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hastily away. A moment later, the flap was thrown back, and a struggling, snarling form was dragged
inside.
Four Red Guard held Londah's arms behind her. Her long black hair had come unbound and now hung
in a cloud around her face. The look in her eyes promised death.
"Mama! Yozerf grabbed her arm, snarling furiously at the Red Guard.  Let go of her!"
"I believe we have all of her weapons. You may release her, Jahcgroth said.
As soon as their claws drew back, Londah jerked away. Raw fury narrowed her eyes and drew her lips
back from her teeth, and for a moment Yozerf thought she might throw herself on them armed with
nothing more than her bite. But then she straightened proudly, flinging the hair out of her eyes.
"Are you all right? Yozerf asked.
She nodded stiffly. Jahcgroth smiled at the gesture.  You remind me of Telmonra so proud, so angry at
what you perceive as failure. But it was not hard to guess that you wouldn't abandon your son. So I set
up a series of magical wards around the area, keyed to our shared blood, to alert me when you drew too
near. May I ask how you got so close without being seen?"
Londah's eyes narrowed, but then she shrugged.  I lay on the battlefield among the dead until all the
soldiers had withdrawn from both sides. The fog was a boon."
"Of course. Jahcgroth glanced briefly away, as a sentry called out the rising of the sun.  Now I must
decide what to do with you. Perhaps it would be more prudent to kill you. But I find myself reluctant.
You are the last of my kin in this world, and the bonds of blood are not lightly broken."
The emperor's mouth remained open, as if he would say more, but no words came out. For a moment,
Yozerf wondered what was wrong, or if he were simply steeling himself to pronounce death on them
both after all. Then a gush of blood poured out of Jahcgroth's mouth, shockingly red against his pale skin.
He stumbled forward, and Yozerf saw the knife sticking out of his back.
"You're right, Peddock said quietly.
Several things happened at once. A small throwing knife appeared in Jahcgroth's left eye, piercing his
brain and dropping him heavily to the ground. Kktara spun on Peddock, a scream of rage and betrayal
erupting from her no-longer-human throat. And outside, shrieks began, accompanied by the whinnies of
horses and the clash of swords.
The tent flap was ripped aside.  Your Majesty! a man shouted as he stumbled inside.  It is the Jenelese
army! They've come up behind us in the fog! We  He stopped and stared aghast at the body on the
floor.
Londah's hand closed on Yozerf's arm with a grip like iron, shoving him towards the tent flap. Broken
from his paralysis, he ran, ducking beneath the outstretched arm of a Red Guard who belatedly thought
to stop him. The soldier still stood in the way, so Yozerf slammed a gauntlet-clad fist into his face,
sending him down and out of the way. With Londah on his heels, he burst outside into the free air.
Thick fog shrouded the world, reducing the camp to shadows and half-guessed shapes. To the east, the
sounds of battle raged, and soldiers ran towards a fight that they could hear but not see. Others raced in
different directions. Someone was already shouting that the emperor had been assassinated. One guard
was foolish enough to try and stop the two fleeing Aclytes, but Yozerf felled him with a single kick to the
stomach and kept going.
It was easy to lose themselves in the confusion and the fog. As they ran blindly in the direction of
Vorslava, Yozerf asked,  Was that your throwing knife?"
Londah shot him a feral grin.  Missed one, didn't they?"
"Why?"
"He was a powerful sorcerer. I thought he might have been able to heal himself from Peddock's blow if
given enough time. But I imagine it is difficult to recover from a knife in one's brain, no matter how great a
wizard one might be."
They fell silent after that, concentrating on running. The fog made it difficult to judge where they were, but
by the stitch in his side, Yozerf thought they had to have gone far enough to be almost on the keep.
Unless we run right over the side of the cliff instead.
As if summoned by his thought, Vorslava's dark walls loomed abruptly out of the fog, only feet in front of
them. One of the archers lining the walls shouted a warning. Afraid that he was about to be skewered by
his own side, Yozerf flung up his hands.  It's us, damn it! Yozerf and Londah! Open the postern door!"
"My lord? someone cried in disbelief. Swearing silently, Yozerf turned and loped the rest of the way
along the wall to the postern gate. He could here the cries from above as the word spread:  The lord's
back! Open the gate! The lord's alive!"
Gless, Wulfgar, and Tan all piled out the door the instant it was open, Gless going so far as to fling his
arms around Yozerf.  Gods, let us inside! Yozerf snarled, shoving him off.  We've got the damned
Jenelese army at our backs!"
Gless paled sharply and all but dragged him inside. As soon as the gate was shut, however, a crowd
descended on them, people wanting to verify for themselves that Yozerf was indeed alive. Owl ran
through the crowd and flung her arms around him. As he lifted her up, he found Suchen standing in front
of him, tears in her eyes.
"What took you so long? she asked, with a faint smile.
Auglar appeared at his right side and then bowed.  The keep is yours, Lord Yozerf, he said solemnly.
"Thank you. I see it did not suffer ruin under your command."
"It was less than twelve hours, after all."
"True. Yozerf gazed at the eager faces all around him and wondered if the news he was about to give
them was good or bad.  The emperor of Argannon is dead. As the crowd burst into jubilant cries, he
held up his free hand to silence them.  But the Jenelese army came up on the Argannese unaware. As of
now, they are fighting each other. If we are truly lucky, they will completely annihilate one another. But
with Jahcgroth gone, I don't know that the Argannese will stand firm for long. At the moment, there's
nothing to do but wait and see."
"Aye, said Wulfgar, and turned to shout to the walls.  Keep your eyes to the fore, damn it! Stay sharp!"
Weariness ate at Yozerf's bones, but he knew there was one more thing he had to do before he sought
food or bed.  We need to talk, he said quietly to Suchen, and saw a flash of apprehension in her
sapphire eyes.
The walk back to their quarters seemed unbearably long. The Sworn badgered him relentlessly, offering
to call the healers to look at him, suggesting food be brought. He ignored them, shutting the door in their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]