Chasers of the Wind

13

Layen and I had stayed at the inn, the Supreme Witch, several years ago and even though quite a lot of time had passed, I found the establishment without much difficulty. The sturdy two-story building had a sign, on which a fairly talented hand had painted a red-haired woman with a malicious appearance. True, it resembled a witch as much as a Je’arre looks like a butterfly. That is, they had nothing in common.

There weren’t all that many people in the common room. But in about an hour, just when it started to get dark, the neighborhood residents would drag themselves in to toss back a mug of shaf or a glass of reska. Then it will get so crowded, people will be sitting on one another’s heads.

Luk, as he had promised, urgently requested food, drink, and a bath. A servant boy was sent to the nearest shop for new clothing. When he found out that we were ready to foot the bill, the soldier got right down to it. But I didn’t mind; I could spare the extra sorens.

Layen and I got a nice room—bright and clean. Through old habit, the first thing we did was check the door. It was hefty, with a good dead bolt. It wouldn’t be easy to knock down. From the window there was a view of the inner courtyard, the stables, and the barn. That was also excellent—there was always the chance we’d have to leave without drawing special attention to ourselves.

I left my wife to rest and freshen up and went to a weapons dealer at the far end of town. There I grudgingly bargained with the surly dealer, who apparently didn’t have such particular customers every day. I only stopped when I’d selected two dozen more or less decent arrows from the three hundred he had on offer. I had complete confidence in ten of them, while the remaining fourteen were of middling quality, but they’d do in a pinch.

After I paid, I returned to the inn, which was now crowded; the customers were piled high on top of one another, with servants rushing around between them with trays full of orders. It was one hell of a ruckus. It smelled pleasantly of cold mint and chamomile shaf, and the aroma of roast meat tickled my nostrils.

Our table was the one closest to the stairs that led up to the second floor. Happy and content, Luk was laying into his food assiduously. Shen, who had cheered up some, was sipping his cooling drink and playing with Midge’s knife. I won’t say that he impressed me, but the lad was somewhat skilled. Layen was listlessly watching the knife as it flashed through the Healer’s fingers. Like I said, the Healer couldn’t make an especially striking impression on a person who had earned her keep working risky jobs.

The northerner was looking around more than he was eating. His interest was caught by a neighboring table, where some miners were sitting. There they were discussing important news—the war that was sweeping across the northeast of the Empire.

By the bar, the young, thickset innkeeper was arguing about something with a man who had just come in. This stranger’s muddy cloak caught my attention. Regardless of the age of the fabric, the emblem sewn onto it was still discernible. It was the boots and cloud of the couriers’ guild.

“Keep your mouths shut,” I warned my companions, and then, without getting into particulars, I headed over to the disputants.

“Where should I seat you?” boomed the innkeeper. “You see how many people are here. All the tables are taken.”

“Fine, no need to get nasty,” said the courier soothingly. “Just bring me food in my room.”

“It’ll be a while ’til the room is ready. It’s being cleaned now. You’ll have to wait.”

“If you want, you can sit at my table,” I said, interrupting their conversation. “We have a free seat.”

“I’d be honored.” The courier bowed, making no secret of his pleasure.

“Bring him some food,” I instructed the innkeeper, who immediately cheered up once he saw that the unpleasant situation had been resolved.

“I hope I won’t be disturbing you,” said the man I’d invited as we walked over to the table. “My name is Gis.”

“Take a load off.” Unlike the others, Layen had instantly realized that an excellent opportunity to learn the latest news had fallen in our laps. “Was the road hard?”

“It wasn’t easy.” Gis looked around at us curiously as the innkeeper set his plate down.

He was middle-aged, short, and lanky. He had a narrow, sallow face with a large, fleshy nose, a shiny bald head, and thick, unkempt mustaches. His eyes were dark, sharp, tenacious, and thoughtful. But his hands were strange; he had narrow palms with long, elegant fingers and well-groomed nails that would be more fitting for a musician or a juggler, but not for a man who spends his entire life on the road. Those hands perplexed me greatly, and at any other time I would have pondered their significance, but today, after our onerous journey, I was not up to it.

“Are you traveling?” he asked as he dug into the food.

“Yes,” said Ga-Nor curtly, kicking Luk, whose mouth was wide open, under the table.

The kick didn’t escape Gis’s attention, but he in no way showed it. He meditatively broke a griddle cake in two, dipped it in gravy, and declared, “You’re a colorful group.”

“When you joined us, it became even more colorful.” Layen smiled pleasantly. “Common room tables have a way of bringing all sorts of people together.”

Gis returned the smile.

“True enough, my lady. I’ve seen it often during my travels. Once I even saw a human, a Blazog, and a Je’arre amicably playing dice.”

“All that and amicably? Flyers can’t get along with each other, to say nothing of other races!” said Luk, and he dissolved into laughter.

Most people have no love for the Je’arre due to their pride, fierce tempers, and disdain for other races. Even the Highborn of Sandon do not elicit as much ire as the Sons of the Sky (what the Je’arre call themselves).

“Why would you call me lady?” wondered Layen.

Gis winked merrily.

“Have you not noticed how the entire common room is looking at you? Do you know the reason? You’re wearing trousers. Our south is too stuffy. That which is normal in the north, here is considered an open invitation, if not a vulgarity. Even the whores wear skirts, to say nothing of the more dignified gentlewomen. Very few women can allow themselves trousers. Only the inhabitants of the northern parts of the Empire, and you don’t look like them, or the nobles who disregard the opinions of those around them. I chose to place you in the second classification. Was I mistaken?”

Shen soundlessly repeated the word “classification” and raised his eyebrows in surprise. I also noticed that our guest was an exceedingly well-educated man.

“You’re mistaken, in that you overlooked yet another possibility—it’s far more comfortable to travel in trousers than in a skirt.”

“I think that he”—Gis pointed at the impassive Ga-Nor—“might disagree with you. For the Children of the Snow Leopard, trousers could never compare for comfort with a kilt.”

