So, that was what he was up to, was it?
“What?” said Simon. “Aren’t you going to beg me to take you with me? Aren’t you going to beg me to work together now?”
“Not beg,” said Gabriel. “But if we were both free, we might be able to work at stopping the necromancer better.”
“I’ll never let you go free,” said Simon, his voice full of rancor. “I hope you die in this dungeon.”
* * *
Leah awoke in the night to torchlight and hushed voices. It was several members of the council, who’d come to free Simon as he’d said they would.
There were no guards in the dungeons now, not any human guards, anyway. But there were revenants standing guard at the end of the cell block. The council members slunk past them, and the revenants didn’t even blink. They stood right as they were, frozen like statues. Leah was astonished by this. What kind of guards were they, then?
The council members had keys, and they unlocked the cell where Simon was being kept.
Simon strode out, looking proud of himself. “Thank you very much, my loyal subjects. You will be richly rewarded when I establish the true empire.”
The council members bowed their heads and murmured thanks.
Gabriel spoke up. “What makes it the true empire, Simon? This is all your fault, you know. If you hadn’t brought the necromancer—”
“Silence,” snapped Simon. “You do not speak, dog. You are disgraced. You are no longer the emperor, and you never will be.” He turned to the council members. “Ignore everything he says.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
Simon squared his shoulders and strolled down the corridor between the cells. He glanced up at the revenants, made a face at them, and then walked directly past them.
Their hands shot out to catch him.
Oh, thought Leah. The guards let people in but not out.
Simon made a shrill noise, high-pitched and frightened. “Help!” He looked over his shoulders and the council members.
But the council members only stared with wide, scared eyes.
“Get over here,” demanded Simon. “Your emperor is in danger.”
The council members didn’t budge. Well, one of them had shaking knees.
Simon slapped at the revenants. “Get off me, you oafs.”
The revenants seized his hands. One brought Simon’s wrist to its mouth.
Simon struggled, flailing, but the revenants were stronger. The other one bent down over Simon’s body, jaws wide, going for his shoulder.
Simon bleated, like an animal. “Stop it, stop it, stop it!” he screamed, and he sounded like a child throwing a tantrum.
Together, the revenants bit into Simon.
Simon screamed.
The council members backed further into the dungeon.
Leah turned away. She didn’t watch the rest of it. She retreated into her cell, and the sounds of Simon’s sobs and groans and pleas for help echoed off the walls. She folded herself into a ball, thinking of Nathaniel. At least it was quick for him, she told herself.
This wasn’t quick. Not at all. But after a while, it was silent.
Leah expected the revenants to come down between the cells and chase down the council members. But they didn’t.
She went back to the front of the cell and looked outside. She saw the ruined body of Simon. One of the revenants was still bent over it, feasting on the flesh. But the other was standing where he had been before, staring straight out into space, blank and empty. Except for now, he was covered in blood and gore.
Leah felt sick.
She could see the council members huddled in the darkness, terrified.
“You should have killed the revenants on the way in,” she said darkly.
“You think that’s how it works?” said Gabriel. “They kill people when they try to exit, not when they try to enter?”
“I do,” said Leah.
The council members exchanged terrified glances. “Then-then we’re trapped,” said one.
“You’ll have to kill the revenants to get out,” said Gabriel.
The council members looked at him. “K-kill?”
Gabriel smirked. “Let us out. We’ll help.”
They hesitated for a bit, but then one came forward with the keys. With trembling hands, he unlocked first Gabriel’s cell and then Leah’s.
Leah stood up and moved out of the cell. She stood beside Gabriel, unsure of what came next.
“Did you bring weapons?” said Gabriel.
The council members looked at the ground.
“Wow,” said Leah, “this is some rescue. Did you guys figure you’d waltz in here, free Simon, and be on your way?”
“We had counted on there being human guards, my lady,” said one.
“We brought coin,” said the other, holding up his purse. “For bribing.”
“Yes, I understand what it was for,” said Gabriel. He considered, looking around. “Well, torches it is, then. Hand them over.”
“To-to the woman, sir?”
“I think she’s going to be able to handle herself better than either of you,” said Gabriel.
The council member gave Leah his torch. She looked to Gabriel for what to do next.
“I’ll go first.” Gabriel had a torch now too. “Follow my lead.”
He advanced on the revenant still eating Simon’s remains. One quick thrust, and he drove the torch into the revenant’s face. It burst into flame. Revenants tended to catch fire fairly easily.
But now the other revenant was no longer standing at attention but lunging for Gabriel.
Leah sprang forward, driving her torch into the revenant’s face as well.
But at the last moment, she slipped—it was something on the ground, something slippery that had belonged to Simon, she didn’t like to think of what—and her aim went low. Instead of getting the revenant in the face, she got it in the chest. It went up in flames, but it was still moving, even as its limbs went up in flames.
