Sword of Wrath (Kormak Book Eight) Read online

  Zamara noticed his expression. “Yes. Every ship in there is either fled or on the bottom of the harbour.”

  “Not a single soul visible either. No dockers. No sailors. No vendors. The whole place looks deserted.”

  “We’ve seen something like this before,” said Zamara. He was clearly thinking about the village of Wood’s Edge where they had first encountered evidence of the Kraken’s ravaging.

  Kormak nodded. He had seen things like this many times in the past. He felt no need to mention that—Zamara was worried enough as it was.

  “An attack then,” Kormak said. He focused the spyglass on the fort. The walls were damaged. The tower had partially toppled. The place had been besieged. There was no sign of any people. “Slavers?”

  “We’re a bit far north for that, and the Carcereans know there would be reprisals. When was the last time you ever heard of slavers attacking a fortified garrison?”

  “I’ve seen them do it in the far south, but I can’t imagine they would want to provoke the King-Emperor’s vengeance.”

  Zamara bellowed down to Terves, “I want your men ready to go ashore and search for survivors. I want to know what happened here.”

  “With your permission, I will go with them, Admiral,” Kormak said. “There may be work for me here.”

  Zamara looked as if he was considering refusing that permission for a moment, but in the end he said, “Stick close to the marines, Sir Kormak. I want no men lost here if it can be helped.”

  “I will go too, Admiral, if it pleases you,” said Rhiana. “I had friends here.”

  Zamara sighed. “I fear you may have lost such friends as you had, judging by appearances, but by all means go. We need someone to keep the Guardian out of trouble.”

  The marines rowed towards the pier. Behind them, all of the catapults and ballistae of the Pride of Siderea pointed landward. The windcaller stood there as well, ready to draw on her magic. The galleon was in a position to give them covering fire if the worst came to the worst.

  Off to the right, a fin cut the waves of the harbour. Kormak was not sure what the dolphin could manage if they were attacked, but at least there would be some warning if any threat emerged from the water.

  Uneasiness kept him swivelling his head. He did not like being trapped on this small, swaying wooden platform, surrounded by the marines. There was hardly room to swing a blade if it came to a battle, and the footing was unsteady for swordplay. He would never be at ease on boats, no matter how much time he spent on them. He was a mountain man at heart.

  Kormak was glad when they reached the pier. He made sure he was the first to swarm up the metal ladder fixed to one of the wooden pylons. The soldiers were only too glad to let him. Beneath his feet wooden planks flexed, but they felt somehow more solid than ship’s timber.

  Terves’s grizzled head rose into view, and then came Rhiana and the rest of the marines. The company formed up, ranged weapons held ready by the crossbowmen. Shield bearers flanked them. Terves gave the order and the company marched off the pier, and into the streets of the harbour front.

  Slates strewed the streets. Huge boulders protruded from broken roofs. Windows were smashed. The smell of old burning drifted through the air. Maybe the attackers had tried to torch the town; more likely, fires had started when someone kicked over a lantern in panic and the flames had spread.

  “There!” Terves said, pointing at a corpse in the street. It was rotten and limbs were missing. Carrion birds rose squawking as Kormak strode towards it. Covering his mouth, he crouched over the body. The corpse was decomposing. Bits of gristle and tendon showed from one shoulder and one knee. It looked like the arm had been torn out of its socket. The lower half of the leg had been severed by something blunt and powerful.

  “What in the name of the Light did this?” Terves asked. His face was pale. Terves had seen such horrors before when they had pursued the Kraken. He was a steady man, but even he was shaken. Some of the younger marines looked as if they were going to be sick.

  Kormak looked around and saw what he expected. About ten strides away lay broken bones. Flecks of flesh still clung to them. He picked one up. It had been cracked, and the marrow sucked out. He pointed this out.

  “What does that to people?” Terves asked.

  “Orcs sometimes,” Kormak said.

