2 Defiler of Tombs

  Kormak leapt forward, Brandon by his side. They smashed through the lines of undead warriors, leaving broken, burned bone-heaps behind them. Kormak found himself once again facing a liche-blade.

  Blows flickered backwards and forwards. Brandon cleared the area around them with great sweeps of his sword, and then lashed out a blow at the wight, sending his blade smashing into its spine. An odd glow ran along the sword’s length, and Brandon shrieked in pain and let go of the hilt as if it had become red-hot.

  The wight stood frozen for a moment. Seeing his opportunity, Kormak passed his blade through its body. A horrible scream emerged from the wight’s mouth. The cry went on longer and higher and a cloud of something noxious and evil-smelling erupted from the reanimated body. Kormak passed his blade through it. It hissed and sizzled and broke apart. As it did so all of the skeletal warriors froze and then collapsed, all animation leaving them.

  “It is done,” Kormak said.

  “What just happened?” Brandon asked. He was holding one hand under his armpit, like a child nursing a scalded hand.

  “The skeletal warriors lost all animation when their master was destroyed,” Kormak said. Brandon shrugged as if not quite understanding and then went to join some of the villagers hacking the skeletons to pieces. Most of them avoided the spot where the tomb wight had fallen.

  A puddle of some putrescent liquid lay amid robes and armour. There was a skull but as Kormak watched, it turned black and shrivelled with a stench of vile corruption. The wolf whimpered, apparently more scared by this than by facing the monster itself. Kormak understood. Watching solid-looking bone age and turn soft and run in a few seconds was a disturbing experience.

  The villagers had started to carry the dismembered skeletons towards the burning house and throw the bones in. Kormak saw old Agnetha standing on the verandah of the Great Hall now, staring out into the darkness. Aisha was talking to her. Kormak strode over to them.

  “Are you well?” he asked. Up close he could see the witch looked drained. Her face was pale and there were lines about her eyes. Her lips were compressed into a thin line. She looked as if she had not slept for days. Her eyes were dark and her cheeks were hollow looking.

  “It uses up a great deal of strength to dismiss the undead,” she said.

  Kormak nodded, thinking about the spell he had seen her cast.

  “There was an Old One here earlier,” Aisha said. “In the sky above us.”

  “You think it had something to do with this?” He could not help but notice that her hand twitched when she said the words Old One. It was as if she was restraining herself from making some ceremonial or warding gesture.

  “It would be an odd coincidence if it did not,” Aisha said.

  “Come inside, Sir Kormak,” said Agnetha. “You must be freezing.”

  She gave Kormak a warning glance. He guessed there were things she wanted to talk about without other people overhearing them. Kormak followed her back into the hall. Hot water was brought for him to wash himself. He cleaned the mud off his boots.

  “Thank you both for what yhaou did out there,” Agnetha said. “My people are in your debt.”

  She gestured for the serving girls to withdraw and they were left alone in the hall, sitting beside the fire.

  “Where did those things come from?” Aisha asked.

  “There is a barrow half a days ride north from here,” Agnetha said. “The tomb of a Lord of Kharon. Legend says he was the Defiler’s acolyte.”

  “You think someone opened that barrow too?” Kormak asked.

  “That wight and its servants did not come from nowhere.”

  “There may be other attacks,” Kormak said. “If Morghael is opening more tombs.”

  “Watches will be set. A bonfire will burn in the night. We will keep oil ready. We have grown complacent, it seems, and times have taken another dark turn.”

  “So what of the Old One above us earlier?” Kormak said. “Some of your people shot at it.”

  “That might prove to be a mistake,” said Agnetha. “It is never wise to antagonise the Old Ones.” Aisha nodded.

  “I doubt it matters much if the Old One was responsible for the attack,” Kormak said.

  “We do not know that yet,” Agnetha said. She sounded like a woman who was hoping against hope that it would not prove to be the case. She slumped down in her chair. “If the Old Ones are responsible they will learn we are not defenceless.”

