David Gemmell - The Ironhand's Daughter

Jakuta Khan shook his head and adopted a suitably apologetic expression. 'My dear Leofric, I would dearly love to help you. But to use my powers while Taliesen is nearby would be costly to me - perhaps fatal. The old man is not without talent. When he departs I will reach out and, shall we say, observe them. Relax, my boy. Enjoy the wine. It really is very good.'

Leofric sighed. He knew the wine was good; it had cost a small fortune. Accepting a goblet, he sipped the liquid appreciatively. 'You said you had tried to capture the woman before, and had failed. Is she charmed? Is this Taliesen as powerful as you?'

'Interesting questions,' said Jakuta Khan, his jovial round face now looking serious and thoughtful. 'I have pondered them often. The first attempt was thwarted by Taliesen and a Highlander named Caswallon. They took her as a babe, and hid her... here. At that time I did not know of Taliesen's existence, and therefore had no plan to cope with him. By the time I found her hiding place she was a small child; her foster-mother threw her from the cabin window, and she ran to a nearby waterfall. There Caswallon and Taliesen once more intervened, though how they came to be there at that precise time, I do not know. They could not have stopped me, for I was well prepared. Sadly, a third force intervened; I believe it was a spirit. He aided her again - and that cost the life of the dearest of my acolytes. But there it is. That is life and we cannot grumble. But last week I used one of the four great spells. Infallible. Either the victim dies, or the sender. I risked everything. And nothing happened. Curiously, the demon I summoned disappeared as soon as my spell was complete. I can tell you, Leofric, I have spent many a long night since thinking over that problem. I know it is hard for you to imagine, but think of aiming a bow at an enemy and loosing the shaft. As it flies through the air, it disappears. It was like that. The question is, where did the demon go?'

'Did you find an answer?' asked Leofric, intrigued.

'I believe so. I cast the spell just outside Citadel town, inside a circle of ancient stones. They are believed to be Gateways to other worlds. In some way I believe I activated the Gateway. Even so, the creature was completely attuned to Sigarni. Therefore wherever it went, she would have been there also. Mystifying.'

Leofric refilled his goblet. 'Does that mean the creature is still looking for her?'

'It is possible. In fact, it is more than likely. The Gateways operate through time as well as space, and even now he is winging his way towards her. What a cheering prospect - I'll drink to that!'

'Why do you hate her so? Has she done you some harm?'

'Good Heavens, Leofric, I do not hate her. I don't hate anyone. Such a harmful emotion! I rather admire her, don't you? But I need what she has. The blood royal! All the great spells require blood royal. And anything can be achieved with it, lead to gold, immortality - of a kind -

physical strength. As limitless as the imagination.'

'She's just a Highland woman, for God's sake. What royal blood does she carry?'

'What blood? How arrogant of you, Leofric. Your own King does not carry the blood royal, though his grandsons might. Sigarni is the daughter of the great King, Ironhand, who was done to death by assassins centuries ago. He had a fortress near here, colossal and impregnable. Only the foundation stones are left.'

'Then how could she be his daughter?'

'She was carried through a Gateway in time. Do you not listen, my boy?'

'I think the wine must be going to my head,' Leofric admitted. 'It all sounds like gibberish.'

'Of course it does,' said Jakuta Khan soothingly, leaning forward and patting the young man's knee. 'But that is the simple answer to your question. Her blood carries power, and I need that power. If there was a way to utilize it without killing her, I would. For I am not fond of death.'

Leofric refilled his glass for the second time. 'You are a strange man, Jakuta. Perhaps you are insane. Have you thought of that?'

'You are full of interesting ideas, Leofric. It makes you a joy to be with. Let us examine the premise. Insanity: not being sane. Yet how do we establish sanity? Would we, for example, look to the majority of people and claim them as normal and sane?'

'That seems reasonable,' agreed Leofric.

'But the King is not normal like them, is he? He is an extraordinary man, as is the Baron. Does that make them insane?'

'Ah, I see what you are saying,' said Leofric, leaning forward and spilling his wine. 'But then normality is not just a question of who farms or who rules. It is surely an ability to discern right from wrong, or good from evil, perhaps.'

'Now the waters become even muddier, my boy. If a farmer sees a neighbour with a bigger section of land, and more wealth, and sets out to murder him, is he evil?'

'Of course.'

'But if a king sets out to destroy his enemy's kingdom in order to swell his own treasury, then he, by that example, is evil also.'

'Not so!' insisted Leofric, aware he was on dangerous ground. 'There may be many reasons why a nation goes to war. Security, for example, protecting one's borders.'

'Of course, of course,' agreed Jakuta. 'And this war? Against an enemy with no army to speak of, a pretend war for the purpose of self-glorification, is this evil?'

'For God's sake keep your voice down!'

'Sanity is not easy to establish, is it, Leofric? All I know is that one man's good is another man's evil. That is the way life works: it favours the rich and the powerful, it always has and I suspect it always will. I am not rich, but I am powerful. I intend to become more powerful.'

'As powerful as this Taliesen?'

'Less and more. He is a curious fellow. He has vast resources, and chooses not to use them. You would like him, I think, Leofric. He knows more about the Gateways than any man alive. Yet he lives like a peasant, and dresses worse. He has a cloak of feathers that has seen better days, and he has allowed his body to become old and wizened. We have not conversed, but I would make a wager that he believes his powers to be a gift from some supreme source, to be used wisely and carefully.'

'Perhaps he is right.'

'Perhaps. I cannot disprove his theories, but I tend towards disbelief. I have conversed with demons who serve a greater demon, and I have known holy men who claim to have spoken with God.

Whereas I, more powerful than most, have never felt the need to serve either God or the Devil, and neither of them has seen fit to approach me.'

'How will you know when Taliesen has left the Highlands?'

'Oh, I will know.'

In the morning Leofric felt that he had a caged horse inside his skull, trying to kick its way to freedom. His head pounded and the bright sunlight induced a feeling of nausea. Jakuta Khan, who seemed untouched by the excesses of the night before, sat quietly, watching the dawn. Leofric stumbled from the tent and made his way to the stream, where he stripped off his tunic and bathed in the clear, cold water.

Wet and shivering, he dressed and walked to the Baron's tent. As he had expected the Baron was already awake, and was sitting at his travel desk examining maps. Leofric entered and bowed. 'Good morning, my lord. I trust you slept well?'

The Baron rubbed at the black leather eye-patch he wore. 'I have not slept well since that damned bird tore out my eye. What news?'

'The scouts are not in yet sir. Shall I fetch you breakfast?'

'Not yet. How do you think they will defend the pass?' The Baron spread out a series of maps on the rug at his feet. Leofric crouched down and studied them.

'They have few choices, sir. My spies tell me the Pallides had pledged themselves to Sigarni. That brings the total of her force to just over three thousand - not quite enough, I would imagine, to defend the eastern slope. They would be too thinly stretched and we could outflank them. The western slope is shorter, but that would mean leaving a gap in their eastern defences, through which a force of cavalry could ride, creating havoc in their villages. Of course, they may try to defend both slopes, or they may, if desperate, choose to occupy the flat-topped hill at the north end of the pass. The slopes are steep and a shield-ring would be hard to penetrate.'