The Shattered City

by Tansy Rayner Roberts

  You’ve got it wrong. Ashiol, you’ve got it wrong about the Creature Court. They don’t hate each other, they don’t work against each other. They never had to be like that. They can be a family. It’s going to be all right. They’ll take care of each other. It’s what they’ve been doing all along.

  They don’t need me for that. And neither do you.

  The devils were centring their attention on her now, and Velody found herself hemmed in with the entirety of the Lords and Court hovering between her and their attackers.

  This is how it’s supposed to be.

  The voice in her head was now not her own.

  Velody saw Ashiol fall, struck down from behind, and tried to reach him, but the devils kept hurling themselves in the way. They had to be fought off, one by one.

  The dust kept pouring through from the sky above. Hard devil hands slammed down around her, holding Velody fast, and she hissed, lashing out with her animor until the devils fell back.

  You know what you have to do. Her vision, the one that had overwhelmed her in the Killing Ground, filled her head. Ashiol had fallen, like she had seen in that vision. Velody knew what happened next. How could she doubt it?

  How many of the devils were solid now? Too many. More and more. They had used the skysilver somehow, and Velody couldn’t help thinking about the skysilver cage in Poet’s territory, of the swords of dead sentinels hanging on the Haymarket walls, or the supply that the Smith must have. There was a lot of skysilver in this city and dust was still pouring.

  Someone called her name.

  Velody tried to resist it at first, remembering how the noxcrawl had lured Poet in with its deadly siren song. Mysterious voices were not to be trusted.

  But then another voice joined the cacophony — one she knew almost as well as her own. A real voice, not an imaginary one.

  Velody broke free of the battle and flew as fast as she could, tearing across the sky. She changed to Lord form as she streaked towards that voice, following it down into the lower city.

  She found them at street level. It was cold, and everything was lit by that horrible red moon. Rhian stood waiting for her, standing taller than Velody had seen her since that awful Lupercalia that had turned her into a different person.

  ‘You called me,’ Velody blurted. ‘How did you call me?’

  Delphine leaned against a wall with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The Duchessa stood close to her, as if Delphine was the only one she trusted. Crane was at their feet, broken but breathing. That was different. Velody had been so sure he wasn’t going to make it through this nox. If the vision got that wrong, what else was wrong? A horrible hope shot through her that maybe it was different, maybe she wouldn’t have to …

  But then she saw Heliora. ‘Saints,’ she whispered miserably. ‘Oh, saints.’

  The Seer of the Court lay in the street, her body redraw and twisted and so very still. Velody’s first thought was that this would break Ashiol, and then she just let herself feel miserable for Heliora’s sake.

  And now you understand.

  ‘She tried to hold on to the sword,’ Crane said in a low rattle of a voice.

  ‘Velody,’ Rhian said. ‘You must listen.’

  ‘You need to keep moving,’ Velody said shakily. ‘Get the Duchessa to the Palazzo, or a nest, or — something. We’re losing the battle up there. The devils are solid and we can’t fight them forever. If they get under the city there’s so much skysilver …’

  Velody. You have to listen to me.

  That was not Rhian. Velody stared at Heliora’s fallen body.

  You’re dead, she thought clearly.

  Not gone, though. Not yet. Hear me.

  Rhian smiled, a sweet and steady smile that wasn’t hers at all. The light in her eyes was hard to look at. ‘I’ve seen the futures. Velody, if the Queen isn’t sacrificed, they will return. She’s the only reason they are here. The wrongness needs to be stopped, now. Before dawn.’

  ‘The Queen,’ Velody repeated. ‘But there are no Queens, there’s only —’

  The Duchessa cried out.

  Velody whipped around to see that Delphine was holding the Duchessa’s wrist in a tight hold. Delphine refused to meet anyone’s eyes, but her fingers held firmly.

  ‘No,’ Isangell said in a low voice, tugging at the grip. ‘You can’t mean — no!’ She was more affronted than genuinely afraid. That was probably a mistake.

  Crane rose to his feet painfully, and drew his steel sword. He passed his knife to Delphine, who closed her fingers tightly around the hilt.

