‘I’ll be just a minute,’ he said, smiling.
He moved off, leaving her standing at the edge of the milling crowd.
Tanalvah was aware of everyone staring; some tactfully, others with open curiosity. One or two faces looked familiar, but most were strangers to her. She wondered how many had lost loved ones.
It was hard to shake off the feeling that they knew what she’d done. That they could somehow gaze into the depths of her soul and see her foul secret. She began to breathe hard. Her head was swimming and she didn’t know where to look to avoid their probing eyes.
‘Tanalvah!’
Disgleirio was heading back, but it wasn’t him who greeted her. An older man walked beside him, and it took a moment for her to realise who it was. Bringing up the rear was a mature woman Tanalvah had no trouble recognising.
‘Tanalvah,’ the old man repeated, approaching with arms outspread.
‘Patrician,’ she whispered.
‘It’s plain Karr these days,’ he responded, enfolding her in a hug. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am Quinn found you, my dear. We were beginning to think we’d never see you again.’
‘So was I.’ She tried not to go completely rigid in his arms.
She was shocked. He was thinner and drawn, and what hair he had left was even whiter, if that were possible. His back was bent and his skin looked unnaturally ashen. A distinguished, sprightly politician the last time she saw him, Dulian Karr had mutated into a pallid shadow of his former self. The illness had taken a heavy toll.
Tanalvah corrected herself. She had taken the toll.
‘Make room for me.’ The woman accompanying him came forward, and likewise embraced Tanalvah, planting a smiling kiss on her cheek. It was an unusual show of affection from Karr’s closest aide.
‘Goyter,’ Tanalvah said. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘And it’s wonderful to see you, Tan.’
The woman’s appearance was little changed. Goyter remained strapping for her age, and her face had kept its no-nonsense set even while she smiled. She wore her hair in a bun. It was greyer than Tanalvah remembered, and perhaps there were a few more stress lines on her brow, but otherwise she hadn’t altered.
‘We have so much to tell you,’ Goyter went on. ‘And you must have a hell of a story for us.’
‘You wouldn’t believe it.’
‘Look at you,’ Goyter exclaimed, taking a step back and surveying Tanalvah’s ripe figure. ‘You must be due soon.’
‘Not too long.’
‘You’re well, are you, Tan?’ Karr wanted to know. ‘No problems with the baby? And the children? Are they fit, and safe?’
‘Everything’s fine.’
He swept an arm to indicate the cavern. ‘Well, what do you think? The United Revolutionary Council, what’s left of it, wound up in a graveyard. A fitting symbol for the state of the Resistance, some might say.’
‘It’s so…unusual.’
‘True it’s not much, but it’s home. And a graveyard seems like a good place to stage a resurrection.’
‘A resurrection?’
‘The girl doesn’t want to hear all that,’ Goyter interrupted. ‘Can’t you see she needs rest?’
Karr seemed stricken. ‘Forgive me, Tan. We have a lot of catching up to do, but it can wait until later.’ He smiled and took her arm. ‘Come on, we have a bed for you.’
Disgleirio had stood apart while the exchange took place. Now Goyter looked to him. ‘Quinn, what happened to your hand?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ The grubby makeshift bandage was bunched, revealing angry blisters. ‘I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for Tanalvah.’
‘Really?’ Karr said.
‘She was very brave, Dulian. I owe her my life.’
‘That’s our Tan,’ Goyter announced admiringly.
They all turned their smiles on her.
Tears rolled down Tanalvah’s cheeks. Her shoulders heaved. She covered her face and gave way to sobbing.
‘It’s only natural,’ Goyter cooed, moving forward to comfort her. ‘You’ve been through so much you’re bound to feel low. But it’s over now. You’re back with your family.’
Tanalvah continued to weep uncontrollably.
Up above, the first flakes of snow were dusting the frozen ground.
4
It was starting to snow.
‘We should have brought horses,’ Caldason grumbled.
‘We’re nearly there now. Besides, you want to stay fit, don’t you?’
‘I can think of more pleasant ways of doing that.’
Serrah Ardacris smiled. ‘Keep your mind on the job at hand, Reeth. And stop changing the subject. We were discussing Kinsel. What are we going to do about him?’
‘ You were discussing Kinsel. I’m not convinced.’
‘He’s out there, Reeth.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘I’ve heard Kinsel sing; you haven’t. It’s not something you forget. Believe me, it was him.’
‘You’ve got to admit it’s a bit unlikely.’
‘What’s so unlikely about it? Kinsel’s galley was lost. Why shouldn’t pirates have been responsible?’
‘It was a fair way from here.’
‘So? That’s what ships are for, isn’t it? Getting people from one place to another.’
‘But why would he be singing?’
‘Are you having a particularly dimwitted day? I don’t know why. Perhaps somebody forced him. Maybe it was his way of identifying himself. It doesn’t matter; but what we do about it does.’
Caldason grinned. ‘You really do think it was him, don’t you?’
‘ Yes! That’s what I keep saying, for pity’s sake. Look, Reeth, if there’s even a slim chance I’m right we have to do something, don’t we? We owe him that much.’
‘Yes, of course we do. I’ll talk to Darrok about it, and the council.’
‘We need a plan.’
‘We’ll have one.’
She reached for his hand. ‘Thanks, my love.’
It was twilight and the chill winds were biting. The sky was leaden, and just beginning to shed its burden of snow.
They were in the Diamond Isle’s interior. The path they trod was ill-maintained, like most of the rundown pleasure resort’s walkways. Some of the buildings they passed had fallen into ruin after years of neglect. Others were intact and functional, but as many of them had been designed for purely recreational purposes they were little use as island defences. Serrah and Caldason had seen them so many times they hardly noticed anymore.
‘We should try to get word to Tan about Kinsel,’ Serrah suggested, negotiating a ridge of frozen mud.
‘That could be hard. This place is practically blockaded. The pirates, the empires or all three seem to be stopping most of the glamoured messages we send. Not to mention how low our store of magic is. It wouldn’t be easy convincing the council to use any on our behalf.’
‘I know the problems, Reeth. We should still try.’
‘Wouldn’t it be better to wait until we’re sure? Give it until we have more than just your certainty about it?’
‘Let’s not go there again.’
‘I’m serious, Serrah. We could be building up Tanalvah’s hopes without cause.’
‘If I were in her position, waiting to hear about you, I think I’d want to know. Would it hurt so much to give her a straw to clutch at?’
‘It could, if the hope’s groundless. We should think on this. Besides, we don’t even know if she’s alive.’
‘She’s alive, Reeth. Tan’s a survivor.’
‘I’ll talk to some people about it. Anyway, we’re nearly there.’ He nodded to indicate the towers marking their destination, which were starting to show above the hill they climbed.
Minutes later they had a clear view of the structure the rebels grandly referred to, not without irony, as their central redoubt.
Built as a guesthouse for rich visitors, it was the tallest building on the island, very large, and fashioned sturdily enough. There were half a dozen towers, winding battlements and an extensive flat, walled roof. There was even a portcullis, and a moat, now dry and clogged with leaves. However, its appearance didn’t reflect its substance; it had been made to look like a castle rather than be one. Its stone cladding was for show and unlikely to withstand a concerted battering. The doors and windows were equally deceptive in terms of their strength.