All eyes were on her now. “No time to argue,” Kadka said. “Carver is right. Is no better way to get warning to ears that must hear it.”
“Exactly,” said Tane. “We don’t have all the proof we wanted, but we’re out of time. This is the only way to get close to someone with the power to do something with the information we do have. I’ll risk my freedom for that.”
“Not alone,” Kadka said. “I go with you, or you don’t go. Is better chance with me than only you. Maybe Klenn is there with Belgrians. Maybe helps us, if he sees me. No arguing, Carver.”
Tane just gave her a grateful smile. “I know better than to try. And I don’t particularly want to.”
“Then I’m going too,” said Indree. “I’ve worked closely with Lady Abena. She knows me and trusts me.”
Tane shook his head. “I wish you could, Indree. I’d feel a lot better if you were there with us. But somebody has to stay behind. If what you learned tonight is true, there’s a fight coming that no one on our side knows about except us. Which means it’s on us to pull together some kind of defense. I’ve worked with Lady Abena before—not the way you have, but we’ve got history. I can talk to her. What I can’t do is lead people in combat. You can. You’ve got training none of us do, and you’ve done it before.”
“This might be all out war in the streets,” Indree protested. “Putting down rioters isn’t the same thing.”
“Still more than any of us can claim,” said Tane. “And besides that, you’ve got connections in the bluecaps. They’re not all traitors. There’s got to be some who aren’t in Durren’s inner circle. They’re only going to be against us because they’re following orders. We could have a lot more allies if someone told them the truth, someone they might believe. And that’s you.”
Indree prodded her cheek with her tongue, and then gave a reluctant nod. “You’re right. I don’t like it, but… we can’t let the Knights of the Emperor have the city.” She turned to Kadka. “Just… bring him back safe, will you?”
Kadka inclined her head. “Is what I always do. Even when he makes it hard.”
“What about me and Cestra?” Tinga interjected, placing her hands on her hips. “Don’t even think about sending us away this time.”
“I already know from experience that it never works anyway,” Tane admitted. “But your parents would kill me if I let you get arrested, and it would be pointless. It’s the Magebreakers they really want, and as far as most people are concerned, that’s me and Kadka. More of us clapped in irons isn’t going to help anything. Indree’s going to need you out there, though. You think you can actually do what she tells you, for once?”
“Following orders from a bluecap, huh?” Tinga shot Indree a mischievous smile. “I suppose I can make an exception, this time.”
Cestra nudged Tinga in the side with her elbow. “What she means is, you can rely on us.”
“My friends and I are at your service as well, Inspector Lovial!” Bastian announced. “Perhaps once we were on opposite sides of the law, but today, we are fellow patriots, fighting for Audland’s future! Whatever you might need, if it is in my power, it will be done!”
Kadka reached out to fondly tousle Bastian’s hair, causing him to bob in the air. “Is hard to remember you are scary criminal sometimes, little man.”
Bastian righted himself and his round cheeks flushed red. “Well, I do try to be more civilized than my counterparts.”
“Is good. I like this Bastian more than one who kidnaps me when we first meet.” Kadka grinned at him, then looked to Indree. “Ask Iskar, too. He will help with Silver Dawn. And tell him… I will see him again soon.”
“You don’t want to talk to him yourself?” Indree asked. “If this goes badly…”
“No,” said Kadka, though the regret was plain on her face. “Will only make it harder to go, and time we spend now only helps Endo. If we wait, we miss this chance to stop him.” She looked to Tane. “After dawn now. Should go soon. Is there more to say?”
Tane knew she was right—she had a better sense of such things than anyone in the room, even without being able to see the sun rising outside. If she said it was time to go, it was time. “I suppose not,” he said. “Except…” He turned to Indree, reached for her hand. “Ree, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I should tell you—”
“Don’t.” Indree shook her head with a soft sigh. “You just keep trying, don’t you? One day you’re going to figure out that you can tell me how you feel when you don’t think we might die. But Kadka’s right. We don’t have time, and right now neither of us can afford to be distracted.” She leaned in, kissed him gently on the cheek. “Anyway, I already know. Now go. And make sure you keep yourself in one piece.”
