William King - Shadowblood

There was something in the air that told him that things had changed. He was not exactly sure what it was but he sensed that something was different and he hoped that the change was for the better. Maybe it was just the fact that he was still alive when he had expected to be dead. He told himself not to get his hopes up but his heart felt lighter than it had done in days and it seemed like the weight that had been pressing down on him was removed. The darkness of spirit that had oppressed him for months was gone almost as if an evil spell had been removed.

Nonetheless, that did not absolve him from the responsibility of performing his duties. He made sure that sentries were posted and that the area was clear before he bedded down for the night.

At dawn they would continue the journey Westwards. They had the cure for the plague and they needed to take it to where it would make a difference.

Sardec walked into the main square of Redtower. It seemed like an age since he was last here although barely two years had passed. The place still looked more or less the same as it had been when he was billeted there. It seemed strange and absurd that it had changed so little when he had changed so much. The callow youth who had first visited Lady Asea in her Palace was gone as surely as if he had died in battle. Sardec was not sure that he would have approved of the Terrarch he had become but he did not really care. He was happy with himself and with his new life in a way that would have seemed simply impossible to the person he had once been.

Rena was safely ensconced in their apartments near Asea’s Palace. He had told her that he loved her and he was happy with that. Some of his fellow officers did not approve, particularly the younger and the priggish such as he had once been but most of the others did not care. They thought of him as the hero who had brought back the cure for the Great Plague and he suspected that many of them were simply jealous. That was the Terrarch way, after all. Some of his commanders might disapprove of the fact that he had made the knowledge common property but they could not come out and say that now. He had managed to preserve Talorea’s armies from disease and allowed them to keep in the field when it looked like they might be overcome.

And of course everyone knew of his friendship with the Lady Asea, now once again the most powerful and respected adviser to the Queen of Talorea. Asea’s destruction of Askander had reminded everyone of exactly how powerful she was and once again she was feared and envied in equal measure. All the most powerful politicians of the realm now courted her good opinion and she ruled the Kingdom in all but name.

Sardec was not at all surprised to see the Barbarian standing on guard by the gate. Asea had bought out all of the old veteran Foragers from military service and taken them into her own employ if they desired the position. All of them had taken her up on the offer even though she had settled a generous pension on them that would have allowed them to live independently without working.

She had done the same for Marcie and her children. A fact that became evident when young Daved came out to take his horse. He was dressed as a groom and seemed happier and healthier than at any time on their long march back through Kharadrea. He seemed pleased to see Sardec which only made Sardec feel guilty when he thought of the boy’s father. He pushed that thought aside and walked further into the Palace across the courtyard. He had last been there before he and the Foragers had set out for the lost city of Achenar.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Weasel. The man noticed him at the same time and give him a salute with some of the old mockery in it. A servant came and led him into the drawing-room where the paintings he remembered from the old days had been replaced with new ones from Asea’s treasure trove of artefacts. The lady herself was waiting for him along with Rik and Tamara.

“Captain Sardec,” said Asea. “It is a great pleasure to see you once more.”

Sardec was suddenly aware of his new epaulettes. There were still times when he felt like he was wearing them under false pretences and this was one of them. He smiled at Asea and then at Tamara and then Rik.

Tamara was dressed in the full Court finery of a Terrarch noblewoman. The long blue dress suited her very well. She looked more like a guest than a prisoner and Sardec supposed that was what she really was. The war between Talorea and Sardea had petered out as both nations needed their troops to deal with the threat of the walking dead who had gone completely out of control once Asea had closed the Askander Gate. Officially they were still at war but their troops had yet to meet on a battlefield since Azaar’s defeat at the Battle of Weswood. There were rumours that both sides were negotiating in secret. With the Empress dead it looked like there was the possibility of Queen Arielle becoming the ruler of both nations. Such a stabilising influence was going to be needed, for politically much had changed in the past few years.

All manner of rumours abounded concerning the plague. The tale had gotten about that the disease had been engineered by Terrarchs in an act of genocide against the human race. Rebellion was far closer than it had been in many a year throughout all the Terrarch realms because of this.

“You seem to be in good spirits,” said Rik.

“As do you,” said Sardec although it wasn’t quite true. Rick still looked thin and very unhealthy. There were shadows beneath his eyes and his face looked bony. There was an intensity in his gaze that was unsettling. He should have looked happier, Sardec thought. After all, he had been accepted into one of the greatest Houses in all of the realm. His patron was powerful enough to ensure that now. No one cast aspersions on his birth any more.

“When do you leave?” Tamara asked.

“Tomorrow,” Sardec said. “I join the Seventh. Under Lord Azaar again. We’re off to put down more of the walking dead and help free Kharadrea once more.”

He couldn’t quite keep the irony from his voice. He wondered if they would be any more welcome this time than they had been the last time. He hoped so. Rumour had it that Prince Khaldarus was gone, killed by the walking dead.

“I wish you luck of your new command,” said Asea. Sardec thanked her. He was sincere about it. He had tried to find a way to express his gratitude to her for closing the Gate and had never succeeded in doing it to his own satisfaction. It appeared that her sorcery was what had saved him that night at the ruined farm. Somehow she had disrupted the spell that kept the undead under control and granted them a limited intelligence. After she had closed the Gate they had become mindless and hostile even to each other.

He wanted to believe that that was the only reason he was here but he knew he would be deceiving himself if he thought that. He was a career officer now and she was the most powerful woman in the realm after the Queen. He had a connection to her and reminding her of that was his real purpose in coming here. He knew that Asea appreciated that when she presented him with an Elder Sign as a parting gift.

As he placed it around his neck he knew he was announcing that he was a partisan of her party and he did not mind that. If someone had to be in power in the realm, and someone always did, he was glad it was her. As he strode out of the Palace, he smiled. Rena was waiting for him and that thought made him happy.

From the balcony of Asea’s tower, Rik looked down on the night time city. He had a fine view of the river and the Pit. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had met Rena there and become involved in Weasel’s plot to sell the ancient grimoire they had found in Achenar back to the Prophet Zarahel. He had not even known Asea in those days although he was soon to make her acquaintance.