On Blackened Wings

by James E. Wisher

  “Did you kill Fell?” Sheng asked when they stopped in front of her desk.

  “Yes,” Binder said. “He didn’t deserve to continue drawing breath. No one with such hobbies does.”

  “Are you planning something similar with me?” she asked.

  “Assuming you’re willing to swear an oath to the Throne of Chains, then no, I’m not.”

  Sheng scratched a large mole on her chin. “So it’s true. I’d heard someone broke the seal and entered the palace. What are you, some long-lost relative of the emperor? This one says you’re a sorcerer.”

  “I am no sorcerer nor am I an imperial relative. I am the maker of the throne. Mortals know me as the Binder in Chains. You may call me master.”

  She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Just what we need, a lunatic sorcerer who thinks he’s the next emperor. Why don’t you make it easy on yourself and go back to wherever it is you came from?”

  Binder snapped his wings open as far as they’d go, grabbed her desk and hurled it across the room to shatter against the far wall. He loomed over the diminutive merchant lord.

  “Heaven cast me out. Much as I would like to leave this mortal cesspool behind, that option is denied me. Therefore I will make this world as much like Heaven as I can. Now, you can swear the binding oath and help me, or you can join Fell in whatever hell claimed his corrupt soul.”

  The apartment door burst open and the stair guards charged in.

  Sheng raised a hand to stop them. “When would you like me at the palace?”

  “I have a few more stops to make. Why don’t you come by tonight after sunset? You can all take the oath together.”

  “As you command, Master.” That last word nearly choked her, but she got it out.

  Binder nodded once, closed his wings, turned, and marched back the way he’d come. The guards eyed him as he passed, but refrained from doing anything stupid. He couldn’t decide if that pleased or disappointed him.

  When they had left the inn behind and begun the trek to the next merchant lord’s home Binder asked, “Will she betray me?”

  “I wouldn’t discount the possibility. I guarantee you right now runners are on their way to the others. Sheng will weigh the other lords’ decisions then make her own move. I’d say it’s fifty-fifty whether she shows up to make an oath or with every soldier and sorcerer in her employ intent on destroying you.”

  “Does she have a successor?”

  “Sheng has a handful of lieutenants, they all do, but I doubt she has designated one as her heir. That would just make him or her a target for the rest.”

  Binder grunted and turned the corner into an open air market in the process of being set up. He despised the convoluted plotting some humans reveled in. In his perfect world everyone would know their place and do their part.

  “What are the other…”

  Somewhere nearby a sorcerer was drawing power. He eyed the crowd, but it didn’t feel like any of them. Where was it?

  He turned slowly, trying to hone in on it.

  “Master?”

  “Shut up. We’re about to be attacked.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jen had been lucky to find some regular clothes in one of the unused bedrooms of the sanctuary. She swapped her distinctive blue uniform for tan trousers and a green blouse. Best of all she’d found a gray hooded cloak that hid her sword and blond hair. Damien had even been kind enough to get all the dust out of them and repair a few holes. Though from the annoyed look on his face as he did it, he would have preferred to go with her.

  She totally understood that sentiment. St. Clouds were good at a lot of things, but sitting on their hands and waiting wasn’t one of them. However, they excelled at following orders and the archmage was adamant that he stay with Uncle Andy. If anyone could keep the king safe, Damien could.

  That had been four hours ago and now she and Al Elan were seated in a cedar grove two miles out from the capital, far enough that his draconic soul force wouldn’t attract attention, or so they hoped.

  Al Elan’s eyes were closed and he appeared unnaturally still. It was a weird thing, the way his spirit left his body. Jen would have feared she couldn’t find her way back, but the trick seemed as natural as breathing to him.

  For half an hour she watched over his unmoving form while he scouted the capital. Jen hoped Karrie and the queen were okay. If anything happened to them she didn’t want to have to tell Uncle Andy. That sort of news could break a man, even one as strong as the king.

