was not an ill-featured man, it was Axis who had inherited most of his mother‘s (and perhaps
father‘s) style and striking looks.
Yet of all the hatreds Borneheld bore Axis, it was the fact they shared the same mother
that he resented the most. Even though Rivkah had betrayed both her husband and her elder son
in conceiving and giving birth to a lover‘s child, Borneheld still revered her memory. And Axis
had killed her. Axis had taken Rivkah away from Borneheld. Borneheld daily cursed Axis for
causing his mother‘s death. One day, Borneheld thought viciously, he would meet this bastard
brother of his in combat, and then the world would see once and for all who was the better man.
Artor would judge who had the better right to live. The stem of his goblet finally bent and it spun
out of Borneheld‘s hand and onto the floor.
A servant scurried to replace it with another and mop up the mess, and for an instant
Borneheld met Axis‘ eyes across the head of Priam and Judith. The hatred between them was
naked enough for any to see.
Jayme gently touched Axis‘ arm and drew his attention away from Borneheld. He spoke
quietly so that no-one else would hear.
―My son, I am pleased and relieved that you managed to travel so quickly from Coroleas.
I hardly dared expect you so soon.‖
Axis smiled at Jayme, his dislike of Borneheld fading before the gentle face of the
Brother-Leader. ―We were close to the Corolean Sound when your message reached me, Father.‖
The title was one of deep respect tinged with some gratitude. Apart from his command, no-one
else accepted him the way the Brotherhood did. ―It was relatively easy for us to extricate
ourselves and put to sea for Achar.‖ The Coroleans had been angry to see them go when the
threat from the sea-raiders had been at its worst but Axis‘ charm had smoothed diplomatic
relations.
―Axis,‖ Jayme said quietly, ―Nothing can be accomplished tonight. We cannot talk here
and you are exhausted. Come to my rooms in the eastern wing of the palace at sunrise tomorrow
morning. We can share prayers and then talk. I think we shall both be summoned to Priam‘s
presence later.‖
Axis was silent for a moment. ―It is the news from the north, then?‖
Jayme smiled at his protégé. Even in Coroleas the BattleAxe had managed to keep his
lines of information open. ―Yes, my son. But let us not discuss it here in whispers. Better left till
the morning.‖
―Besides,‖ Axis whispered loudly in a stage whisper, glancing along the table with
amused eyes, ―if I stay here any longer I‘ll sour the cream in the trifle.‖
Jayme pinched Axis‘ arm sharply, but his eyes smiled. ―Rest well, BattleAxe. Furrow
wide, furrow deep.‖
―Furrow wide, furrow deep, Father,‖ Axis replied, and kissed the Brother-Leader‘s
emerald ring before he straightened and moved to the edge of the dais. He paused and bowed
briefly to Priam before making his way out of the room. As he went he glanced again at the
young woman who had stared at him earlier. She blushed and turned away. A moment later at a
table some three or four removed from the royal dais, his eye caught that of one of the
noblewomen, the Lady of Tare, and she inclined her head slightly, a smile hovering around her
lips.
3
THE LADY OF TARE
Embeth, Lady of Tare, made her way carefully along the darkened corridors of the
palace. Most of the revellers were still enjoying themselves in the Chamber of the Moons, but
she had finally managed to escape; courtly etiquette had kept everyone in their seats until the
king and queen left.
She had not expected to see Axis at the banquet and had felt a jolt of surprise and
pleasure when she saw him. He wasn‘t due back from Coroleas until Frost-month. She was
pleased he was here at the palace instead of the forbidding Tower of the Seneschal. There were
few places for them to meet privately at the Tower, and few excuses for her to be there in the
first instance.
Embeth was some eight years older than Axis, a good-looking woman in her late thirties.
They had been friends since Axis, as an eleven-year-old youth, had been sent by the Seneschal to
train in arms at her husband‘s household in Tare. She had been young then too, and pleased to
have the opportunity to make friends with the silent young boy. As her children had come, Axis
had been a companion to them as well, and now one of her own sons, Timozel, served under
Axis in the Axe-Wielders.
Five years before her husband had died and the friendship between her and Axis had
deepened until now they were also occasional lovers. Occasional not only because they rarely
had the opportunity to meet, but also because of Axis‘ birth; Rivkah‘s shame clung close to her
son as well. The Lady of Tare had a reputation to protect for she was still young enough to
remarry and give another man sons. Those rare nights they spent as lovers were accomplished
only with extreme secrecy—and were the sweeter, perhaps, because of it.
Embeth had not brought a candle with her, trusting that the occasional lamp along the
corridors would provide sufficient light. She lifted her skirts clear of the floor to prevent them
rustling, glad she had chosen her black silk for the feast. She shivered a little in the cool night air, or perhaps it was because she was drawing closer to Axis‘ room.
Thank Artor that as BattleAxe he warranted his own room in the palace and was not
sleeping in the barracks with the common soldiers. Embeth smiled to herself a little in the dim
light—would she still have tried to sneak into his bed in the barracks? She pictured herself being discovered in a room full of common soldiers in the dead of night with her gown unlaced and her
breasts bared, and just managed to repress her laughter.
Suddenly Embeth was caught from behind, a strong arm pinning her around her waist,
and a hand planted firmly across her mouth to prevent her crying out. For a moment she stiffened
in shock, then she relaxed back against the man who held her. She would know the feel of his
hands and the smell of him even in the darkest pit of the AfterLife. Axis.
―You walked right past my room,‖ he whispered in her ear, his breath warm against her
cheek. ―I wondered if perhaps you had another assignation further along the corridor.‖ He felt
her lips smile against the palm of his hand.
He pulled her gently back a few steps until they reached a closed door. It opened silently
with the pressure of his shoulder, and they stepped through into a plain chamber; Priam‘s palace
steward had instructions not to allocate his king‘s bastard nephew a grander chamber in the main
wing of the palace. After the door latched closed behind them, Embeth twisted in his arms and
rested against his chest. They stood silently, holding each other, their deep friendship more
important for the moment than desire.
Finally Embeth pushed herself back and looked carefully at Axis‘ face in the dim
candlelight of the room. ―You look exhausted, Axis. How far have you ridden?‖
Axis grimaced and let her go, turning to pour them some wine. ―From Nordmuth. Three
days ago.‖
Embeth accepted the wine he gave her and took a small sip. From Nordmuth to Carlon
was an exceptionally hard ride, and circumstances would have to be extreme to make Axis push
himself and his horses like that. Axis‘ sudden reappearance when he should have stayed in
Coroleas for another six weeks confirmed the rumours that something was gravely wrong.
Embeth felt a pang of fear for Timozel. If Axis was involved then the trouble would also involve
his command.
She turned away and walked a few steps into the small bedchamber. Axis had dumped his
saddlebags and gear in one corner and Embeth resisted the urge to straighten things out. His
small travelling harp, never far from his side, was set to one side of the bed. His axe, symbol of
the Seneschal and of the Axe-Wielders themselves, was propped up against the far wall. But
Axis, like most Axe-Wielders, also carried a sword and considered that his main weapon. It lay
close to hand in its scabbard, which was slung over the bedhead. Embeth wondered how many
men he had killed with it. How many men the Brother-Leader had ordered him to destroy in the
name of Artor and the Plough. She loved and respected Axis, but she was more than a little in
awe of his position as BattleAxe within the Seneschal, and more than a little scared of the power
of the Seneschal and its Brother-Leader.
―Then the news is not good,‖ she said softly, ―if you had to ride back that far and that