Descent (13 page)

He returned to the tavern and sat down at the bar.

The barmaid who had told him to stop cracking his knuckles handed him a glass of ale, and stood back watching him closely.

‘Is there a problem?’ Luca asked coldly. She shook her head but continued to stare.

‘There is an old proverb my grandmother used to tell me,’ she said suddenly and he looked up at her. ‘There is more pleasure in loving than in being loved.’

His gaze grew still as he met her eyes. She held the contact for a moment longer, then gave him a sad smile and walked away to deliver some drinks to a table.

Luca rose from his seat and swept out of the inn. He didn’t bother fastening his cloak as he disappeared into the night, an urge to inflict pain throbbing in his veins.

‘A long time ago I asked him to let me in,’ Anna murmured very softly. ‘To talk to me about what he was going through.’ She looked into the eyes of the dragon. Locktar stared back at her, still and listening.

‘Luca said “you can’t know another person. You can only know yourself. And when you don’t even know that, there is no way into the light.”’ Anna rested her head against Locktar’s. Gently she stroked his crocodile-like skin. ‘I had this strange feeling when I watched him leave this time. I don’t know where it came from, but I couldn’t get rid of it. I thought: he’s walking away from us forever this time.’

She closed her eyes, fighting a wave of fatigue. Locktar had one of his enormous wings around her to keep her warm. Today, she just needed to talk out loud.

‘I’m not scared,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve never been scared of death. I’ve been granted so much extra and I’m grateful for that.’ Anna wrapped her arms more tightly around Locktar. ‘It’s just that I’m getting worse. Jane is gone, and I’m frightened that if I die, there won’t be anyone to keep Luca safe from himself.’

‘Wait, wait—I don’t get it. What do you see when you look into the water?’

Mia looked at her boyfriend and resisted the urge to sigh. ‘Your destiny,’ she stressed for the third time, and for the third time he snorted with derision.

‘There’s no such thing.’

‘I think there is. There must be.’

‘Why, because you had a hallucination in the garden?’

‘Jack! Because everyone here looks into the basin and sees their future. Or, no, not their future as such—’

‘So what’s the difference between future and destiny then?’

‘I don’t know! I just know that I saw something.’

‘A big building, right?’ Jack repeated. ‘Maybe it means your destiny is to become a brick layer.’

‘Jack! Can you take this seriously for once?’

‘Look, Mia,’ he sighed, shaking his head. ‘Destiny, fate—whatever—it’s a whole bunch of crack-pot nonsense and I don’t buy into a bit of it.’

‘Then you don’t want to look and see what yours is?’

‘Not remotely.’

‘You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know.’

‘Why? Because I don’t want to have a so-called vision of my future? The people here probably put something in the water.’

Mia shook her head. ‘Why can’t you at least pretend to be interested in something that’s important to me?’

‘Because that would be lying, and I’m not a liar.’

‘Oh please. You lie all the time.’

‘When it’s funny,’ he amended with a grin.

‘I don’t find you funny at all!’ Mia snapped furiously.

‘Now who’s the liar?’

She stood and went to sit against the window, refusing to look at him.

‘Mia,’ he sighed. ‘Don’t sulk.’

Which only made her angrier. Jack’s eyes had dark circles beneath them, despite his claim that he’d been sleeping well. Maybe tiredness was making him cruel.

‘Okay. The truth is, I believe that nothing good can come from seeing our futures, and I think we make our own destiny. Therefore...’ he hesitated, and Mia almost turned to see what was wrong. ‘Therefore, I already know what I’d see if I looked in. You. All I would see is you,’ he said softly

Mia stared out the window for another second before something inside her melted, and she allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms. But the disquiet did not leave her, nor the sense of entrapment. The image of the city and was growing in her mind, so that it was all she could see. She knew that if Jack could not see it too, then there would be a looming thing in the air between them, separating them.

Anna opened the door to the library and stood back so Mia could see the huge room.

‘Ugh!’ Mia exclaimed, holding her nose. ‘Look at all the dust—I can hardly breathe!’

Harry rolled his eyes. ‘You’re such a princess.’

‘No, I just don’t want dust bunnies making a home in my lungs!’

‘Come on,’ Anna said, leading them inside. The library
was
very old. The scholars who worked there all looked to be about four hundred years old and never left their musty corners full of ancient scrolls and parchments.

‘So what are we looking for?’ Harry asked.

‘The most ridiculous notion known to man,’ Jack muttered grumpily. Harry looked at him.

‘What’s under your skin? You look exhausted. Are you sleeping properly? I told you to tell me if you had any nightmares—’

‘I’m fine,’ Jack snapped.

‘Jack thinks I’m stupid to even be thinking about this,’ Mia explained coldly.

‘We’re looking for geography or architecture books,’ Anna offered. ‘We’re trying to find a big white and gold city in the desert.’

Harry nodded. ‘Then we’ll need books on Tirana. Let’s start over here.’