  At last Al Elan’s eyes opened. “I found them. The queen and princess are unharmed and being held under guard in the royal apartment just as you guessed. I can’t imagine how you’ll get to them. There were at least four guard positions between the main entrance and the apartment.”

  “What sort of guards?” Jen asked.

  “Every kind. Regular soldiers, knights, and priests all mingled together. The pair directly outside the door are both priests, forgive me, sorcerers. I must get used to the way you speak here.”

  Jen grimaced, but wasn’t really surprised. Naturally they’d have sorcerers watching over their most valuable hostages. The only chance she’d have was if she reached the apartment undetected and used god speed to take out the sorcerers.

  “Are you still going through with the mission?” Al Elan asked.

  “Yes.” Lousy prospects or not, Jen wasn’t going back and telling Uncle Andy she didn’t even try. “Wish me luck.”

  “I do, as you’ll certainly need it. Remember the signals. Guiding you past the street patrols should be simple. After that…” He shrugged.

  Jen nodded and set out for the city. She wouldn’t use her soul force unless it was absolutely necessary, and that meant no iron skin. She felt almost naked without the defensive ability active, but if she wanted to pass for a regular citizen she had no choice.

  She’d barely left the cedar grove when she felt a chill touch on her arm. His ghostly presence made her feel better. Which didn’t make any sense. After all, he couldn’t do more than give someone a start. Maybe it was just better than being totally on her own.

  Jen wished she’d had time to find her squad when she was scouting the army camp. They had to be as worried about her as she was about them. They’d been on patrol when everything went crazy, so hopefully they’d avoided capture. Edward didn’t give himself much credit, but he was a good leader. He’d get them through in one piece. And if he didn’t, she’d find him and kick his ass.

  The two-mile hike to the capital passed quickly on the warm, sunny day. Under different circumstances she would have relished an hour or two just walking around and enjoying nature. As it was she needed to get her mind focused. The city walls waited just ahead.

  Despite the hostile takeover, the lines of people coming and going were as long as ever. A quartet of soldiers gave each person a quick look and motioned them through. Jen didn’t recognize any of the guards, but she had to assume they were Binder worshippers. The new rulers of the city wouldn’t put people they didn’t trust in charge of the main gate.

  Jen fell in behind a skinny merchant leading an overburdened donkey. His packages were tightly wrapped in oilskin. From the shapes and precautions he’d taken, she guessed he was a weapons merchant.

  The line inched forward. There had to be fifty people ahead of her, a mixture of farmers, merchants, and families. The crowd should work to Jen’s advantage. With this many people looking to enter they couldn’t spend too much time on any one visitor.

  Matters progressed and after half an hour Jen’s turn came.

  “Purpose of your visit?” the left-hand guard asked with no enthusiasm.

  “I’m visiting my aunt and cousin.”

  “Name?”

  “Marie Thorn,” Jen said off the top of her head.

  The guard finally looked at her, but not too close. “Any relationship to the archmage?”

  Jen flashed her best smile. “No, sir. We spell our name with an E at the end. I asked my mother
about it once and she thought maybe a long time ago the two families were related, but somehow we branched away from each other, probably back in the Old Empire. My mother has always been interested in our family history. Why, I could go on for hours—”

  “That’s fine. Next!”

  The other guards motioned her through and Jen forced herself not to smile. Seemed like she had a better knack for bullshit than she thought.

  Once she moved away from the gate she relaxed a fraction. The city was bustling as always, so blending in with the crowds posed no problem. She paused at the occasional shop just to keep up appearances. Unlike some of the women Jen knew, she despised shopping.

  At her leisurely pace it took nearly an hour to get within sight of the castle. Even from a distance she could tell the wall guards had been doubled. The main gate had a full squad of warlords on duty. She squinted and used the tiniest bit of soul force to enhance her vision.

