The Mortal Blade: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Magelands Eternal Siege Book 1)

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘I deliberately refrain from knowing anything about its location, so it cannot be read out of my head by any God-Child or demigod in the City; it’s safer that way. But, and this is important, I’m not saying no. There may be a way to let you borrow it, under supervision.’

  ‘You mean Naxor takes this someone home?’

  ‘Precisely, then he can return here. With it.’

  ‘Alright, I’ll agree to that. As long as I can go too, to make sure he does it right.’

  ‘You don’t trust my son?

  ‘No.’

  ‘Can this wait?’ said Aila. ‘We need to leave the palace before the Blades arrive.’

  Khora walked to the door, and opened it to the small crowd of staff and the handful of Reaper militia.

  ‘Thank you for gathering,’ she said to them; ‘I’ll keep this brief. We are under attack. All non-military personnel, I am ordering you to flee into the fog, immediately. Militia, you will assist them.’

  Several of the servants and staff cried out.

  ‘Guards,’ said Khora, ‘escort them all out, there is no time to waste.’

  ‘What about us?’ said Aila, as the staff were pushed out of the hallway by the militia. ‘Where do we go?’

  Khora glanced at her. ‘I called for a ship to be prepared as soon as I noticed the Tarans had gone.’

  ‘A ship? Are we going to Port Sanders?’

  ‘That was the plan. You could then enter the Circuit to rally resistance to the duke, I could do the same from Sander territory, and in that way we could cut him off from the Bulwark. However, I anticipated any Blade invasion coming from overland, rather than by sea, and the harbour no longer looks like a safe option.’

  ‘Why don’t we take a carriage?’ said Corthie.

  ‘Unfortunately, the Tarans requisitioned every carriage and wagon to transport their militia back to Roser territory.’

  ‘Then we’ll walk,’ said Aila. ‘Remember, I was born and brought up here; there are secret ways through this palace that no one else would know, not even Salvor.’

  ‘Speaking of my son; where is he?’ said Khora, her eyes tight. ‘I’m not sure we can wait much longer for him.’

  One of the militia burst back in through the door. ‘Blades are landing at the harbour, ma’am, thousands of them!’

  ‘Did the staff get away?’

  ‘Most of them, ma’am; some have been arrested.’

  Khora gazed at the young soldier. ‘When they come, do not resist. Lay down your arms and surrender to the Blades. There is no need for any bloodshed. Now, go.’ She turned to Aila. ‘Time to use your local knowledge, my niece. Lead on.’

  ‘And Salvor?’

  ‘He has his orders.’

  ‘I’ll need a weapon if he’s not returning,’ said Corthie glancing around the hallway. He went back into the large chamber and walked to the hearth, where Aila saw him pick up a heavy, iron poker.

  ‘This will do for now,’ he said, returning to the hallway.

  Aila nodded. ‘Follow me.’ She led Corthie and Khora down a passageway, and entered a servant’s area through a door. She paused for a moment, scanning the walls. ‘This used to be, long ago, my brother Irno’s quarters. As my father’s eldest child, he always got the biggest rooms, but he used to let me play here when I was a girl.’ She spotted the stone in the wall she had been looking for. ‘Ah, here we are.’

  She crouched down and tried to shift the stone, but it was stuck solid. She glanced at Corthie. ‘I might need a little of your brute strength.’

  Corthie knelt by her. ‘Who are you calling a brute?’

  She smiled at him. ‘You. Now, see if you can shift that stone, brute.’

  He grabbed it, his large hands grasping it easily, then wrenched it from the wall in a cloud of dust, leaving a hole in the wall. ‘Like that?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she laughed. ‘That’ll do.’

  She put her hand into the gap in the wall and found the lever. She pulled it, and there was creaking noise as a hatch a few yards along opened an inch. Corthie pushed the stone back into place, then they went to the hatch. The hinges had long rusted, but the passageway beyond looked undisturbed. She pushed the hatch open.

  ‘I’ll go first,’ she said, ‘then Khora, and Corthie defends the rear, yeah?’

  ‘Wait a moment,’ said Khora, ‘I think I hear my son’s voice.’

  They crept back to the doorway, and peered through the crack. Lord Salvor was visible in the hall, but he was surrounded by Blades, and had his hands raised. A Blade officer ordered him to his knees, and the demigod complied.

