‘Who is it?’ Shella asked.
‘A priest, ma’am,’ Jodie said. ‘Said his name was Father Rijon.’
Shella’s expression fell.
‘Ma’am?’
‘Okay,’ she muttered. ‘I suppose, if I must. Tell him to wait there and I’ll be down soon.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Jodie said, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
‘Do you know this priest, your Highness?’ Daly asked.
‘Used to.’
‘If you don’t mind me saying, your Highness, you don’t appear to be very happy about the prospect of renewing your acquaintance.’
‘He’s a dick.’
Daly inclined his head. ‘Perhaps, your Highness. But his name is known to me, though I have never met the man. It is said that he’s a powerful vision mage, one of the most powerful after the Lord Vicar himself.’
Shella pushed her plate away. ‘I’m going upstairs to change. Might as well look the part.’
‘What about the rest of the papers, your Highness?’ he said, pointing at the still considerable pile of documents and correspondence lying untouched on the table.
‘They’ll have to wait,’ she said. ‘I’ll do them later.’
Father Rijon looked older than she remembered. Or maybe he was just gaunter, his cheeks more hollow than they had been before. He stood when she entered the small reception room, his long black robes trailing on the rug by the fireplace.
‘Greetings Princess Shella,’ he said. ‘May I say how good it is to see you?’
‘You may,’ she replied, walking over to him, ‘but you’d be lying.’
‘Not at all, princess. When the Lord Vicar asked me to come over to relay his message, I felt glad of the opportunity.’
‘Next time tell him to send me a letter.’
‘Ah,’ he smiled. ‘I remember that about you. Your caustic wit, covering up your insecurities and fears. It’s most endearing.’
‘At least I have something to cover up. You’re just an empty shell. No conscious, no heart, you’re barely a man at all.’
‘I must protest,’ he smiled. ‘I do possess a heart. It merely happens to be focussed on the end, rather than the means. But the end, my dear princess, will be worth it.’
Shella frowned. ‘I’m not going to pretend to know what the fuck you’re talking about.’
‘And I’m not here to lecture you on the holy purpose of the church. I have come to offer you the Lord Vicar’s congratulations on your forthcoming royal investiture.’
‘You know about that already, eh?’
‘Of course. The Lord Vicar is pleased that the Rakanese government has at last seen sense on this matter.’
Shella sat by the fireside. ‘Frankly, I struggle to see why he’d care.’
Rijon sat down by her, and took a silver cigarette case from a pocket in his robes. He offered one to Shella, and lit it for her.
‘I understand that you’ll be returning to Arakhanah City for a while.’
‘Yeah, so?’
‘The Lord Vicar is of the opinion that this trip will afford you the perfect opportunity to see that your government fulfils its sworn duty to the empire.’
‘He wants me to recruit soldiers for his new army?’
‘Well, naturally,’ Rijon said, flicking ash into the fire. ‘But that, as I’m sure you’re aware, was not the duty I was referring to.’
Shella said nothing.
‘Mages, Shella.’
‘Oh?’
‘Go to Arakhanah,’ he said. ‘Have fun, get crowned, visit your family. You can even get drunk if you want to, I doubt our laws have reached every inch of swamp in your homeland. Yet. But when you return Shella, you will be accompanied by volunteer Rakanese flow mages, each of whom will be delivered to the institute the moment you set foot back inside the imperial capital.’
‘Or what?’ she said, leaning forward.
‘It’s simple,’ he replied. ‘If you return without mages, then you yourself will be selected for the institute. You’re a decent enough mage, I’m sure the deacons will find a use for you. And we’ll be keeping a close watch on your brother while you’re gone, in case you think about not returning.’
‘You touch Sami and I’ll kill you.’
Rijon shook his head. ‘You can drop the tough act. I see your mind. I know you’re frightened.’
‘Are you in my fucking head?’
‘My dear,’ he said. ‘If only you knew how often I’ve read your thoughts, seen your deepest fears, and felt your innermost desires.’
