by Lorna Reid
‘Isa’s here already?’ blurted Russell. Peter shut him up with a look.
‘What company? Commanded by Jack Sherwood?’
The man frowned at the question. ‘Yes, and you know that how?’
Russell jolted. His father was already here? He hadn’t been expecting that, but somehow he felt a surge of relief because he would know what to do.
‘I need to speak with Company Commander Jack Sherwood, now,’ said Peter, ignoring the man’s question.
‘They’ve been ordered here because of a suspected threat on the fragment, and for all I know you could be that threat.’
Peter made a noise of disgust and made to move, stopping when six swords bristled.
‘Hey,’ Danny snarled.
‘We’re on your side, you morons,’ snapped Poppy.
‘You don’t understand,’ protested Russell. ‘Something’s coming, a Reaper, it’s going to endanger everyone.’
The guards shared looks and then burst into laughter, cackling and half choking as they chewed over the word, repeating it in mock-scared tones.
Russell could just hear Peter muttering to himself. ‘Jack, if you’re listening, we need you, now.’
‘I didn’t know you were a Psy Mage,’ Russell whispered.
Peter looked awkward and shrugged. ‘Kind of. Jack’s a good one and he’ll be listening for me. Come on, Jack,’ he hissed.
The guard in charge had had enough and wiped his eyes before stepping forward with a glowing red ring in one hand. ‘Drop your weapon,’ he ordered. ‘Now. We’ll find out why you’re really here.’
‘We just told you,’ snarled Katrina, balling her hands.
Peter swore viciously and let his sword clatter to the floor. He stared at the ceiling as the man slid the ring over his outstretched hands and winced slightly as it shrank and flared, binding his hands together. He glared fury under his lazily spiked hair.
‘Bind them, too, and search them for weapons,’ the man said, motioning to the rest of them.
‘They’re just children. They’re not armed and they’re not a threat, you fucking dick. Stay the fuck away from them,’ growled Peter, stepping in front of them. The man lashed out with the back of his hand and bloodied Peter’s nose.
‘Don’t touch him!’ screamed Danny, lunging and slamming his boot into the man’s shin before his father could stop him. The guard screamed and stumbled back, bringing his sword up just as a voice rang out.
‘Stand down.’ Jack Sherwood pushed his way through the guards. He was wearing his forces uniform, and Russell stared in awe once again, feeling a swell of pride. Jack grabbed the head guard and slammed him against the wall by the throat.
‘You think it’s acceptable to hit a prisoner? One whose business here you’ve not bothered to properly ascertain?’ he snapped. The man withered under his glare and gurgled quietly. ‘You’re all needed in the outer chambers. Now,’ he ordered, releasing him. The man saluted and limped off as quickly as he could with his men, shooting Danny an evil look and getting the finger in return.
‘Nice bindring,’ Jack grinned, freeing his friend’s hands. ‘Staying out of trouble as usual, Pete?’
Peter grinned and wiped the blood from his nose while Jack’s eyes flicked to Russell, who braced himself. ‘We don’t have time to argue, Jack. I know you’re pissed at him, but it’s serious,’ Peter intervened. Jack nodded, embracing Russell for what felt like an age, and examining his bandaged hands with soft, wounded eyes.
Russell just wanted to hold him forever, breathing in the familiar scent of the sharp aftershave and feeling the firm velvet of the uniform jacket; he watched the proud stars on his collar sparkle gently.
Once his father had made sure he was alright, they started after the retreating men, Russell trotting alongside his dad. ‘You need to listen to Russell about what brought them here,’ said Peter.
‘Adalric mentioned Isa and the fragment but was sceptical; we were ordered here as a precaution to support the other company,’ said Jack.
‘And the Reaper?’
‘It’s not been officially acknowledged,’ he admitted.
‘But it’s real, it will happen. Danny and Russell have seen it,’ said Katrina.
Jack looked at Russell, who nodded, feeling sick when his mind flashed over the nightmares.
‘It’s why we had to come.’
‘You didn’t have to come,’ his father said. ‘Anyway, while we’re on the subject …’
Russell’s heart sank and he saw Peter tense. ‘We need to talk later, Pete; your son is responsible for all this.’
