Shadowheart lotr-2

by James Barclay

  'We haven't-'

  'No time. Come on.'

  The Raven, Al-Arynaar and TaiGethen charged away into the depths of the catacombs.

  Dystran, dabbing his still bleeding nose, strode into the hub room behind a quartet of college guards, including Captain Suarav. He was met by the blank masked faces of over a dozen Protectors. One pace in, he slipped on the blood-slick floor, grabbing out at Suarav for balance and standing on a corpse while he regained it. He sighed.

  'Look at this. Look at what they have done.' He shook his head. All his years as Lord of the Mount. All the years of near constant war and he hadn't seen this much death close up.

  It stank. Entrails and their contents were strewn over the floor, still steaming gently. Bodies lay in the twisted attitudes of their deaths. Eyes stared at him, sightless and reproachful. The course of the FlameOrb was marked in blackened, smoking gore. But it was the blood that really shocked him. How many people were there lying here? Twenty perhaps but even so, how could they disgorge so much blood? It spattered the walls and the ceiling and across the floor it was a slick that splashed with every footfall.

  'We didn't even kill one of them. And they've got away. Temporarily.' He turned on the nearest Protector. 'And what did you think you were doing, eh? Nothing. Standing like statues while real men were slaughtered by bandits. I don't know what they have done to you but I will find out. Anything to say?' ' Silence.

  'No, I thought not. Suarav, where are you?'

  'Here, my Lord.'

  'Extend the search. Split into six groups, it's your only choice. One Circle Seven mage with each group to direct you. Who knows what they think they're going to do? I also want every exit from here into the complex guarded. I-' He clapped his hands together. 'The vents.'

  He walked towards the Soul Tank corridor. 'Of course, how can I have been so stupid. Suarav, let me show you something in the map room.' Protectors were standing in front of the corridor entrance. 'Out of my way.'

  The three masks turned to look at him. 'Things have changed,' said one.

  'Don't I bloody know it. But I still have the magical power to obliterate you. Now move. In fact, get out of the catacombs altogether.'

  One of them shifted. 'Let us talk of respect.'

  Dystran closed his eyes. He was going to have to be very careful.

  'It's a good distance and they will find us,' said Myx.

  He was keeping the pace high, trying to put a sensible gap between them and any immediate pursuit, but anything was going to be only a temporary breathing space. The Unknown and Hirad ran with him, Thraun and Denser behind with the unconscious Erienne. Darrick and the elves followed. Already, Denser had made them stop once to feed more energy into the spell around Erienne's mind and he looked a tired man.

  'How big are the catacombs?' asked Hirad.

  'Bigger than you know. It is mostly this.' Myx gestured around them. 'Interconnecting tunnels between each hub. We were in Dystran's hub. We'll slow at the next one. It has… history.'

  The Unknown let the remark pass.

  'And you know all this because…?' asked Hirad.

  ‘Iam… was, the Lord of the Mount's Given. It was my job to know.'

  'Fortunate.'

  'I hope so.'

  The Unknown had been a Protector such a short time but still he understood the method behind the apparent madness of the catacomb construction as if it had been bred into him. Generations of paranoia bred by violendy short tenure in the Circle Seven had led to the chaotic maze of finished and unfinished passages that encircled every hub.

  It was a twisted morality that had driven it. While assassination by poison or blade had been a recognised method of advancement in years past, the use of destructive wards in the catacombs had always been considered unethical somehow. Naturally, entering a chamber uninvited was a different matter but in the myriad corridors which were considered almost neutral territory, such traps were beyond the pale.

  The Unknown had no doubt they would have tripped many alarms and reminders for anyone working down here but that was a risk they had to take. To avoid every one would have been tantamount to suicide, so long would they have had to delay.

  At the rear of the group, Auum jogged along easily. His limbs could stand the activity indefinitely but he was very unhappy. For the first time in his life, he considered that he was not in control of the situation. Deep below ground in the fetid tunnels of a Balaian city, he was out of anything he understood. He could, though, feel the patterns of space in the rock. It was the only crumb of comfort he had.

