Shadow of a Dead God: A Mennik Thorn Novel

by Patrick Samphire

  “What the fuck is that?” Benny demanded.

  “Our distraction,” I said, while the scream rose and fell outside like a cat in a bath. “I call it my fucksthat spell.”

  “Do I want to ask why?”

  I scrambled down awkwardly from the washbasins. “Because everyone says, ‘What the fuck’s that?’ when I cast it. Come on. It’s not going to last forever.”

  Benny shook his head, and we took off back down the corridor.

  No one appreciated my sense of humour.

  “See if you can do something about that.” I nodded at the door to the stairs. I hurried the last few yards to the other outer wall. If this really was a barracks floor, I had been concerned that the fucksthat spell would shake people out of bed to check on it. But, so far, the watchman or watchwoman’s natural inclination to avoid investigating anything that they didn’t have to was holding. That might change if people started screaming in the corridor.

  I laid my hands against the cool stone blocks and let my eyes unfocus. There was plenty of raw magic around here, more than I could possibly make use of.

  Legend had it that, after Agate Blackspear had battled Sien, the Lady of Dreams Descending, patron goddess of what was then not called Agatos, on the summit of Horn Hill and struck the mortal blow, the goddess had, with her last breath, leapt from the cliff and plunged to her death right about here. Assuming that goddesses had breaths, last or otherwise, if the legend were true, it would explain the abundant raw magic. On the other hand, Agatos was lousy with raw magic. One of the consequences of sitting astride the continent’s major trading route was that people from every country had ended up here, bringing their religions and cults with them, and they had been doing it for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. That meant that if any of their gods died, at least some of their rotting metaphysical effluent would end up in Agatos, and idiots like me would suck it up.

  We didn’t put that in the job description.

  I shaped the magic and let it spread through the wall, mapping the mortar between the blocks and looking for weaknesses. Then I started to excite the sand and lime (no, not like that), crumbling it and setting the particles vibrating liquidly around one of the blocks.

  I gave the block a shove with my magic. It slid out as easily as a card from a deck and crashed down to the plaza outside.

  I stuck my head through the hole, trying not to think what might happen if I had judged this wrong and the whole wall came down on my head.

  The block had landed on the cobbles, thank any god who might be listening, rather than on some innocent passer-by. The fucksthat spell was still shrieking and thumping enthusiastically on the other side of the watch headquarters so no one was paying any attention to me poking holes in the wall.

  I pulled my head back in.

  “Might want to hurry up,” Benny called.

  I looked back to see him bracing against the door. He had jammed the stolen knife into the gap between the door and the floor, but I didn’t know how much it would help.

  “I thought you were going to lock it.”

  “With what? They don’t let you bring lock picks into gaol, you know.”

  I turned my attention back to the wall. I reckoned if I pushed out another three blocks, we would have enough room to wriggle out. The question was, which three? I was no engineer, but even I knew that if you took out enough of a supporting wall, it wouldn’t do much supporting any more.

  The second block slid out fine, but the third came free suspiciously easily. Dry mortar dusted down, and the wall groaned. I was tempted to copy it.

  A thump sounded from behind. I spun around to see Benny shoving against the door with all his scrawny might, face red and tendons straining. Someone hit the far side, and Benny bounced back a couple of inches.

  We had company.

  “Mate…” Benny called in a strangled voice.

  I had no time to figure out the last block or to be subtle.

  I didn’t often pray — the gods had no time for ordinary people like me — but this was one of the times I broke that rule.

  “Favour me, Lord Ensio,” I muttered to the god of luck, then I hit one of the loose blocks with as much magic as I could muster. It scraped backwards, then shot outwards like a greased rat from a sewer pipe.

  The blocks above it bowed, there was a terrible, agonising creak, and then the wall came down.

  I leapt back as several tonnes of masonry crashed into the corridor and the plaza outside. Dust rolled over me. I screwed up my eyes, choked, coughed, spat, and tried not to breathe in.