Peter shot a hand across Jack’s chest and grabbed a doorframe, stopping him dead. ‘They all made a choice to come, Jack,’ he said, his voice level but almost dangerously quiet. Danny’s chest puffed out at his father’s defence, and Russell twisted his fists around the inside of his shirt. He despised this sort of confrontation.
‘It was me, Dad. It was my idea,’ Danny said.
‘We all chose to go to Lallial in the first place,’ said Poppy, jumping in.
Jack rolled his eyes to the ceiling but Peter cut in: ‘Just listen to them.’
Jack conceded and Russell poured out everything about the nightmare visions. ‘You couldn’t have just gone to Adalric yourselves?’ Jack asked, watching his son shift uncomfortably.
‘If he didn’t believe Air, why would he believe us?’
Jack gave a half-amused look. ‘You could have told Thom or waited for Pete, or anything but what you actually did. You thought the four of you could find your way here and prevent this from happening?’
‘Well, we made it here, didn’t we? We couldn’t take the risk of not doing anything.’ Russell frowned, feeling an angry heat begin to rise through him. ‘If we didn’t try and it did happen, it would be like we killed her because we’d left her to her fate.’ He watched his father mull over his words.
‘They did what they thought was best, Jack, whatever stupid mistakes they may have made,’ said Peter. ‘Anyway, we don’t have time for this. You know as well as I do that these sort of visions are serious. Whether Adalric and his people want to bury their heads in the sand or not, a Reaper is coming. And so are the Darklanders.’
Jack shared a worried look with him and they hurried onward. Russell noticed that his father had gone pale. Nothing usually unnerved him, and the realisation that his father seemed almost scared terrified him to the marrow.
‘The fragment’s being moved shortly and the mages here are setting more magic to protect it. An attachment from Lallial is due soon to help reinforce the guard. Thom and Jen are due to join us, too.’
‘Is that Isa’s company, or is she already here?’ said Russell.
‘It’s her company,’ Jack said. ‘I’ll speak with her personally as soon as she arrives. We won’t let her die.’
Russell swallowed back the lump in his throat and nodded. ‘In the meantime, you four can’t roam around here. You’ll have to stay in the guards’ common room.’
They had paused at a junction and waited for a small squad to troop past when Jack tilted his head on one side and regarded Peter. ‘You okay, Pete?’ he asked softly. ‘Your mind’s all over the place. Niri …’
Peter glanced back at Danny. ‘Danny had those nightmares, too. He saw the Reaper, like Russell, only Danny saw it in a bubble of portal magic, having been summoned here.’ Jack stopped short and stared at him. ‘I know,’ Pete carried on. ‘But that’s not all. In the penumbra of the magic, he saw Niri.’
‘He what?’ shrilled Jack. A hopeful, half-happy, half-terrified grimace leapt to his face and he grabbed Pete’s arms. ‘She’s here?’
‘She will be. Kind of.’ Pete rubbed his head. ‘I don’t know how or why. But Danny saw her in the magic, fighting someone … He doesn’t know who.’
‘So that means wherever the Reaper is summoned from, is where she currently is?’ Jack summed up.
‘Yeah.’
‘Neath?’ His voice was harsh and lo
w and full of dread anticipation. Russell heard Danny’s breath catch as they listened.
‘I fucking hope not. I have no idea, though. But we need to hurry. If what Danny saw is right, and she’s right in the same magical area as the Reaper, it could kill her in a heartbeat, Jack.’
‘No. We won’t let that happen,’ Jack said. He squeezed his friend’s arm and embraced him a moment. ‘Won’t let it happen.’ Jack’s voice was hoarse and pained, and Russell was reminded of how fondly Jack spoke of Danny’s mother, of what close friends they were.
The image of his mother fighting Niri flooded into his mind, and he bit back a sob. How could he tell anyone? He wanted to know, he wanted to ask so many questions – most of them ‘why?’ – but how could he?
They were guided to a small, low-ceilinged guard room, where a fire blazed away in a wide white granite fireplace, casting a warm glow over the worn furniture and threadbare upholstery. People lounged or stood talking and sharpening weapons. They jerked to attention when Jack entered.
