What you’ve always said I am. I will not die that way. I will choose. You will not push me.’
‘Takaar,’ said Auum quietly, kneeling beside him. ‘He poisons you. Look into your heart and your soul. Your people need you. I need you.’
Takaar stared at him. ‘Of course you would say that. And he says you poison me. I’m travelling with two people and neither of you is speaking the truth.’
‘The difference is that I am not forcing you to go anywhere. What you do is your choice, what you believe. One of us appears to be encouraging your suicide. Why would someone do that unless they wanted to do you harm?’
‘But I deserve to die,’ said Takaar, his face earnest, his hands pressed hard together. ‘I am a betrayer, a coward.’
Auum fought for the right words. ‘You spent your whole life in the service of Yniss and the elves of every thread. You saved countless lives. The peace of a millennium is your doing. You are no betrayer.’
‘But I am a coward. I ran. Tens of thousands died. You know. You were there.’
‘I know that, without you, the death toll would have been far greater. I know that, without you, we would have cracked and run twenty years before we did.’
Takaar put a hand to Auum’s cheek. ‘You are kind. But I can hear them from here. And they hate me. All of them. Why do the other TaiGethen not come close?’
Auum paused. They were less than five miles from the camp but certainly not within earshot. Other TaiGethen were moving towards the muster but Auum had chosen a path that would avoid all of them.
‘The TaiGethen respect your need for peace as you travel. As do I. None will approach unless you ask it. And the Ynissul await you. They hold hate but it is not for you. It is for those who have committed crimes against them in Ysundeneth these past days. Your coming will give them faith that they can return to their lives.’
Takaar shook his head. ‘I cannot carry that burden. I don’t want their faith. Yes, you’re right. Hate is easier to face. Hate does not require courage and broad shoulders. I know. I shouldn’t have come. I will not lead.’
Auum filtered Takaar’s words for those he assumed to be directed at him. ‘No one will expect you to lead. But come. See the plight of your people. Advise us. Then go if you want to. Surely you still love those who live under the guidance of Yniss? Even if they do profess hate, which the Ynissul do not.’
‘I cannot face so many. The smell of people that close. The crying of their souls. It will hurt my ears.’
Auum held out a hand. ‘I am TaiGethen. And I will protect you, Takaar. In your heart you know you can trust me. Please. Come and look. Do that for your brothers and sisters.’
‘He doesn’t force me. His hand is held out to aid me. It is not to bind me. Stop. Your words are meaningless. There is no cliff from which to jump. I will go a little further. Then we shall see.’
Takaar reached out and grasped Auum’s hand, pulling himself upright.
‘I will not let you down.’
‘I used to say that too,’ said Takaar.
Auum trotted off in a northerly direction, looking to come to the camp via the old western trail. There would be none of it left now of course, but the ground was sure and it was unlikely they’d be seen by any but the outward scouts until they were close to their destination.
The first of the morning rains began to fall. A sharp downpour that rattled and cascaded off the canopy. Tual’s denizens were in full voice above. Birds and mammals, lizards and frogs providing a stunning backing to Gyal’s tears. Auum knew he should have been proud to have brought Takaar this far but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had not done enough work on the fallen hero’s fragile emotional state. He found himself anxious when he imagined their entrance into the camp. Funny thing. In the time before he found Takaar, he had seen faces full of hope, cheering and smiles. Strength and purpose and determination. Too often in the latter days, his visions were of disdain, disappointment and sadness. Shrugged shoulders, tears of desperation and the fading of last hope.
Auum shook his head. The rain helped to clear his mind and he upped his pace. Takaar was in his shadow, moving with that effortlessness that Auum did not understand. It had something to do with his closeness to the lines of energy he could sense in the earth. Auum wondered if all the TaiGethen shouldn’t spend a decade alone with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their weapons and the bounty of the rainforest. To survive, to learn and to become genuinely one with the land they were sworn to protect. A thrill swept through him. To be alone. No priest, no Tai cell.
