Return of the Crimson Guard

smashing down into it.

The wall of thunder slowly faded. Small pieces of burning debris fell about like intermittent rain. Carefully, amazed by the mere fact of her continued life, Shimmer pushed herself upright. She weaved, clutched at her side where the bolt emerged obscenely. Without daring to stop to think about what she meant to do, she took hold with all her strength and yanked it out. The white-hot resistance of her own flesh drove her to her knees again. All about, men and women, citizens and Guardsmen, were standing, peering about amazed. A pale white ash began to fall from the swelling churning cloud. It drifted thickly like tattered feathers and covered everything as if in a layer of down. ‘The harbour,’ Shimmer croaked and kicked the nearest Guard. ‘Smoky!’

‘Aye…’ A ghost-like shape beneath a blanket of ash stirred to life, sat up.

‘What in Hood's Own Shade was that?’

Dark eyes in a white mask blinked to life. He stood, shook his kinky hair raising a cloud of dust. ‘I think that was maybe the greatest natural explosion ever yet set off by humans.’

‘I've never seen anything like it.’

‘No. Nor will we ever again, I expect.’

‘Gods on earthy she breathed amazed. ‘We better get out of here before these Untan fools decide we did it. They'll tear us limb from limb.’

Smoky glanced around at the ash-cloaked figures dazedly stirring to life and wandering aimlessly: a city of ghosts awakening. He blinked owlishly. ‘I expect you're right…’

‘Move out, Guardsmen!’

Greymane did not witness the actual explosion. He'd been looking away, scanning for activity among the anchored Malazan man-o-wars, when the light suddenly changed — a great white flash threw his shadow across the deck and punched shouts of amazement and alarm from the men on the vessel. When he turned to look the light was gone. In its place rose an immense cloud of smoke that swelled even as he watched, billowing and burgeoning over the city. All across the waterfront great knots of birds scattered, wheeling their panic. While Greymane stared a wave seemed to pass over the city, bursting tiled rooftops, toppling spires, racing outward from the blast until it reached the waterfront. He had a moment to yell, ‘Brace yourselves!’ as it jumped the intervening water of the harbour, frothing the calm surface as it charged. Then it struck the vessel, tearing away half-lowered sails like paper and batting the ship like a toy. The thunderclap was so loud it deadened Greymane's ears, leaving him insensible of any sounds; men's mouths moved and equipment fell but no sound reached him. His first thought was: so ends the Guard. Obliterated by Laseen in one titanic explosion. But the blast seemed to have originated much farther inland from the fires marking the fighting. He'd have to make sure.

He righted a man, waved to the wharf and the sweeps. Then the ship shuddered again. He spun; men pointed to the deck — there gaped a smoking hole that hadn't existed a moment ago. Burn's Mercy — and how many leagues away was that explosion? A moment later a sailor came up from below carrying a pot. It held a piece of rock still hot to the touch. A shard of scorched building stone. Greymane waved the staring men to the sweeps. There must be some survivors, but he feared the worst.

They passed only one other vessel underway — an old scow merchantman, alarmingly low in the water, sails hanging in shreds, deck a mess of tossed gear, with its wiry, grey-haired Napan captain bellowing scalding invective at his scrambling crew. Greymane was surprised by the name gouged in the rotting wood of the bow; he didn't think anyone would've dared use the name Ragstopper after the career of its predecessor, pirate admiral, lieutenant of Laseen then known as Surly, and brother of Urko — Cartharon Crust.

But the mystery of the Ragstopper had to wait, for crewmen pointed to the wharf, shouting their amazement. There, massed like an army of shades, waited the surviving Guardsmen. Even as the ship closed more came marching down thoroughfares, surrounded by citizens, weapons held ready, though none attacked. Rather, an unofficial truce seemed to have been agreed upon — perhaps so long as it was obvious that the Guard wanted nothing more than to get away, and the citizens were more than happy to prod them along. All appeared shocked numb by the monumental explosion, while the unearthly white ash that rained down rendered all alike: uniformly pale ghosts, and everyone uniformly eerily silent.

Greymane supervised the loading of the survivors and there found Shimmer, carried on a tabletop serving as a litter, attended by Avowed mages Smoky, Lor-sinn and Shell. ‘Take us west,’ she gasped, pale with lost blood, long hair sweat-matted to her face.

‘Skinner?’

She waved him on. ‘He'll find us.’

The last Guardsman to step from the stone wharf was an Avowed named Black. Water dripped from him as he stood scanning the gathering crowd of Untan citizenry that edged ever closer, yelling obscenities. A few pieces of broken litter flew.

‘We have to go!’ Greymane shouted.

Reluctantly, limping, the man abandoned the wharf. Rocks, broken tiles, offal and vegetables now pelted down upon them as the crowd roared, some even jeering their scorn. Greymane ordered double-time on the sweeps, called to Black, ‘What is it?’

‘Nothing. You didn't happen — there the bastards are!’ Pointing, the Avowed threw himself to the railing, almost falling out of the ship.

There, low in the water under a pier, a small crew in a launch waved farewell. Greymane recognized the harbour guard. One of them, a skinny pox-faced fellow, stood and bared his arse to them until the heavyset woman in armour next to him kicked him into the water. The crowd howled their appreciation.

‘I swear to Hood I'll find you!’ Black was yelling as the open water grew between them. ‘I swear!’

When the ship came alongside the harbour mole they found it lined by fist-waving youths. The Guard oared from the harbour accompanied by distant taunts and thrown trash. At the side of the trailing vessel Greymane watched the gesturing youths. His thoughts turned to the Guard and its vow. How could they hope to free a citizenry from their rulers when they so obviously did not wish to be freed? The Guard seemed to have outlived its relevance. Though it did seem from the intelligence they'd gleaned so far that elsewhere the move to end Imperial rule had come very far indeed. From Shimmer's orders to go west he assumed the Avowed intended to link up with that movement. Yet he was troubled. His experience with political power told him that no vacuum would long endure. With what, he wondered, did this secessionist movement — or the Avowed for that matter — intend to replace Imperial rule?

The next day, escorted by a guard of fifty Malazan regulars, Empress Laseen surveyed the damage of the eruption of the Imperial Arsenal. She picked her way through the still smoking scoured bare dirt of the blast crater, greater than a stone's throw across, where once the Arsenal and surrounding buildings had stood. Havva Gulen paced at her side. ‘Could have been worse,’ the mage said, hands clasped at the front of her broad stomach.

Laseen shook her head. ‘I'm thinking that it should have been much worse.’

‘Oh?’

The Empress continued on ahead of the High Mage, kicked at the pulverized ground. ‘It was impressive, yes. But more of the city should've been destroyed. The Arsenal couldn't have been half-full.’

‘Really? The Guard, you think?’

‘Possibly. This whole incident could've been nothing more than a raid to collect munitions — or to simply deplete ours.’

‘Alarming strategic thinking on their part, if that be the case.’

‘Yes. And no sign of K'azz?’

‘No. Skinner seemed to be in charge.’

Laseen took up a handful of the blackened, burnt soil, sifted it through her fingers. ‘Skinner. Not known for his subtlety.’

‘No. However,’ and Havva paused, as if unsure whether to continue.

Facing away, Laseen asked, tiredly, ‘Yes?’

‘They say Greymane was seen with them at the harbour.’

‘Greymane?’ She straightened. ‘Really? Greymane…’ She scanned the wreckage but her mind was obviously far away. She nodded to herself.

‘Yes,’ Havva said. ‘The one place he must've thought himself safe from everyone.’ She gave a deep belly-