Firestorm Read online

  ‘Quickly,’ Irilin said, her voice breaking. ‘He wouldn’t have felt it, wouldn’t have suffered. The wraiths stole Solar energy from Shika, Kait and Nediah and used it against us. When it hit him, he just disappeared. We couldn’t … we couldn’t even bury him.’

  A tear rolled down Irilin’s cheek and Brégenne put an arm around her.

  ‘And Kyndra,’ Gareth said with a frown. ‘These wraiths were too strong for her?’

  ‘Not exactly.’ Irilin stepped out of Brégenne’s hug. ‘She defeated them in the end. But she was frightened. Frightened of using her power. When Shika – well, she was so angry. She fought them and we escaped. The rest of us would have died if not for her.’

  ‘I see.’ Gareth’s gaunt face showed not a whisker of emotion. Then ‘Shika’s scarf,’ he said, looking at the silken wrap Irilin wore about her neck.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, touching it. ‘Would you like it?’

  Wordlessly, Gareth held out a gauntleted hand and Irilin passed him the scarf. He wound the mauve silk around his forearm, knotting it just below his elbow. No one spoke. When he looked up, the dark creature in his eyes had submerged itself once more.

  Someone had to break the tension, so Hagdon stepped forward. ‘James Hagdon.’ He raised a hand, but turned the movement into adjusting his cloak. He had no wish to touch those gauntlets. But it seemed Gareth could read his thoughts, for he said, ‘They won’t harm you, not so long as I wear them.’

  ‘I’m glad we’re on the same side, then.’

  ‘Indeed,’ Gareth replied. After a moment he added, ‘You’re the Sartyan general.’

  Hagdon did not like his tone. ‘Was,’ he corrected.

  ‘Ah yes, I remember. You lead this Republic now.’

  ‘Such is my lot,’ Hagdon said, forcing on a smile like a too-tight tunic. Who could muster anything as human as a smile when confronted with that chill visage? ‘These are my adjutants, Avery and Hu. And this is Lieutenant Mercia of the Sartyan Fist.’

  Mercia seemed to be the only one of them not cowed by Gareth’s presence. When she gave him a brisk nod, some of the coldness left his face.

  ‘An eclectic crew,’ he said. ‘What do you intend to do with them?’

  ‘Defeat the Fist, dissolve the empire and restore sovereign rule to Acre’s territories,’ Hagdon said. ‘Nothing much.’

  To his surprise, Gareth barked a laugh. ‘You don’t think small, General.’

  ‘Just Hagdon, please. I’m done with the army.’

  Gareth tilted his head, fixing him with a stare that went all the way to Hagdon’s bones. ‘Once a general, always a general. We cannot escape our fates.’

  The pronouncement sparked defiance. ‘I mean to make my own fate,’ Hagdon said, as much to himself as to Gareth.

  Irilin was staring at him, her pale eyes large on his face. This time he did not look away. She did, flushing slightly. ‘Will you come with us, Gareth?’

  ‘What are you planning?’

  ‘We’re going to free the aberrations in Parakat and persuade them to join our cause.’

  She made it sound so simple, Hagdon thought ruefully. He’d only visited Parakat once, but the sheer size of it, grim walls rimed with ice, had haunted him ever since. He couldn’t forget the feeble cries of those who lacked the strength to work, who couldn’t protect themselves from the whip that flogged them into unconsciousness; parents watching their children fade before their eyes; the bodies thrown into the chasm on whose lip Parakat perched. Hagdon had seen it all and had turned away.

  There was a horror in him at the thought of going back.

  ‘I cannot,’ Gareth said, breaking Hagdon’s grim trance. ‘I promised my mother I would return.’

  ‘Oh,’ Irilin said in a small voice. ‘We could have used your help.’

  Hagdon wasn’t so sure. He had a vision of Gareth standing above the chasm, calling up the shattered bodies of the dead, who would climb the sheer walls like pallid spiders, returning to a world that had brought them nothing but misery. He shuddered.

  ‘I’m sorry, Iri,’ Gareth said, suddenly sounding much more human. ‘But I must fulfil my duty to my homeland.’

  ‘This could work in our favour,’ Brégenne said. The wind had teased out a few strands from her plait, blowing them across her face. She brushed them back with a careless, impatient hand and looked at Hagdon. ‘You believe Iresonté plans to invade Rairam?’

