soul is beyond the Darkblade’s regard, all can be gathered into the embrace of the Unseen.” He swept his arm towards her, hand extended, fingers open as if trying to grasp her. “Even the woman they now name the Betrayer. Amongst our people it has become a curse to speak your name, a profane and obscene thing. But I will not have it so, Luralyn. I will not leave you unredeemed. Come with me. Sully yourself amongst these wretches no more.”
“Why are you playing this farce?” Vaelin enquired. “You must know we see through it.”
Kehlbrand’s features twitched with momentary rage but he continued to hold his hand out to his sister. When he spoke again it was in the Stahlhast tongue, his voice soft, imploring. Luralyn’s only reply was a shake of her head before she palmed tears from her eyes.
Sighing, Kehlbrand lowered his arm before casting a faintly sour glance at Vaelin. “The Fire Queen’s assassin lives on, I see. Your role is done, Thief of Names. Why not find a quiet corner to die in?”
“If you wish my death, then challenge me,” Vaelin replied. “Since you no longer have a champion to do your fighting for you.”
Kehlbrand laughed at the jibe. “I still sense no song in you, so you remain unworthy. I’ve a mind to leave your death to Babukir, once he’s completed his penance. General”—he shifted his gaze to Sho Tsai—“does this foreign barbarian speak for you now?”
“His words are his own,” Sho Tsai returned, “and mine belong to the Merchant King.”
“A dutiful man then, and given how well your troops have fought, one worthy of my respect.” He bowed in the saddle, Sho Tsai returning the gesture with evident reluctance. “And therefore, I would ask that you hold to your duty,” Kehlbrand went on, “and march your men away from here. I guarantee you safe passage all the way to the southern boundary of the Northern Prefecture. Bear your arms and banners with you, in honour.”
Sho Tsai’s features remained impassive but for a raised eyebrow. “You will simply allow us to march free? As a soldier, this strikes me as being against all military logic.”
“He’s lost too many Blessed-of-Heaven fighting us,” Vaelin said. “And wishes to preserve the rest for his conquest of the Merchant Realms.” He offered the Stahlhast a bland smile. “Do you not?”
“Do not allow this foreign deceiver to lead you into ruin, General,” Kehlbrand said, not sparing a glance in Vaelin’s direction. “This city will fall. I know you see it. You do not have the numbers to oppose me, and your stand here will avail the Venerable Kingdom nothing but the deaths of soldiers it can ill afford to lose. I will require soldiers, you see. When I claim the Venerable Kingdom it will need to be policed, the people’s fears allayed by men who speak their own tongue and know their customs. Thus will they be guided into the embrace of the Unseen. A man like you will stand high in the court of the Darkblade, lead armies against the southern kingdoms. Glory and renown will be your reward, and the reward of your men. Preferable, don’t you agree, to death and the ignominy of failure, which is all that awaits them here?”
Sho Tsai pursed his lips, angling his gaze to look past Kehlbrand at the army beyond. “How can it be,” he wondered, “that a man whose words are so empty of truth even a child would know him a fraud, could have gathered such a host?”
Kehlbrand lowered his gaze, the sincere mask slipping into mordant resignation. “Are you truly going to make me do this?” he said, once again addressing his sister. “You know I spoke true, Luralyn.”
Luralyn’s hands went to her neck as she lifted a chain over her head. It held what appeared to be a long tooth of some kind, engraved with some form of script. “You lied to me long before you touched the stone,” she said, casting the chain at him. Kehlbrand caught it, a brief flicker of sadness showing in his eyes as he looked it over.
“I wanted your life to be free of fear,” he said. “I still do. Come with me. Leave these fools to their fate.”
“Their fate is mine now,” she replied, tugging on her reins to turn her horse about. “And you have had your answer.”
She started back towards the city at a gallop, followed shortly after by Sho Tsai, who saw no need to pause for