Sentinelspire

Chapter Fourteen

'Xalicth found Sauk where she thought she would-on the mountainside, sitting cross-legged before a small fire. He often came up here when he wanted to be alone. The large outcropping of bare rock was around the north face of Sentinelspire, well out of sight of the Fortress in its secluded canyon. The broken cone of the mountain rose behind, and before them spread the Endless Wastes. Hundreds of miles of steppe.

The wind off the mountain whipped her heavy cloak in front of her and tossed her hair in front of her face. She was glad for the cloak. Early spring as it was, the wind at this height still held a chill, and her cheeks were soon raw and flushed.

The chill did not seem to bother Sauk. The half-orc sat naked except for a loincloth. His long hair was unbound, and the breeze tossed it over his shoulders. The stiff wind made the fire's meager flames struggle for life, but Sauk was close enough to the fire that his broad back kept off the worst of the breeze. As she came around to stand before him, she saw that the druid's relic, the Three Hearts, lay discarded on the dusty stone beside him. A huge knife lay upon his lap, and blood tinged its edge. The old scar that ran from his hairline down his forehead and left cheek oozed fresh blood. Some of it had dripped and dried on his chest. She knew he was aware of her, had been so for some time, but his gaze never shifted off the horizon.

"Where is Taaki?" she asked.

"And a good morning to you, too," said Sauk, still not looking at her. "How is she?"

"Her eye is gone. How do you think she is?"

"I am sorry, Sauk. We will find a healer for her. I swear it. Once this business is done, Taaki will have both her eyes again."

Sauk sat in silence, still not looking at her. She let him brood. When he had brought his band and their sole captive back to the Fortress two nights ago, she had never seen him in such a mood. He had beaten one of her personal guards and would have likely killed the man had she not stopped him. All because the man had looked at him in a way Sauk didn't like.

"Why are you here, Talieth?" said Sauk.

"Our captive is being dealt with."

"You came all this way to tell me something I already know?"

Talieth's jaw clenched. She hugged her cloak about her and followed Sauk's gaze out to the horizon. On a clear day, one could see the Firepeaks some two hundred miles to the north. But today they were nothing more than a smudge of dark haze on the horizon. The remains of the storm, most likely. Or perhaps the Firepeaks were oozing steam again.

"I need to hear the words from your mouth," she said at last.

"Kheil is dead," said Sauk, and the flatness of his tone, the utter lack of any emotion, shocked her.

"You said that once before." She looked at Sauk, all the weight of her station bearing down upon him. But it didn't seem to bother him.

"My brother died in the Yuirwood nine years ago," said Sauk. "Your vision dared me to hope otherwise. I now know that hope was false. Kheil is dead."

She pointed at the naked blade on his lap. "Then why this? Why cut your luzal unba? "

Talieth knew of this particular tradition of Sauk's orc clan. She'd been there nine years ago when he'd cut it the first time. When a warrior lost a family member, he cur a scar over his face in remembrance, from the crown of his head to his cheek. The wound bled profusely, even running into the eye like tears, symbolizing both death and grief. Ever afterward, the mourner would gaze through the scar of his grief.

"The first cut was for my brother's death," said Sauk. "This one is to remind me."

"My scrying does not lie," said Talieth. "I saw Kheil. Older and changed, but it was him."

"You saw the body, the face. The spirit we knew and loved is gone. Nine years gone. The one you saw calls himself Berun now. He killed two of my blades and tried to kill me. That was not my brother."

"And this… Berun. You saw him die. You are certain?"

A look of annoyance passed over Sauk's face, but he still did not lift his gaze from the horizon. "I saw the earth rise and take form. A great earth spirit swallowed Berun before going back into the ground. Unless the bastard found a way to breathe mud, he's dead."

"So you said nine years ago."

Sauk looked up then, only his eyes moving, but she saw every muscle in his body tense. "Tell me, Talieth. Are you calling me a liar or a fool?"

"Neither," said Talieth, holding his gaze. "I am telling you that Kheil-"

"Berun."

"Kheil escaped death once before. You said the earth rose to swallow him. A strange thing. A rogue earth spirit? Perhaps. They dwell in the Shalhoond. And far worse things haunt the Khopet-Dag. But I wonder…"

"What?" said Sauk. His eyes narrowed. The fury he held in check, and Talieth could see curiosity burning in his eyes.

"I have heard it said that druids can accomplish such things," said Talieth. "You wouldn't know of any meddlesome druids about, would you, Sauk? Any who might have reason to keep… Berun alive?"

Sauk blinked and dropped his gaze. In his present mood, that was an expression of true shock. "You're saying-"

"I'm saying it would be foolish to underestimate our opponent. This is not a game we can afford to lose."

"If… if he survived, why can't you scry him? Use your… whatever you do, to find him?"

Talieth looked to the horizon. "Don't think I haven't tried. If he is out there, his presence is hidden from me."

"Perhaps because he is dead?"

"Or perhaps because whatever-or whomever-came to his aid is able to hide him from me."

Sauk thought a moment, then said, "This is possible?"

"Possible?" said Talieth. "Yes. Likely? No. But many damned unlikely things have happened of late, have they not?"

Sauk nodded and sighed. "I will be ready."

"Speaking of which, have you been able to glean anything?" She gestured toward the Three Hearts.

"Nothing," said Sauk. "I serve the Beastlord. My communion is the hunt. This relic"-Sauk shuddered, and a hint of sneer passed over his face — "it sings of growing things and deep secrets. I do not like it. I will continue to pry at it if you wish, but I don't hold much hope."

A tremor shook the mountain. Nothing more than a slight vibration at their feet, but it was enough to set stones rattling down the mountain and bring a shower of dirt and grit down upon them.

Talieth wiped the dust from her eyes and picked up the relic. "We have no time for you to fumble your way through the relic's secrets."

"Where are you taking it?" Sauk called after her.

"To someone else," she said, and strode away.