The Shadow's heir

“Sire!” He spat the word. “Don’t mock me, Laela.”

Laela started in fright. “I wasn’t mockin’ yeh, Sire, I was only askin’-”

He was breathing strangely. “I have a name. Arenadd. That’s my name. So call me that. Let me be a man, not a King.”

Laela had backed away, but now she dared move closer. “Arenadd?”

He calmed down. “That’s better.”

“Who was she, then, Arenadd? This woman yeh loved.”

Arenadd looked at the tomb again, and shuddered. “Who was she? Just a woman I loved. I’ve had lovers since she died, but I never loved any of them. There was only ever one woman for me. Just her, just Skade. And my lovers all died. My touch killed them. It took longer for some of them, but in the end. . it was me, you see. My curse. I am the Master of Death. All I know how to do is kill. I can never create.”

“Yeh made a Kingdom,” said Laela.

“Oh yes.” He snorted. “My precious Kingdom. All I do day in and day out is care for it. It gives me a reason to. . live.”

“At least yeh got a reason,” said Laela, trying to sound upbeat. “Plenty of people ain’t.”

He didn’t seem to be listening. “I killed Aled a few days ago, like I said I would.”

Laela shivered. “Yeh did?”

Arenadd nodded. “I sacrificed him on the night of the Blood Moon. Gods, I forgot how much I missed killing. You know-d’you know. .” He had begun to sway. “D’you know. . when you. . when it’s the Blood Moon, when the sacrifice is made, it summons the Night God. It did last time, before the war. That was when she told me who I really was.”

Laela gaped. “It what?”

“Summons the Night God.” Arenadd nodded unsteadily. “The blood brings her. I’d been. . been planning for it a long time. I wanted to ask her things, and I knew when the Blood Moon came, I could do it. When she came, she told me. . told me. .”

“What did she tell yeh, S-Arenadd?”

Arenadd rubbed his eyes. “She told me she wants me to invade the South.”

Laela bit her lip. “She wants. .”

“Invade the South,” Arenadd repeated. “She. . she’s my master. She always knows what I should do. And Saeddryn wants me to do it, too. It’s not enough to take back the North. If we attack while they’re in disarray, take advantage of it, we could take the whole of Cymria for ourselves. For the Night God. My power-and Skandar’s-could do it.”

Laela felt sick. Images flooded her mind, images of Northern warriors in Sturrick, burning the houses and slaughtering everyone in the village. She thought of the Dark Lord’s armies, carrying destruction into all the city- states until there wasn’t a single Southerner left in the country. And she thought of the Dark Lord himself, riding Skandar into battle-the dark griffin unleashing his magic and visiting death on anyone in his way.

“Yeh can’t do it!” she burst out, unable to stop herself. “The people-all them ordinary people-in the country, just tryin’ to keep their farms goin’-what’d happen to ’em? An’ everyone else, too. .”

Arenadd grimaced. “Yes. But. . sweet shadows, to fight again. . I haven’t gone into battle in such a long time, and gods I miss it. I haven’t felt so alive since then.”

“But yeh’ve got yeh Kingdom here, ain’t yeh?” said Laela. “Ain’t it enough?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” said Arenadd. “Laela, the Night God is my master. I must do what she tells me. If I don’t, she could do terrible things to me. You don’t know how powerful she is. She has my soul. She owns me. Without her, I wouldn’t exist. How can I disobey her?”

“I. . I dunno,” Laela stammered.

“And besides. .” Arenadd turned back to look at the tomb. “I know what happens when I hesitate. When I falter. If I had killed the Bastard’s sister as the Night God told me to, instead of holding back, then Skade would still be alive. She killed her, you see.”

“Who?” said Laela.

“I was ordered to kill her,” said Arenadd. “The Night God told me that there were three people I must kill. One was the Bastard-Erian Rannagonson. I killed him in the Sun Temple, the poor fool. After that, I had to kill his sister as well. . Flell, her name was. But when I found her, she was trying to defend her child from me-a child I was also ordered to kill. I didn’t want to do it. I hesitated. Skade attacked her instead, and she killed her. Killed her in the same room you’re staying in now.” He looked up. “But that was my punishment, you see. The price I paid. If I hadn’t held back, if I’d only obeyed the Night God, then Skade would be here with me now.”

The sick feeling in Laela’s stomach increased. “What’ll happen if yeh don’t invade the South?”

Arenadd looked her in the eye. “The Night God will take away my powers,” he said.

“Do yeh need them, though?” said Laela. “If yer only runnin’ a Kingdom. .”

He gave a hollow laugh. “I need them. And my Kingdom needs them.”

“Then. . are yeh gonna do it?” Laela asked in defeated tones.

Arenadd looked away. “I met with the council today and Saeddryn petitioned me to invade. So did Iorwerth. The entire damn Kingdom wants me to do it.”

“What did yeh tell ’em?” said Laela.

He looked at her again. “I told them no.”

Laela stopped. “‘No’?”

“I refused the petition,” said Arenadd. “The gods alone know why. Maybe I’ve turned into a coward over the years, but going to war again. .” He shook his head. “I can’t do it. I won’t do it. It isn’t what the Kingdom needs. It isn’t what I need. Truth be told, I’d rather try and engage in trade negotiations with the South. Not that I’ve got the spine to say that in front of the council.”

Laela hid a grin. “Yeh ain’t gonna do it, then.”

“No.” Arenadd touched the statue again. “Ah, what would Skade say if she were here? She’d say I’d lost my nerve.”

“No, she wouldn’t,” said Laela.

“Oh, she would have,” said Arenadd. “She always chose fighting, Skade did.” He smiled wistfully.

“She’d be proud of yeh,” said Laela.

Arenadd gave her a look that was almost pitiful. “Would she?”

“Yeah,” said Laela.

He became serious. “Listen, Laela. An ambassador from Amoran is coming here soon. I haven’t told anyone yet, but he’s coming here to talk to me about my going to Amoran to speak with the Emperor himself.”

“Yer goin’ to Amoran?” said Laela. “Ye gods, isn’t that over the sea?”

“Yes. Skandar and I will both be going. Do you want to come with us?”

Laela stared at him. “What? Go to Amoran?”

“Yes.”

There was a long silence.

“Why?” Laela said at last.

He smiled that crooked, joyless smile. “I’ll be a long way from home. I wouldn’t mind having a friend with me.”

Laela backed away from him. “We ain’t friends.”

He started as if she had slapped him, and then his eyes narrowed. “But we could be. D’you. .” He lurched and grabbed onto the tomb to support himself. “Don’t you know why I saved you? Why I looked after you? Why I like spending time with you?”

She wanted to run away. “Why?”

He grinned manically. “You remind me of myself. That’s why. And the more time I spend with you, the more I feel it.”

Laela snapped. “I ain’t like you. I ain’t nothing like you.”

He turned his back on her. “Hah. Who’d want to be like me, anyway? Of course you don’t. Go, Laela. Just go. Leave me.”

Laela stared at him a moment longer and stumbled away.