Emos listened as Draegar recounted the story that began with his hunt for Lorkrin and Taya after the Reisenicks had kidnapped them and ended with how he and Rug had come to find themselves at the healer’s house. For an anxious uncle, it was a disturbing tale.
‘I should have known better than to let them come along. They have a gift for finding trouble. But I thought it would just be a trip to the cave. What could it hurt to have them with us?’
He looked over at Rug. He had already heard the stranger’s story, but was curious about the Reisenicks’ interest in him.
‘So what’s your part in all this? Why did the Reisenicks pick you up?’
‘I didn’t belong,’ Rug replied. ‘That’s all I know.’
He self-consciously put his hand on the waist pocket where his nail was nestled. Emos noticed the gesture, but said nothing. The Myunan had been watching Rug since he had joined them, and had seen that the thin man moved stiffly and sometimes looked as if he were uncomfortable, or in pain. The way he held himself was slightly awkward too, and Emos was suspicious of the way he never uncovered his face or hands. That could only mean one of two things: either Rug was deformed in some way that made him ashamed of his appearance, or he was afraid of being recognised, or perhaps even both. His voice was odd too, twangy and brittle, and his smell was unusual. It was part human, but there was something damp and rotten and cold about him. Emos eyed him as the wagon trundled along the muddy track.
‘They could be hunting you as much as they are Draegar and the children,’ he told the stranger. ‘Do you know Kalayal Harsq, the exorcist? Have you any idea what’s causing the earth tremors?’
‘I don’t know anything,’ Rug insisted, uneasily. ‘I can’t remember who I am, let alone who or what I used to know. I … I think I want to see this cave you were talking about. I couldn’t say why; it’s just a feeling I have.’
‘Well, you’ll see the cave,’ Emos said. ‘I don’t know yet what it will cost us. Let’s hope it brings back some memories, eh?’
‘It’s a strange affair, altogether,’ Draegar observed. ‘The Reisenicks seem to have lost the run of themselves.’
‘Ludditch is no fool.’ Emos shook his head. ‘Whatever he’s planning, he’ll have thought it out. I may be an outcast, but he must know that if the rest of our tribe hear what’s happened to Taya and Lorkrin, they’ll be out for a reckoning. They won’t stand for the children being harmed. Ludditch must be sure that whatever he’s cooking up is going to be worth trouble with the Myunans.’
Ahead, they saw the junction where their track joined up with the main road to the west. Tall cobrush trees towered either side, forming a dark corridor, which threw a shadow over the road in the dawn light.
‘Perhaps Ludditch thinks they’ll be too busy with the Noranians back at Absaleth.’
‘I don’t know. I think we’re just a thorn in his side. There’s something bigger going on here, and if Harsq is tied up in it somehow, it can only be bad for everyone else living on this land. Something about this whole situation has got my teeth on edge. The earth tremors are part of it, and they’re definitely Harsq’s doing. He’s hurt the land’s soul.’
‘Aye, he’s a blight, that one,’ Draegar muttered. ‘That unholy cur’s going to get his comeuppance one day, and I wouldn’t mind having a hand in it …’
A groan made them turn to see Tupe opening his eyes and discovering he was bound. He winced as if his head hurt and then looked around. His face twisted into a scowl as he recognised Draegar. It did not take him long to assess his situation.
‘Ludditch is going ta have your skins for this!’ he leered.
‘Tell us what we need to know and we’ll let you go,’ Emos assured him.
‘I’m not tellin’ yuh nothin’.’
‘Why is Ludditch after us? What’s it got to do with Absaleth?’ Emos squatted down in front of him.
‘You deaf as well as ugly, yuh diseased freak? You’ll get nothin’ from me.’
Emos took the man’s jaw in his hand.
‘We’ve met before, haven’t we?’
‘Yeah, I know you. You’re Harprag. You can melt wood and metal an’ stuff with your fingers. Saw you do some work in Ainsdale once.’
‘I can do the same to the bones in your face.’
