‘Aye,’ said Lennox. ‘Utterly.’
‘Aye, me too,’ said Carrie.
Leisha grunted. ‘Aye.’
‘They were a bad lot,’ said Cain. ‘Now, let’s tan this whisky.’
Three hours later, the whisky was finished and the brazier was burning out.
‘Home,’ said Karalyn.
‘What, already?’ laughed Cain. ‘We’re just getting started.’
‘Aye, but I’ve been drinking since noon.’
‘A fair point.’
‘Can I walk you back?’ said Lennox.
Karalyn’s mouth dried up.
Leisha sniggered.
‘Aye, alright.’
They got to their feet, ignoring the laughter and comments of the others. She lit a cigarette, and they began walking through the lines of tables towards the bridge. The field was nearly empty, with only a few pockets of hardened festival-goers remaining. A chill breeze picked up as they left the field and crossed the river.
She glanced at Lennox as they walked. There was something about his eyes that held her; a pain from some old hurt. She noticed her heart start to race, and she looked away. She liked him, she realised, and not just because he had opened up about his past.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
‘What for?’
‘For being honest with me about the Army of Pyre.’
He nodded. ‘We tried lying about it before. Made up a whole story, but it worked out worse.’
‘Why did you desert?’
‘We were sick of what we were seeing; sick of what the army wanted us to do.’
‘And now?’
‘Now we just want to live in peace. Settle. I like it here in Severton.’
They passed through the square by the distillery entrance and continued into the rich part of town.
‘You live round here?’ he said.
‘We’re guests of the provost. She’s putting us up, for now. We’ll have to start paying our way if we stay much longer.’
‘You’re thinking of staying?’
She glanced at him. ‘Maybe.’
They reached the front door of her apartment block. She turned to him, unsure of what to say. He gazed back at her, his face in the shadows cast by the streetlamps.
‘Good night,’ she said.
‘Can I kiss you?’
‘No.’
His eyes fell, and he nodded. She should turn around and go into the apartment, she thought, rather than risk making a mistake she might regret.
‘I have problems trusting people,’ she said. ‘I like you, but I don’t know you.’
‘You can trust me.’
‘Prove it.’
He stared at her for a moment, then lifted his right hand. He turned his gaze to his fingers, and then to the closest streetlamp. The tops of the flames were extending above the glass rim, and, as he flicked his fingers, a bolt of fire shot up into the air, disappearing into the thick, dark clouds overhead.
He smiled at her. ‘I’m a fire mage.’
She kissed him.
Chapter 19
Watchful
Rainsby, Imperial Plateau – 8th Day, First Third Winter 525
‘Is this the first time you’ve seen snow?’ said Nyane.
‘Aye,’ said Kelsey. ‘It’s wonderful. Can we go back indoors now?’
‘We just got here,’ said Belinda.
Kelsey frowned. ‘Remind me to schedule a lesson for you in the meaning of sarcasm.’
Nyane smiled, her gaze on the ruins of the Outer City of Rainsby. The view from the top of the wooden tower took in the whole southern quarter of the town, and a long stretch of the massive defensive wall. It had been reduced in many areas, and a thick, earthen rampart stretched alongside it, its surface a dazzling white in the morning sun. The overnight snowfall had carpeted the town, covering the ruins and streets. Much of it had already been turned into slushy mud by the boots of hundreds of troopers out working in the cold, crisp air. Nyane had ordered a complete overhaul of the defences that required tonnes of earth, rubble and newly-cut stone to be loaded onto carts and dragged to the outer walls.
‘They built this tower for my brother,’ Kelsey said, ‘so he could roast the Rahain if they attacked.’
‘Is this where he brought down the lightning?’ said Belinda.
‘No, that was from the ruins of a stone tower a couple of streets back.’
‘I wish I’d seen it.’
‘Maybe, if my sister had given you all your powers back, then you’d be able to do it too, you know; mix the vision and the fire. Or maybe my brother’s just a freak.’
