David Durham: The Sacred Band

Dariel, convinced that he can do something to right the wrongs of the quota trade, offers to help the resistance. They eventually give him a mission. They have found a soul ship-one powered by trapped souls-that they do not want the league to get its hands on. They ask Dariel to pilot the ship to a remote place and destroy it. He jumps at the opportunity. He even lets Mor tattoo his face so that he looks like a quota slave. The vessel proves to be fast, maneuverable, and absolutely unlike anything Dariel has ever seen. As he races away in it, he discovers that the league has occupied the island of Lithram Len, on which the soul catcher is housed. If they find the device and learn how to use it, they could make themselves immortal. Dariel does not let this happen. Like the brigand he used to be, he steals explosive pitch from the docks and uses it to blow up the soul catcher. A little later, after destroying the soul vessel and freeing the spirits captive in it, Dariel meets up with Mor. She offers him leave to go as thanks for his deeds, or says that she could take him into the interior of Ushen Brae, to meet the elders of the Free People. Following Mor, he sets off into the wild expanse that is Ushen Brae.

Back on Acacia, Corinn narrowly escapes being charmed by King Grae. Delivegu captures Barad the Lesser and presents him to her. Delivegu has deduced that Grae is conspiring with Barad. The queen imprisons him and turns his eyes to stone. Corinn simply sends Grae home.

Corinn is relieved when Mena returns from Talay. The princess flies in on Elya. Corinn is wary of the creature, but Mena adores her. Soon Aaden is in love with Elya also. Mena reunites with her lover, Melio. The two of them discuss having children, something they have long put off. It is a pleasant reprieve, but it does not last long.

Sire Dagon gets word of what happened to Sire Neen in Ushen Brae. He learns of the Numrek’s treachery and of the impending invasion. He runs to tell the queen a modified version of events-one that puts no blame on the league. The Numrek in the palace see Dagon’s unease and know something has happened with their clansmen. They rise in rebellion. The queen is safely locked away with Dagon and Rhrenna when the slaughter begins, but Mena and Aaden are out in the Carmelia, with Numrek guards watching over them.

The Numrek attack the young prince. They stab both him and his friend before Mena can stop them. Mena kills the Numrek, grabs Aaden, and tosses him to Elya, who flies the injured boy away. Melio and other Marah soon join Mena. They fight the Numrek, killing them and all the other Numrek on the island.

Corinn uses the song to heal Aaden’s injuries, but the boy remains unconscious. She dream travels all the way to Ushen Brae. She cannot find her brother, but she does contact Rialus. Through him, she gets proof that the Auldek are marching to war. They have mustered a great host: Auldek; tens of thousands of slaves; and all manner of beasts, including antoks, batlike kwedeir, and freketes-large, intelligent beasts with massive wings.

Wanting the nation on her side completely as they face the invasion, Corinn authorizes the distribution of the vintage, thereby addicting the people to artificial cheer once again. She gives Mena the King’s Trust, Edifus’s ancient sword, and sends her to be the first line of defense against the Auldek, to defeat or delay them while they are still in the far north. She sends Melio with an army to prepare an assault on the Numrek in Teh. The couple’s plan to have children will have to wait.

Aliver’s daughter, on the other hand, reappears. Kelis, Benabe, and Naamen had been left distraught by her disappearance. They searched the desert for her for weeks, but in the end Shen, Leeka, and the Santoth simply reappear. The girl tells Kelis that the Santoth are ready to return to the world now. As Aliver’s descendant, she has freed them, and now she wants to go with them to Acacia. According to Shen, the Santoth believe Corinn is making grave mistakes with her use of The Song of Elenet. They claim to want to help her. Kelis reluctantly agrees. The group begins the long journey back to Acacia.

After the tumultuous part he played in igniting the Numrek uprising, Sire Dagon takes solace in communing with the League Council. They conclude that however the conflict plays out, they will be able to find a way to benefit from it. One of them, Sire El, seizes the opportunity to get approval for a project he has been working on-developing an army from the slaves raised on their plantations. Sires Faleen and Lethel head off to take over Ushen Brae.

In the final chapter of the book Corinn works several acts of magic. She goes to Barad and injects sight into his stone eyes. She binds him with a spell so that he will appear to be free but will only say the things she wants him to. Having found out that Elya has laid eggs-information she got from her clever spy, Delivegu-she sings sorcery into the unborn creatures, charging them to grow into great monsters for her. And then she summons a spirit from the dead: her older brother.

Aliver Akaran is back in the story.

Corinn Akaran stepped into the brilliant morning light. She walked across the deck of her transport ship, descended the plank to the Teh docks, and strode through the military officials awaiting her as if all of it were one continuous movement. The men-including Melio Sharratt and General Andeson, Marah and Elite officers-parted around her, stunned even though they had stood in preparation for greeting her since the dawn. For a moment the group did nothing but stare.

The queen wore armor that melded influences from the empire’s provinces. Chain mail covered her arms; it was thin and light but made of fine links of steel, cuffed at the wrists with a hint of Senivalian style. A Meinish thalba wrapped her torso, snug against the contours of her hips and breasts. Her skirt, also of chain mail, was as short as any Talayan runner’s. Leather straps wrapped over her legs, completely covering them in a second skin that was tight around the calf, loose around the knee, and tight again around the upper thighs. Over all this she wore a light Acacian cape that flapped around her as she moved.

Baddel, the Talayan who had jockeyed to be the first to address her on his homeland’s soil, welcomed her with a barrage of enthusiastic praise. He poured forth condolences for the injury done to Prince Aaden. “Numrek treachery knows no bounds! I still can’t…” For a moment he got no further. The queen’s Elite guards swept down in her wake, jolting the advisers into motion. They scurried to keep up with her, all except Melio Sharratt, who seemed at ease and said as she passed, “Your Majesty, I’ve never seen you… dressed in armor.”

“We’re at war,” Corinn said. “In this I’m the same as any in the Known World. General Andeson, tell me.”

By which she meant update her on the most recent intelligence. The general did. The first wave of Marah had swept in upon the Numrek’s seaside villas, catching them at least somewhat unawares. They’d fought among the rambling estates, across the beaches and piers and gardens in which the Numrek had lived in sun-drenched splendor. Soon they had the coastline blockaded. Corps of the Elite pushed inland as the Numrek retreated.

“We pressed them back into the hillside fortress the locals call the Thumb,” the general said. “It’s an ancient structure. We’d thought nothing of it, but the Numrek must have reinforced the walls and stocked it with supplies. They’ve had time to prepare their treachery. We’ve offered battle daily, but they no longer engage.”

“They’ve suddenly gone coward,” a younger officer said.

“No, they’re toying with us,” Melio said. “They send their children onto the battlements to float paper birds on the air. They’re clever with such things.”