Trading Into Daylight (The Magic Below Paris Book 6)

by C. M. Simpson

  Where were you? she asked, parrying another savage thrust before jabbing forward.

  I thought you’d take longer. Can’t you do something to get rid of them faster? Like call lightning? Can you do that on the surface?

  Well, Deeps, yes, she could. Marsh kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner. Keep them off me.

  She kept her shield in front of her and hoped Roeglin had the sense to stay outside the door.

  Too late. The comment reached her as she touched the energy bubbling through the darkness around them. At first, she was worried that there would be no lightning inside a manmade structure, and then she realized the cellblock was just like any cavern beneath the ruins of the ancients.

  She’d called lightning in those plenty of times.

  I need you, she thought, her lips moving soundlessly as she pleaded with the lightning to hear her. Every man that intends us harm, I need... She stopped, remembering that not all these men were acting freely; some were acting to keep their families alive.

  Above them, the ceiling crackled with energy.

  “Master Envermet!”

  “I hear you,” he replied, and he meant he heard more than just his name.

  “Roeglin!”

  “Understood.”

  He was saying it through gritted teeth, and she caught a momentary flash of pride mingled with regret before he did what she’d hoped he and the shadow captain would do.

  We are here to bring down your masters! Roeglin sent. This is your last chance for mercy. Drop your weapons and stand against the back wall if you only want your families to be safe. We will spare you and free them. If you fight...

  One of the men laughed and darted in blade first.

  Marsh dropped a bolt of lightning on his head, burning through his skull. He fell at Roeglin’s feet, and the others looked around.

  We can save you, Roeglin reiterated. Help us free the prisoners.

  Help us or die! Master Envermet emphasized. Your families will go free. They would do better with you than without.

  “How do you know that?” one man cried, his blade wavering. “Do you know what we’ve done?”

  “We know why,” Master Envermet told him. “What comes next is up to you. You can choose to live and try to make up for what you’ve been made to do, or you can continue to fight for a lost cause you don’t believe in and die.”

  The guard’s blade dropped, and he was not alone. Only three kept fighting, and Marsh made short work of them.

  “What can we do?” one of the guards asked.

  “You can tell us how many more of you there are,” Marsh snapped.

  “None in this building. We were the only ones. As to how many...” He glanced at the others.

  They shrugged.

  “There are maybe another twenty on the walls, all coerced as we were.”

  “And twenty more in the Library,” a second added, “but some of those are mages. They open portals for the monsters.”

  “And this man?” Roeglin sent an image of Gustav to each of their minds, and they shook their heads.

  “He didn’t even make it to a cell. They took him directly to the Library,” their informant said. “They were very pleased to have him, but we don’t know why. Apart from several escape attempts, he was nothing special.”

  The statement made Marsh bristle, but she clamped down on her temper. The man took one look at her face and hurried to add more.

  “They won’t have taken him Below, yet. There’s still hope.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that no one who is taken Below ever returns,” the man replied, his face paling. “That’s all I know.”

  From the way he responded, there was more, but Marsh had no time to dig for it. “Help us protect the prisoners we’ve freed,” she ordered, “and then gather your families.”

  “How many are raiding for more?” Roeglin demanded, and the guards looked at each other and shrugged.

  “We don’t know,” their spokesman told him. “I know there are raiding teams out, but they’re not all based here. Their villages are spread throughout the region. It is the price...” His voice caught, and he stopped.

  “We understand,” Master Envermet replied. “Help us win our way to the Library, then gather your families in the town square.”

  The man paled but he nodded, and the others agreed. “Come with us.”

  Master Envermet’s eyes flared white, and Henri rumbled an oath somewhere below them. Aisha gave a shriek of dismay.

  “Aysh, hold my hand!” Tamlin cried, and the two children appeared outside the door moments later. An eyeblink after that, they were beside Marsh.

  “Tamlin...” she began, and he gave her a hard-faced stare.

