The Magelands Box Set

by Christopher Mitchell

  His head fell back against his pillow. He knew he should get undressed, get under the blanket, and get Daphne under it too, but he couldn’t move, he was so tired. A strange feeling that something was wrong crept over him, but he was so comfortable that his eyes closed, and within seconds he was asleep.

  ‘Killop!’ cried a voice. ‘Wake up!’

  A palm struck his cheek, and his head stung. He groaned. A mug of water landed on his face, and he spluttered and sat up. Daphne was on the bed in front of him, her eyes raw with tears.

  ‘She’s gone.’

  Killop focussed, the words taking time to make sense. He stared at the empty cot. ‘Celine? Kylon?’

  ‘She’s there,’ Daphne said. ‘He’s not.’

  Killop jumped out of bed, still wearing his clothes from the previous day. He charged through past the curtain. Celine was sitting on her bed, rubbing her head. Kylon, and his pack, were missing. Killop ran out of the tent, his feet bare against the rough ground. The sun was rising above the hills to the east, and the camp was busy with troopers preparing their breakfasts. There was no sign of Kylon, or Baoryn.

  ‘Sergeant,’ he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

  ‘Yes, sir?’ said the sergeant, getting up from the fire, and brushing crumbs from her uniform.

  ‘Get some troopers and search the camp. Find Kylon, and bring him here. And the Rahain, Baoryn, if you see him. Do it as quickly as you can.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ she nodded, and pointed at a few troopers. ‘On your feet.’

  Killop turned, and went back into the tent. Celine was still sitting on her bed.

  Killop knelt by her. ‘Did you see or hear anything?’

  She shook her head. ‘I didn’t wake up. I feel like I’m still sleeping now.’

  ‘Kylon drugged us,’ said Daphne, walking past the curtain while she buckled on her armour.

  ‘What?’ said Killop.

  ‘Chane didn’t lose her dullweed,’ she said, her face dark with fury. ‘He stole it. Get your boots on, we’re going after him.’

  He ran to the back of the tent, and pulled his boots from under the camp-bed. As he pushed his feet into them, his eyes caught sight of the empty cot, and a mixture of anguish and rage built up inside him. If Kylon had taken his daughter he would rip his head from his shoulders. He grabbed his sword and leather cuirass, and went back through to the other side of the tent.

  Daphne glanced at him, her right hand forming a fist.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  They walked out of the tent, leaving Celine sitting in a daze. The sergeant saw them, and hurried over.

  ‘No sign of them, sir,’ she said. ‘Kylon and Baoryn are not in the camp.’

  Daphne frowned. ‘They could be miles from here by now,’ she said. ‘They could have left hours ago.’

  ‘Have you questioned the night sentries?’ asked Killop.

  ‘I’ll do it now, sir,’ said the sergeant, and ran off.

  Killop heard Daphne’s breath quicken. Her eyes were screwed shut, and her right fist was trembling. He pulled the silver case out of her belt and lit her a cigarette.

  ‘We need to think,’ he said. ‘Where would he go?’

  ‘We need to get somewhere high,’ she said, her eyes snapping open. ‘Somewhere I can range for miles. We’ll find him.’

  She sprinted for a mountain track, and he ran after her. They climbed up the steep trail, leaping over rocks and leaving the camp far behind. They came to a rocky ridge, where a cold wind cut through their clothes. Daphne sat, and gazed around, smoking.

  ‘Alright,’ she said, as he knelt beside her. ‘I’m going to look for Karalyn. If she’s out there, I’ll find her.’

  They kissed, and her eyes glazed over.

  Killop watched her for a moment, then got to his feet. He stared down into the mountain wilderness. Lifeless, grey peaks were criss-crossed with deep gorges, where they had been hiding for so long. By now, Kylon knew the ways across the Shield Mountains as well as any. He could hide and never be found. Killop smiled, faint hope keeping his heart from despair. Karalyn would tell them where she was.

  He turned as Daphne let out a cry.

  ‘I can’t find her, Killop,’ she wept, as he crouched by her. She reached up and pulled him close. ‘I can’t find her anywhere.’

  Killop’s heart sank.

  ‘I’ve always been able to find her before,’ Daphne cried. ‘I searched for miles, nothing. She’s not anywhere.’

