The Spirit Siphon (Magebreakers Book 4)

by Ben S. Dobson

  She answered for him. She could do that, at least. “Was only way. Saves everyone in city who has no magic.”

  Althir accepted that with a slow nod. “I understand. Inspector Lovial was… terse in explaining the evacuation, but she made the situation clear. And I am grateful, of course. But the Belgrian authorities will be less than pleased. We should see that you are gone before they come calling.”

  Carver cocked his head, as if listening to some distant sound. “It’s Ree,” he said after a moment. “She’s on her way here with Tinga. Probably not a good idea, like you say. This is the first place the Guard will look. We need a hiding spot.”

  There was only one place in Stelihn that came to mind, as much as Kadka didn’t like the idea.

  But they were out of options, so she said it anyway.

  “I know where they will not look.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  _____

  TANE DESCENDED INTO the cavern with an unshakable sense of dread, as if somehow Endo might still be waiting for them on dragonback within. He hadn’t expected to return there, and certainly didn’t want to, but Kadka was right—there was no better place in the city for them to hide. If it had worked for Endo, it would work for them, at least for a while.

  It had taken a few hours to get there, smuggled across the city by a variety of Althir’s contacts. As it turned out, a country that glorified non-magical humans tended to make Audish sympathizers out of everyone else. Anyone with relatives and loved ones in the workhouses, goblins and gnomes and dwarves and elves forced to live and work in the non-human ghetto. To some, the fact that Tane and Kadka came from Audland had been enough to merit a hero’s welcome; many had talked about the Protectorate as if it was some legendary utopia. It made Tane uncomfortable, but after the first few stops, he’d given up trying to explain that there were plenty of problems at home too. It always fell on deaf ears, anyway.

  They were alone, now. A sprite woman had led them through the back alleys of the non-human district to the abandoned building that housed the passage to Endo’s cave, but she’d left them just outside. Kadka led the way down, holding a borrowed lantern, and Tane followed behind.

  As they neared the bottom, he picked up the pace, taking the stairs two at a time. He passed Kadka on the last step, all but leapt by her into the cavern. There. Indree and Tinga were waiting near Endo’s abandoned machine. Tinga reclined in the chair at the machine’s side, fiddling absently with the attached shackle; Indree faced out toward the shore, silhouetted by dim starlight spilling in through the opening that Endo’s illusion had once kept hidden.

  Tinga saw them first, and hopped to her feet. “They’re here!”

  Indree whirled on her heel. Tane’s eyes met hers, and then he was running, covering the remaining distance in a near-sprint. She raced to meet him. He pulled her close, one arm around her waist, one hand behind her neck. She met his lips with hers. There was an urgency to the kiss, from her as much as him, as if neither of them had been sure they’d actually see each other again. He’d certainly had his doubts.

  Every step of the way, he’d been painfully aware that the trip across Stelihn would be just as dangerous for her and Tinga. There was no guarantee that any of them would make it, not with the Belgrian Guard searching for them in force. They hadn’t even been able to communicate for fear of discovery—keeping a sending open risked drawing the attention of magic-detecting artifacts. When Indree had contacted him, all he’d been able to do was tell her where to meet, and then they’d had to break contact. Until this moment, he’d had no way of knowing she hadn’t been captured.

  But she was here now, and she was safe. Just to make sure it was real, he kissed her a little bit harder. She leaned into it, pressed closer against him. Definitely real.

  Finally, Tane drew back, breathless. “How did you get out of the palace?”

  “We had help,” said Indree. “What about—“ She cut herself off, shook her head, unclasped her arms from around his neck. “Wait. Before we get to the questions, let me mask you two. I’m already covering Tinga and myself. Best to be ready when they find a focus on one of us.” She was right—no mage in the city was familiar enough with them to scry them out innately, but it wouldn’t be hard to scrounge up a hair or the like from any number of places they’d been.

  “Good idea,” Tane said with a nod, and stepped back to stand beside Kadka. Easier to target them both at once if they were close. “Go ahead.”

