“I looked over the chamber and got my hands on the most up-to-date information there is on guard rotations, numbers, and everything else we could want,” she said as she worked. “Right now I’m more concerned with the guardsman than the dampening chamber.”
Ethan swallowed and nodded. After another few seconds, the worst of the pain abated, and he could finally move his joints again…if gingerly. “Why is that?”
Krystia smiled. “Thanks to your son, the purification chamber doesn’t affect me anymore. But the guards are well-trained and won’t be easy to dispatch ourselves.”
Ethan slowly crawled his way back to his chair. “Thankfully, we have another option. I made contact with the Zarul agent inside the city, and he informed me that the prisoner from Lyebel—an Unbound Imperator named Garin Kroll—has been transferred to the King’s Tower for interrogation.”
“Are you seriously suggesting we free that monster?”
“I’m suggesting we use every asset available to us,” he said mildly. “Kroll is a powerful warrior, and his ability to sever Ascendant bonds will allow him to cripple any royal guardsman before they can become a threat.”
Krystia’s eyes narrowed. “And then what happens? What are the Crell expecting from you, exactly? They have to realize that we’ll turn on them immediately.”
“They get their war and several early victories, which is all they care about,” Ethan said. “It will be up to us to rally Solaria and punish the Sovereigns for their arrogance.” He tapped a finger against the table. “The other advantage of using Kroll is that he provides you with a perfect cover story. If he and the Zarul Shadow strike at the king just as the Imperium forces engage, this will all look like a Crell plot to seize control of the Alliance government.”
“At which point we swoop in and kill them,” Krystia reasoned.
“At which point you sweep in and kill them,” he corrected. “My role in all of this must remain secret. But once you have Ascended, you’ll be able to tell the Council that you saved the king from the Crell but were forced to claim his power before he died.”
“You really believe they’ll buy that?”
“Frankly, I don’t really care whether they believe it or not,” Ethan said with a shrug. “But the point is that it will give you political cover. The provinces will be terrified when their Bound are suddenly cut off from the king, and they will be seeking strong leadership. Normally, a twenty-year old queen wouldn’t inspire them with confidence…but when they learn that you personally defeated Areekan’s attackers, they will flock to your banner.”
Krystia sighed as she paced across the basement and mulled it over. Slowly but surely, everything was falling into place…and when she wasn’t looking, Ethan allowed himself a thin, satisfied smile. Soon enough, his magic would be restored, and his people could finally have their vengeance.
“All right,” she whispered. “So what’s the next step?”
“You’ll need to visit Kroll at the prison and set things in motion,” Ethan told her. “Just be careful not to arouse suspicion—and make sure you don’t underestimate him.”
“I’ll manage.”
“Good. Then let’s look over these floor-plans and plot out our attack. We still have many details to hash out.”
Krystia nodded, and a shadow fell over her face. “Then let’s get to it.”
***
“All things considered, you have to admit this is a pretty good day,” Tam commented as he reclined back in his chair and twirled a glass of wine in his fingers. “Jace isn’t dying, Sel has her powers back, and we’re sitting on a pile of gold so large the king of Ikara would be jealous.”
“I doubt that,” Gor grumbled, though his gravelly voice lacked its usual venom. The chagari was sitting on the floor carefully organizing his profits from the sale, and while he wasn’t exactly smiling, his lower fangs kept peeking out from beneath his lips. “Still, it’s a good start.”
“A start for what?” Tam asked with a snort. “Building your own castle?”
Gor’s orange eyes glinted. “We shall see.”
Selvhara smiled. She could feel the joy flowing off of them, and she whispered another silent prayer of thanks to Anvira for restoring her channeling ability. It was hard to believe that she’d only lost her bond for a little more than a week; it had felt like she’d been trapped in a dark room for a small eternity. But thanks to Jason’s miracle, she was once again herself.
Her smile faded when she turned to face him. Unlike the others, he wasn’t reveling in his pile of riches; he sat opposite her at the table nursing a cup of tea, his eyes strangely distant. He was obviously still reeling from his telepathic assault upon her earlier, and no matter how much Selvhara wanted to console him, she knew he needed to work this through on his own. He had stuck his foot into a very dangerous door, and he needed to learn to close it behind him.
“I wonder what stunt you’ll pull next,” Tam said, turning to Jason with a wry grin. “Has this woman inside your head dropped any hints?”
“I haven’t spoken to her again,” Jason replied quietly.
“Why not? If I had a goddess living inside me, you can bet I’d be talking with her constantly.”
“Perhaps that’s why she didn’t choose you as her vessel,” Gor chided.
“Listen here, cat-man,” Tam said. “I could be—”
“There’s someone outside,” Jason interrupted, his brow furrowing. “Sarina and…someone else.”
On cue, the door rattled as someone slammed against it. “Open the fucking door before I break it down,” Sarina growled.
Jason lunged across the room and pulled the door open. Standing next to Sarina was a tall, armored young man wearing a familiar blue-silver tabard and cape. Elade’s bloodied, unconscious body was resting in his arms.
