Caina started to reach for one of the knives hidden in her sleeves.
“I made the glypharmor,” said Mihaela. “I know the spells that bind it, inside and out.” Her mocking smile widened. “And I know how to control those spells.”
Claudia blinks. “That means…that means…”
“That means,” said Caina, “that Mihaela can control anyone wearing a suit of glypharmor.”
“Cleverer than I expected from you,” said Mihaela. “You are correct. Anyone wearing glypharmor has free will…until I decide that he does not. No one wearing glypharmor can attack me. And whenever I choose, I can turn any man wearing glypharmor into my puppet.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”
“Gods,” said Claudia. “That’s…brilliant.”
Caina could not argue. Mihaela had been playing both the Sages and the ambassadors as fools. Whoever purchased the glypharmor would think they had claimed an invincible army…but they would only be putting a slave’s collar around their necks.
“I thought so,” said Mihaela.
“So…you’ve changed your mind, then?” said Claudia. “You want to abandon your plan and seek refuge with the Ghosts?”
“No,” said Mihaela. “We’re going to do something grander, Irene Callenius, you and I. We are going to change the world. Because I am going to tell you how to control the glypharmor. You, and you alone.”
Claudia blinked, stunned…and Caina saw that odd light come into her eyes again.
“Me?” said Claudia. “Why?”
“Because,” said Mihaela. “You have vision that both the Ghosts and the other sorcerers lack. You see how we can make the world better.”
“We will have to speak to Basil first,” said Caina, but the other women ignored her.
Even Corvalis ignored her, his eyes fixed on Claudia.
“This is what we’ll do,” said Mihaela, her voice urgent. “You will go to each of the embassies, and tell them that the Sages have agreed to sell them three suits of glypharmor, no more and no less. I will summon the Sages to the Hall of Assembly, and you will bring the embassies. We will then explain that the Scholae has decided to give them each three suits in order to maintain balance and prevent war among the nations. Of course, the most powerful men from each embassy will want to try the armor at once…the First Magus, Yaramzod the Black, Callatas, all the others. They’ll put on the suits…”
“And when they do,” said Claudia, “you’ll control them.”
“I shall,” said Mihaela.
“That’s monstrous,” said Caina.
Mihaela laughed. “This from the woman who fainted at the sight of a little blood?”
“That was more than a little blood,” said Caina. “And you’re planning to take the most powerful sorcerers in the world and turn them into your slaves.”
“That is exactly what I plan to do,” said Mihaela. “Do you think that monstrous? You should not.” She looked at Claudia. “You have seen firsthand the crimes of your father. And I assure you the other sorcerers have committed darker atrocities. By putting them under our control, we would be doing the world a favor.”
Claudia said nothing. Corvalis looked back and forth between her and Caina.
“You would overthrow one set of tyrants,” said Caina, “and replace them with yourself.”
Mihaela snorted. “Now you simply parrot the words of your circlemaster. If I wanted to hear a song and see a dance, I would pay you for the privilege.” She looked back at Claudia. “We have the right to do this. Don’t you see? Our sorcery gives us the right. Can you imagine what we could do if we forced the most powerful sorcerers in the world to bend to our will? We could bring the war between the Empire and Istarinmul and New Kyre to an end. We could force the Magisterium and the College of Alchemists and the Anshani occultists to use their powers for the greater good, rather than their own selfish ends.” Her voice grew more urgent. “We could change the world in a way no one has ever dared!”
And to Caina’s alarm, Claudia nodded.
“What you say makes a great deal of sense,” said Claudia.
“What guarantee,” said Caina, “do you have that Mihaela will be any better than your father?”
“The best guarantee of all,” said Mihaela. “Power. I will share the control of the glypharmor with Irene. We shall serve as checks upon each other. If attempt something excessively dangerous, Irene will stop me…and if she becomes mad with power, I will stop her.”
“And if you both agree to do something evil,” said Caina, “then there is no one to stop you.”