  “You’re not leaving us again.”

  22

  A Visit to the Library

  Marsh cast a helpless glance at Master Envermet. He eyed the two children and shrugged.

  They’ll be fine, he told her, but his brow was furrowed with worry, and his mind was closed to her.

  Marsh swore she was going to improve enough to read him, and his lips quirked into the tiniest of smiles. Let’s get through this first, and then I will talk to Sulema on your behalf.

  Marsh didn’t know how that would turn out, given that the Grotto community leader didn’t seem to like her very much.

  You’d be surprised.

  Marsh guessed she probably would.

  Basil says it’s too early, Master Envermet informed her as he gestured for the guard to take them to the Library. He says no one is taken as soon as they arrive, not even the most powerful mages.

  How would he know? Marsh wondered, and Master Envermet shrugged.

  I’ll ask later.

  They made their way through the other prisoners, some of whom were locked in tearful reunions with children, parents, lovers, and friends. Obasi was drawing the Grotto residents together, moving among them and embracing family.

  Every prisoner scowled at the guards as they passed.

  “Henri, explain it to them,” Master Envermet instructed, and the big man sighed.

  “I can try. Are you sure you don’t want...”

  Master Envermet snapped a glance at him that saw his words wither to silence.

  Henri stiffened to attention. “Yes, sir!”

  He beckoned to the nearest prisoners and drew them closer.

  “Uh-oh. Looks like Phantom Whispers is going to be the name of the day,” Roeglin murmured, referencing a child’s game they were all familiar with.

  “I’ll keep an eye on it,” Master Envermet told him, but Roeglin shook his head.

  “Your head is needed out here. Marsh can guide me while I make sure the right message gets out.”

  “Don’t put yourself on the ground,” Master Envermet warned him. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

  “I promise,” Roeglin replied, casting a mischievous glance at Marsh.

  “Don’t say it,” she warned, and he smirked.

  To her relief, he didn’t add, “I’m not Marsh.” He just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let his eyes drift to white.

  It was easy to tell when the message got out. A ripple of emotion passed through the prisoners, and they regarded the passing raiders with a mix of emotions ranging from pity to contempt. Most seemed conflicted, but none of them tried to take revenge.

  Henri, help Vi and the others find their parents. Make sure the prisoners in the outside village are freed, too.

  “Gotcha, captain,” the man replied and relayed the orders to Izmay and the children.

  Mention of the teens’ parents reminded Marsh that Tamlin and Aisha had had parents taken, too. She wondered if the raiders and the shadow monsters were the same thing, and if those taken by the different groups ended up in the same place.

  Roeglin gave her a look of concern. I hope so.

  Me, too, Marsh replied, not sure how she felt. She’d sworn she’d find their parents, but now that she was close...r />
  Yeah. Roeglin’s reply held the same emotional turmoil she felt.

  The two children trotted beside them, not saying a word.

  The guards slowed down when they reached the cellblock’s doors. Their spokesman looked at Master Envermet. “With your permission?”

  “Go ahead, Pasquale.” Master Envermet’s comment earned him a worried look, but Pasquale did as he was asked.

  As the doors swung open, the shadow captain gestured to the guards. “Lead the way.”

  They didn’t hesitate but trotted out...and not a single one of them tried to warn the men on the wall.

  “I’ll get them to come down,” Pasquale offered.

  “What are they watching for?”

  “Sometimes there’s a raiding party coming in unexpected,” Pasquale began, “but mostly it’s remnant.”

  “How many of them are likely to try to stop us if they know what’s going on?”

  From the look on Pasquale’s face, he didn’t know. Master Envermet nodded. “Leave them on the wall. You can guard against them, see your families, or fight beside us. Whatever you choose, I expect to find you all in the town square in the morning.”

  Some of the men turned immediately for the cottages clustered around the center of the town. Others drew closer to the core group of Master Envermet and his team. Pasquale glanced nervously at the walls.

