Ian Esslemont - Assail

Not even the cruellest gods would dare …

Jethiss nodded to them again, affirming their guess. He raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his face, swallowed hard. ‘The justice of the Forkrul,’ he whispered hoarsely, ‘is harsh indeed.’

‘A sword worthy of you …’ Fisher breathed in wonder, his face sickly.

The Andii was breathing heavily. The trial he’d endured must have been ghastly. He nodded his agreement at Fisher’s words. ‘Yes.’

‘And your memories?’

‘With me once more.’

‘Then,’ Fisher asked, ‘would you give us your name?’

‘Mother Dark offered a title.’

Fisher’s breath caught. He spoke low, as if not daring to say the words aloud: ‘Son of Darkness …’

Jethiss gestured, inviting them to descend with him. ‘Now more of an honorific, in truth.’

The Andii’s tone was light, but Kyle saw with what trouble he walked, the rigid control he was forcing upon himself to remain erect. He wanted to reach out to help steady the man, but his instincts told him that he mustn’t.

‘There was a terrible battle,’ Jethiss murmured aloud as they descended. ‘At the feet of a gate. I wandered lost for an unknown time. A woman’s voice spoke to me from the Eternal Night. She told me I was needed to stand as I had before. But that the cost would be great. That I would have to lose myself to find myself anew.’ He pressed a hand to Fisher’s shoulder. ‘And so I have. My old name no longer fits. I am Jethiss. As for the title … we shall see if I prove worthy.’

‘Where will you go?’ Kyle asked, careful to give the man room as he walked at his left side.

‘I would travel to Coral,’ Jethiss answered. ‘There is a modest barrow there I would pay my respects to. A good friend. Many evenings we spent together playing Kef Tanar.’ He offered them a smile. ‘I would be honoured if you would accompany me.’

‘The honour is mine,’ Fisher answered.

‘And mine,’ Kyle added, feeling eminently comfortable with the idea of travelling with the Andii. It seemed to him altogether fitting and strangely proper that the White Blade should be found walking alongside what he imagined, one day, might come to be known as the Blade of Bone.