A Clash of Shadows (16 page)

They tied the horses and unloaded them.

“I am going to do my own investigations a bit more thoroughly,” Serdra said. “And check the situation by the manor. Then I will try to come again with food. Meanwhile, you guard the horses.”

“Fine,” Katja said a bit sourly and stroked one of the beasts. She supposed it would have to be this way. They couldn’t afford losing them.

“How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“I don’t know. But if I am not back by sunset, enter the manor without me.”

Katja was slightly shocked.

“Shouldn’t I look for you?”

“It would probably avail you little,” Serdra said and walked. “Neither the Night Hand nor the Brotherhood has any reason to spare me if something goes wrong.”

“But... don’t they ever attempt interrogations?” Katja asked.

“Perhaps a young one like you,” Serdra said and entered the foliage. “But not my kind.” She pushed branches out of the way and then vanished behind them. “Keep quiet and stay on guard,” she said and then vanished with a faint rustling.

It took some time for Katja to relax after Serdra left. Getting to fight again had been good, but she was having trouble coming back down from it.

The violence was horrible and the danger was frightening; as a human being she knew that and felt it. But as a Redcloak she enjoyed it and wanted more now that she had tasted it after such a long fast.

I am crazy.

She sighed and recalled the events of the night and went over what she had done right and what she could have done better.

Once that process had started going in circles she pulled the knife from its sheath and practised thrusts in the little space available. Then it was the sword. Then fists and feet. Finally she took off her outer clothes and practised agility and strength among the trees. The morning sun shone through leaves and it didn’t take her long to work up a sweat.

She continued though. The demon was stirring. She felt it as clearly as she felt the sun on her skin. The monster was awakening and she had to sit and wait because of the people she was supposed to defend. The night’s battle had been little more than a warm-up for the true foe.

She had to sweat in order to handle that.

Eventually she sat down on a log and ate of the hard biscuits and dried fish they had left. And noon still hadn’t arrived.

“Sleep until the night, demon,” she said sternly in the direction of the manor. “Then you’ll get all the fighting you want.”

Time passed.

Katja tended the horses, went on small tours around the area to check for people, tried to divine the state of the Rose Manor and did a few milder versions of the morning’s workout.

She was startled when she finally heard rustling approach, but Serdra addressed her in the stealth language and Katja replied. Serdra squeezed through the foliage a few moments later.

“It’s good to see you,” Katja said and could only say it with full earnestness. The wait had gotten quite frustrating.

Serdra came bearing gifts. She had fresh bread and one of those giant dark sausages that seemed so popular in this country, as well as more long-lasting provisions they put in their luggage. To be on the safe side.

Katja hungrily tore in the sausage and deeply enjoyed the chunks of fat. The bread was a secondary matter.

“Did you find anything out?” she asked with her mouth full.

“Not much new. Things are still quiet by the manor. I don’t think the mercenaries will be a problem unless something truly spectacular takes place tonight.”

“What about our
friends
?” Katja asked.

“I didn’t pick anything up. People buzz about the night’s conflict. It’s rare for so many to die at once, and within the city itself at that. The Fox’s name comes up in the gossip. We are not being searched for, at any rate.”

Katja shrugged.

“So we continue waiting?”

“Yes,” Serdra said and sat up against a tree. “We wait and rest. Go ahead and nap.” She pointed at a clear spot on the ground. “You will need a sharp mind and a strong body tonight.”

True.

Katja arranged herself with a blanket under her head. She had almost not noticed how tired she had been throughout the day. She had never been one for feeling sorry for herself and all the training had elevated her stamina to a new level, but proper sleep was always a good thing.

She tried to focus more on the birdsong and aroma of plants than the growing dread to the east and let it bring her into sleep.

When she woke up the sky was darkening and the city curfew was close.

“Well, it is time,” Katja said needlessly.

“Yes.”

“Shall we put on the armour?”

“Against such a demon? It would just tear through it. If it wakes agility will be our salvation.”

“Right,” Katja said rather reluctantly. Her combat training had revolved around agility, but she still suddenly felt rather exposed in nothing but leather.

