When at last he felt confident of movement he stretched his legs and stepped to the edge of the stone column, peering round it. Some thirty paces to the east he could see the humans. Lifting his head, he tasted the air in his nostrils. The scent of flesh caused his belly to tighten, but the heady aroma of fear among these pale, pink creatures made him shudder with desire. Instinctively his mouth opened, exposing pointed fangs. Memories of a glorious past flooded him, trembling females exuding the dizzying perfume of terror, younglings, their soft bones yielding sweet marrow.
Niaharzz quelled his hunger and leant back against the stone.
Once he had been a god, stalking the earth and feeding where he chose. Now he was a servant, fed only when his masters allowed it. And as long as they controlled the gateways he would remain a slave to their ambitions.
Still, food was food. . . .
Niaharzz flipped his hood of darkness over his head, drawing it like a veil over his face. Then he moved to the far side of the rock and sought out the warrior with the bright sword of death. He was sitting on a stone, the vile weapon in his hands. Another human stood close by, tall and garbed in black. Niaharzz watched him. This one was dangerous too. He could feel it - though he sensed no magic emanating from him.
Take no risks, he told himself. In spirit form Niaharzz was immortal, but clothed in flesh he could die like any of these primitive creatures. Stay away from the sword, he warned himself. Do not let them see you.
Crouching down, he extended his hand. Seven sparks leapt from his fingers, and began to dance and swirl in the shadows of the column, forming into huge Kraloth hounds, their massive jaws dripping venom.
Niaharzz toyed with directing them at the swordsman, but he had already seen the man destroy several of his beauties the night before. No, the Ice Giants could rend and tear the man. His Kraloth would sacrifice their lives to kill the humans carrying the weapons of far-death. He gestured to the hounds, and they slunk away, keeping to the shadows, moving silently ever closer to the archers.
The sword in Kysumu's lap began to glow. The Rajnee climbed to a rock and held the blade aloft. 'The enemy is close!' he shouted.
Men scrambled to their feet, soldiers drawing their swords and hefting their shields, archers notching arrows to bowstrings. Chardyn peered out among the shadow-haunted ruins. 'There!' he bellowed, pointing to the west.
The first of the giant black hounds charged at the archers. Shafts flew at it, most hissing by its hurtling black form. One struck it high on the back and glanced clear without marking the skin.
'Neck or head!' shouted Waylander. Six more hounds came in sight, moving at great speed. The first beast reached the broken wall behind which the archers crouched. It leapt, clearing the barrier in one bound, its curved fangs closing upon the face of a bowman. The crunching of bone that followed made Chardyn feel sick.
All was pandemonium now as the Kraloth leapt among the archers.
'Kill the hounds,' Waylander ordered Kysumu. 'I'll find the Houndmaster.'
Kysumu sprinted across the ruins, his sword blazing. The Grey Man vanished into the shadows.
Chardyn stood alone.
In the distance he saw a wall of mist seeping across the valley.
The smell of blood in the air caused Niaharzz to tremble with hunger. Now is not the time to feed, he told himself. Later, when the Ice Giants had finished the slaughter. Though he hoped to be able to drag at least one live victim clear of the mist before the flesh froze. Meat should slide around the mouth, its juices rich and savoury, not break into icy pieces as fangs closed upon it.
Niaharzz moved silently to the edge of the broken column and risked a glance. The small warrior with the shining sword was among the archers now, but he was hampered by the crush of bodies; men panicking and attempting to flee. Even so, he had killed two of the hounds, curse him! Offset against this more than a dozen of the archers were down, most of them dead, but two were screaming.
The sound was delicious. It was almost as good as feeding. Niaharzz filtered the raw emotions, various degrees of terror, ranging from stomach-tightening fear to bowel-loosening panic. He blinked, a sense of shock touching his soul. Amid all the fear there was an emotion subtly different. Powerful, yes, but not sweet to the senses . . . He knew he had sensed it before, thousands of years ago, when last he had walked these night-dark lands. Niaharzz focused on the emotion, separating it from those flowing from the carnage.
Then it came to him.
It was rage. But not the boiling, extravagant rage of the fighting man. No, this was cold, controlled - and close.
