Andy saw a wall lined with ragged ribbons. The ribbons were of many colors and sizes, and they all featured Latin script.
Felicitas, Recipro, Bellum, Causa Sui, Armoria.
Andy wanted to read the placards because the ribbons seemed important, but Ithmene pulled him further into the gallery.
Andy had to keep from laughing as he gave in to Ithmene.
Not too long ago I hated being in a place like this, and now I want to be here, but I’m being dragged around by the best-looking girl in the city.
He rolled his eyes, wondering how it came to this.
“Here it is,” Ithmene said, stopping in the next room.
Andy scanned the room and only saw a single guard at the far end. He pulled back his hood and took a look. He knew that a painting was there, but all he saw was a tall rectangle the color of glittering quicksilver.
It’s a solid canvas full of writing. It might be the Englishman again. I wonder what the painting looks like to her eyes.
“What does it look like to you, Ithmene?”
“A sphere cut in half. The top half is exploded out into hundreds of pieces, though, if they were all pushed back together, they would form the complete sphere.”
“The colors?”
“Many colors, but they aren’t jarring. They are all complimentary.”
Andy wondered if the guards would be upset if he took a closer look. He leaned in, but couldn’t start at the top, the painting was too tall. After reading for a moment, he realized that the painting was covered with the same message, written repeatedly, to fill the canvas. The artist must have known that his painting would glow like a beacon to a Seer.
“Stare not too long, Seer! There are eyes in this place—hopefully still the Greylapse—and they are watching. Stop now and read the placard!”
Andy did so. The guard looked up at them. A moment later, Andy returned to the canvas.
“Beneath the Greylapse rotunda lies a Seer chapter-house. Though this place is no longer a safe haven, it can be accessed from the Intersticine tunnels beneath the city. You are close to family, but do not attempt to gain entry here! It is watched at all times! Ryle own this institution. Do not let them see your eyes. Find a friendly builder, you will know them by their demeanor. Ask them the way to the Intersticine; they will help you. Step away from the canvas.”
The rotunda?
“Where can we find the rotunda?” Andy asked.
“It’s in another wing, with the local art,” Ithmene answered, surprised at the question.
“Let’s walk,” Andy said, letting her lead the way.
Keeping an eye out, Andy looked carefully at every doorway, and even eyed the other visitors. If the place was ryle owned, why wasn’t he seeing their inky traps?
“What did you see?” Ithmene asked.
“It was a message about this place and another Seer chapter-house. It might be the Englishman; the base painting is the same style, but the message didn’t sound like him. Maybe he saw this painting first and took the idea.”
Ithmene nodded. “I’m glad I could be of use.”
They walked through a wide hall, filled with oil portraits of famous Exegesuits and then entered the rotunda. The space reminded him of the dining hall in Caspia.
The rotunda was multi-tiered, with paintings hung in a circle on the wall of each sunken level, until the final circle, which featured a tall golden artifact that Andy didn’t recognize. The artifact was covered in arches, buttresses, and opaque glass panels, making it appear as a segment of a cathedral, bent into a circle. A glow pulsed from within its ornate windows.
“What is that thing?” Andy asked, quietly, aware this area was full of visitors.
“The reliquary,” Ithmene said. “Properly speaking, it should be in the age of madness wing, but I suspect that they don’t know how to move it.”
Andy inclined his head and slowly approached, pausing on other descending circles to admire various paintings. He noticed that none of the other works in the rotunda glowed.
Finally, Andy neared the reliquary. He looked for guards; none were paying him any attention. He let the Argument rush into his eyes. With the Sight, he saw that the reliquary was stocked with hundreds of pieces of Argument. It was almost too obvious that segments of buttress would twist, opening connected panels and revealing pieces of Argument. He also saw that the reliquary was hinged in such a way that it would split open. Andy looked towards the base and saw the frame of a narrow cylindrical elevator tucked away inside.
That must be the way to the chapterhouse.
