She Who Has No Name

CHAPTER EIGHT

The procession of laden camels wound out from the splendid city of Hol and passed across the fertile pasture lands. They reached the edge of the desert, where the pale dunes had begun creeping in and smothering the crops, and they started up the sliding sands without a pause.

Samuel was unhappy with being burdened by the Koian woman behind him, as she clung onto him with white knuckles,crushing him tighter with every loping step of the animal. Utik’cah had refused to let her ride behind another Paatin and so Samuel had been left with no choice but to put up with her.

She had seemed equally unhappy with the situation and complained long and loud before even the patience ofUtik’cah began to wear thin andhestarted using terse language. Her arms gripped aroundSamuel’swaist tightly, but he could feel the stiffness in her body as she fought to keep herself separated from him. The arms of Alahativa had snaked around his torso with warm caresses, but the Koian woman’s embrace was clammy and stiff. It was a mystery as to why Utik’cah had insisted that she come, yet the Emperor, who had been overjoyed at the news of his wife’s presence, had been forbidden. Samuel had argued long and loud with Utik’cah about this, but the Desert Queen’s servant was adamant about what could and what could not be done.

The Emperor, too, had hurled abuse at the apologetic Paatin, but it seemed pointless to argue. Utik’cah was bound by his orders, and they could not risk alerting the man to the fact that the one they called Sir Ferse was, in fact, the Empress’ very husband. Reluctantly, the Emperor had asked Samuel to pass his love and best wishes to his wife and child, and to give them the news that he was alive and nearby, waiting for them.

After half the day had passed, a tower became visible, rising from amidst the sands and,as they crested the final dune, they found a walled settlement built around a tiny sprig of green oasis. White-stoned walls surrounded the tiny town and the dunes had blown up against them on one side, forming a ramp against the lip of the wall. Scores of dark-skinned workers were in the midst of clearing the sand awaywith scoops. Laboriously, they filled the woven baskets that had been affixed to the sides of sitting camels; each waiting idly and chewing with their great,bucked teeth. Inside the walls, small clusters of trees and neatlyprunedshrubs struck out vibrantly from the bland surrounds. Several domed towers overlooked the sands. Most obvious of all, the place was saturated with the scent of Paatin magic.

Paatin wizards, dressed in all the numerous ways of the desert people, sat about in the shade. They sheltered from the heat of the day, fanning themselves as they watched the strangers shamble along the boiling street. There were dozens of them sitting in clusters, smoking from chambered,multi-piped implements. Some played or gambled with wooden pellets that they slapped down loudly upon their tables. There must have been several hundred of them just sitting around, and who knows how many inside the buildings.

Most surprising of all was the number of women. They sat beside the menfolk, dressed modestly,quite unlike their promiscuous city-dwelling sisters. Samuel was shocked, for they had the nerve to sit in full view, unashamed of the shimmering fields of magic that surrounded them. Aseach one that gawked at him, he stared back in utter amazement. If only the Lords of the Order could have seen-they would have had fits!

‘They have witches!’ Samuel said to the Koian women behind him, for lack of anyone else to tell. ‘I was just getting used to their healers, but I did not think it would be as bad as this.’

‘You make it sound so terrible. What is wrong with women using magic anyway?’

‘It is forbidden; that is enough. It is against the very nature of magic.’

‘Then someone forgot to tell the Paatin. Perhaps it is your Order that is mistaken.’

‘You don’t know what you are talking about, woman. In your country, all magicians are forbidden.’

‘In my country, we recognise the strengths of men and women both. To us-and to the Paatin,it seems-the sexes are equal in manyrespects. It seems to be your people who are the ignorant ones.’

Samuel gave up arguing with her, as she would not listen to reason. Apart from that one problem, there was also no doubting Om-rah’s effect on the place, for the odour of the magic was tainted and sickly. Nearly every one of his underlings was also streaked with the same repugnant, corrosive stain.

‘This is Yi’sit,the Well of Tears,’ Utik’cah called back as they reached a central square.

‘Abut! Abut!’called the camel wranglers, and the animals began settling down onto their bellies, forelegs followed by rear legs.

Cool,fresh water was pulled up from the depths of the well in wooden buckets and Samuel and the Koian woman quenched their thirst. Samuel let the water spill down his chest and emptied the last portion onto his head to cool himself down. After he had drunk again and wiped his chin dry, Utik’cah motioned for them to follow him.

‘The Empress spends little time out of her room, although she has the freedom of the village,’ the desert-man explained. ‘She does not seem very contented here.’

Samuel surveyed the bare,stone walls. Everything was purely functional, with very little to tempt anyone out of their shady refuges and into the sun. ‘I can’t imagine why,’ he responded.

Utik’cah led them into one the towers and they climbed the curling stairs that hugged the inside wall. They stopped on a small internal balcony, just beforeasingle door. ‘I will leave you alone,’ he said, quietly slipping away.

Samuel knocked tentatively and called within, ‘Empress Lillith. It is Samuel, of the Order.’

He heard feet padding towards them from the other side and the door swung in, revealing the wide-eyed Empress, safe and well.

‘Samuel!’ she declared. ‘What are you doing here? I hope you have come to rescue me. Although…well, Iwill leave it to youto tell me about it. Come in, come in.’

Samuel went in past her, with the Koian following closely. The door was quite small and they had to duck their heads, but the room was spacious inside, darkenedto protect itfrom the outside heat and surprisingly cool. Young Leopold was sitting on a pile of cushions, drawing on some papers. The floor surrounding him was covered in similar scribble-covered leaves.

‘Come, sit,’ the Empress said, directing the pair to aset ofthatched chairs. ‘I must admit,I am surprised to see you here, but I must assume from the lack of excitement that this is not quite the rescue I was hoping for. And who is this young lady accompanying you?’ She peered directly at the strange features of the Koian woman and ran her eyesover herfrom heel to head in the deliberate manner of evaluation.

‘This is an emissary from the Koian nation,’ Samuel explained. ‘She is their god.’

‘A god?’ the Empress repeated sceptically, before realising her manners. ‘Then I am pleased to meet you. Please, call me Lillith. What is your name?’

The Koian woman shied, castingher eyes aside.

‘She doesn’t actually have one,’ Samuel explained. ‘She also does not understand Turian, but it would be pointless to translate for you.’

‘Of course she has a-’ the Empress began, but Samuel cut her off.

‘Actually, she doesn’t. She has all manner of titles, but it’s probably better we just ignore her. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.’

‘Samuel! You should be ashamed!’ Empress Lillith scolded. She then curtsied formally and graciously before the Koian woman, still looking indignant at Samuel’s comments, before retaking her seat and addressing the Koian with a welcoming smile. ‘I’m most honoured to meet you. Please, make yourself as comfortable as you can.’

Still, the Koian woman was silent and straight-faced, staring back at the Empress as if in a stupor.

Samuel gave the Empress a briefI told you solook, before rotating in his seat and putting his back to the Koian woman. ‘Please, let us speak quickly. I am not sure how much time we will be given.’

‘Are you captives? How goes the war?’ the Empress asked.

Samuel took a moment to scan the room with his senses. No spells ofListening seemed present, and there was no one within earshot that he could detect. ‘Our plan to free you is not quite going as well as we first hoped, but we are working on a way to return you to Cintar. I have heard no word of the war since we left, except what the Paatin Queen has told me. I’m not keen to believe what she says, but I would guess that the war continues as expected. I must assume more towns have been lost, but I cannot imagine the stubborn Turians giving in, or that Cintar would easily fall.’

‘I agree with you in both of those assumptions.’

‘I have news for you that may be of a surprise, however. Your husband is alive, and he is with us in the Paatin Queen’s city.’

‘My husband?’ the Empress said with confusion. ‘Edmond? What do you mean, Samuel? The Emperor is dead.’

‘No. He is alive.’

‘What trickery is this?’ she said, suddenly looking pale. Her hand went to her chest and then she looked back to Samuel withdesperatehope. ‘Some kind of magic?’

‘So I believe, but not any magic I know or understand. It seemed Master Celios was expecting your husband’s demise. He preserved his essence and distilled it into the body of another. He is alive, but he is not quite the same man you knew-that any of us knew.’

‘For goodness sake, Samuel. Explain yourself. Whatever do you mean?’

‘He lives on in the body of another: a nobleman called Sir Ferse-’

‘Sir Ferse? I know him well. His wife and I are quite familiar with each other.’

‘Sir Ferse no longer exists, Your Majesty. At least, not as anyone knew him. He and your husband are now one. No one knows about this, as far as I know, except Master Celios and me. He has come here to save you-’ and he looked over to where Leopold was still playing, ‘-and your son. He sends you both his love and hopes he can be with you soon.’

‘This is a shock, Samuel,’ she said, standing and pacing the floor. ‘Magic is a strange and alarming thing. I had no idea such feats were possible.’

‘Neither did I, Your Majesty. Suffice to say,I have talked to your husband at length and I am sure it is true. I wanted to tell you, so you can prepare to meet him. But please be warned: he is not the same man he once was. While Edmond Calais still exists, he is also partially Andor Ferse. They are merged as one, but your husband is by far the dominant spirit. I must say, it has changed him in many ways.’

The Empress retook her seat and looked deep within her thoughts. Samuel let her sit quietly, until she looked up once again.

‘What will we do?’

‘We have come to save you, but we cannot act just yet. The Paatin Queen is strong and she has you stashed within a nest of her wizards. As soon as I find a way, I will come for you.’

‘Who else is with you?’

‘There are only a few of us,and we are internedwithin her palace. Only Lord Lomar is still free.’

At the sound of his name, the Empress looked up, full of hope. ‘Lomar? He is with you?’

‘Yes, although I have not been able to reach him since I was captured. He followed your captors all the way from Cintar in an attempt to free you.’

‘That is good. I must warn you,there were magicians amongst those that captured me.’

‘It would have been the Paatin wizards. Did you see any of them?’

‘Not at all. I was overcome quickly. They used spells and tonics to keep us subdued. I remember only sparse moments-we were confined tightly, secreted away in some tiny space, I believe. It was not until we reached the desert city itself that we were allowed to regain our senses. We spoke with that wretched witch, but,since then,I have not been able to make a single one of these barbarians understand me.’

Samuel then sensed the familiar presence of Utik’cah climbing the stairs towards them. ‘It’s a relief to see that you and the young Emperor have been welltreated. Our guide returns, so it seems our time is already over.’

The Empress nodded knowingly and they waited patiently for Utik’cah to reappear at the door.

‘Apologies, Your Highness,Lord Samuel. It appears out visit will be cut short. A storm is approaching and Alahativa instructed that I return you both before evening, so we must hurry.’

Samuel nodded and stood and the Koian woman shadowed him. ‘It has been a pleasure to see you, Your Majesty. Until we meet again.’

‘Thank you, Samuel,’ Empress Lillith returned, and threw a dark scowl towards the desert-man in her door.

Utik’cah almost boundeddown the stairs and Samuel could not help but follow suit, sensing the urgency in his actions. They had barely reached the tethered line of camels, all sitting and chewing with their jutting,yellow teeth, when Utik’cah was shouting at his team to depart. His men scurried about and began ordering the stubborn animals to their feet.

Samuel had no sooner mounted with the Koian woman clinging behind him, than the desert-men began shouting and starting out the gates. Samuel held on fiercely to the sun-warmed saddle. Already, he could sense the energies of the desert in turmoil. Looking over his shoulder, he could feel the storm approaching-a great tyrant of power rampaging in the distance.

They were only about halfway back to Hol when the desert-men began looking even more anxious. All of a sudden, they began shouting and pulling their camels aside and desperately pulling the bundles from the animals’ backs. Samuel was left not knowing what to do, until Utik’cah came scrambling towards them.

‘Get down! Get down!’ he called.

Samuel slipped from the high saddle and landed spryly on the golden sand, but he had forgotten about the Koian woman latched onto him, and she came sprawling down behind him, head first. He ignored her curses and splutterings as he interrogated Utik’cah.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked with concern.

‘The storm is upon us. It is greater and faster than we expected. We should not have left Yi’sit, but it is too late to go back now. We musttake shelter at once!’

The men had already thrown down some leathers and canvases and had started constructing a number of small, rounded, sturdy-looking tents. Utik’cah grabbed Samuel and the Koian woman roughly and dragged them to the first one that was readied.

‘No matter what happens, wait inside,’ he told them. ‘Sit still and we will come for you when we can.’

Samuel was about to ask what he meant, when a shrill scream sounded and something obscured the sun. Day became dusk as Samuel turned and saw a wall of darkness falling upon them,a storm-front of wind and sand that blocked out the very sun. Utik’cah gave them a shove and they were both insidewhenthe shadow struck. It was a sudden transition from the clamour and panic of the desert-men outside, to an unspeakable howling of wind and shaking of their tent, as if maddened banshees had descended upon them. Their refuge was tiny and Samuel was pressed against one side with the Koian against him. The struts and framework that kept the structure intact rattled and shook violently. The windward side of the tent began to bend in and Samuel could feel the soft sand pushing in upon them.

‘What’s happening?’ the woman beside him asked, but Samuel only hushed her impatiently.

There was no sound of the men outside; indeed,there was no sound other than the overpowering roaring of the wind and,after only a few minutes,a dark line had begun tracing its way up the tent as the sand piled up around them.

As timewore on, Samuel grew increasingly worried, for the line continued to rise and the light dimmed with each moment. Finally, as the creeping line reached the top of their shelter, they were left in utter blackness. Their only solace was that the noise of the storm was now muffled so as to be bearable.

‘Magician?’ came a muted whimper from beside him. ‘I’m afraid.’

‘Just be quiet,’ he told her. ‘We will wait for the storm to subside. Then Utik’cah will come to find us.’

She bumped against him as she struggled to be comfortable.

‘Sit still!’ he told her, for the tent was already deformed under the weight of the sand, and he did not relish the thought of their shelter collapsing beneath itand suffocating them.

‘I need air!’ she hissed back at him, and he could sense that she had sat up.

He did the same and his head bumped into the roof-such a thin barrier to maintain their tiny bubble of sanctuary within the sand. He sat quietly, listening for the others, but all he could hear was her breathing,faster and more urgent.

‘Breath slowly,’ he told her. ‘If you keep that up you will use all of our air.’

‘It is my air to use!’ she barked back at him, but he had no reply for such a statement.

They sat long in the darkness, waiting for some sign of rescue. It was hot and Samuel could feet condensation on the inside material when he brushed against it. Distantly, the storm continued to murmur, whispering its secrets in some timeless,unintelligible tongue.

‘Why did you lie to your Queen, Magician?’ she said after some time, breaking the silence.

‘Empress Lillith? What do you mean? I did not lie to her. What do you know? You cannot even understand when we speak.’

‘I don’t understand the words but I understand your tone and the expressions on your face. The word forPaatinis the same in any tongue, and I have heard you call me a witch enough times to know that sound. You spoke as if you disliked the Paatin witch, yet you have bedded her and continue to do so.’

‘Only to get what we need. It is not something the Empress needed to know.’

‘I think you lie to yourself, also,’ she told him. ‘It is not something you were forced to do. You choseto doso willingly.’

A moment of silence.

‘It helps our cause,’ said Samuel.

‘She is responsible for countless deaths,for killing your friend and my countrymen.’

‘Why do you sound so insulted? Have I done anything to you?’

‘I was stolen from my family, raised as a god and used as a puppet. Even now,I am a toy for Canyon and the likes of you. My life was stolen and I know nothing about common people or their lives. All I see are the ghosts of their fears and ambitions, played out in their colourless dreams. I can see the lives of those around me, butInever participate, because I don’t know how. I have spent every moment in some temple or hidden away, practising pointless rituals. Why should I not be insulted? All I want is for someone-anyone-to be honest with me. You were the last person in the world that I had any faith in. Is it so much to ask?’

Samuel had no comforting words for her and he lay back down as best he could, with his knees bent up to keep his feet from pressing against the wall of the tent. It was much later before she did the same, wordlessly shifting down beside him. After several hours, the hum of the storm still sounded, but Samuel guessed it was now night time above them.

‘Can you not even make a light for us?’ she asked, but Samuel did not even try. Everything she said seemed designed toirritate him.

He awoke many hours later and listened for the storm. It was very dim, but he could hear it just on the edge of his perception, droning far away. Her steady breath sounded beside him and he guessed she was asleep. There was a weight across his chest and it took him a moment to realise it was her arm. His own arm was leaden and bristling with pins and needles, for she had rolled upon it. He tried to pull it out from beneath her, but it caused her to stir and she rolled even closer,with her nose against his shoulder.

He could smell scented soap in her hair and he was wondering if he should just ask her to move, when she sidled against him and kissed his cheek. Again, he was not sure if she was awake, so he froze still. Again she kissed him and he felt her fingers crawl up to his chin, where she pulled his mouth against her own. The warmth of her lips was welcoming and he began to kiss her in response. She hugged him properly and he then knew she was no longer asleep. Wordlessly, they lay together, embraced in darkness.

Voices and rough scratching against the outside of the tent roused Samuel and a brilliant slit of sunlight fell in upon him.

‘Samuel!’ came the voice of Utik’cah. ‘I-’ but the voice stopped and the opening was shut again as quickly as it had opened, leaving Samuel blinking at the dim light that found its way through the coarse material. ‘I will give you a moment.’

Samuel realised he was still intertwined with the Koian woman. Her eyes were wide open, and she was looking at him-horrified. She squirmedaway fromhim and he found his clothes scrunched up behind him against the wall of the tent. It was difficult, but he managed to wriggle his way into his robes while she held her own clothes across herself, watching him all the while.

He scrambled out of the tent and almost tripped over the lip of the incision that Utik’cah had made, crawling along the short tunnel that had been burrowed through the sand. Outside, it appeared as if he had emerged from the side of a dune, and the desert had moved completely from its place before the storm, leaving them at the base of an enormous wall of white sand, rising almost vertically above them. It seemed remarkably lucky that their tent had only been buried a short distance from the edge.

It was early morning, but already the sun was gaining inheat, punishinganything caught beneath it. The other desert-men all seemed accounted for, but the camels were nowhere to be seen.

‘It isgoodthat you survived,’ Utik’cah noted. ‘These sudden storms can be ferocious and deadly.’

‘Did everyone survive?’

‘Yes. We know the ways of the desert well. I was only afraid for you. I thought you mightdo something foolish and bring your roof down upon your head. I trust you found a way to pass the time.’

Samuel ignored the remark, peering out at the other men as they continued to pull their belongings from beneath the sands. ‘What of the camels?’

‘We set them loose. They also know how to weather these storms and will eventually make their way back to the city. Unfortunately, this means we must continue the rest of the way on foot. It will not be comfortable but,now that the storm has passed, we are safe.’

A grunting sound followed and the Koian woman came stumbling out from the tent, as if ejected from the side of the dune. She adjusted her clothes, looking indignant. Noticing Samuel and Utik’cah looking at her, she threw them an evil glare.

‘Avert your eyes!’ she hissed and they both did so, before her temper waselevatedany further.

‘No mentioned of this, please,’ Samuel whispered to the man beside him as the Koian woman strutted away in no particular direction.

‘There is nothing to mention,’ Utik’cah responded.

There was no doubt the Koian woman avoided him in the days after thatepisode in the tentand Samuel was glad for it. Upon arriving at the palace, he had told the Emperor of his visit with the Empress,and the man had been elated to learn that his wife and child were well. Samuel returned to visit the Queen on subsequent nights and she was attentive but,for some reason, shehad lost much of her passion and attended to him without the spark that had first enticed him. Either that, or perhaps he had lost his interest in her-he could not be entirely sure.

It had been some time since he had ventured into the catacombs and earlyonemorning hecreptaway stealthily, knowing full well that the Koian woman next door would not be awake at such an hour.

He had found an abandoned room in the palace where the floor had fallen in and, as luck would have it, the hole led into the tunnels beneath the palace. This entrance, too, had been covered with a spell of detection, tuned to catch the passing of any living creature but,of course,it slipped over him as if he did not exist. He could enter and exit this way asoftenas he pleased, and he did not have to bother finding ways around the fearful guards. It wasaless direct route, for he first had to navigate a twisting spiral of cobwebbed tunnels beneath the palace before he could enter the mountain proper, but he was in no particular hurry.

He kept a map of his explorations in his head and,on this occasion,he delved further and deeper into the mountain than he had ever beenbefore, but still without any sign of Balten. With each trip,he hoped to reduce the number of tunnels that he had not yet seen, but each trip only revealed more endless passages that required exploration.

He found all manner of cells,ranging from comfortable furnished rooms, to broken and abandoned holes in the floor. Some were filled with torturous devices or had been flooded with water and he guessed there were perhaps hundreds of prisoners held within those dungeons. He dared not free any of the poor souls he found, or even give away his presence, for he did not want to risk anything that would give his actions away. Only if he was eventually successful in finding Balten and in regaining his ring could his plans come to fruition.

After several hours, once again defeated, he returned to the surface and madeitback to his room.

He was surprised to find Utik’cah waiting for him there.

‘Out walking?’ the Paatin asked.

‘Yes,’ he replied plainly.

The desert-man accepted the answer at face value and continued, ‘Alahativa summons you. I would be quick, if I were you.’

That was all he needed to hear and Samuel started off at once to see why the Paatin Queen had called for him so early in the day.

On reaching her hall, it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. She was standing upon her dais, waiting angrily. The Emperor, who stood below, waited patiently,his hands clasped by his front.

‘What is happening?’ Samuel asked, coming to stand beside the embodied Emperor. ‘Why have you summoned Sir Ferse?’

‘Sir Ferse?’ she said calmly, although Samuel knew her expressions wellenough by now to know she was furious. ‘Interesting that you should use such a name. I know you and your party came here to kill me and retake your Empress, Samuel. That is no surprise. I had thought those who had accompanied you were of small interest, for I hadreceivedlimited reports on Sir Ferse: a court member of little importance. However, it seems you magicians are still capable of surprises. I did not expect-as I’m sure no one did-that the Emperor himself would somehow accompany you. While it is true that few in my city would recognise him, I am led to believe that his disguise is rather…convincing. But what comes as the greatestsurprise is that, from all accounts, he has been long dead.’ Samuel tried to withhold his own surprise, quite poorly. The Emperor, however, remained resilient and showed no emotion at all. ‘So please forgive my lack of courtesy, Your Majesty for,if I had known it was you, my hospitality would have been more fitting.’

‘Think nothing of it,’ said the Emperor. ‘I am glad that this charade can end.’

‘Of course I will have you moved to a more appropriate room, befitting a man of your standing.’

‘My room is fine. I have given up my station as Emperor and, if you don’t mind, I would rather as few people learned of this as possible.’

‘As you wish,’ she said,with a deliberate bow of her head.

They waited for her to say more, but she was silent.

‘Is that all?’ Samuel asked.

‘It is,’ she replied, with a fuming expression.

They turned together and left.

‘This is very bad,’ Samuel said to the Emperor as they hurried along the halls.

‘Why is that?’ Edmond said back to him.

‘She is very,verymad.’

‘I sensed that. What will she do?’

‘I don’t know, but when she gets angry, people die. We will have to wait and see.’

