Wyrm Lord

2. A Nation of Slaves-1

2. A Nation of SlavesAn hour later, they sat on the other side of the hilltop copse, eating the supplies they'd brought with them from Dublin: dry biscuits and some sickly, sugary cake that Cait could only nibble at. They sipped at water from plastic bottles. They didn't have enough of everything to get them very far; some time soon they'd need fresh supplies.

Loose boulders lay scattered around, half-buried in the ground, as if someone had attempted to erect a building long ago but it had fallen into ruin. They sat on them, each alone with their thoughts. The rooks racketed in the treetops, but their calls were less harsh. It sounded more like they were chortling with laughter. A wind had come up, gusting strongly enough to send the branches swaying and lashing. Autumn leaves – lime-green, blood-red, honey-gold – fell around them, gliding to the ground like dying butterflies.

Angere lay stretched out before them, flooded with white sunlight. Nox glugged back water and handed her the bottle. “So, does Angere surprise you?”

“A little,” Cait replied, not looking at him. In truth, it surprised her a lot. It wasn't what she'd expected at all. She'd imagined a scarred, ruined landscape: grim metal buildings, raging fires and the air heavy with smoke. But Angere was beautiful, there was no other word for it. It looked more like a vast garden than a wilderness. A carefully tended patchwork of lawns and avenues and meadows stretching in all directions. Even this late in the year, swathes of colourful flowers were everywhere. The air was thick with their heady scents.

Dotting the landscape were shining white houses: palaces with towers and domes and steeples. They looked like the stately homes her mother dragged her to on weekend trips to the country. But those had been old and crumbling, their oak-panelled corridors carpeted with fading rugs, their walls hung with the blackened portraits of stern former owners. These houses sparkled in the light of the sun, their white stones glowing.

“Are you sure this isn't Andar?” she said. “Maybe we ended up on the other side of the An by mistake.”

“This is Angere,” said Nox. “Things aren't always as they seem here.”

“So you know this area?”

“No. I've only ever visited the White City. Never this far west.”

She shaded her eyes as she gazed across the landscape. One or two other hills rose from the plain, also crowned by copses. Upon one she discerned another of the stone archways like that in the valley. This rose above the trees like the legs and body of some vast beast. Definitely not a bridge, then.

“What is that?” she asked, pointing at the distant hill. “Something to do with the undain?”

“No, the arches predate the undain. The dragonriders built them, scattered them over the land. No idea why; they don't do anything except slowly crumble away into dust. Maybe Ran knows what they were for.”

Between the hills there was only open countryside. She'd hoped for dense forests, but there was little cover in the wide, rolling landscape.

“I don't see how we're going to get to the An,” she said.

Nox shrugged. “Perhaps we shouldn't try. Perhaps we should seek help in one of those palaces.”

“That's a mad idea.”

“Coming here was a mad idea, Cait. Trying to defeat the undain is a mad idea. The truth is we don't have much chance either way. We're exposed out here and we need help.”

“From the undain. Right.” It made no sense. Their only hope was to avoid being detected, however unlikely that was. “If they spot us they'll throw us into their dungeons or eat us alive or something.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He held up his right hand to show her the gold ring he wore. “Do you know what this is?”

It looked expensive. Probably not the sort of thing you bought in Bling Thing. She shrugged. “Just a ring.”

“I was given this by Menhroth himself when he made me a Baron of the Undying Land three years ago. Anyone here would recognize it and know its meaning. Unless they were an earl or a duke or a lord, they would be duty-bound to do what I tell them. That's the way it works here. We could go and demand food and shelter and whatever help we need.”

“You're not one of them. You're not an undain.”

“That doesn't matter. They do what they're told by those higher up. This society is basically feudal. Damn good system if you ask me.”

“But even if they were to accept you, which seems pretty unlikely, what about me and Ran?”

He'd clearly been thinking about this. Making plans. “You at least are OK, Cait. Children only go through the Ritual of the Seven Ascensions when they reach seventeen. It wouldn't be odd for you to be … normal.”

“And Ran?”

“Ran is more of a problem. There are still dragonriders here and they're still the king's personal guard. But they're all undain. They're very different from our friend. Ran would have to stay out of the way.”

“You've got this all worked out, haven't you? Sounds to me like you're trying to split us up.”

He shook his head. “We need help, Cait. It's the only way.”

“It's too dangerous. Once they learn from Danny we're in Angere, they'll come looking for us. They won't care if you've got a hundred stupid rings.”

“Perhaps, but I've been thinking. Did Danny know where in Angere the portal led? Did you talk about it?”

She thought back. The details were already hazy. Too much had happened. The bookwyrm had said something about the portal being a long way from the White City, hadn't it? “We knew it wouldn't take us anywhere near Menhroth.”

“But not which direction?”

“No. I don't think so.”

“There you are, then,” said Nox. “The undain will be scouring the banks of the An. That's where I'd look. That's where most things happen. This place is a forgotten backwater.”

