James Barclay - Beyond the Mists of Katura

‘Consider it done,’ said Faleen.

Auum embraced her then trotted away with Ulysan to find Stein. He was speaking to Grafyrre and the two of them were staring up at the mountains. They had an hour or so’s walk into the steepening foothills before the first true mountain slope would have to be tackled.

‘You have a route?’ asked Auum.

‘It doesn’t look too taxing,’ said Ulysan.

Both Grafyrre and Stein eyed him coldly before Grafyrre spoke.

‘It’s a difficult ascent for the first part. There’ll be handholds for a TaiGethen and mages can fly but as for the Il-Aryn. .’

‘We’ll just have to help them through it,’ said Auum.

‘How much warm clothing do you have?’ asked Stein. ‘It’s going to be very cold up there.’

‘Mother Ulysan made us all bring cloaks,’ said Auum.

‘And how wise I am,’ he said.

‘Occasionally you score a hit,’ said Grafyrre. ‘We’re going to need as much clothing as we can carry in our packs along with the horsemeat and water. The dead don’t need their clothes or boots, Auum.’

Auum nodded. ‘Do what you must.’

‘Really cold,’ said Stein. ‘So cold you cannot grip with your fingers or speak because the muscles in your mouth refuse to frame words. It’s a cold that gets into your bones and makes you shiver so violently you fall over. You will be so cold that if you can’t find shelter, it will kill you.’

‘So what’s your point?’ said Ulysan, that boyish smile on his face.

‘What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? I wonder. Beyond castings, I’d wager you’ve never seen ice and certainly not snow. I guess you’ve never even seen a frost, and we get those here from time to time and run to our fires and warm our toes. Up there it is forty times colder and there will be no fires. You have to know this because the cold will make your people start to stray in their minds, and you have to keep them focused or they will die.’

‘Do you think we can do this?’ asked Auum.

‘Anything is possible and mages can cast warmth up to a point. I know elves are sturdy and determined. But this will be beyond your experience and you must be wary of it. The cold can kill. One slip and you’re done.’

‘Thank you, Stein. I’ll speak to everyone individually when we are on our way. Graf, get the old heads to make sure no one leaves any clothing behind, all right?’

Grafyrre nodded. Auum took another suspicious glance at the blank mountain slopes before tracking away a mile or so with Ulysan to take a look back at the woodland. He could see the glow of fires within and smoke rising above the trees and dispersing into the sky.

‘What will they do?’ asked Ulysan.

‘They were here to kill us. They’re still here, so I’d be surprised if they didn’t come for us again.’

‘We should ready ourselves then.’

‘Not this time, Ulysan. We can’t afford to lose any more people. We have to focus on getting away.’

‘What’s up?’ asked Ulysan.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well you can’t sit still. You’re biting your lip, fidgeting and curling your toes inside your boots. It’s like you’re impersonating Takaar.’

‘Am I? Sorry, I had no idea.’

‘So, tell Mother Ulysan what’s on your mind.’

Auum sighed out a breath. ‘Stein’s right. This is madness.’

‘That’s not quite what he said.’

‘It’s what he meant, and he knows this country. It’s just. .’ Auum trailed off, fighting for the words while he fought a wave of hopelessness. ‘Time is against us. We are so few and we have so far to go. It’s so hard to see a path to victory and Yniss knows my prayers are fervent. I can’t think straight in this wilderness, and I need you to tell me when I’m going wrong. Like now. Am I wrong?’

Auum sat with his legs stretched downslope. Ulysan dropped to a crouch next to him.

‘You’re not wrong. Very recent history reminds us that you are never wrong. We don’t have any other choice if we aren’t going to turn tail and run home.’

‘That would only put off the inevitable. But I question what difference we can make.’ Auum sighed again and cursed himself for it. ‘We’ve lost so many.’

‘Fifty TaiGethen and a few ClawBound won a battle against six thousand men and mages.’

‘In the rainforest.’

‘Mainly at Katura. Using open spaces and buildings. We can do it again.’

Auum smiled up at Ulysan. ‘Do you ever despair?’

‘Only of your despair,’ said Ulysan. ‘And now you’re going to tell me what’s really got you stirred up this morning. It’s him, isn’t it?’

Auum chuckled and pushed a hand through his hair.

‘Will you get out of my head? How can you know that?’

‘Because it’s nearly always about him. You don’t know whether to embrace him or kill him, do you? And you wish he was here. Admit it.’

Auum shrugged. ‘I can’t forgive what he did to Drech. Not ever. But, you know. . the things he can do are so extraordinary and when he directs them properly. . I’ll never be able to forget what he did to that ship. But I hate what he has become. I hate him so much of the time. His madness, his ego and his arrogance, though they are probably all one and the same thing. The fact is, we need him. Do you think he knows that?’

Ulysan laughed. ‘He’s always known it. But look, if you need him don’t let your personal feelings get in the way. Ephemere and Cleress both survived the attack yesterday. Have them contact their sisters at Korina. Get him back here by land or sea. The Senserii will see him safely to us, and you never know, he might turn up in time to save us all.’

‘And wouldn’t he absolutely love that?’

Auum cringed just imagining the posturing that would follow.

‘He’d have earned it in my eyes,’ said Ulysan.

‘He’d never stop letting you know it.’

The two old friends were silent for a time. Auum ran through everything in his mind a hundred times in those few moments: the moment he had found Takaar and the days that followed, the rise from the pit of his madness to something almost elven once again, his unpredictability, his genius and his weakness of meeting criticism with the most hideous violence. And the ship, the ship rendered to dust in the middle of the sea. A power greater than even the Wytch Lords, surely.

‘All right. Get either of them to contact the ships. We can only try.’

Auum’s eye was drawn to a line of elves moving slowly to his left, heading to the cart. Four were mounted on horses and the rest limped along, either supported by the uninjured or helping those worse off than they were. It was a sad sight.

‘Get back to the camp, Ulysan, make sure they’re all ready to go. I’ll see this lot off. And Ulysan? Bless you for everything you are. I couldn’t do this without you.’

Ulysan, normally so free with a quip, merely nodded and ran back towards the mountains. Auum felt in need of a run himself. He pushed himself hard, sprinting across the steep slope, over another shallow rise and onto the open ground, tearing across the earth to the wounded. It felt good. The air in his lungs was chill and fresh, the water on his right calmed his spirit and the blood thundering through his body energised him.

He slid to a halt next to Faleen, who was helping one of the two wounded TaiGethen along.

‘Very impressive,’ she said. ‘Who was that for, us or the eyes in the woods?’

‘For none of you. It feels good, Faleen. I’ll race you back.’ Auum put his arm around the wounded warrior, and the two of them shared the burden. ‘How are you feeling, Hanyss?’

‘I’ll live, my Arch,’ he said, his face taut with the pain of his broken leg, which had been lashed to his other as a makeshift splint. ‘I’m sorry to be deserting you. I failed us.’