Auum looked at Elyss’ face, smudged with dirt and damp with drizzle but still vibrant. She was shivering gently and Auum assumed she was cold in the rain and wrapped his arms round her.
‘We should get inside, warm you up.’
‘It’s not the cold I feel,’ she whispered. ‘It’s a new life.’
Auum felt the smile broadening on his face and the tears gathering in his eyes. He couldn’t speak. He grabbed Elyss’ hands and stared into her eyes. Tears were spilling down her cheeks and she was shaking all over. Auum’s pulse was thudding in his neck. He placed a hand on her belly and imagined the life growing inside. Ynissul life. TaiGethen life. The future of the elves.
‘We did it,’ he whispered.
Elyss laughed, and the sound lit up the marketplace and echoed back from the blank dark buildings surrounding them. Auum glanced about him; it would have been an unexpected sound of joy in this place.
‘You needn’t sound so surprised,’ she said. ‘Just think of our future now. A TaiGethen child.’
‘We’ve got to win first, both within and without our walls.’
‘And can anything stop you now?’
Auum pulled her into an embrace he had no intention of releasing.
‘Nothing.’
He kissed her cheek and the side of her neck. She pushed him back, her face taking on a serious expression.
‘One thing. You mustn’t worry about me and you mustn’t try to stop me fighting. It’s what I do. The greatest risk to our child is to have its parents worrying about each other and not concentrating on the enemy before them.’
Auum nodded. ‘You sound like me.’
‘Funny that, isn’t it?’
Auum stood, feeling tall, powerful and replete with the blessings of Yniss. He held out a hand.
‘Let’s go and pray with Ulysan. He’s part of this family.’
‘All the TaiGethen are part of it.’
Elyss stood and froze, looking over Auum’s shoulder. Auum saw her expression and nodded minutely.
‘That’s very touching, it really is,’ said Jysune. ‘Good news is always so wonderful to share, isn’t it?’
Auum turned, staying close to Elyss. He faced Jysune even though three other Beethans, who had emerged from the quiet streets leading to the central circle, were now behind him. Jysune was flanked by two archers and had her sword in her hand.
‘We are going to pray for the Katuran people and give thanks for their strength in the face of a powerful enemy,’ said Auum. ‘Join us.’
‘You need to go a great deal further than the temple,’ said Jysune. ‘Go through the gates and back into the forest, where you can climb the trees with all your monkey friends. This city belongs to me. You are blind and deaf here, TaiGethen.’ She spat on the ground. ‘So much for your great skills. You didn’t even hear us coming, did you?’
‘A battle between us now will serve none of us when the humans arrive,’ said Auum. He noted Elyss’ hand gestures. Pairs of Beethans were moving up on either flank. They were surrounded. ‘Sheathe your weapons and lower your bows. We are not here to take your city. We’re here to save you. Help us.’
Jysune moved forward a pace. The archers either side of her tensed their bow strings.
‘You’re not listening to me, TaiGethen. I’m not fooled by your lies; the humans can never find us here. So you’re leaving, right now. Both of you. Start walking or you-’ she jabbed a finger at Auum ‘-will be leaving Katura alone.’
Auum stepped in front of Elyss and heard her hiss her displeasure.
‘You will not threaten my people. Stand aside, Jysune. We will pray that it is not too late for you to see sense.’
‘I will not tell you again,’ said Jysune.
Elyss stepped out of Auum’s shadow.
‘We cannot leave,’ she said. ‘We cannot leave you alone to face what is coming.’
‘Very well,’ said Jysune.
She nodded. Bowstrings snapped and two arrows thudded deep into Elyss’ chest, throwing her from her feet to slide across the ground until her head clipped the bench where she had just been sitting. Auum saw her come to rest and, groggy from the blow to her head, try to stem the blood flowing onto her shirt. He snapped his gaze back to Jysune. He moved.
Clarity. The blessings of Yniss must still have been surging within Auum because he saw the Beethans react as if they were wading thigh-deep through mud. Arrows passed behind him. He felt the change in the air and the hiss they made as they passed. He heard a cry of pain too — not from Elyss.
Auum crossed the space to Jysune before she could raise her sword. He leapt, kicked out with one foot and struck her on the chin, knocking her senseless. Before she hit the ground, he had both his blades in his hands. He landed between the archers and swept the swords left to right, feeling them bite deep into the first archer’s gut and smash the bow from his hands.
Auum leaned his weight on his right foot and dragged the blades back right to left, higher this time tearing into the other’s throat, slicing off an ear and part of his scalp. Auum was already moving left, a curving run. The first pair of flanking archers still had arrows nocked, though one also had a shaft sticking from his right thigh.
They brought their weapons to bear so slowly, to Auum’s eyes. He could see their fingers begin to release. He leaned to his left, never breaking his stride, and the arrows whipped by his torso. Auum straightened. He increased his speed. Five paces from them he leapt, bringing his knees to his chest and cocking his left-hand blade high.
Auum smashed the blade into the top of his target’s skull, releasing it in the same moment. He kicked out and down with both feet, feeling his soles drive the second archer’s head down into his shoulders, compressing the vertebrae. He pushed against the falling body, gaining enough momentum to turn a roll in the air before landing and sprinting at the trio of archers he’d seen approaching from behind.
Auum watched them bring their bows into line and begin to draw. He pulled a jaqrui from his pouch and threw it. The crescent blade mourned away, sliced through bow and string and lodged in the central archer’s mouth.
The remaining two released their arrows. Auum saw the flights so clearly. He angled his body right and let his head fall down onto his right shoulder. The shafts flew past him. The archers were fifteen paces away. Enough time to register their disbelief and begin to turn and run.
Auum swept his blade through the small of the first archer’s back, took a single pace forward and cracked the heel of his left palm into the base of the other’s skull, knocking him down. The Beethan’s head crashed hard into a kerbstone. Blood began to flow while the body twitched its last.
Auum spun. The last pair of archers were already running for the side streets. Jysune was sitting up, her head in her hands, groggy. Auum ran at her. His feet whispered over the stones. At the last moment she looked up. Auum took his blade in both hands, crouched on his last pace and took her head from her shoulders.
The sword dropped from Auum’s hands and he sprinted for Elyss. She was lying on her back, her breathing ragged. Her shirt was soaked with blood and bubbles were coming from her mouth. She coughed and cried out with the pain. Auum slid down beside her. He picked up her head in his hands, which were covered in the blood of her attackers, and cradled it in his lap.
‘It’s all right, Elyss,’ he said. ‘You’re going to be all right.’
‘Oh, Auum,’ she said, her voice choked and desperate. ‘I’m dying.’
‘Ulysan! Ulysan!’ roared Auum. ‘No, you’re not. Keep calm. We’ll get you to a healer. We can fix you.’
‘Liar,’ she said, crying through the blood in her throat. ‘Just don’t leave me.’
‘I’ll never leave you,’ said Auum. ‘I love you. I love our child.’
Elyss sighed and closed her eyes. Auum swallowed hard. He prayed to Yniss to deliver her back to him. He prayed to Shorth to keep her from his embrace. She opened her eyes again.