Читать книгу The Complete Darkwar Trilogy: Flight of the Night Hawks, Into a Dark Realm, Wrath of a Mad God - Raymond E. Feist - Страница 22

RALAN BEK WAS GONE.

Nakor sat up, looked around and saw no sign of the young man. Then something moved just over the top of a small rise to the east of the cave. As he stood, Bek hove into view carrying a large bundle of sticks.

‘You’re up,’ said the young man with a grin, adding, ‘obviously.’

‘Yes,’ said Nakor with a smile. ‘I am.’

‘I noticed the fire burning low and thought I’d get more wood.’ Again he added, ‘Obviously.’

Nakor nodded. ‘You hungry?’

‘Always,’ said the young man, putting the firewood down and sitting close to where Nakor fumbled through his rucksack. ‘No more oranges, I hope. I’m getting the flux.’

Nakor shook his head. ‘Travel food.’ He took out a packet wrapped in oiled paper and said, ‘Here.’

Bek opened the paper and found half a loaf of bread, some hard cheese and dried beef. ‘Not the worst I’ve eaten,’ he said, shovelling the first bite into his mouth.

As they ate, Nakor studied the young man. There was something about him that Nakor almost understood, but he had to look hard, as if somehow it would just take a bit more will to perceive it.

‘What?’

‘What?’

‘You’re staring at me. It’s … odd.’

Nakor grinned. ‘You and I have had similar beginnings. My father used to beat me when I wandered off as a boy.’ Nakor went on to tell Bek about his own youth, being a gambler, and running into Pug and the other magicians.

‘So that explains why the big man in white and gold was here.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because I don’t understand half of what you’re saying, Nakor, but I do understand that these are very important people you’re talking about, and important people have powerful allies. And I suppose those things in the cave are important and powerful, too.’

‘You snuck in there?’

Grinning, Bek said, ‘You know I did. You were awake, I know you were.’

‘Why do you think that?’

‘Because I wouldn’t have slept if I had thought that someone might try to take advantage of me.’

‘Why didn’t you?’ asked Nakor, then he took another bite of food.

‘Because I’m not stupid, even though sometimes things don’t make sense to me.’

‘So that’s why you didn’t try to attack me or flee on the first night?’

Bek shrugged. ‘I have nowhere else to be, and those things in there are as interesting as anything I’ve seen in a while. And I know not to take stupid chances.’

‘And leaving or attacking me would have been stupid?’

Bek nodded. ‘I’ve met your type before, Nakor. You act silly and harmless, but you know what you’re doing. You wouldn’t have stayed here alone with me unless you were confident that you could keep me from hurting you, or you knew you could hurt me.’

Nakor shrugged, and Bek pointed an accusing figure at him. ‘You’re some kind of magic user, right?’

Nakor shrugged again. ‘I know some tricks.’

Nodding as he chewed, Bek said, ‘I thought so.’

‘What are your plans, Ralan?’

Bek shrugged. ‘I don’t think like that. I just go out and find some lads, find a fight, find a woman, whatever. I don’t see the point in making plans. It’s not as if I have anything anyone wants; I mean, I can’t mill or plough, or do anything that people want to pay you to do. All I can do is fight and ride.’

‘There are many places where a man who can fight like you can earn a living.’

‘Soldiering!’ He spat. ‘Wear a uniform and take orders – yes sir, no m’lord – and all that? Never. I tried being a mercenary once, but that was boring. I just need –’ He stared off into space for a moment, then his dark eyes regarded Nakor. ‘I’m not sure what I need, but something drives me.’

Nakor nodded. ‘I think I understand.’

‘If you do, then you’re the first’. Then he stood up and drew his sword from his scabbard. Nakor’s eyes widened slightly but he didn’t move. ‘Trouble’s coming,’ said Bek.

Then Nakor heard horses on the trail. He stood as Bek crested the rise and started down the track. Nakor hurried to the top of the rise so he could see the vista below.

A hundred yards down the trail he saw two riders approaching Bek. Both reined in and stood their ground when the armed man approached them on foot. As one of them began to speak, Bek leapt an amazing distance, covering the ground between himself and the first rider. Before either horseman could react, Bek swung as hard as he could, and removed the first man’s arm at his shoulder.