“A kilt is not a skirt,” said the northerner. “But there is a snowflake of truth in your words.”

“I thank you.”

“You know the clan signs of my people quite well,” said the northerner.

“I’m a courier.” He shrugged. “I have to keep my eyes and ears open. Besides, only the Snow Leopards wear red and gold plaid. It’s easy to remember.”

“Are you bound for Al’sgara?”

“Yes, my lady.” Our companion insisted on addressing Layen as a noblewoman.

“From the mining colonies?”

“From Gash-Shaku.”

“Gash-Shaku!” Luk exclaimed, his mouth falling open. “But Bald Hollow isn’t on the way! Why would you take such a detour?”

Gis’s face darkened.

“If I’d had my way, I wouldn’t have. But the prairies are enveloped in flames. The road between Al’sgara and Gash-Shaku has become too dangerous. Nabatorian and Sdisian soldiers. There are rumors of necromancers. I had to detour to the east, toward Okni. The battle hasn’t taken hold there yet. Our boys are keeping the enemy in check at the Isthmuses of Lina, so I was able to slip past. True, my journey was doubled.”

“What’s happening in Gash-Shaku?” Shen leaned forward.

“I slipped out of there a day before the city was besieged.”

“But the army! Where is our army?”

“The Second Southern Army was completely destroyed. They say the Sixth and the First retreated to the Katugian Mountains for redeployment. Perhaps they’ll try to lift the siege. The Third is mired in the Isthmuses, so there will be no help from them. I’ve heard nothing about the Fourth. The Fifth holds the Steps of the Hangman, so I don’t think they’re rushing off to save anyone. The most important thing is not to let the enemy break through to the north.”

“Not good,” said Luk, aghast.

He was right. It didn’t seem like our troops were doing so well. The second-largest city in the Empire was under siege, and battle was raging from the forests of Sandon to the Golden Sea. The enemy, ignoring the untouched southwest, was striving to take the most important position—the Steps of the Hangman. If they succeeded, they would cut off reinforcements coming from the north and would have no fear of a sudden strike from behind.

“And all because someone was nodding off at the Six Towers,” said the courier. “No one knows how such a thing could have happened.”

Ga-Nor kicked Luk again, so he’d keep quiet.

“So it looks like we’re losing?”

“Not yet. They have a hold on the eastern part of the country, but the Nabatorians have progressed no farther than the Isthmuses, even with the aid of the necromancers and the creatures of the Great Waste. Our boys are standing firm. Elite troops and reinforcements are coming closer through the Katugian Mountains. The Mineral Plains have been taken, Gash-Shaku is surrounded. Until it falls, the enemy is unlikely to strike the Steps. It’s too dangerous. Plus, in the west we are resisting them. But the battles are hard fought. If not for the fortified citadels and stockades that constantly delay the enemy forces, who knows how it would all play out. And the land is also on our side. There are more than enough geographical hindrances for the Nabatorians. So maybe we’ll be victorious.”

“It’s hard to believe there’s a war going on. It’s so quiet here,” said Shen.

“A hundred leagues to the north would make you believe, lad. If you strike through the forests and swamps toward the Six Towers, you’ll see it with your own eyes before the week is out.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on in Al’sgara?”

“I’m just now headed there. But it seems like many in that city regard what’s happening as something very far away. They think it doesn’t concern them. And there are fools who don’t believe the rumors at all.”

“And there’s no army to defend it.”

“They’ve left Al’sgara to the dogs. You know what will happen if our forces are defeated. It’s true there was a whisper that the Viceroy may be putting together a force to replace the Second Army, and it may even carry the same name, but it will essentially be a militia of irregulars, retreating troops, and mercenaries. It’s just not enough. If the regular army couldn’t do it, then how will they?”

“What about the Walkers?”

“They are fighting. They are battling with the Sdisian sorcerers and their creations. In some places successfully. But they won’t succeed in burning out the entire infection. At times you meet evil where you least expect it. Four days ago I nearly lost my head.”

“Nabatorians?”

“No. They haven’t drawn so close yet. This was worse. Corpses were climbing out of their graves.”

“A lot?”

“The entire village. There was no one living. If not for my horse, I wouldn’t have escaped.”

“And by a whole village, how many do you mean, sir? Ten? Twenty?” asked Layen.

“Two hundred.”

My sun pursed her lips but said nothing. However, I did not keep my doubts to myself.

“It’s strange that the necromancers have some sort of task in our villages when their strength is needed in the north.”

“I agree.” Gis was not put off by my skepticism. “But I’ve heard about no less than three such cases. Villages and townships where there are no survivors, but which are full of hungry corpses. And this in the very heart of the unconquered territories.”

“The Sdisians are trying to add to our troubles,” Shen said a second before I could.

“And to sow panic,” I backed him up.

“Courier.” The innkeeper walked over. “Your room is ready.”

“Already? Well then, I suppose it’s time for me to go. I need to rest. I’ll be on the road again early tomorrow morning. Thank you for inviting me, friends.”

“Thank you for telling us the latest news.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for.” He smiled mirthlessly. “It’s not the kind of news that causes joy. Good night.”

Gis bowed and then quickly ascended the staircase.

“What will we do?” asked Luk, after clearing his throat for emphasis.

“You want to go to Al’sgara.” I wanted to eat.

“Well, yes. But what then?”

“Then our paths diverge. Layen and I have our own problems, as do you.”

Shen peered at me furtively, but I chose to ignore it. The redhead nodded in agreement, not disputing our right to look after our own affairs.

I knew how I was going to proceed even before the conversation with the courier. Gis only strengthened my confidence in the decision I’d made. Right now we had one vital goal—we would go to Al’sgara and explain to Joch how wicked it was to offer money for Gray and Weasel. That would spare Layen and me from headaches in the future. When no one is chasing after your head, life becomes so much more tranquil. And then only one road will be left—to the Golden Mark. The ships should still be in the harbor while the war is still far off. They’d overcharge us terribly, of course, but thank Melot we had the money. We’d make it.

