‘He did say that but we are not bound to believe him,’ said Denser.
‘And even if you could, the land of the dead lies ruined. There is no going back.’
The words, like ice on Ilkar’s tongue, rolled over the room.
‘You’re stuck here?’ said Sol.
‘Oh great,’ muttered Diera. ‘Mouldering Raven has-beens cluttering up my inn.’
‘That would be the least of our concerns,’ said Sol sharply.
Ilkar winced at the expression on Diera’s face.
‘He’s right, Lady Unknown,’ said Hirad. ‘Our souls no longer have a place to rest.’
‘So what?’
‘So where do you think yours will go if you die?’
Diera put her head in her hands. ‘You know, I’ve seen and heard a lot in my time. Being married to The Unknown Warrior and the first, albeit reluctant, king of Balaia means I can’t get away from it. But this is too much. And I’m worried that I’m starting to believe you, like my daft husband and the Lord of the Mount do. So I’m going. Home. To open up.’ She shot a glance at Sol. ‘Let me know what hare-brained scheme you end up with. Meanwhile I’m going to spend some time with our boys.’
Diera got up to leave, ignoring the hand that Sol put out towards her. Hirad pushed himself from his chair and opened the door for her.
‘It is us,’ he said. ‘Just look at our shadows and say you don’t recognise them.’
Diera gazed at him. ‘This is Xetesk, city of magic, home of the Dark College as was. You think this couldn’t be some spell? Give me some credit, won’t you?’
‘Keep your boys close, Diera,’ said Hirad. ‘Be ready.’
‘You know we named the youngest after the real Hirad Coldheart. There was a man we could all love. You? I don’t know what you think you are.’
Hirad’s face cracked into a huge grin when the door had closed.
‘You’ve got a boy called Hirad, Unknown?’
Sol nodded, the beginnings of a smile on his careworn face. ‘We have.’
‘Hirad.’ The barbarian’s eyes sparkled. ‘Not Ilkar, then. Or Sirendor, or Darrick. Hirad.’
‘All right, Coldheart, we get it.’ Ilkar felt his mood lift despite himself.
‘Never mind, Ilks. Perhaps if they have a few more and are really scraping about for a name, yours might surface like a bloated corpse in Korina Bay.’
‘Can we concentrate on what we are here to discuss?’ said Ilkar. ‘I don’t know about you but every breath I take is shot full of needles, or so it feels. What happened to Hirad and me last night should also be concentrating our minds, don’t you think?’
‘It’s the knowledge that my name will live on in a younger generation that I find so gratifying.’
‘If we are to believe you, Hirad, there is to be no living on,’ growled Sol.
Hirad sobered. ‘We cannot let any of our names go to dust.’
‘That is what I invited you all up here to avoid,’ said Denser. ‘And we have got nowhere fast. So why don’t you, any of you, tell me what you know about whoever it is that is coming here to do whatever it is they’re planning to do. Because I, for one, do not wish my soul to be casting around for a resting place when I die.’
‘It’s worse than that, my love,’ said Erienne, the little girl’s voice dripping with weary experience. ‘We think that any souls unable to reach their birthplace are already lost in the void between dimensions, and that is an eternal screaming purgatory no one should have to suffer.’
‘So talk to us,’ said Sol.
‘We can’t tell you about their strengths, weaknesses, modes of attack and goals,’ said Darrick. ‘It doesn’t work like that. Where we’ve come from there is nothing but certain knowledge and intense feeling. So all we know is, they have destroyed the dead dimension and they are here now and will do the same to Balaia. So everyone who wants to live and everyone who wants to die in peace has to leave because there is no point in trying to fight. This much we know.’
Denser kneaded the bridge of his nose, feeling a weight of frustration beginning to build.
‘At the risk of repeating myself, go where?’
‘I think that should be self-evident,’ said Ilkar. ‘Out of this dimension. Out of every known dimension, come to that.’
Denser threw up his hands. Sol held up a hand to still his protest.
‘Even if that’s possible, it doesn’t help you much, does it? Where will you go?’
A short silence followed Sol’s question. Hirad shrugged. Sirendor looked blank.
‘We don’t know,’ said Ilkar. ‘We hope to find another place to rest but we don’t know. We aren’t here for us. We’re here for you, to try and save you. Stop you dying and being lost to the void. Believe me, you want to avoid that.’
‘I’m not getting this,’ said Denser. ‘You’ve told us that the dead dimension is gone, but that to save us we should all leave for somewhere . . . else, right? So what happens when we die in this wonderful new home of ours? Where do our souls go?’
‘We have to believe that a dimension beyond those we know will bring with it a new dimension for the dead,’ said Ilkar. ‘The theory is that the elves enjoy a different resting place now to that which they had in their home of millennia past.’
‘Theory.’
‘Yes, Denser, but it represents the only chance for all of us. The living and the dead.’
‘And that is just plain ridiculous. Look . . .’ Denser paused, seeing the expressions on all their faces. ‘I really appreciate your passion and your belief but you’re all a decade out of date. So much has happened here in the last ten years. So much strength has been built by so few but it is so solid. There is no more conflict here. Not with the Wesmen, not between colleges or barons. We can’t afford it, the demons took so very many of us.
‘We have worked together to make sure no one can threaten us again and we will not run away because our departed loved ones tell us we must on the basis of old information.’
‘But it won’t help you when you die!’ shouted Hirad. ‘Why aren’t you listening to us?’
‘Because I have to believe that if we defeat this enemy then your resting place, our resting place, will become, I don’t know the right word . . . viable again. I don’t see we have another choice,’ said Denser, hanging on to his temper.
‘We have just offered you one,’ said Erienne quietly.
Denser’s eyes pricked and he looked down at his wife. Now a five-year-old. He felt a surge of frustration. He sighed.
‘But you don’t know how to get us there,’ he said gently, trying hard not to adopt a patronising tone. He reached out a hand to stroke her hair but pulled it back. ‘I need to have proof or I have no option but to stand and fight. Evacuating the continent is not a realistic option.’
‘How can you be getting this so wrong?’ asked Erienne.
‘At least tell us you’re sending messengers to the colleges and Calaius,’ said Darrick. ‘Letting the powers know there is a threat.’
Denser smiled. ‘And there you are, adding example to my argument. We are in constant contact with Lystern, Julatsa and Calaius. We have delegates in the Wesman Heartlands and can speak with every baron and lord, and with the Mayor of Korina, at very short notice.’
‘How?’ asked Ilkar.
‘I’ll show you later. But right now I need you to trust that we have not been idle. We can and will repel this enemy. We have new spells and have enhanced those that already existed. Together, the Balaian people are strong. And you have our reluctant king to thank for all that.’
All eyes turned to Sol, whose face remained impassive. ‘And yet I worry, Denser. Exaggeration has never been part of The Raven. This power, whoever it is, is strong enough to have destroyed the dead dimension, something the demons were unable to do. So while I share your confidence in our new-found strength, I think we must also plan for defeat.’