‘I did all those things; you’re right. I believed I was indestructible. I’m not.’
‘No one is.’
‘Aye, but you would survive an arrow through your heart; I wouldn’t. If I get killed, then I would be leaving Aila forever, and our child would have no father. I don’t fear death for my sake; I fear it for theirs.’
‘If everyone felt that way, then no one would resist tyranny.’
‘In the last two years, I’ve done more than my fair share of resisting tyranny. When does it end?’
‘When there are no more tyrants.’
‘Never, in other words. I’ll never be free.’
‘You are the greatest mortal warrior who has ever lived; it is a blessing, but also a curse.’
Corthie smiled. ‘All I’m feeling at the moment is the curse, not the blessing.’
The cabin door opened before Silva could reply and Naxor staggered in. He tried to close the door but his hand slipped and he nearly fell over. He started to laugh as Silva got up and pushed the door shut.
‘Oops,’ he giggled.
‘Are you drunk?’ said Silva, taking her seat again.
‘I might be a little tipsy.’
She scowled at him. ‘Use your self-healing.’
‘No, thank you; I’d rather remain drunk.’
‘It is unbecoming for a demigod to be inebriated in public.’
Naxor pulled a face at her then collapsed onto a bed. He rolled, and then propped himself up on a couple of pillows. His hands rummaged around in a pocket, and he pulled a pack of cigarettes out.
‘You’re not supposed to smoke in here,’ said Silva.
‘I don’t care,’ he said, lighting a cigarette. He blew smoke at Silva and Corthie, then started laughing again.
Silva glanced at Corthie.
‘I’m not getting involved,’ he said. ‘I’m in no position to lecture anyone about getting drunk.’
Naxor pointed a finger at him. ‘Those are the truest words I’ve heard you say in quite a while.’ He withdrew a hip flask from another pocket and offered it to Corthie. ‘Go on, have a drink.’
‘Thanks, but not if we have to board another ship before dawn.’
‘Suit yourself,’ Naxor said. ‘You might change your mind once you’ve heard my news. It’s bad; all of it is bad. Belinda has betrayed us.’
‘Impossible,’ snapped Silva.
‘She has finally turned to the Ascendants,’ Naxor said, smoke drifting up around his head. ‘Word has, this very day, reached the authorities in Cape Armour, demigods using their vision to communicate, sending their little messages here and there, and spying. They’ll be looking for us right now; they might even have found us.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Corthie.
Naxor stared at them, his eyes wide. ‘They know.’
‘Know what?’
‘Everything.’ He shook his head, his demeanour changing from drunken joy to despair. ‘They know that you’re alive, for a start, and that you left Kin Dai on a ship. If that wasn’t bad enough, they know that I’m travelling with you, and that I hold some very precious information inside this head of mine. Oh yes; information that the Ascendants would love to get their hands on; information that would allow them to find the City. It’s so obvious. Somewhere in my memory is the action I perform with my fingers when I operate the Quadrant. That’s all they need. I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me. I thought that only a Quadrant that had been to the City would do, but no; they can get it out of me, and they know it.’
The cabin fell into silence.
Naxor glanced at Silva. ‘They know about you too, of course, but they don’t care. You don’t interest them in the slightest.’
‘This is bad news,’ she said, ‘but what does it have to do with the Queen?’
‘She must have cracked under pressure,’ he said. ‘Belinda’s heart was never with us; she’s one of them; an Ascendant. She must have told them everything.’
‘There’s another obvious answer,’ said Corthie; ‘Vana. What if Vana’s been captured? She wasn’t in Capston.’
Naxor raised an eyebrow. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Corthie; ‘maybe because you’re so obsessed with the idea that Belinda hates you, that you think she’d betray us?’
‘She does hate him,’ said Silva, ‘but not that much. If what you suggest is true, Corthie, then her Majesty could be in mortal danger. If it was Lady Vana who, willingly or not, supplied this information to the Ascendants, then Queen Belinda’s position will have been compromised. The Sixth and Seventh Ascendants will know that she has not been truthful with them.’
‘I still think it’s more likely to have been Belinda,’ said Naxor. ‘Either way, this is bad.’
‘Who did you read to find this out?’ said Corthie.
‘Someone on the Count’s inner council. The gods in Alea Tanton want the locals here to notify them if they see us. I assume they’ve sent the same message to every corner of Khatanax.’
‘Then you were right to ask me to stay in the cabin. Bollocks. What are we going to do?’
Naxor shrugged. ‘Hide?’
‘Ignore him, Corthie,’ said Silva. ‘We stick to the plan – we go straight to Alea Tanton. The Queen needs our help more than ever.’
‘Or,’ said Naxor, ‘she’s waiting for us to arrive so she can have us arrested. We’d be sailing into a trap.’
Silva glared at him. ‘I do not believe that is the case.’
‘Maybe so, but it’s quite a risk to take. I supported you in Capston, but now? Count me out.’
Corthie frowned. ‘Silva, when is Belinda due to contact you?’
‘It’s usually around sunset.’
He glanced out of the porthole at the darkening sky. ‘We haven’t long to wait. That’s what we’ll do; we’ll wait and see what Belinda says.’
Naxor shook his head. ‘That’s idiotic. Do you think she’s likely to confess that she’s betrayed us? Don’t you get it? If I’m captured, the Ascendants will have all they need to invade my world. As soon as Belinda makes contact with Silva, they’ll be able to pinpoint our location, and they could be here within seconds.’
‘Her Majesty
