‘Let’s roast some lizard.’
She peered over the top of the cart, and raised a small ball of flame from the smouldering package. She flicked it at high speed towards the nearest part of the Rahain shieldwall, sending it right through a crossbow slot, where it burst onto the soldiers crammed in behind.
Another ball, and another, she kept going until the fire at her feet burnt out, but by that time the flames from the shieldwall were big and close enough for her to feel them.
She raised her arms, her hands clasped together, then swept them apart, and flames roared across the face of the Rahain front line in one rapid motion, sending every shield alight in an explosion of fire. She dived back down behind the cart, the heat from the raging line of flame sending sweat down her forehead.
Benel laughed. ‘Fuck me, blondie,’ he said. ‘That might do it.’
He stood, and walked out into the plaza. All shooting from the crossbows had ceased, and the Rahain lines were pulling back in confusion, the front ranks of their soldiers incinerated in the intense corridor of fire.
Benel put his hands on his hips and faced the great hall, where the remnants of the Leftovers had gathered, their mouths hanging open.
‘The gatehouse is ours!’ he cried. ‘Barricade the archways!’
Keira allowed herself to be healed by a Sanang hedgewitch, despite not having suffered any major injury, as she liked the rush it gave her. Kylon and Fang had needed it more, having taken two bolts apiece. Leah was uninjured, having been left behind while they had attacked the balcony earlier.
The Rahain had left them alone for several hours, giving the Leftovers time to build barricades at each of the three arched entrances, and clear away the heaps of dead. Three thousand had flown in with Benel. Now barely half of that remained.
Captain Tully was occupying and fortifying the twin outer entrances, while Benel took command of the archways leading to the interior of the city. The soldiers had looted the shops, and come away with a wide selection of luxury goods, and supplies of food and drink. The cleared-out garrison buildings had also yielded stores of crossbows and bolts, which the alliance soldiers at both ends of the plaza were happy to take.
Benel had announced to a sceptical audience of warriors and troopers that he had loosed a fire arrow, and must have hit something flammable. Keira noticed that many were staring at her, but none would meet her eye.
What was left of her squad huddled round her in a looted shop, shielding her from questions, and growling at any that got too close.
‘We knew something was up,’ Niall said. ‘Our very own fucking fire mage.’
‘Why were you keeping it a secret?’ Flora asked.
‘I was worried people might think I was that fire mage,’ she said. ‘You know, the crazy one.’
Niall squinted at her. ‘I had this mad dream,’ he said, ‘at least, I think it was a dream.’
‘So your telling us you’re not the wanted war criminal?’ Flora said.
‘Exactly,’ Keira said. ‘I’m not her. Do you all understand?’
The troopers glanced at each other, but nodded. Leah sat to the side, smirking.
Kylon limped over and sat down.
‘How you doing?’ she asked.
He grunted.
‘He took two bolts to his guts,’ Leah said. ‘How the fuck do you think he’s doing?’
Keira turned, scowling.
‘I was watching from up on the balcony,’ Leah went on. ‘You charged a fucking Rahain shield wall. After everything we went through in the war. How many times did we see our folk do that and die? I saw Kylon get hit, and Fang go down, yet you were still running.’
‘The perils of putting me in charge,’ Keira said, taking a swig of looted brandy. ‘I’m apt to do crazy shit.’
‘She needed to get close enough,’ Kylon said.
‘Whoever you are, Lieutenant,’ Niall said, smoking, ‘that was pretty fucking spectacular. Is that what we’re getting from now on? I mean, Benel can stand beside you while you do it, and claim he is loosing his lucky arrows, but with you at our head, the Leftovers are going to kick some lizard arse.’
She shook her head. ‘You guys know, but most other folk didn’t see what happened. The bolts were flying, and folk were getting hit everywhere. Give it a bit of time, and they’ll believe Benel’s bullshit story about the arrow.’
‘Just make sure none of you talk,’ Kylon said, his dark eyes boring into each of the troopers.
Keira stretched, and got to her feet.