Samuel was glad that there was no summons to come to her chamber for the next few nights. Instead, he spent as much time as possible exploring the catacombs.

The Koian woman was still being evasive and so, when he was not delving beneath the mountain, he had little to do but chat with Canyon and the Emperor about their possible plans, all of which hinged on him regaining his ring.

Each day, he continued his attempts to recover his magic, with little result,savethe odd spark and the occasional trembling mage-sphere of glowing light. It seemed his power existed, which was some consolation, but it was still evasive and unreliable. At this rate, it would be years before he could reliably cast a worthy spell.

A servant waiting at his door one evening was a signal that Samuel had been summoned again by the Queen, and he hurried off. He was half-hoping that he would be led to her bedchamber but,instead,the servant once again guided him towards herreceptionhall.

‘Why have you summoned me, wondrous Alahativa?’ he said. He already knew that something was wrong, for the Paatin Queen was standing with her back to him, surveying her city through the misty veils on her balcony. Several men and a woman lay dead on the floor, crushed by magic, and Samuel did his best to ignore their grimacing corpses.

She turned and came back inside, brushing through the translucent cloth. It was the first time he had ever seen a worried expression on her face.

‘I have had worrying dreams these pastfewnights, Samuel,’ she said. ‘I have been counselled by my highest seers and astrologers, but their advice is worthless.’ As if to illustrate, she gestured to them, splayed out on the floor. ‘The Star of Osirah shines brighter, but it cannot burn the worries from my heart. I want to know if you, my darling, my most trusted magician, can helpeasemy burden?’

Samuel cleared his throat. ‘Tell me what is bothering you and I shall endeavour not to disappoint you.’

‘My dreams are troubled. I see days past and events long gone. I see loved ones and lost ones and people that I know well, yetwhomI have never metin this life. I am generations old but,in truth, my own childhood was told to me by our scholars, for it was so long ago that I cannot remember it. I always attributed such longevity to my beloved ring, but now I have witnessed these dreams, I am not so convinced.’ She ceased her stalking up and down and turned to face him directly. ‘Do you believe that I could have had other lives? I have never heard of such things, but these dreams are torturing me. They are so vivid,so real. They are more memories than dreams but,for this to be so, I would have to have lived another life that I have since forgotten; indeed,many lives for,in each, I am a different person,in a different place, in a different body.’

Samuel immediately thought of the Emperor. Before learning of his transfer into the body of Sir Ferse, he would never have thought such a thing was possible. The Paatin Queen’s words seemed eerily familiar.

‘I do not know what to say,’ he told her. ‘Perhaps they are merely dreams?’

‘They are not!’ she roared and one of the muscled menwholined her room actually bolted from his position in fear and fled through the door. Luckily for him, she failed to notice and continued stalking her dais. Magic had begun to boil from her finger and it surrounded her like a tumultuous liquid, curling and twisting around her. ‘I know dreams from truth, Magician. Don’t taunt me with such stupidity. I don’t know what it can mean. You are useless. Leave me be! Go, before I do something I may regret!’ she commanded and Samuel backed away from her as quickly as he dared. She continued muttering to herself as he left the room and he felt her magic lash out in furious,sporadic bursts. It did not bode well.

Another week passed and Samuel grew anxious about the uncustomary behaviour of the Queen. The Emperor had also begun acting strangely, looking distant and thoughtful at times, and losing his temper and having tantrums at Samuel, demanding he hurry up and find his ring.

The Koian woman was also behaving strangely, for she had surrounded her bed with all the furniture and blankets from her room, stringing and piling the sheets to form a makeshift shanty that she inhabited all day. Shara brought food and water to the woman, but she rarely ventured out, and ran back behind cover if Samuel or Canyon attempted to speak with her. She had covered her face with the make-up that had been provided to her, but in a hideous fashion, scribbled and smudged all about. When they beckoned to her, she only croaked at them from her hole and told them ‘Begone’.

Samuel ignored such behaviour and left the woman to her strange habits. He then had to resort to Canyon for the occasional civil conversation. The man was polite, but aloof,and so Samuel was left with nothing to do but venture beneath the mountain at every opportunity.

He had been hoping for Lomar to appear and miraculously save the day, but more wizards had been attracted to the palace by the Queen’s erratic behaviour and that made the prospect seem even more remote.

It was only as he was tiptoeing about beneath Mount Karthma, far down in the deeper reaches, that Samuel finally had a change of luck. Peering into a row of neat cells, he found that light was pouring from beneath the door of one and he was delighted when he sensed the familiar presence of Eric on the other side.

‘Eric!’ he hissed. ‘Is that you?’

‘Samuel!’ came the excited reply. ‘What took you so long? Let me out of here!’

‘I can’t. Not yet. There’s nowhere for you to hide and I can’t risk alerting the guards until I have found Balten.’

‘Then at least open the door for a moment. I can’t stand it in here.’

Samuel pulled back the heavy bolt that had been pushed into place, and it groaned as he eased it out of its rusty slot.

‘Thank goodness!’ Eric said and stepped out, stretching his arms wide as if to relieve his cramped muscles. ‘I thought I was going to be left in there forever.’

‘What of your wounds?’

‘Much better. The healers have been coming every day. They cannot use their spells down here, so they cover me in their vile ointments and make me drink some wretched concoctions. I must admitthough,they do seem to work quite well.’

Samuel peered into Eric’s cell. There was a small bed, a bucket of clean water and a bucket for waste. It looked as though Eric had spent a lot of time on his cot, for it was littered with papers and notes.

‘At least you’ve kept yourself occupied.’

‘If it can be called that. I’ll go mad if I’m in here much longer. I need to get out and feel some magic! How much longer will you be?’

‘I don’t know. Not long,I hope. A few more days. This passage marks the end of the southern portion of the catacombs. I only have the eastern section remaining and I am hoping to find Balten somewhere there.’

‘Well,I hope so. What news from above?’

‘Don’t ask. Everything is going awfully, but if I can just get my ring,we can finally get out of here. I know where the Empress is and I’m fairly sure I can lure the Paatin Queen away from her wizards and overpower her.’

Eric nodded. ‘Then don’t forget me. You may need all the help you can get.’

‘I’m certain of it.’

‘Well. What are you waiting for? Go,’ Eric said, strutting back into his cell. ‘Lock me in and go find Balten. The sooner you find him, the sooner you can get me out of here. Just don’t get caught! You’d better get going. The guards check on me quite often and they’re due back soon.’

‘All right then. I will see you soon,’ and with that he pushed the door shut and locked it tight.

‘Samuel!’ Eric called from within.

‘What is it?’

‘I heard something shuffling around out there before. There are strange sounds from the tunnels, and I also heard screaming. Have you seen anything strange?’

Samuel immediately thought of the rumoured ghoul of the catacombs, but decided against frightening his friend. ‘I’m sure it is only the guards. But keep your lamp welllit, just in case.’

He could already sense some guards approaching and just managed to dart aside as they came sauntering down the passage. He waited for them to pass and crept back out, guided by his memory and sense ofsight.

He made his way along the deep passages where few ever ventured and was about toheadback towards the main tunnels, when he heard something ahead. He stopped, silent, and felt a wizard approaching, so he slipped into a narrow crevice in the wall of the tunnel, opposite a set of bolted doors. Someone had been moving around in one of the cells he had just passed and so he had to be careful, moving with complete silence to keep his presence unknown.

The crevice was deep enough so that he could fit his whole body in and he wedged himself around a tight corner at the end so as not to be seen. Staying quiet, he poked his head out just a touch, enoughto see the telltale energies of the wizard approach, dangling like blue-green sparks in the air. Along with the normal points of energy, purple magic seethed and its stench burned into his nostrils. No natural light came to shine on the walls, so whoeverwas coming his waywas walking in perfect darkness. Either they knew these tunnels well, or they had some other means to find their way. He knew some of the Paatin had this traitbut,as the wizard approached, the vile energy grew denser until Samuel knew for sure who was coming.

‘Om-rah!’ he whispered softly.

Hulking footsteps clattered along the passageway as the arch-wizard neared and Samuel could hear his loud and forceful breathing. It sounded like a horse labouring for breath after a hard ride. A strange,guttural clacking followed and Samuel had no idea how the man could make such sounds.

He waited, perfectly still, and he could feel the enormous wizard’s steps reverberatingon the stone floor and hear his great bulk scuffing up against the narrow tunnel walls. The wizard had just reached Samuel’s hiding spotwhen, much to Samuel’s alarm,hestopped. Samuel could hear him standing there, still breathing heavily and shuffling about. There were some sniffing sounds, and he could hear the fiend moving around in front of the crevice.

Something sharp was pushed towards him and Samuel could hear it scratching around just on the other side of the protruding stones. He was safe behind his corner,if only the wizard could not reach too far.

He looked down, feeling a movement of air against his ankles, and noticed a hole in the wall by his feet. If it was deep enough he may just be able to push part of himself inside it. Still, he had no room to move and if Om-rah was looking intothecrevice, he would be seen as he manoeuvred himself into it.

A voice sounded from inside the cell and the scratching sound withdrew fromthecrevice. Om-rah turned about with a huff of air. It was a Paatin within the cell and he called out from his prison in a querying tone.

Samuel heard the bolt of the cell door clatter as Om-rah fumbled with it in the darkness. The prisoner continued to call out, more urgently, but the wizard did not reply. The bolt squeaked out of place and Samuel’s blood froze as he heard the great bulk of Om-rah hurry into the cell. The prisoner screamed, but his efforts were quickly cut short. Something wet slapped onto the floor and it was followed by a blood-curdling,crunching sound. Om-rah continued shifting about, slurping and munching frenetically, but the prisoner was ominously quiet.

Very slowly and very carefully,Samuel edged onto all fours. Painfully aware of every scuff and sound, he eased backwards on his knees and elbows into the hole as the arch-wizard continued his meal. He had seen something of the wizard before and he knew Om-rah was not entirely human, but this showed how much of a monster he had really become.

Thankfully, Samuel found that his hole actually continued deep behind him, forming a narrow tube that opened wide at the other end. Following it feet first, he found himself emerging from the hole, high up on a ledge that looked down on another twisting length of dark passage. Thanking his luck, he dropped down, leaving the horrendous sounds of Om-rah behind, and padded away to find his bearings. At least now he knew what had been killing people in the tunnels and would not have to waste any more time with thoughts of ghost stories.

It was another week later still when Samuel felt the Queen’s magic at work. He went investigating, as the bursts were becoming more powerful and frequent. The crashing sound of walls tumbling sounded after each flash of power and he was sure she was sending spells down upon her own palace.

Utik’cah was waiting outside her room, standing nervously,and Samuel hurried up to the anxious desert-man as carefully as he could. Already, he could hear Alahativa shouting and ranting inside.

‘What is she doing?’ Samuel whispered.

‘She is with your Emperor again,’ Utik’cah explained. ‘My Queen commanded that I bring him and she has been questioning him at length. So far, she has not killed him, but she has slain most others in the room. I don’t know what has affected her. She has killed most of her favourite servants. She is becoming more and more distressed with eachpassingday. I have the healers making potions to calm her, but today she will not take them.’

‘Let me see,’ Samuel suggested, but Utik’cah caught him by the shirt.

‘You risk death,’ he said grimly, but Samuel pulled away and strode inside.

More servants lay dead than still remained, and those still living were all splayed on their knees with their foreheads to the floor, praying or shivering or blubbering with fear. The Emperor was standing defiantly before the Queen and she was shouting at him furiously. Magic ran from Alahativa’s fingers and dripped sizzling to the floor.

‘Samuel!’ she roared oncatchingsight of him. ‘How dare you come before me unsummoned!’

The Emperor said something to placate her and Samuel managed to walk all the way tohisside without being struckdown by her spells.

‘The Queen and I have been having an insightful conversation,’ Edmond said.

Alahativa looked greatly disturbed and she shook Samuel by the shoulders, staring at him as if crazed. ‘I have solved my dreams, Samuel! I know what they mean and so does he!’ she said, gesturing to the embodied Emperor.

‘Actually, I don’t understand what she is talking about, but she refuses to let me leave.’

‘Lies!’ the Queen hissed. ‘He ever lies! He knows my dreams! He is in them. All of them! He knows who he is!’

‘Calm now, Your Majesty,’ Samuel pleaded. ‘Please help me to understand what is happening.’

‘Each day, my memories return. I should have known when I first learned that the Emperor had survived-not only survived, but in a body not of his own. He, too, knows what it is like to be cast into the body of another. In another time,inanother life, we were lovers, but he refuses to admit the truth!’

‘I don’t deny it,’ Edmond said. ‘I do not deny that past lives are possible, especially given my present state, but I have no recollection of any life with you and I simply don’t remember any of these things you are raving on about.’

‘Why are you doing this to me, Thann? Is it because of her? Can you possibly love yourEmpress more than me? Or is it the boy? That’s it, isn’t it? I could never bear you a son and she has given you what you always wanted.’ For the first time, the Emperor looked rattled by what she was saying. ‘Then damn you, and damn them, too! Om-rah!’ she wailed and a heartbeat later the hulking wizard had alighted on the balcony outside. If it had not been so sturdy, it would have been torn asunder, for the room shook as he landed.

It was amazing that Samuel had not felt the man’s presence until he had already alighted-but perhaps he had been too distracted by the Queen’s spells.

‘Go swiftly now to Yi’sit. Kill the Turian woman and her boy. Make sure this night is their last.’ No sooner had she spoken than the arch-wizard had vanished into the air with a snap of black cloth and a clatter of his wings. Alahativa turned about, her eyes wild with emotion. ‘You see? Perhaps when they are dead you will have reason to remember me?’

‘Don’t kill them! I beg you!’ the Emperor said and Samuel could see the genuine desperation in his eyes. He dropped to his knees. ‘Don’t do it! I implore you!’

‘It is done. Om-rah has gone to see to it and I could not recall him even if I wanted to. Get out of here, both of you!’ And she turned from them and returned outside onto her balcony, laughing hysterically as she overlooked her city.

The Emperor immediately grabbed Samuel by the arms and pulled him towards the exit from her room. ‘Quickly!’ he said.

‘What is wrong with her?’ Samuel asked as they rushed past the confused form of Utik’cah.

‘I have no time to explain, butmy wife and sonmust be saved. Please, do whatever you can. You must reach them first!’

‘I cannot,’ Samuel protested. ‘That winged beast will get there in a fraction of the time I could. Without my ring I am powerless.’

‘Then get your blasted ring!’ the Emperor roared out.

Samuel stood firm and looked the man level in the eye. ‘I have no way to get it or evenofknowing where it is unless I can find Balten. Of course I would gladly save the Empress, but there is nothing I can do! I can scour the last sections of the dungeons, but unless something miraculous happens it will just take too much time.’

‘Perhaps I can assist,’ came a third voice and both of them turned towards a hooded figure, shrouded in shadow and lurking outsidethe window.

‘Who is that?’ Samuel said, peering into the darkness,and the figure climbed in, into the light and threw back his hood. At first,Samuel thought it was one of the Paatin wizards for he was dark-skinned and surrounded with a veil of spells and magic of illusion. ‘Lomar. I should have known.’

‘I have been waiting nearby, but the Queen’s tantrum caught my attention and her wizards’ spells are in turmoil. The palace is in chaos and everyone is fleeing to be away from her, or else I would not have been able to enter at all. I have learnt where Balten is being kept. At least, I have obtained a set of directions. If you know the tunnels well, I can describe the way.’

‘Then let’s go,’ Samuel said. ‘Om-rah has the headstart.’

‘From what I understand, it is not far if you know the way, which fortunately, now I do. That Paatin beast can fly, but not quickly. He is fat and encumbered by his armour. If we move fast, we can still save her.’

The Emperor’s eyes lit up. ‘Then quickly-go! Go, Samuel, and I will be forever in your debt.’

Samuel turned to Lomar and nodded,and the two of them raced away, leaving the Emperor behind.

These floors were populated only by the occasional quivering servants, but they met several wizards and scores of armed Paatin soldiers as they rushed towards the catacombs. Lomar felled most of them without hesitation, his magic strikingout furiously.

Before the gaping main entrance, Lomar paused. ‘As soon as we break the barrier, they will know we are here,’ he said. ‘However, they will not know if we are breaking in or out, so we should still be able to avoid them for a time. I would guess few would ever have the desire to steal their way into such a place. It will only mean that we must make our escape quickly, before the tunnels are overrun with guards. There is no point in wizards coming in to find us as they would have no power while under the mountain. Unfortunately, we will also be powerless if we are found.’

‘Then let us be quick,’ Samuel responded.

Lomar threw some spells of concealment over the two of them and they ventured in, sneaking behind the dozen guards who stood before the great entrance at the ready. Samuel tiptoed across the threshold first but,as soon as Lomar attempted to follow, a great wailing sound began from high above.

The guards looked about in confusion as tothecause of the alarm, but no one came bounding out of the tunnel mouth towards them and they could not spy the two magicianspressedagainst the wall.

As more guards came streaming out of the dungeons to see what had caused the commotion, Samuel and Lomar slipped in behind them and beganto movehurriedly along the main tunnel. They stepped into the first side tunnel they met, just as another group of spear-bearing soldiers came running by.

Samuel moved confidently in the dark,andLomar trailed as best he could with his fingerstrailing alongthe wall. Occasionally, they caught sight of a guard station, where two or three of the brutish thugs stood waiting in the lamplight, alert for escaping prisoners. They could not move directly through these spaces and,instead,had to rush around to find alternative routes.

They seemed to walk for a long time, deeper and deeper into the mountain, following Lomar’s directions, but Samuel knew it was the way of the stone to make time seem to pass so slowly.

‘Wait!’ Samuel said as they passed a familiar branch in the passage. ‘We need to free Eric.’

‘Of course,’ Lomar agreed and they started along the way that Samuel had directed.

Luckily, they did not need to go far and they soon found the passage that held their friend. Eric stepped joyfully out of his cell, thankful he had finally been set free. They grabbed a lamp that hungnearbyand took it with them to guide their way. Samuel explained everything to Eric as they went, hurrying along as quickly as they dared.

They had passed many doors and passages of varying types, diving deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, when they arrived at a sloping passage at the core of the mountain. The tunnel was long and straight, so tight in places that they had to squeeze through, and they continued on until it seemed to come to a dead end. Stooping, Lomar prised open a trapdoor on the floor, first unlatching the multiple iron bars that had kept it sealed shut. At once, Samuel felt the spark of magic lingering inside. An awful stench of rot and filth also issued from the hole and it made the threeof themstep back to get their breaths.

‘We will be needing this,’ Lomar said, pulling a length of study rope from beneath his Paatin clothes.

A narrow shaft led down from the surface and Lomar attached one end of the rope to the trapdoor and dropped the other into the darkness.

‘Balten!’ Samuel called into the hole, but no one answered his call.

‘We will go down. Guard our escape,’ Lomar instructed Eric.

‘How?’ Eric said, looking around himself for some form of weapon, but the others had no answer for him.

Samuel started first and slid carefully down the rope, using hissightto guide him between the walls. Lomar followed with the lantern held firmly between his teeth. The shaft opened out after a short way and they found themselves descending into a widening pit.

As they hopped onto the stone floor, the lantern light illuminated the crumpled figure of Balten leaning against the wall as if mummified. He was alive, but barely.

‘Balten!’ Samuel hissed, squatting down and holding the man firmly by the shoulders. ‘Wake up! We’re here.’

They almost thought he was truly dead, when Balten’s eyes flickered open and he looked at Samuel serenely, as if waking from a pleasant dream.

‘Samuel?’ the withered magician asked. ‘It’s been quite a while. I was beginning to wonder about you.’ He moved one trembling hand, while the rest of his body remainedmotionless,as if pinned to the stone, and he dug into his shredded rags of clothes and drew out the Argum Stone. ‘I believe you have come for this.’

Samuel took the ring and tucked it safely away. ‘By the gods! What have they done to you?’ he asked.

‘Nothing. Nothing at all,’ Balten responded coughing. It seemed as if his life was slowly coming back to him, pulsing out from his core towards his extremities. ‘They left me here, perhaps hoping I would get bored and perish, but I really found it quite peaceful. Some more water would have been nice, but it turned out the stones were moist enough for my needs. I find it quite ironic that the mountain they sought to finish me with ended up sustaining me. I sometimes felt as if the stone itself had thought me worthy of survival and had granted me the blessing of its juices. It’s strange, what passes through one’s mind in times of such solitude.’

‘What have you been doing all this time?’ Lomar asked him.

‘I calmed myself and entered a deep state. It was the only way to survive. I knew you would come eventually and I supposed you would only want the ring, but I thought it would be better if you didn’t have to rummage around through my corpse to get it.’

‘Eric!’ Lomar called up and Eric’s face appeared way up at the top of the hole. ‘Fetch food and water. Go back to the last guard post, but be careful.’

Eric’s face disappeared.

‘You look terrible,’ Samuel stated to the man, who had now started rubbing his arms and moving his head as his blood begancirculatingwith more vigour.

‘It is not so bad. Discomfort can be enlightening. Suffering opens the window to discovery, Samuel. It is not something that can be enjoyed at the time, but the feeling afterwards is nothing short of rewarding. You should try it some time.’

‘I don’t think it sounds very enjoyable,’ was Samuel’s reply.

‘That’s the problem with you Order lot. Old Anthem has filled everyone’s heads with his vision of a perfect world, but it doesn’t exist, Samuel. Without anguish, people get bored. Without stimulation, people’s minds stagnate. A world without some form of chaos would only create a world of blandness. That’s what Anthem could never understand. A society without hardship is like a herd of sheep. They would be very easy to control. Do you think that’s what your teacher had in mind? Perhaps I wouldn’t dislike him so much if it were so.’

‘There’s no time for talk such as this,’ Samuel replied. ‘Come. If you are ready, we must hurry. Om-rah has gone to kill the Empress. We must stop him.’

‘Om-rah?’ Balten said, and the name seemed to rouse him fully. He rose to his feet and cracked his neck slowly from side to side. ‘Then I will come with you. I just need a moment to gather my strength. What else has happened? How long have I been down here?’

‘Quite some time,’ Lomar said. ‘We have had some delays in our plans, but the time is now right to forge ahead.’

Balten took a moment to digest the words. ‘Well,then. It’s good timing that you came and found me. I was thinking of breaking out of here eventually.’

‘Could you have done it?’ Samuel asked. ‘Magic cannot work in here.’

‘Magic works everywhere, Samuel. It is everywhere andineverything. It is a fire that cannot be quelled. This mountain merely seeks to quench our will and stop us from calling our magic to action. As a blacksmith’s forge harbours the air and fire, so too can we create a haven for our will and magic within ourselves. As with any fire, with too little air the flames will suffocate. With too much air, the fire will burn out of control, blundering about in the wind. Just the right balance will result in that sweet spot that all magicsmiths seek. In this state, the fire within us will shudder and roar. It will accelerate and begin to draw strength from within itself, burning white-hot while it consumes little of its fuel.’

‘Youhavebeen busy down here,’ Lomar noted, raising an eyebrow.

