'They have always existed in darkness, crawling along the edge of the light, envying it and fearing it.' She looked down so Church couldn't see her eyes. 'They were the worst of the old races. The Great Destroyers, leeching the heat of life, leaving only the cold of the void. Their corrupt power laid waste to all before them.'
There was an odd tone in her voice that filled him with a creeping dread. If the creatures were as powerful as she intimated, it didn't sound like all the mil itary might of humanity stood a chance against them. 'Then who are your people?' he asked.
When she looked up her face was filled with such sadness he winced. 'Most Glorious of the old races, known as the Golden Ones, Shining People of the Light, raised above all others.'
Suddenly Church could feel some of the pieces falling into place. 'Your people and the Night Walkers were on our world sometime in the distant past? And you interracted with humanity in some way-'
'We ruled peacefully until the Night Walkers came,' she said proudly. 'They defeated my people through trickery, not power, but only for a while. And when we struck back they fell before us and were made to pay for their deception.' Her flashing eyes were frightening in their intensity. Church knew he would not want to have her as an enemy.
But here was something that made Church give pause: an age-old story stitched into the very fabric of human understanding. Two immensely powerful races, one of the light, the other of the dark, opposing each other in a war that shook the world while humanity trembled beneath them. He wondered how this woman and the terrible creatures they had seen under the bridge and at the services must have seemed to the ancient people who first encountered them. It was hardly surprising they had resonated down the millennia in legends and race memories, spawning the archetypes that were buried deep in the human subconscious. Suddenly he felt on the edge of something monumental, transcendental; the source of everything that mattered to mankind. He felt humbled by it all. 'But where did you come from? Some other galaxy? A different planet?'
Her expression suggested she didn't seem able to comprehend what he was saying. 'We came from the Far Lands.'
'The Far Lands?'
She nodded. 'And after the Covenant was forged, in the days of sorrow and joy that followed the second great battle, we returned to the Far Lands once more. The Night Walkers accepted their bleak purgatories beneath the lakes and seas. As victors, we occupied all that remained, the cloud-topped mountains, the thick, dark forests, the lush fields. We returned to our courts glittering with wonders.'
'And you left our world behind?'
'That was the Covenant.'
'And now it's been broken. But then your people could help us! You have the power to-'
'The Night Walkers unleashed the Wish-Hex.' There was fire in her voice. 'My brethren were swept away. A few of us escaped, to places like this, or to your world. Some were tainted by the Night Walkers.' Whatever this meant, it seemed to fill her with horror.
'And the rest?'
'In some empty place beyond the land, hidden from all our searching, prisoners-
'Isn't there anything that can be done?' he asked passionately.
She smiled at his display of emotion. 'That is why you are here, Jack Churchill.'
'What can I do?' It seemed such a ridiculous question he had trouble restraining the self-contempt in his voice, but he instinctively knew she would not accept any disrespect.
'You are not yet in tune with your heritage. When you find your true heart, the strength to act will come with it. Yet it is true, even then the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons would not have the power to defeat the Night Walkers alone. Yet you do have the power to free my people-'
'How?'
11 — given the right calling, given the correct conjunction of important things. And that is your task, Jack Churchill, should you accept my patronage. Indeed, it is your destiny, and if truth be told, you have little choice in the matter. Assemble the five Brothers and Sisters of Dragons who are one in spirit, the quincunx that make the hero foretold by the Faithi, who will save the Age of Man from the final threat. Locate the objects of power that will make the summoning.'
'This is all moving too fast. I don't understand-' Church's right hand began to shake uncontrollably and he had to replace the goblet on the table; he couldn't tell if it was the weight of her words that had triggered the violent tremor or his subconscious rebellion at the threat of what lay ahead if he did as she said.
'Tell me,' he said, staring off into space, 'those things I saw in the rooms-'
'They will come to pass.'
'Even if I refuse to take part in this?'
'They will come to pass.'
Church could still see his pale, dead face submerged in the water, his torment as he watched the burning city, and it seemed whatever life stretched ahead was bleak and despairing; but then, was that any different to the days since Marianne had died? Deep within him, something stirred; if he knew his burden, he would shoulder it as best he could, and if he could do some good for others then that would be enough. The woman was smiling as if she could sense his thoughts. 'I'll do what I can,' he said.
'The fire burns strong within you, Jack Churchill, though you cannot see it yourself.'
He sighed. 'I wish I could say that gave me some comfort.'
He was surprised when the woman took his hand and wrapped her own around it, even more surprised when he felt some strange succour from the act; his heartbeat subsided, the stress seeped from his muscles, his shoulders relaxed gradually. Her voice, when she began speaking, was quieter than before, as if she were afraid the walls would overhear the secrets she was about to reveal. Church looked into her eyes, entranced.
'When my people first came to your land, they brought with them four objects of the most remarkable strangeness and power. They were touchstones for my people, prized above all else, celebrating our origins and our power, the culmination of our great tradition. Though our beginnings are lost to time, for we are an ancient race, the Filid tell of our days in four marvellous cities of the northland: Falias, Gorias, Finias and Murias. There, buildings of glass and gold soared to the clouds; the days were filled with glory, the nights with wonder. There, we learned magic, craft and knowledge, became aware of the weft and weave of nature and, eventually, transcended our humble beginnings to become gods. When we ventured abroad, we took a talisman from each of the magical cities so we would never forget our transformation and grow arrogant in our power. And finally, for we are a nomadic people, our journeying brought us to your land.'
There was a sadness in her smile as she recounted her tale; the heart of her melancholy, Church guessed, lay in whatever had encouraged her people to leave paradise, for having seen heaven, how could they truly know peace again? 'And you want me to find these four talismans?'
She nodded slowly. 'They will be like a candle in the night, leading my people across the void.'
'What are they?' Church asked.
'There is a stone which can recognise the true king of your land. The sword of our great war leader, which inflicts only a fatal blow. The Spear of the Lord of the Sun, forever exalted as the slayer of the Adversary, bringer of victory over the Night Walkers. And finally, and most importantly, the Cauldron of our Allfather, an object filled with such power to heal or destroy that few can survive in its presence.
'When we left your land for our new home, the talismans were hidden, for we knew the Night Walkers envied them and we could not risk them falling into their hands. And by then the talismens were too tied to the land to take with us,' she continued. 'The Night Walkers would never have been able to use them, for they would have been consumed by the light the talismans contained, but they were such a vital part of my people's tradition and pride that they were my people. And to see them in the hands of the enemy would have been more than we could bear.'
Something stirred deep in Church's memory at her description of the artefacts, but the details wouldn't come forth. 'A stone, a sword, a spear and a cauldron. They seem familiar.'
'They have played important roles in the history of your land. Found, then lost again, they have been used to shape momentous events by some of the most consequential mortals to walk your world. Indeed, they are now as much a part of your tradition and pride as mine. They have become infused with the very essence of your world. And that is why only the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons can find them.' She paused as a shadow flickered across her face; in that moment, Church had the sense that she was something more than just the woman he saw before
