splayed over Belial‘s face and faint golden light emanated from his fingertips. Veremund stood
close beside him, his hand on Ogden‘s shoulder, muttering very quietly to himself.
Axis leaned against the closed door and looked at them. Belial wasn‘t in any danger,
otherwise he would have rushed to his aid. Suddenly he felt a surge of anger. Ogden and
Veremund were very much not what they pretended to be. Well, the time for playing games was
over.
It was Veremund who noticed him first. He leaned over to a side table to reach for a
damp cloth to wipe Belial‘s face when he spied Axis from the corner of one of his faintly
glowing golden eyes. Instantly the golden light died. ―Axis!‖ he breathed, and Ogden lifted his
hand from Belial‘s face. They both turned from Belial to stare at Axis, both uncertain what to say
and do. They had wanted to wait longer yet before they revealed themselves.
Axis pushed himself off the door and strolled lazily across the room, his stare holding
both Ogden and Veremund‘s gaze until he pushed past them to Belial‘s side. He dropped his
eyes. Belial lay quiet on the bed, breathing easily, a cool compress over his forehead and across
the back of his neck. As Axis watched, Belial opened his eyes and grimaced in self-reproach.
―BattleAxe. My apologies. I should never have turned my back on her.‖
A corner of Axis‘ mouth lifted at Belial‘s apology. ―You were lucky she did not knife
you. She has a steady hand, it seems, when it comes to murder.‖
―I did not expect it of her,‖ Belial said quietly, gently touching the back of his head with
a trembling hand.
―Well, if it‘s any comfort, she was distraught at the thought that she might have killed
you—she sent her apologies. Your smile must have charmed her just enough to stop the killer
blow.‖
―Always had a way with the women,‖ Belial whispered, then closed his eyes again, a
spasm of pain crossing his face.
―You spoke to them?‖ Ogden whispered anxiously at Axis‘ side.
Axis turned and moved so swiftly that Ogden was unprepared for his action. All he knew
was that suddenly Axis had one hand buried in his hair, holding his head tilted back in a tight
grip, while the other hand was at his throat with a short but lethal blade.
―And was she in your pay, old man?‖ Axis whispered fiercely, his own face not a
handspan from Ogden‘s. ―This has your smell all over it.‖
―Axis!‖ Belial whispered weakly from the bed. ―Do not harm them! They have done my
head good.‖
―As well they should, Belial,‖ Axis said tightly, his eyes still staring into Ogden‘s. ―I am
not so sure they did not plan the whole escape.‖
―Axis!‖ Veremund fluttered helplessly at Ogden‘s side, unsure what to do, frightened that
whatever he did might cause Axis to slide the blade a little too far into Ogden‘s neck.
―Will you answer my questions, old men?‖
―Yes! Yes!‖ Veremund said, his hands flapping impotently. ―Just let Brother Ogden go.‖
Axis let Ogden go so abruptly that the man slid to the floor, then sat down at the foot of
the bed and sheathed the knife back into his boot. Belial, who had struggled into a half-sitting
position, sank back upon the pillows again.
Ogden glanced at Belial anxiously. ―Perhaps this would not be the best place, BattleAxe.‖
Axis took a deep breath and looked at his lieutenant momentarily. ―No, old man, this is
very much the right place. I would rather that Belial heard this. I will value his advice.‖
―Very well. Veremund, would you mind assisting me to a chair?‖
The tall old man helped his plumper companion to sit in a chair facing the bed, then
pulled up a chair beside him. Veremund turned to Axis. ―What do you want to know, dear one?‖
All the anger had drained from Axis‘ face. Now he simply looked tired. ―Do you
remember when we spoke the night of the attack at the Barrows?‖
Ogden and Veremund nodded.
