The Ragged Man Read online

  Exhaustion started to bite as Mihn felt his legs grow increasingly heavy. The air became denser and hotter the further they walked, and though the daemons made no forays against them, they afforded them only minimal room to pass. When he looked behind his lord he saw those trailing were lapping up the blood that dripped from Isak’s wounds, their impossibly long tongues seeking out the tiniest drop.

  At last they arrived at the crossroad where the burning wheel hung up above. Mihn started to press on, ignoring the tortured soul, but he was dragged to a halt by Isak, who stopped suddenly and stared directly up at the shrieking figure, the first time he had properly engaged with his surroundings since the chains had been dragged from his body.

  Mihn felt the bile rise in his throat at the cruelties that must have been inflicted on Isak to produce so many scars. The only part of his body untouched was the rune burned into his chest; otherwise the torturer had been indiscriminate. His nipples, genitals and lips all bore signs of vicious abuse, his teeth were twisted and broken, his finger- and toenails torn out. The wider expanses of flesh were carved with a jagged script, one Mihn had never seen before, and scars caused by the spiked chains that had bound his body overlaid everything else like bloody shadows.

  ‘Come,’ Mihn said softly, urging Isak to keep moving.

  Now the white-eye needed little encouragement. His eyes started to focus and his mouth was part-open, as though on the point of a sob that never came. As his great limbs started to shake Mihn tightened his grip on his lord.

  Escaping the gate itself proved easier than he had expected. The chained beasts might not have been able to see Eolis, but they could sense the power of the sword and as they instinctively backed away, the gate started to lift. Mihn walked Isak carefully between the beasts, quickening his pace to clear the gate as they retreated again, pulling the gate shut behind them.

  But there was no time for Mihn to pause and congratulate himself. From the steps of the Mercy’s silver pavilion Mihn could see daemons of all sizes lining the three gates, staring after them with unreserved hatred. A flash of lightning raced across the gates and Xeliath appeared for a second or two, standing halfway between the gates and the pavilion.

  She was dressed for battle in glittering crystal armour, and as she surveyed the arrayed armies of the Dark Place she gave a short laugh and spat in the dirt at her feet. The daemons began to clamour and howl furiously, beating at the ivory gates and stamping their feet so hard Mihn felt the ground shaking.

  ‘Fuck all of you!’ she yelled, directing an obscene gesture towards the largest of the daemons with her left hand, the one that had a Crystal Skull fused to the palm in the real world.

  The cacophony increased tenfold, but the Yeetatchen white-eye turned her back and vanished into the darkness. Mihn didn’t wait to see what response this elicited but hurried to the river, where flames were lapping against the bank. Instantly the boatman appeared before him, veiled and silent.

  ‘Bear us across,’ Mihn commanded.

  ‘Each must pay with a soul. Will you give your own?’ the boatman asked in a deep, inhuman voice.

  Mihn reached into the neck of his tunic, pulled out the two silver coins strung on a chain and held it out to the boatman.

  ‘I offer two souls.’

  The association of souls with silver coins in Ghenna had come from the practice of laying the dead out with a silver coin in their mouth to draw up part of the soul. Daima had assured Mihn that the two men these coins belonged to were already in Ghenna; they would leave the question of ownership to the boatman and whichever daemon held them.

  The boatman stared at Mihn for a while, then at Isak. At last it snatched the chain from Mihn’s hand and drew the skiff up to the bank, stepping back to make room. Mihn helped Isak in first, making him kneel for safety before stepping swiftly into the remaining space himself. His caution was well justified as the boatman pushed off the moment one foot had touched the seat; only his superb balance and a firm grip on Isak’s shoulder stopped Mihn from pitching over backwards into the fiery river.

  The boatman laughed loudly as Mihn crouched at his feet but he poled the barge around and to the other bank with a dozen languid strokes. As soon as they touched land Mihn leapt out and dragged Isak with him. They set off up the short path to Ghain’s summit, enduring the boatman’s callous laughter until it faded on the wind.

  With every step Mihn found himself weakening, the strength seeping out of his muscles as he gradually submitted to the terror inside him. Freed of his chains, Isak had regained a measure of his former strength and at the summit it was he who drove the pair over it. Though he had not spoken, nor really registered Mihn’s presence, the white-eye survival instinct was a force in itself.

