James Barclay - Rise of the TaiGethen

‘When the purge came we hid in the ghetto, just as you told us to, waiting for our chance to return. As you said we should.’

‘I said that?’ Pelyn smiled. ‘So I saved you. Are you grateful enough to find me some nectar? It really will be the last time.’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Tulan. ‘I-’

There was an ula walking down one of the aisles towards the dais from which Takaar was speaking. No one moved to stop him. No one dared.

‘When did he get here?’

Pelyn had been aware of the odd snatch of noise from outside the temple but had thought it was just the normal business of a market day. A theatre group perhaps; there still was one in Katura. It seemed she had been wrong. She watched Auum. He moved with such poise. Eyes were drawn to him from across the temple and eventually even Takaar was forced to acknowledge him.

‘Ah, a cloud has come to cover the sun,’ he said, and the temperature in the temple seemed to cool. ‘An ill voice comes to disrupt our harmony. Please, my elves of the new age, stay. I will return when Auum and I have spoken.’

‘I have no intention of conducting this conversation in private,’ said Auum, his tones providing a harsh counterpart to Takaar’s gentle oration. ‘This must stop.’

For a moment the craving left Pelyn while she watched the two most powerful elves on Calaius clash like panthers over hunting grounds.

‘They will not listen to you, and why should they? These are free elves. Free of will and free of thought. And they have chosen the path for the new generation. The Il-Aryn courses through their bodies and I will give them control of it and so bring us the power we need to rid Calaius of man.’

‘Going to do all that in ten days, are you?’

Auum’s tone was contemptuous. He had continued walking until he stood a mere pace from Takaar. His whole body was a signature of the threat he posed. Takaar was quick but Auum was like lightning, and Pelyn could see Takaar knew it.

Takaar chuckled and waved a hand. ‘With the TaiGethen among us, we need not fear man, surely?’

‘You haven’t told them, have you?’ Auum pointed north. ‘An army is coming. Following you. It will be here in ten days. The great Takaar forgot to mention it, didn’t he? There is a time for magic but it is not now. Any of you who leave with him are nothing but cowards running from the fight.

‘Look at you. All of you. Fit young ulas and iads whose minds are being tricked. What use is there in magic if there is no elven race left to save with it? You must stand with me and fight with blade, bow and fist. Standing together, we are strong enough. Leave and you weaken us all. When the battle is won, go with my blessing. But not now. I need you. The elven race needs you.’

‘They do not need your blessing to become Il-Aryn.’ Takaar’s whole face was a sneer. ‘But I tell you what: I will give them the choice you would deny them. Any of you who wish to fight, bleed and die with Auum, please move outside. Any who wish to stay and learn the greatest of lessons, remain seated.’

Not one of them left; they applauded and Auum stood humiliated. Pelyn feared what he might do, but there was not a twitch towards violence.

‘You are a traitor to the elves, Takaar,’ said Auum when the applause had died down.

Takaar did not appear to care. ‘No, Auum, if anyone betrays us it is you and those who would deny the future of us all.’

‘Very well. Take your people and go. But do it now. No other will be allowed to join you. Do not make a scene and do not make a fuss. I will not allow you to grandstand your miserable exit. And when you reach whatever hiding place you have in the forest, send me the Senserii. At least give me them. They are worth ten of each of your little gang.’

‘I will not give up my loyal defenders,’ said Takaar. ‘But I will give you this.’

He unshouldered his backpack and proffered it to Auum with the reverence due a priceless religious token. Auum stared at it and then at Takaar, contempt making a mask of his features.

‘For all that you are denying the elves of Calaius, you are giving me a sack in return? Insult me again and I will kill you and damn the consequences.’

Takaar raised a hand to quell the tension that had sprung up in the temple.

‘Do not make your ignorance so public, Auum. Within this sack are those things I always worked upon and you always eschewed despite my urgent advice. But use arrows, not blowpipes. Pipes are too short range and I have perfected a viscosity that sits well upon an arrowhead.’ He proffered it again and Auum took it. ‘There’s enough in there to kill two thousand, I’d say. Maybe a few more if you’re careful with it. But don’t touch it. Death on contact.’

Takaar smiled beatifically and Pelyn thought Auum would lay him out. The TaiGethen’s left fist balled but then relaxed. He turned and stalked back down the aisle, daring any to speak to him. None did. At the door he stopped and turned and his eyes fixed on her.

‘Pelyn, you are coming with me. That is not an option, Al-Arynaar, it is an order. You have a cloak. It is time you wore it once more.’

Auum simmered. Katura was in an appalling state. The TaiGethen had sought out those they felt could lead or add significant skills to their efforts and come back with an estimate that eighty per cent of the city lay in the hands of two suppliers of narcotics and luxury items — rare plants and herbs, spirits and fine cloth.

Much of it was sourced from the many villages still working, as they always had, through the long years of elven existence in the rainforest. But plainly they were under the control of the larger thread gangs, the Tualis and the Beethans. As for the edulis, which came at a staggering price in terms of land and goods, it was manufactured in the city.

‘We should shut them down,’ said Ulysan. ‘Put an end to their influence here.’

The TaiGethen were beginning to assemble in the hall of the Al-Arynaar. The day was almost over and the evening chorus was sounding loud from the rainforest below the palm of Yniss. In the relative peace that had descended on the city now Takaar had departed, the sound of the falls, distant through the trees that lined the lowlands, was mesmeric.

‘That is the Al-Arynaar’s job,’ said Auum. ‘Or it should have been. We have neither the time nor the strength to clear them out. We have to win their support with word and action.’

‘I think you’re being naive,’ said Elyss. ‘We were out there while you were getting rid of Takaar. They won’t speak to us. They just watch. They’re dangerous and they have huge influence here.’

Auum shrugged. ‘They have no courage. We are fighting for the survival of our race.’

‘It’s so simple for you, isn’t it, Auum?’

It was Pelyn. She’d been asleep much of the late afternoon, Elyss sitting with her and guards positioned on her balconies. Tulan and Ephram, the two young Tuali Al-Arynaar, were organising the main hall for the evening’s meeting, clearing the floor and setting up tables around the edges. Auum wasn’t sure about them. Very quick to run, it seemed, and equally quick to return when the wind changed.

Pelyn still looked pale but there was some spark in her eyes again. Auum knew enough about edulis not to take that as a sure sign of recovery, but it was a start.

‘It is simple,’ said Auum. ‘If we are defeated here, we are finished. If we win, we can cleanse our forest and resume the lives they stole from us.’

‘But Auum, it’s not in the drug gangs’ interests to believe you,’ said Pelyn.

‘Really? Who will they sell their poison to if the elves are all dead?’

‘You aren’t listening. They won’t relinquish their power. Their grip is so strong here.’