A second explosion lifted her from the cobbles, pounded her back down on a surface suddenly heaved askew. More blood rained downSomeone skidded up against her, a hand reaching down to rest lightly on her sternum, a face, blurred, looming close. She watched the mouth move but heard nothing.
A flash, recognition. Sergeant Fiddler.
What? What are you doing?
And then she was being dragged along, boots pulling loose at the ends of senseless legs. The right one dislodging, left behind. She stared at her cloth-wrapped foot, soaked in river-slime and blood.
She could now see behind her as the sergeant continued pulling her towards the jetty. Two more marines, covering their retreat with strange, oversized crossbows in their hands. But no-one was coming after them – they were busy dying beneath a stone sword in the desiccated hands of a T'lan Imass – the creature punched at by virulent sorcery, yet pushing ever forward, killing, killing.
What was happening? Where had the marines come from? She saw another one, struggling with a prisoner – he wasn't trying to escape, however, just stay on his feet. They're drunk, the both of them – well, on this night, I think I'll let it pass.
Oh, T'amber…
More figures surrounding them now. Bloodied soldiers. The Perish.
People were shouting – she could see that – but the roaring in her head was unabated, drowning out all else. She half-lifted one arm, stared at her gauntleted hand – my sword. Where is my sword?
Never mind, just sleep, now. Sleep.
****
Grub led her into the alley, to where a body was lying, curled up, racked with spasms and voicing a dreadful moaning. As she drew closer, Lostara recognized him. Anguish rose up within her and she lunged past Grub, fell to her knees.
Pearl was covered in wounds, as if he had been systematically tortured. And pain was consuming him. 'Oh, my love…'
Grub spoke behind her. 'The poison has him, Lostara Yil. You must take his life.'
What? 'He thought you were dead,' the boy continued. 'He'd given up. On everything. Except revenge. Against the Adjunct.'
'Who did this?'
'I won't tell you,' Grub said. 'Pearl hungered for vengeance, and vengeance was repaid him. That's all.'
That's all.
'Kill him now, Lostara. He can't hear you, he can't see you. There's only the pain. It's the spiders, you see, they breathe the blood of their victims, they need it rich, bright red. And so the venom, it doesn't let go. And then, there's the acid in the stomach, leaking out, eating everything up.'Numbed, she drew out her knife.
'Make the heart stop.'
Yes, there, behind and beneath the shoulder-blade. Push deep, work the edges. Pull it loose, look, how the body stills, how the muscles cease their clenching. It's quiet, now. He's gone.
'Come along, there's more. Quickly.'
He set off, and she rose and followed. You've left me. You were there, in Mock's Hold, but I didn't know. You didn't know.
Past a tumbled mass of corpses now. Claws. The alley was filled with them.
Ahead, Centre Docks, the clearingSudden detonations, rocking the buildings. Screams.
At the alley mouth, between warehouses, Grub crouched and waved her down to his side.
People were fleeing – those still on their feet, and they were scant few. At least two cussers had exploded in the midst of the mobs.
Cussers and sharpers, and there a Hood-damned T'lan Imass, cutting down the last ones within reach.
'Gods,' Lostara muttered, 'there must be a thousand dead out there.'
'Yes. But look, you must see this.' He pointed to their right, near the river. 'What?'
'Oh.' Grub reached out and settled a hand on her forearm.
And the scene seemed to somehow shift, a new illumination – it was gathered about a single body, too distant to make out details'T'amber,' Grub said. 'Only you and me can see. So watch, Lostara.
Watch.'
The golden glow was coalescing, rising up from the corpse. A faint wind flowed past Lostara and Grub, familiar now, heady with the scent of savannah grasses, warm and dry.
'She stayed with us a long time,' Grub whispered. 'She used T'amber. A lot. There wasn't any choice. The Fourteenth, it's going to war, and we're going with it. We have to.'
A figure now stood at a half-crouch over the body. Furred, tall, and female. No clothing, no ornamentation of any kind.
Lostara saw the T'lan Imass, thirty or more paces away, slowly turn to regard the apparition. And then, head bowing, the undead warrior slowly settled onto one knee. 'I thought you said we were the only ones who could see, Grub.'