"It can kill him," Nadia said, "but that doesn't mean we'll succeed."
Markus glanced around the common room, making sure no one else was there. Even Liam was in another room, though Markus had the feeling they could trust the innkeeper. Berig had mentioned the man as a friend, just like the captain.
"Have you thought about how you're going to get into Imperia?" the captain asked.
"What do you mean?" Markus said.
"They don't let just anybody walk in. You'll need someone associated with the government to vouch for you, and I don't see how you'll find anyone willing."
Nadia's expression sank. "What about that Imperial Guard friend of Berig's?"
"I don't think he'll help," the captain said. "I know him. He's a good man, unlike so many in his profession, but he'd have to put a lot at risk. Besides, I don't think the word of anyone less than an Imperial Guard commander would be sufficient for entrance."
Markus gazed at the wooden table. "What can we do, then?"
"It's really not that difficult."
Markus turned to see that Rik had entered the room. "And how is that exactly?"
"It's simple, really. Have this Gram fellow teleport to Riverside. He can give a message to someone there, who will go to your uncle. Your uncle still holds his rank as commander. If he comes with you, they'll let you in. Sounds like it should work at least."
Nadia smiled. "That's a great idea, Rik. We'll have to wait a little longer than I'd intended, but there's nothing we can do about that."
Six days passed before Uncle Theo appeared at the inn. Markus felt a strange mixture of emotions when he saw his uncle standing in the doorway. On the one hand, he was happy to see the man. On the other, he remembered that Uncle Theo had lied to him his whole life.
Markus rushed forward to hug Uncle Theo, but when he broke free, he glared at his uncle. "Why didn't you ever tell me what really happened to my parents?"
"I couldn't tell you. Warrick commanded me to keep it secret. Not only that, but I knew it would poison you to the idea of becoming an Imperial Guard."
"I don't think I needed any help there," Markus said.
"How'd you find out?"
"Cyrus at the Oasis Outpost. He helped me recall the memory."
"Well, I knew you'd find out eventually. I wish it could've come from me, but I'm sure you can understand why I didn't tell you. I couldn't. Not just because I was commanded not to, but also because I'm ashamed about that night."
Markus wanted to hate his uncle, but he couldn't find the energy. For the first time, Markus noticed the gray speckling in his uncle's brown beard, the tired look behind the man's eyes. Had Markus not seen the marks of a defeated man sooner? The marks of a man who regretted his past so much he wished it could disappear.
"I understand," Markus said. "I can't imagine how it felt to be part of that."
"Then you forgive me?"
"I don't know if I'd go that far. Forgiveness ain't exactly easy."
"I know," his uncle said. "If I can't forgive myself, why should you forgive me?" He sighed deeply, looking away for a moment. "So you need to get into Imperia. I knew you'd need to eventually, but I guess I also thought you'd never make it this far. I should've had more confidence in you. I should've been waiting here for you."
Markus put an arm around his uncle's shoulder. "It doesn't matter. You're here now."
"Just give me a day to rest. We'll set out tomorrow morning. In the meantime, you might want to pray that this works."
Markus, Nadia, and the rest of the party spent the day gathering the things they'd need, then went to bed early. All through the day, Rik had remained separate from the rest of the group, barely saying a word.
The next morning, they all woke early and went down to the common room for one last warm meal before leaving. Liam already had breakfast cooking.
Markus saw Rik sitting in the corner of the room. "Why don't you come sit with us?"
Rik hesitated, but he did join the rest of the party. He and Uncle Theo had shared greetings thus far, but that was about it. More than ever, Rik's expression showed that he didn't want to be there.
Markus took a breath. "Are you coming with us or not, Rik?"
Rik chewed on his lower lip. "This isn't easy to say. I know how much you want me to be there, but I can't do it anymore. Besides, I feel like I don't really add anything. Alana's much better at magic than me. The rest of you are all better with weapons."
"We could still use your help," Garet said.
"I'm sorry," Rik said. "I've made my decision. I'm not coming."
"I understand," Markus said. But he didn't understand. He wanted to give Rik a hard punch in the face. They'd all faced hardships on this quest. He'd even had doubts of his own. But this was more important than them, more important than anything in a long time.
Markus felt betrayed.
Chapter 56: Imperia
Nadia sat atop her horse as they made their way southward toward Imperia, crossing grassland dotted with rolling hills and the occasional tree.
She had ridden horses a few times, so she felt comfortable. Garet also rode with ease. The rest, however, looked terrified of falling off, especially Markus. Before leaving Bradenton, they'd spent some of her gold to acquire these horses.
Markus had been silent and sullen for a while, and Nadia couldn't blame him.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asked.
"No. I can't believe he abandoned us." Markus shook his head. "You know what he said when we first set out to escape the Empire? Friends stick together."
Nadia didn't know what to say. She looked away, focusing on her horse's movement.
"I think Rik's finally grown up," Theo said, moving his horse up beside theirs. "Markus, not everyone is meant to be a hero. Rik got a taste of that life, and it wasn't to his liking."
Markus kept his gaze forward. "I don't care. He abandoned me."
