The Shadowed Throne (21 page)

Oeka lashed out mentally.

It didn't work.

Kullervo struck. His talons caught her in the shoulder, throwing her to the floor. Laela rushed in to stop him from attacking again, but he only turned around and stalked out without another word.

Oeka got up clumsily. She was bleeding.
I am hurt.

“Serves yer right,” Laela snapped, and ran out after Kullervo.

She caught up with him in a corridor part-way up the tower. He was moving fast, but slowed when she called out to him.

Laela caught up with him. “Kullervo, are yeh okay?”

“I'm not hurt,” he said shortly.

“That ain't what I meant.”

“I shouldn't have hit her,” Kullervo said, without looking at her or slowing down any further.

Laela kept pace with him. “She was asking for it, talkin' to yeh like that. I dunno what's got into her. Don't want to know, either.”

“She can't see into my mind,” said Kullervo. “It makes her furious.”

“She ain't never been content with not havin' somethin' she wants. Look, what were yeh gonna tell me?”

“It's not important.”

Laela knew he was lying the instant the words were out of his beak, but she didn't say so. “All right, then. Have a good journey.”

“I will.” Kullervo paused to nudge her gently with his beak, then turned toward a handy opening in the tower wall. It was there to serve as a door for griffins, and he launched himself easily through it and flew away. Off to find Senneck and begin his flight to Warwick.

Laela went to the opening to watch him go. She felt sadder than she had expected, and lonely as well. She had come to like Kullervo more and more every time she met him, and with Oeka in this state, having him there to confide in meant even more.

She hoped he would be safe.

W
arwick was a large city—one of the largest in Tara. It wasn't the richest—that honour went to Fruitsheart—but it had some of the strongest fortifications of any Northern settlement. Saeddryn had spearheaded the small group of rebels that had conquered it all those years ago and, for her, it was an obvious place to go. She had also lived there for a time after Arenadd's crowning, before official duties called her back to Malvern.

Warwick only had one griffiner tower at its centre, as opposed to Malvern's five, but it was a large one and even had its own council chamber, of sorts.

That was where Saeddryn gathered, with Aenae and her group of friends. There were Penllyn and Seerae, who had come here well ahead of her to be ready for her arrival. Nerthach and his partner, the oddly named Yissh. Lady Morvudd and Reakee. And lastly there was Nerth. Old Nerth, who had fought in the rebellion and been left with a lame leg that had stopped any griffin from choosing him. He had the place of honour on Saeddryn's right-hand side, and he listened in grim silence while she spoke.

“More word has come from Malvern,” she said. “The half-breed seems to be preparing. Griffin-killing spear launchers are goin' up on the walls. The royal army is buildin' its numbers. They've left us be so far, obviously, but they're more than ready for a fight.”

“Then let's go!” Morvudd said. “Attack!”

“I told ye no,” said Saeddryn. “We're not going to Malvern.”

“Why do we not go?” Yissh demanded. She was already extending her talons in anticipation.

“Listen,” said Saeddryn. “We're the right side in this fight. An' if we're going to win, we have to stay that way. We've done nothing wrong, only the half-breed has. So we're going to wait.
She
has to attack
us
. An' when she does, Caedmon an' Arddryn will be ready on either side. The traitors will be wiped out, an' when they're gone,
that's
when we march on Malvern. With the Kingdom cleaned up, the throne will be ours, an' no-one in Tara will want it any other way.”

“Come on!” said Nerthach. “Why wait? The longer we do, the more the half-breed bitch digs her claws into our land. Who knows what damage she could do—what she's doing already! And she's got Lord Torc in her clutches—for all we know, he's being tortured right this moment.”

Saeddryn suppressed a shudder. “Torc knew the risks. We'll do what we can for him, but there's only so much we can do.”

“Lady Saeddryn is right,” Nerth interrupted, speaking up for the first time in the entire meeting. “We could attack Malvern now, but imagine how much damage we'd do. That city is ours by rights, an' we want it in one piece—and there's one more thing. Think of who lives in Malvern.”

“Griffiners?” Morvudd suggested. “What does that matter?”

“Griffins,” Aenae rasped. He glared at the woman. “Unpartnered griffins. The same griffins that helped to conquer the city in the first place. If you had been alive then, you would know how much destruction they caused.”

“Aenae's right,” said Saeddryn. “Attack Malvern, and the unpartnered will come out. We'd be torn to pieces. They won't come out here themselves; no-one commands them any more. But Malvern is their territory.”

