A Crucible of Souls (Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) (Volume 1) Paperback

by Mitchell Hogan

  “Go!” roared Caldan.

  “What?” said Miranda in a daze.

  He pushed her towards the others. “Run!” He turned and rifled through his gear. Behind him, they staggered away as fast as they could.

  What to do? Caldan drew out four stone cubes, each the size of a dice used in taverns, surfaces covered in etched runes. He hadn’t thought to be using these, but there wasn’t time to make anything else, and he needed something stronger than paper.

  He placed two cubes against the walls, one on either side of the passageway. The others he slipped into a pocket in reserve. Accessing his well, he activated the craftings. A barrier of light sprang up, blocking the passageway. It glowed a soft blue and sparkled where dust hit it.

  On the other side of the shield, two figures dropped into view. Caldan recognized the woman who’d visited him in his cell, Bells. Both were surrounded by their own shields. Their eyes locked onto his. He snatched up his gear, turned his back to them and ran.

  Caldan caught up with them as Miranda and Bees were arguing heatedly.

  “Up, down, do you know where you’re going?” screeched Miranda.

  “I didn’t build it. And yes, I do,” Bees shouted back.

  “I’ve blocked the tunnel,” Caldan said. “But I think they might be able to get through. I fear I’ve only bought us a little time.”

  They scampered down another ladder, along a tunnel, then up yet another ladder to emerge into a wide corridor split down the middle. The side they were on was a stone walkway. The other dropped into a swift flowing stream, which disappeared into a black hole in the wall. If any of them fell into the water they wouldn’t be able to be rescued, and who knew where the stream emerged or if there was airspace along the way. Along the stone walkway a slimy grey mold flourished, making footing treacherous.

  With nervous glances over their shoulders, the group hurried along the path. Ahead in the darkness, another ladder led up.

  Elpidia fell to one knee as she slipped on the slimy stone. Miranda helped her regain her feet and they hurried along the ledge.

  At the ladder, they stopped as Bees raced up the rungs as fast as he could. All of them, except Caldan and Amerdan, were breathing heavily and sweating with fear.

  “Who were they?” asked the shopkeeper as Bees reached the top of the ladder and beckoned to Elpidia.

  “The invaders… Indryallans,” replied Caldan. “They must have known about the tunnels and want to stop people escaping the city.”

  Amerdan looked at his face for a moment, unblinking. “Indeed. Let’s hope whatever you did to stop them holds for a while.”

  “It should… I mean… unless they can overcome my crafting,” Caldan said hesitantly. He glanced up the ladder at Elpidia making slow progress on the slippery rungs. “Can you hurry, please!”

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” said Elpidia.

  A sharp crack sounded over the rush of water, and Caldan sensed his wards fail. “By the ancestors,” he cursed under his breath.

  “What is it?” Miranda asked in alarm.

  Caldan grabbed her arm and pushed her towards the ladder. “Go. As fast as you can.” He looked at Amerdan. “You too. I’m relying on you to look after them.”

  The shopkeeper smiled briefly. “I will.”

  Caldan nodded. “They broke through my wards. I can make another, but it won’t stop them for long.” He glanced at the fast flowing water deep in the trough beside them.

  “Which means you probably can’t hurt them,” added Miranda.

  “That’s correct. Their shields will protect them from anything I can manage, but I might be able to delay them.” He dropped his sack to the ground and drew out the jumble of metal rods that made up his new automaton.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Miranda grabbed the ladder and prepared to climb. “Caldan… Don’t take any risks. Please. I’m sure we can lose them in here, since Bees knows the way and they don’t.”

  Caldan gave her a wry smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to wait around until they come.” He waved her away. “We don’t have much time.”

  As if punctuating his words, a number of sorcerous globes floated out of the opening at the end of the tunnel behind them. Two rose to the ceiling and stuck there, illuminating the area, while another continued slowly up the tunnel towards them.

  Miranda shot one last worried look at Caldan and began to climb.