  He nodded. ‘We already know she doesn’t take the Republic seriously, and in its current state, she’s right – we present little threat. You say Rairam has no standing army to defend it except the Wielders of Naris. She’ll take your country with absurd ease and return to consolidate her hold on the Heartland.’ He paused. ‘She must be stopped.’

  ‘Who is this woman?’ Gareth asked.

  The captain of the stealth force,’ Hagdon said darkly. ‘The one to whom I owe my current circumstances.’

  ‘You say she has control of the army.’

  ‘Yes, the greater part. However, my comrade believes there are pockets of soldiers loyal to me if only we could reach them.’

  ‘And ambertrix?’ Gareth asked. ‘Has she access to artillery? Those machines could be Rairam’s undoing. We have nothing of comparative power.’

  He spoke of it with a familiarity he couldn’t possibly possess. Hagdon frowned. The question was one he himself might ask; he wouldn’t expect to hear it from a friend of Irilin’s. He glanced at the young woman only to see his consternation mirrored on her face.

  He’d let the silence grow too long. ‘Very possible. She certainly has a stock of ambertrix cloaks when we’d long thought our supply exhausted.’

  ‘My mother will fight,’ Gareth said after a moment. ‘She leads the North.’

  ‘How many does she command?’

  ‘We can call on five thousand,’ Kul’Das said. ‘Fewer, if they’ve lost more to the wyverns.’

  Hagdon tried to hide his dismay. Iresonté had at least thirty thousand under her direct command and more would answer her call to battle, especially against Sartya’s ancient bane, Rairam. ‘How many Wielders?’ he asked Brégenne.

  ‘One hundred masters, just over a hundred novices,’ she said. ‘We lost many in the Nerian uprising.’ She shot a dagger-filled glance at Kait, who returned it with contempt. Perhaps the doubt showed on Hagdon’s face, for Brégenne added, ‘Don’t underestimate us, Commander. We may have little experience of battle, but we are not without ability. Many of us have trained for years.’

  ‘I will return with Kul’Das,’ Gareth said, ‘and coordinate Rairam’s defence.’

  The frown Irilin had worn since the start of the conversation became sceptical. She crossed her arms. ‘And what do you know about “coordinating Rairam’s defence?” About commanding an army? You’ve never commanded anything in your life.’

  ‘Haven’t I?’ They eyed each other for several seconds before Gareth broke the contact. His smile was sheepish. ‘I suppose you’re right. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.’

  Irilin’s frown eased a little, but did not go away. Perhaps that smile hadn’t fooled her, Hagdon thought.

  ‘And what about the Wielders?’ Mercia said. The lieutenant had stripped off her gloves and tucked them behind her belt. Now she was laboriously cracking each finger joint. ‘What are their plans?’

  ‘I hadn’t thought further than helping Gareth find the other gauntlet,’ Brégenne admitted. She glanced at Nediah, he glanced at her and both looked quickly away.

  ‘These aberrations are being held against their will,’ Kait murmured. Her face seemed webbed with memory. It was strange to Hagdon, who hadn’t seen her show much emotion apart from anger. ‘I lived in the dark long enough to understand its terror.’ She nodded at him. ‘I will join you.’

  Brégenne bit her lip. ‘I should return to Naris,’ she said, seeming less than happy about it. ‘I’ll be needed there.’

  Nediah opened his mouth to speak but Gareth beat him to it. ‘They�
��ll arrest you,’ he said. ‘The moment you walk through the gates. The Wielders must have reported back by now – the other Council members will know we fought them and what happened.’ He gestured with Hond’Myrkr, the hint of a dark smile on his lips. Hagdon wondered whether he even knew it was there.

  ‘Come with us, Brégenne,’ Irilin said, oblivious to the glare Kait gave her. ‘We could use your help.’

  ‘You shouldn’t be going at all,’ Brégenne replied. ‘It’ll be dangerous.’

  ‘You think I don’t know that?’ the young woman flared. ‘I’ve been in danger ever since I walked into Acre at Kyndra’s side. Now I’m here, I intend to do some good, not go running back to Naris to wait for Iresonté.’ She looked at Hagdon as she said it and he felt a flutter in his belly that both worried him and made his palms sweat.

  ‘Brégenne is right,’ he heard himself say. ‘It will be dangerous. We do not have the numbers to storm the fortress, which means we’ll have to bluff our way inside. Success depends entirely on how long we can remain undetected.’ The memory of the bolt hurling Irilin to the ground was fresh in his mind. ‘They’ll have ambertrix weapons, like those we encountered in the Deadwood.’