Eric whistled softly from above and he dropped some bread and a sealed water bag into their hands. Balten took a hesitant sip and then started pouring the water into his parched throat, until the entire bladder was emptied. Samuel was trying to slow him, but the man gulped it all down desperately. He then shoved as much bread as possible into his mouth and began munching on it,like a child with a gob full of sweets.

‘Right! That feels much better,’ he said,his wordsbarely intelligible. ‘We’d better hurry.’ He held the rest of the loaf in his mouth and grabbed hold of the rope, pulling himself up hand over hand.

‘Incredible,’ Lomar said, watching him ascend. ‘He has recovered much of his strength already.’

The two of them started up after him and,once they were at the top, the four of them began away with all haste.

‘There’s just one thing to be wary of, Samuel,’ Balten said as they hurried through the passageways.

‘What’s that?’

‘Do you remember that relic we used in the desert-the one that holds your Great Spell? Unfortunately, I had neglected to leave it behind. It was taken from me by the guards.’

‘What?’ Samuel said.

‘I forgot I had it and it was not so simple to hide as a little ring. It will only take a subtle twist at its middle for the spell to be released.’

‘What kind of spell was it?’ Lomar asked with concern.

‘A very bad one,’ Balten replied. ‘It was not one of Samuel’s better moments.’

Samuel spied a path he knew and led them along it, towards his hidden entrance in the palace. ‘This way!’

They emerged from the opening and the sensation of magic poured over each of them as they stepped out into the open. Again, the clamouring sound began as soon as they broke the magical skin that covered the hole, but they knew they would be away from there in moments. Samuel led them away, stealthily exiting the room and darting across the halls as guards ran in every direction.

He drew them out into a quiet courtyard, beneath the darkening sky. Day was now fading into twilight, with only a hint of brightness still marking the sky to the west.

‘Oh my!’ Balten said, closing his eyes. ‘This feels wonderful. I had forgotten what a cool breeze felt like.’

He cast a spell upon himself and his torn rags knitted themselves back whole,and the dirt and crud dropped away, leaving him standing in the neat Paatin clothesin whichhe had first surrendered. After a moment, he looked like a new man.

‘We need to hurry,’ Samuel said.

‘Where are they?’ Balten asked him in return.

‘To the north,’ Samuel said. ‘In Yi’sit.’

‘I should have known,’ Lomar said. ‘Taking the Empress from there will be no easy task. I will go for the others. Leaving them here once we have escaped isnothing more thana death sentence. With the alarm sounded, they may already be under guard.’

‘True,’ said Balten. ‘We will deal with Om-rah and meet you at the Temple of Shadows with the Empress in hand.’

‘So be it,’ Lomar said with a nod. ‘Samuel, be careful.’ And with that,hewalkedaway back into the palace.

As Balten and Ericeach called their power,Samuel slipped the grimy ring upon his finger. At once, its power filled him and he struggled to fight back the dizziness and force the world back into clarity as it warped and blurred before his eyes.

‘Let’s go,’ said Balten and he leaptaway with a great magical jump.

Eric followed in quick succession and Samuel came behind. They cleared the palace walls on their first leap and followed each other, leaping through the streets-to the alarm of the city folk beside whom they came bounding. In five more leaps,they were into the pastures and Samuel began to draw ahead. He filled his efforts with snippets of the Flying spell he had gleaned from the Paatin Queen, improving it with each attempt. It could not keep him completely airborne,as he had hoped, but he stayed aloft much longer than the others, surging ahead of them,with his cloak flapping wildly behind him. It tookonlymoments before they had left the rich lands beside the river and entered the simmering desert.

‘Samuel!’ Balten called out as he sprung upwards from the sandy dunes, leaving a puff and an indent behind. ‘We can’t keep up with you. Try to slow Om-rah down. We will not be far behind.’

Samuel nodded silently. He could feel the current burst of magic waning and, as he fell to earth, he reached into the ring for more magic. As he struck the desert sands, he released the next spell and the magic of the ring flared out, throwing him forward so that the air stung his face. Eric and Balten were quickly left far behind.

He judged that Om-rah would have easily reached the Well of Tears by now, but he could not give up. He drove himself desperately forward, the Argum Stone burning its magic into his marrow with each leap.

It had not been longbeforehe spied the lights of Yi’sit rising above the dunes. About halfway between him and the town, he noticed a magical glow upon the sand and he knew well the corrupt look of the magic.

‘Om-rah!’

He looked behind, but Eric and Balten were now too far behind to be seen.

The Paatin arch-wizard seemed to notice him approaching.Longbefore Samuel coulddrawnear, Om-rah had taken flight and risen above the dunes on his flitting wings, making a beeline directly for the settlement.

Samuel landed where the arch-wizard had been waiting and he saw what had delayed the man for so long. A camel lay dead,with most of its head missing,and the remains of two Paatin nomads lay beside it, amidst a flurry of blood splattered all over the sand.Mostof thenomads’ bodies wasmissing. It seemed that Om-rah’s penchant for fresh meat was fortunate, as he had stopped for a snack along the way.

With barely a pause to take all this in, Samuel boundedaway, leaving a cloud of sand erupting in his wake.

He gained quickly on the Paatin arch-wizard, for Om-rah was reliant on the beetle-like wings that extended from beneath his dark cloak and they could only carry him so quickly. It would only take another leap to reach him, but Samuel was already gritting his teeth with pain.

At the apex of his next leap, he sentouta Holding spell. He had hoped to bring the hulking wizard to ground, but Om-rah sensed the spell’s approach and deflected it easily. In response, he made a great trilling call that carried far and wide. It was a sound that no human throat should be able to make, yet Samuel sensed no magic in its utterance.

Almost at once, the lights of other Paatin wizards came flooding out from Yi’sit-first a few,and then more and more, as wizards swarmed from the town like angry wasps.

The final orangestreaksof the sun had now drowned into the west and night itself had fallen. To the east, the pale scar of the Star of Osirah was just climbing out of the sands, looking like a fiery white serpent flying atop the dunes.

Samuel landed and yelled with pain as he released his final jump. His magic felt as if it was tearing at his insides, but he could not stop now, so close to stopping the infernal wizard.

He aimed himself towards Om-rah as well as he could and he flew swiftly, crashing into the giant in mid-air. It felt as if he had struck a wall of granite and both of them tumbled from the sky, careening down onto the desert sands. Samuel managed to soften his fall with spells, but Om-rah dropped like a stone, sending up an explosion of sand where he struck.

Samuel hoped the wizard was dead, but he was taking no chances. He ran up the softside of thedune as quickly as he could,shields firmly in place. He had just reached the crest of the dune when a great black form loomed up at him and a claw snapped out. If not for hislightningreactions,it would have taken his head off, but the impact still threw Samuel tumbling back down from where he had come.

Scrambling back to his feet halfway down the dune and spitting sand from his mouth, Samuel spied the Paatin arch-wizard hobbling away as fast as his legs would carry him. He seemed quite inefficient at running, but it was a boon for Samuel to have damaged the tyrant’s wings.

Samuel scrambled around the side of the dune and beganto scrambleup and after Om-rah on the next. When he climbed to the top, however, what met his eyes made him stop in his tracks. To his magician’ssight, it seemed as if a thousand burning torches were flowing up and over the sands towards him. He knew what it meant-the wizards were coming to theaidof their leader, and more continued to stream from Yi’sit by the second. Whencethey had all come, he could not guess, but their numbers were overwhelming.

Om-rah used his wings to clear the next gap in the dunes, but Samuel could see he was having difficulty carrying his weight, with his black cape torn and trailing behind him. Looking down, Samuel was aware that the footsteps of the arch-wizard trailed ahead-but they were not the marks of feet or boots. Rather, the sand was patterned with the strides of great claws.

Spells began to whizz past him and Samuel called again to the ring-first putting up some initial defences, then rallying himself for an assault of his own. He could not let the arch-wizard get away from him.

Om-rah met the first of his underlings and continued through the sea of wizards without a pause, intent on reaching the settlement. There were too many wizards to deal with individually and so Samuel would need to find a way to deal with them all quickly.

Wizard-spellstingedandwhizzedfrom Samuel’s shields. The attacks were steadily growing in number and strength,and would soon start taking their toll upon his defences. He needed to find a way to disable as many of the wizards as quickly as possible, and so, unfettering his poised and readied power, he set the sands to tremble.

The Paatin spells ceased at once as the wizards sensed his magic approach. They felt the threat of his spell looming, and they readied themselves to meet it.

The dunes shuddered and the sands began to shift. Some wizards ran, while the stronger ones set their defences in place. A hissing sound began as the sands swept over them and the dunes began to waver. Up and down,the hills of sand began to heave, rolling like waves in the sea,and wizards screamed and fell as they lost their footing or were swallowed from sight entirely. Many of the wizards were more skilled than Samuel had expected, and they remained balanced, protected in shells of magic and safe from harm.

In response, Samuel called for his ring to give him even more.

The pain buckled his legs and he fell to one knee, but he could not relent yet. The spell was doing its work and,moment by moment,the dunes raged higher, crashing down upon each other with a thundering roar,accompanied by thescreamsof Paatin men and women.

Around Samuel, the sand shimmered and danced as the vibrations rattled it,andwhen he could take no more of the magic burning in his bones, he quenchedthe flowand the tempest before him immediately fell flat.

Almost at once, a dozen spells flew in all around him, and Samuel was aghast to see so many blazing spots of wizards still speckling the flattened sands. He struggled to re-open his channel to the Argum Stone and re-establish his defences. His head throbbed and his temples felt skewered by needles.

Struggling to his feet, he began casting out streams of lightning to the nearest of the Paatin wizards. Some fell, but others withstood his blows and responded with savage spells of their own. Striding forward, he began to pick them off one by one, but his bodycould not lastat this rate. This was far more than he could manage alone.

Two blazing balls of magic seemed to heed his call and they came crashing down beside him: Eric and Balten-charged with power and readied.

Eric released his magic first and a jet of desert sand erupted from beneath a nearby wizard. The man went flying and the spell continued away, forming an arch of churning sand that then dived upon another hapless wizard. The wizard had prepared a shield of magic, but the unstoppable weight of the sand drove down upon him and he disappeared beneath it. Moments later, the torrent of sand sprang up beneath the next wizard-and it continued like that, leaping from the desert like a serpent, picking out its prey and thundering down upon them.

Balten clenched his fist and streams of sand flew up from beside them, glowing hot and raining downin the form ofspears of glass upon the wizards. Dozens of Paatin went down, pierced and shattered by the missiles, yet so many still remained to bar them from reaching Yi’sit.

‘Rest a moment, Samuel,’ Balten called beside him. ‘Calm your spells. You are overspent.’

‘Heisnearly to the city!’ Samuel said, desperately trying to recover his breath. He quelled his defences and,at once,the cool night air felt refreshing on his skin. ‘We must stop him.’

‘These wizards are proving stubborn,’ Eric said, continuing to wreak havoc with his sinuous spell of magic and sand. ‘There are too many of them.’

Balten continued his work, but raised his eyes to the heavens. ‘Your spells have upset the elements,’ he said and Samuel followed his gaze a-high, for the stars had disappeared and the night sky had become impenetrable blackness.

‘What is it?’ Eric asked, but a shimmer of lightning answered his question.

‘Clouds? Here?’ Samuel asked.

‘The balance is broken,’ Balten told them. He sniffed the air and looked surprised. ‘I smell rain upon the wind.’

‘Is that possible?’ Samuel asked.

‘It does rain sometimes, even here, although the season is not correct. Our magic has drawn the storm.’

‘Somehow, I don’t think the Paatin will thank us,’ Eric said.

‘Not when they are all dead,’ Samuel said.

They then noticed the sand swelling up far away-four rising hills that came sweeping directly towards them from beside the town.

‘Jidanti!’ Balten said and he cursed in the Old Tongue. ‘They’re slow, but difficult to deal with. We must move quickly. Samuel, go! As fast as you can! We will cover you.’

Samuel went to spring away, but Balten stopped him before he could move. ‘Don’t leap! They are ready for that. Save your magic. I will provide you with some shields that should last long enough for you to get through to the town. You will need all your strength when you get there. Don’t use your ring until you need it, or I fear you will not be able to defeat Om-rah. He is very strong.’ And he set a wall of spells around Samuel as he had said.

Samuel nodded andstartedaway on foot as the other magicians renewed their efforts to defeat the Paatin. Eric sent his sand-serpent writhing along on one side of him,throwingthe wizards sprawling in sprays of sand, while Balten picked others off with his precisely-aimed spears of glass.

Still more Paatin stepped in to take their place and Samuel found himself evading spells left and right, bouncing them off his shields with screeching flashes of magic. The sand under his feet fell away and Samuel leapt as a massive claw came reaching out after him, dripping sand behind it. It clacked shut just below his knee and the great beast, as big as a three-storey house, heaved itself out of the sand after him. It slowly turned to follow him as the dunes spilled down from its shelled back.

A jet of Balten’s magic struck it from the far side and the beast gave a shrill cry of fury and began turning back towards him. Magic flicked along the rim of its shell and smoke gushed from the joints in its segmented legs, but otherwise it seemed unharmed.

Samuel carried on as fast as his legs would carry him, leaping over Paatin bodies and ducking under spells. I cannot fail! Faster! Faster! Or the Empress will die!he chimed over and over in his head and he felt each breath burning in his lungs. His legs carried him like the wind. All he could think of was saving the Empress and her boy. He could not bear the thought of finding their broken bodies-of losing those he cared about again.

Tiny sparks of magic shimmered along his muscles and he felt each step becoming lighter than the last. What’s happening?he thought, as the wind began to whistle past his face and he began passing wizards before they could even see him coming. His sandals padded softly on the sand, but energy saturated his body, driving him along with magic-empowered strides, faster than any Koian warrior.

Cold drops splashed against his cheeks and,a moment later,a wave of heavy rain fell like a thrown blanket, roaring and slamming itself down upon the thirsty sands. Lightning shattered the skies and thunder followed immediately with a hellish reverberating boom that petrified the wizards with fear.

Samuel did not slowhis paceand he continued past the terrified Paatin as fast as he could. In a few heartbeats, he had reached the yawning gates of Yi’sit and he continued through, by nowlittle more than a blur.

He did not quite know what was happening, but he had no time to question the fact. Whether the magic that now filled him was his ownor not, he could not tell,forthe ring seemed silent upon his finger. His body seemed to be gathering powerofits own accord, but he had no time to wonder how.

Water was already pouring off the roofs in rivers,and puddles had formed beside every wall. Common Paatin and the remaining old wizards were standing in the streets, looking upwards and around themselves agog and none of them even noticed Samuel splashing past them.

He reached the Empress’ tower and barrelled up the steps, following a trail of yellow ooze. Her doorway had already been broken in and,as Samuel hurried into her room, Om-rah turned to face him. The arch-wizard’s enormous form filled the centre of the room and Samuel had to grab hold of the door frame with all his might to stop himself from crashing into the man. Everything in the room had been broken into countless pieces but there was no sign of the Empress or young Leopold.

Om-rah raised his arm and pointed to Samuel with a jagged black claw and,as he swore at him in some Paatin tongue, his eyes blazed within the darkness of his hood. Samuel only had an instant to react as a spell burst out from the arch-wizard and shattered the doorway behind him. He dived aside, rolling beneath the wizard’s other claw as it came sweeping out to snare him. He dared not call to his ring without a moment to control it, for in the initial moments of receiving its power,he was always disoriented. Instead, he continued rolling, up and away from the enormous titan in the room. He saw his chance and vaulted out the window as another spell turned the rugs to flames behind him.

As he tumbledthrough the air, the heavy rain pounded down upon him. He called to the relic on his finger and the ground froze in place, now seeming to rise towards him like a gentle embrace. A moment later, the power of the ring had settled within him and the street flew up and hit him like a kick to the chin.

He shook his rattled head and regained his feet, turning back to look up to the Empress’ room. Om-rah was looking down at him, struggling to squeeze his massive form out the window. His gaze was locked onto Samuel with hatred and he shoved himself through the window, sending shattered stonespounding the streetbelow.

The hulking wizard leapt and splashed down beside Samuel. He made a sound of sheer malice as he raised himself to full height. His cloak had been singed and all but burnt from his body and Samuel could now see that there was very littlethat wasstill human about the man. He resembled more a burrowing grass beetle, for his skin was a jet-black carapace-little more than an armoured shell. His arms and legs were covered in bristles that looked like glistening blades and his hands were nothing more than cruel pincers. His head was that of an insect, utterly black with flat eyes that reflected the light like polished plates of ebony. His mouth was a razor-sharp set of mandibles and they clacked together as he bellowed, attempting to force the Paatin language out of his alien throat.

Despite his horror, Samuel did not hesitate and raised his arm, sending out a spray of incandescent flames that hissed in the rain. Om-rah stepped through the fire and steam unscathed and sent his own spell of lightning flashing into Samuel. It crackled and flickered around the magician’s defences, arcing and jumping between the puddles on the street, but Samuel also stood unharmed.

Enraged, the hulking juggernaut came forward, reaching at Samuel with razor-sharpclaws. Samuel instinctively leapt aside and the black talons ripped through his shields and caught his robes, tearing them and sending Samuel spinning away.

Om-rah turned after him and sprang,usinghis multi-jointed legs. Samuel also sprang away and he alighted high up on a nearby building as the wizard crashed down on the spot where he had just been. Om-rah leapt at once after him and, unable to halt the relentless creature’s approach, Samuel again vaulted away. The building he had just abandoned collapsed as the arch-wizard crashed down upon it, but it did not slow the man-beast at all. Itshook the debris fromitsshoulders and followed straight after Samuel, howling with guttural rage again and again asitpursueditsquarry from building to building along the street, summarily demolishing the town asitwent.

Samuel sent out jets of magic, trying every manner of spell he could recall, but Om-rah’s shell seemed impregnable to assault of every description. Every spell bounced off the slippery scale or caused little effect,and the Paatin arch-wizard kept after himsingle-mindedly.

He found himself wishing for some decent-sized rockswith whichto crush the bug for,every time he pulled down a wall or grasped something to throw at the wizard,the objectwould crumble into pieces on impact.

Samuel landed high atop another of the domed towers, several storeys above the street. He called to his ring and swept out towards the hulking giant with a spray of magic that sliced the buildings on either side of the street in two. As potent as the spell was, it did nothing butreboundagainst Om-rah’s shell armour. Each spell burned at Samuel’s core and he was achieving nothingexceptthe systematic destruction of the settlement. If he could not think of something to change the odds, he would wear out and Om-rah would inevitably catch him in his claws. He shivered as he imagined himself being pushed head first into the arch-wizard’s eager mouth.

Samuel looked to the dunes beyond the outskirts of the settlement, where the battle was still raging and magic was still flashing wildly. The rain was freezing on his skin, but he could barely feel it amidst the burning of his magic. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the rain stopped and the streets were left glistening, with rippling pools reflecting the pale lightning above and the yellow fires amongst the debris of the town. Om-rah’s head pivoted as he surveyed the scene around him, for he too waspuszzledby the weather, if only for a moment. He sent out another spell that cut Samuel’s dome perch from its foundations and sent it toppling down into the street,while Samuel bounded away.

Most of the remaining inhabitants had fled the town and made for the relative safety of the open desert, but the nearby wail of a child had Om-rah and Samuel both turning their heads to see. Down the next street, a woman ran for cover, cradling a boy in her arms.

There was a clack from below and Samuel turned back to see the tyrant wizard, but the beast had already gone. Samuel followed frantically, leaping after the armoured creature as he made for the defenceless pair. The Order magician crashed into Om-rah with all his might, but it was only enough to knock the arch-wizard slightly off course. They crashed into the middle of the street and Samuel rolled aside. Cruel,spiked arms lashed out towards him as Om-rah thrashed wildly about.

Empress Lillith was there, holding Leopold tightly,and she looked from Samuel to Om-rahinwide-eyed alarm. Her breath was a cloud of frost. She turned and fled into the doorway of the building, starting up some stairs and Om-rah climbed to his legs to be after them, ignoring Samuel altogether as he thrust himself through the narrow doorway, spraying shattered stone around him.

Samuel looked up and spied a balcony above. He jumped up, hoping to catch the woman before the insect could have them. He climbed over the side just as she came hurrying into the room, with the crashing sounds of Om-rah behind her.

‘This way!’ he called and she ran to him. ‘Hold onto me,’ he called and she didthebest she could, with the wailing boy clutching around her neck. Samuel grabbed her with both arms and jumped from the balcony. The woman was nearly pulled from his armsbythe force of the jump and they sprawled awkwardly onto the street.

‘Run!’ he shouted to her, for Om-rah was on the balcony and surveying them hungrily.

Empress Lillith did as she was told.Shescooped up Leopold andscurriedaway along the drenched street. Om-rah leapt directly for them and Samuel sent a wall flying into the beast, striking him mid-leap, but Om-rah carried on, unfolding the segments of his back and sweeping past the woman with a clatter of wings.

She fell just as Om-rah scooped past them and Samuel was racing to be beside her as the arch-wizard alighted on the next building. He thought the woman had been lucky but,as he helped her to her feet, she wailed and clutched at Samuel, for young Leopold was missing from her arms.

‘No!’ sheshrieked,as the terrible arch-wizard raised the screaming child to his excited mouth.

Samuel’s heart skipped, then a flash of magic and a spray of yellow fluid jetted up from between Om-rah’s shoulder plates. His beetle-like head plopped onto the rooftop and rolled down to where it fell on the street, chomping at nothing. Balten stepped out from behind the beast and pulled the crying child from its claws. Carefully, he scaled down to the street and came beside them. Lillith took the child from his arms and hugged the boy tightly, sobbing with joy. All four of them were sopping wet and the Empress was shivering. For the first time Samuel noticed how utterly freezing it had become.

‘Well,’ Balten said. ‘I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time.’

‘Is he dead?’ Samuel asked, for Om-rah’s body was still clambering around on the roof, feeling about with its claws.

‘I’m afraid I don’t have much magic left in me. I wouldn’t put it past him to grow a new head, so can you do the honours? I’d be much happier knowing there was no chance he could slip away and crawl under some rock to rejuvenate. Aim between the joints. It’s the only place he is vulnerable.’

Samuel nodded and called to his power one last time. It felt like someone was dragging a razor up his arm, but he managed to send out a tight beam of fire that screeched off Om-rah’s chitinous armour before finding the narrow articulation on the side of his body.

He intensified the potency and the result was spectacular, as the spell pushed between his plates of armour and slipped inside. There was immediately a hissing noise from within and yellow custard came boiling out the top of the arch-wizard’s shell. When the creature finally fell forward, his steaming hulk began to smoulder and his shell peeled back to reveal a set of vile, smoking organs. Samuel let his spell subside and,finally, Om-rah was still.

‘That will take care of him,’ Balten said, brushing his hands together and Samuel noticed that the tall magician looked unsteady on his feet. Samuel took him under the cover of one of the nearby buildings and let the man rest his legs.

‘You’re injured,’ Samuel said.

‘Just a tad. Eric seems to be mopping up the last of those wizards, so I’m hoping I can have a bit of a rest. I’m afraid I haven’t quite recovered from my time in captivity.’

