Is this what Kylar saved me for?
No. But this is the man I am. I am my father"s son.
Logan stood slowly so as not to alarm either side"s archers, then, slowly, he knelt and touched Terah Graesin"s feet in submission.
Late that night, a band of Khalidorans attacked the Cenarian camp, killing dozens of drunken revelers before fleeing into the darkness. In the morning, Terah Graesin sent Logan Gyre and a thousand of his men to hunt them down.
2
The sentry was a seasoned sa"ceurai, a sword lord who"d killed sixteen men and bound their forelocks into his fiery red hair. His eyes probed the darkness restlessly where the forest and the oak grove met, and when he turned, he shielded his eyes from his comrades" low fires to protect his night vision. Despite the cool wind that swept the camp and set the great oaks groaning, he wore no helmet that would m.u.f.fle his hearing. But he had no chance of stopping the wetboy.
Former wetboy, Kylar thought, balancing one-handed on a broad oak Kylar thought, balancing one-handed on a broad oak limb. If he were still a killer for hire, he"d murder the sentry and be done with it. Kylar was something different now, the Night Angel-immortal, invisible, and nearly invincible-and he only served death to those who deserved it. limb. If he were still a killer for hire, he"d murder the sentry and be done with it. Kylar was something different now, the Night Angel-immortal, invisible, and nearly invincible-and he only served death to those who deserved it.
These swordsmen from the land whose very name meant "the sword," Ceura, were the best soldiers Kylar had ever seen. They had set up camp with efficiency that spoke of years of campaigning. They cleared brush that might conceal the approach of enemies, banked their small fires to reduce their visibility, and arranged their tents to protect their horses and their leaders. Each fire warmed ten men, each of whom clearly knew his responsibilities. They moved like ants in the forest, and once they finished their duties, each man would only wander as far as an adjacent fire. They gambled, but they didn"t drink, and they kept their voices low. The only snag in all the Ceurans" efficiency seemed to come from their armor. With Ceuran bamboo-and-lacquer armor, a man could dress himself. But donning the Khalidoran armor they had stolen a week ago at Pavvil"s Grove required a.s.sistance. Scale mail mixed with chain and even plate, and the Ceurans couldn"t decide if they needed to sleep armored or if men should be a.s.signed to each other as squires.
When each squad was allowed to decide for itself how to fix the problem and didn"t waste time asking up the chain of command, Kylar knew his friend Logan Gyre was doomed. War Leader Lantano Garuwashi paired the Ceuran love of order with individual responsibility. It was emblematic of why Garuwashi had never lost a battle. It was why he had to die.
So Kylar moved through the trees like the breath of a vengeful G.o.d, only rustling the branches in time with the evening wind. The oaks grew in straight, widely s.p.a.ced rows broken where younger trees had muscled between their elders" shoulders and grown ancient themselves. Kylar climbed out as far on a limb as he could and spied Lantano Garuwashi through the swaying branches, dimly illuminated in the light of his fire, touching the sword in his lap with the delight of recent acquisition. If Kylar could get to the next oak, he could climb down mere paces from his deader.
Can I still call my target a "deader," even though I"m not a wetboy anymore? Thinking of Garuwashi as a "target" was impossible. Kylar could still hear his master Durzo Blint"s voice, " Thinking of Garuwashi as a "target" was impossible. Kylar could still hear his master Durzo Blint"s voice, "a.s.sa.s.sins," he sneered, "have targets, because a.s.sa.s.sins sometimes miss."
Kylar gauged the distance to the next limb that could bear his weight. Eight paces. It was no great leap. The daunting part was landing on a tree limb and arresting his momentum silently with only one arm. If Kylar didn"t leap, he"d have to sneak between two fires where men were still pa.s.sing intermittently, and the ground was strewn with dead leaves. He"d jump, he decided, when the next good breeze came. intermittently, and the ground was strewn with dead leaves. He"d jump, he decided, when the next good breeze came.
