and Kell followed again, a whirr of punches coming faster than any drunk should be able; Saark ducked, shifted his weight, then slammed a right hook to Kell's jaw that rocked the big warrior.
Kell halted, and stared hard at Saark.
'Have you come to your senses?' snapped Saark.
'Ha, no, well done boy,' he rubbed his jaw, 'a fine punch. Let's see some more.' He launched at Saark, arms grappling around Saark's own and pinning them to his sides. Together, they crashed through the cottage door reducing it to tinder, and landed in the snow with 'oofs' of exploded air. Saark wriggled, the dead weight of Kell atop him, and a stunning blow caught the side of his head, blinding him for a moment, then another cracked his nose and that made Saark good and angry and he felt his fangs ease free and talons slide from fingers and with a scream he heaved Kell aside and leapt up, talons slashing for Kell's throat, but Kell took a step back, swaying, and lifted his fists. 'Yes lad! Come on! Show me what this pretty dandy's made of!'
They circled in the snow, Nienna hanging at the doorway, panting. Both men were wary now, eyes shining. Snow fell thick around them, and the whole scene was surreal to Nienna, muffled, silent, as if she was seeing it in a dream, or from the bottom of a frozen lake…
' Stop, ' she begged, wearily.
Again, they ignored her. Saark attacked, aiming punches for Kell who swayed, the punches missing him. Kell's boot lashed out, catching Saark in the stomach, but Saark turned the blow into a backward leap, and he flipped, somersaulting to land on his feet, fists raised.
'A pretty trick, boy-lover. You left a piss-trail of perfume droplets in your wake.'
'Funny, because despite the perfume I can smell your stale whiskey and bad sweat from here.'
Kell growled, and charged, and Saark leapt over him, flipping again to land in the snow.
'Damn you, stand still and be battered!'
'No, Kell, I don't want to fight you! Don't you understand? There are enough fucking enemies out there to last us a thousand lifetimes! And you want to play here in the snow like little kids?'
'Little kids, is it?' growled Kell, and charged again. Saark leapt high, but Kell was ready, jumping himself with a grunt and catching Saark's legs. He swung Saark like a slab of beef, and the dandy hit the snow hard, head slapping trampled ice, all air smashed from him. Kell put one knee on Saark's chest, and one great hand around his throat. With his free fist, he punched Saark with a crunch, and glared down with lips working soundlessly, anger his mistress.
Nienna ran inside the cottage, and curled her hands around Ilanna. The weapon was cool to the touch, and perfectly smooth, like ice. Nienna lifted the axe, the huge axe, with ease. It was surprisingly light.
I have missed you, came the words in her head, and Nienna jumped. She nearly let go of the weapon, but for Saark wriggling around under Kell and returning punches to the great man's head.
Saark grabbed Kell's balls and squeezed hard. Kell howled, rolling to one side, and Saark scrambled free across the snow, but Kell lunged, catching the vachine's ankle and dragging him back -
Claws hissed through the air.
Nienna blinked. Am I dreaming? she thought, mind in a swirl of severed lust, fear and now, wonder.
No. I am Ilanna. I am Kell's axe. Do you remember, back in the Stone Lion Woods? I saved your life, but at the time thought you were too young to shock with my… thoughts. Now, I see, you are a much harder woman. I congratulate you.
If only everybody thought so, dreamed Nienna. She took a step towards the door. Kell and Saark were exchanging punches once more. Saark's newly accelerated vachine status was proving a match even for Kell, and both wore bruised and battered faces like horror masks.
I've missed you, said Ilanna, voice soft and sweet.
What does that mean?
We worked together. In the past. It was a good union. One day soon, we will speak again.
Confused, Nienna stepped out into the snow. 'Stop!' she screamed, and held the huge battleaxe above her head. Ilanna gleamed dull, matt black, an awesome sight to behold. 'Stop this foolishness! I demand it!'
Kell and Saark paused. Blood dribbled from the edge of Saark's mouth, and one of his brass vachine fangs had snapped. Kell had a blackened eye and blood coming from his nose. He looked superbly pissed off.
Kell gave a sudden laugh, a bark, and lowered his fists. 'Whatever you say, granddaughter. I think I gave this popinjay a pasting.'
'You think so, old man?' scowled Saark. 'I've had grandmothers give me harder blow jobs.'
Kell lifted his fists again.
'STOP!' screamed Nienna. 'What is wrong with you? Saark, you idiot, stop provoking him! And Kell, what's your problem? One sniff of whiskey and you turn into an uncontrollable beast.'
That stopped Kell in his tracks, and he rubbed his beard, and lowered his head, a little in shame, a little in guilt. 'Yes,' he mumbled, and then looked up again. 'Give me the axe.'
'Why?'
'Because she is mine.'
Nienna chewed her lip. She nearly spoke. Nearly said it – that Ilanna had talked to her. But part of her thought it was nothing more than a hallucination brought on by stress, or lack of sleep; part of her thought that maybe she was a little crazy.
Nienna stepped forward, and Kell took the huge weapon. He stared at it thoughtfully, then over at Saark. Saark slowly lowered his fists, paling. Kell wasn't called a vachine hunter for nothing.
'Now wait a minute, Big Man,' he said.
'Ach, calm yourself, dickhead. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead.' He gestured with Ilanna, pointing towards Saark's chest with the blade tips. His voice lowered to a bestial rumble. 'But I promise you this, lad. If you lay another finger on Nienna, I'll cut your dirty vachine head from your fucking vachine neck. Understand?'
'I understand.'
'And this time, it's a fucking promise, lad.'
'Acknowledged.'
Kell lowered the weapon, strode to Saark, and threw his arm around the man's shoulders. 'But by all the gods, you've got bloody handier with those clockwork fists, so you have! I haven't had a black eye in thirty years!'
'Wonderful,' said Saark, mouth dry.
'This calls for a drink! Nienna, bring out the flagons.'
'Over my dead body,' said Nienna, scowling.
Kell shrugged. 'Was only a suggestion, was all. Let's have some soup, then – and talk about happier times gone by!'
'I remember my father hanging himself,' said Saark, voice cold, testing his broken brass fang with his thumb and wincing.
'You always know how to put a pisser on it, don't you lad?' He slapped him, hard. 'Come on. I'll tell you about when I lost my first bout of single combat.'
'You lost in single combat?' said Saark, raising his eyebrows.
'No lad, of course I didn't. I'm just trying to cheer you up.'
'It's big,' said Saark, lying on his belly and staring down into the valley. 'No. I'll rephrase that. It's a monster.'
The Black Pike Mines.
Originally built by King Searlan to house the worst and most violent criminals in Falanor, it also became a repository for the Blacklipper smugglers – who, by definition, had probably caused murder in order to get their casks of Karakan Red.
There was a gap in the mountains, and the Black Pike Mines had been built into the gap, the front wall merging seamlessly with near-vertical walls of jagged mountain rock. However, to simply call it a mine or a prison was misleading; this was a fortress. The staggered front walls were a sort of keep, and the prison stepped back into the V of an inaccessible, impregnable mountain valley. There was no back door, and only sheer smooth black granite walls for those who wanted to get in – or out. It would take an army to enter the prison mine, and that was the idea. When King Searlan built a prison, he intended his criminals to stay put.
Behind the defendable battlement walls were rows of cells carved into the mountain itself, fitted with black
