The Grave thief

As they mounted up, Amber took the chance to whisper to Captain Hain, 'Are you now going to tell me how you're sure they'll surrender so quickly?'

All 'special duties' carried an obligation of secrecy that transcended rank; Hain had been delighted to be forced to keep the details of his full operation a surprise for his superior. He grinned. 'The Patriarch will give the order without consulting the entire council; he'll be with his most important advisors already. Once he sees his six thousand Chetse kneel to Lord Styrax he'll realise he has no choice.'

'It will still be no simple task to take the city, even with this shifting of the balance.'

'And so we don't want to give him time to think too hard.'

'Can we force it?'

'Once we're on the way, the message will be delivered. I hear the Raylin called Aracnan was in Scree, which is why we couldn't find him for this task, but Lord Larim will manage just as well.'

'Larim's already in the city?'

'The white-eye in him is looking forward to getting his hands dirty for a change!'

Amber pictured Lord Larim, the young Chosen of Larat, God of Magic, as they followed Lord Styrax out onto the plain. Larat's devotees tended to leave the killing to others; no doubt Larim would consider this mission high entertainment.

'What if the Patriarch doesn't do as he's told?'

Hain shrugged and Amber realised he'd asked a stupid question. 'Then Larim will kill him and signal the attack. Wherever Lord Styrax intends to go next – west to Narkang or north to Tirah – we must control both of the great trading city-states, and if Tor Salan doesn't surrender we'll inflict such destruction upon it that the Circle City will not contemplate opposing us for even a minute.'

'Sautin and Mustet won't cause trouble unless we march to their doorsteps,' said Amber, 'and that leaves Embere and Raland, both controlled by the Devoted – and both no doubt already preparing for us.'

'Exactly, sir,' Hain said cheerfully, 'so we'll get a fight this year after all!'

And we will build another monument to our lord with their skulls, Amber added privately.

CHAPTER l0

The sky was slate-grey, angry. A broken mountain burned in the distance, wreathed in black coils of smoke. The freezing wind pierced his ragged clothes as he struggled to find purchase in the churned mud underfoot. He staggered on over the ruined ground, exhausted, using his bloodstained sword for balance and fighting for every step, but it made no difference. The mountain came no closer, and the darkness behind advanced relentlessly.

Collapsing to his knees, he gasped for breath and looked around. The landscape was ruined; there were great furrows carved into the earth, and even the weeds were crushed and dead. Death was all around him, and despite an occasional discarded item – a helm here, a broken scabbard there – he saw no one else, neither alive, nor dead. The broken black tooth of the mountain seemed to loom over him, unreal and untouchable.

He dug his fingers into the mud and felt it suck them down. He wrenched his hand from the dead land's grasp and tried to stand, but his legs rebelled as the darkness closed in on him. He tried to scream, but he couldn't voice his terror. He tried to lift his sword with what feeble strength he had left, but to no avail. The darkness bent over him, as insubstantial as smoke, until cold fingers grabbed him by the throat. He fell back and the mud welcomed him, burning as it drew him in, the hand at his throat pushing him inexorably down and down into the cold of the grave.

'Can I guess why you chose this place?'

Isak turned his head to where Mihn was sitting, a motionless figure silhouetted against the light creeping through the warped boards.

'Couldn't it be that I just wanted somewhere out of the way and one stable's as good as another?' Isak gestured around at the hay loft they were sitting in. Oxen shifted in the gloom below. 'It's warmer than standing about in an alley, isn't it?'

'Indeed it is, but I suspect this is one stable you've been in before.'

Isak shrugged. 'Perhaps. Doesn't mean it's significant.'

Isak doubted Mihn would be fooled. The taciturn northerner never indulged in idle chatter; he rarely initiated conversations at all, even if several months in Morghien's company had made him a little more open. Morghien had lingered in Tirah for a fortnight before the road called too loudly and he gave in to his itinerant nature. During that time Isak had seen the unspoken bond between them, similar to the one he himself had with Mihn. It was as if Mihn had forgotten what it was to have friends, but was slowly getting used to the notion again.

'I do think it significant, my Lord. You are not much of a romantic, so I doubt nostalgia is why we're here.'

'Are you mocking me?'

'No, Isak, I'm concerned. Scree has changed you, in more ways than one. The witch of Llehden agrees with me, and I'm not just talking about the appearance of the Reapers in Irienn Square.'

'What are you talking about then?' Isak snapped, barely remembering to keep his voice low.

The wind, a mournful moan overhead that rattled the roof of the stable, had been building throughout the day until now, past midnight, it was whipping at the city. There had been a light flurry of snow earlier that week, and Isak was sure he had felt the cold deepen as those first flakes fell.

'I'm talking about you,' Mihn said patiently. 'You don't joke as much as you used to. It's almost as if you have forgotten that you once used laughter to draw others to you-'

'I'm Lord of the Farlan,' Isak broke in, 'I shouldn't need laughter to make them obey me.'

'That's not what I mean; you used to do it as naturally as breathing. Being Lord of the Farlan does not mean they will thoughtlessly follow you, only that they will obey your orders.'

'Your point?'

'That you appear haunted. I've seen you glance over your shoulder, even when you're eating and your back is to the wall – and you move your chair further back than anyone else's. Yes, I noticed.'

Isak looked down at the stable floor below. 'What would you have me say?'

'That I am your bondsman and you trust me with your secrets.'

'Of course I trust you.'

'Then let me help,' Mihn said calmly. 'I am yours to command, whether I know the purpose behind your order or not.'

'And that'll help, will it?' Isak said sourly.

'You're a white-eye, my Lord. Your nature is not to accept things meekly. That you look so unsettled leads me to believe you have not yet found a way to fight it. When you do that, you'll find purpose relieves much of your anxiety.'

Isak gave a soft, hollow laugh. 'You could be right, but I have a few problems I can see no solutions to.'

'Name them.'

He looked at Mihn, almost expecting the man to be joking, but he was deadly serious.

'Okay, since you ask: first, this religious fervour that's driving everyone to madness, demanding idiocy in the place of policy. Next, since the fall of Scree I have dreamt of nothing but death, and it grows insistent.' He scowled and scratched his cheek. 'And there are no traces of those of Azaer's disciples who survived Scree, we still have little clue as to what the shadow's motives are, and I'm at a loss where to even begin.

'So do you have solutions for me now?'

'No, my Lord,' Mihn replied gravely, 'but I have advice, whatever small use it might be. You must always play to your strengths. A blacksmith will lay out those tools he possesses before starting work, and so must you.'

'Have all my suzerains stand in a line?' Isak asked, a brief grin lightening his face.