Sergeant Miles said nothing as they hurried through the streets. Workmen were fixing damaged buildings and rigging up shelters, wooden frameworks that might provide some protection from arrows. Others were raising more tents, trying to provide shelter for the homeless. Emily hoped it never occurred to the necromancer to start launching flaming arrows over the walls or parts of the city would burn down. And God alone knew how many people would die.
“I think this might interest you,” Sergeant Miles told her, as they passed through a gate and into a courtyard. It was completely empty, save for a pair of crates. Master Storm, Master Bone, Gaius and Cat stood there, accompanied by two men Emily didn’t recognize. “Stay back and watch carefully.”
Emily did as she was told, ignoring Gaius’s wink as the two apprentices struggled to open the crates. Someone had charmed them heavily, making sure they couldn’t be moved or opened without the right passwords. It took them nearly twenty minutes to open the crates, revealing a set of smaller boxes wrapped in yet more spells. Emily resisted the urge to giggle as she heard Gaius muttering curses, just loudly enough to be heard. Were there yet more boxes inside the second set of boxes?
Gaius opened the first box, revealing a green crystal ball. Emily leaned forward, interested, as she sensed the magic coiling within the crystal. It felt oddly familiar and yet repulsive, as if part of her just wanted to flee. The second box contained another green crystal; the third contained a red crystal. She watched, fighting down the urge to start running, as more and more crystals were revealed. The sense of impending danger was growing stronger.
Sergeant Miles caught her attention. “What do you think these are?”
Emily frowned. Spells could be trapped in crystals, she recalled. She’d seen Nightmare Hexes that had lasted indefinitely, once prepared. And yet, the spells she could sense were far more complex than any Nightmare Hex. Someone had put them together very carefully, twinning them with other spells ... the magic seemed to be leeching in directions her mind couldn’t quite comprehend.
Understanding struck. “They’re a portal, aren’t they?”
“They’re the building blocks for a portal,” Sergeant Miles agreed. “Not the portal itself, unfortunately.”
“Smiles and I used to experiment,” Master Storm said. He strode over to Emily, leaving Master Bone to supervise the apprentices. “We had the feeling one could mount a portal on a cart and move it around the battlefield.”
“It sounded plausible at the time,” Sergeant Miles said.
“But it didn’t work,” Master Storm explained. “The slightest shift and the portal would collapse. Even when we fixed everything firmly in place, the portal collapsed as soon as the cart started to move. Theory says the problem can be overcome; practice, alas, tells us that it’s unworkable.”
Emily frowned, contemplating the problem. “If you were moving one side of the portal,” she said, “wouldn’t that change the basic equations governing it?”
“We thought we had accounted for it,” Sergeant Miles said. He shrugged. “Yes, you’re right — the destination would change, thus the equations would change too. But we thought we’d accounted for that. It simply never worked.”
Master Storm nodded in agreement, then jabbed a finger towards the ground where Master Bone was drawing out a pattern. “I understand you’ve learned how to teleport,” he said, glancing back at Emily. “Portal spells are actually very similar to teleportation spells, but they remain in position indefinitely. The backwash of mana can be quite unsettling.”
“I know,” Emily said. She remembered her first trip through a portal and shuddered. Alassa had insisted that Emily’s blinding headache was a good thing, but Emily hadn’t felt that way; she’d felt as though shards of glass were being hammered into her eyes. “Where does the power come from?”
“The spells are very powerful,” Master Storm said. “They can hold a portal open indefinitely.”
Emily frowned. That sounded ... wrong. Teleporting took a lot of magic. Was she looking at a proto-battery? Or was the mana surging backwards and forwards along the portal, effectively creating a perpetual motion machine? Surely that would violate the first or second law of thermodynamics. And yet, magic violated so many laws ...
Maybe the surge just holds the portal in place, she mused. That might explain why the portal couldn’t be moved easily, if at all. They’ve locked the magic still, instead of allowing it to fade away.
She watched as Master Storm and Sergeant Miles checked Master Bone’s work, going over it with a thoroughness she could only admire. She’d known tutors who would have exploded with rage at the thought of anyone checking their work, even something fantastically complex, but Master Bone didn’t seem to mind. He knew the dangers of getting something wrong, she figured. A mistake could have unpleasant, perhaps lethal, consequences.
The sun was beating down heavily by the time the three masters were satisfied. They stopped for a drink of water, then ordered Gaius and Cat to start putting the crystal balls in place, one by one. Emily hadn’t thought they were that heavy, but it took both apprentices to lift even one of the crystals. She offered to help, only to be told to stay where she was. The two boys had done it before, back during training. She’d never been so close to a portal rite in her life.
“Each of these crystals has a twin,” Sergeant Miles informed her. The other two masters followed the apprentices, checking their work. Their nitpicking would have been annoying if Emily hadn’t known it was necessary. “Those crystals have been set up in a camp, near the White City. When the time comes, we will trigger the crystals and allow the magic to link them together.”
Emily nodded. “I don’t recall seeing the crystals before ...”