“Did you notice what he didn’t talk about?” Layen asked us.

All eyes turned to her.

“Not a word about the Damned. Not one. The finest rumors, guesses, and theories, but nothing about the Sextet. As if they don’t exist.”

“Perhaps they’re in no rush to show their strength,” suggested Luk.

“Wasn’t it you who told me that Rubeola tore apart the Six Towers? And her friend was not exactly subtle in Dog Green. I think that, for the time being, the Walkers don’t want to frighten the common folk. For as long as they can attribute all the displays of magic to the Sdisian sorcerers, they will continue to do so. The Whites may be dreadful, but they are nothing compared to the Sextet. Why spread premature panic not only in the population but also among the soldiers? I don’t think the soldiers would fight as well as before if they found out that the old legends had come to life.”

“That may very well be. I think our lads have more than enough on their plates if they have to contend with twenty thousand corpses,” said Luk.

“There can’t be more than a thousand,” she corrected him perfunctorily. “However you calculate it.”

“And why is that?” The soldier clearly didn’t believe her words. “If there were no less than two hundred in that village the courier raced through, then there’d have to be just as many in other places, right? Something about that doesn’t sit right with me.”

“And something about that courier doesn’t sit right with me. I think he’s lying. It requires considerable power to raise a single kuks. Not all of the sorcerers can even manage such a feat. It’s quite a difficult task to transfer a portion of your own spark into a dead body, to constantly keep it under control, to always be expecting your creature to attack you. It’s not worth the waste of power. There are far easier and more efficient means of spreading terror or of creating obedient servants for oneself. A veteran necromancer can raise no more than ten bodies. The sorcerers of the Eighth Sphere can control perhaps thirty or forty zombies. But they’d use up all their power doing it. So, they rarely engage in such nonsense. They raise the dead when they have nothing better to do. Thus, thousands are out of the question. But to hear Gis tell it, there are two hundred living dead in one pitiful little village. For that you’d need five necromancers of the highest order! If not six. And there simply aren’t that many in the world. And they’d be doing nothing more than sitting around a useless village, wrangling corpses while waiting for a chance passerby.”

“Also, the courier said that this was not the first instance,” I supported Layen.

“Exactly. If you count how many sorcerers you would need to fill three or four villages with the dead… I doubt Sdis would send so many Elects for such an insignificant matter.”

During this discussion, Shen had been sitting with his fists clenched and his gaze lowered.

“So then how do you explain the existence of those dead men that attacked me at the old silver mine?” Luk insisted.

“I don’t know. Perhaps there was a necromancer nearby, or perhaps he simply sent them away from the Gates, or maybe they killed their sorcerer. The spell of summoning doesn’t usually vanish with the death of the conjurer. A particle of the spark remains in the puppets and they live on after their master has died. It’s possible that you had the luck to run into just such wretches.”

“I’m going out for a walk.” Ga-Nor stood up from the table and, walking round the numerous customers, headed for the inn’s exit.

“And I, if you don’t mind, am going to bed.” Luk yawned widely and, taking a full mug of shaf with himself for company, he went upstairs, satisfied and full.

The three of us remained. Shen was just sitting there, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. I enjoyed his behavior recently less and less. If earlier he behaved like a callow youth who flung insults around indiscriminately, now he spent a large portion of his time in contemplation. It always seemed to me that the lad was planning some kind of nasty trick.

“Why so gloomy?” I asked him.

He tore his gaze away from his hands and smirked.

“I’m confused about a few things.”

“What, if it’s not a secret?”

The Healer leaned toward us so that none of those sitting at the nearby tables could hear and asked quietly, “How many of the dead can Layen raise?”

“What are you driving at, Healer?” she responded coldly.

“You know what I’m talking about. Not everyone can merge with a khilss, and you controlled Death easily. Why wouldn’t you possess the other skills as well?”

Layen’s face expressed nothing. “You’re raving, boy.”

“No. I just have a knack for drawing the right conclusions, that is all. I’d still be interested to know, who taught you?”

“Oh,” I said, chuckling, having followed the discussion as it unfolded, “I see you’ve decided to turn back to that old subject.”

“But surely someone taught you, right?” Shen paid me no attention. “Someone told you what the sorcerers call zombies. Kuks is a rare word. You also know what the necromancers are called in Sdis. No Walker would ever call them what you did. Elect.”

“But you yourself know these words and you’ll notice that I do not ask you how. Why shouldn’t I know them as well?” Layen turned the accusation around on the Healer.

“And so I shouldn’t ask either?”

“I would appreciate it. To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember where I heard them. They came in handy today. There’s nothing more to it.”

“I see,” he drawled. “Then allow me to ask that with which I began—how many of the dead can you raise?”

“None,” she snapped.

For some time they stared at each other. Finally Shen took a breath and leaned backward.

“I believe you’re lying,” he said in a colorless voice. “And I also have an idea about what you would have done with that woman in the village if she hadn’t caught you unawares.”

“You can have an idea about whatever you like. As for the Damned, my power wouldn’t have been enough to even cause her the slightest injury.”

“Sure, sure. You already told me something to that effect about the necromancer who came to your house. I’m going to sleep.” And the Healer left.

“So how many?” I couldn’t help myself.

She wasn’t expecting such a question from me and she flinched.

“Don’t start.”

“Why not? I’m really curious to finally find out what you’re capable of.”

Now she was avoiding looking into my eyes.

“Like I told Shen…”

“None. And you weren’t even lying. Until your spark flares up again, you can’t do anything. But how many could you raise before?”

This conversation clearly displeased Layen. I was already expecting to hear that it was none of my business. It was all the more strange then that she answered, “Four.”

Iron fingers encircled my throat; it became hard to breathe and a line of cold chills crawled up my spine. A completely childish terror of a person who could control the dead surged up in me. But I battled it down.

I loved her. And I knew that she was not like the necromancers are usually depicted. Many years of life spent side by side had taught us to trust each other. Well… or almost taught us. Layen was looking at me in dismay. She was already regretting her excessive candor and was awaiting what I would say to her now.

