‘They’ve taken him,’ he managed in a voice thick with phlegm. ‘They’ve taken him to get me.’
‘What?’ Hirad was confused. ‘Taken who?’
‘The Familiar,’ said Ilkar. ‘A Dordovan mage must have captured it.’
‘Why a mage?’
‘Because no one else would have the power to keep it subdued.’ Ilkar scratched his chin. ‘Gods, this is serious.’
‘I’ve got to get there,’ said Denser, starting to rise.
‘No way, Denser.’ Ilkar held him down. ‘They’ll destroy you.’ The mages stared at each other.
‘They’ll hold him till he dies. What then? What then?’ Denser’s eyes were desperate, his body shivering with the aftershock.
Ilkar shook his head. ‘I don’t know . . . oh, no.’
‘What?’ Hirad stopped halfway to resheathing his sword.
‘Thraun, Will, Erienne. The College are going to be expecting something, aren’t they? And those three are pig in the middle. How much chance do you reckon that gives them?’
‘But there’s no way they could link them with the cat, is there?’ said Jandyr.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ replied Ilkar. ‘The College’ll be on high alert once the capture of the Familiar is announced. They’ll think Xeteskians are about and no one will get in or out, believe me.’
Hirad rammed his blade home the rest of the way.
‘Oh, that’s just great. Not only will Denser have his brain fried when the cat dies, but we’re going to lose half our people without claiming the ring.’ He walked away a few paces and kicked at a tree, cursing under his breath. ‘Anyone got any bright ideas or do we just serve ourselves up to the Wytch Lords now?’
‘I’m going to get him,’ said Denser. ‘I can’t leave him in there. You don’t understand.’
‘There’s only one person who can try to find out what’s going on, and that’s me,’ said Jandyr. ‘I’ll saddle up and go.’
‘Thank you,’ said Ilkar. He switched his attention to Denser. ‘Remember why we’re all here and remember the people who have died so far. If you stamp off into Dordover you’ll just be committing suicide and all we’ve achieved will be wasted.’
He paused and glanced up at Sol. The Protector’s eyes were hidden by the gloom but Ilkar knew he was looking at them.
‘You understand all this. It’s up to you to see he stays put.’ He squeezed Denser’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry. I know the depth of the bond. I’m sorry for the pain you’ve suffered and for the pain you still have to face. But Dawnthief is bigger than any of us, you said so yourself. You are hearing me, aren’t you?’
Denser nodded and slumped against Ilkar’s body. He looked up into the Julatsan’s face, tears brimming in his eyes.
Chapter 20
Will and Thraun saw it happen, knew straight away that it wasn’t just a man snatching a stray cat, but didn’t know what it meant. Crouching deep in shadow outside the College and near the wall by the long room, they reached a decision quickly enough.
‘We said we’d go back,’ said Thraun. ‘She could be in trouble.’
‘I know you’re right but can we really help in there?’ Will jerked a thumb at the College.
‘We’d better hope so. We do have one ace up our sleeve.’
‘Hmm.’ Will eyed Thraun, a frown creasing his brow. ‘There’s always that, though I didn’t like the way that old man stared at you, like he knew something. And to be fair, there’s no way they would connect Erienne with the cat, it’s a Xeteskian beast. Still . . .’ He trailed off and shrugged.
‘I know,’ said Thraun. He studied the sky. ‘We’d better get inside. I’d hate to be late.’
Though smooth, the wall was no challenge. Will swarmed over it in seconds and it was low enough for Thraun to jump and catch the top edge. Within a minute, they were behind the long room.
The building was dread and sinister. The walls were scarcely taller than Thraun and the roof swept down either side, overlapping almost to ground level. Clad in iron, the strength and weight had to be immense, and when Will touched the wall he flinched. It was warm. But there was more; an aura similar to that they had experienced in the Tower, but uncontrolled somehow. Dangerous.
‘Can we move from here?’ His unease was heightened by a creak in the metal.
‘It would be a pleasure.’ Thraun started off along the length of the building, heading towards the Tower but shielded from it. His eyes, sharp and clear, picked out every twig and dry leaf. Behind him, Will, through long years of experience, concentrated solely on placing his feet in the imprints left by Thraun, which he could just make out in the darkness.
The two men moved like ghosts through the College, so quiet that someone two paces away could miss them with back turned. They stopped at the corner of the long room and studied the Tower. Light came from three windows and lanterns hung either side of the main doors. The ground floor was completely dark, but between them and more welcoming shadow were thirty yards of open space.
‘Any ideas?’
‘Just one,’ replied Thraun.
Erienne laid the unconscious body of the Tower Master in a far corner of the cavernous library, making him as comfortable as possible.
Her action had been swift and without error, her straight punch catching him square on the jaw. He’d crumpled into her arms and she’d dragged the dead weight into the library, panting at the sudden exertion. With the door closed, she’d shaped a gentle sleeping spell which would keep him under the entire night.
When she stopped moving, the enormity of what she’d done struck her like falling rock. She pulled out a desk chair and slumped into it, hands over her face, elbows on the desk and tears beginning to prick at her eyes.
That the Tower Master had heard her conversation with Thraun and Will was bad - his suspicions would be plenty enough to see her expelled from the College. But to have struck him and then disabled him with magic . . . they’d tear her brain to pieces. Her only hope now was to avoid capture and pray the circumstances of the deception would mitigate future punishment. Either way, she couldn’t ever see herself setting foot in Dordover or its College again.
After a few moments to gather herself, she moved to kneel by the Tower Master, and smoothed a strand of hair from his face.
‘I am sorry. But underneath it all, you are still just an old, old man. Please forgive me.’ She rose. ‘It is not a betrayal. I’m trying to save us all.’ The Tower Master lay still, his gently moving chest the only indication he was alive at all.
Twitching aside a heavy drape, Erienne checked the sky and frowned in surprise. Full dark had come. She’d had no idea she’d dallied in the library so long and there was one question she hadn’t answered. She hurried to a shelf and dragged off a large volume. She leafed through the pages quickly, scanning for the information she knew had to be there.
Denser turned the Understone Pass Commander’s badge he’d taken from Travers over and over in his hands. It was hard to see in the lessening light and he augmented his sight for a better look.
The badge itself was quite plain, though its importance to the survival of Balaia could not be measured. Formed from an amalgam of gold and steels it was about three-quarters the width of his palm and ringed with an embossed leaf design. In its centre, an intricate engraving of the southern entrance to the pass gleamed at him and on the reverse were etched the names of previous commanders.
It was the first time Denser had studied the badge, and he should have found it fascinating - particularly its constitution. But as he twiddled it absently, his thoughts were dominated by the fate of his Familiar. His mind was shorn of its touch and the loneliness he felt was merely the prelude to the agony of its death. He fancied he could feel its fear, anger and desolation; and the howls of despair ready to be unleashed at its demise. He couldn’t let that happen.