As the sound of pounding boots came from the tunnel
mouth, Tarantio swore and stumbled further back into the darkness. There were no lanterns here, and only the shimmering glow from his sword offered any light. He felt a touch of cool air brush his cheek. It came from above, but his left arm was useless and there was no way he could climb to the opening. The tunnel itself petered out into a black wall of rock. Two Daroth spear-men came into sight. The first lunged at Tarantio, whose sword swept across his body – slicing through the shaft – then reversed and tore open the Daroth’s throat. The second spear slammed through his side and deep into the rock behind. Cutting through the shaft he flung the blade like a knife. It slammed point first into the Daroth’s ridged brow, sinking in all the way up to the hilt. Tarantio tried to move forward to retrieve the blade, then cried out in agony, for he was pinned to the wall.
He could hear the stealthy footfalls of more Daroth approaching. His heart sank and he ceased to struggle. If that was death, so be it, he thought.
‘A pox on you, brother! I’m not ready to die yet!’
Dace hurled himself forward, his wounded body sliding clear of the broken spear-shaft. He hit the ground hard, the impact jarring his broken collar-bone. Reaching out, he grasped the hilt of his sword and then struggled to his feet.
Four Daroth swordsmen rounded the bend in the tunnel and, with a bloodcurdling scream, Dace charged them -his sword slicing through the chest of the first, the skull of the second and the ribs of the third. The fourth stumbled; Dace leapt upon him, using his sword like a dagger which he drove down through the neck and into the lungs.
Dace fell with him, then staggered upright. ‘Where are you, you bastards?’ he screamed. ‘I’ll kill you all!’
‘Dace, for the sake of Heaven, let’s find a way out of here!’ cried Tarantio.
But Dace ignored him. He took three running steps, then pitched sideways into the wall and half-fell. Blood-drenched and swaying, he made it back to the main tunnel and saw the bodies of a score of Daroth and as many Corduin men. Picking his way through them he heard the sounds of battle up ahead.
‘I’m coming for you!’ shouted Dace, his voice echoing through the tunnels. He stumbled on, then fell to his knees.
‘Stop, Dace,’ Tarantio urged him. ‘Stop now. We are dying.’
Dace sat with his back to the wall and gazed down at his blood-drenched clothes. There was no feeling in his right leg now, and his vision was swimming. ‘I am not going to die in the dark,’ he said.
With a great effort he rolled to his knees, then got his good leg under him, forcing himself upright. As two Daroth warriors came into sight, Dace blinked sweat from his eyes. ‘Come on!’ he called. ‘Come and die, you ugly whoresons!’
They rushed forward, but the first suddenly swayed to his left with a crossbow bolt through his skull. The second lunged at Dace. The swordsman’s blade flashed up with impossible speed, blocking the thrust. Off-balance, the Daroth fell forward and Dace’s blade swept through his thick throat. ‘Where are the rest of you?’ shouted Dace. Then he fell unconscious into the arms of Ozhobar.
Dressed in black leather leggings and a silver satin tunic shirt, the Duke stood silently in the park. Though surrounded by men he was alone, as he always had been. His eyes scanned the hillsides, remembering far-off days
when he had played here with his brother. Bright and adventurous, Jorain had been the only person to reach the shy, introverted child the Duke had once been. When he had died he had taken a part of Albreck with him. A loveless marriage, and twenty years of ruling a people he neither liked nor understood, had been the life of Albreck following the death of Jorain. You would have been so much better than I, thought Albreck. The people loved you.
Albreck switched his gaze to the catacomb entrance. Reinforced by two elaborate stone pillars and a white lintel stone, there were steps within that led down to the crystal cavern. Jorain had told him it was an entrance to Hell, and the six-year-old Albreck had been afraid to enter.