"There"s an odd light in your eyes," Lantano Garuwashi said. He was big for a Ceuran, tall and lean and as heavily muscled as a tiger. Stripes of his own hair, burning the same color as the flickering fire, were visible through the sixty locks of all colors he"d claimed from opponents he"d killed.
"I"ve always loved fire. I want to remember it as I die."
Kylar shifted to get a look at the speaker. It was Feir Cousat, a blond mountain of a man as wide as he was tall. Kylar had met him once. Feir was not only a capable hand with a sword, he was a mage. Kylar was lucky the man"s back was to him.
A week ago, after the Khalidoran G.o.dking Garoth Ursuul killed him, Kylar had made a bargain with the yellow-eyed being called the Wolf. In his weird lair in the lands between life and death, the Wolf promised to restore Kylar"s right arm and bring him back to life quickly if Kylar stole Lantano Garuwashi"s sword. What had seemed simple-who can stop an invisible man from stealing?-was getting more complicated by the second. Who can stop an invisible man? A mage who can see invisible men.
"So you really believe the Dark Hunter lives in those woods?" Garuwashi asked.
"Draw the blade a little, War Leader," Feir said. Garuwashi bared the sword a hand"s breadth. Light poured from a blade that looked like a crystal filled with fire. "The blade burns to warn of danger or magic. The Dark Hunter is both."
So am I, Kylar thought. Kylar thought.
"It"s close?" Garuwashi asked. He rose to a crouch like a tiger ready to pounce.
"I told you luring the Cenarian army here might be our deaths, not theirs," Feir said. He stared back into the fire.
For the past week, since the battle of Pavvil"s Grove, Garuwashi had led Logan and his men east. Because the Ceurans had disguised themselves in dead Khalidorans" armor, Logan thought he was chasing the remnants of the defeated Khalidoran army. Kylar still had no idea why Lantano Garuwashi had led Logan here.
But then, he had no idea why the black metal ball called a ka"kari had chosen to serve him, or why it brought him back from death, or why he saw the taint on men"s souls that demanded death, or, for that matter, why the sun rose, or how it hung in the sky without falling.
"You said we were safe as long as we didn"t go into the Hunter"s wood," Garuwashi said.
"I said "probably" safe," Feir said. "The Hunter senses and hates magic. That sword definitely counts."
Garuwashi waved a hand, dismissing the danger. "We didn"t go into the Hunter"s wood-and if the Cenarians want to fight us, they must," Garuwashi said.
As Kylar finally understood the plan, he could hardly breathe. The woods north, south, and west of the grove were thick and overgrown. The only way for Logan to use his numerical superiority would be to come through the east, where the giant sequoys of the Dark Hunter"s Wood gave an army plenty of s.p.a.ce to maneuver. But it was said a creature from ages past killed anything that entered that wood. Learned men scoffed at such superst.i.tion, but Kylar had met the peasants of Torras Bend. If they were superst.i.tious, they were a people with only one superst.i.tion. Logan would march right into the trap.
The wind kicked up again, setting the branches groaning. Kylar snarled silently, and leapt. With his Talent he made the distance easily. But he"d jumped too hard, too far, and he slipped off the far side of the branch. Little black talons jabbed through his clothing along the sides of his knees, along his left forearm, and even from his ribs. For a moment, the talons were liquid metal, not so much tearing his clothes as absorbing them at each tiny point, and then they solidified and Kylar jerked to a stop.
After he pulled himself back onto the branch, the claws melted back into his skin. Kylar was left trembling, and not just because of how close he"d come to falling. What am I becoming? What am I becoming? With every death reaped and every death suffered, he was growing stronger. It scared the h.e.l.l out of him. With every death reaped and every death suffered, he was growing stronger. It scared the h.e.l.l out of him. What does it cost? There"s got to be a price. What does it cost? There"s got to be a price.
Gritting his teeth, Kylar climbed headfirst down the tree, letting the claws rise and sink from his skin, stabbing little holes in his clothes and in the tree bark. When he reached the ground, the black ka"kari bled from every pore to cover him like a second skin. It masked his face and body and clothes and sword, and began devouring light. Invisible, Kylar advanced.
