Alex Verus 5: Hidden

by Benedict Jacka

  If I said no, and the worst happened . . . I’d been responsible for those deaths last year and it had been as much as I could bear. If Anne ended up dead as well, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to live with myself afterwards.

  What would happen if I told Richard yes?

  Then Crystal and the apprentices wouldn’t matter anymore. We’d follow Richard out of here, let him gate us away to . . . what? I didn’t know and I was afraid to find out, but I’d survived time after time by making use of those more powerful than me. Was this really any different?

  Yes. I couldn’t manipulate Richard, but he could manipulate me. If I went back I’d be his tool again. I’d spent more than ten years trying to escape Richard’s shadow. The thought of going back was a horror.

  But if I said no, I might be sacrificing us both.

  The silence stretched out, seeming to sharpen, waiting. The birds outside had fallen silent and the only noise was the rustle of the wind. Richard was finishing up his talk with Crystal, their voices inaudible behind the ward, while a dozen pairs of eyes watched us. I felt as though I were balanced on a razor’s edge. The choice was a horrible one. Go back to the one person in the world I most feared and hated, or risk my life and Anne’s to a fate I couldn’t see any way to avoid.

  Richard turned away from Crystal and walked back towards us, stopping at the edge of the pond. Distantly, a corner of my mind noticed that a couple of white feathers were still floating on the water’s surface. It had been no more than an hour since I’d seen the fox. How had things gone so wrong so fast? “Well, then,” Richard said. “Have you made your decision?”

  Anne didn’t answer. I hesitated, teetering on the brink. Before me, I could see the two paths opening up. I didn’t know what to do.

  Then in that moment of stillness, a memory came back to me, a vision of something which had happened a long time ago. A stone chapel beneath the surface of the earth, two apprentices before an altar, one awake and the other dying. Richard walking a slow circle around them, his voice hypnotic, seductive. The apprentice had listened, been given everything she’d wanted . . . and it had been the worst choice she’d ever made.

  I didn’t know which decision was worse. All I knew was that I wasn’t going to make the same mistake that Rachel had.

  I met Richard’s eyes. Somehow I managed to keep my voice steady. “The answer’s no.”

  Richard looked back at me, head tilted slightly. My muscles were tense, locked. “Well,” Richard said. “I wish you the best of luck.” He gave us both a nod. “Until next time.” He turned and walked away.

  Leaving us alone with Crystal and her army.

  The temperature seemed to drop as Richard disappeared into one of the archways. Violence loomed in the futures ahead, growing closer and closer, and I took in the stances of the three apprentices. Darren was staring at me as though trying to bore his eyes through my skull. He obviously hadn’t forgotten our last meeting; he’d go for me at the first opportunity. Ji-yeong was standing back, swords still in their sheaths. Up close she would be the most dangerous, but she also seemed the least committed to the fight. Sam was watching Anne, and I knew that unlike Darren, his focus would be on her rather than me. But it was Crystal I was most afraid of, standing on the grass and looking after Richard, apparently ignoring us. She was the most powerful of the four by far, and she was a mind mage. Her defensive magic was weak, and Anne and I would have been able to take her easily if she’d been alone, but as long as she could stay behind the shadows and the apprentices she could just keep hitting us with mental attacks over and over again and we wouldn’t be able to do a thing to fight back.

  In the courtyard beyond, Richard’s footsteps faded from earshot. I knew we had only seconds. “You don’t want to be working for Crystal,” I told the apprentices. “If she—”

  Crystal spoke over me. “Take them both.”

  And all hell broke loose.

  | | | | | | | | |

  Darren and Sam fired at the same time. Darren’s spell was death magic, negative and kinetic energy woven together into a bolt of darkness, while Sam’s was a blue-white flash of lightning, there and gone in an instant, travelling flat across the earth in a path real lightning could never follow.