Andy heard footsteps nearby and he pushed the Argument from his sight and back down into his body. A few museum-goers walked past.
Facing away from the reliquary, and confident that no one was watching, Andy twisted a piece of buttress. He heard a soft click, turned, and saw a piece of argument wrapped in a chain necklace sitting behind an opened window. Andy snatched the Argument and the window snapped shut.
Andy palmed the chained Argument into his robe pocket.
He saw that people were leaving the room and felt suddenly nervous.
“Andy,” Ithmene called to him.
Guards started filling the hall.
Andy looked at the reliquary, suddenly desperate. His eyes flashed with the Sight, and he tried to trace the way inside.
There are switches behind the paintings—some combination opens the reliquary. I’ll never get them right in time.
“There’s nothing for you here,” a cold voice said. “The Seers down there are long dead.”
Andy turned and saw Ziesqe, who was flanked by Kal and another, unfamiliar ryle.
“Why haven’t you taken the Cogito? This wasn’t the plan,” Ziesqe said, his voice calm.
He thinks I’m Caspian.
“I see you’ve found your wife, and a lovely one she is, but this time wasting is unlike you.”
Andy stepped forward and the ryle flinched.
Purple blades appeared and Ziesqe and Kal flexed their muscles in familiar ways, coating their bodies in purple armor. The other ryle couldn’t hone his blade, and it crackled weakly.
Andy noticed that the warriors around the room were mostly ychorons and not the guards he had seen in the gallery. They leveled crossbows and listened for command.
“No, this isn’t like you at all—Lysander? Is that you in there?” Ziesqe asked.
“I’ll cooperate if you allow me to walk her outside,” Andy said.
Ziesqe grinned. “It is you! No wonder.”
Kal’s eyes shone violent and sparkling purple. She gazed his way for a long moment. “It isn’t the boy. If it is, he’s changed.”
Andy realized she might be seeing the Argument he had hidden inside.
“Caspian was always a fool for women. I know how to cut through this,” Ziesqe said, reaching down and holding up a cloth covered cage. “I came prepared to meet either,” Ziesqe said, pulling away the cloth.
Titus?
Andy knew the mouse, who looked up and recognized him.
Titus called out, “Lysander! Don’t listen—”
“Silence, vermin!” the nameless ryle snapped.
“Lysander has a soft spot for this mouse. Where Caspian had a soft spot for women,” Ziesqe explained to the others. “Just watch.” Ziesqe shook the cage.
Andy nearly lunged.
The warriors panicked, and a few loose bolts flew past Andy’s head.
“Hold!” Kal commanded, though she had raised her blade.
“Now, now, Lysander, it is you, after all.”
Andy was silent.
“We can still save the city from invasion. You can still help them, even if you aren’t Caspian. Throw down your Argument and come with me. Our arrangement will still stand. Once the city is under my command, we will release you and your friends. Everyone you care about will live,” Ziesqe implored.
Andy looked around the room. He saw Ithmene’s desperate eyes. He could even see the broken expression on
Titus’s face.
I can’t fight them. I might escape if I ran, but they would die. What good would it do if I did escape? There aren’t any Seers to help me. I can’t even walk in the street without hiding my face. If I can keep my friends alive and the city safe from destruction… It’s a gamble; Ziesqe is a liar, but nothing I do will make a difference. If I acted alone, I would only make things worse.
Andy held up his palm.
The warriors tensed.
But.
Andy reached into his robe.
I don’t have to give them my Argument. I have this spare.
Andy held out the new Argument from its chain.
But will they know that I’m holding so much back? Kal has her Sight on me.
Andy let go of the chain. The Argument clattered on the ground.
The guards rushed forward and took Andy and Ithmene into their custody.
The nameless ryle relaxed, and even Ziesqe lowered his blade.
Kal however, stared at him with her Sight. “He still isn’t safe.”
Ziesqe scoffed. “Of course he isn’t, and he never will be. He speaks with the Voice of the Dead God, even if he isn’t Caspian. Shackle him and bind his hands with the old gauntlets.”