  Once over the crest, Mihn dragged Isak to a halt. He leaned on the larger man and forced himself to stand upright as he gasped for breath. His hands were shaking, with fear and fatigue. The air was thin up there and it took a minute or more before his heart slowed its frantic beat and his lungs stopped aching. Isak stood motionless beside him, looking down on the desolate slopes of Ghain. He said nothing; Mihn couldn’t tell if the white-eye even saw the empty miles ahead of them. Only the occasional spasm running through his body made Isak look more than a reanimated corpse, but Mihn had hardly expected cheerfulness or laughter.

  I walked into the Dark Place and I lived, Mihn thought, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his face. He looked back. There was no daemonic army pursuing them; not even the boatman was visible, but he didn’t want to wait around. A daemon-prince might fear Xeliath’s Crystal Skull as much as the rest of its kind, but it wouldn’t be afraid to send others in its stead.

  ‘Come, my lord,’ he said with a sigh, forcing his legs to take the first few steps down the empty slope. ‘We are not home yet.’

  The journey downslope was far easier than the ascent, and the further they got from the gates of Ghenna the faster they moved, ignoring the dead landscape around them The silver pavilions were empty, though Mihn thought he could sense some presence in the air that he assumed was the Mercies. Isak, feeling it too, lowered his head and tightened his grip on Mihn’s arm, but they passed freely, finding themselves a step closer to the Land. Ghain itself appeared abandoned, for they walked a different path to that of the dead, and if there was pursuit, it was far enough behind to leave no trace.

  They stopped once, after all of the pavilions were behind them, when Isak began to huff and whimper like a frightened dog. He kept his head down, staring blindly at the ground, but a swirl of wind wrapped around them and he looked increasingly pained and fearful.

  Mihn hauled him onward, until he saw the reason for Isak’s terror and dread descended over him too: there, on the horizon, stood the vast black doors of Death’s chamber, set in a huge, weathered stone frame attached to nothing. A great darkness hung above it, black as pitch.

  What if I open that door and there is nothing but Ghain’s wilderness on the other side? He shook the thought from his head and upped their pace, his own sheer determination overriding Isak’s shaking reluctance. As he neared the gate Mihn saw the darkness above it start to shift and a loud clanking of chains rolled out across Ghain like discordant temple bells.

  ‘Now would be a good time,’ Mihn muttered under his breath, ‘assuming you aren’t too tired after insulting every daemon in existence.’

  A clap of thunder came as response and Xeliath flashed into existence, appearing at their side and walking in perfect time, as though she had been with them the whole journey.

  ‘They needed a reminder of how things are,’ Xeliath commented lightly, spinning an ivory glaive in her hand before letting the weapon rest upon her shoulder.

  Mihn looked at her. The chestnut-skinned girl was as heartstoppingly beautiful as when she’d spoken to him in his dreams. The visor on her crystal helm was raised enough for Mihn to see a contented little smile on her face.

  ‘Grandiose insults and the prospect of violence,’ Mihn commented. �
�Bloody white-eyes.’

  Xeliath’s grin widened, but any further conversation was cut off as an enormous shape fell to the ground in front of the gate with a crash. They all staggered as the earth quaked underfoot, but not even the cloud of dust was enough to hide the huge dragon now blocking their way.

  Mihn faltered, stunned by the monstrous size of the beast. He had never seen a dragon up close before - they were rare creatures in the Land; he’d only ever seen the beasts flying high in the sky. In the Elven Waste he had seen war wyverns go into battle, but they were lesser cousins; this dragon was as powerful, as terrifying, as any that had ever existed.

  Measuring more than fifty yards from tail to snarling nose, the dragon was a sooty-black colour. Its torn, ragged wings looked as much smoke as membrane. The wings were crookedly raised, as though shading its body from the sun, and Mihn, remembering the stories of its enslavement, realised the beast could no longer furl its wings properly. Death himself had shattered the bones, and the deep scoring on the stone doorframe indicated it was forced to climb to its perch.