The other man was momentarily stunned, and then started to turn his horse to flee. Bek reached back and hurled his sword, launching it like a javelin, and the blade speared the man through the back. He fell from his horse and hit the ground before Nakor could take two steps.

By the time Nakor reached the scene of the carnage, Bek had retrieved his sword and was cleaning the blade on the tunic of one of the two men. ‘What happened?’ asked Nakor.

‘You wanted to keep this place a secret.’ Bek reached down and took a hat from one of the dead men: a broad-brimmed, black felt thing with a low crown wrapped with a leather hatband and decorated with glass beadwork. ‘I like this hat,’ he said, putting on his head to see if it fitted. He adjusted it, and said, ‘Nice hat.’

‘But—’

Bek shrugged. ‘Got any more to eat?’

Nakor watched as Ralan Bek calmly marched over the rise. He followed him and found the young man sitting exactly where he had been moments before, and eating what was left on the oiled paper. ‘Got one of those oranges left?’

Nakor reached in and got one and tossed it to him. ‘Why did you kill those men? Why not just send them away?’

‘Because they would only assume that there was something here and inevitably come back, and maybe bring more men with them. I thought I’d save a lot of needless talking and took care of the problem swiftly. It was either kill two men now, or many more later.’ His eyes narrowed as he asked, ‘Is there something wrong with that?’

Nakor shook his head. ‘It’s murder.’

Bek shrugged. ‘If they could have killed me, they would have.’

Nakor’s voice rose, ‘In self defence! I’ve seen you fight. You tested Tomas, and the only mortal man who could come close to doing that was Talwin Hawkins, and he was a Champion of the Masters’ Court! They never stood a chance!’

‘Never heard of him.’

‘You wouldn’t have, down here.’ Nakor studied Bek while the young man finished his food. Bek leaned back, looked at Nakor and said, ‘Now what are we going to do?’

Nakor said, ‘We wait.’

‘Wait for what?’

‘For another to come and study those things, so that I can go about some other business.’

‘Perhaps I may go with you?’ said Bek, flashing a grin.

‘Perhaps you should,’ said Nakor. ‘You have an impulsive nature and a complete lack of concern for any consequences.’

‘Why should I worry about consequences?’ asked Bek. ‘Someday I’ll die; but before that I want to have things, and anyone who stands in my way will suffer for it.’ He smiled. ‘And I enjoy making them suffer if it comes to that. If someone is strong enough to kill me, then it will be over.’

‘You don’t worry about what will happen when you arise in Lims-Kragma’s Hall, to face your judgment?’

Bek shrugged. ‘Why should I? I am as the gods made me, aren’t I? If one of them has a problem with my behaviour, then let them act. I can’t stand against a god, so if I’m wrong why hasn’t one of them … turned me into a bug yet?’ he asked with a laugh. ‘Because, I don’t think the gods care what I do. I don’t think the gods care what anyone does.’ He nodded, as if he had given this a lot of thought. ‘I guess you could get into trouble if you sacked a temple, or killed a priest for no reason, but if you leave the gods alone, then they leave you alone. That’s how I see it.’

Nakor said, ‘What about friends? Family?’

Bek looked at Nakor. ‘Do you have friends and family?’

Nakor said, ‘Family, no. I had a wife once, but that was a very long time ago. But friends? Yes, I have many friends, the most and best I’ve ever had, right now. People whom I trust and who trust me.’

‘Then you’re lucky, I suppose.’ Bek looked off into the distance as if he was seeing something in the air.

‘Sometimes I think that there’s something about me that scares people. I never find I have much in common with most of them.’ He looked at Nakor. ‘Mostly I find young bravos to ride with, looking for a good time, trouble or quick gold. From time to time I meet a few I like; usually lads who really enjoy a brawl. There was this one lad, Casamir, he liked to drink and fight. It didn’t matter if there was no reason for it; he just would find somebody, hit them and start one. He really enjoyed pain.’ Bek’s eyes shone as he talked. ‘I enjoyed watching him beat up people, until a guardsman down in Kiptak broke his head with the butt of a sword. I finished off the guardsman but had to flee Kiptak. So now I travel with whoever I find who’s looking for fun, but there’s nobody I’d call a true friend.’

Nakor was silent as he considered what he knew about this young man, which was very little, and what he suspected, which was a great deal. Finally he said, ‘When did you start hearing voices?’

