Shouts rose behind them.
He risked a look back. Three squads led by a tall figure swathed from head to toe in crimson robes were headed their way. From the way the ether swirled around the tall one, Otto figured it was one of the Lords of Alchemy. Whatever magic he sensed must have come from this one.
They only had a modest lead and the soldiers were gaining quickly.
Marius pointed behind them and the black mist rose again.
The lord countered, throwing a vial that shattered in the center of the corruption. White mist formed, canceling out the demon magic.
“Astaroth take all the lords!” Marius said.
Otto would have happily seconded that had he breath to spare for curses.
They had covered two blocks and the neighborhood grew worse with each stride. Behind them, the soldiers had reduced the gap by half. They needed more than that if they hoped to escape.
“How much further?” Otto gasped.
“Not much,” Jet said. “But I don’t want to lead them to our safe house.”
Otto scanned the streets, searching for inspiration. It struck a moment later. A rickety balcony hung over an alley ahead of them.
“Turn right up ahead,” Otto said.
To her credit Jet didn’t hesitate.
They turned and ran down the alley.
The moment they passed under the balcony, Otto sliced it free and sent it crashing down behind them. Hopefully it crushed a few soldiers, but even if it only increased their lead, it would be worthwhile.
After leaving the alley, Jet led them down side streets home only to rats and sunken-eyed men and women that looked more dead than alive. Otto had never seen anyone that looked as wretched as those lost souls.
“More of your followers?” Otto asked.
Marius scowled. “Hardly. Even my lord’s creations have more will than these soulless dogs.”
“They’re addicts,” Jet said with more sympathy in her voice than Otto had expected. “The lords outlaw alchemical drugs, but that doesn’t stop anyone that wants some from getting a fix. I chose this place because the locals are so far gone they wouldn’t be able to answer a question if asked.”
Otto glanced back but there was no sign of pursuit. It seemed his efforts had thrown them off the trail. Thank heaven for that. Nothing else had gone their way tonight.
Jet stopped in front of a tenement with a rickety fire escape bolted to it. “This is us.”
Otto eyed the rungs of the fire escape. “Ladies first.”
“I didn’t take you for a coward,” Marius said.
“You’re already dead. I have a lot to live for. I’ll fight anyone without blinking, but crashing to my death in a heap of rusty iron doesn’t appeal to me.”
“Relax.” Jet started up the ladder and it didn’t so much as creak. “It’s been reinforced then aged to blend in. No need to worry.”
Otto shrugged and followed her. On the third floor they ducked through a window. He conjured a light and blinked in surprise. The safe house, while certainly not fancy, had everything they needed to be comfortable: plain, sturdy furniture, an iron stove for cooking. All in all, far better than Otto had dared hope for from the outside.
“What now?” Otto asked.
“Now we wait.” Marius dropped into the chair. “Word will reach my followers and soon they will contact me. Once we know the situation, we can decide our next move.”
Otto settled on one of the beds. The situation might have changed, but his mission hadn’t. The Heart of Alchemy was out there somewhere and he meant to find it.
Chapter 38
Three days of forced inactivity drove Otto to the edge of madness. While Jet’s safe house was well stocked with food and water, it had little in the way of entertainment. Not so much as a book to read or a deck of cards. Even worse, Otto didn’t dare use his magic for fear of drawing unwanted attention.
Marius, at least, seemed untroubled by the tedium. The undead cult leader simply found a spot in the corner of the room and sat down. He hadn’t so much as batted an eye since they arrived. Otto couldn’t help wondering what he was thinking about. Or maybe he could turn his brain off and become truly dead for a time. That would certainly be a handy trick at moments like this. Of course he must still have some awareness of what was going on around him otherwise he’d be totally helpless.
Jet emerged from their modest kitchen with a pot of tea and two cups on a tray. Otto joined her at the table as she poured.
He took a sip and sighed. Jet had missed her true calling. She should have worked at a tea shop. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “Of course. This turn of events has been difficult for all of us. I’m sure when you took Lady White up on her offer, you never expected to be stuck in a safe house on the run from imperial peacekeepers.”
“No.” He set his cup down. “Tell me about the Forbidden Garden.”
“Thinking of abandoning us and taking your chances on your own?”
Otto shrugged. “Killing the minister seems rather pointless now. Unless there’s something else you think I can offer, perhaps going our separate ways would be best.”
“You wouldn’t last a day on your own,” Jet said. “You don’t exactly blend in here. But let’s leave that for now. As for the Forbidden Garden, there’s not much I can tell you. Since Lord Cheng died, no one has entered and emerged to tell the tale. At least no one I’m aware of.”
Otto swallowed a smile. Where had he heard that before? It seemed the Arcane Lords enjoyed leaving lethal areas behind them. There was probably some horrible guardian like in Colt’s Workshop. Hopefully it wasn’t as tough as the steel construct, as he didn’t have help this time.
“Can you tell me where it is?”
“On the palace grounds. It fills the entire northern courtyard. Probably three hundred yards square.”
“Shouldn’t take too long to search.”
“Someone’s coming,” Marius said.
