LITMIR.BIZ

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to cause you any more grief. But this deal is only good until today’s close.”

      “Impossible. I do not have enough coin available with the moneychangers and there is not enough time to sell my other assets.”

      She leaned forward to make her point. “Then make a deal with the others on the floor. I know that between you, you have the ready coin and the others would be more than grateful to receive a cut of this deal.”

      “It will take time,” pleaded Radford.

      “You have today. I am going for a walk and I will return this afternoon for your decision.”

      The trader was beaten. If he wished to make his profit he would need to make this deal. “I will make it happen if you will tell me what you saw that my runners did not,” he added.

      Clarise was already standing but Radford had now accepted his loss so she delayed long enough to answer. “A fleet of Ortalian vessels were seen to enter Hoate harbour. News was that they came to protect their queen, or empress I believe they call her. Yet almost no one on board goes with her when she comes ashore. Instead they remain on board and practice swordcraft each day. Then no events are organised for the visitors though they stay for weeks.” Radford was leaning forward so as to not miss a word. “So I was led to conclude this was more than a royal visit. Only one story can provide answers for these events. They have fled their country and so I concluded Ortalia has fallen. With that knowledge I can see that trade will be disrupted, probably for more than a number of years. I then did my research into what product would be most affected. When I chose Poh fish I looked to how I could take advantage of this.” She left the cubicle and eyes followed her to the front door before the silence was broken. Radford was calling for runners.

      Chapter 11

      Victor looked about as he waited for his men to mount. The palace of Whitebridge was unchanged, its stone walls still solid and the grounds secure in the knowledge they could not be invaded. Nothing had changed but still he could not relieve himself of the feeling of impending disaster that sat upon his shoulder. His men were finally ready and he led his line of eight soldiers out of Whitebridge. It may be for the last time but he would still do his duty. He would make his family proud.

      This would not be the first time he had been asked to check on the auchs and his men had all travelled to the mountains on earlier occasions. This was actually Victor’s fourth mission but never before had he felt the fear of his mother looking over his shoulder as he did now and his nervousness infected those with him. Even the horses were skittish. As a child his father had scared him with tales of auchs coming to eat him if he misbehaved and he still lived with those memories.

      It should have been an easy ride in the open country but Victor could feel this trip would be different. This mission held the air of inevitability. All his life he had been able to sense trouble but today the air felt different and the world sat heavy on his heart. He had the gift his mother used to say. His mother had many strange ideas and he had been shunned as a child because of her but this one he believed. The sense had warned him on many occasions but today was unlike those other occasions. This trip would be dangerous it told him and he would most likely die before it ended. He knew it was wrong to accept the superstitions of his mother but he believed.

      They rode from the palace through the deserted streets and out of the city before the sun had even kissed the fields. These days carried little warmth as winter approached. While the trees shed their leaves to bask in the cooler air Victor dragged his cape around him hoping to hold the warmth against his body. The breath of the horses hung in the air for all to see as they carried their masters north.

      All went well as the morning progressed and by mid-day, when they stopped for food, Victor was beginning to relax into the mission. His feelings of misgiving had eased. They dismounted and were tethering the horses when one rose on its hind legs and released a roar that made his skin crawl. Tearing the reins from its rider it set out over the fields. Nothing could be seen of what spooked it but time was lost in its retrieval and Victor’s nervousness returned to dominate his being.

      Other things added to the feeling of disquiet throughout the ride to keep the soldiers at the edge of panic. They were little things, nothing really, like the bear that crossed their path in the half dark of evening, the raven that swooped to drive the horses beyond fright or the line of oversized lizards that appeared to block their progress.

      ~

      The mountains stretched up out of the ground like fingers reaching for the clouds that grew thick about them. On earlier trips he had been impressed by their majesty as they spanned the space between sky and ground beneath the horses’ hooves. But this time they gripped him in a way he could not describe to others. This time they were frightening. The mighty peaks he remembered were lost in heavy black cloud that rolled and turned about them, eating at their flesh. It would still be some time before the clouds reached the brightly coloured forest but the sight of the boiling darkness filled Victor with the knowledge that evil was present. His men could sense his mood and jostled in their saddles. Fighting down his own desire to turn back he ordered them to ride on but the closer they came to the mountains the more oppressive the black cloud seemed.

      “It is growing,” the voice inside warned him. “It is evil and it consumes the land.”

      Despite all this, they finally reached the cliff and he was able to call them to stop just outside the forest. The horses skipped beneath the soldiers. They can feel it too, he thought, or they can sense the feelings of the men. They sat in their saddles and waited for the auch guard to appear. As soon as it appeared they would be free to go and his mission would be complete. But there was no indication that anyone watched. Eventually Viktor was forced to admit that the men needed to step down. But he ordered that the horses were not to be tethered and the saddles were to remain on their backs. He did not wish to waste time if they needed to leave quickly.

      The sun had gone to rest for the evening but no stars could be seen through the black cloud that continued to grow overhead. Victor’s misgivings were pushed aside as the work of organising his men kept his mind free of worries and by the time the light once again tried to show through the black sky they were ready and all men watched the cliff top. The day dragged on and the boredom gave him time to think. But thinking only brought back the fears.

      Above them the black cloud wrapped the mountains in its dark embrace blocking out the sky above apart from the occasional glimpse of blue and an eerie stillness gripped the land. His men moved about making their simple meal and tending to weapons and horses but no matter what they did, their eyes were on the top of the cliff in the hope of seeing an auch. Twice he had thought of inventing a sighting so they could leave but the knowledge of what would happen on his return when no one would support his story prevented him acting on this idea.

      Victor’s imagination played with his mind and as he watched the clouds seemed to grow, rolling and turning their way towards him, closing out all light above. To Victor it seemed as if they sensed his presence and came to seek him out. The day was growing old but a deeper darkness settled over them. They had watched since mid-morning and still no auchs appeared. Victor searched for any excuse to leave.

      In the silence he imagined he heard a distant grumble like rock turning in the stomach of the cloud or the constant avalanche of stone spewed from the mouth of darkness. But now it was not all black, he realised. Part of the cloud glowed red in the afternoon light—a deep dark red of blood spilled in the sky. In his agitation he did not take the time to consider its cause. He had no knowledge of the masses of fires in the valley filling the sky with smoke and lighting it with their reflection. In his state of agitation he looked quickly about and saw his men were also fixed on the sky, or where the sky should be. In his mind he knew they were being watched though no one had seen any sign of movement. He told himself that no creature could stay still for so long which meant nothing was there. But his heart told him his head was wrong.

      Suddenly there was noise from behind. The horses kicked and fought to break free. Victor spun. A raven had swooped down out of the trees and now flew across the line of horses. He called for men to chase off the bird and calm the animals before returning his eyes to the line of the sky above. Nothing had changed. Two horses

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