When Jolan reached the final step, he paused. “Please, Ashlyn. Forgive me.”
She curled her lip into a snarl. “Never.”
Jolan turned the final band. Ashlyn felt her arm awaken.
The astrolabe picked up every lodestone loop in the room. There were thousands of them behind the walls. They ran up and down the castle like blood vessels.
There was nothing to do but pick one at random. She focused on a loop that was emanating from the floor to her left and slipped inside. The braid was long, but it had none of the security measures that protected the acolyte systems.
Ashlyn spun up her bands. She’d have control in ten seconds.
But Osyrus Ward snapped his fingers almost immediately. The spiders released a jolt of current that froze her progress. Then they went to work, weaving through the loops on her bands and taking control of them with a sustained needle of current.
Ashlyn recognized the feeling, because she’d been doing the same thing to Osyrus Ward’s systems for months. Now he was doing it to her. And there was nothing she could do to stop him.
A few seconds later, the last of her bands was pulled from her grasp.
“We have her system under control,” Nebbin said.
Osyrus crossed the room and yanked the wire out of Ashlyn’s arm, cutting her connection to the astrolabe.
Jolan’s shoulders slumped. He wasn’t crying anymore, but the horror on his face was far more genuine.
“We’re ready to begin a purification barrage,” said Ward. “Give Kira a full round of steroid injections so she is ready to be harvested. Be sure to amplify her sedatives as well. She will become significantly stronger once the steroid takes effect.”
“Acknowledged,” said Nebbin, turning a few more dials. He watched them for a moment. “Her levels look good. She’s just beneath the threshold of consciousness.”
Osyrus placed a hand on Jolan’s shoulder.
“You did well. Thank you.”
“Call your skyships away from the square,” Jolan said, with no hope in his voice.
“Not yet. I need to confirm that Ashlyn is operating at full capacity.”
Osyrus adjusted a few of his rings, then snapped out a longer and specific sequence. A series of dragon-bone slats in the ceiling opened, revealing a tunnel that led to the room above. Ward gave another series of snaps, and a glass orb the size of a cookpot descended, suspended by a single metal wire. The top and bottom were both capped by copper, and there were a few dozen lodestones embedded along the glass in an ordered matrix.
The orb landed on an area of the floor with a slight, circular groove. The bottom copper cap slid to the side, connecting the orb to a circular hole that led deeper into the tower. Ward attached a few wires and tubes to the surface, then stepped back.
“What is that?” Ashlyn asked.
“Every loom requires thread,” said Osyrus. “It is time for your sister to deliver ours.”
He turned to Nebbin.
“Begin.”
Nebbin flipped an ivory switch.
The sound of a woman screaming echoed up from the hole in the orb.
A few moments later, the orb began to fill with a thick, milky liquid that Ashlyn had never seen before, but recognized all the same.
Seed fluid. From Kira.
“No,” Ashlyn whispered, mind churning with panic and anger.
“Give me a baseline purity reading,” Ward ordered. Nebbin pushed a few switches, which caused a small amount of fluid to flow through one of the clear tubes and drain into the big machine on the wall.
“Ninety-four percent,” Nebbin said.
“Amazing what such a young, untainted specimen can naturally produce. But, as always, there is room for improvement.”
Osyrus snapped.
Ashlyn’s bands spun into motion against her will—she might as well have been a puppet. Ward poured her power into the lodestones that were embedded in the orb. She felt their energy swell, then saw miniature flashes of lightning begin to arc between the lodestones, passing through the fluid.
Ward increased the speed of her bands at an exponential rate. The platinum pins that Osyrus had added to her bands allowed him to push her much further than she’d ever gone before. Ashlyn’s skin flushed. Her eyes went glassy. The spit in her mouth turned so hot that it burned her gums. The arcs of lightning became a permanent, blurry light, increasing in speed and ferocity with each passing heartbeat.
Ashlyn’s hair caught on fire.
