“We should destroy their goods,” said Mako. “But I would rather not throw them into the water, in case they are carried down to where our enemies await, and they are warned of our presence.”
“A moment,” said Ebon. He reached into the pocket of his cloak and produced Halab’s firestriker. Mako’s eyes lit upon it, and he gave Ebon a hard look.
“It was a gift, from …” Ebon trailed off, looking at the guards on the wall. They could not see, but they could hear. “Well, from family.”
Many of the goods were wrapped in cloth, and he tore it up to put in piles at the wagon’s corners. With a few touches of the firestriker, the cloth lit, and soon flames licked up to spread along the wagon’s lengthy spars.
“That will do it,” said Mako.
“And what of them?” said Kalem, pointing to the soldiers pressed to the wall.
“Do what you will to us,” said one of the guards, speaking into the wall, for the stone bands still pressed her tight against it. “You’ll not find it so easy when you get to the end of the tunnel, wretches.”
Mako grinned. “Let her down.”
Ebon looked at him, aghast, but Mako only nodded. So Ebon went forwards and shifted stone again, releasing the bands that held her. The moment her boots touched the ground, she turned and reached for his throat. But Mako seized an arm and snapped it against his wrist. Ebon heard the sick crunch of a breaking bone, and the woman cried out. Then Mako smashed an elbow into her nose, and she fell to the ground.
“Girl,” said Mako. “The amulet. Place her under your spell.”
“What? I did not agree to use mindwyrd,” said Theren.
“I would not ask you to make her kill herself,” said Mako. His voice was soothing, though his hands jerked as he restrained the Yerrin guard, who fought to rise. “I mean to keep magestones out of the hands of rogue wizards. Only that. I promise.”
Theren hesitated—but then Ebon felt an itching across the back of his neck, the signal that magic was in the air. Her eyes did not glow, and he knew she had the power of mindwyrd.
“Stop,” said Theren.
The Yerrin guard stopped squirming on the floor at once. “Yes,” she said, her tone dead and lifeless.
“You will not remember any of our faces,” said Theren. “After you have left the sewer, you will forget seeing us, or that you were attacked at all.”
“Yes,” said the guard.
Theren looked to Mako. “Now what?”
“Have her go to the Mystics,” said Mako, smiling. “Have her tell them where we are going, and that they should go there in all haste, for they will find a hefty supply of magestones if they do.”
“But they will find us,” said Theren, taking a step back. “If they learn what I carry …”
“We will be quick, and will have vanished by the time they arrive. But they will be there to clean up the mess, and deal a grievous blow to the family Yerrin.” Mako gave them all a look. “You, more than others, should object to more magestones finding their way into the nine lands. We can do a great deal to stop it, now, tonight.”
“Very well,” said Theren. She looked at the guard again. “You will find the first Mystic you can. You will tell them of these tunnels, and how they lead to the rest of your kin. You will tell the Mystics that they will find magestones here, but only if they come into the sewers, now, at once.”
“Yes,” said the guard.
“Go, then.”
The guard turned on her heel and marched away, back down the way Ebon and the others had come. The tingle on the back of Ebon’s neck disappeared, and he shivered. Beside him, Kalem did the same.
“We have taken longer than we should have,” said Mako. “Onward.”
twenty-four
IT WAS NOT LONG AFTER that that the tunnel widened at last, and they came into a vast, open space underground. Here the walls and floor were hewn from living rock, rather than built of cut stone, and there were many outcroppings all about. Mako ducked behind one of these, and the children hastened to follow.
They had reached some sort of underground grotto, Ebon saw. He could smell saltwater over the bitter stench of the sewer waste, so surmised that the water in this cavern must run out to the Great Bay. They must be somewhere near the western end of the Seat, he guessed, if not at its very edge.
Where the tunnels emerged into the cavern was a narrow platform, and this joined a raised stone path that ran around the cave’s right edge, with many guards posted along it. A fair distance away, the path ended at a wooden dock lined with torches, illuminating a ship.
