David Gemmell: The Last Guardian

Towards midnight, with all the men asleep in their blankets, the youth rose silently, a double-edged knife in one hand. He crept forward towards where Shannow slept. A dark figure loomed behind him and a pistol clubbed across the youth's neck; he fell without a sound. The leader bolstered his pistol and dragged the boy back to his blankets.

Twenty feet away Shannow smiled and returned his own gun to its scabbard.

The leader walked across to him. 'I know you ain't asleep,' he said. 'Who the Hell are you?'

Shannow sat up. 'That boy will have a sore head. I hope he has sense enough to thank you for it.'

'The name's Lee Patterson,' the man answered, thrusting out his right hand. Shannow smiled at him, but ignored the offer.

'Jon Shannow.'

'Jesus God Almighty! You hunting us?'

'No. I'm riding south.'

Lee grinned. 'You wanna see them statues in the sky, eh? The Sword of God, Shannow?'

'You have seen them?'

'Not me, man. They call that the Wild Lands. There's no settlements there, no way for a man to make a living. But I seen a man once who swore he'd stood under 'em; he said it gave him religion. Me, I don't need no religion. You sure you're not huntin' us?'

'You have my word. Why did you save the boy?'

'A man don't have too many sons, Shannow. I had three. One got killed when I lost my farm.

Another was shot down after we… took to the road. He was hit in the leg; it went bad and I had to cut it from him. Can you image that, Shannow, cutting the leg from your son? And he died anyway, 'cause I left it too long. It's a hard life, and no mistake.'

'What happened to your wife?'

'She died. This is no land for women, it burns them out. You got a woman, Shannow?'

'No. I have no one.'

'I guess that's what makes you dangerous.'

'I guess it does,' Shannow agreed.

Lee stood and stretched. He looked down. 'You ever find Jerusalem, Shannow?'

'Not yet.'

'When you do, ask Him a question, will you? Ask Him what the Hell is the point of it all.'

Nu-Khasisatra ran from the Temple, out on to the broad steps and down into the teeming multitudes who thronged the city thoroughfares. His courage was exhausted and reaction had set in; his limbs were trembling as he pushed his way through the crowds, trying to lose himself among the thousands who packed the market streets.

'Are you a priest?' a man asked him, clutching his sleeve.

'No,' snapped Nu. 'Leave me alone!'

'But you wear the robes,' the man persisted.

'Leave me!' roared Nu, wrenching the man's hand from him. Once more swallowed by the throng, he cut left into an alleyway and walked swiftly through to the Street of Merchants. Here he bought a heavy cloak; it had a deep hood, which he pulled over his dark hair.

He stopped at an eating house on the Crossroads corner, taking a table by the east window where he sat staring out on to the street, overwhelmed by the enormity of his deed. He was a traitor and a heretic. There was nowhere in the Empire to hide from the wrath of the King. Even now the Daggers would be hunting him.

'Why you?' Pashad had demanded the previous night. 'Why can your God not use someone else?

Why must you throw away your life?'

'I do not know, Pashad. What can I say?'

'You can give up this foolishness. We will move to Bala-cris — put this nonsense behind us.'

'It is not nonsense. Without God I am nothing. And the King's evil must be opposed.'

'If your Lord Chronos is so powerful, why does he not strike the King dead with a thunderbolt?

Why does he need a shipbuilder?'

Nu shrugged. 'It is not for me to question Him. All I have is His. All the world is His. I have been a Temple student all my life — never good enough to be a priest. And I have broken many of His laws. But I cannot refuse when He calls upon me. What kind of a man would I be? Answer me that?'

'You would be a live man,' she said.

'Away from God there is no life.' He saw the defeat in her dark eyes, saw it born in the bright tears that welled and fell to her cheeks.

'What of me and the children? A traitor's wife suffers his fate — have you thought of that? Do you wish to see your own children burning in the fires?'

'No!' The word was torn from him in a cry of anguish.

'You must get away from here, beloved. You must! I spoke to Bali this afternoon and he says you can go to him tomorrow night; he has something for you.'

They had talked for more than two hours, making plans, then Nu had gone to his tiny prayer room where he knelt until the dawn. He begged his God to release him, but as the dawn streaked the sky he knew what he must do…

Go to the Temple and speak against the King.

Now he had — and death awaited him.

'Are you eating or drinking, Highness?' asked the Housekeeper.

'What? Oh. Wine. The best you have.'

'Indeed, Highness.' The man bowed and moved away. Nu did not notice his return, nor the jug and goblet he placed upon the table. The House-keeper cleared his throat and Nu jerked, then delved into his purse and dropped a large silver coin into the man's hand. The House-keeper counted out Nu's change and placed it on the table. Nu ignored the money and absently poured the wine; it was from the south-west, rich and heady. He drained the goblet and refilled it.

Two Daggers moved into sight beyond the window and the crowd parted for them, people jostling and pushing to void contact with the reptiles.

Nu averted his eyes and drank more of the wine.

A figure moved into the seat opposite. To know the future is to be assured of fortune,' he said, as he spread out a series of stones on the table.

'I do not need my future read,' replied Nu. But the seer swept up two small silver pieces from the change on the table. Then he scattered the stones.

Tick three,' he said.

Nu was about to order the man away when the two Daggers entered the room. He swallowed hard. 'What did you say?' he asked, turning to face the newcomer. Tick three stones,' the seer repeated and Nu did so, leaning forward so that his hood fell further over his face. 'Now give me your hand,' ordered the seer.

The man's fingers were long and slender, cold as knife-blades as he studied Nu's palm for several seconds.

'You are a strong man, but then I need no special skill to see that,' he said, grinning. He was young, hawk-faced, with deep-set brown eyes. 'And you are worried.'

'Not at all,' whispered Nu.

'Curious,' said the man suddenly. 'I see a journey, but not over water, nor yet over land. I see a man with lightning in his hands and death in his dark fingers. I see water… rising…'

Nu wrenched his hand away. 'Keep the money,' he hissed. He looked into the seer's eyes and saw the fear there. 'How does a man travel, and yet not move over land or water?' he asked, forcing a smile. 'What kind of seer are you?'

'A good one,' said the man softly. 'And you can relax, for they have gone.'

'Who?' Nu asked, not daring to look up.

'The reptiles. You are in great danger, my friend. Death stalks you.'

'Death stalks us all,' Nu replied. 'No man avoids him for ever.'

'There is truth in that. I do not know where you are going — nor do I want to know. But I see a strange land and a grey rider. His hands hold great power. He is the man of thunder. He is the doom of worlds. I do not know if he is the enemy, but you are linked to him. Walk Warily.'

Too late for that,' said Nu. 'Will you join me in a drink?'

'Your Company is — I think — too perilous for me. Go with God.'

Beth McAdam climbed down from the wagon, gave the broken wheel a hard kick and cursed long and fluently. Her two children sat in amused silence on the tailboard. 'Wouldn't you just know it?' said Beth. The wooden rim had split and torn free the metal edge; she kicked it again.