  He had been confused by the turn of events, as had all his people. Rebraal's explanation did little to help. He understood that the woman, Erienne, carried an ancient elven magical power and that the enemy had murdered one of the Al-Drechar to claim her. It was typically human ignorance. The TaiGethen would attend to it another time.

  He held up his hand and his Tai stopped with him, letting the echoing boots of the others recede. Marack turned but he waved her to continue. It would not be hard to find them again; the noise The Raven made would see to that.

  'We will pray and we will listen,' he said. The Tai gathered on their knees. 'Yniss, hear us. Tual, hear us. Guide our senses in this place. Where the air is bad, where no birds fly or animals walk. Where no tree could survive or river creature swim. Yniss, we ask that you look down on us as we complete your work and return that which was stolen to your bosom. We remain, as ever, your servants.'

  They remained kneeling, ears straining for any clue. Auum could still hear the others moving away. He marked the direction which had not changed though their movement had slowed. He turned his head. Behind and to their left, the enemy were travelling. It appeared to be on a parallel path though it was difficult to be certain.

  'Do you hear them?' he asked.

  Duele and Evunn nodded.

  'Ready your bows. Mine was broken while we fought the wind.' He stood up, motioning his Tai to follow him. ‘Iam tired of running. We will hunt now. Tai, we move.'

  Chapter 24

  Myx slowed, The Raven and TaiGethen closing up behind him. Ahead, Hirad could see that the nature of the passageway was changing, or at least its decoration. He looked behind him to check everyone once again.

  'Where's Auum?' he asked, stopping.

  'Helping,' said Rebraal. 'He'll find us again.'

  'Helping in what way?'

  'Hunting the hunters,' said Rebraal. 'It's better for him this way. And for us.'

  ‘Ihope you're right.'

  The change in decor was abrupt. The pastel shades ended and in their place wooden panelling, dark stained, lined the walls. It affected the quality of the light, darkening the surroundings.

  'What's this?'

  'The next hub,' said Myx. 'Or rather, its borders. Not all of them are the same.' He smiled for the first time. 'Some former Masters had more style.'

  He led them to the end of the passageway. Despite the magical augmentation, there was moss and mould in places on the wood. Hirad trailed a finger along it, feeling the slight dampness before replacing his glove. At a deep-blue painted door, Myx turned.

  'We could face trouble in here,' he said.

  'Whose is it?' asked The Unknown.

  'Laryon's,' said Myx. 'Or it was. It is now an extension of Dystran's empire.'

  'Well, it'll be a delight to clear it of all the detritus,' said The Unknown.

  He drew his blade. Laryon. There was a name that would live with The Raven forever. Laryon had been the master mage who sacrificed his life to free The Unknown from his mask. He had long championed the release of the Protectors and among Xeteskian mages had been rare in being truly respected by them. Dead these six years, his spirit lived on.

  Myx reached out his hand to the handle.

  'Whoa!' hissed Denser suddenly. 'Are you sure about that?'

  'This door contains wards for explosion and lock. I am tuned out of them both. Once opened, the wards are disabled.' He turned to The Unknown.
'Be ready, brother.'

  'Raven, let's concentrate,' said The Unknown. 'Nothing good in here, all right? Thraun, you stay outside 'til it's clear.'

  Myx opened the door. Lantern light flooded the corridor. He cursed and slammed it quickly shut again. The roar of a spell shivered the timbers and the air outside chilled dramatically.

  'Three targets,' he said. 'Go.'

  This time he put a foot to the door and kicked it back. He ran in, plucking his weapons from his back, The Unknown and Hirad directly after him.

  'Myx, no!' shouted The Unknown, seeing the former Protector falter on raising his axe to strike. 'Clear the path!'

  In front of them were two mages and another man, neither mage nor soldier. Half skidding on the ice of the spell they'd cast, The Unknown closed in on the mages, who abandoned their attempts to cast again and turned to flee. He didn't have time for the niceties of combat and clattered his blade through the midriff of one mage before he'd taken a pace. On his shoulder, Hirad swiped at the trailing leg of the second, his blade carving into bone and sending the mage down screaming in pain. Before they could turn to attend to the non-mage, an elven arrow had punched him from his feet.