“We will do nothing evil,” said Mihaela with scorn. “The First Magus and Yaramzod the Black and all their cronies, they are the evil ones. Surely you know that just as well as I do.” She smirked. “But, let us be candid. This is beyond your comprehension, no? You are not a sorceress, and so have no conception of the responsibility that comes with the power. The obligation to create a better world.”
“I understand that obligation,” said Claudia, voice soft. “I understand it very well.”
“Irene,” said Caina, “you cannot…”
“My name,” said Claudia, rising to her feet, “is Claudia Aberon.”
“Damn it,” said Caina, standing as well. “Do you not understand the purpose of a disguise? You are a Ghost…”
“I am a Ghost,” said Claudia, “but I was a magus, and I am still a sorceress. Mihaela is right. I have a duty to use my power to make a better world. And this opportunity is astounding.” Claudia took a deep breath. “I could make a better Magisterium, one devoted to the people of the Empire. We could force an end to the war, force all nations to live in harmony. Why should we not do this? You hate the magi more than anyone I have ever met. I thought you would see the wisdom in this.”
“You don’t have the right to do this!” said Caina. She had hoped to maintain her disguise in front of Mihaela, but if Claudia was going to do something so foolish… “Even if Mihaela isn’t lying to you, you don’t have the right to do this. You would appoint yourself tyrant over the whole world.” She paused. “It is exactly the sort of thing your father would do.”
Caina expected Claudia to react with anger, but she only shook her head.
“Mihaela is right,” said Claudia. “You do not have arcane power. You don’t understand the obligations that imposes. I have to do this…and I have the right to do this.”
“Oh, I understand just fine,” said Caina, gripping the edge of the table. “You think your power gives you the right. Your sorcery lets you force people to do as you wish. You’re no better than a thug forcing a weaker man to hand over his coins. At least the thug doesn’t have the temerity to claim he’s doing it for the victim’s own good.” Her anger flared. “If I had known you would do something as stupid as this, then I would have left you imprisoned in the stone.”
She saw Corvalis’s hand curl into a fist.
Claudia only smiled, a patronizing, calm smile. “Your hatred of sorcery is clouding your judgment, Anna. Once this is done, I think you will understand.”
“No,” said Caina. “You are not doing this.”
Mihaela laughed. “You have grown tiresome. Go run to your circlemaster and report what we have done. He will be unable to stop us. Just as you will.”
“Cormark,” said Caina.
Corvalis hesitated.
“Damn it, Cormark,” said Caina.
“A moment, sister,” said Corvalis.
He followed Caina into the hall.
“We have to go to Basil, now,” Caina said, as soon as the door closed behind them. “Claudia doesn’t know the risks she is taking. I know Mihaela used necromancy to create the glypharmor. At worst, Claudia is walking into a trap, and at best, Mihaela is going to use her as a tool and kill her later. We have…”
“She might be right,” said Corvalis.
Caina blinked in surprise. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am,” said Corvalis. “Mihaela makes sense. If she ha
s truly built a way to control the glypharmor into her spells, then we have a chance to cripple the Magisterium. To make my father pay for what he has done.”
“Mihaela is lying,” said Caina.
“Claudia is willing to take the risk,” said Corvalis. “And I trust her judgment.”
“More than mine?” said Caina.
“In this, yes,” said Corvalis, voice quiet.
Caina blinked. That…had hurt more than she thought.
“She is right about this,” said Corvalis. He would not meet her eyes. “You do hate sorcery, enough that…enough that you will not take an opportunity when it opens before you. If we can do this, it will be the greatest victory the Ghosts have ever won.”
“It will be the greatest mistake the Ghosts have ever made,” said Caina. “Putting that much power in Mihaela’s will be a disaster.”
“Claudia will keep her in check,” said Corvalis.
“And Claudia will be just as bad,” said Caina.
“Why?” said Corvalis, his eyes narrowing.
