The Unbound Queen

by M. J. Scott

  "I remember," she said suddenly. "It was this." She tugged the stick away from Tok and drew the raven in the dirt.

  "The raven master?" Imogene said. Then she smiled. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Chloe practically grew up in the Academe. Henri was a venable before he became the maistre. And she was always fond of the ravens. I suspect she would have bonded one if she hadn't..." she trailed off as though she didn't want to remember something unpleasant. "All right. Cameron, do you remember seeing this symbol?"

  Cameron stared down at the symbol. "Maybe. I'm not sure."

  "Well, it is worth an attempt if it lands us somewhere less public than other portals you know," Imogene said. "With the sanctii here, we should be able to forge a link easily enough."

  Sophie had forgotten that part. That they would need to connect the path of the portal. "Is that safe?"

  Imogene nodded at Alec. "If what he says is true and the temple haven't noticed the portal being linked to other places in the past, then it should be safe enough. It's a risk we have to take if Chloe's portal is the safest option."

  "They have Chloe though. They may have searched her house. Found the portal," Cameron said.

  Imogene shrugged one of her fluid Illvyan shrugs. "We cannot control every factor. We have to make some choices blind. You knew that when you chose stealth over—" She paused and glanced sideways at Alec. "Over a more direct approach," she continued diplomatically. "You need to decide which path to take, and then we will fetch the others.

  Cameron stared at the stained and dusty portal door doubtfully, and then turned back to Alec. "Exactly when was the last time that you used this?" The portal looked like it had been undisturbed for a very long time.

  "A few years ago," Alec said. He reached out and poked the door cautiously. "It worked then."

  "Forgive me if I don't find that comforting." Cameron ignored the doubt in his gut and held out a hand. "Give me the key. You should go back to the house."

  It was hard to see his brother's expression in the dim light of the single lantern they'd risked using. They'd waited until full dark to bring everyone down from Alec's house to the village and slip them inside the disused temple. Rats had squeaked and rustled in the debris lining the floor when they'd entered, but there'd been no other sounds of protest from the village. Not even a barking dog. Either the goddess was protecting them or Jean-Paul's illusioners were very skilled indeed.

  He could, however, see when Alec shook his head. "I'm not leaving until I've seen you safely gone. You'll need my help if you have to find an alternative. And besides, someone has to cleanse the portal and lock up after you."

  Alec had always been the most stubborn of his brothers, a trait he'd inherited from their father, though he lacked the erl's arrogance that had, at times, turned the tendency from obstinacy to delusional pig-headedness. Still, Cameron knew that trying to convince Alec to leave would take longer than actually just getting on with things.

  "If you insist. But make haste once we're through. Lucy and the children need you." It was a low blow, but he needed to know that Alec would be safe. He and Sophie had caused enough trouble without bringing still more down on their families.

  He gritted his teeth against the sudden thought that the trouble to date had been nothing compared to what might befall all of them if this mission to free Eloisa failed. But if it did, he and Sophie would probably be dead and free from seeing what came next. A grim comfort, perhaps. Better not to contemplate failure as an option at all. He flexed his fingers. "The key, brother."

  Alec passed it over, along with a small bottle of oil. Cameron dripped oil over the key and then fitted it into the lock. It took some force and several more applications of oil before the tumblers yielded and clicked open. The portal door swung inward, letting out a waft of stale-smelling air. Cameron fanned it away from his face. Apparently, Alec had been telling the truth about not using the portal recently. Which was a relief. Smuggling iska was a dangerous game, and Alec should know better. The Mackenzie estates didn't need the money.

  He raised the lantern and peered into the room beyond the door. It wasn't large, but it wasn't tiny either. He gauged that they could perhaps fit six or seven people inside at a time. He amended that estimation when he recalled the size of the portal at Chloe's. Half as big, at best. Only two or three of them would be able to travel at once. So he, Sophie and, perhaps, Imogene first. That would give them another sanctii as backup. Provided they could link the portals and make this work at all.