‘I’m off to find Benel.’
Niall nodded at Flora, and the young Holdings trooper stood, a crossbow in her hands.
Keira frowned at her. ‘Come on then.’
They left the shop, and walked towards the barricades. Wagons, tables, doors, and all manner of debris had been piled up in the three archways, and an entire company of Leftovers were in position guarding it, their crossbows ready.
Keira went up to the closest barrier.
‘Anything happening?’ she asked the sergeant there, a short, tough-looking Holdings woman.
She saluted Keira.
‘No hostile activity from the enemy, ma’am,’ she said, ‘but they’re building a wall around the gatehouse.’
Keira peered through the barricade, squinting into the lamplight of the underground Rahain streets. Ahead, out of crossbow range, Rahain workers were constructing a stone wall, which curved out in a semi-circle, blocking off access to the three archways. The wall was only waist high in places, but dozens of labourers in brown tunics were bustling to finish it.
‘Let the bastards build their wall,’ she said, ‘at least the wee fucks aren’t attacking us.’
The sergeant nodded, a wary look in her eye as she glanced at Keira.
‘You seen Mage Benel?’ Keira asked.
‘He’s in the jewellers,’ the sergeant said, pointing over at a shop behind her. ‘He said he wasn’t to be disturbed.’
‘Cheers.’
Keira nodded at Flora, and they strode across the wide plaza, smeared with the dried blood of the alliance. Two guards were standing at the door of the jewellery shop, its windows smashed.
The troopers went to block Keira’s path, then realised who it was approaching them.
‘The mage said no one was to come in, ma’am,’ said one of them.
‘Aye. I’m sure he’ll make an exception for me, but.’
The troopers looked at each other, and moved out of her way.
‘Thanks, lads,’ she said, walking past them into the shop.
The interior was wrecked, with shelves of rings and necklaces ransacked and scattered across the floor. Bright oil lamps burned on the walls, their light reflecting off the enormous gilt-edged mirrors.
Keira heard the sound of crashing coming from a room at the back of the shop.
‘Stay here,’ she said to Flora.
She went up to the door, and swung it open. Benel had a bronze statuette in his hand, and was using it to smash up anything in range. A glass cabinet was toppled onto the floor, and he kicked it. Lines of fatigue and rage were etched into his face. Keira closed the door behind her.
‘Having fun?’
His mouth opened in a snarl, and he stopped, his arm raised.
‘Oh, it’s you.’
She sat on the edge of a table. ‘Any particular fucking reason you’re trashing the place?’
He dropped the statuette, and lit a cigarette, handing her one.
‘I’ve just been in communication with my superiors,’ he said. ‘I got a vague impression that they weren’t overly happy with my change of plan.’
‘What’s done is done,’ she said. ‘They’ll just have to get on with it.’
He nodded and sat next to her.
‘What now?’ she said.
‘We stay,’ he said. ‘If we try to retreat north out of the city, the defences on the ridge above the gates will mow us down like wheat.’
‘You’ve well and truly fuc
ked this one up.’
‘Not if we hold out,’ he said, turning to her, his eyes bright. ‘If we dig in, and remain here until the alliance reaches us, then the army will have a way into the city, just like at Rainsby.’
‘And then I get arrested. Brilliant.’
‘Not if I tell them the truth,’ he said. ‘If they knew how you opened up the tunnel in the Grey Mountains for them, they…’
‘Don’t give me your pish. Do you really think the King would be like, “well, that makes everything all right, now run along ya cheeky wee mage”? Come on.’
Benel frowned. ‘What’s done is done, like you said. If you hadn’t fried those Rahain, we’d all be dead. No, there’s a way we can all come out of this as heroes, I just haven’t thought of it yet.’
The ground began to rumble, and Keira leapt off the table.
‘What the fuck?’
The walls swayed, and the floor tilted. A great crack opened in the ceiling, spilling down dust and debris.
‘Stone mages!’ Benel cried. He bolted to a deep alcove in the wall, topped with a small arch. Keira jumped in next to him as the rumble became a roar, and the ceiling collapsed in a crescendo of rock and noise.