Nyane suppressed her tongue. Against her express wishes, Belinda had divulged her entire story to the persuasive Holdfast girl; all it had taken was a few gins and Kelsey’s persistence. Since then, she had taken to accompanying them, continuing to ask awkward questions but at the same time showing glimpses of her intelligence in the advice she offered. Of the four Holdfast children, Kelsey was the cleverest, and Nyane also detected a deep cunning.
‘We should ask Agatha if she finally shows up,’ Kelsey went on. ‘She might respond in the second or two before she melts our brains.’
‘Corthie was resistant to them,’ said Nyane. ‘Perhaps you are too.’
‘Nope. He was protected because Karalyn blocked his mind; and she’s protected because of her dream powers. Keir, I don’t know. Karalyn messed with his head a lot when they were younger, so he might be alright. But me? I’m the one without powers, remember?’
‘If I had my powers I could protect us all,’ said Belinda. ‘What Karalyn did was selfish and stupid.’
Kelsey glanced at her. ‘Fancy the idea of being a god, do you?’
‘They’re not gods.’
‘I notice you said “they” rather than “we”,’ said Kelsey. ‘You’re one of them. You might not remember, but whatever they are, and wherever they come from; you’re a part of it. Agatha, Witten, Gregor and Asher. And you. Are there more, do you think?’
Belinda looked away, her face flushing. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Enough,’ said Nyane. ‘Kelsey, you’ve questioned Belinda on this more times that I can remember. She lost her memory. I fail to see why you keep probing.’
‘Really? I fail to see why you don’t. These… people, or whatever the fuck they are, are here, and they’re trying to wipe out my family. I doubt it’s personal, therefore, it must be because we’re the only ones who can stop them. Karalyn scoured one, and Corthie bashed the brains out of another; they’re scared of us, scared of the power of dream mages. It’s the only mage skill none of them have; the only one that can defeat them.’
‘How do you know this?’ said Belinda.
The girl frowned and shook her head. ‘The pieces are all there in plain sight.’
‘It’s pure speculation,’ said Nyane, ‘and thus a mere distraction. Come, we have work to do.’
She turned for the stairs leading back down to the streets below, a bitter wind cutting across her face.
‘You should listen to me,’ said Kelsey from behind her as Nyane climbed down the wooden steps. ‘I’m the only one in the family with any sense.’
Nyane thought over the girl’s words as she descended. It fitted with some of what had occurred, and explained the attacks on Kelsey and her family, but she feared the implications. She remembered what Karalyn had told her about the Creator; that he had possessed the last Emperor’s body, and wielded mage powers in the same way that Belinda had. If that made them the same, then perhaps Belinda really was a god. Agatha too had been reported to have the same range of powers; and the others were at least at the level of high mage. Were they all gods?
She reached the bottom of the stairs, and a handful of marines saluted. The road was busy, filled with carts pulled by lumbering gaien, and troopers dressed in winter longcoats, with fur-lined hats and boots. Nyane had raided the supplies from across the city, concentrating and sorting through them to ensure her workforce
was warm. They may hate her, but at least they weren’t freezing.
A collection of engineers was standing to the side, stamping their feet in the cold. Nyane summoned them with a nod, then relayed a list of instructions based upon her observations from the tower; adjusting the plans and ordering corrective work. She noticed Kelsey eyeing her as she went through the details; the engineers scribbling down notes as they attempted to keep pace with the rapid flow of words. The engineers hurried away to obey her commands, and Nyane strode off, marines to either side, while Belinda and Kelsey tramped through the snow behind her.
‘Where next?’ said Belinda.
‘We shall check in with Ravi, I think.’
‘Excellent,’ said Kelsey, ‘I look forward to annoying him.’
‘Try to resist. Please.’
Kelsey smiled. ‘He fancies you, Belinda; do you know that?’
‘He does not.’
‘I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Actually, “leers” would be a better description. Mind you, he does that with a lot of the girls. Stick your chest out at him, or flick your hair, and watch the way his mouth opens.’
Belinda laughed.
‘He’s a very hard worker,’ Nyane said. ‘He’s putting in twelve hours a day. I think we can forgive him a little harmless flirting.’
‘Gawking isn’t flirting,’ Kelsey said.
