The Raven Tower

by Emma Miles

  ‘We’ll draw close to them. Those of you who can swim well and silently must go ahead and board. Take out as many watchmen as you can and where possible close down or block any hatches from which warriors might emerge. Be aware that there will be sorcerers aboard who’ll be able to blast things open with ease. Do as much as you can and then get away, make for the shore and be prepared to face the dead and the Chemmen warriors who have already landed. Once I follow and begin my magic, it will be hard for you to escape. My timing will not be precise, but I’ll give about ten minutes for you to swim to the ships, five for you to do as much damage as you can, then five more to get clear. Spirits be with us.’

  ‘Spirits be with us,’ the few of them from the Fulmers chorused.

  ‘God’s have mercy.’ Tantony made a sign against evil, then looked around guiltily when he realised it was also an ancient sign used to ward against witchcraft.

  They proceeded across the lake, the far off watchfires on the walls of Taurmaline growing larger and brighter. Only a few lanterns were lit on the five Chemman ships and they were no more than deeper shadows against the backdrop of the city. Dia signalled for their sails to come down and those of them who were to swim quickly prepared themselves. Heara squeezed her hand and then dropped with slow control into the water, her muscles straining to hold her weight and prevent even the slightest splash. Neither Tantony nor Vilnue were foolish enough to think themselves silent enough or good enough in the water, so as much as it rankled them to remain, they took their places beside Dia as her physical protection. The absence of Shaherra was still too raw and jarring for Dia to be able to think about for long and she knew that Heara would miss her twin much more than she tonight.

  Dia found herself biting her lip and clenching her fists as they waited. On one of the ships the lanterns winked out. Both Everlyn and Vilnue drew in sharp breaths when something heavy splashed into the lake. A shout went up and Dia scrambled to her feet, holding onto the mast. She called up her magic at once and created a current beneath the boat to push them rapidly toward the Chemmen. The sounds of a fight were whisked toward them on the wind and Dia found herself breathing harder, her heart pounding in her ears. She turned to Everlyn whose eyes were shadowed.

  ‘Try to keep the temperature of the water beneath us constant. Leave the rest to me.’ She leant over the side of the boat; Tantony quickly reached forward to grab her belt and keep her from slipping. Drawing on her magic she stilled both the air and the water, sending a chill toward the towering ships. The lake water began to freeze, slowly at first and then as rapidly as though a night’s frost was happening within the span of a minute. It thickened and deepened, the timber of the ships began to creak and groan.

  A shower of splinters exploded upward from the deck of one of the ships. It was followed by waves of rolling flame that spilled down the side of one of the ships to crack and melt the ice. Steam rose and one of the ships ruptured. Despite the strain she was under, Dia’s mouth opened to show her teeth in a feral grin; they were sinking their own ships! Two other ships groaned and tilted before Dia changed her tactics and sent fire of her own toward the remaining two. An almost solid wall of wind slammed into them and lifted their small boat to smack down hard again into the lake. Water came over the side and Dia was only saved by Tantony’s strong grip on her belt. She was soaked through but barely noticed, scrabbling her way back to the side of the boat she created another strong current and slammed one of the ships into the side of another.

  A blinding burst of flames came boiling toward them and Everlyn shielded. Both Tantony and Vilnue threw themselves to the bottom of the boat. Dia reached for the water and sent another strong current to push all five ships further toward the harbour and themselves out toward the shore. Flames ran across the deck of the ship furthest from them; their warriors must still be fighting aboard at least that vessel. She prayed it wasn’t Heara but had a sickening feeling it was.

  The attack against them ceased so suddenly that Everlyn fell forward. Dia quickly replaced her shield just in time as an icy blast smashed into it. She spotted a raven circling above her and realised that the sky was lightening.

  ‘Everlyn, move us steadily toward shore!’

  ‘Arrows!’ Vilnue pointed at the sky.

  Over two hundred whistled and hummed through the air from the city, but they were obliterated by a sudden wall of fire. Dia dropped her shield and sent a narrow, concentrated blast of flame at the ship of their sorcerous attacker, just above the water line. The damp planks smouldered and caught, the wood glowing with a hot white flame. She quickly drew her shield back up as she saw a fireball forming in the hands of a small figure on one of the sinking ships.

