‘I will ensure that,’ said Frostback. ‘I have my eye on you, Van.’
The former mercenary officer tried to smile. ‘I only wish Sohul were here. He would have liked a new adventure.’
‘What happened to him?’ said Naxor. ‘And Silva? I don’t see her anywhere.’
‘They didn’t make it,’ said Van. ‘The waves took them.’
‘I know it’s not much consolation, but you’ll have me for company again. Back to the City, eh? I can hardly believe it.’
Belinda placed her palm onto the flat surface of the Sextant. Overhead, the sky seemed to swirl, and jagged forks of lightning tore through the air over Old Alea, growing in intensity with every second that passed.
‘Goodbye, Corthie,’ said Kelsey, then she, Van, Naxor and the three remaining dragons vanished in a harsh crackle of noise amid a smell of smoke and iron.
‘It’s done,’ said Belinda, opening her eyes. ‘Listen.’
‘I can’t hear anything,’ said Corthie.
‘Exactly. I have removed every survivor from the surface of Old Alea and transported them to the fields behind the Great Wall, where the Scythes used to live. Over forty thousand people, and a dozen dragons. I pray that Queen Emily forgives me when she finds out.’
Aila looked around. Only she, Corthie and Belinda remained in the yard. For all she knew, they might be the only people left alive in Tordue.
‘What now?’ said Corthie.
Belinda frowned. ‘In truth,’ she said, ‘I do not wish to return to the Star Continent. Despite the love I feel for you and Karalyn, I have always felt out of place there.’
‘But you can’t stay here,’ said Aila, as another fierce rumble shook the ground. At the other end of the yard, the eastern tower collapsed in an explosion of rubble and dust.
‘Vana was in there a few minutes ago,’ said Belinda, ‘but before you ask, Aila – yes, she’s safe. Your sister is back in the City with the others.’
The air shimmered a few yards away and Edmond appeared, Lord Bastion and four other gods by his side. Every one of them was clad from head to foot in steel armour, and they were wielding long swords.
‘Belinda,’ Edmond cried; ‘did you think you had seen the last of me? And now your dragon friends are gone, and so too is Kelsey Holdfast. Who will save you this time?’
The air shimmered again a few yards to Edmond’s left, and two armed ballistae appeared, each crewed by Banner soldiers.
‘If the Third Ascendant’s hand moves towards the Sextant,’ said Edmond; ‘bring her down.’
Corthie clutched his Clawhammer, while Aila looked around in vain for a weapon. Belinda was also unarmed, and Corthie pushed them both behind him. Aila’s eyes moved from the loaded ballistae to Edmond and his armoured gods. Belinda had no sword, and any attempt to use her death powers would be met with two ballista bolts. Edmond’s eyes were shining; he had them trapped, and he knew it.
‘Corthie,’ said Belinda, her right hand flexing, ‘tell Karalyn that I love her, and tell the Empress that I’m sorry.’
‘What?’ said Corthie. ‘No; tell her yourself.’
‘This is the end for me, my brother, but not for you and Aila. I’ve tried my hardest to be the best person I could be, and I know I didn’t do a very good job at times. Throughout it all, you stuck by me, and that means more to me than you’ll ever know.’
She pushed Aila out of the way and threw herself towards the Sextant, her hand slapping down on it as two ballista bolts sped through the air. The air around Aila shimmered, and the last thing she saw were the bolts piercing Belinda’s armour, a spray of blood, and the Ascendant’s body crashing to the ground.
Aila screamed, but it was lost in the silence and darkness.
Chapter 31
Dislocation
C olsbury Castle, Republic of the Holdings – 16th Day, Second Third Autumn 531
Darkness enveloped Corthie and he seemed to be floating. He had just seen Belinda struck down by a pair of yard-long steel ballista bolts, but before he had been able to react, the air around him had shifted. Panic began to grow within him, then the sky appeared above, a lightening sky with seven stars and no moon, and he fell to the ground, landing on a grassy slope by a lake. The impact winded him, and the Clawhammer slipped from his hands.
He lay on the grass, dazed, staring up at the sky. The light was growing above the steep mountains behind him, and the sky was beginning to turn blue. A chill wind rustled through his hair.
‘Corthie?’
He lifted his head, still groggy, and saw Aila a few yards from him. She was struggling to her feet on the grassy slope, trying to reach him. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his head.
‘That felt…’
‘…terrible,’ she finished for him; ‘like being hit over the head.’
‘Belinda,’ he said.
‘I know.’ Aila reached his side and sat down. ‘She did it for us. Look.’
She pointed down the hill. Near the bottom, where an unpaved road ran by the shore of the lake, the Sextant was lying on its side.
‘It must have rolled down the hill,’ she said. ‘Where are we?’
‘I don’t know, but do you see the stars?’
They glanced up. The seven stars were just visible in the darkest part of the sky, above the mountains on the other side of the lake.
‘I’m home,’ he said.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Aye, unless there are other worlds with only seven stars.’ He shook his head. ‘We need to get the Sextant working; we need to rescue Belinda.’
Aila glanced at him.
‘We can’t leave her.’
‘Oh, Corthie; she sacrificed herself to save us. I don’t think she had any intention of leaving Lostwell; she made her decision, and maybe we should respect that.’
‘I can’t,’ he said, getting to his feet, and slinging the Clawhammer over his shoulder.
He ran down the hillside, his boots slipping on the dewy grass, until he reached the Sextant. The hilt of the Weathervane was still poking out from the side, and Corthie placed his palm on the
