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“Pah!” Barkus spat into the fire “Prophecies are bullshit Superstition for god-worshippers You took their Hope, they’ll kill you right enough Just a question of how long they take over it” He met Vaelin’s eyes “I can’t stand by and watch them take you, brother”
“Then leave”
“You know I can’t do that either Don’t you think I lost enough brothers already? Nortah, Frentis, Dentos - ”
“Enough!” Vaelin’s voice was sharp, cutting through the night
Barkus drew back in alarm and bemusement “Brother, I…”
“Just stop” Vaelin studied the face of the man in front of hi for some crack in the mask, some flicker of lost co He fought toit would kill hi for this, why not show me your true face? Here at the end, what difference does it rimaced in a flawless display of embarrassed concern “Vaelin, are you quite well?”
“Captain Antesh toldbefore he left Would you like to hear it?”
Barkus spread his hands uncertainly “If you wish”
“It see, I’m sure many of the Cumbraelins we hired felt the need to use a false nah fear of a cri is that we’ve both heard his other na beyond the concern of a true brother
“Bren Antesh was once greatly in thrall to his god,” Vaelin told hiather others who also thirsted to honour their god with the blood of heretics In time he led them to the Martishe wherehi the king’s gold and giving it to the fan war, all the tiet the name he had won in the Martishe: Black Arrow Bren Antesh was once named Black Arrow And he assures e from his Fief Lord, nor were any of his men”
Barkus remained still, all expression now vanished
“You remember the letters, brother?” Vaelin asked “The letters you found on the body of the archer I killed The letters that set us to ith Cule of his head, a small shift in the set of his shoulders, a new curve to his lips, but suddenly Barkus was gone, like smoke in the wind When he spoke Vaelin was unsurprised to hear a familiar voice, the voice of two deadto serve a Queen of Fire, brother?”
Vaelin’s heart plu a withered hope that heand his brother was still the noble warrior sailing aith the one and there was just the two of the swiftly “I’m told there are other prophecies,” he replied
“Prophecies?” The thing that had been Barkus grated a harsh, ugly laugh “You know so little All of you, scribbling down your fu it scripture when it’s just the rantings of the ry”
“The Test of the Wild Is that when you took hirinned “He wanted to live so badly Finding Jennis was a gift of life but his sense of brotherhood was so strong he couldn’t bring himself to do as necessary”
“He found Jennis’s body frozen, with no cloak”
The thing laughed again, harsh, grating, enjoying its cruelty “His body and his soul Jennis was still alive, half dead with cold, but still breathing, whispering pleas for Barkus to save hi he could do, and he was so very hungry Hunger does strange things to a man, reminds him he is just an animal, an animal that needs to feed, and flesh is just flesh The tee of madness, and so he wandered out into the snow and lay down to die”
Hentes Mustor, One Eye, the carpenter who burned Ahateway”
“They call to us, across the hateful void, the plaintive call of a soul near death, like a lost la a wolf Not all can be taken, only those with the seed of ift of power”
“Barkus had no malice”
Another venomous cackle “If there’s a man without malice in his heart I’ve yet to meet him Barkus had hidden his so deep he barely kneas there, festering like afor me It was his father you see, the father who had sent hiift He saw the wondrous things the boy could do with s for those of us with gifts Wouldn’t you agree, brother?”