Just before the crowd swelled to fill the space between the houses, Lorkin glimpsed the street stretching on towards the centre of the city. It might have been his imagination, but in the distance the street appeared to be blocked by a shadow. And that shadow seemed to be moving.
Calls for quiet settled the crowd and he realised a familiar voice was coming from somewhere in the centre.
“... protect all. We must all stay together. Our strength is in our unity and purpose. We are united. The Ashaki are not. We have prepared ourselves for centuries. The Ashaki have not. We have the support of the slaves. The Ashaki do not. And we have stones.”
Taller than most Traitors, Lorkin looked over their heads in the direction of the voice and saw Savara standing higher than the crowd, visible to all.
“Can you see her? We have to get to her,” Tyvara whispered in his ear.
“She’s over by the gates.”
Grabbing his hand, she pulled him around the crowd to the wall of the mansion. Savara’s voice grew louder as they neared, filled with confidence and passion.
“Do not spare the stones. This is what they were made for. Tools for breaking bonds, for making our future, for making everyone equal. To bring freedom to Sachaka.”
“Freedom!” the Traitors shouted.
Lorkin’s heart jumped at the unexpected noise. The second time it came, he was ready for it and this time his pulse quickened at the building excitement. Once at the wall, Tyvara wove through people gazing at their queen with rapt expressions. Finally they broke through the crowd to find the queen standing on a cart, surrounded by the Speakers, just as her speech ended.
“Today we bring Sachakans together, united in freedom!” she finished.
“Freedom!” everyone shouted again. It became a chant as Savara stepped down from the cart and strode forward, the crowd parting to let her through. The Speakers hurried after, and Tyvara all but dove forward, dragging Lorkin after her so that they joined the Speakers before the Traitors fell in behind them.
They reached Savara just as the queen left the crowd. The Speakers moved out to either side, forming a line across the street. Chaos finally shifted into order as the Traitors moved to follow the Speakers who led their teams. Tyvara looked around, then over each shoulder.
“I can’t see Kalia,” she hissed. “You?”
“No.” Lorkin shook his head as he sought the woman.
“Oh, she’s staying behind,” a voice said to his left. He looked over to see that Chari, the woman who had helped them escape to Sanctuary, had appeared beside him. “Ready to treat the injured.”
“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” Tyvara muttered. “Now we only have to deal with them.”
Following her gaze, Lorkin looked past the queen’s shoulder to see that he hadn’t been imagining it: the street beyond was blocked by another crowd several paces away and marching rapidly closer. Sunlight glinted off jewelled jackets.
All those gemstones. I wonder... Lorkin thought. Did the Ashaki of the distant past decorate their clothing with magical stones? Has the tradition persisted though the knowledge of stone-making was lost?
Though only moving at a walk, the two armies seemed to rush towards each other. Lorkin realised his heart was racing. This is it. Either I’ll be alive at the end of this, or not. Curse it – I was going to contact Mother. All around him, Traitors were reaching into their vests for the first stones. Too late now. Taking a deep breath, Lorkin did the same, taking one strike and one shield stone. As Tyvara moved to the queen’s right side, he stepped up to take his place on the left.
The gap between the two armies shrank from a few hundred paces to less than a hundred. The Queen held up a stone, ready to strike. The Speakers did the same. Looking at the enemy, Lorkin saw the determined faces of the Ashaki. Saw the scowls of hatred and the grins of anticipation. He saw the king and his blood went cold. The old man regarded the invaders of his city with a haughty stare. I’d like to personally smack that look off his—
At some signal Lorkin did not catch, both sides attacked. He could not tell who struck first. One moment the space between the armies was charged with expectation, the next it sizzled with magic. He automatically pressed on the shield stone and felt it activate and bounce against that held by the queen and the Speaker to his left until it settled between them. Savara was attacking, but Tyvara only held her strike stone at the ready, as she had instructed him to do. They would join the battle later; for now they were to protect the queen.