Osyrus cursed, then froze her bands. Came over and swatted at her burning hair until the flames were extinguished.
“This is the problem with organic specimens,” he muttered, voice filled with irritation. “Nebbin, get another sample while I deal with this.”
Nebbin did as he was told.
“Master,” he said, voice quivering with excitement. “We’re at ninety-nine point seven six percent purity.”
That seemed to curb Ward’s frustration, but he said nothing.
“We’re nearly there,” Nebbin added.
“Yes,” Ward agreed. “But the final gulch is the most difficult to cross. We’ll need to lower her body temperature before resuming. Wouldn’t want to break such a productive battery.”
Ward grabbed another rubber tube from the wall of machinery, attached a needle, and jammed it into the main vein in Ashlyn’s right arm with zero ceremony or gentleness.
“Run the capillary system. Full drip.”
Nebbin flipped another switch. The tube filled with a clear liquid that entered her veins. She immediately felt a wave of coolness that started in her arm and radiated throughout her body.
Despite her best efforts, she exhaled with relief. After so many hours of torture, this was exactly what her body was craving.
“Judging from your reaction, I assume that you did not create in intravenous cooling system for yourself?” he asked.
“We used buckets of rainwater.”
“Of course you did. Savages.”
“You’ve confirmed that she’s fully unlocked,” said Jolan, stepping forward. “Call off your skyships.”
Osyrus sighed. Then drew a long needle from inside his jacket.
“I am afraid that is not going to happen, Jolan.”
Jolan tried to jerk away, but the acolyte stirred from its position near the door and moved behind him. Held him in place with a meaty hand.
“Don’t worry, this will be painless,” Osyrus said, raising the needle. “I owe you that much, Jolan.”
Outside the room, an acolyte barked with alarm. There was an electric sizzle, then a loud pop followed by a violent splash.
The door jerked open.
Garret and Oromir were standing on the far side. There was a dead engineer and a headless acolyte behind them. Garret’s whip glowed with current. Oromir’s face was painted in Wormwrot red and his sword was covered in blood.
Several things happened in quick succession.
Garret snapped his whip around the acolyte’s ankle. Then he sent a surge of current through the whip, which blew the acolyte’s legs off and sent the creature to the ground.
With the path cleared, Oromir bolted forward and stabbed Osyrus Ward through the stomach. Ward let out a long, pained gasp. Oromir ripped his blade free and sent Ward stumbling against the far wall of the room.
Nebbin pulled a rectangular controller from inside his jacket, but before he could do anything with it, Garret lashed the whip across his wrist. Nebbin dropped the tool with a scream, then hid underneath his desk.
And Jolan, despite all the confusion, rushed back to Ashlyn and reconnected her to the astrolabe.
Oromir stalked toward Osyrus with the clear intention of cutting his head off, but before he could do that, Ward snapped his fingers and a section of dragon-bone slats peeled down from the ceiling, forming an impenetrable barrier.
“Fuck,” Oromir hissed, looking for a way through and not finding one.
“Are there systems in this room that you
can breach?” Jolan asked her.
“Hundreds. But the astrolabe is useless if I can’t control my bands,” Ashlyn said. “The current takes them away from me.”
“I know,” Jolan said, yanking one of the lead rings Simeon had made for him from his hair. He twisted it around the dragon thread that was attached to one of her forearm bands. “This should block the charge.”
“Did you just think of that?”
“I am just thinking of all of this, Ashlyn.”
It was a risk, but they had to take it.
“I’ll need a second dimension to slip through the loop,” Ashlyn whispered. “One of my fingers.”
Jolan nodded, already working the second ring out of his hair. He twisted it around the thread controlling the tip of her index finger.
“Is that enough?” he asked.
“We won’t know until they turn the purification process on again.”
“But that means…”
Ashlyn nodded. “You need to leave me here. Otherwise the Jaguars are doomed. We all are.”
Jolan swallowed. “You can do it. I know that you can.”
