Hero in the Shadows (48 page)

Yu Yu Liang approached, squatting down beside him. “They will come, you think, the demons?” he asked.

“They will come.”

“You are still sad?”

Kysumu nodded.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Kysumu. I think you are wrong.”

“Wrong?” Kysumu gestured toward the warriors. “You believe they are great and mystic heroes?”

“I don’t know. But I was talking to Song Xiu, and he was saying that the meld affects the body in a number of ways. One of them is that no
Riaj-nor
can sire children.”

“What is your point, Yu Yu?” snapped Kysumu.

“Whatever you think of them, they
did
defeat the enemy. But once they were all dead—of old age or whatever—who could replace them? Ordinary men did not have the strength or the speed. So the elders had to find special men. Men like you, Kysumu. It is not about a lie. It is not about trickery. It doesn’t matter that the original warriors were joinings. The Order of the
Rajnee
has always been … pure. That is why they have inspired our people for centuries. I know I am not putting this well. I am no … debater. You were raised to believe in stories about a great warrior people. Well, they are great warriors. They did fight and die for us. You were then taught to believe in the
Rajnee
code. It is a good code. You do not swear, you do not lie, you do not steal, you do not cheat. You fight for what you believe in and never give in to evil. What is wrong with that?”

“Nothing is wrong with it, Yu Yu. It just isn’t based on truth.”

Yu Yu sighed and pushed himself to his feet. Song Xiu and Ren Tang walked across to join them.

“The gateway is an hour’s march from here,” said Song Xiu. “It will be guarded. One of our scouts picked up the trail
of a small group of
Kriaz-nor
. It is my belief that they saw our arrival and will have communicated it to their masters.”

“There are going to be demons among those ruins,” said Yu Yu. “They will come in a mist. Big black dogs and … white bear creatures … and serpents.”

“We have fought them before,” said Ren Tang.

“So have I, and I’m not looking forward to doing it again,” said Yu Yu.

“And you shouldn’t,” said Kysumu, his voice gentle. “You have fulfilled your part in this, Yu Yu. You were chosen to find the Men of Clay, and you have done this. But from now on other skills will be required. You should make your way back to the coast.”

“I can’t leave now,” said Yu Yu.

“There is nothing more you can do. I do not mean this unkindly, but you are not a swordsman. You are not
Rajnee
. Many of us—perhaps all of us—will die on that plain. It is what we were trained for. You have great courage, Yu Yu. But now is the time for other skills to come into play. You understand? I want you to live. I want you to go home and find a wife. Have a family.”

Yu Yu stood in silence for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“I may not be a swordsman,” he said quietly and with great dignity. “But I am the
pria-shath
. I brought these men to this place. I will lead them to the gateway.”

“Ha!” said Ren Tang. “I like you, human.” Throwing his arm around Yu Yu’s shoulder, he kissed his cheek. “You stay close to me. I’ll teach you how to use that demon sticker.”

“Time to march,” said Song Xiu.

Yu Yu Liang, the Chiatze ditchdigger, led the fighting men of the
Riaj-nor
down onto the Plain of Eiden.

As they reached the ruins, a mist began to form ahead of them.

Norda was quite sure she was dreaming. At first she had been frightened, but now she relaxed, wondering where the dream would take her next. She rather hoped it would involve Yu Yu Liang.

The first part of the dream had been very real. Eldicar Manushan had sent for her and told her that Beric had need of someone to sit with him while Eldicar was engaged in other duties. This was no hardship, for Beric was a delightful boy. Norda had been a little surprised to hear that Beric was waiting for her in the north tower library. It was getting late, and in Norda’s experience little boys generally tended to dislike dark, cold places.

Norda had climbed the circular stair and been surprised to find four dark-garbed swordsmen in the library room below the tower. She had paused, sudden fear flooding her system. Such creatures as these had been the talk of the palace for days now, with their catlike eyes and their haughty manner.

The first of them bowed to her and offered her a sharp-toothed smile. His arm swept out, beckoning her to mount the stairs.