“No, it's too dangerous. I'm not going anywhere near one of those houses.”

Nox scowled and said nothing for a moment. He wasn't used to being argued with. Well, he'd have to get used to it. And there was more to this than he was letting on. She waited. If he had something more to say he should say it.

After a few moments' silence he spoke again. “The thing is, Cait, when I was here before – in the White City I mean – I heard some rumours. Very vague. But I've learned it pays to listen out for things like that. You never know when they might come in useful.”

“What rumours?”

“Rumours of battles being fought within Angere. Factions opposed to Menhroth. The Revenant Army being dispatched to suppress uprisings. I heard the name Phoenix, too. Some kind of rebel leader.”

“Seriously?”

“That's what I heard.”

She took another sip of water. “But, why? Why would they fight each other?”

“Oh, it's the same everywhere. People see power and want it for themselves. Trust me, I should know. And here it comes down to Menhroth. He's responsible for the ascension of every other undain, either directly or indirectly. And there are people who don't like that, his control over everything. They don't like the way he does things. So I heard.”

“But we can't walk up to one of those houses and ask if they're secretly fighting the King,” she said. “That's insane.”

“Obviously. But maybe we can make contacts. Win their trust. Network. It's no different to negotiating a contract or manipulating politicians back home. It's all about striking up a relationship. Finding weaknesses you can exploit. You'd be surprised what people let slip when they're relaxed and not concentrating. I wouldn't expect you to understand, but that's how the grown-up world works.”

“Really? Is that right?” She could have punched him. She very nearly did, but she restrained herself. “Well, I told you. I'm not going anywhere near the undain. I'm heading to the An to get Danny and the book. If you want to go and alert the enemy you're on your own.”

Nox shrugged. “OK, Cait. Whatever you say.”

She caught the frown on his face. She thought about the first time she'd seen him, outside Central Library. The day he let both her and the Grimoire slip from his grasp. He'd scowled at her then, too. It was like seeing the real him for a moment beneath the mask.

“What was it like?” she said.

“What was what like?”

“Back home. Running Genera. You must have been incredibly powerful. You must have been able to do anything so long as you kept your masters here happy. You could go anywhere, have whatever you wanted.”

Nox nodded. “You want me to say it wasn't like that? Actually, yes, it was wonderful. A lot of fun. Like you say, I could do pretty well anything. The world was my playground.”

“And losing all that because of me?”

It took him a few moments to reply. “Don't exaggerate your role, Cait. I made plenty of mistakes on my own.”

“But you do blame me?”

“Not really. Maybe a little. You were only doing what made sense for you. In your position I'd have done the same.”

She nodded. Could she believe him? Time would tell. She glanced back at Ran, sitting a little way back in the shadows. He was busy hacking off his pony-tail, his black hair falling to the ground around him. When he saw her watching he spoke words of explanation that she didn't understand. Cait asked Nox what he'd said.

“Oh, so now you want my help?”

“Just tell me.”

“Says short hair is better for fighting. His braids get in the way.”

She turned back to the dragonrider. “Ran? Which way to the An?” She spoke slowly, nodding her head in the direction of the plains in front of them. “Which way would you go?”

Ran considered her words. He appeared to understand at least some of them. He rose to his feet, regarding the wide land before them. He wore only a thin shirt while Cait was bundled up in several layers of fleece. The tattooed blue spirals on his arms seemed to swirl as he pointed. Not east. North. He said something more.

Again, Nox translated. “He said the mountains. And some words I don't know.”

Cait gazed that way. In the far distance, beyond the patchwork of green and lime and gold fields, she could see a line of mountains in the haze: jagged peaks, their tops merging with the clouds.

“You think we should go that way? Head north?”

Ran nodded, although whether he understood her words or not, she didn't know.

“The farther north we go, the longer it will take,” said Nox. “And the sooner we'll hit the winter.”

“Still,” said Cait. “I'd rather go around than try to walk across these plains unseen. What's south of here?”

Nox shrugged. “As far as I know it's like this all the way to the deserts.”

“Which are nearer? Mountains or deserts?”

“I don't know, Cait. I generally had more important things than geography lessons to worry about when I came here.”

She considered. The truth was she didn't have a clue what to do. But Ran and Nox didn't have to know that. What would her mother do? Or her gran? They always knew what was for the best. Except, maybe they didn't? Maybe they made everything up as they went along. Maybe they pretended to know what was right and then, because everyone went along with it, that became the right thing to do.

It was like with teachers. You assumed they knew everything. But then if you asked them an awkward question they'd have to go and look up the answer. It was like they were only pretending to be teachers. Perhaps that was what everyone did. Maybe you only had to pretend to be something long enough and hard enough and you became it. Even someone like Nox: how could he have known how to run an organization like Genera? Maybe he'd had to play-act the role until everyone – including him – accepted it.

It was all she had. It wasn't quite magic but it was close enough. She'd play the part of someone who knew what they were doing. Perhaps she'd believe it herself eventually. Fall for her own trick.