  Caldan began assembling his smith-crafted automaton. He accessed his well, and slotted the four legs onto the body, joints clicking into place, while simultaneously linking the pieces using his crafting skill. Metal vibrated in his hands as the anchors, buffers, transference and shaping runes activated. Behind him, he heard Amerdan swiftly ascend the ladder with confidence, following Miranda and the others.

  Movement caught his eye as two figures emerged into the tunnel, both covered with the telltale glow of shields. Though they were distant, Caldan recognized them as soldiers rather than the sorcerers. They moved cautiously along the slippery ledge. In their wake, two more figures emerged, stepping onto the ledge with a confidence bordering on arrogance.

  Caldan firmly slotted the head into place, and with a minute fizz of energy the two metal parts fused. It was sleeker than the original dog, catlike. The new automaton rose to its feet. Standing, it reached to his knee. Blue stone eyes emitted a faint glow as the smith-crafting hummed with energy, almost inaudible to his ear. The tail extended behind the body and twitched.

  Despite the situation, Caldan laid a hand on his creation and gazed at it with admiration. Compared to this automaton, the first had been a substandard crafting, a hack job of ideas without grace, an awkward moving metal contraption. This new automaton was refined in both the metalwork and smith-crafting, an order of magnitude more polished and complex.

  With a thought, he sent it slinking towards the Indryallans then gathered up his sack and climbed the ladder. At the top, he turned to gauge how much time he had. The Indryallans were moving swiftly, since they hadn’t been assailed, sending their sorcerous globes drifting up the tunnel towards Caldan.

  He crouched in the hole in the wall. Behind him, he heard boots scuffling on stone and murmurs as Miranda and the others scurried away.

  Caldan closed his eyes, awareness flowing through the link to his automaton. His sight lurched as he saw from the viewpoint of his creation, and he held a hand against the wall to steady himself. From his new knee-high viewpoint close to the ground, the tunnel looked bigger and wider.

  Ahead, two men approached. He sent the automaton dashing forward. He couldn’t possibly draw enough from his well to overload four shields or defeat two men and two sorcerers. It was time to enact his plan. If it worked, the sorcerers would be in for a surprise.

  Ahead of the men, his automaton broke through the darkness. Shouts of surprise greeted its sudden appearance, though both were shielded and carried short metal blades. They were more startled than alarmed.

  “What is it?” Caldan heard one ask.

  He sent the smith-crafting to the left, close to the wall, and continued ahead, as if angling to pass the men.

  “No idea,” replied the other. “Bells or Keys should know. By the God-Emperor, I ain’t going near it.”

  Caldan stopped the automaton as it reached a point on the wall where the two men lay between it and the water. He linked to another crafting in the runes of the animal’s body. Light erupted around the automaton, its own shield.

  “Crap! Where are Bells and Keys?” one squawked, stepping back and glancing down the tunnel towards the two sorcerers. “Hey!” he yelled.

  Bells and Keys — now Caldan knew both their names.

  He flicked the automaton a command. Around its body the shield flashed and expanded, one side pushing against the wall, the other extending towards the two men.

  “What the…”

  Sparks crackled as the edges of the shields made contact. Designed to keep things out, to be as impenetrable as
possible, the forces pressed against each other. Caldan drew from his well and pushed, hard and fast. The automaton’s shield expanded, using the wall to brace against, and the two men had nothing to support them. Boots scrabbled for purchase on the slick stone. Failing to find purchase, they slid towards the water and, with wordless cries, slipped over the edge into the swift torrent. Dragged by the irresistible current, they barreled away from Caldan towards Bells and Keys, arms flailing.

  Their shouts caught the sorcerers’ attention and both stopped. Caldan sent the automaton darting towards them. If he could use the men as a distraction, he might be able to get close enough to use the same trick.

  Bells stepped towards the edge and watched the men as they approached, thrashing and yelling in the water. Simultaneously, both Bells and Keys froze, ignoring the men, and turning towards the approaching automaton. They reached out and clasped hands. Their shields merged and spread to a flat barrier across the walkway. There was no way to slip between them and the water.

