Not one of them has so far laid a blade upon us, and if they did they are so rusted as to be useless. They do not pose a real danger, save for the terror they inspire in us with their appearance. But they are not real. They are filled with sorcery, but they are not the men they were. You might just as well fear a few sticks joined together with rotted string.’There was truth in what he said, and I was surprised that it had not occurred to me before. Without the blades of power the dead would have overwhelmed us, but with them we were relatively safe. It was irritating that Mace had understood this simple fact whereas I, a schooled Angostin, had been swept away on a tide of superstition and terror.
Wulf, though, was not entirely convinced. ‘This is an evil realm,’ he -said. ‘The Vampyre Kings laid great spells upon it. They live in the ground, in the trees and valleys.’Their spells died with them,’ said Mace. ‘Is that not so, Owen?’Yes. All sorcery fades with the passing of the sorcerer. A spell is a creation of the mind, held in being by the concentration of the magicker. When the mind ceases to operate, the spell is gone.’Who is to say when the mind ceases to operate?’ asked Wulf. ‘Perhaps the Vampyre Kings did not cease to be when their bodies were slain. Have you ever thought of that, bard?’You are a happy companion,’ hissed Jarek Mace. ‘What do you think these Undead Kings have been doing for the last thousand years? Playing dice? Counting trees? If they are still alive, I think we would have heard of them.’ He swung to me. ‘I wonder where your sorcerer friend is hiding. I want to see no more globes of fire.’I do not think that you will. Such a spell takes a toll, even on a sorcerer of his dark skill. Raising the corpses weakened him, and the fireball was not as fast or as deadly as it might have been. I would guess he has gone somewhere to rest – perhaps even returned to Ziraccu.’That would take weeks,’ said Wulf.
‘Not by the paths he will travel,’ I told him.
‘I know all the paths there are,’ the hunchback insisted.
I shook my head. ‘Once, when I was apprenticed to him, we were commissioned to entertain at a castle on the west coast. It was two hundred miles away, but we made the journey in less than an hour. First he blindfolded me, then led me by the hand. All I
remember was the terrible cold, and the sibilant hissing of what I took to be beasts around me. But nothing touched me, save Cataplas. Suddenly I felt the sun on my back and Cataplas removed the blindfold. We were on a cliff-top overlooking the sea, and to our right was the castle.’Wulf shivered and rose, rubbing at his neck, which I later learned gave him great pain and was probably the cause of much of his ill-humour. The twisted hump upon his back put pressure on the thick, corded neck muscles, and little could be done to alleviate it. Still rubbing at the muscles, he wandered away.
‘I think I’ll leave this forest and head south,’ said Jarek Mace. ‘The north is becoming altogether too perilous.’I do not think that would prove a wise decision,’ I told him.
‘It is my experience that the best defence against danger is distance,’ he said, with a smile.
‘There is no distance that will keep Cataplas from you. Azrek wants you dead, Jarek. Through Cataplas he can send demons to hunt you down wherever you are – even across the sea. If you leave, you will be alone and easy prey.’This is your fault,’ he said, his eyes showing anger. ‘You and that foolish Morningstar dream. Am I doomed then to walk this forest, killing enemies already dead, fighting monsters and demons?’Perhaps, but my father – for all his faults a great general -would have offered you some simple advice. He would have said, ‘Jarek, when your enemy’s strength is overwhelming, when you are surrounded by foes, there is only one choice for the brave. Attack.’ ‘His smile was genuine. ‘You are a wonderful fool, Owen. What would you have me do? Raise an army from among the peasants and the Highlanders and sweep the Angostins from power?’Why not?’ I asked him.