His Final Secret

by M. R. Forbes

  Talon

  "There it is," Talon said, gesturing across the wide plain to where the city of Edgewater was resting. "Happy to be home, Wilem?"

  The Mediator's face was grim. "We came here to destroy my home."

  Talon looked behind him, to where the eight four zeroes were staying out of sight. "Not all of it. The palace and the Academy. My war isn't with the people of Edgewater."

  "I haven't been to Edgewater in at least two years," Delia said. "It looks larger."

  Talon returned his attention to the city. It was still a few miles away, abutting the Small Sea to the north. It was larger than the rest of the cities in the Empire, with a high stone wall surrounding the landlocked sides, and a large, bustling port at its rear. Densely packed apartments and other buildings were visible behind the walls, with the palace fixed on a hill near the center. A winding path to the front gates was crowded with merchants, commoners, and nobles alike.

  The Academy was situated on the east side of the palace, a large, white stone building surrounded by columns and capped in dozens of tiled rooftops. A massive dome rested in the middle, itself topped with a spear of ircidium that rose higher than the twin towers of the palace.

  There were soldiers everywhere, both inside the city and out. An entire army was camped on the plains in front of Edgewater, twenty thousand strong at least, waiting for orders. Guards were positioned all along the walls of the city and the palace.

  "Yes, it does," Talon said, his meaning not matching her comment. His attention remained fixed to the Academy. The style didn't fit well with the surrounding architecture, looking out of place even when compared with the palace. He knew why. It had been standing in the spot for over a thousand years, once and forever a training ground for wizards. The city of Edgewater had grown up around it, and it made sense that he had named it the Empire's capital.

  "How are we going to get in there with those things?" Wilem asked. He was riding his own courser now, taken in Gilspie without much complaint from its owner, who nearly fainted at the sight of the juggernauts.

  Talon moved away from their position on the bluff, only a few dozen yards from where the Small Sea was smacking along the shore. Their journey from the Refinery to Edgewater had been uneventful, save for Wilem and Delia's growing interest in one another.

  After the first night when they had held one another and gone to sleep, they had spent their waking time talking to one another about the past, present, and future. Talon had done his best to ignore it, but at times their conversation had risen to a pitch his sensitive ears could decipher, making him a passive intruder on their words.

  There was nothing that they had said that bothered him. It was the things they didn't say. The young girl that they had both forgotten about, who happened to be very dear to him.

  He did his best not to let it affect him, but losing Aren had left him feeling even closer to Eryn, especially when rumor had made its way to them from Varrow that Overlord Prezi was dead and the Whore had escaped the city with a one-armed, armored giant. The news should have at least given Wilem and Delia some pause in their infatuation, but the wizard had cast it off with little more than "I'm glad she's still alive," and Delia a "that's wonderful news," before they continued on their romantic course.

  It had made him angry and gruff, despite himself. As much as he felt like a machine sometimes, as much as he wished he could be at others, the treachery sat in his gut like a bad meal, and he had taken to ignoring them both as much as he could, doubling his focus on the forward path and refusing to get consumed by such distractions.

  For their part, both Wilem and Delia seemed to be relieved by his obvious inattention. It was clear they felt guilty, though neither had the strength of character to act on it.

  "There's an underground cavern that runs below the city and feeds out into the sea, there." He pointed to the busy port. "Not unlike the Refinery. You will return to the Academy as any Mediator would. Go inside and wait for us to arrive."

  "What about Delia?" Wilem asked. "Only Mediators and students are allowed in the Academy."

  "Yes. I have another plan for you if you're up to it."

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "You seem to be able to move silently, and go unnoticed when you need to."

  "Dal taught me how."

  "I want you to get inside the palace, and find your way to the Overlord's chambers."

  "What?" Delia said.

  "Talon, you-" Wilem began to protest.

