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Spellslinger: The fantasy novel that keeps you guessing on every page

Page 24

by Sebastien de Castell


  ‘Reichis, get back here!’ I shouted, even as I turned back to face the other attackers. Fortunately Tusks was on the ground, unconscious, while Ears was on his hands and knees, still stunned from my earlier efforts with the rock. He raised his knife and swiped, trying to slash at my legs. I saw Ferius, still hanging from the post, raise one booted heel and then kick Ears in the side of the head. He went down hard and stayed there.

  ‘Hey, kid,’ she said, eyes barely able to focus on me. Even in the dim light I could see the bruises on her face and angry red welts around her neck. ‘This your idea of a rescue?’

  ‘It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice,’ I countered. I was shaking, barely able to keep hold of the rock, which now felt slick with blood. ‘How am I doing so far?’

  She gave a hoarse chuckle. ‘Untie these ropes and help me get your sister out of this damned mine and into some fresh air so I can have a smoke – then I’ll let you know.’

  I was in the process of doing just that when Reichis came racing back into the room. ‘We have a problem.’

  ‘What now?’ I asked, using Third-Eye’s abandoned knife to cut at the ropes holding Ferius’s wrists.

  Reichis looked oddly embarrassed. ‘Turns out I was wrong when I said there was only three of them down here.’

  35

  The Tunnels

  With Ferius free and Shalla now in my arms, we ran as fast as we could through the tunnels. That proved not to be very fast at all. It turned out I wasn’t as strong as I’d always assumed, and it was all I could do to keep from dropping Shalla or falling flat on my face.

  ‘Let me take her,’ Ferius said. ‘You’re barely holding on.’

  ‘And you’re barely conscious,’ I said.

  She shook her head. ‘Damned drugs. They forced something down my throat when they caught me. It’s making me dizzy.’

  I kept us moving, trying to listen for which tunnels might be clear. I could already hear the echoes of our pursuers’ boots striking the rocky ground of the mine as they came after us. ‘How many more men?’ I asked.

  ‘Five,’ Reichis chittered.

  ‘Six,’ Ferius said. She glanced down at the squirrel cat. ‘How many did he say?’

  The next few seconds of running were punctuated by Ferius and Reichis arguing over who had the better hearing. It would have been less annoying if they didn’t need me to translate. For my part, I didn’t care who was right, but since I had no idea how well squirrel cats could count, I went with the higher number.

  We hit another intersection, the narrowing tunnels splitting off in three separate directions, each equally dark, dank and menacing. Which way out?’ I asked.

  Ferius peered each way, eyes narrowed as she tried to fight off the dizziness from the drugs. ‘About thirty yards straight ahead and then we turn right,’ she said.

  Reichis ran ahead then turned back. ‘Can’t go this way,’ he said, and raced back past us.

  Over the next few terrifying minutes we fell into a pattern, making turns or doubling back every time we heard the men in masks getting too close. Ferius would figure out the most likely path and Reichis would scout ahead, checking to see if it led out of the mine or into more danger.

  The problem was, however good Ferius’s guesses were, she’d only been in these tunnels once, and the men in masks knew them a lot better than we did. Every time we thought we were getting close to the exit, they managed to cut us off and we were forced to turn again.

  ‘They’re herding us deeper into the mine,’ Reichis grumbled.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ferius agreed, once I translated. ‘Reckon that’s the point.’

  With no other options, we just kept moving. I had to stop more frequently now, kneeling down to rest Shalla on my thighs to give my arms a moment’s rest. I tried to wake her up, hoping she could run on her own, but the veins of ore in the tunnel walls that were making me feel sick must have been infinitely worse for someone with Shalla’s magical ability.

  We were slowing down, and our pursuers knew it. The echoes of their footsteps were accompanied by laughter. The hyenas had almost run down their prey.

  ‘You go, kid,’ Ferius said, leaning against the wall. ‘Me and the squirrel cat will slow them down while you—’

  ‘I’m not leaving you here!’

  ‘And when did I volunteer to die down here just so two lousy humans could live?’ chittered Reichis.

