Orson Waters lounged back in his chair and poured himself some fortified wine. He turned over the possibilities in his head. “Could you carry off the imposture?”
“Yes. I have studied him.” His voice was a perfect copy of Kormak’s, right down to the faint Aquilean burr in his Sunlander accent. When he moved, he managed a perfect facsimile of the guardian’s lethal grace.
“You would need his sword and his amulets.”
“Yes.”
“And someone who knows him well might be a problem.”
“The merwoman?”
Orson Waters nodded.
“She can be removed at the same time as he is. A tragic accident perhaps.”
“How? We can’t exactly drop her over the side of the ship. She would just swim back.”
“Unless I miss my guess, she and the Guardian will be going back to the island tomorrow. We should go with them.”
“That might be dangerous. I do not like the sound of what has happened there.”
“It is a risk worth taking. You need not go. I can infiltrate the group myself if you wish.”
“You must be very confident in your abilities. The guardian is amongst the deadliest swordsmen in the world.”
“Anyone can be killed if they are taken by surprise.”
“You will need to kill him in secret. And the two of them are always together.”
“There are ways of doing such things.”
Orson Waters stroked his chin. “I do not like it. What if something goes wrong? What if you are discovered?”
“That will not happen.”
“But if it does?”
“You will just disclaim all knowledge of me. A changeling infiltrated the retinue of the richest man in Siderea. It is quite plausible the ruse was aimed at you.”
“Is it?”
“If I wanted to replace you, I would already have done so.”
Orson Water’s face blanched. “You will find I am not so easy to kill.”
The changeling smiled, and features flowed around that smile until he was Burk once more. He eyed his supposed master complacently. “Of course, Goodman Waters. Of course.”
“I will let Urag know about your plan. I am sure he would be only too happy to help you. He is not fond of the Solar religion. He’ll need to know what you are though.”
“He’s tight-lipped enough,” said Burk. “I’ll trust him. For now.”
His tone did not bode well for Urag’s future health.
There were protests when the ship did not raise anchor the next morning. Many of the passengers were not happy with the idea of staying in the harbour when the fate of the townspeople was unknown. A deputation arrived to ask the admiral what was going on.
“We are going to find out what happened to the king’s subjects,” Zamara said. “Someone attacked the people of Siderea here. Such a challenge cannot go unanswered.”
It was exactly the tone needed to pacify the nobles. The well-dressed men preened and put their hands on their swords. The merchants were less pleased.
“How long is this going to take?” Orson asked. As the richest man on board, he was their spokesman by default.
“As long as is necessary,” said Zamara. He clearly enjoyed the power being admiral gave him. Cousin of the king or not, Kormak doubted he would have spoken to Orson in quite that tone in the past.
“Of course, of course,” the big man said. “I meant, do you have any idea how many days that might be? The tides wait for no man, nor do the trade winds, and some of us here have urgent business for the king in Terra Nova.” Orson looked straight at Kormak when he said this. Perhaps he expected support from that quarter.
“We have a windcaller on board, so there is no need to worry about the wind,” said Zamara. “I think it’s safe to say Sir Kormak agrees with me on this. Don’t you Sir Kormak?”
From the admiral’s confident tone, anyone listening would have thought the whole idea was his. There was no hint of the fact that Kormak had overruled his decision in this matter. Even if Zamara was only doing it to save face, Kormak was grateful. It would be useful to have the commander’s full support in this venture.
“Indeed, I am,” said Kormak, playing the role of dutiful lackey. “The people of Fort Wrath are under King Aemon’s protection, and it falls to us to do our best for them. I am calling for volunteers to go ashore with me. I know I am correct in saying that Admiral Zamara will look favourably on any man who agrees to go.”
There was no need to mention the fact that he would look less than favourably on those who did not. Nor that word of such actions might get back to the King-Emperor’s ear.
A clamour of voices rose among the nobles immediately. Orson surprised Kormak by saying, “I will come, along with my bodyguards. I have friends and business partners in Fort Wrath, and I would not abandon them.”
Once that precedent had been established, it was difficult to stop the rest from volunteering.
Zamara looked at Kormak and said, “If we are not careful, there will not be enough people left to crew the ship.”
Zamara soon found himself busy organising the nobles in the landing party. Kormak found himself standing to one side with Orson and his bodyguard. The fat man said,” You take your duties seriously, Guardian.”
“I take my oaths, seriously.”
“You think the law has been broken here or the Shadow is at work.”
“There are innocents in need of protection,” Kormak said.
“There were, Sir Kormak. We cannot be certain that there are any left alive now.”
Kormak shrugged. “We cannot be certain there are not.”
“It is refreshing to meet a man of such old-fashioned virtue. Should you ever desire a change of career, please call upon me.”
“That’s a very kind offer,” Kormak said. His tone was just as ironic as the merchant’s.
Chapter Eleven
Rhiana stood by Kormak’s side as the cutter made its way into the pier. It was even more overloaded than it had been the day before. Kormak hoped they did not have to leave the island quickly. It would not be easy with so many people to fit onboard. Even the ship’s lifeboats had been pressed into delivering the landing party to shore.
