An Imperial Gambit (Wardens of Issalia Book 3)

by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

  What is she thinking? Quinn wondered.

  Kardan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “War is a mistress of many faces. Strategy and preparation can place an outnumbered army in a position of strength. The element of surprise or superior weapons can do the same.” He picked up a sheet of paper and stared at it. “And yet, history has shown victory to favor the greater force. Our new weapons bolster our chances, but I would prefer to field more…”

  A knock startled Quinn. The conversation had held her in rapt attention while she leaned against the door. She turned and opened it to find Ydith standing in the hall beside a balding man in his fifties. His skin was tan, his face rugged. The stump at his left shoulder drew Quinn’s focus to it. Her gaze then lowered to the sword at his hip.

  “I have a report for General Kardan,” the man said.

  Quinn’s brow furrowed. “And, your name is…”

  “His name is Gambo,” Kardan said, rising from his chair. “Tom Gambo.”

  Seeing Kardan approaching, Quinn stepped aside. Gambo entered the room and Kardan embraced him, clapping him on the back.

  “It’s good to see you, Tom. You look a bit worn.”

  “Yes. I’ve spent the past five months in the saddle.” The man bowed his head toward Varius. “Archon, I am ready to report.”

  Varius did not stand, but she did nod and reply, “Please do. I pray you have good news.”

  Gambo ran his hand through his graying hair, or what remained of it. He appeared weary. “The good and the bad depend on your expectations. The gold you gave me is gone, and more was promised. In the end, the added soldiers are going to cost you.”

  “Fine,” Varius said. “Gold is something we can spare.”

  Kardan sat behind his desk. “The report, Tom. Let’s hear it.”

  The man nodded. “As we planned, I made my journey directly for Nor Torin. When I arrived, I met with some old acquaintances and put the word out – I had gold and was seeking swords to join me. The result was better than expected. From Nor Torin alone, I yielded four hundred fighters. We left the city to head east. I put a trusted man in charge and rode ahead. We worked our way across Torinland, around the Gulf of Norta, and across Hurnsdom to the coast before we turned south. By that time, my force was approaching three thousand strong. They should arrive at the rendezvous point inside a week.”

  “Three thousand soldiers?” Kardan grinned. “Combined with our current force, that brings our numbers close to twelve thousand. I doubt Kantaria and Torinland can combine to match that, unless they press ordinary citizens into service.”

  Varius added, “That leaves the Tantarri, and their numbers have always been few. They will add another five hundred warriors at best.”

  Kardan nodded. “Yes. The numbers now make sense. We will increase the supply lines immediately to feed our expanded army.”

  Varius stood and circled the desk to stare out the window. “We are at the brink, Leo. Once the first tile falls, the others will follow. The moment marking the end of Chaos is approaching.”

  5

  Knife of Despair

  Cassie wrapped her cloak tight about herself, but the wind was persistent – a gust finding its way past the barrier and giving her a chill. As usual, the wind was far stronger atop the Ward tower than on the ground, far below.

  A blanket of gray covered the sky, dark to the west as it threatened to snow. White caps already covered the peaks in that direction – a reminder of the storm from a week earlier. When her gaze slid toward the base of the mountains, she found the colors of autumn now faded –the trees having shed their leaves in preparation of winter’s impending embrace. Spending the winter at the Ward was a concept Cassie had yet to fully comprehend. The mild days of winter in Kantar were likely nothing like a winter in this mountain valley. Something tells me my wait to play in the snow won’t be long now.

  “I’m ready,” Everson said, drawing Cassie from her reverie.

  She turned and found him standing beside the modified catapult. A round wooden disk, slightly larger than a person’s head, waited in each launch bucket. The rune on the face of the first disk began to glow while Rena released the stored Chaos she had gathered. When Everson pulled the lever, the disk shot toward the eastern horizon and burst into flames. The rune on the next disk flared before it launched and became a ball of fire arcing through the sky. When the symbol on the third disk glowed red, it chased the others, bursting in flame and burning out before it could land.

