his power—but he knew he couldn”t carry her, either.
So he spent the few days waiting for her to grow stronger either hunting out the
occasional rabbit (and twice finding the remaining entrails and meaty bones of beasts that the
Skraelings had eaten), or building a cart with which he could transport Hereward and what
supplies they could take with them. He had found a small trolley on the riverboat, used for
wheeling about casks of water and wine, and with its wheels and axle he had fashioned a small
cart. With some canvas and ropes from the boat, he made a comfortable harness with which to
pull it.
“When will we leave?” Hereward asked softly as Isaiah sat across the fire from her,
sewing the last strap of the harness into place. She rarely spoke to him. This was not because of
her guilt at what he had done for her and how she currently held him back, all of which she
continued to feel keenly, but because she felt so out of place in his life. They had no common
ground save that both had lived in the palace at Aqhat.
Even that divided rather than united them. He the Tyrant, she the serving woman; nothing
in their lives had ever touched.
“Tomorrow morning,” Isaiah said. He set the harness to one side, then stretched out his
shoulders and neck.
Hereward glanced at the cart. Isaiah had already packed as much food as they had into it.
The bundle looked pathetically small.
“I can hunt as we move,” Isaiah said, “and we”ll be traveling close to the FarReach
Mountains. There are a series of springs that dot the foothills. If we are lucky they”ll still be
running. The Skraelings don”t like water and will have left them alone. They should be full of
fish.”
“Springs,” Hereward said. “Water enough to bathe?”
Isaiah regarded her with genuine amusement. “Water enough to bathe,” he said.
They lapsed into silence, and Isaiah looked north. It would take them months to reach
Maximilian if they had to walk. He thought of how Maximilian and Ishbel had glanced at each
other now and again in the days just before he left.
The curse was fixed.
For all he knew they had already sunk into its trap.
“Will we find anything at Sakkuth?” Hereward said, startling Isaiah out of his reverie.
“Sakkuth?” he said, wondering why that struck a chord deep within him. There was
something about Sakkuth…
“To eat,” Hereward said. “Or maybe we might even find a horse still stabled there.”
“I doubt it,” Isaiah said. “The Skraelings will have overrun the city. There”ll be nothing
left.”
Sakkuth. The One had said that Maximilian and Ishbel needed to bring the Weeper, the
Goblet of the Frogs, and the crown of Elcho Falling to Sakkuth.
Why didn”t the One want them to deliver it to him at DarkGlass Mountain? Surely that
was the heart of his power?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The FarReach Mountains
Eleanon led the Lealfast fighters into the FarReach Mountains two days after Axis”
contemptuous dismissal of them. They flew into the mountains half a day”s journey west of the
Salamaan Pass where, forewarned by message, the entire Lealfast Nation was grouped waiting
for him.
“Eleanon,” said one of the elders, a man named Falayal. “What has happened? There
have been rumors, and then your message.” He looked about at the Lealfast fighters
materializing on the walls of the deep canyon in which the Lealfast Nation had gathered. “Why
so many injured? What has happened?”
Eleanon was exhausted, but he needed to speak without delay with Falayal, and then with
the rest of the Lealfast. He wanted the Nation to hear of the “debacle” at the hands of Armat, and
the reasons for it, from his mouth before they heard of it from any other.
“Matters have changed,” he said. “In a way we could not have anticipated. The Lord of
Elcho Falling might not be our only, or even best, hope of salvation after all, Falayal, my friend.”
Falayal regarded Eleanon with concern. “Eleanon?”
His hand still on Falayal”s shoulder, Eleanon turned to look over the mass of Lealfast
below him.
“There is a new path open to us!” Eleanon shouted. He took a deep breath. “Listen,” he
said, his tone now lower but still perfectly audible, and spoke without pause for over an hour of
the way of the One.
Much later that day, after he had rested and eaten, Eleanon lifted off once more, and flew
further south.
