‘Why did you give me that mysterious smile before?’ I asked.
‘Mysterious? Is that what you thought it was?’
I smiled. ‘Yes, it was mysterious because I couldn’t guess what you were thinking.’
‘I was thinking how happy you looked, and how angry my father was. Steam was almost hissing out of his ears! It looks like you are going to fight in Arena 13, Leif, and much earlier than my father thought.’
‘He’ll put a stop to it,’ I said. ‘He’s already told me that he’s just playing Ada along and has no intention of letting me fight so soon.’
‘Don’t be so sure!’ Kwin said. ‘I think you’ll find that Ada is quite capable of getting her own way.’
Suddenly we heard the howl of a wolf. It sounded quite close to the stockade.
Kwin gasped and seized my free hand, moving closer. ‘Could it get over that wall?’ she asked.
I held the torch high above my head and looked up. ‘No, a wolf couldn’t scale that,’ I said – though I suspected that the two-legged self of a werewight could. They fought the Genthai, but would they attack otherhumans? It was something I should have asked Konnit.
I guided Kwin back towards the two huts where we slept. She held my hand all the way. When it was time to part, she kissed me on the cheek. I tried not to make too much of it, but I was still reliving the experiencewhen I finally drifted off to sleep.
The creation and early patterning of Thrym was over, and the following day we headed back towards the city much more slowly; the hunger of the shatek meant that only four oxen remained to pull the wagon.
Within the week we were back at Tyron’s house in Gindeen, and almost immediately I began to practise with Thrym. Working with the new lac was a revelation. Soon we had developed an efficient version of Ulum,and Thrym proved to be a fast learner.
But the difference between this and other lacs was unnerving. I had never felt comfortable when lacs stared at me. I’d always wondered what they were thinking. But Thrym was fully sentient; his utterances went farbeyond the usual exchanges of Nym wurdes.
It was when I was alone with him on the training floor that he first engaged me in conversation. Deinon was putting in extra time patterning, while Tyron had just gone up to his study on business. Thrym was standingat ease while I sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to get my breath back after a vigorous workout.
‘Who were you?’ the lac asked.
I looked up at him in astonishment; I didn’t know how to answer.
‘Before you are, who were you?’ Thrym persisted.
‘I was nobody,’ I said. ‘I did not exist. I was just a twinkle in my father’s eye.’
‘A twinkle? What is that?’
‘A twinkle is a glimmer, a spark of interest. My father loved my mother, and from his seed I was born, and from my mother’s womb I emerged. Before that I was nothing.’
‘Can you be sure of that?’
I shrugged. ‘Nobody can be sure of anything in this world.’
‘I am twice-born,’ said the lac. ‘I remember little of my first life. But there was pain. It seems distant now, but there was agony beyond bearing. I did not ask to be born.’
It was disturbing to hear this. Ada had said that he would remember nothing of the horror of being eaten by the shatek. If he’d experienced and remembered that agony, it was surely wrong to have made him, in spiteof our need to defeat Hob. Suddenly I felt guilty. Here he was talking to me just like a human, and yet he was a slave, easily silenced by a wurde and bound to do our bidding. He was still staring at me, so I replied.
‘Neither did I,’ I told him. ‘No humans ask to be born. Do you wish that you hadn’t been born?’
‘It is good to live. I like to fight. Fighting is good. I look forward to slaying our enemy.’
‘So do I. Hob killed my mother and brought about my father’s death.’
‘We will pay him back for that, and for the death of Tal,’ said Thrym. ‘We will kill him many times until no selves remain as hosts to his dark soul. He will die many deaths. I will enjoy that. But you will not die, Leif. Iwill protect you. I will keep you safe.’
‘I thank you for that, Thrym. But I want you to promise me something. If ever we face defeat by Hob but there is a chance of victory if I am sacrificed, then do it. I would willingly give up my own life to slay Hob.’
‘I would do that only if we could bring about the destruction of all Hob’s selves through such a victory. The victory over one self would not be enough.’
I nodded. ‘So be it.’