“Because no one can be trusted with that kind of power,” said Caina. “Damn it, Corvalis, she’s turning herself into a slaver. She’s enslaving evil men, true, but she’s still turning them into slaves.”
Corvalis shook his head. “What has she done to make you distrust her so?”
“I wouldn’t trust myself with that kind of power,” said Caina, “let alone Claudia.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why not? What has she ever done against the Ghosts? She convinced me to leave the Magisterium and seek a better life. She joined the Ghosts, and she has done everything that you and Basil asked. Yet you have never stopped thinking that she’s some sort of devil in training!”
“She’s a magus!” said Caina. She realized that she was shouting, but there was no one else around to hear. “She’s doing everything your father would do if he had the chance, and you’re so wrapped around her little finger that you’re too damned blind to see it!”
“And you hate her too much,” said Corvalis, “to realize this is the Ghosts’ best chance to crush the Magisterium. All because you can’t get over your grudge against sorcery.”
A tremor of anger went through Caina, and she forced herself to stay still.
“I am going to Basil,” said Caina, “and he will stop this.”
“Basil isn’t blinded by hate,” said Corvalis, “and he’ll agree with us.”
Caina stalked away without another word.
Chapter 20 - All In One Place
Caina hurried through the Tower’s halls, her heels clicking against the floor. She supposed she should have felt sad, should have felt betrayed.
Instead, she only felt fury.
Gods, she had been such a fool.
She should have known better. A magus of the Magisterium would not change. And she should have known that Corvalis would do whatever Claudia told him. No matter what Claudia did, no matter what mad folly she pursued, Corvalis would follow her.
Corvalis…
“Gods damn it all,” whispered Caina. “I should have known.”
Her eyes stung. She wiped the back of her hand across them and kept walking.
She had to find Halfdan and warn him. Between Saddiq’s tribesmen and whatever mercenaries Annika found, they could gather enough men to stop Mihaela. But that would mean violence inside the Tower of Study, and the Scholae would respond…
Later. She could plan later. And the decision rested with Halfdan.
She returned to the Hall of Assembly. The Hall was deserted, the glow from the river of molten steel painting the walls with sullen light. Caina looked into the cylindrical chamber at the Tower’s heart and saw a dark shape outline against the glow of the metal.
Kylon stood there, gazing into the pool.
Caina strode towards him. If Mihaela and Claudia really were planning to give away the glypharmor, Kylon had to be warned.
Perhaps he could help stop them.
She did not bother masking her footfalls. With his water sorcery, she had no chance of sneaking up on him without her shadow-cloak.
Kylon turned as she approached, a lean shadow against the glowing metal. “Ghost.”
“Lord High Seat,” said Caina.
“Is it not peculiar,” said Kylon, “how close we can stand to the metal? I have seen the foundries in New Kyre. The smiths must layer themselves in heavy leather, lest the heat of the steel burn them.”
“The wards keep the heat at bay,” said Caina. “If not for the Masked Ones’ sorcery, this entire place would melt. Little loss as that would be.”
“You are distressed,” said Kylon.
“I’ve come to warn you,” said Caina. “Do not attempt to wield a suit of glypharmor, or allow anyone in your embassy to do so. Mihaela can control anyone wielding the glypharmor.”
Kylon let out a long breath. “Ah. That explains much. Then this was a trick, was it not? A ploy to lure the most powerful sorcerers in the world here and take control of them? Like gathering your foes in once place to kill them all at once.”
“It gets worse,” said Caina. “Mihaela has apparently convinced Zalandris to give three suits of glypharmor to each embassy. He thinks the weapons are so powerful that no one will dare use them, that this will ensure peace between the nations.”
“Then he is an even bigger fool than I thought,” Kylon said with a sigh. “Those suits of armor will either trigger the bloodiest war in history, or Mihaela will use them to enslave half the world …”
He blinked, frowning.
“All in one place,” he murmured.
“What is it?” said Caina.