Directly into Isembaard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Armat’s Camp, the Central Outlands
They came for Axis, Georgdi, and Zeboath toward dusk two days after Ravenna had
spoken to Axis. In that time, the three men had been given no food and only the bare minimum
of water. They were exhausted, cold and damp from the earth, and encrusted in filth. Axis had
tried to rub away the dried blood from the cut on his cheekbone, but had, he thought, only made
himself look worse.
“What a group of ruffians we are,” he muttered to Georgdi as they stood, finally,
gratefully, in the evening light as they waited for Zeboath to be hauled to the surface. “Please tell
me I look better than you.”
“I”m afraid I look far better,” said Georgdi. He looked about. “Are you certain Ravenna
will come to our aid?” he added, very quietly.
“No,” said Axis, “I don”t trust her at all. Virtually the last thing she said to me was how
she”d needed to murder her own mother to aid her cause. Our deaths would be as nothing after
that.”
“Let”s hope she harbors a secret passion for you,” Georgdi said.
Axis grunted, more a warning that the guards had edged closer than any reply to what
Georgdi had said.
Zeboath now emerged from the pit, blinking even in this dull light. He caught Axis” eyes,
and Axis could see he was nervous.
And why not, he thought. The man is as close to death as you can get without tipping over
the edge.
The guards manhandled them into a tight group, then marched them forward.
“The gallows are but five minutes” walk away,” said one of them. “You can enjoy your
last sunset on the way.”
Ravenna sat with Armat in his tent. They were sharing a flask of wine, waiting for the
guards to call them once the three men had been brought to the gallows.
Ravenna was very glad Lister was not with them.
Armat was distracted momentarily by a soldier delivering a whispered report, and she
closed her eyes, visualizing Axis, Georgdi, and Zeboath being led toward the gallows.
Axis, she said.
Axis narrowed his eyes briefly, waited a moment, then took Georgdi”s arm and gave it a
brief squeeze. At Georgdi”s look, Axis put a finger to his lips and nodded at Zeboath.
Georgdi understood, touching Zeboath”s arm and nodding to Axis.
Axis tipped his head a little, then calmly walked to one side, slipping between the guards.
The guards did nothing.
Georgdi wasted one moment in an amazed glance, then pulled Zeboath out as well.
Once with Axis, they turned and looked back at the detail.
There marched the guards, surrounding Axis, Georgdi, and Zeboath, who walked
apparently docilely in their midst.
A glamour, Axis said into Georgdi”s and Zeboath”s minds, not wanting to alert anyone to
their presence by speaking aloud.
He led Georgdi and Zeboath toward a horse line a little distance away.
There are some horses saddled at the end of the line, Axis said. Take them, and lead them
quietly out of camp. No one will see them. When you get beyond camp, ride north, as fast as you
can.
You? Georgdi mouthed.
I am going for Inardle. I know this is a risk, but I will not leave her. Don’t wait for me.
Don”t wait for me, Georgdi!
Georgdi gave him a hard look, then nodded, gesturing to Zeboath to follow him.
Zeboath paused briefly by Axis, giving him a look of deep concern, then he, too, was
gone.
Axis sighed in relief.
Inardle.
He started to run for Risdon”s tent. He didn”t have long. The guards and the glamour they
escorted were within a few minutes of the gallows, and the glamour would vanish the instant the
ropes slid about the apparitions” necks.
Axis was lucky. There were only two soldiers anywhere near Risdon”s tent—the others
apparently having drifted toward the gallows. Axis paused just outside the tent flap, hearing
movement inside. He wondered briefly what he would see when he entered, then he lifted the
flap and ducked inside.
Risdon was standing by a camp bed, sliding his feet into boots as he buttoned his
breeches. His shirt was lying to one side, ready to be donned.
Behind him, and beyond the bed, Axis could see a spread of bloodstained wing on the
floor.
Risdon knew someone had entered the tent, but he could not immediately see Axis. He