by Keri Arthur
But those girders were shuddering and shaking in position as the wind tore at them with increasing force.
Stop, I silently screamed at the air. You have to stop it. You can’t open the gates.
Can’t stop, the wind whispered. It is not a matter of will, but rather control.
And Hedra was the far stronger air witch here, even if she wasn’t from one of the ruling houses.
I cursed and pushed upright. The wind swung around me, battering me, hindering me, but not, I knew, with the force Hedra wanted. Still, it was enough to snatch the mask from my face and rip the lines free from the small air cylinder. As it was sent tumbling, twisting up into the air and out of reach, Hedra screamed. Not in fear, but in fury. I could hear her now—she wanted the wind to grab my body as it had grabbed the mask, to send me flying, to smash me against the wall the machinery had hit.
Wanted it to rip her free of this place, to take her well beyond the walls and the Adlin where she would meet the Queen’s forces and be safe.
The wind tore at me, sending sections of skirt flying but leaving me otherwise intact. And it left her on the ground.
I staggered forward, my knuckles white with the force of my grip on my knife. I had one chance—just one chance—to stop this madness. The temptation to throw my knife and end her life here and now was fierce, but the wind whispered against it. It was still bound to obey Hedra, if only partially, and would divert the blade if I did so.
If she saw me coming, she gave no sign of it. Her concentration now seemed to be solely on the gates. I didn’t dare look at how close she was to succeeding in her aim of opening them; my goal was to stop her, and every inch of concentration and energy was now being poured into that.
Inch by inch, I drew closer. But every step felt like a goddamn mile; my lungs burned, and my heart pounded so rapidly I swore it was about to tear out of my chest.
Then the inevitable happened. The crossbeams were flung free of the latches holding them in place, and the two extremely heavy gates that protected Winterborne opened with a crash that reverberated through every inch of the outer bailey.
“No!” I screamed, and lunged at Hedra.
She saw me, but far too late. She raised a hand as if to batter me away physically as well as magically, but my knife punched through her chest and sliced into her heart. Her eyes went wide as the realization of death hit and the wind died. The silence that briefly followed was eerie. If the wind mourned her passing, then she did not speak of it.
As her body crumpled to the ground, I swung around, sucking the returning air into my burning lungs as I prayed that the Adlin hadn’t noticed the gates were open.
It was a forlorn hope at best, and one that died very quickly.
A sea of thickset, hairy beings scrambled in through the opening. Nightwatch officers were pouring down from the walkways, and it was literally raining metal as they fired everything they had at the incoming Adlin. But there were far too many Adlin and far too few soldiers armed with nitrate rifles to do too much damage.
I bent and pressed my hand against the stone. Bury her deep. Keep the bracelets safe and out of sight. Tell no one about her presence or where she lies.
The earth didn’t speak to me, but after a moment, a rumble ran through the ground, and the stone split asunder. Hedra’s body dropped without ceremony into that gash. It swiftly closed again, leaving no trace of the woman who had betrayed us all.
But the stones under my feet continued to shake. Power surged through it, through me, a force that was both masculine and familiar. The rumbling increased as the ground began to heave and rise, becoming a wave of almost molten rock that raced toward the doorway, sweeping the Adlin before it, forcing them back. As this first wave pushed them beyond the gateway, a second wave began to form. At the same time, thick gray fingers of stone crept up the gatehouse walls and began pushing at the doors. They shifted, slowly at first, but with increasing speed. More Adlin appeared, scrambling over the still-moving wave of earth and then throwing themselves through the rapidly closing gap. Some didn’t make it, becoming little more than a smear of blood and hair as the doors slammed shut. The second wave then crashed upon them, quickly forming a retaining wall and providing extra weight to hold the doors closed.
But there were at least two sleuths now locked within the outer bailey walls. And while some of them were attacking the defenseless men and women who lay on the ground, most were running to the right, to the stairs that led up to the bunkhouses.