  So much for prayers.

  “Mate…” Benny said again, sounding awed this time.

  I blinked the dust from my eyes. I really needed to get hold of some goggles before I tried this again.

  Another thump from the door sent Benny slipping back a step before he managed to close it. He used his foot to jam the knife back under the door.

  The wall appeared to have stopped falling for the minute. It had left a gap large enough to drive a camel through. Fucksthat spell or not, this was going to draw attention. Time to go.

  The door shook again. Benny thumped his shoulder into it. I waved to him. He nodded, greasy hair flapping in his face. Then he twisted away from the door and sprinted towards me. I grabbed him, and as the door burst open, dispensing a crowd of tumbling watchmen and -women, Benny and I leapt through into the air.

  We hit the cobbles of the plaza, our fall cushioned by my hastily summoned magic, avoiding the impressive pile of rubble I had created. Dust enclosed us. I held my breath, and pulling Benny after me, hobbled towards the safety of the nearest alley. Behind us, the last remnants of the fucksthat spell drained away in a disappointing burp.

  It wasn’t the glorious escape I had been envisaging, but hey, we were out. I tried not to think about the horrifically injured watchwomen and -men I had left behind me. I was shaking, drained, and sure that at any moment I would hear the sound of pursuit. I kept my head down and didn’t look back through the dust that still drifted across the plaza.

  No one came. The distraction of the fucksthat spell and the chaos I had left inside the Watch headquarters must be keeping them occupied.

  I wasn’t going to spurn a gift, no matter how much blood it came soaked in.

  I found myself shivering as I thought about how many times it could all have gone wrong. I had been woefully unprepared. Whatever my next move was, it would have to be better considered.

  The alley I had chosen for Sereh to wait in wasn’t much travelled, at least by people who were likely to run to the Watch. Whitewashed buildings shouldered close across a once-cobbled street, meeting in places to form brief, arched tunnels. At the far end of the alley, in the evening sunlight, crowds bustled their ways up and down Bad Luck Way, but even if someone glanced this way, they would have a hard time making any of us out.

  Sereh emerged from Mara-knew-where as Benny and I entered the alley. I felt the familiar decay of my magic from the presence of Ash, but for once, my only reaction was relief. We had done it.

  I gave Benny and Sereh a minute while I stood awkwardly watching the alley. Then I herded them into a narrow passage between two houses. It dead-ended in a back yard, so there was no reason for anyone to come down here.

  Except the City Watch searching for you.

  Yeah, shut up, Nik. That’s not helping.

  Benny turned on me the moment we were safely out of sight.

  “Fuck it, Nik. What happened?”

  “What do you mean?” We had got out, hadn’t we? It hadn’t been the smoothest gaol break, but it had been my first, and I had been in a hurry.

  “The trial. Pity, Nik. You were going to be there.”

  Ah. That.

  Benny didn’t give me a chance to explain. He barrelled on, suddenly furious. “You were going to back me up. They took one look at me and decided I was guilty. None of this … this shit…” — his arm jerked around, encompassing the alley and, I assumed, the Wa
tch headquarters — “would have happened if you had been there. I know you’re up your own arse, but I never thought you’d just not turn up. What happened?”

  “My mother happened.” It sounded pathetic, even to me. Letting my oldest friend down because of my mother. I wasn’t ten years old anymore. “She sent a bunch of her thugs to grab me.”

  Benny didn’t look any happier. “You didn’t tell her you were supposed to be in court?”

  “She knew. She just didn’t care.”

  Benny’s eyes hardened. I didn’t dare look at Sereh. I still wasn’t convinced she wasn’t intending to slit my throat over the whole thing.

  “Never did much like me, did she?”

  It was true. My mother had taken against Benny from the first moment we had met. But I was fed up with making excuses for her.

  “You know what, Benny? As far as I was concerned, I was done with my mother, too. I worked hard to get away from her.”

  He grunted. It was the closest I was going to get to acceptance.

