The Orb And The Spectre (Book 2) by Martin Ash Page B

don’t know how, but they spoke the truth when they said those words. By some means they have induced their own deaths."
       The Karai officer's eyes were open, fixed sightlessly upon the rafters. Their lustre was gone; no longer did they in any way resemble fabulous gems. The gorgeous blue membrane of the sclera already showed signs of etiolation, the slit of the pupil was dull and turning to grey.
       Issul turned away, cursing silently. "What am I to make of a people like these? Can we ever hope to meet on common ground?"
     

 
     
     
     
    FOUR
     
     
     
     
    I
     
     
     
       With the morning another death was discovered. One of the two prisoners the Karai had hung upon frames, the man who had taken an arrow in the thigh after Issul cut him down, had lacked the strength to survive the shock. The other, whose name was Aurfusk, seemed to be recovering, though he still lacked use of his hands.
       With Aurfusk the victorious company was now ten strong. Issul had the able-bodied assemble in the compound. "All of us are free beings once more. Some of us have homes to return to, loved ones to seek out. Others may not. For my part, I return to Enchantment's Reach where my home lies. Some of you, I know, travel also in that direction, part-way or beyond. Our chances of survival are soundest if we stick together. I occupy good station at the city-castle and can promise remuneration for those who choose to follow me there. But should any choose otherwise, you may go with my blessing and thanks."
       "I was brought here from my farmstead in the south," said one man, named Carkin. "That is the way I must go."
       Two others were of similar voice, the rest chose to remain with Issul. Before parting they buried the dead. The Karai were put into a shallow pit in the labour compound. Those who had perished as prisoners were interred at the edge of the forest. Time did not allow the digging of individual graves, so all were laid side by side and covered with earth. Shenwolf and two others also collected the remains of those who had died in the slooths' feeding-pen, and they were laid with the others. The grave was left unmarked, out of concern that it might be desecrated by returning Karai.
       The sad task done the company selected and divided rations and supplies from the camp. Each man took as much as he could comfortably carry, including a few gold and silver coins. In a storage hut some of the men found items of their own belongings. Issul discovered her own smallsword and dagger, which pleased her for they were lighter and better balanced for her than the more cumbersome Karai weapons. She also found clothing of finer quality than that which she had exchanged with Shenwolf: a thick shirt of pale brown cotton, loose jerkin, strong trousers and her own damask cape. These, with the padded armour of the Karai, provided her with adequate covering for the journey ahead.
       Their final task was to gather fallen branches, leaves and dry grass from the forest's edge. These, with other flammable materials from the Karai huts and tents, they built into pyres at various places about the camp. Then they put torches to the pyres and watched in contemplative silence as the camp burned.
       It was time for farewells as the company split into two. Issul felt a twinge of sadness at parting with the three who were travelling south. She, like the others, was aware of the bond that had grown between them all by dint of shared suffering and the successful, if costly, struggle for freedom. Now she wanted to offer assurances of future assistance to those who were departing. But she could not reveal herself. None but Shenwolf knew that she was Queen, and until she was safe within Orbia it had to remain that way.
       So they departed that unhappy place and went their separate ways. With bright flames crackling at their backs and thick black smoke pouring into the dull sky, Issul and her little band forded the stream a little way