  Her eyes went unfocused a moment, and she uttered a quick incantation in the lingua. “There. No workhouse mage has the training to break through that, even with a focus. Now, tell me what happened at the embassy.”

  Tane had been trying not to think about that. About what he’d done. But there was no way around it—she needed to know what they were up against. “Urnt is dead.”

  Indree frowned. “I heard as much, on our way here. He wouldn’t stop?”

  “He wanted to. He couldn’t. Endo lied to him, didn’t leave him control of the spell.” Tane cast his eyes downward, unable to meet hers. “I had to…”

  She took his hands in hers, held them tight. “You didn’t have a choice.”

  “Maybe not,” he said, “but choice or no, I killed him. And probably pushed Belgrier into declaring war.”

  “No,” Indree said firmly. “You didn’t. Endo did this. And Urnt, even if he was manipulated. You stopped it from being much worse than it could have been. You saved lives.”

  Tane swallowed, looked back up at her. He knew Indree well enough that her support was no surprise—he’d never expected her to condemn him for this. But that didn’t fix the problem. Didn’t wipe his hands clean, or remove the memory of blood spilling out of Urnt’s neck. He shook the image away as best he could, and tried to push on. “Either way, I don’t know what happens next. Althir said she’d get in touch with us once she knows how bad it is.”

  “Klenn told us about the same,” Indree said. “He got us out of the palace, but he couldn’t disappear with us, not without drawing suspicion. He’s going to try to reason with Gerrolt, encourage a measured response.”

  “He helps you escape?” Kadka asked. She looked thoughtful, chewing at her lip.

  Indree nodded. “Apparently Urnt had him detained in the chaos before the council meeting. Didn’t want him saying anything to Gerrolt. But he was left unguarded when everyone came after us, and he was far enough from the center of the spell that he recovered faster than most afterwards. He led us out through some hidden passages.” She shook her head in mild disbelief. “That castle really is like something from a story.”

  “Is where he grows up,” Kadka said. “Plays in secret places when he is young, maybe. But this risk, to help you… He is not man who does things like this.”

  “We’d be in a Belgrian prison if he hadn’t,” said Tinga. “I’m not much for the nobles here, but maybe he isn’t so bad.”

  “Maybe,” Kadka said, with obvious reluctance. “Maybe is… more to him than I think.”

  “Well, let’s hope so,” Tinga said. “Because we’re going to need all the help we can get to make it home. We’re basically fugitives here, right?”

  “Not just here.” Estene Althir’s voice, from the stairway. Tane turned to see her making her way across the cavern, with Henred Klenn just behind. “The situation has… not improved greatly, these past hours. I have been denied access to the palace.”

  Klenn nodded with a sigh. “Gerrolt is in no mindset for diplomacy, I’m afraid,” he said in his surprisingly decent Audish accent. “It is easier for him to believe in Audish assassins than treachery from his inner circle.” He stepped past Althir toward Kadka, hesitated partway there. “I am… glad to see that you aren’t hurt, Kadka.”

  Kadka didn’t move to meet him, but she offered a slight smile. “Is more important that my friends are not. Because of you, they say. Thank you.” She frowned. “Is still safe for you, after doing this? If Urnt accuses you before he dies…”

>   “He did not,” Klenn said. “As far as I am aware, he only spoke to the two men who detained me, and offered them little explanation. I suppose he didn’t want Gerrolt asking questions. It all seems to have been lost in the confusion, in any event. I believe I am safe enough.”

  “And you still have Gerrolt’s ear?” Indree asked.

  “As much as anyone does. As I said, he will not meet with—”

  Indree shook her head. “It’s not about that. I have a favor to ask. Lieutenant Thilde Berken of the Guard died to stop this, and without her help it would have been much worse. I know you can’t say she was working with us without making her sound like a traitor, but people should know…” Indree stopped there, swallowed, clearly struggling for words. Tane clasped her shoulder, and she glanced gratefully back at him. “They should know she was a hero. That what she did saved a lot of Belgrian lives. You can tell the council that, at least.”