‘He still loves Kerrie,’ said Belinda. ‘He told me.’
Nyane sighed.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ said Kelsey.
‘Sometimes I don’t think either of you grasp the seriousness of the situation, or the responsibility of the task with which I have been entrusted. Rainsby is the lynchpin of the empire’s defences, and it requires my whole concentration, yet you keep trying to distract me with your tittle-tattle.’
Kelsey shrugged. ‘Unlike you, I’m obviously capable of thinking of more than one thing at once.’
They climbed into a carriage that was waiting for them by the roadside. Sergeant Demi, who had been walking with the other marine guards, got in beside them and they squeezed up to make room for her.
Nyane frowned. ‘Perhaps we need to rethink this arrangement.’
‘I told you,’ said Kelsey; ‘where I go, the sergeant goes.’
‘Then maybe you should stay in the fortress, or Madden’s Tower.’
‘I thought you wanted my advice?’
‘I do, but…’
‘She doesn’t like the sergeant,’ said Belinda. ‘She thinks she might be a spy for those marines whose loyalty lies with Keir and Thorn.’
Nyane glared at the young woman. ‘What did I tell you about secrets?’
‘But,’ said Belinda, her face flushing, ‘I thought you trusted Kelsey? You’ve talked to her about all kinds of things to do with the town defences that are secret.’
Kelsey chuckled. ‘Poor Belinda; so intelligent, and yet so much still to learn.’
‘I apologise,’ said Nyane to the sergeant. ‘It’s not that I don’t like you, but I have to be careful. I know that many of the marines in Madden’s Tower resent my coming here and taking over the governorship. The truth is, I didn’t want the job either. The only reason I’m here is that the Empress ordered me. However, that is now immaterial. All that matters is that I carry out my duties the best I can, and I can’t do that if half of the marines in Rainsby are conspiring against me.’
‘Funny,’ said Demi, ‘most of the marines also think I’m a spy, only for you. They see me escorting Kelsey, and in your company, like right now for instance. Do you realise the grief I’ll get when I return to Madden’s Tower? “What were you saying to the governor?”; ‘”Are you working for her now?”; that sort of thing. Fuck. I can’t win.’
‘So you don’t deny that the marines in Madden’s Tower are opposed to me?’
‘No. They hate you. They know you called Keir a renegade.’
‘I’ve called him worse,’ said Kelsey.
‘Aye, but you’re his sister; you’re allowed to.’
‘And are they conspiring?’ said Belinda.
‘Are you asking me to inform on my colleagues?’
‘Yes.’
The sergeant snorted and gazed out of the window. The carriage fell into silence as it was pulled through the streets of the Outer City. Nyane felt a headache coming on. She had only been in Rainsby for eleven days, and already it seemed as long as a lifetime.
‘There’s an easy way to win them over,’ said Kelsey. ‘I’m not saying it’s right; but it would be easy.’
Nyane glanced at her.
‘Tell them you approve of what Keir and Thorn are doing,’ Kelsey went on. ‘Announce that you’re only defending the city until their glorious return; then every marine in Madden’s Tower, and every peasant, sailor and trooper that mutters about putting your head on a spike would fall into line. Well, if they believe you; you’d need to sound convincing.’
‘That,’ said Nyane, ‘I can never do. It would be wrong, and it would go against the express wishes of her Imperial Majesty. Thorn and Keir are outlaws and rebels, who have incited multiple mutinies and disobeyed direct orders.’
‘Aye,’ said Kelsey, ‘but could you not just lie, though?’
Nyane shook her head. ‘I’m a terrible liar.’
‘Unfortunate for a politician.’
‘I’m not a politician. I’m an engineer; that’s how I look at the world, as a series of problems that need resolved.’
The carriage slowed to a halt and the side door was opened by one of her guards. Sergeant Demi got out first, and the others followed. They had travelled to the easternmost district of the Outer City, opposite the gatehouse where the coastal road to Stretton Sands began. No Rahain soldiers had ever advanced that far, but the buildings had been pounded by stone-throwing artillery, and much of the district lay in rubble. A cluster of workers were gathered round a defensive wall, behind which a battery of Rainsby’s catapults had been stationed. The snow had been cleared away, and the workers were splattered in mud as they manoeuvred carts laden with clay dug from the pits by the river.
