Call us! Call us and we will make everything easier. Even Deathless Pirate was making promises now.
He tried to distract himself with conversation, leaning toward Etienne just as the other man took a scrap of paper surreptitiously from an outstretched hand of a man walking past. If he hadn’t been watching at that exact second, he’d never have noticed the former Lord Mythos palming the scrap of white paper.
“Strange how all the cities of Jingen are laid out the same way, isn’t it?” Tamerlan asked when Etienne looked sharply in his direction. Just a casual question. He hadn’t seen anything. Or at least, that was what he was trying to project.
There was a flash of someone familiar up ahead near the canal. Just a flash of something in the thick rain. That wasn’t Anglarok, was it? The Harbinger? It couldn’t be. What would he be doing here?
Tamerlan felt a little chill run up his spine. Eyes. Watchers. Was he really doing the hunting, or was he hunted, too?
“It’s not really that strange if you understand why,” Etienne said, but he sounded distracted, too. Probably thinking about what was on the paper.
Every time Tamerlan saw him, Etienne was watching Tamerlan’s hands shake and trying not to look too obviously at his eye. Tamerlan was no fool. Etienne didn’t trust him. It didn’t matter that they were allies in trying to track down the Grandfather. It didn’t matter that he’d sealed their vow with magic. It didn’t matter that they worked together every night in the refugee camps alleviating the worst of the misery – he still didn’t trust Tamerlan.
He could never forget that Tamerlan had smoked the Spices just like he had and opened the Bridge of Legends just like he had. He could never forget that the evil that had possessed him and stolen Marielle was forged in the same flames as the good that possessed Tamerlan and gave his eye to bind the dragon again.
“It’s a mandala,” Etienne said.
“Like the ones the Timekeepers carry? And the patterns they walk it the prayer gardens behind their cathedrals?” Tamerlan asked.
He’d read about Timekeepers. He’d never been much taken by their religion – though the architecture was beautiful. He could sit all day just drawing the arches over their doors. But no. He didn’t worship time. And now that he’d met Grandfather Timeless, he certainly never would.
“Precisely. Those are mandalas just like the streets and canals of the Five Cities.”
“That’s a very artistic way to design a city,” Tamerlan said, smiling absently, like he was in his own daydream world. He didn’t want Etienne to see that he was keeping an eye on his hand as they snaked between the long lines of people into an alley that skirted the back of the Timekeeper’s Ivory Cathedral.
“It’s not made that way for the art,” Etienne said. “Tell me, Tamerlan, why do you think that we built our cities on the backs of the dragons?”
“So that you could slaughter innocent girls and be conveniently close to dump their blood all over the dragon’s spines?” And this time the smile Tamerlan gave Etienne was cold and tight.
Etienne might not trust him, but Tamerlan didn’t really trust Etienne either.
The other man gave him a sharp look.
“Watch that we haven’t been followed,” he snapped.
He was impressive. He was still talking casually as he unrolled his slip of paper, counting on Tamerlan to be looking the other way as he quickly read it. But Tamerlan hadn’t been fooled. He read the paper over the shorter man’s shoulder, even as the former Lord Mythos continued to speak.
“Blood is what binds the dragons in place, certainly, but we also spell them to remain docile and frozen. Otherwise, you’d still have dragons and as you’ve so elegantly put it, we’d still have to ‘dump blood all over their spines’ but they’d be able to move and flame and generally object to the whole process. This way, they lay still and sedated.”
He paused and Tamerlan looked back over his shoulder. Was that a harpoon he glimpsed at the end of the alley? Maybe they really were being followed. A tingle ran down his spine.
He should have looked earlier, but if he had, he wouldn’t have read the slip of paper.
“Does that mean that Jingen will rise again? I only bound him. There’s no mandala on his back.”
Etienne was still talking, though his tone had turned smug. He thought he’d tricked Tamerlan, didn’t he?