They heard a clattering sound and Samuel looked back out on the street. He thought it had begun to rain, but,as the downfall increased,he saw there were pieces bouncing onto the street, and he realisedthey weretiny balls of ice.

‘Hail?’ Balten said, raising his head. ‘This is interesting.’

The ice continued to fall in varying-sized balls, bouncing about and gathering in clumps until the street was glazed white. The sound grew louder; under it was almost deafening and chunks the size of fists fell, crashing onto the rooftops.

‘What is happening?’ Samuel asked.

‘This battle will become something of a legend, Samuel-that is, if any of the Paatin live to tell of it. We’ve managed to upset things quite a bit, but they should settle back to normal soon. The weather can sometimes be affected by great magic, and defeating a thousand Paatin wizards is no small task.’

‘Empress Lillith,’ Samuel said, talking to the woman as she rocked the sobbing boy in her arms. ‘Are you injured?’

‘No, Samuel, I am well,’ she said, still sniffing and snivelling. ‘Thank you so much for saving us. I thought that thing was going to eat him.’

‘You are safe now. We will get you away from here.’

‘Where is my husband?’ she asked him.

‘He should be safely with Cang about now.’

‘Your husband?’ Balten said and it surprised Samuel that the man did not know everything.

‘Sir Ferse is the Emperor. Surely you knew?’ Samuel asked him.

‘I did not, but I see that some of this now makes sense. As I have said, Cang only tells me what he thinks I need to know.’

‘So it seems,’ said Samuel, ‘but we are not finishedhereyet. I still need to return and kill the sand witch and take her ring.’

‘Samuel,’ Balten said. ‘You can’t. She will surely be expecting you.’

‘I know now I can do it. I feel my own magic is returning and with the ring I am more powerful than ever.’

‘You’re in no condition to do much of anything, Samuel. You need to rest or you will just be throwing your life away.’

‘I cannot wait. She could do anything. I need to get her before she has time to prepare her defences.’

‘I can warn you, but I cannot stop you,’ Balten said solemnly. ‘We will be waiting in the Temple of Shadows. I will keep them safe with me there until you return.’

Samuelbeganto leave, butthe merest movement madehis muscles feelemptied of strength. The thought of even using his ring again made him feel sick. Balten was right; he had no idea how he would even make it back to the palace, yet alone defeat Alahativa, but there was no way he was going to give up now.

‘Samuel,’ Lillith said and she turned to him. ‘Thank you. Thank you both. You have saved us from that hideous thing. We will be forever in your debt. Words fail me.’

‘There is nothing to thank me for, Your Highness. I am no hero for saving you, but I would be a coward if I had not. Go with Balten. He will take you to your husband.’

She seemed pleased by the news and hugged her boy closer to her. ‘Please, be careful, Samuel. I hope I will also see you soon.’

Hurried steps sounded from the street and Eric came scampering in, wet and frozen from the rain and hail. His hair was full of ice and his cheeks looked pink and frozen. He scurried in under the cover to join them.

‘Finished already?’ Balten said.

‘Almost,’ Eric replied. ‘A few were left, but they gave up the moment the sky started pouring ice onto them and they fled. I think they thought enough was enough. I don’t blame them. A few of those pieces almost cracked my skull in. I take it everyone’s fine then?’ he said, looking to the Empress and her child.

‘They are. Eric, I’m going back,’ Samuel told him.

‘Where? To Hol?’

‘Yes. I want you to help Balten. Take them back to Cang and take care of them. I will join you there soon.’

‘I will come with you,’ Eric stated, but Samuel shook his head gravely.

‘No. While I would appreciateit ifyouwerewith me, I can act more freely alone. I can control the power of the ring better now, but I cannot unleash its full power if I have to worry about others. If I have to, I will destroy the whole palace.’

‘Very well, but if you get into trouble I will bring the others to save you. I don’t want to go back to Cintar alone.’

‘Agreed,’ Samuel said.

Thankfully, the hail had eased to a soft drizzle that was almost like snowflakes and he started out into the street, striding away with as much vigour as he could summon-at least, until he was out of view of the others. Out of the town he went, with his toes kicking the ice away before him. The hard part was done; now all he had to do now was defeat that infernal woman.

The surreal hills and fields of ice ended not far from Yi’sit and Samuel was glad to have his feet out of the cold and back onto the warm desert sand. It still contained some residual heat from the day and some feelingreturned tohis toes.

It was a long walk back to the city of Hol and Samuel drove himself on for as long as he could. Eventually, he realised the foolishness of what he was doing and allowed himself to sleep. Still, he woke before an hour had passed and set off again in the direction of the city. That small rest seemed enough, and he could scarcely believe that he had just fought to his last skerrick of energy. Regaining the ring seemed to have granted him more power than ever. His senses were now finely tuned and could detect the masses of people in Hol, even from so far away.

A glow to the east told him that dawn was approaching and he had just entered the pasture lands as the sun peeked over the distant horizon, bright and blazing already in its first moments of the day. Paatin patrols were surging around on foot and horse and camel, and a group of themflashedtheir swords at Samuel and shouted commands at him in their tongue. He ignored them, for the ring on his finger protected him from their steel. They jabbed at him with their swords, but he was too tired to play such games. He dropped them all to the floor unconscious and climbed up onto one of the camels himself.

Lacking the skills to direct it as he wished, he sighed and sent a spell into the creature’s mind that had it lumbering back towards the city at a jostling trot.

Small clusters of guards came to harass him and, one by one, Samuel put them all to sleep, rather than waste his time in battle or argument. He had no wish for senseless violence, but he needed the men out of his way as quickly as possible. There were too many guards surrounding the palace and continuing such a tactic would only slow him down, so Samuelleaptup from his saddle and sprang up over the walls with a single bound. Another leap had him landing on a balcony that was very near the Paatin Queen’s chambers and,from there,it was a simple matter to gain access to her room.

Wizards and warriors lined the long room and they stepped back as he neared, holding their weapons bravely, but shivering in fear. It seemed he was expected.

Upon her dais, Alahativa waited with her arms folded as Samuel strode towards her. He was thinking of blasting her before she could speak a word, but,as he neared, his heart fell, for he saw the Emperor, Canyon and the Koian woman standing at her side with swords to their throats.

‘So you have returned,’ she said to him, ‘and intent on my murder. I am horrified it has come to this.’

Samuel halted at the base of her platform.

‘What has happened?’ he asked of the others and Edmond Calais answered.

‘After you left, there was a great battle throughout the palace. A magician was fighting, but we did not see him, for the Queen’s guards had gathered us up and brought us here. We thought it may have been you.’

‘It was Lomar,’ Samuel revealed. ‘It’s unfortunate he could nothelpyouescape. It would have made things much simpler. Do you know what happened to him?’

‘He did not die, if that is what you are asking,’ the Desert Queen responded, observing their conversation. ‘But neither did he escape unscathed. I have heard much of that Kabushy wizard. It is a shame I could not catch him. I wonder if he knows what happened to his kin?’

‘What do you mean?’ Samuel asked her, eyeing her suspiciously.

‘Have you not heard? My scouts brought word from the south only recently. There is no one left living in Kabush. Every soul has been murdered-slain by magic. Every village and hut and home has been wiped from the earth.’

‘Why would you do such a thing?’ he asked her with detestation.

‘Oh, it was nothing to do with me, I assure you. I had no interest in the marsh people. They were primitive and peaceful folk, but of no value to me. Still, if it serves to upset you and your friend, then I am thankful to whomever completed the deed.’

‘You are a cold-hearted woman,’ Samuel told her.

‘Yes. When it so pleases me-I am. You see, I am very unhappy about what you have done at Yi’sit. My remaining wizards have been arriving all night, telling tales of your terrible wrath. You have destroyed years of work, but at least you have shown your true powers in the end, Samuel. What a shame I was not there to witness it. I’m sure it would have been wonderful to behold. Tell me, did the woman and her child survive?’

‘They did,’ Samuel said. ‘They are safe and well.’

At that, the Emperor almost cried aloud with relief.

‘Then I must assume you also dispatched Om-rah for me. At least in that, Samuel, you have been obedient.’ Her customary reclining chair had been removed and a small square table had replaced it, with a straight-backed wooden chair at each end. The tablewas finely carved and inlaid with metal plates and braces, delicate filigree and fine stones. ‘I doubt I can stop my stolen prizes from returning to theWest. My army of wizards has been decimated and you have the help of that demon Cang. I’m sure they will be making for his valley, and it would be pointless for me to send my forces there. I will grant you victory in this, Samuel, but the rest of your plan has met its end. I will not die easily and,if you attempt any such foolishness, these four will be the first to perish.’

Samuel looked at the hostages, with curved swordsat their necks andwizardsby their sides,and with Utik’cah standing back behind them all, looking at Samuel flatly. It would be very difficult to save them all. He was not so fond of Canyon, but he could not risk letting the Emperor or the Koian woman be harmed. He damned himself for letting it come to this.

Then, something Alahativa had just said came back to him. ‘Three,’ he corrected her. ‘I see only three captives standing before you.’

At that, she again gave her most wonderfully satisfied smile. ‘Four, Samuel: the Koian man called Canyon, the one beside him that we shall call your Emperor, the nameless Koian female…and her child.’

Samuel looked at the Koian god-womaninconfusion and she turned her gaze aside.

‘That’s right, Samuel,’ Alahativa continued. ‘She has your child in her belly.’

‘You lie, Witch,’ he told her, not even tempted to believe her story.

‘So it’s witch now, is it? You would never have called me such things in my bed. How terribleit iswhen lovers turn to quarrelling.’ Her voice was full of unsubtle sarcasm. ‘I am sure it is true, Samuel. The woman has your child in her. It is true beyond a doubt.’

‘Impossible!’ he said, growing irritated.

‘So you say. Yet, it has happened. Tell him, woman.’ But the Koian girl would not raise her eyes from the floor. ‘You see? She knows it is so. Will you risk harming your unborn child, Samuel? It does seem quite remarkable that such a thing could happen. I am disappointed that you would not give me a child, yet you would resort to impregnating this…girl. Still, you are a magician so this may be the only chanceyou haveto bear young. I tell you, there must be something in the water these days. First, your Emperor receives a son when he could only have daughters and now you, a magician, grant a child to a witch, when the idea of eitherof youbearing young is simply imponderable. The scholars will certainly be waggling their tongues over this.’

‘What do you mean,“to a witch”?’ he asked her, perturbed.

‘She is not quite a god, but she does have powers, Samuel-or have you still not discovered that? Her skills are subtle, but she does have the potential to cast magic, somewhere deep inside her. You seem to have missed a great deal.’

‘Stop your prattling!’ he shouted at her and her painted eyes opened wide. He realised he was in an impossible position and the realisation that all was lost was almost too much to bear. With great difficulty, he forced his next words out as calmly as he could. ‘Tell me,then, what will you have me do?’

‘Very well,’ she said quite calmly, and she pulled back one of the chairs at her table and sat, sitting sideways to face him and crossing her legs at the ankles with her hands clasped on her lap. ‘I will tell you what will happen. You have won, Samuel. Take your woman and go. Take your Emperor, too. Whatever past we once shared, he has forsaken me. The other, Canyon, can do as he pleases. I will withdraw my armies from your lands and they shall return to the desert for all time. I am sorry this has not gone well, Samuel. My heart has been broken on all fronts and we Paatin shall reside here and accept whatever fate may come. I will tell my people that this is not Ajaspah-that the stars have been misread. We will await our fate quietly and face it as proudly as we can.’

Samuel eyedher courtierssuspiciously, but they gave no hint as to the Paatin Queen’s intentions. ‘Why would you do all this?’ he asked her. ‘You have already won. Why give up your victory?’

‘As I have said, Samuel, I have lost the will for vengeance. What point is there to continue onin the face ofall this bloodshed? I know you are powerful, more powerful than even I could have believed, for who else could destroy an army of my wizards and bring rain and snow to the desert. I have no wish to anger you further. Only more blood would be spilt and what good would it accomplish? I know I am not as noble a woman as I purport to be, but neither am I the monster you imagine. Come, I have prepared a treaty for you totake backto your people, as proof of my decision. Sit, sign it and I will send you home. My war is over.’

Samuel turned to the Emperor questioningly. ‘He would not sign it,’ Alahativa stated. ‘For whatever reason, he does not want his presence known to his people. You can make your mark in his stead. I’m sure your people will accept it, being the Saviour that you are.’

‘Is it true?’ Samuel asked and,with a nod from the Queen,the sword was moved ever so slightly from the Emperor’s throat.

‘I don’t know if her motivations are true, Samuel, but I would not sign it, as she said. Do so if you wish. I don’t know what value it holds, except to please the bureaucrats of Cintar. They do enjoy such things and it would do well to allay their fears of further invasion.’

‘Come,’ the Paatin Queen implored him and Samuel took three tentative steps up to the table and stood beside her.

A letter and a writing set were neatly laid out opposite her. Still, Samuel eyed the woman suspiciously. He kept his shields in place and his power at the ready.

‘Read it,’ she said. ‘They are merely words, but you will find no more powerful symbol of my sincerity.’

He stepped around to the other side of the table, keeping one eye on the Paatin Queen as he went, with his spells burning with readiness. She only turned and put her legs under the table, resting her hands gently upon the tabletop.

He did not sit as requested, but leaned over the chair to read. The note seemed genuine. Another glance to the Emperor had the man shrugging his shoulders. The Koian woman stood emotionlessly, eyes still to the floor, and Canyon was looking on with unrestrained expectation.

‘I will also give you something of a parting gift, Samuel. I know you want it, and perhaps it can serve to remind you of the tenderness we once shared.’ And with that, almost beyond belief, she wriggled her ring from her finger and set it down gently upon the table. ‘Here, take it. It is yours. Take whatever power it can give you and enjoy whatever happiness it may bring,’ and she slid it across to the middle of the table.

Samuel’s pulse raced and he had to hold himself from snatching the thing up. He weighed up the situation, for it seemed remarkable that his total loss had somehow become a victory.

He leaned forward expectantly and placed his finger on the second Argum Stone. He felt its cold surface throbbing with power against his skin and,at the same time,he noted a smile teetering on the edge of Alahativa’s lips. He did not trust her, but it was too late for her to change her mind. It really was the second relic beneath his finger and victory was now his. She was powerless and he now had everything.

At that thought, something brilliant flashed through the air between him and the ring and, with a mechanical clang, a long arm of steel slammed into place beside the table. Samuel staggered back, disoriented and in shock as he was suddenly cut off from his magic. There was a gasp from the Emperor and a shrill cry from the Koian woman, but,as Samuel looked towards them dumbly, Canyon seemed quite satisfied.

Looking back to the table, Alahativa had already snatched back her own magical ring and had slipped it back upon her finger. She was now prying a matching relic from a severed hand that lay limply upon the table, spilling blood from its elbow across the polished surface. A long,sharpened blade, slick with blood, lay exposed beside the table, sticking out from the wood where it had come to rest. A dark recess ran across the middle of the tabletop and it seemed it was from this that the device had exploded. Seeing the blade and the blood and the arm, Samuel slowly managed to put the meaning of the scene together, as his mind fumbled to make sense of things. He had been distracted in that final instant as the Queen had given him her ring, and his magic had waned enough for the blade to do its work. The Queen had judged him well.

Samuel staggered again and grabbed hold of the nearby chair, still trying to convince himself that the arm on the table belonged to him. He struggled to pick the thing up, then he realised that all he was achieving was waving around the stump of his right arm and spraying more blood.

‘How could you?’ the Emperor cried out, struggling against the guards that held him tight.

‘Take him,’ the Paatin Queen called and a team of her mengrabbedSamuel with rough hands.

Samuel was still looking about dumbly, when a white-hot spray of wild magic spat out and turned the men around him to ashes with a screaming flash. The Koian woman was free, her own guards erased from existence.

‘You cannot do this!’ she screamed,and again she lashed out, throwing her crudely cast spells blindly across the room and a wizard and more guards vanished with a hellish shriek. ‘Run! Run, you idiot!’ she called to Samuel and he lurched intoactionand began staggering down the stairs.

The Emperor and Canyon flailed to be away from the woman beside them as her spells shot out in all directions, blasting stone and chair and curtain, evaporating Paatin left and right as they tried to evade her wrath.

‘Kill him! Kill him!’ Canyon blurted out, pointing to Samuel. ‘Don’t let him get away!’

No sooner had he bellowed the words than the Koian woman had spun and locked her wild eyes upon him. ‘It was you!’ she said. ‘You told her everything!’ Untamed magic still poured from her in blazing, flailing tentacles, keeping the guards fleeing and the Paatin Queen ducked out of sight behind the table and a veil of protective spells. It seemed only luck that Samuel and the Emperor had not been blasted bythe Koian woman’suntempered fury.

Canyon realised his mistake and horror drained his face white. ‘No. No, I did nothing.’ he stammered, backing away, but the raging woman put her palms to his face and he screamed like a girl. ‘Please! Don’t!’

‘Why couldn’t you let me live! Why did you do this to me!’ she cried, and Canyon vanished with a rising wail. His fleshwas incineratedand his clothes fell empty to the floor. In his place was a knot of life energy that only Samuel could see and she called it into herself, pulling it in with her will. Her hair whipped about her as she swallowed his essence and the intensity of her magic doubled, surging about her like a storm of sparks and shattered embers. She turned back to Samuel with rage still in her eyes, but when she saw him still standing there,as if struckdumb, she shoutedindisbelief.

‘Go!’ she implored him.

Remembering himself, Samuel wobbled to be away, but fell on the final step, slipping in his own blood, for his vital fluidhad been pouringdown his legs all the while. Instinctively, he tried to take the fall with both hands, but with one entirely gone, he crashed roughly onto the floor.

Alahativa’s magic then bloomed behind him and the Koian woman’s magic ceased. Rough hands took hold of him andhauledhim back to his feet. As they dragged him away, he could see that the Koian woman was lying still on the floor and the Paatin Queen was standing over her, surrounded by a blaze of her own intense power.

‘Let him suffer!’ the Paatin Queen called after him. ‘A slow death for him! Nothing terrible should be spared!’

Everything after that was shades of grey, flashes of light and dark, and moments of silence and screaming. He felt his body being skewered by agony and he did his best to remove himself from all sensation. Heat and cold washed over his skin, fire drilled into his skull and ice into his bones, crushing pressure filled his joints until they felt fit to burst and his breath felt like molten lead in his lungs. His right arm was not wracked by torturous pain-amazingly-which made less sense than anything,for that was the very arm he had seen quivering on the Paatin Queen’s table.

He remembered being dragged and he remembered the smells of the catacombs. Rough hands pushed and shoved him and then he felt himself beingshovedinto a narrow hole. There was a moment of peace, and then a flash of lightning.

He felt the coldness of death enveloping him, forcing itself into his veins but,as his vision cleared, Samuel found himself lying in a stone courtyard, amidst a wild scuffle. He could see Turians fighting Paatin, but it seemed to make no sense. His arm had returned and he could see his fingers wriggling and flexing at the tip of his hand. Strangely, he could feel warm blood seeping from a wound in his chest, yet the pain of that wound was too distant to bother him.

Some of the Paatin that fought nearby had wings protruding from under their capes, and the Turians that faced them wore the colours of the Ghant defenders. Captain Ravenshood and Grand Master Tudor were there, struggling against their foe, and the battle seemed to begoingin the Paatin’s favour.

Only then did he realise that this was some kind of dream or memory from his past. ‘This has all happened before,’ Samuel thought to himself, ‘but why can’t I remember it?’ He tried to move, but found he was only an observer within his own dream. He had no way to affect what was going on,and so he resigned himself to the fact, sitting back within his own memory and letting it unfold around him.

Darkness crept in around his vision once more as the blood continued to drain from his middle, until he was blind and the sounds of the battle felt like echoes from far away. He knew the men were still tussling around him, for Turian and Paatin alike were visible to his magician’s senses, even though his eyes had lost their ability to focus. They moved like luminous ghosts cavorting all around, dancing around his dying form.

Grand Master Tudor, brighter than the others, seemed like a god amongst his followers, and the bolts of magic that bloomed out from him twirled in the air like ink in water, swirling and curling all around. Many others already lay dead around the courtyard, and Samuel could see their life energies creeping out around the courtyard like cautious tendrils trying to escape from the scene.

It was these he clasped onto, for the energy felt akin to his own-warm and inviting in the bleak coldness all around. He remembered when Master Glim had died and he remembered the thrill of life he had felt when he had absorbed that tiny mote of his teacher’s energy. So he grasped the dying embers of energy in the room and began calling them towards himself.

As they reached him, he swallowed them into his own presence and they became part of him. It was exciting, rejuvenating. He could taste the very nature of the peoplewhohad died here,feel their final terrified thoughts,see their final blood-curdling visions. It was frightening, yet somehow irresistible, for his only desperate thought was that of his own survival.

He beckoned for all the wasted power in the room to come to him, and obediently the streamers of life did come. Slowly, they crawled through the air towards him, and each one that entered him gave him back a tiny spark of life.

The effort seemed futile however-like raking leaves on a windy day-for,with every speck of energy he gathered into himself, more spilled from the gaping hole in his chest. He called and called, wishing he could scream out to the world and have it obey him, for everything was just happening far too slowly for it to make any difference. Soon, he would die.

Then he felt something cold upon his finger and with a sudden shock, all the lingering energy in the room seemed to rush in towards him. With the power of the Argum Stone to assist him, he could gather all the power he needed as simply as wishing for it. He gathered all that wayward life force into himself, healing himself, undoing the awful harm done unto his body.

The power of the ring was incredible, and with it he could call to everything-not just the fading spirits that wafted from their battered shells, but the more vital energies that hid within fleshy casings. As he called, more vibrant power came flooding into him.

The world around was still darkness to his blinded vision, but these clusters of life energy shone out to him irresistibly. He only had to direct his will towards them and they entered him one by one.

As he surveyed the courtyard, he spied a clot of shadow lingering near the doorway, clogged with blackness, and so he turned his attention away from that-for it was not worth considering. A cluster of brilliant power across the room was far more appealing and so he focussed upon that with vigour.

As he began to gather it, the spot blazed like a bonfire in a sudden wind. He turned his gaze away momentarily, for the brightness had dazzled him, but so,too,had it excited him. The more the energy blazed and struggled, the more it enticed him. The outer strips of life began unravelling and tumbling in towards him and he found that a deeper, sweeter power was hidden underneath. He drew that in as well, relishing in delight as he devoured it.

All he could think wasI can live! I can live!as he swallowed all the energy in the room.

He had forgotten the battle that had earlier waged around him and it seemed as if all the sounds of fighting had vanished,lost amongst the sound of power rushing in his ears. He knew he was still lying there on the hard stones, and that this was all some kind of fantasy that one felt just before death, but it seemed so strange and real.

A sound caught his ear and he returned his attention to that last bloom of light that had proven so nourishing. There was hardly anything of it remaining, yet it called out to him in a pained and pleading voice, calling his name and asking for him to stop. Its voice sounded familiar, but dreams had a way of making things seem confusing. After another moment, the room was silent and everything was again dark and cold and quiet, and he knew the dream had ended.