  “I’m done,” Rena said, gasping from the effort. “I couldn’t hold it any longer.”

  “You did fine, Rena,” Everson said. “Splitting your charge into three augmentations is impressive.”

  “Yes. I’m improving,” she huffed with a nod. “When I first arrived, I couldn’t even charge a second disk.”

  “That is why we train – to hone our skills.” Everson pulled another lever and the Chaos Conduction engine sparked to life, cranking the catapult arms back down into launch position.

  Cassie watched Rena closely. The girl’s emerald eyes, auburn hair, and button nose painted a pretty picture, but Cassie sensed a sadness beneath the surface that made Rena’s smiles seem hollow. The two girls were roommates, but they each may have well lived alone since Rena spent most of her time away from the apartment or locked in her bedroom. While Cassie knew that Rena, Torney, Everson, and Quinn had grown up together in Cinti Mor, she knew little else of the girl outside her role as a Warden. For all her smiles and hellos, Rena’s expression grew somber when she thought nobody was watching. It had grown worse of late – ever since Torney had left on his mission with Jonah, Chuli, and Thiron. Rena’s melancholy became even more apparent when she was around Everson.

  With new disks placed in position, Everson turned toward Cassie. “Are you ready?”

  Cassie took a deep breath and blew the air out through pursed lips. She closed her eyes and reached for Chaos. As if drawing another breath, she absorbed the surrounding energy and opened her eyes. Despite the pressure inside her, she used a controlled release to feed some of the energy into the rune on the first disk. Everson launched it and she focused on the next Heat rune. When it began to glow, the disk sailed after the first. The storm inside Cassie raged and she fought to restrain it, releasing half of what remained. Cassie feared that her head might explode while she waited for the third disk to launch. The moment the fourth disk came into view, she channeled the remaining energy into the Heat rune. When launched, the disk chased the others, bursting into a fireball that streaked across the sky before burning out in a puff of black smoke. As the wind carried the smoke southward, a wave of exhaustion washed over Cassie, causing her to stagger. Her breath came in gasps, her body feeling numb and empty.

  “You did it, Cassie! All four disks.” Everson turned toward her. “I’m sure Alridge would be proud.”

  Cassie nodded weakly. “Thank you, Everson. Can we go back inside? I’m freezing.”

  “Yes.” He waved for them to take the lead. “Let’s go. We can take the lift down.”

  The trio took the ladder down to the twelfth floor and boarded Everson’s Chaos-powered lift. With the pull of a lever, it began a steady descent, the interior of the Atrium sliding past as the lift went down. They stopped at the fifth floor, and Cassie climbed off, saying goodbye to Rena and Everson who planned to take the lift to the bottom before heading to the Forge.

  Cassie entered the corridor and found Headmaster Ackerson waiting by her door. Her brow furrowed as she wondered about the cause behind his visit. He turned toward her and she stopped, a chill raking over her when she saw the look in his eyes.

  “Cassilyn,” the headmaster said in a solemn tone. “I need you to come with me.”

  “What?” Worry began to churn inside her. Is it Brandt? She suddenly feared attempting to reach him, afraid of how she might react if he didn’t respond. “Where are we going?”

  “Come along,” he said as he walked past her. “The others are waiting.
”

  The headmaster descended to the third level and led Cassie to the debriefing room, her mind clouded with worry the entire time. He opened the door and moved aside while she entered. With only two open seats, ICON’s leaders were, again, all present. The anxiety inside her grew worse and her hand went to her stomach as she felt like she might vomit.

  “Please. Take a seat, Cassie.” Ackerson closed the door and circled around the table.

  Still unsure of the reason for the meeting, Cassie sat beside Ackerson and clasped shaking hands before resting them on the table.

  “A messenger arrived today,” Ackerson said. “The message he carried contained grave news – news you all must know.

  “Eight days ago, there was an attack in Kantar. General Budakis was found dead in his bed – murdered.”

  Cassie gasped. No, not Gunther. She had known Gunther Budakis her entire life. Despite his often gruff exterior, she knew he had a heart of gold.

