The Beast of the North (15 page)

‘He should be there,’ I said in his defense.

‘There is no role for him,’ Shaduril said with a soothing voice. ‘He might risk us. If he is your friend, do him a favor and let us keep him safe. Far from you. I can hide him.’

They stared at each other. Finally, Sand shook his head. His face betrayed grief and hopelessness. ‘It would have been convenient if those guards had caught me when I was burning the house.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘You would have talked if they had taken you alive.’

Sand was fighting her words but seemed at a loss for what to say. I shook my head at her. ‘No. Sand?’ I said. He looked up at me, his face white with fatigue, sorrow, and disappointment. ‘We will finish this together. You might not be able to join me in everything, but I want you to be there. It is our family down that died. We shall finish it together. Always together. You won’t take him anywhere. He wouldn’t let you anyway. We go on together. Or not at all.’ I hesitated as I said that. I did not wish to be parted from her.

‘But—’ Shaduril began.

I snapped my fingers, and her eyes grew large. ‘No. He comes. And didn’t you just say you need soldiers?’

Shaduril hesitated and then nodded her head. ‘He might come to regret it. But yes. Balan asked to bring him along, so I guess I must agree. But remember I warned you.’

Sand ignored her warning and pulled at me. ‘I swear on their blood, that the king and his queen, the Brothers, and Lord Captain Helstrom, whose men are down there as well, they shall all die by our actions.’

‘I swear it with you,’ I said. ‘On their blood.’ Shaduril said nothing.

We stared at the Brothers below. They were still speaking, gesturing, and looking around, confused.

‘That one,’ I asked her softly as I saw the White Brother shake his head. The Black Brother urged him to do something, and he shrugged and put his hands to his sides, concentrating. He sat there for a time. ‘He can find people?’

‘He can, sometimes,’ she whispered. ‘He did find your people. As you were told. But he will not find you while you are with us. Near us.’ I looked at her carefully, up and down. She looked beautiful, but not magical.

‘You have something to make it so on you?’ I asked her, eyeing her. ‘Some way to fend him off? That pendant?’

‘The family has its ancient secrets,’ she said and grinned, her finger tapping at an amulet of red, with a black tower and the ravens. ‘He won’t see you while you are with us.’

‘Useful skill,’ Sand said, and Shaduril grunted in agreement.

‘It would be, but it is not a skill. It is an artifact of past ages. Maskan shall speak with Father about things like that, no doubt,’ she whispered. ‘Now. Let us wait for them to leave. Then we can go.’

‘What happens,’ I asked her as we waited, ‘if Valkai or the Horns told them about you?’

She shrugged. ‘They found our coins. The ones you carried and stole from me.’

‘They did?’ I asked, horrified.

She leaned on us and smiled. ‘But there are so many houses who bought favors from them. Hard to blame us.’

‘That was a fortune,’ I said.

She nodded. ‘It was. We have friends in high places, Maskan. Times are dark, but we have some few friends. The king won’t hear of the coins.’

They knew someone who matters
, I thought.

We waited in silence and stared at the riders finally lead the men of the Mad Watch away. Their steel was bright in the light of the Lifebringer and tall spears were heaving above the troops. The three Brothers were riding smoothly on their massive dark horses, apparently happy with the day’s work. ‘We go and bury them. Then we shall go to your place,’ I said. ‘This Crimson Apex.’

‘Let us bury them,’ Sand said and got up, and Shaduril grabbed his hand. ‘What?’ Sand asked incredulously. ‘They left.’

‘No, they did not leave. They have archers in the woods, and they will be there for weeks,’ she explained softly, easing Sand’s tensions. ‘Of course, they expect you to go back there to cut them down and give them a proper pyre and perhaps even prayers, but it is not something we can do.’

I felt it was cruel, too cruel to fathom. ‘I could take a face of a guard, and—’

‘He could!’ Sand insisted.