Otto nearly jumped out of his seat. He’d been so quiet for so long, Otto had almost forgotten Marius wasn’t really dead.
Jet stood and went to the door. “One of our people?”
“One of mine,” Marius said.
Jet lowered her head and unlocked the door. A furtive little man hurried in and looked all around like he expected a guard to jump out and grab him.
“How bad is it?” Marius asked.
“Bad,” the little man said. “They’ve been all over the warehouse and through the tunnels. Most of us escaped, but they grabbed eight that were too slow.”
“The temple is still secure,” Marius said. “I would know were it otherwise. The rest can be replaced. Where did they take the prisoners?”
“Not sure. The lords are running the operation and my contact in the peacekeepers didn’t know much. He said they seemed scared, and the lords fear nothing.”
Marius stood. “They are wise to fear us. Find out where the prisoners have been taken. If they live, we will free them, if they don’t, I will send Astaroth’s revenge against those who killed them. We have hidden in the shadows for long enough. For better or worse, the time for subtlety has ended.”
“Should we not contact Lady White for instructions?” Jet asked.
“I lead this cell!” Marius said. His dead features were incapable of showing emotion, but the anger was clear in his voice. “If we succeed, I will reap the rewards and if we fail I will answer to Astaroth in Hell. All you need do is obey.”
Otto kept quiet and watched. A full-blown uprising in the city would provide the perfect cover for him to sneak into the garden. Whether these lunatics succeeded or not was irrelevant.
Jet took a step back and lowered her gaze. “I meant no disrespect.”
Marius seemed to accept her submission, but Otto knew she was lying. Jet didn’t approve of his chosen path, but lacked the power to change it.
Marius turned his focus back to the messenger. “Go and learn what happened. I expect an answer by sunset tonigh
t at the latest.”
“Yes, Marius.” The little man hurried away.
“And what should I do?” Jet asked.
“Nothing for now. You two will stay here until we’re ready to free my followers. I must go to the temple and prepare for the attack.”
“Sneaking back in will be tricky,” Otto said.
“No, it will not.” Marius sat back down and closed his eyes.
Otto shifted his perception and watched as a black ghost made of corrupt ether rose out of Marius’s body and flew through the ether back toward the warehouse. Fascinating. It was similar to what Otto did when he became one with the ether, only it was all spirit.
“Marius is wrong,” Jet said. “If we act directly against the government, with the forces we have now, the cult is doomed. I need to contact Lady White and convince her to order him to change course.”
Otto wasn’t sure why she felt the need to tell him, but he could play along. “Do you have some way to reach her in the Land of the Demon Binders? That has to be almost a thousand miles.”
“There is a way, but Marius is always the one to use it. I’m not sure the shadow birds can be activated by someone without magic.”
Now he understood. “I’m not certain it’s in my best interest to go against your superior.”
“I don’t think it’s in your best interest to get caught up in a battle with the peacekeepers and lords. Even if you’re not a member of the cult, you’re still a foreigner here and that’s just as certainly a death sentence. Besides, Lady White is higher up than Marius. This isn’t a decision he should be making on his own.”
Otto weighed his options. Jet had a point, but he didn’t plan to join in the actual battle. Marius, on the other hand, might be planning to use him to bolster his meager forces. That didn’t appeal to Otto in the least.
“Tell you what. I’ll help you send your message and afterwards, you show me the Forbidden Garden.”
Jet nodded. “Deal.”
Jet seemed to think it wise to make their move while Marius’s spirit was out of his body, so they set out immediately from the safe house. Otto would have preferred to wait until dark, but as they made their way through streets crowded with the debris of humanity, he realized Jet had been right. Draped in ragged cloaks she provided, they blended right in with the other beggars. The only downside was that he had to carry his sword to keep it hidden.
The handful of men they passed gave Jet hungry looks, but Otto’s angry glare quickly turned them away. Like any other predator, they were looking for weak targets. A quick show of strength was enough to convince them to look elsewhere.
“Where, exactly, are we going?” Otto asked when it seemed like they’d been meandering for too long.
“The entrance to the aerie is underground. I’ve been looking for an access point. Usually Marius goes through the tunnels to a sewer connection.”
Judging from the stream of foul-smelling water running down the center of pretty much every street, Otto doubted the sewer extended to this part of the city. He was about to say so when Jet hurried across the street to a half-collapsed building.
“What is this place?” Otto asked.
“Nothing special, but sometimes when a building collapses, it breaks into the tunnels below. The city has been built up throughout the centuries over many levels. You’d be amazed what you can find if you’re not afraid to look.”
“And you’re not afraid to look? Given your position, I would have assumed you grew up far away from places like this.”
“Oh, I did, but that didn’t stop me from being curious. I regularly snuck off the grounds and made my way to some of the rougher neighborhoods. Astaroth must have been watching over me even then as I could have ended up in some serious situations.”
Jet looked around but no one seemed to be paying them much attention. She led Otto around to the rear of the building. A gap had formed where the roof met the ground.
Otto conjured a light and sent it in ahead of them. Not far beyond the entrance a pile of rubble formed a ramp that descended into an even darker hole. Otto sensed no corruption, but then again, they probably had a ways to go to reach the shadow birds.