Before he could say anything, a soldier burst through a door at the far side and nearly skidded on the rug in front of them.
‘Sir, the company from Lallial have arrived at the front entrance. You asked to be informed,’ she said, throwing a salute. Jack gave a curt nod. ‘Fine. I need to speak to Arms Captain Fernstrom immediately and …’ He stopped and frowned. Russell felt the air crackle, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. The temperature plummeted and Jack and Peter spun around, staring round the room.
‘Draw weapons, now,’ ordered Jack, sliding his sword free. Russell looked at the others in alarm. ‘Captain, check that the fragment is secure and raise the alarm. They’re coming.’ A ripple of air buffeted them gently and every soldier leapt to their feet.
‘What’s happening?’ asked Katrina. ‘What is that?’
‘A serious build-up of magic. We need to go. Pete, grab a weapon,’ Jack said. Peter snatched up a sword, hefted it, discarded it for another and nodded, looking happier. He also stuffed several daggers into his belt to accompany the one that was already there.
Russell felt his ears ache and a rush of something in the air that made his skin tingle. There was a sound of clashing metal in the distance and urgent shouts. Whatever it was, it had begun.
‘Fuck.’ Jack glanced at the door as everyone emptied out. ‘Right. You stay here. No ifs, no buts, no we-only-justs. Stay here. This is reality. People die.’
‘No dicking about with the weapons, either,’ warned Peter, seeing his son’s eye light on the racks. ‘Stay here, Danny. There’s nothing any of you can do now.’
‘Dad …’ Russell grabbed his father’s arm. He couldn’t bring himself to say what he wanted to, but he didn’t have to. Jack found it in the fringes of his mind.
‘You won’t lose me as well, I swear. But I don’t want to lose you, either.’ He touched Russell’s face and pulled him into a fierce hug. ‘I love you. With every fibre of my being. I’ll take care, I promise you.’ He passed him a sheathed dagger. ‘Last resort only. And if you need me, call for me. I’ll hear you.’ His father touched Russell’s temple, leaving a cool feeling behind, and then he and Peter closed the door on them, giving a final order to lock everything.
Russell’s stomach was churning. Poppy and Katrina shot home a number of bolts on every door and rejoined them. His skin felt cold and sweaty all at once and his hands were trembling. He didn’t want his father to get hurt, and seeing his face vanish as the door closed had hit him like a low punch. It was all suddenly real and nasty.
‘He’ll be okay. They both will,’ said Poppy, putting a tentative hand on his arm. He looked at Danny, who was clearly feeling the same as he was: sick worry wriggling inside, and wanting desperately for their fathers to come back and say that it was over.
Katrina listened at the door to the distant sounds of battle. ‘They’ll be alright. Your dad looked like he kicks serious arse, Russell.’
Russell managed a tiny smile. ‘I hope they can warn Isa in time,’ he said, pacing an erratic path.
‘Maybe it will be okay now?’ said Poppy. Russell shook his head. The horrible feeling was twisting inside, worse than ever, and the dark shape flashed through his mind for a second, startling him.
‘It won’t be okay,’ he said. ‘Her company arrived just as this all kicked off. How are they going to adequately warn or protect her? Her bloody father thinks it isn’t a real threat, for fuck’s sake. She’s going to think that, too. I know she’s a soldier, and these risks are part of life for them, but I don’t care.’
Russell looked at the door, at the weapons, and then into the fire. An abandoned mug of black coffee was perched on a small end-table near the hearth, and the surface caught the glow. The rippling fiery reflection pulled Russell down and into a head-thumping vision.
Isa’s sword slashed at the Reaper’s thick torso and it howled in pained rage and lashed out. Russell screamed. Teeth and blood and flaming magic crowded his head, and somewhere inside he squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to die.
Poppy grabbed Russell and he staggered back. He looked into her pale, worried face for a moment, at the others, the door, the coffee cup, and the rack of weapons. His head ached and his heart hammered his ribs.
Russell squeezed the dagger in his hands and then, with a deep breath, strode toward the door. Poppy caught up to him and grabbed the handle first. ‘Did you miss the big battle going on out there?’