Tucked away in the darkness, Samuel felt a burning in his eyes, but for some reason he could not force himself to weep. All he wanted to do was wallow in his misery, for he now realised what he had done, and he knew what had become of Grand Master Tudor. He damned himself for being so weak and for giving in to the evil that lurked inside him. He damned himself, for it had felt so good.

‘Father!’ came the voice of a child. ‘Wake up! Get up!’

The image of a dead man, lying on a hard floor and staring-masked in blood-filled his mind. He refused to let the memories of that dark night come back to him and he pushed them from his mind as they struggled at the edge of his attention. Instead, a vast city came into view through the clouds of his dream. It wasset beside a glittering sea and surrounded by great pale walls that were beyond comparison. Cintar, it was called, and this city was the jewel of Amandia; perfect in every way and envied by every ruler who had ever come to behold it.

A seething host filled the lands around that city and they threw themselves against the walls without respite. In turn, swarms of gold and blue adorned men amassed on the walls and defended their city with arrows and stones and vats of boiling oil. Magic leapt from wall to ground and was returned in equal portion, but it seemed the battle was evenly matched. The city could not be taken, yet the invaders could not be dispelled.

Greatcarapacedbeasts lumbered across the pastures toheave themselvesat the walls, and the armies parted to make way for them. Enormousboulders flew at the beasts, but the beasts seemed resilient to everything. Then, the vision faded and the roar of the battle subsided.

‘Hello?’ came a voice and Samuel found himself standing in his room within the palace. At first, he could not tell if this was still a part of his dream or if he had actually awoken-somehow freed from his nightmares.

The Koian woman was leaning in the doorway, with guards visible at her back. She looked straight towards him, and he tried to answer back, but that image, too, faded and the Koian woman disappeared from view.

He caught flashes of her after that, standing in her room, or sitting idly in the gardens, or lying in her bed in the middle of the night. Each time, shewouldlook up, as if startled by his presence, before the scene would vanish and he would be left wandering in senseless dreams. He struggled to return to her, because for some reason he could not stop thinking about her and she was the only thing that made sense in this world of pain and anguish.

Whereat first she had confounded and annoyed him, he now found her intriguing and compelling. What he had considered to be her stubbornness and ignorance now seemed to be strength of will and innocence. Whereonce he had thought of her asalien and unsightly, he had grown to find her beautiful and fascinating.

More and more,he caught glimpses of her life in the palace and it seemed that the days were passing ever so quickly, for,every time he saw her,she was dressed differently, or the sun lay in different parts of the sky. Still, he strived as much as he could to stay by her side, for the alternative to being with her was unthinkable: the deep and silent void that lingered at the edge of his conscience, threatening to engulf him.

At times, she seemed to feel him, and she spoke as if to him, but the words were always muffled and unintelligible. He tried to speak back to her, but the sound caught in his throat. All he could do was hover at her side and follow her as she wandered forlornly down the halls, ever shadowed by Shara and a pair of watchful Paatin guards.

She visited the Emperor at times and Samuel saw them sitting and talking in muted tones. Although they often laughed and talked pleasantly, they both seemed distracted by a longing in their hearts. When she left the Emperor’s room, she was as quiet and lonely as before.

‘I miss you so,’ he heard her say, late one night as he hovered by her bed. It seemed incredible that he could hear her voice. ‘Oh,my Love. How foolish I have been.’

He tried to reply, but he had no mouth to speak. It seemed he was only a dream within a dream, and such things could never capture the wind to craft words from their throats.

He stayed with her intermittently throughout the days and nights. He could not control the duration or the frequency of such stays and,as soon as he started to feel he was gaining a hold on this existence, everything would fade away into the distance as he was drawn back into the darkness, forever infuriating him.

She talked to him in all her quiet moments and he could not ever imagine leaving her side. She spoke often of the baby growing in her swollenbelly, and he remembered their shared moment of tenderness. All he could do was damn himself for not realising his love for her sooner and he hoped that, perhaps, this dream would end and he would wake beside her, safe and well.

‘Have you forsaken me already?’ came another voice in his dream, and he imagined Leila looking at him with sadness. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said, regaining her strength and smiling once again. ‘I forgive you, Samuel. Our life together was wonderful, but all things must change eventually. Be with her…be happy. I could not wish anything but happiness for you. You know I will always love you, and I know, in your way, you will still always love me. That’s all I ever wanted. My life was short, but you made it wonderful.’

He imagined her turning softly and stepping away into the shadows,and he could feel whatseemedlike tears welling in his eyes, although they were hot and burned their way down his cheeks. Thoughts and dreams and reality had no boundaries any more, for without being able to wake, all such things had become as one.

Time seemed to pass like wandering aeons and,at times, Samuel broke from his dreams of the living and floundered more and more on the edge of waking. Less and less, he was able to visit the Koian woman and more often he found himself yelling in pain or caught in the nightmarishdeliriumof a fever. At one point, he realised he was screaming and the taste of blood was filling his throat. He scrambled to his feet and ran forward into the inky darkness only to strike his head on sheer stone, knocking himself straight back into unconsciousness. Another time, he thought he was free and escaping from the city,only to realise, as the blackness returned, that it wasbuta delusion-any images that came to him were now fantasy; only the blackness was truth.

At times, he thought he could hear a scraping, like some clawed creature pawing at him from beyond a wall, and a whispering sounded at the edge of his perception, sometimes forceful and insistent,at other times pleading and desperate. At one point, he felt that the wall around him had collapsed and that the whispering thing was now upon him, but it was all dreams and nightmares,fever and illusions. All he wanted was to return to his love, but the pain behind his face would not allow it.

He awoke more and more frequently, and it was only at these times that it was truly dark and quiet. He took such opportunities to explore his surrounds, crawling around on the hard stones and moaning for someone to help him. No one came to his aid and he could only collapse flat back onto some rags on the floor and wait for unconsciousness to takehold ofhim again. Each time, a tiny vestige of his strength returned, and soon he hoped to be able to hold onto his awareness long enough to discover what had happened to him.

He found himself surmising that he must beimmuredagain in the Queen’s catacombs, buried beneath Mount Karthma and,along with the thought,came a strange and sudden euphoria, for he realised he was fully awake.

He scrambled desperately to find the door, clawing away in all directions at the stone, only to realise that one hand was passing through air while the other met rock. Fumbling his fingers about his body, he discovered a wet stump just below his right elbow, and remembered what had happened.

Carefully, he raised his stump and explored the wound with his fingers. It had hardened and was dry in some places, but was seeping in others. Testing the extents of his prison, he felt around with his left hand held out before him, searching for the door. Eventually, he realised that he must have already made two or three circles around the chamber without finding anything. There was no door to find and the cell was scarcely large enough for him to lie in. Testing his suspicions, he ran his palm over the rocks, standing on the tips of his toes and reaching up. There was no ceiling above him that he could feel and the rocks seemed to lean in, as if narrowing inwards to form a chute.

It seemed that he was in the same cell that had been Balten’s home for so long, in the deepest recesses of the Paatin Queen’s catacombs. He was without an arm and without his ring and,even if he had either, he was separated from freedom by a mountain of magic-defying stone.

He was lucky that he had survived being thrown down into the cell in the first place, for the fall could easily have broken his neck, and lucky that he had not then bled to death as he had lain unconscious. If what had happened to Balten was any indication, he would be left without food and water until he rotted. Unless someone came to save him, he would be down here indefinitely-but all his friends had already fled the city.

The Emperor was a prisoner of the enraged Queen and the Koian woman, pregnant with his child, was in no condition to come to his aid. Was that one of his feverish delusions? Did he really love her? Now, awake and coming to terms with his predicament, he was not very sure of anything.

Realising his throat was crying out from thirst, Samuel stopped down low and licked around the base of the wall for tiny droplets of water. It was hard work, but he could feel the coolness on his tongue and it tempered his thirst to some degree. His stomach was aching for food, but there was simply nothing to eat. He patted around on the floor with his remaining hand for any scraps his captors may have thrown down, but there was nothing but hard stone and grit. Not even bugs ventured around the cell, and even his magician’ssighthad failed him, leaving him in such an inky blackness that he had never thought was possible.

It was curious that his rendered arm caused no pain, for he imagined the wound should be worse. The only feeling was a deep throbbing in his bone, but the weeping end gave no sensation at all. Often, he forgot about the injury and thought he could feel his fingers wiggling on the end of his hand in the darkness, but any attempt to clasp his hands together quickly taught him thetruthof the matter. His arm was gone and it would not be returning on its own any time soon.

He slept on the hard stone and awoke whenever he imagined he heard something, but,as he sat perfectly still, cocking one ear towards the trapdoor above, there was nothing to hear. He talked to himself and murmured away in the darkness to pass the time, singing songs and humming tunes. He guessed a few more days might have passed in the meantime and the terrible realisation kept coming home to him that very shortly he would starve to death.

He rememberedthat Balten had survived by enteringintoa catatonic state,and so Samuel began by sitting in a similar position andtrying tocalm his thoughts. It proved difficult, for he felt restless and jittery-an effect of his injury and starvation, he guessed. Many times, he leapt up in a fury and roared out loud, screaming and venting his wrath towards the hatch far above him, but it did no good. He threw himself at the walls and smashed his fist against the hard stones. Hisefforts were futile and he dropped to the floor, weeping in misery. Exhausted and parched, he laid himself out on the floor and peered up through the darkness to where he imagined the exitwas.

‘I’m sorry, Leila,’ he croaked to himself. ‘I thought I would do better for you. I wasn’t strong enough. I was never strong enough. I couldn’t save anyone.’

‘Don’t worry, Samuel,’ he almost imagined her saying. ‘You did your best. She needs you now. Rest yourself a-while and save your strength. I’m sure you will make good of everything.’

After that, nothing happened, except the dark remained dark and the quiet stayed quiet for what felt like a long,longtime.

Perhaps it was his uncanny ability to recover from injury, or perhaps it was merely his inability to admit defeat, but Samuel lived. In fact, he did much more than that-he became stronger.

In his comatose state upon the floor of his cell, his mind had a complete lack of stimuli and so it turned in upon itself and began to soar. The world outside his imagination had become dark, and he could no longer reach the Koian woman beyond the confines of his cell, and so he followed the only light he could find, that which was burrowed away inside his mind. He followed the channels and rivers of energy that ran with his thoughts, carried in all directions by a compound nest of vibrant and shimmering filaments. He explored the endless landscapes inside himself: rivers and mountains and oceans of power. He found his memories and delved himself inside them, exploring the years and moments of his life and reliving all the moments of joy and sadness, love and hate.

He was running with Leila in the meadows of Tindal, marvelling at the wonder of her beauty, as she spun amongst the daisies. He was standing on lonely hilltops, moving through his stances and dancing amidst the lightning. He was in the School of Magic, laughing and joking with the Ericsbesidehim, poking them in the ribs and receiving the same back twofold. He was studying in the Great Library and watching Master Glim dictate the secrets of magic, with the friendly old teacher peering back at him over thick spectacles. He felt a flash of exhilaration as he relived watching Master Ash blasted to ashes and he experienced the moment of triumph as he followed the sword that buried itself into the Emperor’s flesh.

Then he was young again, bound towards Cintar atop the shuddering wagon with Tulan Goodwin, hugging his knees and nervous at what would come. He relived the terror of that night as Master Ash’s witch hunters slew his family, and he saw again that incandescent vision of Ash standing in the doorway, directing the slaughter-but now Ash looked young and thin,as he would have truly been, not at all as frightening as he had been to Samuel, distorted by the memories of a child. He heard his mother’s sobs as she dragged Samuel from the house, and he saw his father’s blank expression as he lay dead upon the floor, staring at Samuelfromunder the table. Night flashed to day and he was in the markets, frolicking with Tom and the village boys, causing mischief and covered in soot from head to foot. Through the trees and valleys around his home he roamed, darting and prancing and waving his stick-sword,runningdown into Bear Valley, dipping his toes into the icy waters. Then he was playing on his mother’s rug,carried in her arms and nestled against her bosom.

Before that, everything was warm and dark and comfortable. He could still hear the voices of his mother and father nearby, along with the steady drumming beat of her heart-always present, always reassuring-a steady,rhythmic pounding that gathered his thoughts and set the rhythm by which he had set his life. Finally, it was dark and quiet again and he was racing towards some boundary, an incredible barrier of energy that required tremendous effort to penetrate. He was not afraid, for he was accompanied by a guiding spirit that would see him through, and there was a flash of light-and he was someone else.

He turned calmly to the woman beside him, for he was suddenly standing in a world that seemed entirely real. The wind was brisk on his skin, and the noise of a discontented crowd surrounded them, placed high on a stage as they were.

He knew that he knew her, but somehow her face was both strangely unknown yet entirely familiar. She was lily white of skin, and utterly beautiful, but it was not her appearance that he remembered well-it was the spirit he could feel inside her.

She was almost a part of him, having accompanied him across time and through so many lives,yet it seemed they were seldom long together. They were always desperately searching for each other, whether they knew it or not, and only on rare occasionsdid they actually reach one another and realise what had been missing all along. In those precious moments, they had lifetimes of separation to atone for.

He looked down and found that their fingers were interlocked, but the hand that poked out from the sleeve of his ruffled shirt was as black as coal.

They were standing on a wooden platform, with ropes slung around their necks.

‘I love you,’ he told her. ‘I have always loved you.’

She smiled back at him and he knew what she would say even before she had said it. ‘I will always love you, too.’ Her voice was pure and wonderful and he longed to hear more of it, yet he knew he would have to wait.

Neither of them was afraid because,in reality, death was nothing to fear. She was his soul-mate, his eternal companion and they were destined to be together. Her name was-

Before he could recall, there was a shout from below in a strange foreign tongue; a moment of falling; and a sudden jolting stop.

Samuel gasped and awoke. He smacked his dry lips and endeavoured to look about his surroundings. It was still black, but his senses told him he was lying face up upon the floor.

‘What does it mean?’ he whispered to himself. He crept onto his hands and feet, and lapped water from the base of the wall. The stump on his arm was dry now; hard and crusted. He sat back down in the middle of the room, folded his arms and crossed his legs, before readying himself once more to dive back into his dreams.

He was alive and he was far from finished.

CHAPTER NINE

The Thing Born to the Mountain

It seemed that another dream had begun, but this time Samuel found himself looking down at a thin and dishevelled body-a rake of a thing, draped in rags, mutilated and left lying as if at the bottom of a well. Up the shaft he flew, squeezing through the cracks in the lid of that funnel and into a network of tunnels. He raced alongeach passage, unheeding of form or limitations. His thoughts dictated his direction and he moved wherever he wished. He passed several guards as they marched warily along with their torches, but they wereobliviousto his presence. He passed through them without even causing a flicker of their flames. Up he flew-up and out of the mountain and into the palace of the Desert Queen.

Along the halls he went, carefree and exuberant at his new existence. He was not concerned if this was a dream or not, for he was out of his cell and free-in all meanings of the word. Zooming along, he felt a familiar presence and he slowed his pace, passing through a doorway to find the Emperor sitting glumly on the end of his bed. The man had his hands clasped and was rolling his thumbs around each other, deep in thought. He was the Emperor in Sir Ferse, but there was someone else in there as well-many ‘someones’. Strange energies surrounded the man, layered about him like the skins of an onion-lives upon lives-and a growing power was gathering about him. Samuel was tempted to delve into the man’s mind for,even now,he could almost hear his troubled thoughts aloud, but entering into such a tumultuous place would be a treacherous task. The Emperor was no magician, but he was certainly something-something complicated and ancient. Instead, he left the man with his worries and continuedalongthe floor.

The Koian woman was there, lying on her bed,with Shara and several Paatin ladies about her. She had a wet rag across her brow and was cooling herself with a decorated fan, for the air must have been hot and stifling, although he could not feel it. A bump rose like a watermelon atop her belly,which wascovered in the thin sheets.

‘It won’t be long,’ old Shara said to another reassuringly, speaking Paatin. ‘The babe and mother seem to be doing well.’

‘Alahativa has ordered us to take every precaution. Every healer must be ready, every complication prepared against.’

‘The baby must not die,’ said a third, younger one. ‘No matter the fate of the mother, we must save the child.’

Shara looked at the expectant mother with concern. ‘I am thankful she cannot understand our words. I would not like any mother to hear such things. What is so special about this babe?’ she asked.

‘It is an impossible child, born from a witch and a wizard.’

‘Impossible!’ another woman exclaimed, recoiling. ‘Those that use magic are barren. Even if they were not incapable, no such child should be allowed. Why would Alahativa permit such a thing?’

‘That is not for us to question!’ declared the youngest,and the oldest bit her lip.

‘She is a witch?’ Shara wondered, looking to the ignorant Koian woman.

‘So we are told. The poor thing. She looks so fragile. She knows nothing of the ways of this world.’

‘Then pray she does not survive this birth. Who knows what Alahativa would do to her if she is only interested in the child? The father was thrown to his death in the catacombs, so I heard. Left to rot in the darkness with the ghosts and the ghouls.’

‘This child must be a result of our fortune. Ajaspah is here. The Star of Osirah is high. Alahativa is blessing us once again. Even the western heathens have sent their greatest magician to bear witness. I’ve seen him-a bearded one with hair like snow.’

Anthem!Samuel heard himself say, speaking from cracked lips far away in the dark, and he rushed from the room.

It was as the women had said, for he could feel the old Grand Master’s presence in the Queen’s hall and up he went through the floors without a pause. Into the Queen’s hall he flew, past the ranks of servants and armed,black-skinned desert-men, to where Alahativa and the Grand Master sat opposite each other, sipping from ceramic chalices,atthe ornate table erected upon her dais. Samuel remembered the thing well, for it was the same accursed table that contained a hidden blade; the same maniacal device that had severed his arm with one jolting slice. It astounded him that the two were locked in conversation and not fierce combat, and he could not fathom why the Grand Master would be sitting and chatting with the vile witch in such a civil manner. Wanting to sate his curiosity, Samuel hovered nearer to the pair.

‘Your plan is nearly at its end, Magician,’ Alahativa was saying. ‘The child will be born this day.’

Anthem took a sip and scratched at his beard before responding. ‘It has been a trial for everyone, but the sacrifices we have all made now seem worthwhile. Thank goodness we are nearly at an end.’

‘Do you truly think he will be the king you have been seeking?’ the beautiful Queen asked him. Her ears and arms were adorned with matching golden circlets and her hair was tied up into an intricate twist, away from her shoulders. Her long, slender neck and upright posture made her appear all the more graceful and proud.

‘I can only hope so,’ the old man responded. ‘The world is falling to ruin and I hope this child can unite not only our nations, but the world itself. Every continent has fallen into chaos and the days have fallen into darkness.’

‘Ajaspah is here. The Star of Osirah will light our way. It may spell doom for Turia, but to my people it will only bring victory.’

Samuel turned his gaze outside, for his senses told him it should be night, but the city seemed bathed in a ghostly light. In his ethereal state, he could see beyond the stones and walls of the palace, and so he looked up towards the heavens, where a great blazing comet now covered the entire sky, obscuring the stars with its brilliance.

‘I don’t believe in such superstitions,’ Anthem told the seductive witch opposite him, ‘but the star you speak of is certainly a boon to us, at this, the time of the new king’s birth. It will be a symbol of his coming. The people will rally around him. Hope will return.’

‘Are you certain it will be a boy?’ she asked slyly. ‘Women can be regarded as great leaders, too, old man.’

‘Ofthat I do not doubt and,in truth,I don’t care if it is a girl or boy. Turians are stubborn and prefer male rulers but,if the child is powerful, they will accept a leader of either sex.’

‘Then you are in luck. My healers have confirmed the gender, and it is a boy you will receive. But what makes you so certain this child will have the powers you seek?’

‘The stories are told in legend and fable of a magician beyond all others and a woman to match him, both unusual in many ways. Scraps of knowledge we stole from the hidden libraries of the Circle and other parts of the story have been gathered from far and wide. Everything foretold has come to pass, and I can only believe this child will see us out of these dark times. I am sure of it. Any alternative is unthinkable.’ His eyes were pale and glassy, and the old man had never looked so frail.

‘You thought the Emperor’s death would do the same, but it did not. The warring only escalated.’

‘That was before I learnedthatour world wasengaged in a mightybattle, that every continent has been beset by war and that this is beyond the petty concerns of one stubbornEmpire. I cannot blame those infernal plotters of Cintar, as I do not blame you. You only act out of your belief to protect your people, but that does not excuse the bloodshed that results. These wars will continue until civilisation is ground to dust, unless an impossible child is born with the powers to bring it to an end. That is what the culmination of these texts refers to and I have seen the evidence for myself.’

‘I’m surprised you believe anything that comes from the Circle, stolen or otherwise. Cang is a demon at heart. You know how devious he can be.’

‘True,’ the old man nodded. ‘But even he cannot have plotted so well. These stories come from all corners of the world and are timeless beyond recall, written in stone that is thousands of years old, or whispered in tales that have been known forever. That is beyond any single man to fabricate.’

‘Then remember that once the star is in decline, my war will continue, child of prophecy or not. Your stories are amusing, but I am not interested in fairy tales. I have only entertained your request to suit my own ends.’

‘I never assumed any less,’ Anthem told her.

‘Will you keep to your end of the bargain, old man?’

‘I will. Cintar will be yours. A single city is a small price to pay for what we have gained.’

She seemed pleased with his answer. ‘What will you do with your king, without a kingdom for him to command?’

‘The world will be his kingdom. You will see.’

‘If he is as great as you say, I will throw myself at his feet, for even I would not be able to resist such a slayer of kings and empires. If he is not, he will die before my armies along with the rest.’

Anthem gave her his best knowing smile. ‘So be it.’

Just then, the Paatin Queen looked troubled. She dropped her cup, smashing it on the floor and clasped her face. Anthem stood as attendants came rushing up to her side. Samuel could see strange energy boiling around her, pouring from the ether and concentrating around her. It was the same troubled power that now surrounded the Emperor.

‘What is it?’ the old man asked with concern.

‘Get away from me!’ she spat, slapping at her attendants, and they fled back to their places. The magical force then seemed to calm and the pain left her face. ‘It’s finished. Bring me my potion,’ she said, resumingher seat, while one brave girl gathered up the broken pieces of her cup. Another maid replaced the vessel, filling it with a steaming brew, which the Queen gulped at thirstily. ‘As Ajaspah nears, so do these feelings-intense pain and craving. I have visions, of other places and peoples. I feel someone else inside me, other names across the aeons. They have been burning at me so long and,at times,I do not know who I am. My people have grown worried and only the strongest potions have kept me sane these past months. Now, even those are insufficient.’

‘I don’t know what could be the cause. The Star of Osirah is nothing more than a passing celestial body. It carries no power that can affect us. Perhaps it is coincidence.’

‘So many coincidences, old man. No, and it is happening to your Emperor as well-I know it, even though he denies it. I know him, and I know his true name; it is Thann. I remember him-in different bodies, different guises. I see him under countless skins across countless Ages, but it is always him. I have kept him here all this time, my prisoner, in hope that this mystery will be resolved. Alas, it only grows deeper.’

