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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The knight raised his eyes, tracing line from the quiet of
the water to the mountain looming in the cloud. His breath
tangled in his throat and a shiver of recognition cut through
him as an indistinct figure all but crawled over the ridge behind
him. Until he saw the colour of the hair and the blackness of
the eyes, the knight was certain that it was not the Red King
that walked towards him out of the mist but his lord.
He looks fierce from down here, doesn t he? the Red
King said, the fog smothering the sound of his voice. From the
north, Y Brenin s as smooth as glazed ceramic and blue-grey as
a thundercloud. But the sun never touches the south face, and
so it s gouged by ice and wind and water. Nothing more than an
accident of circumstance, when you think on it.
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Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #167
You talk too much, Goch, the knight said, his voice harsh
with dehydration and his tongue so swollen that he could
barely speak.
He shrugged the Red King s hand away and glissaded
through the scree to the waterside, boots sliding in great strides
through loose sharp stones.
The water was smooth as jet, and when his fingers broke
the surface it was cold enough to hurt. He knelt and drank his
fill, until his stomach and his throat burned with cold and his
hands were white-numb.
The Red King slid down behind him, favouring his good
leg. We shall have to go over the eastern slope, he said.
There s a shepherd s track that cuts down into the valley on
the other side. It s steep, yes, but passable.
The knight splashed the dark water into his face and stood.
Do you not understand what it means to be a man s prisoner,
Goch?
Someone may have tried to explain it to me once, the
Red King said. But I m not sure I listened. I tend to forget
these things rather quickly when my captor seems determined
to lead us both into a certain, painful death. Or would you
rather ignore me and die the same way as your horse?
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Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #167
The knight turned around too quickly and grabbed the Red
King s shoulder. I ve had my fill of you, he growled, clenching
his jaw to stop his teeth from shivering.
Why? the Red King asked. Because I am right and you
cannot bear to admit it? Or because I sound too much like my
brother, and you are afraid that you might fall pathetically in
love with me?
The knight s grip tightened until his arm shook.
Tell me, the Red King said. When all of this is over and I
am returned to my throne, do you think that Gwyn will give up
his lands and his riches to live out his days with some ignorant
little plough boy? Until he is old and bitter and you must nurse
him to his death? Or do you think that he will continue
ordering you around like a kicked dog? Sending you off into
every pointless battle that he wages against me in the hopes
that one day you just don t come back?
You think that I care? the knight spat. So long as I get to
stand at his side on the morning that they hang you?
The Red King shrugged. If you wanted me dead, then you
should have killed me on the battlefield and had your fill of it.
My brother might even have been grateful enough to let you up
into his lap for the night. He frowned for a moment and made
a small, amused sound. Only you don t really care if I hang, do
you, Mercher? It isn t me that you are in a rage with, it s
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Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #167
yourself. My brother might forgive you if you beg and grovel at
his feet for long enough, but it will all taste like ashes in your
mouth. You know that you ve failed him by refusing to carry
out his order on that battlefield, and you shall always know it.
It will haunt you in the dark quiet of the night between now
and the day that you die.
The knight seized the Red King s shirt and found his lord
looking back at him accusingly.
His curled fist slammed into the Red King s jaw. It would
have thrown the Red King from his feet if the knight hadn t
gripped him by the hair and kissed him hard and full on the
mouth.
The Red King tensed in response. His body curling like a
windless flag, and his fingers running over the clinging
thinness of the knight s shirt to the hilt of the knight s sword.
Metal rasped on leather, and he broke away to draw the blade
into his hand. His laughter sang off of the south face of Y
Brenin.
A surge of humiliation snarled through the knight,
bleeding into the love and hate, loyalty, and the fury at his own
stupidity.
Then the edge of his own sword was coming for him.
Instinct pulled his body out of the way of the blow. His feet
touched the lake, and a deep quiet smoothed all his thoughts
83
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #167
down into nothing. He reached for the shield slung across his
back and trusted his feet to keep him out of the way for long
enough to fasten the enarmes.
When another strike came, the knight was prepared. He
brought his shield out to block, and the sound of metal-against-
metal burst in his ears. The next swing was swift and terrible,
and the knight had no choice but to turn away to catch it. He
twisted fully, kicking up stones and water and drove the point
of his shield hard into the Red King s belly.
The Red King laughed and heaved for breath, wiping the
blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and leaving a
long black streak up the length of his arm. Do you expect to
beat me? he said, stepping out and forcing the water to the
knight s back.
You re half-crippled with that wound, half-crazed with the
infection, and I ve already beaten you once, the knight
retorted, crouching down to scoop up a handful of small wet
stones. So yes, I rather rate my chances. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
