by Derek Landy
She chose a single-strap Givenchy, brought it into her bedroom and placed it on the bed. She showered and her man came by to do her make-up and then her woman came to do her hair. Nothing fussy. China didn’t have time for fuss.
When she was done, she dismissed them both and went to stand on the balcony. The sun was going down and Roarhaven was turning on its lights. She liked the city at this time of day. During the sunlit hours, it was imposing. By moonlight, mysterious. But at this precise moment, when it was changing its masks, if she looked at it just right, she could glimpse its true face.
Her city. Her Roarhaven.
The force field, mere centimetres from the balcony, shimmered slightly, sending a wave of purple hue running down the length of the High Sanctuary, and China went back inside. She put on her shoes and took the elevator down to the dining room.
Serafina was, of course, early.
“My darling,” she said, gliding across the floor to kiss China’s cheeks. “You look ravishing.”
“And you are, as ever, quite breathtaking,” China responded. Serafina’s dress was another marvel of human bones and couture, but less showy than the dress she had worn upon arrival. She had, in her own way, also decided to dress down this evening.
They were seated at the table and made polite small talk as their entrées were served. They advanced to reminiscing while they waited for the main course. Serafina was as skilled at deflecting certain topics of conversation as China remembered, and offered up no new insights into past events.
“And Corrival Academy,” Serafina said, changing the subject yet again, “what a wonderful institution. For centuries, sorcerers have only dreamed of a school like this – and now it stands proudly in the First City of Magic. That’s what they’re calling Roarhaven, you know.”
China arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure the Mystical Cities would have something to say about that title.”
Serafina waved her hand. “Mystical Cities don’t count, you know that. What’s the use of a city of sorcerers if it only appears every forty years? No, Roarhaven deserves every accolade it receives. Credit is due to you.” She raised her glass of wine in a salute.
“Thank you,” said China, raising her own.
“And to Erskine Ravel, of course.”
China took a sip. “Of course.”
“It was his foresight, his vision that led to all this,” said Serafina. “For a member of a group I used to despise and regularly try to have killed, he turned out to be quite all right in the end, didn’t he?”
“His friends would disagree.”
“His friends were self-righteous heathens, China. What do I care for their opinions?”
“I would imagine nothing at all. Speaking as a heathen, however, I can only say that, while I appreciate the obvious work he put into this city, I do not and cannot approve of his methods – nor his ultimate objective.”
“To rule over the mortals?” Serafina asked. “But what would be so wrong with that?”
They smiled at each other, and Serafina appeared to soften.
“I do not envy you, China. Dedicating so much of your time to the tedium of bureaucracies is something I would simply not be able to countenance. You are a more selfless woman than I.” She took a moment, examining China anew, and then, with her most concerned tone, said, “You look tired, my dear.”
China kept her smile, and was about to answer when the doors opened and Cerise hurried in.
“Deepest apologies, Supreme Mage, High Superior,” she said, bowing. “But there’s a visitor who requests an audience most urgently.”
“Of course,” China said, frowning, and rose from her chair as Temper Fray entered the room.
China strode to the lower levels. The door opened before her and the City Guard officer straightened up when he saw who it was.
“Valkyrie Cain,” China demanded.
The officer blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry, Supreme Mage?”
China stared at him. He swallowed.
“Through … through there,” said the officer, pointing. “The cell at the end.”
China left him where he stood and walked quickly to the last cell. She waved her hand over the lock and the door opened and she stepped in.
Valkyrie lay on the bunk. Her hair was matted, her face swollen and puckered, scraped and bloodied. Her neck was scratched. Deep bruising discoloured her arms. Her clothes were dirty and stained with dried blood.
China watched her as her eyes fluttered open. She saw China and tried sitting up, but hissed and lay back down.
“Don’t move,” China said, quickly crossing to her. “What did they do to you? What did they …” Anger choked off her words, and she took a moment to regain control.
“Officer!” she called. She heard running footsteps, and the nervous man appeared at the door.
“Yes, Supreme Mage?”
China spun to him. “Who did this? Did you do this?”
“Do … do what, Supreme Mage?”
“Look at her,” China said, pointing. “Did you do this?”
“No!” the officer said. “I swear!”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know, Supreme Mage. I’ve only just started my shift.”
China glared. “Get a doctor down here immediately.”
“Of course,” the officer said, bowed quickly and deeply, and sprinted away.
China turned back. Valkyrie’s eyes were on her.
“I’m sorry,” China said. “I didn’t know this was happening. Who did this to you?”
Valkyrie started to move. China helped her into a seated position, her back against the cold wall, and sat on the edge of the bunk beside her.
“I thought you’d sent them,” Valkyrie said. Her lips were cracked. Her voice was a whisper.
“I would never hurt you,” China responded. “I would never allow anyone else to hurt you. I gave orders that you were to be given proper chambers and placed under house arrest. I never meant for you to suffer, Valkyrie.”
“I betrayed you.”
“And you were arrested for it. You had to be punished. I hope you see that. But I didn’t want this. I just didn’t have any other option. Greymire … Greymire is a secret never to be told. What you did was an unbelievable breach of trust.”