As much as Tane wanted to stay with her, there really wasn’t anything else to say to that. So he did the only thing he could: he squeezed her hand, and let it go. “Yes sir, Inspector.” He turned to Kadka. “You heard the lady. Let’s go interrupt some peace talks.”
_____
Kadka maneuvered the ancryst cutter down the narrow canal that ran near Bastian’s workshop and out toward the harbor. It was the second time in recent history Bastian had lent them the use of one of his boats—but unlike the one that had borne them to Thaless, there was a strong chance he wouldn’t get this one back.
“Ready, Carver?” she asked, though she didn’t know if she was. Had it been a mistake to go without seeing Iskar and the little ones? There was a chance she wouldn’t see them again—Indree hadn’t been wrong about that.
Carver sat in the passenger seat beside her within the boat’s small cockpit, gripping the armrests with white-knuckled fingers. “I suppose so,” he said. “Remember, we want to get within shouting distance before they grab us, if we can. Better odds that Lady Abena sees us before we’re taken away.”
“I will get us close.” Kadka took a breath, forced her worries aside. There was no time for that now. This was a chance to ensure a better world for the family she’d created, and that mattered more than anything else.
She grabbed the throttle and pushed it forward, guiding them out of the canal and into open water.
Theirs was one of the only boats moving across the harbor in the growing post-dawn light. The blockade had stopped all traffic in or out, and most every other vessel was moored for the duration. The only exceptions were a few cutters on security detail, tracing slow patrols across the water.
As soon as Kadka increased speed, that stillness was broken. The harbor patrol cutters—four in total—immediately changed course in response. These weren’t standard bluecap vessels, though. The talks were too important for that. These cutters were painted in blue and white and bore the Protectorate’s golden gryphon crest.
Mageblades.
Kadka had never had the pleasure of testing the vaunted skill of the Lady Protector’s personal defense force, though she had crossed paths with a few of them, and she’d heard the stories. Audland’s greatest warriors, as gifted at magecraft as combat, and particularly in the combination of both. Trained to handle any duty relating to the security of the Protector of the Realm with the utmost skill.
She guessed that they knew how to pilot those boats.
Kadka grinned. There was a great deal at stake, but even so—this was going to be fun.
Two boats were patrolling near the waterfront, one ahead of her and one behind, presumably making sure none of the docked ships tried exactly what Kadka and Carver were doing. They closed in from both sides, aiming to trap her between them. The third and fourth cutters were further away, and they moved into defensive positions beside a ship that had to be the Rhien’s Aquilon—the nation’s blue and red striped flag flew at the stern.
“Unauthorized vessel, please reduce speed and allow us to come alongside.” A voice boomed from the cutter ahead, amplified by magic. “The harbor is closed. We will escort you back to dock.”
Kadka responded by speeding up, pushing the throttle as high as it would g
o. She didn’t turn toward the Aquilon yet, though, instead keeping her course roughly parallel to the shoreline.
The same voice came again from the Mageblade craft. “If you do not reduce speed and surrender to inspection immediately, we will be forced to treat you as a hostile craft.”
The cutter behind her hadn’t closed the gap much—their top speed was similar to hers—but the one in front was fast approaching on a collision course. A hundred yards reduced to fifty. Kadka didn’t slow; the Mageblade boat didn’t either.
Thirty yards away, the Mageblade boat manifested a half-spherical shield of silver force around its forward hull, and kept coming. Kadka couldn’t do the same. And if she and Carver collided with that shield at high speed, it wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Kadka, look out!” Carver’s entire body had gone as pale as the knuckles against his armrest. He hated ancryst vehicles when they were operating at regular speeds—this had to be torture.
But she couldn’t go easy on him, not now.
At the last possible moment, Kadka wheeled hard to starboard. Carver let out a shout of pure terror as the nose of the cutter jerked toward the open harbor, missing the magical ram by inches and soaking it with saltwater spray. Now, Kadka finally angled toward the Aquilon.
