Fall of the Titan (The Desolate Empire Book 5)

by Christina Ochs

  She didn't know how to attack the palace, but Anton seemed to have that well in hand. “Where shall we put the princess once we’ve arrested her?” he asked.

  “The temple dungeon, I suppose.” Elektra wanted to get rid of her for good, but would have to do it discreetly. Perhaps the Maximus would help, as her mother had suggested. “I also want the Duke and Duchess of Lemberg arrested,” she added, “since I’m certain they were helping the princess with this.

  “Anyone else?” Anton asked with a grin.

  “I’m not sure,” Elektra said. “Anyone who protests, or gives us any other trouble, I suppose.”

  “Consider it done,” Anton said, and explained his plan to Elektra. She was to play an important role, though she wasn’t in any position to fight, annoying though it was.

  They ran into trouble long before reaching the castle. An armed party approached them on the road, and Elektra recognized the Duke of Lemberg and his Floradian friend. “Arrest them,” she murmured to Anton before he rode off at the head of a large troop.

  “Did you come from Bonnenruck?” the duke called as they drew near. “I’m expecting troops and will be in charge of your disposition.”

  “No you won’t,” Anton said, pulling out a pistol as he drew near. “You’re under arrest, by order of the Archduchess Elektra, ruler of Isenwald. Lay down your arms and you’ll be unharmed.”

  The duke’s mouth fell open, and he fumbled for a weapon at his belt, but before he got it out, Anton hit his arm with the flat of his sword. He nodded at Karil, who rode forward and took the duke’s weapons, then did the same for the Floradian agent. In the meantime, the rest of Anton’s troops surrounded the party.

  Once they realized they were surrounded, the duke’s troops had no interest in resisting and went quietly with a small company led by Karil.

  “We’ll keep the duke and his friend at the temple,” Anton said, “and the rest can go to the city jail. I hope there’s room.”

  “I hope so too.” Elektra had seen the hatred in the duke’s eyes and now she couldn’t wait for all of this to be over. But there were no more obstacles on the way, and the guards at the palace gates dropped their weapons and ran off at the sight of Anton’s party.

  Elektra found it hard to believe it would be this easy.

  “Are you ready?” Anton asked as they approached the main entrance to the palace.

  Elektra nodded and tried to smile. At the front door, she dismounted and swept up the stairs. “I must see Princess Viviane,” she said, acting as if being flanked by armored men was normal.

  The guards stepped back and Elektra walked past them.

  The reception hall was in an uproar, with no one there prepared to mount a defense. Elektra walked straight into the middle of the room, her gaze sweeping over all those now shrinking against the wall. Behind her she heard a scuffle but didn’t turn around. Anton would handle it. “Where is Princess Viviane?” she asked.

  “Disappeared,” someone said. “She was right here, and now she’s gone.”

  Elektra smiled. She knew where the princess had gone. “Have the palace surrounded,” she told Anton, “and watch the garden. You should come with me.”

  Anton gave the order, then Elektra left the room. She didn’t want everyone seeing one of the hidden doors. She marched straight to the chapel and got the map out, handing it to Anton. “Have your men search all of these passages. She’ll be in there somewhere.”

  Trystan

  “I’d love to go to Allaux,” Louise said, “since I’ve never been. But now’s a bad time, with the planting.”

  Trystan hadn’t even thought of that. “You don’t need to come. But I’d love to have you meet the king. He'll be sure to reward you. In fact, I’ll insist on it.”

  “Don’t worry about the planting,” Henri said, coming up beside Louise and putting an arm around her shoulder. “Clary and I can handle it. We’ll get help from the neighbors if need be. You should see Allaux and tell us what it’s like.”

  They stood in the center of the temple square, organizing Natalya’s escort. It was late to make a start, but Trystan insisted on leaving at once. If any of the new Maxima’s allies were about, they might not be on the road after dark. Word of what had happened would spread quickly, and Trystan wanted to be far away before any enemies heard.

