The Evermen Saga 01 - Enchantress (46 page)

Killian looked up. "It says so, in the book, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"About lore. In the Lexicon. They all say it."

"Show me." Ella held her breath.

Killian went to his bag, gently taking out the green-covered book. He held it in both arms; it was a precious thing. He took a nightlamp and activated it at the lowest setting, then squatted down next to Ella. She could feel his closeness. His smell came to her.

The Lexicon of Raj Altura! Ella couldn’t believe she was next to it. She had dreamt about seeing it her whole life. She longed to touch it, but she knew he would never let her.

"See?" Killian said. "The number one," he pointed at the rune on the cover.

Ella looked intently at the number rune. It hardly glowed at all. She tried to judge it. The rune would fade in perhaps a week. At that point, every seeker, every nightlamp, and every zenblade would fail. Back in Sarostar, the invisible arch of the Runebridge would disappear. The Crystal Palace would cease its display of colours.

And as soon as the enemy realised what was happening, the Alturan army was doomed.

Not noticing the desperation in Ella’s eyes, Killian opened the cover. The pages were made of some strange metallic fabric, remarkably thin. The book contained a great deal more pages than it seemed from its girth.

There was a message on the first page, written in a graceful flowing script.

"
To the common people of Merralya, one and all, I give you this, the first volume in my Tomes of Lore. Evrin Evenstar.
"

"Evrin Evenstar," Ella started.

"Does that name mean anything to you?"

"No, no. I just knew someone with a similar name. That’s all." She thought of the old animator.

Killian turned the page. A title was embossed, the colours leaping from the page with incredible beauty: "
The Lore of the Enchanter
."

Ella felt goose bumps rise on her skin. She couldn’t believe she was here, seeing this book. She wished she held it herself.

"That’s it," Killian said. He closed the book.

"Please, can I see some more?" Ella couldn’t believe she was begging.

"No." He saw her expression. "I’m sorry."

"Well what does it say?"

"I don’t really understand any of it. I only know one matrix, and that I have to copy."

Ella’s interest was piqued. "What is it?"

He grinned. "I’ll tell you another time.
Tish-toklur
," he deactivated the nightlamp.

Ella could only just make out his figure against the roiling black sky. There were no stars tonight. No moon to light their camp.

"I’m not going to tie your legs. I didn’t like the sound of those sounds last night, whatever they were, and I’m not going to risk some animal taking you while you lie there helpless."

Ella shuddered at his description. She was still helpless enough with her hands tied. With some beast out there in the dark, she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

~

"W
HAT
was that?"

"Quick, get the nightlamp on! Lord of the Sun, can you hear it?"

"
Tish-tassine
."

The camp was suddenly lit with warm light. Ella’s eyes reflected the yellow glow. Her face was pure white with fright.

Killian stood, shirtless, cudgel in hand. The snarling sound came again, from a different direction this time.

"It’s not far away."

"What do we do?" Ella asked. "Do we stay here or do we leave?"

"We stay here," Killian said. "Once we leave it can herd us or pick us off, whatever it is."

Something black passed between some trees, only paces away. Ella screamed.

"Here!" Killian threw Ella something. It was one of her enchanted stones. It fell to the ground beside her. He hadn’t thrown them all into the river after all!

"I can’t move my hands!"

"Oh."

The snarling sound came from the trees right in front of them. Killian quickly knelt at Ella’s back, cutting through the bonds in seconds.

She picked up the stone. "
Tuk-talour
," she activated the runes, she threw the stone in the direction of the sound.

"Look away!" she cried.

A great bright flash came out of the trees. Stars sparkled across Ella’s vision. There was a sound of crashing through the trees.

Then there was silence.

They both stood, panting, faces pale in the light of the nightlamp. Finally Killian spoke.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. Yes, I’m fine. But if it’s ok with you, I don’t want to sleep with my arms bound anymore.

Killian chuckled. Ella laughed too; it had a slightly hysterical edge to it.

"Here," Killian said. "I’ll come and sit next to you. You catch some sleep."