As Nyane and the others approached, Ravi came into view, wearing overalls thick with mud. He was directing workers to deliver the cut slabs of clay to their precise locations in the defensive wall.
‘Good morning, mage,’ said Nyane. ‘This reminds me of when we first met.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, glancing over, ‘before my life turned to shit.’ He turned back to the blocks of clay in front of him. ‘I’ll be with you in a moment.’
He lifted his hands and placed them onto the wet clay. His eyes closed for a moment, and when he opened them again the clay had been transformed into a solid layer of a hard, brick-like substance. Nyane smiled. Ravi was capable of constructing the defences for an entire battery in a single day, requiring only sufficient cartloads of cut clay to complete the job, and already he had bolstered several artillery positions across the Outer City.
‘I call it the Silverstream technique,’ he said, noticing her smile. ‘It’s good, eh? It’s basically because I’m a lazy bastard. Why make hundreds of bricks when I can create huge blocks instead?’
‘It is impressive, I admit.’
He smirked. ‘Do you know what would be even more impressive? Me and you, working together on the new technique I came up with in Plateau City. Mage-proof walls, imagine it.’
‘If only I had the time, Ravi. Maybe once things have settled down.’
‘Yeah, right. In other words, never.’ His eyes strayed over to where Belinda stood. ‘Hi, Bee, have you done something different to your hair? It looks nice. Suits you.’
The young woman smiled. ‘Thanks.’
‘I don’t mean to be cheeky, but I was just wondering if you could take a look at my knee later. I hurt it this morning, and it’s been throbbing ever since. Banged it off a cartwheel.’
‘Acorn is always available for healings,’ said Nyane.
‘I don’t mind doing it,’ said Belinda.
Nyane sighed. ‘Fine.’
‘I’ll see you after work, then,’ he said, grinning at Belinda.
‘We’ll all see you later,’ said Nyane. ‘You’re doing good work here; keep it up.’
‘Yes, boss.’
Nyane led Kelsey and Belinda back to the carriage, with Sergeant Demi a pace behind.
‘Told you,’ said Kelsey as they took their seats and the carriage set off again. ‘He fancies you.’
‘He has a sore knee,’ Belinda said.
‘Aye, right. He just wants you to touch him.’
‘Eww,’ said Belinda. She glanced at Nyane. ‘What do you think?’
‘I’m not getting involved in this,’ she said. ‘Your healing powers are your own; you can decide if you wish to use them or not. I’m more interested in his output. Did you witness what he did back there? At dawn, no wall existed at that battery, and now?’
‘So,’ said Kelsey, ‘you’re prepared to overlook his attempts to seduce Belinda because of his work-rate?’
‘Belinda is a grown woman.’
Kelsey narrowed her eyes. ‘Belinda is a child in a woman’s body.’
‘What?’ said Belinda. ‘How dare you?’
‘Alright, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but you’re clueless about sarcasm, or irony, or keeping secrets; and you take most of what folk say literally. Ravi, on the other hand, has no doubt been chasing girls since he emerged from the spawn-pool.’ She frowned. ‘Can I ask; did my sister or anyone else teach you about what happens when boys and girls get together and… you know?’
‘Karalyn gave me a book to read,’ Belinda said, glancing away. ‘It had pictures.’
Kelsey laughed. ‘That sounds like my sister; she was always hopeless around boys. Mind you, I’m not much better. Most boys I knew in the Holdings thought I was weird or crazy, but anyway, back to you. I think I’ll come along this evening to the “healing”; I can act all oblivious to Ravi’s intentions. Should be quite funny.’
Belinda said nothing. Nyane wondered if perhaps Kelsey was correct. Would Ravi take advantage of the young woman’s relative naivety about certain things? Although still beautiful, she looked very different from the confident, well-dressed and perfectly poised Belinda she had been before Karalyn had scoured her.
The Magelands Epic: Soulwitch Rises (Book 7) Page 29
