‘Yes, lord.’
Golan signed to his yakshaka and headed back to his tent. Along the way he mused: a lost yakshaka soldier, an early attack from one of the odd sports that infest Ardata’s lands, the troops seething with rumours already, our Isturé allies missing … It is as I informed the Nine: nothing of any significance as yet.
* * *
Alone in the jungle, Kenjak Ashevajak paused, listening. Drops falling from the high canopy struck the ferns and brush around him in a constant low patter. The humus beneath his feet shifted under his weight as the water saturating it oozed within. Somewhere to his left a short beast nosed the rotting logs and heaped leaves. As he stood frozen, knees bent, shortsword out, the beast snuffled its way around the trunk of a tree to emerge as a hairy anteater. Normally, Kenjak would kill the beast for meat — but he did not want the Thaumaturg and his men to eat. He hissed his imitation of a hunting fire cat and the anteater jumped, startled. Its quills rattled erect and it backed warily away. Kenjak shooed it on.
A new scent brushed his nose and he breathed again, testing for it. He crooked a smile. Thet-mun. The kid’s stink was unique. ‘I hear you,’ he murmured, waving to his left. ‘Who is it? Myint? Thet? Loor-San?’
A good distance away a figure straightened from the brush. Thet-mun. ‘How could you have heard me?’ the skinny youth complained. ‘You always hear me.’
Crouching, Kenjak waved him close. ‘What news? How are the lads?’
The youth adjusted his undersized leather cap and his ancient discoloured hauberk. His hair hung wet and his lean weasel-like face was a livid flushed crimson from some sort of illness that he could not shake. ‘Hungry. Unhappy.’
‘What does Myint say?’
‘She doesn’t like the idea of taking the Thaumaturg. Says it won’t play out.’
Kenjak slammed his shortsword into its sheath. ‘We don’t want the damned Thaumaturg! That’s not the plan! What in the name of the Night Spirits did you tell her?’
The lad — perhaps only a year or two junior to Kenjak — flinched, then pouted, shrugging. ‘Nothing different from what you told me …’
‘Never mind. Listen. Forget the Thaumaturg bastard-’
‘Easy for you to say,’ Thet-mun grumbled. ‘We ain’t never taken one of them down afore.’
Kenjak cuffed him across his tiny leather cap. ‘We aren’t going to. Okay? Now listen. The bitch — is she still headed into the Fangs?’
Straightening his cap, the lad nodded sulkily. ‘Yeah. Plain as day. Them yakshaka leave a trail like an elephant.’
‘By the Abyss. Maybe she really is working for the Demon-Queen.’
‘If that’s the case, me ’n’ the lads, we think we should head-’
‘I don’t care what you and the lads think. Tell Myint and Loor I’m taking them to Chanar Keep.’
The lad gaped, then giggled, covering his uneven rotting teeth as if self-conscious because of them. ‘Naw — no way they’d go in there!’
Kenjak knew their deathly fear of Chanar Keep — and the reason behind it. He used that very dread to build his own reputation among them. All they knew was that he and his right-hand man, Loor, could enter the ruins as they pleased, never mind how. He gave the lad an exaggerated wink. ‘I told this Thaumaturg I’d introduce him to Khun-Sen.’
The lad’s eyes widened in amazement. ‘No way! Great gods …’ He hunched suddenly, pressing down on his cap. ‘But then … no way I’m going in there!’
Kenjak raised a placating hand. ‘Fine. Don’t. Loor and I will. Tell him to go ahead and clean the place up. It has to look halfway decent.’
‘Well — so long as we’re nowhere near there come nightfall …’
‘Yes. That’s the plan. Then we collect the bitch and the yakshaka.’
Thet-mun wiped his grimed sleeve across his nose and dropped his gaze. ‘Yeah … about that …’
Kenjak quelled an urge to smack the lad across his head again. ‘We’ll fucking net him, okay? Tie him up and carry him! All right?’
‘I dunno, Jak. Sounds kinda risky. Maybe we should just lead this Thaumaturg to them and let ’em fight it out? Then we step in smooth as honey aft’wards … hey?’ and he peered up from under his brows, warily.
‘Because there’s too many of them, okay? Need to level the odds. Because he might blow our prize into little pretty pieces! All sorts of possibilities, all right? Yes?’
The lad was digging at his blackened fingernails. ‘Well … if you say so.’
‘Yes!’ Kenjak straightened. ‘Go on then.’
‘Well — actually — I kinda want that anteater …’
Kenjak hung his head. Ancient Demon-King forgive them! He waved him off. ‘Fine. Go get him.’
Grinning, Thet-mun drew a long curved knife from his belt. ‘Thank my old ma and da! Meat tonight!’ He ducked into the brush, disappearing.
Kenjak stood still, listening once again, but heard nothing. The lad really is damned quiet. Too bad he stinks so gods-awful. He headed back to the column.
Before entering the camp pickets he stashed the shortsword where he could retrieve it tomorrow morning. When he returned to camp the soldiers grabbed his arms and marched him to their commander. Overseer Tun ignored the fact that he returned of his own cognizance and took hold of his neck and drove him to his knees where the Thaumaturg rested in the shade of the wide leaves of a plantain tree, all to impress him with his diligence and ruthlessness.
‘Well, Jak,’ the young officer demanded, ‘you have found the trail?’
‘Yes, Magister. They are still headed east. She must be returning to the Demon-Queen!’
The youth fanned his gleaming sweaty face, frowning. ‘I did not ask for your opinion.’
Tun cuffed him across the back of his head and tears started from his eyes — the overseer had metal studs on his thick gloves. ‘Yes, Magister.’
‘How far ahead?’
‘A good three days at least, lord. They are moving faster than us. Yakshaka never rest, do they?’
A scowl of distaste from the Thaumaturg brought another strike to Kenjak’s head. Stars flashed in his vision. His swimming gaze found a wide concourse of ants winding their way up and down the trunk of the tall plantain. While he watched, a gang of the black insects struggled with the cumbersome load of a captured nectar wasp; they were dragging it down to the nest somewhere among the roots. Kenjak took great satisfaction from that sign offered up by the jungle itself: unimportant, unremarked beings overcoming and winning a far larger prize.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he began, ‘M’lord, if I may …’
Still fanning himself, the Thaumaturg youth — some snotty privileged spoiled noble’s son! — signed that he might continue. ‘Seven Peaks Pass, Magister. Chanar Keep. It will cut days from the journey.’
The young man’s gaze returned from wherever he had gone in his contemplation then slid to him. His long straight black hair fell forward and he pushed it back, adjusting the jade comb that held it secured at the nape of his neck. A surge of rage coursed through Kenjak at the sight of his preening. Pampered rich boy! No servant now to comb that so carefully kept mane. Soon enough I’ll have that piece of jewellery and I will use it to yank the knots from my hair!
‘So you insist,’ the Thaumaturg sighed, as if tired of the matter. ‘If this is so — why hasn’t the girl taken it?’
‘These locals fear Khun-Sen. He used to raid them.’
The Thaumaturg youth raised one quizzical brow. ‘Used to?’
Kenjak hung his head, feeling his cheeks flushing in his panic. Damn the Old King! What a stupid mistake!
‘Don’t pretend you’re no raider, Jak,’ the youth drily noted.
Kenjak stilled, his gaze on the layers of rotting leaves and branches across the jungle floor. An immense relief eased his shoulders and he went limp in the hands of the guards. He thinks I lied to protect myself. Thank the goddess.