It was no great vessel, smaller than a schooner, but wider, built for capacity more than speed. Two masts it had, though Ebon saw a sail upon only one of them. He guessed it had room for no more than five crew. Some of these walked about the deck, checking lines and stowing cargo, while others managed workers on the dock. There were many crates, barrels and sacks to load, it seemed, and where they were open, Ebon could see that most of them were filled with small packets of brown cloth.
“There,” said Mako, pointing at the packets. “Those are magestones, or I am a fool.”
“Can it not be both?” said Theren.
Mako snorted—whether in dismissal or in a quickly stifled laugh, Ebon could not tell. “What we see here is worth more than a king’s ransom. What do you say? Shall we rob them of it?”
“I do not want to steal magestones,” said Kalem quickly.
Mako rolled his eyes. “Loosen your death grip upon your honor, goldshitter. I mean to destroy their cargo, not to take it for ourselves. Magestones are a toxic good to trade, as the family Yerrin is soon to discover.”
“We did not come for their magestones,” said Theren. “We came for Isra. Where is she?”
“I do not see her or Gregor,” said Mako. “Either they have come and gone, or they are still on their way, and will arrive soon. If it is the latter, we would be wise to create as much chaos as we can before they arrive, so that they cannot muster these guards against us. If it is the former, then we have already lost their trail tonight, and should do what good we can—by which I mean, chiefly, destroying the cargo Yerrin hopes to escape with.”
“Very well,” said Ebon. “What shall we do?”
“I tell you again that we shall do nothing, and this time I mean it,” said Mako. “I have taken you farther already than I should have, and it ends here. You will keep watch. If anyone else should emerge from the tunnel whence we came, you must warn Theren and me so that we are not taken unawares.”
Ebon glared, and Kalem did not look entirely pleased either. But they could feel the sand passing through the hourglass—they had little time, for the Mystics would soon be on their way. “Very well. How should I signal you?”
“Squeal like a rabbit, for all I care,” said Mako. “Only do not let them see you, and make sure you are not within reach. There is a little rocky shelf up there on the wall—that is where you should wait.”
“What will the two of you do?” said Kalem.
“We will make this a night Yerrin remembers, and regrets,” said Mako. “Come, Theren.”
Together he and Theren stole forwards, bent almost double in the shadows, while Ebon and Kalem scrambled onto the shelf. It was just above head-height, with the ceiling pressing down low enough above them that they had to lie down to keep from bumping their skulls.
Ebon thought that Mako and Theren would take the stone path, but Mako turned from it at once. Then Ebon saw that there were other stone shelves, like the one he rested on, though not so smooth, so that the Yerrin guards avoided them. But the stone came in levels, and all of them were lower than the stone path, so that Mako and Theren could creep along unseen.
He saw them approach the first guard, who stood on the path. They inched forwards until they were as close to the guard as possible, but below him and out of sight. Theren popped her head up and into the torchlight. Ebon froze, and almost called out—but then Theren said something he could not hear, an
d the guard froze.
A few more hasty words she muttered, and then ducked out of sight again. The guard set off down the path. He approached the next guard, who leaned unaware against the wall. The unwitting target looked only at the last moment—but too late, for the first guard smashed the pommel of his sword into the side of her helmet. She fell to the floor, senseless.
The other guards saw it, and they called out in alarm as they came running to help. There were at least half a dozen of them, and Ebon knew that Theren’s mindwyrded guard stood no chance. But just as they approached, Mako and Theren struck.
Mako leapt up on the path, seizing one of the guards and planting a dagger in his throat. He fell from the path and slid down the shelf into the water. Ebon winced. Theren struck with her magic, seizing two of the guards and flinging them from the path. They fell screaming into the water, and fought to keep hold of the rock wall as they tugged off their chain mail. Mako nearly killed another, but Theren struck again, too quickly. Her magic picked up all three guards who still stood and slammed them into the stone wall with the strength of dragon’s breath. They fell unconscious to the floor.
“Come!” said Ebon, sliding down off their shelf. He helped Kalem down after him, and they ran forwards to where Mako and Theren stood. Together they ran down the path as quick as they could, for the sense of passing time hung heavy in the air. The ship’s crew had abandoned their vessel, fleeing for their lives down a side passage that led in another direction.
