She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) (39 page)

Samuel looked about for eavesdroppers, but the others were spread
out
along the trail.  ‘As you say.’

‘Then how would you feel if you were also responsible for my death?’

‘I must admit that I liked you more before you actually spoke to me, but I cannot say I would like to see you die.  Therefore, I guess I must say that I would be upset if I was responsible for your death.’

‘But you were.’

Samuel stopped in his place and Sir Ferse halted beside him, still smiling knowingly.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You killed me, Samuel.  Isn’t it clear?’

‘How could such a thing be clear?  I cannot possibly have killed you if you are here.’

‘Can’t figure it out? 
Ha-ha!
  Then this will amuse me greatly, for a short time at least.  There, I have told you my secret, and I cannot be held responsible if you cannot understand it.  I’ll let you think about it.  It will keep your mind busy while we traverse these mountains.  If you cannot solve the puzzle by the time we have our evening meal, then I will tell you the answer.’

‘We could freeze to death before then.’

‘Then I promise I will tell you just before we die, so you won’t have to expire in frustration.’

With that, Sir Ferse marched off, leaving Samuel utterly confounded.

They continued on, across the rocky heights
,
beneath the silent gaze of the mountain peaks that huddled above them like a collection of stubborn old hermits.  Mostly, it was quiet, save for the constant crunching of their boots upon the gritty stones.  Occasionally, a mumbled voice would attempt a conversation, before deciding it was easier to trudge along in silence and concentrate on just moving one foot after another.  Soon enough, Daneel
called a halt
on a stony rise that gave them a spectacular view of the way they had come, with the valleys spread out below them like an opened map
,
coloured in greys and greens and white.

‘What a miserable lot you are!’ Daneel called out, as they sat chewing their biscuits and drinking from their flasks.  ‘I bring you to this glorious spot and all you do is munch away like goats.  Look around!  It is wonderful!’  He called out to the valleys in a trilling song and his voice came bounding back to him in chorus.  ‘Welcome to Highmeadow.  I spent my childhood roaming these blessed spaces and few are lucky enough to visit so near to heaven.’

Everyone chose to ignore him and he looked decidedly disappointed.

‘How much further is it?’ Lady Wind asked him, hobbling over to him with her arms folded for warmth.  She pointed to the rise to which they were headed.  ‘Is that the top of the mountain?’

Again, Samuel had to translate and
,
at hearing her words, Daneel guffawed.  ‘Oh, my dear lady.  That is but a lump.  When we get to the top of this mountain, you will see another is built upon it. 
Above
that, three mountains fall together to make a higher mountain.  That mountain
you see
is but a pimple, for upon that place the real mountains are founded and they stretch on in every direction for as far as the eye can see and beyond.  All of these we must traverse before we will once again stand on flat ground.  By that time, you will be so sick and tired of all things white and all things cold, you will vow never to come back this way in your life.  So, to answer you
,
no, that is not the top of the mountain and I hope that is the last time I shall hear that question, for it bothers me greatly.’

Samuel considered translating the whole answer for her, but finally just told her ‘no’.

Lady Wind
humphed
and stormed away from him in a temper, throwing herself back down beside her god.

‘If it was so easy for us to cross these mountains, it would be just as easy for the Paatin army to come skipping over into Turia, now wouldn’t it?’ Daneel called aloud, teasing her, but of course she had no idea what he was saying and simply ignored him.

‘You are a man of much intrigue, Daneel,’ Balten called up from his meal, ‘but at least these cold days will not be without entertainment.’

Samuel caught sight of the Koian god giggling to herself, hidden away in her hood where Lady Wind could not see her and it made Samuel think that at least some small part of her was human. 

After their short rest, they began away again. 
As Daneel had foretold
,
when
they neared the stony rise to which Lady Wind had referred, another greater rise began to grow.  With each step towards it, this greater obstacle appeared to drag itself up, until the hill they had just climbed was under their boots and the next lay far above them.

‘We only need to round that hill and we can rest for the night,’ he called back to them.

‘We won’t be going over it then?’ Master Celios asked, dragging his thin
,
matted hair from his eyes.

‘I never go over what I can go around,’ Daneel responded.

‘How is it that you know these paths at all?’ Sir Ferse asked him.

‘I was born and raised here.  I’m as familiar with these paths as you are with the streets of Cintar.  I could never get used to that blasted place.’

And with that, they continued on.

The hill, it turned out, was not so simple to walk around, and they had to stop several
more
times to rest and snack upon their provisions.  Daneel would not tell them about anything that he had planned for them, so they had to take it in good faith that he would lead them to food and shelter as required.  Lady Wind seemed to struggle with the climb most of all, and the group often had to wait for her to catch up.  At first, the god-woman walked obediently at her side, but more and more
often
the girl got away from her and soon began pretending she could not hear Lady Wind pleading for her to wait up.

‘Magician!’ the girl said shuffling along to beside him.  ‘I want to talk with you.’  Gone w
ere
her costumes and her hag voice, but she held one hand tightly to her hood, as if to keep her face hidden away from view.  Only her eyes could be seen, peering out at him.

