Blade Singer

by Martha Wells

  Moving slowly, Manny climbed onto the bed of the wagon and slipped under the tarp. "Are you all right?" Adriana whispered immediately.

  He crawled up to where she was crouched just behind the wagon bench. "Yeah. We need to go." He could see Etienne and Gaudulfus jabbing fingers at each other as they continued to argue.

  Adriana reached up to gently tug on one of the reins, just enough to make the harness jingle. One of the horses snorted and stamped restlessly.

  In the middle of the argument, Etienne suddenly flung his arms wide to Gaudulfus. "But what does any of this matter? Always have you been as a brother to me."

  The dwarf followed suit and gave Etienne an enthusiastic bear hug, causing the elf to grunt. "Aye! Surely our mothers were sisters." He kissed Etienne's cheek. "Or at the very least, close second cousins." He released Etienne and slapped him on the back. "Shall we, brother?"

  "Aye," said Etienne, rolling his shoulder. "Let us complete our worthy quest."

  They climbed unsteadily onto the wagon bench and urged the horses into motion, heading away from the tavern.

  Gaudulfus reeled on the bench, leaning over the bed, and whispered, "Wait until we're out of the quarter."

  They drove more quickly as Etienne retraced their route out of the Phantom Quarter. They turned onto a street where the buildings were less shabby and rundown, and the torches and the candlelit windows seemed brighter. "We're well out of there now," Etienne said.

  Gaudulfus lifted the tarp a little. "You weren't in there very long. Did you find anything, lad?"

  Manny was about to burst with the news. "They're going to do something to the king. Tomorrow night!"

  "What?" Etienne jerked the reins and the horses danced in protest.

  Gaudulfus muttered a curse. "That they would dare! It's madness!"

  Adriana gripped Manny's arm, just as startled as Etienne and Gaudulfus. "Are you certain?"

  "I'm positive," he told her. "At least that's what I heard. Lothair was there, talking to two others."

  Etienne worked the reins, easing the horses to a halt. He twisted around on the bench to face Manny and said grimly, "Tell us everything."

  Manny quickly told them all he had heard, and at Etienne's prompting he described the human and the goblin who had been with Lothair. When he was finished, Etienne said thoughtfully, "The human sounds like Vasseur. He's the Captain of the Minister's Guards, and one of Magneric's chief spies."

  "This is dire indeed, Etienne." Gaudulfus sounded more serious than Manny had ever heard him. "If Vasseur is involved, surely Magneric is complicit in the plot. But what does he intend? According to Manny, Vasseur seemed concerned about the king being harmed."

  "I don't know..." Etienne just shook his head. "Why would Magneric give Unseelie thieves access to the king? Adriana, do you recognize the description of this goblin?"

  "No." She sounded as if she was racking her memory. "It's like no one I've seen at Morrigan's lair. But if Lothair fears him, he must be a powerful Unseelie."

  Gaudulfus sat back on the bench. "We had best go to Captain Corvus. We'll need the King's Chevaliers to thwart this fiendish plot."

  "Yes, we'll go at once," Etienne said, and shook the reins, urging the horses into motion again.

  ****

  Manny was so anxious he thought the ride across the city to the Chevalier's hotel would feel like an eternity. But despite the jouncing of the wagon, he actually fell asleep leaning against Adriana and didn't wake up until she shook him to tell him they were there. Apparently all the running and climbing and fear really wore you out.

  Manny cautiously poked his head out from under the tarp as the wagon rolled to a halt. The street was still very dark, and he could just make out a gate in a tall stone wall surrounding a big house. The back gate of the Chevalier's mansion? Candlelight glowed in windows on the second floor, visible above the wall and the trees shading the courtyard. The air had a cool early morning feel to it, and Manny thought it might not be too long before dawn.

  Etienne jumped down from the wagon bench and exchanged a few whispered words with the brownies guarding the gate. One of the brownies hurriedly unlocked it and swung it open, the other coming out to take the horses.

  Gaudulfus climbed down from the wagon, saying, "Come on, quickly now," and gestured urgently to Manny.

  Manny climbed over the side and dropped to the ground, Adriana right behind him. They followed Etienne and Gaudulfus through the gate and the dark courtyard beyond. Leaves crunched underfoot as he stumbled a little. He hoped they would have a chance to rest soon. Gaudulfus had fed them so well he wasn't too hungry, but he was beginning to feel like a sleepwalker.