At this point Norda had no idea it was a dream. She climbed the stairs to the tower and found Beric lounging on a wide couch. He was wearing only a white robe, belted at the waist. The tower room was chilly, a cold breeze whispering from the open balcony.

Norda shivered. “You must be cold,” she said to the boy.

“Yes, Norda,” he said sweetly.

She was filled with the urge to hug him and crossed the room to sit beside him. He snuggled into her. That was when she first realized that she was dreaming. Norda felt lightheaded as he moved in close, and awash with feelings of love and contentment. It was really quite exquisite. She gazed down at his beautiful face and saw that it was swelling at the temples, large blue veins pulsing across the stretching skin of his brow. His eyes grew smaller under heavy brows, the blue
changing, becoming tawny gold. He seemed to be smiling, but she saw that in reality his lips were being dragged back across his cheeks as his teeth grew longer and thicker, overlapping each other. His face was but inches from her own, and Norda frowned as it changed. She still felt great love for the boy even though he was obviously a boy no longer. Norda regretted the cheese and bread she had eaten for supper and the goblet of red wine with which she had washed it down. Cheese and wine always made her dream. But how odd that Beric should feature in her dream. Normally Norda dreamed of more potent men, men like Yu Yu Liang and Emrin. Even the Gray Man had figured in some of the more erotic dreams.

“You are not so pretty now, Beric,” said Norda, reaching up to stroke the pallid gray skin of his face. Her fingers brushed against his now-dark hair. It was more like a pelt. His own taloned hand moved across her shoulder. She glanced down and saw that the skin of his arm was scaled and gray.

Something touched her leg. Norda saw that it was a long, scaled tail with what seemed to be a claw growing from the base. She laughed.

“What is amusing, my dear?” asked the creature.

“Your tail,” she said. “Long tails.” Then she laughed again. “Emrin has a long tail. Yu Yu’s tail is shorter and thicker. They don’t have claws on them, though. I’ll not drink that Lentrian wine again, that’s for sure.”

“No, you won’t,” said the creature.

The tail slid up over her belly, the claw pricking at the skin.

“That hurts,” said Norda, surprised. “I’ve never felt pain in a dream before.”

“You never will again,” said Deresh Karany. The claw ripped into her.

Eldicar Manushan climbed the stairs and tapped lightly at the door. When he entered, he gave one glance to the shapeless husk that only moments before had been a vibrant, friendly
young woman. The desiccated corpse had been carelessly flung into a corner.

Deresh Karany was standing by the balcony window, staring out into the night.

Eldicar found the melded form repugnant and realized that Deresh had let fall the charm spell. “Are you refreshed, lord?” asked Eldicar. Deresh turned slowly. His legs were twisted, the knees reversed, the feet splayed. The long tail, resting on the carpeted floor, gave him balance. His gray face twisted toward Eldicar.

“Invigorated, my friend. No more. Her essence was very powerful. It gave me a vision. Panagyn and Aric are dead. The Gray Man will be coming here. He thinks to kill us.”

“And the gateway, lord?”

“The
Riaj-nor
are battling to reach it.” Deresh Karany moved clumsily toward the couch. His taloned feet hooked into a rug, and he half slipped. “How I loathe this form!” he hissed. “When the gateway is open and this land is ours, I shall find a way to reverse this … this foulness.”

Eldicar said nothing. Deresh Karany had become obsessed with the twin meld and acquiring the ability to change at will. As far as Eldicar could see, he had succeeded admirably. Deresh could assume the perfect body of a golden-haired child or this powerful monstrosity, part lizard and part lion. This second form suited his personality perfectly.

“What are you thinking, Eldicar?” Deresh Karany asked suddenly.

“I was thinking of the problems of the meld, lord,” replied Eldicar. “You have mastered the twin forms. I don’t doubt you will find a way to make the larger form more … attractive to the eye.”

“Aye, I will. Have you set the guards in place?”