Keira opened her eyes. She was covered in a thin coating of powdered grey rock, a cloud of particles like a thick fog hanging before her. She turned, and saw Benel sat next to her, smoking, his hair and clothes grey with dust.
‘How long was that?’ she said. ‘Felt like hours.’
‘Just a few minutes,’ he said. ‘Wasn’t too bad.’
‘Wasn’t too bad?’ she said, coughing. ‘It was a fucking earthquake.’
‘Come on,’ he said, getting to his feet.
As the haze of dust started to clear, Keira looked up. Most of the ceiling was still in place, but great chunks had fallen, exposing the raw rock of the mountain behind. She stood.
‘We weren’t in the epicentre,’ he said, scrambling over blocks of masonry towards the door, which was hanging off one hinge.
‘Flora!’ Keira cried, rushing past Benel into the main shop. The trooper was kneeling in a pool of blood, with long fragments of glass all around her, fallen from the shattered mirrors. One large shard had sliced her left leg below the knee, and her face was grey.
‘Fuck,’ said Keira, kneeling by her.
‘Are you all right, mage?’ the trooper said.
‘Aye, I’m fine. Get yourself to a Sanang healer,’ she said, ‘I need to see the rest of the damage.’
She joined Benel, and they left the shop.
Her mouth opened.
The three great archways had gone. Where they had stood was now an enormous pile of rubble. Dazed soldiers staggered in the plaza, some limping. Several stretches of balcony had collapsed, and there were casualties where debris had landed on the marble floor. There was no sign of the company that had been guarding the barricades.
‘They brought the gates down,’ said Benel, gazing around. ‘Guess they didn’t want to face the fire mage again.’
Several small fires had started, and some of the shops were burning. Warriors and troopers were stumbling about, some emerging from shelters, others trying to get to their feet. Cries from the wounded echoed through the great hall, and everywhere, thick clouds of dust were suspended in the air.
She spat on the floor.
‘Now we have no choice,’ Benel said. ‘We stay here, and hold out until we’re relieved.’
Chapter 27
Inside Out
Plateau City, The Plateau – 6th Day, Second Third Winter 505
‘Come on, baby,’ Daphne muttered, her right hand rubbing the small of her back.
‘I’m sorry, ma’am?’ Captain Suthers said to her, a teacup held in her hand.
‘Not to worry, Captain,’ Daphne said, shaking her head. ‘I’m at the stage where all I want is this baby to be out.’
‘Are you overdue, ma’am?’
‘Five days,’ she said, trying to get comfortable on the chair, ‘though it feels longer. Thank you for coming over.’
‘No problem, ma’am. Is your sister around?’
‘Celine? Not at the moment.’
‘I’d be grateful, ma’am, if you could please pass on to her the message that no action is going to be taken over the unfortunate incident that occurred here a half third back. No charges have been brought against Celine Holdfast, as she has been judged to have acted in your defence.’
‘That’s good to hear,’ Daphne said. ‘It still saddens me, to know that someone I trusted tried to kill me. Mona, she…’ Daphne paused, suppressing a tear.
‘We did a little poking around,’ Suthers said. ‘Looked into your servant’s background, to see if we could find a motive.’
Daphne said nothing.
‘I believe you told the sergeant on the scene that it was an old family grudge?’
‘Was I mistaken?’
Suthers nodded, and sipped her tea.
‘We discovered that Mona of Hold Fast had been attending meetings and services held by a rather extreme sect of the church, the One True Path.’
‘I’ve heard of them,’ Daphne said. ‘A mean spirited bunch if my recollection is correct.’
‘Indeed,’ Suthers said. She put her tea down on the table by the fire. ‘We’re posting extra guards at your front door. I’m afraid to say, ma’am, but it appears that the sect have issued some threatening statements concerning yourself. And your baby.’
Daphne nodded.