‘I think you know my name by now,’ he told her.

‘Magician!’ she insisted.  ‘Lady Wind is struggling.  How can she be expected to manage all these difficult paths?’

Samuel stopped and let his pack slide from his back to the ground with a thud.  He looked at the lady, as she did her best to
negotiate
the rocky terrain.  She slipped and slid every third step.

‘She was warned of the dangers.  We can’t turn back now.  Why don’t your kinsmen go to her aid?’

The girl looked at Ambassador Canyon and Horse, striding just behind Daneel.  They seemed oblivious to the plight of their countrywoman.

‘They will let her die.  So will you.’

‘Of course we won’t,’ Samuel said with disbelief.

‘They warned her not to come, but she would not be dissuaded.  Serving me is all she knows.’

‘What about you?  Would they let you die as well?’

The girl looked at him as if he w
ere
a fool.  ‘Of course not.  I would not be allowed to perish.’

‘I suppose they value their god over their fellows.  Fair enough.  What do you want me to do?’

‘Order her to go back.’

‘Haven’t you already tried that?’

‘No.  Canyon would not order her to break her bond with me.  It would be demeaning to him.  She also cannot do it for herself.  You are not of our people.  If you command her to leave, she will object, but then concede.  It will save her pride—and her life.’

‘You people have very strange ideas.  Would you rather die than be offended?  And what if I do tell her to leave?  Won’t I lose my pride, too?’

‘You have no honour to uphold,’ she said dismissively.  ‘Your people are arrogant and rude, so nothing will be lost.’

Samuel sniffed, holding in a curt reply.  ‘It’s too far and she would not find the way.  Without someone to take her, it is not possible.  She will just have to come with us, and we will take care of her.  We will not make a fuss of it, if that will make you feel better.  Perhaps she will not even know.’

‘Well done, Magician.  That is acceptable,’ she said, and through the gap in her hood, Samuel caught a glance of her smile.

The girl turned about and hurried back towards her escort, waving to the lady and calling for her to hurry along.

Samuel hauled up his pack and strode to the front of the procession, breathing heavily as he forged past each of the others, until he gained Daneel’s side.

‘The woman is having trouble,’ he stated and Daneel only gave him a glance to show he had heard the comment. 

A few moments later
, Daneel gestured ahead and
,
barely twenty paces in front
,
was another tiny shack, even smaller than the others, with smoke billowing out of its chimney.  He gave a shrill howl and another echoed back at him from inside the hut, signalling that someone was waiting for them inside. 

‘I will see to it,’ Daneel then said to Samuel.

An old couple lived inside and they
, too,
had prepared a meal for the group.  Samuel had no idea of how Daneel had sent word
ahead
of their
impending
arrival, but they were all just glad to have warm food, a fire and a roof over their heads.

‘From here it will become
more
difficult,’ Daneel announced, as they banged their elbows together over their meal.  ‘We will climb into the ice country and from there it will be up to the magicians to provide for us.  There will be one more roof over our head after tonight, but then we must move quickly.  It will take many nights to make the crossing if our luck holds, but we will die unless you can use your skills to warm us.  From here, we can only eat what we can carry.’  He took a sip of his bitter milk tea and pointed a finger to Lady Wind.  ‘She will go back,’ he said.  ‘Our hosts will escort her down the mountain tomorrow.’

Lady Wind tried to object, but there was no support for her in the room.  Finally, she nodded her agreement and looked quite relieved by it.

Before they slept, the old couple waved goodbye, chattering to Daneel in his dialect.

‘They will stay with friends and return in the morning,’ Daneel explained to Samuel, noting his look of concern.  ‘There are several families still living this high, but most will be heading to the lowlands soon.’

‘I didn’t see anyone.  Why would they live in such a place?’

‘Why wouldn’t they?’ was Daneel’s only reply and he stepped outside to fetch in more firewood for the evening.

‘Have you solved my riddle yet?’ Sir Ferse said softly, squatting beside Samuel on the shin-high stools these mountain folk seemed to employ.  The others were busy with their tasks and too busy to take notice.

Samuel had been thinking of little else all day.  ‘I only have one answer, but it seems preposterous.’

‘Go on.’

‘You admit that I killed the Emperor and you suggest I also have killed you.  Given the circumstances, I can only guess that you, then, are the Emperor.  Clearly, however, you are not.’

Sir Ferse seemed pleased with Samuel’s response.  ‘I may not be the same man, Samuel, but inside this shell I am not what I seem.  I am, or at least I was until you killed me, Edmond Calais, the Emperor of Turia.’

Samuel was stupefied.  He could now feel everything about the man slipping into place
—
his words, his movements, his mannerisms.  If it were not so obvious it would have been a ludicrous statement, but Samuel immediately knew it to be true.  Still, he struggled to come to terms with the concept, while the man beside him waited for a response.  ‘But...how?’ was all Samuel could finally manage to say.