Destroyer of Worlds

1

Caitlin had slipped into unconsciousness. Laying her still form on the rocky ground in the tunnel mouth, Mallory prepared for what he fully expected to be his last fight. He had heard enough about the ferocity of the Brothers and Sisters of Spiders to know he stood little chance of defeating the four of them on horseback.

'Sheathe your sword,' Etain said in a low, grating voice. 'Ryan Veitch sent us back to this dismal place to give you whatever aid we could.'

Mallory tried to read her dead face, but even looking beneath two thousand years of scars and burning it was impossible to read any emotion in her features. 'I thought you couldn't talk,' he said.

'Here, in the Grim Lands, amongst our own kind, we are at home.' Her voice suddenly came alive with a shocking bitterness. 'We are allowed some small comforts to endure this place.'

Branwen climbed down from her mount and approached in a jerky manner, as if consciously forcing her limbs to move. 'Let me help the Sister of Dragons.'

Reluctant at first, Mallory eventually allowed her to treat Caitlin's wounds with herbal creams from a bag at her waist, which she applied liberally until the blood flow stopped. 'I tended Ryan Veitch's wounds many times across the great gulf of the years,' she said. 'He cared for us when we were abandoned by all, and we cared for him.' She swivelled her head creakily towards Etain. 'Some more than others.'

'I don't trust you,' Mallory said. 'I heard how you helped Veitch kill all those Brothers and Sisters of Dragons-'

'We were Brothers and Sisters of Dragons before we sided with the Army of the Ten Billion Spiders,' Etain interrupted. 'Indeed, we were the very first to carry the Pendragon Spirit into your lineage.'

'We followed Ryan Veitch wherever he led, even into the ranks of the Devourer of All Things,' said Owein, his muscular, thick-set frame badly scarred. 'He would have died for us. We were his only friends.'

Mallory didn't think it wise to point out how tragically pathetic it was that a man could only count a bunch of dead things as friends. Instead, he searched for some sign of the direction Callow had taken. 'If you're here to help, we need, firstly, to get away from here as quickly as possible because I have this sickening feeling that even a collection of George Romero extras are not going to be able to stop the thing on our trail. And secondly, to find the bastard who did that to Caitlin and took the Wayfinder. '

How long would Callow wait before he decided to destroy the lamp and Hal? A while, he guessed. Callow was cowardly and would want to put a lot of distance between himself and Mallory in case the dead were only a temporary setback.

Tannis, who had a warrior's build and a leader's demeanour, said chillingly, 'Nothing escapes us.'

'Then let's get moving. I want my hands around Callow's throat and I want it now.'

With Caitlin's arms tied around Tannis's chest to prevent her slipping, and with Mallory behind Etain, they set off into the mist. After a mile or so, a gentle, stony incline gave way to a steaming, foul-smelling marsh, the brackish water gleaming with oily rainbows. Here Etain slowed her mount to pick a careful course along grassy ridges bordered by thick yellow reeds. Occasionally lights glimmered briefly away in the mists.

'What are they?' Mallory asked. The mood had become even more oppressive.

'Ignore them,' Etain responded. 'Trapped here are the spirits of those who dedicated themselves to work instead of humanity. They are as jealous and bitter as anything else in the Grim Lands, and they would like nothing more than to entice you into the sucking bog.'

Bubbles burst intermittently on the surface of the pools. 'Deep?'

'Bottomless. And filled with razor-worms that will feed on your flesh and bones for eternity.'

Mallory studied her for a while and tried to imagine what she had been like when she was alive. 'I'm betting you'd rather be with Veitch than here with me.'

'His affections have turned to another. And why should he not find interest in one of his own rather than a dead thing?' she added pointedly. 'Here he was king, worshipped by the inhabitants of the Grim Lands because he understood them. And he cared. Because he has died, and returned.'

'That's not as rare as you might think.'

'He understands what it is like to be an outsider.'

'You're saying that's a good enough motivation to follow him into a life…' He paused, couldn't think of a better phrase: 'Of mass-murder?'

'I would follow him to the end of the world.'

'Which is pretty much where we are.'

'He is a good man, whatever you might think of him. But he is as flawed as all mortal beings, and sometimes flaws get the better of us. Of you. It is a constant battle, and judgement should not come easy.'

'We judge ourselves. And we do what we can to make amends for our failings, even when there isn't a hope in hell of righting the balance.'

'You speak from experience.'

Mallory didn't respond.

Pointing to the path ahead, Etain said, 'The one you call Callow has passed this way, and recently. We will soon be upon him.'

'Good.' Mallory glanced back, half-expecting to see the Hortha close behind. 'Sometimes you can run as much as you want and never get away,' he said to himself.

They rode in silence for another fifteen minutes while Mallory cast an uneasy eye towards the swamp. Every now and then he thought he saw things moving in the black water.

Eventually, they came to a halt. For several minutes Tannis searched the narrow paths amongst the pools before returning to the group. 'The trail has faded,' he said.

'I thought you said you could track anything,' Mallory protested.

'We can, given time. Sometimes the trail can be lost, but by careful scrutiny of the surrounding area it can be located again.'

'We haven't got that kind of time.' Frustrated, Mallory jumped down and paced the area of solid ground until Caitlin summoned him over.

'We'll find him,' she said hoarsely. Some of her strength had already returned.

'Before he destroys Hal? This is all my fault. Why did I trust him?'

'We both trusted him. Don't blame yourself.'

'He hurt you-'

'I'll be fine.'

'Your face…' Mallory traced the line of the wound across her cheek beneath the dressing Branwen had applied.

Caitlin grabbed his hand and held it tight. 'A battle scar. There's a part of me that will enjoy having that.'

In her eyes, Mallory saw a deep shadow start to grow.

'She's coming, Mallory,' Caitlin said quietly. 'And she's not going to see a sister treated so badly. There'll be a price to pay, trust me on that.'

The shadow filled Caitlin's eyes and moved out into her face. The Morrigan smiled.