"I dreamed of living in a small town like that Torras Bend," Feir said, his back as broad as an ox before Kylar. "Build a smithy on the river, design a water wheel to drive the bellows until my sons are old enough to help. A prophet told me it could happen."
"Enough of your dreams," Garuwashi cut him off, standing. "My main army should be almost through the mountains. You and I are going."
Main army? The last piece clicked. This was why the sa"ceurai had dressed as Khalidorans. Garuwashi had drawn the best of Cenaria"s army far to the east while his main army was ma.s.sing in the west. With the Khalidorans The last piece clicked. This was why the sa"ceurai had dressed as Khalidorans. Garuwashi had drawn the best of Cenaria"s army far to the east while his main army was ma.s.sing in the west. With the Khalidorans defeated at Pavvil"s Grove, Cenaria"s peasant levies were probably already hurrying back to their farms. In days, a couple hundred Cenarian castle guards were going to face the entire Ceuran army. defeated at Pavvil"s Grove, Cenaria"s peasant levies were probably already hurrying back to their farms. In days, a couple hundred Cenarian castle guards were going to face the entire Ceuran army.
"Going? Tonight?" Feir asked, surprised.
"Now." Garuwashi smirked right at Kylar. Kylar froze, but he saw no flash of recognition in those green eyes. Instead, he saw something worse.
There were eighty-two kills in Garuwashi"s eyes. Eighty-two! Eighty-two! And not one of them a murder. Killing Lantano Garuwashi wouldn"t be justice; it would be murder. Kylar cursed aloud. And not one of them a murder. Killing Lantano Garuwashi wouldn"t be justice; it would be murder. Kylar cursed aloud.
Lantano Garuwashi jumped to his feet, the scabbard flying from a sword that looked like a bar of flame, his body already in a fighting stance. The mountain that was Feir was only a little slower. He was on his feet, turning with naked steel in his hand faster than Kylar would have believed from a man so big. His eyes went wide as he saw Kylar.
Kylar screamed in frustration and let blue flame whoosh over the ka"kari-skin and the great frowning mask he wore. He heard a footstep as one of Garuwashi"s bodyguards attacked from behind. Kylar"s Talent surged and he back-flipped, planting his feet on the man"s shoulders and pushing off. The sa"ceurai smashed into the ground and Kylar flipped through the air, blue flames whipping and crackling from his body.
Before he caught the branch, he dropped the flames and went invisible. He flipped from branch to branch one-handed, with no attempt at stealth. If he didn"t do something-tonight-Logan and all his men would die.
"Was that the Hunter?" Garuwashi asked.
"Worse," Feir said, pale. "That was the Night Angel, perhaps the only man in the world you need fear."
Lantano Garuwashi"s eyes lit with a fire that told Feir he heard the words "man you need fear" as "worthy adversary."
"Which way did he go?" Garuwashi asked.
3
As Elene rode up to the little inn in Torras Bend, utterly exhausted, a gorgeous young woman with long red hair in a ponytail and an earring sparkling in her left ear, was mounting a roan stallion. The stable hand ogled her as she rode north.
Elene was almost on top of the stable hand before the man turned. He blinked at her stupidly. "Hey, your friend just left," he said, pointing to the disappearing redhead.
"What are you talking about?" Elene was so tired she could hardly think. She"d walked for two days before one of the horses had found her. And she"d never found out what had happened to the other captives or the Khalidorans or the Ymmuri who"d saved her.
"You could still catch her," the stable hand said.
Elene had seen the young woman well enough to know that they"d never met. She shook her head. She had to pick up supplies in Torras Bend before she headed to Cenaria. Besides, it was almost dark, and after her days on the trail with her Khalidoran captors, Elene needed a night in bed and desperately needed a chance to wash up. "I don"t think so," she said.
She went inside, rented a room from the distracted innkeeper"s wife with some of the generous amount of silver she"d found in her horse"s saddlebags, washed herself and her filthy clothing, and immediately fell asleep.
Before dawn, she pulled on her still-damp dress distastefully and went downstairs.
