Death Mage's Nemesis (Death Mage Series Book 4)

by Jon Bender

  “These are the men Lord Prasil took with him,” Taft said.

  The news gave Keller pause. “What about Prasil? Did you find him?”

  Taft shook his head. “I don’t know if he escaped or was taken prisoner. It is also possible that he was killed somewhere else.”

  Keller gave a slow sigh at having let the lord of the city go with so few men. He should have thought better of it at the time. He felt no real affection for the man, but he was capable and his leadership would be missed in the coming months. In the end, his loss was just one more amongst hundreds of others tonight, and they couldn’t waste time looking for him.

  “The rebels are breaking and will try to escape. We have to hurry if we are to capture them,” he said, putting their focus back on the battle. “Get your men ready to move.”

  Taft brought a fist to his chest in salute before turning to bark orders. Soon they were moving again, heading east and running parallel to the wall in the hopes of scooping up the traitors as they tried to flee. Taft asked to send ahead scouts to better direct their advance. Now that it was unlikely more rebels were waiting for them, Keller agreed. There were no direct routes in the direction they wanted to go, with many of the main avenues cutting from the edge of the city to its center. This forced them to turn either north or south before reaching another road to continue forward. They had just made another turn when a group of scouts returned to speak to Taft. After learning whatever the scouts had to report, he moved closer to Keller wearing a look of frustration.

  “Some of the men saw a large group of the rebels, perhaps a hundred, disappearing into a building several blocks ahead,” Taft said.

  “Another ambush?” Benkt asked.

  “They don’t think so. One of the men risked getting closer and didn’t see any of them waiting in windows or on the roof.”

  “Perhaps they are hiding then. Thinking to wait until morning, then just blend into the city once more,” the priest suggested.

  Taft shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “What do you want to do?”

  “Do you think you could take a look in that building without being discovered,” Keller asked, turning to look at Hailey. “If they’re still there, I don’t want them knowing we’re coming.”

  She seemed to think it over for a moment and the bond relayed a sense of pride. Keller wanted to ask what he had said to evoke the feeling, but both Taft and Benkt were listening closely. Finally, she nodded.

  “Good, get there as quick as you can. We will be right on your heels,” he said. She took off at a jog without speaking. Once deeper in the shadows, he could feel her speed increase, almost like she was skipping considerable distances at a time.

  “I will admit that I did not hold high hopes when you asked me to turn her into one of the faithful, but tonight, she has proven herself worthy of the honor,” Benkt said.

  Keller completely agreed, but did not think the priest would be so approving if he knew the doubts the woman felt, doubts that Keller had been forced to endure. “It was Or’Keer’s wisdom that he should accept her.”

  Benkt gave a thin smile. “I should have trusted in his judgment, and yours. I will try not to be so prideful in the future.”

  It was an uncharacteristic admission for the young priest, but Keller did not have time to consider it further. Taft already had the men moving again and they took a place near the front. Even though all evidence showed the rebels were no longer interested in fighting, he still kept his eyes shifting from rooftops to darkened alleys. The city was now jarringly quiet without the sounds of fighting off in the distance. Even the orange glow in the sky had been muted as more of the fires were put out. He still felt the threat of violence in the air, but couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just his reaction to a night of fighting and waiting for the next attack. Walking in silence and searching every space for a threat was beginning to wear on Keller, but he refused to cease his vigilance. The tense muscles at the back of his neck only loosened slightly when Hailey had stopped putting distance between them. After a short time of staying in the same area, she was then on her way back. He felt her before she stepped out from a darkened doorway just ahead of the first soldiers.

  “There are no rebels in the building,” she said.

  Keller ground his teeth in disappointment. “Was there any sign where they went to?”

  “Some of those who live there told me that there is an entrance into the undercity. There are stairs at the back leading down to an old stargaze room. The entrance has been there for some time.”

  “Filthy conspirators, only heretics and criminals use the undercity. The people you spoke to probably helped the rebels escape,” Benkt cut in, his old self making itself known once more. “Did they offer the information freely?”

  Hailey paused for a moment, but Keller met her eyes with a meaningful stare. “No. I had to use my… presence to get them to talk.”

  Benkt grunted in amusement, but Keller did not detect any real mirth from the man. If he were more cynical, he might have found humor in her statement as well, but he only felt sadness. He was sure that the people Hailey had spoken to were only scared. Likely worried of angering both the rebels and her, but having no choice in the matter. He wouldn’t consider them conspirators, though Benkt was not likely to forget them once the rebels had been dealt with. The priest would only be seen as performing his duty should he return to make examples, and even his new deference for Keller would not alter that.