  ‘As it turns out,’ a voice called from the tunnel behind us, ‘no one is leaving here.’

  Without a word, Ferius and I lifted Shalla from the floor, each taking one arm across our shoulders as we half ran, half stumbled down the passageway, driven by nothing more than panic and a last burst of strength.

  The sounds of pursuit followed, but they slowed, becoming almost leisurely. We reached the end of the tunnel and hit a dead end.

  ‘Sha’Tep miners have to spend most of their lives learning these tunnels,’ the voice called out, closer than he’d been before. ‘One wrong turn and you fall into a sinkhole, or wind up lost in the miles of empty passages. You could die in a cave-in and your corpse would rot for years before anyone discovered it. Do you even have any idea how lost you are right now?’

  We turned and saw six figures in black lacquer masks coming towards us, each one unique, with its own horrible features. The one in front bore twin curved horns, one red, one black. He’d been the leader of the three who’d attacked us in the forest.

  ‘I’m sorry it’s come to this, Kellen,’ he said, the mask muffling his words even as the reverberations along the cave walls lent them a frightening, other-worldly quality. Even with all of that, I wondered why I hadn’t recognised his voice before.

  As gently as I could, I took Shalla’s other arm from Ferius and set her down on the cavern floor. When I rose again, I balled my hands into fists and turned to face the leader of the Sha’Tep conspiracy. ‘Hello, Uncle Abydos,’ I replied.

  THE FOURTH TRIAL

  The most powerful magics are those kept most secret. A Jan’Tep mage must be able to uncover hidden lore, but equally he must be able to discover the secrets of his enemies. Only then has he truly earned his mage’s name.

  36

  The Traitor

  ‘I should have known it would be you who figured it out,’ Abydos said. He removed his mask and handed it to one of his men. ‘You always were smarter than your parents or your teachers gave you credit for.’

  I’m also good at bluffing, Uncle. I relaxed my hands and held them out in front of me, my fingers taking the shape of a particularly nasty ember spell. ‘I’d rather not set your intestines on fire, since we’re related, so you’d better stay back.’

  All things considered, I sounded remarkably calm and confident. I think I might be getting better at this lying-all-the-time thing.

  Several of the men in masks laughed. One of them pointed at me. ‘Look there, the little mage thinks he’s going to use spells on us! Here, in the mines!’

  Abydos spoke more gently. ‘Jan’Tep magic is much harder to work down here, Kellen, that’s why your sister is faring so poorly.’

  I whispered to Ferius. ‘Don’t suppose you have your razor-sharp steel cards?’

  She shook her head. ‘They took my waistcoat when they captured me.’ She shouted down the tunnel at them. ‘Along with my damned smoking reeds!’

  Tusks came barrelling towards us. ‘That’s not all we’ll take, you lousy Argosi—’

  My uncle put a restraining hand on his shoulder. ‘Stop. I told you before, this woman saved my nephew’s life. Let’s have no more violence than is absolutely necessary.’

  I felt the impulse to explain that he’d already done plenty of harm, but Ferius took a step forward, fists up as if she meant to challenge them all. ‘Well, I hate to disappoint you, but unless you and your little masked theatre group let us pass, I predict there’s going to be a whole lot of violence in the near future for you.’

  Abydos ignored her, walking towards us, eyes on me. Reich
is clambered up my back to sit on my shoulder. His growl sounded surprisingly loud in the cramped tunnel. ‘Just give me the word, kid, and I’ll rip this one’s face off and make my own mask with it.’

  I decided to translate for my uncle. He didn’t seem nearly as scared as I would’ve hoped. He just stood right in front of me and said, ‘Don’t do this, Kellen. We’re not your enemies. We’re your people, your true family.’

  ‘You kidnapped my sister and attacked my friend. I’d say that makes us enemies.’

  One of the other men drew his knife. ‘Stop wasting time. We can’t take a chance on—’

  ‘Be quiet,’ Abydos said, and for the first time in my life I heard my father’s commanding tone coming from my uncle’s lips. ‘Listen carefully, Kellen. You and the others are going to come with us now. You can carry Shalla if you like, or my men will carry her for you.’

  ‘You’re not touching my sister ever again.’

