… And he expected them to believe he would preserve the Empire?
Now, Elaine sent.
Johan drew on his rage, on his hatred, and threw it at the Witch-King. Last time, it hadn’t worked; this time, he had help. The Witch-King seemed to wilt for a long moment, his form flickering slightly as Johan’s magic dug into his very being, before he stood up. Magic boiled on the air between them, reflecting or absorbing Johan’s power. Johan clutched his hatred to his breast, forcing himself to remember all the horrors the Witch-King had committed …
“How many children were killed because they were believed to be powerless?” he shouted, as his power grew stronger. “How many young magicians died because they didn’t know how to handle their powers? How many people died because of you?”
The Witch-King stood there, impassive. Johan felt a calming spell shimmer into existence, moments before it was pushed away by the wards. It was a tactic that had worked once, Johan recalled; it couldn’t be allowed to work again. He dragged up all the memories, all the humiliations that Jamal had subjected him to, and threw them at his target. The Witch-King eyed him with cold hatred, but seemed otherwise untroubled.
He wants me intact, Johan thought. The idea of being controlled was bad enough, but having his whole personality scrubbed and replaced by something ancient was quite another. He’s trying to find a way to neutralise me without actually doing any harm.
A piece of rock was pulled from the ground and hurled towards him. Johan was too angry to care, or to take much note when the rock slammed into the regenerating wards and dropped to the ground. The Witch-King took a step forward, pressing against the wards; Johan refocused his anger, but it no longer seemed so effective. Cold fear darted down the back of his mind, mocking him. If he couldn’t stop the Witch-King …
The ground shuddered, violently. Johan fell, dragging Elaine with him. The stone turned to liquid; he tried to pull himself out before it solidified over his hands and knees, trapping him. But it was too late. They were both trapped and helpless.
“You don’t know how to use what you have, boy,” the Witch-King said. “For all your power, you are nothing to me.”
Johan cursed. He had a knife at his belt, but his hands and feet were stuck. Killing himself was no longer an option. The Witch-King peered down at him, his face expressionless …
… And then his burning hands reached for Johan’s face.
***
Elaine had known – she had always known – that they wouldn’t be able to match the Witch-King in a direct fight. Her magic was weak, Johan’s magic was undeveloped; the Witch-King had over a thousand years of experience in using both wild and high magic. The complex web of spells that surrounded him only proved it. Valiant had been a genius in his day, she recognised; indeed, she couldn’t help wondering if he’d used a modified version of the Bookworm spell himself.
But he doesn’t have the knowledge I have, she thought, as she launched the first set of spells into his spellwork. Nor does he understand how it all fits together.
She felt Johan’s panic as the Witch-King reached for him, but refused to allow herself to be distracted as her spells went to work. Beating the Witch-King directly was impossible, yet if he kept his attention focused on them he wouldn’t have time to notice what she was doing …
It was hard, so hard, to focus, but the library’s wards held her steady. Elaine clung to Johan, feeling his panic lashing out at the Witch-King, and watched her spells go to work. The Witch-King’s web was so complex that only a handful of tiny changes would be enough to twist it out of shape. And he’d start to lose control … she drew on the wards, turning the stone to dust, and yanked Johan free a second before the Witch-King could touch him. She had no idea if he could be saved, once the Witch-King wormed his way into his mind, but she rather doubted it. The Inquisitors probably wouldn’t even let her try.
“There is no escape,” the Witch-King said. “I …”
He broke off. Too late, Elaine thought, vindictively. Far too late.
The Witch-King’s fires flickered, growing brighter for a long second. Elaine pulled Johan back as the Witch-King stared at his hands, confused. And then he looked back at her, his gaze trapping her where she stood.
“What have you done?”
“You crafted hundreds of spells together to make your new form,” Elaine said. She couldn’t not answer, not when the sheer force of his presence was pushing against her mind. “But you didn’t really understand what you were doing, any more than the idiots who cast your spells understood what they were doing. You gave me the idea, really.”
She knew she was babbling, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I inserted my spells into your web while you were focused on Johan, using them to tear your existence apart,” she added. “You will need more power than exists in the entire world to keep yourself going now – and if you start shifting into Johan, you’ll just come apart faster. You’re dying.”
The Witch-King raised a hand. Johan shoved Elaine to one side as a flash of deadly red light blasted through where she’d been, moments ago. Elaine rolled over, scrambling back to her feet, just in time to see the Witch-King’s body start to flicker. The blue fires were searching for magic …
He can drain every magician in the world, she thought. She ran through the calculations again, just in case. No problems surfaced to worry her. It won’t be enough to keep him alive.
“Everyone I touched will die,” the Witch-King said. Blue sparks were flickering off his body now, expending themselves uselessly. She could sense the spellwork slowly coming apart as her magic gnawed through it. He couldn’t divert his attention without making it worse. “You’ll throw the Empire into chaos.”
“It’s already in chaos,” Johan said.
