Eight Kings (The King's Watch Book 6)

by Mark Hayden

  Morning had looked like a stereotypical librarian when I first met her, mostly because she was the only Mage around who wore glasses – large ones with thick black frames and lenses that made her unblinking eyes even more intense. She was polite to me on the few occasions that we spoke, but I’d always got the impression that I was someone she didn’t need to bother making an effort with.

  Throughout their time in Pellacombe, most of the Daughters had been friendly or more than friendly. Georgia had made it clear that her flesh crawled in my presence, and that was her loss not mine. Alys clearly had no time for me either, but she’d always respected my place in things.

  I knew what Morning had done to Mowbray. I knew she had a core of steel inside, and now Alys was seeing it. Alys turned away. ‘Do what you must,’ she said to Morning.

  Morning and Signe dived towards the bus, and the others looked on appalled. Or determined.

  ‘Scout! Stop her.’

  Above all, I had to protect Maggie and Michael on the coach. I raised the Hammer, but I couldn’t get a clear shot through the crowd of Witches. Saffron has the speed, and used it, accelerating towards the group with Eseld in her wake.

  The bus was level with Morning, and still not accelerating. Maggie’s caution could cost her her life, here. Morning raised her arms to blast at the windscreen, and Scout raced across the gravel. He launched himself at her and went for the leg, claws and jaws scrabbling.

  Morning staggered when Scout hit her, then tripped and fell on her back. Scout grabbed her ankle and sank his jaws deep into flesh. The coach passed, and Maggie was out of the firing line. I lowered my weapon. Saffron would sort this out. And then everything went very badly wrong.

  Signe is a Necromancer. She knows the ways of Spirits, and it turns out that she knows the ways of Familiars. She stooped and grabbed the scruff of Scout’s neck with her right hand, and when she’d made contact, she made a violent chopping motion with her left. My heart seized solid with a … a cardiac cramp. I couldn’t breathe and my legs were giving way. I dropped my gun and the last thing I saw before everything went black was Morning firing a deadly blast of magick at Saffron. Then my face hit the gravel and my brain hit the overload button.

  Lieutenant Saffron Hawkins

  When Signe severed the Familial bond between Sir Conrad and Scout, every Mage in that car park felt it like a hammer blow. I staggered and Eseld screamed behind me. Then, shit, Morning fired a blast of magick. She wasn’t aiming for me, she was aiming for Eseld, trying to bypass my Ancile. Stupid cow missed both of us and smashed it into Lemon Faced Georgia.

  On the way down, I cut my hands on the gravel. Funny how you notice the little things. Round about, there was a silence. Except for Scout howling. I tried to get to my knees and discovered that I’d also had the breath knocked out of me.

  The worst was yet to come. Signe dropped Scout and started to help Morning to her feet. Zoe knelt down to see what had happened to Georgia, and Great Raven bent down to pick up Sir Conrad’s gun, the Hammer.

  ‘Stop it, Alys. Put an end to it,’ said Raven, pointing the gun at Alys. As bluffs go, that was pretty brave. It didn’t work, and Alys bluffed back.

  ‘Who are you?’ said Alys. ‘I don’t take orders from a freak-show attraction.

  I rolled on to my side to get a better look. Eseld was on the ground twitching like she was having a fit. Apart from Zoe, all the other Witches had moved well away. Oh yeah, the coach drew out of the car park. Sir Conrad would be pleased. If he were still alive. And if he is still alive, I might tell him the nickname I gave him. Well, he did get everyone in the Watch to call him sir, so it stuck. Scout was trying to crawl over to him; the poor mite had lost the use of his legs or something horrible.

  Alys saw that Morning and Signe were on their feet. ‘Finish the job,’ said Alys. ‘We can catch up with the coach in time.’ She said it in a Mage’s whisper, something I’ve not seen for a long time. I don’t know if anyone but me heard her.

  Signe drew a dagger from inside her cloak and came towards me. I fell down again. It wasn’t just concentrated air that Morning had tried to hit me with. Something in my nervous system wasn’t working properly.

  ‘Stop,’ said Raven, pointing the gun.

  I tried with every fibre of my being to shout a warning. I really did. A ragged breath came into my lungs, but it was too late. Raven raised the gun, and Alys got what she wanted when Raven pulled the trigger.

