Tombel sighed, vowing in his heart that a place would be found for these strange people with their sh.e.l.l-shaped ears and large round eyes. A safe place, in the sunlight, somewhere in Elundium.

Thane left the fire and the talk of darkness beneath Mantern's Mountain, and walked to the edge of the high plateau. Behind him, around each bonfire, rose the murmur of victory, but in his heart he knew that this was a long way from the truth. Far below in the darkness one lamp shone out brilliant white.

'Underfall!' he whispered, smiling as he remembered how he had first seen the great fortress of World's End rising up out of the morning mist, clinging on to the mountain's bleak shoulders, all those daylights ago.

'What troubles you, Thane?'Tombel quietly asked, moving to stand beside him.

'Krulshards lives,' Thane replied. 'I had the chance to follow and to kill him, or to choose to rescue my grandfather.'

Tombel put his hand on Thane's arm. 'Choices are never easy, Thane,' he whispered.

Far below a great cry shook the mountainside and the lamp on the highest gallery of Underfall flickered and went out.

'By Nevian! What has happened?' Tombel cried, drawing his Marching sword.

'Underfall is under attack!' Thane shouted. 'Krulshards has escaped into Elundium! I know it! I am the fool who chose: wrongly!'

'But he will never be able to break into Underfall. It is the

26.

Palace of Kings, built against the Master of Nightmares!' cried Tiethorm, the First Archer of Underfall.

Below, a terrible booming sound shook the mountain's roots.

Twice it sounded, drawing all the warriors to the plateau's edge.

'Fomm the Gallopers into a column,' Thane shouted, 'and follow us with the Marchers as quickly as you can.'

Tombel gripped Thane's amm and pointed with his sword down into the darkness. 'Look, the great lamp has been relit!'

'But it does not shine as before; it is weak against the darkness,' Kyot mused. 'Something terrible has happened there.'

Tombel raised his hands and shouted for silence. 'Warriors,'

he called against the panic.

Thane looked down at the broken lamps burning feebly below. 'Nowhere is safe now!'

'Warriors!' Tombel shouted again, demanding order across the high plateau. Thane turned towards him and thought of Tombel's house, the Wayhouse at Woodsedge, and Elionbel, the beautiful Elionbel. His hand moved to his belt to touch her gift, the silver finger bowl, but his hand found only the broken silver chain.

'Elionbel!' he cried, spinning round and feeling in all of his pockets, but the chain was broken, the last link on his belt twisted out of shape by the wrench of Kerzolde's claw.

'Kerzolde!' he whispered, remembering how the Nightmare had leapt on him in the dark entrance, wrestling him to the ground. Thane felt Tombel's iron grip shake him and heard his

voice shouting him back out of his memories.

'Thane! Thane! What is it? Why do you stare at the black gates?'

Thane shook his head, 'They have her bowl,' he cried. 'They have her finger bowl. She sent it to me as a love gift with the messenger, Errant.'

Tombel leapt back a pace, his knuckles whitening on the hilt of his Marching sword as he turned the blade point-first

27.

ainto the soft skin just below the angle of Thane's jaw. 'There were moments in the battle before the Gates of Night as we fought side by side when I thought that you had grown beyond your base beginnings, Candleman, and my heart was warming towards you. 8ut now I should kill you for taking my daughter's love token into battle.'

Tombel slowly levelled the sword and blinked away the tears that blurred his eyes. 'I forbade it!' he cried, turning to where Thoron lay. 'I pledged her to turn away from Thane, and I was right, for he is not bloodworthy of her. Yet she broke her honour pledge and disobeyed me and now the Master of Night knows her name, he will take her, Thoron, he will take her in revenge. What do you say to that?'

Thoron weakly lifted his hand and pointed a shaking finger at Thane: 'You took comfort from the cold in the Wayhouse at Woodsedge; you took everything that was offered, and it was gladly given, and yet you, my grandson, the treasure of our house, you took Elionbel's heart out into the darkness. Why, oh why?'

Thane took a step towards Thoron, spreading his empty hands. 'She did not break her honour pledge, Grandfather,' he replied bitterly, seeing clearly now the coldness of his last few days at Woodsedge, understanding Tombel's haste for him to continue his journey to World's End and the great fortress at Underfall. Lifting his head, he met Tombel's gaze and held it.

'I stole nothing, Grandfather, for nothing seemed to be withheld from me. I did not know that Tombel was against my love for Elionbel or that I should leave the finger bowl within the safety of Underfall.'

'Ignorance is no excuse, Thane,' answered Thoron in an angry voice.

'Behind my back like whispering thieves in the night,' i hissed Tombel, pushing Thane aside.

'No, no!' cried Thane. 'She never spoke one word of her ;^ love for me and each time I would have talked of it she

pressed a finger to my lips. She kept her pledge, but with her crippled hands, in silent needlepoint, she embroidered her pa.s.sion on to my summer scarf. Look!'

Thane ducked quickly beneath Tombel's angry hand and knelt beside his grandfather. He lifted up the summer scarf from where the Healer had laid it on the gra.s.s and it shone and sparkled, reflecting the starlight from the fine gold and silver threads chat Elionbel had woven.

Tombel took the scarf and slowly read each word, seeing in the careful st.i.tches a story of love that shone brighter than the daylight and it burned his fingers to touch it. Dropping the scarf back into Thane's hands he knelt beside Thoron and took hold of the ancient Galloper's hand.

'I love you, Thoron, as a brother,' he whispered. 'For we were battle close and once, in better times, used the same shadow,

but to tie my blood to yours now chat the Nightmare knows of Elionbel's name, chat is beyond any love.'

Thoron nodded, tears of shame and sorrow wetting his wrinkled cheeks. 'You have lost much, perhaps everything, dear friend, to rescue a wordlless fool from the darkness.'

Tombel lifted his head and stared out past the brightburning pyres of Nightbeasts into the dark, limidess sky. 'I came not to free you, friend - I knew nodling of your plight but on King Holbian's orders to strengthen Underfall. I was against such a march and would with each step we took have turned back to break the siege lock chat the Nightbeasts have ringed around the Granite City. But I am not a pledge breaker and I followed the path set for me to these very Gates of Night.'

'Honour has played you hard and cruel with no reward, but the Nightmare is free to plunder Woodsedge and terrorize all Elundium,' whispered Thoron. 'Perhaps in some small part I am to blame, perhaps if Thane had kept on the Nightmare's heels .

'Would you rather I had left you to die?' cried Thane in anguish, "athering Esteron's reins ready to mount.

'No! No!' answered Tombel quickly, rising and putting his hand on Esteron's bridle. 'Much as I may curse you for the finger bowl, every warrior here on the high plateau would have made your choice in the City of Night and brought Thoron out into the light.'

'But I am to blame for the Nightmare knowing Elionbel's name. It was my choice chat set him free. Bloodworthy or not I will follow Krulshards and destroy him, and win back what litde honour I can in your eyes, for I love your daughter and one daylight would beg you for her hand.'

'Ask not for Elionbel's hand, or ever let her name slip past your lips again, for now she will fall beneath the Nightmare's shadow where none can save her.'