"Katerina, my love, you are well," she said with a smile.
When I didn't lower my rapier, her grin faltered.
"Leave this place and let Franklin alone," I said.
"What can you mean by this? We are on the same side," she said.
"I am your friend, Rowan, but no, we are not on the same side. You wish the destruction of the city and to kill Ben Franklin. I cannot allow you to do that," I said.
Rowan sighed with a deep weariness. The pale skin around her eyes was tinged with a grayness. Whatever sorceries she'd used earlier had drained her energy, which was good for me, since her bright red lips took a disappointed line.
"You should have never visited the Gamayun. I never meant you to get caught up in this, but if you will allow me to take you back, I can show you why we're on the same side. Trust me, Katerina, you don't want to oppose me," she said.
"You killed Albert Hold and planted those clues on him, so the Warden would find the Gamayun," I said.
She gave a half-shrug, the mark of indifference. "I don't know this Warden, but yes, his death was a trap. If I'd known you would be ensnared, I would have found a different method. I had no wish to harm you. But all is well now, I brought you back."
"You're trying to destroy Philadelphia, and with it America," I said. "I cannot allow that."
"Oh, Katerina. You are so naive to the truth. If this country isn't stopped, it's going to launch a terrible war that will swallow the world and affect multiple realms. By destroying Philadelphia, we seek to preempt the war, saving countless lives," she said.
"You cannot know what America plans to do," I said.
She narrowed her gaze. "You of all people should know what is possible."
"But a strong will can change it. If countering war is what you seek, then let Ben and I find a way to stop it," I pleaded.
"The decision has already been made. There are bigger concerns that must be factored, things you don't understand," she said.
"Then tell me," I said. "Tell me so I might understand."
She shook her head, raven hair dancing against her shoulders. "Come back with me. Only then will you understand the truth."
"No," I said, lifting my rapier. "My place is in Philadelphia, and you will not harm Benjamin Franklin."
"I have no wish to harm you, Katerina, but I will if I must," she said.
"Then you must."
Rowan squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. I saw the anguish in that gesture.
When she opened her eyes, doubt had been banished, and I thought she would kill me with a blast of sorcery.
Instead, she fixed me in her steely gaze. Rowan pulled a bone saber from a scabbard at her hip.
I hid my relief that we would be dueling. She must have used the bulk of her sorcery trying to knock down Franklin's barrier, or maybe she desired to cross blades, a remnant of our first meeting.
My relief quickly turned to fear when Rowan advanced. She attacked like a dervish, crimson dress swirling around her as she swung the bone saber in deadly arcs.
Rowan forced me into a low ward. I kept my elbow angled and wrist stiff, trying to preserve energy. She attacked me with vigor, blade slicing towards me as if her stores were limitless.
I could do nothing but defend, moving my feet in judicious steps, trying not to catch an edge and fall to my rear.
Her blows came at an irregular rhythm.
One. Two.
Sweep low.
One.
Spinning strike.
One. Two. Three. Four.
She pursued my weaknesses relentlessly.
I was an excellent duelist, having been trained by the masters of Europe, and having been blessed with a long life, practiced regularly.
Rowan's expertise vastly outpaced mine, and only a strategic total defense kept the bone saber at bay.
She pushed me out of the alleyway into a star-shaped gap between the buildings. I thought the wide space might help me maneuver, but rather Rowan used it to come at me from unusual angles, directions considered untenable for proper attacks, yet I saw no holes to riposte.
The assault left my arms numb from the unyielding impacts. My defense was waning. I couldn't keep it up much longer.
One. Two.
A leaping attack made me stumble backwards.
Rowan flew towards me, the blade a bright arc of pale slashing down.
My heel caught the rough edge of a stone.
As I wheeled backwards, my chest was left exposed. Rowan's blade would split me in half.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The bone saber rested against the tender flesh of my neck. The edge could spill my heart's blood with the flick of a wrist.
