Ian Irvine - Rebellion

“Eat!” she said, handing him a piece.

“Don’t think I can swallow.”

“Try. It’ll warm you.”

He swallowed a small piece, then another.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely.

“We did it together.”

He didn’t have the strength to argue. “I was so afraid for you. I was sure — ”

“But you never gave in. Will he come after us?” said Glynnie. “If he survives the fight?”

“He’ll survive. And come after us.”

“Now?” Her voice was a little higher than usual.

Rix shook his head. “Too drunk. His debauches always end with him collapsing, unconscious. He’ll sleep for ten hours, then wake with a bad head and more bile than a wounded caitsthe. He’ll rant and swear bloody revenge, and run anyone through who looks at him sideways, but he won’t come after us until he’s stone sober and has finished brooding about his humiliation.”

“And then…”

Rix felt sick at the thought of what Grandys would do to Glynnie. “He may not come for a week. But when he does, he’ll hunt us with the same viciousness as he storms a castle. Nothing and no one will stand in his way. He always wins.”

She trembled. “Not always. We beat him last night.”

“ You did. And we were lucky.”

“It still counts as a win.” She got up and made tea, stirred in honey from the honeycomb and handed him the mug. “Well, if we’re going to die, let’s make our deaths worthwhile.”

He wrapped his bruised fingers around the hot mug. “Er — what do you have in mind?”

“Would you say that Grandys’ reputation is the key to his success?”

“It’s a big part,” said Rix, unsure where she was going.

“Then the best way to undermine him would be to make people laugh at him.”

Rix shivered. “I don’t think that’s ever happened.”

“If it got out that he’d been beaten up by a woman, a no-account little maidservant, it’d do him more damage than a defeat on the battlefield.”

“How would it get out?”

“We’re riding west to join the chancellor’s army. It should be at Nyrdly by now. We’ll announce Grandys’ defeat at every town and village on the way. In a couple of days, the way news spreads in Hightspall, the whole country will know about it.”

“What if they don’t believe us?”

“They’ll believe us,” said Glynnie. “You’re riding Grandys’ horse. And…”

“And?” said Rix.

“And I’ve got this.” She reached into her pocket, but did not pull her hand out at once. She was grinning, teasing him, making him wait.

“You’ve got what?” cried Rix.

She drew out her hand and held it palm up. Precious opal shone in the firelight — a single piece of armour in the shape of Axil Grandys’ huge nose.

Rix roared with laughter, though briefly. His battered mouth hurt too much. “Where did you get that?”

“It cracked off when I whacked him one. Thought it might come in handy.”

He threw his arms around her. “Grandys’ famous nose. No one can argue with that. Glynnie, you’re brilliant.”

“It’s taken you long enough to realise it,” she muttered, then smiled. “What are you going to do when we get to Nyrdly?”

“Ask the chancellor for a captain’s commission, then fight for Hightspall.”

“What makes you think he’ll give you one?” she said mischievously. “He used to hate you.”

“I hope he will,” said Rix, suddenly uncertain. “He was happy to make use of my reputation at Glimmering. And I’ve learned a lot since then. A lot about leadership. A lot about right and wrong. A lot about war.”

“And a lot about Grandys,” said Glynnie. “You know more about how he fights, and thinks, than anyone on our side. Of course the chancellor will make you an officer. You should be our commander-in-chief.”

“So you’ve been saying since before we left Caulderon,” said Rix. “A captain’s rank will do me nicely, if he’ll allow it. It’s an unforgiving business, leading an army.” He studied her face in the firelight. “Glynnie…?”

“Yes?”

He swallowed. “Something occurred to me when I was in the cistern, just before you helped me out.”

“What’s that?”

“How much has changed since Glimmering. We’ve been friends for a good while now, but…” He faded out, not sure how to put it.

“But you were the lord of a great fortress, and I was just a humble maidservant,” she said helpfully.

“Not just a maidservant. But yes — that was always between us.”

“You’re still the lord of a fortress. I’m still a maidservant.” But her eyes twinkled as she said it.

“Not here. Not now. Not if we never get back.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying, Rix.”

“I’ve plumbed the depths. You’ve done tremendous things. The balance has tipped. You’re the strong one now.”

“We’re both strong,” said Glynnie.

“And that’s a good thing.”

Neither spoke for a while. Rix stared into the fire. He could feel her gaze on him.

“Rix?” said Glynnie tentatively. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything. Anything at all.”

“Can I ride with you?”

“For the rest of your life,” said Rix.

Green acid fumes were whirling all around, condensing on the coils of the still, fizzing on the zinc plates of some arcane apparatus beyond, stinging her cheeks, burning her ears and nose. Tali closed her eyes and held her breath, though that would only gain her one more minute of life.

She fumbled a shirt out of her pack, wiped her face and spat out bloody saliva. All her exposed skin was stinging now.

Thump ! She was caught around the waist, heaved effortlessly into the air and carried away, just ahead of the rolling green cloud. The implosion must have strengthened Lyf for he was carrying her weight without effort.

It had given her a painful, temporary power as well, just as it had that time in the sunstone shaft, but not enough to take him on. Lyf shot through roiling fumes towards the side wall, wrenched open a heavy glass door and dropped her onto the floor. He slammed the door and shoved a rubbery seal against it at the base.

They were in a small, square emergency chamber, empty save for a water barrel and a bank of seven levers on the right-hand side. Lyf thrust the levers forward, one by one, and Tali heard sets of water-driven box fans start up outside. He turned and studied her enigmatically.

“You would suffer so agonising a death to save your people?”

“I swore an unbreakable oath,” said Tali. “Why did you save my life?”

“I saved the master pearl. Your life was incidental.”

“Are you going to cut it out now?”

“After I’ve checked on my people. If the sunstone knocked them unconscious — ”

“If you want to save them, you’d better hurry,” she said exhaustedly.

Her eyes were burning again. She felt her way across to the water barrel and ducked her head. When she cleaned her eyes, Lyf was gone.

Tali checked the door. It was locked. She reached out with her gift, to see if she could unlock it, but it did not budge.

She dressed hastily, knowing Lyf could come back at any moment, then hurled her loincloth, the symbol of her enslavement, into the darkest corner. Even if she only had minutes to live she wasn’t wearing it any longer.

Since she could not get out, she began to check the tunnels with the mage glass, one by one. Lyf was flitting back and forth, rousing his people. The bursting sunstone had knocked most of the enemy unconscious, but there was still fighting here and there. She had saved the Pale from immediate destruction, but for how long?