Alassa met her eyes. “When will you be ready?”
“The spell will have to be cast on the spot,” Emily said. She’d done her best, but she couldn’t see any way to cast the spell beforehand. “Let me get my tools and notes and then... I’ll be ready.”
“I’ll call Cat,” Jade said. “And Emily... good luck.”
A chill settled around Emily’s heart as Iodine escorted her back to the carriage. There was no way she could say goodbye to Imaiqah, not when her friend was still fighting for her life in Winter Flower. Emily hoped she’d last long enough to recover and escape, if everything went badly wrong. The entire kingdom might be reeling in horror from the news their king had become a necromancer, but... if Randor won, Emily had no doubt that the people cursing him now would rush to cheer his name. What else could they do? They wouldn’t stand a chance if they tried to fight a necromancer.
The White Council will do something, Emily told herself, as she scrambled into her carriage and started to collect her tools. The spell notations, the lone battery, the ward and valve and the snake-bracelet... it wasn’t much, to topple a king. But there might not be much of a kingdom left by the time they act.
She shuddered as she contemplated the problem. The necromancers were locked behind the Craggy Mountains and the Desert of Death, held firmly in place by a mixture of natural and magical barriers. And yet, no one knew better than she did that the barriers were porous. Shadye had attacked Whitehall, a seemingly invincible fortress; other necromancers had, from time to time, pushed into the Allied Lands. The only thing keeping them from winning outright was their tendency to fight each other when they weren’t waging war on the Allied Lands. They couldn’t cooperate for very long. But if Randor secured his grip on Zangaria...
Emily swallowed, hard. He’d be able to send his armies to ravage the northern Allied Lands, presenting the defenders with a war on two fronts... a war fought on an immense scale. He wouldn’t be allied with the other necromancers, at least at first, but it wouldn’t matter. He would weaken the Allied Lands, allowing the remainder of the necromancers to push north and crush their enemies. Randor might have thrown the Allied Lands into the fire. Emily knew better than to think the population could be evacuated in time. Nothing could stop the necromancers once they broke through the defenses.
This might be the end, she thought, as she finished packing her bag. And it will be, if he isn’t stopped.
She opened the carriage and jumped down to the ground. Cat was cantering up, riding a large black horse. Emily eyed it suspiciously, then looked at Cat. He seemed a little too amused for her peace of mind. And he hadn’t brought a horse for her...
“You can ride behind me,” he said. “We need to move fast.”
“Oh, joy,” Emily said. She trusted him – she knew he was a good rider – but she didn’t like not being in control. And yet... she sighed, inwardly. She’d never liked riding because she knew she wasn’t really in control. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Jade briefed me,” Cat said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Emily shivered, helplessly. Casper had walked into a necromancer’s fortress with her, two years ago. The necromancer had killed him, blasting Casper to ash. There hadn’t been a body in the casket. And now... she looked at Cat, wondering if she should tell him to stay behind. She didn’t want to bury another person who’d trusted her. But... she shook her head as she slung her bag around the horse and scrambled into the saddle. Cat would never forgive her for suggesting he should stay behind. He’d want to go even if he could barely walk.
And he’d be called a coward if he didn’t go, Emily thought. No one would blame Jade for staying with Alassa, but Cat...? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t go. If he gets killed...
“We’ll be taking the long way around,” Cat said. “Hopefully we won’t run into any checkpoints.”
“That would be bad,” Emily agreed.
She clung to him for dear life as the horse picked its way through the foaming river, then started to gallop as soon as it reached the far side. Cat chuckled throatily as the beast picked up speed, cantering down the road and galloping through the remains of a village. Emily saw brief glimpses of burned-out buildings and bodies, lying where they’d been thrown, before they were left far behind. Randor had lost control of his men, she guessed. It was better, she supposed, than the king issuing orders to punish his people for their defiance.
