'You want me to get those arrows out?'

'What would be the point? You'd rip me to pieces. Do you know … I have only been injured once in all these years, and that was merely a surface cut to the face which gave me this loathsome scar. Strange, is it not? I spend my life committing dark deeds, and the one time I try to do good I get killed. There's no justice!'

'Why did you do it? Truly, now?'

Cadoras leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

'I wish I knew. Do you think there's a heaven?'

'Yes,' lied Waylander.

'Do you think that one act can wipe out a lifetime of evil?'

'I don't know. I hope so.'

'Probably not. You know I never married? Never met anyone who liked me. Hardly surprising – I never liked myself much. Listen – don't trust Durmast, he sold you out. He's taken a commission from Kaem to fetch the Armour.'

'I know.'

'You know? And yet you ride with him?'

'Life's a puzzle,' said Waylander. 'How do you feel?'

'That's a ridiculous question. I can't feel my legs and my back is burning like the devil. Have you ever had friends, Waylander?'

'Yes. Way back.'

'Was it a good feeling?'

'Yes.'

'I can imagine. I think you should go now. The Nadir will be here soon.'

'I'll stay awhile.'

'Don't be noble,' snapped Cadoras. 'Go and get that Armour! I would hate to think I was dying in vain. And take my horse with you – I don't want some dog-eating tribesman to have him. But watch out for him, he's a hateful beast; he'll take your hand off if he can.'

'I'll be careful.' Waylander lifted Cadoras' hand and squeezed it. 'Thank you, my friend.'

'Go away now. I want to die alone.'

17

The Drenai officer, Sarvaj, slept fitfully. He was huddled in the lee of the battlements with a thick blanket wrapped around him, his head resting on a ripped saddlebag he had found near the stables. He was cold and could feel each ring of his mailshirt, even through the leather backing and the woollen undershirt. Sleeping in armour was never comfortable, but add wind and rain and it becomes unbearable. Sarvaj turned over, catching his ear on a bronze buckle; he cursed and sat up, drawing his knife. After some minutes he sawed through the wet leather and hurled the offending metal out over the battlements.

Overhead thunder rolled impressively, and a fresh downpour lashed the grey stone walls. Sarvaj wished he had a rain cape of oiled leather, but even that would not have kept him dry in this storm. Beside him Vanek and Jonat slept on, blissfully unaware of the weather. In fact they had welcomed it, for it put a stop to the night attacks which wore down the spirit of the defenders.

Lightning speared the sky, illuminating the Keep which reared from the grey granite mountains like a broken tooth. Sarvaj stood and stretched. Turning, he gazed out over the harbour and the bay beyond. Vagrian triremes bobbed and swung on their anchors as the storm winds buffeted the bay. More than forty ships were now anchored at Purdol and Kaem's army had swelled to almost 60,000 fighting men – a sign, so Karnak assured the defenders, of growing desperation among the Vagrians.

Sarvaj was not so sure. Nearly a thousand men had died during the last fourteen bloody days, with almost the same number removed from the fighting by grievous wounds. When the wind changed you could hear the screams from the hospital.

Elban, a fine rider, had his leg amputated after gangrene set in, only to die during the ghastly operation. Sidrik, the jester of the regiment, took an arrow through the throat. The names spilled over in Sarvaj's mind, a rush of faces and jagged memories.

And Gellan seemed so tired. His hair shone with streaks of silver and his eyes were sunken and ringed with purple. Only Karnak seemed unchanged. Some of his fat had disappeared, yet he was still an awesome size. During a lull in the fighting the previous day he had wandered to Sarvaj's section. , 'Another day closer to victory,' Karnak had said, a wide grin making him seem boyish in the dusk light.

'I hope so,' said Sarvaj, wiping his sword clean of blood and replacing it in its scabbard. 'You're losing weight, general.'

'I'll let you into a secret: a thin man couldn't keep up this pace! My father was twice my size and he lived to be over ninety.'

"That would be nice,' said Sarvaj, grinning. 'I'd like to live to be twenty-five.'

'They won't beat us, they haven't the guts for it.'

It had seemed politic to agree and Karnak had walked off in search of Gellan.

Now Sarvaj listened to the thunder; it seemed to be moving towards the east. Stepping over the sleeping soldiers, he picked his way to the eastern gate tower and climbed the winding stair. Even here men slept, choosing to keep dry. He trod on someone's leg, but the man merely grunted and did not wake.

Walking out on to the high battlements, Sarvaj saw Gellan sitting on a stone seat staring out over the bay. The rain was now easing to a fine drizzle, as if some dark god had realised that dawn was but an hour away and the Vagrians needed good weather to scale the walls.

'Do you never sleep?' asked Sarvaj.

Gellan smiled. 'I do not seem to have the need of it. I doze now and then.'

'Karnak says we are winning.'

'Fine. I'll start to pack.'

Sarvaj slumped down beside him. 'It seems as if we've been here forever – as if all that's gone before is just a dream.'

'I know the feeling,' said Gellan.

'Two men ran at me yesterday, and I killed them both while thinking about a dance in Drenan last year. It was a weird experience, as if my body had taken over and my mind was free to wander.'

'Do not let it wander too far, my friend. We are none of us invulnerable.'

For a while they sat in silence and Gellan leaned his head back on the stone and dozed. Then Sarvaj spoke again.

'Wouldn't it be nice to wake up in Drenan?'

'Farewell to the bad dream?'

'Yes … Sidrik died today.'

'I hadn't heard.'

'Arrow through the throat.'

'Swift, then?'

'Yes, I hope I go as swiftly.'

'You die on me and I'll stop your pay,' said Gellan.

'I remember pay,' mused Sarvaj. 'Wasn't that something we used to get way back when the world was sane?'

'Just think how much you'll be worth when it's over!'

'Over?' muttered Sarvaj, his humour disappearing as swiftly as the storm. 'It will never be over. Even if we win, can you see us forgiving the Vagrians? We'll turn their land into a charnel-house and see how they stomach it.'

'Is that what you want?'

'Right now? Yes. Tomorrow … probably not. What would it achieve? I wonder how Egel is faring?'

'Dardalion says he is only a month from attempting a breakout. And the Lentrians have smashed the Vagrian army and advanced into the Drenai lands. You remember old Ironlatch?'

'The old man at the banquet?'

'Yes.'

'The one with no teeth who had to eat soup and soft bread?'

'The very same. Well, now he leads the Lentrian army.'

'I cannot believe it. We all laughed at him.'

'Laughter or not, he is pushing them back.'

'That must be hard for them to take. They're not used to losing.'

'That's their weakness,' said Gellan. 'A man or an army need to lose once in a while. It's like putting steel through fire – if it doesn't break it comes out stronger.'

'Karnak has never lost.'

'I know.'

'So does your philosophy hold true with him?'

'You always manage to find the difficult questions. But yes, I think it does. When Karnak talks of the inevitability of victory he genuinely believes it.'

'And what about you?'

'You are my friend, Sarvaj, and I will not talk down to you. We have a chance – no more than that.'

'You are telling me no more than I know. What I want to know is: do you think we'll win?'