  I once touched the Hammer. I felt its antagonism to me. It knew me and it hated me because I wasn’t Sir Conrad. I left it alone after that. Raven couldn’t feel it, because Raven has a hole in her middle: she can’t see herself magickally, like having a blind spot. The gun fired and did what it was supposed to when a stranger wielded it.

  Conrad’s bullets have a Disruption Work built into them. When he fires them at a target they act like magickal nerve agent. When Raven fired the gun, the Work discharged into her. I’ve seen a Fae absorb one of those bullets, but not Raven. A second sun rose over Bodmin Moor as she combusted like an atom bomb made of Lux.

  A huge wave of magick washed over me, purging the bad and giving me life. It also helped everyone else, including Morning and Signe.

  Signe was coming for me with the dagger, and I was struggling to get my chain sorted out after landing on it. Morning grabbed her arm and said, ‘Run. The Barrow.’

  They legged it.

  Conrad must have trained me well, because I let them go. They could wait: our injured might not have that luxury. My first priority was triage.

  Eseld was sitting up, blinking. Not urgent.

  Raven was broken and twisted, with Cordelia sobbing on her chest and desperately trying to find some sign of life her. There was nothing I could do.

  Zoe was still looking at Georgia and had been joined by Kiwa. They knew what they were doing, so I left them to it.

  Conrad was face down in the gravel with Scout licking him and whimpering. I moved over and touched him. If you’ve never felt someone’s Imprint, it’s hard to describe. I mostly sense magick via my ears, like sound but not quite. On a good day, Conrad’s Imprint sounds like an old steam locomotive thundering along the track. It doesn’t really, but that’s all I can give you.

  Right now, it was labouring. Hard. I forced myself to tune out the magick and focus on his pulse. Racing, but still strong. He’d get there. I shifted him into the recovery position and checked his airway. I went to touch Scout, but he flinched away and barked like I’d struck him.

  I stood up and looked around, and there was only Alys and Brook to look at.

  Brook had done more or less the same as me, focusing on Georgia not Conrad. She left her fellow Witch and went up to Alys. ‘What have you done?’ she said.

  ‘I have done nothing other than protect the Covens,’ said Alys. I really think she believed it, too.

  ‘What’s happened?’ said Eseld, back on her feet but swaying. ‘My god, no! Raven?’

  I made a grab for her. ‘Don’t, Ez. She tried to fire the Hammer.’

  Eseld bit her hand. ‘No. No.’ She swung her head around the car park. ‘Conrad!’

  I gathered her into my arm. ‘Easy, Ez. He’s alive. Signe broke the bond with Scout.’

  ‘I know she did. I was part-bonded with both of them. Where did the Spirit go?’

  When a Familiar loses its master, the Spirit inside loses its life for a final time. Usually. ‘What are you saying?’ I asked.

  ‘When Signe broke the bond, Conrad pushed all his Lux down the channel, enough for the Spirit to escape. Is Conrad okay?’

  ‘He must by in a hypo-Lux. He’ll get there. It doesn’t look good for Georgia, though.’

  Kiwa stood up. ‘She needs an ambulance, and quickly. There’s massive internal bleeding and her pelvis is broken.’ She wiped her hands and stared at Alys. Whatever else happened after this, Kiwa would not forget or forgive.

  Eseld finally caught up with herself. ‘Where are they? Morning and Signe. Where are they
?’

  ‘Scarpered. That way. Morning said something about a barrow.’

  Eseld face palmed. ‘Fuck. I knew this place looked familiar. One of the Kernow Ley lines runs through here. Mark’s Barrow, it’s called, after King Mark.’ I gave her a blank look. ‘King Mark. Tristan’s uncle in Tristan and Isolde? Never mind. It’s not his grave, really, but it is a Locus Lucis. Why would they go there?’

  ‘Your father. Signe had a big cloak on. I bet the vessel she used to contain your father’s Spirit is in her pocket, and she wouldn’t discharge it without a lot of power.’

  Eseld twisted her neck, like it had a crick in it. I can see why Sir Conrad fancies her (and don’t let him tell you otherwise). She’s got so much character that she puts wallflowers like me in the shade. When she tried to chat me up at Pellacombe, I was flattered but it was like being hit on by your drama teacher.

  She went up and touched Brook on the arm, pointing to Conrad. Brook nodded and moved to protect him. ‘Who’s with me?’ she said, turning round the scene.

