The Sword Of Angels (Gollancz S.F.) Read Online Free Page A

there are more snakes out here I’m in trouble!’ he gasped. ‘Ruana?’
    The Akari gave no reply, because nothing could be done and Gilwyn knew it. With only a dagger and an exhausted drowa, he had no hope at all. He looked over his shoulder and saw the relentless raiders bearing down fast. Behind them, the rass had dropped the man from its tail and craned its neck skyward to swallow the other man whole.
    ‘All right, enough running,’ spat Gilwyn. ‘They have me. Damn it!’
    He jerked back the drowa’s reins and spun to a halt, facing the Zarturk and his man. The Voruni pair brought their own mounts to a stop a few yards away. Thunder filled the Zarturk’s face. A jagged tattoo across his cheek twitched with fury.
    ‘You want me, you pirate trash?’ Gilwyn held up his dagger. ‘You want to rob me? Then come and get me!’
    The Zarturk and his underling smirked at his small weapon. Then, surprisingly, both men put their blades into their belts. The Zarturk shook his head contemptuously, pointing to the distant rass.
    ‘That’s right,’ Gilwyn taunted. ‘Big snake. Bad death. Do you understand me, you stupid beasts?’
    The Zarturk frowned. ‘Aztar.’
    Gilwyn’s dagger trembled. ‘What?’
    ‘Aztar,’ said the man again, then pointed eastward. ‘Aztar.’
    ‘Aztar? Aztar’s dead,’ said Gilwyn. He pretended to draw his knife over his throat. ‘Dead.’
    The Voruni understood the gesture, but shook his head in denial. ‘Aztar bis arok.’
    ‘Arok? Alive?’
    The Zarturk nodded, then put out a finger and bid Gilwyn forward. ‘Aztar.’
    They want you to follow them
, said Ruana.
    Gilwyn couldn’t speak. There was nowhere to go and no one to aidhim. Helpless, he put the dagger back in its small sheath. He rode toward the Zarturk warily, unsure what else to do. His heart thundered in his temples, muddling his thinking and his connection to Ruana. Aztar would kill him, and probably not quickly. The thought of torture smothered him. As he rode he took no notice of the nearby dune, partially blocking the horizon. The angry face of the Zarturk filled his vision. Like Gilwyn, the big man and his companion remained oblivious to their surroundings. Having forgotten the nearby rass, not even Gilwyn saw it in time.
    A black shadow fell across the dune. Sand exploded amid the terrible cries of frightened drowa. Ruana burst into Gilwyn’s mind, but amidst the sudden chaos he barely noticed her. He saw only a great wall of rising flesh . . . and then, darkness.

2

     
    A young woman on a horse entered the broken city of Koth just as twilight fell. It had been a long day’s journey from the farm up in Borath, and the woman, who was not much more than a girl, felt depleted. Around her, all of Koth’s past majesty seemed to lay in ruins. Norvan soldiers patrolled the streets along with bands of mercenaries. The fires of the battle two weeks before had finally died away, but the smell of smoke still lingered over Koth, reminding everyone of the terror that had happened here. Not far ahead, the woman could see Library Hill. At the top of the hill stood the once-great Cathedral of Knowledge, devastated now, its timbers and stone walls split by Norvan catapults. Torches burned brightly on the road winding up the hill while men camped and rested on the grounds, still recovering from the bloody siege. In the middle of a wide avenue, the woman drew her horse to a halt. Bad memories swarmed over her as she stared up at the library.
    Her name was Mirage. Once, not long ago, her name had been Meriel, but she had swapped that name for the beauty of a magical mask. She was an Inhuman, a person of Grimhold, and the Akari bound to her mind had given her a splendid gift. As a teen she had been burned, nearly dying in a fire. She had lived with the scars of that event for years, but no longer. Now she was lovely, as beautiful as the woman she would have been if the fire hadn’t raked her flesh away. Her first Akari, a sweet