  “Several guards were slain in the process, but that isn’t the worst of it.” Ackerson’s expression was frighteningly grim. “The assailant carried an explosive device. When triggered, the blast destroyed much of the palace’s top floor.”

  Unable to restrain herself, Cassie cried out, “What about my parents? Are they all right?”

  Ackerson’s eyes met Cassie’s for a moment. Within them, she saw a sadness that left her terrified to hear his response. His gaze lowered, and he took a deep breath before replying.

  “I’m afraid that King Brock and Prince Broland were killed in the explosion.”

  A knife of despair struck, piercing Cassie’s heart. Her hand went to her chest. Shaking her head, she gasped for air. It can’t be true. It just can’t be true. The room blurred through the tears obscuring her vision. After a few ragged breaths, she choked out a response.

  “My mother.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “What of my mother?”

  “The messenger left Kantar six days past,” Ackerson said. “At that time, Queen Ashland was alive, but remained in a coma. Her wounds had been healed, but she had suffered severe damage to her head, and the healers are unsure if she will ever wake.”

  Faint starlight from the Atrium skylights filtered through the gap in the curtain. That light is where Cassie focused her attention while she lay in bed. Awake. For hours.

  She had considered contacting Brandt to share the heart-breaking news, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. How can I do that to him? How can I repeat something so horrible when I don’t believe it myself? It can’t be true, can it?

  She had made a conscious effort to shield her pain away from her bond with Brandt, to keep him unaware of how she felt. It was a subtle skill – one she guessed Brandt had not yet developed. If he had, he would have masked his feelings far better than he had – especially when he was with Quinn. More than once, Cassie had found herself blushing at her exposure to his interactions with the girl.

  He is happy to be with her. I don’t want to ruin it with…she couldn’t even bear to mentally repeat the news. I must sleep. But…how can I sleep when my mind is such a cluttered mess?

  To calm herself, Cassie sought meditation. She found her center, Order at the core of her being. She held it to herself and willed her healing abilities to repair her sundered heart. Of course, that was not possible. Still, in her core, there was a sense of peace. The pale blue aura of Order surrounded her, drew her in deeper, pulled her toward it and the solace it offered.

  Then, she sensed something beyond it, as if Order were a gateway rather than a destination. Extending herself, Cassie slid through and found a ghostly version of herself floating in a void. Bubbles, both near and distant, surrounded her. Looking backward, the blue glow of her inner self remained. Tentatively, she reached for the nearest bubble. Rather than pop, the wall bent to her pressure, yet it was soft enough that her hand slid inside. She put her other hand against the bubble and it, too, slipped through the wall. Confused, she withdrew her hands and frowned at them. They were transparent like the rest of her, but still intact. Curiosity took hold, and she pushed her face against the bubble. Her head slipped through the surface and reality shifted.

  Cassie found herself standing in a room – a bedroom she had never seen before. She held her hands up to inspect them, her gaze shifting toward her body. Her appearance was normal – flesh and bone and fully clothed.

  Rena sat on the floor beside a bed, playing with two dolls. The girl appeared years younger than the Rena Cassie knew. When Rena looked up at her, she smiled.

  “Hi, Cassie. Have you come to play?”

  Cassie decided she had somehow fallen asleep and was in a strange dream. Rather than fight it, she played along. She did need the sleep.

  “Yes, I’ll play with you.”

  Cassie sat on the floor with her legs crossed and Rena facing her. Rena held a doll toward Cassie, who accepted it and turned it toward her. The doll’s mouth had been sewn shut.

  “What happened to her mouth?” Cassie asked.

  “Father likes it that way.”

  “Why?”

  Rena shrugged, looking at her own doll, its mouth also sewn together. “It’s best if she can’t talk.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Rena leaned close, her voice a whisper. “If she can’t talk, she can’t tell secrets.”

  A sound came from the room beyond the bedroom door – the sound of a door opening, heavy boots entering.

  “Rena, I’m home,” a man’s voice said.

  Rena’s eyes grew wide. “We can’t let him find you. You must hide!”