She stood, backing away, her right hand half-raised.
‘Oh, such anger,’ he smirked. ‘Ha. You kill me, your life ends. All those embassy staff that you imagine are conspiring against you? You’re not paranoid, they are. Most of your own people loathe you, and would betray you for no other reason than to boast about it. From the quantity of evidence they have already submitted to us regarding your activities here in the embassy, I would say that a narcotics and alcohol conviction would be ludicrously easy to obtain. So there you have it. Bring back mages for us and your life will be as easy as it was before. Don’t, and, well…’
‘Get out, Rijon. Now.’
He stood, and smoothed down the front of his robes.
‘Of course, princess,’ he said, striding for the door. ‘It’s been a pleasure, as always.’
Shella stood frozen as he passed her. Her flow powers tingled through her fingertips, but she forced her hand down.
He turned at the door, and smiled. ‘Have a lovely trip.’
‘Fucking bastard!’ Shella screamed, as the glass vase she had thrown shattered off the wall.
Kalayne sat crossed legged on her bed, watching, a smokestick balanced on his lips.
She turned to face the old man. ‘I want to kill him.’
‘Perhaps you will one day,’ Kalayne said, exhaling smoke.
Shella squinted. ‘Have you had a vision of it?’
‘Oh you believe me now, do you? So, who was this man?’
‘A Holdings priest.’
‘A mage?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Did he see into your mind?’
‘Yeah,’ she said, taking the smokestick from him as she slumped back onto the bed.
‘May I take a look?’ he said.
‘Why the fuck not?’ she spat. ‘Every other freak’s had a go.’
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes bulging.
‘Rijon,’ he said.
She leaned up on an elbow. ‘You can tell it was him?’
He snorted. ‘They’re like clumsy children given an expensive toy, but without the first idea of how to use it.’
‘And you’re so much better than them, are you?’
‘Of course,’ he frowned. ‘A giant among infants.’
‘And is Daphne an infant too?’
He gave a faint smile. ‘Not any more. She’s a head above the rest of them now. I’m an excellent teacher.’
‘I don’t suppose you could teach me how to stop those bastards getting into my head?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Those without vision powers have no real conscious lucidity. It’s almost like they’re all sleeping, completely unaware of the world of true sight.’
‘Thanks.’
He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘What did you expect? Do you think I have any inkling of the wonders you perceive when you use your flow powers? I cannot even begin to imagine. Nor would I want to, to be honest. I prefer looking at bodies from the outside.’
She smiled. ‘Blood is quite beautiful.’
‘You are very odd. Though you’re not as stupid as I thought you were when we first met. In fact, I am sufficiently pleased by your company. You know, there is something I can do for you. Rijon’s traces are still fresh, and I could, well, persuade your mind to block him, if he ever tries it again.’
Shella grinned. ‘Yes, please.’
She sat up, and crossed her legs, sitting opposite
the old Kell man, who towered a foot over her.
He stared at her again, and she felt a hazy sensation behind her eyes.
‘All done,’ he said. ‘Should last a while.’
‘It’s not permanent then?’
‘People’s minds change all the time,’ he said. ‘To make something permanent I would have to cut a lot deeper, and trust me, it would not be pleasant.’
‘Good enough,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’
‘You can repay me in sex if you like.’
‘Read my mind again.’
He squinted at her, then raised an eyebrow. ‘Such hostility.’
‘I’d repay you in booze,’ she said, ‘but you appear to have drunk it all.’
‘With ample assistance from yourself.’
‘And now we’ve none.’
‘We could always get some.’
‘Where?’
‘The Kellach quarter. I could take you.’
‘You’d be fine, but I wouldn’t get past the wardens.’
‘Don’t worry about them,’ he said. ‘I know all the back ways, and bars where no one will ask any questions. And remember, I can make people forget they have seen us.’
Shella bit her lip, wondering what would happen if she were arrested.
