Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952)

by Jacka, Benedict

  “Right,” I said. It hadn’t been by much, either. “You’re quite a marksman, by the way.”

  “I keep my hand in,” Garrick said. “Didn’t know diviners could dodge like that.”

  “The ones who can’t tend not to live very long.”

  The men had settled down again, their weapons ready and aimed, listening to the conversation. “So since you aren’t having another try,” I said, “I’m guessing shooting me isn’t your primary goal.”

  “Nope.”

  “So you’re doing what?” I said. “Playing rear guard?”

  “Something like that.”

  “You know, there’s something I’m curious about,” I said. “When I first met you, you were doing a job for Talisid. Then you were working for Belthas. Then Belthas said you were working for Levistus. Now you’re working for Belthas again?”

  Garrick waited with an expression of mild inquiry. “So?” I said when he didn’t answer.

  “So?”

  “Who do you actually work for?”

  “Depends.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “Who’s paying.”

  “You mean three different people were paying you to do three different things?”

  “I’m freelance.”

  “Wait a second,” I said. “You were working with Belthas at the start. So you must have been with Belthas at the factory for that fight with Deleo and Cinder over the barghest. Then Talisid paid you again to go back to the same factory to kill the same barghest?”

  “Yep.”

  “And you didn’t think to mention that it was already dead?”

  “Client confidentiality.”

  “No wonder you were so bloody relaxed,” I muttered. “So you work for whoever pays you?”

  “Hey, fuck this guy,” the man who’d wanted to go after me said.

  “Shut up, Mick,” Garrick said. “Yep.”

  “Okay. I’ll pay you and your men twice what Belthas is paying you to switch sides.”

  I thought I felt some of the men glance at each other. “Sorry,” Garrick said. “Under contract.”

  “So what? Once you’re bought, you stay bought?”

  “Yep.”

  “An honest mercenary,” I said under my breath. “Great.” I raised my voice. “What about the rest of you?”

  “Same answer,” Garrick said before the other men could speak. “Because they’re such loyal, trustworthy people. And because they wouldn’t live to spend the money if they said yes.”

  This time I definitely wasn’t imagining the glances. Okay, so that wasn’t going to work.

  I sat and thought for a minute. “So what’s the idea?” I said at last. “You’re just going to sit there and wait?”

  “Yep.”

  “You know there are other ways out, right?” I said. I was fairly sure there weren’t, but I was also fairly sure Garrick didn’t know one way or the other.

  “Could be,” Garrick agreed.

  “And you’re not going to stop me finding them?”

  “Nope.”

  “You know, for someone with a five-to-one advantage and all the weapons,” I said, “you’re very cautious.”

  “We’re not coming after you, Verus,” Garrick said. “Don’t get me wrong, I could take you. But one thing I’ve learnt about you, you’re really good at running away. Five’s not enough to find you. But it’s enough to stop you getting out.”

  “This way.”

  “This way. But if you’d found another one, I don’t think you’d be here chatting.”

  I was hoping he wouldn’t realise that. “So how long are you going to wait?”

  “Few days should do it,” Garrick said. “These are dry caves. No water. You’ll be dead from dehydration by then.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Or you make a break,” Garrick said. “Be interesting to see if you can dodge a mine blast.” He bent down to check something, then returned to his position. “Or you give yourself up. Your call.”

  I stayed silent. I couldn’t think of a smart answer this time. I’d been sweating and I was already thirsty. There weren’t any supplies in the storerooms. I didn’t know how long I could last without water. I was pretty sure it was a lot shorter than Garrick was willing to wait.

  Divination magic lets you avoid a lot of things. But it’s no use against thirst. It doesn’t do too well against a firing range filled with land mines, either.

  I withdrew back down the tunnel. I knew that Garrick and the men were still waiting, their weapons trained on the entrance. I sat down and tried to think.

  I could do what I’d threatened and go back down the tunnel, looking for another way out, but I had the feeling it was a bad idea. It was just possible I’d missed a passage somewhere on the way down, but if I tried a search and failed I might be too weak to do anything else.

