The Ghosts Omnibus One

by Jonathan Moeller

  The Kindred assassin still walked through the pillars of the gallery, looking left and right. Caina crept behind him, slipping a throwing knife into her hand. Then she leapt, her arm wrapping about his throat, her feet tangling in his ankles.

  The assassin was good. He twisted, pushing her away, but Caina hammered the handle of the throwing knife into his skull, behind his ear. He went rigid, and Caina slammed the handle down twice more. The assassin went limp, and she lowered him the floor.

  She yanked his crossbow free from his harness. In his belt she found a small vial of poison, as she expected. She jammed a quarrel into the bow, drawing back the bolt, and poured the poison over the quarrel’s razor-edged head.

  Then she crept across the balcony, the crossbow ready in her hands.

  One shot. She had one chance at this.

  Maglarion still stood before a paralyzed Julia, touching her face. He hadn’t killed her yet. He liked to talk, Caina remembered, and enjoyed listening to himself.

  “I could just wipe your memory,” said Maglarion. “But you had the temerity to mock me. Not that your opinion matters at all, of course. But it showed that you are weak, unworthy to attain immortality as I have.”

  Caina crept closer, raising the crossbow. Sandros had shown her how to use them, but she’d never been very good. Closer. She had to get closer. The heavy quarrel could explode Maglarion’s head like a rotten melon. If she hit him wrong, the quarrel would go right through him and into Julia.

  “So I will kill you,” said Maglarion. “But simply cutting your throat…ah, that would be wasteful, would it not? Especially when I can harvest your death. Death is like…fire, you know. Just as fire produces warmth and heat, so does death produce power. Power that a skilled necromancer can use and store.” His smile widened, and he patted her cheek. “I think I’ll feed your life force to Lord Haeron. A birthday present for him, eh?”

  Caina leveled the bow. A little closer, a little closer…

  “Come with me,” said Maglarion, and Caina felt another surge of power. Julia took a step forward, face slack, eyes glassy. “Follow me, and you shall see wonders and horrors. Before you die…”

  He turned, and his good eye widened as he saw Caina.

  She squeezed the trigger. The crossbow heaved, and the heavy quarrel plunged into Maglarion’s chest. Blood splashed across his white shirt, and he staggered back.

  She threw aside the bow and ran at him, a throwing knife falling into her hand. She flung the blade, and then another, both knives burying themselves in Maglarion’s mutilated chest, the blows knocking him back against the marble railing. Then she drew her last throwing knife and leapt upon him, burying the blade in his throat. He toppled, and she shoved.

  Maglarion overbalanced and tumbled over the railing.

  She heard his bones shatter as he struck the ballroom's hard marble floor.

  Julia flinched and shook her head, the glassy look vanishing from her eyes. Shocked screams rose from the ballroom. Caina ducked behind the railing, relieved that she had thought to mask herself, and peered through the ornate balustrade.

  Maglarion lay motionless in a pool of his own blood.

  She could not believe it had been that easy. That man had terrorized the innocent for centuries, and she had killed him in the space of a few heartbeats.

  Then Maglarion started to move.

  He pushed himself to his feet, and Caina heard the crackling as his broken bones moved back into position.

  A horrified silence fell over the ballroom.

  Maglarion reached up, ripped the quarrel and the throwing knives from his chest. Blood gushed over his hands, further soaking his shirt, but the wounds closed as Caina watched. He sighed, and massaged his torn throat as the wound closed.

  “That,” he announced, his voice rusty, “hurt.”

  He looked up, and Caina flinched.

  The fall had torn away his eye patch. A green bloodcrystal filled his left eye socket, shining with the emerald fire that Caina associated with necromantic spells. It had been there all along, she realized, enhancing his sorcery, and no doubt giving him other abilities.

  A poisoned bolt, three throwing knives, and a forty-foot fall hadn't killed him.

  They hadn’t even hurt him very much.

  Maglarion’s good eye narrowed as he stared at her, and she felt the surge of power.

  “Stop him!” Caina screamed. “He’s planning to assassinate the Emperor!”