The innkeeper, a slight young man, was carrying in a crate full of washed flagons from outside and setting them upside-down to dry before he finally went to bed for the night. He nodded at Elene in a friendly manner, barely glancing up. "The wife will have breakfast ready in half an hour. And if-oh h.e.l.l." He looked at her again, obviously seeing her for the first time. "Maira didn"t tell me...." He rubbed his hands on his ap.r.o.n in what was obviously a habitual gesture, because his hands weren"t wet, and stalked over to a table piled high with knickknacks, notes, and account books.
He pulled out a note, and handed it to her apologetically. "I didn"t see you last night, or I"d have given it to you straight away." Elene"s name and description were written on the outside of the note. She unfolded it and a smaller, crumpled note fell out. The smaller note was in Kylar"s hand. It was dated the day he"d left her in Caernarvon. Her throat tightened. description were written on the outside of the note. She unfolded it and a smaller, crumpled note fell out. The smaller note was in Kylar"s hand. It was dated the day he"d left her in Caernarvon. Her throat tightened.
"Elene," she read, "I"m sorry. I tried. I swear I tried. Some things are worth more than my happiness. Some things only I can do. Sell these to Master Bourary and move the family to a better part of town. I will always love you."
Kylar still loved her. He loved her. She"d always believed it, but it was different to see it in his own messy writing. The tears flowed freely. She didn"t even care about the disconcerted innkeeper, opening and shutting his mouth, unsure what to do with a woman crying in his inn.
Elene had refused to change and it had cost her everything, but the G.o.d was giving her a second chance. She"d show Kylar just how strong, deep, and wide a woman"s love could be. It wasn"t going to be easy, but he was the man she loved. He was the one. She loved him, and it was as simple as that.
It was several minutes before she read the other note, this one written in an unfamiliar woman"s hand.
"My name"s Vi," the note said, "I"m the wetboy who killed Jarl and kidnapped Uly. Kylar left you to save Logan and kill the G.o.dking. The man you love saved Cenaria. I hope you"re proud of him. If you go to Cenaria, I"ve given Momma K access to my accounts for you. Take whatever you want. Otherwise, Uly will be at the Chantry, as will I, and I think Kylar will go there soon. There"s... more, but I can"t bear to write it. I had to do something terrible so we could win. No words can erase what I"ve done to you. I"m so terribly sorry. I wish that I could make it right, but I can"t. When you come, you can exact whatever vengeance you wish, even to my life. Vi Sovari"
The hairs on the back of Elene"s neck were standing up. What kind of a person would claim to be such an enemy and such a friend? Where were Elene"s wedding earrings? "There"s more"? What did that mean? Vi had done something terrible?
The lead weight of intuition dropped into Elene"s stomach. That woman outside yesterday had been wearing an earring. It probably wasn"t-it surely wasn"t- "Oh my G.o.d," Elene said. She ran for her horse.
The dream was different every night. Logan stood on the platform, looking at pretty, petty Terah Graesin. She would walk over an army of corpses-or marry a man she despised-to seize her ambition. As it had that day, Logan"s heart failed him. His father had married a woman who poisoned all his happiness. Logan could not. Logan"s heart failed him. His father had married a woman who poisoned all his happiness. Logan could not.
As he had that day, Logan asked for her fealty, the round platform reminding him of the Hole where he"d rotted during the Khalidoran occupation. Terah refused. But instead of submitting himself so the armies wouldn"t be split on the eve of battle, in this dream Logan said, "Then I sentence you to death for treason."
His sword sang. Terah stumbled back, too slowly. The blade cut halfway through her neck.
Logan caught her, and abruptly, it was another woman, another place. Jenine"s slashed throat gushed blood over her white nightgown and his bare chest. The Khalidorans who"d broken into their wedding chamber laughed.
Logan thrashed and woke. He lay in darkness. It took him time to reorient himself. His Jenine was dead. Terah Graesin was queen. Logan had sworn fealty. Logan Gyre had given his troth, a word that meant not just his oath but his truth. So if his queen ordered him to stamp out the last few Khalidorans, he complied. He would always be glad to kill Khalidorans.