  Gaudulfus muttered, "Seems oddly quiet."

  "It does," Etienne answered, sounding worried. "If the garrison's been called out—"

  A door swung open in the house ahead, light spilling out, and Manny recognized Etienne's friend Rabican the faun. Keeping his voice cautiously low, Rabican said, "Come in, come in. Gaudulfus! By Pan's beard, it is you. I thought the gate guards must have mistaken you for someone else!"

  "I retired to the country, not the grave, you impertinent goat," Gaudulfus grumbled as they followed a grinning Rabican down a short hall and into a big room.

  Manny stared in awe; it was like the great hall of a castle. A stone stairway curved up to a gallery running along the second floor hung with shields and banners, and a giant hearth in one wall was almost big enough to park their wagon in. Benches and chairs and tables lined the walls, but the hall looked like it might be used for sword fighting practice by the way the wooden floor was scarred and scuffed. It was meant to hold dozens of people, but the only ones who were there now were a few older elves and brownies, sitting near the fire and sharing a bottle of wine. They looked up, startled, as Rabican led Manny and the others into the room.

  "What's happened?" Rabican asked Etienne. "By these disguises you wear and your companions—not to mention the mighty Gaudulfus bestirring himself—there must be something strange afoot."

  "Strange and deadly," Etienne agreed. "We need to speak to Captain Corvus immediately."

  Rabican said, "He isn't here, my friend. He was called to the palace a few hours ago."

  Uh oh, Manny thought. Corvus's absence might be a coincidence, or it might be part of the plot against the king.

  Clearly thinking along the same lines, Etienne exchanged a worried look with Gaudulfus, and said, "Did the message explain why? Or who summoned him?"

  The few other Chevaliers in the room got to their feet, drawing near to listen. Rabican made a helpless gesture. "I wasn't told the why of it, and being a good soldier I didn't question. And I assumed it was Magneric who had called for him."

  It had to be part of the plot. Somebody was making sure Corvus wasn't around to help the king. "That's not good," Manny whispered to Adriana, and she squeezed his hand.

  Rabican's brow furrowed with worry. "Is this to do with the regiment's orders? I thought there was something odd about them, and Corvus was none too pleased." He turned to Etienne. "The Chevaliers have been ordered to muster at dawn to journey to the Northern Garrisons."

  Etienne stared. "What? When did these orders arrive?"

  "This morning, not long after you left." Rabican waved a hand at the empty hall. "That's where everyone's gone, to settle their affairs in the city and make ready to depart."

  Gaudulfus snorted. "Well, isn't that just a timely coincidence. It's Magneric at the center of this web, sure enough."

  Maybe, Manny thought. But he figured that Morrigan wasn't the type to share the center of the web with anybody, even a Chief Minister.

  "What web?" Rabican demanded. "If there's trouble afoot with Magneric—"

  Etienne drew Rabican aside, speaking rapidly, "Listen to me. I must get a message to Corvus. We have reason to know there is a plot against the king—"

  Manny jumped as a clatter and a bang sounded from the front of the house. Everyone in the room whipped around and drew their swo
rds.

  "The front entrance," Gaudulfus said grimly.

  Adriana clutched Manny's shoulder, murmuring, "I knew it would come to this. Our luck's run out."

  A spriggan ran in from the front passage, calling out, "Rabican! Minister's Guards! They attack!"

  Behind him more than a dozen Minister's Guards burst into the hall. They charged the small group of Chevaliers, who surged to meet them. In the lead was Vasseur, the scarred man who had been at the meeting with Lothair and the strange goblin.

  That goblin did see me after all, Manny thought, his heart pounding as he and Adriana backed away.

  Etienne shouted to Gaudulfus, "Get our friends to safety!"

  Rabican wheeled around, telling Gaudulfus. "Out the back! We'll delay pursuit!"

  Gaudulfus growled under his breath but said, "Save some of Magneric's men for me!" He turned, urging Manny and Adriana to the passage.