‘Sounds like a laugh,’ she said. ‘Let’s do it.’
Kalayne grinned down at her.
‘But remember,’ she said, ‘it’s not a date. Don’t get any funny ideas.’
‘Oh, my dear,’ he said. ‘Much too late for that.’
An unmarked carriage took them through the new merchants’ district, close to the old Emergency Wall. Much of it was still standing, but a large hole had been knocked through to join the city to the Kellach quarter.
Shella felt a chill note in the night air as they stepped out of the carriage. With only the old man for company, she felt freer than she had for a long time. They had waited until Daly, Sami and most of the staff had gone to bed, and ghosted past the rest, slipping by guards and out through a back door. The carriage had dropped them off in a dark lane that led to a larger street. Beyond that was the archway through the wall that led into the Kellach quarter.
Walls were being constructed to enclose the entire district. High and strong, they followed the line of the rampart that had protected the city during the Sanang siege. Within the half-completed circuit wall, what had been a refugee camp was now a crowded, bustling quarter, with narrow streets in the shadows of high wooden tenements, with shops, forges, workshops and drinking dens lining the main routes.
New sentry posts blocked the road through the archway, and a couple of torches lit up where wardens stood on watch. There were no people out on the street on the New Town side, but the faint sound of voices was coming from the Kellach quarter beyond the wall.
‘What do we do now?’ she whispered.
Kalayne frowned. ‘Follow me, of course.’
He turned his back to the main road, and walked down the side lane, keeping to the deep shadows under the eaves of the buildings. Ahead, the wall of the Old Town loomed. As they neared it, Kalayne stopped in front of a small stone shack that abutted the base of the wall. He knocked on the battered old door, its paint peeling off in ribbons.
‘There’s no way through that new wall,’ he said as they waited, ‘but the Old Town wall has more than one secret passage, burrowed over decades.’
Shella pulled her black cloak around her, and tugged the deep hood down over her face.
The door opened a crack, and an old Holdings woman stared through the gap.
‘You again?’ she said.
‘Aye.’
‘Just the two of you?’
‘Aye.’
‘Ten shillings each, or one gold sovereign for both.’
Kalayne nodded, and thumbed at Shella. ‘She’ll pay.’
Shella reached into her purse, and handed the old woman a coin.
‘Come on then, my darlings,’ the old woman said, opening the door for them to pass through into the shack. The woman pocketed the coin and pulled back a rug on the floor to reveal a trapdoor.
Kalayne grabbed the iron handle and lifted the wooden flap.
Shella peered through, but saw only darkness.
‘Here,’ the old woman said, handing her a lamp.
‘You first,’ Kalayne said.
Shella held the lamp in one hand and sat on the floor, her legs dangling over the edge of the hole. From the dim light she could see a wooden ladder going down. She descended, hearing the boots of Kalayne above her as he followed. They reached the bottom where a tunnel began, and Kalayne waved up to the old woman, who lowered the trapdoor without a sound.
He nodded, and they made their way down the tunnel. After a few yards, a newer tunnel branched off to the left.
‘The tunnel used to link the Old Town to the market,’ he said as they walked. ‘But since the Kellach arrived, someone built this new way.’
‘And the church wardens don’t know of it?’
‘They’ve found a few other tunnels,’ he said, ‘but the Old Town is riddled with them. A good place to hide, by the way, should the situation ever call for it.’
They reached another ladder, and climbed. At the top, they pushed open a trapdoor.
Shella poked her head through and saw a small, dark room, where two Kellach sat, watching her.
‘I suppose we have to pay you as well?’ she asked.
The female Kellach laughed. ‘You only pay on the way out. Don’t you know anything?’
‘Whesht hen,’ Kalayne said. ‘My friend is unaware of the etiquette.’
‘Oh, hi Kalayne ya auld bastard,’ the Kellach woman said. ‘Didnae see ye there.’
Shella and Kalayne pulled themselves up into the room.
