‘Which means Denser communes, right?’
‘Yes, Hirad,’ said Denser curtly. ‘Not exactly how I’d planned to deplete my stamina but still.’
‘I’m sorry, all right?’ Hirad couldn’t keep the irritation out of his voice. ‘We’ll sort it out.’
‘Will we?’ Denser’s eyes flashed angrily. ‘There’s four of us. What exactly do you suppose we’ll do if the Dordovans get to her before we do?’
‘They’re not going to hurt her, Denser.’
‘But they’ll take her from me and time is so short,’ he said, fidgeting again. ‘And capturing her is all they need to get to Lyanna. Only I can save her.’
‘So you keep saying. So get them to avoid Arlen and we’ll meet them further down the coast. Don’t panic.’ Hirad stabbed another branch into the fire, sending a few sparks past the gently steaming pot. Ilkar scrambled over and sat the opposite side of the fire to the barbarian.
‘I’m not panicking, Hirad. I’m worried for my wife and daughter. I hope that’s all right.’
‘And I’m worried for my dragons but I’m still here helping you.’
‘Oh, Gods,’ muttered Ilkar under his breath. ‘Must you?’
‘Yes, such helpless creatures,’ said Denser. ‘So vulnerable. I can’t imagine how they’ll survive without you.’
‘They’re already dying, Denser,’ snarled Hirad. ‘Not that you’d know, eating delicacies in your comfortable tower.’
‘That’s not how it is,’ said Denser, leaning back deliberately, attempting to calm the situation a little.
‘No, sure, I mean the fruits of your hard work are everywhere, aren’t they?’ Hirad waved his arms expansively. ‘Do you see Protectors freed? Are the Kaan dragons any closer to going home?’
‘Those are just two issues in—’
‘ “Just?” In case it’s escaped your attention, Denser, those two issues saved Balaia. One knowingly exiling themselves in the process, the other fought at great cost outside the Septern Manse. Unfortunately, it was some time ago, and perhaps your memory has dimmed over the years.’ Hirad’s caustic tone echoed around the fireplace. There was a contemplative silence.
‘Hirad, I know this is critical to you,’ said Ilkar. ‘But temporarily, we have more pressing matters. And getting to Erienne and then the Al-Drechar could solve your problem anyway.’
Hirad nodded. ‘I know I made a mistake and I’m sorry. I just want him to know what he’s done. Or rather not done.’ He jabbed a finger at Denser.
‘At the risk of seeming stupid, what does finding the Al-Drechar have to do with Hirad’s dragons?’ asked Denser.
‘The Kaan think they can solve the dimensional riddle,’ said The Unknown. ‘They have Septern’s knowledge after all. And one other thing. Hirad’s right, the Kaan are dying and the Protectors aren’t free—’
‘Hold on, I—’
‘Don’t interrupt me, Denser,’ warned The Unknown. ‘I know Mount politics are complex but you’re a senior master now. We’ve seen no results. No progress. And we want answers. Just as soon as Lyanna is secure.’
Denser regarded The Unknown with a slight frown on his face. A corner of his mouth turned up as he spoke, a little nervous reaction.
‘Let’s face it, unless we can secure Lyanna, and the Al-Drechar for that matter, dragons and Protectors will be the least of our worries.’
‘All the worse that you’ve let it go this long, then,’ said Hirad. He lined up a row of mugs and tipped the coffee into them.
Denser shook his head. ‘You see, the trouble is, you haven’t grasped the seriousness of all this yet, have you?’
‘Credit me with some notion,’ said Hirad, thrusting a mug at Denser roughly enough for coffee to spill over. ‘If we don’t get to Lyanna first and keep her from Dordover, we’ll have this bad weather for longer.’
Denser gaped. ‘Haven’t you told him anything?’ he demanded of Ilkar.
The elf shrugged. ‘We tried . . .’
‘I understand,’ said Denser, nodding in resignation. ‘Let me try and put this in words you’ll understand.’
‘Don’t patronise me, Xetesk man.’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out.’ He took a sip of his drink. ‘This isn’t like a passing storm front. “Bad weather” does not cover what might happen - this is only the start. We’ve already seen a raising of the earth, a hurricane, floods and tidal waves. Imagine that happening a hundred times worse and all across Balaia. Because if Lyanna is taken from the Al-Drechar and slips into unfathomable Night, as would be inevitable, that’s what’ll happen until she dies. And that’s why the Dordovans will kill her.’
‘And can we, or rather you, control her?’ asked Hirad, his voice quieter as the weight of Denser’s words sank in.
‘Yes, I keep telling you,’ Denser replied, anxiety back in his voice. ‘But we have to get to her quickly. The Al-Drechar can’t contain her for long, even at this level of mess. At least the fact that Erienne has left her means she believes the Al-Drechar are capable for the time being.’
‘But then she won’t know the extent of what’s already happened,’ reasoned Ilkar.
‘I think the Al-Drechar will have guessed,’ replied Denser. ‘But the point is that letting Lyanna fall into Dordovan hands would be a disaster. They’ll either try and fail to control her because they don’t understand or they’ll kill her because they’re scared of her. I need my wife. We haven’t got long.’
Hirad opened his mouth to speak, saw the depths of worry in Denser’s eyes and chose to drink some coffee instead. What he had been about to say was inflammatory anyway. Perhaps another time.
‘We have to deal with the here and now,’ said The Unknown. ‘Denser, Communion. If you can get Erienne to persuade them to anchor in the bay we can ride down the estuary to find them. Hirad, go and check the horses. Ilkar, a word if I may.’
‘Are you all right, Unknown?’ asked the Julatsan.
‘Yeah, fine,’ said The Unknown but they could all see a distant look in his eye.
Hirad shrugged and walked over to the stream, a smile breaking over his face as his irritation faded. The horses looked relaxed and ready and were grazing contentedly. He patted one on the neck and ran a hand down its foreleg, feeling the fit muscle and bone beneath his fingers.
His smile broadened. They may have been apart for five years but still, when The Unknown spoke, they listened. That fact alone would, he considered, give them the ghost of a chance in the days to come. And it sounded like they might need every ghost they could grasp.
Chapter 15
Selik leaned back in his richly upholstered red and gold chair in a private room of the Lakehome Inn and allowed himself a smile. It still felt like a smile to him though the humour was gone. Another would have seen little more than a grotesque distortion of his face.
He wouldn’t have described the feeling as ‘happiness’ either. A bitter satisfaction, maybe, an easing of the burning hate in the knowledge of its ultimate extinguishing through sweet revenge. But happiness, no. That was an emotion he hadn’t experienced since the bitch had frozen him. Lesser men would have died. His strength and breastplate had saved his life when the IceWind had struck him. Nothing so resistant had been protecting his hands and face, though, and he’d borne the stigma for six long years, just waiting his chance.
And now, he was to be presented with it.
It had been good news Gorstan had given him as they’d stood at the mouth of Arlen Bay and he’d ridden hard for the town to set about hiring ships and crews and buying provisions. But there’d been a nagging anxiety. It was one thing knowing where the bitch and her abomination of a daughter hid. It would have been quite another getting there through the famously treacherous rock and coral straits. Many men would have been lost and he didn’t know how many, if any, he could afford to lose.