  ‘I’m not afraid,’ Irilin said predictably.

  Brégenne sighed. ‘My skills are yours. Besides, if these aberrations can be saved, they can be trained.’ She shot an accusatory look at Kait. ‘Naris needs new Wielders.’

  ‘And you think you’re the one to recruit them?’ With some alarm, Hagdon saw a faint golden glow surround Kait. She stood with fists clenched. ‘Maybe the Council will take you back if you bring enough? You haven’t changed a bit.’

  ‘Neither have you, it seems,’ Brégenne said coldly. ‘It’s your fault Naris is weakened. How many did the Nerian kill in the Long Night? How many did you kill, Kait? People who’d never wronged you –’

  ‘Never wronged me?’ Kait trembled. ‘You think the Nerian lived in the Deep because they liked it? The Council and its faithful brought this on themselves. They didn’t have to imprison us, to subjugate us. I still bear the marks of their cruelty.’ Ignoring her audience, Kait pulled aside the collar of her shirt and Hagdon saw the tail of a scar on her shoulder, disappearing down her back. He could guess what had left it; he’d ordered the same punishment a dozen times.

  ‘That’s enough,’ Nediah said sharply. ‘We already have enemies without creating enemies of each other.’ Despite the dark glances he gave both women, his hands were gentle when they tugged Kait’s shirt back into place. Brégenne watched every movement, her cheeks flushed. Kait’s golden aura faded; she smiled at Brégenne over Nediah’s shoulder.

  ‘Gareth,’ Brégenne said, turning away, ‘send an envoi to Argat. You’ll travel much more swiftly by airship. You know how to send an envoi?’ She looked him over. ‘Can you use the Solar now?’

  Gareth conjured a fistful of golden fire in answer. ‘It’s a relief to have it back. And yes, I think so. I watched you do it enough times to get an idea.’

  ‘We can travel together a little ways,’ Hagdon said. ‘It’ll give us a chance to finalize plans. Then the road splits, north to the mountains, east to Causca and Rairam.’

  Nods were exchanged in the awkward silence left by Brégenne and Kait’s argument. ‘We’re moving out,’ Hagdon called, his voice echoing unpleasantly between the barrows. ‘We head north.’

  The others swung into their saddles without delay, all keen to put the necropolis behind them. Forced to adjust his stirrup, Hagdon was the last to mount, so he thought he was the only one to see the ecstatic smile that spread across Gareth’s features as they left Ben-haugr behind.

  15

  Kyndra

  She climbs the tower. Stairs wind round and round; every turn promises to be the last. Her heart pounds, as it used to do when she was just Kyndra. As it used to do when Jarand set her a test, or when Jhren took her hand in his once as they were walking back to town, or when she stood in line, waiting for the Relic to show her the future.

  She smiles now, at the memory of it breaking. That little bowl knew more than any of them could have comprehended. She’d destroyed it with a paradox. Darkness floods in at the thought; the crystal walls become onyx. She cannot see her feet. She cannot see at all. But she climbs, knowing who awaits her at the top. Knowing she will have to fight him, knowing she will have to win. Or the world will be lost.

  Kyndra opened her eyes. For a moment, the black dream lingered on in shadows at the corners of her vision. Then it dissipated, a cloud revealing sun, and she saw dawn. It came in through the high, cold windows of the chamber in Magtharda. Char’s mother was watching her, great violet eyes unblinking. Kyndra sat up, somewhat unsettled, and the dragon drew back. They were alone. The room was large enough for several full-grown Lleu-yelin, cunningly heated by ambertrix channels hidden under the floor. Kyndra was grateful for their warmth. Mountain wind wailed beyond the door; now and again, chill draughts found their way inside. Whenever they did, Ekaar’s scales shivered disagreeably.

  ‘You dream,’ the dragon said.

  ‘How long have you been watching me?’

  ‘Long enough, Starborn. Do not ignore them.’

  Kyndra rubbed her eyes, blinked the sleep away. ‘The dreams?’

  ‘They are sendings,’ Ekaar said.

  ‘From whom?’

  ‘The self.’ She refolded her wings. ‘Surely you know this.’

  The wind rose up to fill the short silence; cold air gusted under the door and Ekaar shifted position, putting the chamber’s central pillar between her and the wind. ‘Winter is here.’