  “Someone has to tell them everything’s okay.”

  Master Envermet’s eyes flared white and then gleamed blue. “Take someone you trust and do what you need to.”

  Pasquale swallowed hard and looked around. Before he had a chance to speak, one of the other men stepped forward. “I’ll go.”

  This time, Master Envermet’s eyes remained blue, but Marsh noticed that Roeglin kept his face turned to the ground. After what looked like a moment’s hesitation, Master Envermet nodded.

  Pasquale watched him as though he cared what the shadow captain was about to say far more than he wanted to show.

  “I have no objection to Wilhelm going with you,” Master Envermet told him, and Pasquale’s shoulders sagged in relief.

  Marsh wondered what that was all about, and Roeglin told her.

  Wilhelm was the one who noticed Gustav’s uniform and drew Kearick’s attention to it. Neither of them was prepared for what came next.

  From the memories he shared, what came next had consisted of Kearick putting a sword through Gustav’s foot and then sending a runner to bring two of the Library “brutes” to collect him.

  Brutes, Marsh noted, and Roeglin shared the way they made Pasquale feel. The way the whole situation made him feel. Oh, that’s not good.

  No.

  As the queasiness faded, they turned to watch the guard pair trotting to the main gate.

  So, we trust them, Marsh mused.

  We trust them, Master Envermet confirmed. They believe they have a lot to make up for.

  Marsh couldn’t dispute that. She thought they had a lot to make up for, too.

  What would you do to keep Aisha and Tamlin safe? Master Envermet’s mental tone was mild, but the question gave her pause.

  I don’t know.

  And Roeglin? There was a slight smile in those words, but Marsh’s heart lurched. Exactly. Now, focus.

  They’d reached the stairs leading up to the front of the building the guards and prisoners thought of as the Library, the one they were all terrified of being taken to. Marsh reached out, trying to sense how many waited for them beyond its heavy wooden doors.

  “No time,” Master Envermet grated, raising a shield of darkness before him.

  Marsh, Roeglin, and Obasi did the same, but no attack came. Master Envermet gestured two of the ex-raider guards to the door. “Can you open it?”

  They tried, but the doors did not budge. They looked at the mage and shook their heads.

  “They’ve barred it on the other side.”

  Aisha stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

  She regarded Master Envermet with a steady gaze until he nodded. Tamlin went with her as she moved to one side of the doors and laid her hands on the stone. “Watch this.”

  “This” ended up being the wall shifting away from the doors and leaving a gap wide enough for two men to run through. Tamlin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her around the wall’s edge as several crossbow bolts whirred through the space she’d been occupying.

  “Sons of the murderous Deep!” Marsh exclaimed and she bolted forward, blocking the opening before her with a shield she’d drawn from the dark.

  Someone snatched her arm, but she twisted out of their grasp. It did not matter who or how many stood beyond the doors. They were all going to die.

  “Marsh!” Roeglin’s cry had a note of panic in it, and she felt him start after her.

  Master Envermet’s was the voice of reason, but it wasn’t directed at her. “Give her a minute.”

  Marsh was pretty sure Roeglin wasn’t listening, but she didn’t care. No one who attacked a child deserved to live. It didn’t matter how coerced they’d been. She got through the door, feeling the impact as half a dozen crossbow bolts slammed into the shield.

  “You’d dare!” she snarled, keeping the block of darkness before her as she raised her free hand.

  The glow of a dozen lamps lit the book-lined space she’d seen when Kearick had fled, and she recognized the “brutes” who’d come for Gustav. They were part of a line of men standing twenty feet from the door. Behind them stood the mages Pasquale said staffed the library and carried out the “testing.”

  As curious as she was to see what that consisted of, Marsh didn’t intend to let any of them live to explain it. She reached for the lightning simmering in the air around her. Calling it from the dark recesses of the vaulted ceiling was a simple matter.

  “Come!” she commanded it. “Destroy those not with me.”

