Two knights converged on Miriel. Instantly her bow became a shining sabre. Ducking under a wild cut she leapt high, her foot hammering into the first man's chin. He was catapulted back. The second slashed his sword towards her face. She swayed and sent her sabre in a wicked slash that tore through the chain-mail at the knight's throat. He fell and she plunged her sword into his unprotected back.

The three remaining knights backed away. Angel ran at them. 'No!' bellowed Waylander. 'Let them go!'

Angel backed to where Waylander and Miriel were standing. 'I can't think of any magic,' he grumbled.

'You will need none,' said Waylander, pointing to the fading castle walls. 'It is over.'

Within a heartbeat they were standing on a wide grey road, the castle a memory.

'You risked your life for me, Miriel,' said Waylander, taking his daughter in his arms. 'You came into Hell for me. I'll never forget that, as long as I live.' Releasing her he turned to Angel. 'And you too my friend. How can I thank you?'

'You could start by letting Miriel take me away from here,' answered Angel, casting nervous glances at the slate-grey sky and the brooding hills.

Waylander laughed. 'So be it. How do we leave, Miriel?'

She moved alongside him and laid her hands over his eyes. 'Think of your body, and where it sleeps. Then relax, as if drifting to sleep. And we will see you in the mountains very soon.'

Reaching up he pulled clear her hands, holding to them. 'I won't be coming to the mountains,' he said softly.

'What do you mean?'

'I will just be another sword there. I must go where my talents can be used at their best.'

'Not Gulgothir?' she pleaded.

'Yes. Zhu Chao is the cause of all this. When he is dead maybe it will be over.'

'Oh Father, he is a wizard. And he will be guarded. Worse, he knows you will come – that is why he laid this trap for you. He will be waiting. How can you succeed?'

'He's Waylander the Slayer,' said Angel. 'How can he not?'

'What a fool!' cackled Kesa Khan, leaping to his feet and capering about the cave, his weariness forgotten. Miriel looked on in astonishment. Angel merely shook his head.

'To think,' continued the shaman, 'that he tried to kill Waylander by direct action. It is almost bliss! Like trying to choke a lion by forcing your head into its mouth. Bliss!'

'What are you talking about?' asked Miriel.

Kesa Khan sighed and settled down by the fire. 'You are his daughter and you do not see it? He is like a fire. Left to his own devices he burns down to low, glowing embers. But to attack him is to throw twigs and branches to the flames. Can you understand that? Look!' Kesa Khan waved his hand above the flames, which flattened into a mirror of fire. Within it they saw Waylander moving slowly through the Void tunnel, water drenching his boots. 'Here he was afraid, for there were no enemies, only darkness. He was lost. No memory. No weapons.' They watched the tiny figure reach the skeleton, saw the golden-haired head materialise. 'Now observe!' ordered Kesa Khan.

The scaled creature reared up behind Waylander, who snatched the rib and rammed it into the beast's chest. 'Now,' said the shaman, 'he has a sword. Now, he has a purpose. Enemies are all around him. His talents are focused. See how he moves, like a wolf.'

Silently they sat as the tiny figure destroyed the sphere and battled his way up the staircase of hands. 'This I loved,' cackled the shaman, as Waylander threw the white-robed priest into the jaws of the serpent. 'He knew, do you see? In the dark, surrounded by foes, he knew there was no succour. The doorway he chose was the guarded one. Oh, it is so perfect. He must have Nadir blood! And to summon sunshine into the Void! Beautiful. Perfect! Zhu Chao must be trembling now. By all the gods, I would be.'

'I do not know if he is trembling,' said Miriel, 'but I do know my father is riding for Gulgothir. And there will be no sunshine to summon there. Zhu Chao will surround himself with armed guards: he will be waiting.'

'As the gods will,' said Kesa Khan, with a wave of his hand. The fire flared once more. 'Tomorrow we must move the women and children to Kar-Barzac. I have sent a message to Anshi Chen. He will leave a small rearguard to hold the passes. Fifty men will remain here until dark to defend the wall. It should be enough.'

'What about my father?' insisted Miriel.

'His fate is in the hands of the gods,' answered Kesa Khan. 'He will live or die. There is nothing we can do.'

'Zhu Chao will use magic to locate him,' said Miriel. 'Can you shield him?'

'No, I do not have the power. There are deadly beasts in the valley of Kar-Barzac. I need all my strength to send them into the mountains, clearing the path for my people to the fortress.'

'Then what chance will my father have?'

"That we will see. Do not underestimate him.'

"There must be something we can do!'

'Yes, yes. We fight on. We make Zhu Chao concentrate his energies on Kar-Barzac. That is what he wants. His dreams lie in that old castle.'

'Why?' asked Angel.

'The Elders built it. They cast great spells there, creating living demons known as Joinings to fight their wars. Beasts merged with men: the magic was colossal. So great that it ultimately destroyed them, but in Kar-Barzac the magic lived on, radiating out. You will see. The valley is twisted by it, deformed trees, carnivorous sheep and goats. I even saw a rabbit there with fangs. Nothing could live in that valley without being corrupted, twisted out of shape. Even the castle is now a monstrosity, the granite blocks re­shaped as if they were wet clay.'

'Then how the Hell can we go there?' said Angel.

Kesa Khan smiled, and his dark eyes gleamed. 'Someone was kind enough to stop the magic,' he said. He looked away from them, staring into the fire.

'What is it you are not telling us?' asked Miriel.

'A great deal,' admitted the shaman. 'But there is much you do not need to know. Our enemies reached Kar-Barzac before us. They removed the source of magic – aye, and died for it. Now it is safe. We shall defend its walls, and there the line of the Uniter will be continued.'

'How long can we hold this fortress?' enquired Angel. 'We shall see,' answered Kesa Khan, 'but for now I need to drive the beasts from the valley. Leave me.'

16

Zhu Chao's image floated before Altharin as the General stood in his tent, his aide Powis beside him, the albino Brotherhood captain, Innicas, to his left.

'You have failed your Emperor,' said Zhu Chao. 'He set you a simple task and you have behaved like an incompe­tent. A few Nadir to kill and you baulk at the test.'

'Those few Nadir,' said Altharin coldly, 'have boxed themselves behind three narrow passes. I have lost more than two hundred men trying to force a way through them, and your famed Brotherhood have enjoyed no more success than I. One old man broke their attack.'

'You dare to criticise the Brotherhood?' hissed Zhu Chao. 'You are worse than incompetent. You are a traitor!'

'I serve the Emperor – not you, you puffed up . . .'He groaned and sagged into the arms of Powis, a long-handled knife jutting from his ribs.

Eyes wide with shock, Powis took the dying general in his arms, lowering him to the floor. He looked up at the white-haired figure of Innicas. 'You have killed him!' he whispered.

Altharin tried to speak, but blood bubbled from his lips and his head sagged back. Innicas leaned down and dragged the knife clear, wiping it clean on the dead General's tunic of silk. Powis rose, hands trembling.

'Do nothing rash, boy!' said the image of Zhu Chao. 'The order for his death came from the Emperor himself. Go and fetch Gallis. Tell him the Emperor has promoted him.'