Chapter 26
GALLMAU
G allmau was relieved to get to the meandering river that came down from the bluffs to the north and fed into the lake near the chateau.
Strewn with water-polished rocks and deep enough in the middle to make it difficult to cross, it had been a reliable marker on hunting trips with his father.
If they were correct about their enemies’ base in the caves, any riders coming after them from there would need to go far out of the way to get to their side of the water.
That, combined with some cover from the vegetation on the banks, made the river the safest path to get them close to the bluffs—and Rixende, if she was still alive.
The four of them walked along the river’s edge in near-complete silence—and not only to avoid tipping off their location. The tensions among them still ran high.
Sinan and Meri had reached a truce of sorts before leaving the scene of Abarsam’s murder.
Sinan cautiously offered to say a funeral prayer over the Grand Vizier, and Meri accepted with a nod.
She had placed coins on the faces of all three of the dead men while he spoke in Kushian, then removed the water-magic jacket from Baahir and gave it to Sinan without a word.
That was as close to an apology as Meri got.
He called for a break, and Sinan moved past him to go to the river and refill his water pouch.
He was wearing Baahir’s enchanted kaftan, as opposed to the light armor Gallmau had given him.
The cloth took up the essence of the water as he drew closer, and ripples of light spread over the fabric as Sinan’s sleeve dipped into the river.
From Gallmau’s angle, the cloth blended in perfectly, making Sinan’s arm invisible.
The necromancer cocked his head at the effect, then gave a small nod to himself.
Sinan did odd things. Like making his arm appear as if it had been cut off, or describing necromancer rituals for dismembering bodies to Meri when he should have kept his mouth shut.
Gallmau took no pleasure in Meri transferring her fury from him to Sinan, but he understood the pain she felt.
First Karabil and Tharin, and now her ex-lover Abarsam, cut down by their mysterious enemies who had access to horrible magic.
Meanwhile, Sinan had yet to regain any semblance of his shadow powers—and that was Meri and Gallmau’s fault as well.
“We’re near the caves now.” Gallmau felt he should say something to Sinan, since Meri had made it clear she wasn’t interested in talking.
At least he knew why Meri was angry with him—questioning her ability to protect herself and blaming her for keeping secrets about Rerek had been stupid and thoughtless on his part.
Why Sinan would focus on a poem, of all things, to be angry about was a complete mystery.
“We’re all that’s left to save my sister.
I’d like to go into this as comrades in arms, or at least not fighting with one another about made-up stories. ”
“The stories people tell matter.” Sinan drank more water from his canteen and stood up. “Your courtier’s poem lyrics in Soissons or Meri’s coffee-house storytellers’ tales in Abdju or even Valentina’s stage performances in Amor—they all have their heroes and their villains.”
“I don’t have to be the hero in all of this.” Gallmau waved his arm at the sky, the gurgling water, the familiar countryside he had come to love as a boy, now a confined death trap for so many who had entered through the Artifact. “All I want is my sister back alive.”
“It’s not only that people like you are always the heroes.
” Sinan sounded sincere but resigned, as if he wanted Gallmau to understand him but didn’t think he could.
“It’s that people like me are always the villains.
Poems, stories, plays—they make their own reality.
So it becomes easy for the Noviodunam to sentence any of the Blessed they find to a horrible death.
No one objected when they declared their intention to wipe out my entire city—your family supported them, in fact.
No one cares when midwives are paid to make sure babies born with a Blessing don’t take a second breath. ”
“I know you don’t think I’m that smart.” Gallmau tried and failed to make that statement less confrontational.
There was some truth in it, anyway. He didn’t focus on deep thinking that much, because he didn’t enjoy tying his mind up in knots, and he was much better at action than contemplation.
“I’ll admit I don’t understand what stories about scary Bone Lords have to do with the four of us not dying in the next several hours. ”
“Ever since we walked through the Artifact you and I have been in someone else’s story, and so have they.
” Sinan gestured to Meri and Valentina, who had both taken a seat on a nearby log.
