Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 09 - Ghost in the Surge

by Jonathan Moeller

  Talekhris frowned. “Not precisely. I can sense her presence, and I know that she is here, somewhere within the city. But her defensive wards are too strong, and I cannot pinpoint her exact location.”

  “We know where she will be,” said Corvalis. “You said so yourself. The Pyramid of Storm, the weak spot in the barrier between the worlds.”

  Talekhris pointed his cane at the bulk of the pyramid. “Unfortunately, the Pyramid is massive, and I suspect she could work her spells from anywhere on its surface. Or within it – there are galleries and chambers beneath the Pyramid, and temples and shrines upon its sides. Searching the Pyramid will take an entire day, and we may not have that long. Additionally, I doubt the Kyracians will let a group of foreigners wander through their most sacred site.”

  “You could use your masking spell again,” said Corvalis.

  Talekhris shook his head. “There are too many sorcerers in New Kyre. At least one of them would sense it.”

  Caina looked at the crowds, watching men laboring to unload and load ships. The business of commerce carried on even through war and peace. She wondered how many of the laborers were slaves. The Kyracians allowed slavery, and Caina detested slave traders.

  But if the Moroaica succeeded, the slaves and their masters would die alongside each other.

  “We need to find Sicarion, too,” said Caina. “Otherwise he will likely try to kill the Emperor.”

  “Or us,” said Corvalis.

  “The Moroaica is the greater concern,” said Talekhris.

  “To you, maybe,” said Caina, “but I am still a Ghost of the Empire.” Until Lord Corbould had her executed, anyway. “If need be, I can deal with Sicarion while you fight the Moroaica. But I suspect we will find Sicarion and Jadriga together.”

  “Finding them is the difficulty,” said Harkus. “How shall we locate them?”

  “I think,” said Caina, “we will have to contact the Ghosts in New Kyre.”

  “The city has a Ghost circle, certainly,” said Harkus. “But do you know how to identify them?”

  “No,” said Caina. She took a deep breath. “I mean the Ghosts that accompanied the Emperor from Malarae.”

  “That is dangerous,” said Corvalis. “Sicarion boasted about going on a rampage in Malarae. The Ghosts of the capital almost certainly think that you are a traitor or a renegade, or that the magi twisted your mind.”

  “Lord Corbould will be here,” said Caina.

  “If he knows what happened in Marsis, he won’t help us,” said Corvalis.

  “But if Lord Corbould is here, then Ark will accompany him as the Champion of Marsis,” said Caina. “He was there when the war started, and Corbould will want him here for the end, as a reminder to the Kyracians.”

  “Assuming that Sicarion did not kill him,” said Corvalis.

  That thought left Caina cold. Her guilt over Halfdan’s death was painful enough. If Sicarion had killed Ark or Tanya or their children, or Theodosia or any of her other friends in Malarae, she could never forgive herself.

  “But if Ark’s here, I can convince him of the truth,” said Caina. He was one of the three men she trusted most in the world, after Corvalis and Halfdan…

  Two men now, she supposed.

  “So be it,” said Talekhris. “Let us find this Ghost.”

  ###

  An hour later Caina stood in one of the dockside taverns with Talekhris, Harkus, and Corvalis. It was the middle of the day, and the tavern was full of workers and slaves eating and drinking. No one took any notice of one ragged Nighmarian noble and his guards.

  “The ceremony is today,” said Caina. “In a few hours, the ashtairoi will clear out the Agora of Nations.”

  “It’s already begun,” said Harkus. “Some of my men saw the ashtairoi ordering the merchants to tear down their stalls for the day.”

  Caina nodded. “The Emperor and his party will gather, and the Assembly will come to escort the Emperor and the nobles to the Agora of the Archons. There the Emperor and the Archons will put their seals to the treaty of peace, and swear solemn oaths to abide by it.”

  Talekhris frowned. “How did you discover all of this?”

  Caina shrugged. “I bought a few people drinks. The Emperor and the high nobles are staying at the Imperial embassy, just off the Agora of Nations. It’s built like a fortified villa. We won’t be able to get inside, and even Sicarion might find it challenge.”