“Yes,” said Nerth. “It's not worth the risk—all the lives we'd lose. We attack them on our own terms, away from any cities.” He gave Morvudd a filmy-eyed but stern look. “Ye don't want street fighting, missy. Take that from someone who's tried it.”

“And it's more than that!” said Saeddryn, trying to take control of the conversation. “The half-breed is already a usurper. The moment she attacks us—tries to kill the rightful heirs to King Arenadd's throne—she shows everyone her true colours.”

“Everyone likes a good villain,” Nerth said wisely. “This half-breed's ours. Just stay patient.”

Saeddryn smiled slightly. “If ye want to put it that way. Now then, has anyone else got news for us?”

“One of our griffiners snuck out of the city early this morning,” said Morvudd. “He got away before anyone could stop him.”

Saeddryn swore. “Where was he going? Not t'join the Queen, surely?”

“No chance,” said Morvudd. “Don't worry.”

“Why are ye so certain? Who was he, anyway?”

Morvudd smiled. “My son, Gethen. I can trust him, and he left a note besides. He's gone to look for the King.”

“Another one!” Penllyn exclaimed.

“He knew you wouldn't let him go, holy one,” Morvudd said. “That's why he never asked permission. I'm sorry.”

Saeddryn slid a finger under her eyepatch and rubbed the scar beneath. “A hundred people must've set out to look, an' not one has found him. Gethen won't have any better luck than them. The King doesn't
want
to be found. An' we need all the griffiners we can find.”

“I'm sure he'll come back soon,” said Morvudd.

Nerth was frowning. “I can't help but wonder if the King returned . . . whose side would he choose?”

“The side he always chose,” said Penllyn. “His own.”

“If the King were here, this wouldn't be happening,” Saeddryn said sharply. “Now, if we've done talking, we should get going. There's work t'be done.”

“I wish to fly over the city again, to watch for danger,” Aenae said. “Come, Saeddryn.”

He left without waiting for her. Saeddryn nodded to the others, dismissing them, and went out through another door. She hadn't gone far when she heard someone coming up behind her, and glanced over her shoulder to see Nerth limping up to join her.

She slowed to walk beside him. “How are ye, Nerth?”

“Getting old,” he said. “Getting tired. It's what I do. They should call me the Master of Old an' Tired.”

Saeddryn chuckled. “Ask Arddryn or Caedmon when he's on the throne, I'm sure they'll be willin' to give ye any title ye choose.”

“Hm.” Nerth pulled his fur-lined cape over his shoulders, covering his arms. “If I live that long.”

They reached the old man's own quarters and went inside to sit by the fire. Saeddryn kept watching the flames. The lines on her face had deepened and turned darker with shadow, and the patch on her eye looked like a blank hole.

“I watched ye grow up, Saeddryn,” Nerth said gently. “Other people might see the mighty warrior, or the High Priestess, the royal Taranisäii, but I remember the tiny girl who only wanted her mother to hold her, an' love her.”

Saeddryn said nothing, but her mouth tightened.

“She never did, though, did she?” Nerth went on. “She stayed in them mountains all those years, an' never saw how beautiful her little daughter was. I know that's why ye fight, Saeddryn. I know that's why ye never give an inch. It was all for her, wasn't it?”

Saeddryn rubbed her upper arm with her hand, as if trying to warm it. “I just want t'be there for my children. They deserve the best I can give. The North is theirs by rights.”

“I think most of us reckon ye plan on making a Queen out of yerself,” said Nerth. “It's what I thought.”

“No. I'm too old, Nerth. I wanted the throne, but not for myself. Not any more. I know I won't live to see this through.”

“Come on now, Saeth,” said Nerth. “Yer half my age an' I'm still goin' strong.”

“No.” Saeddryn was holding both her arms now, wrapping them around herself and hunching closer to the fire. “I'm going to die. I can feel it. The cold is in me, an' I can't make it leave me. I thought maybe I was sick, but now I know. It's my death. The Night God is waiting for me.”

Nerth touched her shoulder. “Don't talk like that. Yer Saeddryn! Saeddryn the holy woman, the great hero! They sing songs about all the brave things ye did. Tara loves ye. Believes in ye. An' so do I.”

She smiled and reached out to touch him affectionately. “The Night God won't come for me yet. Not yet. Not until I've done what I have to. She has one more task for her Saeddryn.”

“Aye, so she does,” said Nerth. “An' I'll be here with ye t'see it through. I've been with ye this long, an' this will be
my
last task.”

Saeddryn still looked sad. “I just wish Arddryn were here, an' Caedmon. I miss them.”

“They'll be here soon.”