"You are my prisoner," said Rowan as she kicked away my rapier. "Get up. You will come with me and we shall return to the Bone House. I'll deal with Franklin by simply cutting off this demi-plane from Philadelphia."
"I won't go with you. You'll have to kill me," I said.
Rowan growled. "Katerina. I promise you, you'll see my side in this if you only come back to Russia. Things have changed."
"I want to believe you, but I must trust my instincts. No side is perfect, and though there are foolish men within the American government, I trust the bulk have worthy intentions. With Franklin, we can turn the tide against the Federalists and avoid this war. Better to resolve this with words than bullets, for once the lead flies, reason flees along with it."
Rowan made a little gesture with her hand indicating she understood, partially.
"My heart aches that we must be on opposite sides," said Rowan. "In another time, we could have been companions on great adventures, like the bogatyrs of your homeland, or the knights of legend."
A smile hooked itself to my lips though I didn't want it there. I didn't want to feel such kinship with Rowan Blade. It confused my reasons for staying in Philadelphia. Though I would not voice such opinion, I wanted desperately to go on an adventure with Rowan. In my heart, I felt we'd gone on many already.
An explosion in a different part of the stone village sent up a plume of black smoke. Rowan's gaze narrowed with purpose.
"Get up, Katerina. We must depart. I'll leave Franklin to this cursed place," she said.
I knew if I was to get up and go with Rowan, whatever my feelings otherwise, they would be tainted by our friendship, and I would find myself inventing reasons to support her side. I could not allow myself to leave with her.
I pressed my neck forward against the razor-sharp blade. Rowan had claimed I was a sister, a prophesized companion. Would she kill me if I dared oppose?
Her gaze turned hard while her lips flattened to pale. As I pushed forward, the blade stayed stiff, and my flesh split at the base of the neck. Warm blood ran in rivulets across my bosom.
Rowan's gaze flickered with anguish at the sight of my blood, but she didn't waver.
A flash of movement in the street behind Rowan caught my eye. I maintained discipline and did not let my gaze wander.
It was Ben Franklin in his sturdy trousers, white shirt, and tan vest. He peered around the corner and gave me his patented wink, a roguish gesture that almost summoned a smile to my lips.
Ben twirled his finger as if to say “go on.” He wanted me to distract her.
Rowan was looking at me strangely. I watched the way her gaze traveled down my neck and onto my chest.
I realized then what she wanted. It fit with the drained blood of Albert Hold and the old farmer, desiccated on his living room table.
Rowan twitched, head slowly turning to gaze upon Franklin, who had stepped around the corner.
"I know why you frequent battlefields," I said suddenly.
She snapped back to me. Her brow took an angry cast.
"It's blood. You need the blood for your sorcery," I said.
By the knotted muscles in her neck, I knew I had struck true.
"You don't just heal the sick on the battlefield, you take the blood of the dying," I said.
Her eyes turned watery. "I only take from those who I cannot save. Never from the unwilling."
Ben Franklin was creeping up from behind, moving slowly so not to make a sound. The silvery gauntlet was on his arm.
"What about Albert Hold?"
She flinched from the accusation. When she spoke, the words came out quietly. "That was a mistake. I wasn't going to kill him. I'd planned to kidnap him and leave clues leading to the Gamayun, freeing him afterwards, once the prophecies began. He returned to his apartment while I was unaware, wielding a knife while I was unarmed. He'd been dismissed from his job, so I was not expecting him. I killed him with a burst of sorcery and took his blood afterwards so not to waste it."
She set her jaw grimly. "It was the price of averting war."
Franklin's boot hit a pebble and it bounced across the stones.
Before Rowan could turn her head, I shouted, "The farmhouse! You took an old man's blood at the farmhouse. Sucked him dry in front of his family."
She blinked, uncomprehending. "You were there?"
"I saw your carriage from a distance and came across the field to greet you. When you came out, you seemed furious so I hid, but then spied inside the farmhouse after you left. I saw the old man on the table. Did you need to feed your sorcery that badly?"