"We’ll take turns keeping watch."

Killian nodded, "We’ll take turns."

~

E
LLA
watched his chest rising and falling as he slept. He tossed fitfully, his skin was clammy. Perhaps his wounds were infected. She decided to have a look at them when morning came.

She caught herself. What was she doing? She should be smashing his head in with a rock and running off in the morning with the Lexicon.

There seemed to be some kind of change coming over him though. She didn’t know what it was, but she could hope. And it was no time for her to be in the wilds alone.

There was a small amulet on a chain around his neck. Ella had seen it before, when he had been half-drowned in the Sarsen and the High Enchantress had removed his shirt.

She leaned forward, carefully watching his eyes and listening closely for a change in his breathing. The front of the amulet was plain, simply decorated with a pretty design. She could just make out the back. There were runes there.

She leaned her arm over him and, as carefully as she could, lifted the hanging pendant. She turned it over, her arm precarious over his body. There were runes inscribed on the back. She read the matrix; it wasn’t a common sequence, but it wasn’t uncommon either.

She frowned in puzzlement. When activated, the sequence would cause the amulet to disappear. It was a novelty trick, used for lovers to mysteriously cause their gift to appear out of thin air.

To add even more to her perplexity, the runes were dead. The essence had drained long ago. The amulet wasn’t even functional.

Killian breathed deeply. Ella froze. Her arm was still across his body. She let go of the amulet just as he pulled it away from her touch. He moved his body, nestling in to her. Her arm now lay across his chest.

Ella stayed motionless for a long time, then relaxed. She could feel his heartbeat under her arm. Her head was nestled in the crook of his arm. His breath came softly on her cheek.

She would wait until he was deep in sleep again, and then she would move. She would wait just a moment…

43

Reputation is the shell a man discards when he leaves life for immortality. His character he takes with him.

— Sermons of Primate Melovar Aspen, 540 Y.E.

E
LLA
and Killian both woke at the same instant. It was sometime before dawn. He looked about in confusion, noticing her cuddled up to his body. She could not read the expression he gave her.

"I… I don’t know what happened. I guess I fell asleep."

"Shh!"

At the edge of hearing, Ella heard a man’s scream. It was suddenly followed by a roar, a wild cry of triumph. The wailing sound rose and fell, as if a man was in deathly pain. "Do you hear that?" she said to Killian.

"It sounds like the beast found other prey tonight," Killian said.

The screaming continued for hours, until it was suddenly cut short. Ella trembled.

She felt a warm presence as Killian moved closer to her. She felt his arm go around her. It gave her a wonderful feeling of protection.

The first vestiges of grey tinged the black sky as the sun rose to another dismal day. When it was light enough to see, they gathered the camp together and began the day’s journey, neither mentioning the fact of Ella’s unbound hands.

The sky above rumbled softly as if perpetually on the edge of a mighty storm. Ella stayed close to Killian, the memory of the man’s scream still fresh in her mind. Killian set a brisk pace.

"We’ll need to make a great deal of distance today," he said. "We need to get to a town. I fear we may not survive another night with whatever it is that’s stalking us. The nearest town is Torlac, most of the way to Tlaxor, the burning city. Torlac is a common way-stop for the merchants bold enough to trade with the Petryans. It’s on the edge of the great volcano, Halapusa."

"Can’t we just turn back?"

He shook his head. "No, it’s behind us, whatever it is. Besides, we would never make it to another town before nightfall. It must be Torlac." He looked at her sharply. "You’ll have to be very careful. They bear no love for Alturans in these parts. That blonde hair is a dead giveaway."

He smiled at her forlorn expression. "I like it though."

She smiled wanly back.

They managed to find a clear stream where they could refill their water bottles — they’d been running dangerously low. Killian teasingly asked Ella if she would like to take a bath, receiving a sharp blow and a heated blush in return. She still didn’t know how much he’d seen that day; even thinking about it was embarrassing.

