'Then you are blind,' said Elsa. 'Because only the blind could fail to see the faith and love of God in this town.'
Koroyan stepped back, her face pinched with contempt. 'It is one insult too many,' she said. 'You have already confessed to crimes that carry the penalty of death and the scattering of your ashes to the devils of the wind. And now you seek to question my faith?'
'I only ask you to see,' said Elsa.
'It is not my eyes that have failed.'
'Don't let her take you!' Elsa was suddenly calling to the crowd, to anyone that would hear her. 'Don't let her persuade you we are ungodly. Don't let her turn you away from—'
Almost too quick to follow, the Chancellor grabbed Elsa's hair and pulled back her head. Her robes billowed and Mirron caught a glint of silver, moving left to right. And when she stepped back, the blood was pumping from Elsa's throat and Koroyan's robes and hands were stained red.
'Bring me water to wash away this filth,' she said. 'Sentence is passed.'
From the silence came a storm of rage. Everyone was yelling abuse. The word 'murderer' echoed around the columns of the forum. The crowd surged again and the Order soldiers pressed in, swords drawn, bows bent back. Kovan and Arducius restrained Gorian. Ossacer was clinging to Mirron, who in turn stared at the oratory platform where the Echelon was being pushed back by soldiers. They were gesticulating, crying, trying to force their way to Elsa whose life ebbed away in front of them all. She had been dropped by the soldiers and died alone.
Genna was holding on to Father Kessian who was wheezing as he tried to speak. He clutched at his left arm as if in some pain. It was his voice again that rose above the quietening tumult. But he could barely get the words out, such was his struggle to breathe.
'This is not trial nor justice,' he said, gasping between almost every word. 'This is murder born of ignorance and fear. For all the evil you denounce us for, the only person harmed is dead by your hand.' He stopped and sagged, held up by Genna and now Willem, who came to his other side. Both were whispering to him.
A bolt of fear speared Mirron and around her the Ascendants tensed as one. Koroyan was on him again, striding the stage like some heroic actor.
‘I
would stop its spread even if that meant burning everyone in this town,' she said.
'You have no authority,' said Kessian, his face red and agonised. 'Where is the Advocacy seal?'
'I act under the authority of God.'
'You act for your own ends. I do not recognise you as my Chancellor.'
Koroyan backhanded him across the face. He jerked backwards and then pitched forwards. Genna screamed. This time, no one tried to stop Gorian. They were all with him, knowing what they must do.
Barring their way were two soldiers. The air was hot and dry, the energy trails livid before Mirron's eyes. She drew it into her, feeling the scorching race through her veins and burgeon under the focus of her mind. She channelled it through to her hands, pressing her palms together to keep it cycling within her. In front, Kovan and Gorian had pushed other children aside, shouted them down. And in the confusion and in her rage, Mirron opened her palms and the flame spat out. It slammed into their helmets and breastplates, attracted by the metal, and knocked them both from their feet.
The Ascendants were past them in a moment, racing towards the oratory. A wind bore down the forum, picking up a cloud of sand and dust. Arducius was walking with his arms out by his sides, channelling the gale that blinded and confused the bowmen ahead of them. Shafts were loosed but they flew harmlessly into the teeth of the wind.
Up on the stage, it was all those there could do to stay on their feet. Gorian and Kovan had reached the side stairs. Kovan faced an Order warrior, blocking his thrust aside easily and thumping the hilt of his sword into the man's face, downing him. Gorian went past him, ignoring Vennegoor on his way to Father Kessian and the Chancellor.
Mirron went after him, Ossacer too, and when Kovan had his sword point at the Chancellor's neck, Arducius stilled the gale. Silence, punctuated by the sound of approaching horses. The crowd gaped as the sand and dust fell and uncertainty returned. Mirron had no idea what to do next. She wondered if any of them did. All the Ascendants were round Kessian now. The soldiers had backed off. Through fear or confusion she didn't know.
Bows were trained on them from all sides. She looked around the oratory. At Koroyan, who ignored the sword point and stared at them in utter disbelief. Vennegoor had his hand on his sword hilt now.
'Don't,' said Kovan. He was behind the Chancellor with a hand on her shoulder. 'Take your hand away and order your men to stand down. I don't want to hurt her but I will. If one arrow is loosed—'
'Keep calm, young man,' said Vennegoor. His voice was weak, his eyes wandering to the Ascendants like his Chancellor's. He made a downward gesture with his hands and the bows were relaxed. 'No one needs be hurt.'
