The Red Queen (123 page)

I could not reach out to any of them with my mind.

Two Ekoni suddenly heaved me to my feet. ‘Remove a hood,’ said Ariel, pointing to the first captive, at the same time dropping lightly from the first Red Queen’s crypt and going to Lidge. I prayed he would bid her stop the block, but he merely placed a hand on her shoulder and ushered her forward as an Ekoni dragged the hood from his charge.

It was Dragon. The fiery glory of her hair tumbled over her face as she bent over her knees, gasping. I felt sick to my stomach.

‘I had hoped to bond with the Red Queen and become a king. But just in case you find yourself unable to give me what I want, I have Deenak and a few of her subjects here to witness her tongue being cut out. There is some doubt in their minds that she is the real Red Queen, you see, and when she has no power with which to defend herself, I think they will not be too sorry that she is given to the Ekoni to be disposed of, eventually.’

I closed my eyes.

‘I see that you understand the game,’ Ariel said. ‘But let us be sure that you understand very well how determined I am to have what I want. Remove the other hoods.’

I did not want to look. I had to look. I looked.

Dragon, Matthew, Dameon, Ana, Swallow and Daffyd, all gagged, some with livid little bite makes on their cheeks and arms. Ana was half leaning on Dameon, her eyes closed, and I thought of the dagger through her hand. Her courage. But Dameon’s expression was blank. Was he listening? Trying to use his empathy? Beside him Swallow’s expression was also blank. And Matthew’s, and Daffyd’s. Were they all drugged?

‘I see by your expression that you know I can torture them all to death, one at a time before you, to force you to speak the words I require. Therefore save them pain and do as I ask.’

‘I can’t,’ I whispered, looking at Swallow, willing him to look at me, to show that he understood, but he went on staring blank-faced at the ground. Suddenly I felt sure this was Lidge’s doing at Ariel’s behest – an extension of the block. I drew a shaking breath and straightened, lifting my chin. ‘I won’t.’

I saw Ariel glance at the emissary. The small man in his grey robes showed not the slightest expression, and if his countrywomen felt anything, it was hidden behind their veils. Ariel nodded to the Ekoni nearest him, who I saw with a chill, had drawn a sword. ‘Cut one of the prisoners. Not the queen. One of the others. Do it now.’

Without hesitation, the Gadfian warrior lifted his sword and slashed at Dameon. Being blind, he had not seen the blow coming, and when the blade bit into his arm he gave a shocked cry of pain. Blood flowed, thick and red, but all too quickly the dull listlessness washed back over his face.

‘Will you speak the words?’ Ariel asked, almost gaily.

‘No,’ I choked through clenched teeth.

‘Perhaps you need to hear one of those you are willing to sacrifice beg for his life,’ Ariel said, shaking Lidge slightly, and pointing to Swallow. Released from Lidge’s thrall, Swallow looked around in confusion and then saw me, standing bound between two Ekoni. His eyes widened in alarm and he turned to see the others. First his gaze rested on Dameon, groaning, blood slicked down his arm, then on Ana, now sitting upright, her face dazed. He groaned, but she did not respond. I saw his bewilderment, then his gaze returned to me, questioning.

‘Remove his gag. Let the gypsy dog beg for his life,’ he told one of the Ekoni, and as the gag was untied, he transferred his gaze to Swallow. ‘I hope you are eloquent, for Elspeth Gordie has so far proven disappointingly unresponsive to my wishes.’

Swallow did not take his gaze from me. His eyes told me that he understood what was happening. He drew a ragged breath and said, ‘Keep faith with the ancient promises, Seeker, and the coin of my life was well spent.’ He did not look at Ana. I knew he did not dare to draw attention to her. If Ariel guessed at their love, he would use it against them and me.

Ariel scowled. ‘Beg or die.’

Swallow looked at him for the first time. ‘She will never give you what you want.’

Rage flared in Ariel’s face. ‘Kill him,’ he snarled at the Ekoni whose blade still dripped with Dameon’s blood. For some strange reason, I seemed to hear my long dead brother Jes whispering urgently,
Don’t look and you won’t remember. Don’t feel
, as he held me so that I could not see our parents burning.

‘No!’ I screamed. There was a hiss of sound then the sickening thud of steel on bone and a red slash opened in Swallow’s chest. Swallow coughed, and blood spilled from his mouth. But his eyes held mine.

‘I wanted . . .’ he whispered, and crumpled to the floor. I saw his lips shape Ana’s name, and then he died. I would have fallen to my knees if the Ekoni had not been holding me. I stared at Swallow lying dead, and sobbed in rage and grief.

