‘Ah, that one!’ Paxon shook his head ruefully. ‘She’s the one Breck should really worry about. Last I heard she had King Lorn on the run. It was just a matter of time before she conquered Norvor. She’s done it by now most likely.’
‘No. .’
‘Oh yes, Baron Glass. Jazana Carr’s a wicked one, and she has the means to do whatever she wants. She has her own designs on Liiria, you know. They say even Ravel fears her, because his army is no match for hers. If she wants Liiria, she’ll take it. And no one’s going to be able to stop her.’
A sickening lurch shook Thorin’s stomach. He looked down at the table, suffocated by a sense of utter helplessness. ‘So it’s too late,’ he muttered. ‘My family. .’
Paxon frowned. ‘You have a family, Baron? You mean still in Liiria?’
‘Still in Koth, for all I know,’ replied Thorin. ‘I haven’t seen them in years. They’re all grown now. Or dead.’
The images of his family — as they had been years ago — flashed through his mind. His wife Romonde, his sons Aric and Nial, both boys when he’d left them. And of course there were his twin girls, perfectly the same like two shining pennies. For a moment he saw them clearly, and the memory was painful. He had been forced to leave them, all of them, sent to the Isle of Woe by Akeela to be eaten by cannibals. But he’d been saved by Lukien and Jazana Carr and he had never looked back. He had never even told his family he was still alive.
‘I don’t know,’ Thorin wondered aloud. ‘I don’t know what they think of me.’
Paxon was still staring at him. The Liirian had lost his sour expression and now looked wholly sympathetic. ‘It is a cruel thing to lose one’s family. I’m sorry for you, Baron Glass. You must miss them.’
Thorin thought about this, but was unsure how to answer. ‘I would miss them, if I knew how. I don’t even know what they look like now. I left them to keep them safe. I could never tell them I was alive because that would have put them in danger from Akeela. Ah, it’s a long story. .’ Thorin found the jug of rahos and poured himself some more. He drank, trying not to be embarrassed by Paxon’s pity. ‘I owe them, that’s all. If Jazana Carr is on the move, then they are in danger.’
‘If they’re still in Liiria,’ said Paxon. ‘You say you don’t know where they are?’
‘Or even if they’re still alive.’ Thorin snickered blackly. ‘What a father and husband I am, eh? Bloody one-armed coward. Bloody useless.’
He finished his cup of rahos in one big gulp, then licked his lips.
‘Not much good I can do anybody here, though. And how can I get across the desert to help them, or help Breck? That cursed Aztar has us all sealed in here like insects in a jar.’
‘There’s nothing for you in Liiria anyway, Baron Glass,’ Paxon cautioned him. ‘There’s nothing left there for any of us.’
Thorin looked at him and grimaced. ‘No. No, you’re probably right.’
‘Our lives are here now. The others that came with me, they need a life, too.’ Paxon took hold of Thorin’s hand. ‘You must make Minikin understand that. If there’s any way for us to enter Mount Believer. .’
‘I told you, there is no way.’
‘But if there is a way, any way, you must convince her. Will you do that for us, Baron Glass? Will you speak to the woman Minikin for us?’ Paxon sighed as if he knew the answer. ‘Or will you simply forget us?’
About to reach for his cup, Thorin stilled his hand. Suddenly he wanted no more of the liquor. ‘I will not forget you, Paxon. Or Liiria.’ He shoved aside his cup. ‘Thank you for the drink, and for the company,’ he said. Then he rose from the table and left the shrana house.
Outside, he felt his anger crest. Over the white wall he could see the palace of Jador and knew that Minikin was in there somewhere. He looked around and saw what was still a vibrant town, alive despite the hardships of isolation. But it was a Ganjeese town, a place for desert dwellers. It was not a world for Liirians. Liirians belonged up north, Baron Glass decided.
Liirians belonged in Liiria.
11
Gilwyn Toms stood at the edge of a rocky cliff, awestruck by the sight of the world far, far below. A warm wind blew across his face and hair, whistling in his ears like the voice of a lover. The sun was rising in the east, climbing ever upward, lighting the world with its infinite glow. He could feel the newness of it growing hot on his skin. To the north sat Jador, calm and silent, miniaturised by distance, looking perfectly serene as the day awoke. The great unceasing desert sprawled across the earth in every direction. At this height, it seemed to Gilwyn that nothing could reach him, not even sound. He had never been so high in his life but he had dreamed of it as a boy, climbing mountains his clubfoot would never let him traverse. Now, with Emerald’s help, his life had no such limits. The willing kreel had taken him and Minikin to this high mountain peak, bearing them both with stout-hearted effort into the thin air of the sky. The reason had been a mystery to Gilwyn but he hadn’t questioned Minikin. She had ordered it and he had obeyed, feeling the strangeness of sharing Emerald’s back for the first time. It was, apparently, a morning for firsts, because Minikin had not brought Trog with her either. Gilwyn had never seen the woman without her bodyguard before. But it was to be just her and him, she had explained. On the mountain together. As Gilwyn looked out over the world he called home, he stopped asking questions. Enchanted, he merely let the majesty of the desert unfold before him. Like a picture book it opened, revealing secrets he had never known.
‘It’s so beautiful,’ he said softly. Besides Jador, he saw the ranges of the far-off mountains, their jagged peaks fuzzy and obscure. He could see the wind blowing the sands in great arcs of living sculpture, the same way it moves the clouds slowly across the sky. It was, he decided, too beautiful to describe, and he fell instead into a contemplative silence, pleased and excited and sure that his life was about to change. Behind him, Minikin stood back and let him enjoy the moment alone. She wore her magic coat of many colours and kept her hands clasped over her flat belly. She was not a witch, but the way the wind blew her long white hair made her look like one. Gilwyn turned to study her. He wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. Emerald rested some yards away. The kreel’s expression held disinterest, but Gilwyn could feel the beast’s underlying concern. All the way up the mountain, he had sensed Emerald’s confusion.
‘It feels like we’re all alone up here,’ said Gilwyn at last. ‘Like we’re the only two people in the world.’
‘Our world yet sleeps,’ answered Minikin. ‘Listen to that silence. Even the scorpions are still.’
It was true, and it unnerved young Gilwyn. Today was the day he had long awaited, when at last Minikin would teach him of his Akari. Why had she brought him to such a desolate place?
‘To be alone and undisturbed,’ the mistress answered. ‘To clear your mind. To spend a day in the bosom of heaven. To get closer to the angels.’
As she spoke she kept her grey eyes on Gilwyn, and he could feel her powerful mind probing his own. How effortless it was for her to crawl into another’s skull. Would she gift him with these powers? The blood raced through Gilwyn’s vessels.
‘I want to learn,’ he said. ‘I’m ready.’
Minikin smiled. ‘You’ve waited a long time. You’ve been patient, and I’m glad for it. Our lives have been difficult here. Things have been thrust on you that you never could have expected, Gilwyn, and I have been too busy to watch you. When I first told you about Ruana I asked you to be patient. Do you remember that?’