Why? What on earth did they hope to achieve by fleeing there rather than attacking? They wouldn’t find much in the way of protection, especially given the lack of maneuvering space on the narrow walkways and within the small rooms….
A throaty roar caught my attention. I glanced around sharply and saw an Adlin coming straight at me, his eyes filled with rage and his teeth bared and bloody. I swore, flung some air his way to slow his steps, then spun and ran. I wasn’t about to face even one of those damn creatures armed with just a short-bladed knife.
But the creature was faster than I’d ever be, and was gaining on me far too rapidly. As the shuddering earth warned me of the creature’s closeness, I scooped up a couple of blasters and then spun around, firing them nonstop even as I continued to run backward, my steps guided by the whispering of the wind. The Adlin’s body shook and shuddered under the barrage of the blaster’s bullets, but it wasn’t stopped. Nothing except a nitrate rifle could do that, and there certainly weren’t any of those lying about in the near vicinity.
“Duck!” a familiar voice screamed.
I did so without question and, a second later, the Adlin’s head was blown apart. As his body lost momentum and fell to the ground near my feet, I twisted around. Ava strode toward me, a fierce grin on her face and a bloody wound stretching down her left arm from above her elbow to her knuckles.
“That,” I said, accepting her help up, “was a very nice piece of timing.”
She gave me a quick hug, and then shoved a rifle in my hands. “Let’s go get the rest of these bastards.”
“Where’s April?” I said, as we strode forward.
“Don’t know. His festival shift was from ten until two, and I didn’t see him afterward.”
“We need to find him.” My gaze scanned the bunkrooms above us. The Adlin were still running through the second and third levels, but I couldn’t see any sign of opposition. The soldiers I’d seen up there might have survived the air being sucked from their lungs, but it looked like they’d not survived the ravages of the Adlin.
I pushed away the possibility of death being April’s fate and caught the ammo loop Ava threw me. We reached the base of the stairs and headed up.
After a quick sweep through the first level to ensure there were no Adlin lying in wait, we joined six others and made our way toward the second level. A pack of seven Adlin immediately came at us, their screams ripping across the air, hurting my ears. We fired as one, and the Adlin went down, their bodies torn apart by the spray of metal. We reloaded and checked each bunkhouse to ensure no creatures remained. All we found was bodies. The remnants of at least a dozen soldiers were scattered in either the rooms or on the walkways, but it was obvious none of them had been caught unawares. They’d either died when the air had been sucked from their lungs, or had gone down fighting the Adlin with whatever they could get their hands on. But wood and steel was of little use against the greater strength and reach of the creatures.
We cautiously moved up to the last level—our floor. My gut twisted as we neared the coupling room April, Ava, and I usually used, but it was empty of both life and death. Relief spun through me, but it was a tempered with the knowledge that while he wasn’t here, he could still be dead.
We took out the remaining Adlin and then continued checking the rest of the rooms. They’d not only gotten as far as ours, but had also, in fact, torn it apart. Furniture had been broken, the bedding torn into pieces, and our personal lockers smashed beyond repair, their conten
ts spilled all over the floor. Even the walls and the ceiling had not escaped the Adlin’s attentions.
Ava stopped in the middle of all the mess and looked around with something close to bemusement. I walked past her, looking for my uniforms. I eventually found a shirt that was only missing one arm, a pair of pants that were whole aside from a slight rip along the seam near my thigh, and—most importantly of all—a pair of boots for my beaten-up feet. Once I’d stripped off what remained of my sodden skirt and top, I quickly dried myself on the remnants of a towel and then got dressed.
Outside, the siren finally stopped and with it went the sound of the Adlin’s howls from beyond the walls. The silence was almost eerie. I sat on the edge of the bed and contemplated the mess, wondering again what they were doing here. The destruction in the other rooms had been nowhere near as bad as this.
“You know,” Ava mused, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were searching for something.”
Suspicion of what that thing might be stirred and I stood abruptly. “Ava, can you see that bracelet I brought back from Blacklake anywhere?”