Elaine nodded in agreement. She had no idea what would happen to the Witch-King’s tools, although death was as likely an answer as any. But, with or without them, the Empire was already dead. The Golden Throne was gone, the Watchtower was gone; the only surviving institution was the Peerless School. She had no interest in trying to hold the Empire together, not when it had turned into a nightmare. Besides, without the Golden Throne, she might no longer be considered Empress.
“Goodbye,” she said, tightly.
The Witch-King lifted a finger, his power holding her in place as he shaped a curse. Elaine waited, resigned to her fate; blue light flickered over his hand, heralding a deadly curse, then vanished as his power finally died. The fires vanished; his presence snapped out of existence, as if someone had cast a darkening spell. And the remains of his skeleton clattered to the ground.
“It’s over,” Elaine said. Her head was pounding, but she was alive. They were alive. “We won.”
Johan grabbed her in a hug. “Now what?”
“Good question,” Elaine said. She smiled wearily and then kissed him. “Do you know? I haven’t the slightest idea.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“The armies are still unsure over who should claim the city first,” Dolman said. “Do you really intend to leave?”
Elaine nodded. Two days after the Witch-King had fallen, the first of the armies had arrived at the Seven Peaks. It had been in disarray, however, after several of its officers had dropped dead, allowing four other armies to arrive and set up camp. The confused reports the surviving officers had received had convinced them to wait and see what happened, rather than trying to force the remaining tunnels.
“There’s nothing left for me here,” she said. Daria had promised she would eventually meet them in Ida, once she’d sorted out her position in the pack. “They’d probably be happier if I wasn’t here, anyway.”
“Probably, Your Supremacy,” Dolman said. She still hadn’t been able to talk him out of calling her the Empress. “Do you really intend to just let it go?”
Elaine looked at him. “If I decided to remain Empress,” she said, “could the Empire be saved?”
“I doubt it,” Dolman said. “But you could pat
ch together an agreement …”
“One that would, at best, leave me a powerless monarch,” Elaine said. “Eight Inquisitors are not enough to force the world to obey me. So many other magicians are dead …”
She sighed, inwardly. Hawke and Sarah had left the day after the Witch-King fell, taking with them their knowledge of ways to do things without magic. She had a feeling that several kings were in for a nasty shock. They couldn’t call on the Inquisition any longer, or the Court Wizards. The balance of power had changed in so many ways.
“You don’t have to stay yourselves,” she said, carefully.
“We will remain to defend the Peerless School,” Dolman said. His voice was very firm. “I suspect the various kingdoms will agree, eventually, to leave the school in place, but politically neutral. It is, after all, the only place to learn magic in the world.”
Elaine had her doubts. Sarah and the others knew some of her spells now … and it wouldn’t be long before they started developing new ones of their own. Perhaps there would be a balance between the old traditions and the newer insights into how magic actually worked … or perhaps there would be war, eventually. But it was no longer her problem.
“I’ve adjusted the wards on the Great Library,” she said, instead. “You’ll have access to everything, save for the Black Vault. Better to let that remain sealed.”
And hope that keeps them out of enemy hands, she thought. The kings would probably start developing war spells of their own, but at least they’d be starting from scratch. They can’t get into the vault without me.
“You could stay,” Dolman said. “A handful of charms and no one would recognise you as anything other than a librarian.”
“I wanted to be a librarian,” Elaine said. She’d resigned herself to leaving the Great Library when she’d planned to take Johan out of the Golden City, but she hadn’t been happy about it. “Now … better to just go.”
“As you wish,” Dolman said. “You will, of course, be welcome.”
“Not to the kings,” Elaine said.
Dolman nodded. “The dragons returned,” he said. “Deferens’ homeland has been invaded by three other kingdoms. They didn’t put up much of a fight; the leadership fought like mad bastards, but everyone else practically surrendered as soon as they saw the enemy approaching. I don’t think they really wanted to fight.”
“Good,” Elaine said.
“And many of their priest-kings dropped dead,” Dolman added. “They were the ones who steered the society, after all.”
Elaine nodded. The worst of kingdoms would still be an improvement, once the last diehards were hunted down and killed. She had a feeling that most of the population would be grateful for a steadier form of government, particularly the women. It was unlikely that anyone – anyone else – related to Deferens would be allowed to live, but the remainder of the population should be fine.
And the Golden Throne no longer exists, she added, silently. They don’t pose a real threat.
“You can take control of the city now, if you wish,” she said. “I’ll be leaving in an hour or so, with Johan and Dread.”
“Keep the remaining dragons in Ida,” Dolman advised. “They’re too dangerous to be left around.”
He paused. “Is there nothing your partner can do for Dread?”
“Dread didn’t want Johan to try to restore his powers,” Elaine said. She’d been surprised, but Dread was in his forties. He’d been an Inquisitor longer than Elaine had been alive. She couldn’t really blame him for wanting a rest. “I think he wants to retire.”
“He’ll be welcome back, whenever he wishes,” Dolman grunted. “As will you.”
But not Johan, Elaine guessed. Figuring out what to do with future wild magicians would be tricky as hell. Let them live – and risk them turning into monsters – or kill them out of hand? And yet that too was no longer her problem. The prospect of super-magicians scares everyone.
