line on him, every curve that made up his perfectly balanced frame would have been patiently formed by the heating and folding and cooling of metal until his body was strong but sprung. His electromuscles would have been knit from the finest wire, his eyes ground by the most skilled lensmen. It was said that the Vestal Virgins modified the minds of the Warriors of the Silent City, tuning them to make faster and better fighters, but Wa-Ka-Mo-Do suspected that to be nothing more than rumour.
‘Did you make that body yourself?’ asked Dar-Ell-Ji-Larriah, insulting Wa-Ka-Mo-Do in the politest of tones.
‘I did,’ replied Wa-Ka-Mo-Do, equally politely. He waved a hand again to the free seats. ‘Now, will you join us? For we are both of equal rank and protocol suggests that it would be unbecoming for warriors to fight so close to the Silent City, particularly on a day such as this when the cherry blossom is so beautiful.’
Dar-Ell-Ji-Larriah laughed as he turned to his companion in the corridor.
‘The cherry blossom is indeed beautiful! And it is also said that the Eleven Warriors place greater value on poetry than they do on fighting!’
‘No,’ said Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. ‘Equal value.’
A look of anger flickered across Dar-Ell-Ji-Larriah’s face.
‘I wonder if it is appropriate for you to contradict me before an inferior?’
‘Jai-Lyn is my travelling companion, and therefore our equal, at least for the length of the journey.’
Jai-Lyn looked frightened.
‘Oh warriors, please do not speak of me in such terms…’
She hesitated at the noise from outside. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do and the other warriors heard it too. A shout, a clamour and a clatter of metal. The sound of robots moving, disembarking, the sharp crackle of hurriedly shouted orders. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do leaned out of the door to see that a group of robots had entered the station and were ordering everyone off the train.
‘The Silent Wind,’ said Dar-Ell-Ji-Larriah in wonder. ‘What are they doing here?’
Where the Emperor’s Warriors advertised their strength and power in the polish and decoration of their strong bodies, the Silent Wind were panelled in dull grey and green. They wrapped oiled silk around their joints and rubbed carbon black on their hands and feet where metal showed. They moved through the station unchallenged, the polished crowd parting like tree branches blown by the wind.
One of them approached Wa-Ka-Mo-Do’s compartment.
‘Disembark. This train has been commandeered for the Emperor’s business.’
The words were spoken with quiet authority.
Jai-Lyn was already moving to leave the train. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do put an arm at her elbow to halt her.
‘Wait,’ he said, holding out the metal foil scroll that declared his status and right to passage. ‘I too am on the Emperor’s business.’
The Silent Warrior pushed it back.
‘That is none of my concern, this train is required immediately.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do looked down at the matt-grey hand, looked up into the eyes of the warrior.
‘Come along, Jai-Lyn,’ he announced. ‘We shall leave now.’
Dar-Ell-Ji-Larriah and his companion were already making their way onto the platform. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do and Jai-Lyn followed them out into the blossom-filled daylight.
All around, the station was filled with angry, confused and bewildered passengers. It was rapidly emptying of the Silent Warriors, who slipped on board the waiting train. At the end of the platform, Wa-Ka-Mo-Do could see two more of the Silent Wind climbing into the control cabin. The regular driver stood on the platform, looking confused.
The doors of the train closed, and it accelerated rapidly from the station in a swirl of cherry blossom.
‘What’s happening?’ wondered Jai-Lyn.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do jumped at the amplified sound of her voice, then turned his ears back down to normal level. He had been listening to the conversations around him. For the moment he said nothing, thinking on what he had heard. One of the Silent Wind had mentioned the word softly as he climbed on board the train. He had heard the name echoed from around the station.
Ell.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do wondered what it meant. Ell was a city somewhere to the south, only a hundred miles from Sangrel, the place where he himself was headed.
Ell. Something had happened in Ell.
Kavan and Calor walked south.
The landscape here twisted around itself, the valleys curling around the rolling green hills, their rocky interiors exposed in cross section by ancient quarries dug by long-forgotten robots. There were paths and roads made by robots that had roamed the countryside hundreds of years ago in search of metal with which to make their children. Occasionally Kavan and Calor passed by an old stone shelter or pile of stones or some other marker.
‘We are being watched,’ said Calor. ‘Two Scouts on the hilltops. Not that experienced, you can see the sunlight reflect from their bodies.’
‘I’ve seen them,’ replied Kavan. ‘I wonder if they’re watching the Storm Trooper ahead.’
The stone path they followed was rising up to the head of a valley.
A black figure stood in the middle of the path, six grey infantry-robots behind him. He held up a hand as Kavan approached.
‘Greetings, Kavan.’
‘Hello Tams. My army marches south. Join us.’
Tams searched back along the path.
‘No, Tams. Here she is.’ He pointed to Calor.
Tams seemed disappointed.
‘A bluff, Kavan. A pity, seeing how times have changed. Spoole himself is coming north. We are to escort you to meet him. You’re a hero now, Kavan.’
‘Artemis has no heroes, Tams. That I am declared one goes to show just how hollow a shell Artemis has become. You must realize that?’ He looked at the other robot, seeking acknowledgement. When none came, he continued, ‘I’m raising my last army to march on Artemis City itself.’
‘No, Kavan.’
The voice came from behind him. He turned to see five more Storm Troopers standing there, rifles pointed at the ground.
‘Sorry, Kavan,’ said Calor. ‘I didn’t see them. Maybe I’m not so experienced either.’
‘Everyone underestimates how quietly Storm Troopers can move when they want to,’ said Kavan loudly. ‘Don’t they, Forban? We fought together in Stark, I think. You served with me in the last battle in the North Kingdom.’
‘I did, Kavan.’
Forban’s rifle remained pointed at the ground, but it could easily be swung in Kavan’s direction. Kavan pretended not to notice.
‘You are a true Artemisian, Forban. I wouldn’t expect you to follow Spoole and the rest. Join my army.’
‘You no longer have an army, Kavan. The battle with the North Kingdom was a battle too far. Barely fifty robots survived the final onslaught. Too many Artemisians were melted in the petrol pits…’
‘Their metal will be recovered,’ interrupted Kavan. ‘The battle ended in victory.’
‘Too many minds were lost,’ said Forban. ‘It’s over, Kavan. Now that Artemis controls all of Shull, it’s a time for consolidation, not conquest. You were a great leader when we were expanding, but your job is done. We need robots like Spoole to lead us now. Fall in, Kavan, we march to meet him.’
Forban waved a hand. The grey infantryrobots shouldered their rifles and fell into position.
‘What if I refuse to follow?’ asked Kavan.
‘We pick you up and carry you.’ Behind Forban, the other four Storm Troopers had shouldered their rifles and were marching up the stone path to join their companions. ‘If you continue to fight, I will have your mind removed
