by Simon Kewin
Exultation roared through Cait. She laughed as the power flowed through her. It was glorious. She was unstoppable. All this magic and it hadn't cost her anything. There was no pain, no price to pay. She could destroy them all. Kill the undain. The white walls of the palace, struck by the force of the explosion, buckled and fell, crushing the undain beneath them. Cait laughed at that, too.
“Cait, come on. We have to get away.” It was Danny, somewhere beside her, his voice distant.
He looked so small, so frightened. Couldn't he see what she was doing? Why should she run? Why shouldn't she bring the whole city down? She understood now why the undain did what they did. To wield such force. It was wonderful, intoxicating. She never wanted to stop. And she wasn't like them was she? She hadn't stolen any of this power. It had been given to her. Given freely. It was hers to use as she saw fit. That made it OK.
Across the square, a high tower buckled, crumpled and crashed to the ground. The great bell it had housed bounced and rolled with deafening clangs, crushing more of the undain.
Danny put a hand on her arm. “Cait. Stop. You're getting scary now. What you're doing is amazing, but you're going to get us killed if you carry on.”
The look on Danny's face made her pause. She saw something in his eyes. Fear. He was afraid of her. Afraid of what she'd do. A part of her wanted to laugh at him, cast him aside. With an effort she pushed away the impulse. She wouldn't be that person. She didn't ever want Danny to be afraid of her. And she was wrong. The magic wasn't hers to do as she wished with. It had only been lent. She and Bethany has set the ghosts free, released them, but the dead of the city could do what they wanted. Howl and rage at the undain or fade into the aether. It was up to them, not her.
Cait sagged and seemed to shrink. Once again she was on Danny's level.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Went a bit crazy there. Kind of hard to stop when you start. It's a bit, you know, just one more go!”
“Can we please get out of here?” asked Danny. Beneath his grinning exterior, she could see how everything had taken its toll on him. His features were pinched and he shook as he stood there, though the sun on their faces was warm. Perhaps, she thought, he would never be that carefree boy again, worrying about exams and homework. She was sorrier about that than almost anything.
“Where is there to go?” she said.
“The portal back home. The refinery. It's our only hope. Maybe we can sneak through in the chaos.”
The ground lurched as they raced for the archway. There were still many undain, but all were under attack, swatting uselessly at the angry spirits. Cait watched as one of the giant dragonriders scythed her great sword in a circle. It achieved nothing. The ghosts swirled, faster and faster, and then shot at the rider, directly through her head. The undain collapsed to the ground with a shriek, just as the rider had back at the tower blocks in Manchester.
Cait and Danny dodged around mounds of white rubble where the walls and towers had fallen. They raced across a wide white square toward the portal that would return them home. She tasted dusty grit in her mouth and tried not to think about what it might be. Flocks of the black birds boiled overhead, calling raucously.
Distantly she was aware of more undain coming. Many, many more: summoned to repel an attack on the White City. In her mind she caught a glimpse of Menhroth too, the king's fury amid the chaos. The touch of his thoughts sent a shiver through Cait. But she sensed confusion there as well. Menhroth didn't fully understand what was happening. An attack from Andar? From Cait's own world? For a moment he didn't know. He sought answers but saw only the raging ghosts. They were no threat to him; he swatted them away as if they were flies. But his private guard had fallen and he was unsure how many other undain had been destroyed. It wouldn't take long for him to find out the truth, but for a few minutes there was confusion. It might be their chance to escape.
The archway that housed this end of the portal still stood, unmoved by the tumbling buildings. A great beast's skull, a dragon maybe, had been set on the top. They had only to step beneath it, and they'd be back home.
But the gateway repelled them when they tried to push through. Danny glanced nervously at her. The sounds of shrieking and the crumps of collapsing walls were dying away. The ghosts, the fury expended, were fading. They didn't have much time.
Cait closed her eyes and pushed with all her strength against the magical walls of the archway. This time the effort of it did cost her, a spiky pain in her stomach that sent electric tingles down her arms. She didn't relent. She thought about Charis, the guardian of the portals. What incomprehensible, ancient magic had he woven here to prevent anyone going through without his knowledge?
She tried again, hurling herself against the barrier, screaming out loud with the agonizing price she paid. But it did no good. The portal resisted and remained closed. Perhaps if Bethany could summon the ghosts again, combine them, they could batter down the barrier, blast a way through the aether. It was the only thing she could think of.
“Cait. Someone's coming.”
She turned. A figure was hurrying across the square. There were still ghosts swirling around, picking off the remaining undain, but the newcomer strode through them, immune to their attacks.
“Is it Charis?” asked Danny.
The square was so vast that she couldn't tell. She held the seeing stone to her eye and immediately saw the familiar pattern of colours. They'd sent him to recapture her?
“No. Not Charis. It's Nox.”
She turned to the portal. They had to punch through before Nox stopped her or gloated or whatever the hell it was he intended to do. Cait threw everything she had at it. The oblong of the portal flickered briefly then snapped back to grey, her efforts resisted. She stepped back, clutching her stomach.