“Likely he was stunned at first, but yes he will rise. That is what the streets are for. A mandala of power. And as things move along the mandala – in this case, feet and carts and boats – the magic is renewed and strengthened fresh every day. Now, pay attention, we are almost at the Cathedral.”
Tamerlan turned around again and followed Etienne but he wasn’t thinking about mandalas of power or city design. He wasn’t even thinking about the glimpse of harpoon he’d seen. He was thinking about what he had read on that slip of paper.
Tonight. Dusk. If you are late, we will be gone.
-The Whisper.
Who was The Whisper and what games was Etienne playing while Tamerlan was trying to save the world?
5: Ivory Cathedral
Tamerlan
IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED like lurking to anyone watching, but as they stood, studying the Ivory Cathedral from the back alley, Tamerlan’s mind was flooded with memories of the last time he’d stood in front of a cathedral. He rubbed his blind eye almost without thinking – a nervous tick he’d picked up. He’d never bothered with a patch. Other than being milky white, the eye looked fine.
He drew in a deep breath and tried not to remember what it had been like outside the Cathedral of the Clock, watching it burn to the ground as Marielle was trapped inside the clock right in front of it. He should have chosen differently. He should have chosen her.
“You’re sure he’s in there?” he whispered.
“According to my sources, but there’s only one way to find out.” Etienne led him further down the alley to the back side of the cathedral. “We climb.”
Etienne looked down and Tamerlan hid his shaking hands behind his back. He could still climb. If there was a chance to get Grandfather Timeless – any chance at all – he would take it.
The failed leader is correct. I feel him close. Abelmeyer was not very complimentary where Etienne was concerned – none of the Legends were. They thought that any leader who lost their city couldn’t be used for anything again.
Not true. I could think of a few uses for him.
Well, Lila had a different perspective, but in fairness, it would probably be worse to be useful to Lila than worthless to someone like Abelmeyer.
He’s not as pretty as you are, but he’s pretty enough for me.
And her comments always made him blush. Especially when he remembered she was looking at Etienne through his eyes – eye. With flaming cheeks, he grabbed Etienne’s arm.
“We’ve chased him and lost him over and over. We need a better plan. A trap or some other way to hold him. Chasing him again and again with no plan is insanity.”
“I have a plan,” Etienne said shortly.
“Then explain it to me. Explain it, or I won’t go in with you.”
Etienne swallowed and for the first time he looked uncomfortable. “I’ve thought about this for a long time. You’ll have to use the Eye of Abelmeyer. We’ll grab him and when you get your hands on him, you’ll use the Eye.”
Tamerlan gasped. “It took one of my eyes last time.”
“A terrible price,” Etienne agreed, his face hard as a rock. “But I can think of no other option.”
“Can’t I just do that anywhere? I just decided to use it with the dragon and then he was bound. Why grab him at all if we plan to use the Eye. We could do that right here.”
Etienne snorted. “Weren’t you watching? The Eye only Binds. But if he jumps through space and time – and don’t you think he might be doing that if he keeps eluding us? – then we would be binding him somewhere, but we wouldn’t know where and someone else might find him a free him, nullifying
your sacrifice. Besides, if we don’t have him in hand, we can’t put him back in the clock to free Marielle. So either you use the Eye like a fool and miss our chance, or we surprise him, then you use it and we can haul him off to the clock because we know where he is.”
Tamerlan’s mouth twisted sourly. This had been the plan all along. To steal his other eye. Fury bubbled up within him, but as quickly as it bubbled up, it dissolved again. Wouldn’t he do anything to save Marielle?
“Lead on.”
Etienne looked skeptical, but with a small shake of his head, he grabbed the masonry and began to climb.
Tamerlan looked around. Was anyone watching? It was broad daylight – but with the rain pelting down, it made sense that no one was looking up. Everyone on the street had been ducking low under hoods or canopies.
Smoke and I’ll help you with the climb, Lila tempted him.