  ‘To shore, quickly!’ Dia commanded.

  Tantony and Vilnue both grabbed oars while Everlyn continued to move them and Dia to shield. At the same time, she stretched out her knowing to find the ravens and let them know it was time for them to lead any of their remaining warriors to wherever they landed on the shore. One of the ravens came in low below her shield on the northward side to show her images of Chemmen escaping in small boats toward the same side of the lake as themselves. Her stomach muscles clenched. They’d be hugely outnumbered and a long way from the warriors of Taurmaline even if the king were to send them out immediately.

  Their boat bumped against the shallows and Vilnue jumped out and reached back a hand for Everlyn. They climbed out of the boat and headed to a small stand of trees. Ravens came flying in to perch above them and Everlyn reached out her knowing. In all, thirty-one of them huddled together in the fading darkness; Heara was not among them.

  Dia flinched when one of the ravens landed on her shoulder to show her images that made her breathe easier and her heart beat with hope.

  ‘The king has sent his warriors out from the castle,’ she whispered. ‘And our walkers have engaged with a sorcerer who came to shore near the harbour. There are many Chemmen, and possibly dead men, scattered around the shore. We’re hugely outnumbered and there could be more sorcerers about, including Adelphy himself.’ She gritted her teeth. Now was when she could really do with the twins to track their way either to small numbers of Chemmen to take out, or to the safety of the king’s army.

  The raven tapped her cheek with its beak.

  She grinned.

  ‘The ravens will show us the best path and take us to targets we can take out.’

  The birds erupted upward from the trees, not one uttering a caw or a croak. The one on her shoulder hopped off and then took to the air. Dia gestured to the others, and they followed.

  They took out several lone dead men, a group of twelve Chemmen, and another of just under twenty before the sun burst upward sending bright beams through thick and fast-moving cloud. The distant sound of battle came closer and clearer and, as they stepped out into the long open stretch of land leading to the harbour and castle, they saw it for themselves. It was the Chemmen’s turn to be outnumbered and yet they were winning, pushing the king’s forces back. The figure of Adelphy Dunham was unmistakable. He was taller than most of his men and even from a distance Dia could still feel his power. He had more left than she’d hoped and already hers was waning.

  She cupped her hands and looking up at the sky drew all of her power together to call up a storm. The ravens scattered in all directions, cawing in harsh voices before coming back to fly circles around her, forming a black feathered vortex. The rapidly expanding clouds grew darker as she took slow, deliberate steps toward her foe. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Heara, the scout grabbed at Vilnue and Tantony to pull them back and gestured for the warriors to stay out of the way; Dia’s concentration didn’t falter. Lightning flashed within the clouds and forked down to strike within the ranks of the Chemmen. She caught a brief glimpse of Adelphy’s eyes before his arms went up to send flames toward her. Everlyn shielded, stumbling to one knee. Dia advanced. The ravens flew higher in their spirals and fire drakes came flying in from all around like flaming stars to
join the huge thunderhead and turn the clouds to the colour of a bloody bruise.

  Adelphy tried to turn the storm, leaning back as he forced a gale toward it. Dia closed her eyes and smiled, breathing in the sharp ozone smell as lighting lashed out followed by a swarm of fire drakes. She took in one, long, slow breath and stretched her knowing out into the storm, enraptured and enervated by it. As the drakes descended on the Chemmen and Bractius’s warriors engaged their southward lines, Dia felled Adelphy Dunham with a blade made of lightning. She struck him twice.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Kesta; Covenet of Chem

  Pain swept through her, making her want to vomit. All she could see was bright red and her vision refused to clear. She tried to turn her head but the shock that ran through her spine almost sent her spiralling into unconsciousness. She tried to breathe in and found that her lungs still worked. She could smell jasmine, cinnamon, and sweat. She made a small sound in her throat and reached up to grab at warm fabric, gripping it tightly.

  ‘Kesta? Kesta!’

  He shook her, and she gasped, her eyes rolling back. She felt herself being lifted, her cheek pressed against the bone of his shoulder.