The four of them made their way through the towers of literature that were balanced precariously on just about every surface.

‘Do you get the feeling they might want to expand?’ Jack murmured.

‘They’ve been talking about it for years,’ Anna told him, ‘But Accolon doesn’t put much stock in history or literature.’

‘Philistine,’ Harry said darkly. ‘Here we go!’ he added quickly, holding up a book on the Sands of Anuk.

Two hours later, the three of them had gone through a stack of books taller than each of their heights combined, and hadn’t found a single clue. Jack refused to help in any way except to ridicule the old librarians when they were out of hearing range.

‘This is hopeless!’ Mia announced, resting her head with a woeful sigh on Harry’s shoulder.

‘We haven’t even started on the runes section!’ Harry argued.

Jack groaned.

‘Besides which,’ Anna added, ‘The city was new and sparkling, wasn’t it, Mia?’

Mia nodded. ‘Yep. It was absolutely beautiful, and the thing is—if somewhere like that actually existed, it wouldn’t be a secret. Everyone would want to live there.’

‘Didn’t you say it was in the middle of a giant sand pit?’ Jack asked. ‘Don’t know about you, but I sure as hell hate getting sand in my unmentionables.’

Mia scowled.

‘I wish Emperor Liam was here,’ Anna said. ‘He’d be able to tell us if there’s a city in the sand.’

‘Who’s Emperor Liam?’

‘Leader of the Kabduh—the people who live in the Sands of Anuk.’

‘Very scary,’ Harry added with a shudder.

‘Well that’s settled then,’ Mia announced, standing up with such fervour that sheets of parchment scattered everywhere. ‘I’m going to talk to Emperor Liam.’

They stared at her.

‘He lives in a country on the other side of the world, in a nomadic tribe that at any given time could be in some part of a desert bigger than most countries on Earth,’ Harry said. ‘How do you suppose you do that?’

Mia folded her arms, seemingly unfazed. ‘I don’t know—I’ll get a camel or something and go looking.’

Jack sniggered. ‘Do you know how stupid you sound right now?’

Mia opened her mouth, but Anna cut in first. ‘Mia, darling, it’s not quite as simple as that.’

There was a moment in which they all held their breaths, waiting for the explosion. Mia’s temper
tantrums were legendary. Instead, she sank down in her chair and looked at Anna.

‘Please,’ she whispered wearily. ‘You’re the only one who understands, Anna. I need to do this. If there’s a way, please help me find it.’

Anna nodded. ‘Of course. There will be a way. I’ll ask Elixia how to find Liam and then we’ll work out what to do from there.’

‘Hold on,’ Jack spluttered. ‘You aren’t
actually
considering going there?’

‘If that’s what it takes,’ Mia said firmly.

‘There might be an easier way to find out if this place exists first,’ Harry said.

‘Well if you can find it, I’d appreciate it. If not, I have no problems leaving as soon as I can.’

Jack followed Mia up to her room and shut the door behind them. There was a dresser full of clothes that Anna had organised, and Mia started to pack them into a suitcase she found under the bed.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked slowly.

Mia didn’t stop. ‘I’m packing for my trip.’

‘To find a non-existent city.’

‘Yes, okay. Whatever you think.’

He shook his head. ‘This is
so
stupid. You’ve lost it.’

Mia’s eyes blazed. ‘Don’t start, Jack, or I’m going to lose it on you!’

‘So you’re going to travel to the other side of the world and go wandering around the desert? All because of something you think you saw in a bird-bath? And I suppose you’re going to drag us all along with you?’

‘Not at all,’ she snapped.

‘We don’t have any idea what we’re doing here, Mia! We need the others!’

‘What exactly do you mean by “we”?’ she asked,
looking at him. He stared back at her, and her meaning suddenly clicked into place.

His mouth fell open. ‘You think you’re going to go alone? Don’t be
ridiculous.
’

‘Why can’t I?’ she asked.

‘Because you haven’t done anything on your own in your entire life! You need me for everything!’

‘How dare you!’ she hissed. ‘You always do this! You always tell me I’m not good enough!’

‘I’ve never
once
said that to you!’

‘Well you sure as hell imply it all the time!’

He groaned and shook his head. ‘You’re being stupid.’

‘There you go again!’ she yelled. ‘Telling me I’m stupid. You’re supposed to support me, Jack. You’re supposed to make me believe in myself.

‘Not when you’re going on some crazy mission that’s most likely going to get you killed! And what the hell do you think you’re going to do if you find this place?’

‘I don’t know, Jack, but at least I’ll be far away from you!’ she yelled and then ran from the room.

He sat down on the bed and stared at her suitcase. Mia was impulsive, but never to this extreme. It was as if she couldn’t see how dangerous and selfish this plan was! She was hell-bent on getting her own way and causing people to worry, simply so she could follow a whim.