‘Fancy that. I ain’t talkin’. If you’re goin’ to torture me, get on an’ do it. Otherwise, get out o’ my hair. Like I say, I know you. You Myunans are all the same. Your wills’re as soft as your flesh. You want to show me pain? You want to cut me up? Go on ahead. My pappy didn’t raise no stinkin’ songbirds. Ludditch is my second and third cousin and my eldest son’s uncle. Anything you do to me, he’ll visit on you and yours. And I’d say he’ll give those cubs of yours some special treatment.’
Emos’s face turned to stone and he grabbed the Reisenick by the scruff of his jerkin, hauling him to his feet.
‘I’m telling you now,’ he growled into the clansman’s face. ‘Ludditch has already earned your tribe more grief than you’d believe, grief I’ll be happy to deliver. And I promise you that what he’s started here, I’m going to finish. You tell that to your second and third cousin when you see him.’
Lifting the Reisenick onto his toes, Emos shoved him backwards over the side of the truck, his bound body hitting the ground with a heavy thud and rolling, the clansman crying out in pain as he tumbled into the undergrowth.
‘Probably should’ve kept hold of him,’ Draegar commented.
‘He wasn’t going to give us anything. And I’ve no stomach for torture.’
‘Might have been useful all the same,’ the Parsinor shrugged.
‘Let’s just get to the cave. We can worry about Ludditch and his lot once we’ve found Nayalla and Mirkrin.’
‘That reminds me,’ Draegar frowned. ‘The children were telling me something about Ludditch while we were walking to the storyhouse …’
He was distracted by the sudden appearance of two large bats over the treetops. They were wearing backpacks.
‘Emos!’
The two men stood up and gaped. Taya and Lorkrin banked and came in from behind.
‘Turn around!’ Lorkrin shouted. ‘You have to turn back!’
‘Come down out of there right now!’ Emos called to them. ‘I’ve been going out of my mind worrying about you two. Are you all right?’
‘Ludditch is coming!’ Taya yelled at them. ‘He’s right down the road!’
Emos’s face dropped and he swivelled to face forwards as Jube pulled the wagon out of the forest track and onto the well-worn mud of the westbound road. Down the road to their left, other trucks were visible through the thin morning mist.
‘Jube!’ Emos barked.
‘I see them,’ the miner replied, and brought the wagon to a skidding halt.
‘No! Don’t stop!’ Emos shouted. ‘They’ve seen us now. Put your foot down!’
Even as Jube stamped on the accelerator, Khassiel’s wagon pulled out behind them and she and Cullum reacted immediately. With the Forward-Batterer taking the controls, she swung out the door and up onto the back of the truck, taking cover behind a crate and loading her crossbow. Cullum gunned the engine and took off after Jube. Emos swore and looked back up at Taya and Lorkrin, waving them down.
‘Keep your shapes!’ he told them as they landed on the flatbed, and he hugged them both tightly. He held them at arm’s length and examined them for any signs of injury. Apart from some bruises, they seemed fine. They started to talk excitedly, but he held up his hand to silence them.
‘You can tell me all about it later,’ he said. ‘We’re in trouble here. Be ready to fly again if I tell you. Until then, stay down.’
Draegar picked them both up and embraced them with a growl.
‘I swear, you take years off my life, the pair of you!’
He put them down and Rug greeted them shyly, patting them both on the heads. Draegar drew his sword and Emos picked up one of the blowpipes he had taken. Engined wagons had many advantages over horses and other animals: they didn’t tire, they didn’t need feeding when you weren’t using them, they carried more and made less mess. But there wasn’t a truck in existence that could outpace a horse and the Reisenicks had come prepared. The six clansmen on horseback raced towards them.
They didn’t see Khassiel until it was too late. A crossbow bolt caught the first one in the chest and he toppled backwards off his mount. Before they had passed the equipment truck, she had reloaded and put a bolt through the head of a second man. Two of the others lifted their blowpipes, but she ducked in time to dodge the darts. Cullum swerved suddenly and collided with one of the attackers, knocking the horse onto its side and throwing the rider. Two others were driven off the road and into the trees.