―I said then that reading the Prophecy had opened a dark dungeon that had previously
been locked tight all my life. I said that I did not like what I saw in that dungeon. Well, old men,
too many things have crawled out of that once dark hole for me to ignore, and unless I get some
explanations from you I am going…to…go…insane.‖
His stress was so clear that Belial reached out a hand to him. Axis grasped it tight. His
eyes, however, did not waver from Ogden and Veremund. ―Old men, whatever you might be, I
no longer believe this fiction that you are simple Brothers of the Seneschal, devoted to learning
and driven halfway to dementia by your isolation of the last thirty-nine years. What are you?‖
Again Ogden and Veremund exchanged glances, and they grasped hands too, unsure
what to do. ―Dear one,‖ whispered Ogden, ―is the time upon us?‖
―You have no cursed choice!‖ Axis almost shouted from the bed. ―Because if you do not
tell me I will break free this knife again!‖
Both Ogden and Veremund lifted their chins, their decision made. Their eyes, one set
tight grey and the other as dark as the night, suddenly glowed as golden as the setting sun. ―We
are the Sentinels,‖ they said in unison, then Ogden spoke alone. ―We are creatures of…‖
―And serve…‖ Veremund broke in.
―The Prophecy of the Destroyer,‖ both finished, again in perfect unison.
For a moment there was utter silence. The golden light in the Sentinels‘ eyes died as
abruptly as it had flared, and again two old men sat across from Axis and Belial, looking unsure
as to how their news had been received.
―Ah,‖ Axis finally said. He had known that they were not whom they pretended to
be…but he had expected nothing like this.
Belial laughed suddenly, the sound a little shocking in the absolute quiet of the room.
―No wonder you couldn‘t remember a damn word from the Service for the Dead,‖ he said.
Sentinels? He gazed at the two men with vastly increased respect.
―So,‖ Axis said very quietly, ―we know that Gorgrael has arisen in the north. And now
the Sentinels walk abroad.‖ He dropped his eyes to the floor and was silent for a while, then he
came to some decision and raised his eyes again. ―Well, Sentinels, shall I tell you what I am?‖
Both Ogden and Veremund held their breath.
Axis watched their expressions, then laughed bitterly. ―I am the son of Rivkah,‖ he said
slowly, finding it hard to say the words. ―The son of Rivkah, Princess of Achar, and…and an
Icarii Enchanter.‖ Axis felt a great relief at finally saying it aloud, and his shoulders slumped as
if freed of a great weight. Belial stared at him in amazement.
Finally Veremund nodded slowly. ―Yes. That is what we think, too. But that is all we
know about your parentage, Axis. We do not know who your father is beyond that he is probably
an Icarii Enchanter.‖
―How did you realise, BattleAxe?‖ Ogden asked quietly.
Axis took another deep breath, his shoulders trembling. He turned to Belial for a moment,
ignoring Ogden. ―Well, Belial. What do you think of that? Here we are, Axemen committed to
hunt down every Forbidden that we see, yet now you hear that your BattleAxe is of their blood.
What do you say to that?‖
Belial gripped Axis‘ hand, using its support to pull himself upright. The last few minutes
had been confounding, confusing, and his mind swirled with what he had just seen and heard.
Yet while Belial had been raised to fear the Forbidden, he had found the Avar man more worthy
of his respect than of his hatred. And he did not see a hated Forbidden sitting beside him, but a friend who needed his support now as he had never needed it before.
―I say that you are my BattleAxe,‖ Belial said, his eyes burning fiercely, daring Axis not
to believe him. ―I say that you are the best commander that I have ever served under, and I say
that you are my friend, and that in choosing my friends I have never asked who their fathers
were.‖
Axis‘ eyes gleamed with tears and he leaned forward and embraced Belial. Veremund
almost fainted with relief; Belial had probably just accomplished what it might have taken Ogden
and himself months to do.
―How did you realise?‖ Ogden asked again, very quietly.
Axis turned back to him, his mouth twisting. ―The music that I remembered. The song I
sang before Gorgrael, the song…the song I sang to the Avar girl.‖ Axis paused and stared at the
rafters for a moment, recalling. ―The Avar man, Raum, said I had the soul of an Icarii
Enchanter.‖ He laughed shortly. ―He asked me what I was doing wearing the black and these