  ‘She’s not your sister, Kellen, not in any way that matters. She’s Jan’Tep. She’s one of them.’

  The strength in his voice, the raw confidence that I’d never had in myself, made me feel so weak I could barely stand. ‘Why can’t you just let us go?’ I hadn’t meant it to sound like begging, but it did.

  ‘Because the world doesn’t work that way, Kellen, and this isn’t just about you and me. I’m taking you somewhere now, for your own good. If you try to run, or if any of you attack, I’ll kill the animal. Do you understand? I’ll kill the Argosi. I’ll even kill my niece if I have to.’ He locked eyes with me. ‘Do you believe me, Kellen?’

  I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. I felt trapped in the unwavering certainty of his gaze. My entire life I’d ignored my uncle, always seeing him as a pale shadow of the man my father was. Now I understood that I’d had it wrong the whole time. ‘I believe you.’

  ‘Good,’ he said, and turned to walk back down the tunnel, not even bothering to make sure we followed. ‘You always were the smart one.’

  Abydos led us on a winding journey further into the mine. Despite my earlier defiance that I wouldn’t let anyone touch Shalla, my arms finally gave out. When my uncle saw that I was lagging behind, he ordered his men to carry her. I didn’t have the strength to resist.

  At first the tunnels we passed through were very much like the ones we’d been running through before – shabby, worn, the rotten timber supporting the ceiling looking as if it could give out at any moment. After a few minutes, though, we entered a different part of the mine. It was like leaving a Sha’Tep hovel and entering the marble and limestone sanctum of a lord magus. The tunnel walls were perfectly smooth, almost polished. Every few yards a pair of thick columns, almost like those that ringed the oasis, supported the ceiling above us. I looked up and saw symbols etched in metallic inks, which after a while I realised represented the stars we could see above the city at night.

  ‘Impressive, isn’t it?’ Abydos asked.

  Reichis gave a little chitter on my shoulder. ‘What’s the point? If you want to see stars, just look outside.’

  ‘How long has all this been here?’ I asked.

  My uncle shook his head. ‘Who can say? Centuries, certainly.’ He ran a hand along one of the smooth walls. ‘The Mahdek had a flair for architecture.’

  I tried to hide my surprise. It didn’t work.

  My uncle chuckled. ‘Yes, Kellen, we know the truth about the Mahdek, about the oasis, about all of it.’

  How could they know? Mer’esan had been the only one who knew the secret, and she’d been bound in a mind chain for centuries to keep her from revealing it.

  ‘Ha, just look at him,’ one of the other men said from behind his black lacquer mask. ‘His little mind is breaking apart trying to imagine how the Sha’Tep could know something the mages don’t.’

  ‘It wasn’t through some elaborate deduction, if that makes you feel any better,’ Abydos said. He stopped and motioned down one of the side tunnels, where rockfall separated this section of the mine from the shabbier parts. ‘We didn’t know these tunnels existed until recently.’

  One of Abydos’s men gave a loud cough, then said, ‘The Jan’Tep always want more and more ore, to make more ink, to tattoo their precious bands. They don’t give a damn about the men and women who have to get it for them. We have to keep digging deeper and deeper, but we don’t have the means to reinforce the tunnels properly. Every year, more cave-ins. Every year, more Sha’Tep killed. Wasted lives and wasted deaths!’ There was a terrible anger and grief beneath his words.

  Abydos put a hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘One life wasn’t wasted though, Paetep. Her loss revealed the original mine, the one with the richest veins of ore. The one the Jan’Tep ancestors collapsed so no one would ever enter it again.’

  The richer veins of ore explained why I was feeling weaker all the time. I could see Shalla in the hands of one of my uncle’s men. Her skin was a sickly pale grey. I had to figure out a way to get her out of here before it was too late. ‘Why would our ancestors have closed the mine? We need the ore.’

  ‘Most likely because they hadn’t known they’d need the banding until after they’d taken the oasis. The magics of this land don’t come as naturally to the Jan’Tep as they did to the Mahdek. So it was only after they’d brought down the mine that they realised they still needed the ore.’