  “What did she want?” he said.

  “To tell me to stop investigating, to leave it all alone.”

  “And leave me to rot. That’s nice, isn’t it?” He let out a breath. We both came from the Warrens. We knew we couldn’t rely on anyone except each other. It still stung, though, when someone shafted you. “Tell me you’ve got a plan for what happens next. The Watch aren’t going to be happy.”

  “It’s not the Watch you’ve got to be worried about. The moment Silkstar finds out you’re free, he’ll have his mages looking for you. Whether he thinks we killed the Master Servant or whether he’s behind the whole thing, he’s not going to want you out here talking.”

  “And, what, you’ve figured out how to stop a high mage and his acolytes? I’m not being rude, but maybe I should hand myself back into the Watch.”

  I rubbed my stubble nervously. Even thinking about this made anxiety thrum through my body like a trapped wasp.

  “We, uh, we stole some Ash.”

  Benny stared at me like I’d told him I was thinking of sticking knives through my eye sockets.

  “You stole Ash. You fucking stole Ash.”

  “There wasn’t any other way.”

  “Lady of the Grove.” He shook his head, then hooked an arm around Sereh. “You got somewhere for us to hide out?”

  I licked my lips. “No. I thought you’d know somewhere. It’s more your kind of thing. And” — this was the bit I had been putting off telling both Benny and Sereh — “it’s not going to be both of you. It’s just you. Sereh can’t go with you.”

  For longer than I wanted, there was silence. All I could hear were the constant gulls above, the distant voices and shouts from the far end of the alley, and a crash of something heavy being dropped.

  Then Benny said, “No. Mate. It’s not happening.”

  Benny had always been a stubborn bastard, but this wasn’t up for negotiation.

  “The Ash will hide you from Silkstar’s magic, but when he can’t track you down, he’ll widen his search. He’ll look for Sereh and for me.”

  “That’s my whole fucking point!” Benny waved an arm out at the city. “I’m not leaving her out there unprotected.”

  Unprotected? It was the rest of Agatos that would need protecting.

  “There’s not enough Ash to hide both of you,” I said, trying to sound calm. It wasn’t easy. My heartbeat was still raging, and I felt dizzy. “It’s only got a range of about twenty feet. I’ve no idea how long you’re going to have to stay in hiding. If one of you even takes a single step out of the influence of the Ash, Silkstar will have you. It’s too risky.”

  Benny was already shaking his head.

  “It’s not happening,” he repeated. “You can’t protect her out there. Not against a high mage.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I can’t. And maybe Silkstar will be angry or desperate enough to try to force Sereh to tell him where you are. I couldn’t stop him.”

  Benny’s arm tightened around Sereh.

  I wasn’t finished. “But you know who could? Mica. I don’t know if she could take Silkstar in a duel, but I do know it would make enough noise that the Ash Guard would come running, and the Countess isn’t going to stand by if Silkstar attacks Mica.” I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice, but it leaked through. “Send Sereh there. She’ll be safe.”

  “No.” It was the first time Sereh had spoken since we’d ducked into hiding. Her voice was so calm and emotionless, it made me shiver. I quickly decided there was something I needed to inspect on the opposite wall.

  After a moment, Benny said, “Yes.” Sereh started to protest, but Benny rode over her. “I need you safe. Mica will look after you. You’re going to do what you’re told.”

  When Sereh didn’t argue, Benny nodded and turned to me.

  “So what are you going to do while I’m hiding? How are you going to find the fuckers who set us up?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? I was hardly any closer to figuring that out than I had been when we’d both been arrested.

  “You remember those ghosts I was hunting?”

  “I remember you got fired.”

  “I got hired again. The priest they employed to do my job got himself killed.”

  Benny’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…”

  “No! What do you take me for? The ghosts killed him. Or something linked to the ghosts did. I think it was the same thing that killed the Master Servant up at Thousand Walls. The injuries were almost identical.”

  “You’re saying we were set up by a ghost?”

