you won’t if we get the thumb back to the temple,’ said Hirad. ‘Right?’
‘Hirad, even if we had the thumb now, it’s eight days to Blackthorne, another seven across the ocean and another three upriver. As far as we know, this thing runs its course in as little as four days.’ Ilkar’s eyes were glistening in the firelight. ‘You work it out.’
‘Let me worry about that. You just fight it. Don’t give in.’
Hirad felt an arm around his shoulders. It was Erienne. She squeezed and he felt better for it.
‘My dear old friend, there are some things even you can’t sort out,’ said Ilkar.
‘But this isn’t one of them,’ said Hirad. ‘If you don’t stop believing, we can save you.’
‘Hirad—’
‘I don’t want to hear it. You aren’t dying on me and that’s final.’
He was aware his hands were shaking. Erienne kissed his cheek.
‘Keep on telling him,’ she whispered into his ear.
He nodded.
‘So,’ said The Unknown. ‘Before we all turn in, what’s your plan for Understone? Would I be wrong in thinking it included a good deal of riding through the town laying about us with swords and spells until we find what we’re looking for?’
Hirad couldn’t stop the chuckle though the Gods knew he didn’t feel like laughing. ‘You forgot the bit about where I cut down Selik, but apart from that you’re not far from the mark. You have something better in mind?’
‘Well, actually, I do,’ said Darrick. ‘I know plenty about Understone, and with one small alteration and a slight detour, your plan might just work.’
Darrick sketched out his idea quickly and accurately. Later, as Hirad felt sleep steal his thoughts from him, he felt they might just pull it off. They had no idea how many there were in Understone or where exactly they’d be but they didn’t have to. After all, they weren’t rescuing anybody, just one object. And eventually they’d find it, no matter how many were killed in the process.
Hirad turned over, his saddle a pillow for his head, the ground soft beneath him and his cloak covering him against the night’s cool. Only Ilkar’s coughs and his occasional gasp of pain kept him from easy rest.
Auum and his Tai sat by the fire long after The Raven had taken to their rest. They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of sleep and those of the night around them. The Protector, Aeb, was ill at ease as he walked the perimeter, sometimes stopping for an extended period in one place, his body quite still but his lips moving soundlessly. The ClawBound pair padded in some time after midnight, the elf sitting with his back to a tree stump, the panther curling up at his feet.
‘The Al-Arynaar and TaiGethen should stay,’ said Auum. ‘We can return the fragment and the Raven mage will facilitate the binding. We still have sacred texts that must be reclaimed.’
Duele raised his eyebrows. ‘Confident in their ability, are you?’ he said, scepticism in his voice.
‘They are certainly . . . determined,’ conceded Auum. ‘And they care, that much became apparent today.’
Evunn nodded. ‘They move fast and are direct. We would have been a long way further back down the trail tonight.’
‘I am confident enough that we can succeed on our own with them. Moving the rest of the elves will bring trouble. Ilkar was right. We should stop the withdrawal.’ He turned to the ClawBound elf. ‘You are in contact range?’
A nod.
‘The elves must fight on. I have asked for this. I’d rather the Sorrow took them while they fought than uselessly on board ship. We will recapture the thumb. Will you relay these messages?’
Another nod.
‘Yniss will see us safe. He has given us these strangers to aid us,’ said Auum. ‘We should not be ungrateful.’
The light of the next dawn was still faint when the panther began to growl and roar, the alien sounds of ClawBound communication echoing over Balaia for the first time.
Ilkar felt every stride of his horse through his body as if the hooves were trampling over him. He’d demanded he ride on his own, determined not be an invalid. Against all odds, he’d had a fairly comfortable night and it was not until the panther had set up its unearthly resonant calls that the pain had gripped him again and all but taken the breath from him.
He still remembered Ren’s touch and he recalled her tears as they fell asleep. He was just thankful she was still free. But his own sudden falling had