  The guards seemed to leap closer. The moment she got a clear look at the commander she frowned. Tarik and his team had served in the palace for years, since Jen was a little girl visiting with her father. She never would have pegged him for a traitor. She didn’t figure Nathanial as one either, so it just went to show you couldn’t count on anything anymore.

  She crossed the street to a small park three blocks from the castle and found an empty bench. There was no chance of her gaining entrance in daylight. Infiltrating the grounds would be hard enough at night.

  Jen settled on the warm stone bench and leaned back, letting the sun hit her face. A few hours of pretending to be a normal visitor taking in the capital might be a fun change of pace, not that she could really enjoy herself.

  Barely fifteen minutes had passed when a cold poke to the back snapped her out of her daydream. She spun to see a squad of soldiers pointing her way and spreading out to encircle her.

  Did they know who she was or was this a routine bit of questioning? If she ran it would give up the game, but if they knew it was her and she let them close her in the game was up anyway.

  She tensed, uncertain which was the correct move.

  A chill presence tugged on her arm, urging her away from the guards. She needed no more prompting.

  Jen ran.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Qang was close to full-blown panic, but Binder didn’t have time to reassure him. The sorcerers’ power grew by the instant.

  “Find cover.” Binder lashed his wings and rocketed into the sky. Hopefully he could keep the battle airborne and avoid hurting any of the people shopping in the market.

  The first lance of soul force slammed into his shield twenty feet from the ground. He shrugged it off. If the enemy sorcerers couldn’t do any better than that, this fight was already over.

  More blasts came streaking in. Some hit, some missed, but none so much as cracked his shield. Out of the corner of his eye, Binder spotted one of the sorcerers taking to the air after him. Three more joined the first a second later.

  Four against one. This wouldn’t take long.

  Below them the people were fleeing in every direction as stray blasts hammered the earth.

  A conjured chain lashed out, piercing the nearest sorcerer through the chest before spinning to slice her in half.

  Binder sensed the others’ fear. To their credit they didn’t slow their attacks, not that it made any difference. The mortals were too weak to harm him.

  Time to end this.

  Binder prepared to conjure more chains. His power grew, but just before he was ready to strike, a pain lanced into his brain.

  He clasped a hand to his head and spiraled down to the ground, crashing through one of the stalls and crushing a display of melons. Moaning, Binder forced himself up. One of his knights had fallen. How, he would find out how later.

  The surviving sorcerers surrounded him and poured more soul force into their attacks. His fall had given them confidence.

  Given them hope of victory.

  He snapped his wings tight around his body, cutting off the annoying energy streams.

  It was time to teach these mortals their proper place. Divine soul force gathered between his wings and body. When he had more than enough Binder snapped his wings open, releasing a wave of destruction in every direction.

  The sorcerers were reduced to atoms along with the market stalls. When the last of the energy had dissipated, nothing remained in the plaza but dust.

  “Master?” Qang peeked out from the doorway of a building abutting the market. “Are you well?”

  “Well enough. Did you recognize any of those sorcerers?”

  Qang fully emerged from the building and eased his way over. “No, but none of the merchant lords would be stupid enough to send their own people on a job like this. Most likely they were mercenaries hired specifically for the job. For a few coins they probably would have sold out whoever hired them, but I’m afraid questioning isn’t an option now.”

  “Perhaps not.”

  Binder sensed many eyes on them, one pair focused with special interest. Quick as thought a chain appeared out of nowhere and bent around the side of a two-story shop east of the market. When he pulled it back a young woman in a ragged green dress was wrapped in its coils.

  She struggled with all her might, but like a rat in a python’s coils, she had no hope of escape. Binder willed the chain to stop when she was a couple feet away. Her skin was flawless and smooth under a coat of dirt. Lustrous black hair framed a heart-shaped face. She had come from wealth at some point. Now she was just another urchin.

  “Which of them do you work for?” Binder asked.

  “I don’t work for anybody. Help!” She screamed and tried to wriggle from his chains.

