Betrayer's Bane

by Michael G. Manning

  A black cloud, lit from within by red and orange flashes rolled out from the left side of the street, engulfing the first four people running ahead of them. Tyrion didn’t recognize the technique, but it was definitely a spellweave of some sort. Those that were touched by it died almost instantly.

  Focusing his magesight he identified three krytek within the building. “Run left!” he yelled. The cloud was still moving, passing to their right, so moving left would make it easier for them to avoid it. It also sent them heading more directly toward their enemies.

  Tyrion sent a tightly focused blast of pure force toward the building, aiming not for the krytek, but the supporting wall that faced the street. His second blast struck an interior wall and the building shifted, collapsing inward and towards them.

  It wasn’t likely to hurt the krytek since they were using powerful shields, but it was hard for anyone to do much while a building fell on them. The now smaller band of fugitives ran around the collapsing building, circling it to continue on a different street.

  He pointed at the shifting pile of rubble as they passed, “Brigid.”

  She grinned and nodded as she slowed her pace.

  A finely focused beam of power lanced out from the rubble, aimed directly at her midsection, but the chain the hovered in the air around her moved to deflect it. Seconds later the collapsed building exploded in two places, as its entombed occupants used their energies to blast their way free. The first of the krytek to emerge fell in three pieces as her chain lashed forward, slicing through it.

  The second ducked back, retreating into the pocket within the rubble that it had occupied. Another cloud of roiling black and red emerged instead. The cloud of violent energies moved far faster than any normal cloud would have, perhaps as fast as a deer might run. Brigid wouldn’t be able to escape it on foot, and she could already tell it would eat straight through any normal shield she placed in front of it.

  Whether it could get through the rune shield around her body was another question, but she didn’t intend to test it. Her chain sped forward, stretching out like some impossibly long arrow as it went through the cloud. It had no effect on the spellweave, but after it went through it went into the hole in the rubble, seeking the krytek and blurring into a whirlwind of sharp edges. It died almost instantly.

  But the cloud didn’t vanish.

  Bending her knees, Brigid focused her power in her legs, then she straightened, releasing the tension in her body like a whip and she shot skyward.

  Tyrion watched, even as they continued herding their small group of refugees. Brigid’s leap surprised him. Using aythar to empower the body wasn’t that unusual, but his daughter had shifted her power almost instantly, and done so with perfect efficiency. Her leap took her almost a hundred feet into the air. He wondered how she intended to handle the landing.

  She soared up, making a parabolic arc as she flew, but her chain never stopped moving. It found the third krytek as she reached the apex. The creature was already dead as she began her meteoric fall, black hair streaming behind her like the tail of a comet.

  She sailed over the fallen building, and made no attempt to slow her descent. Instead, she landed hard, the empowered muscles in her legs and back absorbing the impact. Tyrion also spotted the telltale flash of aythar inside her body, as the enchantment she had crafted into her bones was forced into activity for a second.

  Brigid had planned her leap, for she landed some fifty feet ahead of her father and the band of refugees. Straightening up, she turned her head to look back at them, tossing the black mane of her hair over one shoulder and grinning ecstatically at Tyrion and Tad. She didn’t wait, though, like a wild animal she darted off, running before them.

  She ran far faster than any of those following and soon she was lost to sight.

  Tad angled his run to bring him closer as he shouted, “She’s crazy!”

  Tyrion nodded. He couldn’t ever recall seeing Brigid looking so happy before.

  The last ten minutes of their jog was uneventful. The only krytek they encountered on the way were dead and dismembered. Brigid’s chain had been busy.

  They found her crouched down a couple of hundred yards from the wall that surrounded the house and dormitory where they lived, the true Albamarl, as Tyrion’s children thought of it. The wall had fallen in most places, only jagged remnants remained jutting upward at irregular intervals. Hundreds of krytek fought in the area around it, seemingly with one another.

  Smoke was rising from the dormitory building.

  Ian and Violet were with Brigid, though Ian was unconscious and one arm looked to be broken.

  “What happened to him?” asked Tyrion. Probably fell in a hole trying to hide, he thought uncharitably.

  “We were attacked before we got here,” explained Violet. “He killed one and then nearly got himself squashed trying to keep a wall from falling on me.”

  Tyrion’s brows went up in surprise and he glanced at Brigid. She merely shrugged.

  “I took out the last two and levitated his body,” finished Violet. She could see the doubt in their faces, “I know, I know—I never expected he had it in him either.”

  Brigid had already turned her attention back to the battle raging some distance ahead of them. “Some of the krytek are Prathions,” she announced. “They keep vanishing and reappearing.”

  “Thillmarius must have taken me seriously,” observed Tyrion.

  “How do we get through that?” asked Tad.

  A good question, thought Tyrion. He looked at Violet, “Take my hand.” Then he spoke to Brigid and Tad, “If they notice us before I finish, try to buy us some time.”

  Violet reached out hesitantly.

  “Link with me,” commanded Tyrion, grasping her hand firmly. His daughter’s mind shied away from his instinctively for a moment, but then she forced herself to relax and their thoughts began to mingle.