  “You think there are orcs here. I always heard they hated the water,” Rhiana said.

  “Most of them do—can’t stand being on it. Some clans have taken to the sea. The rest regard them as mad,” Kormak said.

  A muttering swept through the ranks. The marines looked relieved. At least orcs were something they understood—a foe that could be faced and overcome. Even a horrifying enemy was preferable to the unknown.

  “You think it’s orcs then,” said Terves. He sounded as if he wanted to make sure.

  “Maybe,” said Kormak. “There are other things that eat human bone marrow. Some of the Old Ones consider it a delicacy. That, and human brains.”

  The marines stared at him. Their unease had returned. Terves noticed that. “If it’s an Old One, your blade can kill it,” he said.

  “Yes.” He looked at the sky. “If it’s an Old One, you’ll be safe as long as you stay in the sunlight. Be careful if you go indoors, or into shadows. Don’t go into any cellars or dark places without calling me.”

  “You heard the guardian,” Terves said. “Pay attention if you value your lives.”

  Rhiana placed a hand on Kormak’s shoulder. “I don’t sense the presence of anything like an Old One close by.”

  “Doesn’t mean there isn’t one. It might not be close.”

  She nodded.

  “I think you’re right. This does not have the feel of the Old Ones to it.”

  He stood up, glanced around. Terves stared at him. Under the circumstances, he seemed prepared to defer to Kormak.

  “Let’s get going!” Kormak said. “Stick together. Keep your weapons ready. Look for survivors.”

  He already knew they were not going to find any.

  The fortress looked as if it had been battered with siege engines. Huge boulders lay at the foot of its walls, along with splintered bits of stone that had fallen from the battlements. In places, the walls were cracked. The gate had been smashed open. In the courtyard within lay an uprooted tree.

  “What in the name of the Light happened here?” Terves said. “Sorcery? It’s the only explanation.”

  “Sorcery that cast huge stones at the walls, and uprooted trees, and caused everyone to vanish?” Kormak said.

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Terves said, in the voice of a man who hoped to be contradicted.

  “It’s possible, but where was that tree uprooted from? The forest? This courtyard is warded and there is no sign of a garden or an arboretum.”

  “Search the buildings of the keep,” Terves shouted to the soldiers. “Keep within hailing distance. If you find anything, anything at all, holler.”

  Like men walking to their own hanging, the soldiers made their way into the buildings. Kormak proceeded further into the keep. A small tower lay tumbled before him; the stones heaped around it. A man’s hand protruded from them. It was corpse-cold; bone glinted through strips of flesh where crows had pecked it.

  “Something brought those buildings down,” Rhiana said. “I’ve seen the like before in the Southlands. Sometimes the earth shakes, and the walls of cities dance and crumble.”

  “A sorcerer would have to be fantastically powerful to summon an earthquake,” Kormak said.

  “I notice you haven’t said it’s impossible.”

  “Few things are impossible to a sufficiently powerful mage, but usually they try and work with local conditions. Is this island known for its earthquakes or tidal waves?”

  “No,” said Rhiana.

  “If this was done with magic, that would mean we were dealing with someone with the strength of an archmage. Or a cabal working a ritual that would take days.”

&nb
sp; “Such things have happened in the past,” said Terves. “I have heard it said that some of the cults that plot against the king have worked similar magic.”

  “But why here?” Kormak said. “Why some tiny island in the middle of nowhere? If you were going to expend such sorcerous strength, why choose this place?”

  “I do not know, Guardian,” said Terves. “That’s more your line than mine.”

  “And what about the corpse we saw down in the town? Bones broken, arms torn from sockets. It would be a strange sorcerer who did that.”

  “A familiar, a demon, I don’t know,” said Terves. His face was pale. His hands clenched. He was clearly struggling to keep calm. Kormak clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Do not worry. We will get to the bottom of this.”

  “That’s what I am afraid of, Guardian. That’s what I am afraid of.”

