Soul's Reckoning (Broken Well Trilogy) Read Free Page B

Battu,’ he said. ‘It was not necessary, nor well done.’
    Battu nodded, and returned his gaze to the fields ahead.
    Sharks, through and through him , thought Fahren. As one who often spoke to animals, or rode along in their minds, he recognised the perils of getting too caught up, too entwined. Battu had, at some stage in his life, been touched by sharks, and had carried away something of them with him. Did he even know it? Fahren could, he supposed, offer to journey into Battu’s mind and pull loose some of the foreign threads, to rid him of the influences on his thoughts .   .   . but quickly he decided against it. Who knew what effect such healing might have? Maybe it would remove Battu’s hunting instinct, that propensity to put his own hungers before everything else. Maybe, once cured, Battu would no longer burn for revenge .   .   . and what good would he be to Fahren then?
    •
    On the horizon Losara saw his army, and knew a moment of awe at its greatness. Multitudes marched over the border into the sunlight, which glinted off armour and thousands of swords. Battalions of Arabodedas, Vorthargs and goblins tramped up clouds of dust, while Graka and Mire Pixies whirled in the sky. He caught sight of Mireforms, a small group of ten or so bobbing along on their bandy legs, given a wide berth by others – it seemed that his chastisement of Eldew had not stopped them from coming.
    Strangely, the sight of such a force made him feel vulnerable – Fenvarrow had been emptied to create it, the strength of his people wholly concentrated in one place. If they were defeated, Fenvarrow would be severely and irretrievably crippled.
    Well , he thought, best make sure we’re not defeated. Tyrellan , he sent to the First Slave, who was still running along somewhere below.
    Yes, lord?
    How long will it take for our army to reach the Mines?
    Maybe a day and a half from here.
    It was enough to get there before the Kainordans, even though not by much.
    I aim to speed up the process , he sent. I would like to get there by dusk.
    Today, my lord?
    Today.
    Very good.
    It was humbling that the First Slave received his ambitious and perhaps unachievable plan with such calm and faithful acceptance.
    Roma , he sent.
    At your command.
    Do you think you could lift a catapult or two?
    There was a slight pause. Maybe one, my lord, if it is to travel some distance.
    I imagine they are what slows us the most. If we are to reach the Mines before dusk, they will have to be levitated.
    As you wish. I will think on how best to achieve it. Perhaps some groups working together .   .   .
    I leave it to you. And I will want all other mages concentrating on speeding up the army.
    Another slight pause. That might deplete them by the time we reach the Mines.
    Do not exhaust them, just have them do what they can. If we can gain even a few leagues, it may be enough.
    But why, my lord? The Kainordan force will not beat us to the Mines even at a normal pace.
    It is not them I fear .
    As Losara reached the edge of the army, his group began to peel off into the masses. He landed with Lalenda next to a catapult with huge wheels slowly turning, hauled by muscle-bound Arabodedas straining on ropes. They glanced at him in surprise, and bowed their heads.
    ‘You on the catapult,’ said Losara, ‘stand back.’
    He reached out towards the machine, wrapping it in his power and, with a mental flex, hoisted it into the air. Soldiers ducked their heads as it floated over them.
    ‘Well,’ he said, ‘not too heavy.’
    ‘My lord,’ observed Lalenda, grinning proudly, ‘is sometimes a show-off.’
    Losara turned his eyes to the north where, away across flat plains, on top of a hill, a grey blob stood on the horizon. The great fort around the Shining Mines, long coveted by Shadowdreamers before him, against which most had failed.
    ‘Time to change tradition,’ he said, and reached for another catapult.

 
Shadows on the Shining Mines
    From the walls of the