‘I have to go. I didn’t come this far to have her die anyway. I won’t let a friend die.’
‘Well, I’m taking one of these.’ Katrina yanked at a sword on the rack. The weapon stayed put and the entire metal frame crashed to the floor. ‘Shit.’
‘For crying out loud,’ said Poppy. ‘The whole battle isn’t making as much noise as you.’
‘Shut up, Poppy,’ intoned Katrina, and tugged at a huge broadsword. ‘This is stupidly heavy.’
‘Oh, please, give it to me.’ Danny pushed her aside and, with a smirk, grabbed the hilt with both hands.
‘Oh, please save my dainty hands, Mr Man,’ sniped Katrina.
Danny’s smirk vanished when the sword proved practically immoveable. He scowled and barely lifted half of it from the ground before abandoning it for another. He could barely lift that one, either, and kicked at it, red-faced.
‘They’re not supposed to be like that,’ he said.
Russell shrugged. ‘Then we go without. Not as if we can use them, anyway.’
He turned the key, un-shot the bolts and, with a look at the others, wrenched open the door.
Chapter 24
◊
THE HALL WAS EMPTY. Russell made a noise of relief, only for a howling sound to echo nearby, followed by an explosion. They instinctively ducked and shared a look of panic.
‘I don’t want to know what that was,’ said Russell. He led them down the hallway; the closer they got to the end, the louder the chaos of battle sounded. Shouts and the ring of metal on metal flooded from what seemed like every direction, thanks to the deceptive way sound bounced around the place.
Russell didn’t know where to go, but he wasn’t going back.
‘We should maybe work our way round to try and find the front entrance to this place. If that’s the way Isa came in she may still be close by it,’ reasoned Katrina.
They turned a corner, Russell wondering how they would navigate this place, and found themselves staring over the threshold of battle.
A vast hall spread out in front of them. Guards in green and soldiers in the same uniform as Russell’s father battled with people clad in black-and-red uniforms.
Swords flashed in the light, clashing; short blades deflected and stabbed. Magic and raw energy shrieked through the air and exploded and shattered, while weapons, fists, and more were employed to fight.
The furniture, in what Russell realised looked like a dining hall, was looking the worse for wear, with much of it smashed, smouldering, or kicked aside. Wall hangin
gs lay in ribbons or hung miserably from torn fixings, while piles of plaster lounged in heaps beneath gouges that cut through to the stone underneath. Several bodies were already sprawled on the floor.
Russell scanned the room, hoping with all his might that one of the bodies on the floor wasn’t his father’s, when he spotted him: Jack was battling a Darklander, deflecting a stray fireball with a swipe of a hand while his sword blurred round, cutting the man down before he sprinted to defend an injured guard.
Peter was on the far side of the dining hall, expertly wielding a sword and a thin dagger, beating his opponent back. He stuck his boot into the man’s groin before felling him. Everywhere was chaos, the melee not confined to the hall, but oozing into every room and passageway leading off it.
‘What now?’ breathed Katrina, ducking back as a vase shattered against the wall beside them. A man in black and red crashed to the floor in front of them, and blood began to seep over the stone. Russell stared at it, unable to look away. The colour matched the horrible symbol on his chest: a twisted horned skull with pointed teeth that screamed out of the fabric, pierced by crossed spears. It made his skin crawl.
‘We can’t stay here, and we won’t find Isa like this,’ said Poppy as they scrambled back to avoid the battle which was spilling into the doorway. Before they could move far, an enemy soldier slew a guard and stepped over the body toward them, raising his stained sword.
They ran through a side door and across a smaller room parallel to the hall. Russell skidded round duelling soldiers and smashed furniture, avoiding fireballs and snaking magic that lashed and lunged overhead.
A burst of blue magic scorched past his head, sending a bolt of pain through his ear – any closer and he could have lost his head. His hesitation let the others slip ahead of him, but before he could panic, a hand grabbed his collar, half choking him as he was hauled backward.
He twisted and kicked at the man, just as Danny, who had darted back, stuck his foot into the man’s belly. The man groaned, but his grip only loosened slightly, and he lashed out, knocking Danny to the floor with the back of his fist.