“I thank you,” she said, formally. “You’ll spread the cover story?”
“You’ll be going to the Summer Isles, if anyone bothers to ask,” Dolman said. “I hear it’s quite warm down there.”
Elaine smiled, then surprised herself by giving the older man a hug. “Take care of yourself,” she said, as she took one final look around the office. “And try not to get the school taken apart and scattered over a hundred kingdoms.”
Dolman escorted her as she walked through the silent school. It had been the place she’d learnt magic, and yet … it had also been the place where she’d been a laughing stock. She understood why Sarah had left, all right; if things had been different, it wouldn’t have been hard for her to have taken Sarah’s place. The classrooms looked oddly empty; it would be weeks, if not months, before the Peerless School reopened. If, of course, it ever did.
“You will be welcome,” Dolman said, again. “There’s no way to know what will happen in the future.”
Elaine nodded. The Empire might be gone, but the spy network was still in place. There were a dozen minor wars already underway, along with two revolutions and a series of political assassinations that could easily lead to civil war. Any agreement Dolman and the Administrator reached with the kings could be changed, within days, as the kings were replaced by other figures. And, without the force needed to compel everyone to behave themselves, it would only get worse. Ida, at least, would be relatively immune to chaos; the mountains would provide some protection, as would the dragons.
And us, Elaine thought, as she stepped out of the doors. The Great Library could be seen in the distance, calling to her. She resisted it firmly; there was no time, whatever else happened, to give in to the urge to return to the library and stay there. We’ll be living there too.
“Thank you,” she said, gravely. “And good luck.”
***
“So,” Chime said. “When are you getting married?”
Charity smiled as Johan flushed at the question. It wasn’t a stupid question – their younger siblings knew that Johan and Elaine were bonded together – but it was definitely an embarrassing one. And it raised the question of just who would be walking with Elaine down to the altar …
“When we feel like it,” Johan said, finally. He tossed a pleading look at Charity. “But it probably won’t be here.”
“You should stay,” Chime said, seriously. It wasn’t hard to see she wasn’t being entirely sincere. “You’re family.”
Johan shook his head. “I can’t stay,” he said. “And I don’t want to stay.”
Charity nodded as she chased their younger siblings out. She’d been surprised when Johan had agreed to come and meet them; indeed, she’d made the offer partly to soothe her guilty conscience. And it had taken hours of gentle but firm insistence to convince their siblings to be in the same room as Johan for more than a few minutes. But it hadn’t been a complete disaster, thankfully. Their family deserved something after everything they’d endured.
“We’ll be staying here,” she said, once the door was closed. “I did think about heading to the estate, but … they still need to go to school.”
“Just don’t rebuild too much of the Great Houses,” Johan said. “And don’t try to overthrow the government.”
Charity nodded. Between Deferens and the Witch-King, thousands of magicians were dead and the Empire was gone. She, for one, would be happy merely keeping the family secure; Jay, if he wished, could try competing for supreme power. But with the Grand Sorcerers no longer in existence, the ultimate prize was impossible to capture. Who knew what would happen in the future?
“I’ll do my best,” she promised. She was young, but at least she had a war record now. It would wipe away the stain of being a slave, she hoped. “And Johan … if you do have children, let them know about us.”
Johan visibly hesitated. “It would depend, I suppose,” he said. “If they don’t have powers at first …”
Charity winced. “I understand,” she said. “But it would be better for them to know their
relatives.”
“Maybe,” Johan said. “Because I am not going to allow my children to be tormented as they grow up.”
“I won’t let it happen,” Charity assured him. “I swear.”
“Then stick to it,” Johan said.
Charity nodded, once. She didn’t really understand why Johan wanted to go to Ida – he could easily have talked Elaine out of going to Ida, if he’d wished – but in some ways she was grateful. Johan was just too disturbing. It would be better for the world if he was hidden in a mountain kingdom, rather than all too visible in the Golden City. Besides … he’d been calm over the last two days, but who knew when he’d next lose control of his emotions?
She looked up as the wards tingled. “Your partner is here,” she said. She rose to her feet. “I do think they’re planning the wedding now …”
“We’re not marrying for power, if we marry,” Johan said, firmly. “It shouldn’t be a great event …”
“You’re marrying the Empress,” Charity said. “Just think what that would do for the family name.”
Johan surprised her. He smiled. “Just think of who else she’s related to,” he said. “It won’t make us very popular.”
***
Johan hadn’t been sure what to expect when Charity had invited him to House Conidian. A whole series of apologies? Threats? Or pleas for him to stay in the city and work for the family? But instead, they’d had a small dinner and chatted about nothing. He’d almost felt like he belonged.
It wouldn’t last, he knew, as he rose to greet Elaine. They were scared of him – he could see it in their faces – in a way they’d never been scared of Jamal. But then, Jamal had been powerful and yet understandable. Johan … was something altogether different. The killing of Powerless children had now been forbidden, but Johan wondered just how much notice would be paid to the law. The prospect of another wild magician would scare the Great Houses quite badly.
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