“I know.”
“You could have come to me, you know. About your sister. I would have helped you.”
A slight smile, that revealed broken and missing teeth, “You’re always so busy.”
“I suppose I am,” China said, looking away. “You don’t get an awful lot of free time when you’re running the world.”
“Must be lonely.”
China paused. “It is,” she said. “But I brought it on myself. You can’t take the power without taking the responsibility.” Ever so gently, she patted Valkyrie’s hand. “How’s your sister?”
“Haven’t fixed her yet,” Valkyrie said, speaking slowly. China had never seen her so drained. “Trying to decide if I even should.”
“Some decisions are too big for people to make,” China responded. “It’s the only reason I envy the religious. They can hand over their troubles to an omniscient deity, or – in the case of the Faceless Ones – uncaring, insane deities, and absolve themselves of the burden of morality. Why struggle with the right decision when you can pick the easy one and say your gods told you to do it?”
Valkyrie winced as she shifted her weight slightly. “Sounds like you know the struggle well.”
“Sometimes it threatens to become too much,” China said. “Sometimes I feel that my humanity means I’m too limited to make the kinds of decision that need to be made. What I wouldn’t give for some guidance.”
A tiny raise of an eyebrow. “Could use some of that myself.”
China smiled. “I think we’re arguing for the need for a god,” she said.
“Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Bejant,” said Temper.
“Hey, man,” Bejant responded, his u
sual smile in place when he turned. The smile faded. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s definitely a story,” Temper said. “You on duty?”
“About to come off.”
“Do me a favour? Stay on for a bit. I’ve got a crime scene to show you.”
“What’s the crime?”
“Kidnapping. Assault on an officer. Attempted murder.”
“Is the officer you?”
“He happens to be, yes.”
“And who are the perpetrators?”
Temper hesitated before answering. “Lush, Rattan and Ferule.”
“Seriously?”
“They’re all dead, by the way.”
“You kill them?”
“It was them or me. Yonder gave the orders, but I get the feeling this goes a lot higher.”
Bejant pulled him to one side. “Just to be clear on this one – officers of the City Guard, our fellow officers, tried to kill you?”
“Maybe half an hour ago, yeah.”
“Why?”
“Valkyrie Cain is in custody. They were beating her. I was on my way to tell Hoc and they grabbed me. They intended to kill me, and they were waiting on orders to kill Valkyrie.”
“Whose orders?”
“I don’t know. Yet.”
“Temper, this is … this is crazy. You’re saying everyone in uniform is in on this?”
“Not everyone,” said Temper. “Skulduggery set up the City Guard – I’d be willing to trust anyone who came in when he was in charge. Anyone who came in when Hoc was in charge … I’m not so sure about.”
“Do you have any idea what’ll happen when this gets out?”
“None at all,” said Temper. “Do you?”
“No,” Bejant said. “But I can’t imagine it’ll be pretty. If you’re right, if this involves more than Yonder and his little crew, you’re going to have to watch your back.”
“I’m used to it.”
“Yeah,” Bejant said, “but I’m not.” He sighed. “Right, fine. Take me to the crime scene and let’s shoot our careers in the face, what do you say? Take my car? It’s over there.”
Temper nodded and led the way. They were halfway to it when there was a noise and Temper glanced back, saw the figure who had grabbed Bejant, saw the look on his friend’s face that told him there was a blade in his back, and then someone grabbed Temper around the throat and there wasn’t a whole lot he could do to stop the darkness from closing in.
The City Guard officer ushered Doctor Whorl into the cell.
“Doctor,” Valkyrie said in greeting.
China stood. “Is this the one?”
Valkyrie nodded. The doctor was taller, but even so China seemed to loom over him. “You didn’t report her condition?”
Whorl was already sweating. “I tend to injured prisoners all the time. If I made a report on every single one of them—”
“Then you would be doing your job,” China finished. She glared at the officer. “Remove her restraints.”
He came forward, keys rattling. He took the metal band from Valkyrie’s wrist and she felt her magic flood her system.
“Away,” said China, and the officer scuttled out. She turned to Whorl. “Heal her.”
“I, um, I can have her taken down to the Infirmary and schedule an immediate—”
“You’ll be doing all that,” said China, “but it seems apparent that you can start the healing immediately. Would I be correct in this assumption, Doctor Whorl?”
“I … I suppose.”
“Then heal her. Now.”
Whorl hesitated, then turned to Valkyrie. “Lie back, please.”
“She’s in pain,” China said. “You’ll have to assist her.”
Whorl assisted. He laid Valkyrie on her back very, very gently, and then he knelt by her. His hands started to glow, and he placed them on her belly.
She closed her eyes, focusing on the warmth as it permeated her skin. She felt the damage fade. She felt the torn muscles and the burnt skin and the fractured bones start to knit together. She felt the swelling begin to go down. It was a nice feeling.
