Ricardo Pinto - The Third God

She nodded.

He watched her as she punted. Her strength belied her apparent fragility. He glanced over the prow. Osidian would be there, Fern and Poppy and Krow. A part of him longed to see them; another misgave at the thought. The truth was that he felt too exhausted, too drained to take on again the burden of their expectations, of his need to seek atonement.

He looked at Lily. ‘How long has it been?’

‘Since we captured you? Eight days.’

‘So long?’ He realized that Osidian must have abandoned his pursuit of Aurum. He considered what this implied about the situation he was going into. Something occurred to him. ‘How did you know where to find them?’

Lily raised her pole, then, throwing her weight onto it, drove it deep into the water. ‘There’re many Leper eyes in these valleys.’

‘The camp will be fortified; the Marula guards jumpy. It might be better if you were to leave me at some distance and let me walk in.’

‘You think you’re strong enough for that?’

He imagined stumbling through the undergrowth, in the darkness.

Lily drew the pole up. ‘It might be better if we make our own camp on the opposite shore. I can take you over in the morning.’

Carnelian agreed.

He helped Lily pull the boat up from the water. She lifted a bundle from the stern then made off up the slope. Carnelian followed her, dizzy, his feet snagging on roots. Several times he had to stop to free his shrouds from thorns.

They came to a small clearing lit dimly by the darkening sky. Lily found a place to sit. Barely seeing her, he sat nearby. ‘I suppose we shouldn’t make a fire.’

‘They’d see it. Put your hands out.’

Carnelian did so. They hovered, faint, but visible enough for Lily to see them. He felt something falling onto his palms. Bringing it up to his nose he sniffed it. A smoky, cooked smell. Fernroot of some kind. He bit off a piece and chewed. It was floury and faintly sweet.

‘This morning a rumour reached us that the Ringwall’s been closed,’ said Lily.

‘All of it?’ he asked, confused.

‘At least that part running above us.’

He thought about it. Aurum might have closed the border to stop Osidian getting into the Guarded Land.

‘Au-rum’s doing?’

‘Probably,’ Carnelian said.

‘Why would he do that? Is it to keep you from returning?’

Carnelian’s instinct was to deny this, but the lie caught in his throat.

‘Why with his dragons does he fear two Masters and a band of Marula mercenaries?’

Carnelian could only answer that if he told her who Osidian was.

‘I’m also curious as to why he came down here in the first place. Though there are legends describing a time when the Masters brought fire and ruin down from the Guarded Land, no Leper living can remember such a thing.’

‘He came to put down a Plainsman rebellion.’

‘Then it had nothing to do with you being among them?’

Carnelian saw that no lie he could come up with would make sense of everything Lily knew. Further, he could not clearly understand why it was that he wanted to keep the truth from her. So he launched into some kind of account of how he and Osidian had ended up in the Earthsky, of what had happened there, of why they had come with Marula into the Leper Valleys.

‘I still don’t understand why you’re so important to him.’

‘It’s not me, but the other Master that Aurum seeks.’ Carnelian went on to tell her why. When he was done, there was silence between them.

‘You expect me to believe that this other Master is actually the God in the Mountain?’

Carnelian shook his head. As he tried to explain divine election, he became increasingly aware of her exasperation. ‘Do you have any other theory that fits what you know?’

‘So you believe Au-rum acts according to the wishes of the current God?’

‘Actually I believe the opposite is likely to be true.’

Lily groaned. ‘But if he were to capture this other Master, this fallen god, Aurum would triumph, right?’

‘He might be allowed back into the Mountain. I’m sure that’s what he desires above all else.’

‘And if the fallen god were to reach the Guarded Land he’d cause Au-rum ruin? Perhaps even overthrow the God in the Mountain?’

‘The God in the Mountain’s unassailable. He has countless legions. The Mountain is a fortress none could take, but there’s a possibility that, should he reach the Guarded Land, he could disrupt the currents of power of the Commonwealth. This I’ve worked for, will work for, in the hope it will cause the Masters enough confusion that they’ll forget the Plainsmen defied them in open rebellion.’

‘And Au-rum?’

‘He’d fall prey to the God in the Mountain.’

A rasping rhythm of insect calls filled the night. Lily suggested they should settle down to sleep.

Lily shook Carnelian awake. Her red eyes were gazing down at him. She pulled her shrouds over her head and rose. He spent some moments gazing up at the blueing sky. His body ached all over. Groaning, he rose, then plodded down the slope after Lily’s pale form.

When they reached the boat they pushed it down into the water and then she held it for him as he clambered aboard. Soon she was poling them away from the bank.

The water was a grey mirror. Night still lingered among the reeds. Winged shapes flitted across the dawn sky.

Lily made one last, slow punt to nudge the boat into the bank. Standing leaning on her pole she seemed a kharon boatman with his steering oar.

‘So this is goodbye then?’ he said.

She nodded, her face, even her eyes hidden beneath her shrouds. He waited, but there was nothing more. He rose, steadied himself on the prow and swung onto the shore. When he looked back, the boat was already beginning to edge away. He felt suddenly alone and realized he was sorry that he would never see Lily again. He raised his hand in a half-hearted gesture, then watched as she disappeared among the reeds.

Walking along the bank brought Carnelian into view of the camp: a wound in the forest edged about by a crude palisade. Smoke was rising in a dozen spires. According to Lily, he had been away eight days. Time enough for Aurum to make the pass to Makar secure. In lingering, Osidian had thrown away any chance he might have had to overtake Aurum and, with that, the failure of his schemes was all but assured. Reluctant to confront what awaited him there, Carnelian felt like turning round. It might still be possible to catch up with Lily. No, his fate lay before him, for good or ill.

As he approached the camp a cry went up. Marula sprang to the palisade. Carnelian made for a gateway and found it barred by a hedge of lances. There was fear in their faces as they stared at him. Eyes widened as he threw back his cowl. The bronze points wavered and began to rise. He marched forward and a gap opened in their ranks. Soon he was among them, breathing their stale sweat. He saw with what fearfulness they drew away from him. It was not him they feared, but the contagion they believed he carried. One stood out as being braver than the others: Carnelian recognized him as Sthax. He was wondering how to react when a tall, ash-grey man appeared in his path. Carnelian forgot everything else. ‘Aren’t you pleased to see me, Morunasa?’

The Oracle seemed impassive, but his yellow eyes betrayed a mix of emotion Carnelian could not read. There was an increase in the hubbub. He knew it was Osidian approaching even before he came into sight. A darker figure followed just behind him; a smaller one pushed past them both. Seeing it was Poppy running to greet him, Carnelian grinned. Krow, rushing forward, caught her. She struggled, but fell still when Osidian advanced.

The emerald intensity of his eyes was a shock.