“Four.” I savored the word. “That’s not bad for someone who taught herself. Turns out, you’d give a few of the Whites a run for their money. Thank you for finally deciding to tell me.”

“I’ve wanted to for a while, but I didn’t know how you’d take it,” she answered hurriedly.

“I understand you completely.” The specter of the living dead still dangled before my eyes. Truth be told, it wasn’t a very pleasant sight. “Is there anything else I should know, my love?”

“Did they leave?” Ga-Nor returned at a completely inopportune moment.

“Yes. They went to their rooms.” Layen was happy that this unpleasant conversation had been put on hold for a while.

“We should soon, too. Another round of shaf, Gray?”

“If you like.”

The northerner waved his hand, and the girl set down three mugs from her tray.

“I wanted to ask what your game is, but I never got the chance.” The redhead dipped his mustache into the dark beverage.

“I don’t really know what you mean.”

“How do you earn your keep? Are you a Shot?”

“No. I’m a carpenter.”

The middle-aged war dog grinned. “I guess you must be the best carpenter in the world, to be carrying so much money on you.”

“And you have sharp eyes.” My smile came out crooked.

“No. I have keen ears. I heard how it jingled in Layen’s pack. And it’s quite a lot. I wouldn’t mistake the sound a mass of sorens gives out for anything else.”

“It’s her inheritance.”

“So I thought.” He smiled openly. “An inheritance, of course. A carpenter couldn’t amass that much in his whole life.”

It was obvious that he didn’t believe us, but it didn’t matter to him who we were. This is why I love northerners—they never meddle in other people’s business.

“I’m pleased that we could…”

“Ness.” Layen called to me.

“… clarify it for you.”

“NESS!”

I cut short my blather and looked at her petulantly.

“An odd man.” A hint of alarm had slipped into her voice.

I personally didn’t see anything odd about the stranger she pointed out. He was a man like any other man. True, he was wrapped from head to toe in a cloak and he was looking around. He was clearly not from around here. He’d just walked into the inn and was now standing in the center of the room, between the tables, apparently wondering what to do next. I couldn’t make out his face, as it was hidden by his hood, but when the man turned around a bit, his cloak fell open and I saw the dull flash of armor.

“Fish!” Ga-Nor barked so loudly that I nearly jumped from shock.

The next moment the northerner tipped the heavy table over on its side like it was a feather, and the plates and mugs fell to the floor with a crash.

“Come here!”

The redhead’s face was so intent that I followed his order without thinking. Layen did the same. The startled faces of the miners flashed past my eyes and then something boomed deafeningly. It hit my ears so hard that I screamed in pain. Darkness swam before my eyes and my nose started to bleed.

When I regained the ability to think, I found myself lying on the floor. Ga-Nor was next to me on his hands and knees. He tossed his head and for some reason reminded me of a big red dog.

“Layen!”

I couldn’t hear my own voice. The shrieks and groans of the wounded drowned out all other sounds.

“Layen!”

Tossing someone’s severed hand to the side, I crawled across the blood-soaked floor toward a table that had been split in two.

“Layen!”

Strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders, and I was pulled to my feet with a sharp jerk. Of course, it was the northerner. He had recovered much faster than I had from the incident.

“There she is!”

Layen was getting to her feet. She had her hand pressed to her mouth, and her eyes were dilated with horror as she looked around the room, which was a scene of immense slaughter. There were so many dead, it was like one of the legendary battles of the War of the Necromancers had just been fought. Several body parts were even hanging from the huge circular chandelier. This was not to mention the blood, which was not only on the walls, but on the ceiling as well. And everywhere there was the dull gleam of small scales, no bigger than silver coins, which had seemed like chain mail to me. They were embedded in all the wooden surfaces and in those unfortunate souls who had been unlucky enough to be standing close to the stranger.

“Layen, are you all right?” I ran over to her.

“Let’s get out of here. Please,” she whispered.

I grabbed my wife by the elbow and led her toward the stairs.

“Ga-Nor, grab my bow and quiver.”

“Already done,” the redhead replied behind my back.

“What happened?” An agitated Luk ran out from the second-floor corridor. Then he froze, speechless.

“Don’t just stand there!” Ga-Nor roared at him. “Take the woman to her room! Help him, man.”

These last words were directed at Shen.

“Luk can handle it,” said the Healer. “I have to help the wounded.”

“And what are we going to do?” I frowned. I didn’t want to leave Layen.

“We’re going to go out and find out where the Fish came from.” Ga-Nor handed me my bow. “Get ready.”

“I’m always ready. Layen, I’ll be back soon. Come on.”

Stepping over the bodies and avoiding the injured, around whom the survivors were already fussing, we went outside. It was already dark, but no thought had been given to lighting torches. It’s always this way in small towns—no one wants to spend money on nonsense like streetlights. All six of the Damned could hide in such thick darkness, and you would see absolutely nothing until it was too late.

“What was that?” I asked Ga-Nor as he sniffed the air.

“A Fish.”

“I didn’t notice that he had either fins or tails.”

“We don’t know what they’re really called. The creatures have been dubbed ‘Fish’ in the Borderlands. They’re a product of Sdisian magic. They’re corpses. They walk up to the living and then, bam! There’s a bunch of dead people.”

“Is it always like that?”

“Unfortunately. They have thousands of steel scales. Each cuts through flesh and bone like butter. When the creature explodes, the scales fly in all directions. It’s best to hide before that happens.”

“Hey, kid!” I cried out to a pale boy who was standing by the entrance to the inn, staring at all the blood and corpses in horror. “Did you see it, the thing that exploded, before?”

He didn’t immediately understand what was wanted of him. Then he nodded frantically.

“It was Shkan. The local drunk. He died three days ago.” It seemed like the boy was about to burst into tears. “He was buried yesterday.”

There you go! Luk had spoken evil and now the dead were crawling out of the cemetery. Just great!

“Head home,” I said to him. “You can’t do anything here. Quick!”

