Chapter 29
where that fire touched the world, the sky
flushed a darker blue
like a bruise
like light seen inside the lid, when the eye is closed
—On Swallowing Gold, Heartshamer
‘Thell?!’
Slickwalker throws his arms up in exasperation. ‘Why the fuck would we march on Thell?’
Crowkisser pours from the copper kettle and watches the leaves split and bleed into the water. ‘Because Fallon’s son is there.’ She strains, blows, sips, then smiles.
Slickwalker throws himself down opposite her and begins worrying at his bootstraps. ‘So? Fallon’s in Hesper. Along with his army. And Shroud and Ship.’ He peels off a boot, taking the sock with it, and winces.
‘Stones below, my feet are raw.’ He looks up. ‘I did mention that right? Shroud and Ship. Both. In Hesper. With Fallon. Who nearly killed me.’
Crowkisser watches his worried face, its clean, dark lines. She smiles again. ‘Yes, you did. But they won’t stay there.’
He rolls his eyes. ‘They’re there now. Am I making sense?’ He holds his hands out.
‘Kiss, we finally, finally know where they are. We drew them out.’ He rubs at his jaw. ‘Not without some cost, at that. They hit hard.’
She glances across. ‘I noticed that. I’m glad you’re OK. But like I said, they’re not staying. They’re going to push north to where my father can work some meaningful magic. They need the dead. They need Thell.’
He scratches at his chin. ‘You’re sure of it?’
She nods curtly, crushing some herbs into her cup.
He watches them settle on the surface.
‘How are the shakes?’
She sips, grimaces. ‘Fine.’
He tilts his head. ‘Seriously, Kiss? You can do better.’
She sips again, holding his gaze. ‘They’re fine.’
He shrugs out of his jacket. ‘OK, I’ll buy it. And the voices?’
She waves her fingers. ‘Fine too. I’m just tired.’
He nods slowly, wearily, and starts working at the bones of his left hand with the fingers of his right. ‘I’m not an idiot, Kisser. You’re not as a good a liar as you think you are.’
She drains the cup. ‘I’m as fine as I need to be, Slick. Don’t make me explain it. You don’t know the first thing about prophecy.’
He feels a surge of irritation. Bites his tongue. ‘Obviously, or I wouldn’t be out there risking my skin to find out something you’d apparently already heard.’ He pauses, glances at the scurrying, squawking roof. ‘From the birds.’
‘You were never in any danger,’ she says. ‘The shadow protects you.’
He grits his teeth. ‘In danger, Kiss? I was in pieces.’ He wiggles his jaw experimentally. ‘I can still feel it grinding.’
She steps closer, plants a foot either side of his thighs. Takes his chin, turns it. ‘No permanent damage. Don’t worry. I won’t allow it. The shadow doesn’t permit it.’
He bats her hand away. ‘Do you ever think that maybe you don’t know everything?’
She looks at him, baffled expressions flitting across her face. Confusion, then fury.
Slickwalker stands. ‘Of course not. My mistake.’ He glances up at the ceiling, at the twisted ropes, the charms, the rotten meat and bone. The ceaseless shuffle of the crows. ‘This place is starting to stink.’
The shadows begin to tear at him as he walks away.
He half turns to look at her. The faintest shake in his voice.
‘Tell me next time, Kisser.’
She watches his face and steps forwards, catching his wrist before it fades totally into the dark. Marvels again at the feel of the shadow on his skin, like silk, or driest snake-skin.
When she pulls him close he resists only a little. She runs a finger along his side, draws him in, guides him back to the chair.
Pushing him gently down she frowns, just enough for effect. ‘Slick, the prophecies only show one pattern. The birds only see what birds see. It all needs corroborating.’
She turns back to the kettle, returning it to the flame and begins ordering cups, jars, herbs, everything back to its place. ‘I wouldn’t be much of a leader if I only acted on my own hunches. The more patterns I can see, the more eyes I have, the smarter I’ll be.’
She licks honey off a spoon, smiles sweetly. ‘I needed to put the cat among the pigeons, see which way they’d jump.’ She grins wider, as she steps in and ruffles his hair. ‘You were my cat.’
Crowkisser can tell that he enjoys her touch, even though he wants to push her off.