  Or I could use the supplies in the caves and hope to get past the blockade. I tried to think of some way in which a large pile of clothes could bypass a minefield and several armed men and came up blank.

  In the end I did what I usually do. I looked into the future to see what would happen. Maybe Garrick’s men would go away or they’d be called off or …

  …Wait, what? What was he doing here?

  …That could work.

  I waited a while, then went back up to the tunnel mouth. I didn’t try to stay quiet this time and I knew before I got there that all the men were looking at the tunnel, their weapons ready. The man at the tunnel leading back out into the Heath was still smoking. “Hey, Garrick,” I said.

  “Yep.”

  “I want you to know I actually kind of respect you. You do a job and you’re obviously very good at it. You’re more dangerous than most mages.”

  “That’s nice,” Garrick said.

  “So, out of professional courtesy, I’ll give you a warning. You should leave. If you don’t, all of your men are going to be killed and you might be too.”

  “I’ll pass,” Garrick said.

  I shifted my position so I could see down the tunnel. The men were focused on my location; they couldn’t see me in the shadows but they could hear the movement. Even the guard at the back was squinting at me. “Okay, one last question. If I told you someone was coming up behind you, and that you ought to stop paying attention to me and aim your guns somewhere else, would you listen?”

  “No.”

  “Good.”

  There was a red flash and a whoompf from the far end of the cavern. Garrick and the other two spun, their weapons coming around.

  The guard next to the exit had been holding a lit cigarette. The cigarette was still lit, along with the rest of him: His body was a blackened corpse, blazing fiercely on the floor. He’d been incinerated so fast he hadn’t had a chance to scream. A second later, the fire extinguished itself in a hiss and a cloud of choking smoke. The smoke spread, forming an opaque bank that started swallowing up the far end of the cavern.

  The two other guards opened up with their weapons. No controlled bursts this time; I could hear the chattering ratatatatat of panic fire, the bullets zipping into the smoke. One of the guards advanced towards the grey cloud, firing as he went. He was about fifteen feet from the edge when a column of flame roared out, washing over him and setting him alight. He went down screaming.

  Garrick aimed for where the flame had come from and fired three quick bursts, the shots forming a spread. The guard next to him lost his cool, flicked the selector on his SMG and started blazing away on full auto. Bullets ripped through the smoke, whining and bouncing off the walls, the chatter and roar filling the cavern. He emptied his magazine in only a few seconds and started fumbling for a reload. Garrick slapped his hand down with a snarl. “Stop it! You’re giving away—”

  Something came flying out of the smoke. I got only a glimpse of it; it looked like a glowing ball of dull red light. Garrick reacted instantly, diving out of the barricade and rolling. The other man stared in confusion as the sphere droppe
d next to him and exploded with a noise that sounded like a giant cough. Smouldering bits of furniture went flying, along with what was left of the guard.

  Garrick came to his feet. He’d discarded his rifle but kept hold of something else. I couldn’t see what it was but I knew what it did and as he pushed the button I ducked back. There was a echoing boom as the mines around the tunnel entrances all went off at once. Shrapnel and projectiles flew, snapping and whining off the walls. I heard the sound of running feet, followed by the roar of fire magic. There was another explosion, this one not so loud as the mines but lower pitched, making the stone tremble beneath my feet. A moment later came a groan, followed by the rumbling crash of falling rock.

  And then there was silence.

  Cautiously, I walked out into the lair. The stone around the tunnel entrance was blackened where the mines had gone off, and shrapnel clinked under my feet. I could make out the shape of Arachne to my right, obscured by the smoke.

  The smoke began to clear, revealing a man. Red light flickered around his hands, which faded as I watched. He was as tall as me and heavily built, and until a few minutes ago, he’d been the last person I’d expected to see. He spoke in a rumbling voice. “Debt’s paid.”

  I looked at Cinder thoughtfully. “Yeah,” I said. “I guess it is.”