‘Iamcertainly surprised to hear that, but I will not have time to ask him. I must admit, I am eager to pass by the Temple of Shadows and see what Cang has been doing with my magicians all this time, but the timing is unfortunate. The child must take precedence, and I will certainly not risk taking a babe into his valley.’

‘I see him across time,’ the Paatin Queen went on. ‘He knows me by another name, but for the life of me I cannot recall it. They have called me Alahativa for so long, that I have forgotten the sound of my own name. How can it be? Who could forget their own existence? All I know of my distant pasthas beentold to me by my own historians. But now, the memories come back in frightful bursts. They are dangerous and violent. I feel another woman struggling within me, but I do not want to let her have control. She grows stronger every day and I don’t know how much longer I can contain her. I think you know, old man, that I am older than most, even by your standards, and I am not scared easily. These thoughts, however, keep me terrified and I weep every day from the confusion.’

‘Then why does he not remember?’ Anthem asked innocently.

‘He does!’ she said angrily, hitting her fists upon the table. ‘But he refuses to admit it. The Emperor within him has made him stubborn and he pines for that accursed woman and child. I could never bear him a son and he has held it against me for all time and kept me suffering. Somehow, that Turian wench has born him a male when hundreds before could not. Damn her and damn him! Damn them both!’

Anthem began to look worried as Alahativa grewevermore irritable. He stood and went to the balcony,and swept open the veiled curtains, revealing the great comet in all its glory, burning over the city. The streets were full of dancing and festivity, with music and coloured lights on every corner and rooftop. ‘Come. Enjoy Ajaspah,’ he called to her. ‘Witness your people dancing in the streets. Your city is celebrating.’

The Queen seemed calmed by that. ‘I have been craving this event for a hundred years, but,now it is here, I do not have the heart to witness it. My mind is troubled.’

Anthem returned sullenly from the balcony and retook his seat. ‘Then that brings me to our final piece of business. The Argum Stone.’

She must have retrieved it from a pocket at some stage, for she opened her palm and displayed the glittering ring set upon it. ‘This? Such a droll name for such a wonderful thing. You know, it was quite difficult getting dear Samuel to part with it.’

‘I can imagine. The poor boy. Such a burden weighs heavy upon me, but,in the end, it is only one of many I must bear. Now give it me.’

‘Wouldn’t you like me to put it on, next to this one, so I can show you what it can do?’ she ask, holding it beside her finger so that the two gleaming rings were side by side.

‘Gods, no, woman!’ he said, almost leaping from his seat, but she was only teasing him.

‘Calm now, Grand Master. You are not a young man any more. Such frights may rupture your heart. I am only playing. I have no need of two such things.’ With that,she pushed it towards him. It rolled its way across the polished surface, and then fell over, spinning in tight circles before rattling to a halt in the middle of the table. ‘There. It is yours. Take it.’

The old man took a moment to sum her up; then leaned forward, reaching for the glittering ring. Within the table, a host of tightened springs and mechanisms kept the diabolical blade hidden and readied to explode from its housing. Anthem reached over and put his palm upon the Argum Stone, looking the witch in the eye. It seemed he, too, suspected treachery, but as he withdrew his hand,the blade remained still and the Queen let him take the magical relic without so much as a fuss. Slowly, he sat back and dragged the ring back to his place, where he plopped it into his other hand and held it aloft. He gazed at the thing and,with his mouth agape,turned it over so that it caught the light.

‘Put it on,’ she suggested.

Anthem nodded dumbly and brought the ring down to his wrinkled old hand, with one finger extended, and readied himself to receive its power. His hands quivered with nervousness, and he licked his dry lips as he shut his eyes and prepared himself. Onto his finger he slid the thing and he waited for its effect to take hold of him.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again, bewildered.

‘Nothing!’ he declared, and pulled the ring off and scrutinised itindisbelief, even biting its edge to see if it was solid. He popped it onto another finger,and again there was no effect. ‘What is this? I thought this thing was full of power?’

‘Of course not, you old fool. There is no power within it at all. These kinds of magical relics are useless to anyone who already has attained their power. Their only effect is to remove the obstacles to allow the wearer to reach their own potential. It is a ring for beginners,that is all.’

‘I would never have believed it.’

‘For an apprentice or someone not schooled in magic, such as I, it is a blessing, but for an experienced magician such as you, this relic is as useless as spectacles for the well-sighted or a crutch for the able-bodied.’

‘But Samuel?’ the old man began.

‘Samuel was anxious and stubborn. He grew reliant on the ring and that was his downfall. Whatever was keeping him from his power was of his own making, butany magic he did wield was his.’

‘Then I have no use for the thing either.’

‘Don’t you want to keep it for your new king?’

But the old man only displayed contempt at the suggestion. ‘Pah! He won’t have need of such trinkets. If it is of no use to me, it is of no use to him.’

She reached across and took the ring back into the folds of her pale garments. ‘Then I will use it to tempt Thann. When he decides to join my side, it will be a symbol of our union. Are you not worried that I am keeping your Emperor?’

‘Not at all. I wanted him dead for a long time. As long as you keep him, I am not worried. Even if he were to return, the coming child would make hisclaim to theEmpire redundant. Now, all I have to do is wait for the birth. Perhaps I will go down and see what is holding them up. You said it wouldnot be long?’

‘I would not do that if I were you,’ Alahativa told him.

‘Oh?’

‘The young woman has a novel ability, so the good Ambassador Canyon revealed. He even experienced it firsthand, much to his dismay. She can absorb the energy of others, gaining from their strength at the cost of their lives. She can devour people, leaving nothingbehindbut the clothes they are wearing. If the labour is difficult, my healers and midwives are there to act as nourishment for her, but I would not recommendthatanyone else be in the room. I will ensure she lives until the child is born. At that point, my servants will go in and sever her head quickly and painlessly. It will assure she has a quick death and that she does not bother me any longer. I have persevered nine months of misery putting up with that woman.’

‘Fascinating. I never thought anyone else would learn of such a spell. I know a similar spell of Sapping, but she seems to have mastered the concept beyond what I thought possible.’

‘Poor Samuel thought so highly of you. It’s a wonder you could put him through all this. He really was a naive boy.’

‘I couldn’t. That’s why I sent Tudor on my behalf. It was his task to put the two together, but he did not quite succeed in that matter,hence the need for our bargain. Also, I had business in the north that has kept me busy until now. I must admit I am not happy with what happened to Samuel in the end, but it is just another sin I will need to atone for one day, along with all the rest.’

‘Don’t worry,’ she reassured the old magician. ‘His death was quick and painless. I did not want him to suffer, but I could not tolerate him after he destroyed my wizards-and,once the woman was with child, we had no need for him. Despite his faults, he was quite endearing. It’s no wonder the Koian woman loved him.’

‘I was told she was a heartless puppet, incapable of such feelings. How can you tell?’

‘Come now, Janus. I have been on this earth long enough to know such things; and, I am a woman. She is a tormented soul, trapped within herself by the foolish customs of her people, but she loved him-I have no doubt. She knew she was supposed to bed him from the start, but she would not, no matter how Canyon commanded her. But,somehow,that foolish boy won her over and she gave herself to him willingly. Come, I am tired of waiting. I shall have the healers hurry the birth andI will makeready my axeman.’

‘Wait,’ Anthem said, holding his hand up for silence. The noises of celebration from outside the window continued, but the old man stood slowly and surveyed the room, listening intently.

‘What is it?’ Alahativa asked, coming to stand beside him, with her shimmering gown flowing over her body.

‘I feel something. A strange sensation, but familiar-a magician-a spell of scrying. I have felt it before. It feels like…’ A look of realisation then came over him. ‘It is Samuel. He’s alive!’

‘What do you mean? He can’t be.’ A look of guilt and panic overwhelmed her.

‘I can feel his presence in this very room. He’s alive, he’s here and he’s heard everything we’ve said.’

‘What do you mean? It cannot be true,’ and she looked around to the corners of the room, while her guardsmen stepped from the shadows and drew their swords nervously. ‘We left him for dead.’

‘You foolish woman! What do you mean? Didn’t you see to it yourself?’

‘He couldn’t possibly have survived what we did to him. We tortured him and made him a cripple. He was left for the rats! Can he escape my dungeons? No one should be able to use magic beneath the mountain. It is just not possible!’

‘Who knows what he can do, woman? He could be capable of anything.’

‘Quickly! Get the child. Kill the woman. Get every wizard and warrior to the catacombs and stop him before he can escape. We must not allow him toescape fromthe tunnels. If he knows what we are doing, he will not be pleased. He will come for us both!’

With that, her commands began to beechoedalong the halls with a great panic.

In the deepest darkest cell of the Desert Queen’s dungeons, far beneath the twisting catacombs of Mount Karthma, Samuel awoke. Within his prison, it was utterly black and as quiet as a tomb.

‘Not again,’ came a whisper in the darkness. ‘I will not lose her.’

Magic bloomed within him-impossibly beautiful, like a many-petalled flower of blue and white, rising from the parched desert floor. It filled him with strength, growing and intensifying within the safety of his body, harboured from the nullifying effect of the mountain stone. Somehow, he had achieved what could not be done, gathering magic when his magic had been lost, summoning power in a place where it could not be reached.

Left for dead, his mind and body had healed over the long months. He had turned inwards, finding new paths to the light as he had fled from the dark. As Balten had told him, the suffering and the silence had taught him much. It had liberated him from the confines of himself and he had become something new entirely.

Still, the eternal presence of the mountain continued to weigh down upon him and the fire of magic within his belly could only grow so large. His body was broken and every mote of power he could summon went into sustaining his ruined form.

A heavy clank echoed down from above and, astonishingly, the cell trapdoor was opened. The yellow glow of lantern light shone down upon him like a beam from heaven and he waited, bathed in the light, while figures murmured above.

A rope dropped down and Samuel stood to his feet. His muscles felt like dried cords as they slid and pulled his withered limbs into place. He flexed the knuckles of his left hand and he could feel his blood as it began to stream through his veins with renewed vigour. His magic was doing its work, restoring him piece by tiny piece, but it was slowgoing. He would need to be free of the mountain’s embrace and then he would rebuild himself properly.

He grasped the rope and twisted it around and around,so as to knot his hand with it. He waited, and the slack was gathered up, until he stood with his arm held tightly above him. It felt as it his shoulder was going to tear from the joint, but more heaving from above had his toes lifting from the ground and he rose into the narrowed chute, dangling from the rope like an unsightly ornament. At any other time,such a thing would have been excruciating, but his arm was little more than a desiccated ribbon of flesh wrapped around bone-and he felt nothing of it.

As his hand broke the surface of the shaft, arms came down and grasped him, pulling him up and into the narrow tunnel above. Five bare-chested dungeon guards stood there, commanded by Utik’cah. The Paatin commander held a lamp before him, glaring at Samuel wide-eyed and with disbelief. The men looked as tough and burly as could be, but they stood back from Samuel at the sight of him and coughed and choked at his smell.

‘Holy gods of Rah! You live!’ Utik’cah said, staring as if he was watching the dead, now risen.

‘So I believe,’ Samuel returned, and the words felt strange and husky upon his dry tongue.

Utik’cah broke from his stupor,startled to life,andpulleda black bundle from under his arm. ‘Quickly, put these on. Your clothes are rags, Lord Samuel.’

Samuel barely had to touch his own clothesandthey fell from his body readily,threadbare and torn. Utik’cah drew the new Order robes over him and tied them fast at the waist, staring at Samuel with a blend of amazement and anxiety all the while.

‘Why did you save me?’ Samuel asked, looking across at the dark-skinned man.

‘The girl is in labour. Your child is almost born. You must be quick if you wish to save her. I no longer have any love for Alahativa. Her people now run on sight of her, terrified by what she might do. She has become obsessed by war and destruction. Her sole purpose was once the good of her people, but that has long become lost. Even if she takes Cintar, I know she will never stop. In these recent months,she has become a different person. She must be stopped before she drags our people into damnation along with her.’ He pulled something from inside his clothes-a silver rod-and held it to Samuel. ‘Perhaps this can be of some use to you? I know it contains powerful magic.’

‘Put it away and hide it,’ Samuel told him, for he immediately recognised it as the Ancient relic that had been taken from Balten. ‘No good can come of this. There is a spell inside that would kill any who opened it and everyone near. It is too dangerous to use. Not even I can open it safely.’

‘Could it kill our Queen?’ Utik’cah asked, observing the thing in his hands with awe.

‘It would, but it would also destroy the city and everyone in it. Unless she could be lured out into the open desert, it is of little use, and I do notbelievewe have time for things like that. I will take care of her. Do not fret. Put this accursed device away and never let it see the light of day.’

The Paatin seemed disappointed, and pushed the cylinder back inside his robes.

‘Let us hurry,’ Samuel added. ‘Once free from the mountain’s embrace,I will be stronger.’

Samuel went to start off, but the Paatin man grabbed him by the shoulder and Samuel stopped to see what the matter was.

‘Lord Samuel, how can you hope to fight anyone in your condition?’

Samuel looked at the empty sleeve that hung over his right stump and then to his grimy left hand. Even in his new Order robes, he must have looked little more than an animated corpse. ‘I have seen better days, but I can manage.’

‘But Lord Samuel,’ Utik’cah said again. ‘You have no eyes.’

Samuel hesitated, for the words had truly taken him by surprise. He raised his fingers and dabbed them upon his face, touching about where his eyes should have been. The sensation was disturbing, for he felt empty spaces where there should have been matter. He dipped his fingers inside the hollowed and scarred cavities on each side of his nose, exploring within with some reluctance. He could still see his hand, but as his fingers went inside his face,they vanished from his sight. He was rather alarmed, but he could not let such a thing stop him. He was without his eyes, but he could still see. Somehow, in his time in exile beneath the earth, his magician’ssighthad compensated for even such horrendous injuries as that.

‘What happened to me?’ he asked.

‘Alahativa ordered you maimed. I am sorry, but we had little choice. We broke your legs and pierced your ears. We burned out your eyes and cut out your tongue. We poured tubs of hungry rats downontop of you-and who knows what became of them? She wanted the most savage of deaths for you. I have no idea why, but she was very angry with you, Lord Samuel, and very afraid. It was only a few days ago that one of the guards came directly to me and reported that you had not rotted away as expected, and that your corpse had moved position from the last time he had looked. I did not believe him, but just moments ago Alahativa sent orders to stop you from leaving the dungeon, and I knew it must be true. I cannot believe my eyes. How is it that you still live after all this time? How is it that you can even see?’ and he waved his hands before Samuel’s face, marvelling again as Samuel followed his hands with subtle movements of his head.

‘I don’t know, but now is not the time to ponder such things. My son is about to be born. Let us hurry.’

They hurried along and Utik’cah sent his men racing in front, with their daggers drawn and holding their torches high, throwing their flickering shadows in every direction upon the jagged rocks. Out of view, the men began shouting and the screams of death and battle sounded ahead.

‘This way!’ Utik’cah said and drew Samuel into a side passage.

Along they raced, with Utik’cah’s lamp providing the only light, but Samuel could sense everything, seeing into the crevices and shadows with ease.

They came to an intersectionofthecorridors and Utik’cah darted across. They wove their way along the criss-crossing passages and followed the spiralling, twisting tunnels that filled the mountain. They were nearly to the surface when Utik’cah stopped abruptly, for a dozen Paatin guards filled the narrow way ahead.

‘Let me pass!’ Utik’cah commanded in the language of the Paatin and Samuel was surprised to find that he could now comprehend what was said.

‘The death of the magician has been ordered,’ replied the leader of the others. ‘Stand aside or join him in death. Alahativa commands it.’

Utik’cah drew his dagger and took a defiant step towards the men, but it was now Samuel’s turn to hold him back.

‘Let me deal with them,’ Samuel said, stepping past his guide.

‘Lord Samuel, you have no magic here and they will not reason.’

Samuel ignored him and continued forward. The guards readied their weapons, but Samuel covered the space between them and was amongst them as a blur of violence. He punched and kicked and smashed his head and elbow into them like a fighting demon and,in a moment,they all lay dead. He would have killed them quicker, but for his missing hand, for he had swung his right arm several times as if it still possessed a fist, letting it pass through the air harmlessly and setting him off balance.

When all the men were down or dead, Utik’cah came padding up behind him, aghast.

‘How did you do that, Lord Samuel? What magic is this that can make you move like the wind?’

‘My will is stronger than these decrepit stones,’ was Samuel’s reply, for even his current trickle of magic was enough to enhance his movements for a short time.

‘You are wounded!’ Utik’cah then said, for a steel blade was stuck in Samuel’s belly, pinning his robes to his skin.

Samuel grasped it with his hand and threw the curved knife to the floor. Blood like treacle slapped onto the stones, but he felt nothing.

‘Are you somehow now a god?’ the desert-man asked in awe.

‘I doubt it, but I am stronger than before. Something has happened to me that I do not yet understand. However, I do need to get out of this mountain quickly. It still draws at me and my body needs to be properly healed. To do that, I need my full strength.’

They hurried along, darting through more twisting and turning passages,and soon the great opening became visible ahead: a bright,white slash against the darkness of the caverns. Again,the pair was forced to stop, for a host of sword-bearing guards blocked the way, twenty deep and shoulder to shoulder across the stone hall. Wizards stood with them, silhouetted by brilliant cowls of magic.

‘What do we do now, Lord Samuel? Can you fight them all? We are not out of the mountain yet,’ Utik’cah said.

‘Near enough,’ was Samuel’s response for the exit was in sight and the stone had already lost much of its potency here. He called to the ether and a howling wind came rushing into the cavern, shunting the guards to their knees and blowing Samuel’s tattered hair behind him. Utik’cah sheltered behind himto avoid the furious gale.

Feeling the cool wind in his face, Samuel felt invigorated and he took a long,savouring breath of fresh air. Magic stirred inside him and he felt it fizzing in his blood, filling him with vitality.

As the Paatin guards and wizards climbed to their feet, a wave of fire burst out from the Order magician and they disappeared within it, dropping their weapons and covering their faces. The flames, squealing with white-hot fury, enveloped them and churned their flesh to ash.

‘This mountain can hold me no longer,’ Samuel spoke, revelling in the sweet taste of his magic.

As the fire and heat dissipated, Samuel strode between the smoking carcasses and out into the night air. Freefrom the mountain, he could feel the world around him and he delighted in its beauty, wallowing in the joy of his magic as it came filling his every pore, unrestricted by the accursed weight ofstone. His muscles filled with energy, and his blood surged with vigour. From the air and the ether,he gathered his power and felt reborn. He took a great breath and marvelled at the joy of such freedom.

Free to do as he wished, he set his magic to work. The wound in his torso sealed itself closed. The grime and grit fell from his skin and he could feel moisture in his cracked throat once again. Still, his muscles had wasted awayduringhis time in exile and, between that and his missing eyes and arm, he must have appeared something of a ghoul in his black robes.

‘I will need more time to recover, but time is what I do not have. I will leave you here, while I hurry ahead,’ he told his Paatin saviour and,before the man could make an utterance,Samuel had boundedup, leaping through the sky and onto the palace roof. It only took several quick skips and he was vaulting in through the Koian woman’s window.

The midwives and healers were gathered around her, dabbing her head with towels.They gasped and took a step back as he landed amongst them. Then theyscreamed and ran,leavingonly old Shara by the bed, holding the Koian woman’s hand defiantly.

Guards had beenassembledin the hall and they strove to make their way in as the women hurried out, but Samuel sent some drawers flyingin the direction ofthe door and wedged it shut tight. The men immediately began banging their fists against the wood, but theycould not break the door down easily.

‘What do you want here, Demon!’ Shara asked, trembling with fear upon sight of him.

The Koian woman looked to be in feverish pain. Her cheeks were red and her skin was wet with sweat. The bulge of her stomach was hidden beneath the sheets, for she had her knees up, readied for the birth. Only now, seeing her in the midst of childbirth, did Samuel truly realise he was about to be a father. He wanted to grab her and hold onto her as hard as he could, forthroughoutevery torturous moment of his dreams all he had wanted was to touch her, buthecould not. He kept the old woman between them, for if the Koian woman opened her eyes, she would surely be horrified by his horrendous state.

The thought then occurred to him that they may have been dreams after all. It was possible that all his moments with the woman had been only fantasy and that she felt nothing for him at all. He put the thoughts from his mind, berating himself forentertainingsuch selfishnotionsat such a time.

‘What are you doing to her, old woman?’ he asked.

‘Helping her bear her child, of course!’ Shara returned, and Samuel was surprised by her tenacity and impressed by her desire to protect the girl. ‘The mother is nearly ready, but the babe will only be born in nature’s own good time.’

‘It’s you!’ the Koian god-woman gasped, straining to see him, and the old woman had to restrain her from her attempts to sit up. ‘I knew you were not dead. That witch told me over and over that she had killed you. My dreams were always of you, but then you left me and I couldn’t find you. Where have you been?’

He kept his back to her and held his stump by his chest, so as to keep it from view.

‘I have been under the mountain,’ he said.

‘This is your child inside me,’ she said. ‘We shall have a son together.’

‘I know.’ He kept his gaze to the window. ‘How is this possible?’ he asked her. ‘I am a magician, and you told me yourself that you could not have children.’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, shaking her head upon her pillow. Then she yelped and her hands went to the sheets over her belly.

‘The pains are more frequent,’ the old woman said, ‘but there is still some way to go. I suspect this will not be easy.’

‘Then promise me, woman, that you will not abandon her.’

‘I will not,’ Shara responded, ‘but no birth is simple. You have frightened off everyone who could assist with the birth. I am not a healer or a midwife. I have only ever helped with such things before.’

‘They cannot come in,’ he told her. ‘Your Queen has evil plans. She will kill the mother and trade the child for a victory in her war. When she can be moved, I will take them away from here.’

At that, the midwife’s eyes opened insudden comprehension, and he knew that she believed him. ‘Something terrible has happened to our beloved Queen, to put our city beneath such a cloud of fear. Very well, I will do my best.’

‘What are you saying?’ the Koian asked, for she did not understand their Paatin talk.

He kept his back to her and huddled within his robes. ‘Why did you not tell me you are a witch?’ he asked her.

‘I am not a witch!’ she said, painedby his accusation.

‘Yes. I know it now, but you are something. I don’t know any other word for it.’

‘Then don’t call me anything.’

‘And you can see magic,’ he said. ‘That’s how you managed to navigate your way around the catacombs.’

Again, she nodded. ‘That was a long time ago.’

‘Not for me. Time passes strangely under the mountain. Hours and moments are interchangeable and the fevers I suffered made it all the worse. There, bound in my prison, I had a dream. I had returned to the fortress of Ghant and I was injured and dying upon the floor. I saw Grand Master Tudor struggling against the Paatin. Something happened to me and then I stole the life of everyone there. It saved my life, but I consumed theirs. Tudor died, and only you remained. Somehow, I know it was not a dream at all. You saw it all, but you didn’t say anything.’

The Koian woman took a breath. ‘I saw you and I was afraid-not because of what you could do, but because of what it meant. It frightened me because,for once, something that Canyon had told me had been true. He said that we were the same in nature, and we were supposed to have a child that would save our nation. I thought he was lying but,when I saw you consume those people,I knew he was telling the truth. It is not an evil power Samuel but,as with any power,it can be used in many ways.’