“What of the ones who escaped?” said Ebon.
“They could not see our faces in the dim,” said Mako. “The ship is all that matters now.”
He leapt aboard first, and the children followed more slowly, holding tight to the rope railing of the gangplank. By the time they made the deck, Mako had already gone down a hatch and returned. “The bulk of the stones are down there,” he said. “But there are plenty more upon the dock. It would be best to destroy them all, but that may take too long.”
“I can cast the crates on the dock into the water,” said Theren.
“No good. The crates will keep them safe, and those lying in the open will simply float. Yerrin may not be able to recover all of them, but they will recover enough.”
“Put them aboard, then,” said Ebon. “And we can burn the ship.”
Mako scowled. “Idiot. It will take longer to bring the crates aboard than it would to set them ablaze.”
Ebon took quite some pleasure in rolling his eyes and gesturing dramatically at Theren. “We have a mindmage, Mako.”
The bodyguard’s eyes widened, and though it looked as though he tried to hide it, a little smirk crept into his lips. Off to the side, Kalem muttered, “He means mentalist.”
It took but a moment. Theren’s eyes blazed as she lifted the crates, for she did not need the amulet’s power for so simple a task. But the last few still hung in the air when Ebon heard a sharp cry and turned.
There, at the other end of the cavern, two figures stood in the entryway, silhouetted by the torchlight beyond. Gregor—and beside him, Isra.
twenty-five
EVEN FROM ACROSS THE CAVERN, Ebon shook at the sight of Gregor. Images flashed into his mind of the Drayden assassin Gregor had killed. Next to Isra, his size seemed inhuman. The man was at least a head and a half taller than Mako, and it seemed his shoulders were twice as broad. His legs were like ship masts, and his arms as thick as Ebon’s torso.
“Drop that crate,” Mako told Theren. “I would give both my daggers for a firemage. Boys, find torches and set blazes on the ship. Can you stop her, Theren?”
“I have before,” said Theren, her voice filled with steely resolve. “I will do so now, and gladly.”
“I hope you are not only boasting.”
Mako pounded down the dock towards the path of stone. But Theren did not bother with the dock; she ran to the ship’s rear and leapt from it. Ebon’s stomach lurched—but then her magic picked her up, and she used it to carry herself to the stone path, reaching it even before Mako did.
Isra gave a scream of rage, and a black glow sprang into her eyes. “Kill the girl!” she cried. Gregor drew his steel and advanced down the stone path. But Mako stepped forth, and the men faced each other across the cave.
“You owe me more than one life,” said Mako. “Now I will carve them from you like a boar.”
“Try it,” said Gregor.
Ebon realized he had been standing and staring too long. He turned to seize Kalem’s shoulder. “Enough gawking,” he said. “We have our own work to do.”
Kalem nodded. “I will fetch one of the torches.”
“No, I will see to that. Use your magic upon the ship—break parts of it up into kindling that will catch easier than boards.”
As Kalem scuttled to obey, Ebon ran down the gangplank, making for the torches. But just as he neared the first one, a blow struck him, a force without sound or sight. It knocked him back, nearly pitching him off the other side of the dock. The torch he had reached for was flung from its mount, falling into the water below with a sharp hiss.
“Ebon!” Kalem came running. Across the cave, Ebon saw Isra staring at him with her black-glowing eyes, and he knew it was her magic that had nearly thrown him into the water. But though her hand was outstretched still, he felt nothing more pulling at him. Theren must have countered the spell.
Kalem reached him and seized his arm, hauling him back up onto the dock. Ebon gave him a grateful smile before they stood together.
“Get another,” he said, pointing to the torches.
But Isra gave another great cry, and the back of Ebon’s neck tingled. He braced himself for another blow, but none came—except to the torches, which were cast down and into the water of the grotto. Now the dock was nearly pitch-black, and the cavern was only lit by the torches on the stone path. Ebon could try to take one, but it would bring him nearly within arm’s reach of Gregor. Isra bared her teeth in triumph, but then had to focus again on Theren, who had redoubled her assault.