  He wasted no time. His mind expanded and his body dwindled to insignificance as his self grew to encompass the air around them. Albamarl shrank beneath him as he joined the clouds, filling them with his anger.

  The sky darkened and the wind picked up dramatically.

  Tad and Violet watched as the weather changed from mild to frightening in the span of a few minutes. Even the warring krytek noticed and some of the enemy peeled away from the battle, heading toward the small group of humans. Brigid tensed, preparing to meet them, but Tad put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Don’t. Let them come to us. Whatever he’s doing is going to be bad. You don’t want to be out there when it happens,” Tad cautioned. “Let’s try this instead.” Holding up one hand he bent his will and his strength forward, tearing at the ground between them and the enemy, pulling it up to create a makeshift barrier.

  It wouldn’t be enough to stop them, but it slowed their advance. Seeing what he was doing Brigid began to help, using her greater strength to good effect.

  And then the sky exploded.

  The light was so brilliant it blinded them, as lightning began falling in sheets so dense it seemed like some bizarre actinic rain. The thundering roar that accompanied it was deafening. The lightning seemed to devour everything in the space between their group and the ruined wall of Albamarl.

  Some of the krytek survived, those with strong spellwoven shields were merely stunned, but most of the battling She’Har had already been wounded. Those without perfect defenses were slain instantly and smoke began to rise from their charred corpses.

  The shower of lightning continued for a full minute before it finally stopped. They looked at Tyrion. His eyes were fluttering, but he still hadn’t regained himself.

  Violet gave the command, “He’s done. Run for it!” Using her aythar she lifted Tyrion and Ian both and began the charge.

  Brigid, Tad, and the seven frightened people from Lincoln that were still with them took the hint and followed her lead.

  Brigid and Tad overtook Violet and got ahead, ranging to either side to kill any krytek t
hat were still moving. Most weren’t, though. They passed through the former battleground with almost no resistance and a few minutes later they reached the wall. Climbing awkwardly over the rubble of a fallen section, they were inside.

  Chapter 44

  The first thing Tyrion noticed was an oddly ephemeral spellweave that hung over the entire interior region behind where the walls had been. He wasn’t sure of its purpose, for it didn’t seem to block aythar or material things from passing through it. He hesitated at its border, along with his children, but the mundane citizens of Lincoln that were still with them ran blindly through, since apparently it was only visible to magesight.

  They were unharmed, and Tyrion could see Ryan standing at the door of his home, motioning for them to enter. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through, feeling an odd chill pass down his spine as his body went through the alien magic.

  But he wasn’t hurt. Following his example the others crossed over as well and then they ran for the house.

  Since the fighting on that side of Albamarl had effectively ceased, due to a lack of combatants, things were quiet at the moment. Ryan met them at the door.

  We weren’t sure you had survived, said Ryan.

  Tyrion nodded, “It appears the worst of the attack came here. Are the others alright? Where is Lyra?”

  Inside, responded Ryan, with Emma, Abby and Thillmarius.

  “Thillmarius?”

  He saved them. None of us would have survived the first minute if he hadn’t been waiting, explained Ryan.

  “Is he responsible for this strange shield around everything?”

  It prevents them from teleporting into the area, explained Ryan, and yes, he did that. Otherwise there would have been no way to organize a defense.

  Tyrion and the others went inside, while Ryan remained at the door, guarding against the almost inevitable next assault. As soon as he passed the threshold his senses found Lyra. She was in the dining room with everyone else. Being the largest room, it was the most obvious location for them to gather. He went to her immediately.

  She was holding Kate’s baby, her baby now, but her eyes had a wild look in them. Her expression gained some relief when she saw him, “Everything has come undone, my love.”

  He glanced from her to the others. Everyone was watching him. “What do you mean?”

  “Your enemies moved too soon. Even with the Prathion’s assistance we won’t last long.”

  Emma’s eyes were on him, her expression unreadable. Tyrion knew what she must be thinking. Brigid still looked energized by her recent combat, but the rest looked deeply worried.

  Nothing had worked out exactly as he planned it, but somehow he felt more comfortable with the chaos and uncertainty than he had during the peace and planning of the past few years. He felt sure it was a sign of the madness bubbling even now at the back of his brain. Tossing back his head he began to laugh. His plan might be disordered, but it hardly mattered.

  None of it would change the end result.

  His laughter did nothing to reassure the other people in the room. Some of them were already close to panic, so Tyrion did his best to suppress the paradoxical giggles that were bubbling up from the dark center of his being.

  Forcing a serious expression, he turned to Emma, “Where is Brangor?”

  Her eyes flicked toward Thillmarius for a second before she answered, “In the usual place, until he is needed again.”

  Tyrion nodded. That meant he was in stasis in the chamber nearest to Albamarl, where Tyrion’s experiments had taken place. Then he addressed Thillmarius, “How much longer do you think your people can keep them out of here?”

  The lore-warden’s expression was dark, “Not much longer. Your arrival took out almost half of those attacking here, as well as half of the krytek that were defending. More of your enemies are arriving with each passing minute.”

  “Thank you, Thillmarius,” said Tyrion. “I doubted you before, but I believe you now. You’ve done enough. Return home before you become another casualty.”

