Part 17 (1/2)

'I think I can take us straight away to the Grove, Father.'

Pug looked surprised. 'Really?'

Looking on as four young women came to pick up the dead Dasati and carry him away, Magnus said, 'Mother's been teaching me and I'm sure I can do it. I can transport us there without a device.'

'We need to collect Valko and go,' said Pug.

Audarun held up her hand. 'Young Valko will not travel with you.'

Pug looked warily at the old woman. Whatever else these Bloodwitches were, they were Dasati and capable of instant and extreme violence. This enclave of women might lack the aura of insanity of the rest of this race, but that made them no less potentially dangerous. 'Why?'

'He has a role to play, which is as critical in its own fas.h.i.+on as yours, of that I'm certain.' She rose slowly. 'If the Dark One vanished this instant, the slaughter in his name would not. There are too many, from the TeKarana down to his lowest servitor, who have a vested interest in seeing things remain here as they are.

'The society we live in has at its heart an evil that infects every aspect of our lives. Even if that heart dies now, the infection will continue for centuries. Too many would continue as if nothing had changed.

'There must be a wholesale reordering of our culture,' said the oldest of the Triarch. 'Not only must the Dark G.o.d be destroyed, but the TeKarana and the Karanas, as well as the topmost leaders.h.i.+p of the Dark One's temple, all must be removed, and once that has occurred, we will still have to endure decades of unrest.'

'As powerful lords rush to seize power,' said Magnus. 'You speak of chaos.'

'It is better for there to be chaos,' answered Audarun, 'than an order that calcifies a race, stagnates it until it becomes a thing despicable, a culture of death and horror. It would be better to become the animals we devour, for at least they care for their young.' She fixed Magnus with a steady gaze. 'Let the strong survive, but we shall teach them,, eventually, to care for the weak.'

Pug said, 'You choose a harsh path.'

'It was chosen for us long ago, magician.' Audarun rose. 'We are not your allies, but we do share common interests. We have no desire to see your realm invaded or your world subjugated. Our race can survive only through expansion, for we will turn on ourselves if we cease to look outwards. So, we must force that inward turning, create a civil war that will last generations and end the horror that is what we have become. We must cut off our own hand before it does even graver injury.'

Pug nodded. 'Harsh indeed. But many will attempt to seize power in the name of the Dark One, even if he is somehow vanquished, and they will use the existing social order to crush opposition.'

'We are the only opposition,' she said. 'In our hallowed history we were more than you see now, and we had many G.o.ds, human. We served them with joy and they guided us. But now we have no rallying point save to oppose the Dark One. If somehow they were to return to us, perhaps we might find a less terrible fate, but that is the stuff of dreams.' She indicated the direction Valko had been taken. 'He is our beacon, he will stand in opposition to the horror that our leaders.h.i.+p has embraced.

'Valko has been chosen, along with several others of n.o.ble rank and honoured lineage, to be the next generation of leaders for our race. With good fortune, he may even be the next TeKarana.

'You have no concept of how remarkable it is that he could learn the truth and a.s.similate it as rapidly as he has; most young warriors would have flown into a killing frenzy at a suggestion of the things he has calmly embraced. Most would have killed you by now for the mere fact of your existence.

'We, the Triarch, have lived here in this refuge our entire lives, spared the constant madness emanating from the pit wherein lies the Dark One. His poison seeps out of there and reaches across the stars and d.a.m.ns every last Dasati. We are among the few who have escaped that touch, yet even to us your presence is a... trial.'

'Then, lady,' said Pug, 'we shall remove ourselves as quickly as we can, and be on our way. Know that while the survival of our race is our paramount concern, I also hope we will be helping yours and we wish you well.'

'Then you are a better race,' said Audarun. 'But one day perhaps we shall equal you.'

Pug turned to Magnus. 'Let us go now.'