  Caldan felt a scrabbling, a scratching at his linkage to the automaton. Shocked, he drew deeper from his well in an effort to cement his link. Panicked, he pulled the smith-crafting towards him and it scurried back along the path, wobbling unsteadily as Caldan drew even further from his well. The closer it came to him, the weaker the assault became. Sweat dripped from his face, and he gulped in air. His head ached. Abruptly, the forces assailing the automaton ceased.

  In the distance, the sorcerers stood as still as statues. Alongside them swept their two men, ignored. They cried out as the water dragged them relentlessly through the hole in the wall and into darkness.

  At the base of the ladder his automaton leapt, using its momentum to propel itself up the rungs, metal claws scrabbling. It landed at Caldan’s feet as the smell of lemons reached him and he sensed a build-up from the sorcerers.

  Snatching at his well, he shielded himself as three red balls blasted towards him. He dropped to the floor, making himself as small as possible.

  Blinding red light exploded. Pressure ground against him, pushing him further against the floor.

  His wristband whined under the strain. His skin felt hot through the shield. He could feel his crafting begin to fail. Grunting with effort, he drew further from his well, striving to bolster his crafting, pushing himself to his limits. A searing pain filled his head. After a few moments, he managed to restore balance to his shield. Whatever the sorcerers had sent, it had almost finished him. He knew he was outmatched.

  On hands and knees, he scrabbled away from the ladder, down the tunnel and out of the line of sight of the sorcerers. Clutching his head, he rose and hurried after the others, hunched and weary beyond belief. Ahead of him loped the automaton.

  Caldan approached the group from the darkness behind them at a run. He skidded to a walk and motioned for them to keep moving. Ahead, manmade walls and floor gave way to natural stone opening out into a cavern.

  “We have to stick together,” demanded Miranda. “At least until we find our way out of here. If we split up, we might not find each other again.” She gave him a concerned look and touched his arm.

  Caldan brushed away Miranda’s fussing over him, though took the edge off with a tight smile. “Come on, we don’t have much time. I’m all right, honestly.”

  “You weren’t able to stop them?” asked Miranda, loud enough for the others to hear.

  Caldan shook his head in defeat. “No. I… got rid of two men with them, but the sorcerers… they’re too powerful.”

  Amerdan stared at him curiously. “What did you do?”

  “I knocked them into the water.”

  Elpidia’s face was miserable. “No,” she whimpered. “Oh no. I don’t want to die… I won’t.”

  Caldan took her head in his hands. “There’s light ahead. We’re almost out.”

  Amerdan started. “Yes,” he confirmed, with a probing look at Caldan. “There is.” The shopkeeper looked at the automaton as it weaved through the group and continued ahead. “Interesting,” he said, eyeing Caldan with respect.

  They stepped onto the rough natural stone. For a few minutes, they trudged in silence, walking steadily further into the cavern. The air filled with the scent of dirt and a faint musky smell. Bats probably, thought Caldan. It made sense. The engineers who constructed the aqueducts would make use of any caves in the surrounding countryside. Why dig when it was much easier to use natural formations?

  Behind them, the sound of rushing water faded the further they walked. Caldan remained at the rear of the group, constantly glancing behind, trying to spot movement in the dark, though he thought it more likely the sorcerers would come shielded and he would see the telltale glow.

  He maintained his well as they walked, both to keep contact with the automaton as he sent it to scout ahead and to extend his senses behind the group, searching for signs the sorcerers approached.

  The ground began sloping upwards, gently at first, almost imperceptibly, then with an ever-increasing incline.

  A tickle touched the edge of Caldan’s heightened senses. It came from behind him. He stopped abruptly and turned, scanning the darkness. There had been something… a presence… but now there was nothing.

  The others stopped one by one as they realized he no longer followed.

  Caldan opened his well and prepared to split it into multiple strings. Reaching into his pocket, he then flung his hand into the air, releasing a flock of paper birds. Though only narrow strings from his well were required for the birds, his head ached with strain, a sharp pain stabbed into his mind, his forehead broke into a sweat. Flashing past his legs, the metal automaton shot back down the cavern.

  Flapping their wings in the stale air, the birds flew around him. With a thought, he pushed them out in ever-expanding circles, flying at different levels from low to the floor to head height. He peered into the darkness.