Smoke and I will bless your arm for battle, Abelmeyer offered.
Tamerlan cursed under his breath and hurried to climb after Etienne. The gaps between the stone were wide enough. He could do this part without help. Even with shaking hands.
You’re a fool not to take our help. It’s offered freely,” Lila said.
If by ‘free’ she meant with all the strings possible tied to it, then sure, it was ‘free.’ He’d take it if he had to – but not unless it was either his life on the line or catching the Grandfather.
If you’d smoked that first night after you gave your Eye, we would have had him right away. You’ve wasted months for nothing. It’s just blind pride and stubbornness that deprives you of the power you could have. Forget your arrogance. Come back to us. That was Deathless Pirate. His impatience was the most palpable.
“What makes you so good at this, Lord Mythos?” Tamerlan muttered as they climbed. The crack in the masonry he was holding was too narrow. He bit his lip and pushed harder.
There was a wide window just above them and Etienne angled toward it.
Watch it. You nearly lost your hold! Don’t cling so tightly to the wall, it puts unnatural pressure on your muscles.
Easy for Lila to say. She wasn’t the one trying to scale the side of a building in the rain with a sword tangling around her feet.
You could have smoked and then it would be me!
Ease up, Legend! I’m doing all I can, and I don’t need a critique of every action in my head! He growled to himself, blowing rain from his eyelashes as he climbed.
Lean back! Hang from your fingertips instead of trying to pull your torso so tight to the wall!
He risked trying it her way and immediately the climb was easier.
See? I told you so!
If the opportunity presents itself, it will be I who take the boy to greatness. That was Abelmeyer.
Tamerlan scrambled over the ledge of the window into an empty room filled with dust and discarded items.
Etienne clenched his lips tightly together and gave Tamerlan a concerned look.
“Crazy yet?”
Tamerlan scoffed.
“You were muttering to yourself,” Etienne said, still looking wary.
“Let’s just find the Grandfather.”
Had he been speaking to himself? Sometimes he didn’t know anymore.
You were. This is all too much for you. Accept help!
“We had to come this way. They’ve doubled the guard on the doors. No outsiders. And you know as well as I do that if we don’t surprise him, he’ll slip away again. Just like he did last time. We grab him. You use the Eye. We finish this.”
Etienne didn’t need to explain it to him. Just because he was fighting voices in his head didn’t mean he was a fool.
“Do you see me objecting?”
“Just don’t go crazy before we get to him, okay?”
“Consider it my gift to you.” What did you say to that? After all, he was pretty sure he was already crazy.
They moved across the floor of the abandoned room like ghosts. Tamerlan frowned at the tracks left in the dust, but if they didn’t find what they were looking for before the tracks were discovered, then tracks would be the least of their worries.
How had Etienne learned to move so quietly? He was a mass of mysteries. A former ruler who could scale walls and sneak through buildings? There was more to his story than Tamerlan could guess. If he was smart, he would have abandoned the former ruler months ago – but how did you tell an ally to leave when he was the only one in the world who wanted the same thing you wanted? Even if that ally clearly hated you?
“The Grandfather is here,” Etienne whispered confidently. “Hold your nerve and we’ll get Marielle out of that clock.”
Tamerlan nodded. Still allies. For now.
He’d been surprised when Etienne had vowed to save Marielle after they both fled H’yi. But he of all people knew that guilt was a powerful motivator.
The door opened without a squeak and they emerged onto a balcony that ran a ring around a huge room below – the main sanctuary of the cathedral. At one end a massive gear-powered clock ticked out the seconds. Rays of light shot dully through the stained glass, highlighting the clock but muted by the rain outside.
In the center of the sanctuary a round stage was set, surrounded by white-robed priests. Around the edge of the balcony, lamps were lit and a massive chandelier hung over the stage. And at the center of the stage, stood a figure in a top hat and cloak. The Grandfather.
Tamerlan’s heart began to race. It was him! He really was there!
