Crusader by Sara Douglass Page A

existence he isn’t going to expose her to danger, Faraday thought, and planted a kiss on the girl’s shiny brown curls.
    “When do we go back to the wasteland?” DareWing asked, his voice thick with an emotion that Faraday only belatedly realised was the need for revenge.
    “We will all need to go back,” DragonStar said, “but you and I will return first, DareWing. No, wait, let me speak before you all bombard me with questions. Will you sit? This orchard is secluded enough for us to talk without interruption.”
    They settled themselves in a circle, Katie resting with her head on Faraday’s lap.
    As Faraday looked up from Katie, she caught Leagh looking at the girl with an odd expression on her face.
    The instant Leagh realised Faraday had seen it she wiped her face clear of any interest in the girl. Katie had her own destiny, as did Leagh’s child, and she could do nothing to change either.
    Faraday wanted to ask Leagh why she’d looked so at Katie, but before she could speak DragonStar began to talk.
    “Tencendor can be reborn,” he said, “but it must first be cleared of all its corruption.”
    “The Demons?” Gwendylyr said. There was a tendril of black hair hanging un-neat across her forehead, and Gwendylyr lifted a hand as if to pat it back into place, but her hand hesitated, then dropped. Gwendylyr left the strand to its own devices.
    “Yes,” DragonStar said, “but also of all the crazed animals and…and…”
    And the maniacal people crawling about, he almost said, but could not. But even with the thought unspoken, DragonStar could see the knowledge in everyone’s eyes anyway.
    “Which first?” Goldman said.
    DragonStar hesitated, and ran the tip of his tongue over his lips. “Ideally, the Demons first,” he eventually said, “but we, you five as well as I, need to be stronger before we can attempt their destruction.”
    Katie lifted her head at the latter words and stared briefly at DragonStar, then she dropped her face back into Faraday’s lap. Her shoulders shuddered slightly.
    No-one noticed her reaction, save Faraday, who assumed Katie had shivered with the gentle breeze blowing through the orchard. She pulled a section of her skirt around Katie, far more concerned at DragonStar’s words.
    Faraday and the other four had shared concerned glances. “Talk to us,” Faraday said. “What do you mean?”
    DragonStar took a deep breath. “I am StarSon, and Qeteb will be my battle,” he said. “But the other Demons—”
    “Ah,” Goldman said, understanding, “as you will be responsible for Qeteb’s destruction, so will each of us be responsible for one of the other Demons.”
    “Yes. It is preordained. Five of them, five of you.”
    “But, how can each of us contend with one of the Demons!” Leagh said. Her face was almost panicked, and she’d placed both her hands protectively over her belly. “I can’t—”
    “Right here and now,” DragonStar said, his tone and eyes gentle as he regarded Leagh, “you can’t. No, I agree. We need experience and perhaps even some more knowledge before we can dare the Demons. But eventually each of us will have our task to do, and for each of us that task will be a particular Demon.”
    “But there are only four Demons left,” Gwendylyr said, “not counting Qeteb. Sigholt’s bridge destroyed Rox—”
    “Evil cannot be destroyed,” Katie whispered into Faraday’s lap, “it can only be transformed.”
    No-one heard her.
    “—so surely that means only four of us need to confront a Demon. Leagh must wait it out in Sanctuary. We can’t risk her.”
    DragonStar looked Gwendylyr steadily in the eyes, and then shifted his gaze to Leagh. “We will all be needed in the wasteland,” he said. “Leagh as much as anyone else. Her pregnancy cannot excuse her. And as for Rox, well…all I know is what I feel . The balance will be restored.”
    “How?” asked Goldman.
    DragonStar lowered his eyes, remembering his long disquiet about Niah,