‘Many wardens out tonight?’ Kalayne said.
‘A fair few.’
‘Any raids?’
‘Donnelly’s place got busted an hour ago,’ the Kellach woman said. ‘Wardens caught one of the Holdings folk hiding in the piss-hut. Gave him a right doing.’
Shella frowned.
‘Having second thoughts?’ Kalayne asked. ‘I could always take you back.’
‘Fuck that,’ Shella said. ‘You promised me a night out. You’re not getting out of it that easily.’
The Kellach woman grinned.
‘Way’s clear,’ said the Kellach man, who was squinting through a shutter.
‘Right,’ said Kalayne. ‘We shall be seeing you later on.’
He gestured to Shella, and they walked to the door. Kalayne opened it and peered to either side, before stepping out onto the dark street. Shella followed him, and the door was closed behind her. She turned, and blinked. The door was invisible, disguised as part of a timber wall. Above, five floors of wooden tenement towered over them.
‘Remember this place,’ Kalayne said, ‘in case we get separated.’
She looked around, trying to take in every detail of her surroundings.
‘Are we going far?’
Kalayne took off down the narrow street without answering. She tutted and followed. They went between high tenements, with the road only a few yards wide in places. There was no street lighting, and Shella stumbled in the darkness.
‘Staggering before you’ve had a drink, eh?’ Kalayne smirked. ‘Ah, here we are. The Sleeping Bear.’
He pointed down a narrow alley, where light was spilling from under a door.
Kalayne strode to the door, checked the alley both ways, and knocked. A grille opened, and a pair of eyes glared out.
‘That you, Benny?’ Kalayne asked.
The door was unlatched and opened. A massive man with red hair stood behind the threshold.
‘Brought a friend, have you?’ he asked.
‘Nothing gets past you, Benny.’
The big Kellach man smirked as he let them pass by him into a hallway. ‘You’ll need to take her to the back room. Wardens have been in tonight already.’
Benny closed the doo
r, and bolted the latch.
‘They find anyone who shouldn’t have been here?’ Shella asked from under her hood.
‘Do you think I’d still be open for business if they had?’
‘This is my first time in the Kellach quarter.’
Benny frowned at Kalayne. ‘And you brought her here?’
The old man shrugged. ‘Good ale.’
Benny led them through another door and down a flight of steps into the basement. Shella caught a glimpse of a large drinking room, full of smoke and drunk Kellach Brigdomin, but Benny ushered them past it and into a storeroom, where he uncovered a hidden door and pushed it open.
‘Five gold up front,’ he said, putting his hand out.
‘That’d better be for both of us,’ Kalayne said.
‘Aye,’ Benny grinned. ‘The usual one for you. Four for her.’
Shella reached into her purse and counted out the coins. ‘Here.’
Benny smiled. He gestured with his arm towards the open entrance.
Kalayne walked through. Shella crossed the threshold then paused, glancing up at Benny.
‘What do four gold coins get me, exactly?’
‘All the ale you can drink,’ Benny said. ‘Spirits are extra, especially anything decent. Weed also costs more.’
‘That’s very expensive ale.’
‘Considering the risk I’m running letting you in, four’s cheap.’
He put a hand on the door and began to close it.
‘If you hear three thumps on the ceiling,’ he said, ‘that means the wardens are back. Shut the fuck up and stay where you are. I’ll come down to tell you when they’ve gone.’
Shella opened her mouth to reply, but he swung the door shut.
She turned.
Ahead of her was a low corridor, which opened up onto a room where candles were flickering. She headed for the light and entered the chamber. Damp stains spread up the roughly-plastered walls, and the floor was earthen and sticky. A dozen tables were scattered across the floor, with under half occupied. She saw Kalayne at one, talking to a woman.
She walked over and sat next to him. The woman turned to gaze at her.
‘Keeping the hood on, are ye hen?’ she asked.
‘Yeah.’
The woman squinted down at her.
The Magelands Box Set Page 98