  “Keep going,” he said to the others. “I can’t be sure, but I need to check.” He turned to face Miranda as she hesitated. “Go,” he commanded once again.

  Miranda’s mouth narrowed and she frowned in worry. She turned to usher Elpidia and Bees towards the light ahead. “Hurry,” she said.

  Caldan could hear Amerdan’s breath over the faint flapping of wings, so close was he. The shopkeeper had drawn both of his knives and held them casually, giving Caldan the strong impression he knew how to use them. Caldan thought of drawing the trinket sword but thought better of it. If he needed to run, it would only slow him down.

  “They won’t be any use,” he explained quietly to Amerdan. “Their shields will block any blades.”

  Looking at his knives for a moment, Amerdan slid them back into the sheathes on his belt. He backed away a few steps, licking his lips. With a shrug, he turned and followed Bees and Elpidia, passing Miranda. As she approached, Caldan gave her a disapproving look. “Why aren’t you with the others?” he hissed.

  “I can take care of myself. Besides, you can’t sense anyone following, right?”

  “Maybe, but I’ve no idea what these sorcerers can do. I wish I had your confidence.”

  “You think they can mask themselves somehow?”

  “I don’t know, but I would rather be sure than captured again… or dead.”

  Light flashed briefly in the darkness as one of the paper birds hit a solid surface. Sparkles glittered from the impact and spread across a shield outlining a figure, then flickered out.

  Caldan cursed and immediately sent the automaton towards the spot along with the birds. A pulse of force erupted, and all his birds burst into flames. His automaton tumbled backwards, metal limbs splayed as it lay in a heap. Strings from his well whiplashed back as they were severed. His mind exploded with pain.

  There was moment of stillness. Paper birds turned to ash, falling to the ground.

  Two succinct glows broke through the darkness. Bells and Keys.

  With sluggish thoughts, Caldan’s mind groped for his wristband and linked to shield himself. He
reached for Miranda’s hand.

  A massive burst of raw energy snapped into him. He tumbled backwards onto the ground. Around him, his shield wavered. His wristband vibrated unsteadily and grew hot. It was all he could do to stop the energy penetrating his shield, but after a moment the brutal initial force diminished, allowing him to draw breath.

  Another wave of energy assaulted his shield, pinning him to the ground. His wristband keened under the strain and began to burn his skin.

  Caldan cursed and cut his well from his crafting before it failed. Around him, the shield dissolved.

  He looked around for Miranda, to warn her to flee. He met her eyes.

  She shuddered, stumbled forward onto hands and knees. Her body jerked violently. She stood slowly, blank eyes staring from her face.

  Caldan was transfixed with horror. What looked out at him wasn’t Miranda. He gave an anguished cry.

  In the distance, he heard a woman laugh. Bells.

  Miranda rose and began to walk towards him, at first unsteadily, then with increasing control.

  Caldan, unable to move under a pressure that crushed him to the ground, gave Miranda a pleading look as she walked towards him. Desperately, he reached for the link to his automaton and found it, infusing the creature with power and sending it towards the sorcerers.

  Miranda drew her knife. She knelt beside Caldan and lifted the blade with both hands.

  “No,” Caldan managed to croak, unable to move.

  She plunged the knife down, stabbing him in the side. Pain enveloped him and his vision went white.

  Summoning what strength he could, Caldan pressed a hand to the wound and closed his eyes. Once again his awareness flew through the link to his automaton.

  Bells and Keys stood together, shields glowing and arms raised. Around them the air crackled with gathering force. Caldan urged his crafting towards them.

  Miranda raised the knife for another thrust.

  The automaton reached Bells and Keys. Grunting with exertion, he ruptured the anchor. The forces from his well destroyed it utterly. A thunderous reverberation echoed in the cavern, and filaments of lightning surged around Bells and Keys. Under the strain, their shields sparkled blue then a deep purple as they strove to absorb the forces assailing them. One of the crafted keys around Keys’ neck melted and his shield went red. He threw a despairing look at Bells, then his shield winked out. His skin instantly blackened and smoked. His body went limp.