Then Thrym fell silent. I wondered what strange thoughts were spinning through his head.
I was also wondering how long it would be before Tyron confronted Ada. She was working towards my speedy entry to the Arena 13 Lists, but as far as he was concerned, this season would be far too soon. However, hewas happy learning from her, and there was a good atmosphere of industry and progress in the house. I knew that he wouldn’t want to jeopardize that.
So Tyron waited almost two weeks before confronting her. He called a meeting. All five of us were present in his study that night.
He began by listing the reasons why it was premature for me to fight in Arena 13.
‘We need to be ready for the time when Hob is finally weakened,’ he finished. ‘When he only has a few selves remaining, that will be a moment of great danger – not only for us but for the whole city. Who knowswhat weapons he might have in his lair? Weapons that, when threatened, he might unleash on us.
‘I planned that not just one sentient lac but many should hunt him down in his lair. I have money to buy more shateks. We could begin the work in the winter when the Trader next calls. Then, next season, Leif couldbegin his battles against Hob in the arena and slowly deplete his selves while we prepare to strike at his heart. We could enter his lair and defeat him there.’
I looked at Tyron in astonishment. He had changed his mind and agreed that I could fight with Thrym in Arena 13. What he was proposing was reasonable. I would curb my impatience and spend this year readyingmyself for combat, practising until I was perfect.
Ada stared at Tyron for a long while before speaking. Then she smiled. ‘It is a good plan, Tyron. But first hear me out because I have an even better one!’
BRING ME THE BODY OF HOB
The gorestad is the ‘high mind’.
It is usually operative in all djinn with more than one self.
The Manual of Nym
Tyron sighed, then went to his cabinet and brought a bottle of red wine to the table, along with two glasses. He drew out the cork, and poured a large glass for Ada and one for himself. Deinon and I didn’t mind not beingoffered any, but I saw the corners of Kwin’s mouth turn down in dismay. She would have liked one.
‘Then let’s hear your plan,’ Tyron invited.
‘Leif and Thrym only need to defeat Hob once in the arena. That will give me the opportunity to destroy all his selves,’ Ada said, before pausing dramatically. She enjoyed making grand statements and watching theeffect her words had on others.
Tyron raised an eyebrow and sipped his wine, waiting for her to continue.
‘As I told you previously,’ she said, ‘I could once have halted a djinni such as Hob in his tracks with a wurde, then bound him to my will or eradicated his consciousness for all time. I can no longer do that becauseHob has had many long years to change and refine the patterns that inform him. He’s a rogue djinni who has shaped his own being, which means that I don’t know what I’m dealing with.
‘But if one of Hob’s selves were to be my prisoner, rendered safe while I worked upon him,’ she continued, ‘I could tease out the knowledge I need. His selves are governed by one mind called the gorestad, which isthe high mind operative in djinn with more than one self. But within this group consciousness there is always some individual awareness particular to each self. Most importantly, the gorestad can be accessed throughany of the selves; each is a portal. Thus by dealing with one of Hob’s selv
es, I could obliterate all the others.’
I thought about this, and realized that werewights were probably types of djinni: each element had its own individual mind, but all four were also governed by that high mind Ada had spoken of. No wonder they wereso difficult to defeat. Each creature could control its own body but the high mind could coordinate the attack.
The same was true of Hob. It would be extremely difficult to attack him in his lair. His many selves would work together and be formidable indeed.
‘Hob has been defeated before in the arena, I understand?’ Ada asked.
‘Yes,’ Tyron answered. ‘Years ago it was done by Math, the greatest Trig fighter the arena has ever seen. Math defeated Hob many times.’
He didn’t look at me, but it was strange to think that he was the only one who knew that Math was my father. I had never told Kwin or Deinon, and to Ada, Math was simply a legend of Arena 13 combat.
‘What happened to the body of Hob after those defeats?’ she asked.
‘On each occasion the remains were collected by his servants, the tassels, and taken back to his lair.’
‘How soon afterwards was that?’
‘After his first defeat by Math, it was a couple of hours – no doubt because the tassels were taken by surprise. But subsequently they came in less than half an hour.’