‘Now,’ Ariel said cheerfully. ‘I think we understand one another. Do what I want or the next command I give will be for the death of the rebellious and troublesome Matthew, whom I was forced to let live because he was too much tangled in the futuretellings of your doings for me to risk ending his life. I confess I have long looked forward to killing him, but I will let him live if you will do as I ask. Yet perhaps it is not I who should beg for his life. Let us see if the woman he loves can speak on his behalf. Let the Dragon Queen speak in defence of her general.’

He made a gesture and Dragon’s gag was removed. Lidge must have ceased to control her for she drew in several gasping breaths, looking around the chamber. Her mouth was swollen and one eye was partly closed. She saw Ariel and grew still. She knew who he was and what he wanted – that much was in her eyes. And he had told me with pleasure that he had hurt her. I saw evidence of it on her face, burn marks all down one arm. But she fixed Ariel with a glare of burning defiance.

‘Do what you like to me,’ she hissed. ‘She will never give you what you want!’

‘But what if it is not
you
I am threatening?’ Ariel asked her silkily. I could tell from his face that she had got to him. There was a glitter of rage in his eyes and I saw his free hand twitch. But his voice was calm when he said, ‘Ekoni, take the Landborn slave and slit his throat. Bring him close so his queen can see.’ He watched eagerly as the Gadfian dragged Matthew forward out of the line and turned him to face Dragon. Matthew’s expression was utterly blank. ‘Wait, he must say a proper farewell to you.’ He shook Lidge.

‘Dragon . . . my queen,’ Matthew said, his accent strong. Hearing his voice, Dragon’s face changed. All the defiance melted into anguish. But Matthew was looking about. He saw the others, Swallow lying dead, Dameon slumped sideways, the blood-soaked arm of his tunic. He turned and saw me and then his gaze shifted to Ariel. Who had been waiting. For a moment the two men looked at one another, then Matthew said, ‘I should have gone after ye an’ killed ye all those years back at Obernewtyn.’ There was no hatred or rage in his voice. Only sorrow. He did not wait for Ariel to respond. He looked at me, one burning glance, and then he turned to Dragon. ‘I am sorry, my queen, I have failed you.’

Dragon burst into strangled tearful laughter. ‘You . . . you fool!’ Then she bit her lip and her expression grew cold. ‘You
have
failed me and you deserve to die.’

I gasped and saw Matthew reel back as if she had struck him.

‘Stop it! You are spoiling it!’ Ariel snarled. He left Lidge and strode forward to take the bloodied sword from the hand of the Ekoni. He grasped a handful of Matthew’s hair and looked at me. ‘
You
care about him if she does not.’

‘I love him,’ I said. ‘But no matter who you kill, I will not let you have control of the Balance of Terror computermachine.’ I closed my eyes and seemed to see Matthew again being led away along the pier towards the slave ship that had taken him to the Red Land. Only this time, there would be no journey I could make to find him.

There was a long silence, and then Ariel laughed. I opened my eyes warily and saw that he had not used the sword. I thought he might use it now that my eyes were open, but instead, he released Matthew and said, ‘I prefer to keep this one. Take him outside. He will make a fine null.’

As Matthew was dragged out, Ariel went to Lidge and again rested a hand on her narrow shoulder.

‘Let us summon our executioner.’

I saw his fingers dig into Lidge’s shoulder and then someone began to move forward around the group of High Chafiri, another cloaked person with a hood drawn up. It was a man by his height, moving slowly and yet inexorably. When he reached Ariel’s side, the enthraller pulled off his hood.

It was Rushton, his dark hair plastered to his head with sweat, his expression desperate and alert. His eyes swept the room and found me. All the rage and desperation ebbed, leaving only love and longing.

‘Elspeth,’ he said.

‘Silence,’ Ariel snarled. ‘The Master of Obernewtyn must concentrate. It is not fitting for an executioner to chatter. Take the sword.’ He was looking at me, but it was Rushton whose hands reached out obediently to close about the hilt Ariel offered. Then he turned to face me. His expression was contorted and I knew he was fighting against the will moving his body but cruelly leaving his mind and eyes free of control. Ariel was making sure that he would know what he was doing.

I fought with all my might to reach out to Rushton’s mind to help him resist Ariel’s coercion, but I could not reach the black power that might have enabled me to throw off Lidge’s mindless control.

‘Will you do what I ask?’ Ariel demanded.