  The Imperial Guards took one look at the bloody man with the growing green eye and rushed him.

  "Run!" Caina yelled, grabbing Julia's arm.

  Maglarion gestured, and the Imperial Guards flew backwards, seized by invisible force. He lifted his hand, pointing at the balcony, and Caina felt the sudden sharp spike of arcane power, like tiny needles digging into her skin.

  She ran faster, half-dragging Julia along.

  Maglarion thrust out his palm, and the balcony...

  ...exploded.

  The roar filled Caina's ears, and the shock knocked her to the ground. Shards of shattered marble rained in all directions. Caina scrambled to her feet, pulling Lady Julia along with her.

  She risked a glance over her shoulder, saw the Imperial Guards running at Maglarion. But Maglarion made a hooking motion, and the falling debris from the shattered balcony changed direction and rained upon the charging Guards in a storm of stone. Chunks of marble smashed black helmets and crushed black cuirasses, and the Guards fell dead to the floor. Caina heard screams as the terrified nobles fled the ballroom.

  She saw Maglarion turn towards the damaged balcony, felt his sorcerous strength gather for another strike.

  "Go!" said Caina, pulling on Julia's arm. "Run. Run!"

  They sprinted across the damaged gallery, towards the stairs.

  Then the entire mansion shook like a dying animal, and the roar of collapsing masonry filled her ears. Maglarion had simply ripped apart the balconies, she realized, letting them fall in an avalanche to the ballroom floor. Her heart raced with terror, and she half-ran, half-stumbled down the trembling steps, Julia behind her. She had been terrified of Maglarion, and his voice had filled her nightmares for years.

  But she had never dreamed that he possessed that kind of raw power. Little wonder he had lived for centuries.

  Little wonder the Ghosts had not been able to kill him.

  Caina led Julia through the mansion's back corridors, past crowds of terrified servants, and into the gardens. Their coachman had fled in the chaos, so they made their way back to Julia's townhouse on foot.

  Maglarion did not pursue them.

  ###

  The attack threw the Imperial capital into an uproar.

  Rumors filled Malarae about the renegade sorcerer who had attacked Lord Haeron's birthday celebration, a dozen different contradictory accounts repeated in the taverns and inns. Some said that the sorcerer had arrived to kill Lord Haeron, and Lord Haeron's allies among the Magisterium had fought him off. Others said that Haeron had hired the sorcerer to kill the Emperor, and the Ghosts had ambushed the sorcerer, killing him before the Emperor could arrive.

  In a few days, both Lord Haeron and the Magisterium announced a reward of a hundred thousand denarii for the man's head.

  Caina laughed aloud when she heard that.

  ###

  Four days after the attack, she went to join Lady Julia for tea.

  Halfdan stood next to Julia's chair, again disguised as the wealthy merchant Basil Callenius.

  "My dear," he said, putting down his cup of tea, "you really made quite a stir."

  Caina shrugged. "I didn't know what else to do. Maglarion would have killed Julia, otherwise."

  "Or worse," said Julia, taking a sip of tea. "Caina saved my life, and possibly my soul, as well."

  "I should have done more," said Caina.

  Halfdan snorted. "You put a poisoned crossbow bolt into him, two throwing knives into his chest, cut his throat open, and threw him off a balcony. I fail to se
e what else you could have done. It's going to take more than sharp steel and a vial of poison to kill Maglarion."

  "Do you really think Lord Haeron has turned on Maglarion?" said Caina, thinking of the bounty.

  "Do you?"

  "Of course not," said Caina. "Lord Haeron looks fifteen years younger. I think he's been buying slaves and turning them over to Maglarion, who then kills them and feeds their life force into Haeron. I doubt a man like Haeron Icaraeus would give up eternal youth over a shattered ballroom and a few dead Imperial Guards."

  "That was my thought as well," said Halfdan. "The bounty is just a bluff to convince the Emperor that Lord Haeron is taking this 'rogue sorcerer' seriously. And the Emperor is not convinced. Julia, I've just returned from a meeting with the Emperor."

  Julia blinked. "What did His Imperial Majesty say?"

