‘Aye, well, the Kadoshim was not for cooperating,’ Sig said. ‘I tried, had it in my net, even. And to be fair, it wasn’t me that killed the beast.’

Sig felt disloyal, informing on Hammer, but Byrne somehow had that effect on people. She could suck the truth from a stone and Sig had long come to the conclusion that there was no point fighting it.

‘Hammer killed it.’

She’s a bear, she’s got broad shoulders.

A raised eyebrow from Byrne. Surprisingly effective at eliciting an urge in Sig to provide further information.

‘The Kadoshim stabbed her in the paw.’

‘Ahh,’ Byrne and Tain said together.

‘No matter,’ Craf cawed. ‘Only good Kadoshim is a dead Kadoshim.’

‘Well, what’s done is done,’ Byrne said. ‘No point wishing it were not so. But I think you are right, Sig, this heralds something new. Not just another skirmish in the endless war. A new strategy. But what are they up to, and why?’

‘Craf will think on it,’ the crow squawked, as if they could all stop worrying now. Craf fell from Tain’s shoulder, spread his wings and glided to Byrne’s desk, where he hopped over to the Kadoshim’s head. He stabbed his beak down, came back up with a long strip of decaying flesh.

‘Ugh!’ Cullen groaned. ‘That’ll make you gut-sick, that will!’

‘Dead is dead, meat is meat,’ Craf squawked as he swallowed noisily, ‘and Craf not fussy.’

Clearly not.

Even Byrne pulled a disgusted face.

‘We must talk more on this,’ she said, turning her back on Craf, though that didn’t blot out the wet, disgusting sounds of his feast. She spoke louder. ‘The Captains of Kill and Cure must be told. We’ll hold a meeting on the morrow, with all the captains and masters of Dun Seren. And Tain, word must be sent to our outposts at Brikan and Balara.’ She pursed her lips, thinking. ‘And we should tell the Ben-Elim. This is bigger than our . . . differences. Choose a bird and send word to your father at Drassil.’

Tain nodded.

‘I urge you all,’ Byrne said, worry creasing her eyes. ‘Think hard on this. I have a feeling in my gut; the Kadoshim are coming out from the shadows, attacking for the first time in a quarter of a century. The question is: why? To what end? we must solve this riddle, before it is too late.’

‘What feeling?’ Cullen asked. ‘In your gut, I mean.’

‘Dread,’ Byrne said, and Sig nodded her agreement, for she felt it, too.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: DREM

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

DREM

Drem sat in the darkness of his cabin, staring at nothing. Two fingers were pressed to the pulse in his neck as he rocked gently back and forth, counting.