  It took the column another ten minutes to reach the building, which turned out to be nothing more than a run-down structure. There had once been shops on the street level. Now, the large windows that had displayed wares were boarded up, likely to be converted in to cheap homes. Approaching the nearest door of the building, Benkt did not even wait for the soldiers. He dropped into prayer to summon a finger of Or’Keer, the thick tentacle whipping forward to smash the shabby door into splinters. The soldiers at the front rushed into the doorway to make sure no one was waiting inside to strike. When Keller passed over the threshold, he found himself in a roughly constructed hall made from different types of wood nailed together however they would fit. There were no doors into the separate living areas, only tattered and dirty sheets. The soldiers had quickly gathered up the occupants and had them pressed against the walls to either side. He estimated that he was right about the fear these people felt from the expressions on their faces. Among them was a thin and worn woman with lifeless brown hair tied back in a bun. Clutching her waist and trying to hide behind her dress was a small boy no older than eight or nine. The man standing next her was of medium build and looked to be the husband and father. While his wife looked on at the interlopers with fear, he never raised his eyes from the uneven and battered floors.

  Keller stopped in front of the man, but still he did not look up. “I was told that a number of the traitors came through here tonight and went into the undercity.”

  The man nodded fanatically but did not meet Keller’s eyes. “Yes, my lord. They came through here, but I swear to Or’Keer we did not help them. We are faithful to the Dark God and those who serve him.”

  “Those truly loyal would have tried to stop them or report that they had been here,” Benkt spit, taking half a step toward the man.

  The woman clutched her son tighter and twitched as if to go to her husband but could not find the courage to do so. Keller put up a hand to forestall the priest. Benkt met his eyes with a fiery gaze of his own, a blaze that was quickly doused when he realized it was Keller who has stopped him.

  “Where is the entrance?” Keller asked.

  The man raised a shaky hand and pointed down to the end of the hall. “At the end, my lord. There is an old door that will take you down.”

  Keller nodded and headed down the hallway. Hailey and Taft moved with him while Benkt waited for a second more before following. “You should not have been so gentle with him,” the priest protested.

  “Do you intend to make an example of him
now?” Keller asked without emotion, careful not to look over his shoulder. He did not want the man to see his expression of compassion. Benkt would likely see it as weakness and any ground he had gained with the man would be lost.

  “Of course not, but –”

  “Then there is no need to make him and his family suffer humiliation at this moment. We have more important matters to deal with,” he said with finality.

  He could hear Benkt grumble under his breath, but did not concern himself with the priest’s displeasure. The feeling of satisfaction echoed over the bond to him, and that he paid attention to. He knew he should take no pleasure in Hailey being happy about his purposeful disregard of the situation, but her happiness lifted his spirits. It only confirmed that he had done the right thing. These people were not deserving of Or’Keer’s wrath. Those they now hunted would be the ones to suffer it, and rightly so after causing the deaths of so many and attempting to subvert the path.

  The stairs leading down to the storage room were narrow, allowing for only one person to descend at a time. The dark space was not a problem for Keller or Hailey, but many of the men had confiscated lanterns from the building’s residents to light their way. The small downward sloping tunnel they found in the cramped storage room was even tighter than the stairs. Afraid that the rebels may have left a few men to guard the undercity entrance, Taft insisted on sending some of his men first, those men calling back up that they had found no one.

  Keller was the next to work his way down the rough tunnel, which after a few minutes of slipping on moss-covered stone came out into a large cavernous space that smelled of dank decay. Hailey moved deeper into the room to investigate while he looked around at what appeared to be remnants of a market. There were collapsed booths and a cluster of charred wagons and barrels, their arrangement very similar to the barricades they had encountered on the streets above, including scattered bones and rusted pieces of weapons and armor. Remnants of a long ago forgotten battle for the city Keller guessed. Everything looked to be hundreds of years old and was covered with layers of dust.

  “They have a very large lead on us,” Taft said coming to his side. The light from the lamp he carried burned Keller’s enhanced vision and forced him to release the magic.

  “Some of the men found a lot of tracks heading south. The rebels likely have secret exits that lead outside the city. It will be dangerous to pursue them in terrain they are familiar with.”

  “Are you suggesting that we just let them go?” Benkt asked, his pinched face tightening further in the orange light.

  Taft looked at the priest with a hard expression. “No, holiness, just that we do not chase them through a warren of tunnels where they could drop a ceiling on us if they think to do so.”

  The snapping response from the soldier was unexpected, catching Keller off-guard and causing Benkt to furrow his eyebrows. “You forget your –”

  “What would you suggest?” Keller interrupted, heading off the potential squabble, and likely saving Taft from himself. The man had been loyal and accommodating since Keller had arrived. He could be tired from the fighting and in no mood to deal with Benkt’s zealotry. It was no reason he should be punished for words spoken in a stressful situation.

  “It will take time for the rebels to navigate in the undercity. We should return to the surface and try to catch them as they exit the city. We would have the advantage and be sure none escape,” Taft said.

  “That is if you can find where this exit is. It could be miles away from the wall,” Benkt said, his shoulders relaxing some.

  Both had valid arguments, and Keller had to decide which one held more merit. In both cases they were not guaranteed success in catching up to the rebels, but Taft’s plan held less risk to the men. “We will go back to the surface. If all the rebels are fleeing we will have a better chance of finding more of them as they run, if not this particular group,” he said.