The small boy ran so fast that his heels were on fire.

“He might not be the only one.” The tracker was staring intently into the darkness.

“I’m not going searching,” I said sharply.

“No one asked you to.”

Suddenly two booms, muffled by distance, rang out into the night.

“We’re leaving.” I decided. “Right now. I’m taking Layen and getting the hell out of here. It’s getting dangerous.”

At the opposite end of the street a pair of green lights flashed. Then another. And another. And another. A startled cry rang out, but was immediately muffled.

“Into the inn! Now!” Ga-Nor, unlike me, knew what kind of attack this was. “The dead!”

My heart grew cold, and I sped back behind the precarious cover of the walls. Again, the screams of terror. A warning alarm began ringing.

“Close the doors!” bellowed the redhead.

“What? Have you gone mad?” The landlord jumped up. “We’ve sent for the healers. Stand back!”

“Idiot! It’s full of the living dead out there!”

“Don’t spout bullshit! Back, I said! Or else…”

He didn’t have to finish because five wide-shouldered, gloomy men had stood up behind his back. The surviving miners stood behind their friend.

“Up!” I snapped. It’s stupid to try and save those who don’t want to be saved. They will drown and take you with them when they go.

No longer paying any attention to the locals, we rushed to the stairs. On the way, Ga-Nor scooped up the Healer, who was trying to staunch the flow of blood from one of the wounded. The lad began to fight back.

“Leave him! He’s already a goner. Save your own skin!” I snarled.

Shen wanted to rebel, but my face, distorted by terror, made him stop playing the fool. No longer arguing, the Healer rushed behind us. We were flying up the stairs when the first of the creatures, apparently drawn by the thick scent of blood, burst into the room and, without delay, sunk its teeth into the neck of the nearest person.

The people didn’t understand what was happening and rushed to help the unlucky fellow. Before they could do anything, death entered into the room once more. I was the first to see the creatures, and the impression they made was terrible. However, there’s no point in staring. With every second, new “guests” arrived, and for now they were occupied with the living people by the door, but soon they would turn their attention to us. So, skipping over a few steps, we ran upstairs. There was still a chance for us to escape. But the growling behind our backs spoke to the fact that those who hadn’t found enough food downstairs had decided to visit the upper stories.

The first room along the corridor belonged to Luk, Ga-Nor, and Shen. The Healer flew there, and I had to follow him because I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to make it to my room. We tumbled in and slammed the door shut. Almost immediately something heavy struck it from the other side.

As I expected, neither Luk nor Layen was here.

Excellent!

The panting Healer slid down the wall and began to mutter a prayer.

Why not? He had nothing better to do.

“The stubborn bastard,” I said, listening as the corpse frantically tried to get into our room.

This had been going on for an hour, but the creature didn’t calm down for a minute.

“Will the door hold?” asked Shen for the millionth time.

“I really hope so.”

There were three of us in the room. But neither Luk nor Layen was there and the uncertainty was terrifying me. I didn’t know if my sun was alive, but I very much hoped that she had locked herself in her room and that she was all right. If it was so, we were now separated by an entire hallway. Twenty-five short and extremely long steps.

Ga-Nor had leaned his sword against the wall and was now standing by the window and looking out onto the street. I knew what he was seeing there. Ambling shadows and the green lights of dead eyes. Far more than two hundred of the dead were crammed into Bald Hollow. From what we could see, they had flooded the entire city. I wondered if anyone was alive but us. Someone had to have had time to slam a door, to hide in a basement or an attic.

The alarm had been silent for a long time. There were no longer any screams to be heard either. No one was rushing to put out the fire that had flared up on the opposite end of the street. Several houses had already burned down and all we could do was pray that the fire would not spread farther and engulf the inn.

“We can’t stay here forever. They’ll get us sooner or later.”

“You said yourself that the door would hold.” Shen frowned.

“I said I hope it will. Even if it does hold, we’ll die of starvation. After all, they’re not afraid of sunlight, right?”

“Right. But if you kill the necromancer—”

“To Ug with your necromancer!” I used one of Ga-Nor’s few curses. “Didn’t you hear what Layen said? You’d need five of the very best sorcerers to raise two hundred of the dead. But there are far more than five hundred of them. And it’s not just the idlers from the cemetery that came out. Now those who they ate for dinner are running about as well. Just think how many Whites you would need to manage such a horde?”

“I won’t think anything. I’ll tell you one thing—I’ve no desire to go running around with them.”

“What do you suggest?” asked the northerner calmly.

“First, we need to break through to my room.”

“What a fool!” spat Shen. “I’m not planning to risk my head for the sake of your better half.”

“We have a window that looks out onto the inner courtyard.” Letting his words slip past my ears, I turned to Ga-Nor. “If we can break through to the stables, we have a chance of reaching our old age.”

“And if the innkeeper left the gates open?” He rubbed his forehead.

“We’ll never find out if we stay sitting here in this doghouse.”

He thought a moment, weighing the options. Then he nodded decisively.

“You’re right. I’m with you.”

“Idiots!” Shen did not want to take a step out of this seemingly secure room. “Are you sure they’ll open up for you? You won’t be able to come back.”

“You can stay here. No one’s asking you to come with us.”

He shut up, stood up off the floor, and grabbed his skeem.

“Can you help us?”

The Healer understood that I was asking about his Gift, and he shook his head no.

“I’m not sure that it will work.”

Too bad. I’d actually been counting on his abilities.

“Does everyone recall that they need to be hit on the head?” the northerner asked us again.

We nodded.

“Then Ug help us. Let’s begin.”

“Don’t get in the way of my arrows,” I warned the Healer.

“Three. Two. One. Go!”

The Healer flung open the door and a stinking corpse immediately stumbled into the room. It didn’t keep its balance, fell, and Ga-Nor chopped its head off. Another stiff, who I recognized as the landlord of the Supreme Witch, appeared in the doorway. I punched an arrow in his green eye. The northerner sliced through the creature’s legs.

“Dead?” I asked just in case.