Both sides had come to a halt. Lorkin fought the urge to flinch away from the dangerous forces streaking between them. They did not even attempt to address each other, he realised. Not even to throw insults. According to history books, leaders of armies always invited the enemy to surrender. Not this time.
It’s not that the Traitors and Ashaki believe the other side would never accept. It’s because they aren’t offering. Each side means to eradicate the other. To kill every last Traitor or Ashaki. He shivered. Even the Ichani offered to let the Guild give in and avoid a battle.
Not striking meant he had the opportunity to watch. The Ashaki stood unmoving, whereas the Traitors were in constant motion. He had been fascinated by the method of battle they’d developed and was keen to see it in action. The queen and Speakers remained at the front and he and Tyvara stayed as the queen’s protectors. The rest of the Traitors formed columns behind the Speakers. As each reached the front they moved to stand beside a Speaker. If they took a place to the left of the Speaker, they shielded the front line; if they moved to the right, they used a strike stone. When their stone was depleted they retreated to the end of the column to let others have their turn.
This ensured that most Traitors weakened at the same rate, and that most stones were used before the magicians of the army began using their own store of power. It was much easier to respond quickly to abrupt and unexpected attacks with personal magic than with stones, so it was held in reserve.
Warning shouts came from behind. Lorkin looked back. Something was going on to the right of the Traitor army.
“What’s happening?” Savara asked.
Traitors in the columns to the right were calling out to each other. The ones closest turned to relay what they were hearing to Tyvara. Lorkin caught snatches of their report.
“Attack from the right,” Tyvara repeated. “Seven Ashaki. All dealt with.”
Lorkin saw Savara smile in relief and satisfaction and felt a small surge of triumph.
The Ashaki are fools if they think we’re not ready for this sort of attack.
“Lorkin,” Tyvara hissed.
He turned to see her frowning in worry. She jerked her head and flicked her eyes back towards the Traitor army, at the same time silently mouthing a word. His blood went cold.
Kalia.
Twisting around, he searched the faces in the columns behind her, but saw no sign of the woman. Maybe Tyvara saw someone who looked a bit like Kalia. No, she doesn’t not look at all doubtful. So where is Kalia?
Not behind Tyvara. He turned to look at the Traitors behind him and his heart turned to ice. Kalia was just a few steps away, slipping into the closest column where a Traitor was distracted, fiddling with his vest. Lorkin gasped out her name, drew magic and threw up a shield behind himself, Savara and Tyvara. It bumped up against another, and he realised Tyvara had already done the same.
“Kalia?” Savara said, her voice full of surprise. She turned to face the woman. Traitors stared in surprise as their leader’s attention shifted from the enemy. Strikes burst against Savara’s shield, but she seemed unconcerned as she faced Kalia. “What are you doing here?”
Kalia looked around at all the faces watching and paled. “I came to help.”
“I gave you an order,” Savara reminded her, an edge of annoyance and forced patience in her voice.
Kalia paused. The battle raged on. The air before Savara vibrated as the attack on her shield increased, the Ashaki hoping her distraction w
as a sign of weakness. The Traitors stepping up to fight did so without hesitation, while those who retreated did so a touch slower, eyeing Kalia and the queen with interest.
“But you need every—” Kalia began.
“I need you to follow orders.” Savara’s tone and expression were cold now. “How do expect to regain our trust if you will not do what you are told?” She turned away. “Go to the back and stay there.”
As Kalia retreated, Savara leaned toward Lorkin.
“What is she thinking?”
He concentrated. As before, he picked up few words, but disappointment radiated from her. Not the annoyance or anger of a foiled plan, though. Kalia’s sense of failure was laced with fear and shame. Dislike still filled her, but not murderous intent.
“I don’t think she was planning anything,” he said.
Savara nodded. “Shield me.”
“Already am,” he heard Tyvara say quietly. “Someone should go back and keep an eye on her.”
Savara shook her head. “No. It is us she hates. She will not deliberately harm other Traitors.” Her gaze was fixed on the Ashaki. She took a step forward. A moment later the Speakers followed suit. Looking ahead, Lorkin saw some of the Ashaki shuffle backwards. A ripple of excitement went through the Traitors.