“The brave Tomb Fighters, the medica risking her life for a friend, the water and fire mages—those are the heroes. I’m the villain, along with the beast master involved with Rixende’s abduction.
Whoever we’re facing has set this up so all the heroes die, and the Blessed get blamed for it. ”
“Does it matter?” Meri spoke in a low, bitter tone.
Abarsam’s death had hit her so hard, and Gallmau didn’t know what to say to make it less awful.
“Whoever they are, why they’re doing it—I don’t care.
Their flying beast came from the caves. Let’s go there and kill everyone in them. That’s my idea of a happy ending.”
“We’re dealing with sorcerers who’ve taken out one of Soissons’s best incensors and the most powerful aquamage in Kush.
” Sinan shaded his eyes to look out at the horizon as he spoke.
“A direct assault won’t work. We need to tell our own story and make it believable enough that our enemies will fall for it. ”
Gallmau turned his attention to the sky as well, and spotted wings in the distance as Sinan raised his hand to point to the Azhdarchid bearing down on them. He hoisted his shield in one hand, and his short sword in the other.
“Everyone take cover. Now.” Gallmau stood out on the exposed riverbank, as his companions dispersed into the trees lining the bank.
The Azhdarchid landed seconds later, its flight speed a hell of a lot faster than Gallmau had counted on. The monstrous Archaic stalked toward him, its legs alternating with its wing joints in rapid succession. It came within several feet of him and opened its wide beak to issue a challenging cry.
“Come and get it.” Gallmau crouched, waiting for the bird-like creature to strike. “Let’s see how you do without a sneak attack, you big feathered bastard.”
The creature opened its beak again, making a series of odd cries which Gallmau could swear were a comeback to his insults. Pools of shadow spread out over the ground below the creature’s feet, as if an ink pot had been tipped over.
Meri cried out a warning, and Gallmau spun, lifting his shield to block the blow from an entirely different beak. In another instant, he was facing two additional Azhdarchids, smaller than the first, but both possessing the toothed beaks and grasping wing hands the flying monsters were known for.
Gallmau cursed. The monster had called for reinforcements, and her two baby Azhdarchids had popped out of the shadows like little flying Bone Lords. Animals touched with necromancy were supposed to be sterile, like their human counterparts—except when they weren’t, like Mother Naghwe.
Gallmau feinted toward one creature and slashed at the second, but the animals darted away from his strikes, moving together as if they were used to attacking prey as a team. He realized too late he wasn’t the animals’ target.
The mother Azhdarchid stalked toward the trees and his companions. He tried to follow, but the two smaller monsters alternated attacks on him. Even with the magically enhanced protection of his shield, the flurry of beaks slowed him down.
There was a shriek of triumph, and the Azhdarchid launched itself into the air, its feet clutching someone by the arms. Meri and Sinan burst out of the trees, both trying to slash at the creature as it rose into the air.
Valentina screamed, struggling in the Azhdarchid’s grip.
The Archaic couldn’t reach high altitudes with such heavy prey, but it coasted over the river, letting the medica thrash helplessly above the rushing water.
Gallmau tried to bash his shield against the smaller animals, his frustration and fear mounting. Sinan rushed in to help with a flurry of blows with his sword that drove the smaller creatures back for a moment.
They flapped upward, above his reach.
If Gallmau could only grasp Valentina’s ankle, the Azhdarchid couldn’t possibly handle his weight along with hers. There was still a chance he could save her.
He dashed into the water, but the mother Azhdarchid soared upward, and his hands missed Valentina’s kicking feet.
He stumbled further into the river until he was neck deep and unable to move with any speed.
Gallmau could do little else but watch as the three monsters flew off in a low formation, the largest one holding tightly onto Valentina as they soared away.
Meri came in view downstream, kneeling on the riverbank clutching her head.
Gallmau could tell she had tried to use her speed to save Valentina and paid the price the medica had predicted.
He struggled to get out of the water to rush toward her, but Sinan was racing along the bank and was at Meri’s side before Gallmau climbed out onto dry land, water streaming from his clothing and his stomach in knots.
Valentina was gone.
Meri was hurt.
And their enemies knew they were coming.