Niaharzz did not move.
There was a man close by. Very close! He guessed it to be the tall man he had seen standing with the swordsman. Fear touched Niaharzz. It was not an entirely unpleasant feeling, for it made him more aware of the joys of physical reality. Very, very slowly he turned his head.
The man was some twenty paces to the right. He was searching the shadows, and facing away from Niaharzz.
It was so long since Niaharzz had felt his fangs close upon living flesh, the warm blood running down his throat.
Keeping his night-cloak around him he drew on his power, then raised his feet from the ground, floating silently in the shadows. The man took several steps towards a jagged wall, then turned again. Now his back was towards Niaharzz.
The Bezha floated towards the man, his arms extending, talons sliding from his fingers.
'Time to die,' said the man softly.
Niaharzz barely had time to register the words before the man spun on his heel, right hand extended. Something dark leapt from the small weapon in his hand.
There was no time to flee the prison of flesh, no time even to cry out against the cruel injustice of such a fate.
The bolt smashed through his skull, skewering the brain . . .
The body disappeared instantly, the black cloak floating for a moment on the wind, seeming no heavier than a grass seed. Waylander reached out and grabbed it.
Back among the ruins the remaining four Kraloth burst into flames, their bodies dwindling until they became little more than dancing sparks above the stones. They flickered for a few heartbeats and then were gone.
The cloak in Waylander's hands felt insubstantial. It seemed to roll under his fingers like liquid. More peculiar was the weird sensation as he tried to examine it. His gaze slid away from it, focusing on the rocks, or on his wrists, but never able to fasten to the garment itself.
'The mist is coming!' shouted Chardyn.
Waylander glanced towards the west and saw the white wall rolling towards him. Swiftly he rolled the cloak, wedged it into his belt before loping back to where the frightened soldiers were bunching together.
'Archers, stand firm!' bellowed the Duke, drawing his longsword and moving among the men.
Eldicar Manushan strode out from the group and climbed to a jutting rock. The mist swept on. The magicker raised his right arm and held it aloft, palm extended towards the mist. Then he began to chant, his voice ringing out. The mist slowed. Kysumu stepped alongside Way-lander, his shining sword extended. Waylander glanced down at him. The man seemed utterly calm. The priest Chardyn eased himself behind the two men.
'Shouldn't you be praying?' asked Waylander.
Chardyn forced a smile. 'Somehow this does not feel like a day for hypocrites,' he said.
The temperature began to drop as the mist came closer. Eldicar Manushan continued to chant, his voice ringing with confidence and great power. Lord Aric had also drawn his sword now and was standing alongside the Duke and his swordsmen. The surviving archers had notched arrows to their bows and were waiting tensely.
The mist slowed to a halt immediately before the magicker, but flowed on past him on both sides. Still his voice continued to chant. Then he jerked suddenly and almost lost his balance on the stone. The chant died away. Instantly the mist swept over him. Just as it did so Waylander saw a massive form descend on the magicker, a taloned arm sweeping out, ripping th
rough Eldicar Manushan's chest. Waylander saw the magicker's right arm slashed in two and ripped from his body, just as the mist closed over him.
'So much for magic,' he said.
Kysumu leapt towards the mist. His gleaming blade touched it, and blue lightning crackled and flashed. A huge white form towered over the little Rajnee, Waylander sent a bolt into its eye. The massive head jerked backwards. Kysumu slashed a vicious cut through the beast's chest, then spun on his heel to flash a reverse slice through its neck as it fell.
Ice was forming on the stones now. The mist swept on. Waylander and Chardyn moved in behind Kysumu. The sounds of screaming men and crunching bone came from all around now as the ice beasts fell upon the soldiers of Kydor.