  I’d already started my jump back, catching Anne by the arm and pulling her with me. The black-and-white bolts split the air where we’d been a second ago and the crack of the discharge hammered my ears, stone dust filling the room.

  By backing off we’d broken their line of sight; we had about five seconds before they made it to the door. Anne was already running for the stairs, cat-quick, as I pulled a pair of golden discs from one pocket. Two flicks of my wrist sent them bouncing to either side of the doorway, then I was running after Anne, taking the steps two at a time. Two steps, four, six, eight, and I heard running footsteps from behind. Without turning, I called out the command word for the discs.

  Magic flared behind me, a wall of force coming into existence to block the entrance to the windmill. An instant later Darren slammed into it, the thud muffled through the barrier. I didn’t look back to see how much damage I’d done. Up.

  Ground floor, first floor, second. My heart was racing, feet hammering the stone. Crystal could sense us through the walls; she’d know what we were doing now and it would all come down to who was faster. Anne held back at the ladder, letting me take the lead, and I scrambled up, wooden rungs under my hands turning brighter in the light until I came out onto the roof of the windmill, wind buffeting my clothes and hair.

  There was a shadow there, wings unfurled, and it reached for me. They’d sent it to block us in, but just an instant too late. I ducked under the arm, slammed the point of my dispelling focus into its torso, and felt the spell discharge into the construct’s body. The shadowy figure shuddered and came apart, disintegrating into black smoke as it fell towards the grass below. I felt Anne’s presence behind me as I darted across the bridge, towards the wall and our way out, taking in the situation at a glance.

  One more shadow on the wall ahead, three more in the air, wings flapping as they headed towards us. Darren was down by the door trying to smash his way through the forcewall; I couldn’t see Crystal or Ji-yeong but Sam was up on the wall ahead and to the left, blocking the tower door that was our way out, lining up a shot. I didn’t know how he’d gotten up to our level so fast, but it was too late to change the plan. I charged.

  Darren and Sam saw the movement and reacted, but if there’s one thing divination magic is good for, it’s dodging attacks. I saw the bolts coming, skimmed past the futures in which I was hit to pick one of the handful where I wasn’t. Electricity and death magic cut the air with a crack, hitting the spot where I would have been if I hadn’t broken stride, and then I was over the bridge and onto the wall and facing the shadow. Constructs are strong, tireless—and predictable. I let its first grab fall short, closed under the second, caught the shadow’s arm, my fingers sliding over the weird alien texture, spongy and dry and smelling of dust-bones-ash, then I was twisting it around to block a third deathbolt from Darren below. The shadow jerked as the kinetic energy ripped through it and I kicked its body off the wall, smoke trailing from the hole in its torso as it went tumbling down. And then I was alone on the ramparts with Sam, solid wall to my right and a sheer drop to my left to the grass below.

  Sam stood his ground. It was the first time I’d gotten a good look at the lightning apprentice, and as I closed the distance I had what felt like a long moment to study him: slim and quick-looking, blond hair combed back, blue eyes nervous but not afraid enough to run. He threw another lightning bolt and I had to throw myself into a roll this time as the blue-white energy flashed out from his hands, electricity stinging my shoulder and leg as I came back up. My hand was going to the hilt of my knife but a spread of futures flashed before my eyes, electricity leaping down the metal blade and into my skin, and I changed motions mid-draw.
The shock shield came up around Sam at the last instant, crackling white, but it was my armoured forearm that slammed into him and the spell-mesh absorbed the discharge. Sam went staggering back, teetering on the edge of the drop, and I moved in to finish him.

  And everything went wrong.

  A mental blow hit me. I’d been bracing myself for an attack from Crystal ever since we came up into view, but this wasn’t the domination attempt I’d been anticipating, it was a blast of pure psychic force. I had an instant’s warning, then the attack was hammering into my mental defences, raking my thoughts. I felt Sam readying another attack and twisted right on instinct, but this time he didn’t send lightning, he turned into lightning, and with a crack and a smell of ozone he was gone from in front of me, leaving only a purple afterimage. Another deathbolt from Darren went hissing past and I could hear the wingbeats of shadows, only seconds away. All of a sudden we’d lost our momentum.