  Kormak touched the hilt of his sword. “Yes, they will.”

  Agnetha gave a bitter laugh. “You are not the only ones with weapons, Sir Kormak. And the Old Ones are not the only ones who can work magic.”

  “Where is this barrow?” Kormak asked.

  “I will have Lucas show you to it tomorrow. You wish to see it before you take your leave, I suppose.”

  “Yes, although I suspect I already know what I will find.”

  “If you will excuse me,” said Aisha. “I will bid you goodnight. I am very weary. It has been a long time since I had so tiring a night.”

  “Good night, girl, and once again I give you my thanks,” said Agnetha. Kormak watched her go. Even with her shoulders slumped and so tired she was almost staggering, she was certainly very lovely.

  “A dangerous woman,” he said.

  “Aye,” said Agnetha. “But I do not think you are her enemy. Yet.”

  The look in her eyes told Kormak not to bother asking what she meant by that. Brandon entered. His face red, his breathing heavy. He looked oddly pleased though. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight,” he said. “I have not lost the taste for it.”

  He strode across to the fire and propped his sword against the wall. He began to strip off his mail and the leather undercoat. Agnetha offered him a flask of mountain whisky. He accepted it gratefully and swigged it from the bottle.

  “Well, Kormak,” he said, “I think it’s safe to say we are on the right trail.”

  Agnetha said, “I’d better take a look at your hand. You can never tell what might come from smiting a tomb lord.”

  Brandon lost some of his enthusiasm as the old witch removed his glove and looked carefully at his fingers then sent for salves and ointments. Kormak heard the old woman making ritual invocations to the Moon. He decided it would be tactful to pretend that he had not noticed.

  Kormak woke early. The old woman was still in her chair, eyes bright, watching him.

  “The old don’t need much sleep,” she said as if that explained everything.

  “You always sleep in the chair,” Kormak asked. “Or only when you have visitors?”

  The old woman smiled enigmatically. “I like to be hospitable. And I like to make sure nothing untoward happens in the night.”

  Kormak was not sure whether she meant she liked to watch her guests or she was present to make sure none of her relations robbed them. It did not seem very diplomatic to ask. Sir Brandon stretched and yawned. “More comfortable than stony ground,” he said. “Less comfortable than my bed. No disrespect intended, Mistress. It’s good to have a roof over your head and fire to warm you in these hills.”

  “It does no harm to have Elder Signs to sleep beneath either,” said the old woman, indicating the five pointed stars worked into the hearth and hanging in wood around the walls.

  “And that is nothing but the truth,” said Brandon. He and Agnetha exchanged smiles. It was a tentative thing but Kormak could see that they had come to some understanding at that moment. There was the beginnings of some trust there, and the acknowledgement of shared concerns. Both of these were people who, in their different ways, looked after their own small communities and he guessed that gave them something in common.

  “You have plans for the day?” Agnetha asked.

  “I need to take a look at the barrow you mentioned last night,” Kormak said.

  “That is Cullen’s Barrow, a big one a couple of hours west through the hills. Lucas will show it to you. I take it you want to check whether it
has been tampered with.”

  “Yes,” Kormak said. “After that we will head north along the trail to Elderdale.”

  “I thought you might say that. I doubt any of my lads except Lucas will want to go with you that far. The Twins spook them. As they spook any sensible man.”

  “The Twins?” Kormak asked.

  “The rulers of Elderdale,” said Sir Brandon.

  “And have been these past three centuries,” said Agnetha.

  “They are definitely Old Ones then,” Kormak said. The only other explanation was that they were sorcerers of a very dark kind.

  “That they are. They keep the peace though. They are probably the only ones who could in Elderdale. It’s a right rough place.”

  “The Sun’s light does not fall on the town,” said Brandon.