Savara chuckled. “Either they’re weakening, losing confidence, or are leading us into a trap.”
“What do we do?” Tyvara asked.
“See which one it is,” the queen answered. “It’s time you made use of your strike stones. If we spot a trap and you suddenly start striking, we’ll warn them that we know what they’re up to. I’d rather leave them guessing whether we’ve noticed it for as long as possible.”
Smiling, she took a longer step forward, and then another.
Chapter 28
Victory and Defeat
As Skellin’s fingers touched Lilia’s forehead she could not help flinching away. He reached for her again, his eyes boring into hers.
“If I think you’re delaying, or you cause me pain, my mother will cut your friend’s ears and nose off,” he growled.
Heart racing, Lilia lowered her eyes. And once I do, he’ll want more. He’ll threaten to hurt her until I’ve taught him everything. Then he’ll kill us both. I may as well stick with my plan. If I fail, at least we’d get the pain and dying over with sooner. But I will have to be quick. Give him no time to react.
Reaching out, she grabbed his wrists as if to stop him, then let him press his hands to her temples. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, gathered enough power to smash through a strong shield and sent it out from her right palm in a stabbing forcestrike.
She felt the barrier beneath her fingers part under the unexpected and finely focused attack. It worked! Surprised, she started drawing power, relying on the paralysing effect to keep him from struggling or speaking. With his back to Lorandra, hopefully she wouldn’t notice.
His grip on her head loosened as the weakening effect of black magic took hold, but she held his hands in place. Opening her eyes, she sent magic out to stop him sinking to the ground. He stared back at her, his pupils wide with anger and fear.
Yes. Fear me, she thought. This time you’ve underestimated your victim. Too eager to get hold of what you want.
But she must not underestimate him, either. Or his mother. Right now Lorandra was more of a danger than Skellin. She would notice something was wrong eventually, and she still had the knife at Anyi’s throat. Lilia felt a pang of doubt and slowed her drawing of power. She did not know how long it would take to strip away most of it, and she needed to decide what she’d do once she had.
I must protect Anyi before Lorandra realises I’m draining Skellin. She turned her head slightly, so that she could see Anyi, and extended her senses and magic. Somehow she must place a barrier between the knife and Anyi’s skin without either of them noticing. Concentrating on drawing power and using it at the same time was challenging. Kallen should have taught me to do this...
Her magic encountered a resistance.
A barrier! Lorandra’s barrier. It can only be hers. Skellin can’t use his power.
At once she knew she’d made a mistake. Lorandra frowned. She knows I shouldn’t be doing anything with magic. Skellin would stop me. In horror, she watched Lorandra’s eyes widen with realisation, then narrow with fury.
Lilia drew power and sent it out toward Lorandra even as the woman’s hand moved. Red burst from Anyi’s throat.
No! Lilia let Skellin fall. As Lorandra’s barrier shattered she caught Anyi and pressed her hand to the girl’s throat. Blood poured between her fingers. She wrapped herself and Anyi in a shield, lowered her friend to the deck and sent her mind into her body. Close! she commanded of the rent tubes that carried Anyi’s blood. Healing power poured from her, knitting together flesh. The tubes became whole, the muscle repaired. Hope rushed through Lilia, but as skin melded to skin she loosened her grip on Anyi’s throat. Was I fast enough? Did she lose too much blood?
Anyi lay still, her eyes staring at the sails and sky above them. Her face was pale. Her lips blue. But she’s alive. Heart beating. Still breathing. Alive but...
A scream burst from somewhere close by. Startled, Lilia turned to see Lorandra getting up out of a crouch, Skellin at her feet. He, too, was staring at the sky. Lorandra turned to face Lilia. At the fury twisting the woman’s face Lilia instinctively strengthened her shield, but no strike came.
Instead the air before Lorandra rippled. Lilia felt heat and caught an impression of skin and cloth darkening to black. Flames flared, outlining Lorandra’s form. The woman shrieked, staggered backwards and toppled over the railing.