  I hadn’t thought about that. Probably because it was crazy.

  “Ghosts can’t think. They’re not conscious. They’re echoes.”

  “I didn’t think they could kill people, either.”

  “They can’t. Not like that. They can get into your mind and overwhelm you, sometimes make their victims kill themselves. But they can’t rip you apart. Someone — or something — has got involved.” Something new, my mother had said. Whatever the Depths that meant.

  Benny’s weaselly face screwed up. “And — wait, let me get this straight — you’ve decided to take the job on again so that you can fight these murder-ghosts? You know. The ones that are slicing people up like a fucking soft cheese. How exactly are you planning to do that?” He looked me up and down deliberately. “You’re a mess. Everyone and his dog have pissed on you.”

  Benny had a point. I wasn’t conceding it, though.

  “Come on, Benny. This is linked. It has to be. The priest, the Master Servant, and Uwin Bone all killed in the same way, and the only way they’re linked is through us.”

  Benny let out a breath. “So, someone set us up for the Master Servant. What was her name?”

  “Imela Rush.” Rella Cord had been her real name. Somehow, saying it out loud seemed wrong, as though it would make her dead twice.

  “Yeah. Then they take out Uwin because he’s the weak link. He was the one who brokered the job. He was the only one who met whoever was behind this. Fucking brutal, but fair enough. It makes sense. But what about this priest? Why kill him? What’s his part?”

  “He tried to get rid of the ghosts. Whoever or whatever was using them didn’t like that.”

  “So, what? The ghosts have been possessed? And someone is carrying them around, letting them loose? You know how fucking crazy that sounds?”

  I couldn’t disagree. How could a ghost be possessed? But how else could you describe what I had seen?

  “I don’t know.”

  “Not knowing seems to be a bit of a theme. Lady of the Grove, mate. You don’t half get yourself into a pile of shit when I’m not there to look after you.”

  “You do remember that you were the one who got me into this in the first place?”

  Benny waved it away. “There’s no way this is going to end well. Someone who was able to kill Silkstar’s Master Servant in the man’s own house isn’t going to be put off by a c
rappy mage like you.”

  He was right, but I wasn’t planning to go head-to-head with whichever mage or entity was pulling the ghosts’ strings.

  “You don’t need to worry,” I said. “I’ve got a few tricks.”

  “So buy a pack of cards and set up a fucking stall in the market.”

  Sereh stepped between us. “City Watch.”

  A pair of watchwomen hurried past. They didn’t notice us in the shadowed passage between the houses, but I knew they would be followed by others who would be making a more careful search.

  “Time to move out,” I said. “You’ve got somewhere you can go?”

  Benny nodded. “Down by the market—”

  I cut him off. “Better if I don’t know.” I met his eyes. Neither of us had to say why. “Just keep your head down. I’m going to find out who is behind this, and I’ll make sure they pay.”

  I turned to leave but felt Benny’s hand on my shoulder.

  “Mate. What happened in the Watch headquarters wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to.”

  A wave of self-hatred and revulsion threatened to overwhelm me.

  “Those watchmen and -women on the stairs might never see again. I might have blinded them. The gaoler might not recover at all.”

  “He was a bastard.”

  “That’s not the point. I did that to them. I crippled them. They were just doing their jobs, but that didn’t stop me.”

  “If you hadn’t, I would be dead tomorrow,” Benny said calmly.

  “I know.” It didn’t make me feel any better. It was just another way I’d screwed the whole thing up. I should have been smarter. I should have prepared better.

  Benny stepped in front of me so we were almost nose-to-nose. “So get over it. People get hurt. People die. You can’t save everyone. We’re in with the sharks here. This isn’t the time to go cutting your own wrists. Guilt is going to get you exactly fucking nowhere.”

  “I know, mate. I know.” I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You and Sereh had better get going. The sooner we’re all away from here, the better.”

  I waited until they were out of sight, then made my own way out of the passage and along the alley.