The last one galloped towards Jube’s wagon, his blowpipe raised to his mouth. Rug, who had dropped to the boards when the rider approached, looked up to find himself staring straight into the horse’s face. He yelped in fright and lashed out with his fist, catching the horse on the side of the head. The animal staggered sideways, stunned by the blow, and Emos, taken aback by the thin man’s strength, seized the chance to shoot a dart into the rider’s leg. But it landed harmlessly in the man’s knife sheath. The Myunan ducked down behind Draegar, who was using his armour-plated forearms to cover his own face and chest. The clansman took aim again, blasting a breath through the pipe, but the dart bounced harmlessly off the Parsinor’s shoulder. The Reisenick drew alongside, quickly reloading his weapon. The remaining two burst out of the trees to one side and goaded their horses on, taking turns to fire darts at Khassiel and keep her from aiming her crossbow. Cullum weaved from side to side to hold them at bay.
The Reisenick alongside the front wagon tried to take aim at Draegar’s upper arms, which had no armour. But as he levelled the pipe, Draegar turned his back and crouched down, showing only his hinged shell. The rider cursed and pulled back for a clearer shot. Jube veered suddenly, forcing the Reisenick to fall back behind the truck. As he did, Emos stood up from behind the Parsinor and fired a dart that struck the rider square in the chest. The man pulled the dart free, but was already losing consciousness. Emos slipped another dart into his mouth, raised the tube and landed the second projectile right next to the last one, finishing the job. The Reisenick toppled from his saddle and crashed to the ground, only narrowly escaping being run over by Cullum.
One of the remaining riders galloped forward, blowpipe raised, but his comrade made the mistake of giving Khassiel time to take aim over the top of the cab. She fired a bolt into the small of the advancing rider’s back. He fell from his horse and tumbled into the trees. The last horseman hung down the side of his horse, using his mount’s body as a shield. From under the animal’s neck, he fired a shot at Emos, who dived for cover. Draegar picked up one of the planks of wood in the back of the truck and hurled it like a javelin between the horse’s front legs. The beast’s legs caught on it and it crashed to the ground, crushing its rider beneath it.
Two of the Reisenick wagons were gaining on their quarry. The heavily laden equipment truck could not get up enough speed to lose them. Cullum glanced in his mirror and saw the front of the leading clansman’s truck quickly closing the gap. The men in the cab were keeping their heads low and out of Khassiel’s line of fire. From behind the cab, others kept a steady hail of darts raining in on her, to deter her from any further attack.
Cullum looked in his mirror again and noticed the arm of the hoist that protruded off the back of his vehicle. He rapped on the glass at the back of the cab, getting Khassiel’s attention.
‘Hang on!’ he yelled back at her and then, gripping the steering wheel tightly, he slammed his foot on the brake.
The wagon skidded to a halt, giving no warning to the truck behind it. The Reisenicks’ vehicle crashed into the back of it, the hoist’s arm ramming through its radiator. Water and steam poured forth through the punctured metal. Cullum changed down gears, hit the accelerator again and tore loose, revving the engine to try and catch up with their friends ahead. The clansmen got moving again, but did not get very far before their engine overheated and cut out completely.
Cullum looked back in his mirror and laughed. He was having a good time. The second Reisenick vehicle overtook the first and quickly closed the gap. Jube’s wagon was slowing down. They moved out to the side and let Cullum draw level with them.
‘There’s a hard left turn coming up!’ Emos shouted to him. ‘Be ready for it!’
They steamed ahead again and no sooner had they taken up position in front then Jube was swerving down a track barely wide enough for the wagons. Just visible in the tangled trees, it was signposted with a horned goat’s skull hung with flowers. Cullum hauled the steering wheel round and followed them down the steep, dark, muddy trail. There were painted bone sculptures hanging from the trees along each side and they clacked and rattled against the sides of the cab.
Jube shook his head as he steered the wagon down the trail. It did not look like it led anywhere. If the Reisenicks got them cornered, they were done for. The track dipped and then rose again. There was a gate ahead, bearing a sign written in Reisenick. Jube gripped the wheel and drove right through it, careering out into daylight. They were in a green meadow dotted with mounds, each with its own bone sculpture atop it. In the middle of the field, at its highest point, stood a wood-and-hide hut that appeared to be some kind of shrine. Jube drove around in a circle, looking for a way out. There was none. They were trapped.
Emos slapped the top of the cab.