  ‘What will you do?’ said Kiwa. ‘I will not be party to slaughter.’

  ‘Nor me,’ I said. I tried to think What would Sir Conrad do? He’d actually try to protect them. I was about to announce that when Eseld worked it out for herself.

  ‘Protect my father’s Spirit, subdue them and hand them over to the Watch,’ said Eseld.

  She pushed the sleeves of her jacket up again, exposing her Bracers (not wristguards; I must tell him that), and then she was off. I followed, and so did Kiwa.

  Eseld led us along the footpath from the car park. It was gravelled for a couple of hundred metres, then started to rise up to one of those rocky mounds. Tors they call them round here, I think.

  ‘Eseld!’ said Kiwa. ‘Isn’t the Barrow round there, in the dip? I can feel the magick.’

  She slowed down. ‘Yes. It’s also Warded. I know that because I did them myself. The weak point is the steep point. It’s a scramble, but we can go down the north side of the tor and burst through.’

  It was steep enough going up the tor on the official path. When we got to the top, I could hear distant sirens, ‘Ambulance for Georgia,’ I said.

  Kiwa nodded. ‘Thank you for telling me.’

  The trail led off to the right; Eseld ignored it and went straight ahead, slowing down and then stopping. We joined her. Bloody hell, that was steep.

  A small wood clung to the bottom of the tor, only five or six trees deep. Over the tops, we could make out a haze of Lux. That would be the Wards and Glamour hiding Mark’s Barrow from curious mundane archaeologists.

  Eseld was looking for a safe way down. I grabbed her arm before she launched herself off. ‘We need Silences,’ I said. ‘Regroup in the trees, if we haven’t broken our legs, then I’ll lead. I’m still the only one with an Ancile.’

  ‘Fine,’ said Eseld. ‘Last one to the bottom’s a loser.’

  She raised a Silence and started down, pumping her legs like she was on a step machine at the gym and letting gravity do most of the work. I made my own Silence and did the same, choosing a different path.

  Rocks slipped, I lost my footing and landed on my arse, then slid the last twenty feet. Ow, that was sore. I turned round and saw Kiwa taking it more gently, using one hand on the floor for balance. Eseld was muttering inside her Silence, waving her on. Kiwa kept her eyes down, and slowwwwwly joined us.

  I held out my hands to grip theirs and bypass the Silence. ‘Stay behind me and use any magick you have to put them off. I’ll go for Morning first. Okay?’

  ‘Stop at the last tree,’ said Eseld. ‘I need to breach the Wards.’

  I nodded, and Kiwa said, ‘I’m ready.’

  I looked down at our joined hands, especially at Kiwa’s elegant black fingers. I’d heard she plays a mean harp, and that reminded me. I dug into my thigh pocket and pulled out a couple of restraint ties, giving one each to Kiwa and Eseld.

  I dropped my Silence and moved through the trees.

  42 — A Grave Sight

  Signe had the dagger out again. She was standing on top of a long, flat mound of grass, about four feet off the floor of the moor. Morning was facing the path, the way we would have come if we hadn’t just risked our necks scrambling down the tor. I stopped and felt Eseld working behind me, a variable, singing pitch of magick.

  Up on the barrow, Signe was drawing out a containment circle, using her dagger as a focus. She had already placed a small gold urn on a stone, ready to release the Spirit of Lord Mowbray. The circle would act like a vortex, pushing any magick down and into the ground.

  Eseld made a tune out of Lux and the air shimmered in front of me. With a snap, the Wards were down and I was rushing forwards, swinging my chain.

  Morning had turned round. She took one look at us and ran up the mound. We were going to hit all together. I headed slightly left, to give more cover and put myself between Morning and Eseld, who was already overtaking me. Morning didn’t try anything fancy. She lengthened her stride and launched herself at me. It was now a question of timing.

  I braced myself and swung the chain at her. I caught her in the side and knocked her off course. She still hit me, with a charged punch in the face. We collapsed in a heap. I couldn’t get my chain hand free and grasped for something with my left, as she wound up smash me in the face. I scrabbled and caught the end of her Goddess braid. I pulled hard. She rolled her body away from the pressure, and I got my chain from under her. There was already blood pouring out of her side where I’d connected the first time.