They had to get this right.
Could they be seen standing here behind the lights? He could only hope that those below were too focused on what they were doing to look up into the balcony.
Don’t let him see you! One glance and he’ll be gone!
Tamerlan didn’t need Abelmeyer’s warning. Last time he and Etienne had cornered the Grandfather in the middle of a crowded inn, he’d disappeared in the crowd before they could reach him. The time before that, it had been a crowded street and the Grandfather had turned a corner into an alley. They’d only been steps behind him, but when they entered the alley, he had vanished.
Focus! You need us now.
“Prepare to fight,” Etienne whispered in Tamerlan’s ear. “The priests will not give him up without a battle. And we need a hold on him before we use that Eye.”
“We’re going to kill priests?”
He felt shocked but Etienne’s eye roll told him the other man had known this was coming all along.
Tamerlan’s hands shook. And here was the choice. He could smoke and have the skill he needed to fight, or he could try to do this on his own. And either way he might have to kill people – people who had never harmed him and maybe never would. Could he even do that? Did he want to?
You have no training in the sword, Abelmeyer reminded him.
And you don’t have the stomach to kill, Lila chimed in.
You need us. Deathless Pirate sounded gleeful. How else will you use the Eye?
Call us, Alchemist! Call us to your aid!
If nothing else, their eagerness should worry him, shouldn’t it? But what other choice did he have? If he hesitated – or if he tried to fight on his own knowing full well that he didn’t have the skills and might hesitate at the worst possible moment, then all would be lost – these two months of hunting and chasing and working with the man he hated – Etienne. All for nothing.
With shaking hands, he pulled the oilpaper package from his pocket and carefully extracted a single roll of Spices before returning it to safekeeping. He sidled up to a lamp and lit the end of the roll.
“Tsk.” Etienne’s sound conveyed all of his loathing and disapproval in one single sound.
“Do you want to win? Do you want me to use Abelmeyer’s Eye? None of that happens without this.” Tamerlan hissed.
He was doing the wrong thing.
The smoke smelled so good – it called to him like a familiar friend, replacing the scents of dust and old books with a haunting, enchanting smell.
A smell that promised to take all his pain and guilt and indecision and hide it away for a while.
This had better work.
He tried not to think about what the cost would be. Blindness. Better not to think of that at all.
Below them, the voices of the priests drifted up.
“There are rumors that the Smudgers have gathered in the Hunsu District in a wide field. All of them. They work on a great spiritual work.”
Who cared what the Smudgers were doing? They’d fled the cities like rats.
He put the roll to his lips and inhaled as much as he could. It surrounded him in puffs of grey and soft purple – an old friend, a fickle lover, a cruel king. The smoke that had haunted him for months was his now, filling his nose and mouth with quivering expectation.
Excitement and anticipation filled him, and he clenched his jaw in pain at the excitement reverberating across the bridge as the Legends battled to take over his body.
Die, Grandfather!
It never got easier. He shook with the passion of the Legend and the last threads of his own control, the Legend’s anticipation mixing with his own expectation to create a feeling as addictive as ambition and as all-consuming as greed.
As the Legend seized his body and used it to climb up onto the railing of the balcony, it was hard not to try to clench his eye shut and scream. It’s a horrible thing to give your future and the fate of your body into the hands of someone you can’t possibly trust.
And it was also the most thrilling release – what happened next was going to be determined by someone else.
Trust me!
Byron Bronzebow! He hadn’t expected that! Abelmeyer had felt the strongest. And he needed Abelmeyer to use the Eye.
I have tricks of my own. Next time, bring a bow. I’m sick of swords.
And then he was leaping from the railing, sailing out with a massive springing jump like an eagle leaping into flight. He sailed out over the sanctuary and caught the cable suspending the chandelier, swinging on it over the assembled priests and scattering hot dripping wax over all of them.
It was glorious. It was perfectly executed. Tamerlan’s breath caught in his throat.
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