“This is a trap, obviously,” said Kylon. “But Mihaela runs a steep risk by giving the glypharmor to all of the embassies. The more ambassadors that are involved, the more likely it is one of them will realize the danger. It would be easier to take over the ambassadors from the Empire and Anshan. So why invite all the embassies?”
Caina frowned. “To enslave them, of course.”
“All at once? Mihaela seems too methodical to make such a gamble,” said Kylon. “I assume the embassies will gather in the Hall of Assembly,” he glanced over his shoulder, “to receive the glypharmor.”
Caina nodded. “Along with the entire Scholae.”
“This isn’t about the glypharmor,” said Kylon. “Or, at least, the glypharmor is only a lure. Mihaela wants to gather the embassies and all the Sages in one place.”
“Why?” said Caina.
“I know not,” said Kylon, “but I doubt her intentions are good.”
“How can you be sure?” said Caina.
“Because it is what I would have done,” said Kylon. “Because it is what I have done. How do you think we destroyed your Emperor’s western fleet? We struck dozens of targets along the coast south of Marsis, and caused so much havoc that eventually the western fleet gathered to confront us.”
“And then you broke the fleet,” said Caina.
It made a disturbing amount of sense. Caina had no doubt Mihaela’s motives for giving away the glypharmor were sinister. But why? What was her ultimate goal, if not to enslave the most powerful sorcerers in the world?
Caina didn’t know, but she had to find out.
“I have to find Basil,” said Caina. “He needs to know about this.”
Kylon frowned. “Where is your…sister? And your bodyguard?”
“Mihaela has convinced my sister,” said Caina, “that she is acting for the greater good. And my…bodyguard has gone with her.”
“I see,” said Kylon. He could sense her emotions, she knew. She wondered what he made of the tangle of anger and pain that swirled through her mind. “Go. I will warn the men of my embassy to stay away from the glypharmor, and I will also warn the other ambassadors. Most likely they will not believe a word I say. But if I can spread enough doubt, perhaps that will keep them from touching the armor.” He looked towards the doors. “Perhaps between us we can find a way to stop whatever madness M
ihaela has planned.”
Caina nodded and headed for the doors. Once she was outside, she gripped her skirts and broke into a run. She had to warn Halfdan, and they had to take action at once. Mihaela would act soon.
She reached Halfdan’s rooms and looked around. The sitting room was dark, the fireplace cold. Caina turned, intending to head for the barracks and warn Saddiq, and a piece of paper lying on the table caught her eye.
It was a note, and she recognized Halfdan’s small, tight handwriting.
“Damn it,” muttered Caina, reading the note.
Halfdan had taken Saddiq and his men and gone into the city. Annika’s friends had spotted Torius Aberon moving through Catekharon, hiring every mercenary and caravan guard he could find. She feared that he planned to seize Mihaela and claim the glypharmor for the Magisterium, perhaps this very night. Halfdan and Saddiq had gone to investigate.
“Damn it,” said Caina again, sliding the note into the fireplace. She struck a spark against the kindling and watched the paper burn, her mind racing.
There were too many moving pieces to this puzzle. Mihaela and the glypharmor. The spell of enslavement built into the glypharmor. Whatever secret pact Mihaela had made with the First Magus and the Magisterium, and whatever arrangement Sicarion had with Mihaela.
Something was going to happen tonight, and Caina did not know what. Was it her fault? Had she been so distracted by Corvalis that she had lost her wits, had failed to notice what was happening right under her nose?
Perhaps when he had come to her room in the Inn of the Defender and kissed her, she should have pushed him away. She…
A greasy tingle went over her skin.
Someone was casting a spell nearby, and it had the feel of necromancy.
She dropped to a crouch, yanking the curved ghostsilver dagger from her belt. Again she felt the icy tingle. Caina closed her eyes and concentrated. It felt as if the spell was coming from outside.
Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 06 - Ghost in the Forge Page 22