A white serpent reared up from the ground at Waylander's feet. His sword slashed down, barely breaking the skin above the flat skull. Kysumu's blade sliced through the neck. As it did so it glanced from the blade of Waylander's weapon. Instantly blue fire flowed along Waylander's sword, and the mist retreated. For a moment only, Waylander stood staring at the shining blade. 'The magic can be transferred,' he said. 'Now we have a chance!' He glanced at Kysumu. 'We must get to the Duke!' Kysumu understood instantly and the two men, followed by the priest, charged into the mist towards the sounds of battle. Kysumu cut down another of the huge creatures, then clambered over a low rock wall. The Duke and several heavily armoured swordsmen were battling bravely. Kysumu leapt in, touching his blade to the Duke's longsword. Instantly the Duke's sword blazed bright. The mist fell back a little, and the Chiatze moved from warrior to warrior, charging their blades with blue magic.
The voice of Eldicar Manushan came faintly through the mist, once more chanting. Louder and louder came the chant. The mist began to shrink, pulling back from the survivors, growing smaller and smaller until it was no more than the size of a large stone.
Eldicar Manushan strode from the rocks, still maintaining his chant. He held out his right hand and the small globe of mist floated up to it. He tossed it into the air. There was a sudden clap of thunder and a brilliant white light.
And the mist was gone.
Waylander sheathed his blade and looked hard at the magicker. There was no sign of a serious wound upon him, though his right sleeve was shorn away and his tunic slashed open. There was no blood upon the ruined cloth.
The Duke stepped forward, pulling his ice-covered helm from his head and dropping it to the ground. 'Well done, magicker,' he said. 'I thought you had been killed.'
'Merely knocked from my feet, my lord.'
'Are they destroyed?'
'They will not return to this place. I have closed the portal.'
'We owe you a great debt, Eldicar,' said the Duke, clapping the man on the shoulder. He gazed around at the sprawled bodies. Thirty men had been killed, twelve others wounded. 'Damn, but it was close,' he said. The shining sword in his hands began to fade until it gleamed only as steel in the moonlight. 'My thanks to you, Chiatze,' he told Kysumu, 'though it would have been good to have known about this trick a little earlier.'
'I did not know myself,' said Kysumu.
The Duke swung away and moved among the wounded, organizing aid for them.
Waylander approached Eldicar Manushan. 'For a moment there I thought you had been killed,' he said.
'Yes, it seemed likely.'
'I thought your arm had been torn from your body, but I see it was only your sleeve.'
'I was lucky,' said Eldicar. 'As indeed were you. You killed a Bezha. That is no mean feat, Grey Man. How were you able to do that?'
Waylander gave a cold smile. 'One day I might show you,' he said.
Eldicar Manushan chuckled. 'Let us hope not,' he said. The smile faded. 'Perhaps we can talk later.' With a courteous bow he moved away, and began to assist Chardyn with the wounded.
Waylander stood for a moment. The temperature was rising again, but there was still ice upon the ground. He shivered and strode across to where Kysumu was standing. The little Chiatze sheathed his sword. 'Do you believe they have gone for good?' asked the Rajnee.
Waylander shrugged. 'They have or they haven't.'
'Did you see the magicker fall?'
'Yes.'
'He was all but torn in half.'
'I know.'
'The priestess was right then. He cannot be killed.'
'It would appear so,' agreed Waylander. Suddenly weary, he sat down on a broken wall. Lord Aric, divested now of his armour, walked over to join them. He offered Waylander a canteen of water. Waylander accepted it and drank deeply, then passed it to Kysumu, who declined it.
'I have never seen the like,' said Aric. 'I thought we were finished for certain. Without that sword of yours we would have been. My thanks to you, Rajnee.' Kysumu bowed. A little way to the left a man screamed in pain, the sound ebbing away and ending abruptly. Aric looked back. 'Victory has a high price,' he said.
'It usually does,' agreed Waylander, pushing himself to his feet. 'I am riding home. I shall send wagons for the wounded. Those injured by the hounds will need swift attention. Any who can ride should follow on and I will see that Mendyr Syn is waiting for them.' With that he strode across the killing ground to where the horses were tethered. Kysumu followed and they rode from the ruins.
Clouds drifted across the moon as the two riders reached the slope, and they made the climb carefully and in silence. By the time they reached higher ground the sky had cleared, but still they rode on without speaking. Waylan-der was lost in thought. If the demons had been summoned by Eldicar Manushan why, then, did he defeat them? And if the demons were his creatures why did they attack him? Something was missing here, and it galled Waylander that he could not fasten to it. He replayed the events in his mind: Eldicar standing on the rock, his voice booming and confident, the mist slowing and even beginning to recede. Then Eldicar had faltered, his confidence draining away, the spell evaporating. Talons had ripped into him. Only the accidental discovery of the true power of Kysumu's blade had saved the Duke and his men.