Rowan's cheeks blushed with anger. Her nostrils flared. "What you did not see was the child I healed. They'd asked me to visit their farmhouse, to see their daughter. She was crippled with an agonizing disease. They begged and pleaded me to cure her, said they knew I could do it. When I told them what the price was they did not balk. He offered himself up willingly in exchange for his daughter's life. I hate myself that I agreed, even though I know it was the right thing to do."
The answer stunned me. I placed my hand over my mouth.
"You think I want this blood sorcery?" she asked, lips in a sneer. "It's a curse I must endure for a mistake I made long—"
Franklin had made it to within a dozen steps behind her. As she'd been talking, he'd held the gauntlet out, his brow wracked with effort.
At first, I thought he meant to summon the lightning. Though I knew it might later come back to haunt us, I rejoiced when the purplish portal with sinewy tendrils appeared behind Rowan.
She turned, mouth still open from the truncated sentence. She lifted a hand to throw sorcery at Franklin.
Knocking the bone saber away from my neck, I burst upward, hitting Rowan with my shoulder. She tumbled through the portal the moment the sorcery leapt from her fingertips. The two magics unexpectedly mingled, exploding outward, knocking us to the stones harshly.
As I shook off the impact, a black miasmic cloud hung in the air, slowly disappearing.
Franklin climbed to his knees, grinning.
"Kat," he said, that familiar laugh in his voice, "I've missed you."
"You're not still mad?" I asked.
He sighed heavily, his eyes twinkling. "I owe you a great debt for doubting you. I heard what you said to Rowan. I've misjudged the evidence against you."
My heart threatened to explode out of my chest in joy. I was delirious.
Then a massive shape thundered. Harvest, in his bear form, had found us.
He charged, angry foamy slaver dripping from his jaws as he bounded forward.
Franklin scrambled past me, pulling me down a narrow alleyway.
Harvest hit the buildings like an avalanche. Only the otherworldly architecture saved us from being demolished by the bear-man. If it'd been regular brick and mortar construction, we'd have been buried beneath the collapse.
Laughing, Franklin pulled me a ways into the passage as Harvest shoved his huge grizzly paw into the gap, trying to get at us like a cat after a mouse beneath the stove.
Franklin shoved the gauntlet into a satchel that I hadn’t noticed before and pulled out a windup toy soldier. He turned the key on its back a few times before setting it on the stones to wobble towards Harvest.
Before it reached the grizzly, Franklin dragged me the other way. Right before we turned down a different street, the toy soldier exploded.
Harvest roared, sending tremors of fear through me.
"We have to get out of here," I said.
"Working on it, Kat. Would you dare go blade to claw with that beast?"
"I'd prefer to be sitting in a steaming bath enjoying a cup of tea," I said.
I followed Ben through the streets, as he had the advantage of knowing the layout of the village.
Occasionally, snorts or frustrated roars echoed through the streets, but we did not catch sight of Harvest.
"What happens if he switches to human form?" I asked.
Ben shrugged. "I'm hoping he doesn't remember that he has that option. At least for a little bit longer."
We made it to the side of the village nearest the stairs that climbed to the exit high above. Which was to say, we were still the length of an airship yard away.
"Do you hear him?" asked Ben, tilting his head.
I strained to listen, but only heard the beating of my heart.
"Nothing."
"This is the tricky part," he said with a wink. "Once we step out onto the path, we've no more buildings to hide behind. If we don't make it to the platform, well, then the bear wins."
Though the situation was dire, I could not help but be infected by his exuberance.
"You've heard the proverb about the two men in the forest and the bear, right?" I asked, barely restraining a grin.
Franklin put a thoughtful finger to his chin. "It's about not being the slowest—"
I burst down the pathway, pumping my legs as fast as my confining skirt would allow. Franklin followed, keeping pace in his trousers, encouraging me as we ran.