“Yes, lord. Three-swords and his group will be patrolling the lower access points, and Panagyn’s soldiers are watching the grounds and the other entrances. If Waylander does
come, he will be captured or killed. But surely he is no threat to us. He cannot kill us.”

“He could kill you, Eldicar,” said Deresh. “I might decide not to revive you. Tell me, how did it feel to have your arm ripped off by Anharat’s demons?”

“It was agonizing, lord.”

“And that, my dear Eldicar, is why I don’t want Waylander to reach me. He cannot kill me, but he can cause me pain. I do not like pain.”

Except in others, thought Eldicar, remembering the sharp hurts of the many communions and Deresh Karany’s dismissive contempt toward his own suffering. Deresh had always insisted on communion rather than conversation. He claimed that he did not want to risk being overheard. But there had been many occasions when no one else had been close enough to eavesdrop. Even then Deresh had demanded communion. Some part of him reveled in the pain it caused Eldicar. How I hate you, he thought.

In that moment he felt a great warmth settle over him. He looked into the crooked features of his master and smiled. He knew it was the charm spell, yet he was unable to resist its power. Deresh Karany was his friend. He loved Deresh Karany and would die for him.

“Even Waylander will be unable to resist the spell,” said Eldicar. “He will love you as I do.”

“Perhaps, but we will give him to Anharat, anyway.”

“One of his demons, you mean, lord?” Eldicar could not keep the fear from his voice.

“No. You will help me prepare for the summoning.”

Even through the comforting warmth of the charm spell Eldicar felt panic rising. “Surely, lord, we do not need Anharat to kill one mortal. Would he not be insulted by being summoned for such a small task?”

“Perhaps he will,” agreed Deresh, “but then again, even the Lord of Demons must enjoy feeding occasionally. An
added advantage will be to remind Anharat who is the master and who is the servant.” Deresh saw the growing terror in Eldicar and laughed. It was an ugly sound. “Fear not, Eldicar. There is a good reason for using Anharat. Ustarte is with Waylander. She knows several ward spells. She will most certainly lay one upon him. Now, if I were to summon a lesser demon and her ward spell proved effective, that demon would turn on me—or, rather, on you as my
loa-chai
. There is no ward spell that can turn back Anharat. Once loosed against a victim he is unstoppable.”

There was truth in that, Eldicar knew. Equally, the summoning would take a great deal of power. His heart sank as he realized what was coming.

“Pick ten of the servants,” said Deresh. “Young ones, preferably female. Bring them here two at a time.”

“Yes, lord.”

As Eldicar Manushan left the tower, he tried to think of lakes and sailboats.

But there was no refuge there.

Yu Yu stumbled just as a huge white-furred creature broke through the line before him. Song Xiu leapt across his path, sending his sword slashing through the creature’s neck. It roared and lashed out. Song Xiu grabbed Yu Yu, hauling him out of the demon’s reach. Ren Tang and Kysumu both stabbed the beast, which fell writhing to the ground. More demons swept through the breach. Yu Yu drove his blade through the neck of a serpent. Kysumu half decapitated a black
Kraloth
hound as it leapt toward his throat.

Then the mist faded back. The
Riaj-nor
regrouped. Yu Yu glanced around. It seemed to him that they had lost around forty of their number, and they had covered barely half a mile. The
Riaj-nor
fought with a savagery Yu Yu could scarcely believe. There were no war cries, no exhortations, no screams
from the wounded and dying—merely blinding webs of dazzling blue light from the mystical blades as they ripped and tore into the flesh of the demonic army opposing them.

Kysumu had been right. This was no place for Yu Yu. He knew that now. He was merely a clumsy, slow human. Several of the
Riaj-nor
had died protecting him, and both Song Xiu and Ren Tang watched over him constantly.

“Thank you,” Yu Yu said in the brief lull.

Ren Tang grinned at him. “It is our duty to protect the
pria-shath
,” he said.

“I feel like a fool,” Yu Yu told him.