Tenari lay beside him. It seemed she was asleep, but Azkun had never been able to see her mind.
“I once thought she was a Monnar, but I was wrong. She helped me find the right path in the forests of Gashan in a dream. But I think she is in their evil spells. The dragons will rescue her.”
It took them eight days in all to reach Atonir. Every day until they reached the great wall they rode off before dawn and did not stop until well after dusk. Once past the wall they had fresh horses every few miles so they did not stop to sleep at all. Azkun’s head grew heavy and he fought to keep his eyes open. But he knew why Althak drove them so. This was the last service Menish had given him to do, he was going to do it well.
They rode up to the city gates not long after midnight and were challenged by the guards there. Althak did not know the new passwords and the guards had orders to open to no one after dark without them.
But the captain of the guard knew Althak and let them in. He detailed eight of his men to escort them to the palace, however. Vorish’s orders were not circumvented lightly.
In the light of the waning moon the palace looked like a dark mountain against the sky, immense and dominating, a symbol of Vorish’s determination. More passwords were given and the great gates were opened to let them in. The captain of the night guards of the palace also knew Althak by sight, and he even recognised Azkun, but on his own authority he could not let them proceed further without passwords. He sent for Angoth, who appeared some minutes later.
Angoth was dressed in the long woollen robe he slept in. His grey hair stood out in all directions and he yawned and rubbed his eyes.
“Kopth’s balls, Althak, what sort of time is this to arrive? You’ve a message about Gashan, I suppose. All right, Agrith, we can let them in without passwords. I'd have given you the password schedule if I'd known you were going to turn up at this hour.” He looked at Althak carefully. “You look exhausted, man. Come. Sit down. Some wine?”
“Thank you. A few minutes. I must see Vorish.”
“Is it war?”
He nodded. “Soon. They'll attack in the spring.”
“What of this Eye thing?”
“They have it and they appear to be able to use it.”
Angoth grunted. “Your news is all bad.” He yawned again. “Well, I suppose you'd better see Vorish. Anarin! Go and see if the Emperor can see them. Go on, boy, move!” A sleepy-eyed youth who had been dozing in a corner ran off down the passage. “He’ll be awake, of course,” muttered Angoth. “Awake and aware. He probably already knows you're here. They say the walls have ears in this place, and all the ears are for Vorish. Just let me get decent, will you, and I'll come with you. He'll have orders for me.” Angoth disappeared through an archway to another room and they heard rustlings and grunts as he threw on a day tunic.
He returned smoothing his hair and beard with his hands just as the youth stepped through the other doorway.
“The Emperor will see you now, M’Lords.”
They followed him down the torch-lit passage, up two stairways and along a wide hall that Azkun thought he recognised. Two guards stood outside the heavy door they stopped at, but they let them pass through into Vorish’s study.
The Emperor sat on his cushions at his low table, a pile of parchments at one hand and a cup of wine at the other. A tired-looking councillor sat with him, and Azkun recognised him as Treath. Vorish did not look in the least weary. He looked up sharply when he saw them enter.
“Sit down, all of you,” he waved a hand towards the cushions on the opposite side of the table, subtly stressing the ‘all’ of his greeting. “What message do you bear that Menish should send Althak, Azkun and the silent woman… Tenari?” But Azkun could see a coldness in his eyes and wondered if he guessed why they had all come.
Althak sat down but Azkun remained standing and Tenari with him. This was not going to be an interview to relax in.
“Gashan prepares for war. They have the Eye and they appear to know something of how to use it. Azkun saw into their thoughts and they'll attack in spring. Menish has called an arms meet at Gildenthal at the spring games. He requests the aid you promised.” Althak added a brief account of what they had witnessed in Gashan.
“You didn't fetch the Eye, that's obvious.”
“It was impossible. Hrangil and Grath were killed. I almost died. Only Menish and Azkun passed through Gashan unscathed.”
“I knew Menish would go with you. Fool! Would Anthor follow Drinagish to fight Gashan if he'd fallen? Would they follow me?”
“They'd follow Adhara.”
“She would have fallen on her sword if Menish had not returned.”
“But he did return. Three of us returned. Now we know the Gashans will attack.”
“I'll do as I promised, of course. I need no more than a message from Menish and my cavalry will set out. Now you'll tell me why it was necessary for all three of you to bear this message and not some youth of Meyathal that Menish could spare.”
Azkun spoke.
“We journey to Kishalkuz. I go to my masters, the dragons, to seek their aid in this war.”
“We? You mean yourself and the woman? Althak returns with me, of course.”
“No. Althak comes with me.”
For the first time Vorish looked surprised.
“Menish sent you on this errand?”
“Menish cast me out when I told him I was going with Azkun. Vorish, you must understand. We've seen the Gashans with our own eyes. This is no war with wild southerners or Vorthenki pirates. They have the Eye and they're fearsome. We need more than horses, swords and brave men.”
“Menish has seen them too. Yet he does not chase after dragons.”
“You know Menish as well as I do. He'd never call on dragons or Aton or anything else.”
Vorish nodded slowly.
“But you don't even know if such a place exists. What will you do? Sail east until you fall off the edge of the world? No one has ever returned from Kishalkuz.”
“It exists,” said Azkun. “When we sailed here from the north a creature called a dolphin spoke to me and told me of it. I asked if it could guide me one day. The dolphin agreed.”
“Isn't there a tale among the Vorthenki of a dolphin guiding a boat?” He turned to Treath who had been silent until now.
“Indeed there is. Tarath’s journey to the North Star is said to have been guided by a dolphin. But, M’Lord, this is surely fanciful. Dolphins don't tell tales of Kishalkuz. I've heard it said that the dragon isle isn't in the world at all and only a magical boat could reach it.”
“Yes,” rumbled Angoth. “It does seem… well it doesn’t sound likely.”
“Neither does the power of Gashan but I don't doubt that. I'll think on this. Go and rest now. You're weary. We'll talk again in the morning. Meanwhile, Angoth, send the dispatches we have ready. That will have the Drinols begun rounding up the peasant levies. Send the recall to the divisions we picked from the south. Now, Treath, these supply accounts…”
The sleepy-eyed youth showed them to rooms similar to those they had stayed in last time and left them. There was no food available at that time of night and the baths were cold so, they cast themselves on their sleeping furs and did not wake until long after dawn.
When Azkun woke it was to the sound of a muffled giggle. Tenari was curled up on the furs beside him. She snuggled closer and kissed him, and he remembered her lively spirits the last time they had been at Atonir. Immediately after Althak had eaten breakfast Vorish summoned them once again to his study. The pile of parchments still lay on the table, the wine jug was empty and Vorish still sat in the same place, wearing the same clothes. The only change was that Treath was gone and there were the remains of a meal being cleared by a servant.