Susan opened her eyes then and managed to kneel up on the floor, her eyes staring wildly at the scene about her. The moment she began to scream, Nunc ran over to the far wall, seized a sabre and a shield, and turned to face me.
He was evidently strong: the muscles of his torso, although somewhat thickened about the midriff, bore testament to his daily training in martial skills.
I myself had trained daily when younger, before I became a haizda mage. But now my hunting kept me fit and I preferred to rely on my instincts in battle rather than follow the routines of a High Mage.
It might be that Nunc was some way past his prime, but he would still be dangerous and I was aware that my ordeal in the water had taken its toll on my own stamina. Thus I could not endure a long struggle here. To win, I must finish Nunc off quickly.
With my left hand I undid the top three buttons of my coat and reached inside, withdrawing a short blade. Now, brandishing two blades, I moved round the desk and began to advance slowly towards the mage.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nessa running towards Susan. I thought that she was rushing to comfort her sister, but then, to my astonishment, she picked up the spear that lay on the floor and charged straight at Nunc.
As the spear shattered against his shield, he used the latter like a club, swinging it sideways against the girl. It struck her on the shoulder and sent her flying into the panelled wall.
I saw my advantage. Nunc had made the mistake that would kill him. Taking the opportunity presented by Nessa’s wild charge, I had followed close and swift upon her heels, and now, with a sweep of my sabre, I cut Nunc’s throat.
Seeing my approach, he had tried to bring the shield back across to cover his body, but he was too late. Such was the speed and force of my blow that his head was almost severed. As he fell to the stone flags, I put my own sabre and dagger aside and sank onto my knees beside the dying High Mage.
I must feed. His blood represented strength. It promised a chance to escape from the fortress.
As the blood pumped from Nunc’s neck, I fed greedily, drinking down the hot sweet blood in huge gulps, feeling the life-force filling my body with new strength.
WHEN I’D FINISHED, I stood up and belched loudly. Better out than in!
By now Nessa was back on her feet, holding her shoulder and grimacing with pain. I had been impressed by her bravery – her actions had made it easier for me to defeat Nunc. Her face was pale and I could see her trembling, but apart from a little bruising she would no doubt make a full recovery. Purrai were very resilient. I smiled at her, but she just stared back, an expression of horror and revulsion on her face. So I licked my lips, went back into the bath house and knelt down beside the water. I bent over until I was almost touching its steaming surface, then, with both hands, began to sluice the blood off my face and hair.
As I finished, Nessa and Susan, arm in arm, came into the chamber behind me. I turned to face the two sisters and smiled again. But they looked at me as if I had done them harm rather than saving them from certain death. Of course, I had to make allowances for their condition. In addition to her damaged shoulder, one side of Nessa’s face was badly grazed. She must have hurt it when Nunc dashed her aside with his shield. And Susan was extremely pale; she had been drained almost to the point of death.
‘I’ll get clothes for both of you,’ I said. ‘Sensible purrai clothes to keep you alive in the blizzard. Then we’ll leave this place.’
Susan opened her mouth but no words came out. She was shaking all over after her experience with Nunc. But Nessa looked angry and determined.
‘What about Bryony?’ she demanded.
‘Of course, Nessa, I’ll get clothes for her too. But now we must escape this fortress. If you are to have any hope of life, you will do exactly what I say.’
I saw no point in upsetting her by revealing that Bryony was probably already dead. She would find out soon enough.
I led the way down the stone steps. Before me, I held out the sabre and a short blade; behind me, my tail stood up, quivering as it searched ahead for the slightest threat.
I seized garments for the two girls from a room used to store the clothes of the tower’s slaves: warm hempen trousers, thick woollen upper garments and a waterproof cape and hood such as were worn by purrai when they attended to their duties in the inner courtyard. Carrying these, I continued the descent.
I hadn’t bothered to collect any clothes for little Bryony – there were none small enough anyway – but Nessa accepted the big bundle I thrust into her arms without suspecting anything.
At last we came to the three rooms. The keys were back in the locks, but all the doors were wide open. I paused as, with a cry, Nessa rushed into all three rooms, one after the other, in search of her sister. Finally, her eyes wild with grief, she stormed up to me.
‘Where is she? Where’ve they taken her?’
‘Best to forget her, little Nessa. She’ll be at peace now.’
‘She’s just a child!’ Nessa cried, her face very close to mine. ‘You promised that she’d be safe!’
‘Forget her. We have to leave now. We must leave or we’ll all die. If you still want to live, follow me now. Soon it will be too late.’
‘I won’t go without her.’
She was testing my patience. ‘Then you’ll die here, little Nessa. You’ll change your mind when you feel the blades cut your flesh. They’ll kill you very slowly . . .’
‘I saved your life,’ Nessa said, her voice almost a whisper. Then she reached forward and wrapped her fingers in my hair, pulling me down towards her until our foreheads were actually touching. ‘You owe me a life. I saved you so you could save my sisters.’
I felt very strange. Her words shouldn’t have been disturbing, but they were. They spoke a truth that I couldn’t deny, but they shouldn’t have had even the slightest power over me. It was odd too to have her so close, to feel her fingers twisting in my hair.
In a strange way I liked it. I also liked the way her forehead was touching mine. No human had ever come so close to me before. No human had ever dared. Most would have put as much distance as possible between them and me. Yet here was this girl holding my head against hers and staring deep into my eyes.
With a sudden jerk, Nessa released me and stepped back, burying her face in her hands.
For a moment I could not think clearly. Then I heard myself speaking, and my voice seemed to come from a great distance; it was as though it belonged to another.