She runs her nails lightly over the back of his scalp, watches even that small resistance crumble.
‘I’m new at this too, Slick. It’s not easy.
’ She feels the truth of that in her heart as it comes out, takes it, uses it to hook into him.
He responds almost immediately, takes her hand.
Such nice fingers. He squeezes. ‘I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t mouth off. I sometimes forget how quickly all of this unfurled.
’ A flicker of sadness touches his eyes.
‘Sometimes I can still see the trees in the south. Those big branches.’ He grabs her waist. ‘Thicker round than you.’ He laughs. He does have a good laugh.
She wriggles free slowly, letting the folds of her dress linger against his fingers, and eyes him critically.
‘This is a poor attempt at undressing. Sort yourself out so we can make up properly.’
Slickwalker salutes, wriggles his toes and starts working at the second boot. ‘Can I get some of that tea?’
She touches her palm to the copper, just warm enough. She can feel his eyes on her back as she pours, stirs in honey and reaches across to set the cup by him. As she leans in, he grabs her hip and pulls her down to his lips.
‘Am I being insufferable?’ His words are muffled by her skin, his tongue light against her teeth.
She nods. He kisses down her neck, running his hands over her sides. ‘How do you cope with me?’
She wriggles, bringing her mouth close to his ear, smells metal and sharpness and blood.
‘How do I cope?’ She lets the question hang, runs her tongue along his jaw.
‘How, do, I, cope?’ With every word, a bite as punctuation. ‘Persistence. Affection. Inertia.’
She sits back, stares him in the eye. ‘Plus, I really, really enjoy fucking you.’
Slickwalker laughs. A proper laugh, his eyes light. A rare thing. He wriggles an arm free, grabs the tea, cups it between them. ‘I’m too cold to fuck. Ask anyone.’
She pouts. ‘That won’t do. You can’t survive tangling with that pair and not get fucked. That’s just unfair.’
He sips the tea, regarding her over the rim. ‘Is that so? That’s the rule is it?’
She nods confidently. ‘Definitely.’
His face hardens. ‘Do one thing for me first.’
Crowkisser tips his head, runs her nails through his hair, ‘What?’
‘Tell me why Fallon’s kid is so important.’
She shrugs. ‘Because if Fallon thinks he’s safe, he’ll fight. Fight hard. And that’ll cost us. If he knows he’s dead, or that we have him, Hesper’ll open up like a nut. We can crack its gates without ever seeing the walls.’ She unbuttons his shirt, kisses down his stomach. ‘Make sense?’
Slickwalker nods as he watches her dark hair sink down his body. It feels so pleasant, it almost takes the sting out of the lie. He catches her hair. ‘And the kid’s in Thell?’
She nods, kisses him lightly.
He tugs. ‘And that’s why we need to march on the mountain?’
She smiles, slyly. ‘Not convinced?’
He snorts. ‘Of course not.’
She moves her hands down again, and he stops them, gently. ‘Explain.’
She pouts. ‘I’m not sure you’re really getting on board with this.’
For once, he holds his ground. ‘Explain. I need to know.’
She straightens, resting her elbows on his thighs. ‘Dad’s not just going to Thell for the dead.’ She pauses. ‘Well, he might think he is, but there’s another reason.’
Slickwalker tucks a curl of wild hair behind her ear. ‘What’s that?’
‘He’s going back to the last place he won. The last place he has anything close to friends. He wants to feel confident again.’
Slickwalker twists his lips sceptically. ‘Did the crows tell you that?’
She sticks her tongue out. ‘Nah, I just know my da. He likes to feel like he’s on the right side of history. Plus,’ she says, fingers tracing lines in the dark hair of his calves. ‘Thell’s the biggest city around after Hesper. The Republic’s a real power. They’ve done well for themselves.’
He catches her hands, traces the fingers one by one. ‘So, aren’t we just picking a bigger fight? If we march all the way to Thell, we’ll tear ourselves ragged if we have to fight Fallon.’
‘That’s not going to happen. We’re getting into Thell.’
His fingers stop. ‘Into that mountain? It’ll tear us apart.’
She shakes her head. ‘We’re getting in.’
He laughs resignedly. ‘How do you know that?’
She grins triumphantly. ‘The crows told me, of course.’