We'd made it halfway to the wooden stairs when we heard the roar of challenge and the alien trees behind us began to fall under the bulk of the pursuing grizzly bear. Harvest had found us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It didn't take a difficult calculation to figure that we wouldn't make it. The foliage behind us disappeared beneath a determined charge, not even slowing the beast.
The platform was too far away. Harvest would catch us before we were fifty steps from escape. And even if we made it onto the stairs, in his grizzly form, he could collapse the supports, trapping us in the cavern to hunt us at his leisure.
"Anything in that satchel that can stop him?" I asked between breaths.
He shook his head grimly.
The next calculation took a little bit longer, only because it was hard to weigh the greater good and decide that it was better that Franklin lived than I.
I stopped on the stone path, placing my hand out before me. Franklin stopped a bit further on, but I shouted, "Go. Flee. If this doesn't work, then you need to escape," I said.
Franklin yelled in anguish, though he understood the proverb enough to not waste my sacrifice.
As the trees fell like a tsunami hitting the lowlands, I summoned the magic inside my head. I wasn't entirely sure it'd come, since I'd damaged myself when I set fire to the Magdelen House.
At first, I thought the light too deep, buried beneath scar tissue thick enough to keep it from coming to my call.
Then, when it came like water tumbling out of a broken dam, I screamed in agony. The magic, as it flowed out of my arm, felt like I was channeling lava through my veins.
Harvest had not yet reached me, so the lightning leapt out of my fingertips and crackled amid the trees, bouncing from limb to limb in a web, but then disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
I fell to my knees, pain lancing through my eyelids. My mind was raw with the use of my magic.
The grizzly burst through the foliage and, seeing me defenseless, paused. He lifted his massive head and let loose a deafening roar. No mercy would be given.
The bear began its charge, feet slapping, claws scraping the stone like knives. Harvest thundered across the stone, ready to crush me beneath his bulk, and since I had used my magic so wastefully, he
was free to kill me without concern.
But I hadn't summoned my magic to injure the beast. Though I wasn't sure it'd work, given that we were located in a place near but not of Philadelphia, I had to take the chance.
When the flash of a portal appeared between myself and Harvest, I climbed to my feet, despite the overwhelming urge to curl into a ball. I could barely keep my eyes open.
An Empty Man appeared in the space, the nimbus of a portal light shimmering around his form upon arrival. Its cowl had fallen away in its haste. The head was made of a piece of wire wrapped around a wooden sphere. Eyes, made of the brass reflectors on gas lamps, glowed with intent.
The rest of the Empty Man was hidden behind a lumpy cloak, except for a fist of molten energy that it pointed in my direction. Though its expression was entirely foreign, I detected a triumphant veneer to its form, as it was so close to completing its appointed task.
There were many things I’d had to assume in chancing my magic so that an Empty Man would portal to my location. The first was that it would work across these planes. The second was that the Empty Men and Rowan Blade were not working together. As I'd learned before, there were factions within the other side, and not all of them had the same intent. I'd taken a chance that whoever'd sent Rowan Blade did not play nicely with the one the Empty Men had called the Winged One.
Harvest, who'd been ambushed by explosive automata in the stone village by a clever Franklin, moved to destroy the Empty Man, thinking it a larger version of the toy soldiers. His lack of fear was born from a near invulnerability to simple explosives.
The moment before the glowing projectile released from the Empty Man, Harvest threw his bulk into the air and came down upon the junk-made assassin.
Had I been standing any closer, I would have been vaporized, but I was able to throw myself behind a boulder off the path the moment before impact. The detonation threw trees and stones in a wide arc, as if a child had tossed her toys in the air. The Empty Man had been made of Otherworld sorcery and had exploded more viciously than any of Franklin's toy soldiers.
When I climbed to my feet, ears ringing, I surveyed the destruction.
Laying in a small crater amid the wreckage was a half-naked Harvest in human form. The explosion hadn't killed him but made him change back from a grizzly.
Birds of Prophecy (The Dashkova Memoirs Book 3) Page 16