  Voices came from far away.

  ‘This whole place is going to come down on us, let’s try the way we came!’ Jorrun, his voice so dear it hurt the muscles of her chest. She could feel the vibration of it through his ribs.

  I’m dying.

  ‘A moment, where’s Milaiya?’ Osun’s voice.

  Heat prickle her skin and she breathed in smoke. For a moment everything seemed to fade to darkness. She was jolted awake again as cold air touched her agonisingly fevered skin.

  ‘Kessta!’ Azrael was a brightness beyond her eyelids. ‘Don’t go, Kessta!’

  She cried out as her head flopped. Jorrun tried to lift her higher and tightened his grip on her.

  ‘Shall I take her?’ Osun asked.

  ‘No.’ The word vibrated through her skin and bones. ‘No, you’re better with a sword than I.’

  Then the world was gone.

  ***

  The rocking and jolting penetrated her dreams before she awoke to a throbbing headache and a desperate thirst. Slowly she propped herself up on one elbow and forced her heavy eyes open. She was in Osun’s wagon. She spotted something beside her and tried to turn, her neck and head protested, bringing pain and nausea. She dragged herself upright against one of the chests and saw that what she was lying beside was a small green book with gold runes. A dagger was still embedded deep through its pages.

  She smiled to herself.

  ‘Kessta.’ Azrael shot out of the lantern and flew about madly. ‘Kessta, you’re awake! I’ll tell the others.’

  Kesta closed her eyes against his shocking glare and raised a hand. ‘No, Azra, a moment. What has happened? Where are we?’ She reached up and found that bandages were tightly wound about her head, her hair had been plaited back in a single braid.

  ‘We are on our way to the coasst.’ Azrael bobbed lower and she could feel the heat that radiated off him. He made himself very small. ‘We thought you would die, Kessta. You were very ill.’

  She swallowed, glancing down at the book and the dagger. ‘Did everyone make it out?’

  ‘Yess.’ Azrael grew larger and brighter. ‘Milaiya was too scared to move, but Ossun made her come. He wouldn’t leave her behind.’

  ‘Spirit, you’re only giving me tiny bits.’ Her pulse raced. ‘What happened? Is Jorrun all right?’

  ‘Alive, yes, and he will want to see you. Jorrun drained his father’s power but his own too. It was Osun who killed Dryn Dunham, with Jorrun’s sword. The palace was burning and the wallss of the room giving way, but we all got out. The guardss and those left of the covens were too busy to look for uss. Their temples were on fire. Drakess burnt their Gods.’

  Kesta closed her eyes and clenched her teeth and fists. ‘Blessed spirit,’ she said through a tightening throat. ‘I wish I had seen that.’

  ‘We got out of the city the following morning, many people did and the guardss did not stop them. There is no one to ssit on the Seats in Arkoom; no one to rule.’

  ‘No, but …’ she screwed up her eyes, unable to move her neck to shake her head. ‘There is Adelphy still, in Elden?’

  Azrael bobbed up and down. ‘We don’t know. Let me get Jorrun, pleasse? He has been beside himself with worry.’

  She felt bad at how much that pleased her. ‘All right.’

  Exhaustion washed through her but when she tried to lie back down her head felt too heavy for her neck and it hurt too much to lean back, so instead she pressed her back up against a stack of crates. The wagon stopped abruptly and moments later the canvas was pulled aside. Her breath caught when she saw Jorrun, eyes wide and searching her face. He clambered up inside, Milaiya was just behind but she waited outside the wagon.

  Jorrun opened his mouth but couldn’t seem to speak. She reached out her hand and he stepped forward to take it, moving the book to sit beside her.

  ‘We were worried you would never wake.’ He kept hold of her hand, barely blinking as he looked at her.

  ‘I’m not that easy to get rid of.’ She smiled, and his pupils expanded, colour seemed to return to his pale face.

  ‘How did you know he would throw the dagger?’ He turned and picked up the book.

  ‘What?’ she frowned in confusion.

  ‘You tucked this book inside your tunic and it caught the dagger.’ He held it up to show her.