Magnus came to stand next to his father and put his hand on Pug's shoulder. He closed his eyes for the briefest second, recalling the secret room below ground in the Grove, and instantly they were there.

Two Lessers leaped away in terror until they saw the faces of the two who had mysteriously appeared before them. Pug made a gesture of rea.s.surance, as he glanced around to find themselves alone, then said to Magnus, 'Let us rest and see if Martuch and Hirea return this night. Else it is just the two of us in an alien place and we have a difficult task ahead.'

'To find Nakor?'

'To find Nakor.'

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Secrets.

BEK LASHED OUT WITH HIS SWORD.

The trainer barely leaped aside quickly enough to survive, and received a glancing blow off his left shoulder. It rocked him and he staggered a step back, which saved him from losing his head as Bek halted the travel of his sword to his left, and reverse-cut to his right, a backhand blow that was all but impossible for any but the strongest, fastest swordsmen in the Dasati Empire. For a novice Deathknight, it should have been impossible.

'Hold!' came the command from above.

The trainer and Bek both looked up to see who had shouted the command. A man resplendent in black armour edged with gold peered down from the gallery overlooking the arena. Every instructor and trainee in the ma.s.sive arena halted at his command. The black armour he wore was of the TeKarana's personal guard, and he sported decorative pauldrons which made his shoulders impossibly wide and came to an upswept point ending in a wicked-looking golden barb. His helm was topped by a high metal crest fronted by a stylized serpent twining around a tree. The crest ended in a fall that dropped at the back between his shoulders. He exuded power.

Pointing at Bek, he shouted, 'Who trained you?'

Bek laughed, and shouted back, 'I trained myself.'

Nakor stood to one side, eyes down. He winced at the arrogance.

But the man above returned the laugh. 'Can I believe it? I must, for no sane warrior would teach a move such as that. Wait on the sand.'

It took only a minute for the observer to leave the balcony and work his way to the training floor, but in that brief respite, Nakor came to Bek's side, offered him water, and whispered, 'Remember, you are the protege of Martuch and you were trained by Hirea. Remember!'

The large warrior in the decorative armour strode across the yard and came to stand before Bek, the only person on the floor who was taller. All eyes turned to witness the exchange. The warrior said, 'Attack me.'

Without hesitation Bek unleashed a furious combination of blows, feints and thrusts that had all the onlookers gaping. But the warrior in the black armour was obviously no novice to combat, for he moved out of Bek's line of attack with a nimbleness of foot that was unexpected in someone so large, let alone burdened by heavy armour.

Then he countered and let loose a blow that came close to crus.h.i.+ng the side of Bek's skull. Bek merely twisted his wrists and brought his blade up to block, and the shock of the blow reverberated across the sand.

Back and forth the two men duelled, Bek's ferocity and power matched and countered by the other man's speed and experience. The onlookers began to form a circle around them because it was becoming clear that something unusual and amazing was taking place, and that should either warrior err, someone would die suddenly.

Back and forth they moved, exchanging blows and parries, until finally the warrior in black stepped away and shouted, 'Hold! Enough!'

Bek hesitated, then put his sword down.

The warrior in black said, 'Again, who trained you?'

This time Bek looked him in the eye and said, 'Hirea of the Scourge.'

'I know him. Scourge, small society... but respected, old house, good man. One of the best on Kosridi.' He removed his helm, and Bek saw a battle-scarred face, an older Dasati warrior, but one still in the height of his power. 'I am Marian, Imperado of the Justicants, First Order of the TeKarana's guards. I have never seen anyone like you, Bek.'

Bek was dripping with perspiration. He said, 'You're fast. Strong, too. You are very hard to kill.'

The older warrior grinned. 'I will mention your name. We shall need replacements, and we shall need them soon. Who knows? You may be the one to take my head some day if I don't die on some cursed alien world.'

'I'll make it quick and salute you,' said Bek, returning the grin.

With a slap on the shoulder, Marian turned and departed.