Sitting up in the dark of the camp tent, Logan saw the captain of his bodyguards, Kaldrosa Wyn. During the occupation, Momma K"s brothels had become the safest places in the city for women. Momma K had accepted only the most beautiful and exotic. They had drawn the first Khalidoran blood of the war during a city-wide ambush that had come to be called the Nocta Hemata, the Night of Blood. Logan had honored them publicly and they had become his. Those who could fight had fought and died-and saved him. After the Battle of Pavvil"s Grove, Logan had dismissed the rest of the Order of the Garter except for Kaldrosa Wyn. Her husband was one of the ten wytch hunters, and they"d go nowhere without each other, so she"d said she might as well serve.
Kaldrosa wore her garter on her left arm. Sewn from enchanted Khalidoran battle flags, it glimmered even in the darkness. She was, of course, pretty, with olive Sethi skin, a throaty laugh, and a hundred stories, some of which she claimed were even true. Her chain mail was ill-fitting, and she wore a tabard with his white gyrfalcon, its wingtips breaking a black circle. "It"s time," she said.
General Agon Brant poked his head in the tent, then entered. He still needed two canes to walk. "The scouts have returned. Our elite Khalidorans think they"re setting an ambush. If we come from the north, south, or west, we have to go through dense forest. The only way is through the Hunter"s Wood. If it really exists, it"ll wipe us out. If I were facing fourteen hundred men with only one hundred, I don"t think I could do any better."
If the situation had arisen a month ago, Logan wouldn"t have hesitated. He would lead his army through the open s.p.a.ces of the Hunter"s Wood, legends be d.a.m.ned. But at Pavvil"s Grove they"d seen a legend walk-and devour thousands. The ferali had shaken Logan"s conviction that he knew the difference between superst.i.tion and reality. "They"re Khalidoran. Why didn"t they head north for Quorig"s Pa.s.s?"
Agon shrugged. It was a week-old problem. This platoon wasn"t nearly as sloppy as the Khalidorans they knew. Even as they fled from Logan"s army, they"d raided. Cenaria had lost a hundred men. The Khalidorans hadn"t lost one. The best guess Agon could make was that they were an elite unit from some Khalidoran tribe the Cenarians hadn"t encountered before. Logan felt like he was staring at a puzzle. If he didn"t solve it, his people would die. "You still want to hit them from all sides?" Agon asked.
The problem stared at Logan, mocking him. The answer didn"t come. "Yes."
"Are you still insisting on leading the cavalry through the Wood yourself?"
Logan nodded. If he was going to ask men to brave death from some monster, he would do it himself, too.
"That"s very... brave," Agon said. He"d served n.o.bles long enough to make a compliment speak volumes of insult.
"Enough," Logan said, accepting his helmet from Kaldrosa. "Let"s go kill some Khalidorans."
4
Vurdmeister Neph Dada hacked a deep, rasping, unhealthy cough. He cleared his throat noisily and spat the results into his hand. Then he tilted his hand and watched the phlegm drip to the dirt before turning his eyes to the other Vurdmeisters around his low fire. Aside from the young Borsini, who blinked incessantly, they gave no sign that he disgusted them. A man didn"t survive long enough to become a Vurdmeister on magical strength alone.
Glowing faintly, figures were laid out in military formations on the ground. "This is only an estimation of the armies" positions," Neph said. "Logan Gyre"s forces are in red, roughly fourteen hundred men, west of the Dark Hunter"s Wood, in Cenarian lands. Maybe two hundred Ceurans pretending to be Khalidoran are the blue, right at the edge of the Wood. Further south, in white, are five thousand of our beloved enemies the Lae"knaught. We Khalidorans haven"t fought the Lae"knaught directly since you were all still at the t.i.t, so let me remind you that though they hate all magic, ground. "This is only an estimation of the armies" positions," Neph said. "Logan Gyre"s forces are in red, roughly fourteen hundred men, west of the Dark Hunter"s Wood, in Cenarian lands. Maybe two hundred Ceurans pretending to be Khalidoran are the blue, right at the edge of the Wood. Further south, in white, are five thousand of our beloved enemies the Lae"knaught. We Khalidorans haven"t fought the Lae"knaught directly since you were all still at the t.i.t, so let me remind you that though they hate all magic, we we are what they were created to destroy. Five thousand of them is more than enough to complete the job the Cenarians began at the Battle of Pavvil"s Grove, so we must tread carefully." are what they were created to destroy. Five thousand of them is more than enough to complete the job the Cenarians began at the Battle of Pavvil"s Grove, so we must tread carefully."