She shook her head. “Mind you, it’s rather hard to spot anything in this.”
“We need to find it.”
“We need to find April,” she said. “The bracelet and this mess can wait.”
“No, it can’t, trust me on that.”
She frowned me, but nevertheless helped me search. We went through everything, searched everywhere; we found the gorgeous jewelry Ava had tucked away for a special event, and April’s dagger made from an Adlin’s claw, but the bracelet was conspicuously absent.
“It’s gone,” Ava said. “Though how that is possible I can’t say. None of them escaped us.”
Yes, the wind said. They did. The roof.
I turned and ran the door. Ava followed me out. I stopped at the railing but couldn’t immediately see anything, so I climbed up, balancing preciously before leaping for the roof. I caught the edge and hauled myself up. Ava soon followed me.
What we discovered was more bodies—bodies that hadn’t been there when I’d jumped down from the inner wall. Bodies that were both Adlin and Nightwatch.
“Well, these buggers are well and truly dead.” Ava lightly nudged an Adlin with her toe. “None of them appear to be carrying anything, though.”
“No.” I walked over to the edge of the building. Far below me, in the Bay of Giants, the ocean pounded against the white cliffs, a fierce and murderous force no human or Adlin could survive. Not that the Adlin would even consider jumping given their fear of water in general. So why did they come up here? They had to have known there was no escape. And as powerful as the Adlin were, there was no way even they could throw the bracelet across the distance that separated Winterborne from the white sand that lined the bay’s gentler shoreline. And by the time they had come up here, Hedra was dead, so the wind couldn’t have helped them. Unless, of course, there was another witch involved, one we didn’t know about.
Hell, it might even be Saska, for all I knew.
No, the wind whispered. The Adlin are accompanied by another witch. It is he who commanded the wind to snare the bracelet and bring it to them.
I briefly closed my eyes. Yet another traitor… or was it perhaps one of the many children Saska and the other stolen witches had given birth to?
“Neve! You up here?”
It took me a moment to recognize the voice—Trey. “On the roof, Commander.”
Ava walked over to the other edge and peered down. “So is this the commander? The one who sent you the dress and whisked you away to the Upper Reaches?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.” Ava paused. “I must say, he’s rather nice-looking. Well caught, you.”
“It’s hardly likely to be anything more than a passing fancy,” I said, my gaze on the distant shoreline. “I’m unlit, remember?”
“Unlit maybe, but not undesirable.”
I smiled and didn’t answer. Although the rain had eased, the sky remained thunderous, and there was little light glimmering on that distant shore. But it didn’t matter, because I could feel movement, through the stones and the earth. There was at least one sleuth, if not more, running away from that shore.
Why would they risk so much for the return of one bracelet?
I blinked at the thought. There wasn’t just one bracelet involved. There were two.
And if they’d gone to extremes here to retrieve it, what would they do at Blacklake?
I ran back to the other edge of the roof and jumped down, sprinting forward without really looking, and just about collided with Trey as he came up the walkway.
“Whoa,” he said, catching me firmly. “What’s the hurry?”
“The bracelet,” I said. “They were after the bracelet.”
Understanding flashed across his eyes. He didn’t say anything; he just grabbed my hand and ran back down the bunkhouse levels. Captain July was walking across the courtyard toward the infirmary area, but stopped the minute he saw us.
“Commander Stone,” he said. “I believe we have you to thank for the earthworks that saved Winterborne.”
Which was why the energy had seemed familiar—it had been Trey who’d called the earth into action.
“Indeed, Captain.” Trey came to a halt and released my hand. “And now I must ask a favor of you. We need to get to Blacklake immediately.”
The captain frowned. “It’s not safe, Commander. The Adlin still roam—”
“I know, and I don’t care. I have reason to believe Blacklake will come under a similar attack, and I will not remain here while they fight for their lives.”