  ‘Not a good time to start a war,’ Kyndra murmured. ‘Let’s hope Iresonté waits until spring.’ She glanced at her hand to find the curse had worsened overnight. In the chamber’s ambertrix glow, her flesh seemed to shrivel before her eyes. ‘I don’t have that luxury.’

  ‘There is nothing to be done?’

  ‘Nothing except kill the eldest before his curse kills me.’

  ‘It is easy to forget that Starborn are not invulnerable,’ Ekaar said, regarding her closely.

  ‘Everyone has a weakness,’ Kyndra replied. ‘I am the first to admit mine.’

  There was approval in Ekaar’s nod. ‘I can see why my son chose to travel in your company.’

  ‘He didn’t have much choice,’ Kyndra said, blinking at the abrupt change in subject. ‘Khronosta hunted him. He couldn’t evade the du-alakat on his own.’

  ‘Just as you cannot hope to win this war on your own.’

  Kyndra frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘What I say.’ Ekaar curled her spiked tail around her legs, looking like an alarmingly large cat. Her violet eyes narrowed on Kyndra’s face. ‘You have gathered allies, Starborn. Do not ignore them. Do not believe you must make your stand alone.’

  ‘I don’t,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t have come here otherwise. I wouldn’t have sought to free you.’

  Ekaar tilted her scaled head. ‘Your tame Khronostian needed our prison’s power to challenge the eldest, true?’

  Kyndra stood. The blankets she’d slept in tangled around her feet and she kicked them impatiently aside. ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘I spoke with my son.’

  Damn it, Char. ‘I didn’t realize he’d told you,’ Kyndra said, hoping to sound as if it hadn’t come as a surprise. ‘Yes. Ma’s powerful, but she’s alone. I won’t pretend freeing you was our sole reason in coming here.’ She folded her arms. ‘And weren’t we talking about allies?’

  ‘We were.’ Ekaar rose up too, an action that was far more impressive than Kyndra’s. Her spiked mane was as ash-grey as her son’s. ‘You did not come here to find allies, Starborn. You came for the power in the prison. You, specifically.’

  ‘Only Ma can use that power.’

  ‘But where you go, she cannot follow. She must stay to maintain whatever portal she opens. And that is how you want it.’

  Before Kyndra could answer, a stronger gust of wind
signalled newcomers. The doors swung wide. Beyond them, Kyndra saw an iron sky, clouds hammered flat.

  ‘Didn’t I say you’d find her here?’ Arvaka said as he entered with Char. ‘Mithering the Starborn.’

  ‘You did.’ Kyndra thought she detected a certain nervousness in the way Char swung his head to eye the two of them.

  ‘Arvaka,’ Ekaar growled, ‘were you born on a glacier? Shut that door.’

  ‘Not yet,’ Char said. ‘The old Wielder’s just arrived.’ Sesh’s mate had agreed to collect Shune two days ago.

  Kyndra gave a sigh of relief. ‘Good. Let’s go greet him.’

  Realdon Shune looked to be in a very poor mood. ‘Starborn,’ he called over the raw wail of the wind, knuckling his back with gnarled hands, ‘I’m an old man. Tell me why I agreed to this.’

  Kyndra raised an eyebrow. ‘To save the world?’

  ‘Oh.’ Shune’s expression soured further. ‘That.’ He hobbled out of the blue dragon’s shadow, raising an arm against the wind. ‘Magtharda. I’d forgotten how impressive it is.’

  Ekaar regarded him approvingly. ‘The elder has manners.’ She nodded her head at Kyndra and Ma, who’d just joined them. ‘I did not hear such courtesy from you.’

  ‘We freed you from the mandala,’ Kyndra said. ‘I should think that shows courtesy enough.’

  ‘Do you wish me to freeze to death?’ Realdon Shune snapped. ‘I thought you’d brought me here to help you.’

  ‘This way.’ Kyndra led them across the courtyard and through the huge doors of the chamber they’d made their quarters.

  ‘Ah, the famous heated floor.’ Shune settled on a pile of cushions, leaned forward and pressed both veined hands against the stone with a sigh. ‘Got anything to drink?’

  Kyndra handed him a flask. The old Wielder sipped it and made a face. ‘Water? I’m old, not infirm.’

  Arvaka moved to one corner, poured a viscous liquid from a pot. ‘You might want to dilute it,’ he suggested, passing it to Shune. ‘It’s not made for humans.’