  Cinder looked from side to side, scanning the chamber. All three guards were dead; two were still burning. Arachne’s lair looked like a bomb site, and what was left of the clothes and furniture had been thoroughly trashed. The side tunnel leading to the storerooms had collapsed in a heap of rubble. “Garrick?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “The last man.”

  Cinder tilted his head in the direction of the sealed tunnel. “Might have got him.”

  I nodded; Garrick must have mined the side tunnels as well, as a last-ditch escape route. I didn’t know if he was under that rubble or on the other side but at least we didn’t have to deal with him for a while. “How’d you find us?”

  In answer, Cinder turned towards the tunnel leading out onto the Heath. “Clear.”

  We waited for a moment, then through the clearing smoke I saw a small figure emerge from the tunnel. He nearly trod on the remains of the guard, shied away, and circled the body, covering his mouth. By the time he was halfway across the room I recognised who he was.

  “Um,” Sonder said once he’d reached us. “Hi.” He looked from Cinder to me. “I thought you could use some help.”

  The explanations took a while.

  Sonder told his story first. When I’d failed to check in, Sonder had tried calling me and then Luna. When neither of us answered, he figured something had happened and went to the Heath to find out what. Upon seeing Belthas’s guards at Arachne’s lair, he did the smart thing and went for reinforcements.

  The Council, needless to say, was a washout. First they gave Sonder the runaround, and when he persisted they hinted strongly that he’d be better off minding his own business. Instead of giving up, Sonder looked at the situation logically and decided that since the Light mages weren’t being helpful, he might as well try the Dark ones. Cinder had been sort-of-allies with me before, and once again he and I seemed to have a common enemy. So Sonder rang Cinder, and as luck would have it, Cinder answered. Looking back on it, I wonder if I’m setting the kid a bad example.

  Sonder skated over the exact details of the conversation, which I have to admit I was morbidly curious about. Once they’d gotten past their mutual mistrust, though, it didn’t take them long to strike a deal. Cinder wanted to find Deleo, Sonder wanted to find me and Luna, and there was only one place to start looking. Sonder led Cinder to Arachne’s lair and the rest was history.

  “There was another guard outside,” I remembered.

  “Yeah,” Sonder said. He looked uncomfortable, and I noticed he was carefully avoiding looking at the bodies. “Cinder … dealt with him.”

  “Well.” I looked at Cinder. “I guess I’m not who you were hoping to find, but thanks anyway.”

  “Where’s Del?” Cinder rumbled.

  “Belthas has her.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked at Cinder. “We team up until Belthas is dealt with or either of us quits. No hostilities until twenty-four hours after that. Deal?”

  Cinder nodded. “Deal. How do we find Del?”

  “By finding Belthas.”

  “Is Luna back there?” Sonder asked.

  I sighed. “No.” I hated having to admit it: Even though there was nothing else I could have done, knowing that I’d left her behind hurt. “Belthas took her.” Sonder’s face fell.

  “So where is he?” Cinder said.

  It occurred to me that Cinder was going to be difficult to deal with. He was brutally straightforward and would remain steady only as long as he could see what to do. Now that Belthas’s men were dead Cinder had no obvious direction, and if things stayed that way he was going to get frustrated quickly. “They worked for Belthas,” I said, looking at the remains. “Maybe they’ll have something that’ll show us where to go.”

  Cinder thought about it for a few seconds. “Fine,” he said grudgingly. “I’ll loot the bodies for you.”

  Sonder looked at the smoking scorched things that had been Belthas’s men and flinched visibly. “You mean …”

  “Relax, Light-boy,” Cinder said, already turning away. “Don’t have to get your hands dirty.”

  “Sonder, I need you to look back at what happened,” I said. “Belthas was here, along with Luna and Martin. Find out what they talked about and see if you can track them.”

  Sonder nodded and turned away, his eyes unfocusing. Reluctantly, I turned towards Arachne. I needed to figure out how to help her before Cinder’s patience ran out.

