Toll the Hounds

‘Then why not let us ride it for a time?’ Samar Dev demanded. ‘Why not leave us that damned illusion?’



‘Because, woman, we ride it to hunt, to kill, to destroy. We ride it as if it is our right and our excuse both.’’And yet,’ said Traveller, ’is that not precisely what you intend, Karsa Orlong?’



‘i shall destroy what I can, but never shall I claim to own what I destroy. I will be the embodiment of progress, but emptied of greed. I shall be like nature’s fist: blind. And I shall prove that ownership is a lie. The land, the seas, the life to be found there. The mountains, the plains, the cities, the farms. Water, air. We own none of it. This is what I will prove, and by proving it will make it so.’



He leaned forward then and gathered up in his hands a heap of dusty earth. The Toblakai rose to his feet, and dropped the soil on to the fire, snuffing out the flames. Darkness took them all, as if but awaiting this moment. Or, she thought with a chill, as if it has always been there. The light blinded me, else I would have seen it.



As I do now.



God of war, what did you want with me?



With an ear-piercing scream the enkaral crashed down on to Pearl, talons slashing through flesh, dagger fangs closing on the back of the demon’s neck. Grunting, he reached up and closed one hand about the winged beast’s throat, the other forcing its way beneath the enkaral’s upper jaw-fingers sliced into shreds as he reached ever farther and then began prising the mouth back open. The fangs of the lower jaw sank deeper into the muscles of Pearl’s neck, and still he pushed. As this was going on, the talons never ceased their frantic rending along the demon’s lower back, seeking to hook round his spine, seeking to tear loose that column-but the chains and shackles snarled its efforts, as did Pearl’s twisting to evade each stabbing search through his muscles.



Finally, as his grip on the beast’s throat tightened, he could hear the desperate squeal of its breath, and the jaws weakened. Something crunched and all at once Pearl was able to rip the jaws free of his neck. He staggered forward, dragging the huge beast round, both hands closing on its scaled throat-and more things collapsed inside that crushing grip.



The enkaral flailed about, legs kicking wildly now, talons scoring furrows on Pearl’s thighs. He forced the beast down on to the ground. The thrashing slowed, and then, with a spasm, the creature went limp.



Pearl slowly rose, flinging to carcass to one side; a thud, the slap and rustle of chains. The demon then glanced over to the figure walking alongside it. ‘Did I anger it somehow, Draconus?’



The man squinted, shifting the weight of his chains over his other shoulder before replying, ‘No, Pearl. Madness took it, that’s all. You just happened to be near.’



‘Oh,’ said Pearl. And then the demon sighed. ‘Then it is good it was me and not something… smaller.’



‘Can you continue, Pearl?’



‘I can, yes. Thank you for asking.’



‘Not much longer, I should think.’



‘No, not much longer,’ agreed Pearl. ‘And then?’



‘We will see, won’t we?’’Yes, that is true. Draconus?



‘Pearl?’



‘I think I will welcome an end-is that a terrible thing for me to say?’



The man shook his head, his expression hinting that he might he in pain. ‘No, my friend, it is not.’



Fully one half of the sky was now a seething argent storm. Thunder rolled from the horizon behind them, as the very ground was ripped up, annihilated-their world had acquired an edge, raw as a cliff, and that cliff was drawing closer as vast sections sheared away, as the raging abyss swallowed the toppling stone columns one by one.



And it occurred to Draconus, then, that each of them here, seemingly alone, each with his or her own shackle, his or her own chain, had finally, at long last, come together.



We are an army. But an army in retreat. See the detritus we leave in our wake, the abandoned comrades. See the glaze of our eyes, this veil of numbed exhaustion-when at last we tear it aside, we will find the despair we have harboured for so long, like a black poisoned fruit under a leaf-all revealed as we look into each other’s eyes.



Was the comfort found in mutual recognition of any true worth? Here, at the last? When the common ground is failure? Like a field of corpses after a battle. Like a sea of skulls rolling in the tide. Is not the brotherhood too bitter to bear?



And now, he wanted to… to what? Yes, to rage, but first, let me close my eyes. Just for a moment. Let me find, again, my will-



‘Draconus?’



‘Yes, Pearl?’