They untied the horses and led them carefully through the thicket and to the path they had found in the morning. Then they headed south to the open plain and from there to the east.

They maintained a slow, even pace. They stopped by a stream to water the horses but otherwise headed straight to the Crescent and then along it towards Splitlog.

It was difficult to be certain in the darkness but felt she knew when they passed the path to Old Stack. She looked towards the bridge. Leifur would be there tonight. What would the Brotherhood scum have to say? Would it merely be the next phase of the conflict?

He deserves to die
, she thought savagely.

They arrived at the mounds near the dead tree and dismounted. The beasts weren’t warhorses and if something came up they wouldn’t stay calm. In that event it would be better to stay on foot.

Serdra went ahead and Katja watched the sides and the rear. There was nothing to see and nothing to hear except the night animals.

The tree appeared to them out of the darkness like a giant hand. A raven cawed loudly as they approached.

“Good evening,” Serdra said and Katja spotted a person’s silhouette by the tree a moment later.

“Good evening,” Mikael responded.

“Yes,” Haflidi said and stood up. He had been sitting by the split trunk.

“Is our guide here?” Serdra asked.

“Not yet,” Haflidi said. “But he can’t be far away. He won’t want to miss the second half of the payment.”

“Unless we are being swindled,” Katja said.

She didn’t see Haflidi’s face well in the darkness, but he didn’t reply with words.

She hadn’t forgotten the man’s assurances from the day before, but then she had no particular reason to believe them. And she was wound up. She wanted to get inside the manor. She wanted to obey the Call and in so doing silence it. She wanted to face the demon and get an outlet for all the anticipation.

The roar she had heard in the vision shot through her mind.

“Are you sure you are prepared?” Mikael asked after a brief silence.

“We have swords and knives for dealing with problems,” Serdra said. “More we do not need.”

“Well, if nothing else you are confident,” Mikael said. He reached behind himself and Katja now saw that he had a backpack on. “We have the lamps,” he said and displayed one of them. It only had one open side and a piece of paper could be slid before it. It was perfect for burglaries and such.

“And I see you two are armed,” Katja and pointed at his sword.

“Yes, it’s probably wise.”

“Do you plan on fighting demons?” she asked with a smile he probably didn’t get.

“I don’t mean to die, if I can help it,” he said.

“Men are coming,” Serdra said quietly. Only then did Katja realize she had gone off by herself. The woman looked south and so did Katja.

She saw nothing at first but then heard footsteps before a silhouette began approaching them out of the darkness.

“Good evening.”

The chilly greeting came from the blond man from the previous day. He had two other men with him and Katja quickly noticed that they both had axes.

“Yes, good evening,” Haflidi said and approached them. “I trust everything is in order?”

The men stopped and the ones with the axes positioned themselves on either side of the contact. Katja walked close enough to see their demeanour. They showed no sign of nervousness, as would have been expected of an unhardened person expecting combat.

“I trust you have the money,” the blond man said.

They all gathered together and paid the rest of the price out of their purses and the man counted carefully.

“Well. This way,” he then said and immediately walked off north. One his guards walked by his side and when they followed the other one let them pass and followed from a considerable distance. Perhaps he was just there to make sure they wouldn’t be followed. Perhaps to be able to react to trouble.

The Fox’s man walked north and seemed to heading more-or-less in the direction of the manor. He made use of little-used paths that were nonetheless accessible to people and horses in darkness and clearly was very familiar with them.

Katja herself wasn’t and in spite of considerable experience with darkness she tended to stumble on mounds or step too hard into depressions.

She groaned on the inside and tried to figure out whether she were blowing her own clumsiness out of proportion or whether the others were doing better.

She was excited. Wound up. All the waiting since the Sensing, all the travelling and hiding games with humans. And now the moment was almost here.

Eventually the road led a bit upwards and to the edge of a forest. Katja suspected it was the one that surrounded the manor. A small cabin stood just within it.

“This is the place,” the blond man said.

“So the opening is inside?” Mikael asked.

“Yes.”