Gabriel looked up at the towering inferno coming for him.
Leah cast her glance about for some kind of weapon. Anything.
Gabriel backed up, but he collided with a closed cell.
The revenant was nearly on top of him. If it didn’t bite him, it was going to burn him severely.
Leah shrieked. She couldn’t watch Gabriel die too. Not Gabriel. No. She wouldn’t…
She threw herself on the back of the revenant. There weren’t many flames there. She did get a little singed, but she still held on.
She had destroyed its balance. Now it was teetering.
Gabriel had room to move.
The flames caught the edge of her skirt. She gasped.
Gabriel hurried away from the revenant.
She let go of it.
He knelt down and beat out the fire on her skirt.
Lumbering and burning, the revenant tried to turn towards them.
But at that moment, the flames finally traveled high enough to get to its brain. It fell to the ground in a heap, a burning pile of bones and black goo.
Leah let out a shaky sigh of relief.
* * *
Michal looked up sharply at Darius. “Did you feel that?”
He nodded. “Two of them.”
“Where are they?” It was revenants. They’d just lost two of their revenants. But she couldn’t quite pinpoint the location.
“The dungeons,” said Darius.
She reached for his hand. Once touching, they plunged into a nearby revenant, deep into its body, seeing through its eyes, hearing through its ears. They began to jump from one revenant to another, crisscrossing the mansion until they reached the two stationed just outside the dungeon.
Looking through the revenants’ eyes, they could see Gabriel and Leah surging forward with torches. They were flanked by two of the council members.
Damn it, Michal would have said. But she was deep inside the revenant. And she couldn’t talk. She couldn’t believe that Ga
briel was already free. He’d only been imprisoned last night. That brother of hers. He had things too easy. Always had.
Gabriel and the others had gotten out of their cells, killed the two guards at the mouth of the dungeon, and were now right at the steps leading up into the mansion.
Gabriel ran at the revenant, torch aloft.
Michal jerked her eyes open. Well. That had been unpleasant. She’d never been inside a revenant when it died before.
She saw Darius jerking awake as well.
“He killed the revenants,” she said. “We don’t have nearly enough security down there.”
“We’ll gather more revenants and send them.”
She hesitated. “If we do that, they’ll kill him.”
“Who knows what he plans to do to us, Michal.”
“He’s my brother,” she said. “Don’t we have any human guards? Can’t we just capture him again?”
* * *
Gabriel dashed up the stairs, dragging Leah behind him.
“Where are we going?” she panted. “We’re in a mansion full of revenants that are controlled by the necromancer. There’s no place safe.”
She was right. He hadn’t really thought this escape through before putting it into motion. But the opportunity had presented itself, and he’d had to act. Now, though, he was in a bit of a quandary. There wasn’t anywhere to go. He couldn’t stay in the mansion, of course. There were revenants everywhere. In fact, there were revenants all over the capital city.
But he couldn’t leave the capital either. For one thing, he didn’t know how he’d get past the gates. For another thing, even if he did get out, there were even more revenants out there.
He was only one man now. He didn’t have an army. And it was his job to protect Leah and her unborn child.
But he didn’t have the faintest idea how he was going to do that.
They hurried up to the top of the steps.
At the door out into the hallway of the upper level, they stopped.
Leah looked over her shoulder. “The council members didn’t keep up, did they?”
“Oh forget them,” said Gabriel. “This is about you and me, okay?”
She nodded.
The last torches they had went out when they killed the necromancers on the steps. So Gabriel took two torches off the wall and handed one to Leah.
Then he opened the door into the hallway and looked outside.
Revenants posted next to the door.
He turned to Leah. “Stay here.”
He vaulted out, throwing the door open. It blocked the revenant on the left.
Gabriel didn’t waste time with the one on the right. He plunged his torch into the revenant’s face.
The revenant didn’t even move. It just stood there as it caught flame.
Warily, Gabriel backed up. He pulled the door aside from the other revenant.
That one didn’t move either.
Huh. These guys only stop people from going in?
“Gabriel?” said Leah.
He beckoned. “Come on.” His torch had gone out again. As soon as she was through the door, he lit it from hers.
Clutching each other’s hands, they started down the hallway.
Where to go? Where to go?
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“I’m thinking,” he said.
The mansion wasn’t safe, and he knew that. He couldn’t go to his quarters. He couldn’t take Leah to hers. He couldn’t go to the emperor’s study.
Study!
He turned to her, smiling. “I’ve got it, Leah. We’re going to my study.”
“Um, okay,” she said. She didn’t seem to see why this was such a great plan.
“I have books there,” said Gabriel. “I’ll be able to look something up. Figure out what to do. It’s the best library anywhere in the empire. It’s the sum accumulation of whatever human knowledge is still left.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Whatever, he didn’t have to convince her. He tugged on her hand, and they rounded a corner.