'It's too late for that,' said Gorian from where he sat, cradling Kessian's head in his lap. The Father was breathing but it was faint. Ossacer had his hands on him and was trying everything he could to help him. 'You have already caused more hurt more than you can imagine.'
'So, here you are at last,' said the Chancellor. Her face was white and she too had a trembling voice. 'Those who would depose God and sit as lords over us all. Your display has merely confirmed your guilt. This is an abomination. A terrifying, shocking abomination. And it shall be stopped. Here, today.'
The horses were getting closer and Vennegoor gathered himself.
'What will you do now?' he said, addressing Kovan. 'We are a hundred. And you can hear others approaching. You are but one sword and those who can create a gale against all reason and faith. You cannot win. Put it down, lad. Let what must be done, be done.'
'You will all die before I let you hurt one more of us,' said Gorian.
'And demonstrate your evil to all present,' said the Chancellor.
‘I
am protecting my own,' he said. 'You have no idea what I can do.'
Kessian's hand reached up and gripped Gorian's. His eyes opened and Mirron felt a rush of relief. But it was brief. There were tears in Ossacer's eyes, escaping down his cheeks.
'Don't do it, Gorian,' whispered Kessian. 'For me, don't do it. Don't give them the reason they need. Help is coming.'
'For you, Father,' said Gorian nodding, his voice beginning to break. 'But only for you.'
'Good lad,' he said. 'Good lad. Remember your destiny.'
His hand slipped away and his eyes closed. And all the Ascendants sensed it; grey fading to dark. Lifelines blinking out. The passing of blessed life.
'No!' screamed Mirron. 'NO!'
She buried her head in Genna's chest, wailing, her whole world tattering. She could hear the shouting around her. Kovan strong and steady. Gorian raging and accusing. Arducius trying to keep them together but unable to make himself heard through his sobs. The wind came again. Thunder cracked in a sky darkened by gathering cloud. There was noise and running feet. The sounds of swords clashing and a single dominating voice demanding order.
Chapter 38
848th cycle of God, 25th day of
Solasrise 15th year of the true Ascendancy
Vasselis knew he had to keep himself and his soldiers calm. Riding hard from the lake where he left Netta hidden and under guard, he brought ten with him. Approaching the town he could see the crowd in the forum and was certain that the Order had come to Westfallen. The forced gathering for denunciation was ever their method. How they had found out about the Ascendancy would have to wait.
Galloping towards the head of the forum and the oratory, he split his force to take both sets of steps. Three guards stood by each. He rode right. Arrows took down two and he leaped from his horse to confront the other. He drew his cavalry blade.
'Drop your weapon,' he said.
Above them on the oratory he heard harsh words. Then it was a scream of grief. Ahead of him, the Order warrior stood resolute. Vasselis lunged at him. Their blades clashed. He forced his enemy's right and lashed in his left fist, feeling the steel knuckled gauntlet splintering his cheek. The man fell back. Vasselis drove his blade through his gut and jumped over the crumpling body and up the steps.
Out on to the stage he came. His son,
his son,
had a blade to the Chancellor's neck. Horst Vennegoor stood rigid near them. Across the oratory, the Echelon and the Ascendants were grouped together. There was screaming and there was crying and he could see the raw fury in Gorian's face. In the sky, storm clouds gathered. And out in the forum, the citizens of Westfallen cheered at sight of him and his men.
'I will have order here!' he roared. 'I will have order.'
The skies began to clear and the wind dropped away. And now all
he could hear was weeping. He stalked towards the Chancellor, a drop of blood falling from the tip of his sword. His men had pushed her warriors on the oratory away, disarming them, and were protecting the Echelon and the Ascendants.
'Unbuckle your sword belt, Horst. I don't want your blood on my blade as well,' he said. 'And signal all your warriors to withdraw. You are all leaving.'
Vennegoor inclined his head and moved his hands to his belt. Vasselis stood before the Chancellor, seeing fear behind her proud expression. Not fear for her life but what she had seen.
'It's all right, Kovan. You can relax now. I'm more proud of you than I can say.'
'You implicate your son as well,' said Koroyan. 'Is there no end to your selfishness?'
Vasselis watched his son put up his sword and move over to stand with the Ascendants, a man this day. In its way it was an emergence as important as for those who he protected. And in the face of such aggression and violence. Another day, Vasselis would smile about it. Not today.
