MIDNIGHT FALCON by David Gemmell

‘Thank you. It is a habit Rage has warned me of. I can’t seem to lose it.’

‘Voltan is very fast on the riposte. Lose that habit today, or you won’t be going home.’ He swung to Telors. ‘Good to see you, my friend. I’m having a small gathering to celebrate my birthday in three days. Come up to the house. Bring Vanni with you.’

‘I’ll do that,’ said Telors. Brakus left and Telors went back to honing the blade.

‘I thought Rage would come,’ said Bane.

‘Aye, well, you know what he thinks.’

‘I know. He thinks I’m going to die. He’s wrong.’

‘He’s been wrong before. We all have.’ Telors glanced at the marked candle on the shelf, and gauged the time. ‘Less than an hour before the fight. How do you feel?’

‘I’m fine.’ Bane sat and gazed around the room. It was a far cry from the Sword Room at Circus Orises. Brightly painted frescoes adorned the walls, and there were niches inset, carrying busts of the greatest heroes of Palantes. Bane scanned them. ‘Where is Rage?’ he asked.

‘Palantes removed the bust when Rage was disgraced.’

Bane settled back. Before a fight he had never had difficulty emptying his mind of all other worries, but today was different. Memories and thoughts crowded him, each vying for attention.

Suppose he were to die today, who would care? His friend Banouin had deserted him, his father had never acknowledged him, and now Rage had not even turned up to watch him face his toughest test. He glanced at Telors. He liked the man, but they were not close. If Bane’s body was dragged from the arena, Telors would shrug and go back to the villa, have a few drinks, say nice things about him, and get on with his life.

Suddenly Bane felt alone, and in that moment fear began to grow inside him. What have I done with my life? he wondered. What have I achieved? He shook his head. These were not good thoughts before a death duel and he rose and moved to the table, lifting a leather-covered flask and breaking the wax seal to pull forth the cork. All the gladiators prepared their own drinks, sealing them with wax so that no competitor could drug them before a bout. Lifting it to his lips he drank deeply. The crushed-fruit drink slipped down his throat like silk. ‘Not too much,’ said Telors. ‘You won’t want to be bloated.’

Bane sat back down. He had dreamt last night that the Morrigu came to him. He had awoken to the rustling of the wind through leaves, and the whispering of branches. Sitting up he saw that his bed was now in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by oaks. The Morrigu was sitting upon a tree stump.

‘Satin sheets,’ she said. ‘How rich you have become.’ A black crow swooped over the bed and settled on a branch close to the Morrigu.

‘What do you want of me?’ he had asked.

‘Considering the foolishness you are engaged upon I think it more apt to ask what you might require of me.’

Bane rose from the bed and took a deep breath. He could smell the cool air flowing from the mountains. ‘I would have wished only one thing from you, Old Woman. I would have wished to save Lia’s life. Now there is nothing. I will win tomorrow or I will die.’

‘Yes, yes,’ she said, ‘you could not save your love. Life can be like that, Bane. But what of your own life? If you ask me I will grant you the strength and speed you need to defeat Voltan.’

‘I already have that.’

‘No, you don’t. Vanni told you that. Voltan is bigger, stronger and faster. He is more deadly. Ask me!’

‘No!’

‘Is it pride that stops you?’

He had thought about the question. ‘Perhaps it is, but I won’t use magic against him. I want no help. I will face him as a man on equal terms.’

‘How noble,’ she said. ‘Do you believe for a moment that Voltan would do the same?’

‘I am not responsible for what Voltan does – or does not – do. I want him to pay for Lia’s death, and to know that is what he is dying for.’

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 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214

Leave a Reply 0

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