The Devil's Armour (Gollancz S.F.) by John Marco

had already lost countless Seekers to the raiders. They were a vicious lot, Aztar’s men, willing to murder anyone they robbed, even children. It was why Lukien always tried so hard to save them, and why he always grieved when he couldn’t.
    In the last few months the Seekers had come across the desert in waves. It had been as Minikin had predicted. Once word reached the outside world of Grimhold’s existence, it had been impossible to stop them. No matter their ailments, the Seekers willingly braved the desert, seeking the magical place of healing. The blind and insane, the crippled, the deaf; they had all left their homes behind to find theplace some of them called ‘Mount Believer’. It broke Lukien’s heart to see them. Like he and Gilwyn and their comrade Baron Glass, the Seekers were northerners, mostly. Some were even Liirians. But none had known the truth of Grimhold, or that Minikin, the mistress of that place, had not enough magic to save them. They knew only of the legend, and their desperate hope drove them onward.
    ‘We go on,’ said Lukien. ‘We must find them.’
    Gilwyn didn’t argue. ‘We should separate,’ he suggested. ‘We can cover more area that way.’
    ‘And if we run into raiders?’ The smirk behind Ghost’s gaka was almost audible. ‘What then?’
    ‘We have to find the Seekers,’ said Gilwyn. ‘If we don’t they’ll die.’
    ‘If they’re not dead already,’ countered Ghost. He was as frustrated as the rest of them, partly because there were so few Jadori kreel riders to help them. So many had died in the war against Liiria, both men and their mounts. That was a year ago, and still the Jadori had not been able to train enough of the slow-maturing beasts. But Ghost was no coward, Lukien knew; the albino had volunteered for this mission.
    ‘Gilwyn’s right,’ said Lukien. ‘We can part here and cover more ground. If we don’t find them in an hour we can head back. If we find raiders—’
    Lukien had no chance to finish his sentence. Behind him, one of his sharp-eyed Jadori companions gave a shout, pointing ahead to a dune. The Bronze Knight looked hard, spotting movement in a distant valley of sand.
    ‘Is that them?’ he asked. ‘I can’t tell.’
    The Jadori warriors swarmed forward, their reptilian mounts sensing their need. The keen eyes of the kreels could see far better than those of their human riders, and once they had sighted the movement in the valley they shot the image into the minds of their masters.
    ‘Seekers,’ said Kamar. He spoke no Liirian but the word was the same to the Jadori. Kamar nodded to himself, notreally looking but seeing the travellers through the eyes of his kreel. His Jadori companions did the same, as did Gilwyn.
    ‘He’s right, it’s them,’ Gilwyn confirmed. ‘And more.’ He pointed with dread beyond the valley. ‘Look there.’
    Lukien and Ghost both followed Gilwyn’s finger. They were the only two of the group on horseback, and had no magical link with their mounts. But even Lukien with his single eye could see the cloud of sand being kicked up from the dune.
    ‘Raiders,’ spat Ghost. ‘How many?’
    Gilwyn stared but it was Emerald that saw. ‘Thirty or more,’ said the boy.
    ‘And how many Seekers?’ pressed Lukien.
    ‘Half that many,’ replied Gilwyn. ‘I can’t tell exactly.’
    That was some good news, thought Lukien. If there were men among them, they could fight if their maladies weren’t too severe. But there was little time to act. From what he could see, the raiders were close to the Seekers. Thankfully, the kreel were much quicker than any horse.
    ‘Go,’ Lukien ordered. ‘Protect them. Ghost and I will go after the raiders.’
    Gilwyn didn’t waste a moment. With the Jadori close behind, he bolted forward on his kreel, leaping over the dune and bounding headlong through the sand, speeding toward the Seekers. Lukien and Ghost hurried after them, their horses galloping against the sand. Already