It grew harder to believe that the devastation wasn’t deliberate as they galloped closer to the city. The king’s army had destroyed buildings, burned fields and slaughtered everyone who hadn’t managed to run away. Emily knew the devastation was mainly cosmetic – the fields would regenerate within a year – but starvation would kill hundreds of thousands of people before the damage could be repaired. It looked as if the soldiers had had their fun with the people too, she noted. She forced herself to look at the bodies – mutilated, raped, murdered – and remember what Randor had done. He was past saving.
“He’s mad,” Cat breathed, as they galloped through a midsized town. Some of the buildings were still burning brightly. “He’s destroying his own kingdom.”
Emily looked from side to side, trying to see if anyone was left alive. But no one moved in the wreckage. She wondered, grimly, just how many men would stay with the king after what they’d done. Perhaps Randor had allowed them to commit crimes against their own people in the hopes of binding them to him. The Nameless World had no concept of war crimes, but there were limits. Randor’s men – even the mercenaries – couldn’t go anywhere else. They were bound to him now.
Here and there, Emily saw hints of resistance. A soldier, lying dead on the ground; a mercenary, mutilated so savagely that she had to look twice before she was sure of what she saw. But it wasn’t enough. Randor had disarmed his population and now he was slaughtering them. She was starting to wonder if anyone, even Alassa, could put the kingdom back together again.
They crested the hill as darkness started to fall and stared down at Alexis. The city had once glowed with light, but now it was lost in shadow. Emily slipped off the horse, rubbing her legs in the hopes of massaging some feeling back into them, and peered at the city. The castle was lit up with a sickly glow, but the remainder of the city was dark. She couldn’t even see the boat lanterns warning sailors of their presence. Alexis was as cold and silent as the grave.
“They’ve been strengthening the walls,” Cat commented. “But the cannons will blast them down.”
Emily nodded, stiffly. The walls weren’t the problem. Taking the city was pointless if they didn’t take the castle. She reached out with her senses, hoping to get a hint of Randor’s presence, but felt nothing. She had no way to know what that meant. Randor might be controlling himself, taking as little power as possible, or he might not be there at all. Her lips twitched. Breaking into the castle would be hard enough without discovering that Randor was somewhere else...
“This way,” Cat said. “Someone should be waiting for us.”
“Stay ready,” Emily warned. “We don’t know whose side they’ll be on.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
EMILY KEPT HERSELF UNDER TIGHT CONTROL as they inched towards the city, picking their way through a handful of paths until they reached a thicket. A man was standing there, half-hidden in the shadows. Cat walked forward, then stopped and beckoned her to join him. She had to smile as she recognized the man. Tam, Imaiqah’s cousin. The Levellers of Alexis were still a going concern.
“Lady Emily,” Tam said. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise,” Emily said.
“My friend will take care of your horse,” Tam said. He beckoned another man forward. “We can’t get him through the tunnels.”
He turned and led the way towards a small building concealed in the forest. It was little more than a shack, the sort of place that might be built as a refuge from supernatural creatures that only came out at night. Emily felt a f
licker of unease as she looked around, although she was fairly sure that none of the really dangerous creatures would live anywhere so close to a human city. Beast Hunters like Jade’s father had eradicated them out long ago.
“The tunnel hasn’t been discovered, as far as we know,” Tam said, as he opened the door. A foul stench greeted them. “But watch yourselves anyway. If they know who’s coming...”
Emily watched as he opened a concealed hatch and started to clamber down. “If one of you can cast a light-spell, that would be good,” he called up. “Lady Emily comes next, Lord Cat brings up the rear. Make sure you close the hatch properly.”
“Of course,” Cat said. He cast a light-spell, directing a glowing ball of light to follow Tam down the hatch. “Emily?”
Emily took a breath, reminded herself that it was no different to exploring the Craggy Mountain tunnels, and started to clamber down the ladder. It shivered under her weight, trembling as if it was on the verge of breaking... she silently readied a handful of spells to catch herself if it collapsed altogether. Tam kept up a steady stream of chatter, probably more for their benefit than for his, as he reached the bottom of the shaft. Emily heard his footsteps heading into the tunnel a moment before her feet hit the bottom. It caught her by surprise.