  “There is no Temple?” Kormak said. It was not surprising in a place ruled by the Old Ones. They were no friends to the chosen of the Sun.

  “Only godless men would dwell there,” said Brandon.

  “Or men more concerned with wealth than godliness,” said Agnetha. “There are mine workers there and prospectors come in from the hills. There are traders and inns and brothels. There are people who search the hills for other things than silver and who go into the Cursed Lands in search of it.”

  “I can imagine the sort of place it is,” said Kormak and he could. A frontier town ruled by Old Ones and inhabited by the sort of men who would come there seeking a quick fortune. It would be a rough place indeed and one where a man might easily get his throat slit.

  “I see you’ve visited such places in your time,” said Agnetha and laughed. “Anyway, let the girls fix you breakfast and you can be on your way.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  IN THE MORNING sun, women with wooden buckets queued around the pump in the central square. There was a smell of ash and burned bone in the air. A line of people carried gear stripped from the attacking army back into the hills to be buried. They handled the wrapped weapons and armour gingerly as if they feared contamination. They did not want any reminders of the force that had attacked anywhere near the village. Kormak did not blame them for that. Who knew what taint was in it?

  A few of the locals watched Kormak and Brandon suspiciously, as if they thought the strangers’ presence had brought the attack on them. Most of the local people seemed grateful for their aid in the battle the previous evening.

  Agnetha watched from the verandah of the long hall. Men lounged around with weapons close at hand. Clearly people were nervous and the routine of their normal life was disturbed. Some of the men had returned to the hills to tend their sheep and strips of land but not many.

  Lucas sat on the edge of the verandah, near his mother’s feet. He had his bow in his hands and a knife and a short-sword on his belt. He eyed them warily as they approached and rubbed the stubble of his long jaw with one bony hand then he looked back at his mother. She nodded emphatically at him. He shrugged and rose to his feet and began to strap a saddle to a horse as lean and hungry looking as he was.

  “What you going to do now?” Agnetha asked cheerfully. She was doing her part to keep morale up in Hungerdale. She spoke loudly so that everyone could hear.

  “We’re heading north,” Kormak replied, just as clearly. A girl emerged from inside the hall with water and some stronger spirits in jars. Agnetha invited them to sit beside her on the verandah. They did so and drank. “I’m going to look for an open barrow then I am going to find whoever is setting these monsters free and punish them.”

  He saw the locals nod approval. Agnetha smiled at him and took a sip of the liquor.

  “Lucas will guide you to Elderdale,” Agnetha said. “He knows the road and its dangers and there is some business I need doing there anyways. You’ll all be safer on the road together too.”

  He suspected that was not the only reason Lucas was coming. Agnetha wanted someone to spy on them. The question was whether it was on Aisha or Brandon or him. Most likely all three.

  “An extra bow and blade would be welcome on the road,” said Kormak. No one else objected.

  “It’s settled then. He’ll guide you and I’ll provide you with food and drink. I would not want you all to starve before you get to the bottom of this.”

  Brandon laughed. “I think starving to death will be the least of our worries.”

  He was thinking about the Old Ones and Elderdale. He was not talking about turning back either. It looked like he had decided to go a bit further along this long dark road. Kormak thought about the small boy’s corpse he had found in the barrow. He understood why Brandon felt the need to do this. He felt responsible. That was something Kormak understood.

  The whole village turned out to see them off, just as at Sir Brandon’s home. They rode down the trail from Hungerdale to the place where it joined the Old North Road and the crowds stopped there.

  The road was rocky. It was cold and rain had not turned it to mud. They were before the early snows. The hills loomed huge and stony and chill around them. A cold wind blew out of the north and Kormak pulled his cloak tight around his shoulders.

  Sir Brandon rode along beside the Tinker wagon, chatting with Javier. Aisha and the wolf brought up the rear. Kormak found himself riding along beside Lucas.

  “Here,” the thin man said, speaking sidelong out of the corner of his mouth.