‘Twenty minutes would be enough,’ said Ada.
‘Enough for what?’ demanded Tyron, a hint of impatience and annoyance in his voice. ‘Didn’t you hear me correctly? I said Hob’s “remains”. The only way to defeat Hob in the arena is to slay him, and the only sureway to slay him is to sever the arteries in his neck or cut off his head. Can you interrogate the dead?’
‘I have no such skill with humans, but I can certainly interrogate dead djinn. But the head must not be cut off. Just sever the arteries. We can instruct Thrym to do that. I need the body in one piece. When Thrym andLeif win, I need you to bring me Hob’s body.’
Tyron looked at her in astonishment. ‘Surely that’s not possible? Hob can animate the head of a dead human, but we don’t even know how to do that to a lac. Perhaps the Trader can supply the technology? Is that whatyou’re hoping for?’
Ada shook her head. ‘We’ll not need the Trader for this. There’s a wurde buried deep within each djinni which can be called to make it possible, but time is limited – the interrogation must start within minutes ofdeath. Could you get hold of the body for me?’
‘Each time Math defeated Hob, the gallery was cleared of spectators and the arena secured by Pyncheon’s marshals. Then the tassels collected the remains and the fallen lacs. We can assume that Pyncheon would dothe same now,’ Tyron said. ‘I need to think . . . I would need help, but it’s difficult to ask.’
‘Why should that be so?’ Ada asked. ‘Wouldn’t most people in the city be only too glad to overthrow Hob? Don’t they want things to change for the better?’
‘Yes, they do, but there are risks involved. If we fail to destroy him, Hob’s reprisals will be terrible. The families of anyone involved will suffer his vengeance. But I’ll ask Wode and two other artificers whom I trust –Brid and Ontarro. In turn, they’ll ask the fighters in their stables to help, just as I’ll ask mine. It’ll have to be volunteers because the risk is great.’
‘But do you see any difficulty in getting hold of the body?’ Ada repeated.
‘We’ll need to plan very carefully. Pyncheon won’t stand by and do nothing,’ said Tyron. ‘Still, what you propose is feasible – though I’d still prefer to delay it until next season. It would give us time to make ourarrangements, and Leif could develop and increase his understanding with Thrym. There’s another thing which worries me. Hob took the lac you patterned back to his citadel. No doubt he’s been studying it there. Sowon’t what he learns make his own lacs more formidable and dangerous?’ Tyron asked.
Ada nodded. ‘Yes, to a certain extent,’ she replied, ‘but I have used a shatek and created a sentient lac. Without a lac, he cannot do that. Thrym is still more formidable than anything that Hob could develop bylearning from my previous creation. We must not underestimate him. It is still three lacs against one. But we will win – that I promise you.’
I had been listening to their conversation with great interest, but I was torn. The wiser and more cautious part of me recognized that it was sensible to wait. But I was eager to fight, and desperate to avenge the death ofmy parents. And there was something else that made matters urgent. We needed to destroy Hob before he kept his promise to harm the person I cared for.
I thought that Tyron’s argument would win the day, but then Ada proposed a sensible compromise.
‘Then let’s provisionally aim for this season, but only go ahead if we both agree that everything is ready,’ she said with a smile to smooth his feathers.
Deinon, Kwin and I had taken no part in this discussion. Now I couldn’t wait to play my part. And once all the talking and planning was over, I’d do exactly that. I’d be working with Thrym, developing ourpartnership. I’d be getting ready to face Hob. I was filled with excitement at the prospect, and adrenalin sent the blood coursing through my veins.
Now Tyron turned his gaze upon me and Deinon. ‘I think we should increase the hours we put into training you, Leif. Perhaps Ada could work with you and Thrym in the mornings and I can take afternoon sessions.Deinon, you need to be there for both sessions too. Learn what you can, and don’t be shy of making suggestions. And as for you, daughter,’ he said, fixing his gaze upon Kwin, ‘I’d like you to put in more hours at theoffice – take some of the burden of admin off my shoulders.’