Neither of them mentioned Torc even though they were both thinking of him. Saeddryn rubbed her dead eye again, and a shudder of guilt went through her. But there was nothing she could do.

K
ullervo and Senneck flew, following the river north. Kullervo went slightly ahead, proudly refusing to ride Senneck's slipstream, and she kept politely behind him even though she was the more powerful flier.

She watched him, with his slender grey wings rocking slightly as they adjusted themselves to correct him in the air. In griffin form, he was much smaller than she had expected, but she supposed that it made sense. Changing shape would take enough energy as it was, without making him grow larger as well. In fact, she had estimated that, ignoring the wings, he was the same size now that he had been as a human. Most likely he would never get any bigger. He would be stuck looking like a half-grown youngster for the rest of his life. How humiliating.

Not that Kullervo seemed to care. From all she had seen of him so far, he was immune to feelings of embarrassment. There was something to be said for that.

Abruptly, Kullervo slowed his flight. A moment later, he tilted himself and dove for the ground. Startled, Senneck overtook him, wheeled around, and followed. She couldn't see any signs of danger, but she decided to trust him.

The land below them was forested, not densely thanks to the village close by, but there was plenty of cover. Kullervo landed with a crash in the branches of a willow tree. Senneck saw him clinging to his bouncing perch as she touched down on grass.

Kullervo hopped down from his tree and went to the river to drink. From his calm behaviour, Senneck guessed that he hadn't decided to land because of any danger.

She relaxed and went closer. “What is wrong? It is too early in the day to stop.”

Kullervo threw his head back to swallow. Beak dripping, he turned to look at her. “I know, but I think we should wait until tomorrow before we go on.”

“Why? Are you tired?”

“I've seen Warwick,” said Kullervo. “It's not far ahead. We could get there before dark, but I think we should wait here and make sure we're well rested before we go in.”

Senneck sat on her haunches. “That is a sensible plan. Do you think there is food here?”

“Maybe. Try the riverbank; there could be frogs.”

They had both eaten plenty before they left Malvern, and the meat in their guts had been enough to sustain them this far. Despite that, they both set out to forage for a few bites to keep them going. Kullervo tried the riverbank, and did indeed manage to catch a frog or two, along with a crayfish, which he scooped out of the water with his talons. Senneck disliked getting her paws muddy, so she went further inland and tried the trees.

Her sense of smell led her to the burrow of a ground-bear. Normally, digging one up was too tedious to bother with, but she was in the mood for some sport. She ripped the ground up with her talons, biting through the roots of the tree that grew above the burrow. When she was far enough into the earth, she thrust her head down into the remains of the hole and dragged the bear out. It fought back, kicking at her face with its own formidable claws, but she broke its spine with a few quick blows.

Excited by the hunt, she threw the corpse around and batted at it with her forepaws, and even tossed it into the air to catch it in her beak. She played like this until she heard herself and realised she was making little squeaks and chirps like a chick.

Embarrassed, she ripped the bear's belly open and pulled out the innards.

Kullervo found her while she was in the midst of her meal, but he wisely kept his distance until she had finished eating.

Senneck rolled onto her side and lay there contentedly, tail flicking. “We will move away from here to sleep,” she said, as if nothing had happened. “It is not good to sleep where there is a smell of blood.”

“I agree,” said Kullervo. “It gives me bad dreams.”

“I meant that the smell would draw other griffins,” said Senneck.

“Oh yes. Of course.” Seeing that she was showing no signs of wanting to move just yet, Kullervo stood up on his hind legs and began to sharpen his talons on a handy tree.

“So,” said Senneck. “Tomorrow, we shall find the traitors.”

“If everything goes to plan. Listen, Senneck—you don't have to come with me.”

“But I shall.”

“You can; it's just that I want you to be s—I mean, if I don't get out, then you can go back and tell Laela.”

“I shall come with you,” Senneck repeated. “And we shall
both
tell Laela.”

He gave in, hastily bowing his head to show her superiority to him. “I trust you to keep me safe. Just please don't attack anyone. Even Saeddryn.”

“I am not a fool,” she hissed. “To attack her there would be death.”

“Of course. I said I trust you, and I do.”

“Then you trust far too easily.”

Kullervo said nothing to that.

Later on, toward nightfall, they moved away from the bear's remains and found a hollow between two trees. They settled down there, lying side by side for warmth. Normally, two griffins would never sleep this way unless they were mates or family, but Kullervo knew very little about griffish customs, and Senneck seemed to think of him as human anyway.

They groomed and drank before retiring, and lay together in silence the way griffins usually did.

Kullervo watched the stars come out. “Senneck?”

She moved her head to show she was listening.