  Behind me, Anne was duelling Sam. He’d re-formed on the wall next to her, and she managed to catch him before he could get out of reach. Green light flickered and Sam staggered, but it had been a stun spell, not meant to kill. I felt the surge of another mental attack, and this time it wasn’t aimed at me. Anne reeled and Sam braced against the wall, levelled a hand at her while she was still disoriented, and hit her in the chest with a lightning bolt from five feet away, blasting her right off the wall and into space. I froze for a second, shock and terror jumping through me as her wide eyes met mine, then she was falling, thirty-five feet straight down to the ground below, hitting the grass with a thump.

  Shit! I started to turn back but the shadows were landing on the wall now, one ahead and one behind, and I had to duck away. Dispel focus wasn’t recharged. Below, Anne was struggling to rise; Crystal was striding across the grass towards her and she hit her with something else, making Anne’s head jerk back. Three shadows landed around Anne and began punching downwards, their movements mechanical, steady. Anne disappeared in a sea of rising and falling blows.

  With a snarl I got my knife into the first shadow, ripped it open from stomach to chest. Black smoke billowed out but it only bashed me backwards, nearly sending me into the claws of the second. Crystal was hitting Anne again, Darren was circling for a clear shot, and I knew with a sudden ugly sickening feeling that we’d lost. Three more shadows were flapping closer, blocking my route to Sam, who was charging a spell behind them. The only route left was the doorway behind me at the end of the battlements, and in a few more seconds that too would be blocked.

  I turned and ran, dodging past the last shadow to sprint out of sight into the darkness.

  | | | | | | | | |

  I fled through the castle, and the apprentices followed.

  I’ve spent a fair amount of time in combats over the years, and most of that time has been spent on running away. It’s an underrated combat strategy with some very definite advantages. It does admittedly carry the risk of being shot in the back, but generally speaking most people can’t aim and run at the same time, which means that once they decide to chase you, attacks mostly come out of the equation and it becomes a contest of speed and information, which suits me just fine. It can actually get kind of fun after a while, as long as you’re faster than the other guy. All the excitement of a fight, none of the worry about having your internal organs carved out.

  But leaving someone behind while you run away is horrible. I haven’t had to do it often—one of the few bright sides of not having many friends—but I hate it. Every step you take is a reminder that you’re getting that much farther from the person behind you. Logically, I knew that running was the only real option and that Anne had been lost as soon as she’d fallen from that wall—if I’d stayed behind there was no way I’d have been able to get her out, and they’d have gotten me too. But knowing all that didn’t make me feel any less of a coward, and it didn’t stop the creeping mixture of fear and anger and shame. All I could do was jam a lid on it to shut it out, and focus on staying alive.

  I ran northeast, deeper into the castle. From glances through the futures, I knew that both Darren and Ji-yeong were after me, with Sam a little behind. Crystal wasn’t coming, and I knew why—she’d already gotten what she wanted. In a straight fight, without the advantage of surprise, I could take out maybe one of the apprentices, two if I was very lucky. Three wasn’t even worth thinking about. I needed to string them out.

  My feet pounded on flagstones, dust flying up from the ancient courtyards, flitting from shadow to light. The castle seemed to watch me as I ran, silent and indifferent, just one more actor on an endless stage. The futures shifted, and I knew one of the elemental mages was gating ahead to try to cut me off. Darren—no, Sam. I switched course, angling southeast. By the time Sam’s gate completed and he stepped out onto the tower he’d been meaning to ambush me from, I was far out of sight. He tried another gate, and I turned northeast again, and this time he didn’t manage to pick up the trail. The futures in which I met Sam thinned and faded.