  “If you are right, if the Moroaica commanded him to kill the Emperor to create a distraction,” said Harkus, “he won’t do it in the embassy. He’ll do it in public, before as many eyes as possible, to cause a panic.”

  Corvalis shrugged. “If I was still an assassin of the Kindred and I had been hired to create a distraction, I could not think of a better way to go about it.”

  “Not all of the Emperor’s companions are housed in the embassy itself,” said Caina. “The inns nearby are full to bursting. Ark is likely there.”

  “If he is in New Kyre,” said Corvalis.

  Caina shared his doubts, but she dared not give into them. “We’ll search the inns and see if we can find him. If not, we will meet back here in an hour, and then approach Kylon of House Kardamnos.”

  “If we can,” said Corvalis. “He’s an Archon, and he’ll have bodyguards. I doubt they will let a group of foreigners approach, not now.”

  “But if we cannot find Ark, it will be worth the risk to speak with Kylon,” said Caina. “He’s a stormdancer, and can sense the presence of sorcery. He’ll be able to prove that I am who I say I am, that I’m not under the control of the magi.”

  “Very well,” said Talekhris. “We shall seek out the Champion of Marsis. I hope that you can indeed convince him to trust you.”

  “As do I,” said Caina.

  ###

  Ark looked out the window at the canal below and donned his armor.

  The Kyracians seemed mad for water. New Kyre had streets, of course, but a canal ran down every street, crowded with boats. Ark did see the efficiency of it. Hauling ore to his foundry was blasted expensive, as was carting away the slag. Certainly it would be cheaper to bring it by boat. He wondered if he could persuade the urban prefect of Malarae to build a canal…

  He pushed aside the thought and attended to the matter at hand.

  If anyone would make an attempt on the Emperor’s life, it would be today. Soon the Emperor would enter the Agora of Nations, and the Archons of the Assembly would arrive to greet him and escort him to the Pyramid of Storm for the final sealing of the treaty. A horde of high lords, minor lords, and various functionaries would accompany the Emperor, not to mention the Imperial Guards and the ashtairoi attending the Archons and the Kyracian nobles.

  A clever assassin could conceal himself in such a crowd.

  Ark finished donning his armor. It was the armor of an Imperial Guard, black plate over black chain mail, lighter and stronger than ordinary steel through the skill of the magi. After all his experiences with the Ghosts, it made Ark uneasy to wear armor forged by the Magisterium. On the other hand, he had carried a sorcery-forged sword at his side for two years now.

  He turned, buckling on his sword belt, and saw a short, ragged man standing in the doorway. A caravan guard, by the looks of him, with greasy blond hair and blue eyes. Likely one of the guards hired by one of the minor nobles who had insisted on accompanying the Emperor.

  “You’ve the wrong room,” said Ark.

  “Ark,” said the man with a woman’s voice.

  Ark frowned, his eyes narrowing, and recognition came.

  He knew that face, those icy blue eyes, and he moved at once.

  A heartbeat later he stood before Caina Amalas, his sword drawn and at her throat.

  Or at the throat of a sorcerer masquerading as her.

  Caina swallowed, a muscle in her jaw working. When he had seen the false Caina in Malarae, she had been clothed in a rich gown, her hair and makeup perfectly arranged, jewels glittering at her throat and fingers. Thi
s Caina wore the leather armor and ragged cloak of a caravan guard, and she looked utterly exhausted. Dark circles ringed her bloodshot blue eyes, and the roots of her blond hair had turned black.

  For a moment they stared at each other.

  “I see,” said Caina, “that you received a visit from Sicarion in Malarae.”

  “Sicarion?” said Ark. She had warned him against the scarred assassin.

  “He has a sorcerous mask,” said Caina, “that lets him assume any form he wishes. I take it that he used it to assume my form in Malarae?”

  Ark nodded.

  Caina closed her eyes. “Damn it. I hoped I was wrong about that.” She opened her eyes. “Who…who did he kill? Did…did Tanya…”

  “No,” said Ark. “He threatened her. He would have killed her, but I put a javelin through his shoulder.”

  “Oh,” said Caina. “Good.”

  He remembered helping her hunt for the pyromancer in Rasadda, remembered the blaze in her eyes as they fought Naelon Icaraeus in the darkness below Marsis. Had she looked so tired then? It had only been two years past.

