Greg Keyes - Lord of Souls

“Reaction,” he offered. “When you realize you’ve almost died, sometimes-you know.”

She shook her head. “When I summon daedra, I have to touch them with my mind. I have to be strong enough to keep them from turning on me. Daedra are-violent, passionate. Sometimes I feel something of what they do.” She looked away. “I think-” She shook her head and dabbed at the cut on his chest. “It’s also been a long time, for me. I haven’t felt I could trust anyone enough to-do that. I haven’t felt secure enough.”

“And you trust me?”

She smiled. “No. But-” She smiled. “Reaction. And there is something about you.” She cocked her head. “You’ve no reason to trust me either, I know. I’ve given you every reason not to. But I’m just trying to get through this. Alive. And sometimes it doesn’t seem worth the cost.”

“Cost?”

“This isn’t a life, Colin. I’m thirty-one years old. I’ve been a spy in Hierem’s ministry since I was twenty-one. I’ve been with one other person in that time, and it was a disaster. I work, and I fear, and sometimes I do awful things. I have drinks with my sister for an hour or two most evenings and come home. I can’t talk to her about what I do. She stays out, gambles, goes for rides in the country, has affairs. I’m careful. I protect myself. And now I’m going to die anyway.”

“They failed,” he pointed out.

“But someone sent them, probably one of my rivals or Hierem himself. They’ll send more. I’ve made a mistake somewhere-probably to do with those two on the island. They know.” She lifted his hand and kissed it. “You’re very young,” she said. “You can get out of this. You should. I won’t stop you.”

“Are you giving up?” he asked.

“No. No, I can’t do that. But I don’t have to pull you down with me.”

He sighed. “I was in this already,” he said. “I have to-I have to do something right. Do you understand?”

“You did something right tonight,” she said. “You saved my life. Can’t that be enough?”

“Not if you die tomorrow.”

“We all die. You gave me at least a day more than I would have had. And not a bad one.”

“It’s not enough,” he said.

“Why?”

“It’s just not.”

“Don’t get angry,” she said.

“I’m not,” he replied.

“You sound it.”

“Okay,” he said, closing his eyes. “I’m not, though.” But he was, wasn’t he?

She didn’t say anything, but then he felt a tender kiss, just at the edge of his lips.

“It doesn’t have to be rough,” she said. “I can be gentle.”

He thought of the two men she had killed on the island, of the many who had perished in that house he had followed her to. He thought about the assassin he had just slaughtered, and realized he felt nothing.

He kissed her, and outside the night birds sang as if everything were normal, quiet, and in its place.

“Halt here,” Captain Falcus shouted. “Brennus, Mazgar-take three more and check out the village.”

“On it, Captain,” Mazgar said, trying to keep the fatigue out of her voice. Then realizing she’d spoken out of turn, she looked to Brennus.

“I’m not trained for this,” Brennus said. “We both know that. You choose.”

She nodded. “Merthun, Tosh, Na-Nasha, come on.”

The others were as weary as she, and in fact she was beginning to worry about Brennus. He was a scholar, not a warrior or battlemage, although his skills had saved her a few times in the past weeks. But he didn’t have the constitution or the training for this sort of forced march, and it was starting to show.

They had managed to fight their way through the southern end of the encirclement on the ridge, but none of the horses had survived and they had lost almost half their number. Since then they had been able to keep ahead of the undead creatures, but only by pushing themselves to their limits. What provisions they had were now gone, and they couldn’t stop to hunt or fish, because the band that attacked them wasn’t alone; it was part of a massive wave moving across the mountains into Cheydinhal County.

They half trotted, half stumbled down the hill to the village, if village was even the word for ten houses arranged around a central area of bare dirt and a well. She looked longingly at the latter, but had a job to do before she could drink from it.

There were about seven people in the square when they entered it, but within moments more began appearing from the houses. They didn’t look threatening; none of them even seemed to be armed.

“We’re Imperial troops,” Mazgar shouted. “Who’s in charge here?”

An older Redguard woman with frizzled white hair stepped toward her.

“I suppose that would be me,” she said. “I’m Sariah, charter-holder of Mountain Watch, such as it is.”

“Sariah,” Mazgar said, “just keep your people still for a moment. We mean you no harm.”

They went quickly house to house, despite the sudden burst of protests and complaints from Sariah and a few others in the square, only confirming what Mazgar already reckoned-that this was a bunch of farmers and hunters. Then she whistled-one short, one long, two short.

A few moments later Captain Falcus and the rest came down.

“Captain, this here is Sariah,” Mazgar said, introducing her, “the charter-holder.”

“What’s this about, Captain?” Sariah demanded. “Since when can Imperial troops search houses without permission?”

“By order of his majesty, or in time of war, lady,” Falcus said. “You and all of your people are about half a day from being dead, every one of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Sariah asked.

“Mountain Watch, eh?” Falcus said, and spat. “You aren’t watching too well.” He raised his voice. “Listen up! You people have fifteen minutes to pack. Take nothing you can’t eat, drink, or fight with, and I mean it. Any horses you have, bring those up now, and bring my men provisions.”

“What gives you the right to order us out of our homes?” Sariah snapped.

“I don’t aim for any of you to die,” Falcus said. “I intend to get you all behind the gates of Cheydinhal ahead of what’s coming. But if you delay me with this senseless prattle-if anyone does-it means some or all of you are going to die. Even now it may be too late. Now-do what I told you. Now!”

The charter-holder’s eyes widened, but she didn’t dissent anymore. Nobody ever argued with Falcus when he used that tone of voice. He might as well have been the Emperor himself.

They took turns at the well, drinking and filling their skins, and those not at the well helped gather up the grand total of six horses the village had to offer. They hooked four of them to two wagons, to carry the youngest and the infirm. Falcus and Kuur, the battlemage, took the other two.

A bit of grumbling started to resurface, and it took more than fifteen minutes, but within the hour they were shepherding forty people ranging in age from two months to sixty-something down a weather-worn track that couldn’t quite be called a road.

Mazgar and Brennus took positions along one of the wagons. Brennus looked pale.

“There’s room in the wagon,” Mazgar suggested.

“I’m fine,” he murmured. “Thank Akatosh I don’t have to carry around all that muscle and bone, like you do.”

“No, all of your weight is in your head,” she replied. “Seriously. A little rest will help you.”

“He can have my place,” a child’s voice said. “I want to walk.”

Mazgar glanced in the wagon and saw that the speaker was a little human in brown twill breeches and a yellow felt shirt.

“See?” she said. “The boy is willing to give up his spot for you.”