  Three or four shadows were still in the air above. They flew slower than I could run, but they didn’t have to worry about walls and I was having trouble shaking them. From their movements it looked as though they’d been ordered to follow me. There was a cross-shaped building to my right and I changed direction to run inside.

  The interior was cool and dark, with a trace of dampness in the air. Giant machines of wood and rusting metal stood silent in the gloom. I knew the constructs would be hovering above, waiting for me to come into view, and I leant against the wall, breathing hard. My chest and limbs were burning as I scanned ahead. Four exits on this floor—no, five. All led out into the open. Darren and Ji-yeong would be here in about three minutes, tracking the hovering shadows to the building below. I needed something that would give me cover—there. Two sets of stairs leading down into the darkness. On the left path the futures grew cluttered and tangled, but on the other my future self kept going. I turned right.

  The stairs led down into a vast cavern of sandy-coloured rock. Water filled the level below, forming a vast natural reservoir, waterwheels and cisterns groaning and creaking in the gloom. From up ahead I could see daylight shining from two wide openings. I jogged along the edge of the reservoir and came out into dazzling sunlight.

  I’d arrived on the eastern cliffs, on the edge of the castle’s bedrock. No sheer drop this time; narrow walkways and bridges were layered down towards the ocean, flat levels like a giant’s staircase. Below and to the north, pathways wound their way to cave mouths, black dots against the brown-and-yellow rock, and I started running down towards them.

  I was most of the way there when I sensed the shadows returning, and I had just enough time to get under cover before the black dots reappeared far above. They circled, ranging left and right as I stayed hidden. They couldn’t see me as long as I stayed here, but the overhang I was using stretched only a little way and as soon as I turned down onto the next flight of steps I’d be in view again.

  Minutes ticked by. The shadows overhead wheeled and turned. I was covered in sweat; my heart was thumping and heat was pouring off the stone. The air was fresh and smelt of salt, the cries of gulls echoing from far below. Looking ahead, I couldn’t see any way of moving without drawing the shadows’ attention—all I could do was wait and hope they guessed wrong about which way I’d gone.

  Slowly, the shadows’ pattern changed. Now only two were staying out over the cliff; the others were moving back west. I looked into the futures of what would happen if I went out . . . good news and bad. The good news was that I’d managed to split them up again. Only one of the apprentices was coming down the path towards me.

  The bad news was that it was the one out of the three I least wanted to pick a fight with.

  The staircases and bridges built into the cliff face blocked any direct line of sight, but the shadows could see me from the air. If I made a break for it I could probably get away—at least
in the short term—but I’d probably draw the attention of one of the others and that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I stayed where I was, using my magic to scout out the ground on which I’d be fighting.

  The ledge I was standing on was a long shelf of yellow bricks, about three quarters of the way down the cliff, the stones old and chipped but stable. I was hiding behind a row of eight square pillars which supported the next level up of the cliff architecture, while behind me a wooden footbridge crossed a gap to another platform and the stairs down. The stairs led down to another path which twisted and doubled back underneath; the drop to the level below was forty feet straight down and sheer, as was becoming irritatingly common in this place. It wouldn’t have killed them to put in a few railings. The main expanse from the pillars to the ledge was thirty feet wide, giving room to move as long as you didn’t get too close to the edge . . . I touched the life ring in my pocket. If I went over, I’d have maybe a second to break that before I hit the stone.

  Just as with Anne, I could tell the moment I came within lifesight range. The futures of contact paused, shifting, then the shadows changed direction, coming flapping down to land between me and the bridge, blocking my way forward.

  I abandoned my cover, walking out into the middle of the open ledge. Sunlight washed over me, the heat already beginning to dry the sweat on the exposed skin at my hands and face. The only sound was the whine of the wind and the crash of the waves on the rocks below. Behind, the two shadows were fuzzy black patches in the sunlight, white eyes expressionless. Glancing through the futures, I knew they’d been ordered to block me in. They wouldn’t attack—yet.