  Don’t blame Rhian; she’s new to this, said the voice of Heliora. You know, don’t you? Your vision was clear. The Duchessa isn’t the sacrifice.

  ‘No,’ Velody said quickly. ‘You’ve got it wrong. This isn’t what you saw, Rhian.’

  ‘She’s the new Seer,’ Crane said quietly. ‘We have to listen to her, Velody. You said it yourself — we’re losing the battle.’

  Isangell had greater resources than Velody would have given her credit for. She ground her foot hard on Delphine’s and tugged herself free, turning to run.

  Crane slammed into her, catching her around the waist and pushing her against the brickwork. Delphine followed him, holding the knife as if (disturbingly) she knew exactly how to use it.

  ‘This is not who we are!’ Velody demanded. ‘Crane, let her go! Delphine, what do you think you are doing?’

  ‘Being a sentinel, finally,’ said Delphine, on the edge of hysteria. ‘Isn’t that what you all wanted?’

  Crane stared defiantly at Velody.

  ‘Trust me,’ she told him, trying to stay calm. She could rely on Delphine to hesitate over striking a killing blow, but Crane was another matter. His belief shone out of his face like a beacon. ‘If I am really your Power and Majesty, trust me: this is not the way.’

  Crane hesitated.

  Velody took a step towards him, then another. She held out her hand. ‘Give me the sword.’

  He was hers, she knew that, more than the other sentinels. Macready was loyal as hell, and Kelpie believed in the service so deeply despite her hurts, but Crane was Velody’s, body and soul. He would listen to her. Please, let him listen to her.

  She held him with her eyes, waiting, hoping. Finally Crane let go of both the Duchessa and the sword in a rush. It clattered to the ground. ‘Velody, we don’t have time to mess about.’

  You really don’t have time, Heliora said inside Velody’s mind. Ashiol’s coming; he will stop you.

  ‘Trust me,’ Velody said again, and reached out her arms to gather him to her, holding him tight and pressing a ghost of a kiss to his cheek. ‘This isn’t your war to win, it’s mine. I know how to fix this.’ She turned her head and looked pointedly at Delphine. Her friend looked wary, but lowered the knife that she held.

  Isangell backed away from them all, shaking with fear. She turned to run and smacked straight into the imposing, furious figure of Ashiol Xandelian. ‘Ash,’ she gasped, and then stepped back as if she wasn’t sure whether to hug him or flee from him too.

  Ashiol looked as if he had fought every step of the way to get here. Blood ran in a thin trickle down his face and one of his shoulders was badly twisted. He limped painfully as he walked towards the others. ‘What is happening?’

  ‘A misunderstanding about a prophecy,’ Velody said softly. ‘It’s all right. I know you all meant this for the best. It’s not your fault.’

  Crane looked apologetically in the Duchessa’s direction. ‘This is about Aufleur. We can’t lose another city. She should understand that …’

  ‘She is Aufleur, you fucking child,’ Ashiol said thunderously. ‘She’s what we’re fighting for. We do not sacrifice those of the daylight, we protect them. What was Heliora thinking —’

  ‘Heliora didn’t see the vision,’ Rhian said miserably. ‘Ashiol, I’m sorry. She’s dead.’

  Velody saw his face close over. From fury to — nothing, in only a moment. Had he known, or only
suspected?

  ‘Go on,’ he said.

  ‘She gave me the futures,’ said Rhian. ‘I don’t pretend to understand it all yet. But Velody, the message is so clear, I can’t see anything else. The Queen has to die, and all this will be over. The devils will eat our city alive if someone does not stop this.’

  ‘We don’t have Queens in Aufleur,’ Ashiol said. ‘What in the seven hells made you idiots think Isangell was the one that the vision meant?’ He reached an arm out to his cousin but she shied away from his touch, keeping him between herself and Crane but otherwise not prepared to touch him.

  ‘They belong to the daylight,’ Velody said tiredly. ‘Seer and sentinel they may be, Ash.’ Oh, saints, Rhian and Delphine, both of them … she had done this, and she would not be able to protect them from everything the nox had to throw at them, not now. ‘But they can’t see beyond the daylight world, not yet. You’re going to have to do something about that.’

