The Twilight herald

'Rojak ca

'What do you mean?'

'Come with me.' Zhia turned away.

Doranei retrieved his sword again and ran after Zhia walked through the smoking devastation, entirely at her ease, moving swiftly, though without haste or urgency. The crowds of soldiers parted before her, though Zhia showed no sign of even registering their presence as she headed for a tight ring for soldiers who stood with weapons raised defensively, eyeing the mercenaries, who were looking at them wiih ambiguous intent.

This ca

In the dim light Doranei had to get closer before he recognised faces in the crowd, though he had already spotted the slumped shapes at their feet that indicated casualties. Clearly the damned had not been the only ones fighting, even if they had ended it swiftly.

Zhia changed direction before she reached King Emin's group to approach a man fully suited in black armour, her brother. His long sword was still sheathed; whatever resistance Rojak had been able to muster, it had not taxed Koezh enough to draw his weapons, not even the dagger at his hip. Doranei had fell Zhia's u

punch to shatter stone – would even Coran force this famous swordsman to draw? He took a moment to study the armour. If they ever faced the Menin in battle, that would be how Kastan Styrax appeared because he had stripped an identical suit from Koezh's corpse.

As Zhia reached him, Koezh stopped his silent inspection of the Narkang soldiers and turned to greet his sister, removing his helm to reveal his smooth face, untouched by years, and the glittering sap¬phire eyes, so like and yet unlike Zhia's. Neither spoke, but Koezh gave his sister the briefest of nods. What was more surprising was the grunt of acknowledgement Koezh favoured him with. This was still the stuff of uncomfortable dreams; that he could be on nodding terms with such a man – such a monster. He recalled the last time they'd met – was it really just a handful of nights ago? – when he had sat just a couple of feet from Koezh, unable to pay any attention to the repellent play on stage because his attention was fixed so firmly on the terrifying siblings. He found Zhia Vukotic completely captivating, to be sure, but Koezh Vukotic was said to be the closest a man had ever come to the greatness that was Aryn Bwr, and it was those similarities that had condemned the Vukotic tribe to rebellion and heresy. That remarkable ruling family had been closer to the Elves than to their own people. He shivered.

'King Emin,' Zhia called, 'I have a gift for you.'

Doranei saw the surrounding King's Men tense and ready their weapons. He could only see one member of the Brotherhood amongst the dead, but he was face-down. The others looked to be Jester acolytes, and he spotted one of the gentry Rojak had used as guards at the theatre. As he approached, Doranei saw the gentry had not gone down easily. It wore only ragged trousers, and its exposed skin was bright white in the darkness, cross-crossed with long gashes. The Brotherhood were trained to be efficient fighters; so many deep cuts meant the creature could endure far more than any man.

Coran, the king's white-eye bodyguard, stepped to one side to reveal his liege. The king was still wearing his ridiculous brimmed hat, a feather stuck in the band, but the look on his face was far from cheerful.

'A gift? You have the Skull?'

'Something far more precious to you.'

The king looked momentarily disarmed. 'You have the minstrel.? Where?'

Doranei felt a jump in his chest. He'd not seen the minstrel any¬where – he had never seen the man himself, though he was sure he would recognise the emptiness in Rojak's eyes. How could Zhia be so certain she had him?

As if in answer, she pointed down the street to a dark husk of a building a hundred yards off, one that had fared better than most in the area. There were a hundred or more of Koezh's undead ringing the building, keeping a careful distance, but with their weapons at the ready.

'You will find him within,' she said calmly. 'You might want to hurry, even though he's not going anywhere.'

'And what do I owe you for this gift?' King Emin hadn't moved, despite the hunger Doranei could see in his face, a hunger echoed in his own heart.

'A favour,' she said. Doranei recognised her tone of voice now; Zhia intended to give away nothing more. '1 believe it is now time to leave the city, I suggest you do the same once your business with the minstrel is complete.'

'I have more business in this city than just the minstrel.'

Zhia gave an empty laugh. 'There will be no city come the morn¬ing, only ash and rubble. The Legion of the Damned has driven off all of your minstrel's remaining guards. There is no one else here.' She didn't give the king time to reply, but turned sharply and started walking back the way she had come, Koezh falling in behind her and the undead warriors breaking into a run to stream ahead of the pair as if to clear a path for them.

Doranei held his ground, unable to go anywhere without collid¬ing with one of the mercenaries. He sensed rather than saw Mikiss join the flow, but of those he'd fought beside, it was only Zhia who recognised he was still there.

She paused at his side, while her brother walked straight past, ap¬parently oblivious, and looked at him. A cruel breath of wind brought her perfume to his nose, a faint, sweet scent of flowers, enough to make him catch his breath, before he was caught in the piercing blue of her eyes.

'Look after yourself, Doranei,' she whispered. He blinked. He couldn't remember her ever addressing him by name before.

'1 don't suppose 1 need to say the same to you,' he croaked.

She reached out finger and touched him on the cheek. 'Perhaps not, but I am glad it crossed your mind. Now go, you should be there when your king finishes this. You will see me again, when you least expect it, once twilight darkens the sky.'

'Twilight has come for all of us,' Doranei replied without thinking.

'Then it will be soon,' she said softly, placing a tender kiss on his cheek before following her brother. Unable to stop himself, Doranei turned to watch her go. Her loose black hair billowed in the wind. She looked a ghostly figure against the night sky.

He jerked awake from his reverie as Coran's deep growl broke the air and the Brotherhood rushed to secure the house Zhia had indi¬cated. One last, fruitless, look around to see if he could work out what had happened to Haipar and he returned to his obligations, sprinting to his king's side.