Elves: Once Walked With Gods (33 page)

Takaar caught his right foot and twisted. Auum followed the movement with his body to avoid his ankle being snapped. Takaar pulled his foot in and smashed a kick at Auum’s groin. Auum blocked with his left thigh. Auum landed on his back, twisted his foot from Takaar’s grasp.

Takaar hurdled him. Auum scrambled to turn round. Not fast enough. Takaar kicked out backwards, catching Auum in the kidney. Pain blossomed up his back. He pitched forwards. Auum rolled onto his back. Takaar’s fist was at his face. He knocked it aside but not the second blow which slammed into his nose, bloodying but not breaking it.

Auum’s head thudded against the ground. He brought his knees up sharply and twisted, catching Takaar’s side and unbalancing him. Auum’s fists licked out, the left catching Takaar in the side of the jaw. Takaar pushed himself away back to his feet. Auum ran at him, steadied and kicked out to the knee. Takaar moved easily aside.

Auum blocked a punch to his throat. The second and third were too quick though. One made more of a mess of his nose, the last, an elbow caught him in the side of the neck. He hit the ground again. Takaar pounced on him, cocked his hand for a straight fingered jab to the throat.

‘No one should look for me,’ said Takaar. ‘I am not to be found. Not ever. And you. Came here alone and you will die alone. We see it and we agree.’

Ghost white loomed overhead. Fingers with cruelly sharpened nails closed around Takaar’s throat and a knife point came to rest at his temple.

‘You of all people should know that a TaiGethen is never alone.’

Chapter 27

Speed is nothing without the wit to use it.

‘Why did you authorise this? What purpose was there? We are here to subdue not slaughter! We want to keep them divided. You are forcing them to reunite.’

Sildaan was incandescent. Screaming her rage. She kept rubbing her hands over her face and walking round in tight circles. Garan let her exhaust her dismay, keeping his expression neutral and his lieutenants elsewhere entirely. Here, in the middle of the Park of Tual, with the stacked bodies beginning to stink in the heat of a day which had yielded little rain, they could be quite alone.

‘I cannot believe what you have done here!’

Sildaan pointed at the bodies. Carts and oxen were being found to take them out to the rainforest for reclamation. Garan found the idea repellent. Apparently, elves drew great comfort in knowing their bodies would be torn apart by a thousand different species of animal and bug when they died. All it did to Garan was make him itch more.

‘Llyron wanted to rule these people, not pray for their souls in a mass service of Shorth’s embrace.’ Her face cleared just about enough. ‘Why did you do it?’

‘Right,’ said Garan, taking a breath. ‘There are two reasons, but first let me apologise for not squaring this with you. That was an error.’

‘An error? Oh, sorry, I made a little error of judgement. Rather than herd these Tuali into the harbour master’s warehouse, I accidentally ordered a total butchering. Silly me. Such an easy mistake though, don’t you think?’

Garan took it. Just. ‘Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Sildaan.’

‘False apology doesn’t become you, blink-life.’

Garan felt his anger rising. ‘The fact that you pay me does not give you the right to insult me. Sharp-ears. I am trying to subdue this city as quickly as I can. Your interruptions and lack of knowledge regarding proper tactics are undermining your own operation. You should just let me do the job you are underpaying me to do.’

Sildaan shook her head. ‘I’m interrupting to stop you doing two things I expressly ordered you not to do. Razing the city to the ground and throwing every elven body on the fire. Your way, you get submission by having no one left to rebel. And because I pay you, I get to interfere any time I like and change my mind as often as I like. Is that completely clear or must I spell it out further to your slow human brain?’

Garan almost snapped. Only the thought of the near future stayed him from breaking her neck right then and there. He grabbed the collars of her coat in one gloved hand and hauled her towards him. He knew what she’d do and made no attempt to move the knife blade he felt pressing against his shirt over his stomach.

‘You will let me go or I will kill you,’ said Sildaan.

‘I have no doubt that you will. Just ask yourself how long you will last with my blood on your blade and four hundred of my men waiting for my next order. So you will listen to me and then we will move on.’

The knife did not withdraw. Nor did it push in further. Good enough. Neither of them would look away. Garan stared into eyes full of indignation and contempt. He trusted his were as cold as others told him they were. He let her coat go.