Bek stared at Nakor for a long minute then said, ‘When I was about eight or nine years old. How do you know about the voices?’

‘Because I heard them when I was that age, too.’

‘What did they say to you?’ asked Bek, looking eagerly at Nakor as he waited for an answer.

‘That I … needed to be somewhere else.’

Bek’s face lit up as he smiled. ‘That’s what I hear, too.’ Then he lost the smile. ‘That and other things.’

‘What other things?’ asked Nakor.

‘I don’t know.’ Bek shrugged and looked down. ‘Sometimes they’re not really voices, but … feelings that I need to do something. Hurt someone. Take something. Go somewhere.’ He looked back at the cave. ‘That’s how I felt when I heard about this cave. Some of the boys with me didn’t want to bother, but I knew I had to come here.’

Nakor nodded. ‘When did the dreams start?’

Bek closed his eyes, as if something suddenly pained him. ‘I don’t remember not having them.’ He opened his eyes and again stared into space. ‘They’re—’

After a moment of silence, Nakor said gently, ‘They’re what?’

Bek looked at Nakor. ‘It’s like I’m looking through a window or standing on a tower looking down. I see things … places … people doing things.’ He looked away again. ‘Violent things, Nakor. I see battles, rapes, burning cities … Sometimes it can be too much for me. It’s like when you meet a girl who likes to be slapped when you’re coupling, and so you slap her. And then you reach the point where she wants you to stop … and you’re there, with your hand held back and you know that she’s not enjoying it any more, but you also know that hitting her just one more time will feel so good. She gets frightened and starts crying, but that only makes you feel even better. But if you hit her now, she’ll stop being afraid because she’ll be unconscious—’

‘Or dead,’ said Nakor softly.

Bek shrugged. ‘Or dead. It’s that place in the middle, it’s being on the edge of it, knowing that in an instant everything could change. It’s like jumping your horse over something that may just be a little too high, or the feeling of running through a door, knowing that just inside the room someone’s waiting to kill you.’ His eyes were wide now and he stared at Nakor with a manic expression. ‘I always wake with a sense of dread and, as if I’m waiting for something to happen?’

‘Constant anticipation?’

‘Yes! Anticipation, as if those scenes are … just out of reach … you know?’ He lost his frenzied expression and his face resolved into a mask of thoughtfulness.

‘Yes,’ said Nakor softly. ‘I know.’

Bek’s features distorted once again. ‘But if I do the things—’ He held his hand open and looked at his palm. ‘If I hit the girl. Hard. Really hard. Or if I ride the horse over the jump – even if it guts itself on the fence or breaks a leg landing – or if I run through the door and kill whoever’s there—’

‘The dreams stop for a while,’ finished Nakor.

‘Yes!’ said Bek, standing up. ‘You do understand! How do you know?’

‘Because many years ago I had dreams, too.’

‘Did they make you do things?’

Nakor shrugged. ‘If I acted on them they did stop for a while, yes. I became a gambler and if I cheated someone out of a lot of money, then the dreams would stop for a few days. I became a confidence trickster, and if I swindled someone, they would stop for a week or so. The greater the harm I did by cheating, lying and stealing, the longer I went without the dreams.’

Bek shook his head. ‘If I start a fight, or get someone to do something—’

‘Bad?’

Bek shrugged. ‘I don’t understand bad or good, just know what I want to do. If I force someone to do something they don’t want to do—’

‘Such as?’

Bek said, ‘About two years ago Drago and me were in a town near Lanada. Drago was this man I met at a whorehouse down there. We were both drunk and we took these two girls upstairs – I don’t know whose idea that was, his or mine.’ Bek’s eyes grew distant once more, as if he was seeing what he remembered. ‘One of the whores liked being slapped around – I always ask for those. This one was a tiger. She’d whoop and holler and scratch and bite.’ He fell silent for a moment, then shrugged. ‘Anyway, somewhere along the way it got rougher than she liked, I suppose, because she went from whooping and hollering to crying and screaming. Drago grabbed my arm and told me to stop, so I killed him. Then both girls were screaming, so I killed them, too.’ Bek looked at Nakor. ‘I really don’t know how things got so out of hand, but they did.’

‘Yes, they did.’

Bek smiled, then said, ‘But it feels good when things get out of control, you know?’

Nakor stood. ‘I do.’ He stepped over to stand next to Bek, who looked up at him with no change in his mad expression.