And came face-to-face with several members of the emperor’s guard, swords drawn.
“We’ve been looking for you,” said one of the guards.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Michal sat on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. “I don’t know what to do. If we capture him, where do we keep him? It’s obvious that the dungeon can’t hold him. Maybe if we doubled the number of revenants.”
Darius pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her. “Sweet one, if he knows that you don’t want to kill him, the revenants aren’t going to be much of a threat.”
She raised her gaze to meet his. “You think I’m in the wrong? Sparing his life?”
He shook his head. “No.” He took her hands. “We’re losing ourselves, Michal. This whole idea that we had, everything we’ve done—”
“I know,” she said. “When I thought of it, I thought it would save lives. And now, we’ve taken so many.”
“Your other brother, Simon, perished tonight as well.”
Michal waved that away. “Simon deserved to die. You didn’t bear him any great love.”
“No, that’s true.”
She drew in breath, looking at the ceiling. “But it still doesn’t settle this matter with Gabriel.”
“Is there a way to settle it?”
She got up from the bed and stalked away from him. “You keep talking like this. As if there’s some other solution. Yes, our reign is proving disastrous. But recognizing that doesn’t do anything for us. We can’t take it back now. It’s not as if we could just hand the empire back to Gabriel and tell him we’re sorry. Then just sit back and let everything go back to normal.”
“No, I know that,” said Darius. “However, maybe it’s not a terrible idea to consider the idea of running.”
“Running? Running where?”
There was a knock at the door.
Michal sighed. She raised her voice. “Enter.”
The door opened, and a servant boy walked in, bowing his head to her and to Darius. “Your Eminence. My lady.”
“What is it?” said Michal, feeling impatient. “Have the guards found Gabriel?”
“My lady,” said the boy, looking nervous. “There is a disturbance at the gate. A group of gypsies in armored carriages. They are clamoring there, making noise, claiming they’ve come to tear down the empire and give power to the people.”
Michal looked at Darius. What? That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. Power to the people? It was laughable, like the kind of thing that Gabriel would be an advocate for.
Darius stood up. “Have they done any damage to the gate?”
“Well, no sir. They’re doing nothing more than making a disturbance now.”
“Keep an eye on them,” said Darius. “Report back if the situation worsens.”
The servant boy bobbed his head.
And suddenly, Michal was overwhelmed by the smell of him. He was spicy and succulent, a more wonderful smell than meat roasting in juices on the pit. She salivated, a growling noise forming in the back of her throat. She grabbed hold of the boy.
He let out a startled noise.
And Darius was next to them in a second, pulling the boy away from her.
Michal reached out, snarling.
Darius pushed her back, gently but firmly. He escorted the boy out of the room and shut the door firmly behind him.
With the smell further off, reason returned to her. Michal started to tremble. She threaded her hands into her hair, tears springing to her eyes. “Oh God in heaven, Darius, I almost—”
He grasped her by the shoulders, steadying her. “You didn’t.”
“But I wanted—”
“But you didn’t.”
A sob escaped her lips.
* * *
Gabriel held up both his hands. “Hold on, hold on.”
The guards encircled him and Leah, searching them both fo
r weapons.
“You planning on taking us to the necromancer?” said Gabriel.
“Quiet,” said one of the guards.
“Look,” said Gabriel, “you know me. I’m the true emperor. I’m the one you swore to follow when I was crowned. Follow your original vows. Do my bidding, not the monster’s.” This probably wouldn’t work. He had nothing to offer them. But he had to try. He couldn’t give in without a fight. And he didn’t have the means to try a physical fight. This would have to do.
The guard barked out a small laugh. “You might have been the emperor, but no one stands against the necromancer. He controls the revenants. Standing against him is suicide.”
“I can stop him,” said Gabriel.
Leah looked at him, horror on her face. He could almost read her expression. What the hell are you doing?
He tried a smile at the guards. “I’m going to my study. You know about it. You know no one is allowed inside except me.”
The guard looked a little unsure. “The place where you do your weird experiments.”
Another guard spoke up. “Is it true that you take men in there and do magic on them and turn them into women?”
“What?” said Gabriel. “Of course not.”
“Hand over your torch.”
“But,” said Gabriel, holding onto his torch, “I can do powerful things. I wouldn’t call it magic. I’d call it science. If you take me to my study, and you stand guard there, protecting me, then I swear when I drive off the necromancer, you’ll all be richly rewarded.”
“With coin?” said one of the guards.
“Lots of coin,” said Gabriel.
The guards looked Gabriel over. They gazed sidelong at each other.
“I can stop him,” said Gabriel. “I can keep him from destroying us.”
One of the guards nodded. “All right, I’m in. No one wants that monster on the throne anyway.”
The others agreed. “Yeah, revenants running everywhere. It’s unnatural.”
Gabriel let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “To the study, then.”
Empire of Rust Page 34