Takaar heard the voices of the Ynissul before Auum. His hearing was extraordinary. Auum doubted there was a beast in the forest with a keener sense. Takaar had put his hand on Auum’s shoulder and the two of them stopped, crouching in deep undergrowth along the banks of a stream that bordered the camp on two sides.
‘Some are bathing,’ said Takaar. ‘And there is much chatter in the camp. Plainly they are not pressed by our enemies.’
‘Men are scared of the forest,’ said Auum. ‘They cannot pierce it and they don’t understand it.’
‘Don’t be so sure. If what I felt from the city is an extension of their power, they might come into the canopy with fresh impetus and powerful weapons. We cannot afford to be taken by surprise.’
‘With Katyett leading us, that won’t happen. And now you’re here too.’
Auum looked across at Takaar and his heart fell. He had been worried that the sound of voices might trigger the perverse response that had followed his swim from the boat. This was almost as bad. Takaar’s hands were fidgeting. He scratched at his palms, rubbed his hands together, cleaned under his nails, laced and unlaced his fingers. His eyes were hooded and his face was crawling with nervousness.
‘Of course I can’t go in there. It isn’t fear of what they will say. It isn’t. I knew you’d imply that. I need to prepare. To be ready to face so many after so long alone.’ He looked at Auum, the relief of a reason on his face. ‘That’s it. I need to prepare.’
‘Takaar, I don’t think we have time for-’
‘Get down,’ hissed Takaar
Takaar grabbed Auum’s shoulder and the two of them lay prone. Not far to their right, a matter of a few yards, a mage melted into view. Other humans moved up around him. There were nine in all, moving with impressive quiet and with an easy stride. These were not ordinary soldiers nor yet like those Auum had met near Takaar’s hiding place. They were headed towards the stream and the sounds of bathing, thence to the camp.
Auum made to move after them but found Takaar’s hand keeping him still. Auum looked at Takaar. The nervousness was gone and in his eyes was all the focus of old combat back on Hausolis.
‘They are too many, too well spread and too skilled. Follow but do not strike yet. They mean to uncover the whereabouts of the Ynissul. We can’t allow them to escape with that knowledge.’
‘They’ll kill those at the stream,’ whispered Auum.
‘In all things there is a price. Don’t quiz me on why I know that so well.’ One of them managed to scream but it was cut off abruptly. Katyett flew to her feet, her blades in her hands, and tore through the camp, hurdling Ynissul civilians. Every head had turned towards the desperate terrified sound.
‘Tai, with me. Pelyn bring ten. Spread a line across the edge of the canopy. Marack, Faleen, guard our rear. We’re attacked.’
Katyett raced past the last of the dormitories. Behind her, her TaiGethen were ringing the camp and spreading through the fearful civilians. Eighty stood with her now. And fifteen Silent Priests. The muster was all but complete.
She entered the canopy and slowed. Merrat and Grafyrre were at her shoulders. She indicated: spread out. Her eyes adjusted instantly to the light conditions and she searched the undergrowth for signs of disturbance. The scream had come from the stream. Either the bathing area or a little upstream where water was gathered. A look right and back told her Marack and Faleen were on station. Pelyn would already have set her line. Hers was the blade most itching for fresh action. It was why Katyett had not allowed her back into the city. Pelyn was prey to thoughts of revenge and, good as she was, she didn’t have the speed or the skill of a TaiGethen.
The foliage here was not as dense as in much of the forest. The stream wound a slow course east to west and had gentle sides where vegetation grew and overhung the water, giving cover to any of Tual’s denizens who chose to use it. But on the water’s edge there was a silt bank, wide from countless years of deposits as the stream rounded a wide bend.
Anyone who stood there was exposed. Katyett cursed herself that she had been too trusting of human incompetence. Either that or someone had been followed back from the city when they had cut down the murdered forty.
