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Ivis hesitated, and then glanced back at the carriage.
‘Have the remaining Houseblades prepare camp, captain,’ Anomander said, shaking loose his cloak as h
e adjusted his sword-belt. ‘Defensive perimeter and pickets.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘It may be that companies of the Legion are foraging, or perhaps hunting down yet more Deniers,’ said Anomander, frowning at the fire-scorched line of trees verging the eastern side of the track. He hesitated, and then glanced at the Azathanai. ‘I would have you remain here, High Mason.’
‘As you wish,’ Caladan replied with a grunt. ‘But the blood upon the ground has frozen, and of the bodies you will find, none remain alive.’
‘How long past?’ Anomander demanded.
‘Days, perhaps.’
‘Are we observed?’
‘A curious question. In the immediate, no, none look out from yonder wood.’
‘And in the other?’
‘First Son, if we sense unblinking regard settled upon us, in each of our moments, beginning to end, what then might we do differently?’
Anomander frowned. ‘Best we comport ourselves with such an audience in mind, whether it exists or not.’
‘Why?’
‘I hold that such witnessing does indeed exist, unflinching and beyond the mechanisms of deceit, and that in our eagerness to dissemble, we yield it little respect.’
‘And what witness might this be?’
‘Nothing other than history, High Mason.’
‘You name an indifferent arbiter, subject to maleficence in its wake.’
Anomander made no reply. Gesturing to Ivis, he said, ‘Let us find this killing ground, captain.’
They strode back to Yalad and the waiting squad. Weapons were drawn, but through the shroud of gloom the faces arrayed before Ivis were difficult to distinguish, beyond the faint glitter of their eyes. ‘Thank you, gate sergeant. Remain here and see to the camp. The Azathanai suggests that we are in no danger, but I will have you diligent nonetheless. Pickets and a perimeter.’
‘Yes sir.’ Yalad waved a Houseblade forward. ‘Gazzan was the scout who spied the birds, sir.’
‘Good eyes in this perpetual darkness,’ Ivis commented to the young man.
‘Heard them first, sir. But it’s odd, how they fly with no hearkening to the night.’
After a moment, Lord Anomander said, ‘You mean to say, sir, that the creatures behave as if it was still day.’
‘As it indeed is, milord. Late afternoon.’
‘Perhaps,’ ventured Ivis, ‘Mother Dark has blessed all life within her realm with this dubious gift.’
At a nod, Gazzan set out, leading them into the forest.
Eyes upon us, named history or otherwise, can still make a man’s skin crawl. ‘Milord.’
‘Out with it, captain. I well see your dismay.’
‘These Azathanai now among us … they make me uneasy.’