  ‘But Kylon wouldn’t hurt her,’ Killop said. ‘She’s not dead, she can’t be.’

  ‘How else could I not see her?’ she said, her eyes breaking his heart.

  Killop’s mind raced. ‘Maybe he’s drugging her too?’

  Daphne breathed, and her tears slowed. She frowned.

  ‘Maybe he’s putting it in her water,’ he said. ‘Daphne, she’s still alive.’

  She wiped her face.

  ‘Kylon knows she would try to contact us,’ she said. ‘That bastard’s keeping her drugged.’

  ‘We’re going to find Karalyn,’ he said, their eyes locking in shared fury, ‘and Kylon.’

  ‘When we do, we’re going to kill him.’

  He nodded. ‘Together.’

  Chapter 27

  Sanctuary

  Silverstream, Imperial Rahain – 23rd Day, First Third Winter 507

  Snow blanketed the mountainside in a thick layer of white, and sheets of ice flowed down the river that wound through the small town of Silverstream. Smoke came from a hundred chimneys as the inhabitants kept themselves warm through the winter’s day. Agang, Laodoc and Bridget sat out on their veranda, drinking heated rice spirits, their breakfast bowls lying empty on the decking by their wicker chairs. The two men were wrapped up in coats and scarves, while the Brig woman sat bare-armed in her leathers, her feet up on the wooden railing. After several days of snow, the sky above was blue, and the sun was shining.

  The mountains in front of them shone bright as the sun rose into the sky behind them.

  ‘A fine morning,’ Laodoc said. ‘The town looks beautiful, now that the blizzard has stopped.’

  ‘It looks good,’ said Agang, ‘but it’ll be cold and wet to travel through. Still, we should be thinking of making our move, snow or not.’

  ‘Is there any point?’ Bridget said. ‘Shella’s not coming. And there are worse places to spend the winter than Silverstream.’

  ‘We’ve already stayed too long,’ Agang said. ‘I’m impatient to be off.’

  ‘Off where, though?’

  ‘You know where. To the Holdings, to find Daphne’s child.’

  Bridget sighed.

  ‘Back through Rahain,’ she said, ‘then all the way up the Plateau? It’ll take us half the year to get there.’

  ‘We could try the tunnel through the Grey Mountains.’

  She shook her head. ‘Ye saw how heavily guarded it is now. There’s no way we’re getting through there without imperial papers. We’ll have to go the long way round, halfway back to Kellach Brigdomin.’

  Laodoc glanced at her. ‘Do you want to go home, Bridget?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I mean, the whole point of us being here is so that we can get Shella and Keira together, only neither of the stubborn cows wants to budge. So now Agang’s got this new plan to go to the Holdings to search for Karalyn Holdfast, but… to be honest it seems like we’re clutching at straws.’

  ‘We can’t give up, Bridget,’ said Agang. ‘We must stop the Emperor, or he will destroy the world.’

  ‘Aye,’ she said, ‘that’s what we keep telling ourselves. But is it true? Let’s face it, all of our evidence comes from a dead guy who said he could see the future, who only one of here has met.’

  ‘I saw what the Emperor did to the Sanang army,’ Agang said. ‘Do you doubt the evidence of my own eyes?’

  ‘No,’ Bridget said. ‘From what you and Shella have said, I believe he has new powers, and he exercised them to defend his city.’
/>   ‘But Bridget,’ Laodoc said, ‘Shella also believes that Kalayne could see the future. If you believe her about the Emperor, then why would you doubt her about Kalayne?’

  Bridget scowled. ‘Oh shut up, lizardman.’

  Laodoc smiled.

  ‘Alright,’ she said, ‘say it’s all true, then what? We find Daphne, and just ask her if we can borrow her daughter? I’m sure she and Killop will be delighted about that.’

  The smile on his face faded.

  ‘See?’ she smirked. ‘Ye’ve not thought this through. Ye just can’t accept that we’ve failed, and are grasping at the first idea ye come across. Laodoc, you and me used to live with Karalyn. Be honest, did ye sense anything in Slateford that made ye think she was going to save the world?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘But it was you that told us she had powers,’ Agang said.