Two hours later, still having reached no conclusions, Waylander rode his horse through the last of the trees and on to the long path leading to the upper palace. It was close to dawn, and he saw more than a hundred people milling outside the double doors. Many torches and lanterns had been lit, and his guards, led by Emrin, had placed themselves between the palace and the crowd. Many of the soldiers had swords drawn.
Emrin came running from the group as the riders approached. 'What is happening?' asked Waylander.
'Demons attacked the palace, sir,' said Emrin. 'Two men are dead, but nineteen more people are missing, including the surgeon, the foreign priestess and her followers - and your friend Matze Chai. The demons came at us in the Long Kitchens, killing Omri and one of the Duke's bodyguards - Naren, I think he was called.'
'And the Duke's son?' asked Waylander.
'He is fine, sir. We killed one demon - Yu Yu and I. Then the mist withdrew into the palace. We stayed where we were for a long while. We heard many screams.' Emrin took a deep breath and looked away. 'I did not investigate.' He looked back at Waylander, awaiting censure.
'When did you leave the kitchens?'
'About an hour ago. Yu Yu's sword was not shining, so we crept up the stairs and along to the banquet hall. We saw nothing - save that there was ice upon the walls of the outer corridor. Then we made our way to the lawns here. We found what you see, most of the servants and guests had fled. There are more down on the beach - about forty.'
'You went there - through the palace?' asked Waylander.
'Yes, sir.'
'That took courage, Emrin. Did you see any sign of the mist?'
'No, sir. But I didn't stop to investigate. I ran back through the banquet hall and out on to the terrace. I didn't stop running until I reached the beach.'
'How many of Matze Chai's servants are among the missing?'
'Ten, sir, according to the captain of his guard.'
'Fetch him.'
Emrin bowe
d, then turned and moved back through the crowd. Waylander saw Keeva sitting close to the trees. The page-boy was asleep, his blond head resting against her shoulder.
Moments later Emrin led the Chiatze captain to Way-lander. The man bowed deeply to both Waylander and Kysumu.
'Tell me of the attack,' said Waylander.
The man glanced at Kysumu and spoke rapidly in Chiatze. The Rajnee turned to Waylander. 'The captain regrets that his command of the Kydor language is not sufficient to describe in detail the events. He asks if you would permit me to translate for him.'
'You may tell me in your own tongue,' said Waylander in excellent Chiatze.
The captain bowed even more deeply. 'I am Liu, noble sir. It is my honour to be captain of Matze Chai's troops. It is also my great shame that I could not reach my master in his time of peril. I was sleeping, noble sir, when a scream awoke me. I rose, pulled on my robe, and opened the door to seek out the cause of the cry. At first I could see nothing, but I felt the cold immediately. I knew what it was, sir, for it attacked our camp. I buckled on my breastplate, took up my sword and tried to reach the suite of my master. But the mist was already there, filling the corridor. It came for me - and I ran, noble sir. I heard other doors opening behind me, and I heard ... I heard ..." He fell silent. 'I heard people being killed,' he said. 'I did not look back. I could not have saved them.'
Waylander thanked the man then undipped the crossbow from his belt and loaded two bolts. Without a word to the others he walked towards the double doors. Emrin swore softly then followed, sword in hand. Waylander paused in the doorway and looked back at Emrin. 'Do not follow me. You are needed here,' he said. 'Send ten wagons to the old ruins, and ensure there are plenty of bandages and a good amount of fresh water. The Duke's men have also suffered losses against the demons.'
Waylander pushed open the doors and walked into the darkness beyond. Kysumu strolled after him.
For almost an hour the Grey Man stalked the deserted corridors, pushing open doors, striding down stairwells, through halls and storage areas. He made no attempt to move stealthily, and it seemed to Kysumu that his companion was disappointed that they found no monsters. His anger, though controlled, was apparent in every movement.