The Serpent Tower

by William King

  Her chamber was luxurious even by the standards of Terrarch nobility. Silken hangings from the Land of the Purple Masks covered the walls. A tall mirror trimmed with silver and large enough for her to look at herself full length was set by the door. The bed was large and hung round with nets. Elder signs were set on shelves. She looked at Asea as she entered, half-fearful, half defiant.

  “Lord Azaar has sent me,” said Asea, “to make sure you are in good health.”

  “Never better, Lady Asea,” said Kathea. Her voice quavered only a little.

  “Lord Ilmarec tells me you are betrothed.”

  “It is for the good of our land. My Lord has explained to me that it is for the best, and I agree with him.”

  “Queen Arielle has already committed her armies to helping you.”

  “I have a note for my queenly cousin,” said Kathea. “It begs her to withdraw her armies from the soil of my territory. My future consort is quite capable of protecting my lands without foreign aid.”

  “That is why he sent the remnants of your army under Lord Esteril to be destroyed by Lord Azaar.”

  Of course, thought Sardec. He suddenly felt slow and stupid. At last he made sense of the battle they had fought. If Ilmarec possessed the power he claimed, the outcome would not matter. If Esteril had won, he would have removed any threat Azaar presented. If, as was more likely, Azaar triumphed, then Kathea was bereft of the remnants of her own army, and entirely in the power of her uncle.

  “I fear Lord Esteril took the matter into his own hands,” said Ilmarec smoothly. “He was ever hungry for glory, and what could be more glorious than defeating Lord Azaar.”

  A brief look of despair passed over Kathea’s face. She knew how trapped she was. It came to Sardec that Ilmarec was playing a fine game here. Kathea had delivered to them the message he wanted, and they had delivered the same to her. The only question now was whether, the Lord of the Serpent Tower really possessed the power he thought he did. This could all be a superb bluff on Ilmarec’s part, but he doubted it. The stakes were far too high.

  “If your curiosity about my betrothed’s health and intentions is satisfied, Asea, I will see you on your way.” The words were curt, minimally polite, the speech of one who knows he holds all the deck’s best cards.

  “Tell Azaar he has three days to withdraw or he will be destroyed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sardec hustled the Foragers through the gates of the House of Three Swans. The crawling sensation between his shoulder blades decreased. He had feared something the whole time they had made their way along the street. He had felt deeply uneasy ever since their meeting with Lord Ilmarec.

  “I thank you for your efforts to get me here safely,” said Lady Asea.

  “It was my pleasure as well as my duty, milady,” said Sardec. They exchanged smiles of such warmth that Sardec immediately understood the strain they had both been under.

  “Perhaps once I have had a few minutes to recover, you will visit me in my chambers. We have much to discuss and little time to do it in.”

  Sardec knocked on the door of Asea’s suite. He had spent the intervening time checking lines of fire from the windows out into the street and he was happy that things were as well arranged as they could be.

  “Enter,” said Asea.

  He made sure the door was closed behind him. In a house like this you could never tell who might be listening. She saw the direction of his look, and said, “Don’t worry these chambers are warded.”

  “What is happening?”

  “ Lord Ilmarec is planning a great sorcerous ritual. His damned fortress seethes with more power than I had ever expected to find in this poor drained world. Even here, behind my own wards, my head is all but splitting.”

  “I am afraid my knowledge of sorcery is less than great, milady.”

  “The flows of magical energy here are the greatest I have sensed since we left Al’Terra. Lord Ilmarec not only commands an impregnable fortress but the greatest amassing of sorcerous power in this world.”

  “He was not bluffing then when he said he would destroy Lord Azaar’s army.”

  “No. I do not think he was bluffing.”

  “You think he plans to summon something?”

  “I don’t know. I do know that there is more magical energy bound within the walls of the Tower than I have felt since setting foot on this world.”

  “Bound…”

  “There is something within the Tower that generates tau in enormous quantities, in amounts I have never felt since we left the home world.”

  “I have never heard of such a thing.”

  “Nor I. It was not there when I last visited Ilmarec. At least it was not active.” Sardec considered this. There could only be one possible source of such power.

  “You think Ilmarec has woken some ancient device of the Serpent Men.”

  “That seems the most likely explanation. The energy is strange and tainted.”

  “In what way, tainted?”

  “There are traces of corruption in it. It is not pure tau. Such stuff existed on Al’Terra. Using it drove some sorcerers mad.”

  “You think he has dabbled in forbidden sorcery and gone crazy.”

  “Ilmarec has access to the tainted power. He channels it through the jewel in his amulet. He is drawing on its energies enormously for his own purposes. It is quite possible that it might have driven even one of his experience insane.”

  “So the Serpent Tower and all its alien weapons are in the hands of a maniac?”

  “I fear it may be so, and that even Ilmarec may not be able to harness so much power. I tremble to think what might happen if it runs out of control.”

  “What was that thing with him, Lady? His bodyguard.”

