The rider was talking with Skilgannon and Askari as Stavut approached. Then the group broke up, Skilgannon and Askari walking past the former merchant. He reached out to Askari as she passed. She smiled at him. ‘I will see you later,’ she said, then followed Skilgannon.
‘Well, we survived the day, tinker,’ said Alahir.
‘And tomorrow?’
Alahir shrugged. ‘They are great warriors, and they outnumber us. I won’t lie to you. Chances are we won’t see another sunset.’
‘I don’t want my lads to die here.’
‘No, nor do I. I don’t think the Guard will send their beasts. Though they might, if we hold them long enough. You have done enough, my friend. Take your pack and go.’
‘No, I will stay. I will send my lads out over the other pass. I’ll need to borrow some armour.’
‘There is plenty to choose from, tinker. We lost seventy men today.’
‘That many? I am sorry, Alahir.’
The sound of horses’ hooves clattered on the stone. Stavut swung to see Skilgannon and Askari ride from the pass.
‘Where are they going?’
‘To the temple. Skilgannon thinks he can find a way in. We need to hold the Guard off for another day.’
Stavut walked back to where the pack were sitting, by the entrance to the rock pool. He squatted down alongside Shakul. ‘It is time we had a new leader,’ he said.
Shakul stared at him. ‘Bloodshirt leads.’
‘No. Not any more. This is Shakul’s pack. I want you to trust me, Shak. Tomorrow this battle will be lost, whether you are here or not. The pack has given lives for these men and their war. You have fought well. Tonight I want you to take the pack back through the pass we fought in earlier today. From there you can see the green mountains. There will be deer there. You can hunt. You can run free, Shak. You can truly run free.’
Shakul’s head swayed from side to side. ‘Hungry,’ he said.
‘Hungry,’ muttered some of the others.
‘Hunt deer,’ said Shakul. Pushing himself to his feet he swung to the others. ‘We go!’ he said.
Immediately they rose and padded off.
Stavut stood alone and watched them until they had disappeared over the rim of the road.
‘Not a sentimental bunch, were they?’ said Gilden, moving alongside him. ‘No hugs. No long speeches.’
Stavut shook his head. ‘I watched one of them die tonight. Each of the others placed a finger on the wound and licked it. I asked why. Grava told me in three words. Carry with us.’ The two men stood in silence for a moment.
‘Come on, Stavut,’ said Gilden, ‘let’s find you some armour. You can be a Drenai warrior for a day.’
The moon was bright in a clear sky as Skilgannon rode down the mountainside. The trail was more treacherous here, shifting scree under his gelding’s hooves, so he rode slowly and with care, constantly glancing back to see how Askari was faring. Once on level ground she drew alongside him, and they moved on in silence for a while.
‘You could not have saved them if you stayed,’ she said.
He glanced at her. ‘It would not have been to save them. I brought them to this. My head tells me that I must go to the temple, but my heart feels I am deserting them. Stavut is with them. Are you not concerned about his survival?’
‘Of course I am. He is a sweet man.’
‘A sweet man?’ he echoed. ‘Faint praise for a man you love.’
She did not reply, and the silence grew. ‘Have I offended you?’ he asked at last.
‘Not at all. I was thinking about what you said.’
‘About Stavut?’
‘No, about love. Do you really believe in it, Skilgannon?’
‘What an odd question. It is not about belief.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I am sure.’
‘Do you desire me?’
The question shook him. He drew in a deep breath. ‘Yes,’ he said, at last. ‘You are a beautiful woman.’
‘Is that love?’
‘Of a physical kind. Yes. But that is not only how I loved Jianna.’
‘Ah. Two kinds of love then. Did you love your father?’
‘Deeply.’
‘And that is three. Love seems to be a harlot, flitting from object to object. A word with so many uses ultimately becomes meaningless. I have heard Alahir talk of the love of the homeland, and Stavut speak of his love for the beasts. It is all mystifying.’
‘Yes, it is,’ he agreed, ‘but once true love touches your heart you will understand. It has a power beyond any magic in the world. If I walked into a room in which Jianna was sitting I felt my spirit lift. She was in my thoughts every day for all of my previous life. I would fall asleep thinking of her, and wake thinking of her. The day she died it was as if someone had robbed the world of sunlight.’
‘And you never felt that way about anyone else?’
‘No. There were women I cared for deeply, and others whose company I enjoyed for a time.’
‘Perhaps it was just because she was the first,’ Askari offered.
‘There is. . was. . a belief among the Naashanites that, for every man and woman, there was one great love waiting to be found. Some never found it. Some settled for less. The very lucky would stumble across it. Like finding a diamond in a ditch. Jianna was my diamond. There could never be another.’
‘Yet you can contemplate destroying her, and sending her soul to the horror of the Void?’
‘We all face the horror of the Void,’ he said. ‘And, no, I could not kill her. Any more than I could kill myself. What I am attempting to destroy is the Eternal, and the magic that has brought this world to vileness and ruin.’
‘A magic that brought about my own life — and yours,’ she pointed out.
Drawing rein he turned towards her. In the moonlight her beauty was startling. It robbed him, for the moment, of speech. She edged her mount alongside his own. His throat was dry, and it seemed as if time ceased flowing. All that existed was this one moment. ‘What is it?’ she asked softly.
Tearing his gaze from her he turned his horse. ‘We must move on,’ he said, heeling the chestnut into a run.
Allowing the gelding to have his head Skilgannon tried to clear his thoughts. The pounding of the hooves, the wind in his face, helped him to focus. Ahead lay the crater. Slowing his mount Skilgannon rode to the rim, turned his back, and drew the Sword of Night. Staring into the blade he saw once more the rearing temple mountain, and the great golden shield at its peak. More than this he saw, some distance to his left, shimmering blue lights on the desert floor, marking a path to the doors of the temple.
He touched heels to the gelding and rode round the rim until he reached the start of the path. Then he dismounted. Askari came alongside. He showed her the reflection.
‘How do we know it is a pathway?’ she asked.
‘My guess is that the priests needed a safe way through the crater, in order to bring in supplies. But let us test it.’
From round his neck he lifted clear the golden locket, then, holding the Sword of Night high, he tossed the locket over his shoulder to land between two of the shimmering lights. Then he turned to watch what happened. The locket lay on the ground, unmoving. Skilgannon took a deep breath, then stepped out onto the crater to retrieve it. Moving back to Askari he said: T intend to walk the path. It might be safer if you wait here for me.’
‘I didn’t come this far to hold the reins of your horse. I will come with you.’
He smiled. ‘I guessed you would say that.’ Then it registered that she had not brought her bow with her. Instead she had a scabbarded cavalry sabre looped over her shoulder. ‘The first time I have seen you without the recurve,’ he said.