‘We can stop here,’ he called in to the miner.
‘What are you talking about? They’ve got us now. We’ve had it!’
‘No, we’ll be all right for the moment.’
Cullum and Khassiel were just coming through the gate. The first Reisenick wagon wasn’t far behind. Emos turned to Taya and Lorkrin.
‘Right, before the clansmen catch up and see you. I’ve got a job for you.’
He murmured a few words to them and they took to the air, flying off towards the shrine at the top of the meadow.
‘Where are we?’ Rug asked, looking up from the floor of the flatbed. ‘Won’t they catch us here?’
‘This is a burial ground,’ Emos told him. ‘And it’s going to give us a chance to clear the air.’
* * * *
A swarm of blind creatures herded Nayalla, Mirkrin, Paternasse and Noogan away from the light and back down the passage to the junction. The four fugitives backed away from the mass of small bodies, reluctant to make any move that might trigger an attack.
‘I’ve no more fight left in me,’ Noogan whispered.
‘I’m all tuckered out myself,’ Paternasse hissed. ‘But they won’t take me easy, all the same.’
They were steered up one of the branches, along a steadily narrowing tunnel that cornered left, then right, then left again in the way they had seen under Absaleth. The ceiling got lower and soon they were scraping their heads against it. This was even more unnerving, for the Seneschal crawled along the walls and ceiling as easily as they did the floor and some of the advancing creatures were right at face height.
‘I thought they wanted us out,’ Nayalla wondered out loud. ‘Why are they leading us away from the portal?’
‘Might be that their plans have changed a touch,’ Paternasse grunted.
He and Noogan were carrying the torches, but they were no deterrent against the Blind Battalion. Behind the sightless troops, other breeds were following in the gloom beyond the glow of the burning powder.
‘This is one of the defensive passages,’ Nayalla said. ‘I think I know what they’re doing. They’re going to push us in so far that we’ve no room to fight.’
‘We’d best stop here, so,’ Mirkrin replied, and did exactly that.
The others halted too, the four of them planting their feet and standing their ground. A quiver went through the mass of the Seneschal and a voice called out from behind the blinded.
‘You will keep walking, please, or you will be disassembled where you stand.’
It was Leggit – or one of his fellow Scouts.
‘Come on then, if you’re want to try it!’ Paternasse yelled, wearily.
‘Keep walking, please.’
The four of them looked at each other.
‘This is too much, altogether,’ Noogan whined. ‘I’m not budgin’. I’m not going to be herded like a sheep to the slaughter.’
Nayalla cocked her head to one side and gazed at the Seneschal bristling around them.
‘They’re not pushing us towards something,’ she said at last. ‘They’re pushing us away. They want us for themselves. I think …’
A buzz of clicking teeth carried like a wave across the bristling bodies and the Seneschal turned as one to look back down the corridor. A light grew from around the corner and the main force of Seneschal filtered through from the back, shoving the Blinded forward to face this new adversary. A figure carrying what appeared to be a lantern came around the corner. The light swayed from side to side, moving with the gait of the bearer. The Seneschal were growing frantic and some started pushing the four fugitives further down the tunnel. But the way was blocked by still more of the little animals, some of which were scurrying away in terror.
Nayalla and Mirkrin placed themselves between the two miners and the approaching light. In the moving shadows, it seemed to be an old woman, with a jutting brow, hidden eyes and a long face that peered through curtains of straggly hair. Then the Blind Battalion attacked and the light went out. There was a deep, guttural snarl and the noise of skittering feet and clicking teeth filled the air. But these were drowned out by shrieks and the sound of tearing flesh.
‘By the gods!’ Noogan sobbed. ‘What is it?’
With the light gone, the Seneschal positioned behind the Blinded threw themselves into the fray. Paternasse and Noogan held up their torches, trying to see what was happening, but all that could be seen was a wave of small, quivering bodies swarming down the tunnel into the dark. More wet, ripping sounds erupted, and the stink of freshly opened insides filled the passageway. The Seneschal suddenly turned tail and fled past them.
‘Run!’ Paternasse wailed.