‘You don’t believe me but this needed to happen,’ said Garan. ‘Firstly because every elf in this city needs to understand the price of resistance or rebellion. And your message will be about how these elves set an ambush and would not lay down their arms, leaving us with no choice. Secondly, these are Tuali. This is the warlike thread you warned me needed shocking into submission. Let me ask you something. Which is more desirable? To have all these Tuali just waiting their opportunity to strike - not now perhaps, not even tomorrow or the next day. But one day. Or to have them gone and to have every other Tuali, maybe every other elf, too scared to dare oppose you in the street.

‘This has happened in Balaia too. You cannot afford to have elves like this in your new society. You can’t. You need order and obedience from day one. Damn me if you like, and I’ll take my chances with your god Shorth. Or wait to see the wisdom of my slow human brain.’

Garan stepped away and opened his shirt.

‘Take me down now or move to the Gardaryn. We can have this city in our control by sundown.’

Sildaan considered stabbing him. He could see it in her eyes. Fascinating, these elves. The veneer of sophistication was so easily scraped away to reveal the bestial nature so close to the surface. Garan hadn’t seen them fighting each other. He’d heard how it went and wasn’t at all sure he wanted to. Eventually, Sildaan gave a fractional nod of the head.

‘No more killing unless you’re attacked. We cannot afford it,’ said Sildaan.

‘You have my word,’ said Garan, smiling as warmly as he could manage.

Sildaan’s expression did not change. ‘Your word is worthless. Your actions say everything. You are a long way from home.’

‘And you have none of your own to defend you.’ Garan beckoned his lead mage over. ‘We really should get on much better than we do.’

‘The day you sail away is the day I get on with you as well as I ever will.’

‘Promise me you’ll write,’ said Garan.

Sildaan tried very hard to hide the smile. ‘Only if you leave me enough of your blood for the letter.’

Garan laughed loud. ‘Good for you. Let’s get on. I mean to send my soldiers up the Path of Yniss and across the Gardens of Cefu. We’ll also come to the Gardaryn from the south across that market the name of which I’ve forgotten. We’ll seal off the approaches and clear the building. Then we’ll wait for you. How’s that?’

Sildaan considered briefly and then nodded. ‘And prisoners?’

‘The balance of a hundred men are tasked with prisoner duties. The harbour master’s warehouse is secure and empty of anything useful to an elf with a mind for trouble. We’ve established a safe corridor to bring in more prisoners from the south and west of the city. We’ve laid alarm wards where we can’t physically cover areas of ground.’

‘What is an alarm ward, exactly?’

‘Simple casting that when someone walks near it, makes an unholy row. Quite invisible to the naked eye.’

Another nod. ‘Just remember to stick to what you’ve just told me. I’ll be with Hithuur and Helias.’

Garan watched her go. She paused at the bodies and carts and dropped her head in brief prayer. Garan didn’t get it, not really. These were enemies. A waste of prayer, surely?

‘Garan, you wanted me?’ said Keller.

Excluded briefly from Triverne, the city and college of magic, for conduct unbecoming a mage, Keller was the perfect man for this job. He had forty-three others with him. Sildaan had no idea of the power they represented.

‘What’s the situation over the city?’

‘We’ve had one setback. I’ll take you to the scene in a moment. Otherwise, the west is very quiet. No thread mobs on the streets. The temple piazza is very busy, as we assumed. Llyron is in great demand.’ Keller raised his eyebrows.

‘I’m more concerned about the south. Apposans and Beethans in particular. I want to avoid trouble there if I can.’

‘Last reports, the Apposans have gone into the forest and we don’t know where they are. The Beethans are numerous and have their quarter well defended but they are not venturing out.’

‘Can we take it?’

‘Swords and wards, my friend. Swords and wards.’

Garan grinned. ‘How many swords do you need?’

‘Thirty will do it. Ten mages too.’

‘You’ve got them. Quick Hand is free now this work is done. Take him and thirty of his team and secure the Beethans. Let me know when it’s done.’ He laughed. ‘Gods drowning, and the elves think we’re the slow wits in this city. Now where’s this setback you were talking about?’

Garan had called for Sildaan when he reached the side street. Twelve dead. A mage and eleven swordsmen. That meant one soldier was missing. No trace of elven blood.

‘TaiGethen,’ said Sildaan.

‘I told you we should have followed them. Clearly they haven’t all run away to Aryndeneth.’

