Crusader. Novel by Sara Douglass

Axis stared at her, then looked back to the drifting lines of Skraelings.

“We need shelter,” he said, “and warmth. A place to rest and eat and sleep.”

The Skraelings grinned happily, and then they began to transform.

Beside Axis, Azhure gasped in recognition, for she was the only one, apart from Faraday, who had

ever seen this process.

The Skraelings uncoiled.

Their legs thickened, and joined to form massive trunks, while their bodies lengthened and

reached for the sky. The Skraelings flung their arms outwards in obvious joy, and they, too, lengthened

and their fingers grew and thickened and spread until, in the space of three or four breaths, the

Skraelings had transformed themselves into trees again — the huge, spreading trees of Minstrelsea

forest.

With one exception. They had retained their wraith’s insubstantiality, their trunks and branches grey

and mist-like, their leaves the silver of the Skraeling eyes.

They were incredibly beautiful.

And, despite their appearance, substantial enough to cut out the wind and the storm completely.

Now Axis could see why they’d staggered themselves in ranks in their long lines down

either side of the column. This way not even a breath of wind could penetrate their leaves

or trunks.

In the abrupt cessation of wind and storm, tarpaulins and blankets slowly unfolded back from carts,

and unfolded from lumps in the snow that Axis now saw were groups of people huddled together for

warmth. People sat up, then slowly climbed down onto the snow-covered ground.

It was still cool, but in the absence of the north wind and the driving ice and snow, the cold had all

but disappeared.

The trees rustled, and there was a murmur of Song.

The remaining snow on the ground was swept up in gentle whirls and eddied out between the tree

trunks of the forest to be swept away in the outside storm.

The ground lay clean and dry.

Axis looked at Azhure, then at Zared, and then back to the sight before him.

It was beautiful beyond description. The trees had formed a protective tunnel over the entire column,

a silvery, shifting avenue of ghost-trees that gently hummed.

There was a sudden new note to the Song of the trees, and with a start Axis heard what it was.

The Bogle Marsh creatures had joined their deep voice to that of the trees, and now the entire

avenue of trees dipped and swayed, reaching out gentle tendrils of silvery leaves in dance to graze

against the cheeks of people and animals alike.

There was a rush of wings, and all the birds who’d escaped into, and then out of, Sanctuary lifted

into the air and sought refuge among the branches of the trees.

Animals emerged carefully from their hiding places, and nosed about the grass and

flowers that appeared among the ridging roots of the trees.

“I cannot believe this loveliness,” Axis said very softly, and felt a tear slip down his cheek.

“Then use it!” Ur whispered behind him. “Use it! My beauties are hungry for a revenge!”

Axis turned, and Ur smiled at him, almost girl-like. Then she lifted her pot and gave it a

small shake, and said: “One more to go.”

And then she was gone before Axis could ask her what she meant.

Axis spent the next few hours traversing the column on the back of Sal (Azhure had been stunned when

he told her how he’d got the horse) making sure that people and beasts alike were settled comfortably.

He could not oversee the entire column — he suspected that it must stretch for many leagues

— but what he saw of the sections he did ride up and down on his patrol relaxed and

comforted him.

Without any apparent effort, or prior planning (or had Urbeth somehow foreseen and

planned this?), the peoples and creatures of Tencendor had managed to arrange themselves into much

the same type of communities that they had in their former lives before the Demons had come.

Here were the inhabitants of the villages of southern Romsdale, complete with their

remaining herds of livestock, grouped about a series of small fires and cooking grain and vegetables.

They smiled and waved at Axis and invited him to join them for a meal, but he refused, saying he had too

much to do.

Further on Axis came across the Nors folk, a shifting,

brightly-scarved mass of them, their musical instruments out, their dancing boys writhing amid tight circles

of admiring and leering adults. Axis grinned, and rode on.

