Gemmell, David – Dark Moon

She moved alongside him and sat down beside the fire. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said gently. ‘I have never heard of anything like this. But I do know that the man who met me was not you. And when I kissed him he was holding a dagger.’ Taking his face in her hands, she looked into his deep blue eyes. ‘And his eyes were grey,’ she said, ‘and fierce.’ Her hands fell away, and she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

‘I am not insane,’ he repeated, ‘but the next morning Dace said goodbye to me – and I can no longer find him. I call, but he is not there.’

‘And that frightens you?’

He nodded. ‘Dace could fight his way clear of any danger. He feared nothing in combat. But I do. And I do not want to die – not now I have found you again.’

‘We are going to die,’ she said. ‘Perhaps not today or tomorrow – but sometime in the future we will cease to be. It cannot be avoided, no matter how far or how fast

we run. I do love you, Chio, but I do not know you very well. So I may be wrong in what I am about to say, but I will say it nonetheless: you will come to hate yourself if you run now. I believe this to be true.’

‘You want to stay here? And face the Daroth?’

‘No, I want to run too. Yet I will stay. I will stare my fears in the face, as I have always done – not over my shoulder as I flee.’

‘I don’t know what to do,’ he said miserably.

‘Look into your heart, Chio. How did it feel to have your friend look at you with contempt? How do you feel about yourself?’

‘Lessened,’ he said simply.

‘Then go to the meeting. Take back your sword. No-one can take away your pride; you have to willingly surrender it. Once you do so, you will never be the same man again.’

‘I don’t know if I’ll be much use to them without Dace.’

‘Perhaps you are Dace. Perhaps he is merely another manifestation of you. Even if he is not, you are still a man of courage. I know this, for I could never love a coward.’

He smiled then, and she saw his expression lighten. ‘You are a wonder,’ he said.

‘Indeed I am,’ she told him. ‘And if Dace returns, tell him I love him too.’

The Meeting Hall was filled with officers and men. The Duke, dressed in a tunic and leggings of black silk, sat at the head of the table, with Karis to his right. The white wall behind him had been stripped of paintings, and Ozhobar had sketched out a map of the catacombs on the bare plaster.

The Duke rose. ‘This will be the final battle,’ he told his grim-faced audience. ‘Below the ground, underneath the city, you will face a terrible enemy. Karis will explain the strategy to you. It will not be easy to carry out the orders – which is why every man here has been hand-picked. You are the most courageous fighters we have, and I am proud to stand in this room with you.’

With that he sat down, and Karis pushed back her chair and moved to the wall. Using a slender rapier, she pointed to the map. ‘This area is where we expect the Daroth to break through. Already we can hear them. Lanterns have been placed around the catacombs, so that you will be able to see your targets. The object is to hit the enemy hard, then fall back to our second line of defence, which will be here,’ she said, pointing to an area where the tunnels branched and narrowed.

‘Excuse me, General,’ said an older officer, a tall man sporting a curling moustache but no beard, ‘but I know the catacombs. Wouldn’t it be wiser to fortify the main tunnel? You have us retreating along a branch section.’

‘That is a good point,’ she admitted, ‘but the main tunnel branches further back, then splits into a honeycomb of passages. We could lose a great many men there.’ He made to speak again, but Karis raised her hand. ‘Do not question me further, sir; you are overlooking the menace of the Daroth talent for reading minds. I don’t know how strongly they will be able to penetrate our plans once the killing begins. But I do not want us – here and now – to examine all the possibilities for defence or counter-attacks. What is vital is that you all listen, and obey your orders to the best of your abilities. The fate of the city will depend on you.’

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