  “What? Why?” Cassie was confused as the dream became increasingly more odd.

  “Please, Cassie. Just trust me. Get under the bed. Please.” Rena was frantic, and tears streaked her face.

  Unnerved, Cassie rolled under the bed a moment before the door opened.

  “Is someone in here?” he asked.

  “No,” Rena shook her head emphatically. “I was only talking to my dolls.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Rena.” The man’s voice carried a threat that gave Cassie chills. “Remember what happens if you lie.”

  “I wouldn’t lie to you, Father.”

  From her position, Cassie saw the man’s legs, his heavy work boots. Three quick steps into the room and his hand appeared, gripping Rena’s arm and lifting her.

  “You are full of lies, Rena,” he growled. “I’ll teach you not to lie to me.”

  The room darkened and fear emanated from Rena…raw, uncontrolled terror, as the man dragged Rena out the door.

  It’s only a dream, Cassie told herself. She recalled how she had come to this dream from her room in the Ward. The Ward made her think of her magic. Chaos magic. She slid out from beneath the bed and spotted a pen in an inkwell on the girl’s desk. Using it, she drew a rune on her hand and summoned Chaos. With the Chaos channeled into the rune, it began to glow, filling Cassie with Power. Her vision grew spotty. She staggered as the Power took hold, her vision clearing.

  She darted to the door, tore it off the hinges, and ran into the next room.

  It was a dungeon.

  The room was two hundred feet long and half the width. The ceiling was so high that Cassie couldn’t see it. Instruments of torture filled the space – tables with clamps and pulleys, tubs of water with ropes hanging above them, a cage filled with rats, clamps, vices, and other oddities Cassie couldn’t name.

  A naked woman was hanging over the center of the room with ropes about her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were missing. Her mouth sewn shut. The sight made Cassie gag.

  Rena’s scream came from the far end of the room. Cassie spotted the girl, her arm in the grip of a man who stood ten feet tall. Gritting her teeth in defiance, Cassie leaped across the room in two giant steps. She then challenged the man whose back was facing her.

  “Let her go!”

  The man turned around and Cassie gasped. With long, greasy black hair that dangled to his shoulders, he had ski
n that was pale, eyes glowing red, and black talons on the ends of his fingers. The sight triggered Cassie’s memory, recalling descriptions in books she had read. This wasn’t a man. It was a banshee.

  The monster smiled, the expression lacking any semblance of humor.

  “So, you were lying to me, Rena.”

  “Please, Father,” Rena begged. “Don’t hurt her. She’s my friend.”

  “Friends corrupt you. They convince you to share secrets that are never to be shared. It’s why we moved from Cinti Mor.”

  Cassie sought the raw power in her body and gathered her courage. She would face this monster. After all, it was only a dream.

  “Let her go!” Cassie screeched in defiance. “If you want to hurt someone, try me.”

  With a sneer, the monster tossed Rena aside. The girl tumbled into the corner and then curled up in a ball.

  The banshee launched itself toward Cassie, swinging a massive, five-foot long arm toward her. Leaping in the air, the beast’s talons swept beneath Cassie’s feet as she sailed over it. She landed behind the monster and kicked at the side of its knee with her heel. A nasty crunch came from the joint and the monster howled in pain. It swept a long arm in an attempt to backhand her, but Cassie ducked beneath it. She then grabbed its wrist and thrust her palm into its elbow. A terrible crunch sounded when the joint imploded, bending the beast’s arm in reverse.

  Darting through the gap in its legs, Cassie ran to the nearest table and lifted it. She spun about and launched the table into the monster. The table struck the banshee in the face and the monster flew backward while table pieces scattered across the room. When the monster landed, it slid across the floor and struck the wall. Covered in blood, the banshee did not move.

  Cassie ran to Rena and knelt before her.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Rena uncovered her eyes, gawking in wonder. “You beat him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is he alive?”

  When Cassie looked at him next, she saw a man, not a monster – his arm broken, his leg twisted. The man had a bloodied gash across his forehead, but his chest still rose and fell.