"We'll manage without him," Alana said. "We'll find a way."
Nadia didn't want to think about what lay ahead. For so long, she'd focused on the immediate future, holding these thoughts at a distance. She wished she could adopt a more positive attitude like Alana.
With each passing day, Nadia became more anxious. They stopped in villages, staying at rundown inns. The closer they got to Imperia, the more Imperial Guard presence they encountered. Theo had left his old commander's uniform in his belongings. He would put it on shortly before they reached the gates of Imperia, then use its influence to earn them entrance.
A somber mood hung over the group. Even if they killed Warrick, the chances were remote that they would all survive. Nadia couldn't bear the thought of losing any of them. The longer she spent with Garet and Alana, the closer she felt to them.
And then there was Markus. They'd shared a few kisses on the road. She knew by now that she loved him in a way she'd never loved Ander or Len. He was always there for her, and there was something endearing about his occasional awkwardness.
What if she survived and he didn't?
At last, a few days after leaving Bradenton, they rode within view of Imperia's walls. Theo looked intimidating in his commander's uniform. They left their horses at the stables outside Imperia and paid a man to watch over them.
Would they ever return to reclaim those horses?
They approached the stone gate, where a pair of Imperial Guards stood, watching them with narrowed eyes. What if the Imperial Guards saw through the ruse?
"Good afternoon, commander," said one of the Imperial Guards. "What brings you here?"
Theo kept his expression blank. "That is my business."
"Of course, commander," said the other Imperial Guard.
Both Imperial Guards turned and began cranking open the gate. Slowly, it rumbled open, revealing the clean streets and sturdy buildings beyond. Nadia tried to keep her disbelief off her face. This had been too easy.
Once the gate was open, the Imperial Guards ushered them through, then closed it behind them.
More Imperial Guards stood on the other side of the gate, nodding to Theo as the party approached. Nadia tried to walk calmly despite her nerves.
"Why did they let us in so easily?" Nadia asked once they were farther into the city, walking among the bustling crowds and tall stone buildings.
"I'm not sure they did," Theo said. "They'll be watching us."
The buildings and streets were the cleanest Nadia had ever seen. Most buildings had been fashioned of clean white stone that nearly glowed in the afternoon sunlight. Everyone was dressed in the finery of nobles, displaying so many bright colors it almost hurt Nadia's eyes. They all looked too busy to take notice of anyone else, Imperial Guards included.
Markus gazed at everything with wide eyes. "I've never seen such a grand city."
"Well, this is what our taxes pay for," Theo said.
"Of course," Markus said. "Warrick doesn't give a damn about anywhere else. Everyone might be equal, but some are more equal than others."
"It's disgusting, really," Garet said. "All around the empire, so many people are struggling to get by, and everyone here lives in comfort. Whatever Warrick originally intended to do, he's not doing it anymore. He just rewards those who support him."
Nadia kept her voice low. "And that's why we have to kill him."
They walked along the streets, following their neat, rectangular patterns. Much of the city looked the same, so Nadia lost her way. She'd have to rely on Theo.
They dropped off their traveling supplies at a clean and bright inn illuminated by magical torchlight. The innkeeper looked at them as though their party were a complete oddity. Nadia realized with a jolt of fear that she'd probably never retrieve those supplies.
After leaving the inn, they passed more people going about their business, then finally arrived at the library—a large building of clean white stone. Wide stone steps led up to an entrance flanked by pillars, the tops of which featured elegant swirling patterns.
Theo stood facing the rest of the party at the bottom of the steps. "This is as far as I'll take you. I'd like to be of more help, but I know little more than you. And Imperial Guard or not, I don't have access to the most highly protected sections of the library."
"Well, thank you for taking us this far," Nadia said, trying to restrain her panic.
Markus frowned. "Yeah, thanks, Uncle Theo."
"I hope I see you again," Theo said, putting his hands on Markus's shoulders, "but I have the bad feeling that might never happen. I know you can't promise anything. Whatever happens, I'll always love you."
"I know," Markus said. "I love you too, Uncle Theo, no matter what's happened." He shared an awkward hug with his uncle. A few seconds later, they stepped apart and looked at each other as though they didn't know how to say goodbye. Theo nodded to Markus, then turned and strode away.
"Guess we should investigate the library," Garet said. He gave Markus a sympathetic smile, and Markus nodded weakly. Most of the party turned to enter the library. Markus, however, continued staring at the crowd into which his uncle had vanished.
Nadia rested a hand on Markus's shoulder. "We need to go."
He put his hand over hers. "I know. I'm just struggling with all this right now. It's hard to figure out how I feel about my uncle. Nothing's easy anymore."
"I know what you mean, but we're almost there, for better or worse." Nadia took Markus by the arm and led him up the steps, through the library's wide door, and into a well-lit interior fashioned of the same white stone.
A middle-aged woman sat behind a desk, watching them. "Need help finding anything?"
"Not right now," Alana said with a disarming smile. "We're only browsing. If we do need help with anything, we'll be sure to ask you."
