sheepishly, ‘Tell me anyway. It might be a different story.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. Please.’
‘Their names were Guillaume and Gaeta, Sarkoy, Vincerus …’
‘Broglanh, Khan and Kerr,’ Elija finished triumphantly.
‘And,’ said Rubin, drawing breath, ‘they came to the City thousands of years ago. No one knows where they came from …’
‘But they are very important.’
‘They
were
very important, Elija, yet some of the Families dwindled or died out, or perhaps they hid themselves away from their more powerful brothers.’
‘
Were
they brothers?’
‘Perhaps. But they lived a very long time and had many offspring and it’s said that even the gods can’t remember if they were once brothers or not.’
‘
Are
they gods, Rubin?’
Rubin shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I was told this by my father, who knew them all. And I asked him the same thing. So he asked me what I thought a god was. I said a god was a being apart, one unlimited by the laws of nature. He said in that case, yes, they were gods. And together they were called the Serafim.’
Elija stared at his friend. His words were incomprehensible, but he nodded.
‘My father said they came to the City to bring peace and justice and knowledge. And in the end they gave us none of those things. They became steeped in greed and vice; they sucked in wealth and breathed out only corruption. And the emperor, whom we call the Immortal but whose real name is Araeon, is the worst of them all.’
Elija put his hands to his ears, frightened at these perilous words.
Rubin patted him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Elija. We are safe here in the Halls. We could die any day, drowned by a flash flood or killed and eaten by reivers, lost in the Whithergo, executed by patrols. But at least the emperor can’t hear our words. We are safe from him down here.’
‘
We’re lost!
’
Elija’s comfortable reverie about his days with Rubin had given way to present-day reality. ‘We’re lost,’ he repeated to Amita.
They had been trudging for ever. But the river meandered in great loops and they were making slow progress. They could not stick to the main path, along the river bank, for it was too steep and slippery, but struck out towards an outcrop of white rock they could see in the distance. Once there, Amita said, they could use the rock as a reference point, heading towards the source of daylight. But the light was fading and Elija could barely see Amita’s shape ahead of him. Within moments it would be pitch dark again and they would be lost.
‘We should have gone back to the tunnels,’ he complained, not for the first time. He was on the verge of tears.
Amita came to a halt, knee-deep in sticky mud.
‘We’re not lost,’ she told him with her usual confidence, ‘but I think we’re going the wrong way.’
‘I can see the rock right there,’ Elija replied, pointing to its gleam to their left.
The girl shook her head. ‘I mean, by the time we get there we won’t be able to see.’
‘And we have no food or water.’
So they sat there, defeated and out of choices, until the mysterious rosy light that had found them before appeared far to their right.
‘That’s where we should go,’ Amita told Elija, pointing.
Elija looked at it and felt only fear. He shook his head.
‘It’s a fire,’ he said. ‘It must mean danger.’
‘If it’s a fire then there will be food,’ Amita told him persuasively.
Reminded of food, Elija felt his stomach cramp painfully. They had found water the previous day, running in a torrent from high above them. It tasted earthy, but they had kept it down and it had given them energy for a while. But it was two days or more since they’d eaten. He shook his head again. ‘I’m frightened.’
‘The river goes that way, I’m sure. We just have to cut across there.’ She pointed straight across the mudbanks.
Elija had walked shores like these many times before and he could tell by the sheen
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. Please.’
‘Their names were Guillaume and Gaeta, Sarkoy, Vincerus …’
‘Broglanh, Khan and Kerr,’ Elija finished triumphantly.
‘And,’ said Rubin, drawing breath, ‘they came to the City thousands of years ago. No one knows where they came from …’
‘But they are very important.’
‘They
were
very important, Elija, yet some of the Families dwindled or died out, or perhaps they hid themselves away from their more powerful brothers.’
‘
Were
they brothers?’
‘Perhaps. But they lived a very long time and had many offspring and it’s said that even the gods can’t remember if they were once brothers or not.’
‘
Are
they gods, Rubin?’
Rubin shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I was told this by my father, who knew them all. And I asked him the same thing. So he asked me what I thought a god was. I said a god was a being apart, one unlimited by the laws of nature. He said in that case, yes, they were gods. And together they were called the Serafim.’
Elija stared at his friend. His words were incomprehensible, but he nodded.
‘My father said they came to the City to bring peace and justice and knowledge. And in the end they gave us none of those things. They became steeped in greed and vice; they sucked in wealth and breathed out only corruption. And the emperor, whom we call the Immortal but whose real name is Araeon, is the worst of them all.’
Elija put his hands to his ears, frightened at these perilous words.
Rubin patted him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Elija. We are safe here in the Halls. We could die any day, drowned by a flash flood or killed and eaten by reivers, lost in the Whithergo, executed by patrols. But at least the emperor can’t hear our words. We are safe from him down here.’
‘
We’re lost!
’
Elija’s comfortable reverie about his days with Rubin had given way to present-day reality. ‘We’re lost,’ he repeated to Amita.
They had been trudging for ever. But the river meandered in great loops and they were making slow progress. They could not stick to the main path, along the river bank, for it was too steep and slippery, but struck out towards an outcrop of white rock they could see in the distance. Once there, Amita said, they could use the rock as a reference point, heading towards the source of daylight. But the light was fading and Elija could barely see Amita’s shape ahead of him. Within moments it would be pitch dark again and they would be lost.
‘We should have gone back to the tunnels,’ he complained, not for the first time. He was on the verge of tears.
Amita came to a halt, knee-deep in sticky mud.
‘We’re not lost,’ she told him with her usual confidence, ‘but I think we’re going the wrong way.’
‘I can see the rock right there,’ Elija replied, pointing to its gleam to their left.
The girl shook her head. ‘I mean, by the time we get there we won’t be able to see.’
‘And we have no food or water.’
So they sat there, defeated and out of choices, until the mysterious rosy light that had found them before appeared far to their right.
‘That’s where we should go,’ Amita told Elija, pointing.
Elija looked at it and felt only fear. He shook his head.
‘It’s a fire,’ he said. ‘It must mean danger.’
‘If it’s a fire then there will be food,’ Amita told him persuasively.
Reminded of food, Elija felt his stomach cramp painfully. They had found water the previous day, running in a torrent from high above them. It tasted earthy, but they had kept it down and it had given them energy for a while. But it was two days or more since they’d eaten. He shook his head again. ‘I’m frightened.’
‘The river goes that way, I’m sure. We just have to cut across there.’ She pointed straight across the mudbanks.
Elija had walked shores like these many times before and he could tell by the sheen
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