  ‘I surrender,’ he said. ‘I am unarmed.’

  ‘Where’s your mother?’ growled the officer.

  ‘The High Guardian of the City has already fled the palace,’ said Salvor. ‘As Governor of Pella, I alone remained. May I speak to your commanding officer?’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure he’ll want to speak to you.’ He gestured to the other Blades. ‘Take him away, and search the palace. If Khora’s here, I want her found, dead or alive.’

  Salvor was hauled up by two burly soldiers and escorted out.

  ‘Coward,’ whispered Aila.

  Khora shot her a look of anger. ‘He is doing exactly as I instructed him. Tell me, what good would his death bring?’

  Corthie glanced at the hatch. ‘Time to go.’

  They hurried back to the secret passageway and entered, squeezing through the low hatch and emerging into the musty corridor. Corthie closed the hatch behind them, and they were plunged into darkness. A moment later, boots echoed along the hallway, and the three fugitives remained silent, listening to the sound through the hatch. When the noise passed, Aila reached out with her hand and found Khora.

  ‘We should have brought a lamp,’ whispered the princess. ‘I can see nothing.’

  ‘I can see fine,’ said Corthie. ‘I’ll lead.’

  Aila felt him move past her. He took her hand and placed it onto his belt.

  ‘Alright,’ he said, keeping his voice low. ‘I’ll move slow; keep a hold onto me.’

  He began moving, and Aila followed, hearing Khora’s breath just to her left in the utter darkness. She shuffled her feet forward, her hand clinging onto Corthie’s belt. After a few minutes, he halted.

  ‘Left or right?’ he whispered.

  ‘Left.’

  They trudged on in the pitch darkness, and Aila began to lose track of time as she concentrated on not stumbling.

  ‘There’s a doorway ahead,’ whispered Corthie; ‘low, like the hatch we entered.’

  ‘That’s it,’ said Aila as they slowed to a halt; ‘it leads out to a small gate by the old clock tower that was walled up centuries ago, but there’s a gap we can climb through, and then we’ll have a short run to get to the streets. I have contacts in Outer Pella.’

  ‘Good girl,’ said Khora.

  ‘Girl? I’m seven hundred and sixty-seven years old.’

  ‘You’ll always be my niece.’

  ‘You’re how old?’ said Corthie, chuckling. ‘Wow.’

  ‘When we get out of here I’m going to slap you.’

  She felt his hand touch her waist. ‘I can think of a few better things to do.’

  ‘Save it,’ said Khora; ‘and when we reach Outer Pella, for my sake, please get your own room.’

  Aila heart lurched at the thought, and she put her hand on Corthie’s. Screw the heartbreak, she thought; she wanted him, and all her worries about his mortality paled next to that simple fact.

  Corthie withdrew his hand, and she heard him crouch by the hatch. He remained silent for a moment, then gently eased it open, letting light flood the corridor. He squeezed through the gap.

  ‘It’s deserted,’ he whispered back through the hatch. ‘Come on.’

  Khora and Aila followed him and emerged into an old gatehouse, long abandoned. Aila went up to a window and peered through the slats in the rotten shutters. Outside in the fog stretched an ornamental garden, and the rear walls of the
palace compound were visible. The old gate was down there, and then beyond, freedom. She went to the door and tried to move it, but beams had been placed across it, and the rusty nails were still in place. She glanced at Corthie and he nodded. He stepped up to the door, and gripped a beam in both hands. Making almost no sound, he pulled it from the door, easing the nails out of the frame. Once all three had been removed, he swung the door open and they peered outside. The gardens lay empty before them.

  ‘Stick to the flowerbeds,’ Aila said, ‘not the gravel path.’

  They crept out of the gatehouse into the swirling fog and stole to the thick beds of earth that lay by the path. The soil was damp and they made no noise as they went. They passed lines of high hedges, checking the way was clear each time, until Aila saw the old gate in the walls. It had been bricked up, but she knew there was a gap a little further along, where she had played centuries before, that no one else who hadn’t been brought up in the palace would know was there.

  ‘This way,’ she whispered. They left the flowerbeds and entered a small enclosure with walls on three sides. She walked over to the bricked-up gate, then began searching for the gap behind the bushes and shrubs.