  And only those in this room, Master Envermet prompted.

  Yes, please only those in that room. There are some out here who are with you, even if they don’t know it yet.

  Roeglin’s words made sense, and Marsh repeated them to the lightning, twisting her hand to narrow the area the storm would affect. Energy sparked and crackled overhead, and several of the mages looked up. The man standing behind them bolted for the nearest exit.

  Marsh frowned. Until he’d moved, she hadn’t noticed him. Now that she did, she recognized his spindly frame and long face.

  “Salazar!” she cried and pulled her upraised hand down as though it grasped the lightning and drew it to the floor.

  They didn’t all follow him, drawing her attention to the other doors at the back and sides of the room. Taking their cue from him, several of the others broke and ran.

  There was a massive CRACK! and spears of darkness rained down on mages and brutes alike. Some made it to shelter, but most died in the initial onslaught. Marsh searched for survivors, stretching her hand above her head once more.

  She startled when someone grabbed her from behind, wrapping their hand around her wrist and pulling her arm down. The magic broke and the lightning scattered, returning to the shadows. Marsh could still feel it, though.

  Warm breath on her ear carried Roeglin’s voice. “We’ve got the rest.”

  As he spoke, he pulled her aside, and the guards and shadow guards poured past. Marsh shrugged at his hold, and he released her.

  “Salazar’s here,” she told him and began running for the exit the seeker had taken.

  “And Kearick?”

  “Don’t know.”

  Roeglin cursed, but he didn’t try to stop her. Instead, he pulled a sword from the darkness and ran beside her. The guards had gone after everyone, but none of them had seen Salazar leave.

  All around them, battles raged. Obasi had cornered a brute and the mage trying to hide behind him. Jakob slid in beside the young warrior in time to block the bolt the mage fired. As Marsh passed, Obasi took down the brute, and Jakob put a javelin through the mage’s eye.

&
nbsp; Marsh had almost reached the corridor Salazar had taken when the shadows thrummed and the air shuddered.

  “A la putain,” she swore, slowing down to seek its source. Dan!

  She received the impression the kat was coming but taking pains to stay out of sight.

  These humans do not know I am pride. Mordan was right. The kat had not been with her when she entered the cells or during the fight within, and she was not with her now. I kept watch.

  Marsh wasn’t sure what that entailed, but she didn’t have time to think. As she stepped past one of the men felled by the lightning, he groaned. Roeglin drove a spear through his chest.

  He had a crossbow, the mage told her as though that explained it all—and it did. There would be no mercy for those who’d fired on Aisha.

  Exactly. His reply was accompanied by a wave of approval from Mordan.

  The kat’s arrival garnered startled shouts as she bounded through the door, but no one fired on her. They were all too busy with the foes they’d found, although several had ended their battles, and were now turning toward the shimmering line of darkness forming at one end of the hall.

  It stretched to the height of the nearest bookcases, almost touching the ceiling, the magic being cast by two mages at either end.

  “Putain!” Henri swore, followed by the sound of his sword ripping through flesh. A scream accompanied the sound, and Marsh heard the thump and clatter of a man falling. The smell of death and blood hung heavily in the air.

  The kat is a FRIEND! Master Envermet’s shout echoed through their heads, and Marsh didn’t know how many others besides. She glanced up in time to see Mordan bounce sideways to avoid a sword stroke.

  The ex-raider who’d swung dropped the blade in fright. “I’m sorry!”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Gerry shouted, glancing at him. “Get that mage!”

  Gerry’s instruction was accompanied by the clash of his parry as the brute he was facing tried to take advantage of his distraction. The guard swung around and then dived to the floor as one of the mages who’d been fast enough to reach shelter fired at him.

  The bolt missed and embedded itself in a bookcase on the opposite side of the room, and the guard grabbed his sword and rolled to his feet. The mage fumbled, trying to load the bow, then dropped the weapon and ran.