“You should cut his fingers off,” Kal said.
Ithmene cried and struggled as the guards grabbed her, but Andy accepted chains, yet again. He felt metal gloves being slipped over his hands. They were made to keep his fingers splayed and incapable of making a fist. He couldn’t call the blade with them attached.
Andy’s head was covered with a sack, and he was thrown onto the floor of a passenger cart. The feet of a dozen sitting guards occasionally gave him a kick. After a bouncy ride through the loud city streets, he heard a large door open. The sounds of the city became muffled, and he knew they were indoors somewhere. He was carried from the cart and finally sat on a throne, while the sounds of saws and hammering echoed through the space.
The next few hours were a flurry of activity, none of which he could see.
“Good! He looks brilliant! Do we have his proper uniform? No, the one with the armor, you idiot!” A voice shot orders from nearby.
Finally, the bag was pulled from Andy’s head, and he saw the large chamber. It looked like a garage full of carts, and it smelled like a barn. That impression, however, was offset by all the equipment and activity. Ychorons and a few brutox were busy decorating several carts. They appeared to be parade floats.
Andy spotted Kal on the far side of the room, near a table covered with papers. Other ryle tarried, but she kept her glowing, purple Sight on Andy.
She’s been watching me this whole time.
Andy was pulled to his feet and brusquely dressed in the outfit that Pythia had once put him in. They even strapped on the blackened pieces of plate armor, which made sitting on the throne painful.
Ziesqe appeared from a side door, batting away several attendants. He looked stately in white and gold regalia. “I want to speak to him.”
Kal kept her eyes on Andy, but spoke to Ziesqe, “He’s there. We’re almost ready.”
“Do you still believe it isn’t the boy?” Ziesqe asked.
“I do not know.”
Ziesqe tugged on one of his tentacles for a moment, before climbing onto Andy’s cart.
“Lysander. Let us speak before these imminent events. You know to play the part; you have already done an admirable job of stirring the populace, but your behavior makes me nervous. When we go into the city, either keep your mouth shut, or act as Caspian.”
Andy was silent.
“Why didn’t you do as you were told? It would have made things simpler. How have you spent your time recently?”
Andy shook his head.
“I see.”
Ziesqe was silent for a while.
“I apologize for the chains and the restraints on your hands. I’m told they are quite painful. Sadly, they are necessary. Kal and I both sense the Argument about you. It is likely that Caspian still lingers in your thoughts, though his failure to control you is an unknown element. In the past, he has always been consistent.”
Andy nodded. “That was your plan. To let him loose. He thought it was.”
Ziesqe smiled. “Indeed.”
Andy sighed, looking at the chains and then down onto the brutox working nearby, he recognized the shape of a large metal cage being assembled.
Ziesqe almost grinned. “So, you did speak with him. I will lay my cards on the table, Andy. I always want to be honest with you.”
Andy rolled his eyes.
Ziesqe continued. “Caspian and I had a tentative agreement. He promised to leave the ruins of this city to me and my rebellious allies, if we would help him inhabit your body. It seemed to us that his intent was to attack the City in the Sea, the seat of the Maelstrom. Of course, he would fail, but it would keep the Maelstrom off our backs for long enough to cement an untouchable position here.”
Did he believe that Caspian would let him live? This was the flaw in his plan. This was why he sent me up the Guilt alone, so he could hide if Caspian tried to seek him out. I bet he even counted on it. But after failing to find him, Ziesqe probably reasoned that Caspian would leave to attack the Maelstrom.
Ziesqe paused and scanned Andy’s face.
“My plan is in tatters. I am forced to rush. Though this path does have its benefits. With the Cogito still in place, the city will fare better. It is a tradeoff and the better one for you, Lysander, because your body won’t be destroyed in pointless suicide.”
“You sent me to the Cogito knowing that it would lead to my death,” Andy said. “You tried to give me the Casque, hoping for the same thing. It was the same plan, with different means.”