  Trystan would be in charge of the armed escort comprising three temple guards and thirty farmers. Louise would represent the town. The burgomaster ordered mounts for everyone; someone had even found Natalya’s mule.

  Once they were underway, under a nearly full moon, Trystan and Natalya riding side-by-side again, Trystan said, “I’m sorry, I should never have left you alone.”

  “It was wise not to take me to the temple,” Natalya said. “I didn’t realize Lena had become priestess here. She used to serve in an Allaux temple and never seemed friendly. I was the unwise one.

  “A familiar priest appeared at the tavern while I waited for you. I didn’t know he works for the de la Tours. He told me the temple would welcome me and led me straight there, where I thought I’d meet up with you.”

  “It worked out well enough,” Trystan said, “though I still worry about the king. What if he’s turned against you?” It seemed unlikely after the trouble he’d taken to outfit Trystan’s rescue party, but perhaps something had changed in the months he’d been gone.

  “It’s a chance I must take.” Natalya’s face turned serious. She looked unharmed, though her robes were grimy from her stay in an unpleasant cell and her usually immaculate hair disheveled.

  Trystan thought she looked even more beautiful than before. “I won’t let him harm you, no matter what,” he said. Now he no longer had to pretend to be a priest, he’d see about getting proper weapons before reaching Allaux.

  “That’s so sweet of you.” Natalya turned the full force of her smile on Trystan. “You’re a marvelous protector.”

  Trystan felt himself going soft inside and was glad for the darkness hiding his flush.

  They rode a good fifteen leagues before reaching the next walled town. When the eastern sky turned pink Trystan decided it was time to stop. If they rested during the day and rode all the next night, they’d reach Allaux by morning. One of the farmers knew the town and led them to a busy street with several inns.

  Trystan didn’t like splitting up the party, but no inn could accommodate so many people. So he divided them across three establishments, making sure the temple guards stayed separated. They’d caused no trouble so far, but he didn’t intend to give them a chance.

  He put Natalya in the biggest room of the nicest inn and took another on the same floor. Though tired, he doubted he could sleep, and didn’t want to wait for weapons any longer. He reckoned he still had enough money in the purse he’d taken out of the pockets of his robe.

  After splashing cold water on his face, he stepped back into the quiet corridor. The farmers stayed in rooms all around, and two of them stood guard at Natalya’s door. Trystan decided he could leave for at least a little while. “I’ll be back soon,” he told the guards.

  The morning was damp and chilly, though the clear sky promised a fine day. Too bad he’d be sleeping through it. Trystan asked his way through until he found an armorer’s shop. It wasn’t open yet, so he wandered to the nearest square where a few food stalls already stood open. He bought a warm, flaky pastry filled with something sweet, then found himself so hungry he bought another after wolfing the first one down. When he returned to the armorer, the door stood open.

  The armorer was a taciturn fellow, but knew his business, and within a quarter hour, Trystan had returned to the street, this time with a belt of pistols, powder and shot, and a serviceable sword. This felt much better.

  He took his time returning to the inn, since he doubted he’d be able to sleep yet, in spite of his mounting fatigue. As he passed from an alleyway onto a main street, he spotted the back of an armed party. He stepped out quietly and looked them over as they contin
ued down the street. As he feared, they carried the de la Tour standard. Somehow, Mother Lena had gotten word to her allies and the search for Natalya was on.

  He counted the soldiers. Only eight, but they might have split into smaller groups, since they were clearly searching the town, going door to door at the shops. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the inns; perhaps someone already had.

  Trystan pushed down his exhaustion and broke into a run. They needed to leave before they were found.

  Teodora

  Now Teodora was certain the unfriendly Terragand forces would try to relieve Heidenhof, she wasted no time in heading that way. She sent constant messages in Mattila’s direction but received none in reply. She wondered if she remained hung up in Oltena or if she’d broken through and was also on her way to Terragand. If everyone converged there at once a big, decisive battle might put an end to the war.