Garret stalked over to the acolyte and turned its head to a smoldering ruin with a few quick thumps of his whip. Oromir came over the check the corpse. He and Garret both noticed that Nebbin was crawling toward the wall of machinery with a purpose.
Oromir moved to stop him, but Garret put a hand on his shoulder. “Let it happen. Vera needs that room cleared.”
Nebbin reached the console and pressed down nine buttons.
“Hold on, Master Ward!” he called. “I’ve summoned more acolytes to our position!”
He turned to Oromir and smiled. “You morons are all going to die in the next two minutes.”
The raspy grunts of acolytes echoed up from the stairwell, getting closer with each passing heartbeat.
“We need to go,” said Garret.
“There’s only one way out of this room,” Nebbin said, voice full of contempt.
“Not for long,” Oromir said.
He pulled a brick-shaped bomb from behind his breastplate and pressed it against the outer wall of the tower. Twisted the timing gear.
Garret took cover behind the acolyte’s corpse. Oromir came over to Jolan and wrapped him in a shielding embrace.
There was a flash of light and a blast of hot air, but most of the explosion’s force was directed outward. When the smoke cleared, there was a massive hole in the tower.
Garret moved to the hole and looked down. “This will work.”
Oromir turned to Ashlyn.
“Vera is going to free your sister.” His eyes moved to the threads attached to her arm. “How do we free you?”
“You don’t,” said Ashlyn. “Just go. The acolytes won’t hurt me.”
“We need your help.”
Jolan put a hand on Oromir’s shoulder. “You need to trust her,” he said. “Trust me. This is the only way.”
The grunts and snarls and footfalls of the acolytes were just below them now.
Oromir glanced at Nebbin, who was cowering in the corner. “Should I kill him?”
“No,” said Ashlyn. “Just go. Now.”
Garret snapped the tip of his whip against the floor hard enough to embed it in the dragon bone, forming an anchor. “If you two don’t get over here, I’m leaving without you.”
Oromir’s face twitched with stress, but Ashlyn saw the acceptance in his eyes.
“Bershad had a message for you. He said that he wasn’t going down the river without you. So you needed to come find him.” Oromir put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m hoping you keep that promise, my queen.”
Oromir scooped Jolan underneath one arm and ran toward Garret. Grabbed onto his belt.
Garret gave Ashlyn one final look. “Leaving you alive always bothered me,” he said. “But not anymore.”
Ashlyn had no idea what that meant, but before she could ask, Garret dropped out the hole, taking Jolan and Oromir with him. Ashlyn watched the whip strain against their weight, pendulum inward, then release.
There was no way to know if they survived. She just had to hope.
Nine acolytes swarmed the room a moment later, eyes searching for a threat that was no longer present.
“Status report,” Ward groaned from behind the machinery.
“No enemies in sight,” one of the acolytes rasped.
Ward snapped his fingers. The protective barrier around him lifted. He was doubled over. Blood was soaked into his beard and smeared all over the floor. Nebbin rushed over and examined him.
“I believe the blade missed your liver and spine, but your stomach is perforated. You need emergency surgery.”
“No I don’t, you moron.” He glared at Ashlyn. “All I need is the loom. Get back to your station. We’re nearly there.”
When Nebbin was back behind the console, Osyrus snapped his fingers, although he had to try twice before he found the correct sequence to regain control of her arm.
He quickly returned her bands to their previous speed, forcing them to pour their energy into the orb.
All except two of them.
Ashlyn began accessing the lodestone loops in the room at random. With only two bands, she needed to find a simple system, and there was no way to do that other than trial and error. The first three that she tried were too complex to slip through.
“Her charge isn’t as powerful as before,” Nebbin called over the sound of her roaring bands.
“Fatigue, most likely,” said Ward. “I’ll move control of her bands to the console.”
Ward executed a few snaps. There was a thunk in the ceiling.
“Push her harder,” Ward said. “We’re almost there.”