The Mageblade cutters changed course quickly to follow, but now that Kadka had pulled ahead, neither could overtake Bastian’s cutter through speed alone. Which didn’t mean they were no longer a threat. The one that had been behind to begin with was still too far away to accomplish much, but the nearer boat was only some twenty yards back even after adjusting to her feint. Easily in range to bring spells to bear.
Kadka steered the cutter erratically from side to side, trying to make it a difficult target. It didn’t take long for the spells to start flying. A huge spout of water erupted very close to port, missing by mere feet and spattering the deck; Kadka swerved to the side, rocking in the turbulent waves the geyser left behind. It wasn’t a spell that would have destroyed the cutter or killed anyone aboard, though. And they’d only raised their ram before when it looked like collision was imminent. The Mageblades must have been ordered to take them alive, if possible.
The rough water slowed her down, and the Mageblade craft closed the gap—only ten yards back now. It kept to one side, she noticed, instead of directly following in her wake. Didn’t want to be too close behind if she slowed abruptly, she assumed. Smart, but she might be able to use it.
She was ready for the next spell. It was the obvious move. Another shield appeared in a shimmer of silver light, this time a short distance ahead of her—a half-circle some thirty yards across. Carver yelped again at her side as they sped closer and closer. The Mageblades were trying to funnel her back in their direction so they could overtake her.
Instead, Kadka cut the throttle altogether, reducing speed to a residual drift. The Mageblade cutter had positioned itself so it wouldn’t crash into her, but that meant it hurtled right past on her starboard side. The Mageblades had to slow to avoid hitting their own shield, and then wheel about to locate Kadka and Carver once more. At the same moment, Kadka jammed the throttle again and spun hard to port, shooting forward. She was around the edge of the shield before the Mageblade vessel could react.
The loss of speed, though, had allowed the other pursuing boat to catch up. Now both Mageblade cutters were close behind, and the other two patrol boats that had set up a defense around the Aquilon were still waiting ahead. Kadka was nearly on them now.
As she sped toward the Aquilon’s starboard side, a shield rose that ran from one of the defending cutters to the other. Each boat anchored one end of a long transparent wall, visible only by a silver sheen in the air that shone brighter where it caught the light. The way to the diplomats’ ship was completely blocked.
Kadka didn’t bother to look for a way through. Instead, she just cut the throttle. The two boats chasing behind spread apart and raised another shield-wall between them, and then two more shields flashed into being on either side, completing a square with a Mageblade cutter at each corner. There was no way out. Kadka let Bastian’s cutter drift slowly toward the Aquilon, and made no effort to steer away. At last, the cutter knocked lightly against the shield within shouting distance of the larger ship, where a number of people had gathered on deck to watch.
Kadka turned to Carver, who was still gripping his chair beside her, pale and sweating. “Close enough?”
Carver swallowed, let out a long breath that he’d clearly been holding for some time, and nodded. “It will do.”
“We are coming aboard. Drop any weapons and surrender peacefully.” The same voice as before, loud and authoritative. Kadka looked toward it, behind and to starboard. A Mageblade cutter was drawing closer. The shield-square deformed into a crooked diamond, and then one corner went concave into a sort of angular crescent. Finally, the remaining three ships unlinked the approaching cutter from their formation and adjusted their positions, turning the collapsed square into a triangle.
The Mageblades came alongside. A human man and an elven woman stood on deck, ready to board. Both wore blue and white uniforms with brass cuirasses over top. The cutter had a crew of three or more, then—the two Kadka could see, and at least one more at out of sight at the helm. When they were close enough, the elven woman uttered a spell and lines of silver force drew the two boats together.
She hadn’t come looking for a fight, but still Kadka’s hands balled into fists. Her muscles tensed, and suddenly she was very aware of the lingering ache where Indree’s healing had done its work. Giving herself up without a fight felt wrong. They were going to have to take it on faith that Endo hadn’t gotten to any of these Mageblades, or used his machine to bring them back. And if this didn’t work, it meant prison, or death. Neither appealed to her.