  A curved horn rose from its long snout, and grey tusks swept back from the lower corners of its mouth, past its eyes and over its head. The dragon’s muscular body was ungainly, its limbs twisted and misshapen, and its thin tail, curled like a scorpion’s, finished in a long crescent blade.

  The chained beast roared its defiance and Mihn clapped his hands over his ears even as he gagged at the foul stench on the wind: the stink of decay that emanated from the dragon.

  Xeliath kept on walking, her arms raised to ensure the dragon’s attention was on her alone. Her hand burst into spitting green swirls of magic and white light flooded the plain. The dragon reared, spreading its torn wings as best it could and beating at the air as though trying to retreat - causing the light to falter until Xeliath snarled and intensified the surging coils of magic around her hands.

  She began to speak quickly in Elvish, the air around her shuddering at each syllable, but the dragon, fearless and full of rage, ignored her, advancing until the pitted chain that tethered it to the doorframe was stretched taut. The wind swirled up around Xeliath until she was partially hidden from view by shadows glinting with gold and emerald. As the pressure on Mihn’s ears began to build Xeliath stamped one foot, and long coils of light lanced forward to lash the dragon’s body.

  The magic carved furrows through its flesh but the dragon just roared louder, refusing to retreat. It snapped at the glimmering coils with its huge mouth, somehow finding purchase on one, and wrenched its head from side to side like a shark feeding.

  As the dragon pulled Xeliath off-balance, her concentration broke and the magic dispelled. It raised its forelimbs, claws extended, and raked through the air towards them. Mihn saw the trails of magic in the air and dropped to the ground, pulling Isak with him, as Xeliath made a sweeping gesture through the air with her glaive and a blistering white shield appeared in front of them all.

  In the next moment black slashes tore through its surface and even Xeliath flinched away.

  ‘Give me Eolis,’ she yelled, reached back towards Mihn with one hand.

  ‘I thought you would be able to force a path through!’ he shouted as an ear-splitting roar of fury deafened them.

  ‘It must be a bloody male,’ Xeliath shouted back, a mixture of bloodlust and elation on her face. ‘The bastard thing is too proud to back down!’

  ‘Can you kill it?’

  ‘Who knows?’ she laughed. ‘The Gods failed, but I’ll give it a damn good try! Get Isak to the side and wait for your chance.’ She grabbed Eolis from Mihn’s unresisting grip and hefted it appreciatively.

  ‘What about you?’ he began, but she was already moving.

  ‘Go!’ Xeliath yelled, breaking into a run directly towards the dragon and shrieking a Yeetatchen warcry.

  Mihn tore his attention from the shining figure and looked to Isak, who was staring at the dragon as though physically pained by it. With Mihn’s support he moved to the right of the black doors and stood, trembling, watching as Xeliath charged with wild abandon, cutting and hacking with all a white-eye’s force. A white band of energy thrashed around her, protecting her from the dragon’s raking claws. She forced the beast back, then feinted left, and the dragon followed.

  That was the opening Mihn had been waiting for and he pulled Isak towards the door with all his strength as Xeliath screamed in furious delight.

  They were a foot away when the dragon whipped its tail along the ground and slipped the horn-blade underneath Xeliath’s protective ring. She screamed in pain, and the sound of shattering crystal rang across the plain, swiftly followed by a roar from the dragon as the spitting band of light slanted around and pinned the tail to the ground.

  As Xeliath stabbed Eolis right through it Mihn pushed Isak forward, not stopping even when he saw the dragon pounce: once they were through, then Xeliath could retreat. Light exploded up from the ground as the creature smashed its claws down, but Xeliath knocked its head aside, tearing a chunk of decaying flesh from its face. That wasn’t enough to stop the creature biting down, to the sound of more shattering crystal. As he laid his hand on the black door itself Mihn heard Xeliath’s bellow.

  Though he hated to leave Xeliath he couldn’t wait. He put his shoulder to the door and drove forward as hard as he could. Isak stood for a moment, then added his own weight. The black door resisted a moment, and then something gave and the two men collapsed forward. Darkness enveloped them, a rushing cold that hit Mihn with all the shock of a kick to the gut.