'Kovan, they are your responsibility now. Take them, you know what to do.'
'She killed Father Kessian,' shouted Gorian.
'And that is where it will end,' said Vasselis though his heart was breaking. 'Go. While you still can. It isn't safe here for you any more.'
'They won't get far,' said Koroyan. 'We know their faces. Their eyes are evidence of their guilt. And you will burn with them, Marshal. Your time is almost up.'
'I would not say another word, if I were you, Felice. You have done enough damage for one day.'
He looked to his left and saw Elsa lying in her blood, her hair ruffling in the breeze. And to his right, Kessian. Still and dead.
'I am here to—'
'Silence!' Vasselis vented all his fury into the one word. 'Unless you have the seal of the Advocate you have no authority to dispense justice here. This is my country and these are my people. And I will not hesitate to cut down any who threaten them.'
The cheer from behind him was loud and long. He nodded but didn't turn to them. Instead, he leant into Koroyan.
'Felice, you can have it your way if you want and I will humiliate you in front of all these innocent, law-abiding people. Or you can leave now and we will both stand before the Advocate to explain ourselves another day. Which is it to be? Either way, the Ascendants leave unharmed.'
Koroyan looked at the Ascendants having to be dragged away from the body of Ardol Kessian. She smiled ice.
'You are a heretic and you will burn,' she said. 'How many men is it you have here, I wonder?'
'Damn you, Felice. Damn your ashes to the wind.' He turned. 'Run, Kovan. Run!'
Arducius could barely see for the tears clouding his eyes. He had been pulled to his feet by one of Vasselis's soldiers and bundled down the stairs to the back of the oratory along with the rest of the Ascendants and the Echelon. Arrows had begun to fly from the sides of the forum, clicking into stone and whistling overhead. Only Genna remained with Father Kessian, his body stretched on the stone stage in the heat of the afternoon. Mirron's screams as she was dragged from his side and rushed away would live with him for ever. He had no idea what had happened to Marshal Vasselis.
The air was full of shouts and violence. He and the others were in the centre of a mass of sprinting legs and flailing arms. Vasselis's men ran ahead of them and behind them. Hesther, Meera and Gwythen ran with them while Willem and Andreas, too old to keep up, sought shelter where they could. But they were not the target, not for now.
The Order warriors had broken from their ring around the forum and were trying to force their way through a crowd that obstructed them at every turn. Kovan led the Ascendants along an alley and then right down a narrow street that would take them parallel to the forum and back to the beach. He ran hard, flanked by his father's men. Gorian ran just behind him.
Ossacer was struggling, unable to focus on the trails in the sky to help him run. He
Was
being held steady by one of the soldiers; a gloved fist grabbing the back of his tunic and all but lifting him from the ground. It was the same for Mirron. She had stumbled more than once and had been swept over a soldier's shoulder where she stared behind her at Arducius, her face blank with shock and covered in her tears.
'I'm here, Mirron,' he managed. 'I'm here.' But he didn't think she heard him.
They were being chased. The Order was after them. An arrow smacked into the buildings to the left.
'Faster!' shouted a soldier. 'Don't look back.'
Three men spilled out into the street ahead of them. More arrows flew. One caught a soldier in his face and he was pitched from his feet to go crashing into the wall at his left. Kovan and the other soldier closed to attack. Both had gladiuses and used them two-handed. Arducius could barely register it all but there it was, happening right in front of him.
Kovan didn't hesitate. His blade swept down left to right and a bowman fell, a great slash through his light riding armour and deep into his body. Vasselis's man batted aside a blade and returned his sword into the neck of his enemy. Blood fountained into the God-blessed blue of the sky and sprayed across Arducius's face as he ran through, having to jump a body still moving with the last of life. The third enemy loosed another arrow which missed its target. Kovan chopped down into his hands. The man howled and fell, an anguished sound that speared Arducius. He felt the surge of energy as the man's body tried to compensate for the wound. The street was running red.
Arducius was breathing hard. He wiped at his face as he went. More arrows came from behind, none coming too close with the archers having to fire on the run. But he could not pause or slow. The roar of the crowd in the forum reached them here but was dulled by stone. His ears were full of the echo of boot on cobble, too. So much clamouring for his attention when it was all he could do to keep placing one foot in front of another.