“They’re normally concealed,” Sergeant Miles said. He nodded towards a blue crystal as it was carried over to its position. “Most portals hide them under a layer of charmed soil, where they can’t be seen easily. Others work them into the surrounding area ... once the portal is set up, of course. A small portal might be nothing more than an archway with the crystals embedded in the stone.”
He smiled. “And if you have a nexus point,” he added, “you don’t need so many crystals.”
“I see, I think,” Emily said.
Sergeant Miles grinned. “If you go into enchanting,” he said, “you’ll have plenty of time to learn about crystals and how they work.”
Emily smiled back. In truth, she found all kinds of magic fascinating. The idea of studying one discipline, without trying to see how it interlinked with the others, felt wrong. Caleb was right, she thought. His dream of a university, where all disciplines were studied, was worthwhile. It was what she wanted for herself. But it wouldn’t be an option, at least until she earned her mastery. And then ...
The sky’s the limit, she thought. And I don’t have to worry about finding work.
She could hire tutors, she supposed. But how many tutors would want to teach her, knowing she’d be concentrating on three or four different disciplines at once? Master Grave had spent five years trying to prepare Casper for his mastery, concentrating on a single subject. She doubted he’d want to teach her, if he knew he wouldn’t be the only one.
“Enchanting would be a waste of your talents,” Master Storm said. He looked up from the last crystal. “Smiles, do you have the chat parchment?”
“Here,” Sergeant Miles said. He held it out. “They’re ready.”
He passed Master Storm the parchment, then inspected the crystals with minute attention to detail. Emily glanced at Gaius and Cat, noticing that they both looked nervous. Their exams wouldn’t have been checked in such detail. But then, it was a great deal harder to fake competence on the Nameless World. Cheating one’s way through an exam was hard enough — she’d once heard a tutor complain that his student would be brilliant, if he spent as much time working as he did trying to find shortcuts — but finding a job afterwards would be impossible. No one would be hired without proving their competence.
And if a crystal is a millimetre out of place, she thought, we’ll know it.
Master Storm scribbled a note on the chat parchment, then glanced at Emily. “You have a knack for coming up with ideas under pressure,” he said. “Have you thought about pursuing a charms mastery?”
“I’ve considered it,” Emily said, truthfully. “But there are many areas I’m interested in.”
“Better too many than too few,” Master Storm said. “I’d be happy to consider you as a potential apprentice after you graduate.”
He smiled at Cat. “And after Cat gains his mastery, of course.”
Cat rolled his eyes. Emily was silently relieved Casper wasn’t there to hear Master Storm’s words. Cat had been studying under Master Storm for two years, more or less; Casper had been studying for five. The thought of watching another apprentice move ahead of him would probably push him back into depression. But then, he was doing better now.
“I’ll consider it,” she said, finally. “But it depends on what happens when I leave Whitehall.”
“There isn’t a master who wouldn’t consider taking you,” Master Storm said. “Make sure you choose carefully.”
“Very carefully,” Sergeant Miles said, dryly. He walked back to them, his face covered in sweat. “I think we’re ready to go.”
Emily caught his eye. “Where should we stand?”
“Over by the gate,” Sergeant Miles told her. “And if the magic gets too strong to endure, go straight back to the barracks.”
“Yes, Master,” Emily said.
She followed Cat and Gaius to the gate, then turned to watch as the three masters started to cast a complicated spell over the crystals. Mana shifted around them, a faint echo humming in the air ... just long enough for her to realize that she was sensing the second set of crystals, thousands of miles away. The magic built up until the crystals flared to light, a faint shimmering appearing above them as time and space twisted ...
And then there was a flash of magic. A spell lanced down from behind her and struck the portal.
She turned, just in time to see a figure fall off a rooftop and plunge to his death. The surge of magic behind her was so powerful that she found herself running through the yard gate, Cat and Gaius beside her, before her conscious mind had quite realized what had happened. Space — reality itself — was being twisted. She glanced back as she ran, watching in horror as the courtyard warped and twisted ... and finally collapsed in on itself. The shockwave of magic, blasting out in all directions, slammed into her protections, picking her up and throwing her down the street. She barely managed to tuck her head and arms into herself before she hit the ground and rolled.
Cat swore. Emily picked herself up and turned to look at where the portal had been. The courtyard was gone. There was nothing left but a perfectly smooth crater. She could see the three masters on the other side, staring in horror. The portal hadn’t just failed, the portal had gone. And the crystals were gone too.
“There aren’t any other crystals,” Cat breathed. He sounded numb, as though he hadn’t quite realized what had happened. “We’re cut off.”
He glanced at Emily. “What happened?”
“Someone interfered with the portal,” Gaius said. He looked grim. “Didn’t you see the spell hit it?”
Emily nodded as they started to walk back towards the crater. She’d seen someone fall from a tall building ... who? The person who’d cast the spell or someone who’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time? They’d have to find the body, quickly. Right now, bodies were cremated as soon as they were discovered. Any evidence, one way or the other, would be destroyed with the body.
She allowed herself a sigh of relief as they reached their masters. Sergeant Miles looked frustrated, while Master Storm and Master Bone both looked furious. As she watched, Master Bone nodded to Gaius and headed off towards the fallen man. Gaius followed him a moment later, leaving the other four behind. Emily hoped — desperately — that they found something useful.