“Darkness take her,” said Ebon. “What can we do now?”
“Perhaps the ship has lanterns,” said Kalem. “And you have your firestriker. Come! I will search belowdecks.”
They ran up the gangplank again, and Kalem vanished down a hatch. But Ebon paused, for he had caught sight of Mako. Gregor had pushed the bodyguard well down the path now, so that they were less than ten paces from the ship, and Mako was hard-pressed. A new bruise swelled on his face, and he was favoring his right arm, which was missing its dagger. The other seemed a poor weapon against Gregor’s massive sword, and it seemed clear that Mako was no longer attacking—only trying to stay alive.
Ebon looked over the deck around him. There was an open barrel at hand, and within it he saw oranges and apples packed in straw. He seized one of the oranges, gripping it tight in his hands. Light flashed in his eyes as he felt the substance of the fruit, and then he changed it to stone. But then it was almost too heavy to hold, so he shifted some of it away to go dribbling down upon the deck. Now he took the fist-sized ball and, waiting for the right moment, he threw it.
Mako had taken a quick step back, desperate for space, and so the stone came sailing at Gregor at the perfect time. It struck metal, for he wore a helmet, but still it sent his head rocking to the side, and he stumbled. Mako lunged forwards with his dagger.
But Gregor recovered too quickly, and his plated fist smashed Mako in the gut. The bodyguard fell back, landing hard on the stone path. Ebon shouted, turned another orange to stone, and threw it. But Gregor casually batted it away, and took a step towards Mako, who struggled to stand.
Theren grit her teeth and stepped forwards. Isra stumbled against the attack, and the darklight in her eyes flamed up. The itch in Ebon’s skin flared so that it burned like fire. But Theren broke through, knocking Gregor a pace back from Mako. With a cry she pressed still further, and Ebon saw a rippling in the air. It wrapped itself around Isra in an instant, and the girl screamed as it flung her f
ar out into the cavern, out of the torchlight and into the water with a splash.
With her opponent gone at last, Theren sagged and fell to one knee. But she rose almost immediately, pushing Gregor another pace back from Mako. Ebon thought she would fling him into the water as well, but she seemed winded, and fought just to keep her feet.
There came a commotion at the other end of the cave. With shouts and tramping feet, a party of soldiers burst into the cavern, holding torches aloft. They wore mail and carried blades along with the torches, and upon their shoulders were cloaks of red.
“Mystics!” whispered Ebon. But just then, Kalem emerged from belowdecks, and in his hand was a lantern. He opened one side of it even as Ebon frantically worked his firestriker, and soon the lantern was ablaze. Close at hand lay a little pile of kindling that Kalem had built. Ebon smashed the lantern down upon it, and its oil spread along the deck.
“It is time to go.” Ebon turned to find Mako standing at the gangplank. The bodyguard’s face was entirely covered in bruises now, and blood from his split lip dribbled down his chin.
They ran to him, and at the bottom of the gangplank joined Theren. A glance told Ebon that the Mystics were engaged with Gregor, who fended them off with huge, sweeping swings of his broadsword. They should have overwhelmed him already, but the narrow stone path kept them from engaging him more than two at a time.
Mako hurried them towards the other passage, the one the boat crew had used to escape when they first arrived. Just before they ducked within, Ebon glanced back at the ship. It was burning now, burning with a sickly black flame that rose to lick the cavern’s roof. The smell of it was foul, a putrid corruption like rotting flesh or a noxious corpse. He nearly retched. Then they had gone around the corner, and the flames were lost from sight.
twenty-six
THE TUNNEL STRETCHED ON LONG and dark ahead of them, and they had to slow their pace at first. But then Theren took the lead, and eschewing Kekhit’s amulet, she reached for her power. Magelight sprang into her eyes to illuminate the way. It was a poor glow, but better than nothing, and they moved as quickly as they could. Ebon heard no sounds of pursuit, but that could not last forever; eventually the Mystics must overwhelm Gregor, and then they would find this passage.
The Firemage's Vengeance Page 16