But there was nowhere to run to; the tunnel behind them was crammed with the bodies of the Seneschal, fighting to get past one another. Clawed, padded feet bounded towards them, and Mirkrin and Nayalla turned back to face the oncoming predator, baring their teeth and raising their claws as it clambered over a heap of mutilated Seneschal corpses. A light flashed on suddenly, dazzling them and then a heavy body crashed into them. They were both smashed off their feet, Nayalla thrown against the wall, Mirkrin falling beneath the attacker. He ripped at the insides of the creature’s legs with his long claws, and buried his fangs in its belly. The skin was sour and smelled rotten. He opened his mouth and bit in again. The beast seized his shoulders with powerful talons and hauled him forward, tearing his teeth free. Nayalla was jammed against the tunnel wall by its bulk. She fought back, raking her claws across its shoulders and neck.
It was as large as both of them put together, and far more powerful. It had six legs, two of which extended forward like arms. The ‘lantern’ was a glowing, bulbous sac of some kind of chemical that hung from a single antenna, protruding from the top of its head. It went out again as they tackled it, leaving them with only the light from the torches. Its jaws were mounted on each side of its huge head, closing horizontally rather than vertically, with some of its teeth facing outwards, obviously for pulling the flesh away from the bones that were its food. Its hide was tough and leathery.
A Myunan could mimic the appearance of a skack, but not its talent for killing. The beast shook the shape-changers loose and crushed Nayalla against the wall, its massive jaws closing to grip the sides of her head. She slunched with a scream and slipped her head free, much to the creature’s surprise. Mirkrin picked himself off the ground and slashed their attacker across the eyes. The animal’s bony brow protected it from being blinded, and it swivelled to face him, moving awkwardly in the tight confines of the passageway.
As it turned in the torchlight, he saw that lumps of bone stuck out from its brow, forming a rough impression of a face, the ‘old woman’s’ hair simulated by a rough mane that hung down from the narrow ridge atop its skull. It clacked its teeth together and lunged at him. He sidestepped it, but there was nowhere to go in the small tunnel and it caught hold of him, slamming him against the ground. Nayalla lashed out, hitting the stalk that held the creature’s lamp. It hissed and flinched, then moved with lightning speed, jamming its claws up against her body, pushing her against the wall. This time it seized her too suddenly for her to escape and she gasped as its teeth dug into her.
Paternasse and Noogan ran at it, shouting and waving their torches in an attempt to draw it away from her. It snarled at them, but did not release her. Paternasse tried to drive his knife into the creature’s side, but the beast twisted sideways and the blade was deflected by its tough hide. Paternasse caught a clawed foot in his chest and was thrown back down the passageway, his knife falling near Mirkrin’s feet. Noogan thrust his torch in its face, but it knocked the cold flame away. Mirkrin jumped up, shedding his skack form as he did so. He had seen how the thing had reacted when Nayalla slashed at its antenna. He picked up Paternasse’s knife and slashed the blade through the bladder that formed the animal’s lantern, cutting a long gash through its skin. An acrid-smelling liquid sprayed out and Mirkrin felt something burning his eyes and nose. He staggered backwards, but even as he did, he heard the beast howling in pain. The howls carried away down the tunnel and then he felt hands helping him up.
He rubbed frantically at his eyes and somebody poured water over his face. Eventually, he was able to open his eyes and look blearily around. Noogan was standing holding an empty canteen and Paternasse was tending to Nayalla, who was bleeding from wounds to her chest and belly. There was no sign of the Seneschal. He scrambled over to his wife and knelt by her side.
‘I’m all right,’ she told him. ‘I’ll be fine.’
But her voice was shaking and he could see it hurt her to breathe. His sight was still blurry and he rubbed his sore eyes.
‘Is it gone?’ she asked.
‘It’s gone. We got it,’ he told her. ‘Lie still, don’t talk, love. We need to patch up these wounds and then you’ll be right as rain.’
‘I can still hear it.’
The distant howls were echoing down the tunnel. Mirkrin threw an anxious glance at Paternasse. The old miner shrugged. There was no way to be sure if they had driven it off for good.
‘Don’t worry about it. It’s gone,’ Mirkrin insisted. ‘We’re safe.’
Nayalla patted his hand.
‘You never could lie worth a damn, dear.’