  ‘She does. But she’s a bairn, Agang. She can’t help us.’

  ‘I won’t accept that,’ the Sanang man said, leaning back and folding his arms.

  Bridget shrugged, and sipped her warm drink.

  ‘You don’t need to make any decision now,’ Laodoc said to her. ‘If we do travel to the Holdings, then when we reach the Plateau you can decide where you want to go next. It goes without saying of course, but I would very much like you to journey with us. I think Killop would be glad to see you.’

  ‘More than he would you, that’s for sure.’

  Laodoc bowed his head. ‘I greatly regret what I did. I should never have opened my mouth to Daphne about Douanna, but my longing for revenge blinded me to everything else. I am to blame for them leaving us, and I know you still harbour some resentment towards me because of it. I’m sorry, Bridget.’

  She frowned, and looked away.

  ‘It’s done now,’ said Agang, ‘and they’re probably in the Holdings. The people we need to bind together are scattered to the far corners of the world, while the Emperor sits in the middle, laughing at us.’

  ‘You’re taking it very personally,’ said Bridget.

  ‘How could I not? He killed me.’

  ‘And ye want to give him the chance to do it again?’

  ‘No, next time I want to be prepared.’

  ‘By using a bairn as a shield?’

  ‘She might be the only person in the world who can hide from the Emperor.’

  ‘So what, we send her in with a knife?’

  The Sanang man’s temper rose, his face reddening.

  ‘Come now, Agang,’ said Laodoc. ‘She has a point.’

  ‘What?’ he said. ‘Are you losing heart as well?’

  ‘Not at all, my friend, but we do need to think through our plan very carefully.’

  ‘You need to work out how to persuade Daphne, you mean,’ said Bridget. ‘I’d give up now if I were you, after all your charms haven’t worked on Keira or Shella. The only dumbass to fall for your bullshit is me.’

  ‘I’m sorry you feel that way, Bridget,’ said Laodoc.

  ‘Aye,’ she said, sipping her drink, ‘me too.’

  Agang nodded at Laodoc, and he turned to follow his gaze. Two Rakanese in long winter coats were striding along a wooden walkway towards them.

  ‘The scouts I asked for,’ he said.

  Laodoc smiled as they approached.

  They nodded, and said a greeting in their own language.

  ‘I’ll translate,’ Bridget said.

  Laodoc watched as she spoke to the two scouts, her Rakanese lessons having continued apace. He breathed in the cool mountain air, listening to the sounds of the river beneath them.

  The scouts nodded again, and left.

  ‘Well?’ said Agang.

  ‘Bad news, I’m afraid,’ she said. ‘They say that every route out of Silverstream is blocked with snow. I guess we’re stuck here a little longer.’

  Agang stood, and glared at the white mountains. He turned, and began to walk away.

  ‘Wait,’ said Laodoc. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To speak to Shella.’

  ‘Why?’

  Agang stopped, and faced him. ‘Because they’re lying to us.’

  ‘What?’ said Bridget. ‘Why the fuck would they do that?’

  ‘They don’t want us to leave.’

  Bridget snorted. ‘You’re being paranoid.’

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘I’m not. Are you coming?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Laodoc. ‘Please wait a moment while I get to my feet.’

  Bridget stood, and helped him up. He took his walking stick, and they joined Agang.

  ‘This should be amusing,’ said Bridget as they left the veranda, and headed along a slatted walkway. A foot below, the waters of the river glistened with ice floes as they passed, and their breath misted in the crisp air. They nodded to a few Rakanese on the way. Bridget got more greetings than the other two, and she replied in their own tongue. They reached Shella’s house, a large wooden apartment standing alone, with lines of high trees on either side.

  Agang knocked on the door.

  Bridget took Laodoc’s hand, and he leant on her as they went up the steps.

  Agang knocked again, and the door opened.

  ‘Master Thymo,’ said Laodoc, ‘how are you this morning?’

  The boy stared up at them.

  Agang frowned.

  ‘Is Shella at home?’ he said. ‘Come on, boy, you know who we are.’

  Thymo said nothing.

  Bridget crouched down by him. ‘Is your auntie home? Can we see her, please?’

  ‘Who’s there?’ said a voice from within.