"All right," the woman said, though her eyes had narrowed. Nadia felt her gaze on the backs of their heads as they made their way into the stacks. The shelves, like the walls, were made of polished white stone, and they contained more books than Nadia had ever seen.
As they walked among the stacks, Nadia felt an odd vibration in her small sack of supplies. At first, she thought it was nothing, but when it kept happening, she dug around until her hand settled on the scrolls of White Fire.
"This might sound strange," she said, "but I think these scrolls can sense that they're close to the third scroll."
Garet scratched his stubbly chin. "Not that strange. It is magic after all."
As they ventured deeper into the library, Nadia remained alert for signs of the vibrations growing stronger. First, they went off to their left, and the motion died down. Then they started in the other direction. The vibrations became stronger and stronger. After a while, Nadia worried that someone else might sense it, especially the patrolling Imperial Guards.
The scrolls' motion became most intense in one section of the library. Nadia stopped there and peered around a stone shelf, toward a door guarded by two Imperial Guards.
"I think I know where it is," she whispered.
"Behind that door," Garet said. "But how do we get through? Yes, we could kill them easily, but we don't want to attract attention." He began pacing. "There's gotta be another way."
"I wish Rik was here," Markus said. "He'd have a plan."
Nadia stifled a nervous laugh. "But would it work?"
She peered around the shelf again, staying out of view. What could force these Imperial Guards to leave their posts? She paced as well, her mind failing her, which she took as an insult. She liked to think she could reason her way through any situation.
After a long silence, Markus said, "Maybe we just have to force our way through."
"No," Nadia said. "Our plan relies on stealth. If Imperial Guards find out what we're doing, so will Warrick. Then our entire plan will fall apart."
"How do we know it won't fall apart anyways?" Markus said. "Cyrus told us himself that Warrick can read the Webs of Fate. There's a good chance he knows what we're doing."
Nadia didn't like the sound of that. She'd considered it herself, but rejected it. Was that her logic at work, or her prayers? Shaking her head, she said, "He can't. He would have stopped us. He would have found some way to kill us before now."
"Does any of this matter?" Alana said. "We don't know what Warrick knows. We have to operate under the assumption that he doesn't know anything. After all, if he does, we might as well go back home. Surprise is the only thing we have working for us."
"Surprise, that's it!" Markus said.
They all turned to him.
"We have to do something that surprises these Imperial Guards. They won't leave their posts for any ordinary distraction, but a magical one might work."
"You think I should use my staff?" Alana asked.
"It certainly could work," Garet said. "These men won't desert their posts unless something really strange is going on. They know they're guarding something important, even if they don't know what it is." He shook his head. "It's an insane plan. We don't know how it's gonna play out. But we have to try something."
Nadia felt sick to her stomach as she leaned against a stone shelf. "No. I think we have to plan something. Rushing into this will only lead to disaster."
"But we might have to," Garet said. "We've been getting strange looks the whole time we've been in this city."
"Then we're going with my plan?" Markus said, sounding a little too eager.
"If it's a choice between that and getting arrested," Garet said, "it's no choice at all."
Alana tightened a hand on her staff. "I'm ready. I know what to do."
Nadia felt sicker than ever. Why couldn't they see how insane this was? Surely they could find another way, one that seemed less like one of Rik's ideas.
"All right," Garet said, keeping his voice low. "We're gonna have to move fast. There's a good chance they won't both leave. If that's the case, we'll have to be ready."
Nadia's stomach twisted. "We'll have to kill the other guard, you mean?"
"You got a problem with that?" Garet asked. "They are I
mperial Guards."
"Not all Imperial Guards are evil," Nadia said.
Garet glared at her. "This is war. Sometimes you have to do things you don't like."
War. As long as Nadia had planned her vengeance, she had never thought of it that way. True, she had once felt no qualms about killing an Imperial Guard, but now she had met Markus's uncle, and she couldn't dispel her doubts.
But Garet was right, she admitted reluctantly. This was war.
"All right," she said. "We'll do what we have to do."
Garet nodded tersely. "Good. I think we're ready then. Alana, you're going to approach from the right, using your staff to produce some kind of magic. The rest of us will approach from the left, ready to kill the other Imperial Guard if we need to."
Alana lifted her staff and started off to the right, using the many stone shelves to shield herself from the Imperial Guards' view. Nadia waited with the rest of the party, trying to calm her breathing. They moved a few shelves closer to their destination and readied their weapons.
A flash of lightning brightened the library, and Garet led Nadia and Markus out from their hiding spot. They passed a few more shelves, then stood in view of the door they wanted. One Imperial Guard had gone after Alana. The other remained at his post.
"What're you doing?" he demanded, moving a step closer.
Garet raised his bow and launched an arrow directly at the Imperial Guard's head, but the man ducked at the last moment.
"You're gonna regret that," he said, racing toward them, sword drawn. Nadia had readied her own bow, but she worried she couldn't make the shot. The man was moving, chainmail covered his heart, and she still didn't know if she could do it. She aimed at his head, trying to keep her posture steady.
But then the Imperial Guard darted around the shelves. "I need help here!"
Markus turned to chase him.
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 48