  Althir frowned. “Giving the Belgrians a martyr will not make things easier for us.”

  “I know,” said Indree. “But she must have had family. People who care about her. If she never comes back, and they never know why…” She looked back at Tane, and there was something in her eyes, like a plea for understanding.

  And he did understand. Of course he did. She knew what it was like to have someone she loved disappear without any explanation. He’d done it to her, once. “Ree is right,” he said. “They deserve to know. And Berken deserves to have them know.” She didn’t choose to abandon them. Not like I did, back then. “At this point, I don’t think it can make things much worse.”

  Althir sighed. “Perhaps you are right. But if you don’t mind, Baron Klenn, I suggest we work together to craft a version of the story that is… palatable to both parties.”

  Klenn inclined his head. “Of course. I can say that she saved my life when I was attacked in my home, which is true enough. That offers a plausible enough explanation for any insights I might reveal into her investigation—we spoke then. I needn’t mention the rest of you.” He gestured at the great brass orb of the machine at the cavern’s center. “I might offer the location of this… apparatus, as well, when you are all safely relocated. The cave will not stay hidden forever, not with the Guard scouring every inch of the city. Its existence may even serve as a point in favor of your innocence—you could not have built all this in the short time you were here.”

  “Just don’t let the blame fall on the mages in the workhouses while you’re making up stories,” Tinga piped in. “I promised.”

  “I will divert attention from them however I am able,” Klenn said. “I can tell you that right now Gerrolt’s anger is focused entirely on the Audish assassins. That is to say, you four. And that anger is… considerable. A half-dozen council members were riven before you stopped Urnt, all from old Belgrian families, not to mention dozens of servants and guards. And he believes now that you were responsible for Duke Detehr’s death as well. He wants your heads. Already he has made demands to your government to deny you any sort of asylum.”

  That reminded Tane of something. “Wait. When you came in, you said it wasn’t only here that we’re fugitives. What did you mean by that?” He had a sinking feeling that he already knew.

  “Ah,” said Ambassador Althir. “Yes.” She looked distinctly uncomfortable. “I have been in communication with Lady Abena.”

  “And what did she say?” Tane demanded.

  “She has been forced to declare you wanted criminals in Audland as well. There was no other way, if there is to be any hope of salvaging this situation with diplomacy.” And then, as if offering a salve to that revelation, “But through back channels, she sent word to me that I am to help you in whatever way I can. If you are able to bring Mister Stooke to justice and prove your innocence to the Belgrians, she will of course rescind the sentence. She has great faith in your abilities.”

  No one said anything for a long moment; they simply sat in stunned silence, looking at one another.

  It was Tinga who spoke first, an edge of panic in her voice. “So we can’t go home? But I have to! My family is there! Cestra is there!”

  “But didn’t you hear?” Tane said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. “She has faith in us. That makes it all better, doesn’t it?”

  “I know it isn’t… ideal,” Indree said. “But like Althir says, if there’s any hope of diplomacy…” She sighed and spread her hands. “I understand her position. I don’t know that I want Audland to go to war for my sake.”

  “It wouldn’t be on you,” Tane said. “That’s my responsibility.” His shoulders slumped. “I’m the one who killed him. You shouldn’t all have to suffer for it. I’m sorry.”

  Kadka crossed her arms and shook her head. “This is stupid thing to say, Carver. We are all seen in palace. Both of us take Urnt. We are in this together.”

  Indree wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him tightly. “She’s right. You didn’t do this alone. You certainly couldn’t have opened that portal by yourself.”

  Tinga looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she took a long, shaky breath, and then nodded slowly. “And I… I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself for being here, do I?” She swallowed, and then raised her chin just a bit, a glint of pride in her eyes. “And don’t forget, I am the one who took down the wards for you.”