‘You’re going to hurt me now, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I am,’ said Nakor, putting out his hand over Bek’s head. As Bek began to move to defend himself, a light sprang from Nakor’s palm, freezing the large young warrior where he sat. His teeth clenched and his eyes started to roll in his head, and he began to make an odd sound. It began deep in his chest, a low grunting noise that rose in pitch as it made its way up to his throat where it became a raspy exhalation. The noise became louder, a higher-pitched shout of pain, which rose into agony.

It continued until Bek had no air left in his lungs to exhale, and could only shake uncontrollably. His teeth were still clenched and his face turned red. His eyes had now completely rolled backwards in their sockets, showing only the whites. Then he started turning a darker colour – from red to purple – and when his complexion approached blue, Nakor removed his hand.

A ragged gasp cut through the quiet as Bek shuddered and fell over backwards. He lay on the ground quivering and twitching, his eyes finally closed.

Nakor remained motionless, watching the huge youth shake like a man in a seizure. After a full five minutes, the frenzy subsided. Then Bek’s breathing slowed and he became still. He lay as if asleep for another five minutes, then groaned and opened his eyes.

He blinked twice, then settled his gaze on Nakor. Sitting up slowly, he said, ‘That was … amazing.’ He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then he grinned. ‘I liked it!’

Nakor extended his hand and helped Bek to his feet. ‘You enjoy pain?’

Bek patted his body to ensure that nothing was damaged as he said, ‘Sometimes I do. Pain … wakes things up. It makes you alert, aware. At first there’s that desire to pull away, to make it stop, but when it doesn’t stop, you can … go deeper into it, I suppose you could say. You break through the pain and on the other side there’s …’ He looked at Nakor as if fighting for the concept or word.

‘Clarity.’

Bek’s eyes widened and he nodded. ‘Yes! Clarity. Then you see things differently! It’s like nothing else. The pain turns into a feeling like nothing I can describe. But you know what I mean!’

Nakor nodded. ‘Sadly, I do.’

‘What did you do to me?’

‘It’s just a trick I know,’ said Nakor. ‘There’s something inside of you, the thing that makes you the way you are. I had to find it, then I had to … confine it.’

Bek stood with his hands on his chest as if feeling for something. ‘Confined? I don’t feel any different.’

Nakor turned, looking over the horizon. ‘I know. But for a while you’ll find yourself less inclined to cause trouble. And you won’t dream either.’ He turned back towards Bek. ‘The day is still young and I need to do some work. I’m going to leave you here for a few minutes. I’ll be back shortly.’ He reached into his rucksack and took out a golden-coloured orb. He pushed a preset button and vanished.

Pug looked up as Nakor appeared in his study. ‘What is it?’

‘Remember that youth I mentioned in my message yesterday?’

‘The one who tested Tomas? Of course.’

‘I’ve had suspicions about him since the moment he arrived at the cave, and now I’m certain.’

‘Certain of what, Nakor?’

‘I told you about the gods’ dreams and memories. But what have I told you of … fragments?’

Pug said, ‘That occasionally a god will manifest his power directly in a mortal. A tiny piece of the god is placed within the soul of a person. Why?’

‘I don’t believe it any longer. I know it. Bek is such a person.’

‘You’re certain?’

‘Yes, and he is both a great opportunity and a great danger.’

Pug’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Nakor. ‘Go on.’

‘I used a trick that I have to … touch something inside a person. It’s handy when you want to know if someone has something unusual inside them, like being possessed by a demon.’

‘I can see where that would be handy.’

Nakor said, ‘It also helps you know when someone’s lying to you. But that’s not what’s important. When I searched Bek, I found the tiniest fragment of a god. The smallest possible manifestation of divine consciousness, and with it the powers that make Bek so dangerous and unpredictable.

‘Pug, Bek possesses a fraction of the Nameless One.’

Pug sat back, his face an expression of pure astonishment, followed an instant later by alarm. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Absolutely. I am certain.’

Pug sat back. ‘What does this mean?’

‘It means that forces are at play on a larger scale than we suspected, for if the Nameless One can manifest even the tiniest part of his being here—’

‘Eventually he will be able to manifest his full being.’

‘Yes, Pug.’ Nakor looked at his friend of many years. ‘He has found his way back into Midkemia. And we must find a way to prevent his return.’