Once again Jet took the lead, squeezing her shoulders through the gap and starting down the ramp. Otto had to work a bit harder to force his broader shoulders through, but he managed it without dislocating anything. Together they descended into the underworld.
At the bottom of the ramp, they found a tunnel made from two collapsed and crushed buildings. Fascinating, like a second city below the first.
“Do you know where you’re going?” he asked.
“I know which direction we need to go, the trick is finding a tunnel that follows the same path.”
Not filled with confidence, Otto trailed her through the darkness. Above them, the ceiling seemed solid and thankfully none of the vile water leaked through. The trip was nasty enough without having anything dripping on them.
They traveled in silence with only the occasional rat for company. After a few minutes Jet stopped and whispered, “Douse your light.”
Otto frowned but obliged. As soon as he did, a glow became visible ahead of them. “Is that it?”
“No. Where we’re going, there’s no light.”
“Then what is it?”
“Trouble.” Eight figures stepped out of the shadows all around them. The ragged, dirty men all had weapons of the poorest quality. Though they certainly looked sharp enough.
Otto reached for his sword and the ether at the same time.
One of the men grabbed Jet and put his homemade knife to her throat. “I wouldn’t do that, not unless you want your pretty friend dead.”
Otto looked long and hard at Jet and she stared back with pleading eyes. Did he really need her? She would certainly make his task easier. For now he’d play along.
“Very well.” Otto released his grip on his sword and one of the others yanked it out of the baldric. Fine as it was, the blade was the least of his weapons. “Now what?”
“Now we take you to the boss. He’ll decide if we kill you, ransom you, or…” The man holding Jet licked her cheek, drawing evil chuckles from his companions. “Something else.”
When Otto killed these fools, he’d reserve something especially unpleasant for that one. The marauders forced them along the tunnel toward the light Jet had pointed out earlier. Only fifty or so yards further on they emerged into a chamber that looked like it had once been an inn’s common room. There were even four crude tables and a bar made of a board across two barrels. Ten men and three women, their bodies all missing at least a finger and sometimes far more, crowded the area.
In the center of the room, a grotesquely fat bald man covered with tattoos and piercings, his left ear missing, sat on a throne made of what looked like human bones. Corruption swirled around him, similar to Marius, but also different. That had to be the leader. Otto had never imagined a human so horrific looking.
“What have you brought me?” the leader asked. “One’s a tasty snack, the other not so much.”
“Trespassers, boss.” The marauder holding Jet shoved her into the room while another forced Otto over beside her. “We caught them in our tunnel headed this way.”
The man that had taken Otto’s sword hurried over to the leader with it. The fat man touched the hilt and hissed as if burned, confirming Otto’s assumption.
The leader shoved his subordinate aside. “Take the cursed thing away.”
The marauder looked down at Otto’s sword as if believing it truly cursed before tossing it into the rubble that filled the corner of the room.
“Which demon lord do you serve?” Otto asked.
The leader heaved himself up off his throne and stomped over to Otto. “And just how do you know my allegiances?”
“Normal humans don’t get burned by mithril.”
The fat monster threw his head back and laughed. “True. The wretched stuff purifies corruption. And if you can afford a mithr
il blade, you must be rich. That is good. We can always use money. Now, what else do we have?”
The leader turned to Jet and sniffed her hair. “The stench of Astaroth covers you. I hoped to catch Marius, but one of his followers will do until our paths cross.”
“What is a servant of Golmol the Torturer doing here?” Jet asked. “I thought only Astaroth’s followers had interests outside the Land of the Demon Binders.”
“You thought that because we wanted you to.” The leader smiled, revealing a mouth full of teeth filed to needle points. “We snuck in, quietly, and kept watch. Waiting for our chance to seize what you’ve built for our own. Though now it appears you’ve lost what little you had.”
Otto crossed his arms and gathered ether around his body. “What happens now?”
“We’ll find a cage for you. Assuming someone is willing to pay to get you back, you’ll go free. Since I doubt Marius would bother to pay a ransom or even try to rescue an ordinary human, the woman will serve as a canvas. I shall make an offering of her flesh to Golmol.”
The other humans cheered.
When they did, Otto lashed out.
Lightning streaked out in every direction. Men and women were struck down, the metal imbedded in their flesh making a perfect conductor for his magic.
A pair tried to flee out the far end of the chamber. Otto bound them in place and turned his attention to the fat monster. He held his hand out and threads pulled his sword to his grasp.
The leader roared and corruption rushed at Otto.
He slashed the mithril blade through the dark cloud, slicing it in half, and disrupting its power.
Otto slapped the flat of the sword to the man’s face, drawing a pained howl that was part agony and part ecstasy.
“Don’t bother torturing a follower of Golmol.” Jet had a dagger in her hand. “They just get off on it.”
She strode forward. “When you see your master, give him Astaroth’s regards.”
Jet slammed the dagger into the side of the cultist’s head, driving it in up to the hilt. He collapsed and after a final twitch went still. The corruption surrounding him dissipated, lightening the atmosphere a fraction.
The Heart of Alchemy Page 19