Nox was only a few yards away. “You took your time. I've been waiting days for you to do something.”
She turned, ready to strike him dead if she could. He wore the flowing cloak of an undain lord, not his black leather jacket.
“What?” she said.
“Still,” he continued, “it was impressive when it came. I was worried you didn't have it in you.”
What was he saying? “You were waiting for me to do this?”
“Obviously.”
“You're saying you're not with them?”
“Cait, do we have to keep having this conversation? It's extremely boring. This was all a feint to get close to the Grimoire. Why do you think the ghosts didn't attack me?”
“Because you have some powerful defence against them.”
“Because they know I'm on your side. Surely if they can work it out you can?”
“But you handed me over to them.”
“There's no time for this, Cait. The army has been recalled from its march north up the An. The first legions will be here within minutes. We have to get away now.”
“Just explain yourself,” said Cait. “I need to understand. I need to know what's going on.”
The irritation on his face was clear as he replied. “When I left you to scout around I was recognized. I had to improvise. Handing you over in return for winning back some of their trust was the only sensible option.”
“Plus you hedged your bets,” said Danny. “If Cait didn't manage to do all this you'd be back in with the undain.”
Nox nodded his head in assent. “That too. The best way to succeed is to make sure you win either way.”
“Why should I believe you?” she said
“You know, I'm getting a sense of déjà vu here,” he said. “You have real trust issues, you know that? Perhaps this will help.” He pulled something from inside his flowing cloak. She recognized the red leather of the cover immediately. “I keep doing this for you, don't I? Taking the Grimoire from under the noses of the undain. The other half at the refinery and now this. What would you do without me, Cait?”
“You took the book?” said Danny.
“That's what I just said. They'll never really t
rust me again, and I want my revenge. No ascension for me now. I got close enough to it by pretending to betray you. Then when the walls began to fall and the ghosts took out the book's dragonrider guards, I picked it up and ran.”
“Just like that?”
“There were certain magical wards as well. As it happens I learned long ago how to circumvent them. Just in case I ever needed to.”
“But how did you know we'd be here?”
“It seemed the obvious place.”
Either that or he intended to escape with the book alone. She let it go. They could argue later.
“So,” said Nox. “We head through the portal back to Genera? That should be an amusing surprise for Ms. Sweetley.”
“I can't open it,” said Cait.
“Then try harder.”
“I did! It won't open. Charis must have sealed it.”
Nox looked genuinely worried for a moment. He hadn't planned on this. He waved a hand at the scene around them. “So you can do all this, set off an undead bomb in the city centre, but you can't open a door? What kind of witch are you?”
“The kind who can't open portals sealed by creepy ancient dead guys.”
He studied her for a moment. She could see his mind whirring as he tried to come up with a strategy. “Well that's brilliant,” he said. “Just wonderful.”
She didn't need to be a genius to work out what he'd come up with. Turn them in. Hand the book back to Menhroth and say he'd been protecting it. She glanced at Danny and saw from his eyes he'd come to the same conclusion.
She turned back to Nox. She'd kill him first.
In the distance, from parts of the city unharmed by the ghosts, more bells rang out. A crashing, discordant cacophony filled the air.
“What's that?” said Cait. “What's going on?”
“It's the undain army,” said Nox. “They've been sighted. Tell me, do you happen to have any more ghost armies at your command?”
Cait shook her head but didn't reply.
24. Its Beak Dipped in Blood
Nox stepped forward. Did he still have his gun? She prepared to face him, just as her mother had done. She was exhausted and bruised all over, but she would fight him if she had to. They studied each other for a moment, weighing each other up. Nox held the book. He didn't hand it over this time.
One of the black birds landed on the white ground beside them. It strutted around, head cocked as it peered at them through a shining black eye. Something about it caught Cait's attention. Trying to watch Nox, she threw a glance at the bird. It cawed in a harsh croak and flapped its wings but didn't fly off.
She saw what had distracted her. The bird wasn't dead. It wasn't one of the tattered bags of feathers and bones. And its beak was bright red. As if dipped in blood. Around its neck was a small silver chain. It watched her, waiting for her.
Ignoring Nox she knelt and held out her hand to the bird, just as she'd seen Phoenix do at Caer D'nar. The bird appeared to look from her to Nox and Danny, as if deciding which of them it could trust. Cait kept her hand held flat. The cracked ringing of the bells cut out suddenly, and the world went silent. No one moved, although she could sense Nox's impatience.
The bird hopped forward and jumped onto Cait's hand. Its claws were like sharp twigs on her skin.
Moving slowly, Cait felt for the chain. A simple clasp on the back held it together. She worked it loose and took the tiny message capsule. The bird, released of its burden, flapped its wings once and then, with another croak, took to the skies. It climbed over the roofs of the city, heading for the north.
“A message?” said Nox.
“Obviously,” said Cait as she tried to open the slim metal capsule.
“A message you were expecting?”
No point telling him the truth. “You're not the only one with the clever plans, you know.”
