not helped,’ conceded Auum. ‘But perhaps this gives us a better chance.’
‘Win for us,’ said Koel. ‘I will lead prayers for you each day.’
Auum squeezed Koel’s upper arms.
‘Our blood will come at the highest price.’
‘We will be ready,’ said Koel.
Auum nodded. Koel watched him jump back onto the rail and then onto the cliff face, clinging like a lizard before climbing quickly out of sight.
‘Liun,’ called Koel. ‘We have new work to do.’
Auum was concealed in the bamboo shroud that grew along the sheer bank of the Ix as it approached the Ultan bridge. It was dawn. The bridge guards were uncharacteristically alert, and from within the walls every shout, every clang of metal or movement of a thousand steel-toed shoes spoke of an army preparing to march.
No matter that they probably outnumbered the TaiGethen by a hundred to one; no matter that they had magic to ram home their overwhelming numerical superiority, they would be walking into the jaws of hell. And with the grace of Shorth, Auum would make them pay for every desecrating step they took.
He knew they were coming when a phalanx of mages flew over the bridge and out across the narrow strip of grassland that bordered the ruined rainforest. He counted thirty of them, spreading out to ensure safe passage for the army. They’d flown directly over him and he could see them hovering over at least two TaiGethen cells, placed there to help Auum assess the army as it came past them.