  She pushed her force northeast hard, but it wasn’t easy. Since she’d left Isenwald so quickly, Teodora hadn’t bothered to line up supplies. Now it was spring the animals had plenty to eat, but feeding soldiers was another matter.

  The population of Terragand was hostile, so Teodora spent a great deal of time and money negotiating with and paying off various farmers, petty nobility and even pettier burgomasters. With a larger force she simply would have taken what she wanted.

  But after one unpleasant incident of the sort, resulting in the grizzly death of an officer and his scouting squadron, Teodora decided to conserve her soldiers for a real battle. She’d deal with this disrespectful, rebellious population before long. They’d behave differently when Lennart no longer defended them.

  Fully armored, Teodora rode at the head of her force, reading messages forwarded by Elektra from Isenwald.

  “This is odd,” Teodora said to no one in particular, though Captain Kolar rode beside her. “There’s a printed proclamation being spread all over Kronland, supposedly written by Maryna Bernotas herself.”

  Kolar scoffed. “I’m sure it’s made up.”

  “I imagine so.” But Teodora frowned. At some point she’d lost track of Maryna and Natalya’s progress to Atlona. There’d been rumors of a rescue, but Teodora dismissed those. The two of them were so well-guarded she couldn’t imagine who might find them in the Tirovor mountains in mid-winter, let alone rescue them. But someone was trying to sow confusion. Best to ignore it.

  The stack of letters from Elektra contained mundane matters Teodora had already told her to unload on Princess Viviane. The princess was being difficult, trying to undermine Elektra at every turn. Good. This was excellent practice for being empress. All of those enemies would be magnified a thousand-fold.

  At least reading letters helped Teodora pass the time. Here in southern Terragand, the landscape was flat and uninteresting as the forests of Isenwald thinned out into farmland interspersed only with small clusters of trees. They would soon reach the foothills of one of Terragand’s mountain ranges.

  So far, aside from the hostile locals, Teodora had run into no real opposition. Kolar sent his scouts far and wide, finding the only hint of enemy activity in the mountains. So perhaps Aidan Orland would show his face before long. One could only hope.

  Whenever they made camp, Teodora let Kolar take charge of security, since it seemed to be the only thing he was interested in. The man might be incompetent at searching for fugitives, but no one dug deeper privy trenches or set up more efficient picket lines. Teodora slept free of fears of ambush, or of unpleasant smells, always safely established downwind.

  But she didn’t sleep well. Nightmares plagued her, in spite of the potions Sibyla brewed to relax her. And now the nightmares stretched into her days more and more often.

  While riding down a quiet country road, Teodora would find herself startled by monsters made of black liquid smoke curling into her path and disappearing when she blinked. The first few times she’d seen them she cried out, stopping the entire column. Explaining what she had seen drew only a puzzled look from Captain Kolar, and Sibyla tutting over her even more than usual.

  “You must rest more,” her doctor insisted. “Fatigue is giving you hallucinations.”

  “I’m not fatigued,” Teodora said. “I’m perfectly well-rested.”

  “That ritual did something awful to you.” Sibyla shook her head. “It’s not through with you yet and there’s no telling the full extent of trouble it will cause you.”

  “Oh come.” Teodora scoffed. “Look at me. It’s done the opposite. It’s reversed not only the damage done when I helped Daciana, but decades of aging. Certainly worth a few odd little visions.”

  She didn't say that they weren’t just visions. Though they might quickly disappear, each one stabbed fear into her heart, leaving her frightened for hours. Now she no longer searched the bushes for signs of ambush, she worried about what might appear from thin air. Something besides the enemy pursued her now.

  But she couldn’t share that fear with anyone else. Sibyla would accept only medical explanations, and Teodora had no one else to confide in. So she prayed, harder than she had in a long time.

  She wished for Livilla. She would know what to do. Even the Maximus might know of a way to stop this, but he was far away now, and Teodora had no intention of going back.

  She considered writing to him, but didn’t want to risk a letter about such a sensitive topic falling into the wrong hands. So she endured the shock and fear, prayed and hoped something would make the monsters go away. Even an enemy attack was preferable.

