Princess of Blood

by Tom Lloyd

  ‘Get back, it could be rigged,’ Toil ordered and the mercenaries briskly obeyed in the finest traditions of their profession. A crack appeared in the wall, a straight glowing seam that ran from the floor to ten or twelve feet up.

  ‘Stop,’ Toil said, but Lastani had already done so. She stepped to one side and Lynx saw the gap was less than an inch wide.

  ‘You see a wire?’ Teshen asked.

  ‘No, but if there’s one anywhere it’ll be here I’m sure.’

  Lynx looked at the shape of the wall. Two distinct curved sections were now visible, two edges of a doorway that opened outwards. He knelt and peered through the gap.

  ‘There,’ Lynx said after a while, seeing a dark shape breaking the straight lines of the outer edge. ‘Lying on the floor, something knotted round it.’

  The doors themselves were great slabs of stone at least a foot thick. Presumably at some point they would open enough to lift it off the ground, then, when it went further, the wire would break and drop the grenade down on to its pin. But an inch gap would direct most of the blast outside, most likely Bade would have rigged it to only blow once the doors were a foot or so wide.

  He gave a grunt of surprise as someone placed a foot on his shoulder and put their full weight on him while they inspected the top.

  ‘Can’t see a second up here,’ Toil reported. ‘Seems sloppy, that.’

  ‘He’s got a city to fight his way out of,’ Teshen pointed out. ‘I’d save all the grenades I could for that.’

  ‘True. Sitain, can you see anything up here?’

  The young woman peered through, taking her time before replying. ‘Nope, nothing.’

  ‘Right then, just the one to deal with maybe.’ She stepped down off Lynx and hauled him back up, giving him a patronising pat as he groaned and rubbed his shoulder. ‘It’s sitting on the floor. I can’t see the pin from here.’

  ‘How do we cut the wire so it doesn’t lift as we open the door?’

  ‘Atieno.’ Toil beckoned the man over and gestured for him to crouch down with her. ‘Can you see the wire holding it?’

  ‘I … Yes, I believe so.’

  ‘Can you cut it without messing with the grenade?’

  The mage frowned then slipped his fingers into the crack as he pressed his face up close to get the best view he could. ‘No.’

  ‘Lastani, then. Bade’ll have rigged it to lift then drop again when the wire fixed between the doors is broken. It falls on the pin and we all die.’

  ‘Give me a sword,’ Lastani said. One was handed over, then the mercenaries moved to the sides as Lastani crouched at the crack. Lynx felt a greasy crawling feeling on his skin as she cast a needle-tight stream of ice magic through the space, as far from the grenade as possible. The stone beneath it groaned and cracked under the sudden intense cold. She kept it up for ten seconds or more before breaking off and reaching out with the sword to bring it down with what little force was possible given the angle. It proved enough, though, the now-brittle wire needing little encouragement to snap.

  ‘Done,’ Lastani called. ‘And we seem not to be dead.’

  ‘Atieno take one side, Lastani the other – open it slowly.’

  Toil stood defiantly in the middle, either sure of her assessment or confident any grenade would kill everyone in the room anyway. The curved stone slabs slid slowly open, revealing a square stone platform with pillars on both sides flanking an archway that led on to the familiar treacherous paving of the upper chamber.

  Just as the doors passed halfway there was a snap of wire breaking and something dropped down towards them. Lynx felt a lurch in his stomach as a small dark shape appeared – watching in numb horror as the grenade swung towards Toil. Somehow the woman dodged to one side. He saw her eyes widen as the pin almost brushed her cheek as it passed, but then her hands moved in a blur and Toil snatched at the wire it was attached to. The grenade jolted upwards, arrested in its curve, but wasn’t dislodged and in the next moment Teshen was there – slipping a hand under the bottom of the grenade to safely cradle it.

  ‘Shit,’ Toil panted, realising how close she’d come to detonating a grenade with her face. It had been tied so that the mushroom-shaped pin led the way as it swung, either colliding with whoever walked out or continuing up to strike the door lintel above. Either way, it would have killed them all.

  ‘Shit,’ Teshen agreed, extracting the pin and handing the pieces to Toil as he went to deactivate the one in front of the open door.