“Right, either the Casque or the Cogito, or any of a number of Caspian’s old possessions might make him manifest. There is even a chance that it could happen spontaneously. This isn’t a science. I’m playing with fire here, Lysander. That’s why I warn you against any rash measures in the coming hours. Rules will change. Many of the changes will be unpleasant for you. For instance, I will return you to your cage.”
Andy tensed, the Argument pulsing within.
Kal approached Ziesqe and tried to pull him away from Andy.
“This is too dangerous,” Kal said, but Ziesqe raised a hand to silence her, and continued.
“If you endure the cage and the chains again, if you comply with our little charade, I will see that our old agreement is fulfilled. Do not think that you have no choice. You do. You will likely be allowed to speak when we stand before the High Exegesuits. If you destroy my illusion, you will force invasion.” Ziesqe looked over to Kal. “Are we prepared for that possibility?”
Kal nodded. “The cisterns are captured; we could storm the city at any minute. Waiting is ill advised, as Viqx, in her impetuosity, might signal the attack on a whim. She absolutely will attack in two days, if we aren’t successful before.”
Ziesqe looked back to Andy. “That is a guarantee, in case something should happen to us. If Viqx does not receive word, she will attack. Make peace with your conscience. We are leaving shortly. If you cannot comply, let me know before we leave.”
Andy rattled his chains for their attention. “What have you done with Titus and Ithmene?”
“Their fates, and indeed the fates of their kin, are bound to yours. To be plain, I am saying that if you dissatisfy me, I will murder every one of Caspian’s wives, starting with the fair girl in the other room. I will torch every known nest of vermin and then hold your friend’s cage under the water for you to see, and that’s just to start. Keep me happy, and be grateful that I am making such grim promises, they make it easy for you when the moment comes. No need to tax your mind or suffer pride,” Ziesqe said, turning away.
Chapter 8
Friend of my Friend
Letty, Staza, and Quill pushed against the massive stone door. It swung open with less resistance than they expected, particularly considering its size
.
“Be careful,” Letty said, making her fist glow as they stepped inside.
“This is a stupid plan,” Blue whispered. “Coming into a ryle palace.”
“The place is abandoned. There was no one outside and no one guarding the door. Did you just want to sit in a shrub and stare at the doors?” Quill asked.
“Of course not, but we should at least wear disguises, or sneak around the back, or something! This is too brash!”
“I don’t want to waste the time, and how would we disguise ourselves as ryle anyway?” Letty trailed off as they entered the main hall.
A long dark pool of water ran down the center of the yawning, resonant hall. The roughhewn walls and low benches made the place feel like it was coming down on them.
“I don’t like it,” Staza said. “Living here would make me go insane.”
“Ryle did this, and that was probably their intention,” Quill added.
“It’s to keep the servants subliminally awestruck,” Blue replied.
“But why the indoor pool?” Letty asked. “Do they have parties?”
No one answered.
They walked down the lengthy hall, leaning into empty and ransacked rooms.
“They left in a hurry,” Staza whispered, standing in an empty dining hall.
“But where did they go?” Letty asked. “If we can figure that out, we know where they’ve taken Andy.”
Blue nodded. “I’d like to agree, but it looks like Ziesqe was on the run. Why would he abandon a place like this?”
Letty was about to speak but heard a tapping noise coming from the main hall.
They leaned out the door and saw a pair of flapping skulls and a few dozen slithers.
“What are those?” Letty whispered.
The flapping skulls looked like small ryle heads with large bat wings for ears.
The two heads snapped and chattered at each other before glancing at the door Letty was hiding behind.
“They see me.”
A moment later, the flapping heads and their attendant slithers charged off down a side passage.
“What were those things?” Staza asked.
Everyone looked at Blue, who simply shrugged. “I’ve heard stories of ryle spawn,” he said, unsure.
The Immortal of Degoskirke Page 16