She felt Whorl’s power, and she pulled it in closer to examine. For a moment, she skirted along its surface, unable to delve any deeper –
– and then a door sprang open in her mind to reveal a room she’d never known existed, and in that room the workings of his magic were written on the walls. She sensed him approaching the limits of what he could do. But she liked the feeling too much to allow it to stop.
She reached out with her own magic and latched on to his. She heard him gasp in some distant part of the world. The warmth spread through every part of her. It was almost painful. It was painful. But pain didn’t mean the same thing any more.
Whorl took his hands away. She felt him fall back. She didn’t care. She remembered how his magic worked and she kept it going. Strength flowed through her blood. Chemicals flooded her brain. She heard herself laugh.
And then the door in her mind … it started to close. It was getting difficult to remember his power. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the door closed, and the light from the room dimmed, until with a click it was over.
Valkyrie opened her eyes. China and Whorl were staring at her.
She felt better. She felt great. She sat up, swung her legs off the bunk. Stood.
Dizziness washed over her and she swayed, almost fell, but laughed again as she steadied herself.
There was no longer any pain. The stiffness had vanished from her knee, from her ankle and her shoulder. She flexed her hands. They were no longer swollen. No longer broken. Her arms were no longer bruised. She felt her face. Her eyes. Her nose. She ran her tongue over her teeth.
She frowned, opened her mouth and did it again.
“Did you just regrow your teeth?” China asked.
“I don’t know,” said Valkyrie. “Did I?”
“That’s not possible,” Whorl said, coming closer. “The human body can’t just …” He stepped away again, suddenly wary. “What did you do to me? You took control of my magic. How did you do that? How did you—”
“Doctor Whorl,” said China, “you may return to the Infirmary now.”
“But we have to—”
“Do you remember the contract you signed, Doctor?” China asked. “Do you remember the section forbidding you to talk about anything classed as a Red Case?”
Whorl quietened. “Yes,” he said.
“I am classing this as a Red Case,” China said. “Return to your ward. Do not discuss this with anyone. We will be speaking, however, about your failure to report Detective Cain’s injuries. Have a good evening.”
Whorl hesitated, then left without saying another word.
“Well now,” said Valkyrie.
“Has this ever happened before?” China asked.
“Have I healed myself? No.”
“What about commandeering another mage’s power?”
“That’s a first for me, too. It was weird. I understood how his power worked and I was able to, I don’t know … replicate it.”
China observed her a moment before speaking again. “We’ll need to run tests.”
“No,” said Valkyrie.
“We have to understand this,” China said. “A few days with my best people, that’s all I’m asking.”
“I’m not a lab rat, China.”
China sighed. “Fine. But at the very least you need another doctor to check you over. Is that acceptable?”
“I don’t know,” Valkyrie said. “Do I get to go free afterwards?”
China narrowed her eyes. “You betrayed me.”
“And I was nearly killed in your jail cells. Doesn’t that make us even?”
“Not even close.”
“China, I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. This is my sister we’re talking about. I have to do whatever it takes to help her. You have to understand that.”
For a few seconds, China’s face was unreadable. Then, “You owe me,”
she said.
Valkyrie nodded. “I do.”
“A favour,” she said.
“Agreed.”
China motioned to the door. “OK then, let’s go get you checked out.”
“Thank you,” Valkyrie said, leading the way out of the door. “But the favour cannot be anything to do with getting poked and prodded.”
“You are obstinate,” said China. “Don’t you want to know how your powers even work? We still don’t know, because you haven’t let anyone run the tests they need to run. You don’t know the limits to what you can do. What is this energy you produce? How can you fly? How can you do the other things you do? Think what this could mean. If we can learn how you did this, maybe it’s something that could be taught to others. This could be the start of a whole new breed of sorcerer.”
Valkyrie frowned. “Do we need a new breed of sorcerer? Aren’t there enough already? When I started, there were Elementals and Adepts. That’s all. Then I learned about monsters, and creatures, and Warlocks, and witches, and now we have Neoterics. We don’t need more, and we certainly don’t need to make the ones we already have even stronger than they are right now, do we?”
“Not all of them, no, but—”
“China – not everything has to be a tactical advantage.”
“I never said otherwise.”
“You’re thinking it. You’re wondering how to weaponise what I just did, aren’t you?”
“Not weaponise,” said China. “Utilise.”
They got to the door. China waved at the officer to open up.
“I don’t trust me to wield this power,” Valkyrie told her. “I’m sure as hell not going to trust anyone else to do it.”
The door opened, and Sergeant Yonder’s eyes widened when he saw Valkyrie. Suddenly his pistol was in his hand and he was pointing it straight at her face. She instinctively raised her hands to chest height, palms out in surrender.
China started to speak at the same time as something flashed across Yonder’s eyes. He was going to fire.
Valkyrie moved forward a half-step, both hands rising, grabbing Yonder’s wrist with one hand, the barrel of the gun with the other. The gun went off and the bullet hit the ceiling, and Valkyrie wrenched downwards, snapping his trigger finger as she ripped the pistol from his grip. He didn’t even have time to scream before she slammed the gun into his face three times, and then she flipped it and stepped back, aiming his own gun squarely at his chest.