  “Please, don’t waste both our time. Just tell me who hired the sorcerers to kill me and I’ll let you go none the worse for our conversation. Make me ask a third time…” At his psychic command the chains tightened, drawing a gasp from the girl.

  She glared at him with hard green eyes. “Jet hired me to watch the market and report back if anything interesting happened. I knew nothing about the sorcerers.”

  Binder nodded, pleased she hadn’t lied yet no more enlightened about who tried to kill him. He turned to Qang. “Does the name Jet mean anything to you?”

  “Sure, she’s Wei Song’s fixer. Anytime there’s a problem, Jet makes it disappear. Guess Wei considers you a problem.”

  “I certainly plan to be one now. Where does Wei Song live?”

  “Northern district. I was planning on seeing him last.”

  “He just moved up the list,” Binder said.

  “That might be a problem.” Qang straightened his mustache. “If he sicced Jet on you, Wei will have gone into hiding until things are settled. If you want Wei, you need Jet.”

  Qang gave their prisoner a meaningful look.

  “Where were you to meet Jet?” Binder asked.

  “Like I’d tell,” the girl said. “Jet’s crazy. You talk out of turn and she’ll kill you.”

  Binder made the chain tighten so she couldn’t draw breath. “I assure you, Jet is the least of your problems and asphyxiation is an awful way to die.”

  She lasted a full minute before gasping, “Red Hood’s. I’m supposed to meet Jet at Red Hood’s Tavern at noon.”

  Binder loosened the chains and she sucked in a deep breath. “Do you know the way to Red Hood’s?”

  “Sure,” Qang said. “Everybody knows Renton Hood. From the slums to the mansions he’s famous.”

  Qang must have noticed Binder’s lack of understanding. “Renton came to the capital fifteen years ago from the far north. He’s got an ax with him so big most men can barely lift it, yet he swings the thing like it’s made of air. Hires himself out as a freelance executioner. He can take a head clean or make a real mess of it, whatever the client wants. People come from all over to watch his executions, especially the messy ones. His hood always ended up covered in blood, hence the name. He retired three years ago and opened the ta
vern with his earnings. Renton only works two or three times a year now and it’s always an event.”

  “Is he allied with Wei?” Binder asked.

  “Nah, Renton’s only allied with Renton. He might kill someone for Wei, but he won’t fight for him.”

  Binder nodded. “Fair enough. Lead on.”

  “Hey!” the prisoner said. “What about me? I told you what I knew.”

  “So you did,” Binder said. “Unfortunately, I fear you might run straight to Jet and warn her I’m on her trail. I’m afraid you’re going to have to stay with us a while longer.”

  “That wasn’t the deal. You said you’d—”

  A soul force gag appeared over her mouth.

  “That’s a useful trick,” Qang said. “Maybe you could teach me how to do that to my wife.”

  “Red Hood’s, now.” Binder intended to deal with these nuisances once and for all. If he had to kill them all, so be it. He’d deal with the fallout later.

  Chapter Twenty

  Marie-Bell looked down at the forest rushing by on their right. The paladins had been flying since before first light, passing into the Fire King’s land around dawn. They found a well-maintained road a little while after that and had been following it ever since. The ocean appeared on their left a couple hours ago, confirming that they’d found the coast road.

  The bracing salt tang reminded Marie-Bell of Port Valcane. She hadn’t been to the city since the day Damien was captured last year; too many bad memories. She hoped everyone was okay back in the kingdom. After her conversation with Al Elan last night, Marie-Bell’s concern was through the roof.

  No, she couldn’t go off worrying again. Everyone would be fine and even if they weren’t, she couldn’t do anything to help them from here. Her mission lay in front of her, not behind.

  Speaking of behind her, she sensed a pair of paladins lagging. Marie-Bell glanced back. A man and a woman, she didn’t know either of them, had fallen a good hundred yards back. They both had less than a quarter of their soul force remaining.