  She, apparently, had something else to do.

  ‘It doesn’t mean that either,’ Ash snapped, guessing where her thoughts were going. ‘Don’t be an idiot, Velody.’

  She smiled thinly at him. ‘See, that’s the trouble. I do see clearly. Rhian isn’t the only one who’s been having visions. I know what I have to do to save you all.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ Crane asked.

  ‘Rhian’s prophecy isn’t wrong,’ Velody said gently. ‘But there aren’t any Queens in Aufleur. Just the Duchessa — and the Kings.’

  Crane stared at her. ‘You can’t be serious.’

  ‘She isn’t,’ Ashiol growled, stepping forward and getting into Velody’s space.

  Don’t let him touch you, Heliora hissed. He would do anything to stop you.

  ‘How can you doubt me?’ Velody flung at him, stepping back, keeping a distance between them. ‘I did this. I was supposed to protect you all, lead you all as Power and Majesty, and I brought us here. To a dead Seer and a new vision of the futures.’ She reached out to Rhian, who was close enough for Velody to catch one of her hands in hers. She felt only a slight flinch. ‘Rhian, you’ve seen it. The sacrifice of the Queen will send the devils back where they came from.’

  ‘I can’t see all the futures, not yet,’ Rhian said, eyes bright. ‘But the sacrifice is necessary …’ Her voice broke a little. ‘I didn’t see you at all.’

  Velody nodded, and squeezed Rhian’s hands before letting go. ‘It’s all right. I did. And so did Heliora.’

  It was a relief, really. She felt so very calm.

  ‘Velody,’ Ashiol said warningly, and he took another step towards her.

  ‘Sentinels,’ Velody cried out, already moving. ‘Rhian, if you love me, don’t let him stop me!’ She shaped herself into chimaera form and flew, as hard and fast as she could, into the sky.

  Macready had been guarding Kelpie’s body, his eyes on the sky as the Lords and Court fought the dust devils. They were so fecking strong, relentless, and they were only getting stronger. One by one, the Lords and Court fell back, or were struck down, and returned weaker to the fight.

  The dust kept pouring in through that damned crack in the sky.

  ‘Mac,’ Kelpie said finally in a whisper, stirring.

  ‘Aye, lass, I’m here,’ he said, taking her hand.

  She lay on her back, not moving, eyes on the sky. ‘I don’t see Ash, or Velody.’

  ‘Me neither.’ Her hand was so cold. Was she shivering? ‘Wait, there’s Velody. I see her.’

  Their Power and Majesty burst up out of the streets below, glowing black in her chimaera form, all speed and heat and claws, and then she wasn’t black at all but the intangible colour of skysilver, blindingly bright.

  Kelpie lifted herself a little on her elbows. ‘What is she doing?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Macready said in a low voice.

  The devils were following Velody as she plunged furiously towards the rift in the sky, and kept going.

  Macready realised a few seconds before the rest of the Lords and Court exactly what it was she was doing. There was no way he could reach her. No way any of them could reach her.

  The sky became hotter, the faster she flew. Velody soared past the Lords and Court as they battled with the relentless devils of light and sand. As she passed, each devil peeled away from the battle and followed her. Oh, yes. It was true.

  Poet yelled something after her, a question, a demand, and she ignored him. For once, being the Power and Majesty did not mean listening to anything the Creature Court had to say.

  This is how it was always supposed to be.

  Fire and moonlight crashed into Velody’s vision as she approached the tearing wound in the sky. Hands grabbed her, the dust devils dragging her back.

  If there are devils, why not saints and angels? she thought, mildly hysterical. Help me now, saints and angels. Let me fly.

  She was closer to the light, the burning cold of it. She could stop now. She could turn back. They could hold on until dawn, use the day to plan for the next battle … If the city survived this nox at all.

  The closer Velody got to the sky wound, the more it burned. The dust was still pouring out of it, filling the world, and she choked on it, coughed at the hot dryness as it scattered through the air. The devils hung on harder, trying to drag her back, but they were no match for chimaera strength.

  This was something the Creature Court had always fought against. The sky had no idea how to deal with a Power and Majesty who wanted to be swallowed. Velody seized the lip of the wound and tore at it. Not so bad. She could do this.