  A soldier came to them and led them towards another partially tumbled stone structure. The bars of a steel door had been bent. The chains set in the walls had been snapped, except one which held a body. Its head was missing and its neck was mutilated. There was no sign of a skull anywhere.

  “Whatever it was took most of the prisoners and the guards, except this one. I wonder why?” said Terves.

  “Maybe it wanted a snack,” said Rhiana.

  “Maybe it was making an example,” said Kormak.

  “Trying to convince the others to get moving, you mean?” Terves said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Biting off someone’s head. That’s a pretty convincing argument,” the sergeant said.

  Kormak nodded. He was thinking about the sort of creatures who could bite off a human head, or tear one off by sheer strength. There were Shadow demons who could do that, and Old Ones. Some moonchildren too.

  What had happened here? Where were the population of the town? He looked up at the sky. The sun would soon be down. Nightfall would be the most likely time for whatever had done this to return.

  “Terves, tell the men we’ll continue the search until the sun is a few fingers above the horizon, and then we shall return to the ship.”

  Terves looked at him for a moment. He seemed grateful not to have to take responsibility for ordering a retreat.

  “As you say, Guardian.”

  Kormak prayed to the Holy Sun he was not making a mistake. There had been too many of those recently and other people, like Gerd, had paid for them. He looked at Rhiana. She smiled at him. He studied the headless body and did his best to keep from imagining the same thing happening to her.

  Chapter Ten

  They moved out towards the edge of the town, where the fields edged up to the forest. Great dark trees drooped over broken buildings. One had been toppled so that its roots showed, and its branches had smashed through the slate of a roof.

  Something had smashed a passage through the trees and undergrowth. The earth was churned by the passage of many feet. Kormak knelt and found human footprints in the soft loam, the first sign of living people they had found since they reached Fort Wrath.

  “It will be dark soon,” Terves said. His voice was level. His tone resigned. Kormak knew that if he ordered the man to follow this trail into the forest, he would. A company of soldiers blundering around in the darkness would not help anybody under these circumstances.

  He looked over at Rhiana. She tilted her head. He felt almost as if she could read what he was thinking.

  “No matter,” Kormak said. “We shall go back to the ship.”

  “There might be survivors,” Rhiana said. “Look at the tracks.”

  “We won’t help anybody, if whatever did this can see in the dark and we can’t.” Kormak’s voice was gruff. He was caught in a cleft stick. He should follow the trail. If he had been on his own, he would have, but he did not want to put Rhiana and the others at risk.

  Rhiana produced the green pearl she used when diving. A glimmer of green glowed within it even in the daylight. By night, it would provide enough light to see by.

  “We can follow the tracks,” she said. Grumbles sounded from among the soldiers. Terves might be willing to chance the dark and the forest, but many of them were not. They were brave men, but their nerves were frayed thin, and darkness was approaching. Their fears would be their worst enemies.

  “We’ll follow the tracks a ways then,” said Kormak. “You and me. The rest of you head back to the ship. Tell Admiral Zamara we’ll find our own way back before midnight.”

  “I can’t let you do that, Guardian,” Terves said. “Admiral Zamara told me specifically to see to your safety.”

  Kormak stared at him. “There are people out there who are in the hands of monsters. We might be able to save them.”

  “I’ve been given my orders, sir,” said Terves. His shoulders squared defiantly but his face was miserable. “The admiral says it’s of the utmost importance to the king that you reach Terra Nova.”

  “You think you can stop me?” Kormak asked. He rose to his full height and stared at Terves. The old soldier was not intimidated.

  “I don’t rightly know, sir. But I reckon me and the lads will have to try.”

  Kormak stared at Terves. He could cut his way free of the soldiers and vanish into the woods if he had to, but what then? There would be no way off the island. And Terves and the marines were not his enemies.

  Kormak shrugged. “Very well then, let’s head back to the Pride of Siderea. It seems I will need to have words with Admiral Zamara.”