  "Emperor Alexius is certain that Haeron Icaraeus and his Restorationist followers have been working with a necromancer, using the lives of slaves to make themselves younger," said Halfdan. "The Emperor believes that Lord Haeron plans to seize the throne for himself, using Maglarion's powers for support. And the Emperor doesn't know what Maglarion wants, but whatever it is, it is not in the best interest of the Empire or its people."

  "His Imperial Majesty has a gift for understatement," said Caina.

  "He does," said Halfdan, "but he can take drastic action, when he feels it necessary. The Emperor wishes the Ghosts to take direct action against Lord Haeron and Maglarion."

  "Direct action?" said Caina.

  "Whatever is necessary to secure their downfall," said Halfdan.

  "I don't know how much use I will be to you," said Julia. "Undoubtedly Maglarion will find it most suspicious that a masked Ghost arrived to save me from Maglarion. At the very least, Lord Haeron will suspect that I am...more friendly with the Ghosts then I let on. He may even try to have me killed."

  "We'll arrange additional guards for you," said Halfdan. "And you still have many friends among Malarae's nobility. See what you can learn from them."

  "Will I assist Julia?" said Caina.

  "No," said Halfdan. "You'll be coming with me, to the Vineyard."

  "A new teacher?" said Caina, hiding her disappointment. She wanted to stay here, continue the fight against Lord Haeron and Maglarion.

  "No," said Halfdan. "No more teachers. You went up against Maglarion and you survived."

  Caina scowled. "He survived."

  "I doubt you could have done anything to kill him," said Halfdan. "And you are the first Ghost in centuries to face him and survive. No, you are ready. You will take the final oaths of a Ghost nightfighter, and then you will return here, to join our effort against Lord Haeron."

  Julia smiled. "Thank you for my life, child."

  "And thank you for your lessons," said Caina.

  Julia laughed. "I merely polished what was already there. She's ready, Halfdan. You have made her into a deadly weapon for the Ghosts."

  "I hope so," said Halfdan, "for we shall need every weapon we have to defeat Maglarion."

  He left the townhouse, and Caina followed him.

  Chapter 21 - Nightfighter

  It had been years since Caina had last set foot in the Vineyard, but it had changed little in that time. It still stood tall and strong among the Disali hills, the river rushing along the base of its crag. The guards walked the walls, and the workers bustled about the terraces.

  Caina frowned.

  "Something amiss?" said Halfdan.

  "It seems smaller than I remember it," said Caina, shaking her head.

  "Not really," said Halfdan. "You've just grown."

  The gates swung open at their approach, and Halfdan and Caina led their pack mules inside.

  ###

  Komnene awaited them.

  "By Minaerys," she murmured, catching Caina in a hug. "Look at you. You were a little girl when last I saw you." She held Caina out at arm's length, looking at the fine gown and the expensive cloak. "You could cause quite a stir at a ball in the Imperial capital, I think."

  Caina grinned. "I already did. Though I was wearing a mask at the time."

  Komnene blinked. "That was...sensible of you."

  "Come," said Halfdan. "Let's get some food."

  ###

  They had a fine dinner in the villa's hall, with wine from the Vineyard. Caina did not like wine, even after her time with Julia and Theodosia, but even she had to admit that this wine almost tasted good.

  "Is this a special occasion?" she asked Halfdan.

  He nodded. "After dinner, go to your old room in the wall. Change into the clothes you find there. Then go to the watchtower. There's a path in the cliff behind the tower, heading to the crest of the hill. Follow the path. I will meet you there."

  Caina nodded and kept eating.

  ###

  It was past sunset by the time they finished dinner.

  Caina walked to her old room in the wall. It was just as she had left it - the same narrow bed, the same battered dresser, the same stone walls and floor. Though like everything else in the Vineyard, it seemed smaller than she remembered.

  Black clothes lay across the bed.

  Caina stripped out of her gown and changed into the loose-fitting black trousers and long-sleeved black shirt. Leather boots went on her feet, and each of the boots held a dagger in a hidden sheath. A belt went around her waist, holding knives, lockpicks, a coiled rope with a collapsible grapnel, and other useful tools. Leather gloves went over her hands, and leather bracers over her forearms. Each bracer held another hidden throwing knife.

