They are not just singing for my mam; they all mourn those they have lost.
Memories bubbled up inside Corban of his mam, a thousand tender moments, sealed with her dying words, blood spattering her lips. My darlings, she had said. Grief welled sudden and powerful, consuming him, blotting out everything but his mam’s face. He felt an impact on his knees, realized dimly that he’d fallen, hands about him steadying, comforting. He let out a great sob, his body racked by it, tremors coursing through him, all the pain and torment that he had endured since the night of his da’s death surging up in one overwhelming moment.
He did not know how long he stayed there, kneeling in the dirt before his mam’s cairn. Eventually he looked up, swiping tears from his eyes. A few were still gathered about him – Cywen and Gar, their eyes red and raw. His friends, Dath and Farrell, Coralen regarding him with a rare compassion. He rose slowly and looked back across the leagues they had ridden, saw the last rays of the setting sun shining off the cliffs and towers of Murias, the image fracturing in his tear-filled eyes.
He thought of the cauldron, the black cloud rising from it, the tainted Jehar ripping men limb from limb, Nathair sitting on the dais steps, and finally the old man that he had fought, who had killed his mam. Calidus, Meical had called him. One thought circled in his head like the black birds swirling about the mountain peaks.
They must be stopped.
By John Gwynne
MALICE
VALOUR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing Valour has been a great experience. As with Malice it has had quite a few helping hands along the way.
First of all a huge thank you to my wife, Caroline, and children, both for their support and for putting up with me whilst my head has been off in the Banished Lands.
Thanks must go to my agent, John Jarrold, for his belief and guidance. A consummate professional and also a top bloke who does a wonderful Michael Cain impersonation. Also my bloodthirsty editor at Tor UK, Julie Crisp, for her astounding ability to whip my efforts into shape, as well as a strong dose of belief in The Faithful and the Fallen. And thanks to my copy-editor, Jessica Cuthbert-Smith, a lady with an amazing eye for detail, as well as all the wonderful crew at Team Tor UK.
Thanks also to those who have taken the time to read Valour – not a small book – and thus sacrificing a considerable chunk of their precious time. Mark Roberson, Rhiannon Ivens, Sadak Miah – you are now forgiven for not reading Malice for such a long time – and Edward and William Gwynne, whom I would like to thank for their extra dedication, involving re-enacting most of the battle scenes from the book. Plasters were occasionally required.
First published 2014 by Tor
This electronic edition published 2014 by Tor an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-0-230-77143-7
Copyright ? John Gwynne 2014
Map artwork ? Fred van Deelen The right of John Gwynne to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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