  Benkt sighed and did not look happy, but he let the matter drop. Taft surprisingly still looked to have doubts and cleared his throat. “There are other tracks as well, heading north.”

  “Why would they go deeper into the city?” Benkt said, echoing Keller’s thoughts.

  “I don’t know. Just that some of them did,” Taft replied.

  “How many?” Keller asked, trying to work through the possible reasons himself. Perhaps the retreat from the city was just another feint to distract them. They had already successfully done so once at the beginning of the night. Why not again?

  “No more than three or four. But none of my men are true scouts, so there is no way to know for sure,” Taft said.

  Keller turned slowly to look north as he considered what to do. “Take the men back to the surface, and begin heading outside the city. Send out runners to find the other units and have them do the same if they are not currently engaged, but they are not to pursue south until we are ready.”

  Taft saluted and began calling for his men to go back up through the tunnel.

  “You’re not coming with us?” Benkt asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Hailey and I will go after the group that went north. She knows the undercity, and I don’t want to risk letting them have free rein of the city while we are busy outside of it.”

  Benkt met his eyes firmly. “I should come with you. You don’t know who you will encounter or even how many there are.”

  He considered the request for only a second before rejecting it. As Taft had said, the rebels had a considerable lead. They would have to move quickly to catch up. In the dark undercity, Benkt would need to pray continuously to maintain the enhanced vision that came naturally to both Keller and Hailey.

  “I want you to go with Taft. He and the men may need your help if that group has a mage among them.”

  The priest seemed ready to argue as he leaned forward slightly. “Very well, I will find you after this is finished,” he said, turning on his heel to follow the men back up the tunnel.

  “I am not sure if he holds true concern for you or if it’s because of what happened on the bridge,” Hailey said, once Benkt was out of earshot.

  He had felt her move closer during the conversation, never catching a sound she made, if she made any at all. She was quickly adapting to her new abilities as one of the faithful. He wondered whether, with time, she would be undiscernible from the others. Even her voice had taken on a more cloaked tone. He found that he did not like the prospect. He had dealt with the zeal of the shadow priests and the faithful all his life and it was almost refreshing to be accompanied by a more tempered view.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, watching Benkt climb up into the tunnel, “as long as he obeys my commands.”

  Through the bond he felt a creeping sense of suspicion before it melted away to determination. “I found the tracks Taft spoke of and followed them for a way. He was right, they are heading deeper into the city.”

  “Show me,” he said, putting Benkt and the ongoing struggle in the city out of his mind.

  Hailey led him away deeper into the undercity at a quick pace, her cloaked form hard for even his magically-enhanced eyes to keep track of at times. The grace and surety of her movements indicated to him that she could move much faster on her own. Every so often, she would pause for a second to stare at the dust-covered ground, or look over a section of wall where the moss and had been scraped away by someone’s passing. The deeper they went, the more their surroundings began to look naturally formed. Time had worn away much of the hard edges of man-made buildings that made up the undercity, giving the rooms they passed through a cave-like feeling. Then they would be moving up again into spaces with definable arches and stairs leading to doors that had yet to fully decay.

  He guessed that they had been traveling for thirty minutes at a near running pace, without any sign of closing on their prey. The back and forth nature of the maze made it hard to estimate where in the city they were, but he assumed they must be getting close to the river. Wherever this group of rebels
was heading, it must be in the northern part of the city.

  Keller was proven right, when Hailey led him down a spiraling staircase that could have once been a tower. It came out into a damp room that had been roughly cut with a small tunnel going even deeper. The walls were damp from water seeping through the stone, causing a thick film of slime to accumulate on them. At first, he thought that the rebels must have spent years carving out the tunnel, and then realized that the passage was much older than that. On the floor, he saw a few pick-axe and shovel heads mostly rusted away and covered in grime.

  Moving into the tunnel, he found it difficult to stay upright on the slick slope, using his hands to brace himself as they descended. When it finally leveled out he found himself in waist-high water that smelled of rot and on which a filmy layer floated on the surface. It was on the climb back up that he began to regret following the rebels through the undercity, nearly slipping several times which would have meant sliding back down to putrid water. Hailey did not seem to be having the same difficulties as him, each step she took holding her firmly in place. Realizing that it must be her inherent magic that allowed her to move so swiftly, he decided to see if he could achieve the same effect. Channeling energy, he willed the darkness to thicken where he stepped. Small tendrils took form to grip his boots and hold him in place until he took the next step. It took a moment for him to get rhythm of casting and stepping down, but then he was walking easily up the slope.

  Even though they followed a meandering path, Hailey never wavered in her pursuit. He was beginning to worry that they would never find those they followed when Hailey suddenly stopped and hunched low. Following her lead, he crept up to her side happy for the short break. The muscles in his legs were aching and he had developed a small headache. Using his magic all night between fighting and casting continuously to enhance his sight, had tested the limits of his strength more than it ever had before.

  “What is it?” he whispered. After nearly an hour of traveling in silence, his voice sounded overly loud in his hears.