  “A demon of an ancient sort. That he could raise it here speaks of how much his power has grown in recent years. I did not think it was possible for anyone to contact the Planes of Ahenna from this world. I could not.”

  “What ritual do you think Ilmarec will perform?”

  “I wish I knew. With the energy of the Tower, he could summon an army of demons.”

  “That is not a reassuring thought. That would be insane.”

  “Ilmarec no longer seems entirely sane.”

  “You think he would move against us?”

  “He has the future Queen of Kharadrea in his power. He has access to Elder World sorcery and weapons. From his point of view, he is in a very strong position. He very well might.”

  “Do you think he could be persuaded to stand beside us and against the Dark Empire?”

  “What can we offer him that he does not already have? How can we force him to allow our army safe passage? He can sit up there in his impregnable fortress and laugh at us.”

  “Then there is very little we can do.”

  “I believe I may have the means to put a man inside the Tower.”

  “What good would one man do? Unless he can open the gates for us. Even then we would have to dash up that causeway under the gaze of the Serpent’s eye and its green light.”

  “I think it would be better to think in terms of what we can get out rather than what we can put in.”

  “You mean to rescue Kathea? We would still have to get her away from here, and that might prove difficult. That accursed light can sweep anything from the surrounding countryside.”

  “If you have a better plan I am willing to listen, otherwise you might want to hear me out.”

  “Please proceed, milady, and forgive my lack of courtesy.”

  “I will need the use of some of your men, particularly the one called the Halfbreed.”

  “Why him, milady?”

  “He has the talents I require and as a half-breed he will be more receptive to the magic I need to work.”

  “Whatever you require I will provide if it’s within my power, but how can you get him inside?”

  “There are certain sorceries. They are risky but they must be attempted. Once they have been w
oven one man might be able to pass the gate guardian.”

  “To do what?”

  “To locate the Queen and bring her out.”

  “Do you really think that is possible? Won’t it put Kathea’s life in jeopardy?”

  “If Ilmarec meant to kill her, he would have done so already.”

  “There’s a difference between killing someone you hold secure and who is of use to you, and killing someone who is in the process of escaping and will become your sworn enemy if they do so.”

  “Thank you for pointing the obvious out to me, Lieutenant.”

  “My pleasure, Lady,” said Sardec, grinning. She smiled back.

  “There are other possibilities we need to consider.” Sardec did not like the tone in which she said that.

  “What you said about Kathea applies just as much from our point of view as Ilmarec’s.”

  “What are you saying, Lady?”

  “I am saying it would be better for Kathea to be dead than against us.”

  “I am not sure I can countenance assassination, Lady Asea.”

  “Even if it means the defeat of our country, and its fall to the Dark Empire?” Sardec considered this. Asea was right, of course. If Kathea had turned against them, all her subjects would too.

  “Ilmarec seems to be just as much against the Dark Empire as we are,” he said, to give himself more time to think.

  “Are you absolutely certain of that, Lieutenant, and are you absolutely certain it will stay that way. At the moment, we have only his word for it, and he seems quite mad.”

  “It would be best if we had Queen Kathea alive,” he said.

  “Agreed, but if we cannot?”

  “Then as a last resort, and only as a last resort, she should be killed. There is another alternative I am surprised you have not suggested.”

  “What is that?”

  “We could have your man kill Lord Ilmarec.”

  “I am not certain that is possible. His bodyguard is all but invulnerable.”

  “But if it was possible?”

  “If the opportunity arises, I agree it would be the best.”

  “It is something to factor into our plans then.”

  “Yes,” she said. “It would be best.”

  “It probably won’t come to it. And anyway, the odds are not much in our favour.”

  “I know this is a desperate roll of the dice, Lieutenant, but what is the alternative — to do nothing and wait for disaster to roll over our army and our country? Military solutions are impossible. We could not get Ilmarec out of the Tower with a score of dragons and an army ten times the size of Azaar’s. Not in the next few years, anyway.”

  “What do we need?”

  “A plan of the Tower. Fortunately I have one.”

  “You have?”

  “In a life as long as mine you learn to prepare for any contingency, Lieutenant. When Ilmarec took the Tower as his residence, the possibility that we might need to get him out of it arose.”

  Sardec looked at her. That scheme must have been born at least five centuries ago. He thought of the use such a plan might be put to: to get an assassin inside the Tower for instance.

  “We also need a plan for getting us out of the city unnoticed and a way to keep ourselves safe while we do so.”

  “All of these things can be managed. We will also need a way to get your man into the Tower.”

  “I have thought of it. We will need to contact the local thieves. I will send some men to get what we need.”

  “What makes you think they will help us?”

  “I have done business with them before,” said Asea. Somehow this knowledge did not surprise Sardec. “If you will excuse me, Lieutenant, I would talk with my agent.”

  “As you wish.” Sardec bowed and left.

  “I have a task for you, one that is very dangerous,” said Asea.

  “You want me to kill Tamara and Jaderac?” Rik thought he had better bring the matter of Tamara up first, just in case Asea was about to.

  “Not at the moment. I want you to enter the Tower of the Serpent and free Queen Kathea.”

