Rigante Series 02 - Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online

riders, who were stabbed mercilessly as they struggled to rise. All the terrible sights of war unfolded in eerie silence before his eyes.
    A black crow glided down to the grass close by and stood, its baleful glare fixed on Banouin. Then a voice sounded from behind, startling him. 'These are scenes men sing of, and brag of, and lust after.' Banouin spun round. An old woman stood there, her shoulders hunched beneath a threadbare shawl, her hands clasping a long, crooked staff. Her hair was thin and wispy white, like mist clinging to her skull. She was impossibly ancient.
    Banouin's heart began to beat wildly. He knew of this woman, this creature of the Seidh. This was the Morrigu, whose promises tasted of nectar and burned like poison. The young man said nothing, but his dark eyes flicked towards the sleeping Bane. 'He cannot hear me, and he will not wake,' said the Morrigu. 'Will you bid me welcome to your hearth?'
    'You . . . are not welcome here,' he forced himself to say.
    'How that cuts me,' she said with a sneer. 'You, who I delivered safe when nature had decreed your death.'
    'I don't know what you are talking about,' he told her.
    'Vorna did not speak of me, then? How disappointing. On the night you were born her life was in danger. The babe - the you that was to be - was breeched, and there were no midwives, no druids on hand to save her - or you. So I came. And you were delivered by these old hands.'
    'I don't believe you.'
    'Yes, you do, Banouin. It is part of the Gift. You always sense when people are lying.'
    'Even if you did save me, I don't doubt you had your own reasons,' he said, his voice firmer.
    'Indeed I did.' She paused. 'Well, if I am not welcome here, will you at least walk with me awhile?'
    'Why would I wish to?'
    'Perhaps to prove to yourself that you are not the coward you believe yourself to be. Perhaps to repay your debt to me. Perhaps out of curiosity.' She stepped closer, and he could see that the skin beneath her right eye had peeled back, exposing the bone beneath. Banouin recoiled. 'Or perhaps because of your love for your sleeping friend.' Once more Banouin looked down at Bane. Something moved upon his friend's chest, and Banouin saw it was a coiled snake. It slithered up, then laid its flat head on Bane's neck.
    'Don't kill him,' pleaded Banouin.
    'I have no wish to kill anyone,' said the Morrigu. 'All I wish for is a walk across this field of the slain.'
    'I will come with you,' he said. 'Make the snake disappear.'
    'What snake?' she asked. Banouin glanced down. Bane was sleeping peacefully. The serpent had gone.
    The Morrigu trudged past Banouin, leaning heavily on her staff. The young man followed, and they walked out onto the battlefield. The struggle was titanic, with neither side giving ground. The army of Stone fought with discipline and courage, while the tribesmen battled with passion and desperate bravery. Time and again Banouin saw acts of individual heroism that went unnoticed by the participants: a slim Rigante, standing astride a fallen comrade, trying to protect him; a soldier of Stone, his sword broken, charging into the mass of tribesmen, slamming his shield at them, and trying to wrest a fresh blade from the hands of the enemy.
    'Why do they still fight?' he asked the Morrigu.
    'They do not know they are dead,' she answered.
    'How can they not know?'
    'The arrogance of man,' she replied.
    They walked on. Banouin saw a tall, handsome Stone officer, with close-cropped hair, waving his short sword above his head. Like a windblown echo he heard a thin, piping call to arms. 'One more charge, lads! One more charge and we'll have the day!'
    'Who is that?' he asked.
    'That is Valanus - the most famous of all Stone generals.'
    'Famous?' queried Banouin. 'It is my understanding that to speak his name aloud in Stone is a criminal offence. He was the first Stone general to lose a major battle against barbarians.'
    'That is still fame,' she said. 'Every man knows of him and his deeds. It