Further on yet were the Ravensbund people, sharing space with the still-humming pile of Bogle

Marsh creatures (Axis wondered if they had somehow formed an association of collective

admiration for their mutually isolated and taciturn ways of life), as well as many of the fey creatures

Faraday had rescued from the Minstrelsea and Avarinheim.

The Avar had split to set up Clan camps within the trees from where they nodded to passers-by, but

otherwise made no attempt to speak or commune with other peoples or with Axis. Above them, many of

the Icarii had taken up residence with the birds in the branches of the trees, talking and laughing and

playing their harps and singing, and floating down in drifts to partake of hot meals at the campfires that

were dotted like bright sparks of hope along the length of the column.

People shifted, walked, traded and laughed up and down the avenue. It was, Axis finally

realised with a jolt, a land entire unto itself, protected by the shimmering, magical, musical

avenue of trees. Family and community groups had reformed, livestock had huddled comfortably back

together in their field companies, and wild creatures had sought isolation and refuge in and

among the trees.

Amid the desolation of the frozen tundra, Tencendor had found hope again.

In the morning, Axis thought, I will shift this entire avenue south, and see how DragonStar can

use us.

His good humour and hope dissipated the moment he rode back to the cart where Azhure and Katie had

set up camp. (Zared had long since ridden back to the spot where the folk of Severin had established

themselves.)

As he slid off Sal’s back, he saw that StarDrifter was talking earnestly, almost angrily, to Azhure and

that her face wore an expression of deep distress.

Axis almost hated StarDrifter at that moment. What had he said to so upset Azhure? Why couldn’t

he just leave well enough alone?

“Azhure?” Axis said, moving to join her where she stood with StarDrifter by a small

campfire.

An iron pot swung gently on its tripod, the delicious smell of stew and dumplings rising up in heady

waves from its interior.

“What’s wrong?” Axis slid an arm about Azhure’s shoulders, and shot StarDrifter a hard look.

“It’s Wolf Star,” Azhure said, and Axis forgot all his animosity towards StarDrifter in a

well-remembered surge of ill-feeling towards the ever-cursed WolfStar.

Dammit, he’d forgotten him in the fear and haste of abandoning Sanctuary! Axis had left

WolfStar in the care of the Lake Guard, but where was he now? Damned birdman! Left to his own

devices for more than an hour and he could ruin the future of an entire realm without even

breaking into a sweat!

“Where is he? “he asked.

“About half a league back,” StarDrifter said, and Axis thought he must have turned Sal’s

head around to come back to the head of the column just before he would have reached

WolfStar.

“And?” Axis said.

StarDrifter took a deep, distressed breath. His eyes suddenly, horrifyingly, filled with tears, and he

looked at Azhure, unable to speak any more.

Azhure briefly closed her own eyes, summoning the courage to speak. How much of this was

her own fault? If only she’d taken more care, more damned time with her children!

“Azhure?” Axis said, his voice tight, angry and fearful.

“WolfStar has got Zenith,” Azhure said.

“What?” Axis exploded. “He’s stolen her again?”

“What damn right have you got to say that?” StarDrifter shouted, stunning Axis into a shocked

silence. “What damn fucking right? You abandoned Zenith when she needed you most —

curse you\ You encouraged WolfStar to pursue her, and to aid Niah in her frightful conquest of Zenith’s

body and soul. How dare you now stand there and pretend an indignation that WolfStar has her

again?”

There was silence.

Axis glanced at Azhure, then looked down to the ground, studying the shine on his boots with a

deep intensity.

Feelings of anger, resentment and horrifying guilt flowed through him. Anger at WolfStar, resentment

at StarDrifter for putting the truth so baldly, and such deep guilt at how he’d treated Zenith that

Axis thought he could hardly bear it.

Eventually he raised his eyes and looked steadily at StarDrifter.

“Tell me,” he said quietly.

StarDrifter took a deep breath, steadying his own emotions. “I fought so hard for Zenith,” he said.

“Fought for her and loved her when no-one except Faraday would do the same for her. Faraday and I