Gemmell, David – Dark Moon

Towards dawn one of the attackers had walked into the rocks to relieve himself. Terror filled Tarantio with panic and Dace rose within him, flaring like a light within the skull. Dace reared up before the astonished reaver, crashing a fist-sized rock against the man’s head. The thief pitched forward without a sound. Dragging him out of sight of his comrades, Dace drew a knife from the man’s belt and stabbed him to death.

The dead man wore two short swords, their black hilts tightly bound with leather. Dace had unbuckled the sword-belt and swung it around his own waist. Relieving the man of his bulging purse, Dace had stolen away through the rocks, leaving the scene of the massacre far behind.

Once clear, the panic gone, Tarantio dragged Dace back and resumed control. Dace had not objected; without

the prospect of violence, and the need to kill, he was easily bored.

Alone and friendless, Tarantio had walked the thirty miles west to the Corsair city of Loretheli, looking for a berth on a new ship. Instead he had met Sigellus the Swordsman. Tarantio thought of him often, and of the perils they had faced together. But the thoughts were always tinged with sadness and the velvet claw of regret at his death. Sigellus had understood about Dace. During one of their training sessions Dace had broken loose, and had tried to kill Sigellus. The Swordsman had been too skilled for him then, but Dace managed to cut him before Sigellus blocked a thrust and hammered his iron fist into Dace’s chin, spinning him from his feet.

‘What the Hell is wrong with you, boy?’ he had asked, when Tarantio regained consciousness. For the second time in his young life, he talked about Dace. Sigellus had listened, his grey eyes expressionless, blood dripping from a shallow cut to his right cheek just below the eye. When at last he had told it all, including the murders, Sigellus sat back and let out a deep sigh. ‘All men carry demons, Chio,’ he said. ‘At least you have made an effort to control yours. May I speak with Dace?’

‘You don’t think I am insane?’

‘I do not know what you are, my boy. But let me speak with Dace.’

‘He can hear you, sir,’ said Tarantio. ‘I do not wish to let him free.’

‘Very well. Hear me, Dace, you fight with great passion, and you are uncannily fast. But it will take you time to learn to be half as good as I am. So understand this. If you try to kill me again, I will spear your belly and gut you like a fish.’ He looked into Chio’s dark blue eyes. ‘Did he understand that?’

‘Yes, sir. He understood.’

‘That is good.’ Sigellus had smiled then, and, with a silk handkerchief he had mopped the trickle of blood from his face. ‘Now I think that is enough practice for today. I can hear a jug of wine calling my name.’

‘I hate him,’ said Dace. ‘One day I will kill him.’

‘That is a lie,’ Tarantio told him. ‘You don’t hate him at all.’

For a time Dace was silent. When at last his voice whispered into Tarantio’s mind it was softer than at any time before. ‘He is the first person, apart from you, to ever speak to me. To speak to Dace.’

In that instant Tarantio felt a surge of jealousy. ‘He threatened to kill you,’ he pointed out.

‘He said I was good. Uncannily fast.’

‘He is my friend.’

‘You want me to kill him?’

‘No!’

‘Then you must let him be my friend too.’

Tarantio shivered and pushed the painful memories from his mind.

The War of the Pearl had begun, and the Four Duchies were recruiting fighting men. Few had even seen the artefact they were willing to kill – or die – for. Fewer still understood the importance of the Pearl. Rumours were rife: it was a weapon of enormous power; it was a healing stone which could grant immortality; it was a prophetic jewel which could read the future. No-one really knew.

After his time with Sigellus, he and Dace had wandered through the warring Duchies, taking employment with various mercenary units and twice holding commissions in regular forces, taking part in sieges, cavalry attacks, minor skirmishes and several pitched battles. Mostly they

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *