Michael A. Stackpole (25 page)

1 concentrated my attack Emperor-side and overwhelmed him. 1 picked off a General by pushing Pawns forward, then bringing my Wizards up to force some exchanges. After one bad exchange, in which 1 moved pieces almost impulsively, I ended up a General to the better and cracked his defense. He saw the inevitable and, as Rose called us to dinner, tipped Fialchar on his face.

1 could only hope that would be an omen for our expedition.

Dinner was a curious affair. Rose had prepared a dish that included things I could not recognize and dared not ask about. I did recognize potatoes and bits of meat, but exactly which creature they came from I couldn’t be entirely certain because of the spicy red gravy covering everything. I gathered the stew had been put together out of bits and pieces of things that were meant to fortify me both physically and spiritually for the ordeal of going into Chaos. From what little Grandmother said about the food, I assumed this was traditional fare for those heading off for Chaos, but had been seldom served after my father and uncle were lost.

Rose seemed mildly distressed that Kit was not there to eat the meal, but then she decided that just meant there was more for me. 1 thanked her, ate as much as I wanted and then some, and made a mental note to get back at Kit later. It was not that it tasted particularly bad, but it just tasted different, and the texture of some parts just didn’t feel right for chewing.

Grandmother, Marija, and I were the only ones eating together, though a place had been set for Kit. Grandmother did not say much, and her palpable anxiety snuffed any conversation after only a few exchanges. I knew she was trying to be brave and to hide her fear, but she failed, and that made her sad and started us on a downward emotional spiral.

Marija wasn’t much better a dinner companion that evening, either. Her clear concern for my grandmother distracted her, but something else seemed wrong as well. She apologized several times when I asked her to pass me the salt or butter, as if she felt she should have somehow anticipated my request. She also solicited my opinions on a variety of subjects, then confessed that her thoughts in the matter paralleled my own.

After dinner my grandmother asked Marija to bring her tonic to the solar as she wanted to watch the stars for a while before going to bed. I gave her time to get up there and settled, then I went up to have a talk with her. As I stood in the doorway, Marija smiled at me, then slipped past to leave the two of us alone.

Grandmother looked incredibly small and tired in her big chair In the time 1 had spent in the capital I had never seen her look so frail and weak. The blanket hid her legs, and, if not for the flicker of her eyes watching the stars, 1 might have thought her dead. “Your father used to come here and talk with me before he went off on his adventures, you know.”

“I did not.” The melancholy tone in her voice threatened to crush my heart, so I gave her a brave smile. “I will be coming back. I will not die in Chaos.”

“Child, do not make promises you cannot keep.” 1 heard betrayal in her voice, but I sensed it was addressed more to the gods than my father. “Your father told me the same thing before he left so long ago. He had always told me that, but one time he was wrong.”

I looked down at the rug. “I know I am hardly suited to the task the Emperor has given me, but I will go do it, and I will come back.”

Evadne raised her head and shook it wearily. “Lachlan, you will do what you have to do. If you return, and I hope for that with all my heart and soul, you will be welcomed as was your father when he came back to me.”

“Then start planning the biggest celebration this city has ever seen.” 1 backed the fire in my voice with a broad smile. “I will be back. You have my solemn word

on it.”

“Please, Lachlan, make me no promises. I will not have you hesitate in taking action because you have said you would come back. What you go to do, as your father did before you, is more important than breaking a vow to an old woman. Your father understood that, and I love him no less for it.”

She looked at me and smiled gently. “Were you a bit chubbier you would be the very image of your father when he first went into Chaos. Audin has worked you hard—harder than he ever worked your father, I think— and has prepared you for what you will find in Chaos. Were he to see you now, Cardew would be proud of what you have become.”

I pulled the ring the Emperor had given me from my finger and held it out to her. “I know my father wanted to come back to you, but he could not. Here, this was his. He would want you to have it.”

She refused my gift. “Your father always thought of that ring as a luck charm. I trust whatever bad luck it had has long since been used up. He offered it to me on the night before he left that last time, and i refused it. My memories of him, and my memories of you, will be enough. Go now, get some sleep. I have ever sent my warriors to Chaos well rested and alert.”

At her request i left her and went to my rooms, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind, i had decided from the beginning to take my father’s rapier with me, but Roarke had pointed out that fancy dueling was not really part of the Chademon war doctrine. After questioning him I determined that most of our fighting would be done from horseback and that a good, stout blade capable of cutting and crushing would be best.

The rack of swords in my suite provided me with more than an ample supply of choices. I opted away from the curved swords because 1 felt uncomfortable with a blade that did not have two edges. I knew they could be superior in cavalry combat to a regular straight sword, but the second edge of a straight sword gave me another tool with which to fight.

1 immediately ruled out the crossed greatswords on the wall because they were taller than I was. if 1 could have lifted either one of them, they would be incredible in combat, but even drawing one would be an impossibility for me. I needed a blade that 1 could manage; otherwise, all the potential damage it could do would just remain
potential.
That caution eliminated a number of other large swords in the room, and the lack of sufficient weight invalidated most of the dueling blades. From the remaining middle ground I selected a longsword that was four feet in length and nearly a hand-width wide at the cross hilt. I could fit both hands on the grip, yet the blade had been well enough balanced that I could use it with one hand if I so desired. I found the draw easy from my hip and decided I could even wear the sword strapped across my back if I thought it necessary.

I fastened it across my back just to test my theory, since i couldn’t afford to be wrong about it in combat. In one smooth motion I drew the blade from the scabbard on my back and snapped it around into a guard position. As I did so, Marija slipped through my partially open door and the blade swung into line with her throat. She jumped back, and 1 lowered the blade immediately. “Forgive me, Marija.”

She looked at me with wide eyes, reaching back to the wall to support herself. Color rose to her cheeks as her right hand rose to cover her throat. She blinked several times, then began breathing again.

“No, forgive me, Master Lachlan. I saw the light through the doorway and thought you must still be awake.” Color slowly returned to normal in her cheeks. “Your grandmother is asleep, but she made me promise I would wake her to see you go. Are you still leaving just after dawn?”

I slipped the scabbard off and rehomed the blade. “Bright and early.”

“Very good.” She smiled and turned to leave.

“Wait, Marija.”

“Yes.”

“I, ah, wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my grandmother.” I hitched for a second, then continued. “I am sorry I have to be going away after only having been here for so short a time.”

Marija nodded. “Your grandmother loves you very much. She sees your father in you. She knows you will be the hero he was and only wishes a better life for you.”

“I will miss her.” I looked into Marija’s dark eyes. “And I will miss you as well, very much.”

“Please, Master Lachlan, don’t say that” She blushed and looked down.

“Why not?” 1 leaned the sword against the table and folded my arms across my chest. “You are intelligent and witty, possessed of beauty and poise. I have enjoyed my time here the most when spent with you, and 1 have had damned little of that. You intrigue me, and I like you. 1
will
miss you.”

“You should not say that because I am not the sort of woman for you.” She shook her head, but still would not meet my eyes. “You are destined for great things, and I am happy for you, but that means there are better matches for you. Your grandmother has wealth, and, upon her death, which will not be that long in coming, I fear, it will devolve to you and your brothers and your cousin. Already fathers and mothers plot how to have one of their daughters become your bride.”

“But what if that is not what I want?”

“That still does not mean you want me.” She smiled at me, then sighed. “There is so much about me that you do not know …”

I frowned. “What is there to know that I do not? I know you care for my grandmother far better than any of her blood kin. I know you are skilled as a healer.” 1 laughed. “And even you told me that my father vowed to marry you if his wife died before he did, so 1 know he approves of you! What more could 1 want to know?”

She slowly exhaled. “Perhaps that I saw what losing my father to Chaos did to my mother. She told me again and again never to love a Chaos Rider because, someday, Chaos will kill him.”

“1 see.” I rubbed my right hand across my chin. “Perhaps you need to ask yourself if your mother would have warned you off dray masters were your father run over by a cart?”

“That, Locke, has been something I have considered quite a bit of late.” Her dark eyes sparkled. “Fare thee well, Master Lachlan. Were I going to fall in love with a Chaos Rider, I should think he would be very much like you.”

20

_W

e were a fine company, I thought. I smiled as we all joined up together twenty miles north of Herakopolis. Horses stamped their hooves and blew out steam, perhaps wondering why the lot of us had stopped beneath an open winter sky on a road cutting through vast snow plains. I saw, rather clearly, that some of our members wondered the same thing, and 1 could sense almost immediate tension between the Chaos Riders and the soldiers under Kit’s command.

Roarke and Eirene had come for me at my grandmother’s house before the sun’s disc had fully cleared the horizon. Rose made them wait as she packed small loaves of bread into a sack, then started adding other things like apples and small sachets of spices that, she explained, could be used to make food on the road more edible. Roarke paid her close attention, while Eirene appeared to be very anxious to be on the road again.

Nob brought Stail out for me, and with him he had another horse. Nob and Carl loaded the packhorse down with the food Rose had provided, a satchel with my armor, another with spare clothes and a bedroll. Roarke eyed the supplies piled on Ablach, then shook his head. “What, no valet?”

I winked at him. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” I swung up into the saddle, then looked up and saw my grandmother standing at one of the windows. I waved, and she raised her hand in response.

“She wants you to be careful, Locke.” 1 looked down as Marija, clutching a thick shawl around her shoulders, came out to see me off.

“And how about you?”

“Very careful.” She reached out and touched my right leg. “I am not my mother. If you tell me you are coming back, I will believe you.”

I leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “I am not my father. I will return.”

Roarke, leading a packhorse more fully laden than Ablach, started out the gate. Cruach fell in trotting beside him. Eirene watched the load swaying on the packhorse’s back, leading me to believe she had her baggage on it as well, and left the courtyard next. I brought up the rear and turned in the saddle to wave one last time to the people I was leaving behind. My grandmother was no longer visible in the window, but Nob, Rose, and Marija all sent me off with hearty waves.

On the way through the city we met up with Xoayya. She rode a gray gelding and led two other horses. Both of them had been laden with supplies and clothes, but neither of them was carrying a significant load, primarily because Xoayya brought with her no weapons or armor.

“Good morning, Locke.” She gave me a smile that was positively radiant. “And best of the morning to you, Roarke and Eirene.”

“Glad to see you so eager to be started, Mistress Xoayya.” Roarke winked at Eirene. “I bet you girls will find plenty to talk about on the road.”

The
Chaosfire
flared in Eirene’s eyes. “Don’t go making this a long trip, Roarke.”

Xoayya shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sure we’ll get along fine, especially after Eirene tightens that cinch strap when we reach our rendezvous with the others.”

Eirene shifted uneasily in the saddle, and Roarke laughed aloud. “It’s not me who will make this a long trip for you, Eirene.”

“It’s not going to get any shorter if we just sit here,” I growled. “The others will be waiting.”

We left the city through Northgate. The guards there gave us a fairly thorough searching, but passed us on our way when they found nothing out of the ordinary. From there we headed north on the road, and within three miles Osane caught up with us. Not long after that Tyrchon and Nagrendra likewise joined us and made my half of the company complete.

Osane rode a white charger that was the largest horse 1 had ever seen before Nagrendra rode up. The Sunbird Bishop wore glittering mail that had been washed in gold, and over that a surcoat of white with a golden sunburst over her heart. Along her left sleeve she wore the rank badges for the weapons she knew how to use, and in them I saw she was more than capable of holding her own with just about any weapon I could think of. Her hand-and-a-half sword hung from a saddle-scabbard at her horse’s left shoulder while a bow and saddle quiver sat opposite it.

Nagrendra’s huge brown draft horse had white stockings of long fur on each leg. Broad of cbest and very tall, it galloped along with enough .spirit that I knew anyone smaller than the Reptiad would have a hard time controlling it. The horse wore an armored head-plate with a long, twisting horn on the forehead, and 1 had no doubt that beast was just waiting for a chance to use it.

Nagrendra, clad in’ a thick woolen cloak of forest green, barely looked as if he belonged with our company. He had no weapons hanging from his saddle and apparently wore no armor. I would have thought him foolish except I knew he was a sorcerer, and that meant he was not at all defenseless.

Tyrchon’s appearance was even more unnerving in the daylight than it was in the Umbra. I had no doubt that above his upper lip his head had fully melded with the wolf-skull he wore. The nostrils on the head quivered when he scented something, and one glance at Cruach likewise sniffing the air told me that was what Tyrchon was doing. The ears pricked up when he heard something, and the flesh around the wolf’s-head eyes tightened when he squinted.

He wore a coat of mail over a leather jerkin along with bracers, greaves, and mailed gloves. A large sword hung from his saddle, but while riding he bore a long spear with a razor-edged, leaf-shaped head and a short (rosspiece. 1 also noticed a number of daggers hidden .it various places on his body, like the tops of his boots ,ind his upper arms.

He rode a dark brown gelding and had another lighter-colored horse on a lead behind him. That horse t arried two distinct sets of satchels, leading me to believe that like Eirene and Roarke, Tyrchon and Nagrendra both used it to carry their gear. Both of the horses had
Cfiaosfire
in their eyes, as did all the rest being ridden by our group, save my two horses, those belonging to Xoayya, and the creature Nagrendra rode.

Roarke commented on this when the Reptiad fell in beside him. “I thought you had another mount you used for expeditions.”

The mage nodded. “Seilide. On my last expedition into Chaos she answered the call of the Emerald Horse. I lost her to him and was very sorry to see her go. It was a
long
walk back to a border camp. This is Nathair. 1 trust he will be able to resist the call.”

“The call?” i asked.

“You must have heard of the Emerald Horse, Locke. He is a legendary stallion in Chaos,” Roarke explained. “I’ve ne’er seen him, but he leads a great herd of horses abandoned by Chaos Riders in Chaos. There are times he ‘summons’ other horses to join his herd The more a horse has been changed by Chaos, the greater is its likelihood of answering the call, or so it seems. Most of our horses are fairly normal, so that should not cause problems, but he’s been a terror to many expeditions in the last decade or so. I heard of an expedition sent out to kill him, but it failed when most of their mounts joined him.”

Xoayya ran fingers back through her red hair. “I know Chaos is horrible and dangerous, but there are aspects to it that are very romantic and thrilling. I should like to see the Emerald Horse.”

Eirene scowled at Xoayya’s comment and patted the snake-scaled neck of her mount. “The Emerald Horse is one of those dangerous things in Chaos, Xoayya. I’ve never heard of him appearing at a time other than one that’s very dangerous for Chaos Riders, if he’s a romantic figure, it’s only from the Chaos demon point of view.”

Xoayya frowned. “So cynical.”

“No, still alive.” Eirene showed her a flash of fangs. “The second you think something in Chaos can’t or won’t kill you, you’ll be wrong and pay the consequences for being wrong.”

We had deliberately planned to leave the capital in small groups and meet on the road to lessen suspicion on the part of anyone watching on behalf of the Black Church. Roarke thought my caution unnecessary, as the patrols roaming around the city were bound to occupy the time of most spies. I think the other Chaos Riders, as well as Osane, found my precautions a bit much, but they appreciated my having thought ahead about a way to decrease the trouble in which we might find ourselves.

Kit had brought his patrol out of the capital very early in the morning, well before dawn, so they were waiting for us. They looked very much like the other soldiers I had seen in the capital except that they wore the lighter strip-scale armor like that I had chosen. The five warriors all had swords in a saddle-scabbard and carried a bow and quiver as well. The golden-haired Aelf carried a baton that could easily have served as a club in combat, but I assumed she used it for casting spells.

They had their gear on six packhorses and had brought with them a whole string of remounts for us to use. The soldiers, most of whom were Kit’s age or younger, seemed rather impatient with us and clearly did not like the looks of my group. On the other hand my people seemed unimpressed with the soldiers. Only one of them, a grizzled sergeant, had any hint of C
haosfire
in his eyes, and the rest just looked like youths who had joined the Imperial Army because they thought the cut of the uniforms stylish.

Kit and I exchanged amused glances. I knew the people he had chosen were those he trusted, and I could say the same of my people. He and I had discussed the possibility of rivalry between our two groups and had resolved to ease the tension as quickly as possible. Before we could do anything, though, Roarke spurred his horse forward and offered Kit his arm.

“Lieutenant, I’m Roarke. Looks like you outrank anyone else here, so I’ll defer to you. If you find yourself wanting some advice here or on the other side, any of us will be glad to help you out.”

Kit took his arm firmly, then turned to introduce his people. The Aelven sorceress was Taci, and I remembered hearing of her from Kit’s story my first night in Herakopolis. Aleix was the sergeant, Hansen and Urien the two remaining men, and Donla the lone female warrior in the bunch.

Aleix took a head count and frowned. “I make us as having thirteen in our company. I’m not certain I like that.”

Roarke gave the man a solid nod. “All part of the plan, sergeant, but good that you noticed.”

The soldier’s brow creased with puzzlement. “I don’t know that I understand.”

The one-eyed man smiled easily. “If you were a Black Churcher, would you think anyone would mount an expedition to Chaos with thirteen in the company?”

“No.”

“Then they won’t be seeing us as much of a threat, will they?”

Hansen raised an objection. “That’s all well and good, but we still have thirteen in our group. That’s an ill omen.”

I smiled. “Agreed, but you didn’t count Cruach.”

“The dog?”

Kit nodded solemnly. “Cruach’s seen more trips to Chaos than any one of us. He’s part of the group, and you know what they say. Had there been a fourteenth at the Shattering, Fialchar would have been stopped. Since we’ve got to deal with him and Chaos demons, having fourteen of us here is the way to go.”

Hansen frowned. “What about her, the girl? She’s not fit for this trip.”

Before Xoayya could say anything in her own defense, Eirene swung back up into the saddle. “She’s our trouble spotter. She tells you to check a cinch strap, you do it. She’ll earn her keep with us, to be sure.”

I looked around at the group. “Any other problems?”

Kit looked at his people, then shook his head. “I think we’ll be fine from this point forward.” He jerked a thumb toward the north. “We’ll find all the trouble we need when we reach journey’s end.”

Everyone laughed politely in acknowledgment of his comment, then we set off. The two groups slowly merged. Roarke’s acknowledgment of Kit as the group’s leader eventually made Kit’s people feel at ease. The Chaos Riders remained indifferent or amused with the soldiers, but gradually introduced themselves and did not make trouble.

The journey north to Chaos measured out to just under nine hundred miles on the map. Even given the remounts, the winter and lack of forage for the horses meant, at best, we could reach our destination in a month. Had we pushed the horses to the ragged edge, we could have done it much faster, but that was not practical because once we reached Chaos we had to travel further. Moreover, the conditions in Chaos were less likely to be hospitable than they were here, even in winter.

We headed almost directly north from Herakopolis for the first third of the journey. It took us a total of ten days, and we arrived at the Imperial Fortress in the foothills of the Bloody Dog Mountains with everyone in very good shape. At the outpost we replenished our supplies and checked for any messages that might have been sent from the capital for us by magickal means.

While getting information from and sending it to the capital was very important, we did not try to communicate with Herakopolis while we were in the field. Taci or Nagrendra could have managed it easily, but the use of magick could allow our enemies to detect us and pinpoint our location. It was better that messages into and out of the capital just appear as part of the normal traffic in messages going to and from outposts.

There was nothing from Herakopolis for us when we arrived, but by the next morning one small message had come in. It contained a report that indicated the ship that had run the blockade of the harbor had been found at a point on the Tarris coast, which put it roughly due east of us. The ship had been damaged, but there was no indication of the
Bfiarasfiadi
or Fistfire Sceptre having been on it. On the other hand, there was no evidence to the contrary, either. If the Chademon was starting from that point, given the run of the coastline and the Bloody Dog Mountains barring his path, he would give up his head start in reaching his home.