  The Unknown finished off the crippled mage and looked about him.

  'It's clear, Thraun, in you come. Last in, close the door.' He raised his eyebrows at what he saw. 'Where the hell did all this come from?'

  To all intents and purposes, they were standing in the hallway of a house. It was wood-panelled like the passage outside, hung with tapestries. Tables along the walls were littered with ornaments, some now broken by the fall of the unfortunate mages. Three doors led off the hallway and at the end of the hall, a stairway led to an upper landing.

  'Laryon always was a man apart,' commented Denser.

  'Sol, I am sorry,' said Myx.

  'Don't be. Your training is ingrained. You direct, we'll fight when we have to.'

  'Through here, the whole way,' said Myx. 'Dystran keeps a big research team in here and a standing guard. Something important is going on.'

  To emphasise his point, there was the sound of movement from up the stairs.

  'Any other ways out of here?' asked The Unknown.

  'Three,' said Myx. 'All up the stairs.'

  'Up?' asked Hirad.

  'Don't forget, we are underground. It may look like a house but there are no windows, no gardens.' He turned back to The Unknown. 'We should clear the rooms on this level.'

  'Darrick, any thoughts?'

  'House clearance was never in my training, Unknown,' said Darrick. 'But I'd be guarding door and stairs while we did it.'

  'Agreed. Rebraal, can you do the honours. Thraun, Denser, stay with them. We need one mage with us to operate a shield. Let's move. They aren't hanging around upstairs.'

  Myx indicated the single door left. 'Research room.'

  The Unknown nodded and led Hirad and Darrick forward. Behind them came Sian'erei, already casting.

  'Shield up.'

  'Keep it that way,' said Hirad. 'And stay behind us. We can't risk you.'

  'You need a bowman,' said Rebraal. 'No arguments.'

  'None offered.'

  The Unknown kicked the door at its handle, the timbers cracking, the catch bursting and the door shuddering inwards. He and Hirad crouched, Rebraal covering the area within. It was empty of life but dominated by a long table covered with papers and a complex wooden model.

  'Turn,' ordered The Unknown. They backed and turned. 'Thraun, in there. Denser, cover them. Myx?'

  'Drawing room, both doors.'

  'Rebraal, left hand, take the angle, we'll draw any fire.'

  The Unknown led them across the corridor, past the waiting TaiGethen. Not a flicker crossed their expressions, their bows tensed and ready up the silent stairs. Defending mages had shields cast.

  'Ready?'

  Hirad nodded, choosing to unlatch the door and push it wide. A crossbow bolt buried itself in the wall opposite.

  'Left edge, single target, red chair!' shouted Hirad, running into the room in front of his comrades.

  The Raven warriors were presented with rugs, chairs, sofas, low tables and even a fire place. The crossbowman was crouched behind a chair, reloading. Mages stood by him, three of them. They cast but to no discernible effect, their arms quivering with effort, their faces betraying their anxiety.

  'Oh dear,' said Hirad, hurdling a sofa, Darrick matching his move while The Unknown curved right.

  Rebraal's bow sounded, taking the crossbowman in the hand, pinning it to the stock of his weapon. The elf followed into the room, reloading. Hirad landed, bringing his sword through from above his head and carving through the neck of the nearest mage. He went down in a welter of blood. Darrick, ever less dramatic, simply speared his target through the heart. The Unknown chose a similarly efficient path.

  Three more dead, one soldier incapacitated. The Unknown hauled him up by his leather jerkin.

  'Talk. How many in this complex?'

  ‘Idon't know. Ten?' Blood was pouring from his wound and he tried to support it, clutching the crossbow close and whimpering in pain. 'We were told to stay. You won't get out. They knew you'd come this way.'

  'Who?' The Unknown shook him hard, drawing a gasp from him.

  'All of them.' He managed a smile.

  The Unknown dropped him, Hirad crashing his sword hilt into the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

  'Think he was telling the truth?'

  'Every likelihood,' said Myx, looking into the room from a doorway.