Kwin’s face fell at that. It was the last thing she wanted. She found her work at the admin building boring.
‘May I make a suggestion?’ Ada said.
‘Of course,’ Tyron replied.
‘It would be useful to have Kwin working with Thrym as well. The lac won’t tire, but Leif will. We don’t want to over-extend him. A pulled muscle or a torn ligament would be disastrous. And we can learn bywatching someone else work with Thrym. It would be useful if Kwin joined me first thing every morning – that would still give her time to work in your office.’
Tyron grudgingly agreed. So the pattern of the succeeding weeks was decided. At last we could get on with it. The waiting was over. Now the serious business of training would begin.
STAMP, THEN SPIT
Kali’s waist is beautiful.
Her girdle is made of dead men’s arms.
The Compendium of Ancient Tales and Ballads
Tyron also began to plan the snatching of Hob’s dead body. As he’d explained, there were like-minded artificers in the city – artificers such as Wode, who were prepared to risk their lives – and he intended to enlist theirhelp. That would be his priority.
Mine was to defeat Hob, and Ada’s was to supervise my training, concentrating on increasing my understanding with Thrym. She drew up a timetable of four training sessions a day. The first involving me was tobegin an hour after breakfast so that Kwin could make her contribution first.
When I reached the training floor that first morning, Kwin was already practising with Thrym while Deinon watched from the bench. He grinned and gave me a thumbs-up, but my gaze was drawn to Kwin.
She was dancing in front of the lac, matching him step for step, so close that her back was almost touching the metal armour on his chest. Both were wielding blades; hers held almost horizontally, Thrym’s archedover her shoulders.
‘Just look behind them!’ Ada said.
The torchlight was casting their shadows back onto the wall; that composite shadow was three times their actual size. It looked like one creature with four arms.
‘It’s Kali!’ Deinon shouted with a laugh.
‘Who’s Kali?’ I asked.
‘She’s a goddess from one of the very oldest human religions,’ Ada answered. ‘As I’ve just explained to Deinon, she had four arms and fought daemons. Around her waist she wore a belt made of the arms of her s
lainenemies. She was terrible to behold. Just like Kwin and Thrym!’
Kwin’s forehead was beaded with sweat and she was frowning in concentration as she moved before the lac. She was a picture of aggression and determination.
‘She’s good!’ I exclaimed. ‘It’s a pity she’ll never be able to fight in Arena 13.’
‘That’s something that needs to be changed,’ Ada said quietly.
I looked at her in astonishment; there was no way that a female would ever be allowed to fight there. Ada was an outsider and didn’t realize that it would never be tolerated in Gindeen.
‘Kwin! Let’s show Leif the stamp!’ she called out.
Kwin grinned and danced towards me, Thrym close behind. Then, all at once, she scowled aggressively, her eyes glaring at me in feigned anger.
It was then that I noticed she was wearing the new red Trig boots I’d bought her – along with her usual war paint, the top lip black, the lower one a red that was almost the same as the red of her boots. The tattoo onher forehead seemed to glow.
They crouched as one, and stamped their feet hard on the wooden floorboards, left then right, left then right. Thud! Boom! Thud! Boom! That noise resounded across the room. It was strangely intimidating.
‘As Hob enters the arena, I want you to do that,’ Ada told me.
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘Because it’s never been done before and it will surprise him. Djinn are unnerved by anything different. They like order and stability, so we should offer disorder and change. It’s a pity we can’t paint your lips likeKwin’s! That would shock him,’ Ada said with a wicked grin.
Kwin’s grin widened and Deinon laughed aloud.
‘Forget the paint,’ Ada went on, ‘but there’s something else I’d like you to do. Can you spit accurately?’
‘Spit?’ I asked in astonishment.
‘Yes, spit – and it’s important to be accurate. It’s something you need to practise.’
‘This is a joke, isn’t it?’
Ada shook her head, her face solemn, though Kwin and Deinon were still grinning. For a moment I felt like an outsider, the butt of some joke that I didn’t fully comprehend. But I realized that all this had beendiscussed and planned in the hour before I’d arrived for training.