  “What will you do?” asked the Prathion, concerned.

  “I have a way to hide us. Don’t worry. Have your krytek protect this place for a few minutes more, then they can withdraw.”

  “Very well,” agreed Thillmarius, sadly. “I will go and pass the word to them.” He vanished, becoming invisible. The only further sign of him was the door opening and closing as he left the room.

  Tyrion waited until he heard the front door open and close as well, before he continued, “Emma, take everyone to Brangor. Ian, Brigid, Violet, Tad, Abby, you will be taken to your assigned places. Tell the others, Ashley, David, Sarah, and Piper when you arrive, then tuck yourselves in for a long sleep. When you next awaken, the world will be a different place.

  “After they are settled, Emma, you and Ryan will go to the next site and continue your work. Once you finish, go to your place and do the same. Make sure to deal with Brangor first, though. He’s the only one that knows the locations of all the chambers.”

  Emma nodded, “Yes, Father.”

  Brigid stepped forward, “No.”

  Tyrion focused on her, “Pardon me?”

  Her shoulders were square and her back straight, “I’m not going. I have no interest in a new world. Everything I want is here.”

  “You’ll die,” he told her. “Is that what you want?”

  “I don’t care,” she admitted. “I want to be free and unfettered. If this is the end, it’s my last chance.”

  “Fine. You’ll stay with me, but be warned, I have no intention of dying. When I’m done, I’ll put you in a box or tie you into a knot trying.”

  Brigid smiled, “I’d love to see you try.”

  Tyrion looked back at Lyra, “You and Layla will stay with me as well.”

  “You couldn’t have sent me away without you anyway,” answered Lyralliantha.

  Emma led the others to Tyrion’s bedroom and relaxing her mind slightly she spoke to the earth, opening the way down, into the tunnel that led to Tyrion’s experimental chamber. As they went down the steps he gave her one further command, “Close the way, but don’t hide it. By the time they find it you’ll be gone, but I need them to find something to prevent them from tearing the entire foundation up hunting for us.”

  She nodded and soon after the stone closed once more over the opening, but this time the tunnel beneath remained visible to magesight.

  Tyrion went back to the dining hall and on impulse he hugged Lyra and then stroked Layla’s soft cheek. He glanced at Brigid, unsure if she would welcome an embrace or not, but she took the initiative.

  Stepping forward she put her arms around him, squeezing tightly for a brief moment. “You remember what I told you when you were dying?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I still mean it.”

  After that he led them to the front entry. It had one door leading outside and doors on either side and one at the end leading to different parts of the house. Motioning for them to stand near the front door he spoke to the earth and opened the way to his last remaining secret.

  The floor shifted as the foundation began to flow, revealing a staircase that ended in a featureless stone wall. Once there, Tyrion put his hand on it and the stone vanished, revealing another chamber beneath the house.

  It was a circular chamber, twenty feet in diameter. At its center were three adult sized stone sarcophagi and four smaller ones. He had intended them originally for Kate, Lyra, and himself, with the smaller ones for Inara, Eldin, Layla and Garlin. His chest clenched briefly at the thought. Now Brigid would have to use Kate’s, while most of those for the children would remain empty, save for Layla’s.

  Together he and Lyra put Layla gently into her stasis box, kissing her once more before he activated the enchantment. The infant’s face became motionless as the magic took hold and time stopped for her, then he closed the lid over her.

  “What if we never awaken?” mused Lyra sadly.

  “I’ll make cer
tain that doesn’t happen,” he told her. “I will have Abby take the first watch, once I’m done, and even if something happens to her my box will have a finite time set. If it runs out I’ll wake up automatically.”

  “Is this really necessary to save my people?” she asked him, her blue eyes dark in the dim light.

  Tyrion shook his head, “I’m not going to save your people.”

  Her aura flashed angrily in his magesight, “Not the Illeniels, Tyrion. Layla, Brigid, you, and the rest of your children. You are my people now, you are my family.”

  “Oh, well yes, then,” he told her. “This is the only way I can save your people. Rest here and I will return to release you—once it is safe again. I give you my word, I will return for you.” He had never meant anything more in his life.

  She lay down in the stone sarcophagus and he activated the enchantment, finishing it by speaking the phrase that would be the key to releasing it one day. He had been thinking of Kate when he thought it up, but it applied equally well to Lyra, “Your husband waits for your return…”

  That should have been it, but on impulse he added something else, “…and your forgiveness.”

  When he had finished he could feel Brigid’s eyes on him. “Are you ready?” he asked her.

  “You aren’t putting me in one of those,” she answered flatly. “Are you getting in one?”

  “Not yet,” he replied. “I need to give Emma and hour or two to finish her work before I unleash the krytek.”

  “Then I will wait with you,” said Brigid firmly. “And if I don’t get enough blood before you’re ready, I won’t be getting into any boxes. Not alive, anyway.”

  He nodded, “Let’s go upstairs then. You can guard the house until it’s time.”

  Together they walked up the steps. Brigid felt an errant breeze on her cheek as they went, almost as if someone had passed. She turned her head and focused her senses, but no one was there. “You should close this entry.”