Part 34 (2/2)

Rabalyn accompanied her outside and watched her climb the steep slope, then turned away. As he did so the brothers Jared and Nian emerged from the tent. Nian saw him and walked over. 'And who is this?' he asked his brother. 'I feel I should know him.'

'That is Rabalyn,' said Jared.

'Rabalyn,' repeated Nian, nodding. Rabalyn was shocked. Gone was the slack-jawed simpleton with the innocent smile. This man was sharp of eye, and faintly daunting. He looked at Rabalyn. 'You must forgive me, young man. I have not been well. My memory fades in and out. Was that Garianne I saw climbing the slope?'

'Yes . . . sir,' said Rabalyn. He glanced at Jared, who was standing close to his brother.

'G.o.ds, Jared!' Nian snapped. 'Give me room to breathe.'

'I am sorry, brother. Perhaps you should rest for a while. Does your head hurt?'

'No, it doesn't d.a.m.n well hurt.' He sat down, then looked up at his brother and smiled apologetically. 'I am sorry. It is frightening when you can't remember anything. Am I going mad?'

'No, Nian. We're heading for the temple. They'll know what to do. I am sure they'll bring your memory back.'

'Who was that big old man in the tent? His face looked familiar too.'

That was Druss. He's a friend.'

'Well, thank the Source I am all right now. It is a beautiful night, isn't it?'

'Indeed it is,' agreed Jared.

'I could do with some water. Is there a well close by?'

'I'll fetch you some. You sit there for a while.' Jared walked back to Khalid Khan's tent.

Nian looked at Rabalyn. 'Are we friends, young man?'

'Yes.'

'Are you interested in the stars?'

'I have never thought about it.'

'Ah, you should. Look up there. You see the three stars in a line? They are called the Sword Belt. They are so far away from us that the light we see has taken a million years to reach us. It could even be that they don't exist any more, and all we are seeing is ancient light.'

'How could we see them if they didn't exist?' asked Rabalyn.

'It is about distance. When the sun first rises the sky is still dark. Did you know that?'

'That makes no sense.'

'Ah, but it does. The sun is more than ninety million miles from the earth. That is a colossal distance. The light that blazes from it has to travel ninety million miles before it touches our eyes. Only when it touches our eyes are we aware of it. An ancient scholar estimated that it takes a few minutes for the light to travel that distance. In those minutes the sky would still appear dark to our eyes.'

Rabalyn didn't believe a word of it, but he smiled and nodded. 'Oh, I see,' he said, confused and even a little frightened by this strange new man inhabiting Nian's body.

Nian laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. 'You think I am mad. Perhaps I am. I have always been curious, though, about how things work. What makes the wind blow, and the tides flow? How does rainwater get into a cloud? Why does it fall out again?'

'Why does it?' asked Rabalyn.

'You see? Now you are getting curious too. A good trait in the young.' He winced suddenly.

'My head is beginning to ache,' he said.

Jared returned with a goblet of water. Nian drank it swiftly, then rubbed at his eyes. 'I think I will sleep,' he said. 'I will see you in the morning, Rabalyn.'

The two brothers walked away. Rabalyn sat for a while, staring at the Sword Belt, and the glittering stars around it. Then he heard Nian cry out, and saw Jared sitting beside him, his arm round his brother's shoulder. Nian lay down, and Jared covered him with a blanket. Rabalyn went over to them.

'Is he all right?' he asked.

'No. The cancer is destroying him,' said Jared, with a sigh. Nian was sleeping now, lying on his back, his arm over his face.

'He talked about the stars and clouds.'

'Yes. He is ... was ... a man of great intelligence. He was an architect once. A long time ago.

When he wakes he will be the Nian you know. Slow-witted.'

'I don't understand.'

'No more do I, boy,' said Jared sadly. 'The Old Woman says it is to do with the pressure inside his head. Sometimes it s.h.i.+fts or subsides, and for a few minutes he is the Nian he always was. The Nian he was meant to be. It doesn't last. And the moments of clarity are fewer now. The last time he returned was a year ago. The temple will cure him, though. I am sure of it.'

Nian moaned in his sleep. Jared leaned over and stroked his brow.

'I think I'll get some sleep too,' said Rabalyn. Jared was staring down at his brother's face and did not hear him.

As the night wore on many of Khalid's men drifted back to their tents. Others too drunk to move fell asleep on the threadbare rugs. Druss rose from his place, took one look at the sleeping Khalid, then half stumbled as he made his way towards the outside. Diagoras, his mouth dry, his head pounding, followed him out into the night.

Druss stood and stretched out his arms. 'd.a.m.n, but I'm tired,' he said, as Diagoras came up to him.

'Did you learn anything worthwhile?'

'Nothing we didn't know about Ironmask. Khalid has never seen the fortress. It's a long way from here. He has heard of the temple Skilgannon seeks. Apparently there was a warrior who went there when Khalid was a child. He said the man had lost his right hand in a battle. He went seeking the temple and when he returned his hand had regrown.'

'Impossible,' said Diagoras. 'Just a myth.'

'Perhaps,' said Druss. 'One interesting detail, though. He said the man's hand was a different colour. It was deeper red, as if scalded. Khalid says he saw it himself, and has never forgotten it.'

'And that makes you believe the story?'

'It tells me there's at least a grain of truth to it. Perhaps the man did not lose the hand, but had it mutilated. I don't know, laddie. But Khalid says the temple cannot be found unless the priestess there wants to be found. He told me he travelled over the area himself, and saw no sign of a building. Not until he was leaving. He had climbed towards a high pa.s.s leading home, and he glanced back. And there it was, s.h.i.+ning in the moonlight. He swears he walked every inch of the valley floor. There was no way he could have missed it.'

'So, did he go back?' asked Diagoras.

'No. He decided he didn't want to risk entering a building that appeared and disappeared.'

<script>