Part 22 (2/2)

'Tell him what the dragons will do, when they are free,' said Far Gaze.

'Slaughter us,' said Blain, with what almost seemed to be relish. 'They may wish to stop the Pendulum from reaching its final swing, when the two great Dragon-G.o.ds themselves awaken, arise, and meet at World's End. If that battle goes as past ones have, it will be a stalemate. Or perhaps this time, one or the other will win. Through countless ages they have battled this way. Each time it happens, it reshapes and reorders the world. The time, it seems, has come again. Unless we can stop it, it will leave a pretty handful of scales for Levaal's next inheritors to use for barter! As for us, we will not survive.'

The silver ball had grown twice as big as a basketball now, and was swinging from one side of the map to the other. 'You heard Stranger,' said Far Gaze quietly. 'The dragon-youth will kill all but a handful of us. That's if we are very lucky, and if they mean it when they say that some of us will be Favoured.'

The silver ball became huge, pa.s.sed once more over World's End, and swung for Eric's head. He ducked under it, then it burst into a thousand gleaming slivers, which scattered across the floor and vanished.

'Why me, for Christ's sake?' Eric said under his breath.

SWING.

1.

The men across First Captain Tauvene's line could hear the escaped stoneflesh giant long after they could no longer see it through the veil's murky curtain. Then its thundering footsteps ceased and for a while all was quiet.

Not far from nightfall something provoked the great creature. Its feet smashed down again but much harder than before, as though it struck blows at the foreign turf. The noise was like mountains collapsing, yet the ground on their side of the boundary did not s.h.i.+ver.

'Hold!' came the order, shouted down the line. Some had shuffled nervously forward of their positions.

They could hear it happen: beneath the stoneflesh giant's feet the ground in Levaal South split. A great creva.s.se opened up, and hundreds of underground caverns were shaken. The men did not know this: that places which had for a long time been sealed off were now cracked open.

There was a hissing sound as poison filled the air and was pushed by some force across the barrier like an enormous red cloud.

2.

'So, Blain, what do you counsel?' said Far Gaze. He looked out the window. There was the sound of distant rumbling like thunder in the south.

Blain hobbled away from the map and leaned heavily on his walking stick. 'Have you considered that perhaps I came for counsel from you?'

'Yes, I have,' said Far Gaze, still staring through the window. 'A curious notion. You'll more likely have to be tortured till we know every secret you can tell us.'

'Then I am no worse off,' Blain said, shrugging. 'I do not fear pain. I enjoy it.'

'I suspect you'll be indulged. It is not my decision.'

Blain shrugged. 'My counsel, for what it's worth. We have no hope but in what lies beyond World's End. And hope lies there only because we know not what is there! As for this realm, we should slay Avridis, the Arch Mage. Vous you must leave for the G.o.ds. He will probably soon be among them. Stay out of his way, be glad you are far from him. But you must destroy his creator.'

Far Gaze turned to him. 'And leave free a path for you to claim the seat of power the Arch will have been forced from. With our help.'

Blain seemed to shudder with anger. 'Yes! Are you dense? It is a game! A serious game, but a game! I give up my freedom to you. A gambit, a risk. I do it to use you, and accept I shall be used in turn. Of course! That shall play out in time. For now our interests align. If we have a future, our interests may again conflict! But you will know more of me on that day, and shall be better armed to fight me. You I already know! So yours is the better bargain.'

'But you don't know of Shadow,' said Far Gaze with a smile. 'And that is what you have come to learn, under the guise of friends.h.i.+p. You are too used to dealing with mind-controlled people, Blain, and boot-lickers. Hand over your robe.'

Blain looked shocked. 'No!'

'You said you were our captive,' Eric said. 'You have a strange idea of what that means.'

'Your robe,' Far Gaze repeated. 'I fought against the same dragon you sensed in the woods. Over days and days, I fought it. I am familiar with many tricks and illusions. You escaped Stranger but you won't escape me.'

'You did not defeat that dragon,' said Blain with a mocking bark of laughter.

'He survived the fight,' said Eric.

'Not deemed a threat? Bah! We are being foolish.' Blain waved a hand irritably as if the entire situation could be in this way dismissed. 'I need to send word out to Tauvene.'

'To whom?'

'A First Captain I stole. He's at World's End. If a stoneflesh has crossed, we should move the men away from there, and fast. I'll leave, but I'll return.'

'You'll go nowhere,' said Far Gaze, rus.h.i.+ng to block the steps which Blain had moved toward. 'Give me that robe.'

Blain paused, the hand on his walking stick white from his grip, his whole body shaking with anger. 'I do not surrender this robe,' he growled. 'I should have waited for the Mayor. Not dealt with a dimwitted soup-making dog.' Blain shook so violently that cracks and splits appeared in his body as though it were made of plaster. The room was plunged into darkness. Eric saw thick streams of magic thread quickly down the steps, folding themselves around Blain like many long dark wings. His body fell apart and lay in cracked pieces.

A swirling white mist filled the room, spun in a circle around it. A great bird flew slowly through it with Blain's ancient angry face atop its neck. A dog with Blain's head upon it ran by so slowly it seemed to float. All manner of creatures appeared, all wearing Blain's bearded face, forming a strange parade while his humourless mocking laugh echoed and rustled from many sources.

'Have you seen illusions like this?' something with Blain's head and black bat wings asked Far Gaze. 'Did your dragon do this?' said something akin to a deer. Dozens of creatures flew, trotted, pranced in a wide circle, all at the same turgid pace. Blain's bitter laugh clattered on and on in the background. Beams of light flashed through the white mist, like the colours from the Strategist's robe.

Far Gaze crouched low by the window, staring hard through the mist. He sprang forward, driving his fist into the neck of a four-legged creature with a cream-coloured hide. Its flesh shattered like gla.s.s.

'Answer me, you idiot shape-s.h.i.+fter!' said the thing's half-broken head on the floor. 'Did your dragon do these tricks for you?'

3.

'Hold!' cried an officer, perhaps the First Captain himself.

The men held, talking among themselves about the strange foulness which had filled the air. It was late, they had eaten and were supposed to be enjoying tales among themselves, or stealing a few hours' sleep. The sky behind them was red, redder than normal.

There was a hissing sound. A strange light bloomed. Then a cloud fell on them, blotting out sight and sound.

For a time there was silence along the line, broken by coughing, then the air filled with screams.

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