“Goddess,” Selvhara breathed as she leapt out of her chair. “What happened?”
“She tracked down the demons,” the man said. “She killed them, but…”
Channeling a quick burst of Aether to strengthen her muscles, Selvhara plucked Elade’s body from his grip and dashed over to the couch. She summoned her healing magic and probed the vaeyn’s body for injuries. She didn’t seem to be bleeding internally or externally, but she had three broken ribs, a shattered wrist, and a score of other cuts and bruises.
“Galivar’s blood,” Tam rasped. “Is she going to make it?”
“Yes, but get back and let me work,” Selvhara ordered. “Now.”
The others obeyed without question, and Selvhara took in a deep breath and set to work. She had healed more severe injuries before, but not since the last war. She only hoped she wasn’t out of practice.
“How did you find her?” Jason breathed. “Better yet, why did you bring her here?”
“I found him on the street carrying her body back to the temple,” Sarina said. “At first I’d assumed he’d done it himself, but once I got a better look I realized she must have stumbled upon the demons. Thankfully he was willing to see reason and bring her here instead.”
“I was happy for the alternative,” the knight replied. “If I had taken her to the temple, Highlord Alric would have clapped her in irons and dragged her back to the Citadel the moment she was stable. I was fortunate the watch patrol that found her was willing to hand her over.”
“So am I,” Tam whispered. “I thought the king had ordered all his soldiers to help the Dawn.”
“He did, but they were still in shock from what they’d seen. She suffered most of her wounds protecting them from the demons…after they had already shot her.”
Tam frowned. “They shot her? Why the hell for?”
“They probably couldn’t see the demons she was fighting,” Jason reasoned. “You’re name is Talroy, right?”
The man nodded. “Yes, Belek Talroy, squire of the Highlord. Lady Zharrs told me who you were, and I remembered from something the High—something the former Highlord Dracian once told me.”
Tam cocked an ey
ebrow. “Lady Zharrs?”
“Is that not the correct title for the cousin of King Zharrs?” Talroy asked gingerly. “I meant no offense. I know you are royalty…”
“I’m sure it’s technically the proper term,” Tam said, chuckling. “I just can’t imagine anyone looking at her and saying ‘lady’ with a straight—ow!”
Selvhara heard the smack even though she wasn’t looking. “You can call me Sarina,” the Asgardian said. “And you can call him ‘idiot.’”
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for this, Squire?” Jason asked.
Talroy sighed. “I can tell them she fought me off and escaped using some type of shadow knight technique. They’ll believe me.”
“I thought Knights of the Last Dawn weren’t supposed to lie,” Sarina said.
“They’re not, but he will be doing Elade a great favor,” Selvhara put in, turning to face them. “We appreciate your discretion, Sir Talroy.”
His puffy cheeks flushed. “Dame Devarath and I are…well, I think we’re friends. She was always willing to teach me new techniques even when the others frowned upon it. I just wish I could convince them to leave her alone.”
Selvhara stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Change always starts with one person.”
“Highlord Dracian spoke of you often,” Talroy said. “During our healing exercises, he said we had adopted many techniques you had shown him.”
Her smile faded when she thought about Tevek and what he must still be going through. Jason had been able to restore her powers, but Tevek’s might be lost forever. If Maeleon himself wasn’t willing to reforge the bond….
A moment later, Elade groaned and coughed. Selvhara leaned back over the other woman and helped to steady her.
“Belek?” the vaeyn murmured, her blue eyes fluttering open.
“Thank Maeleon you’re all right,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s going on? What happened with the demons?”
“They’re dead, and you managed to save the watchmen.”
“He brought you here to us,” Selvhara explained. “Just try and relax. Your body will still take several days to recover.”
Jason knelt down next to them. “Did you find the warlock?”
Elade closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, he wasn’t there. He must have sent the demons to attack.”
“I wonder why,” Jason murmured. “Was there anything important inside the house?”
“Let her rest,” Selvhara admonished.
“It’s all right,” Elade said. “No, it was just another random mansion as far as I could tell. The demons possessed or killed the family…I was too late to save them.”
“I doubt there’s anything else you could have done,” Sarina put in. “But why would your father murder some random noble family? That seems vicious, even for him.”
“Because he knows,” Jason whispered.
“He knows what?”
“He knows we’re looking for him.”
“Wait a moment,” Talroy said, frowning. “This warlock is your father?”
“Ethan Moore, formerly the High General of Galvia and the leader of the Hands of Whitestone,” Jason whispered. “That’s why we’re here—we’re trying to find him before he does any more damage. I hope we can trust you not to blab about it to the rest of the Dawn.”
Elade stirred and winced against the pain. “We can trust Belek. He was helping me in the search.”
Jason bit his lip. “This was all a setup. Dad knew you were looking for him and laid a trap. He wanted to distract you—us—while he did something.”
“There’s no way he could have known about this,” Tam said, shaking his head. “The only other person who knew what we were doing was Krystia. Do you really think she’s working with your crazy dad?”