They emerged from the end of the street and into the glare of the open space that ran down to the harbour, the beach and the open sea. Dogs ran beside them, barking in frenzied fury. There were people running in from the right-hand side. Order warriors, Vasselis's men and ordinary citizens. The direction of the Ascendants had been obvious from the start; it was their only real chance of quick escape.
The arrows hadn't stopped but now the soldiers at the rear did. Yelling the Ascendants on, they turned and rushed the Order archers heading towards them. Arducius. only had eyes for ahead. On the beach, Kovan's boat was ready and prepared. Five of Vasselis's archers stood around it in an arc, composite bows bending, releasing.
Arducius tried not to look but couldn't help it. So many of the Order seemed to be running at them. They had cleared the last of the houses on the far side in front of the forum and were tearing across the coarse, brown grass that separated the town from the beach. After them came the enraged townsfolk.
Kovan led them on to the harbour concrete, racing for the boat. They weren't going to make it first.
'Into the water!' shouted Arducius. 'Ascendants, let's go. Kovan, you'll have to pick us up off shore.'
He saw Kovan nod and indicate his men continue with him. Mirron was put down and Ossacer released. The soldiers turned and ran after Kovan. The Echelon gathered around the Ascendants.
'We haven't much time,' said Hesther, her face creased with stress and the effort of running.
'You should be coming with us,' said Gorian.
'We can't do that,' said Meera, enveloping her son in her arms. 'You have to get away from here. We'll be all right, the Marshal will protect us.'
'I don't want to go,' sobbed Ossacer. 'Please don't make me go.' 'It won't be forever,' said Hesther. 'You'll be back before you know it.'
'I'm not going,' said Mirron. 'I won't leave you. Any of you.'
An arrow skipped off the ground too close by for comfort. The sound of swords clashing rang out across the water. The Echelon crowded round the Ascendants. Gwythen hugged Mirron hard.
'It's too dangerous,' she said. 'Come on, young lady, we've spoken about this. We knew it might happen.'
Arducius felt the same fear that he saw in their faces. But they couldn't stay here at the moment. That much was obvious.
Hesther glanced behind her and clapped her hands. 'Come on, go. Arducius, look after them. Gorian, keep hold of your temper. Mirron, remember where your heart lies. Ossacer, everything can be healed. Now go. We'll shield you.'
Arducius nodded, kicked off his sandals and led them into the harbour waters and out of sight.
Kovan didn't look back. His boat seemed terribly far away and the enemy was closing in. He was running along the harbour wall with three men. The archers guarding the boat still fired but had to let their arrows fall short for fear of hitting innocent citizens. 'Swords and shields!' shouted Kovan.
Ahead of him, his men had heard him. Bows were discarded, rectangular shields were picked up from the sand and gladiuses drawn. They spread around the stern of the boat while Kovan's aides stood in the water at the bow, keeping it ashore but ready to launch.
There were at least six Order warriors well ahead of the main mob of enemies and allies who would reach the boat before Kovan. Behind them, another two slowed to loose arrows. One was felled by a haymaker punch to the back of the neck from one of West-fallen's powerful farmers. The other was enveloped by the crowd to the unsettling sound of cheers.
Kovan felt sand crunch beneath his feet. 'When I get away, stop this fighting as soon as you can. Too much blood already.'
'Yes, sir.'
The Order reached the boat, bucklers on arms, cavalry swords in hand. The defenders braced, ducking behind their shields to take the first blows. Blades thudded on to shields. Immediately, those shields punched out and opened, forcing opponents back, freeing space for the stab. Gladius blades licked out; none found flesh.
'Keep them back,' shouted Kovan.
But from the far side of the beach from the direction of the House of Masks, more warriors were running in unopposed.
'Your left, your left,' called one of the soldiers with Kovan.
But those at the boat couldn't hear them, deep in their engagement with the swordsmen facing them. There was nothing that could be done bar pray the arrows missed their targets. Kovan was only twenty yards away, a target himself. He saw the enemy stop, steady, aim and release. Half a dozen shafts whipped across the clear blue sky. Kovan heard himself muttering 'miss, miss'.
One found its target, taking the soldier through the side of the neck. He was punched from his feet, colliding with the man next to him. Three Order warriors were past them immediately and at the men around the boat. They backed away from the swordsmen, holding up their hands in surrender. They were cut down where they stood in the shallows, blood splashing into the water.
'No!' screamed Kovan, then muttered. 'They were unarmed. Unarmed.'