‘It doesn’t, Kiall. We may die here.’
‘Then why? Did we come so far for nothing?’ Kiall stormed.
‘Friendship is not nothing. That old man will die without us. What would you have me say? There are few virtues in this world, boy, but friendship is one that I prize. But if you want a reason which has naught to do with honour, then consider this: What chance do we have of finding Ravenna without Okas?’ Chareos gripped Kiali’s shoulder. ‘I have no choice, my friend. None at all.’
Kiall nodded. ‘I shall go too,’ he said.
Maggrig returned with supplies of food – dried meats, oats, salt and a sweet tisane made from dried honey and turmeric root. The questors set off towards the south with Okas and Chareos riding at the front, Kiall, Beltzer and Maggrig following. Finn galloped off into the distance, scouting for sign of raiders or outlaws.
Kiall rode alongside Maggrig. ‘The thought of fighting demons terrifies me,’ he confided.
‘And me,’ owned Maggrig. ‘I saw the stuffed corpse of a Joining once, when we were in New Gulgothir. A wolfman some ten feet high – he was killed by Ananais, the Drenai hero, during the Ceska wars decades ago. But no demons. Finn had a friend killed by them, so he told me. They were hunting him in his sleep and he would awake screaming. One night he screamed but did not wake. There was not a mark upon him.’
Kiall shivered.
Beltzer dropped back to ride alongside them. ‘The Nadir shamen summon the creatures,’ he said. ‘I knew a man once who survived an encounter with them. He’d robbed a Nadir shrine. Then the dreams began; he was being hunted through a dark wood; he had no weapons, and the beasts came closer to him on each night.’
‘What did he do?’ Maggrig asked.
‘He journeyed to a Temple of the Thirty near Mashra-pur. They made him pass over the ornament he’d stolen – a goblet, I think it was. Then two of the warrior priests sat with him while he slept. He dreamt of the wood again – but this time the priests were with him, all dressed in silver armour and carrying swords which blazed brighter than lanterns. They fought off the demons and took the man’s spirit to the Nadir shaman that sent them. They agreed to return the goblet and the dreams stopped.’
‘He was a lucky man,’ said Maggrig.
‘Not really. He died soon after in a fight over a tavern whore.’
Beltzer spurred his mount forward and followed Chareos and Okas over a small rise.
Ahead of them was a long valley, and beyond that the seemingly arid, windswept landscape of the Nadir Steppes.
*
Tanaki rose from her bed, stretched and walked to the window, opening the shutters and staring out over the empty square.
Movement from behind made her turn and she smiled at the newcomer. ‘It is considered polite to announce yourself, Harokas,’ she told the hawk-faced assassin.
He shrugged. ‘Not in my line of work,’ he said, with a broad grin.
‘I had not expected you for some weeks. Tell me you rode day and night to feast your eyes on my beauty.’
‘Would that I could, Princess. But I did bring news that will interest you. There is a group of men riding here, intent on rescuing one of the slave women. It is likely your life will be in some danger from them.’
‘How many?’
‘Six.’
She chuckled. ‘You think I should fear six men? I could probably tackle that many myself on a good day.’
‘These men are special, Princess. They are led by Chareos the Blademaster. Among them is Beltzer of the Axe – also the bowmen of legend, Finn and Maggrig.’
‘The heroes of Bel-azar? What interest can they have in a peasant woman?’
‘What, indeed?’
‘How did you hear of this?’ Tanaki asked.
‘They bragged about their mission in a village. The whole of the area is alive with the story.’
‘But there is something you are not telling me,’ she said, a trace of a smile on her face.
‘You are quite correct, Princess,’ he replied, opening his arms to her. She stepped in to him and he kissed her; then she pulled away.