“No, but he’s a well-connected man. One of his spies in the city could have seen us, and then he probably put two and two together on his own.” Jason waved a dismissive hand. “Regardless, he’ll probably be even harder to find now.”
They sat in silence for a while, and Selvhara helped Elade remove the damaged armor and thick cloak she had been wearing. At this point there was little more she could do; the woman just needed time and rest.
“I need to return to the King’s Tower before the other knights start wondering what happened,” Talroy said eventually, clasping Elade’s hand as she smiled up at him. “I’ll check back in at the rendezvous periodically and let you know if I hear anything.”
“Thank you, Belek,” Elade said. “I appreciate it.”
“Kuthos rem, my lady.”
Talroy turned and left. The rest of them sat in awkward silence, the cheerful spirit of the evening now hopelessly broken.
“So what do we do now, Jace?” Tam asked finally.
“We wait,” Jason replied, “and hope dad finally makes a mistake.”
***
The holding cells located in the warrens of the King’s Tower were surprisingly clean, at least compared to most other dank, dark dungeons. The majority of criminals in the Alliance were locked away inside local prisons, but “special” inmates like foreign agents, assassins, and occasionally renegade Unbound were sometimes held here under close guard. Krystia had always found it odd that His Majesty willingly kept the most deadly men and women in the country in such close proximity to his throne room, but apparently he and the Council believed there was no more secure place in the Alliance than right alongside a garrison of elite soldiers. Under normal circumstances, they were probably right.
But the situation today was far from normal. Krystia had come to speak with Garin Kroll, the Zarul Imperator, and if everything went well she would even plan to release him soon. The thought made her stomach twist into knots, and for the hundredth time today she reminded herself that this was just another necessary evil in her quest to liberate her fellow Unbound.
Normally, her presence here would attract unwanted attention. While other priests conduct interrogations or saw to the health of the prisoners, her duties only rarely took her away from the temple. Thankfully, she didn’t need official permission to travel where she wanted. Her repeated trips to the Asylum had proven that much.
Less than a minute after starting up an idle conversation with one of the outside guards, Krystia had all the information she needed. One of the priestesses who visited on a regular basis was named Dailyn, and she adhered to a fairly regular visitation schedule. After gleaning as much as she could about the other woman’s personality and habits from the guards, Krystia returned to the temple and plotted out the rest of her movements. Two hours later, she met Dailyn outside her quarters, telepathically subdued her, and then implanted false memories about her planned visit to the prison that evening. Once she was certain that Areekan hadn’t noticed the sudden incapacitation of one of his followers, Krystia assembled a passable disguise and then returned to the prison.
It was remarkable, she mused, just how far she had come since her first visit to Headmaster Velle at the Unbound Asylum. For all their experience and power, the Bound simply weren’t capable of defending themselves against her. They were right to fear the Unbound, but locking savants like Krystia and Sovan in prison wasn’t the answer. There had to be a better solution…and one way or another, she was going to find it.
The prison’s security was more lax than she had expected. She made it past the guards without any trouble, and she couldn’t help but recall the old axiom about prisons being easy to enter but difficult to escape. A few minutes later she located Kroll’s cell, and after taking a final deep breath to prepare herself, she walked over and stood before him.
His physical appearance was just as she’d expected: tall, muscular, and covered in tattoos that marked him as a true savage. His face had been badly burned, but otherwise he seemed to be in reasonable health. His arms and legs were shackled, and a crystalline suppression collar had been tightened around his neck. At first Krystia thought he was unconscious, but t
hen his eyes finally flicked open.
“You must think me a fool,” he whispered. “You are not Dailyn.”
“No, I’m not,” Krystia said, quickly conjuring a sound-proof bubble around the cell and surrounding area. She would need to be careful if another guard walked by, but she obviously couldn’t take the risk of them overhearing this conversation. “I’ve come to see the man who severs Ascendant bonds. Frankly, I’m not impressed.”
Kroll grunted. “Then step closer and let me show you.”
“You can’t break me, Crell. You and I have something in common.”
His entire face twitched, and he studied her with renewed interest. “Then you should be in a cell with me. Your pitiful king does not appreciate our power.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Krystia said. “But together, we might be able to change that. Your fellow agent has contacted us, and he believes you might be just the weapon we need.”
“Yes,” he whispered thoughtfully. If she didn’t know better, she would have assumed he was probing her mind…but his suppression collar would have prevented him from channeling. “Just release me, and I will take care of everything.”
Krystia snorted. “I need to be certain that you’re capable first. We’ll only have one chance here, and I don’t intend to waste it.”
He remained silent for a long moment before finally shaking his head. “You are one of us. You are smart enough to realize what we are and what we can be.”
“Yes.”
“Then join us,” Kroll said. “Embrace our shared destiny.”
“You may be Unbound, but you’re also Crell. We have nothing in common.”
He frowned. “You still believe in their borders, their nations, their rules,” he murmured. “Why? We are beyond such banalities.”
“I’m not here to debate you,” Krystia said with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “I’m here to decide if you’re worth keeping alive…and there’s only one way to find out for certain.”
The Godswar Saga (Omnibus) Page 72