Sara Douglass – The Serpent Bride – DarkGlass Mountain Book 1

He remembered, suddenly, horribly, how his daughter, Zenith, and father, StarDrifter,

had been torn apart by the Hawk Childs.

Blinded with tears, Axis rose and went to where the woman lay, the remains of two Icarii

just beyond her. Axis brushed the tears from his eyes, then squatted down by Ishbel. He didn”t

look at her immediately, though, instead running his eyes over the tattered corpses just beyond

her.

“I”m sorry,” Ishbel whispered.

Axis took a deep breath, then looked down at her. What her features were like he could

not tell, for she was covered in blood and tissue, with feathers stuck to her face.

“Help me,” she whispered and, after a moment, Axis nodded.

Axis made Ishbel as comfortable as he could for the moment, giving her water to drink

and placing her carefully in the tray of the cart, then helped his command gather the remains of

the four Icarii; the corpse of the man Axis had killed he ordered to be tossed behind some distant

rocks. Collecting what was left of the Icarii was a frightful task, and they did it in complete

silence, placing the remains on a bed of timber. When it was done, Axis took a coal from the

smoldering fire and placed it among the timber.

The Isembaardians watched in silence as the pyre burned, but Axis stood a little apart

from them, and sang a beautiful song in a language the soldiers did not recognize. They did

understand the emotion behind it, though, and its beauty, and knew that Axis was farewelling the

birdmen and -woman into the Otherworld.

Once it was done, Axis gave the command to ride out. They needed to camp for the night,

but he was damned if he”d spend the night in this place of death.

Now, as his men mounted up, Axis walked back to the cart, looking at Ishbel.

Only then did he realize the true extent of her illness. He”d wiped her face clean earlier,

and now he saw that she was gray, her face sweating.

“Ishbel?” he said, calling her by her name for the first time. “What is wrong?”

She tried to speak, but her mouth was too dry, and Axis had to give her a drink of water

from his canteen.

“The men,” she said, her voice weak, “had kept me drugged for…oh, gods, weeks, I

suppose. Now…”

“Your body is screaming out for more,” Axis said.

She nodded.

He stood and looked at her, uncertain. He wondered if there were any drugs left in the

packs that Ba”al”uz” men had left behind them and, if there was, if he should give Ishbel any

more of it. He called Insharah over.

“Was there anything among the packs…any vials or drugs?”

Insharah shook his head. “If there were drugs, then one of Ba”al”uz” men must have been

carrying them on his person.”

He hesitated.

“Yes?” said Axis.

“There was one thing of interest,” Insharah said. “A glass pyramid, small enough to sit in

the palm of your hand.”

Ba”al”uz” rose pyramid? “My goodness,” said Axis softly. “Well, I have no time to study

it now. Put it in my pack, will you, and I”ll look at it later. For the moment we need to mount up

and head for the nearest town. If we can find one still inhabited after Isaiah”s push to move

everyone west.”

Insharah nodded and walked off.

“You will need to be strong enough to get through the next hour or two,” Axis said to

Ishbel. “We won”t be able to make a town until tomorrow morning at least, but I”d like to make a

start now. Can you wait that long?”

She nodded again.

“We will camp somewhere secure for the night, and then the cooks will make you

something to eat. That might help.”

It probably wouldn”t, but it was all Axis could say.

“Thank you,” she whispered, then, as Axis turned to go, reached out a hand and grabbed

weakly at his sleeve.

“Who are you?” she said.

Axis smiled. “I”m sorry,” he said. “My name is Axis SunSoar. As lost as you in this land,

I think.” He touched her face briefly. “Hold on just an hour, then we can make you more

comfortable.”

Then he was gone, and the donkey moved forward, pulling the cart after the men on

horseback.

Ishbel lay in the lurching cart, feeling more ill than she could ever remember. She

alternated between chills and fevers, and a constant nausea and throbbing headache compounded

her misery. Everything was made worse by the fact that now the drugs had worn off she could

feel, whereas before she had existed in a state of constant numbness and semiconsciousness.

Everything ached: her limbs, her back, her chest, her abdomen.

What had happened to her child she had no idea. She”d run a hand over her belly, feeling

the swelling there, but she did not know if the baby lived or had died.

If it lived, then it suffered as much as she.

Ishbel fought back the tears, not wanting Axis SunSoar to see them, nor wanting herself

to succumb to the weakness. She thought a little about Axis. She knew the name, for she had

heard the legend while at Sirus” court, but she did not think that this Axis could possibly be the

same man. Ishbel did not worry overmuch about it, or even think too much about Axis. All she

did was to lie as still as possible (and that was impossible in this lurching cart) and manage the

pain as best she could.

Eventually, she heard Axis call to his men to establish camp. She did not know how long

they had traveled, but now it was twilight, and very cold, and she was shaking uncontrollably

beneath her wrappings.

The cart came to a halt suddenly, jolting her, and Ishbel screwed shut her eyes and cried

out with the pain.

There was the sound of a horse, and then a muttered voice.

“Stars!”

The cart lurched, and Ishbel realized that someone had stepped onto the tray.

“Ishbel,” Axis” soft voice said, and she managed to open her eyes.

He was squatting next to her in the tray of the cart, one hand resting on the coverings

above her chest.

“Ishbel,” he said, “I am going to lift you out of this cart, and down by a fire. I am sorry if

I hurt you.”

“I can get myself out, I think.”

He smiled very slowly, and the pressure on her chest increased slightly. “I will lift you,

Ishbel. Do not be afraid of me.”

Ishbel wasn”t, but she was mortified that she couldn”t do more for herself. Axis lifted her

very gently, causing her hardly any discomfort at all, stepped down from the cart, and carried her

to where several of the soldiers had built a fire.

He set her down, made sure she was reasonably comfortable, then stepped aside for a

murmured conversation with one of the soldiers. Once the soldier had gone—Ishbel heard him

mount one of the horses and ride off at a gallop—Axis returned to her side.

“I”ve sent one of the men off to find better accommodation somewhere in this deserted

land, and perhaps a herbalist or physician to help you. But in the meantime, Ishbel, what can I do

for you? What do you need most?”

To return to my home, Ishbel thought. Home to Serpent”s Nest. Her fever had taken hold

once more, and she was shaking with its effects. Her throat was parched, her head throbbed

unmercifully, and her nausea was getting worse with every breath.

“More water,” she managed.

Axis lifted her up so he could put the canteen to her mouth, but Ishbel retched as soon as

the water spilled into her mouth. She half fell out of Axis” supporting arm, and he had to grab at

her to keep her steady, one hand on her belly.

“Stars,” he muttered, “you”re pregnant.”

Then Ishbel heard him give a soft, ironic laugh. “Isaiah won”t be happy about that.”

“Who—” Ishbel began.

“Don”t worry about that now,” Axis said. “Ishbel, we will get you to a town and a

physician as fast as we can. I don”t want to keep you out in the open and away from better aid

than I can provide any longer than is needed.”

“I want to go home,” she whispered.

“Escator is too far away,” Axis said, and she could again hear the smile in his voice.

“One of Isembaard”s border towns shall have to do for now.”

Not Escator, Ishbel thought. Home.

Axis lay Ishbel down, wiping her face with a damp cloth, asking her if she wanted to try

the water again. When she refused, he sat with her, unspeaking, until Ishbel drifted into a fevered

sleep.

CHAPTER NINE

The Town of Torinox, the Northern Borders of the FarReach Dependency

Ishbel slipped deeper into her fevered slumber, so that by the time the soldier returned