Rushton’s eyes were locked on mine.

‘I can’t. My love . . .’ I told him. ‘This is not your fault. I can’t . . .’ I whispered, half blinded with tears.

But Ariel did not command him to kill me. He cast his eye along the row of captives and pointed to Daffyd. ‘Start with him and kill them all. Do it now.’ He nodded to the Ekoni who dragged Daffyd forward, struggling. He looked up at Rushton in dreadful desperate fear and I realised that Ariel would let each of them see who killed them, and Rushton would look into their faces and know they knew. It would destroy him.

I fought but it was no use. Lidge was too strong. Inexorably the blade rose. I thought again of Jes dragging me to his chest, commanding me not to see, not to remember, not to feel. Something in me tore open and a terrible cold pain flooded through me.

Then, without warning, one of the Shambalan women lurched forward, her tall headdress tilting alarmingly, the sleek black hair and the veils covering her face whirling as she clutched at the emissary.

‘You shame yourself with this display,’ said the emissary coldly. ‘Remove yourself from this chamber.’

The woman flung herself from him and ran to Daffyd, dropping to her knees in front of him in a pool of grey silk. She cupped Daffyd’s face and looked into his eyes. With a sob, she pushed aside her veils and kissed his mouth. Daffyd did not react, but to my relief, the coercive force holding me weakened slightly.

‘Emissary?’ Ariel snapped in an irritated voice.

‘Do with her as you will,’ declared the white-faced lord indifferently.

Ariel grinned wolfishly. ‘Very well. Master of Obernewtyn, let us be gallant and put this woman out of her misery first to spare the emissary her histrionics. Then you can kill the man. Better yet, perhaps you can manage to slay them both in one true stroke. What was the Beforetime way of saying it? Two birds with a single stone?’

Rushton’s hands tightened on the hilt as he angled the sword and raised it. I saw the horror on his face and I knew I could not let it happen. Nothing was worth allowing such horrors to unfold. There had been too much pain and death. Sentinel had been right about humans. And I had killed her. I had let Swallow die. I could not stay silent while Rushton was forced to kill and kill. Let it be ended. Let us be ended.

The weeping Shambalan woman had flung her arms around Daffyd and suddenly turned to look up at Rushton beseechingly through her parted veils. The heavy headdress she had been wearing toppled off, taking with it the veils and the false black hair. Beneath, hair pale as moonlight spilled loose over her shoulders and I recognised her.

‘Gilaine!
’ I cried incredulously.

The coercive block faltered. Something had caused Lidge to lose focus. I looked at her and saw that her gaze was fastened on Gilaine and Daffyd, whom she had enthralled to love her as a tiny powerful innocent. Her face showed no expression and Ariel had boasted that she was an empty vessel, but there had to be some shred of the past in her mind, else she would not have reacted to them.

Ariel had felt the lessening of her control and, face suffused with furious impatience, he turned and struck Lidge so hard across the face that her head snapped back on her shoulders. Eerily, her expression remained perfectly blank, but in the dreadful silence I could hear Gilaine sobbing Daffyd’s name, begging for his life. Lidge’s lack of response seemed to madden him and, face contorted with fury, he drew back his hand to hit her again. Or he would have done, but suddenly he went rigid and gave a shrill, high-pitched scream. Then he dropped to his knees, clutching his head.

The block dissolved and my mind was free.

I reached down into myself for the strength to form a coercive probe. I was terribly weak but I managed it. Yet when I entered Ariel’s mind to take control of him, I found myself teetering on the edge of a vast crater where a terrible black firestorm raged, tearing his mind to shreds. There was a tiny child on the edge in rags, little more than a baby, its mouth open in a soundless scream. It was Lidge, or whatever remained of her mind, dragged from wherever depths it had retreated to escape Ariel’s long torturous stewardship. It had been drawn out of those depths by the sight of Gilaine and Daffyd, who had loved and protected her. Seeing her, I understood that Ariel’s coercive probe had been run through Lidge’s mind, drawing on her strength. So, effectively, he had been using her to help him kill Gilaine and Daffyd. Even then he might have regained control, but he had chosen that moment to lose his temper and strike at her. She had attacked remorselessly with the terrible weapon he had forged. And watching his mind being torn apart from the edge of the maelstrom that was Lidge, I realised I had seen it before.
This
was the storm of mindless devouring madness that had pursued me on the dreamtrails. Lidge’s broken mind, unleashed in sleep and driven not by her own desires, but by Ariel’s.