Gabriel sighed, gazing into the lantern’s flame.
‘I should’ve fucking known better.’
X
DIM AND DIMMER STILL
‘“VALIANT?” DIOR OFFERED.
‘“No,” I replied.
‘“Aright, what about … Courage?”
‘“That means the same thing as Valiant.”
‘“Chivalry, then?”
‘“It’s the worst kind of tosser who names his horse Chivalry, Dior.”
‘The girl rolled her eyes. “This from the man who named his sword Lionclaw.”
‘“I was fifteen, what the fuck do you want from me?” I growled. “And I told you, stop talking to Ashdrinker about my childhood. She wasn’t even there for most of it.”
‘“If you want Ash to stop telling me about you, you should stop loaning her to me.”
‘“Well, someone’s got to stop you from falling asleep on watch.”
‘“That’s happened once in two weeks. Climb off my tits about it, merci.”
‘We’d abandoned the frozen edge of the Volta, turned north onto a long, lonely road. A fortnight trekking through northern Ossway, and we’d seen few signs of life. All was silence, save the songs of starving crows, and all was stillness, save the eddies of falling snow. We passed bone-filled gibbets. Ghost villages, abandoned by all but corpse-fat rats. The hollowed wrecks of once-mighty castles. Old farmers’ fields that had become mass graves, the bodies frozen where they fell. Even the Dead had abandoned this place – just a few stray wretched to harry our steps, the best of which now resided in small glass phials inside my saddlebags. God was nowhere to be seen.
‘This was the empire I’d fought so hard to save – an ever-growing sea of ice and darkness, in which humanity’s light grew dim and dimmer still. But the Nordlund was looming ahead of us, and I knew that in that shadowed sea, a few tiny flames lingered.
‘I’d taken to loaning Ashdrinker to Dior when the girl stood watch at night. I knew she’d no real idea how to swing a sword, but the blade would speak to her in the small hours, keeping her alert while I stole some sleep. I snatched only a handful every night, but thank fuck for the little I did get. Because God’s truth, Dior was close enough to sending me mad without adding sleep deprivation to the mix.
‘“What about Gallantry?” she asked.
‘“No,” I replied.
‘“Greatheart?”
‘“Terrible.”
‘“Well, if you don’t like my suggestions, make your own,” the girl snarled. “We can’t keep calling her Jezebel.”
‘“Lower your voice, for fucksakes.”
‘Dior spoke again, two octaves lower, “What, like this?”
‘“She’s a horse. She doesn’t give a shit what we call her.”
‘“She’s brave. She’s strong. She’s loyal.” Dior gave the mare a fond scratch behind the ears. “She deserves a name that says something about who she really is.”
‘“If that’s the way names work, why isn’t yours Annoying-the-Fuck-Out-of-Gabriel?”
‘Dior rolled her eyes. “You’re such an arsehole.”
‘“See, that’d work too.”
‘My lips twisted in a secret smile, and we set back to it. But trudging onwards, I soon found that smile fading. The dead trees were slowly thinning, and through the swirling snowfall, I could see what lay ahead. It was inevitable, of course – I’d been chewing on what to do about it for days. But I’d hoped we’d get farther before this particular bucket of cocks hit us full in the face.
‘“Shit,” I breathed. “The Ròdaerr.”
‘In front of us, the road dropped away to a steep bank and a broad river. The bridge had been torn down, twin mooring stones thrust up from the shoreline, one smeared with a bloody handprint. The Ròdaerr was only eighty yards wide. But it was trouble nonetheless.
‘“Should be easy enough to cross,” Dior said. “It’s frozen solid.”
‘“Not solid,” I replied. “And that’s one problem.”
‘“We’ve more than one?”
‘I looked to the falling snows, shivering in the bone-cracking cold. “Wintersdeep has finally caught us. Every river north of the ?mdir is in the process of freezing.” I met the girl’s eyes, shook my head. “We can’t reach San Michon like this, Dior.”
‘“But if the rivers are frozen … that’ll make it easier for us to travel, not harder.”
‘“Easier for us,” I nodded. “And the things chasing us. The coldest nights of the year are about to fall. The Beast of Vellene will be over the Volta and right up our arses with whatever strength he can muster along the way. Danton moves faster than we do. He knows where we’re headed. We won’t reach San Michon before he runs us down.”
‘“Is there someplace we can shelter?”
‘I sighed, taking my old map from my britches. It was beaten, water-stained, crumpled, but the lines of the empire were still visible on the parchment. I tapped a small black star on the banks of the Mère.
‘“Ch?teau Aveléne,” Dior murmured. “What’s there?”
‘“Maybe, just maybe, a fire bright enough to burn Danton to ashes.”
‘“That path leads through the northern weald. Saoirse warned us not to go there. She said the Blight was far worse, that the—”
‘“We’re beggars, Dior, we don’t get to choose. But after the beating he gave us at San Guillaume, the Beast will think we’re shattered. Fleeing for our lives. And in truth, that’s all we’ve been doing. I came north to kill this bastard and his whole accursed famille, and I’m sick of running. Do you trust me?”
‘The girl met my eyes and nodded. “I trust you, mon ami.”
‘I looked to the stretch of grey ice before us. “Aright, then. This is our road.”
‘“One that’s liable to crack right under our feet.”
‘“Right you are. So I’ll go first.”
‘Dior raised an eyebrow, looking from me to the frozen river, then back again. “Don’t be daft, Gabriel.”
‘“I can find a safe path. I grew up in the Nordlund. I know ice.”
‘“I’ll go first. I’m faster. And smarter, just quietly. Hence not wanting to be stuck on this bank holding the horse while you bugger off alone.”
‘“You ever done this before?”
‘She shrugged. “The Lashaame River freezes in winter. They held a fair on it once.”
‘“Soft city girls,” I tutted.
‘She scoffed, brushing snow off her frockcoat. “Tell me what to do then, bumpkin.”
‘“Walk slow,” I smiled. “Legs wide. If the ice cracks and you hit the water, the cold will knock the breath right out of your lungs. If that happens, keep your head. Kick upwards. Turn around, and go out same way you went in. Still got that pig-sticker of yours?”
‘Dior shook her head. “Those bitches took it in Redwatch.”