you?’
‘I’ll cope with it, Quinn.’ She was much more worried about facing the people she’d wronged. But it was too late now.
‘Good. But I think Serrah might have had a problem with it.’
‘What?’ She focused on him.
‘Serrah. She didn’t like-’
‘Oh, yes. Of course. I don’t suppose she would.’
They resumed their journey.
‘There are several other entrances.’ Disglierio jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. ‘Makes getting out in an emergency much easier. The tunnels themselves are a good defence, too. Easy to get lost if you don’t know them; and there are chambers that flood.’
They twisted and turned more times than she could count. The sloping tunnel they followed was above head height and unlit. Its floor and walls were smooth from the eternity of flowing water that had carved them. There was a musky, earthy smell she found faintly unpleasant.
Eventually the going got lighter. The tunnels now had glamour orbs and flaming brands fastened to their walls, and as Tanalvah and Disgleirio moved deeper into the tunnel system the nature of their surroundings changed. The drabness began to give way to unexpected colour. Veins of yellow, red, purple and green patterned the rock.
They passed through passages wide and narrow, and in and out of caverns, some vast, housing eerie rock formations. They negotiated forests of stalagmites and stalactites. Tanalvah saw no evidence of the bodies supposedly deposited in ancient times, although Disgleirio assured her that there were plenty.
Soon they heard the distant clatter of habitation and the echoing sound of voices.
Where tunnels crossed they glimpsed people at the end of passageways; men and women engaged in chores, running messages, carrying barrels and crates. There was a distinct sense of buzzing activity.
At last they came to the entrance of a massive underground chamber, its roof so high it was hidden in shadows. A number of passages ran off from the cavern, and scores of people bustled in and out. They scaled mountains of provisions or polished the blades in well-stocked racks. At dozens of benches they fashioned weapons and stitched clothing, while children circulated with water pails, and there were dogs and pigs running loose. Braziers and torches were scattered everywhere. In the centre of the chamber, in a large natural pit, a generous fire was burning, making the atmosphere smoky and pungent with the smell of sweet woods. The aroma of roasting meat mingled with it.
‘You look anything but happy, Tan,’ Disgleirio told her as they entered. ‘What’s up?’
‘Do I? I suppose it’s all been a bit of a shock. Meeting you like that, being brought here.’
‘You’re safe now. You’ll be taken care of. And if it’s Teg and Lirrin you’re worried about, don’t be. We’ll look after them, too. You’re among friends again, Tan.’
‘Friends,’ she repeated quietly.
‘Yes. Friends who’ll be very happy to see you.’
She made no reply.
‘I’ll be just a minute,’ he said, smiling.
He moved off, leaving her standing at the edge of the milling crowd.
Tanalvah was aware of everyone staring; some tactfully, others with open curiosity. One or two faces looked familiar, but most were strangers to her. She wondered how many had lost loved ones.
It was hard to shake off the feeling that they knew what she’d done. That they could somehow gaze into the depths of her soul and see her foul secret. She began to breathe hard. Her head was swimming and she didn’t know where to look to avoid their probing eyes.
‘Tanalvah!’
Disgleirio was heading back, but it wasn’t him who greeted her. An older man walked beside him, and it took a moment for her to realise who it was. Bringing up the rear was a mature woman Tanalvah had no trouble recognising.
‘Tanalvah,’ the old man repeated, approaching with arms outspread.
‘Patrician,’ she whispered.
‘It’s plain Karr these days,’ he responded, enfolding her in a hug. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am Quinn found you, my dear. We were beginning to think we’d never see you again.’
‘So was I.’ She tried not to go completely rigid in his arms.
She was shocked. He was thinner and drawn, and what hair he had left was even whiter, if that were possible. His back was bent and his skin looked unnaturally ashen. A distinguished, sprightly politician the last time she saw him, Dulian Karr had mutated into a pallid shadow of his former self. The illness had taken a heavy toll.
Tanalvah corrected herself. She had taken the toll.
‘Make room for me.’ The woman accompanying him came forward, and likewise embraced Tanalvah, planting a smiling kiss on her cheek. It was an unusual show of affection from Karr’s closest aide.
‘Goyter,’ Tanalvah said. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘And it’s wonderful to see you, Tan.’
The woman’s appearance was little changed. Goyter remained strapping for her age, and her face had kept its no-nonsense set even while she smiled. She wore her hair in a bun. It was greyer than Tanalvah remembered, and perhaps there were a few more stress lines on her brow, but otherwise she hadn’t altered.
‘We have so much to tell you,’ Goyter went on. ‘And you must have a hell of a story for us.’
‘You wouldn’t believe it.’
‘Look at you,’ Goyter exclaimed, taking a step back and surveying Tanalvah’s ripe figure. ‘You must be due soon.’
‘Not too long.’
‘You’re well, are you, Tan?’ Karr wanted to know. ‘No problems with the baby? And the children? Are they fit, and safe?’
‘Everything’s fine.’
He swept an arm to indicate the cavern. ‘Well, what do you think? The United Revolutionary Council, what’s left of it, wound up in a graveyard. A fitting symbol for the state of the Resistance, some might say.’
‘It’s so…unusual.’
‘True it’s not much, but it’s home. And a graveyard seems like a good place to stage a resurrection.’
‘A resurrection?’
‘The girl doesn’t want to hear all that,’ Goyter interrupted. ‘Can’t you see she needs rest?’
Karr seemed stricken. ‘Forgive me, Tan. We have a lot of catching up to do, but it can wait until later.’ He smiled and took her arm. ‘Come on, we have a bed for you.’
Disgleirio had stood apart while the exchange took place. Now Goyter looked to him. ‘Quinn, what happened to your hand?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ The grubby makeshift bandage was bunched, revealing angry blisters. ‘I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for Tanalvah.’
‘Really?’ Karr said.
‘She was very brave, Dulian. I owe her my life.’
‘That’s our Tan,’ Goyter announced admiringly.
They all turned their smiles on her.
Tears rolled down Tanalvah’s cheeks. Her shoulders heaved. She covered her face and gave way to sobbing.
‘It’s only natural,’ Goyter cooed, moving forward to comfort her. ‘You’ve been through so much you’re bound to feel low. But it’s over now. You’re back with your family.’
Tanalvah continued to weep uncontrollably.
Up above, the first flakes of snow were dusting the frozen ground.