  She kept her father's signet ring beneath her shirt, hanging from a slender chain around her neck.

  Then she left the room and climbed to the Vineyard's highest terrace, circling around the watchtower. As Halfdan had said, she saw a path zigzagging its way up the face of the cliff.

  Caina took a deep breath and started to climb, taking care to keep her balance in the moonlight.

  ###

  A fire blazed atop the hill's rocky crown.

  Halfdan waited before the fire. Komnene stood besides him, hands folded. Next to her waited Riogan, leaning on his spear, his expression its usual mask of cold indifference. Akragas and Sandros waited there, along with a dozen other Ghosts that Caina did not know.

  "It was here," said Halfdan, speaking in Disali, "at this very spot, that the Ghosts began. The Disali farmers and herders met here, terrified from the tyranny of Ashbringers, and vowed to fight back from the shadows. And it was here, on this hill, that they met with Emperor Cormarus, and swore to serve him in exchange for his aid against the Ashbringers. And thus it has been, ever since. The Emperor defends the commoners from the tyranny of the nobility and the magi, and we aid him."

  A wind blew along the hilltop, making the flames dance.

  "And now," said Halfdan, "you are one of us. If you want."

  "What do you mean?" said Caina.

  "This is your last chance to walk away," said Halfdan. "If you wish, we can find a place for you. A priestess of Minaerys. A noblewoman in the capital. An independent merchant. Say the word, and you can have whatever life you choose."

  Caina shook her head. "And walk away from what Maglarion has done? No."

  "I warn you," said Halfdan. "Once you join the Ghosts, once you become one of us...you will remain a Ghost for the rest of your life. You will serve us as a nightfighter, one of the Emperor's elite spies and assassins. Our enemies will probably kill you in the course of your duties. Yet if you are injured, and cannot serve as a nightfighter, you will remain a Ghost, whether as a nightkeeper, or a circlemaster, or as one of the eyes and ears. Even if you live for a hundred years, we will find a way for you to serve. Do you understand? Even if you marry, even if you rise to wealth and power...you will remain a Ghost. For the only way to leave the Ghosts is through death."

  "I understand," said Caina. "And I am not turning back. Not now."

  Komnene looked saddened by that.

  "So be it
," said Halfdan. "Then are you ready to take the oath, to join the Ghosts as a nightfighter?"

  "I am," said Caina.

  Halfdan nodded, and switched to High Nighmarian. "Do you swear, then, to serve the Ghosts, to follow the commands of the circlemasters, upon pain of death?"

  "I so swear," said Caina in the same language.

  "Do you swear to keep the secrets of the Ghosts, and to never reveal a Ghost to our enemies, upon pain of death?"

  "I so swear," said Caina.

  "And do you swear to forever stand against the enemies of the commoners, the magi, the nobility, the slavers, and all those who would prey on the people of the Empire, upon pain of death?" said Halfdan.

  "I so swear," said Caina.

  Halfdan stepped forward, gripped her forearms, and kissed her once on each cheek. One by one each of the other Ghosts came forward and did the same.

  "Then you are one of us," said Halfdan. "Riogan."

  Riogan smirked raised his arm.

  Something black flowed and rippled in his grasp, seeming to merge and blend with the shadows thrown by the fire.

  "Take it," said Riogan.

  Caina hesitated, then took the flowing black thing.

  It was a cloak, she saw, lighter than any fabric she had ever seen. Amazed, she held it up, and even as she lifted it, it kept blending and merging with the shadows.

  "What is it?" she said.

  "A secret known only to the Ghosts," said Halfdan. "Only we know the process of making shadowcloth, of weaving the shadows themselves with common silk. It is the cloak of a Ghost nightfighter. Wear it, and you can hide within the shadows themselves. And it offers additional protection, as well. While you wear it, your mind cannot be harmed by sorcery."

  "Though there's nothing stopping a magus from crushing your skull with a spell," said Riogan.