Faraday glanced at the Sentinel, wondering if she‘d caught her thought. It appeared she had. Yr
was biting the inside of her cheek to keep her mirth in check, deliberately avoiding Faraday‘s
eye.
The day was bitingly cold but relatively clear, for the past two days the snow clouds had
held back, and it was Yr‘s sharp eyes that spotted them first. She stepped close to Faraday‘s side.
―Look,‖ she said quietly, pointing towards a faint smudge on the southern road. ―Can you
see them?‖
Faraday‘s heart leapt into her mouth and she strained to see. ―Where?‖ she said
breathlessly. ―Where? I can‘t see them. Is it him?‖
―Yes, sweet child, it is him. Are you ready?‖
Her question might have had a number of meanings, but Faraday knew exactly what she
meant. Could she restrain Borneheld if it came to it? ―If I am not then we will soon know, Yr,‖
she said shortly.
―What is it?‖ Timozel asked impatiently, irritated by the way the two women whispered
together. ―What can you see?‖
―The Axe-Wielders ride for Gorkenfort, Timozel,‖ said Yr, turning her face towards him.
For the past week or so she had taken to twisting her long blonde hair into a loose knot on the
crown of her head, leaving tendrils to float about her face like a shifting golden cloud. Since their
arrival at Gorkenfort they had resumed their affair, and it pleased Timozel that Yr chose his
company before that of Gautier‘s. ―Are you ready to meet your BattleAxe, Timozel?‖
―Not my BattleAxe any longer,‖ Timozel replied. ―My Lady has chosen to marry Duke
Borneheld, the most powerful WarLord Achar has ever had. I serve Borneheld now.‖
Faraday‘s mouth twisted grimly. As she betrayed Axis, so too did Timozel. How could
she blame him for that?
―Besides,‖ Timozel added after a moment, thinking back on the moment in the tomb of
the Icarii Enchanter-Talon, ―Will not Borneheld be the one to save us from Gorgrael the
Destroyer?‖
Faraday‘s hands gripped the stone compulsively. She remembered that both Jack and Yr
had been deliberately ambiguous when Timozel asked if Borneheld had been the one to save
Achar. No-one had known that the next instant he would be on his knees pledging his oath of
Championship to Faraday. Oh what a pit we dig for ourselves, Faraday thought, with the shovel
of our lies.
―Who knows who he is,‖ said Faraday, reaching out for Timozel‘s hand. ―Come, let us
watch for the Axe-Wielders.‖
The Axe-Wielders took another hour to wend their way towards the gate of the town, and
then through the town itself. Most of them stopped in the town square to organise billeting and
food for themselves and their horses, but soon the Axemen who were left to ride for the fort were
close enough for Faraday to make out individual faces. There was Belial, looking thinner but
more relaxed than she remembered. Behind him rode Arne, a man Faraday hardly knew.
―Yr,‖ she said, pointing with her hand.
―Yes,‖ Yr smiled. ―They are still with him.‖ Ogden and Veremund rode huddled into
cloaks that billowed about their white donkeys. Yr was delighted to see her companions; she
could barely wait to find out how they were doing with Axis, if they had seen Jack, if they had found the fifth Sentinel, if Gorgrael had struck again.
And then Axis rode into sight from behind a corner of the twisting streets. He was
chatting with one of the Axe-Wielders who had lagged behind, and Faraday, hands clutched to
her breast, thought her heart would seize at the sight of him. Did he mourn me? she wondered.
Or did he shrug his shoulders at the pile of dirt that covered my grave and turn to joke with
Belial?
Yr slipped her arm about the girl‘s waist again and whispered in her ear. ―Doubtless you
have both grown different ways since you last saw each other, Faraday, but if he said that he
loved you, then do not doubt it.‖
Faraday watched Axis‘ black-clad form far below her as he rode towards the fort‘s gate.
Mother help me, but I love him, she thought.
I know, sweet child, I know, Yr replied, and Faraday did not wonder that she could hear
Yr‘s thoughts within her own head.