The sun came out for a moment, and it was with lighter hearts that they marched along the dusty road, the fears of the night temporarily banished.

The road began to incline, rising steadily. They passed through gullies and ravines, the rust-coloured rock jagged and unyielding.

"We’re already on it, you know."

"On what?"

"Mount Halapusa."

"We’re on a mountain?"

He grinned, "Yes. It’s immense, isn’t it? I can’t imagine how huge it must have been before it blew, to leave behind such an immense crater. It must have been the biggest mountain in the world."

"Do you have big mountains in your land?"

He smiled at her. "Not too subtle. We have one mountain. It isn’t very big but it’s very famous."

"Stonewater! You’re from Aynar!"

He smiled. "From Salvation, to be specific."

She decided to keep the tone light. He was finally talking.

"What’s it like there?"

"You’ve never been on pilgrimage?"

"No. Are you a priest?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I was a… an acrobat actually."

"An acrobat!" Ella couldn’t believe it. Then, seeing how lean and strong his body was, how nimble he was on his feet, she suddenly could.

"Well, I wasn’t always an acrobat," his eyes grew distant. "I lived in Salvation. I have no memories of my parents. The first thing I remember is the queue at the temple shelter. The boys used to hurt each other, badly, so that they would be first in line. The food always ran out, you see."

Ella stayed quiet. She thought about her own childhood. At least she had some happy memories. She’d been loved by someone. At least she’d been clothed, fed and protected by Brandon and Miro.

"I saw one boy, they burned his eyes out. He just screamed pitifully for food. The priests tried to help him, but there were so many to help. They tried hard to do good deeds, but Aynar is not a wealthy place. With no lore, cities like Salvation had nothing to trade with the houses. We saw the lords on pilgrimage sometimes, with their rich clothing and bright jewellery. The priests always said: these were the ones who should be paying to feed and clothe us."

"They do," Ella said softly. "In lands like Altura and Halaran, at least. Were you educated? Were you taught skills?"

Killian shook his head, "The priests did their best. Some were accepted into the Assembly, they were the lucky ones. Others became sick and died." He looked at her. "The rest became beggars, or thieves. I was one of the latter."

Ella nodded, not willing to speak for fear he would stop.

He smiled, "I was a good thief, the best. I was quicker than anyone, quieter than a falling feather. Then one day I met my match. I stole a jewelled timepiece from a tall, black-haired man; I think he was Halrana. He had a ferocious temper. I taunted him." He chucked ruefully. "I suppose that would do it."

Ella pictured the scene and chuckled herself. She supposed being stolen from and mocked would have that effect.

"I ran across the rooftops, up the steep sides of one of the temples. He came right after me. I have never seen someone so agile. He leapt from building to building with no fear. This was my city, I knew it by heart, and here was a stranger, gaining on me! I ran faster and tripped on a rail. The next thing I knew I woke up with a knife to my throat.

"‘You lost my timepiece,’ the man growled — he had this rolling voice. ‘It fell into the sewer when you tripped. Now you owe me a great deal of money.’

"There was nothing I could do. He could kill me with no questions asked — I was a problem to the priests as it was. One of the templars stood nearby, nodding, waiting for him to stick me.

"I began to thrash around, if I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be quick and easy. The templar kicked me, but the man made him back away.

"‘He is my problem now,’ the Halrana said.

"He made me go with him to a great tent that had been erected on the outskirts of town, where they had set up a travelling show in hope of making money from the wealthy pilgrims. There was an acrobat, an animal trainer, a juggler, and an escape artist. The Halrana was an acrobat. He made me work there, to do everything he told me." Killian’s voice continued expressively, he gave the story richness with his voice. "I loved that man."

"What was his name?" Ella asked.

"Marney. His name was Marney Beldara. He was the best acrobat I have ever seen. He taught me every day; he fed me and clothed me. I soon became good, very good." Killian gestured with his hands.

"Then I met a woman. Her name was Carla. She wasn’t beautiful, but she was clever, and she made me laugh. She joined the troupe as we travelled around Tingara."