  Adriana grabbed Manny's hand and they ran, Gaudulfus knocking away two of the Guards who had gotten past the Chevaliers. But just as they reached the passage two loud bangs sounded from ahead. Adriana slid to a halt, pushing Manny behind her. "That was musket fire," she said. "The house must be—"

  "Surrounded!" Manny finished, as more Minister's Guards charged up the passage. He turned back, shouting, "Gaudulfus, there's more of them!"

  "Get back, behind me!" Gaudulfus shouted, raising his heavy sword.

  Manny and Adriana huddled together, as the fighting raged around them, swords clashing, men shouting. Adriana drew her knife, but without her staff there wasn't much she could do against the swords. Three of the Minister's Guards went down but so did one of the brownies, and the Chevaliers were still outnumbered.

  Then more Minister's Guards ran in from the front of the house, carrying muskets. Manny yelled, "Look out, Etienne, they have guns!"

  The Guards stopped, aiming their weapons at the knot of Chevaliers. Standing back from the fighting, Vasseur shouted, "Stop or I will order my men to fire! Lower your swords!"

  The Guards drew back, and the Chevaliers backed away, but didn't lower their swords. Manny and Adriana stood behind Gaudulfus, but Manny felt as if every eye in the room was on them. This was the second time the Minister's Guards had come for him. Morrigan had to be behind this somehow.

  Rabican and Etienne faced Vasseur. Rabican demanded, "Vasseur, what is the meaning of this outrage? Have you gone mad?"

  Etienne said, "Perhaps he's at the wrong house. The Minister's Guards are not known for their sense of direction."

  "Particularly in war," Gaudulfus contributed. "They tend to run the wrong way, toward the baggage train rather than the line of battle. I am sure it is unintentional."

  "And Chevaliers are known for their unbefitting humor, even at the darkest hour," Vasseur said, unmoved by the comments. "I have warrants for the arrest of the Chevalier Etienne, and the former Chevalier known as Gaudulfus."

  "On what grounds?" Gaudulfus said.

  "You are accused of aiding members of the notorious gang of thieves known as the Hands of Shadow." Vasseur smiled, and gestured to Manny and Adriana. "The proof stands there."

  "And if we refuse to surrender ourselves?" asked Etienne.

  Vasseur raised his hand. The guards raised their muskets and taking careful aim at Etienne and his friends. Vasseur pulled a pistol, cocked it, and aimed it at Manny. Adriana pulled Manny behind her, shielding him with her body. But Vasseur moved his pistol to aim at her face. "Then you make matters far more simple for me, for which I would be most appreciative."

  Etienne snarled and sheathed his crystalline blade. Slowly, the other Chevaliers followed suit.

  As Gaudulfus grudgingly slammed his blade back into its scabbard, he growled, "You are a coward and a villain, Vasseur."

  Vasseur smiled but lowered his pistol. "There are, no doubt, those who think so."

  Chapter Twenty

  First the Minister's Guards searched Manny, Adriana, Etienne, and Gaudulfus, taking away all their weapons. Manny was the only one who didn't have extra knives hidden all through his clothing, which seemed to puzzle the guards.

  Then they were escorted at gunpoint outside to a heavy wagon with a cage mounted on it. Just looking at it made Manny's skin creep; it was like something out of a horror movie.

  No one spoke a word as they were made to climb in and the cage was locked. The driver urged the horses forward, and a mounted and armed escort of guards, led by Vasseur, paced the wagon as it trundled through the cobblestone streets.

  Manny held onto the bars to stay on his feet as the wagon swayed back and forth. Adriana stood behind him, her hand gripping the bar just above his. Manny exchanged a gloomy glance with her and she slid her arm across his chest and hugged him close. It was still early dawn, the sun's light just touching the rooftops, and the few people in the streets stared as the wagon trundled by.

  "No need to be so glum," said Gaudulfus. The dwarf sat leaning against the bars of the cage, his back to the driver, apparently completely at ease. "Etienne and I have gotten out of far more dire situations than this, lad. Why I remember one time, there was this lady of the court who Etienne had taken quite a fancy to, a buxom young nymph—"

  "Gaudulfus," said Etienne, cutting him off. He looked far more grim. "Let's focus on our current dilemma." He was standing near Gaudulfus, his fingers looped over the bars at the top of the cage. He cast a glance at Manny. "He speaks true, boy. It's clear that Magneric wants us alive or else Vasseur and his men would have shot us all where we stood. Now we just need to discover why and what he intends to do with us."