But when she glanced at Carver, he just nodded. “Time to go,” he said, and stepped out of the enclosed cockpit.
Kadka grabbed a full canvas pack from the corner and followed behind.
The human Mageblade came over first, an ancryst pistol in one hand and a set of glyph-engraved manacles in the other. He was perhaps fifty, with dark hair and a clean-shaven face with pronounced frown-lines. “Show me your hands,” he ordered.
Carver obeyed immediately. “We’ll come peacefully,” he said, raising his arms over his head. “We’re here to turn ourselves in.”
Every instinct Kadka had cried out against it, but she followed his lead, dropping the pack at her feet and lifting her hands.
“You could have fooled me, the chase you led us on,” the Mageblade said, and then gestured at the pack Kadka had dropped at her feet. “What’s in there?” She recognized his voice, even without the magic that had amplified it during the chase.
Kadka shoved the pack toward him with one foot. “All weapons and artifacts we have. We are unarmed.” It contained her knives, Carver’s magical trinkets, and a modest collection of the siphon-blocking talismans that Bastian’s people had built. She’d gathered it all together in advance, knowing full well that getting any of it aboard in secret was going to be impossible.
“Pick that up,” the man said to his elven partner, who hadn’t yet crossed from the other boat. “Give me your cuffs. I’ll restrain them.” He kept his pistol trained on Kadka and Carver as he spoke in the tongue of magic. Silver cords of Astral power materialized around Kadka’s wrists, yanking them behind her back. Again, it was a struggle not to fight back, but beside her Carver was enduring the same treatment without protest—it was why they’d come, after all.
The elven woman unclipped a set of manacles from her belt and stepped aboard to hand them over. “A half-orc woman and a human man. It is them. The Magebreakers. I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to try something.” She knelt to pick up the pack without lowering her eyes, keeping Carver and Kadka in sight. Her partner had holstered his pistol and moved to snap cuffs around their magically restrained wrists. Only after they were both firmly bound did she open the p
ack and look inside. “Some artifacts in here I don’t recognize,” she said. “Look.” She took out one of the talismans.
“Whatever it is, they aren’t getting it near the Lady Protector,” the man said. “We’ve been looking for you for a while now. You got close, but you’re not derailing these peace talks. We’re already nearly at war because of you two and your friends.” He prodded Carver in the back, toward the Mageblade cutter. “Come on. There’s a special cell waiting just for you. Don’t worry, there’ll be room for the others too, once you tell us where to find them.”
“Wait,” Carver said. “The peace talks have been stalled this long because it’s taken so long to find us. Do you really think throwing us in a cell right now is the right move when you could hand us over to the Belgrians right now? That’s what they’ve wanted this whole time.”
The elven Mageblade rolled her eyes. “Right, we’ll just take you aboard and put you in reach of the Lady Protector. That’s just what you’d like, isn’t it?”
“What can we do?” Kadka half-glanced over her shoulder, using her chin to clumsily indicate the manacles holding her hands behind her back. “No weapons, hands bound, and we are famous for lack of magic. Search us. Is nothing more to find.”
“At the very least send word to Lady Abena,” Carver said. “Tell her you’ve got the Magebreakers right here, within her reach. See what she says. I don’t think this is something you want to get wrong.”
The Mageblades exchanged a glance, and Kadka saw both their eyes lose focus. They had to be sending to one another, discussing. The man nodded his head once, and then his eyes cleared. The woman’s didn’t. She was sending someone else.
Finally, she said, “Bring them to the rail.” She moved behind Kadka, grabbed her bound wrists, and shoved her toward the other side of the deck, to the rail facing the Aquilon. The man grabbed Carver and roughly led him there as well.
They were some fifteen yards away from the ship, and the deck rose easily thirty feet overhead. A crowd of the Aquilon’s crew was gathered there, still watching. They began to disperse at the sound of a few barked orders from somewhere behind and out of sight. Someone was coming through.
The Mage War Page 9