  Lynx raised his gun, inspecting the platform and upper chamber beyond in case there were any Charnelers left behind. He could see no one, but kept his gun up until Toil had stepped out on to the platform and tested it for safety. Before too long she was satisfied with what she saw and went to the archway that led out.

  ‘Paint,’ she called back to the others. ‘Bade’s left us a path at least.’

  ‘You trust it?’ Lynx replied.

  ‘Nope.’

  Toil hefted her staff and gave it to Aben to check the path alongside Lastani. ‘It seems solid, but keep testing the ground that’s been painted.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘I’m checking the direction.’

  She shucked her pack off her back and removed a folded map as Aben started to probe the slabs. Lynx tilted his head to see it better, realising it was the one of the city with the entrances to the labyrinth marked. She pulled her compass and glanced over at the upper chamber stretching away in both directions from where they stood.

  ‘We go left.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  Toil grinned. ‘I don’t, but I’m guessing the Knights-Charnel are pretty determined when they want to be. Either the city’s fallen or there’s still fighting going on. Either way, we can try to follow Bade out and hope we’re not in the heart of the enemy, or pick our own path.’

  ‘What about the paint?’

  ‘It’s dry so it likely takes us to the keep, which he blew up, or their safehouse, which he blew up. Either way, you’ve got a lot of digging on your hands and he won’t be there once you’re out.’

  ‘So you know where you’re going?’

  ‘Of course!’ She squinted at the map and nodded. ‘Yup, I definitely know where we’re going – just not so much where we are right now. Sometimes you’ve got to guess, eh?’

  The journey to the surface proved quick by comparison to their descent, the looming emptiness of the upper chamber less intimidating to Lynx now he could see through magic-enhanced eyes. After the maspid attack on Teshen’s party back in the lower labyrinth, they kept a keen eye open for more of the creatures but the long unbroken reaches of the chamber continued to be empty. It was less than an hour before Toil had found one exit and used the glyph marked above it to navigate to the one she was looking for. Sitain joined her at the front of the small column as they trudged up a winding path towards a wide circular cave. Toil assured them that above their heads would be Prophet’s Square, but she stopped short of entering the cave itself despite the fact there was the faintest light creeping down the stairway – a sign the labyrinth was open again. Lynx had been trying to ignore the possibility that they would get all the way through the labyrinth only to discover the doors still closed, but it appeared the ancient Duegar had been cleverer than that.

  ‘What is it?’ Lynx whispered.

  ‘I’m listening,’ she replied. ‘We don’t know who’s up there, remember?’

  ‘And we don’t know if they’ve got orders to shoot anything that comes out of these entrances,’ Suth added. ‘Might not have been told to be overly discerning.’

  ‘So, what? We just stand here?’ Lynx tried not to shift his feet as the agitation clawed at him again, so close to the surface he could smell the faint smoke on the air. ‘Wait, do you smell that?’

  ‘Smoke?’

  He shook his head. ‘Something else? Piss?’

  They all sniffed hard and Toil gave a laugh.

  ‘That settles it then,’ she announ
ced. ‘Only mercenaries’d be dumb enough to piss anywhere near one of these labyrinth entrances!’

  ‘We like to think of it as keeping to the traditions of martial boldness from bygone ages,’ Safir commented from further back.

  ‘Aye, well, half of those ancient warriors got drunk before battle so mebbe you’re right.’ Toil took a step into the room. ‘HEY!’ she yelled, causing her companions to flinch at the echoing shout. ‘Who’s up there?’

  There was a pause. Eventually a tentative voice called back down. ‘Who’s down there?’

  ‘Someone who wants to come up.’

  ‘Come on then.’

  ‘Someone who doesn’t want to get shot.’

  ‘Come up slow then!’

  ‘Who’s up there, first?’

  ‘Someone who’s going to drop a fucking grenade down this hole soon if you don’t stop yapping! Get your shitstain arses up here and if you really fucking behave yerselves an’ I like the look o’ you, I won’t shoot you. How’s that for fucking assurances?’

  Toil glanced back at the others. ‘Varain?’ she whispered.

  Lynx shrugged. ‘Sounds like his distinctive charm.’