  “What?” Kormak asked.

  “This is where we filled whatever it was full of arrows and it just kept coming.”

  “You headed back to the village then?”

  Lucas shook his head. “We did not want to pass them by. We rode north along the road and took the Dead Man’s trail. It loops around south. You can’t ride it but you can lead a horse up it if it’s sure footed.”

  “How many shots did you put into the stranger?” Kormak asked. He wanted to hear the man’s description first-hand and judge.

  “Between us it must have been a dozen,” Lucas replied. “I know what you are thinking. Maybe we missed. Maybe we turned and ran because we were panicked.”

  “Did you?”

  “I can hit a crow in flight at a hundred yards,” Lucas said. “My brothers are better. We did not miss.”

  Kormak believed him.

  “That many arrows would put any man down,” Lucas added. Kormak suspected he had first-hand knowledge of that.

  “You notice anything else about the strangers?” Kormak asked.

  “The smell.”

  “The smell?”

  “They smelled of incense and rot.”

  “You could not have got that close.”

  “I could smell them at a distance when I was downwind of them. It was a powerful stench.” He shook his head and his eyes narrowed. “Maybe that’s not the right word. It was not sickening or even that unpleasant, not the incense smell anyway. It was just noticeable.”

  “Useful to know.” Kormak said.

  “You mean they won’t be sneaking up on you?” Clearly, whatever else he was, Lucas was not slow on the uptake.

  “That’s exactly what I mean. How far to Elderdale?”

  “Three days if we make good time and we will. The weather won’t be too bad. Too early for snow yet and it’s not going to rain too heavy.”

  “Those clouds make me think different.”

  “Would you care to make a small bet on that?” Lucas asked.

  “Not with anyone so confident,” Kormak said. Much to his surprise, Lucas laughed.

  “Smart man. Ma always said I inherited her nose for the weather.”

  “You got the Gift?”

  “Only for weather-sniffing,” Lucas said.

  “There have been times when I’ve wished I had that.”

  “Useful thing for a hill-man, that’s for sure,” Lucas said. “Ma says you’re a hill-man yourself.”

  “From Aquilea, a long time ago.” Lucas looked at these hills surrounding them. There was a stone ring atop one of them.

  “You’re not from these parts, th
at’s for sure, or you would not speak so casual about long time. Those barrows were built a long time ago. Men— we just scurry through in an eyeblink. We’re here and then we’re gone. What you smiling at?”

  “You’re not what I expected, Lucas,” Kormak said.

  “Who ever is?”

  “Every time I come this way, I like it less,” Lucas said. He scanned the surrounding hills with keen, watchful eyes, then rubbed his narrow jaw with his bony hand. The old road ran through a long vale in the bleak hills here.

  “You come this way a lot?”

  “We trade with jewellers in Elderdale and there are women there...” Kormak could guess the sort of women he meant.

  “Jewellers?”

  “We sometimes trade silver with them and other goods that we...find.”

  “Like you find sheep?” Kormak said but he smiled as he said it.

  “Perhaps.”

  “Your mother sent you to keep an eye on us, didn’t she?”

  “I don’t see any point in denying it. I’m to keep you out of trouble too. It’s an easy thing for strangers to find in this part of the world.”

  “How are you planning on doing it?”

  “Well, there are people in Elderdale to know and they don’t know you. It’s not a town where you don’t want to have friends.”

  “I thought the Twins kept the peace there.”

  “They make sure that there is no rioting and they interfere when it suits them. That doesn’t mean a stranger can’t get his throat slit.”

  “It’s been tried before.”

  “Listen, big man, if you don’t need my help, don’t take it.” He looked at Kormak sidelong.

  “I was just saying,” Kormak said.

  “You’re hard to kill. I get that. I’ve seen you fight. You don’t need to convince me.”

  “Tell me about the Twins.”

  “What is there to say? They don’t hobnob with the likes of me.”