  Talon put up his hand to quiet them. "Not to seduce him. He has rings and a staff. I want you to take the gems from them. He is the most powerful Mediator in the Empire, and as Wilem pointed out, killing me will effectively kill all of the juggernauts. With the gems the Overlord will have an easy time of it, and would surely be able to overpower even you, Wilem. Without them, we have a chance."

  "How is she going to get into the palace?" Wilem asked.

  "I can get in," Delia said without hesitation.

  "Delia-" Wilem said.

  She smiled. "Do you doubt me, Wilem? I came to use my skills to help end his reign."

  Wilem shook his head. "I don't doubt you."

  She moved her horse closer to his, leaned over and kissed his cheek. Then she turned back to Talon. "We shouldn't go in together. Give me four hours, General. I've dealt with nobles before. I'll get into the palace and steal the gems."

  "Very well. We should be easy enough to find when the fighting starts."

  She bowed to him and wheeled her horse, galloping down the far side of the bluff before turning south towards the road.

  "Talon, I-" Wilem started to say.

  "There is nothing you can say that I want to hear."

  The wizard's face flushed, and his eyes dropped. Then he raised his head again. "I'm going to say it anyway. I love Eryn, I do. She's strong, courageous, pretty. But Delia..." He paused, trying to decide how to say what he wanted to say. "Eryn doesn't need me. She cares for me, but she is like you. Independent, self-sufficient. She's a better fighter than I am. She's a better strategist. Even her magic is stronger than mine. Delia has her talents, but she isn't my better in every single way like Eryn is. She needs me."

  Talon glared at Wilem before pointing down the bluff. "Does she?"

  Wilem smiled meekly. "Maybe not to steal something from the palace. Maybe not from a few Overguard. From a Mediator, from an army, from the Shifters."

  "I recall Eryn needing you in Genesia."

  Wilem laughed at that. "She didn't need me. She needed you. The Shifter General would have killed me, if not for you."

  Talon was silent. At least now he understood what this was about.

  "I need to know I can count on you," he said.

  "You can, General," Wilem replied. "I told you I was willing to die for the cause, and I am."

  "The Academy is sure to have a stockpile of the cure. I will give you what we can spare."

  Wilem shook his head. "No, Talon. They don't. The Overlord will have his personal supply, and there may be a few vials for the students. There was always only just enough."

  Talon knew why that was. He stared at Wilem for a heartbeat, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth.

  "Let us hope we can capture whatever there is. Go now, Wilem. You have four hours to get to the Academy."

  "What should I tell them at the gates?"

  Talon smiled. "Tell them you're returning from Gilspie. Tell them that I'm coming."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Talon

  Talon stood on the far side of the bluff, staring out into the sea. The juggernauts were fanned out behind him, ircidium armor glistening in a setting sun, reflecting the reddish hues, transforming them into a darker, richer color that bore a closer resemblance to blood.

  There will be enough of it spilled today.

  Talon's thoughts were fixed on Aren, on the cure, and on Jeremiah. His head was as clear as he could remember it being in some time, though the chants of "murderer" still
arrived from the fringe of his subconscious.

  He had been the General of the Northern Armies. He had campaigned across this very sea. He had put down rebellions in the colder lands beyond. He had killed women and children in his name. He had hunted the Cursed.

  No more.

  Tonight he would take the next step in freeing the Empire, and ending his reign.

  A signal through the control stone brought the juggernauts into motion behind him. They moved forward towards the shore, where the thickly salted water was leaving waves of foam and lines of weed across the sand. Their heavy feet sank into the soft earth, making a damp sucking noise as they pulled them out and continued ahead.

  When they reached Talon, he joined them. He too marched forward, breathing steadily, ignoring the cold of the ocean as it reached his ankles, then his knees, and then his waist. He didn't hesitate as the water reached his neck. Instead, he began to swim, ignoring the weight of his clothes, cutting through the small waves with a smooth stroke.