  I grabbed both ends of the chain and pressed down on her neck. I heard it snap both ways, physically and magickally. Then the backwash of Lux flooded through my arms and I screamed at what I’d done.

  I pushed myself away from her and looked around wildly. Instead of a fight in the centre of the Barrow, there was a showdown brewing, because Signe had picked up the golden urn and was threatening both Eseld and Kiwa with her dagger.

  Eseld is tough. So is Kiwa. Neither is a fighter, though, and it looked like Signe had used that knife before. I got up and approached them. ‘Surrender, Signe,’ I said. ‘Morning is dead. She was the one who killed Mowbray. Kerenza is in chains at Pellacombe. Let’s stop it here.’

  ‘No,’ said Signe. ‘Not until I’ve sent him down to Hell. He destroyed my mother’s magick, and he’ll pay for that. So will that German bitch. I’ve already had my fun with the Witchfinder, and Raven was a bonus. I’ll never forget her blowing up like that.’ She finished with a laugh and an extra wave of the dagger in my direction.

  ‘She’s trying to open the urn,’ said Kiwa steadily.

  I’d put my hair in a proper ballet bun this morning. It’s easier like that, even if it does make my face look too thin. I’m only telling you because the nape of my neck was exposed and I felt a cold wind of magick blow across it. Suddenly, Signe looked scared. She stared at the bottom of the barrow, ignoring us completely. She could see something we couldn’t. And then I didn’t need to see it, I could hear it: a low growl.

  What the fuck?

  A huge dog, blood running red down its flanks and the fires of hell in its eyes appeared on the barrow. Scout. Or the Spirit that had merged with the vessel of Scout. The dog leapt at Signe and she dropped the urn, stabbing wildly at the dog. She missed, and the dog knocked her down, plunging its fangs into her face.

  I had no idea what to do. I wouldn’t say I froze, I just had no idea what to do next. There was no way I was going to attack that dog, because I could feel pure poison running out of the wounds in its side.

  There, I’ve admitted it. I’m not proud of it, but it’s true.

  Kiwa shied away from the dog, too, but not Eseld. She dived for the urn and her Bracers glowed with power. With a grunt, she broke the seal and her father appeared, shimmering and bright.

  Lord Mowbray can’t have been sealed very well. He knew what was going on and didn’t need time to orient himself. He reached down and grabbed the hound, twisting its ne
ck and pulling it off Signe. At the same time, I could feel my boots throbbing as Mowbray drew power from the Ley lines under the barrow.

  He dragged the Spirit away, and suddenly I knew what to do again. I dived on to the grass and grabbed Signe’s arm, pinning down the dagger. Kiwa was next to me with the restraint, and between us we disarmed Signe and wrestled her into submission. I think we both tried not to look at her face while we did it. I left Kiwa to fix the restraint and looked up.

  Mowbray didn’t have a dog in his hands any more. He had a naked man.

  ‘Looks like Conrad had a lucky escape,’ said Mowbray. ‘This one would have done him no good at all in the long run, no matter how hard you tried to tame him, Eseld. Tell Conrad to look up Lucas of Innerdale.’ With a powerful twist of his wrists, aided by decades of Geomancy, Mowbray pulled the other Spirit’s arm up its back, and bound it in silver chains of Lux.

  Eseld had tears coursing down her face. She took one step towards her father, then another. He came and stood in front of her, still more of a silver shadow than a solid presence. The barrow throbbed even more deeply and Mowbray stretched out his finger. It turned from silver to flesh, and he used it to wipe away some of Eseld’s tears. She shivered when the flesh touched her skin.

  ‘A father shouldn’t have favourites,’ said Mowbray, ‘but you were always mine, damn you. I’m so proud of you, girl, it hurts.’ He stroked her again, and the finger turned back to silver. He stepped away.

  ‘Dad, what are you doing?’

  ‘Gotta go, girl. Need to shift myself. I want you to do something for me, Eseld.’ He started to fade, and spoke rapidly. ‘I won’t ask you to talk to your mother. You have to do that for yourself. I want you to look out for Kenver. Will you do that for me? He’s only a boy.’

  ‘Yes, Dad. Of course.’

  She gave her promise to the empty air. Lord Mowbray and Lucas/Scout were gone from here. Mowbray would surface again, somewhere, but whether he’d recognise or acknowledge his daughter when he did so is anyone’s guess.