Nebbin pulled a bunch of levers to their uppermost position. Ashlyn’s bands began to move even faster.
With the cooling fluid in her veins and the platinum pins in her bands, Ashlyn’s body was able to withstand the added heat and pressure. The lightning arced wild and fast between the lodestones inside the orb. Through blurry vision, Ashlyn watched as the white fluid slowly shifted to a golden color.
“Enough!” Ward shouted.
Nebbin dropped the levers. Her bands froze. Damn.
“Levels,” Ward whispered.
Nebbin ran the test again. When he spoke, it was just a whisper.
“One hundred percent. The sample is pure.” He looked to Osyrus and grinned. “Truly pure.”
“Finally,” Ward whispered. “I can begin.”
He snapped his fingers. The orb rose back through the hole in the ceiling. The wall closest to him also shifted to form a stairwell that led to the chamber above.
“You are responsible for her now,” Ward said to Nebbin. “I will send the orb down to siphon and treat another batch in four minutes. Be ready.”
“Yes, Master Ward.”
“Five-Oh-Nine, take me up,” Ward ordered. “The rest of you, protect this room. Ensure nobody enters, and ensure Ashlyn Malgrave neither causes nor succumbs to harm.”
“Acknowledged, Master,” they said in unison.
One of the acolytes crossed the room, picked Ward up, and carried him up the stairwell, which retracted behind them. The hole in the ceiling closed. Nebbin returned his focus to the control panel.
“Your friends caused quite the mess,” he said, flipping a few switches. “But they’ve accomplished nothing.”
Ashlyn didn’t respond, because neither Osyrus nor Nebbin had noticed that she was connected to the astrolabe again, and had two bands under her control.
100
VERA
Castle Malgrave, Level 39
Vera and Felgor waited in the large room beneath Kira’s chamber. They used two dead bodies as cover.
An explosion rumbled from the upper levels of the tower. Soon after, nine acolytes came thumping down from Kira’s chamber and rushed toward the main stairwell that led higher up the King’s Tower.
“They did it,” Vera whispered, shoving aside the
corpse she’d been hiding under.
“I counted nine grayskins leaving,” said Felgor. “Doesn’t that mean there’s one left?”
“Yes.”
“So how are we going to get past it?”
“Just stay behind me,” said Vera, already moving toward the staircase.
The acolyte that had stayed behind was a war model with deer antlers. As soon as it saw Vera coming up the steps, it popped a set of claws from its hands.
“Vera the widow,” it hissed. “You are not permitted to enter this chamber.”
Vera kept walking. She raised the barbs along her right arm like a dog raising her hackles.
The acolyte swiped at her with a claw. She ducked, but raised her arm so that her barbs scraped across the monster’s skin. When the acolyte swiped with its other claw, she did it again. Then she skipped backward across the room, putting as much distance between them as possible.
The acolyte howled and charged. But its steps turned awkward and stumbling. It fell face-first into the middle of the room and started twitching. Shaking. It vomited up a puddle of black gore and choked to death on it.
“That was horrific,” Felgor said, peering down at the corpse.
Vera pointed at Kira’s chamber. “I need that door open.”
Felgor trotted over and examined the lock. “How’d you get it open before?”
“With this seal.”
Felgor slipped it into the machine. There was a mechanical bark, then it popped back out.
“Code’s been changed. But only the last few sequences, sounded like.”
Felgor grabbed the seal and gave it a careful once-over.
“Yeah, it’s these three imprints,” he said, pointing to three holes with visible scuff marks on the edges. “Give me one of your daggers.”
Vera handed him Owaru. Felgor sat down with the seal in one hand and the dagger in the other. Started carving at one hole with the point.
“Is that going to work?” Vera asked.
“If I can crack a seal with chicken bones, I can definitely carve this one out properly.”
“Chicken bones?”
“Not important,” he said. “Just give me some time. I’ll get this open.”
101
JOLAN
Fury of a Demon Page 48