‘We’ll do what we can to protect you, ma’am,’ Suthers said, ‘but you must also take your own precautions.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Daphne said. ‘If they’re threatening me, why don’t you arrest them?’
‘I’m Port Authority,’ Suthers said. ‘Not my jurisdiction. I’m not actually supposed to be here, ma’am.’
Daphne felt a sharp pain, and she took a breath. False contractions, Shella had said, as if they were a mere warm up for the real thing.
‘Are you all right, ma’am?’
‘Yes. Go on.’
Suthers shifted in her seat. ‘The word is, ma’am, that no one is to investigate the One True Path, or any other church body.’ She glanced around the room. ‘Ma’am, this command has come from the top. The church is to be left alone.’
‘The King,’ Daphne said.
‘His Majesty is very close to the Lord Vicar,’ Suthers said. ‘Preparations are being made for something, but I don’t know what.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’ Daphne said. ‘I’m truly grateful for the guards, and for your concern, Captain, but you must watch what you are saying.’
‘Most officers in the Port Authority were drafted in from the cavalry,’ Suthers said, ‘myself included. I still have friends in the city garrison, and none of them are happy about how you’re being treated. After all the praise they lavished on you for rescuing the Rakanese princess, the church are allowing a sect of their own priests to preach a pack of filthy lies about you. And we are forbidden to intervene.’
Daphne felt another spasm of pain, longer and more intense than before.
‘Help me stand,’ she said.
Suthers rushed to her side, and supported Daphne as she got to her feet. She put her right hand on the back of the chair.
Such pain.
‘Should I call for someone?’ Suthers asked.
‘Shella,’ Daphne gasped.
The captain left the room, and Daphne held on to the chair.
It passed. Daphne breathed.
Damn, she thought, was it beginning?
She straightened her back, the weight in her womb heavy. She felt the baby move.
The door opened, and Shella marched in.
‘Another false alarm?’ she said, as Suthers and Bedig came in behind her. ‘You’ve been having one nearly every day.’
‘This feels different.’
‘I shall leave now, ma’am,’ Suthers said. ‘All the best for the birth. I hope you feel safe knowing that
the house is well-guarded.’
Shella frowned at the officer.
‘Thank you, Captain,’ Daphne said.
Suthers saluted, and left.
‘That woman is way too uptight,’ Shella said, walking over to Daphne’s side. ‘She’s walking evidence that the King should relax the laws on smoking weed.’
‘I hope you’ve brought some.’
‘Of course,’ Shella said, placing a hand on Daphne’s massive bump, ‘but they’re for labour, not for every time you whine.’
‘Have you heard of the One True Path?’
‘Yeah,’ Shella said. ‘A group of nutters in the church. Make a lot of noise, holding sermons outside on the site where their church is due to be built. Attract a whole bunch of idiots who go along to listen.’
‘Mona was one of them.’
‘The crazy servant? Is that why Suthers was here? She didn’t have to be so fucking mysterious about it. “I must speak to Miss Holdfast privately”, she said to me, as if I were staff.’
‘She means well,’ Daphne said. ‘She’s assigned more guards outside the house. Apparently the One True Path have been threatening me, and Mona was influenced by their sermons.’
‘Scum,’ Shella spat. ‘Give me two minutes, and I’ll have their brains flowing out of their noses. How dare they. Fuck, I hope they do come here.’ She cracked her knuckles, her eyes elsewhere.
‘Thanks for being angry on my behalf,’ Daphne said, ‘but I’m not worried about them. Just get me through the birth, and I can deal with everything else later.’
Shella nodded, sat, and lit a cigarette. She picked up the teapot and gave it a shake, then poured a cup.
‘Here,’ she said, passing it to Daphne.
Daphne sat down. ‘Thanks.’
‘Heard anything from your father?’ Shella asked.
‘No,’ she said. ‘To be honest, I’ve never believed he’d make it back in time. The two most important men in my life, and neither will be here when one becomes a father, the other a grandfather.’
‘Well,’ Shella smirked, ‘at least you have the third most important.’
The Magelands Box Set Page 81