  ‘VARAIN?’ Toil yelled up again.

  There was another pause. ‘Toil?’

  She gave the others a relieved grin and set off. ‘It’s me!’ she called. ‘Give me a moment to stop the guardians here.’

  She waved Lastani forward and pulled her last fire-charged glass ball, the pair of them casting fire and ice over the two glyphs on the wall. By the fading blue glow of their light, Toil checked around then set off for the open stairway, careful to have her hands up just in case as she neared the grainy light spilling down the steps. By unspoken agreement the others hung back a few paces. She realised this just as she started up the steps and cast them a half-amused glower before trotting up and greeting the Cards at the top.

  Once clear it was safe, the rest quickly followed, blinking as they emerged into the grey of a predawn that was still brighter than underground. The plain stone steps led up into the centre of a large city square with apartment blocks atop arcades of shops on all sides. A stone statue lay fallen to one side – a figure Lynx didn’t recognise that had been used to anchor a tent on the other side and a field canteen at the far end. Checking behind, Lynx saw the statue had once stood atop the stone block here, falling when one side dropped away to become steps when the labyrinth first opened.

  The Cards were slow to wake despite Varain’s yelling, the whole camp looking subdued, given their comrades were returning from an ancient wonder. Beyond them was a wide array of tents with a few flags scattered around – depicting an axe with a red scarf tied to its shaft. The buildings were dark, but presumably still occupied if the Red Scarves were camped in the square.

  ‘You made it then?’ Anatin said, pushing his way past sleepily rising mercenaries. ‘Success?’

  ‘Of a sort,’ Toil replied.

  ‘What the fuck’s that?’ Anatin demanded, blinking and pointing at her. ‘What’s that on your skin?’

  ‘Long story. What’s the situation here?’

  ‘It’s been busy for some,’ he said, frowning in confusion. ‘Us, not so much – though unlike you lot we didn’t think of using the time to get new tattoos. When the labyrinth closed up behind you, the Monarch left a guard at the Fountain and sent us to the Red Scarves. Before we could be deployed to the fighting, the line collapsed and they were routed all the way down the canal.’

  Toil cursed. ‘The Charnelers have the city?’

  ‘Not quite – Charnelers broke ’em in the afternoon,’ Payl supplied, joining her commander. ‘Messy rearguard work meant some major districts got chewed up in the process, but it was dusk by the time they passed the palace. Monarch didn’t stay to defend that, had troops preparing the ground behind so they could make a stand at the Senate instead. Better ground for warding off attack, and she gambled they’d not be able to push through before nightfall.’

  ‘Word is the Crown-Prince is harrying them hard. They pulled back on the main front once dark came because, well, you know what a confused shitstorm of fire and blood a night battle becomes.’ Anatin grimaced at the idea as did several around him. ‘They’ve dug in just out of catapult range and secured their lines, but we’re separated from the Jarraziran troops so we’ve no idea what’s left. Heard skirmishes all night, but your brother’s made a deal with the Charnelers and we’re all wrapped up tight. If I’d been in a position to object I might’ve not liked that, but …’

  ‘Vigilance is doing as I’ve asked,’ Toil clarified. ‘I asked him to hold here, make sure we didn’t come up in a Charneler camp.’

  ‘Where is here again?’ Lynx asked before anyone else could.

  ‘Prophet’s Square.’ She nodded to the fallen statue. ‘The prophet Otheq, for any scholars among you. We’re in the north-east of the city, mebbe a mile from the palace. Far enough from the canal that I reckoned Bade wouldn’t be aiming for this exit and the Charnelers wouldn’t be so interested.’

  Lynx eased his pack off his shoulders and wandered over to the disappointingly empty field kitchen. ‘What’s the plan now?’

  ‘Now?’ Anatin echoed. ‘No rest for the wicked, eh?’

  ‘Aye, kick the rest of these lazy shits out of their bedrolls. It’s time for the Cards to earn their pay. And someone go fetch Vigilance.’

  Reft pointed across the square. Heads turned and through the array of tents Lynx saw a party of Red Scarves was advancing towards them.

  ‘Already on his way? Good, we don’t want to waste any more time. Anatin, I want them ready to move out in five minutes.’