  He tumbled forward in panic, freezing cold all around him, and a moment later he felt some force dragging him up until he broke the surface of the lake. Mihn’s first breath was a howl of agony, and his remaining strength failed him. It was only a strong hand grabbing him by the scruff of the neck that stopped him dropping back in the water and sinking like a stone. He fell roughly against the side of the boat, and instinct was strong enough to make him grab on for all he was worth.

  An animal yowl shocked him so badly he almost let go entirely, but as he flailed in alarm he realised the agonised sob came from Isak. The white-eye’s huge bulk had risen to the surface too, and like Mihn he was gripping the side of the boat for all he was worth. His cries were shaking the entire boat.

  ‘What happened to Xeliath?’ demanded the witch of Llehden, standing in the prow of the boat, a rare look of concern on her face.

  Mihn was summoning the strength to reply when he saw Xeliath slumped in the bottom of the boat, still and apparently unbreathing.

  ‘How — ?’ he began, as Xeliath gave a sudden, violent jerk, but his immense relief was short-lived as the girl lifted her shoulders and coughed up gouts of blood over her stomach. She started to convulse and her eyes opened, reflecting not victory but agony.

  He threw himself into the boat to hold her, but she twisted out of his grip and screamed in pain before vomiting more blood.

  ‘Mihn, see to Isak,’ the witch commanded, though there was little he could do for the white-eye, who remained clinging to the side of the boat with all his Gods-granted strength, keening piteously.

  ‘No!’ shouted the witch, who lifted the girl’s head as Xeliath’s struggles lessened. She held Xeliath close and began to mutter an invocation, but as far as Mihn could see the only effect she was having was to make the blood flow faster.

  Xeliath twisted her head towards Isak and at last she seemed to focus, the pain receding in her eyes for a moment. Her damaged features twisted into a small smile.

  ‘Free,’ she whispered, almost too feebly for Mihn to hear. She coughed again and the smile vanished, followed a moment later by the bright spark in her white eyes,

  ‘Xeliath,’ the witch cried, but quietly now, the voice of mourning. Mihn felt a familiar presence suddenly descend, shrouding the boat to darken the night even further. Something hard clattered on the bottom of the boat and Mihn’s heart sank. The cold of the lake filled his bones as Mihn watched the Crystal Skull ro
ll to a stop in front of him, freed at last from her grip.

  CHAPTER 4

  The biting wind gusted through Byora’s streets. The sky had been a uniform grey for days now, but there had been little more than a smattering of rain this morning and as midday approached Luerce decided it would stay dry and settled down for the day on the cobbled ground. The disciple of Azaer arranged a white blanket around his shoulders like a tent, keeping out the chilly air, and set to playing the mystic.

  He didn’t mind; it was easy enough to sit there motionless all day, watching his flock, though he saw no reason to endure a soaking too. From all around him came the keening of the faithful. The cant of liturgy had devolved into meaningless sounds, but interspersed within the drone were new prayers that Luerce had instilled in the minds of the weakest. It was a modest start, but fear would provide fertile soil, especially with him there to tend it and a dragon’s shadow cast over the quarter.

  Luerce looked around. The crowd had grown again today; hundreds were clustered around the gates to the Ruby Tower compound. Many were beggars but already there were others, lurking on the fringes, seeking something, though they did not yet realise that. He saw grief in their eyes, and loneliness. Some were consumed by petty hatreds or avarice, and Luerce took especial note of those: the bullies and the cowards, those with a lifetime of identifying the vulnerable, they’d be ideal to swell the ranks of Ruhen’s preachers.

  Luerce occupied an honoured position within the crowd of devotees, and even the newcomers could see he was special. Most of the disciples sat in tight circles of five or six, with Luerce alone in the middle of them all, with his back against the compound wall. From there the Litse could survey his small kingdom: the desperate and the mad, all huddled pathetically in the shadow of the Ruby Tower where Ruhen lived, hoping for salvation from the Circle City’s latest terror.

  On Luerce’s left a craftsman, still wearing his tool-belt, approached the wall, a reverent look on his face. He picked his way carefully past the mumbling, white-swathed bundles, hunched over as though apologetic about being upright while everyone else was sitting. The man sank to his knees as soon as he was within reach of the wall and looked up at the fluttering strips of prayer-inscribed cloth adorning it.