“That was sabotage,” Sergeant Miles grunted. He peered down into the crater. A faint wisp of smoke was drifting up from the center, taunting them. “And now we’re cut off from the Allied Lands.”
Emily blanched. The portal had been their ace in the hole. They couldn’t be starved out, she’d been told, as long as they could ship food to Farrakhan. But now ... the entire population was doomed, unless they could somehow lift the siege. She and the other magicians could teleport out, she supposed, yet they couldn’t carry even a tiny percentage of the population.
“We can request more crystals,” Cat pointed out. “It isn’t as if the lost crystals can’t be replaced.”
“They’d have to be carted here,” Sergeant Miles said. “They don’t like being teleported.”
“Shit,” Cat said. He and Emily shared a glance. “So what do we do?”
Master Storm shook his head. “Good question,” he said. “We have to talk to the general.”
“And then what?” Emily asked. “Try to break out?”
“I don’t know,” Sergeant Miles said. He sounded almost hopeless. Emily had never heard him so ... downcast. “Getting the army out might be possible. But getting the civilians out ...?”
He ran his hand through his short hair. “We may not have lost the war,” he said, after a long moment, “but we may just have lost the city.”
And if the necromancer sacrifices even a tenth of the population, Emily added with a shiver, he’ll be unstoppable.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
EMILY STOOD ON THE BATTLEMENTS, PEERING into the darkened countryside.
The enemy was out there somewhere, she knew, even if he wasn’t visible. Orcs probed the defenses daily; sometimes shooting arrows into the city, sometimes trying to ambush the cavalry patrols as they tried to keep track of enemy positions. A whole series of skirmishes had been fought over the last few days; ambushes, counter-ambushes, counter-counter-ambushes ... she’d lost track, at times, of just who had set out to start the engagement. All that mattered was that the army was on the verge of cracking.
A faint light glimmered on the horizon, barely visible for a second before vanishing back into the shadows. She reached out with her senses, but felt nothing. A clash between the cavalry and the orcs, perhaps? Or merely someone lighting a fire. It got very cold at night, even for the orcs. Maybe they’d not yet run out of stuff to burn.
She turned to stare over the city. Farrakhan looked calm, but she knew the calm was deceptive. Armed guards patrolled the streets, ready to crush any protests or riots before they got out of control. No one was allowed to leave their homes between dusk and dawn unless they had special permission. The inns had been closed, the printing presses had been confiscated, and most of the menfolk had been conscripted.
And yet, she knew it might not be enough. The civilians were starving, their children dying because most of the city’s food had been reserved for the defenders. It wouldn’t be long before the civilians snapped, intent on lashing out at their oppressors rather than the threat on the far side of the walls. And who knew which way the soldiers and guardsmen would jump when their families were under threat? The Patrician, damn the man, wasn’t helping by making threatening speeches. Emily had a feeling that a little understanding would have gone a long way.
And even here, that understanding is very limited, she told herself, quietly. It would be worse in Zangaria.
She slowly walked back to the steps, passing a handful of soldiers keeping watch. They saluted her as she passed, showing a level of respect she wouldn’t have expected. But then, they knew who she was. A sorceress was a dangerous person to disrespect. Emily wasn’t about to start turning people into frogs at random, but they didn’t know that. Oddly, her near-brush with death seemed to have enhanced the effect. They seemed to see her as a mascot.
Even though Casper beat me, she thought, wryly. But then, there’s nothing ordinary about him either.
She walked down the steps and frowned
when she saw Sir Albright waiting at the bottom, his hands clasped behind his back. She’d met him a few times, mainly with the general, but she wasn’t sure if he was supporting his superior or sucking up to him. There was something about him she didn’t like, a droll awareness — perhaps — that he would treat her very differently, if she’d been someone else. But General Pollack seemed willing to tolerate him.
“Lady Emily,” Sir Albright said. “General Pollack requests your presence in the courtroom.”
Emily lifted her eyebrows. “The courtroom?”
“Yes, My Lady,” Sir Albright said. “I’m to escort you there at once.”
He turned, clearly expecting that she would follow him. Emily hesitated, then followed him anyway. There was no point in hexing the messenger. Sir Albright was merely repeating what he’d been told. She concealed her irritation with an effort, wondering just how many messengers were beheaded, turned into toads, or merely blasted to ashes for bringing bad news. It wasn’t a job she would have wanted.
The courtroom turned out to be a grandiose building, constructed in a manner that reminded her of a Greek temple. A statue of Justice stood outside the doors, glaring down at visitors in a manner that suggested he knew what they’d done, even if no one else did. Emily took a moment to admire the statue — it was so realistic she would have thought it was actually a petrified human, if it hadn’t been so exaggerated — and then followed Sir Albright through the doors. Inside, the room was lit by glowing candles, casting an eerie radiance through the building. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t use lanterns.
“Lady Emily,” General Pollack said, as Sir Albright led her into a smaller room. He was sitting at a table, flanked by Master Storm and Lord Fulbright. Gaius was leaning against the wall, his face expressionless. “Thank you for coming.”
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