Moccasined feet landed beside her. A knife grip was thrust into her hand. 'Take yourself once I'm done! Here it comes!'
Teeth clenched, Lostara Yil twisted around.
The Semk demon was ten paces away, huge and unstoppable. Pearl crouched between them, holding knives that dripped red fire. Lostara knew he considered himself already dead.
The thing that suddenly closed from the demon's left was a nightmare. Black, three-limbed, a jutting shoulder blade like a cowl behind a long-necked head, a grinning jaw crowded with fangs, and a single, flat black eye that glistened wetly.
Even more terrifying was the humanoid figure that sat behind that shoulder blade, its face a mocking mimicry of the beast it rode, the lips peeled back to reveal daggerlike fangs as long as a toddler's fingers, its lone eye flashing.
The apparition struck the Semk demon like a runaway armoured wagon. The single forelimb snapped forward to plunge deep into the demon's belly, then pulled back in an explosion of spurting fluids. Clenched in that forelimb's grip was something that radiated fury in palpable waves. The air went icy.
Pearl backed away until his heels struck Lostara, then he reached down one hand, eyes still on the scene, and gripped her weapon harness.
The Semk's body seemed to fold in on itself as it staggered back. The apparition reared, still clutching the fleshy, dripping object.
Its rider made a grab for it, but the creature hissed, twisting to keep it out of his reach. Instead it flung the object away into the mists.
The Semk stumbled after it.
The apparition's long head swung to face Lostara and Pearl with that ghastly grin.
'Thank you,' Pearl whispered.
A portal blossomed around them.
Lostara blinked up at a dull, ash-laden sky. There was no sound but their breathing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
An exquisite match of dog to master, the Wickan cattle-dog is a vicious, unpredictable breed, compact yet powerful, though by far its most notable characteristic is its stubborn will.
Ilem Trauth
As Duiker strode between the large, spacious tents, a chorus of shouts erupted ahead. A moment later one of the Wickan dogs appeared, head low, a surging rush of muscle, heading straight for the historian.
Duiker fumbled for his sword, already knowing it was far too late. At the last instant the huge animal dodged lithely around him, and the historian saw that it held in its mouth a lapdog, its eyes dark pools of terror.
The cattle-dog ran on, slipping between two tents and disappearing from sight.
Ahead of the historian, a number of figures appeared, armed with large rocks and — bizarrely — Kanese parasols. One and all, they were dressed as if about to attend a royal function, although in their expressions Duiker saw raw fury.
'You there!' one yelled imperiously. 'Old man! Did you see a mad hound just now?'
'I saw a running cattle-dog, aye,' the historian quietly replied.
'With a rare Hengese roach dog in its mouth?'
A
The nobles grew quiet as gazes focused on Duiker.
'A foolish time for humour, old man,' the spokesman growled. He was younger than the others, his honey- coloured skin and large eyes denoting his Quon Talian lineage. He was lean, with the physical assurance of a duellist — the identification confirmed by the basket-hiked rapier at his belt. Moreover, there was something in the man's eyes that suggested to Duiker that here was someone who enjoyed killing.
The man approached, his walk becoming a swagger. 'An apology, peasant — though I'll grant it won't save you from a beating, at least you'll stay breathing …'
A horseman approached from behind at a canter.
Duiker saw the duellist's eyes dart over the historian's shoulder.
Corporal List reined in, ignoring the nobleman. 'My apologies, sir,' he said. 'I was delayed at the smithy. Where is your horse?'
'With the main herd,' Duiker replied. 'A day off for the poor beast — long overdue.'
For a young man of low rank, List managed an impressive expression of cold regard as he finally looked down at the nobleman. 'If we arrive late, sir,' he said to Duiker, 'Coltaine will demand an explanation.'
The historian addressed the nobleman. 'Are we done here?'
The man gave a curt nod. 'For now,' he said.
Escorted by the corporal, Duiker resumed his journey through the nobles' camp. When they had gone a dozen paces, List leaned over his saddle. 'Alar looked ready to call you out, Historian.'
'He's known, then? Alar.'
'Pullyk Alar-'
'How unfortunate for him.'
List grinned.
They came to a central clearing in the encampment and discovered a whipping underway. The short, wide man with the leather cat-tail in one heat-bloated hand was familiar. The victim was a servant. Three other servants stood off to one side, their eyes averted. A few other noble-born stood nearby, gathered around a weeping woman and voicing murmurs of consolation.
Lenestro's gold-brocaded cloak had lost some of its brilliant sheen, and in his red-faced frenzy as he swung the cat-tail he looked like a frothing ape performing the traditional King's Mirror farce at a village fair.
'I see the nobles are pleased by the return of their servant-folk,' List said dryly.
'I suspect this has more to do with a snatched lapdog,' the historian muttered. 'In any case, this stops now.'
The corporal glanced over. 'He'll simply resume it later, sir.'
Duiker said nothing.
'Who would steal a lapdog?' List wondered, staying alongside the historian as he approached Lenestro.
'Who wouldn't? We've water but we're still hungry. In any case, one of the Wickan cattle-dogs thought it up before the rest of us — to our collective embarrassment.'
'I blame preoccupation, sir.'
Lenestro noted their approach and paused his whipping, his breath loud as a bellows.
Ignoring the nobleman, Duiker went to the servant. The man was old, down on his elbows and knees, hands held protectively behind his head. Red welts rode his knuckles, his neck and down the length of his bony back. Beneath the ruin were the tracks of older scars. A jewel-studded leash with a broken collar lay in the dust beside him.
'Not your business, Historian,' Lenestro snapped.
'These servants stood a Tithansi charge at Sekala,' Duiker said. 'That defence helped to keep your head on your shoulders, Lenestro.'
'Coltaine stole property!' the nobleman squealed. 'The Council so judged him, the fine has been issued!'
'Issued,' List said, 'and duly pissed on.'
Lenestro wheeled on the corporal, raised his whip.
'A warning,' Duiker said, straightening. 'Striking a soldier of the Seventh — or, for that matter, his horse — will see you hung.'