  Tane smiled at that, despite himself. Astra, she’s too young to be this brave. But if she could manage it, how could he do otherwise? “Your parents are going to put a contract of their own on my head if they ever hear about that.” He straightened his back. “Alright, then. We’ll figure this out. All of us.” Then, turning to Klenn and Althir, “What’s going on out there? Tell us everything.”

  “I’m afraid I haven’t much information,” Althir said. “The word has already come in that Audish representatives are not welcome in Belgrier any longer. The Illuvar leaves tonight with all non-essential embassy staff. I will remain as long as I can, but if I am not allowed an audience with Kaiser Gerrolt, there is little I can do.” She removed a pouch from her belt that would have been nearly the size of a backpack for someone of lesser stature, and offered it to Tane. “I did, however, retrieve these for you when we were reclaiming various artifacts for our departing staff.”

  Inside were the items they’d surrendered upon entering the country. Indree’s pistol, Tane’s charms, the piece of ancryst from his watch case. “That’s something, at least,” he said. He handed the pistol to Indree, and took the rest himself. “Baron Klenn, can you tell us anything from your end?”

  “It is still taking shape,” Klenn said. “But that shape is not promising. Nothing has been formally declared yet, but orders have gone out for our military and navy to make ready. Gerrolt has sent word to Estia looking for allies, as well. And the Lord Provost will certainly oblige. The Estians will require little excuse to launch a crusade against Audland.”

  “But you are close with Gerrolt, yes?” Kadka said. “Is no chance he will listen to you?”

  “I hope so. I have tried, of course. He is not a fool, and I believe that in time he may come to see that elements of the story do not make sense. But right now… as I said, Detehr’s death is still fresh in his mind, and he is inclined towards wrath.” Klenn spread his hands helplessly. “As of this moment, our countries do seem to be on the verge of war.”

  “Which is what Endo wanted all along,” said Tane. “And he didn’t just arrange this to leave the outcome to chance. He has more than one new weapon in his arsenal, and at some point he’s going to use them again.”

  Tinga went pale. “On non-magicals. My family. Cestra. We’re the only ones who know enough about this to have a chance at stopping him.”

  “What we know doesn’t do us much good if we’re stranded in Belgrier,” said Tane. “We can’t very well get on a government airship if we’re wanted criminals back home.”

  Henred Klenn perked up, then, as if struck by sudden inspiration. “Ah, yes
,” he said. “That, I believe I can help you with.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  _____

  KADKA WATCHED THE small ancryst cutter nose up to the cave under the cover of darkness. Their way out of Belgrier, if all went well. Tane, Indree, and Tinga stood with her, and the luggage that Ambassador Althir had been able to retrieve for them from the embassy was piled at their feet.

  Just ahead, Henred Klenn was waving the boat in to shore. “You’ll have to helm it yourselves,” he said apologetically. “Any Belgrian citizen who went with you would be declared a traitor. There are enough supplies on board to last until you reach another port. I wish I could do more, but in the current atmosphere… I was lucky not to be caught arranging this much.”

  “Is more than some would do already,” Kadka said. She glanced at the others, raised her eyebrows pointedly.

  “Oh,” said Carver, clearly taking the hint. “We have to go back in. I… I need a last look at the machine before we leave. I just thought of something.”

  “Did you now?” Tinga asked with a mocking grin. “Please, do tell us what you could possibly have missed in the twelve hours you’ve already spent staring at that thing.”

  Carver shot her a glare. “Just come help me look, you two.” He motioned for Tinga and Indree to follow.

  Which left Kadka alone with her father.

  Klenn didn’t say anything, just waited for her to speak with a nervous look on his face.

  She felt strangely nervous herself. She didn’t like it. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to. “You are not who I think at first, Henred Klenn. Should have fought for my mother, before. But you are… not a bad man.”

  “Which does not mean I am a particularly good one, does it?” Klenn said ruefully. “I know that I am not the father you deserve, Kadka. I have never been brave. I wish that I had been, back then. Even now, I am terrified that Gerrolt will find out I helped you.”