  ‘So predictable, sister,’ came a voice from behind her. She turned on her heels.

  Kano was standing by the hedges in full battle armour, ranks of Blade soldiers arrayed before him. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t remember how you used to get out of the palace, sister, all those years ago?’ He turned to Corthie. ‘And so predictable, Champion of the Bulwark. I knew the duke’s trust in you was misplaced; I knew you would betray us.’ He gestured to the soldiers. ‘Kill him.’

  Chapter 30

  Broken Promise

  Pella, Auldan, The City – 4th Balian 3419

  A dozen Blades lowered their crossbows and took aim at Corthie. He launched himself forward, hurtling at breakneck speed towards them, the heavy poker in his hand. A bolt flew past his face, and another grazed his shoulder; he rolled and struck a soldier across his kneecap with the iron bar, shattering his leg. Then he was in amongst them, too close for them to loose their crossbows, the poker lashing out, breaking arms and battering off the soldiers’ helmets.

  Kano took a step back, his mouth opening as the champion laid low anyone within range. Corthie grabbed a soldier by the back of his neck, and held him up as a shield, while all around Blades writhed on the ground, clutching their broken limbs and howling in agony. The remaining Blades were starting to pull back, pointing their bows into the scrum of bodies, but unable to take a shot. Corthie laughed as he saw the fear in Kano’s eyes. He threw the human shield at the demigod, then prepared to close in.

  ‘Corthie, run,’ cried Aila.

  He let his battle-vision process what was happening in an instant. Aila and Khora were edging away to the left, where a tall clock tower stood. By the corner of the tower, where it met the outer palace wall, there was a gap in the ancient stonework. In the other direction, dozens more Blades were approaching, attracted by the cries of pain from the injuries he had inflicted. He lunged at Kano, then, as the demigod flinched, he turned away, and sprinted towards the side of the tower. A yard from Aila, he felt a searing pain rip through his right thigh, and his leg gave way. He crashed to the ground, a bolt embedded in the back of his limb. More soldiers aimed, and he pulled himself into a crouch. The gap in the wall was too far; he would never make it, so he threw himself at the wooden door of the clock tower. It flew open and he landed on the stone floor in agony, the bolt wound excruciating. Aila and Khora ran in after him as the air filled with a hail of crossbow bolts. Aila slammed the door shut and secured it with a thick bar, then she rushed to his side.

  ‘Corthie,’ she cried, her eyes wide at the blood.

  ‘Is there another way out of here?’ said Khora, staring at the door they had come through.

  Aila shook her head.

  ‘Then why did you lead us in? We’re trapped.’

  ‘I wasn’t thinking, I saw Corthie get hurt and… I didn’t think.’

  Corthie rolled onto his side, gripped the shaft of the bolt, and ripped it from his thigh. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to use his battle-vision to mask the pain, then felt Aila’s hands touch his leg. She tore a strip of fabric from her dress and wrapped it round the wound, pulling it tight.

  He opened his eyes. ‘Thanks.’ He grabbed the poker and hauled himself up, putting his weight onto his left side.

  ‘You are surrounded,’ came Kano’s voice from outside.

  ‘Aila,’ said Corthie as he leaned against the wall, blood dripping down his leg; ‘I’m going to need you to tell me something.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He’s your brother; can I kill him?’

  She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide. ‘I… but, he…’

  ‘Yes,’ said Khora, ‘by all means; if you can.’

  ‘He’s my brother,’ cried Aila.

  ‘And I’m sorry for that,’ she said, ‘but he is well past any possible redemption.’

  ‘Surrender!’ called out the demigod’s voice from outside the clock tower. ‘You have five minutes, or we’ll burn you out.’

  ‘Kano!’ Aila shouted through the door. ‘Why are you doing this to us?’

  ‘I’m not after you, sister,’ he said. ‘Duke Marcus wants you unharmed.’

  ‘What, so you can hand me over to him? You’d give your sister to that vile beast?’

  Kano was silent for a moment, and Corthie turned to Khora. ‘What does she mean?’

  ‘I swear to you, sister,’ Kano said, ‘that if you walk out of there, alone, I will let you go.’

  ‘He’s lying,’ said Khora.