“We need to leave the horses behind,” Serdra said and looked at the contact with that searing gaze of hers.

“Yes yes, I figured as much,” the man replied and seemed a bit disturbed. “We will look after them. The authorities oversee all horse trading. Getting away with horse theft is a damnable bother around here.”

“Good to know.”

The contact lit a lamp and let light into the cabin. It was quite a poor construction but not very old, to Katja’s eye. It had probably been built for the sole purpose of hiding the tunnel.

He entered along with his silent comrades and lifted rough floorboards, revealing a wide tunnel down into the ground.

“This is where they exited,” Mikael said absent-mindedly and looked down into the blackness and the surrounding space. Katja thought he suddenly looked dreamy. Did she herself look like this when she experienced the past?

“We will wait here for you,” the blond man said. “But don’t take too long.”

He locked gazes with Haflidi, who just smiled.

“This shouldn’t take too long,” he said. “Trust me.”

Serdra tied the horses outside, Mikael lit his lamp on the contact’s lamp and then lit Haflidi’s lamp. They then gathered by the opening.

“And remember what I said about secrecy,” the blond man said.

“I’m not this forgetful,” Katja said with irritation. The bodyguards seemed to fidget, but their leader just gave her a surly look.

“So, shall we head off?” Haflidi asked.

“Yes,” Katja said. “Let’s hurry.”

“By all means,” Mikael said.

Haflidi went down first, followed by Serdra and Katja and finally Mikael.

The tunnel was low enough that Katja had to fight the urge to walk stooped. Serdra was taller than her and could walk upright, thought it was a close thing.

The earth swallowed them and the journey to the Rose Manor had begun.

I am on my way.

14.

The tunnel had been designed for flight, not comfort. They walked in a straight line because the room allowed nothing else. The air was heavy and dank and the echo of their footsteps was almost deafening. And Mikael’s raven was restless.

None of this did anything to calm Katja’s nerves.

“It feels rather odd to go through here,” Mikael said. “This is an important place.”

“Isn’t the city as well?” she asked.

“Yes. But so many pass through there and it is known for many things. This place is for one reason and we are among the very few who get to see it.”

There was some sense in that, but Katja said nothing more. She had plenty of other things on her mind.

“There,” Haflidi finally said and illuminated a hatch in the ceiling.

They gathered by it. It was inconveniently high up. But then it was designed for exit, not entry.

Haflidi reached up and pushed on the hatch. It lifted and the man carefully moved it to the side. Then he jumped up and grasped the edge and Mikael pushed him up. The raven fluttered up the hole. Haflidi then pulled his comrade up and they pulled Katja up together.

She had meant to just climb up on her own but grasped the hands when they were offered. The demon filled her senses.

The hatch was in a cellar. The lamps Mikael and Haflidi had put down illuminated brick walls, a low ceiling and rotten wine casks. The opening had been dug out of sight, behind one such. Everything was covered in dust, spider webs and leaves and junk that had made it down from the ground floor.

She immediately began to investigate her environment and quickly saw that the cellar was larger than most houses she had entered.

There was no lack of drink in this home.

She looked back and saw her co-burglars were themselves examining. She hadn’t noticed Serdra coming up but the woman stood a few metres from the hatch and looked into the darkness of the cellar. She gave Katja a focused look and then walked into the direction she had been looking.

Katja walked further. Haflidi and Mikael shared a few quiet words and then went in separate directions. The light of their lamps was enough for her to get around.

Dust, rocks, webs and rotted wood seemed to be the cellar’s only features.

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything of interest to be found here,” Mikael said after a short while.

“If others have made use of this tunnel then this cellar has presumably been thoroughly covered,” Haflidi said. “Let’s look up.”

They walked to the stairs together. Katja felt the night air carry down and caress the skin. The demon probably hadn’t closed the door as it entered.

Serdra was the first one up. The two men followed with their lights and Katja wound up in the rear. The leaves that had gathered in the steps through the years rustled beneath their feet. The stairs were narrow and there were four of them. The sound had to carry some distance. Katja put a hand on her sword and clenched her teeth.