‘One thing we’ve always known is that they would be back. One thing I always knew was that they would evacuate the Ynissul. All you have to do is deal with them when they come back with purpose.’

Garan chuckled. ‘Your sense of humour is keener than you know. You don’t call this slaughter, “purpose” then?’

‘No,’ said Sildaan. ‘Just one cell, I’d say. Here for a look around, but you said your people were tracking some Al-Arynaar away from the park. From the position of your forces, I’d guess this is where they trapped them. Shame for them that the Tai were here too.’

Garan saw Sildaan was smiling. It was a wry expression and there was a minute shake of the head that he had come to associate with grudging respect.

‘What is it?’

‘Well, we didn’t find Pelyn among the dead in the park, did we? I wonder if she talked her way out of their clutches when Helias deserted them?’

A door opened a little further down the street. Garan drew his blade. A lone man came gingerly into the light, his expression when he saw Garan only just short of euphoric. He was terribly pale and clutched a blood-soaked cloth over his other hand. He half ran, half stumbled over, bringing with him the stench of excrement and urine. Garan saw the stains on his trousers and held up his hands.

‘I think that’s close enough. What’s your name, son?’

‘I’m Naril, sir.’ He had stopped and was staring about him at the bodies in the street. Unpleasant memories played out, his face a mirror of his earlier fear. ‘They fell on us so quickly. I never saw them until they spoke to me.’

‘They spoke to you?’ said Garan.

‘What did they say?’ asked Sildaan.

Garan loved hearing her talk the Balaian language. All her accents were wrong but it stirred something in his loins that he was a little conflicted to be feeling.

‘They warned me that we’d all die,’ said Naril.

‘Ah yes,’ said Garan. ‘One left standing to tell the tale. That’s something you and I have in common, young Naril. How many were they?’

‘Just two of the quick ones. Four others. Al-Arynaar but a bit shabby.’

‘Two?’ Garan turned to Sildaan. ‘Thoughts on who it might be?’

‘Not really. They only work in threes when they’re hunting. This was just a look about, I’m sure.’

‘It doesn’t affect our plans. Don’t worry about it, Naril. Get back to your ship. Find a mage to deal with your injury. Clean yourself up and get some rest.’

Naril bobbed his head and ran off in the direction of the docks.

‘Plans?’ said Sildaan.

‘Yep.’

‘I’m looking forward to hearing them at the Shorth temple this evening. I’m sure Llyron is too.’

‘Let’s hope I don’t disappoint you.’

‘Again.’

‘Sildaan?’

‘Yes.’

‘Your humour. I was wrong about it.’

Pelyn was shaking like she had a fever. The shivers had settled on her not long after she ran into the staging camp. On her instruction, Tulan and Ephran had been disarmed and taken into custody by loyal Al-Arynaar. Similarly on her instruction, Methian was sleeping in one of the long dormitories. Pelyn herself had been sitting with Katyett when the shakes had come on. She’d been sure Katyett had something important to tell her but it had been forgotten when Pelyn’s teeth began to chatter.

Katyett brought her a hot drink from one of the tree-trunk steamers the TaiGethen and Ynissul had built. Clever pieces that boiled water for washing and drinking but which gave out almost no smoke or flame due to the dispersal of the former through hollowed roots into a nearby stream and the shielding of the latter by an ingenious bamboo system for feeding air into a small clay dome placed under the trunk.

‘What’s wrong with me?’ she asked.

‘Nothing that won’t fix,’ said Katyett. ‘You’ve been through a lot. Just take your time. Feeling cold?’

‘No.’ Pelyn looked out into the darkening sky. ‘Just not very clean. And why is everyone looking at me?’

‘Probably because your face is a bit of a mess. We’ll see to it,’ said Katyett. ‘And what do you mean, everyone?’

‘All the TaiGethen for a start.’

‘You’re imagining things,’ said Katyett, who wouldn’t catch her eye.

‘I’m shaking; I haven’t gone blind,’ said Pelyn. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Later. Let’s get you straight first. Let’s talk about something else and try and bring this shock out.’

‘So there is something going on.’

‘Pelyn!’

‘All right, all right. What do you want to know?’

‘Well, we could start with the state of Ysundeneth.’

‘All right, but you can start by telling me why you didn’t mention you were going to hide here? It would have been useful information.’