She smiled at him coldly. ‘You would need more. Their gear. You would have to kill one first. Then you would go and find all the archers sitting in the wood, wondering why you are cutting the bodies down. And perhaps there is a Brother there. It is too risky. Believe me,’ she told the enraged Sand, who calmed slowly. His frame shook as he fought the wisdom of her words. She whispered something to Sand, who looked at her rebelliously.

‘She has a point, Sand,’ I said softly.

‘Fine. She is right,’ Sand said unhappily and rubbed his face. ‘I’ll bury them later. When I can. First chance I get. Take us away, then. Let’s go and hear your mad plans.’

‘Yes. I will have to go back to Morag’s court soon, but I have time to take you to Father to discuss our plight. This Horns had a beautiful plan, and we will use it, no doubt with fewer practical resources than the Jesters possessed, but still enough to try it. Trust us.’ She nodded at three horses tied to a tree. ‘Are you coming?’

‘Lead on,’ I said and turned my face from my dead family. And she did.

She led us through the thick, pristine woods and meadows of Red Midgard. The summer was old, but nearly unbearably hot and flowers seemed to cover most of the riverbanks. There were farmers and shepherds about, and we skirted sturdy walls set to separate the wealthy estates from each other. We hiked through rustic villages and saw pigs being chased by children. The tough, nearly black northern bread was being baked in huge outdoor bakeries. People might be dour, but they could be happy, especially out of the city. Most people we saw were healthy and stout, ready to take up spears for their country. For their king.

I wanted to kill the king. So did Sand
, I thought. Mother had been worried about me. Ann had been so sad. I gazed at Shaduril. She was brave. And wise. I would follow her.

We slowly rode all day along the Broken Crown Way, then trailed the coastline northwest, and by late afternoon we reached a set of vibrant villages off the main way. We passed them, and beyond them, we found a land full of high cliffs falling into the sea below. She guided us to an unusually high hill and pointed to the northwest. There, far from us, Shaduril pointed at a spot near the edge of a rough cliff, and on top of that, there was a white castle with red towers. It was not a large castle but boasted high plastered walls, the towers held gleaming ballista and catapults, and there was apparently a deep moat quarried across the cliffs, which to me seemed like an invitation to topple the whole thing to the sea.

‘What is that?’ Sand asked, groaning as his thighs were killing him. I was also so very sore. We were unused to riding for long lengths of time. I craned my neck to see what Sand was talking about and then took side steps as I glimpsed something above the castle. On the hillside, there was a ruin of a keep, its former glory still somewhat evident from the contours of the round towers, the still erect iron gate and a half spared central keep. I was not sure, but there were curtains in some windows and birds were flying around the structure.

‘Is it yours? The ruin?’ I asked Shaduril.

‘It is,’ she said tautly. ‘It’s the High Hold, named after our land, and the new fort is called the Crimson Apex.’

‘What happened?’ I asked her.

She wiped her hand across her face and stayed quiet for a time. ‘The Cataclysm.’

‘That thing?’ Sand asked. ‘Some said it was a strange illness. Bear said Mother had fallen very sick during it. She died of it before Maskan’s mother joined him. Of course.’

‘No,’ Shaduril said. ‘Father said it was more than that. There were strange fires, earthquakes. It rained so hard the rivers flooded. The illness followed. It happened just after we were born. Thousands died, and we were not spared. Mother died. Servants. They are buried there. Come,’ she told us, and we rode for the distant home of the Blacktowers.

‘I would have built the new one somewhere else. Must be hard to see the ruin every day,’ I said.

She grunted. ‘It is true. Though we grew up not knowing its history,’ she said wistfully as she hiked for the fort. Some guards were pointing at us now, and there was movement on the walls. ‘An ill-chosen location or not, this one is a more sensible one. It should not leave daughters without mothers.’

‘No, you just fall to the sea, and there will be no survivors,’ Sand said brusquely.

‘Yes, exactly,’ she said with a small voice. ‘Would be much better that way, I think. But we are all adults now. You are young, but you have lost people, we have lost people, and Red Midgard is full of people who will all lose more people they care about if we fail. We are all grown up, with grown-up goals. Maskan, do not show your power to people you don’t know. Not to Taram either though you will know him. As I told you, we don’t want to—’

‘Your brother is to be kept in the dark, yes,’ I said. ‘We should avoid him?’