  The portal room was strewn with cobwebs and layered with dust, but that was a good sign. No footsteps had disturbed the dust. Perhaps Alec was right, and the temple had forgotten its existence. Which should mean that the Red Guard were also unaware of it. Still, he couldn't be sure. Slowly, he waved his free hand from side to side, ready to leap back if the motion tripped any wards or other traps.

  Nothing.

  All right. He raised the lantern higher and studied the symbols arrayed around the portal stone. He recognized the one for the Kingswell temple and what he thought was the Innersleigh temple. The others, he had to assume were also for temples elsewhere in the country. But there was a blank space right above the stone, where another symbol could be written.

  That was where they'd scribe the symbol Sophie remembered, and pray to the goddess that her memory was correct.

  And that the portal still worked. He could sense the ley line that ran beneath the temple. It wasn't particularly strong but obviously strong enough. If there was a symbol for the Kingswell temple, there was no reason why they couldn't reach Chloe's house as long as the portal itself was still functional.

  "Sophie," he called softly. She appeared in the doorway as though she'd been waiting for him to speak her name. In the lamplight her skin was pale gold and her hair, still braided to hide the betraying dark streaks was a deep shade of red. She'd donned a simple dark blue dress; one Lucy had produced after proclaiming the Illvyan dress Sophie had brought with her would stand out in the capital. Lucy had given a dress to Imogene too. The brown wool didn't particularly suit the duquesse, but Imogene had said nothing but "thank you" and changed.

  He drank Sophie in for a moment, aware that once they set foot in Kingswell anything could happen. But she was already moving toward him. "What is it?" she asked.

  "Can you tell if the portal is working?" He felt a faint pull from the portal stone, though it wasn't nearly as strong as the portals he was used to. But he didn't trust his judgment. Most of his day had been taken up planning with Jean-Paul and then snatching a few hours with his brother and Lucy. He hadn't slept. His magic was likely still drained from the journey from Illvya. Besides, earth witches were the ones who tended portals in Anglion. Imogene had said there were other ways to fuel them, but he trusted Sophie's assessment most.

  "I know the theory," she said. "I can try."

  Sophie pressed her hand against the portal stone and then closed her eyes, leaning in as though listening to it. The bond stirred, not with the usual flare of her power but something more cautious and controlled, sinking into the stone slowly. Then it seemed to almost...fade. Sophie opened her eyes.

  "There's a connection. I can see if I can strengthen it before Imogene tries to make the new link," she said. "Or we can try it as is."

  "What do you think is best?"

  "Someone might notice if I try to strengthen it. If they happened to be working on one of the portals that this is connected to."

  The likelihood seemed low, given the lateness of the hour. But then again, the temple at Kingswell never actually closed, and he had no idea how often the devouts and priors and dominas used the portal there. "Do you think it will work if you don't?"

  "It should. Everyone here is a strong mage. They have power to make the connections. Perhaps the sanctii can help. We should ask Imogene. She's the one who has to make the link."

  Cameron nodded and called the du Laqs. There was a quick whispered conversation that resulted in Imogene agreeing
with Sophie. So, a plan. All that remained was to make the connection.

  They had decided to let Imogene scribe the symbol and attempt to join the portals with Ikarus assisting. She'd practiced with the other Academe mages until they'd all agreed that the drawing was as close to the Master of Raven's sigil as any of them could remember.

  It didn't take her long now. With Ikarus at her side, she inked the symbol into the blank space and then cupped her hands over it. Magic flared around her, then faded as she stepped back.

  They all stared at the black mark now limned with icy edges that glittered faintly in the darkness. Alec would clean it off after they left. If anyone came looking, they wouldn't be able to follow.

  "No way to find out other than to try it," Jean-Paul said eventually. "Imogene and I can go first if you prefer."

  Sophie shook her head. "No. It should be us. You don’t know what Chloe's portal looks like. Give us five minutes. If we don't return, then follow."