They made it up without being attacked but Katja still went ahead and drew her sword. The demon was near. If not in the nearest room then at least very close to the world of men.

Mikael lifted the lamp in the air. The faint light illuminated a short hallway. They went along it carefully and exited the only doorway. Before them lay a large open space that seemed to cross the entirety of the lower floor. Katja looked to the north and saw the double doorway leading out. She couldn’t tell whether the doors stood open, lay somewhere or simply didn’t exist any more. To the south awesome windows on the upper floor let faint light in.

The raven began to get uneasy on Mikael’s shoulder. The man poked the bird and it flew off into the space with a caw.

“We best proceed carefully,” the man said quietly and looked towards the mercenary camp.

“Yes,” Serdra said and looked around.

Haflidi separated from the group, and risked briefly letting more light out of the lamp.

“He said
carefully
,” Katja whispered.

Haflidi illuminated stairs to the upper floor on either side of the hall.

“Shouldn’t we start upstairs?” he asked his comrade and Mikael nodded.

Katja looked at Serdra who signalled her to head south. Evidently they were to search separately.

“We will start down here,” Katja said and headed off. “Have fun,” she added absent-mindedly.

Haflidi briefly followed her on his way to the stairs and illuminated the state of the manor. She would need to clamber over quite a lot of furniture and debris.

People must have had to put in a real effort to create this much debris inside a stone building. But then hatred could work wonders.

She heard Haflidi walk up the stairs she had passed and the light began to fade. She didn’t really mind it. The problem with lamps was how easy it was to lose the light they gave off, leaving one blind until the night vision recovered.

Haflidi’s footsteps made a careful ascent and Katja wove her way through the junk until she arrived at the wall. Her choices were right or left. She leaned her back up against the wall and tried to use her sensitivity to locate the demon but got nothing for her efforts. Nothing useful, anyway.

But this was an evil building, she felt that clearly. She didn’t know whether it was entirely the demon’s fault or whether it had added fuel to an old fire, but there was great unnaturalness in the air here and it would remain so for years to come. She hoped no one got the bright idea to restore the manor and move into it.

Katja went to the left.

Just where are you?

She walked along a hallway and soon started really feeling having left the hall. The hallway had swallowed her.

Seeing what each space had been used for was difficult. The darkness was far deeper so far from the windows and the people who felled the Clan of Roses had no doubt made off with no few unbroken items before the flames took over.

Katja felt her way and found a rotten spear up against a wall. Did the owner lie somewhere nearby out of sight?

Looking into the past of this place would no doubt be informative but she had other things to tend to. Feeling one murder was bad enough. This had been a bloodbath and she didn’t trust that time had made the matter more bearable.

Katja entered a large room and upon banging her shin on a collapsed table she realized that this had probably been a dining room.

The heart of the house
, she thought and her thoughts momentarily turned to an old aunt who had called dining areas by that name.

She refrained from thinking of all the people who had sat here and eaten through the years and walked to a doorway she could glimpse.

It turned out to lead to a narrow staircase leading up. It was probably meant for servants. Katja went up and arrived in a small hallway. She opened three doors and peeked into utter blackness with the sword at the ready. She thought of the flames that had come off the demon’s head. It wouldn’t be hiding in the dark. Not when it took physical form.

Next she exited the hallway. That landed her on the balcony that surrounded the hall that split the Rose Manor in two. Katja leaned over the rail and spotted the stairs Haflidi had used. She neither saw light nor heard footsteps.

I wonder how they are doing.

She picked a direction at random and headed there.

The upper floor was interesting. There had clearly been more to burn here and so it was in an even worse state. Still, grandeur somehow shone through in the slight illumination of the shutterless windows. Perhaps the ground floor had at first been the only one and the upper one later added by different, even richer people, but whatever the reason the doorways were more ornate and the hallways taller with neater arches. The walls were almost covered with iron fittings for lamps and when she touched one she felt fine, wavy craftsmanship.

Going through the building was strange; all these signs of glory hidden among decay and destruction.

