‘You can choose not to believe me, my Lord.’ The Unknown walked forwards, out of the spell shield. ‘But you’ve already lost the spell. Why lose your life too?’
Styliann’s face darkened still further. He swung round in his saddle again, studying the Protectors’ postures, unable to conceive the potential scale of their defiance. Eventually, he turned back to The Unknown.
‘But you have been released. You are no longer one of them.’
‘So I thought too. But the bonds forged in the meld of souls are unbreakable. My soul may be my own but it will reach out to the Protectors for ever. I accept that, they understand it. Best you do too.’
A third look behind him and the Lord of the Mount nodded. He had half turned his horse when The Unknown stopped him.
‘You can help us save Balaia and gain your revenge,’ he suggested. ‘If you were to attack Parve from the south or south-east in response to our signal, it might ease our route to the pyramid. At least then you might have a College to return to.’
Styliann’s face was blank. ‘You might tell Denser that while I am Lord of the Mount, he is most unwelcome in Xetesk. As for The Raven, you will be paid on your return through Understone Pass. Be very certain never to cross me again.’
‘I will sign you through the Protectors,’ said The Unknown. ‘If you are near, they will hear me.’
Styliann said nothing, kicking his horse to a canter and making his way through the ranks of Protectors. They remained still for some moments, meeting souls with The Unknown, before following their Given from the Temple clearing.
For several minutes, The Raven held formation while Denser circled overhead, sight attuned to the mana spectrum, probing for a clue that Styliann was about to launch a new attack. When he landed and dismissed the ShadowWings, they relaxed.
‘Shield down,’ said Ilkar.
Hirad placed a hand on Denser’s shoulder, nodding his gratitude as the Dark Mage looked at him.
‘At last, I think I can say I understand,’ said Denser.
‘Will Styliann help us?’ asked Hirad.
The Unknown raised his eyebrows. ‘Difficult to say,’ he said. ‘If he stops to think hard enough, perhaps.’
‘Thraun, would you check the path and collect the horses?’ asked Hirad. Thraun inclined his head and jogged away out of sight.
Belatedly, the focus of attention fell on Jandyr. The elf was still alive and Erienne had joined Will in ministering to him. But he hadn’t moved from where he had fallen. His leather armour had been slit by the falling axe of a statue and the wound beneath it was deep and severe. His clothing and the dirt around him were filmed with blood, although Erienne seemed to have stemmed the flow.
‘How bad?’ asked Will.
‘He’s been lucky,’ said Erienne. ‘The blade hasn’t sheared any ribs, so his heart and lungs are undamaged, but I’m very worried about the state of his shoulder and lower back.’
‘Can we move him?’ asked The Unknown.
‘Not until morning, anyway, to give me a chance to repair some of the damage. Put it this way, he won’t be using his bow for a while. There’s a great deal of tendon and muscle damage in that shoulder.’
‘We haven’t got that sort of time,’ said Ilkar. ‘You heard what Styliann said. The Wesmen will be at Julatsa in three days.’
‘Then they must hold them,’ said Erienne. ‘If we ride now, he will die. Ilkar, I’m only asking we wait until dawn. Five hours.’
‘Dawn,’ said Ilkar. ‘It will give us a chance to verify what Styliann has said.’
Hirad considered the situation. He scanned the tree line, then turned full circle, taking in the lake, mountains and Temple. The painted faces of the statues still crowded the doors. He shuddered.
‘So long as you can all stand to be watched by that lot, we might as well stay right here until sun-up. Will, the stove, please. Denser, I need you and Thraun to discuss the route to Parve. With the Wesmen on the march we’ll have to stay clear of the roads to Understone. Meanwhile, Ilkar, Unknown, I want to talk to you.’
A brief flurry of activity disrupted the peace of the impromptu campsite. Denser and Will hurried out of the clearing after Thraun, Erienne began preparation of a healing spell and the three surviving original Raven members gathered on the steps of the Temple. Hirad spared the statues one more glance before speaking.
‘There’s things I don’t understand,’ he said.
‘No change there,’ said Ilkar.
Hirad punched him on the shoulder. ‘You’re funny, Ilkar. But not very funny.’ He laughed. ‘Explain to me what a Cold Room is and why I’ve never heard of one before.’
‘Well, it’s not something the Colleges publicise, for obvious reasons.’ Ilkar shot a glance heavenwards. ‘How do I explain? Right, look, mana flows everywhere and through everything. It doesn’t stop for skin, bones, walls, wood, ocean, not even dimensions, as we discovered. No one knows its rhythm or the pattern to its flow, only how to disrupt it to form shapes for spells. But one thing that can be done is to divert the flow, and particular structures will do that.’ He jerked a thumb behind him. ‘Mana will take the path of least resistance. This temple has been very carefully constructed, and I mean in extraordinary architectural and material detail. When it was sealed, the mana simply flowed around it and not through it.’ He shrugged. ‘That’s it.’
‘It was a well-laid trap for the unwary thief,’ agreed The Unknown.
‘Or mage,’ muttered Ilkar. ‘We were close to being snuffed out in there.’
‘So those bodies we found in there were Protectors?’ asked Hirad.
‘Yes,’ said The Unknown. ‘I knew straight away but it didn’t seem possible at the time. They were Protectors, some of Styliann’s no doubt.’
‘But they had no masks,’ said Ilkar.
‘No doubt, when the threat is removed, the statues move back and the doors unseal. Protectors always take the masks of their fallen brothers. Styliann wanted to get the Death’s Eye Stone for himself and was cautious enough to stay outside while he sent his Protectors in. Getting it would have given him real power over us, after all.’
‘So he was waiting for us to succeed,’ said Hirad.
‘Hoping, certainly,’ said The Unknown. ‘I’m sure us taking the stone and then him taking the entire spell from us was his fallback plan the whole time.’
Hirad shook his head. ‘When I saw them all waiting, I don’t mind telling you I expected to be dead and cooling soon after. What happened?’
‘He did.’ Ilkar indicated Denser, who was walking back into the clearing with Will, Thraun and the horses.
‘Would you care to elaborate?’ asked Hirad.
‘Yes, I’d be glad to. We have just witnessed the biggest single step forward in Xeteskian thinking, probably ever. Denser turned down certain power and glory in his College for the greater good of Balaia. I can still scarcely believe it.’
‘But that doesn’t explain the Protectors,’ said Hirad. He looked out into the camp. Will was setting up the stove near by, intent on ignoring them but no doubt hearing everything they said. Erienne was talking to Jandyr and stroking his hair. The elven bowman, although still lying on his front, was conscious. Denser and Thraun were in deep conversation, poring over a map, Thraun making animated sweeping gestures. Denser, pipe smoking gently, was smiling.
Hirad felt warm inside. The Raven was complete again and working smoothly. He hadn’t felt this way since the day Ras died.
‘You’ll have to ask The Unknown about that,’ said Ilkar.
‘There’s not a lot to say that you’ll understand,’ said The Unknown. ‘I just knew Styliann’s power over them was less than that of the bond between them and me. They won’t ever attack one of their own unless their Given’s life is threatened. We didn’t threaten Styliann’s life.’
‘And would they have killed him if he’d killed you?’ asked Ilkar.