  She took Cameron's hand and squeezed it. "We should say goodbye to Alec."

  He squeezed back, his throat dry. But no, he couldn't afford to let himself think that this could be the last time he would see his brother. Rather it was his chance to make sure Alec would be safe. Be free to go on with his life once more. Turning on his heel, he left the portal.

  "Well?" Alex asked.

  "We think it will work," Cameron said. "So, we will begin." He stepped closer, pulled his brother into an embrace. "Thank you," he whispered. "Stay safe."

  "Heed your own advice, little brother," Alex said. "You may be a reckless idiot, but I am fond of you. And your wife."

  "Me too," Cameron said, and Alec laughed quietly and let go of him to turn and kiss Sophie's cheek. Then he stepped back into the shadows.

  Cameron took Sophie's hand. "All right, wife. Time for us to return to the scene of the crime."

  Chapter 22

  There was the usual stomach-wrenching sensation and then Sophie's foot hit a different floor. Ahead of her, Cameron was already lifting the lantern to examine the room. It was small and nondescript, but familiar. She closed her eyes a moment, breathing hard against the nausea, less strong than before but still present.

  "There, that's Chloe's symbol," Cameron said.

  She opened her eyes to find him pointing to a space above the portal stone, a grin spreading over his face.

  "We're in the right place." He stepped forward, hand stretching toward the door.

  "We should check for wards," Sophia said urgently. "Elarus can check if there's anyone in the rooms above."

  Cameron pulled his hand back. "You're right. Sorry." He studied the door. "Do you see anything?"

  She didn't but wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. Chloe de Montesse was a cautious woman beneath her bold front. Sophie would have expected her to ward her escape route. Though, perhaps Chloe had decided it would be safer to have nothing that could draw attention to the fact that she had a private portal by not warding it at all. "I think it's clear." She paused a moment, to ask Elarus if she had found anything upstairs.

  [Empty,] came the response.

  "No one is here."

  "Then we should move out into the basement," Cameron said. "We can wait for the others there, and then we'll make our plan. We don't have time to waste if we want to move tonight."

  She knew that. But heard the nervousness beneath his words, so she put her hand on the door handle and pushed it gently open. She stood listening for a moment, but no sound came from above. No sound from outside either. Chloe's store and the apartment above it, where she lived were in Dockside. A busy part of the city, but more during the day, at least in the slightly more respectable part where Chloe lived.

  The taverns and brothels and gaming halls nested deeper back in the warren of streets that wove around warehouses and business and houses. Right now that worked in their favor. But every minute that passed was time lost. The docks came to life early. Before the first hints of sunrise. They needed to make their attempt in the next few hours, to leave a window for those who could to return safely if something went wrong.

  She and Cameron moved into the basement, and she began to count seconds off in her head as he prowled around. Tok flew up to the rafters and started preening. Cameron lifted the lantern and studied the ceiling above the bird's head. There was a trapdoor down to the basement; they'd used it the night they'd fled to Illvya. But the lantern also revealed a set of stairs in the far corner.

  "The trapdoor's bolted from this side," Cameron whispered after he lowered the lantern. "I'll check the stairs."

  Before Cameron returned, a soft thump came from inside the portal room, followed by a discomforted grunt.

  "Sophie?" Imogene called.

  "Out here," she said softly.

  Imogene, Jean-Paul, and Michel filed out of the portal room, looking none the worse for wear. Jean-Paul and Michel both lit the small lanterns they carried, and Imogene pulled a tiny earth stone from the pocket of her dress, holding it in her palm as she looked around at the boxes and barrels piled against the stone walls.

  "This is Chloe's house?" she asked.

  "It's mostly her store," Sophie said. "But she lives above it."

  "And she is not here?" Imogene's voice held a note of hope beneath the question.

  "Elarus says it's empty," Sophie said. "If Chloe's been released, then she hasn't returned."

  Imogene's lips tightened, but she didn't ask anything else. It took nearly half an hour for all of the Illvyans to traverse the portal, and by the time everyone was gathered in the basement, it was crowded.