  But those two years had been eventful ones.

  “He did kill many Ghosts,” said Ark, “and several of my workers.”

  “It was my fault,” whispered Caina. “He did it to get at me. All those people…it was just a game to him. A way to hurt me. To hurt me before he finally killed me.” She blinked. “And you don’t know…that means you don’t know if I’m really Caina Amalas or not.”

  “No,” said Ark. “Lord Aeolus has put a death warrant on your head.”

  “Aeolus?” said Caina. “I don’t know the name.”

  Ark was surprised. But, then, he hadn’t known that Aeolus had authority within the Ghosts. Perhaps only the circlemasters knew.

  “One of the high circlemasters,” said Ark. “He believes you either betrayed the Ghosts or were subverted by the magi, that you killed Lord Corbould’s son.”

  “I did,” said Caina.

  Ark frowned.

  “He attacked me at Zorgi’s Inn at Marsis,” said Caina. “Ranarius’s spirit had possessed him.”

  “Is Halfdan with you?” said Ark. “He needs to speak with Aeolus. If Aeolus realizes that you are here, he will have you killed.”

  “Halfdan’s dead, Ark,” said Caina.

  Ark felt a twitch go over his face. Halfdan had recruited him into the Ghosts, had helped him hunt for Tanya after the Moroaica’s slavers had taken her.

  “How?” said Ark at last.

  “Sicarion killed him,” said Caina. “He used the mask to copy my face and stabbed him in the back.”

  “Gods,” said Ark at last. “If this…if this is a deception, it is a cruel one.”

  “I know,” said Caina. She took a deep breath. “Are you going to kill me?”

  Ark hesitated, trying to decide what to do.

  “Ask me anything,” said Caina. “Something that only you and I would know.”

  “In Mors Crisius,” said Ark. “Why did I hate you the first time we met?”

  “I looked too much like Tanya,” said Caina. “It reminded you of her, and it hurt.”

  “In Rasadda,” said Ark. “When you left the Magisterium’s chapterhouse, after dinner with Kalastus. What did we talk about?”

  “I told you what had happened to me, what Maglarion did to me,” said Caina. “I told you why I had joined the Ghosts.”

  Ark nodded. He had never told another living soul about those conversations. The five years he had spent looking for Tanya was a part of his life that he wanted to forget.

  “So you’re really Caina,” said Ark.

  She almost smiled. “It would appear so.”

  “But Aeolus could be right,” said Ark. “You could have been twisted by the magi.”

  “It’s possible,” said Caina. “I can’t prove it. You could find one of the magi, have them check me for any spells…”

  “I would sooner trust you,” said Ark, “than any of the brothers of the Imperial Magisterium.”

  He lowered his sword, and Caina blinked.

  “You could have betrayed the Ghosts,” said Ark, “but I would sooner believe that the sun had risen in the west. And the magi could have twisted your mind, put a compelling spell upon you, but I think you would sooner die than help them.”

  “Ark,” said Caina, and she grinned and caught him in a hug. “It’s good to see you again. And I’m glad, I’m so glad, that Sicarion didn’t hurt your family.”

  “He tried. I’ll repay him for that, if I ever get the chance,” said Ark.

  Caina stepped back. “You might have the opportunity. He’s in New Kyre.”

  “What?” said Ark.

  “The Moroaica’s here as well,” said Caina. “She’s going to cast a spell to destroy the world. She sent Sicarion to kill the Emperor to create a distraction.”

  Ark grunted. “So we need to find Sicarion before he kills the Emperor, and stop the Moroaica before she works her spell and kills everyone in New Kyre.”

  “Pretty much,” said Caina.

  “Ah,” said Ark. “Just like old times, then.”

  She grinned. “Dear gods, I hope not.”

  ###

  A few moments later Caina led Ark and the others to the tavern. Ark had rounded up those he thought he could trust – Theodosia, Claudia, and Lord Martin Dorius. Caina was not surprised to see that Martin and Claudia were betrothed. She hoped Corvalis would approve.

  Corvalis, Talekhris, and Harkus waited at a table, and Corvalis looked up in surprise as they approached.

  “Corvalis!” said Claudia, and she ran forward and hugged him.