Jack’s hands had formed fists without him even noticing, and he focused on relaxing himself. It wouldn’t be long before she realised he was right, and they would go back to normal, like they did after any other fight.

Harry would agree with him. Jack went to find his friend. Harry was in the armoury, sharpening some arrows. He looked up when Jack entered and smiled. ‘How’s it going, man? Can I take it that you’ve just had the mother of all fights?’

‘How did you guess?’

Harry held the arrow to his eye and sighted it before turning it over to glue a feather to the shaft.

‘Do you always make your own arrows?’ Jack asked, distracted by the coolness of what Harry was doing.

‘Silly, I know, but it’s the only way I know they’ll be straight enough.’

Jack jumped up to sit on the edge of a workbench. ‘Have you ... I mean, do you ... kill people with those?’

Harry looked up at him and stopped what he was doing. ‘Not if I can help it.’

‘But you have, haven’t you?’

‘A long time ago, Jack.’

‘In the war?’

Harry nodded. He scratched his beard, looking tired.

‘We had to,’ Harry said softly, his eyes focused on the wall. ‘They were attacking us, and if we didn’t fight back, we died. People were dying all around me. They were just dropping, like animals, like they meant nothing.’ He sighed. ‘It’s different here, Jack. It’s darker. If you don’t know how to protect yourself, you can get hurt.’

Jack nodded. ‘Can you teach me then?’

Harry shook his head. ‘I’m not fit to teach anyone.’

‘Harry! I saw what you did on the ship! You were awesome!’

‘That was nothing. There are men who could have done that in their sleep. If you truly wish to learn, when we get back to Burmia I’ll ask Altor to give you some lessons.’

‘Altor? Why him? Isn’t he way younger than us?’

Harry folded his big arms and looked at Jack. ‘There are two men that I have seen in all the world, who are truly masters of combat. The first was Prince Fern.’

‘The freak we met the other day?’

‘He’s not a freak,’ Harry said firmly.

‘He didn’t say a word to any of us, and then he ran off as if his bum was on fire.’

‘He’s been dead for two years,’ Harry snapped. ‘You’d probably be a bit strange too. Anyway, he’s half Elf, and good enough to battle the war god. People cried when they saw him fight. They say he was so good with a sword that he could kill someone thrice before they even felt the blow.’

Jack’s eyes widened.

‘The second is the Black Prince. Altor is young. He doesn’t have the same kind of flashy brilliance as Fern, but I’ve seen him with a weapon when he thinks no one is watching. It takes my breath away, every time.’

‘All right,’ Jack breathed. ‘I’m convinced. I definitely want him to teach me.’

‘Don’t get your hopes up, man. He doesn’t even acknowledge his own skill, let alone use it to help others, but we’ll see.’

They lapsed into silence and Harry went back to working on his arrows. Jack watched him for a while. In high school, Harry had been tall, but a little overweight. Now, he was huge, all solid muscle. His growth spurt over the last two years had been amazing.

‘You been working out, man?’ Jack teased. Harry flexed his muscles and then laughed, launching himself across the room to take Jack in a vice-like headlock. The two wrestled for a while, crashing into tables and walls.

‘All right, all right,’ Jack panted. ‘I give up!’

Harry released him and ruffled his friend’s hair fondly. Jack rubbed his sore neck, unused to being dominated by the boy who had usually been the worst at sports of any kind.

‘At least I still have youth on my side. You’re
old,
man. In a couple of years when your hip breaks I’ll be able to beat you with my eyes closed.’

Harry laughed again. ‘I’m nineteen, Jack.’

‘My point exactly. Old. You won’t even be a teenager for much longer. Plus you look stupid with that beard.’

‘Hey! I’ve been growing this bad boy since I got here. They’re all the fashion in Paragor.’

‘Everyone here looks just as stupid as you do.’

They chatted for a while longer about nothing important, when finally Jack blurted, ‘She’s not really going through with it, is she?’

Harry looked up. ‘I don’t think that’s the point.’

‘Then what is?’

‘I think she just wants to know that if she did, you’d be okay with it.’

Jack frowned. ‘It’s just so weird. Tell me you don’t believe in this fate crap.’

Harry shrugged. ‘Whether I do or not doesn’t matter. I’m not going to make her feel bad because she does. Especially when it was true for Anna and Luca.’

‘Don’t you think that it could just be that people see stuff in the basin and then make something happen because they want so badly to believe in a higher power?’

‘Maybe. But what does it matter which way it works? She wants to find this city because she feels connected to it. Who are we to stop her?’

‘Harry, I’m her boyfriend. I’m trying to protect her.’

‘Maybe she just wants your support instead.’

‘Oh, come on! You’re telling me I should encourage this stupid wild goose chase? How do we know she won’t just go wandering off in the desert and die of thirst or something?’

‘You don’t have very much faith in her do you? We all had to go through trials when we got here. They were difficult, but we’re so much better for them.’ Harry paused. ‘Do you remember what I used to be like?’