Her heart started to pound as she turned and saw the tunnel. It was terrifyingly thin, barely large enough for her to walk with her head bowed. Cat would have to hunch down, unless he transfigured himself into something smaller. Emily found herself considering it as she forced herself to walk along the tunnel, feeling as though the walls were starting to close in. A dog – or a cat – would have no problems navigating the tunnel. But the risks of self-transfiguration were too great.
“Hey,” Cat said, as he followed her. Emily felt uneasy at his presence behind her, even though she knew he meant no harm. “Who dug this tunnel anyway?”
“Smugglers,” Tam called back. His voice echoed oddly in the confined space. “They wanted to get stuff – and people – in and out of the city without having to pay. Only a handful of them ever knew where to find the entrance. Everyone else was blindfolded until they were trapped inside the tunnel and couldn’t get out. The king’s men never knew where to look for the tunnel.”
Cat sounded doubtful. “Are you sure? How did you find it?”
“Oh, we’ve been smuggling things in and out of the city for years.” Tam snickered. “My family was in trade long before we became interested in politics. Having a handful of contacts on the wrong side of the law is always helpful.”
Emily took a breath. The air was dank, smelling faintly of decay. She could hear the sound of dripping water in the distance. Alassa – and Imaiqah – had told her that there were hundreds of passages under the city, some known to the authorities and some not. She found it hard to believe the tunnel had existed for so long without the authorities realizing it existed and tracking down the entrance, although she supposed that anyone who did stumble across it could easily be bribed into silence. The king’s laws on what could and couldn’t be brought into the city were so strict that anyone willing to break them was assured of a handsome profit.
Sweat trickled down her back as she kept walking, trying not to bang her head against the ceiling. There was a necromancer up there, a necromancer with more than enough power to bring the roof crashing down on her head... if he realized he had a chance to kill her in a single blow. She’d never thought of herself as particularly claustrophobic before, but there was something about the tunnel that wormed its way into her mind. The crudely-hewn walls looked as if they were going to collapse at any moment. Cold logic told her that the tunnel had existed for years, but cold logic wasn’t convincing. Her breath came in ragged gasps. It was growing harder and harder to force herself to keep moving.
“They didn’t catch you, I see,” Cat said. “What have you been doing with yourself?”
“We stayed underground, in our hidey-holes,” Tam said. “The king’s bastards rounded up a few dozen of us, damn them, but otherwise they did nothing. Too busy fighting you, I suppose. They did scoop up and execute a few hundred people who had nothing to do with us, which didn’t help their cause. We had no trouble recruiting after that, I tell you. The real problem was keeping the recruits from doing something stupid.”
“That’s good,” Emily managed. She found it hard to speak. “What’s the situation now?”
“There’s a third of the city they don’t dare enter, not without armed backup,” Tam said, dryly. “But that will change, once they’ve readied their armies. The king is mad.”
“He’s a necromancer,” Cat said. “Of course he’s mad.”
The tunnel narrowed again, forcing Tam to go down on his hands and knees. Emily swallowed hard, then followed him. The roof scraped against her head and she almost froze before the tunnel widened into a massive chamber. Water dripped down, splashing into her hair. She looked up, but saw nothing. Were they under the river? She thought they’d walked for miles, but she couldn’t have sworn to it. Her mind insisted they’d been in the tunnels for hours.
She straightened up and looked around with interest. A handful of heavy packing crates were positioned against one wall; four men slept soundly beside them, their snores so loud she was surprised the City Guard hadn’t found them. Tam gave them a wide berth as he led the way to another tunnel, then up a shaft that gradually took them to ground level. Emily let out a sigh of relief as they stepped through a door and emerged into a warehouse. It was crammed with boxes of supplies – she had no idea what was in them – but it was deserted. The smell of rotting fish pervaded the air.
“We’re by the docks,” Cat said, surprised.