Belial halted the small group of Axe-Wielders before Gorkenfort‘s gate, waiting for Axis
to catch them up. Axis pulled Belaguez to a halt by Belial‘s bay stallion, his face tight with
tension. Ahead of him lay the ultimate embarrassment, admitting to Borneheld‘s face that he had
lost Faraday. And within minutes he would also have to surrender outright control of the
Axe-Wielders to Borneheld as he had promised Jayme.
Axis had not been looking forward to this day.
―Remember, Axis, no matter what happens in Gorkenfort,‖ Belial said quietly, his steady
gaze fixed on Axis‘ face, ―Our loyalty is to you and only to you. We will follow wherever you
lead and fight in whatever cause you choose.‖
Axis looked over at Belial. Over the past few weeks the man had been a rock, always
there with advice and reassurance, always there with a smile and a joke. On the road north Axis
had spent hours discussing his doubts and uncertainties with Belial; had he not been there, Axis
did not know how he‘d have coped with the changes in his life.
Axis did not know how much longer his loyalty to Jayme could last. Already his trust in
the Brother-Leader had been seriously undermined, first by Jayme‘s insistence that Borneheld
assume control of the Axe-Wielders, but more recently by the things he had learned about his
own origins and about the Icarii and the Avar. He had not been able to put the woman who had
pleaded for Raum‘s life near the forest out of his mind. ―You need do only what your heart tells
you to do. Not what the Seneschal has taught you must be done. Your duty should always be to
do what you feel is right.‖ Axis took a deep breath. Did what she say make sense? Dare he trust
his own heart? It certainly did not feel right to pass his Axe-Wielders over to Borneheld‘s
command…but who was he to complain about the WarLord assuming control of the
Axe-Wielders when so many of them had died needlessly in Gorgrael‘s storm?
―Axis! BattleAxe! It is good to have you here!‖
Axis turned his head towards the sound. Duke Roland was striding over as fast as his fat
would allow. Axis swung off Belaguez and grasped the Duke‘s hand and arm. Obese the man
might be but Axis believed he was one of the best commanders in the army. Like Jorge, Roland
had been one of the very few nobles at court who had not sneered or condescended to Axis
because of his birth. Roland nodded at Belial and peered curiously at Ogden and Veremund but
turned back to Axis. He gripped the BattleAxe‘s hand and forearm enthusiastically.
―Welcome, Axis. Artor be with you.‖
―And with you, Duke Roland, and with you,‖ Axis smiled back at the man. ―How go
things?‖
Roland shrugged. ―Gorkenfort still stands, Axis. Raids have still taken their toll…no!‖
Roland let Axis‘ hand go and raised his own in front of him defensively at the questions he could
see bubbling to Axis‘ lips. ―No, I am not going to stand here in the wind and answer all your
questions, my boy. Come inside. Borneheld and Jorge are meeting with Magariz, and they will
want to hear what you have to say first. Did you discover anything at the Silent Woman Keep?‖
Axis kept his face bland with a supreme effort, a thousand retorts springing instantly to
mind. He waved at Ogden and Veremund. ―I have brought these two elderly brothers with me,
my friend. Perhaps they can help us, perhaps not.‖
Roland‘s round face dropped in amazement. ―They rode all the way to Gorkenfort from
the Silent Woman Woods on those? What were you thinking of ? Did you have no spare
horses?‖
―A Brother and his donkey are hard to part,‖ said Axis dryly. ―Come, take me to your war
council. Belial? Bring those two…gentlemen with you. We are off to meet Borneheld.‖
Roland put his hand confidentially on Axis‘ shoulder as they walked into the fort and
talked rapidly and quietly to him about the defence systems already in place about Gorkenfort.
Neither noticed the cloaked woman standing on the parapets watching them.
Borneheld looked up from the papers spread about the table in front of the fire and saw
Roland and Axis walk in the door at the end of the Hall followed by the BattleAxe‘s lieutenant,
Belial, and two ancient Brothers of the Seneschal. So. The BattleAxe had arrived. Now all would
see who was the stronger, who was the more brilliant strategist, the better commander. Today he
would assume control of the Axe-Wielders. Borneheld felt very sure of himself. Very powerful.