One of the warriors shook his head. ‘There are bands of farmers and villagers roaming around beyond Grive and the Dyke, but no sign of any army yet. They will spend a while longer licking the wounds we gave them at Grive.’
‘Only until another few thousand Kilkry horsemen turn up,’ muttered Wain. ‘Then what? We can’t fight them with Tarbains and woodwights.’
She cast an angry glance at the Tarbain chieftain at the end of the table. He grinned back at her and said nothing. There were many gaps amidst his teeth.
‘We don’t know yet how long it will be before help comes to us from the north,’ Kanin said. ‘Tanwrye has not fallen, and will not do so for days—perhaps weeks—yet. It can’t be taken by storm, unless Ragnor oc Gyre changes his mind and sends his whole army to do the deed. The besiegers may be able to spare us a few hundred spears but it will be no more than that, for the time being at least.’
He turned to a small, slender man who sat beside Shraeve.
‘Cannek, what do you know of the castle’s strength?’
The man looked up. He wore nondescript clothing of hide and soft leather; his face was plain, without distinguishing features. Someone passing him in the street might do so without noticing him, but for the long, sheathed knives that were strapped to each forearm. He was the leader of the dozen Hunt Inkallim who had accompanied the army. The Hunt had its own methods for gathering information, and though Kanin had no wish to know what they were, he was happy to derive whatever benefit he could.
‘Well, we cannot be certain, of course,’ Cannek said with a faint, disarming smile. ‘We have questioned many of the city’s inhabitants, but really they are poor material for us to work with. The common folk, you know, rarely pay enough attention to important matters such as food supplies and garrison strengths.’
Kanin nodded with as much patience as he could muster. The Hunt was the least of the three Inkalls that together made up the Children of the Hundred—both Lore and Battle came before it in numbers and seniority—but it had gathered perhaps the darkest tales of all around it. Whatever Cannek might imply, he would not be relying solely on rumours extracted from prisoners. The Hunt had dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ordinary people in their pay throughout the Bloods of the Black Road and, if rumour was to believed, even amongst the so-called True Bloods. If anyone at this gathering would know what lay behind the obstinate walls of Castle Anduran, it would be Cannek.
The Inkallim flicked a stray hair from the back of his hand.
‘They are short of food, though,’ he said. ‘Of that we can be fairly sure. As to numbers, it’s a matter for guesswork in the main. Few warriors, we think. But how many men were taken in through the gate in those last hours before it closed? Can’t say.’
Kanin frowned, but quickly forced his face to relax. It would not be wise to show displeasure. Falling out with the Hunt Inkall could only create difficulties. Still, he suspected Cannek could be more forthcoming if he wished.
‘Perhaps you should execute that Lannis girl under the walls, as you threatened,’ mused Cannek.
‘That’ll achieve nothing,’ Kanin said. ‘She’s more useful alive, for the time being. Since he was not taken at Kolglas’—he glanced at Shraeve, who ignored him—‘we may yet find ourselves dealing with her brother before long. She might have value as a bargaining piece then.’
The slight sound of a chair leg scraping on stone from some little way behind him drew Kanin’s attention. Aeglyss was leaning forward in his chair, as if straining to close the gap between himself and the rest of them. He should have refused Wain’s suggestion that the halfbreed attend, but she had been so calmly persuasive he had given in. She persisted in her belief that he might prove to be of some further use, and Kanin had no stronger argument than his dislike of the man to set against that belief.
‘It matters little whether there are fifty or five hundred swords to defend the castle walls,’ Wain said. ‘We have been in the hands of fate since the day we marched out from Hakkan. Why turn aside now? Whether we succeed or fail we will have lived out the tales told by the Hooded God willingly and with courage.’
She is always so certain, Kanin thought. Always the first to test fate. If all of us could surrender ourselves so willingly to the Road our armies would be an unstoppable flood sweeping away Kilkry, Haig, even the Kingships in the south. If all of us had been as steadfast as Wain, perhaps the Kall would have come years ago.
‘There is someone here.’
The words were so unexpected, so disconnected, that at first no one was certain where they had come from. Then, one by one, everyone turned their eyes to Aeglyss. The na’kyrim was sitting erect in his chair, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. He cocked his head to one side as if trying to catch the faintest of whispers. He looked up to the roof beams, around to the furthest corners of the hall.
‘An uninvited guest,’ he murmured.
‘What are you talking about?’ demanded Kanin.
‘Hush,’ said Aeglyss.
The Bloodheir’s eyes widened and he surged to his feet.
‘Do not presume...’ he started, but fell silent as the na’kyrim suddenly grimaced and staggered upright himself. A ripple of disquiet ran through the hall. Aeglyss took a couple of steps towards the doorway, his right hand clasped to his temple.
‘Looking for me...’ he said to himself. It was clear he was barely aware of the presence of Kanin and the others. He halted and suddenly looked at the dais at the end of the hall. He laughed, though it sounded strained. ‘How clever, whoever you are. Like smoke ... a woman, if I see you right.’
Following the line of the na’kyrim ‘s gaze, Kanin saw nothing. The dais was empty, occupied by nothing but dust and the fallen decorations of Winterbirth. Igris had risen from his seat and stepped forwards. The shieldman looked questioningly at the Bloodheir.
‘That is an admirable skill,’ said Aeglyss as he took a step closer to the dais. ‘I would dearly love to know the trick of it, my lady, if we meet some time. But not now, I think. No, whoever you are, I’ll not have you looking over my shoulder.’
His hands twitched at his side as if they wanted to reach for whatever he thought he saw on the dais. His shoulders went taut and his jaw locked in concentration and effort.
‘Begone,’ he spat through gritted teeth. ‘Begone.’
‘He has lost his mind,’ Igris whispered in Kanin’s ear. ‘Let me kill him.’
Kanin hesitated, minded to grant his shieldman’s request but held by a kind of morbid fascination. Before he could speak, Aeglyss gave a sudden cry and slumped to the ground. He lay motionless. There was blood on his face: he had bitten through his lower lip.
Many miles away, amidst ancient ruins high in the snowbound peaks of the Car Criagar, there was the piercing sound of a woman crying out in pain. It lasted for just a second or two and then died, falling away beneath the wind that surged around the mountains.
In the hall in Anduran, Kanin stared at the unconscious form on the floor.
‘Extraordinary,’ murmured Cannek.
Kanin blinked.
‘Take him away,’ he said to the nearest of his captains. ‘Give him back to his woodwight friends, or leave him in some hovel. I don’t care.’
As Aeglyss was dragged out Kanin resumed his seat.
‘As my sister was saying . . .’ he began.
‘I believe the castle can be taken,’ Shraeve said quietly.
Kanin looked at her in surprise. She had not spoken since they first entered the hall. He had not expected her to take any great interest in proceedings.
‘It may cost you most of what strength you have left, but then if you fail you will have no need of strength,’ the Inkallim said. ‘And if you succeed . . . well, who knows what may happen after?’
‘We are of one mind,’ said Wain. Kanin glanced at her and saw how chill was the look she fixed upon Shraeve. The two women did not like one another, Kanin knew. Too much alike to rest easily in each other’s company, perhaps. But they were alike in determination, in implacability. If both of them were going to argue for the storming of the castle, Kanin already knew the outcome of this council.