The nobles and their retainers stood around as if waiting for a hunt to begin. Many of them clutched elaborate crossbows; most wore heavy armour and carried swords. It would be too bad if some of them went overboard now.
They called to each other, as much as to show their bravado to watching rivals as from genuine excitement. Not for the first time that morning, Kormak started to regret his decision to call for volunteers. The dilettante attitude of the noblemen might get them all killed.
The marines were quieter. They had seen the horrors of the town, and they did not feel compelled to display their bravery. They had the look of men who just wanted to get the job done. Terves and Zamara stood at their head on two of the ship’s larger boats.
The admiral had refused to take the galleon into the harbour for fear of collision with the sunken hulks. Once again, Kormak wondered about that. Something had come out of nowhere, destroyed the fort, sank a small armada of seagoing vessels and kidnapped or killed every man, woman and child in the town. How had it been done?
He thought of the signs of feasting he had seen on some of the corpses. There were numerous creatures in this world that liked to feast on human flesh.
As the landing party came ashore, he wondered if he might not just be helping to stock some evil thing’s larder. Perhaps he would have been better off doing this himself. He doubted he could have got Zamara to agree to that, even with the king’s warrant.
It was too late to worry now. He needed to concentrate on the hunt. He needed to make sure no one else died because of his failures.
“Urag is a very skilled tracker,” Orson said as they stared down at the trail leading from the edge of the port. “He will scout ahead.”
“A blind man could follow this trail,” said Zama
ra. “Hundreds of people must have been driven up here. The earth is churned by their passage.”
Orson laughed. “That may be true now, but situations have a way of changing.”
“Very well, I don’t see what harm it could do,” said Zamara. “Show us what you can do, Urag.”
Urag looked at Orson like a coursing hound. The merchant nodded and the backwoodsman disappeared off into the forest. He showed no sign of fear, unlike most of the others. They had gone quiet now. Being under the trees cut down visibility and made them all feel more vulnerable.
Kormak looked at Rhiana. “You have any sense of anything?”
She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. “Nothing close enough for me.”
Kormak strode along the track. Rhiana and Zamara and Terves flanked him. Orson stayed close at hand, sweating and blowing, but easily keeping up. His bodyguard Burk stood virtually in his shadow.
The hunters spread out in three lines, moving through the trees in small groups but maintaining contact with each other. Kormak estimated there must be well over a hundred men present. It did not reassure him. The garrison had only held fifty men but they had been in a fortified position, and that had been swept away like it was nothing.
But the search party had Rhiana, a woman sensitive to the presence of Old Ones and other powerful sorcerers. And they also had him, and he was not an inconsiderable factor when it came to dealing with powerful supernatural entities. He hoped it would be enough. His presence had not helped Gerd or any of the others who had died in the palace.
The ground rose swiftly. The forest grew thicker and darker. Boulders dotted the turf. The light was dimmer. Shadows lengthened.
From all around came the buzz of conversation. No matter how threatening the situation, men could remain in a state of silence for only so long. Now they were shouting to each other and making jokes. A few were singing. Kormak would not have been surprised if a few of the nobles had broken out wine sacks.
The marines moved quietly, their faces grim, their eyes narrowed. They did not need liquid courage. Zamara looked embarrassed, but he did nothing to quell the noise. Kormak guessed the admiral found it reassuring.
A silent figure stepped from behind a tree and found himself the target of half a dozen crossbows. Urag gave a grim smile, as if he had enjoyed putting the wind up the company, and then gestured to Orson.
“Found something?” Orson asked. Urag nodded and moved his hand to gesture ahead and to the right, in a direction that took them away from the path.
Kormak and the rest of the command group moved to follow. Urag glided over the earth, making no more noise than a shadow. Kormak glanced at Rhiana. She shook her head. She had detected no presence or threat.
The tracker led them along a rocky outcropping and Kormak noticed tracks on the stone. They were the paw marks of some huge beast, some of them bloody.
“A wolf?” said Orson. He did not sound as if he believed that for a moment.
“A wolf bigger than a horse,” said Kormak. “And those do not look like a wolf’s print. They look almost human.”
“Except with claws,” said Urag growled. His voice was deep and rumbled within his broad chest. “And way bigger than any man I have encountered. It must be a beast of some sort. Or a monster.”
“In the jungles of Terra Nova, there are moonchildren who can turn themselves into beasts,” said Orson.
“There are men who can turn into things like wolves,” Kormak said, “and there are Old Ones who love to take the form to hunt.”
“You sound like you’ve had some experience with that, Guardian?” Orson said.
“I have,” said Kormak.
Urag shook his head. “No skinturner I ever heard of grew this size, master.”
Kormak stared at the tracker. His mention of skinturners had been casual, almost as if they were an everyday thing where he came from. That was not a usual response in Kormak’s experience.
The nobles and the warriors around them shifted uneasily. All this talk of monsters and shapeshifters was unsettling them.