  Lynx watched the group of Red Scarves march forward, the Cards only reluctantly making way as Toil’s brother made a beeline for her. Clearly there hadn’t been many friends made between the mercenary companies, but the Cards had more sense than to block his way and Vigilance walked like a man well aware of that. He was dressed ready for battle, a bulky jacket on his back, mage-gun over one shoulder and a dozen armed men and women on his heel. Beside him walked an older woman with a ghastly, skull-like face that made her look like some sort of demon in the weak light.

  ‘Vigilance, old auntie Ul,’ Toil said in greeting.

  The Red Scarves’ commander paused on the point of snapping a retort, looked at Toil’s face then at the others around her too. The tattoos, Lynx realised.

  ‘What the buggery happened to you lot?’

  ‘It’s a good question,’ Toil said with a smile, ‘but it’s also a long story.’

  ‘I don’t care that much. Where are we?’

  ‘Bade’s grabbed a haul of God Fragments I think, we need to stop him getting them out of the city.’

  He nodded and turned to the terrifying woman, apparently his lieutenant, then one of the others behind. ‘Ulith, see to our nannies. Sathra, start getting the troops awake quietly.’

  ‘Nannies?’ Toil asked as the two broke off in different directions.

  ‘A squad of Torquen dragoons and some officers, supposedly making sure I keep to the terms of my agreement. You’ve put me in not the finest position, little sister. I don’t like breaking contracts, even if it ends up only being in pretence.’

  ‘Reckon I can find something to distract our religious friends. Once I’ve got a proper sense of the situation we’ll be moving.’

  ‘The situation is that the city’s been roughly romanced most o’ the way down her canal!’ Vigilance snapped. ‘And a lot of it’s down to you.’

  ‘Yet if I’d said that, you’d just have called me arrogant.’

  ‘Aye, you’re that too. So you better give me a damn good reason why the Red Scarves broke their contract and sat on their arses here for a day and night while the bloody Charnelers tore the guts out of this city!’

  ‘Had word of the Monarch?’

  He threw up his hands. ‘Fucked if I know. We’ve got a few squads of Torquen watching us and sentry posts outside the camp so getting intel i
sn’t proving easy. I assume she’s still alive and free but that’s all I’ve got. The deal I made with the Charnelers means unless you’ve found something pretty gods-howling wonderful down there, there’s a decent chance my captains will string you an’ me up before they bugger off out of Jarrazir.’

  ‘We found …’ For a moment Toil seemed at a loss. ‘Like I said, it’s a long story. We found enough, the Monarch won’t object about you breaking a contract unless she loses the city. Those Torquen troops …’

  ‘Are getting a metal breakfast,’ Vigilance finished angrily. ‘Which I ain’t happy about anyway, but at least they’re Torquen scum and don’t count as real people. We’ve been allowed to sit here all quiet and meek because they don’t need the distraction while they take the city, but sooner or later today we’ll end up co-opted or disarmed. The Monarch’s troops won’t last beyond midday from what I’ve seen. Either she surrenders or someone does it for her and puts her head on a plate to welcome their new fanatical overlords.’

  ‘We’ve no time to lose, then,’ Toil declared.

  ‘So you do have a plan?’

  ‘Don’t I always?’

  ‘Aye. I remember some of your plans when we were growing up, though,’ Vigilance said darkly. ‘More’n a few lacked any sort of sense.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ve learned from my mistakes.’

  ‘What, then?’

  She grinned. ‘They’ll be getting ready for a final push? Best time for an all-out attack, then. Get your men ready, it’s time to cut the head off the snake.’

  Chapter 35

  There was little time for reunions for the Cards and little appetite for back-slapping and cheers. The past day and night had seen bloody and brutal conflict in Jarrazir. While they had been spared the worst of the fighting, the wholesale destruction that had torn through the ancient city like a rampaging elemental had lowered every spirit.

  Only the strange new tattoos seemed to garner much more than gruff acknowledgement, and even then, in the growing predawn light, their faint sheen was barely perceptible. The design was obvious enough, especially once Deern cheerfully stripped to the waist to show it off, but the ethereal, magical quality seemed to have been left in the darkness.