  Shella appeared at the door, wearing a dressing gown, her hair a tangled mess. ‘Oh, it’s you.’

  ‘Mage Shella, we need to talk at once,’ Agang said.

  ‘Really? Must we?’

  ‘We would be most obliged, madam,’ Laodoc said.

  Shella frowned. ‘Well, drag your asses inside out of the cold.’

  She stood to the side to let them pass, then closed the door.

  ‘Thymo,’ she said, ‘go to your room. I don’t want you to hear all the bad language.’

  ‘Yes, auntie,’ the boy said, and ran off.

  ‘I hope there won’t be any need for bad language,’ Laodoc said.

  ‘Depends what you’re here to say,’ Shella said. ‘Want a drink?’

  ‘Aye,’ said Bridget.

  Shella led them through to a comfortable living room, with long, low couches covered in throws and cushions, and a fire burning in the corner. She gestured for them to sit, brought over a tray from the sideboard, and put it down on the table in front of them.

  ‘Help yourself,’ she said.

  Bridget picked up the jug from the table and poured out four cups of clear spirit. Shella sat opposite them.

  ‘Sorry if we got you out of bed,’ said Laodoc.

  ‘What the fuck do you want?’

  ‘What do we want?’ said Agang. ‘You know what we want. The question is, why are you trying to stop us?’

  ‘What?’ Shella said. ‘Is this a Sanang riddle?’

  Bridget laughed. ‘The boys have this paranoid theory that Silverstream is conspiring to keep us all here.’

  Shella puffed out her cheeks, and half-smiled.

  ‘It’s not true, is it?’ Bridget said.

  ‘I’m not supposed to say anything,’ she said.

  ‘I knew it,’ said Agang, slapping his thigh.

  ‘But why?’ said Bridget. ‘I thought you wanted us to go? When we first got here you were constantly nagging us about it, asking us why we were still here, or when we were leaving, and now you want us to stay?’

  ‘I don’t want you to stay.’

  ‘Has the town council made a decision?’ said Laodoc.

  ‘They might have.’

  Bridget put down her cup, glaring at the Rakanese woman.

  ‘See?’ Agang said. ‘What did I tell you?’

  Laodoc glanced at Bridget.

  ‘I thought you liked it here,’ he s
aid to her.

  ‘That’s not the fucking point,’ Bridget said. ‘This is bullshit. They can’t stop us from leaving.’

  ‘They might try,’ said Shella. ‘I honestly don’t know how far the council would go.’

  ‘I assume you disagreed with their decision?’ Laodoc said.

  ‘You assume right.’

  ‘Then why didn’t you stop them?’ said Bridget.

  Shella raised an eyebrow. ‘What power do you think I have in this town? I’m not on the council, and as there’s no election due for a couple of years, I’m unlikely to be on it any time soon. As the founder of the town, I guess they treat me as an honoured guest or something, but I’m not in charge. I can’t force them to do anything.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Bridget. ‘Why do they want us to stay?’

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ said Agang. ‘The entire town has been free of disease and injuries since we got here. I’ve treated half the population, from sick children, to pregnant women and old people with dislocated hips. Do you think they want to go back to the way it was before?’

  Shella shook her head. ‘You conceited bastard, Agang.’

  He smiled. ‘Am I wrong?’

  ‘You’re partly right.’

  He folded his arms. ‘You can tell your council that we intend to leave, with or without their permission. I am not their captive, and my skills are not theirs to abuse.’

  ‘Fucking tell them yourself,’ Shella muttered.

  Agang paused, frowning.

  ‘Are you serious?’ asked Laodoc.

  ‘Yeah, I am. The council are in session today, why don’t you march your asses up there and tell them what you fucking think?’ She shrugged. ‘This has got nothing to do with me.’

  ‘And would they let us speak?’ Laodoc said.

  ‘Probably,’ she said. ‘You might have to make an appointment.’

  ‘How dare they,’ Agang cried. ‘They’re trying to hold us hostage here, and they want us to make an appointment?’ He stood. ‘No. I shall go, and tell them that their treatment of us is unacceptable.’

  ‘But, my friend,’ Laodoc said, ‘we need Shella to accompany us. To translate.’

  ‘She can do it,’ Shella smirked, pointing at Bridget.