“It could just be some sort of blighted beast,” said Zamara. “A wolf mutated by the power of Shadow. Or a pack of them.”
Some of the nobles looked a little less nervous. The idea of such monstrous beasts was clearly not a pleasant one, but at least it gave their fears a form, and it was one that could be dealt with by a sufficient quantity of armed men.
“Wolves did not storm Fort Wrath,” Kormak said. “Wolves don’t herd humans like sheepdogs unless there are shepherds present.”
“You always have to spread gloom, don’t you, Guardian?” said Zamara. That got a few chuckles and not just because he was the commanding officer.
“He is right, though,” said Urag. “And that is not what I wanted to show you. This is.”
They passed over the lip of a hollow. Below them lay the remains of a shredded human body.
Urag bent down over the body. “This one made a run for it. Whatever made those claw prints, it pursued.”
“They could have caught him at any time,” Kormak said.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Urag said. “Maybe this one slipped away and was some time afore anyone noticed. Or maybe whatever caught him wanted sport, play with him, like.”
“That’s beastly cruel,” said Zamara.
Urag said, “Whatever is out there, it’s not like mortal people. That’s sure as sunset.”
“You find anything else?” Kormak asked.
Urag shook his head. “Thought I would take a scout away from the path just in case anyone tried anything like this. Found spoor. Followed it here. Reckon it won’t be the last body we find.”
“Skinturners,” Orson said. He sounded thoughtful.
Urag followed the trail that led away over rocky ground. More corpses sprawled on the ground. They had been torn limb from limb or reduced to bloody pulp. Scavengers had been tearing at them for some time.
“What do you reckon did that, Sir Kormak?” Terves asked. Zamara raised his head as if he was interested in the answer too. All of the nobles gathered around. They looked at him.
“Something very big,” Kormak said.
Zamara said, “Let’s push on. We’ll most likely encounter more corpses along the way.”
He was trying to sound confident, but he did not quite succeed.
The trail reached the top of a ridge and then, much to Kormak’s surprise, it twisted away. Rhiana moved up to his side. “It has started to go down again. It leads back towards the sea.”
Kormak nodded. “Maybe they crossed the headland and came down into town.”
“This will take us back to the coast if it keeps going the way it does,” said Burk.
“Maybe the attackers arrived by ship and came overland to Fort Wrath.”
“Why not just come straight into the harbour?” Rhiana asked.
“Maybe they wanted the element of surprise.”
“Perhaps they wanted the trees and boulders,” said Zamara. “Remember what we saw back in town. They used them as siege weapons.”
“It’s possible the path turns again out of sight and heads back inland,” said Orson Waters.
“It does not matter,” said Kormak. “We will follow it to the end.”
“It would make sense if the attackers came by sea,” said Waters. “I have never heard of blight beasts on this island, and they have to come from somewhere.”
“You are most likely correct,” said Kormak.
“But the nearest blight must be at least a hundred leagues away as the crow flies,” said Zamara. “On the mainland. Who takes blighted animals on a ship? Particularly beasts this size.”
“I don’t know,” said Kormak. “But I aim to find out.”
He followed the path as it looped down towards the sea. He lengthened his stride to show his determination. He did not want anyone to see how unsure of himself he was.
The woods grew darker. The trees clumped closer, and the und
ergrowth became a barrier on either side. Roots extended into the path to trip the unwary. Still the trail went on. The people of Fort Wrath had been driven along it like beasts.
The wind gusted. The leaves swirled. Silence surrounded them as if the birds and beasts themselves were afraid.
Rhiana paused. “There’s something out there. Something big. Something tainted,” she said. “I can sense it.”
They pushed on. The trees closed in around them.
Zamara said, “I hope we find what we are looking for soon. My legs are killing me. I am not as used to steep slopes as you are, Sir Kormak. Few seamen are.” He looked at the marines meaningfully.
Wood cracked. Something monstrous and grey descended through the branches. Kormak dived at Zamara, pushing him to one side as a huge boulder impacted where the admiral had stood. It bounced and hit one of the soldiers behind him. The awful sound of breaking bone rang out. The boulder tumbled on down the slope, leaving a trail of gore smudging the moss behind it.
“What in the name of the Light?” Zamara stared around wide-eyed looking for the source of the threat. Kormak’s hand went to his sword. He saw nothing.
Zamara stomped back to where the fallen soldier lay. The man was dead. His skull had been crushed into jelly by the huge missile. The admiral walked past the corpse and jogged to where the stone lay. It was massive, half as tall as a man.
“The ship’s catapults would struggle to throw this stone any great distance,” Zamara said.
“I don’t think anyone has manhandled siege equipment into these woods.”
Appalled soldiers glanced around, weapons ready. Their faces were pale, their eyes narrowed. They looked for targets and found nothing.
The nobles moved closer to see what happened.
Kormak raised his hands. “Stand back—don’t come any closer. Too many of us crowded together make too easy a target. The next boulder won’t miss.”
That got everyone’s attention. The men dispersed, taking cover behind the boles of trees, looking around warily.