  She shook her head, her hand flying up to her jaw as she grimaced in pain at the movement. ‘I stole the book. From that slaver’s library. I know you love books. It was the only place I had to hide it. I stole it for you after … after you let me know how you felt.’

  He looked down at the floor, lowering the book to his lap. ‘Then it’s the best gift I’ve ever received.’

  She reached out to touch his other hand with one finger, her eyelids feeling heavy and her breathing shallow. She cleared her throat against the dryness there.

  ‘Oh, but you’re still ill.’ Jorrun got to his knees and then scrambled to his feet. He looked around and finding a mug and some water gave her a little. It seemed barely enough to her to fill her mouth. He rearranged the cushions and blanket on the floor of the wagon and then taking her weight against his shoulder he gently helped her lie down.

  ‘Rest, Kesta.’ He lightly stroked the side of her face and his touch seemed to linger there long after he’d left.

  She awoke from time to time, but never for long. Either Milaiya or Jorrun were always with her to help her drink and eventually to eat. Sometimes she found never being alone irritating as though they were ants that crawled over her nerves. At other times she awoke covered in sweat and trembling and embarrassed herself by crying in relief to find someone there. Jorrun would hold her carefully, saying nothing, and she breathed in the scent that had woken her from death. Milaiya would hold her hand and occasionally sing. It was a while before Kesta realised that Azrael was no longer hiding around the Chem-woman, in fact he sometimes hummed and buzzed along to her songs.

  The first time she was able to leave the wagon her muscles were stiff and painful, and she found herself shaking. Osun was watering the horses and looked up to smile at her but politely turned away from her struggling. She batted Jorrun away with a scowl when he kept reaching out ready to help her. When her knees did give way Jorrun quickly stepped in to grab her under the ribs and hold her up. Her neck and cheeks flushed, and she tensed every muscle in her body, her nostrils flared against the tightening of her throat and the tears that pushed behind her eyes. She pulled herself up against Jorrun and then stepped away, glancing up to make sure Osun hadn’t seen her weakness.

  ‘It won’t be forever,’ Jorrun said softly. ‘But please give yourself time.’

  She refused to look up at him. Milaiya came out of the wagon and laid a blanket down for her to sit on. She took the woman’s hand as she carefully lowered herself.

/>   ‘I’m glad to see you well enough to come out,’ Osun said.

  She regarded him and felt the flip of her heart as a stab of hatred shuddered through her, and yet … she gazed up at his dark-blue eyes, open and clear. Azrael had said that he’d refused to leave Milaiya to die in the palace.

  She looked away and down at the ground when she spoke to him. ‘Where are we?’

  Osun sighed. ‘About two days from the coast.’

  ‘Two days?’ She turned around to face Jorrun, the movement making her dizzy. ‘How long have I been … sleeping?’

  ‘Just over a week,’ Jorrun told her.

  ‘But … has there not been any fighting? Has no one tried to stop us?’

  Jorrun shook his head, glancing over at Osun. ‘No. The country is like a smashed wasp’s nest. Thanks to the fire drakes most of the populace is terrified, thinking the Gods have deserted them. The covens have already started fighting each other and the weaker sorcerers are biding their time to take what they can after. No one has time to care about a merchant and his slaves.’

  Kesta swallowed. With everything in turmoil and the strongest of the coven lords dead or away in Elden it would be the perfect time for more liberal thinkers to take control, to free women from slavery. She studied Jorrun’s face, but all she saw was concern for her.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Osun asked Milaiya.

  ‘Yes, master.’ She headed back toward the wagon.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Kesta straightened up to look at them all, her hands becoming fists and her heart rate increasing.

  ‘Osun is going to sell everything he can in the nearby town.’ Jorrun placed a hand briefly on her shoulder. ‘We’ll stay here out of the way with Azrael.’

  ‘Oh.’ She slowly relaxed her muscles and moved her legs to sit more comfortably on the blanket. She watched as Milaiya and Osun climbed up onto the wagon and headed off through a narrow copse. Jorrun moved away to fetch her a mug of water.

  ‘Is there any news on Elden? Is Adelphy heading back as we hoped?’ She took the mug from him with both hands.