'General speaking!' shouted the commander. The silence became deeper. Darrick saw Selik saunter back on to the deck of the Ocean Elm.
'I am surprised, disappointed and disgusted to confirm that the Dordovans behind me are in full support of the Black Wings on the ship to my right.' He paused as a ripple ran through the company. He held up a hand and continued.
'As you are aware, our Council has agreed to support the Dordovan Council in its efforts to secure the child and return her to safe keeping. But clearly the desire has changed and instead the Dordovans have willingly delivered the child's mother, a Dordovan herself, into the hands of the Witch Hunters.
'We are not, therefore, being invited to retake the ship, and indeed our task has become one of defence of the vessel and its current incumbents.' Another pause but this time there was no sound. Izack would know what was coming. For many of the rest it was a hammer blow.
'I cannot speak for any of you on this because it is for the individual consciences of you all. You know what is happening to Balaia; the elements batter us and it is magic that drives them. We all accept that this must stop but the method is apparently not so clear.
'Here you face Dordover. Nominally our ally. Approaching are the Protectors, and Xetesk too has designs that we are, again nominally, opposed to.
'I say again, look to your morals and your consciences, think of your families and all that is important to you before deciding your actions. For myself, I cannot and will not countenance or support the scum aboard that vessel. I therefore resign my commission, my Generalship and my command of this cavalry and withdraw my support for the actions of the Lystenan and Dordovan Colleges. This makes me a traitor. Any of you that would arrest me now, I will make no protest. If not, I take my own path. Izack, you're in charge.'
Darrick put his heels to his horse and rode from the growing tumult, the tears already rolling down his cheeks.
'You up to this, Unknown?' asked Hirad as they ran for the dock-side.
'What?' The Unknown frowned.
'You know, dodgy sword, no armour. Hope you're feeling quick.'
'I'll get by. Just you mind your new pets.'
Hirad smiled. The wolves loped easily along beside him, while The Unknown ran the other side, with the two mages a pair behind them. The Raven could see the dock ahead as they came alongside the timber yard.
'I'll let Thraun know you called him that.'
'Fluent in wolfish, are you?' The Unknown grimaced suddenly and put a hand to his head. 'Gods, it's started.'
'Protectors?'
'Like echoes of war in my head. They're fighting,' affirmed The Unknown.
'Must be outside the town or we'd be hearing it. Go right at the dockside,' said Hirad.
The Unknown nodded and led The Raven around the corner. The wind was harsh and cold off the lake and the rain, which had begun falling as little more than a blown mist, was now heavy and well set. The Unknown had to be cold but he didn't show it. Hirad was feeling the chill across his face and wasn't looking forward to the sweat freezing on his body when they stopped. If they stopped.
No, when they stopped. In front of them was a mass of cavalry no further than a hundred yards distant. They were fanned out in front of what had to be the Ocean Elm and beyond them, dozens more torches flickering in the downpour indicated another force they couldn't really make out.
'That's Darrick's lot in front of us,' said The Unknown as they dived into shadow in the lee of the timber yard as much for shelter as obscurement.
'Is he defending that ship?' asked Hirad, peering out.
'Either that or stopping anyone else getting on,' said Ilkar. 'I can see him. He's addressing his men and judging by their reactions, they're not liking what they're hearing.'
Hirad watched Thraun and the pack. Initially, they'd run on but turned as The Raven stopped and now Thraun was padding in a loose circle around the pack, all of whom were on their feet, eyes fixed on the mass of horseflesh ahead of them.
'So what now? The wolves are getting edgy.'
'I can't understand why you brought them, Hirad,' said Denser.
'Tell you what, Xetesk man, you tell them not to come and see how far you get.'
'Quiet, you two,' said The Unknown. 'Save your bickering for later. We have to get to Darrick and warn him what's coming in. Let the Dordovans take the hit as I suspect they already have outside the town. Trouble is, I think that's Dordovan cavalry behind him and I think they'll be even less pleased to see us.'
'Never mind that,' said Denser. 'Erienne's on that ship and we need to get her off it.'
'Hence speak to the man whose cavalry is standing all around it.'
'Bugger that, Unknown,' snapped Denser. 'We don't need muscle on that scale, we need this.' He tapped the side of his head. 'Some well-positioned spells to panic them, Ilkar and I fly in, grab her and get out under smoke and night.'
The Unknown turned and looked Denser square in the face. 'That's why I make the plans. You're talking suicide. Do you really think the Black Wings aren't expecting something? Gods, there are probably sixty mages on the dock not counting you two. You don't know where she's being held or anything about their strength. We can't afford to precipitate anything that will get her harmed.'
'They are already harming her,' said Denser.
'Killed, then. If we are to attack it must be a surprise. We don't know enough. That's why I want to talk to Darrick. Look, Denser, I understand your desperation and we all want Erienne out of there as quickly as possible but now is not the time for folly. Now if you can think of a way to get us to Darrick without-'
'No need,' said Ilkar. 'He's coming this way. Alone.'
Even Thraun stopped his circling to stare.
Chapter 24
Ren'erei had ducked back behind a raised wooden jetty as riders had thundered past. She had watched, shivering violently, as a short exchange with Selik led to a deployment of the cavalry in what for all the world looked like a defensive formation. The riders weren't Black Wings, they were a College force of some sort. It scarcely mattered, merely adding to her confusion. She pulled herself up and ran hunched along the dockside until she was out of sight behind the fish market.
Moving silently along the wall, she made to jump some sacks of rubbish before seeing the white of flesh. She stopped and stooped. The man was dead, face down in the stinking sludge that filled the guttering designed to take fish offal back into the harbour. It was not a place to lie, dead or alive.
Ren'erei couldn't leave the man there and rolled him over to get a grip under his arms.
'Oh no,' she breathed. It was Donetsk. Grimly, she hefted the heavy body and dragged it slowly from the filth, Donetsk's steel-capped boots scraping over the cobbles, and pulled him on to the shingle slope that led back into the fishers' harbour. Better he be found somewhere clean, come the morning.
Tidying the man's coat, Ren'erei noted the single knife wound in his chest, the lack of any wounds on his face, neck or hands and reflected that he'd not been ready for the attack. There'd been no fight at all. Ren'erei placed two fingers over the wound and uttered a short prayer for peace in the next life. All small gestures, she knew, but the man deserved something as his body chilled and stiffened.
More horses were coming. The noise grew quickly from the east and Ren'erei flattened herself by Donetsk's body to watch. The sound of hooves, clashing metal and men's voices echoed around
the buildings and in the wan light thrown by torches, dark shadows grew as they neared. She recognised the insignia of the Dordovan College as the cavalry galloped by and heard them come to a stop by the Ocean Elm, though whether it was to converse with or confront the others she didn't know. She couldn't afford to wait and find out.
The cold wind would have mostly dried her by now but the rain fell instead. She looked up into the heavy