“The western docks, yes,” Tam confirmed. “This warehouse is owned by the smugglers. It’s perfectly legitimate, it just has a few... additions.”
Emily frowned. “Wouldn’t it be better to have the entrance somewhere closer to the walls?”
“It’s easier to bring stuff in and out of a warehouse without attracting attention,” Tam pointed out, dryly. “If we had people coming and going at all hours anywhere else, you can bet your life that we would attract attention. There’s supposed to be another tunnel that goes in and out of a brothel, but I don’t know if it really exists. It could be just a lie someone dreamed up to provide an excuse for searching the brothels and claiming a few free samples.”
Cat laughed. “People don’t change, do they?”
“No,” Tam said. “But as long as they take bribes, who cares?”
He jabbed a finger towards the side door. “We have to keep moving,” he said. “We don’t want to be caught on the streets.”
Emily said nothing as they stepped through the door and into an alleyway. The stench of rotting fish grew stronger, making her want to gag. It took everything she had to force herself to keep going as Tam led them towards the street. Alexis had been quieter at night, the last time she’d visited, but now it was utterly silent. She couldn’t hear anything, save for the faint sound of waves breaking against the docks. The streets were completely deserted.
“Everyone who gets caught gets taken to the castle,” Tam said, quietly. “We don’t know what happens to them afterwards.”
They get sacrificed, Emily guessed. Randor would need a steady supply of life-force – and, if he was lucky, some of his victims would have magic too. And then their bodies are destroyed.
The silence grew oppressive as they headed steadily towards the Royal Mile. She looked from side to side, hoping to see some signs of life, but Alexis felt deserted. No eyes peeked from behind curtains as they made their way down their streets, no glimmers of light shone under closed doors... the city felt empty. She sensed faint flickers of magic from the magic quarter, but they seemed vague and diffuse. She hoped the magicians had had enough sense to flee. Randor would turn to them when he needed a recharge, if he hadn’t already. The despair sinking over the city should have been enough warning of what was to come.
She looked up at
the castle and froze. She could feel something now, a dreadful pulsing that reminded her of Heart’s Eye. Ice ran down her spine. Randor was there. She knew he was there. His power was beating so strongly that she could sense it, even though he was shrouded by hundreds of protective wards. If she’d doubted what he’d become, she couldn’t have doubted it any longer. The castle belonged to a necromancer.
“Emily,” Cat hissed. She barely heard him. “Emily!”
Emily jumped as he caught her arm. She’d been staring at the castle... how long had she been staring at the castle? Cat pulled her after him and she followed, kicking herself. If she’d stood there too long, she would have been caught. And if the guards had realized who she was, they’d have beheaded her before she knew they were there. Randor would reward the person who brought him Emily’s head.
And we still don’t know who was trying to kill me, Emily thought. The mystery assassin hadn’t shown himself since they’d left Eagle’s Rest. Emily hoped that meant they’d left him behind, although she knew there was no way to be sure. Maybe he’s waiting in the castle too.
A thought struck her. Maybe Randor already killed him for magic.
She pushed the thought aside as they entered the Quadrant. The houses here were finer than the apartment blocks near the docks, or the endless suburbs surrounding the city, but not quite nice enough for the Royal Mile. Their occupants were lower middle-class merchants and their families; men who’d earned enough money to inch closer to the castle, but not enough to actually live on the Royal Mile itself. She wondered, wryly, just how many of them regretted being so close to the king now. They were probably pleased that their limited pedigree had saved them from being much closer...
“Here,” Tam said, as he opened one of the smaller houses. “Your home, for the day.”
Emily stepped inside and looked around. The house was tiny, smaller even than her home on Earth. It was barely large enough for two people, let alone a family. She glanced up the steps – they were practically a ladder – into the bedroom, then located the bathroom. It was relatively modern, complete with running water, but terrifyingly small. A wealthy merchant might be better off buying a bigger house further from the castle. It would certainly be cheaper.
The Broken Throne Page 37