  The juggernauts sank to the bottom and kept walking, impervious to and unaffected by water. They marched faster to keep up with him as he swam horizontally to the shoreline towards the city of Edgewater. Three miles would bring him to the edge of the port, where there was a cavern that guided waste from the palace and the Academy out into the sea, where it was washed away with the tide.

  One mile had him thinking of Delia, and her job to steal the Overlord's gems. Talon knew Olmas well. The man had been Overlord of Edgewater for nearly sixty years. It was a position that should have gone to someone else by now and hadn't, due to Olmas' strength in magic, as well as his calm, confident wisdom and leadership. Olmas was no fool, and would never fall for sexual charms, even from a girl as lovely as Delia. Instead, it was her intellect and cunning that he was counting on. Her merchant's tongue. Curio had been a rapist. A cruel, cruel man. He had also been successful and wealthy for a reason. They were the same reasons that had led him to send Curio's daughter to the palace.

  She would capture the gems. The sphalerite and verdite and ambergine. Crystals whose resonance would increase the wizard's power tenfold. Crystals that made him the most powerful man in the Empire.

  Outside of the Nine.

  The second mile turned his thoughts to Wilem. His anger at the boy had been stolen away by the Mediator's admittance that he wasn't good enough for Eryn. It didn't excuse his lack of respect, or his arrogance, but at least it was a reason that Talon could understand. Eryn didn't need Wilem. She didn't need anyone. He was proud of her for that.

  He had no idea if word of Wilem's betrayal had made it back to the Academy. Wilem hadn't seemed concerned by it when he had taken his leave to return there. Perhaps he had a story for them if they questioned his loyalty. The rumor that Eryn could seduce any man had traveled far and wide, as ridiculous as it was. Talon felt confident he would be able to get into the Academy, and would be ready when the army arrived.

  He swallowed a huge gulp of air before ducking below the surface of the water. He opened his eyes, feeling the sting of the salt. Visibility was low, but he could make out the shapes of his juggernauts tracing the floor below him, and the dim, rounded hull of a trading ship ahead.

  He forced himself lower, and then lower still, until he reached the four zeroes. He grabbed onto the shoulder of the Carrier with the cures on its back and then used the control stone to order them ahead at greater speed. They broke into a run that sent silt and vegetation circling in the water above, suggesting there was something beneath the waves to anyone looking down from above them, but leaving the nature of the disturbance completely disguised.

  Talon was running out of air when the soft earth turned to stone, the waters began to darken and cool, and then the setting sun and encroaching darkness was lost to the mouth of the caverns. He released the juggernaut and swam to the surface, drawing in musty, foul air. He kept his focus on his goals, ignoring the smell of the cavern, and what he was carrying on his clothes as he pulled himself from the water.

  The cavern was empty. It traveled further below the city, the depths of the sea narrowing into a stream of wastewater a hundred yards distant. The juggernauts began to rise from the water ahead of him, climbing out onto the rock. Talon took a moment to squeeze some of the water from his clothes and slick back his hair. The water had been cold, and so was the air. He didn't notice.

  He joined the Four Zeroes near the back of the cavern, moving ahead of them and making his way into the tunnels with muddy eyes. The Carriers had no light to offer him.

  They continued into the tunnels, footfalls echoing in the darkness. Each step sharpened his focus and strengthened his resolve. Each step was a step closer to the end.

  A pair of red eyes appeared in the tunnel ahead of him. Talon got his sword up barely in time to parry the juggernaut hiding there, as it came to life to protect the Academy.

  Its eyes helped him see it better. It was a three seven, the last model created during the war. It had some of the finer intricacies of the Carriers, and the same level of fighting skill.

  It was also outnumbered eight to one.

  The two lead four zeroes grabbed its arms, holding it while it struggled to attack. Talon stared it at, trying to use the control stone to communicate with it. It didn't respond to him.

  "Destroy it," he told the juggernauts. The two holding it tore its arms away from its body. A third pushed it to the ground, and a fourth dropped its blade through the armor and into its mechanical innards.