“He’s long dead,” said the redhead and, like a whirlwind with a head, he spun out into the hallway.

Everything turned out far better than we expected. There were only two of the dead remaining and they took no notice of us because they were trying to break through a door on the opposite end of the hallway.

While Ga-Nor and Shen dealt with them, I kept my eyes on the stairs, from which at any moment we might have to welcome new guests. Meanwhile, a short skirmish took place behind me. The nimble northerner dealt with his opponents with such speed that he didn’t even require the Healer’s help.

“Done!” I heard the Son of the Snow Leopard say, and I began to retreat.

“Layen, open up, it’s us!” Shen banged on the door. “Layen! Open up!”

From below came the sound of wheezing and stomping feet. The first corpse practically flew up to the floor. My arrow pierced it right in the eye, causing it to fall backward and tumble down the stairs.

Ga-Nor appeared next to me and under his protection I felt much more sure of myself.

“If they don’t open the door for us, we’re lost,” he said calmly, but his voice did not deceive me. Our situation really was rotten. Nine undead were already coming toward us. The same amount followed behind them. Even if we hacked our way back to the other room, we wouldn’t get there whole.

“Layen!” I shouted as loudly as I could, drawing a new arrow. “Open up!”

The bolt snapped open immediately.

Smart girl!

“Oh, Melot! You’re alive!” I heard the voice of my sun. “Faster! Faster!”

Yet another of the hunters of my living flesh fell with an arrow in his pupil. Then I turned around, jumped into the room right behind Shen, and immediately drew back to the wall to let Ga-Nor in. Layen slammed the door shut and put the bolt back in place.

“Finally!” said the Healer. “You dithered about long enough!”

“I see no reason why I should have let you in,” she replied coldly, and then she walked over to me and hugged me fiercely.

“I was beginning to fear that you would not be saved.”

“All is well,” I whispered. “We’re okay.”

“Would you really have left us outside?” Ga-Nor frowned.

“Don’t be silly, friend.” Despite his pallor, Luk had lost none of his talkativeness. “It’s just that we didn’t believe our ears at first. Help me. We need to move this cabinet back in front of the door. Just in case.”

Wheezing and blows could be heard from the other side of the door. There were a great deal more of them after our souls now. I was seriously beginning to fear that the door would not hold.

“Is there anything to drink?” After the short flight my throat was completely dry.

“I can only offer you reska, but I doubt that would be of any use to us.”

Only now did I notice Gis.

The courier was sitting cross-legged on the floor like an easterner, wrapped in his battered cloak. Next to him lay a broadsword in a worn burgundy sheath, and a gray-green saddle bag.

“How did you get in here?”

“I was in the hallway when the undead appeared. I jumped into the nearest room and locked the door. Turns out, my lady and Luk were already here.”

“Yes, indeed,” confirmed the puffing soldier, who was dragging the cabinet with Ga-Nor. “If not for the courier, we wouldn’t have known anything, screw a toad. The door was wide open.”

“I wonder what’s happening,” I asked Layen quietly.

“I’d like to know myself. It would require tremendous strength to raise so many of the dead.”

“Something like this has happened before.” Gis, as it turned out, was not at all averse to talking. “Just very long ago. They say that when a very strong Walker dies, it rains heavily. So it was when Sorita died, for example.”

“What is the connection?” Layen did not understand.

“When the bearer of a very strong Gift dies a violent death, after her departure a fraction of the magic does not disappear, but disperses into the world. It calls down the rain.”

“So what are the dead here for?” asked Luk sulkily. “What are they, like mushrooms creeping out of the ground after a rain?”

“They say that when Cholera and Delirium died during the War of the Necromancers, for the entire next month, here and there, all over the lands of the Empire, entire cemeteries were raised.”

“Do you mean to say that when the Walkers die, it rains, but when the Damned do, the dead rise?” Shen guessed.

“So the old legends say.” Gis shrugged. “However, there is a small discrepancy—none of the Sextet have been killed in the last five hundred years.”

I immediately thought of the woman we disposed of in Dog Green. It appears Gis was right.

“How do you know about all of this?”

“Old tales, my lady. When you travel your whole life, you learn a lot. Sometimes it is useful.”

“And do the tales say when the dead will wander back to their graves?” asked Luk hopefully.

“Unfortunately, they do not. Just that it happened in various places and then subsided. Well, and that the Walkers no doubt helped.”

“Well, we can’t put our hopes in the Walkers,” I said sharply. “We’ll have to handle it on our own. Here’s what I want to suggest….”

“Careful. Don’t make a noise,” hissed Shen.

“I’m trying, screw a toad.” Luk was clearly having a hard time keeping his voice down.

As I had hoped, the gates leading from the street into the inner courtyard, where the outbuildings and stables were located, were closed. Of course, someone was banging on them, but not too strenuously and for the time being unsuccessfully.

Without much difficulty at all, we had crept out the window and climbed down the chimney, which was not too high. While the Healer helped the soldier down, the rest of us did what we had agreed to earlier. I covered Ga-Nor, who was fortifying the door that led into the inn. It wouldn’t be good if we were caught unawares and lost our souls. Layen and Gis went to the stables. I hoped there would be enough horses for all of us. Otherwise things might get a bit unpleasant. I really didn’t want to leave anyone behind. Not even the Healer.

“It’s done,” said Ga-Nor as he returned. “I’m not sure it won’t be torn down if they all press against it.”

“I’ll try to be very far away by then. Luk, you all right?”

“I’ve never understood people who creep into other people’s houses through the windows.” He panted, trying to catch his breath. “Same with creeping out, mind you.”

“You just haven’t got a taste for it.”

Contrary to my expectations, he smiled and winked.

Gis ran up to us. “I need help saddling the horses. It’ll take too long with just the two of us.”

“Are there enough horses for all?” I asked with a transfixed heart.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s get going.”

The animals could sense the dead, and they were in a sweat and trembling lightly all over, but thank Melot they obeyed us. I got a black, barrel-chested monster that I immediately dubbed Stallion. The beast was calmer than the others, and this inspired confidence in me that I might actually remain seated on his back.