  Jean-Paul consulted his pocket watch. "It grows late. We should begin." He turned to Cameron. "Have you decided where the hostages are likely to be?"

  Cameron reached into his jacket for the map he'd drawn of the city while they'd waited at Alec's. It wasn't perfect, but his knowledge of the city—hard-won through his years of patrolling as a junior guardsman—had provided them with more than enough detail. "There are still three main possibilities," he said. "The palace has a building for prisoners. Or there's the main city prison. Or the temple, of course."

  Alec hadn't been able to provide them with any clues. Liam's letters hadn't given him any details of where Jeanne and James were being held.

  "Or they could be in one of the houses the queen owns," Sophie said. "If she thinks we might try something, then she might put them somewhere less obvious."

  "How do we decide?" Jean-Paul asked.

  "I could try scrying. Or one of the others," Sophie said, waving her hand at the assembled mages.

  "You have the best chance, you know the people you are looking for," Imogene said. Then she looked up at the ceiling. "Though, if I had something of Chloe's, I could send Ikarus to search for her. He could get a sense of her if he has something she uses regularly. He knew her back in Lumia."

  "No guarantee she'll be in the same building as the others," Jean-Paul said.

  "No," Imogene agreed. "So, we let Sophie scry, and then we send Ikarus to look for Chloe, and he can tell us where she is. Then we will see if that matches up with anything Sophie sees." She glanced around the room, then pointed at several glass bottles stacked on one of the shelves. "Look, wine. Sophie can use that. We need something to put it in."

  "I have that." One of the water mages stepped forward, holding out a small silver bowl.

  Sophie took it and sank to the floor, sitting cross-legged with the bowl in front of her. Imogene grabbed one of the bottles and extracted the cork with a practiced flick of her wrist. She offered it to Sophie, who filled the bowl nervously.

  It was difficult to focus with an audience, but she tried to clear her mind of anything but the thought of her parents. The wine shimmered and quivered, but no image formed. She reached for the ley line, feeling the hum of the familiar strength of it as it yielded its power to her. Another sign that she was home. Not that it was truly home until her parents were free.

  The longing to see them and hear thei
r voices bloomed deep within her chest, so fierce it almost made her gasp. But before she could, the wine shimmered again, and the vision rolled across her. She saw her mother, not crying as she had been in the visions of Eloisa, but sitting on a small wooden chair, by a fireplace, staring into the flames. She looked drawn but otherwise unharmed.

  Sophie resisted the urge to try and reach for her and instead tried to focus on the room, looking for any clue as to its location. The walls were pale but papered and the chair, though simple, was elegant in its lines. Not the kind of chair you would expect to find in a jail. Then, on the fireplace mantel she saw the carvings and she knew. She fought her way free of the vision, pushing the bowl away hard, heedless of the wine spilling onto the floorboards.

  "I think they're at Summer's Light," Sophie said.

  "What is that?" Jean-Paul asked.

  "One of the houses in the palace grounds where important guests sometimes stay. When Eloisa first came back to court after Prince Eric died, when I became one of her ladies, her rooms were being refurbished and she hated the smell of the fresh paint. We used to escape to Summer's Light. It has a view down to the harbor and catches the breezes on warm days. The fireplaces all have different carvings of sea creatures above them. I saw my mother sitting by one of them." She looked at Cameron. "You know it, don't you?"

  He nodded slowly. "Yes, that time was before I joined her personal detail, but they make us memorize all the palace buildings."

  "Then you could draw a map?" Jean-Paul asked. "Is there a portal nearby?"

  "No portals in palace buildings," Cameron said. "But Summer's Light is way back in the grounds. You should be able to make your way there from the portal in the western end of the garden. Or the one outside the palace wall in Emmerhill. That may be safer. I know the guard patrol patterns, so you should be able to avoid them." He drew Jean-Paul away, the two of them leaning over a barrel while Cameron began to draw a map.