The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell Page B

whispered Unwallis. “Does the man have a death wish? Or has Decado’s reputation not reached the east?”
    “He knows his reputation, my friend. Callan is not a man who scares easily.”
    “He has an odd accent. I have traveled in Naashan and never heard one quite like it.”
    “East coast,” said Landis with a smile. “I had immense trouble understanding any of them.”
    Unwallis sighed. “I shall try to keep Decado from killing him. Though I cannot guarantee it. The man is somewhat inhuman when he is sick. If his head pain clears he may be in a more forgiving mood.”
    “Why is he with you?” asked Landis as he filled two goblets with wine.
    “I have asked myself the same question. Perhaps the Eternal is tiring of him and wanted him away from Diranan. I really don’t know. But let us talk of you, Landis. You know the peril you are in.”
    “I know. Old habits die hard, my friend. I found some artifacts and could not resist experimenting with them. As you could see my Jiamads are not of the highest quality.”
    “You told the Eternal you wanted a quiet life away from the turmoil of the empire. She granted you these lands.”
    “Does she now want them back?”
    “Of course not. The Eternal merely wants right of passage through them, so that our armies can clear the north of traitors.”
    “Come now,” said Landis, “you know that the fastest way to the north is across the plain and through the ruins. You already have an army camped below the southern pass. To send a force this way would take an extra month, and for what? So speak plainly, Unwallis. What does the Eternal really want from me?”
    “You do not need me to scribble it on a tablet of clay. You were the most senior of her advisers, and the longest serving. Even I do not know how long you were in her service. But longer than Agrias. And whom are we fighting? The same Agrias who swore to serve her for life. Agrias who has caused us untold harm. More than a hundred thousand dead in battle, and five times that starved or fallen to disease.”
    “You are saying she fears I will become another Agrias?” Landis laughed. “Nothing could be farther from the truth. I want no power, other than that which I wield here.”
    “Do you still love her, Landis?”
    “
You
of all people should not have to ask this. Of course I love her. She was my life, and my dream. She was everything to me, from the moment I first saw her statue.” Landis sighed. “I shared her bed for many years.” He shrugged. “Aye, and I was also forced to share her with whatever lover she took a liking to. None of that mattered. I would give a hundred years of life merely to share that bed one more night.”
    “As would I—though I do not have a hundred years to spare,” said Unwallis. “You did warn her about Agrias. I remember that.”
    “You remember what else I told you?”
    “I remember. I am still not convinced. But that is in the past and not relevant. The Eternal wishes to be sure of your loyalty. She wants a small force in your lands to protect the borders. Would that be so terrible, Landis? A few soldiers, a few Jiamads?”
    Landis filled a goblet with wine and sipped it before answering. “Yes, it would. Agrias has several armies in the north. If the Eternal’s forces come here, Agrias will hear of it. Then the war will spread to my lands, which, at present, are mercifully free of terror.”
    Unwallis took a deep breath. “Then let us move on to another point, and one of great delicacy. The tomb of Skilgannon.”
    “What about it? It was empty.”
    “Not the cave, Landis, but the site half a mile distant on the dry island.”
    “It wasn’t him. I dug there and found some old bones, but the artifacts in the grave were of the wrong age.”
    “One of your diggers reported that you found two swords in a single scabbard.”
    “Not so. We found a massive ax, double headed, which had not rusted, and a few pots containing gold coins. The coins were of the late