By twisting one end of the tube she found she could remove a little cap. She pulled out a tightly-curled strip of paper with her fingernails.
“Who's it from?” asked Danny.
“Phoenix.”
“What does it say?” asked Nox.
Cait read what was written there. She stood and looked them both in the eye. “It says we have to get to the river.”
“What?” said Nox. “Why?”
“Because we do.”
“But that's madness,” said Nox. “There's nothing there. Just the first hundred yards of a bridge that used to be a hundred miles long.”
“And that's where we have to go,” said Cait. “That's where Danny and I are going. Come if you like, or stay here and try and explain everything to the undain. But we're going, and we're taking the book, whether you give it to us freely or not.”
Quite how they'd take the book from him if he refused she hadn't worked out yet. More calculations whirred in Nox's brain. He didn't know what she was really capable of but he'd seen the fury she'd unleashed on the city.
Finally he relented. “I should have had you killed and resurrected as a mindless slave the day I first saw you at the library. It would have saved me a lot of hassle. This plan of yours had better be good, Cait Weerd.”
She only wished she knew what the plan was. The note from Phoenix contained only two words. The bridgehead, it said, scrawled in ink, hard to read as if written in a great hurry.
“Do we have to keep having this conversation, Nox?” she said. “It's extremely boring. Do you know a quick way to the river?”
Nox considered for a moment. “There's an old flight of steps that leads down there. Very narrow and steep; doesn't get used much these days.”
“We'll try it,” said Cait.
Running together, the three of them fled from the portal.
The staircase cut between two glittering palaces, the entrance so low and narrow she probably wouldn't have noticed it. The steps were worn smooth, making it easy to slip. She couldn't see where they led; it was dark in the narrow canyon between the two high walls, and the alley cut repeatedly around corners. But it always led steeply downward, and soon a cooler, damper wind brushed their faces.
“What are these steps?” she said. “Why aren't they guarded?”
“Guarded from who?” said Nox. “No one can attack from the river. No one can attack from anywhere. This is one of the oldest parts of the city, used hundreds of years ago to carry up boat-loads of bones for the building work.”
Cait peered at the high walls, the thin strip of blue sky above her. “If we're attacked here there'll be no way out.” Was it possible Nox was leading them into another trap?
“True,” said Nox. “But I told you, they don't come this way. They'll flood all the wide, grand staircases with soldiers, but they won't think to look here. Not immediately anyway. The king spends his days thinking such big thoughts he sometimes misses the little details. It's a failing.”
“Told him that have you?” said Danny.
“The opportunity never arose.”
For once Nox seemed to be telling them the truth. The steps ended in a low archway where a road, cobbled with bones, led across a flat area to the edge of the An. Some ancient carving topped the archway, but the detail was too worn to see. There were no undain in sight. The ground was churned up as if thousands of pairs of feet had recently marched across it. Deep wheel ruts ran in lines, perhaps from the cartloads of Spirit the army would have to take with it. Bells were ringing out in the city above them once more, echoing off the walls so that it was impossible to work out which way they were coming from. Great as the destruction of the ghosts had been, it was clear most of the buildings stood unscathed.
“Let's go,” said Cait, running for the An. They'd be visible from all sides, but there was no alternative. If they could get to the water then maybe, somehow, they'd be safe.
The bridgehead was little more than a line of worn stone columns striding into the An, the crumbling remains of stone archways connecting them. A hundred yards or so out the bridge stopped completely. The whole thing looked like a weird
, mediaeval pier at some seaside resort. She liked piers though, liked the sense of being able to leave the land behind, stride off over the surface of the sea. She'd visited many of them with her parents on family holidays. There were always fun things at the ends of piers: shows or rides or amusements. And people behaved differently, too, as if they were freed from the ties of normal life.
Still, getting onto the bridge wasn't going to be easy. The end was little more than a pile of rubble, many of the great blocks of stone lying in the water where they'd tumbled down the banks. The remains of the bridge looked just about passable, although there were gaps where some of the stones making up the deck had crumbled into the water. Gaps they'd have to leap over, but with luck they'd be able to get to the end. And what then? What miracle was going to occur to rescue them? She wished she knew. Most likely there would be no salvation, and a leap into the fast-moving waters would be the only way out.
She didn't need to look behind her to know time was running out. The undain horde was close, streaming south in its fury. Once they returned they would surround the bridgehead in ranks a thousand deep. There were no angry ghosts to come to the rescue now. There was only a scrap of paper plucked form the neck of a bird. Two scrawled words upon which she was risking everything. The bridgehead. Well, here they were.
She climbed, scrambling up blocks of stone the size of a small car to get to the floor of the bridge. Danny followed her. After a moment so did Nox.
A short way along the bridge was a section where only a single width of stones remained in place. Gaping holes on either side revealed the drop down to the waters of the An. Cait went first, keeping her eyes forward as she walked. The single stone was as wide as a pavement, but something about the gaping drop, the flowing water beneath, made it difficult to manage the feat of walking in a straight line. Thankfully she made it across without wobbling or falling in.
