Death in the Jungle by Gary Smith (most inspirational books .txt) 📕

world. I do not intend to die on Lostwell.’ He glanced at Silva. ‘I am well aware that neither you nor Belinda will ever trust me again, and I can live with that. Having said that, I am also perfectly capable of looking after my own interests. If the Ascendants find a way to operate the Sextant, then none of us here will have a home to go to.’

‘I have to agree,’ said Van. ‘I promised Kelsey I’d find her, and if we sail up the west coast, then Alea Tanton’s on the way to where we think she might be. Could we really pass the city and not stop to help?’

‘Belinda should flee,’ said Corthie.

Silva shook her head. ‘That, her Majesty will never do. She has fled in the past, but she has changed since those days. I think she means to stay until the end.’

‘How often does she contact you?’

‘Every other day, usually.’

‘What?’ said Naxor. ‘Her vision can reach all the way down here?’

Silva smiled at him. ‘Yes. Her powers are improving all the time. She could be in your head right now and you wouldn’t know.’

Naxor’s eyes widened. ‘She isn’t, is she?’

‘No, but she could be.’

‘The next time she speaks to you,’ said Corthie, ‘tell her to steal a Quadrant and come to Capston, and then we can rescue Aila and Kelsey, and get out of here.’

‘Were you not listening to me?’ said Silva. ‘Her Majesty would never agree to that, and you should be ashamed to have suggested it. Your world is in mortal peril; would you go back there and blithely hope that your troubles were at an end? It is too late for that; the Ascendants are aware of the Holdfasts, and they will not stop until your family have been destroyed. They cannot tolerate the idea of mortals with powers that can match them.’

‘Hypothetically,’ said Naxor, ‘if we agreed to go as far as Alea Tanton; then how would we fund the trip?’

‘I have plenty of gold,’ said Silva; ‘more than enough for the voyage. For the two mercenaries among us, I’d be happy to draw up a contract that would see both of you well rewarded for your service. Sohul, your honour would remain intact if you worked for the Third Ascendant; she is the Queen of Khatanax, the supreme sovereign authority on Lostwell, and a far more worthy object of your pious devotion.’

‘I don’t need a contract,’ said Van, ‘though I appreciate the offer. As Sohul knows, I’ve always had misgivings about our illustrious Ascendants. I’ve seen them throw their weight around, suppressing worlds and peoples, and crushing anyone who opposes them. They will do to the hidden worlds what they have already done to Lostwell and Dragon Eyre, and the thought sickens me. When I watched Corthie fight Leksandr and Arete, a small glimmer of hope arose in me, that maybe the Ascendants could be beaten. We lost that day, but with Corthie and Belinda together? The two of them destroyed the Banner of the Golden Fist, and they could beat Leksandr and Arete. I don’t need to be paid for this; I’m happy to do it for free.’

‘So, we may have a compromise,’ said Naxor. ‘We sail north, as Corthie wishes, but we go up the west coast, which will bring us close to Alea Tanton, and the Ascendants. Let’s take a boat to Cape Armour, and decide what to do from there. Can we agree to that?’

Silva glared at him. ‘I still don’t trust you, despite your words. But, I acquiesce in this plan.’

‘Me too,’ said Van.

Corthie and Sohul glanced at each other.

‘I would like a contract,’ said the lieutenant. ‘It would go some way to assuage my doubts.’

‘Of course,’ said Silva. ‘I shall have one drawn up before we leave.’ She turned to Corthie. ‘And you?’

‘You lose nothing by agreeing,’ said Naxor, ‘and you’ll have plenty of time to think about it on the voyage.’

Corthie ground his teeth, then picked up the bottle of raki and filled his mug.

‘Fine,’ he muttered. ‘Let’s go to Cape Armour.’

Chapter 16

Apology

F ordian Wastes – 22nd Luddinch 5252

As a child, Sable had loved walking through the desert. Her parents had often taken her to the eastern region of the Holdings, where the grasslands turned into mile after mile of golden sands, a land where wild beasts roamed. Sometimes, when she had been gazing into the desert, she had tried to imagine what it would be like to be completely alone, cut off in the middle of the wasteland, and the thought had sent a thrill of horror down her spine.

The reality was worse than she had imagined. That went not only for the desert, but for her parents too. They had never told her that she was not their natural daughter, that she was, in fact, the illegitimate child of Godfrey Holdfast and Queen Miranda of the Holdings. Deep down, she still thought of herself as a Blackhold, not a Holdfast, and she had never properly digested what it meant to be the daughter of a queen.

She glanced up at the horizon, a hand shielding her eyes from the rays of the sun. Her parentage hardly mattered, not when she was about to expire from dehydration and sunstroke. On the previous day, she had walked until she had collapsed, and then she had awoken in the middle of the cold night, and walked again. The sun had arisen and still she walked, trudging along the hard, dusty ground.

The last time she had thought she was about to die, in the aftermath of Maisk’s death, she had called on the name of Daphne. This time was different. Instead of beseeching her help, Sable used the memory of her half-sister to keep her going. If Daphne wouldn’t give up, then neither would she, no matter how pointless and hopeless the outlook. No one would ever be able to accuse her of being weak, of giving up. She would walk until she fell over