‘I will kill them for this,’ he said darkly. ‘We are not pawns to be pushed together and used for their whims.’

‘Do not say such things. There can be no goodto behad from these feelings. Let them do as they wish and let us do the same.’

‘I cannot help it. At times like this, my anger comes boiling up into my heart and I feel there is a dark and terrible thing lurking inside me. It makes me want to kill and rend and tear my opponents to pieces. It takes control of me and it uses me like a puppet-and I let it. Sometimes, I think I will become that thing altogether, and the man called Samuel will cease to exist. Perhaps it has happened already? Perhaps that is what happened to me in Ghant.’

‘Don’t speak like that. I have never seen anything in you but a good and true man. If anything, you are too honest and too pure,and a little more suspicion may have kept you out of this trouble. It is others who have taken advantage of you. Do not doubt yourself, for I will never doubt you. I hope that means something to you. Please…look at me. Why do you keep yourself turned away?’

A flare of magic caught his attention. It was Anthem, far above, rallying his magic and readying himself for battle. With a flick of his wrist and a loud crack,Samuel sent a spell that sealed the door for good, cracking and twisting the stone around it. The lintel warped, seizing the door in place. It would never open again.

‘My teacher is calling me. I must go to him and teach him something in return.’

The Koian woman was puffing quickly, holding onto her belly, but she held one hand out to Samuel as he stepped away. ‘Don’t leave me!’

He could not even turn back to look at her, lest she see his hideous face. Instead, he ignored her and went to the window, where he drew his magic and leapt.

Anthem’s location was as obvious as if a flaming beacon had been set above him.Samuel boundedalong the terraces and rooftops, leaping like a human flea towards the blaze of gathering magic. The Star of Osirah still burned far above them in the night sky, and the people of the citycontinued tocelebrate beneath it, ignorant of what was unfolding in the palace.

Grand Master Anthem was waiting in the hall of the Desert Queen, where Samuel had witnessed their treachery. He was wearing his Order blacks and stood defiantly, straight-backed, in the middle of the room, surrounded by power. Alahativa was waiting to the side, with the Emperor draped in chains beside her. The man looked infuriated, but it seemed he was helpless against her magic. No servants or guards lined the walls. All had fled or been told to leave lest they be consumed in the coming conflict.

‘Samuel,’ Anthem said in greeting, granting a welcoming smile. ‘We have much to discuss.’

‘I want nothing to do with you any more, old man,’ he replied and Anthem scowled back.

‘I see you’ve grown a bitter tongue, but it would pay you to hold it until you have learnt everything there is to tell. Would you not hear how Gallivan and I fared in Garteny?’

‘I have already heard all I need to hear and I am in no mood to listen to more lies and stories. And what would you expect? Look what she’s done to me-my hand, my eyes!’ and he pulled his sleeve up over his stump, to reveal the mottled, pink skin that bulged around his elbow. He raised his chin to let the light fall onto his ravaged face and even the Desert Queen looked disgusted.

But Anthem was resolute and went on. ‘Yet,even blind, you have learnt to compensate for such injuries. You are truly gifted, Samuel.’

Alahativa also spoke up. ‘I applaud you for surviving my dungeon, Samuel. It is a feat that no one has ever accomplished.’

‘Your dungeon is much overrated, witch. First, Balten escaped, and now, so have I. YourEmpire is decaying from within. Even your own people have turned against you. You have lost yourEmpire with your madness.’

She looked enraged by this, despite her best efforts to maintain self-control. After a moment of tussling with herself, she snapped back into her perfect,beguiling smile. ‘Please, give up this foolishness. We all know that without the ring on your finger, you are helpless. You are blind and crippled. This is foolishness.’

‘You are wrong. Without the ring, I am more than I was. I have thrown away that crutch and learned to walk on my own. Without my eyes,I have learnt to see more than ever before. My body is just a vessel. It can be broken, but it can be mended and made new again. With every moment free from your mountain,my strength returns. I wanted to show you, old man, what I have become. There is nothing you can teach me any more. Behold.’

With that,he opened himself up like never before and his own fresh, untainted magic surged into him. Wonderful power rippled within him and boiled around his form. It was boundless power, and it was his to control. He willed it tobeconcentratedin his withered eyes and shattered stump,and it glittered there like the sun glimmering on still waters. Anthem and the Desert Queenheld their arms up to shield their eyes, for the light blazing fromSamuel’swounds was blinding. The magic swelled inside his skull, grasping and mending the flesh, creating and stitching matter where there had been none. He called from his memory all the sensations that he knew should exist, and filled his spell with his intent that he should be made whole, and his magic went to work. The orbs of his eyes grew into place,like tiny buds blooming into maturity, and,when he felt the spell was complete-when he could feel his eyeballs pressing and sliding against the backs of his eyelids-he let the magic subside and he opened his eyes.

The world appeared before him as it had before, cast in shades of colour and light, marked by depth and dimension, yet enhanced by his superior magician’ssight. But he did not rest there. He steered his magic towards the stump of his arm and watched as the veins and flesh rippled forth from around the shattered bone, knitting themselves anew. Meat and tendons stretched themselves across the bone that grew out from the wound. A layer of skin spread about to envelope the flesh, pale and soft, before it browned to match the skin around it, and soft hairs and freckles grew in place, exactly as he remembered each of them. His forearm grew voraciously up to the wrist, and then spread out as his hand came into being. The hand divided and five fingers sprouted into place. Pink nails slid out from beneath the cuticles as the digits rounded themselves off and sealed themselves closed.

When he was done, Samuel let his magic dissipate and the blinding light he hadcastabout himself flickered from existence. He turned his hand over before him and flexed his fingers, forming a fist and relaxing it, marvelling at the muscles bunching under his skin.

‘I was but a shell of flesh,’ he said into the room, ‘but now I am something greater. The tree has become the fire.’

His new flesh felt and looked exactly as it had done before-before it had been so suddenly hacked from his body. His senses all throughout his being felt heightened and he could feel the tiny,individual pieces of himself at work, all doing their tasks and assisting each other: minuscule motes that toiled individually yet together, forming the flesh and matter that comprised his whole. He was not a creature of flesh, playing with magic-hewasthe magic, riding upon a vessel of bone and meat that it had crafted, and the more power he summoned,the greater he became.

He would have continued examining the marvel of himself, but Alahativa began wailing and she disturbed him from his task. ‘What kind of man are you? What demon has taken you? Anthem, what have you created?’

‘This is not my doing, woman!’ he told her gruffly. ‘I have never seen anything like this before.’

Samuel gathered his words and passed them from his throat, echoes riding the air. ‘No. I have made myself. I would like to rejoice at these discoveries, but that must wait. What I have learnt from your own mouths has deeply upset me. It seems, Grand Master, that you have kept secrets from me all this time. You have been tending to me all this while, hoping only to harvest my son. I am bitterly disappointed.’

‘It is not as simple as you make it seem, my boy. My goal has only ever been for peace for Amandia. We killed the Emperor and I believed our work to be done, but it seems that was only the start. The world is in peril, not by gods or demons as Celios had raved, but from man himself. We need to stop these infernal wars before civilisationitselfis destroyed. This madness has spread like a plague, leaving only death and suffering in its wake.’

‘Yet you have surrendered Cintar to the witch. She will not spare its occupants. She will kill every last soul within its walls. How does that end this madness you speak of?’

‘But millions more will be saved. I know the cost is high but,in return,she has given us your child-a babe that will grow into a king-a magician beyond all others, even beyond what you are now, who can quell armies with his will. No nation will dare affront another and magic will finally bring peace to everyone. Such a prize is beyond value! It is immeasurable! I had no intention to harm you, Samuel. I had no part in the kidnapping. I only sought to pair you together and see what would result. When I arrived here,I thought you were dead. I only wanted to make most of the situation. The arrival of the Koian woman seemed too good to be true. The answer to all our problems had been delivered to our very door!’

‘How can I believe anything you have to say? You forsook her without a second thought. You did not hesitate at the mention of this wretch’s axe.’

‘I’m sorry, Samuel. I have been blinded by my goal. I am so close to achieving the world I always imagined that I have sunk to such shallow methods. It is my life’s dream.’

‘And you will never see its realisation.’ He turned to the Paatin Queen. ‘Give me the rings.’

She glared at him. ‘Never!’

‘Then I will take them. I cannot allow them to be used by the likes of you. I will take them to Cang, so the world can be kept from harm.’

‘You have no say in the matter,’ she said defiantly. ‘These rings are not yours to demand.’

Samuel struck out, calling forth his newfound power, and sent a piercing beam of magic at the woman. She had her protection in place, rippling from her finger, before Samuel’s spell could reach her. His brilliant ray of death spat and hissed, stopping in the space directly before her eyes.

‘You need more power than that to harm me, Samuel,’ she said with a teasing smile.

‘As you wish,’ Samuel said and pressed his beam in towards her. She had the power of her Argum Stone at her command and her defences would otherwise have been considerable, but to Samuel it was not at all difficult to overwhelm the woman. He felt as if his power was limitless; that, should he call for it all at once, he could slice her head clean off.

Alahativa’s smile vanished as she shuffled backwards, but the beam followed her, digging in through her shields towards her.

‘Stop it, Samuel!’ she bawled. ‘How can you do this? We were lovers, once! Does that mean nothing to you?’

‘You are a vile witch, filled with evil and selfishness. Everything you have ever done has been for your own reward. I feel nothing for you.’

He felt satisfaction at the thought of her death, and he pressed his magic further upon her. The beam was inches from her face, when Anthem stepped in between them. Samuel’s spell was deflected as the old man thrust it aside and the magic arced away, carving a path of destruction along the palace walls and ceiling. Cushions and curtains turned to flame at its touch before Samuel could dispel it.

‘Come to your senses, boy!’ the old man commanded. ‘What you are doing is folly!’

‘I must take those rings and return them to the Circle,’ Samuel replied.

‘Are you bereft of your wits? Have you fallen to the wiles of them yet again? Their stories of disaster are nothing more than air and wind. We have real threats to face! I will not listen to talk of nonsense.’

‘Nevertheless, I will have the rings. It is obvious now that the Order and the Circle have little difference. If anything, the Circle is more to be believed, or did you not realise that women can use magic after all?’

‘Of course I knew, but it is forbidden. This is a law above all others. No woman can be allowed to use magic.’

‘And who is responsible for killing them, for no other reason than this? Is that what happened to my mother?’

‘That has never been part of my role, but it is possible. The Order is tasked with maintaining the old Laws,establishedlong before we even existed. We have kept a vigil upon the landto ensurethat no witches should come to power. I admit that some have been overzealous in their task, but the safety of society must outweigh the concerns of a few.’

‘To what end? How can such murder possibly be justified?’

‘See for yourself?’ and he gestured towards the Queen. ‘This one has raised an army and caused chaos upon the land. Women are not to be trusted with magic of any form.’

‘Then why do you now protect her? You should be pleased that I see to my duties, as a faithful member of my Order.’

‘Calm yourself, Samuel,’ Anthem told him. ‘Can you not see what is happening? Don’t be overwhelmed by your hate. Do you not remember what became of Master Ash?’

‘My hate is justified. I have every reason to despise you and what those of your kind have done. Ash was no Master. He was ignorant of the powers the Staff of Ancients had granted him. I have reached a stage of understanding that I doubt even you can comprehend, Grand Master,’ and he spat out the title with unbridled disdain.

‘Confounded fool! Have you not learned? All manner of dark forces wait to overcome a magician made silly by the power of his magic. Already I feel the taint of black magic within you. It has begun to corrupt you and it will continue until you are nothing more than its servant.’

Then Samuel felt something tickling at the edge of his perception. Looking down, he found a sliver of magic had been worked around his leg, sucking at his energy like a hungry leech and passing it back towards the old man. He blasted the thing apart with a thought and raised his gaze back to Anthem.

‘I know all your tricks, old man. Now, stand aside and let me at the witch.’

‘Calm down before you do yourself some harm!’

There was nothing but rage in Samuel’s heart. He had trusted the old magician-had loved him as a father figure-but now he wanted to force him into battle and defeat him as he had secretly desired since his early days in the School of Magic. He was not interested in the Paatin Queen. He could come back for her at any time and defeat her at his leisure, such was her insignificance.

He could feel a demonic smile creeping across his face as he called for more power.

‘No, Samuel!’ old Anthem cried, and sent forth a shower of spells of his own.

Vines and creepers exploded from the floor and snapped around Samuel’s legs and arms, encircling his body until he was a mummy of tightening growth, but the plants turned black and turned to cinders with the barest of efforts, and Samuel stepped free. A torrent of fire then billowed out from the old man and Samuel did not even bother to protect himself. He revelled in displaying his power to the old fool. As the flames surrounded him and ate at his body, his magic succoured him, replenishing the meat beneath his blackened flesh as quickly as it was burned away. His bones glowed red beneath his skin like logs at the core of a wildfire, but magic saturated and supported him. He could not be harmed.

It was a joyous feeling to have so much power, and Samuel raised a smoking finger at the astonished Grand Master as the fire spell ended. Anthem was aghast and ran to the balcony. He leapt out the window and vanished into the night air. It was obvious he hoped to draw Samuel outside, for Anthem could not act freely in the confines of the palace. Samuel was happy to comply, for it would be a much sweeter victory if his teacher could fight with all his potential.

He stepped to the balcony, with the wispy veiled curtains evaporating in fire as he brushed through them, and watched the old man hopping madly down towards the city. He took a moment to look back at Alahativa, who remained staring at him with pure horror. He knew he should have killed her and taken the rings from her there and then, but he had time to do as he pleased. She could not escape him. He could find her any time he wished and somehow the more terrified she was,the better. He would leave her there, guarding the Emperor and return for them both as it suited him.

He turned back to the scene below. It was now the time that he had been awaiting all his life. He was become the most powerful magician in the world. All he had to do was kill the strongest of the Lions of Cintar, and it would seal the fact. And that would not be difficult at all.

He vaulted from the balcony, exploding it to tumbling rubble as he leapt, and alighted atop a great,blue-tiled,domed roof across the courtyard; perching himself upon it like a predator ready to pounce. Anthem had hiddenhimself. He wasburied away beneath a distant home and was feverishly covering himself in every spell he could muster. Samuel could feel the man’s thudding heart calling to him, shouting aloud from his hiding spot. Across the city, tiny fireflies of people were looking up at him and wailing, abandoning their celebrations and fleeing through the streets in panic. He revelled in their fear as if it was a declaration of his triumph. Above them all, the Star of Osirah blazed away, now almost directly above them and taking up the sky like a new moon. The city lay bathed in its ominous silver twilight.

‘Fear me!’ the being called Samuel commanded and his voice boomed across the city and shook the foundations-but the people did not understand; for it was the Ancient Lick spilling from his tongue.

He had given the old Lion time enough to prepare, so Samuel took his turn to act. Picking up a distant temple, he heaved it high into the air with magic, spilling bricks and flailing Paatin towards the ground. He gestured with his hand and the building flung itself onto Anthem’s hiding spot with a distant clatter and echoing rumble. Both buildings vanished behind a plume of billowing dust, but Anthem was unharmed. He had darted away to another spot just in time.

It was quite an amusing distraction and Samuel continued the game, decimating parts of the city. It seemed there were still some guards and wizards left in the palace, for some spells came bouncing off him, and missile fire came whizzing past him. One arrow struck him directly, burying itself through the middle of his chest, but the thing dropped out of him without effect, as if slipping from clay. While he had any magic remaining,he was beyond harm, and he had barely even begun his work. With a simple glance, he turned the soldiers in the square and shooting from the towers around him to flames, one after another, setting them to dance as if in frantic praise of him. Some he flung wailing from the heights and others he simply crushed with magic, for the easewithwhich he could destroy them and the way he decided each of their fates was thrilling. For simple amusement, he left one Paatin crossbow-man standing,while two on either side of him fell to cinders. Then, as the man sagged to his knees and thanked Alahativa for sparing him, Samuel dropped a massive roofing-stone on top of him. The joy of destruction was simply delightful.

The entertainment would have continued longer if Samuel had not felt a rumbling in the pattern, for old Anthem-the wily fox-was summoning something mighty, just as Samuel had hoped. It came screaming through the ether and Samuel waited with excitement for the thing to arrive. He had hoped Anthem would do something like this and now he felt he would have a challenge worthy of his attention.

In the midst of the city, something appeared in a shimmer of air. There was no fiery explosion to herald it, but the buildings all around the summoned thing cracked and fell regardless, as if,out offear, they had given up holding themselves together. It stood five storeys tall and howled in fury at being called into existence, but Anthem’s will was tethered to it and the creature had no choice but to follow the directions of the old man, safe in his hiding place across the city. The beast was an enormous biped, cloaked in fur and with the head of a goat. It screamed again, baring teeth like swords, and the city trembled. People screamed and took flight. It looked directly to Samuel and began striding over the buildings, crushing all who strayed beneath its cloven feet.

Samuel leapt, springing across the city, and came down upon the beast like a hurled missile. He laughed with glee as he kicked out at the thing, for he yearned to see what such a magic-filled attack would do to the creature. With a lurching jar, he stopped short of his target, for it had snapped him out of the air with its massive clawed hand and thrown him tumbling away. He crashed through buildings one after another and came to a rest buried beneath a shattered wall of stone. Three rocks came spilling onto his head, but each one felt like nothing more than a tap from a finger. Dusting himself off, he stepped from the pile and launched himself aloftonce again.

The beast was striding directly towards him, ignorant of the buildings it toppled with each step. Three quick spells shot out from Samuel in succession and the beast roared with each, black blood squirting from its face. Samuelimmediately felt disappointed at the sight of this, for it signalled that the thing was merely an oversized animal of flesh and blood, and he would dispose of it quickly.

After landing once more, he sprang back up in the direction of the creature. He came down on a rooftop beside it and began running at once. It turned to reach out for him, but it was inordinately slow and,with his heightened speed,he was easily away, leaping between rooftops, peppering the beast with spells that took chunks out of its fur and flesh. The thing slashed out wildly and demolished walls each time, but it was incapable of harming him.

Feelingthatthe fight was entirely one-sided, and growing tired of such an affair, Samuel decided to put the poor thing out of its suffering. He jumped to the creature’s feet and readied a blast to kill it. The snarling beast bent over to look at him and Samuel sent a ribbon of power up and through its neck. Its enormous head came crashing down beside him and its body tumbled, flailing, into a three-storey cluster of dwellings.

It was quite a pathetic attempt at summoning and Samuel was just beginning to think the old Lion had lost his touch, when a bulge in the ether beganto movetowardshim. He staggered for a moment, realising that something much bigger was already breaching the pattern, and he smiled.

‘I have no choice but to destroy you, Samuel!’ came the bellowing voice of the old man, carrying across the city,and then he was there,standing astridea four-towered temple a hundredpacesaway. ‘You have become an abomination, Samuel-can’t you see? If I don’t stop you now, you will only grow stronger. You will lose yourself and do terrible things beyond your own control. Some evil compulsion is already consuming you.’

‘This power is my own, to do with as I wish,’ Samuel spoke back in reply, setting the rubble to tremble as his voice carried far and wide.

‘Even more the reason for dark powers to covet you, boy. Can you not hear their voices whispering in your mind? They come to all who have great strength, for evil things are always looking for a way into this world and a gate must have two sides if it is to exist. You must put them from your mind without hesitation. To give yourself to them is to lose yourself altogether.’

‘I hear nothing but you, Grand Master, trying to delay me while you finish crafting your spell. So be it. Let whatever you have brought come and I will destroy it.’

‘This is your last chance, Samuel. I can still stop this if you will only come to your senses. The beast I have found is beyond anything this world has seen. I stumbled across it long ago as I scoured the other realms, but I have never dared bring such a creatureinto this world before.’ Samuel stood silent in response. ‘Very well, boy. Forgive me then, for it has arrived.’

It was then that the summoning took form, just as the old man had said, called into being with incredible skill and a vast amount of power. It was evident, now, why the first beast had been so lacklustre. It had only been a distraction, sent to delay him. Anthem had figured that Samuel would waste time playing with the thing, and he had guessed well. He had used the time to seek out precisely the creature he desired, and it came billowing forth from the ether in an explosion of fury.

The old man scampered away,and Samuel also had to scramble aside, for the buildings vanished into dust and fire and something enormous came rushing from the remains. It was truly a demon in every sense of the word, engulfed in flames and howling for flesh. It was about as tall as the previous beast, but its exterior was covered in bone and drippingwithgore and jelly-like ooze. Its head was a dome of bone, lacking eyes, but with a puckered,sniffing nose. Its mouth wasa series ofjaws within jaws, all gnashing and biting and expelling fire. Spikes and tendrils erupted from its skin in place of hairs,and the talons on its claws and feet were each curved scythes the length of a man. It was hideously fast and Samuel blasted the thing with spells as he back-stepped,but his magic hadlittle effect.

‘You overstepped your bounds, boy,’ Anthem called from behind it. ‘All men become fools when they believe they have power over others. You have proved to be no exception, Samuel. I had hoped you would become a great magician, but you have fallen into corruption. I hope your son will fare better beneath my care.’

Samuel was incensed with rage and stood his place to show the old man all he was worth. As the beast bore down on him, he sent a wrath of power to disembowel it. The spell sang true from his fingertips and struck the creature fair in the middle, but to no effect. With a swipe,it scooped him from the ground and brought him to its terrible mouth. Its fiery breath washed over him like molten pain, but such physical feelings were no longer relevant to him. It put him towards its maw, but he had no wish to enter such a hellish place and he cast his hands out, holding the beast’s outer jaws open with his magic-imbued strength.

Layers of inner teeth hammered and gnashed with excitement just before him, and Samuel could see more layering in its throat, all the way down its gullet, but it could not push him in. He held firm, but also he could not escape. Worst of all, it seemed to be sucking at his power through its very touch. An air of utter evil smothered him and filled his mind with darkness, making it hard to think. With its brimstone breath devouring his flesh and its claw holding him firm, Samuel could not escape.

He threw up a shield to keep the fiery breath from his skin, and the foul air ran away,as if from an umbrella, but that was only a small respite. His magic was vast, but as quickly as he restored his protection, it was eaten away. More of his magic went into keeping himself from its stomach,and the two of them waged a titanic struggle-he, a tiny black-cloaked doll in its grip and it, an unstoppable beast from some unknown hell.

‘I will not…be…defeated!’ Samuel declared, but still he could not escape. He pulverised the thing with spells that would shatter solid stone, but it took time to make a spell of greater worth and,busy as he was keeping his body replenished andawayfrom itsgapingmouth, that was time he could not afford. ‘Damn you, Anthem!’ he swore and his anger boiled from him. His muscles began to shake, but the beast did not weaken.

All things have limits and only then did Samuel realise his foolishness. Again and again,he pelted the beast with his magic, looking for some weakness, but it seemed to have none. Anger turned to desperation as he felt his magic waning.

‘This is the end,’ Anthem’s voice carried across to him.