  Were there others in the caverns? Did anyone else know there were juggernauts down here? Did the Overlord?

  It was a surprising discovery, but Talon wasn't concerned. His army was an easy match for a few three sevens.

  The tunnel continued onward, carrying them below Edgewater. They had gone a mile towards the city center when it split into three separate branches, each with water moving ever outward to the sea. Talon knew from the overland view that the Academy was to his left, and the palace in the center. Where did the third branch lead? There was only a trickle of waste moving from that direction. Too little to be sourced from the general populace or the barracks.

  He paused, considering it. Curious. There should only have been two forks in the caves, not three.

  He looked back to the unexpected split. It didn't matter.

  His target was the Academy.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Talon

  The caverns sloped upward for some distance before exiting out into a main collection chamber: a large, foul-smelling room where the numerous shafts and pipes converged to dump the waste. It was hidden below the main floors of the Academy and stocked with tools a servant could use to push sludge out of the way and clear any blockages that might occur. It was a filthy, disgusting room, and Talon didn't envy its caretakers.

  Nor did he envy the condition the journey had left him in. He was soaked through in seawater and muck, and certain he smelled as bad as the sewage. The juggernauts weren't any better, though at least they didn't have the capability to care for their scent or the makeup of the moisture that coated them.

  They hadn't run into any more juggernauts in the caverns below. Perhaps he had thought one would be enough against any threat that might come through the tunnels? Or perhaps even he didn't know it was hiding down there? Somehow, Talon doubted that.

  He drew his sword from its scabbard. Water dribbled down the blade, along with bits of brown garbage. As indignant as his entrance may have been, he would ensure that his exodus from the Academy was more triumphant.

  "Where are the wizards?" Talon asked the Carriers through the control stone.

  "Wizards," they replied at once. "Many wizards. There." They all faced the door.

  "Open it," he commanded.

  One of the juggernauts went forward, taking the handle and pulling the door open. Talon peered out into a long, dark corridor that ended in a ladder.

  "Follow me."

  He headed to the ladder, which had a metal plate rest
ing above it to prevent the smell from permeating the halls of the building. He glanced from it to the juggernauts. The four zeroes were larger than most men, but they would fit through the space.

  "Open it," he commanded again. The same juggernaut approached the ladder, climbing to the plate and putting its hand against it. "Quickly."

  The Carrier pushed against it, sending it launching into the air and scrambling up behind it. Talon ordered the others to follows, up the ladder and out into the Academy. He trailed behind the last of them, climbing one-handed to keep his sword ready.

  He arrived in a storage room, tightly surrounded by the juggernauts. "Through the door. Attack no one without my command."

  The metal man nearest the door shoved it off the hinges. It echoed when it hit the floor.

  They exited out into the Academy kitchens.

  They were empty.

  "No cooks? No servants? No anything?" Talon said, speaking to the juggernauts aloud as if they would respond. "I wanted them to know we were coming. Did they evacuate the Academy?"

  He couldn't believe the Overlord would do that. He had no way to know he was bringing the juggernauts with him. He had no reason to suspect how afraid he should be.

  "Unless Wilem was captured," he said. Then to the juggernauts through the stone, "where are the wizards?"

  "Wizards are close. That way."

  Out the door to the kitchens. Talon nodded and then began to strip off his clothes. If he was going to walk into a possible trap, he wasn't going to do it smelling like sewage.

  He found a pair of sandals and a roughspun shirt and pants in the corner near a water basin. He splashed clean water over his head and body, doing his best to wash away the filth, before taking up the shirt and pants, binding them closed with his sword belt. Once he was ready, he moved his army to the kitchen door.

  "Open it," he ordered. The juggernauts threw the door open and filed into the large hall beyond.

  The dining room, filled with a dozen rows of tables and chairs, and large magic lamps hanging from a distant ceiling. More light came from glowing balls of glass affixed to the walls, and from a large, stained glass window at the room's head.