  There was a relief in it. She could stop fighting, finally. She could make a difference. She could leave it all behind.

  Are you there? she asked, suddenly not wanting to be alone.

  Barely. Take us through, Velody. Time to go.

  The heat scorched her fur and claws, made her teeth ache. Velody forced herself into Lord shape, glowing and floating but undeniably herself. ‘Take me,’ she said between cracked and blistered lips. ‘Take us.’

  The wound in the sky opened up, and she found herself falling forward, into its depth. Darkness would have been a blessing, but there was light, only light.

  22.

  No, this wasn’t happening, not again. He couldn’t stand it. Ashiol roared and let the animor inside him burst free. Rhian smacked into him first, her whole body reverberating as she hit his chest. Crane brought them both down, slamming Ashiol hard to the ground. He was shaking, eyes wet. Delphine threw herself on top of all of them, openly crying.

  ‘She’s going to kill herself, you fucking morons,’ Ashiol raged. ‘You can’t let her. We can’t lose her.’

  Rhian lifted her head, and he saw such fury in her face that even he was taken aback. ‘You think we want this?’ she demanded. ‘Shut the hells up, Seigneur Ducomte. You have no idea what we have lost.’

  Ashiol changed to Lord form and then chimaera, struggling and growling. He could destroy them all with a flick of his hand (burn them, freeze them, hurt them, cut them).

  ‘You have to kill us to be free of us,’ Delphine said in a low, trembling voice. ‘She wants you to save us. Which will it be?’

  What the hells made them think he gave a damn about any of them? He had already lost Heliora, and now Velody was abandoning him to the fucking Creature Court?

  Ashiol growled between his teeth and threw animor at them, hot enough to scald the stupid sentinels away. They gasped and gritted their teeth but hung on, all three of them.

  Cool hands touched his forehead, holding him down. Isangell looked at him, face composed. ‘Are you a subject, or a ruler?’ she asked him calmly.

  Ashiol closed his eyes. ‘Subject,’ he muttered.

  ‘Then you don’t get to make this decision,’ she told him, and kept her hands there, soothing on his skin, until he stopped struggling against the rest of them.

  The sky went calm. One moment it was raging with fire and battle and blood, and then it was a quiet nox. The moon was clea
r and creamy. The stars were twinkling, the little fuckers, like everything was fine. Ashiol lay in a pile of idiots, the cobbles cool under his back. ‘Get. The. Hells. Off. Me,’ he snarled.

  Isangell moved first, drawing her hands away from him, stepping back. Rhian took in a shuddering breath and Delphine shifted quickly, helping Rhian to stand up and move away from them all.

  Crane rolled off Ashiol, expressionless.

  ‘Do you have any idea what you have done?’ Ashiol accused them all, sitting up. He buried his head in his hands, because that way, he didn’t have to look at any of them. Might reduce the number of unnecessary deaths.

  ‘What happened?’ Poet demanded a few moments later, the first of the Lords to touch down near them. ‘Where did the battle go?’

  Ashiol got to his feet. ‘Velody took it,’ he said in a quiet, furious voice. ‘The sky swallowed her. She let the fucking sky swallow her and every one of these bastards helped her.’

  The sky was silent. Quiet. Taunting him.

  Mars descended, one arm looped around Kelpie’s waist. His courtesa Clara carried Macready. Both sentinels were in bad shape, and barely stayed on their feet. The rest of the Lords and Court drifted down around them all.

  Priest was the first to speak. ‘What do we do now?’

  ‘Velody’s gone,’ said Macready in a low voice. ‘Swallowed — she sealed the rift in the sky.’

  They were all looking at Ashiol for the answers, and he hated them for it. He walked away, heading for the fragile, broken body of Heliora. His brave bright demme. He crouched down, taking her hand. Cold. Of course she was cold. Her cool blood came away on his fingertips.

  ‘Ashiol.’

  If it had been anyone else, he would have snapped, or hit them, but it was Isangell standing over him, sounding brittle and afraid. He looked up and saw that she was wearing Crane’s brown cloak. ‘Can I borrow that?’ he asked.