  “As you say, sir. As you say.”

  Kormak felt relief. He would not have to test himself again today. No one else would die because of a failure on his part. Then came the guilt. People might die because he did nothing. Any path looked bad in that light.

  He cursed silently. He had too many doubts. They could be fatal as blades for a man in his line of work.

  “I have orders direct from Prince Taran to see you safe to Terra Nova, Sir Kormak,” Zamara said, adjusting the wick of the lantern. He kept his voice low. He wanted no one outside this cramped cabin to hear their argument. “I feel sorry for the people of Fort Wrath and I want to do all that I can to save them, but those orders supersede any concerns I might have about them.”

  Zamara’s desk lay between them. His logbook was open in front of him; he had been updating it when Kormak entered. He had not risen to confront Kormak. He seemed more embarrassed than anything else.

  “You know why I am going to Terra Nova?” There was more anger in Kormak’s voice than he intended, most of it directed at himself. All the way back to the Pride of Siderea, he had been assailed by the thought that he should have followed the tracks.

  “Something to do with the Old One let loose in the palace. And a threat to the Kingdom.”

  “You know what this is?” Kormak took the ring from within his tunic. It hung there on a silver chain along with his elder sign.

  “It’s the ring you took from the Kraken’s finger after you killed him.”

  “You know what it signifies?”

  “It is a royal seal that belonged to the king’s father. Frater Jonas told me on the return trip.”

  “Read this.” Kormak produced the letter of authority the king had given him.

  Zamara unwound it, studied it carefully.

  “Recognise the signature?”

  “It is the king’s. I have seen it many times on royal warrants.”

  “Tomorrow you will put me ashore with a group of volunteers and await my return to the ship.”

  “Sir Kormak, I can hardly believe this is the reason why the king gave you this letter of authority. You are supposed to use it finding the source of Vorkhul’s coffin.”

  “Maybe so, but are you going to disobey it?”

  Zamara rose from the chair and leant forward on the desk, bracing himself on both arms. He took a deep breath as if he was about to bellow a curse. He resented the order, and was at that moment prepared to fight. Kormak hoped he did not. Royal warrant or no, he doubted he could get the
crew to go against the orders of an admiral.

  “Think about this, man,” Kormak said. “Are you going to abandon to a whole town of innocent people to the forces of the Shadow?”

  Zamara exhaled slowly. He stared down at the desk, smoothed out the parchment with the king’s letter and handed it back to Kormak. “Of course not. It shall be as you say. But if you get yourself killed, you will be signing my death warrant. Prince Taran is not a forgiving man.”

  “I’d best not get myself killed then,” said Kormak.

  “And I’d best go with you to make sure you get back. If you don’t, I might as well not myself.”

  “Thank you,” said Kormak.

  Zamara smiled. “My last adventure with you left me a wealthy man. Let’s hope this one affects my fortunes in the same way.”

  He sounded as if he doubted it.

  “You heard what?” Orson Waters asked. He kept his voice down to a low rumble. The rest of the ship were asleep, but that was no reason not to take precautions against eavesdroppers. The creature in front of him was proof enough of that. He was almost glad that Urag stood guard outside the cabin; at least Balthazar’s lackey was a potential ally in this situation.

  “The Guardian is seeking the source of Vorkhul’s coffin. That is his mission in Terra Nova.”

  “You are sure?”

  The changeling’s smile remained in place. “I listened at the door. My hearing is very good. The guardian and the admiral argued. Sir Kormak produced a warrant from the king and a royal signet ring and forced the admiral to obey him.”

  “Now that is interesting. A man with such a signet and such a warrant could do almost anything in the name of the king.”

  “Perhaps only if he looked like the guardian,” said the changeling. His tone was insinuating. His features flowed and his form lengthened until he looked like Kormak’s twin. “We do not know exactly what it says on the parchment—maybe it says only to obey Sir Kormak.”