Stunned by the image still burned into her mind, Lilia could not move for a moment. Then she realised the crew around her were shouting, and objects were raining down from above. Sails. Rope. A wooden beam bounced off her shield. Something was destroying the ship’s rigging. Probably the same something that had struck Lorandra. Straightening and stretching her neck, she looked around and glimpsed another vessel, a purple-robed figure standing at the helm, approaching from the other side of the ship.
“Lilia?”
Catching her breath she looked down at Anyi. The girl’s eyes were open. Lilia’s heart leapt with joy and relief.
“You’re alive! You’re alive.” Lilia lay down next to Anyi and pulled her close. “How are you feeling?”
“Awful. But not as bad as I think that bitch is – if she’s still alive.”
“You saw that?”
“Yeah. Thought I was dreaming.” Anyi’s lips were still tinged with blue. She frowned. “Is Skellin dead?”
Lilia looked over to the Thief, lying still a few paces away. “He looks it, but he could just be exhausted. Either way, he can’t harm us.”
“Do me a favour and check.”
Looking around, she saw that the crew were giving them a wide berth. Reluctantly, Lilia got up and walked over to Skellin. His face was locked in an expression of pain and surprise. He wasn’t breathing. Touching him, she sensed no energy within him. Deader than dead. But I hadn’t finished draining him when Lorandra cut Anyi’s throat. Remembering how she had drawn power in order to break Lorandra’s shield, she realised where she had drawn it from. She’d defeated Lorandra with Skellin’s power.
Lilia looked over the railing. She had expected to see Lorandra’s body floating nearby, but there was no sign of it. She returned to Anyi and sat down. “Yes. He’s dead. The Guild isn’t going to be happy about that.”
Anyi made a rude noise.
“Not because of roet,” Lilia said. “They wanted to find out who his allies are, especially those in the Guild.”
“Don’t worry,” Anyi scowled. “Father will find who they are.”
Lilia’s breath caught in her throat. She doesn’t know...
Anyi’s eyes went wide. “He... he wasn’t pretending, was he?”
Biting her lip, Lilia shook her head.
A look of pain cre
ased Anyi’s face. She swore. But as Lilia reached out to embrace her, Anyi shook her head, her face hardening. “Time for that later. We still have a lot to do, and we can’t let... Father made sure what was done to his family made him stronger, not weaker. I have to be strong, too.” Anyi pushed herself up onto her elbows, but her face went even paler and she sank back down again.
“Rest,” Lilia told her. “You’ve lost a lot of blood and your body needs time to make more.”
“How long will that take?”
Lilia shrugged. “I’m not sure. A few days, maybe.” She smiled sadly at Anyi’s grimace of impatience. I fear it’ll take a lot longer for her heart to mend than her body, though. “You need food and water. Rothen will be here any moment.” She craned her neck to see that the other vessel was drawing alongside the ship.
Anyi nodded. Looking around, Lilia spotted the tattered clothing she had been wearing. “I should get dressed.”
“Yes. Why did Skellin make you strip down to your underclothes?” One of Anyi’s eyebrows rose. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Just making sure I wasn’t carrying a knife.”
“Sounds strange, a magician worrying about knives when people who carry knives usually fear magic, but I guess black magic turns things around a bit.”
“Not any more.” As Anyi frowned, Lilia shook her head. “I’ll explain later.”
* * *
—Osen? The battle has started. I can hear sounds and flashes of light several streets away.
—Can you see the fighting?
—No. What about Dannyl?
—He contacted me to say they’ve arrived at Achati’s place, but I’ve heard nothing since then. The house is on the parade, so they’ll only see the battle if the Ashaki have to retreat.
—Do you want me to try getting closer?
—No. Stay where you are. Keep the ring on. Dannyl is sure to put his on soon, and I suspect having both of you wearing rings will be a bit... overwhelming, though Naki’s mind-read-blocking ring appears to be protecting me from your thoughts.
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