Throughout the city, people were still fleeing and,in homes and houses all around, many still hid. Others lay dying on the streets or under piles of shattered stone. As Samuel felt his own strength failing, he could feel theirs calling to him. He needed more power and they each had it, blazing irresistibly within them. Perhaps he could have withstood the temptation, and perhaps he could have found another way to escape, but the demon’s vile air cluttered his mind and whispering voices began clamouring for his attention.

He yelled aloud-a mixture of exertion and desperation-and all throughout the city those fireflies of life came flying towards him, their abandoned husks dropping behind them as they fled. In every building and on every street within that quarter of the city the people fell dead-whether running or hiding or holding onto each other in fear, it made no difference. Their energy was plucked from their bodies at Samuel’s summonsand they came flooding towards him. He could hear Grand Master Anthem shouting out in protest, but even the roar of the creature’s breath was a whisper compared to the din of all these souls stampeding into him. He lost all thought of the beast that held him and his mind turned to gaining more and more such souls. The thought occurred to him that what he was doing was wrong, but he ignored it, for nothing mattered more than freeing himself and devouring these morsels. He knew that each bite was the life of an innocent human, but he could not think of that now; the unquenchable hunger for more overtook him, unchallenged.

‘No!’ came a sudden furious shout and Samuel was roused from his task. The demon was no longer holding him, for it lay beneath him with its head split apart as if its mouth had been unhinged and kicked open, yet he still hovered in place, hanging in mid-air,held aloft by burning tendrils of magic.

‘No, Samuel!’ came the voice again and he realised it was the stubborn old magician who had disturbed him. ‘What are you doing, Samuel? For the love of everything, look at what you are doing! You are killing everyone! This is vile work! I cannot allow it or we all will be lost!’

Samuel opened his mouth, but he could no longer form words. Something spilled from his lips, hot and infused with power, and he had no interest in communication. The light around the jabbering old magician had enticed him and his attention focussed on that. He willed himself to float towards the old man and began pulling at his energy, as ifhe wereunravelling a thread from a woollen jumper. In turn, a whip of magic came hurtling out from the old magician and wrapped itself around Samuel.

‘Two can play at this game!’ the defiant Grand Master roared and he began tugging at Samuel’s power in return.

Samuel was enraged and howled in anger as Anthem sucked at his strength. The two of them tugged back and forth with their power, playing a tug of war with each other’s very spirit. The old man was incapable of doing too much harm, but every drop of power that was stolen stung Samuel and left him mindless with rage. He drew closer and closer to the old man, pulling faster and faster as he closed the distance, until Anthem had barely a sliver of life remaining.

‘I’m sorry, boy, but I must do this for the sake of everyone,’ and,with that,Anthem gave a leap, grabbed Samuel by the ankles and hung on tight. He screamed in pain, for his hands blistered upon touching Samuel, but he would not let go. He pulled Samuel down to be at his own level and then he threw his arms around him and hugged onto him with all his might. ‘I guess we shall both get to see what hell really looks like,’ he said and the beast that was Samuel now saw the old man’s intent.

A string of magic still tethered Anthem to the demon he had summoned and,by releasing the spell, the fallen creature would return to its own realm and take the old man with it. He must have planned for that from the start-a last resort for just such a situation.

Deep within himself, Samuel put these facts together, but somehow he could not act on them, for voices were still chanting in his head and he was still overcomebythe primitive drive to consume. It should have been simple to fight the old man off, but Samuel’s body would not respond. Instead, he kept on sucking at the magician who held him, gobbling up the final shreds of his life force.

In the final moments of his life, Anthem released his spell, and the demon vanished into a shimmering haze. The tendril of magic that ran between them was sucked in after it, and the slack of the spell began to disappear as it was pulled in after the beast.

Just then, something whistled through the air and a shaft of glass appeared through the middle of Samuel and Anthem both. To Samuel, it was inconsequential and he hardly would have noticed such a thing, but the old man spat blood and gasped with a terrible realisation. Worse than the pain was the fact that, in his moment of surprise, he had let slip his grip on Samuel and had staggered back, sliding from the end of the spear that had pinned them together. It was a single,tragic moment, but it was too late for Anthem to grab hold once more. Instead, he stood defeated, knowing this moment was his last.

‘For god’s sake, boy, listen to me,’ Anthem said, choking on his blood. ‘You were supposed to bear the hope of the world, not its damnation. You don’t have to forgive me, but forgive yourself. It is not too late.’ Then his gaze became unfocussed as his blood fell freelyand he dropped to his knees. He looked through Samuel altogether. ‘Forgive me, brother.’

With that, the tether around him tightened and he was gone in a flash. The oppressive presence of the demon vanished and,as the ether gulped the beast back into itself, Samuel’s garnered power was sucked in with it. Thousands of souls’worth of power vanished, drawn in by the tear in the pattern and Samuel was left shuddering and gasping in wordless pain.

The voices in his head started shouting at him, and he could hear it was the Ancient Lick; they were speaking, commanding him to gather more souls. He would not listen to them for,with the pain,his mind had cleared. He realised that Anthem’s parting words were true. If he had continued, perhaps he would have become the very demon that he was trying to prevent from returning, or a mirror of Ash, the very manwhomhe had despised. He would have consumed everyone-even his own son and the child’s mother. Instead, he fought back against the voices, using the old man’s final message to empower him. He refused to become a tool for destruction. He would not hurt the ones he loved. In defiance of the voices, he held his hands to his ears and screamed as loudly as he could.

‘Get out of my head!’ he told them. The voices increased in intensity and he continued to yell, but he refuted their claim on him and refused to let them in. Slowly, they dimmed away and he could hear his own hoarse voiceonce more. Finally, the whispering faded away altogether and only his own thoughts remained to fill his mind.

With his power all but gone, he became aware of his body and he suddenly realised he still had a spear through his chest. He dropped to his knees and cried in pain, as he strained to slide the thing from his middle. Length by length he drew it out, until it was finally free and he cast the thing aside. It shattered on the rooftop, a shard of glassed rod. He looked aboutto discover who hadcast such a weapon, but no magician was in sight or could be sensed.

He had only shreds of power left, and he instilled that magic into the hole in his chest and knitted back the broken flesh as well as he could, leaving a pale scar just below his ribs. He would live and his power would return, but it had been a sobering experience. Anthem had saved him in the end with the parting gift of his words. He had probably saved them all. Samuel had little love left for the old man, but,despite his misdirected methods, his intentions hadno doubtbeen true. Perhaps, one day he could forgive the old man. One day, but not today.

He dropped from the roof and rolled uncomfortably onto the lower balcony that had fallen against the building, now forming a broken ramp that led to the ground. Standing on his throbbing ankle, Samuel carefully descended to the street and began hobbling along the curved terraces, up towards the palace.

The city was deserted here,for everyone caught nearby now lay dead. As he climbed the hill and neared the glorious palace, he found more and more people: some ignoredhim completely and others fledin terror as they recognised him. His mind was on the Koian woman, but he still had to retrieve the two rings from Alahativa. He had felt firsthand what a demon could do and he had no wish to fight something like that,somethingwhich could devour souls with its thoughts.

He took deep breaths as he climbed and,by the time he had entered the abandoned palace, he had gained enough power to heal his ankle and was feeling something more like a magician again.

Despite his fears that Alahativa may have fled, she was still in her chamber, still arguing with the chained Emperor. Her hair was messed and she looked crazed. Strange energies were billowing around her: a mix of her own ring-empowered magic and the strange alien aura that was threatening to overcome her.

‘So you live!’ she yelled at him, and she hid behind her captive with wild eyes and held a jagged dagger to his throat.

‘I want you to free him,’ Samuel commanded.

‘Never!’ the woman declared. ‘He is mine, forever! I will kill him and kill myself before I let him go to another.’

‘He has his own mind to decide.’

‘But he does not remember yet. I do! Once he realises who I am, he will never want to leave me again. We were made to be together for all time! He just does not remember!’

‘I am not that man!’ the Emperor roared.

‘You are!’ she cried into his ear. ‘I know it!’

‘Then put the other ring on my finger,’ the Emperor suggested. ‘If I am truly who you say, I will have the same powers as you dormant inside me,the same powers that have brought back your memory. If not, then it will prove that I am just a man, and not whom you think.’

‘Yes! Yes!’ she said and she forgot Samuel asshe hurried around in front of her captive. She dropped the dagger and,fumblingin the pockets of her elegant gown,drew out Samuel’s magical ring. She pushed it onto the Emperor’s finger and Samuel saw the energies bloom around him. ‘There! Do you remember now?’

The chains dropped from his hands as he spelled them loose, using the power that came to him via the ring. Just having such power proved that the man called Edmond Calais was,indeed,a magician of some description. The fact that he already knew how to wield his power also spoke volumes.

‘Yes, of course I remember you, Rei,’ and for a moment she had a look of utter elation. But he went on. ‘I have remembered for as long as youhave, cursing you every day as you held me captive but,unlike you, I have turned my back on who I was. We have lived under the curse of Marrag Lin for so long that we have forgotten weeachhave our own free will. Our memories fade over the years but,each time our master returns, we relive the same troubled lives of our past. We cannot keep on doing this forever, Rei. I refuse. I want to be a better man than that.’

‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What are you saying?’

‘I know who I am, but I do not love you any more. I have been a slave long enough and I will make my own choices from here. You have kept me prisoner in your palace and kept me from my wife and son. I harbour no ill will towards you, but I will stay no longer. You can do as you wish, but do it without me.’

‘What do you mean, Edmond?’ Samuel asked.

The man turned towards Samuel. ‘I am no more Edmond Calais than I am Andor Ferse. I have been countless different people, but I am no more any one of them than I am the man born so many Ages ago called Thann,as she is not truly Rei. Once upon a time,we were lovers, but we have both died countless times since then. We are no longer the people we were. We have been blended and merged with the souls of so many others. It is pointless to lay claim to our old selves. I realised that when my memories first came creeping back to me but,for some reason,she cannot seem to reach the same conclusion.’

‘Don’t leave me, Thann! We have only just found each other. How can I live without you?’

‘Wake up,woman! Nothing will change while we keep re-enacting our old lives. We are not those people any more. I want nothing of you orofbeing Thann.’

‘It is because of that child!’

‘It is. For some reason I cannotfathom, fate has granted me a son and this tiny improbability has finally given me hope. I admit that I am incapable of having feelings for his mother, but she is a good and intelligent woman and she will raise our boy well. I will take them into some deserted part of the world and we will do our best to escape Lin’s return. When I die, I will be reborn within another and it will all begin over again, but I will not think of that now. Who knows what will happen in the future? But at least I will have a son. For a short time, perhaps I can be happy. What will you do, Rei, but follow his commands until the end of time-a hollow woman with a hollow life, raising armies to do his bidding?’

‘Lin will find you! He will kill you,too!’ she declared, pointing an accusing finger towards him. ‘As his strength returns, so will yours, and your memories will overpower you!’

‘Perhaps, so. But I can have my hope. Perhaps this time, things will be different.’

‘Pah! A foolish hope! The Demon King’s legacy cannot be denied!’

‘You mean the stories are true?’ Samuel said, interrupting their argument.

‘Yes, Samuel,’ the man who was once Emperor replied, ‘Lin is coming and there is very little time.’

‘How did this happen?’ he said, feeling defeated by the news. ‘After all we have been through,after all the battles we have fought and all the lives lost, how did we possibly fail? Was it her? Did she put the relics together? I thought she didn’t know how to do it?’

‘Sometimes these things happen instinctively, Samuel. It is too late now to do anything about it. Lin’s return is certain, but is not a sudden event and he will not raise his head for some years to come. It will take time for him to gather his strength and make himself known. Go to your woman. Raise your child. Enjoy these final days as much as you can. That is certainly what I plan to do.’

‘What about the rings? Were they not the relics we were seeking?’

‘The rings are not related to his return at all. These are just as Rei has said-aids for those who are learning to master their magic-children’s toys in our time. When Lin left this world he took our powers from us, but now, in these days of his return, our power is returning along with our memories. In a short time, we will have our full power at our fingertips.’

‘But, I thought the rings had great power? Have we wasted all our time?’

‘They have no power of their own; that is why one ring is no more useful than two. Relics like this were common in those early days when we were learning how to control our magic and were teaching it to others. We also made staves and rods and a multitude of devices used to manipulate the energy of the ether, but most of them are now long gone. Some of the hardier ones had innate methods of preserving themselves. These rings, as you know, transform into great metallic blocks when lost, which simply makes them easier to find. It was nothing more mysterious than that.’

‘It was Dividian who changed the ring from the stone,’ Samuel said. ‘He used the Ancient Lick to form the Great Spell that transformed it.’

‘Such foolishness. If only he had found the proper spell,it could have been done easily. The Ancient Lick can accomplish much, but it is a power that does not belong to us. Its use is forbidden, even to me. Never use it, Samuel. Forget it; destroy any scrap of it you may have learnt.’

‘Why is that?’

‘It is an evil language, rampant with dark power.’

‘I thought it was the language of the Ancients?’

‘Not at all. It was first found in that time, and it is true we Ancients did foolishly play with it-little knowing what it would do-but it is not the language we spoke. It is the tongue of evil, which beckoned to us from other realms. Evil calls to all in this world who become powerful, for power is a beacon for beings that seek to devour it. We knew no better and gave ourselves to that evil and,because of that, we became what we are. We fended off that evil in the end and regained our selves, but we are left forever changed by it. Lin made the ultimate sacrifice, becoming little more than a demon himself to save us. ’

‘So what are you?’ Samuel asked him. ‘Why is it that you live forever like this, taking the bodies of others?’

‘We are two of the last three surviving Ancients. Lin cursed us for our role in his creation and left us to walk the earth in his absence. We can be killed easily enough, but our spirits will readily fill the body of another. Our memories fade with time, whether we die or not, but our nature is difficult to change. Every age we become kings and queens and raise our empires and armies, just as we did back them. It is an eternal curse that we cannot escape.’

‘But to what end?’

‘For Lin. He thrives on destruction and the souls that are releasedhe gathers for his own purposes. They empower him. Every death upon the earth fuels him and makes him stronger.’

‘Is it something to do with the star? Is it truly a portent of his return?’

The man with many names shook his head. ‘I have never seen its like before. The comet’s presence can only be a coincidence. At least, it is not as a result of Lin’s power.’

‘You mentioned another-a third Ancient.’

‘Poltamir,’ the man responded. ‘I have not spoken with him in many Ages. He may be in hiding, and if he can accomplish such a thing, then perhaps I can, too. I’m sorry, I must go now. I hate to leave you here, but I think you can manage on your own. I don’t think she will bother you further,’ and he gestured towards the broken woman as she lay weeping upon the floor, ‘and I must find my Lillith and Leopold. If they have returned to Cintar, I will need to remove Rei’s army before they threaten any more of my people.’

‘Will you return to being the Emperor?’ Samuel asked him, but the other only shook his head.

‘No. I have had enough of crowns and empires. I will slip away with my family and leave the ruling for others. Goodbye, Samuel. I am genuinely honoured to have met you. You have done well.’ He strode towards the broken balcony, looking out the gaping hole over the ruined city. ‘You have acted nobly when all others around you have been corrupt. Please don’t feel disappointed in the way things have worked out. Perhaps in the next age things will be better.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I suggest you follow my example and go to your woman while you can. Enjoy your time together. The child may be born any moment. The mother will need you.’

‘I don’t know if I know how to be a husband or a father.’

‘Don’t be foolish, Samuel. She loves you. You two were made for each other. Go. Be with her.’ He then turned once more to look at the sorry woman lying on the floor. ‘Goodbye, Rei. Please, let them enjoy their final moments. Put aside your petty jealousy for once in your pitiful existence. Their lives will be hard enough.’

‘But what about the Demon King?’ Samuel asked. ‘We can’t just give up. What can we do to stop him?’

‘Nothing, Samuel. Don’t even try. It will only make things worse.’ And with that, silver magic blazed around him and he arrowed away into the sky, towards the west.

The woman once called Rei climbed to her knees with her hair hanging down around her face. She sobbed wildly and crawled towards the hole in the wall.

‘Thann, my love!’ she sobbed. ‘Thann!’

During their conversation, he had time enough to reclaim much of his power, but he did not have the heart to strike such a broken woman. She already looked utterly defeated. Instead, Samuel turned away and left her to her tears.

The palace was completely abandoned and it only took a few minutes for him to reach the Koian woman’s room. The guards and wizards were gone from the halls and he easily broke down the door to her room with a spell, with a good section of the wall crumbling around it. Shara was still there at her side and Samuel rushed up beside them.

‘She’s doing well,’ the old lady said. ‘The pains have subsided. I think all the noise and ruckus outside must have scared the dear thing. You look like a new man. What was going on out there?’

‘Nothing,’ he told her. ‘It is over.’

The labouring god-woman looked weary. She looked up at him with weary eyes. ‘Why won’t he come out? I’m just so tired. I need our baby to come out so I can rest.’

‘I know. It should not be long. Then you can sleep for as long as you want.’ He then turned Shara. ‘Should we move her? The palace is abandoned. We could take her down into the city? We could find somewhere safe and comfortable, and perhaps someone to help us.’

‘I don’t think it’s wise to move her, but we could use the help of a healer, just in case. And we need water and fresh towels. This is no way to have a child.’

‘Very well. I can move her,’ Samuel said and he reached carefully beneath the pregnant woman and plucked her up like a flower, sheets and all. Using his magic, she felt like little more than a pillow in his arms.

He was about to move to the door, when he felt magic building behind him. He threw up his shields, but the spell that came hurtling into the room was not meant for them. Shara screeched as the magic struck her and she burst into cinders.

‘Damn you, Magician!’ Alahativa said, holding herself against the broken doorway. She looked tragic, with her dark eye make-up streaked down her cheeks, and her hair knotted and matted about her face. ‘I will see you dead before I let you leave. At least I shall have that! You will never enjoy being with your woman! You will never feel that child in your arms!’

‘Damn you, witch!’ the Koian woman returned. ‘Why can’t you leave us in peace?’

‘Because of who I am. Because of who you are. Why should I give you peace when all you have given me is such misery? You could have done your duty and died like you were supposed to. Instead, you turned Thann against me and I will have to endure another thousand years of torment before I hold him again!’

‘That was by his own choice, not my doing,’ Samuel responded.

‘We Ancients made our choices long ago, Samuel. There is no pleasure to be had in our lives. At the very least, I will have the joy of watching you die, and seeing the misery on her face. Then, I will drive my armies for the sake of Lin, until there is nothing living upon the earth.’ She cast forth her finger and argent lightning burst forth, driving towards Samuel anddeflecting from his spell shields. The stone walls blew to pieces wherever the spell flickered upon it, but Samuel and the woman in his arms remained unharmed. ‘Your magic will not last forever, Samuel. I know you are tired after facing the old magician. He was much more powerful than me, but I don’t need much power to defeat you. You can’t fight me while you hold the girl, and you can’t protect the both of you. I have you!’

A thrown clay pot landed at the Paatin Queen’s feet and she looked down instinctively. Black soot lay spilled around her feet and dark vapour curled up from it and wafted around her. Too late, she realised what it was.

‘Poison!’ she said, and she gasped, clutching at her throat and gagging. Her lightning spell ended as her attention was distracted. She staggered away from the deadly vapour and came stumbling further into the room, coughing and throwing out spells to whomever had harmed her. A length of wall collapsed and Utik’cah could be seen standing there in the hall. ‘Damn you traitor!’ she squealed. ‘What are you trying to do? Poison cannot kill me. I am your god!’ Already, she was using the power of her ring to expel the toxin from her body. It would only distract her for a few moments at best. She sent out a whip of magic and used it to drag Utik’cah near to her. ‘You will die by your own hand, traitor.’

And at once he, too, began to choke, caught in the toxic fumes that clung to her. ‘You have not saved our people, but cursed them with your evil plans,’ Utik’cah told her. ‘You brought us in from the deserts only to use us for your selfishness. You have no honour and you are not a god. You deserve to die!’

‘Shut up!’ she bellowed. She empowered her fist with magic and slammed the man down to the floor, snapping his back and leaving him writhing in pain.

Something silver glimmered in his grasp,something slender and cylindrical. Utik’cah could not speak for,even as she held him,he clutched onto the thing with both hands and looked at Samuel desperately. Samuel knew what it was and he realised Utik’cah had no idea how to use it. Within it was a hideous spell. It took an instant for Samuel to passthe mana message-a feeling of twisting planteditselfin the Paatin’s mind and he knew that Utik’cah understood. He held the thing as Samuel had prescribed and readied his palms to turn it.

Samuel needed no more indication than that and threw himself out the broken window, stillholdingthe pregnant woman in hisarms. She gasped as they fell, but he would not let them be harmed. He tore his shields down and salvaged the power to cushion their blow, landing softly.

‘You can’t escape me, Samuel!’ Alahativa cried out after him, still spluttering. ‘I vow to destroy you for what you have done to me. Even if you kill me, I will be reborn. I will find all thosewhomyou treasure and destroy their lives. Nothing you touch will ever feel happiness. I curse you as I am cursed! I curse you forever!’

Without a pause, Samuel continued vaulting away, with the Koianmoaningin his arms. He cleared the city in three desperate jumps and set out into the twilight of the Star of Osirah. They landed amidst the pastures beside the gentle river,although it was now strewn with the dark shapes of floating debris and corpses. He dreaded seeing the Paatin Queen pursuing them, but he need nothavefearedfor,in that moment,Utik’cah must have managed to twist the object in his hands. The terrible magic trapped within it was unleashed and Samuel felt the Great Spell’s wrath escape in one awful moment.

The palace vanished in a ball of white light, just as the fortress of Ghant had been destroyed, but this sphere of destruction kept growing, swallowing the city and moving out towards them with incredible speed. Samuel took another leap, bounding away with all his strength, but the wall of blinding fire was behind him. He made the first set of dunes but landed roughly. He dropped to one knee and cradled the woman in his arms as he turned his back to the blast. He threw up the strongest barrier he could muster, and held on tightly.

The wave of destruction struck and it seemed that he and the woman became two blended silhouettes in a world suddenly white. His shield held, but the wind and fire of the Great Spell of Destruction tore by, buffeting them wildly and singeing his cloak at the edges. He held the woman as close as he could but,as the mayhem continued, his magic began to fail. He felt his shields beginning to waiver and jets of boiling air tore about them. He searched within himself for more power, dreading what would happen to the woman in his arms if his magic failed.

The heat crept in and it felt as if it was about to engulf them, when magic came flooding into him-not from himself or any dark source, but from the woman he was protecting. She was looking at him eye to eye and pushing her own energy into him. His shields bloomed back to life and she only stopped aiding him once the decimating light had faded and the night desert was once more around them. The hills and dunes had been flattenedfor as far as the eye could see.

As they stood and surveyed thehorizon to theeast, they could see that nothing remained around the mountain but a massive column of rising smoke that rolled towards the heavens. Every house and home and structure, every wall and tower of the city,had been reduced to nothing more than charred rubble strewn across the ground.

‘Are we safe?’ she asked him, looking at the devastation with concern.

‘We are. It’s over,’ he said. ‘She’s dead.’

‘Good. Now, I’m about to have our baby. Can you get us to somewhere more appropriate?’

He nodded and, as gently as he could, he lifted her up once again andhurdledaway across the desert.