She was approaching her goal. She felt that and the sensation drew her to a particular space, before one of the stairs down. A large doorway stood beyond the mini-hall, so perhaps this had been a guard station. And if so then whatever lay beyond it must have been important.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approach from a nearby hallway. She looked towards it.

She knew the light had to precede either Mikael or Haflidi but still breathed easier upon hearing the flutter of wings.

The raven flew out of the hallway and Mikael followed a few moments later. He walked straight to the hall and looked it over.

“Hello,” she said. “Have you had any luck?”

“I am still looking,” he said and didn’t even look at her. The hall consumed his attention. He lifted the lamp and let the light play on the walls.

She watched him walk closer and wondered whether she ought to warn him. He knew the demon had vanished into the manor and taken the risk of his own free will. But he didn’t know how close the monster was. He didn’t feel it writhe under the surface of the world.

She looked away from him and at what the lamp revealed. She was somewhat startled to see the faces on the wall. They were in no way human.

“Ah, the Clan of Roses,” Mikael muttered as he slowly let the light drift over the bronze carvings. They were stretched and strange and formed some sort of honour guard above the doorway.

“This is the Moon Wing,” Mikael said to himself.

“The Moon Wing?” Katja repeated and wondered at the name. “Do you have business there?” she asked.

“Yes,” the man said and looked into the hallway. “I suspect I do.”

He touched the raven’s beak.

“Find Haflidi. Fetch him.”

He then nudged the bird, which flew off into the darkness.

“I don’t suppose he is for sale?” Katja asked.

“I don’t think you can afford it,” he answered with a mysterious smile.

Katja looked around again.

“Have you seen my friend?” she asked.

“No, not since we split up,” he answered.

Katja nodded without checking whether he saw it and looked at the faces. What in the world did they mean? Perhaps the darkness just had this effect on her but they looked terribly pained. Or maybe angry.

“Just who were these people?” she asked.

“The Clan of Roses was important long before becoming rich,” Mikael said. “They had power of a different sort, one that had nothing to do with money.”

“Like the Brotherhood of the Pit?” she asked in a somewhat dark tone.

She didn’t look over her shoulder to see his face but he hesitated before answering.

“Not quite. They knew forces...
traditions
, that most have forgotten. That have vanished off into backwoods or...” The man grew thoughtful and his eyes distant. “Or east into the Outskirts.” He was silent. “Have you been there?” he then asked without looking at her or changing his tone much.

“No. Have you?”

“Not yet.”

“Aren’t they a wild, dangerous backcountry where monsters and Vegraine-men roam about as in the old days?”

“Perhaps,” Mikael said. “They are the end of the inhabitable world and were the last refuge of darkness and savagery until Arnaldur the Grey and Teiron Blackback began their campaigns to tame them. Perhaps it is true that they are a quilt of the old world and the things that were there to find. And it is easier to travel east than back in time.”

“And are you in the habit of sticking your nose in the dark, forbidden corners of the world?”

“Isn’t that what you are doing?” Mikael asked.

“Yes,” she said. “But I am tougher than I perhaps look.”

Then she smiled at herself. What right did she really have to criticize people for dangerous behaviour?

“And is your friend as young as she appears to be?” Mikael said with a shrewd smile. “Or does more lie beneath the surface?”

Katja stared back.

“I would refrain from poking that surface,” she said carefully. “If only for the sake of politeness.”

“Certainly.”

He returned his gaze to the faces. His eyes went distant again. Evidently he was waiting for his raven and Haflidi.

Yes, enough dilly-dallying
, Katja thought. She had a task to complete.

“I advise you not to enter that wing,” she said but felt rather awkward for it.

“Thank you for that,” Mikael said absent-mindedly.

So be it.

“Be careful,” Katja said and walked off herself. She was approaching the demon. In one way or the other. She felt it. The moment was arriving.

She took a few quick steps ahead and then slowed down. She looked back and considered going back to search for Serdra.

No. I can handle this.

She walked along the hallway. It forked as soon as she stepped beyond Mikael’s light and she stood on her heel for a few moments before heading to the left.

The hallway cut back to the right after a few metres and before her lay a long, cold darkness.