  Odds are you’ve never tried to give a giant spider a medical checkup. In case you’re wondering, it’s really hard. It’s not like you can take their pulse, and dealing with the fact that they have their skeleton on the outside of their bodies is weird enough on its own. After ten minutes’ examination, I’d managed to conclude that Arachne was alive, which I’d known already.

  Figuring out what Belthas had done was easier. There was a short rod embedded at the back of Arachne’s body in her … neck? Back? Thorax? Whatever it’s called. The thing was about twelve inches long and made out of some iridescent purple metal that caught the light. It was a powerful focus with an active spell working through it. As far as I could tell, it was linked to something else, probably an identical focus with a similarity effect joining them. At the moment the spell was stable. It wasn’t draining Arachne’s magic or life force but she wasn’t getting any better either.

  I ran my hand along Arachne’s back, feeling the stiff hairs brush against my fingers. There was something terribly depressing about seeing her like this. Ever since I first met her, Arachne’s always been one of the few stable points in my world, wise and strong. Having her still and lifeless felt wrong, and I couldn’t help wondering if this was my fault. If I’d dealt with Luna better, figured it out earlier …

  “Hey,” Cinder called. I turned to see something flying towards me and caught it one-handed. I’d been standing on a battered sofa to get a better look and had to sway to keep my balance. I took a look and saw that it was a touch-screen phone. “What’s up?”

  “Password.”

  The phone had a password lock. I took thirty seconds and cracked it, then skimmed through the call and message history. The phone had belonged to Mick, aka Michael, and had apparently survived the blast that had killed its owner. I put it in my pocket.

  “So?” Cinder said.

  “Belthas took my phone. I need a new one.”

  Cinder gave me a look.

  “There’s nothing there,” I said. “Any luck?”

  Cinder gestured at the pile of guns at his feet. The five men had been carrying enough weapons to stock an armoury: submachine guns, pistols, grenades, clips and boxes of ammunition, knives, radios,
coils of wire, and what looked like plastic explosive. It was enough to fight a small war—unfortunately, at the moment, it was also completely useless.

  I looked at the iridescent metal rod. “Know what this is?”

  Cinder walked forward and squinted. “Yeah,” he said after a moment.

  “You and Deleo got them from that mage, didn’t you?” I said. “Jadan or whatever his name was. The guy who came up with this bloody ritual.”

  “Yeah.”

  “How do they work?”

  “Dunno.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Got his materials. Didn’t know how to use them.”

  I sighed. “It’s just like last time, isn’t it? You guys never understand what you’re messing with but you do it anyway.”

  “Would have been fine if you’d let us kill that enchantress.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe if you and Deleo had done a bit less collateral damage I wouldn’t have gotten involved.”

  “No.”

  “No what?”

  “Wasn’t why you were helping her.”

  I looked at him. “How would you know?”

  “She acted sexy and vulnerable and made you feel good,” Cinder said. “So you trusted her. Right?”

  I was silent.

  Cinder shook his head contemptuously. “Idiot.”

  The sound of footsteps made us look up to see Sonder emerge from the tunnel out onto the Heath. Cinder walked away. “Sorry,” Sonder said as he approached. “He made a gate but I couldn’t see through the shroud.”

  I nodded. “And in here?”

  “They left three hours ago,” Sonder said. “Belthas, twelve men, Martin, and that woman. They had Luna.” He didn’t look happy. “Martin was dragging her.”

  I thought about Luna and how she must be feeling. She’d trusted Martin and thought him a friend, probably in the hope he’d become a lot more, and he’d betrayed her in the worst way possible. Then there was the question of what Belthas would do with her or if she was even still— I shook my head and pushed the thought away. I needed to focus.

  “Can you take it out?” Sonder asked.

  I looked up to see that Sonder was pointing at the rod in Arachne’s back. “Not without killing her,” I said. “And even if I could, I don’t have the first clue how to fix whatever Belthas did.”