  ‘Five minutes,’ said Kano, ‘that’s all you have.’

  Boots sounded on the gravel outside, then faded away.

  ‘What did you mean about Marcus?’ said Corthie, as Aila turned from the door.

  ‘The duke has desired Aila for a very long time,’ said Khora. ‘It was Prince Michael’s intention, before he died, to pair the two together.’

  He glanced at Aila. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘What difference would it have made? Until tonight, the duke was confined to the Bulwark, and the chances of him getting his hands on me were nil.’

  ‘But, you’re cousins.’

  Aila shrugged. ‘Yeah, I know. Prince Michael had a lot of crazy ideas; he wanted the demigods to come together to breed a new generation. After Yendra slew him, those ideas died away.’

  ‘They died away because I killed them,’ said Khora. ‘Do you think for a moment that I would have countenanced such foolishness?’

  ‘You tell me,’ said Aila, ‘you were close to Michael, you must have known what he was like, and yet you betrayed Yendra to help him.’

  ‘Aila, you must stop this. I did not betray my sister Yendra.’

  ‘But you did murder your sister Niomi.’

  Khora’s face fell. ‘I killed Princess Niomi, yes, it’s true. If I hadn’t, she would have killed me. But Yendra was different. I know why you think I betrayed her, but you’re wrong.’

  ‘This all happened hundreds of years ago,’ said Corthie, keeping his right leg still as the pain coursed through him. ‘Maybe it’s time to forgive and forget.’

  ‘I’m prepared to forgive,’ said Aila; ‘that’s why I’m here. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget; I’ll always want answers.’

  ‘Answers I can give you, my niece, but right now we need to think our way out of this. The duke wants me dead, that much is clear, and the God-Queen is on his side.’

  ‘Then what about the God-King?’ said Corthie.

  ‘Unfortunately, his Majesty is in the Royal Palace in Ooste.’

  ‘Aye, but you have vision powers, don’t you? My mother, sister and brother have them too, and any of them could easily vision a few miles to Ooste. You’re a God-Child, surely your powers aren’t any less than my idiot brother’s?’

  Khora and Aila glanced a
t each other.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Corthie, shaking his head. ‘That look told me a lot. Is there something wrong with your powers?’

  Khora said nothing.

  ‘Alright, then there’s something wrong in Ooste, aye? There’s something wrong with the God-King? Has he already taken the Quadrant and fled the City? I don’t think anything would surprise me any more. So, we’re on our own?’

  ‘We are, yes.’

  ‘On our own, in a building with one exit that’s about to be set on fire. Hmm.’

  Khora frowned. ‘Are you thinking of a plan?’

  ‘A plan?’ Corthie laughed. ‘There’s no plan going to get us out of this. Right, here’s the best I can come up with. We wait until the flames take hold, then I’ll burst outside and charge the Blades. That way you two might have a chance to escape. Not much of a chance, but it’s better than sitting here and burning to death.’

  ‘No way,’ said Aila. ‘You’re already wounded.’

  ‘Exactly. I can’t run; I would just slow you down.’ He shook his head. ‘Blackrose is not going to be happy about this.’

  ‘Screw Blackrose,’ cried Aila, ‘I’m not happy about it. I don’t want a dead hero, Corthie.’

  ‘Alright, you think of a plan.’

  The gravel crunched outside. ‘Time’s up. Aila, I ask you again, as my sister, listen to me. You don’t have to die today. I have a hundred Blades out here with me; not one of you would last a step before we cut you down. And the champion, he’s injured isn’t he? I saw it; a nasty blow to the thigh. He fought well, I admit it, but he won’t be able to protect you or Princess Khora any longer. He’s finished, Aila, and like a wounded dog, all that remains is to put him out of his misery.’

  ‘Then come in here and try it,’ Corthie yelled; ‘there’s somewhere I want to ram this poker.’

  ‘I’m going to spit on your body, champion,’ Kano said, ‘then feed it to my dogs. Your friend Tanner, I will put in the Rats, while I think Quill would do well in my personal harem.’

  ‘You shame no one but yourself,’ said Corthie. ‘I hope the Blades outside heard every word you just said. What a great and noble man you are. Fancy a fight? I could take you, wound or no wound.’