The captain hesitated. “A speeder could be ready inside twenty minutes; the problem is the gates—”
“What I’ve done can be undone,” Trey said. “If you can arrange the immediate preparation of a speeder and weaponry for myself and Neve, I’ll make an urgent call up to Lord Kiro, requesting the presence of several earth witches. They can help you restore the gates into full working order.”
He glanced at me. “Neve has been given a leave of absence. She’s not even supposed to be here—”
“She’s here under my orders, Captain; in fact, I will formally request her secondment to my division until the current situation is dealt with.”
The captain’s frown grew as he glanced at me. “Neve?”
“It’s only temporary, Captain, and I’m more than happy to help the commander out.”
“Then head over to three and see what weaponry they have left.” He glanced back to Trey. “Contact Kiro, Commander, and I’ll do my part.”
“Meet back here,” Trey said to me, and then left.
“Neve, what’s going on?” Ava said, as she came up behind me.
I turned around. “I’m off to fight a second battle at Blacklake. Find April for me; I need to know he’s okay.”
“Why on earth do you have to go?”
“Because the commander wishes it.” I hesitated, wondering how much I should tell her. “While the invitation to the masque was real enough, I’m not there to enjoy myself. I’m helping the commander ferret out a couple of spies—”
“Spies!”
“Quiet!” I looked around to ensure no one had overheard us. “This can’t become common knowledge.”
She gently cupped my face, her fingers cool against my skin. “It won’t, you know that. But how deep does the deception go?”
“The woman behind this attack is—was—an air witch from a non-ruling house. But there are others involved, others who come from higher houses.”
Ava swore. “I wondered how the bastards managed to blast the door open. The truth is, they didn’t. They had help.”
“Yes, although I can’t tell you why they went to all that trouble to retrieve one bracelet. To me, the prize doesn’t justify the cost, whatever the end design might be.”
“Until you know the end design, you can’t actually say that with any certainty,” Ava said. “Why hasn’
t the commander gotten the carabinieri involved? Surely they should be the ones investigating this?”
“Lord Kiro is in charge of the investigation. I dare say he’ll call in the cops once all the threads of the plot have been uncovered.”
Ava nodded then leaned forward and dropped a kiss on my cheek. “Don’t get dead on me, Neve.”
I smiled. “Like most bad smells, I’m rather hard to get rid of.”
She snorted and slapped my arm—and hard enough to sting. “Stop putting yourself down, woman, whether in jest or not.”
“Yes, ma’am.” My grin grew as I stepped back. “I’d better get going. Kiss April for me when you find him.”
“I’ll clip him over the damn ear for causing us both so much damn worry first,” she said. Then, with a nod, she headed for the infirmary.
I spun and jogged across to armory three. Jon was looking a little worse for wear—there was a roughly patched but still bloody cut that stretched from his forehead down to his neck, and his bad leg had been splinted and was obviously in need of further attention, but his smile was wide and his eyes shone.
“The bastards thought I’d be easy meat,” he said, as I slowed down. “They soon learned otherwise.”
“Next time it might be best not to let them get so close before you take them down.”
He laughed and slapped my arm. “You could be right there, lass. What do you need?”
“Weapons. The captain’s given approval—”
“Aye, he’s sent through a message, which is why the armory’s open and waiting. Come along.”
We once again headed inside. I waited while he hobbled across to the near-empty storage lockers, my gaze scanning the shadows. The nearby shelves and lockers had been emptied, but down the far end, I glimpsed the shapes and shadows of the ancient weapons. Curiosity stirred and I walked down. The farther I got, the darker it became. It seemed the powers that be weren’t about to waste electricity where it wasn’t needed.
The shelves of old guns and other odd bits of machinery soon gave way to the even older, medieval-style weapons Jon had mentioned a week ago. But it was the glass swords that drew me; having used the knife a number of times, I could certainly see the benefit of having a longer blade. I picked up a couple, testing their weight and feel, but most of them were too heavy or too long for someone my size. But on the shelf close to bottom I found one that was perfect. Once I’d also found its scabbard, I headed back.