  'We'd better get out of here. We can't wait for-'

  From the hallway, there was a shout of alarm. They heard the twang of bows and saw the glow of an Al-Arynaar FlameOrb. The volley was answered by shouts from above, the snap of crossbows and, lastly, a blinding bright blue light. Myx had taken half a pace into the room and turned just as the spell impacted. The detonation cracked the walls. The Protector was hurled across the room, thumping into the far wall and slumping down it. A gout of blue flame scorched the door frame.

  Out in the corridor, they could hear the screams of the TaiGethen trapped outside. A burning elf staggered past and collapsed.

  'What was that?' Hirad started towards the door but Sian'erei stopped him.

  'We've lost the flow again,' she said, her eyes full of tears. 'They had no shield.'

  Footsteps, a lot pf footsteps, were clattering down the stairs.

  Auum led his Tai deeper and deeper into the catacombs. Denser had been right. The place was a chaotic structure but although it was below ground, their prayers had given them strength and he was treating the confusion of passages and directions like the rainforest paths. No outward logic but animals left their marks on their best routes and humans were no different.

  They had established the direction The Raven were taking and had chosen a path that ran above them and to their right. While there was no direct route, the Xeteskians had left plenty of signs. Less dust on die ground, grease marks from fingers on walls, shinier surfaces where clothes had brushed past. Easy to miss unless you knew what you were looking for.

  Auum was five paces ahead of Duele, Evunn a further five behind him. His Tai had bows ready while he had unclasped his jaqrui pouch and had a short sword in his right hand. He was concerned that his Tai were running short of shafts and, even with those he had given them, a prolonged hunt would exhaust their supply.

  There were men ahead of them, there were men behind. The Tai moved without sound and without speech, their signals and gestures all the communication they needed. Auum upped his pace. He wanted to pick off those ahead. They were moving with some urgency, twenty or more, making no attempt to hide their advance, assuming they were the hunters not the hunted.

  He reached a, junction of passageways. Left, he sensed the catacombs opening up. The air was a little fresher, circulating more freely. It was probably another hub but the corridor floor had a thin film of undisturbed dust on its surface. Interesting that no one turned l
eft to get there. He checked right. The enemy were clearly audible still. He padded around the corner and set off, gesturing his Tai to maintain distance.

  Auum was running now. The corridor, like every other, was blue-lit, palely decorated. It inclined slightly and gently curved away right. He breathed it in. It was short. He powered around the curve, feeling an opening on his left before he saw it. The prey were close. Breasting the rise of the curve, he saw the last boot disappearing around a left turn not ten yards ahead of him.

  He took the earlier left, pacing parallel to the hunted, feeling his senses focus to every sound. Nothing came from behind him, it was all to his right. He felt for what he needed and in the currents of the air, he found it, a crossway right, curving back towards the enemy. The Tai closed swiftly.

  From their ultimate destination, Auum heard an explosion. Dulled by rock but fed through the tunnels on a wave of air it was not far off. The enemy responded, breaking into a run. To Auum, it was an advantage. He pushed on, seeing them cross his path right to left. They wouldn't see him, his angle left him in the periphery of their vision and they were intent on their way ahead. Not people who would last long in the rainforest.

  The last pair of soldiers moved away with Auum four paces from the junction. He didn't break stride, reaching into his jaqrui pouch and sending a crescent whispering away. It struck the back of his target's head, slicing through skin and bone, before jamming to a stop in a spray of blood and sending him sprawling into those ahead.

  Duele and Evunn compounded the instant confusion moments later. Arrows flew either side of Auum, cutting down two more. Auum's blade chopped into the lower back of a man who hadn't even responded to the damage inflicted on the one next to him. He fell to his knees, still moving forwards, arms flying backwards. Auum caught his head and cut his throat.

  Only now did the soldiers respond. Shouts echoed through the corridor, panic and order mixed with the sound of swords being wrestled from scabbards and soldiers turning to face their enemy. Auum took what advantage remained. He unsheathed his second blade, and plunged it in to the neck of a soldier, pivoted on his right foot and kicked out down and straight with his left, cracking the knee of another and finally danced back a pace to free himself from the press coming at him.