  One came on a cold night, long after the camp had fallen asleep. Thanks to Kolar’s many pickets, Teodora was alerted and awake long before the enemy made it into the camp itself. She sprang from her cot, throwing on clothes and scrambling for weapons before her servant appeared.

  She ran from her tent, guards falling into place beside her. The enemy had won through and were between the tents now. Since Teodora doubted her troops had had time to get mounted, she shot at anyone on horseback. Her pistols spent, she pulled out her sword and ran for the next attacker, cutting him across the middle.

  Blackness flickered at the edge of her vision and rage rose within her chest, sending her on a ferocious spree, hacking and killing as she went. Taking on a tangible foe was downright refreshing, and Teodora was sorry when the fight was over, the enemy melting off into the dark and the distant hills, along with the black in her vision.

  “They wanted to be sure we knew who they are,” Kolar said, leading Teodora to a dead enemy soldier. He wore a purple tabard with a silver falcon.

  Teodora smiled. “Aidan Orland. How nice he’s finally come. Let’s decide how we will destroy him.”

  Anton

  Anton stared at the map. It made no sense to him, likely because he wasn’t familiar with the palace. “These passages are everywhere. It’ll take a long time to search them. Do you think Princess Viviane has a copy of this map?”

  “I don’t know,” Elektra said, “but even if she doesn’t, we can assume she knows her way around. She’s lived in this palace her whole life.”

  “Makes sense.” Anton was impressed that Elektra had gotten her hands on the map. He had enough troops to mount a thorough search so they’d find the princess, or catch her if she tried to leave the palace. He stepped out of the chapel, calling for his lieutenants.

  First, he assigned a few troops to watch over the people in the reception hall. Best to keep that lot from going anywhere. Next, he broke his soldiers up into pairs to search the entire palace. Most would go into the hidden passageways, but some would patrol the main corridors and rooms.

  “Have you memorized any of this?” he asked Elektra while pointing at the map.

  “Most of it.” She looked pale and anxious.

  “Good.” Anton handed the map to Karil. “Use this to assign areas to everyone. I’ll take the archduchess as a guide.”

  Elektra looked surprised, but said nothing.

  It would take a while to get everyone into the passages,
but Anton didn’t want to waste any more time. He turned to Elektra. “Which door do you suppose she took?”

  “Whatever is closest to the reception hall, I imagine. Follow me.” With a wave to Karil, Anton followed Elektra down the corridor. She turned into a room and walked straight to a cupboard. “There should be a door in the back of this.”

  Anton stepped forward, but first drew his sword. He didn’t expect to run into the princess right away, but wouldn’t let anyone take him by surprise. The cupboard interior had shelves from top to bottom. They were full of crockery and Anton stared at them, perplexed.

  Elektra shouldered past him. “Here.” She pushed on a shelf and it opened into a hole behind it. “It’s just covering up a door.” She held a lamp. “Should I go first?”

  “Better not. But stay right behind me.” He stepped into the passageway. It was dark and smelled of dust and mold. “Which way do you think she’d go?”

  “I’m sure she’ll try for an exterior door.” Elektra paused to close the cupboard behind her. “Most open onto the garden, which is why I asked you to station troops there. The nearest one is several minutes away, so hopefully she didn’t make it out.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Anton said. “Where do you think she’ll go once she realizes the exits are blocked?”

  Elektra pursed her lips. “She’ll try to get help. Not everyone in the palace was in the reception hall. She’ll look for one of her supporter’s rooms.”

  “Well, we captured that duke. Who else is there?”

  “His wife.” Elektra turned right and started walking. “Let’s go to her rooms first.”

  She seemed to know where she was going, so Anton followed her. They reached a small staircase and went up, climbing two flights. The passage wound its way along walls, taking sudden turns to the interior, going between rooms. Sometimes a glimpse of light appeared through holes at eye level and a few times Anton caught snatches of conversations.