  Rik laughed outright. “Perhaps you would like me to grow wings and fly you to the moon as well. The Tower is impregnable. Trust me, I am an expert.”

  “I can get you inside.”

  “Then you are a magician indeed.”

  “Sorcery won’t be necessary, at least not on my part.”

  Rik studied her carefully. She was serious. Perhaps she had figured out a way to get him into the Tower. Still, it was madness. Even if he could get in, he would be one man, in a strange place, filled with evil sorcery. Kathea was bound to be guarded. How was he supposed to find her and bring her out alive? It was impossible. He said so.

  “Nonetheless I fear we will have to try.”

  His laugh was mirthless now. “What do you mean, we? I am the one being asked to go in.”

  “Rik unless Kathea is freed and Ilmarec disarmed, this war will be lost before it’s even started. We may as well go home and wait for the legions of the Dark Empire to roll over our borders, for they will eventually, if we allow them to take control of Kharadrea.”

  “I am not sure my committing suicide will help the matter.”

  “I admit the chances of success are slim but we have no option.”

  “Again I hear that interesting use of the word we, again. Will you be coming with me?”

  “Unfortunately, no. The Tower’s guardians would detect me immediately. They would not detect you, for reasons I have already explained.”

  “Because I am a Shadowblood?”

  “Perhaps you would like to say that a bit louder. The local Inquisitors may not have heard you.”

  “I don’t think it makes much difference who kills me, do you? Ilmarec’s guards or the Inquisition.”

  She appeared to consider the question seriously. “The Inquisition will see you suffer before you die. They will scourge you, and their techniques will show a good deal of refinement.”

  Rik heard the veiled threat. He knew without having to ask that she would hand him over to the Inquisitors if he did not serve her purposes. “You would do that?”

  “I do not want to, Rik, but you should also remember that you and your friends were directly responsible for Uran Ultar being unleashed. That is a matter the Lords Inquisitorial would be greatly interested in.”

  And there was another threat; it was not just him who would suffer but his friends also. Rik was surprised to discover that he did care about that — just a little. He had always thought of himself as a supremely self-interested man, but he would not want anything bad to happen to Weasel and the Barbarian if he could help it.

  “This is not fair,” he said, realising even as he said it just how childish it sounded.

  “Life is not fair, Rik. You know it and I know it. Only children protest otherwise.”

  “It seems to me that it’s a lot less fair for me than it is for you.”

  “I can see why you would think that, but then you are not in any position to judge my life.”

  “Heaven forbid that I should do that.”

  “I understand that this makes you bitter, Rik, but there is an upside to all of this.”

  “I would be glad if you could explain it to me.”

  “If you succeed, the rewards will be immense.”

  “How immense?” He could not help himself. He was a Sorrow street-boy. His cupidity and curiosity were both aroused by her statement.

  “You will have both my gratitude and the gratitude of the Queen.”

  “Gratitude buys no chickens.”

  “You will be rewarded and you will be a hero. You will be the man who single-handedly changed the course of the war. There will be a good deal of gold, estates, I could even see to it that you are adopted into my clan. You have the blood and you have the appearance, and if you were successful you would have such prestige that none would question your right to it. The Terrarchs would rather believe that one of t
heir own did such a deed than a human.”

  There was indeed an upside to what she was offering. She was holding the door open to a world of immense wealth and privilege, to a life of luxury such as not even the wealthiest human could dream. She was appealing to his vanity, and his need for a place in the world too.

  He knew that what she said was true. He would have proven his worthiness to be a Terrarch. More than that he would have shown he had done something that none of them could do, that not only was he as good as they were, he was better. It was a potent image to lodge in his mind. Of course, in order to achieve all this he would have to survive. Another question struck him.

  “Won’t there be questions asked about how I did this? Won’t people wonder about how I beat Ilmarec’s wards and his demons?”

  She smiled sensing her triumph, the change in his attitude. “I will tell them my sorcery shielded you. I have already begun explaining this to Lieutenant Sardec.”

  “And if I survive this, you will teach me sorcery.”

  “If you still wish it.”

  “I have your word as one of the First.”

  “You have my word.” If he lived he might become wealthy, famous and noble. He would also have access to the world of secret knowledge he had always thirsted for. He considered his position. If he disobeyed Asea his death was certain. He might try killing her now and making his escape but he doubted he would get far. All that would happen was he would find another route to the gallows. For all her talk he doubted Tamara would help him once the deed was done.

  If he succeeded he could be rich beyond his wildest dreams, and powerful too. He could step out of the shadows and into the sunlight.

  “Let me hear your plan,” he said.

  “It is quite simple,” she said.

  “All the best plans are.”

  “We need to conceal you in one of the carts going in to the Tower.”

  His heart sank. He had been expecting something much cleverer and more devious. She caught his expression.

  “You saw for yourself what happened when we went through the gates of the Tower. The sentries are overconfident. They do not check the carts because they know that the demon will spot the life force of anyone concealed within them and sound the alarm.”