Free Drenai Series 02 - The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell Page B

each temple, and ten temples. They have powers beyond those of normal men.'
    'They will need them,' said Tenaka grimly. 'What of the rest of his words?'
    'Thought is faster than arrows? That you must outthink your enemies. The King Beyond the Gate is a mystery. But you should know.'
    'Why?'
    'Because the message was for you. You must be part of it.'
    'And what of your message?'
    'What about it?'
    'What did it mean?'
    'It meant I must travel with you, though I do not desire it.'
    'I don't understand,' said Tenaka. 'You have free will - you may go where you please.'
    'I suppose so,' said Scaler, smiling. 'But it is time I found my path. You remember the old man's words to me? "Of Bronze you sprang"? My ancestor was also Regnak the Wanderer. "Kin to Shadow"? That is you, cousin. "Dark spears hover"? The Templars. The red I carry? The blood of the Earl of Bronze. I have run long enough.'
    'Arvan?'
    'Yes.'
    Tenaka placed his hands on the young man's shoulders. 'I have often wondered what became of you.'
    'Ceska ordered me slain and I ran away. I have spent a long time running away. Too damned long! I'm not much of a swordsman, you know.'
    'No matter. It is good to see you again.'
    'And you. I followed your career and I kept a diary of your exploits. It is probably still at Delnoch. By the way, there was something else the old man said, right at the beginning. He said that there were three. Of Gold, and Ice, and Shadow. Ananais is the Golden One. You are the Khan of Shadows. Who is Ice?'
    Tenaka turned away, staring through the trees.
    'There was a man once. He was known as the Ice Killer, since he lived only for death. His name is Decado.'
*
    For three days the companions skirted the forest, moving south and west towards the Skoda mountains. The weather was growing warmer, the snow retreating before the spring sunshine. They moved warily and on the second day they found the body of the blind seeker, kneeling by a twisted oak. The ground was too hard to attempt a burial and they left him there.
    Galand and his brother paused by the corpse.
    'He doesn't seem too unhappy,' said Parsal, scratching his beard.
    'It's hard to know whether he's smiling, or whether death has pulled his face into a grin.' said Galand. 'He won't look too happy in about a month.'
    'Will we?' whispered Parsal. Galand shrugged and the brothers moved on to follow the others.
    Galand had been luckier than most and considerably more astute than many Dragon warriors. When the order to disband was given he had moved south, keeping his background to himself. He bought a small farm near Delving forest, south-west of the capital. When the terror began, he was left alone. He married a village girl and started a family, but she had disappeared on a bright autumn day six years before. It was said that the Joinings stole women, but Galand knew she had never loved him . . . and a village lad named Carcas had disappeared on the same day.
    Rumours came to Delving about the round-up of former Dragon officers, and it was said that Bans himself had been arrested. This did not surprise Galand - he had always suspected Ceska would prove a tyrant.
    Man of the people! Since when did one of his stinking class care about the people?
    The small farm had prospered and Galand bought an adjoining parcel of land from a widower. The man was leaving for Vagria - he had a brother in Drenan who had warned him about impending changes - and Galand had bought him out for what seemed a peppercorn price.
    Then the soldiers arrived.
    A new law meant that non-titled citizens could own only four acres of land. The state acquired the rest at a price that made peppercorn seem a king's ransom. Taxes were increased and crop levels set. These were impossible to meet after the first year, for the land was robbed of its goodness. Fallow fields were planted and the yields dropped.
    Galand took it all, never voicing complaints.
    Until the day his daughter died. She had run out to see the horsemen canter and a