  Paetep stopped and stood in front of me, his big chest rising and falling, barely restrained rage showing in every twitch of his limbs. ‘Our whole lives they lie to us, making us believe they were the ones who created the city we live in and the oasis that protects us. It’s our role to serve them so they can serve the clan, that’s what we’re told.’ I could smell the heat of his breath. ‘Liars. Every one of them.’ He kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

  ‘Take a step back, friend,’ Ferius said. ‘I’m just starting to like the kid.’

  Two of the other men started moving towards her. Even with masks covering their faces, I could sense how wound up they were.

  Reichis hopped from my shoulder to Ferius’s. ‘Oh, please, tell me the talking is over and I can start with the eyeballs.’

  Ferius, even if she didn’t understand his words, caught his meaning. She gave a little chuckle. ‘See, boys, that crap you shoved down my throat is starting to wear off now. Me and the squirrel cat are itching for a fight, so if you want to take a swing at me, go ahead.’

  Even though her voice was calm, there was something reckless in her eyes. She looked angrier than I’d ever seen her. I actually felt relief when Abydos called his men off. ‘This gets us nowhere,’ he said, pushing them along the tunnel. ‘The Jan’Tep that rule now aren’t even to blame for what’s been done to us. They’ve been repeating a lie told to them for so long that they don’t even know it’s a lie any more.’

  ‘But you reckon you got it all figured out, Aby?’ Ferius asked.

  ‘Not at first,’ he admitted. Then he pointed to the end of the passageway where an arched marble entranceway led into darkness. ‘But then we found the mausoleum.’

  37

  The Chamber

  The space we entered was the largest we’d seen in the mines, over thirty feet across, the ceiling almost as high. The effort to carve it out, to lay the foundations and put in supports, must have been staggering, and yet it was the shape of the space that took my breath away.

  What Abydos had called the ‘mausoleum’ was seven-sided, and each wall was covered with intricate sigils, some of which I recognised, most of which I was sure weren’t in any book or scroll or even in the mind of any Jan’Tep spellmaster in any of our cities. I stood facing one of the walls and held up my right forearm with its sparked breath band. There were nine sigils on my band, each one a different form of breath magic from which spells might be constructed, if I had the power. The wall opposite me had dozens.

  ‘It’s an arcanum,’ I said, but no one even noticed. Of the people there, only Shalla would have cared, and she was unconscious.

&nbs
p; ‘Put the girl down there,’ Abydos told his men. ‘On the altar.’

  Towards the middle of the room, a set of stairs descended from each of the seven walls, leading to a recessed area at the very centre that reflected the shape of the room itself but was only large enough for a simple stone table.

  ‘Why are they putting Shalla on the altar?’ I asked.

  ‘Better than the floor,’ Abydos replied.

  Reichis hopped off my shoulder and started sniffing around. ‘Lot of dead people in here.’

  He was right. I’d been so focused on the inscriptions of spells that I hadn’t noticed the dozens of three-foot-square openings carved into the lower sections of the walls. Inside each one lay a body, wrapped over and over in thick strips of linen, the covered heads facing out towards us. This wasn’t part of the funerary practices of my people; nor were the black lacquer masks covering the faces of the dead.

  ‘Funeral masks,’ Abydos said, removing one and handing it to me. His casual treatment of the deceased felt wrong to me, but my uncle seemed untroubled. ‘It took me weeks of sitting here, staring at these things, to figure out that the Mahdek had never worshipped demons at all. They feared them.’

  ‘Then why the masks?’ I asked.

  ‘Superstition, or possibly just tradition. I suspect they believed the mask would frighten off any demons that came for them in the eternal darkness.’

  ‘And you desecrate the dead, without a second thought,’ Ferius said. ‘Wearing the masks to scare your own people. You sure are a brave bunch.’

  ‘They aren’t our people!’ Tusks shouted, tearing the mask off his face. He was younger than I expected, with sandy brown hair and soft features. I doubted he was more than a couple of years older than me. ‘My people are treated like servants. We can’t choose our own work, we can’t marry without permission. We can’t even …’ He stopped, looking as if all the air had gone out of him.

 

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