She shook her head. ‘Hard to avoid him. He is curious as a squirrel. He is not a party to this … change we are going to foment,’ she said thinly. ‘For now. We … love our brother, but he is not the sort of a man you trust. But he will likely train you to fight. He’ll pester you with questions. Give no answer to the bastard.’

‘Bastard,’ I echoed her.

‘Fine. I hate him,’ she said bitterly.

‘Like you hate Lith,’ Sand said.

She gazed at him coldly and shrugged. ‘It’s none of your business, boys.’

‘I’ll be careful,’ I told her, put back by her vehemence. ‘Though I am curious to hear more of this plan or yours with the queen. It is sure to be better than our previous one.’

‘You will,’ she giggled. ‘And it won’t be any worse, at least. I promise. Valkai’s gang likely had a good deal of it planned already, people they know, how they would make the switch. They probably knew Falg Hardhand inside out. We will do our best. One thing is sure, and only one! We will have a glorious adventure, my friends. Do not make trouble. Do not sneak around spying on us. We will be honest with you.’

We rode in silence until some birds began to sing forlornly high in the boughs. It was dark, but not too dark with the Three Sisters providing ghostly light. Near the Crimson Apex, there were many meadows that swayed in a gentle night breeze. I finally turned to Sand and whispered. ‘Remember when we thought she would refuse us because she is a noble?’

Sand nodded and spoke very softly. ‘She refused me. Looks like I’m extra. Did she want to hide me? Where? In a grave?’

‘She was thinking of your best interest, she said,’ I noted, uncomfortable with saying anything evil about her.

Sand hesitated a bit and leaned on me. ‘I see. You and her, eh?’

‘I doubt it,’ I said.

He nodded and did not believe a word I said. He went on. ‘She is very persuasive. They have a weak plan. It’s dangerous. But it’s for the good of all of us. Perhaps so. She made a good case, and while she insulted me, I follow her. I don’t know why, but I just nodded and got on the horse. But maybe we should just trust each other? Perhaps we should ride away? Or be prepared to do so if things turn out strange. If they plot for their sake, rather than that of Red Midgard? If they are no better than the Jesters?’

I hesitated.
We could.
But then Shaduril turned to me, and her eyes glowed in the light of the Sisters and she looked fair, sad, and she needed me. She was already carrying a heavy burden, and I felt like a coward when I considered leaving her alone to carry it. I looked away from Sand and spoke. ‘They can offer us what we need. Let us stick around and see what it is they can do. And then, later, reconsider our course.’

‘Might be hard to review our course much later on, friend,’ Sand said sadly. ‘She’s got you. But fine. I’ll stay with you until we get our vengeance.’

‘We should also try to survive the vengeance,’ I said. ‘We have dreams beyond that, no? We are still brothers.’

He looked at Shaduril and shrugged. ‘You have a … sister now, I think. And they will change everything for us.’

I began to refute him, but could not. ‘She will change some things. She is sad. Alone. And beautiful.’

Sand growled a warning, and Shaduril looked back at us. How much she had heard, we could not guess, but enough, for she spoke. ‘I’m a noble woman, Maskan,’ she said sadly. ‘You should be careful. Noble ladies have cruel streaks, and you will be hurt, no matter if your feelings should be answered.’

I stammered and nodded and spoke bravely. ‘I cannot help getting hurt, then.’

She looked at me and shook her head in wonder. She looked stern, then happy and laughed brightly. ‘Well said.’ Her eyes went over mine, and there was a strange emotion there, one of gentle promise, then suddenly, of cruel anger. ‘Lith.’

‘Your sister,’ I stated rather stupidly. ‘What has she got to do with this discussion?’

She seemed to growl. ‘I told you to beware of Taram. Beware of her as well. She will not be happy if you speak of me like that. Do not mention us, at all.’

‘I did already,’ I said softly. ‘I spoke of … that day I returned your coins to you. And she knows. She knows.’