"Ru!" Argalath said. "A shyen. A kyet!"
Valia threw back her head and screamed. There was nothing human in that sound. It was the cry of something that knew only cold, dark, and hunger.
Still brandishing the knife at Valia, Argalath turned to one of his acolytes and nodded.
The young man stepped to the acolyte standing next to him-one of the new ones; Durel? — grabbed both his shoulders, and shoved him at Valia. The man was too surprised to resist.
The man stumbled in the snow, and Valia fell on him, her teeth tearing into his throat.
That broke Guric out of his shock. He screamed and rushed forward, part of him wanting to pull Valia away and plead for her to stop and part of him wanting to pummel the life out of Argalath for allowing this to happen. Damn him, he had promised!
But before he'd made it three steps, two of Argalath's acolytes tackled him. Guric screamed and thrashed and called for his guards.
"Stop this!" Argalath roared, and his eyes and the dark splotches of his skin began to glow blue. "Stop this madness now!"
Unable to break free, Guric looked up at his counselor. "You promised I'd have her back. You promised!"
"You shall, my lord," said Argalath. "You-"
"Defiler!" said a new voice, as cruel and lacking in warmth as the winter. It was Valia. She crouched over the dead acolyte, fresh blood steaming in the cold, soaking them both. The man's throat had been torn to shreds. "You break the pact."
"No!" said Argalath. "The line of the House of Highwatch is ended." He pointed at Soran' corpse. "This man's blood-"
"Lies!" she screamed, and bloody spittle flew from her mouth.
The meaning of the conversation began to sink in to Guric's mind. Something had gone wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong. Whatever was speaking through his beloved's body now… it was not Valia.
"You lie!" she said. "One still lives. The House of Highwatch still walks this world. Still breathes. Her blood runs hot."
"Who?" said Argalath.
"The youngest. The girl."
"Hweilan," said Guric, and all the strength left his body.
Argalath had sent Jatara to retrieve the girl. But Jatara had come back missing an eye, claiming that the girl had tricked her and run away. The Creel sent after her had only managed to chase her back into the fighting. She'd been killed. Looking for her family, she'd made it all the way to the middle bailey, where the dogs had found her. Creel hunting hounds that had been used to sniff out anyone hiding, they'd gone mad at the scent of the girl. By the time their masters had pulled them off, her features were mangled beyond recognition. Guric remembered the torn and bloody corpse on the flagstones. No way to tell who it might have been, save for the word of the men chasing her. Guric had trusted the competence of the damned Creel. What a fool he'd been. His own eagerness to see this done had blinded him.
"We… we did not know," said Argalath. "I swear it!"
"Swear…" said the thing in Valia. "Vow, promise, mock, bleed. Call it what you like. You did not honor the pact. Our agreement is ended."
Guric took a breath to speak, but Argalath beat him to it.
"No! Please. Our utmost desire is to honor the pact. Grant us another chance to appease you."
The thing sat there, watching Argalath through narrowed eyes. Guric noticed that no steam of breath issued from Valia's mouth or nose. The thing seemed to take air only to speak. Guric squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears. His beloved was truly dead then. All this had been for nothing. He had damned himself for nothing.
"What do you propose?" said the thing.
"Remain in this body until a more suitable replacement can be found. Accept-"
"No!" Guric surged to his feet, catching the acolytes by surprise and breaking free. But two more stepped forward and grabbed him. Guric punched one, but the others grabbed his arms and held firm. "No, Argalath! I'll kill you myself if you do this!"
After such a spectacular failure, Guric would kill him anyway. But he had to get away from the damned warlock's brutes first.
"Boran!" Guric called to his guards. "Gods damn you, men, help me!"
Argalath's spellscar flared, briefly illuminating the holy site, then fading to a dull glow again, and all five of Guric's guards dropped senseless into the snow. Guric screamed in wordless fury and despair.
"My lord, please," said Argalath. "Your men are sleeping, not dead. Please listen to me."
Left with no other choice, Guric stopped his struggles and glared at Argalath.
"Please, my lord," said Argalath, and Guric saw the compassion and sincerity in his counselor's eyes. "All is not lost. Trust me. Please. Allow me to salvage this before it is too late."
Guric took a deep breath and gave one swift nod. "Your life if you do not."
Argalath returned his attention to the thing in Valia's body. "The sacrifice"-he motioned to Soran's corpse-" was the most honored knight of Highwatch, and one of the most feared warriors of this realm. I beg you, take this body. Such a great warrior… would he not be a fine host?"
The thing smiled. "The rite is unfinished. What you began cannot be undone. If I leave this body, it dies."
"No!" Guric screamed. "Argalath, no! Do not-"
The thing's laughter cut him off. "You love this one, don't you? This body?"
"Y-yes."
"Then I propose a new pact."
"A new pact?" said Argalath.
"That one"-the thing motioned to Soran's mutilated corpse-"was a formidable warrior in this world, yes?"
"Yes."
"Then here is my offer. We summon another of my brothers to take this warrior's body. This warrior will hunt down the last scion of Highwatch and bring her back to complete the rite. When Highwatch lives no more, when the girl's blood slakes this circle, this pact shall be fulfilled. I will leave this body and complete the rite. She will be restored to you."
"But what of my wife until then?" said Guric.
"I keep her, and you keep me. A show of good faith on both sides, yes?"
Argalath turned to Guric. "My lord?"
"This is the only way?" said Guric.
Argalath lowered in his head. "For now, my lord. Given time-"
"No! No, damn it all. I agree. Let it be done."
The thing looked to Soran's corpse, at the mangled throat and spilled entrails. "This vessel will need some repair."
"It shall be done," said Argalath.
"And my brother will be hungry when he arrives."
Argalath smiled. "That should not be a problem."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Your Mother is dead.
Your grandparents
… the household…
…servants…
… dead.
After rescuing her, Scith had dragged her into the woods and told her. He hadn't wanted to. He'd stopped only to clean his knife, rob the corpses of their arrows, and then he was off, dragging her away.
And then he'd told her.
"They're all dead, Hweilan. You are the last. The last scion of Highwatch."
She couldn't remember much after that. Only running away from Highwatch, the secret way that only a few knew. Back up into the mountains and through passages cut into the rock. Up and up and up. Hweilan remembered darkness and cold. Darkness of tunnels, and darkness of the woods as night fell.
When dawn came, still they ran, the smoke-filled sky at their back. When the first rim of the sun finally peeked over the hills to their right, Scith found a brush-choked hollow and made a small fire. It smelled clean. Not like the black burning behind them.
Hweilan sat in front of the fire, her eyes fixed on the narrow plume of smoke but her mind registering little. Scith had been standing behind her, looking down and chewing his lip for a long time.
He walked around and sat across the fire from her. "Hweilan, I… must go back."