  Manny wished some human guy was all they had to worry about. "I think Morrigan is the one who wants us, not the Minister. Adriana's right, she's way more dangerous." He glanced up Adriana, who gave him a tight worried nod.

  "But it makes no sense, lad," Gaudulfus leaned forward, sounding as if he was at least giving the idea serious consideration. "Why would an Unseelie hag with a taste for stolen jewels and gold be involving herself with the Chief Minister of Aquitania? She's the pawn, I tell you, a pawn of Magneric's. He's a wily one, that scheming old goat. He's had his eye on the throne for some time now."

  "Enough talk," said Adriana, jerking her chin toward the driver. "There are others who listen."

  Manny was beginning to get the shivers. "Where are they taking us?" he asked in a low voice.

  Etienne pointed to a big fortress-like structure with eight towers looming in the distance. "To the Foundry, boy. Where else?"

  Manny studied the intimidating towers with a growing sense of dread. "You mentioned the Foundry before. Is it a prison?"

  Gaudulfus snorted. "It's the prison, lad. Built by my own people to contain the realm's most dangerous criminals. It's where prisoners are sent to be forgotten by the world."

  Manny swallowed. "That doesn't sound good."

  "Indeed," replied Gaudulfus. "It's an impregnable fortress filled with granite cells overrun by rats and guarded by cruel jailors trained in the distasteful and gruesome arts of torture."

  Etienne shot a scowl at Gaudulfus, and Manny suspected his expression had just gone from worry to terror. "But not to worry lad," Gaudulfus quickly added, "for if anyone can escape from the Foundry, it will most definitely be a dwarf."

  ****

  The wagon rattled across the bridge over the Foundry's moat and through the imposing gates. They passed through an outer courtyard, where there seemed to be lots of people loitering and staring, and then through a second well-guarded gate protected by a portcullis of heavy iron bars. In the big courtyard the wagon stopped, the door of the cage was unlocked, and the guards ordered them out.

  As Manny climbed down he looked furtively around, curious despite the hard knot of fear in his stomach. At first glance it looked more like the inside of a castle than a prison, with stone or timbered three story buildings tucked against the walls, some opening onto a gallery that looked down on the courtyard. Manny caught the smell of cooking, and heard chickens cackling somewh
ere nearby.

  But the guards made them walk across the court toward the base of the nearest tower, toward a big double wooden door with heavy locks, and there was no mistaking that this place was a prison.

  Many of the Foundry's turnkeys seemed to be spriggans. Two hurried to open the door for the Minister's Guards, and Gaudulfus said, "It's to be the dungeons, then. How thorough of Magneric."

  Manny felt even more sick. He hoped they weren't separated. He hoped nobody would try to torture him. And he knew he needed to be the streetwise elf kid right now, not the ordinary human kid from Austin, but it was hard.

  The heavy door swung open and they were conducted through a guard room and down a dark torch-lit spiral staircase. A lump of fear stuck in Manny's throat. The air was dank and smelled of foul water and rot.

  He wasn't sure how far underground they were when they turned down a corridor, and then were prodded through another doorway into a cell.

  The door to their cell closed with a loud, permanent-sounding clank. Manny had never heard such a depressing sound before. The cell itself was roughly octagonal in shape, with dirty straw, caked in mud and other substances Manny didn't even want to guess at, covering the floor in stinking patches. The smell of dirty water was stronger, and Manny heard frogs croaking somewhere nearby, though it was too dark to see if there were any in the cell. A narrow iron bed was fixed against one of the walls. Stools, which seemed to be held together with mold and grime, sat at the base of the wall. A little light came in through the small grill in the cell door, and weak dust-filled sunlight trickled in through a tall, barred slit at the very top of the wall.

  Gaudulfus lay down on the metal bed, which creaked in protest under his weight. "I still say we could have taken them, Etienne. Vasseur only had about a dozen of his men. A bare dozen! An insult, if you ask me."

  Etienne paced in front of the cell door like a trapped tiger. "If it were just you and I, my friend, I might agree. But I saw the look in that assassin's eyes. Vasseur would not have hesitated to shoot the boy." He cast a quick glance in Manny and Adriana's direction. "Or Adriana."