“Now what?” Layen asked the question that had been disturbing me.

“We must open the gates.”

“Brilliant, Luk! Can you do it?”

“I’m not so sure.” He licked his lips nervously. “Will you help us, Layen?”

“Me?”

“You know you can do it.” The soldier looked at her pleadingly. “Can’t a Walker clobber them with a spell?”

I saw Gis’s eyebrows go up.

“Who told you that I’m a Walker?” she asked, astonished.

“Well, or an Ember. Ga-Nor and I saw you send that hurricane at the Burnt Souls.”

Oh dear! Turned out our friends knew far more than we thought.

“You’re mistaken,” said Layen unexpectedly gently. “Unfortunately, I’m neither a Walker nor even an Ember. And there is no way I can help us. Do you think if there were anything I could do, we’d still be sitting here?”

“I think—” Shen began, but I cut him off.

I began speaking with the utmost conviction and composure. “The gates must be opened. I will do it. But if there are far too many of the dead there; they’ll pin us down and devour us right here. Along with the horses. They’ll let none escape. We need to divert their attention. I think we should divide into two groups and make our way to the city gates separately and by different paths. The first group will distract the ones trying to break in here. I hope that the creatures will chase after them. They’re not very smart.”

“The ones who gallop off first are risking a lot.” Gis thoughtfully stroked the face of his mare. “But it must be done. I’m with you, lad, and you’re lucky I know this little town so well. I’ll be able to lead you out.”

“I’m also with you,” volunteered Layen.

“No.”

“But—”

“No!” I interrupted. “You will be with Ga-Nor, Shen, and Luk. We’re not discussing this.”

My sun’s eyes flashed wickedly and she clenched her teeth in rage.

“I’ll go with you and Gis,” said the Healer unexpectedly. “You’ll need help.”

I hadn’t expected him to be so resolved.

“Good. That’s what we’ll do. Let’s not delay any longer.”

“Ness. We need to talk,” Layen called out to me.

We waited until the others had left the stable.

“What are you doing?” An entire lake of resentment lapped against the shores of her blue eyes.

“I’m trying to save your life. Don’t interrupt! Listen! You’ll be in greater danger with me than with them. Right now, Ga-Nor is more reliable than I am. And Luk, despite his frivolity, is not a man to mess with. I alone cannot defend you. Neither Gis nor Shen would be of any help, but only a burden. With the soldiers you have a chance to escape.”

“And what about you?” The corners of her lips fell down as she looked at the floor. “Do you have any chance?”

“I do. But you can’t be there.” I spoke the harsh truth. “Alone I will fly faster than the wind and defend only myself, without being distracted by anyone else. If you go with me and something happens, I can’t leave you. As a result, we’ll stay lost in this damned town forever.”

She knew it was so and understood that what I was suggesting would help us both to live.

“You’re right, even though I don’t like it.” She turned away, hiding her tears. “All I ask of you is that you don’t stop if the courier or the Healer need help. Recall the rule of the Giiyans.”

“I don’t intend to stop.” I hugged her. “Every man for himself. Everything will be fine. Keep close to the redhead. He won’t let you come to harm. Just get out. I’ll get out, too.”

“Hey, are you asleep in there?” An agitated Luk appeared. “It’s time. It’ll be dawn soon.”

“Let’s go,” I said, and then I kissed my wife and broke our embrace. “Be careful.”

“And you. Try to survive.”

“I’ll put all my efforts toward it.” I laughed. “Hey! Don’t be sad. Everything will be fine. You don’t really think I’d leave you for long, do you? If everything works out, we’ll meet outside the town gates.”

“And if it doesn’t? If something happens to you?”

I sighed. “We’ve gotten out of worse scrapes.”

“I had the Gift then. Right now I’m a helpless infant.”

“That’s why I want you to stay close to the northerner. You know that tribe…. But if I don’t manage to get out, don’t wait for me and don’t look for me. Go immediately to Al’sgara. We’ll meet at Nag and Leech’s place. If I haven’t appeared within a week after you arrive, take the money and sail to the Golden Mark. To Harog. Don’t wait for anything.”

“You’ll find me?”

“Of course. Wherever you may be.”

“Take care of yourself, Gray.”

“Take care of yourself, Weasel. Everything will be fine.”

We exited the stable side by side, leading our horses. Ga-Nor and Luk were already in their saddles. Layen touched her lips to my cheek one last time and went to them. I walked over to Gis and Shen, who were already standing by the gates. I gave Stallion into their care.

“I’ll be quick.”

“We have no time!”

“Wait! Damn you to the Abyss!”

They stopped arguing. I had one more unfinished piece of business. I needed to say something to the northerner. Seeing me walking toward him, he jumped off his horse. Tall, sinewy, morose. As reliable as a wall.

“As soon as we jump out, act, and no matter what happens, don’t pay us any attention. We’ll deal with it on our own.”

He nodded. “Good luck.”

“You too. Take care of my wife.”

“Don’t worry. Unlike Giiyans, my people have different rules. We don’t leave our own behind.”

“You really do have excellent hearing.” I chuckled.

For the time being I decided to forget about what else he might have heard.

“I can’t complain.” He was serious.

“If anything happens to her, it would be better for you if you died, too. Or else I’ll get to you, even from the Abyss. Do we understand each other?”

He looked into my eyes for a long moment and then gave a slight nod. “I’ll bring her through.”

Without saying another word, the redhead returned to his saddle. An amazing people, the northerners. They know that some people are complete bastards, but if they consider them their own, they’ll help them even to their own detriment. I could only be thankful for the fate that sent such a man to Layen and me.

I ran to the gate, which was shaking from blows. The latch was heavy, but I managed to lift it up in one motion. I kicked the halves open and dashed back, leaping into my saddle.

The halves separated, and the first of the dead began to stumble into the courtyard. I shouted and drove the heels of my boots into my horse’s sides.