  “Sister,” said Corvalis, kissing her on the cheek. “You’re looking well.”

  “I’m glad you’re safe,” she said, still hugging him. “After what happened in Malarae, I was afraid…”

  “It’s going to take more,” said Corvalis, “than that scarred little rat Sicarion to kill me.”

  “Lord Martin,” said Harkus. “You seem to have risen in the world since our last meeting.”

  “Aye,” said Martin, looking at Caina. “I unjustly received all the credit for putting down the cult of Anubankh in Caeria Ulterior. My standing among the lords of the Curia rose considerably.” He looked at Talekhris. “And you, my lord Sage, seem…healthier.”

  Talekhris’s smile was bitter. “Death, I fear, often has that effect upon me.”

  “While it is, of course,” said Theodosia, “good to see you all again, I suggest we settle upon a plan of action at once. That scoundrel Sicarion has blood upon his hands and must be brought to heel before he can work any more harm.”

  “And we must find and stop the Moroaica,” said Talekhris.

  “I think I know how we can find Sicarion,” said Caina.

  They all looked at her.

  “How?” said Talekhris.

  “Rhames’s mask,” said Caina. “Sicarion has it, and we can use it to find him.”

  Claudia frowned. “But I couldn’t detect it when Rhames used it to disguise himself as Anashir.”

  “Nor could I,” said Talekhris, “and with no disrespect to Claudia, I’ve had rather more practice.”

  “You couldn’t sense it, either,” said Corvalis.

  “Yes,” said Caina, “but I don’t think Sicarion knows how to use it properly, or he isn’t as experienced with it as Rhames. When he…when he killed Halfdan, he was wearing the mask, using it to appear as me. And I could feel the spells upon the mask.”

  “Then you think we can detect the mask?” said Talekhris.

  “I do,” said Caina. “Sicarion is likely using the mask to disguise himself – with his scars, it would be difficult for him to pass unseen on the street with so many Imperial Guards and ashtairoi keeping watch. I can sense spells, and so can Talekhris and Claudia. We divide into three groups and search for Sicarion.”

  “I shall have to remain near the Emperor,” said Ark. “Lord Corbould wishes me to accompany him in the pr
ocession.”

  “As do Claudia and I,” said Martin. “If either the Champion or I leave the procession, Lord Aeolus will take note, and he has ordered your death.”

  “I know,” said Caina, “and it’s just as well. Stay near the Emperor and keep watch over him, and sound the warning if Sicarion approaches.”

  “The Venatorii and I,” said Talekhris, “will watch the street leading from the Agora of Nations to the Agora of Archons. Sicarion might try to attack the procession as it heads towards the Pyramid of Storm.” His face hardened. “And it will give me a chance to seek for the Moroaica.”

  “Don’t put your mask on,” said Caina, “unless absolutely necessary. I doubt either the Imperial Guards or the ashtairoi would react well to a masked man approaching the nobles.”

  Talekhris nodded.

  “Theodosia,” said Caina, “I assume you brought the Grand Imperial Opera to New Kyre?”

  She smiled. “The entire company, of course. After the Emperor and the Archons have sealed the peace, we shall sing before them in the Agora of Archons to herald the new era. It was a devil of a time picking an opera to appeal to Kyracian sensibilities, but I suspect we shall dazzle them.”

  “Have your maids and stagehands keep watch,” said Caina. “Sicarion isn’t a fool, and he knows that nobles often ignore servants. He might try to conceal himself among them. If you find him, don’t try to fight him yourself. He won’t hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way.”

  Theodosia sniffed. “Dear child, I am the leading lady of the Grand Imperial Opera, not a warrior. If I see anything amiss, I will let the Champion or Lord Martin know at once.”

  “Corvalis and I,” said Caina, “will watch the crowds. The ashtairoi were sealing off the Agora of Nations, but I suspect the commoners and slaves will watch from the streets and the rooftops overlooking the Agora. Sicarion might try to hide himself there.”

  “A solid plan,” said Martin.

  “It’s the best we can do for now,” said Caina. She looked at them. “Thank you for believing me.”

  Theodosia laughed. “We would be fools not to.”

  “You saved my wife and son,” said Ark. “If you marched into hell, I would follow you.”