In quick detail, Neph outlined what he knew of the deployment of all the forces, inventing details where it seemed appropriate, and always speaking over the Vurdmeisters" heads, as if expecting them to understand intricacies of generalship that they had never learned. Whenever a G.o.dking died, the ma.s.sacres began. First the heirs turned on each other. Then the survivors rallied meisters and Vurdmeisters around them and began anew until only one Ursuul remained. If no one established dominance quickly, the bloodletting would spread to the meisters. Neph didn"t intend for that to happen.
So as soon as he was certain that G.o.dking Garoth Ursuul was dead, Neph had found Tenser Ursuul, one of the G.o.dking"s heirs, and convinced the boy to carry Khali. Tenser thought carrying the G.o.ddess would mean power. It would-for Neph. For Tenser, it meant catatonia and insanity. Then Neph had sent a simple message to Vurdmeisters at every corner of the Khalidoran empire: "Help me bring Khali home."
By answering a religious call, every Vurdmeister who didn"t want to throw away his life backing some vicious Ursuul child had a legitimate escape. And if Neph tamed these first Vurdmeisters who"d arrived from their postings in nearby lands, when Vurdmeisters arrived from the rest of the empire, they too would fall in line. If there was one thing G.o.dkings were good at, it was inculcating submission.
"The Dark Hunter"s Wood is between us," Neph motioned to encompa.s.s the Vurdmeisters, himself, and Khali"s bodyguard, a bare fifty men in all, "and all these armies. I personally have seen over a hundred men-meisters and not-ordered into the Wood. None has emerged. Ever. If this were merely a matter of Khali"s security, I would not bring this to your attention." Neph coughed again, his lungs afire, but the coughing was calculated, too. Those who wouldn"t bend the knee to a young man might be content to bide their time serving a failing old one. He spat. "The Ceurans have the sword of power, Curoch. Right there," Neph gestured to where his phlegm had fallen, at the very edge of the Dark Hunter"s Wood.
"Has the sword taken the form of Ceur"caelestos, the Ceurans" Blade of Heaven?" Vurdmeister Borsini asked. He was the young blinking one with a grotesquely large nose and big ears to match. He was staring into the distance. Neph didn"t like it. Had Borsini been eavesdropping when the scout reported?
Borsini"s vir, the measure of the G.o.ddess"s favor and his magical power, filled his arms like a hundred th.o.r.n.y black rose stems. Only Neph"s vir filled more of his skin, undulating like living tattoos in Lodricari whorls, blackening him from forehead to fingernails. But despite his intelligence and power, Borsini was only in the eleventh shu"ra. Neph, Tarus, Orad, and Raalst were all twelfth shu"ra, the highest rank anyone aside from the G.o.dking could attain.
"Curoch takes any shape it pleases," Neph said. "The point is, if Curoch goes into the Hunter"s Wood, it will never come out. We have a slim chance to seize a prize we"ve sought for ages."
"But there are three armies here," Vurdmeister Tarus pointed out. "All outnumber us, and each would happily kill us."
"Attempting to claim the sword will most likely end in death, but may I remind you," Neph said, "if we don"t try, we will answer for it. Therefore, I will go. I am old. I have few years remaining to me, so my death will cost the empire less." Of course, if he had Curoch in hand, magnifying his magical power a hundredfold, everything would change, and all of them knew it.
Vurdmeister Tarus was the first to object. "Who"s put you in charge-"