The length of the courtyard allowed the horses to get enough speed for a respectable trot. Stallion was the first to crash into the corpses, scattering those who were hesitating with his broad chest and crushing a few others beneath his hooves. The scent of fresh blood and stupefying decay hit my nose. Grinning faces and glowing eyes flashed and then disappeared.

We broke through and rode down the dark street. The hunters of human flesh rushed behind us, empty-handed. I hoped that Ga-Nor, Layen, and Luk got out without any problems. I clung to the neck of my horse and didn’t even have to urge him on. The animal wanted to get as far away as possible from the dead.

Gis’s mare turned out to be a swift horse, and now the courier was galloping ahead, showing us the way. I remembered very little of this mad gallop. Impenetrable darkness, the rustling of shadows, dark silhouettes with green eyes, the blaze of fires that arose from who knows where. Three times our path was blocked, and three times we broke through. The last time, a corpse managed to cling to the courier’s stirrup, but he slashed at the undead with his broadsword.

When Gis suddenly reined in his horse, I saw that the street in front of us was blocked. A whole crowd of the dead was swarming around a house. Apparently, someone was still alive in there. One of the corpses saw us and rushed forward, forgetting all about the prey cowering behind the walls. After him came another three, and then the entire crowd swayed and began moving.

“Follow me!” Gis guided his horse into an alley.

I was afraid that Stallion would stumble and I’d come to my end right here, but Melot spared me. The wide-open city gates and a small torch-lit square appeared in front of us. Three riders on foaming horses flew out of a neighboring street, pursued by a few dozen undead. They didn’t look around and so they didn’t see us galloping toward the gates from the other side of the square. After a few seconds the people swept through the square and escaped from the town. My heart instantly became lighter. Layen had escaped the deadly trap. The dead didn’t even bother to give chase. The creatures rushed at us instead.

“Damn it!” Gis tugged at his reins, causing his horse to rear up on its hind legs. “We won’t get clear!”

He was right. The dead had completely blocked off the exit. I doubt we’d be able to break through even at a full gallop. In such a crowd the horses would lose their way and that would mean our death. We couldn’t hold out against so many adversaries.

“Is there another way out?” Shen was breathing as hard as his horse.

“Yes. Follow me!”

And again we had to zigzag through the streets to get away from the creatures that I no longer had the heart to call human. At one point I caught myself thinking that I’d ceased being afraid of them. It always happens when you’re afraid for too long. The fear burns itself out. There is a surfeit of fear. You no longer feel anything except for dull fatigue. I know how my words sound from the outside—far too casual. But you can get accustomed to anything. Even to throngs of the dead.

It seemed like we had ridden right through Bald Hollow. We took off into a dark lane, rode to the end without encountering anyone, and found ourselves in a large square that served as the local market.

The courier reined in his horse and began looking around.

“Where to now?” I asked.

“Quiet. Let me think.”

The sky was already getting light. Thin threads of mist glistened like silver in between the vacant wooden rows of the market stalls. The horses snorted and stepped from foot to foot.

“The river is close,” whispered Shen.

“So is the cemetery,” spat Gis. “We didn’t come out where I expected.”

“There’s no point in worrying. All the inhabitants of the cemetery are in the town now. And leaving by the river would give us a real chance of getting out of this pit.”

“Let’s try to avoid swimming. There’s a way through a field not far from here.” The courier urged his horse forward. “Follow me!”

I could have argued and risked going on alone, but I didn’t. The courier clearly knew where he was going. Not to mention that it was more likely we’d survive if we stuck together.

Back to the streets, back to the crowds of the undead. We raced on, paying no attention to anything. I followed immediately after the courier, and Shen was behind me. Sometimes we had to cut our way through. In these instances the might of the horses and Shen’s skeem helped. Fate took care of me; I did not fall, and no one pulled me off my horse or even grabbed at me. I don’t know who owned Stallion before, but he was a fine steed. If I survive, I’ll buy him a whole bag of oats. And I won’t begrudge him.

We zigzagged, swerved, doubled back, trying to shake the dead, who now and again pursued us, from our tail. At some point I realized that something had been bothering me for the last few minutes. I could no longer hear hoofbeats behind me. My blood went cold. I turned around in the saddle and saw nothing but a line of three of the undead straggling behind us.

Shen was lost. Whether he was delayed and missed a turn we’d taken, or something happened to his horse, or he was knocked out of his saddle, I didn’t know. In any case, he was no longer with us.

“Gis!” I shouted. “Shen fell behind!”

The courier nodded, indicating that he had heard, but he didn’t stop. He realized that it was useless to go looking for the lad in the dark streets teeming with the dead. We wouldn’t find him and we’d be lost ourselves. He’d either get out on his own or die; we no longer had any control over his destiny. My companion knew this just as well as I did, and so he did not even look back.

Was I sorry that the kid was gone? Yes, I dare say. Despite all his impudence and his nasty disposition, he wasn’t really all that bad. All in all, the Healer had saved Layen and me twice, so I hoped he had the luck to survive the night.

A short while later we broke out of the town and, driving our horses hard, we rushed away along a dusty road that led into hilly fields. Well, I was not mistaken about Gis. He really was capable of leading me out alive and unharmed. After galloping a bit more, we pulled in our reins and, standing up in the stirrups, looked back at Bald Hollow, which was wrapped up in the morning fog. If it weren’t for the fires, nothing would indicate the tragedy that had befallen the town.

“We can’t linger, man.” Gis’s face was glistening with sweat.

“Can we go around the town and get to the Al’sgara road?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” My companion shook his head. “Your friends are already far away. We’d need to catch up to them, and our horses are very tired. And I won’t risk going closer to Bald Hollow. We’ll make our way through the fields. I know the way. We’ll be in Al’sgara in five days. We’ll meet them there.”

“Do you think the lad managed to escape?”

“I really hope so.”

By his eyes I could tell that he simply didn’t want to upset me. Casting a final glance at Dabb’s Bald Hollow, I nodded at the courier, indicating that we should be on our way.