The Magelands Epic: Soulwitch Rises (Book 7)

by Christopher Mitchell

  After a few more minutes, he found her.

  Governor Nyane was sitting by a window, watching the events in the streets below, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and determination. Also in the room were a few officials, and a couple of officers from her loyal marine company.

  Do not cry out, he said, entering the governor’s mind.

  Welcome to Rainsby, Keir Holdfast, she said. I trust you and Mage Thorn are well?

  Keir smiled. Most would been shocked or scared to have him announce himself in their heads, but Nyane hadn’t blinked.

  We are, thank you, he said. Thorn and I would like to pass on our deepest regards for you, and for the work you have done rebuilding the defences of Rainsby. The Empress chose well in appointing you.

  What do you want?

  Peace between us.

  Then you know the price.

  I would like to hear you say it, Madam Governor.

  You must surrender, Keir Holdfast; you and the Soulwitch. You have illegally obtained control of her Imperial Majesty’s armed forces, a situation that the empire cannot tolerate.

  And if we do, what then? Thorn and I are prepared to compromise, if it means that we are united against the Rahain. You know that, without us, you will struggle to defend this town from the flood of soldiers that are gathering against us. The Empress will forgive you, if you prevent Rainsby from falling.

  What are you suggesting?

  A truce. Hold onto the warrants for our arrest, and let us co-exist in this town. As you can see with your own eyes, our supporters are divided, and in their misguided loyalty, are battling each other for the soul of this town. Once the Rahain have been vanquished, then we can discuss our surrender.

  And if I don’t agree?

  Then we’ll have no choice but to fight you, and we will all be responsible for the fall of Rainsby, and with it the empire. Because, Nyane of Granite Heights, while the Rahain threat remains, Thorn and I will never surrender.

  Nyane fell silent for a moment, and Keir could feel the struggle going on within her.

  We shall have to meet, she said. Somewhere neutral, under terms of truce.

  Where?

  The fighting in the streets began to quieten as evening fell upon the town. Most of the two factions retreated to their own sides of the city, with Keir and Thorn’s supporters occupying the eastern half centred on Madden’s Tower; while those loyal to the governor retired to the west by the fortress.

  Keir and Thorn left Madden’s Tower an hour before midnight, taking a circuitous route; first north by the harbour walls, then through a small, postern gate into the Old Town. The quays and wharves of the merchants’ harbour were quiet, with the ships and galleys tied up for winter, and the warehouses were locked and guarded. With hoods over their heads, and escorted by a small handful of marines, Keir and Thorn turned away from the docks and headed into the winding maze of alleyways in the harbour district, passing taverns and tenements; their way lit by dim streetlamps.

  It began to rain, and a cold wind was gusting through the streets as they reached an isolated building set back from the road. Keir gazed up at it. No light could be seen emerging from the building, and its windows were boarded up. They climbed the steps leading to the front door, a marine taking the lead. A soldier opened the door as they approached, and gestured for them to enter. Keir glanced at Thorn, and flexed the fingers of his hands. He didn’t think they were walking into a trap, but he felt a sudden vulnerability. He shook himself. He was the stormwitch.

  They walked into the old building and down a dark passageway. Candlelight was coming from an open door, and the soldier pointed inwards. Inside, a small group was sitting at a table, while more soldiers were positioned against the far wall. Three candles flickered from the table, illuminating the faces of those waiting. Nyane, he recognised, and then his eyes fell on his sister and he smiled. There was another woman sitting to Nyane’s left, but he hadn’t met her before.

  ‘Thank you for coming,’ said Nyane. ‘Please sit.’

  ‘Thank you for inviting us,’ said Thorn, sitting down, her cavalry uniform immaculate. ‘I hope it means we can reach an agreement.’

  ‘I hope so, too.’

  Keir lit a cigarette. ‘I told Thorn what we’d discussed,’ he said, then turned to his sister. ‘Kelsey. Are you well?’

  ‘Aye,’ she said. ‘So you’re back from your mad trip? What, are you just hoping that everything will go back to normal?’

  ‘Yes, I want to fight the Rahain, not each other.’

  ‘Belinda,’ said Thorn to the young woman Keir didn’t recognise. ‘It’s nice to see you again. Where is Acorn?’

  ‘I asked her to come,’ Nyane said, ‘but she insisted on staying to heal those wounded in today’s fighting. Now, tell me, what is the situation in Anamindhari? How did you leave it?’

  ‘We left a small garrison of five hundred marines there,’ Thorn said. ‘There weren’t enough supplies for more, as the town was ravaged by the Sons of Sanang. A few civilians returned from hiding while we were there, but the vast majority were slaughtered by the Sons.’

  ‘As you slaughtered them?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Nyane nodded. ‘A deed for which the empire would thank you, were it not for the fact that you usurped imperial authority to do it. A straightforward question; are you loyal to the Empress or not?’

  ‘I am not.’

  The room fell into silence.

  ‘The Empress abandoned justice when she refused to aid those suffering in Stretton Sands. That town, and Anamindhari would still be in the hands of the Army of Pyre were it not for the actions of the stormwitch and myself, and the brave warriors who followed us. But we are able to compromise. If Keir and I are issued with pardons, then we would be prepared to return to the imperial fold.’

  Nyane glanced at Keir. ‘And you? Are you with Thorn on this?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You offered a truce; you didn’t say anything about pardons.’

  ‘That can wait,’ he said, ‘a truce will give you time to speak to the Empress, to find out what she thinks. Let us see what her Imperial Majesty decides, and while we’re waiting, we can defend Rainsby together. The rules of the truce would be simple; you keep your forces to the west, and we’ll keep ours to the east. If the Rahain attack, we can forget our difference and fight side by side. Once they’ve been defeated, then we can talk about whether we are to be pardoned. Or arrested.’

  ‘I can agree a truce of thirty days,’ Nyane said. ‘I shall send word to the Empress, and await her decision.’ She nodded. ‘Alright. We shall need to send a message to our supporters, to inform them of the truce. I shall keep order in the west, and I expect you to do the same in the east.’

  ‘We shall,’ said Thorn. ‘We also have expectations that those within Madden’s Tower shall receive the same rations as the forces under your command.’

  ‘Agreed,’ said Nyane. She put her hand out. Thorn took it first, then Keir.

  ‘We shall probably not see each other again,’ said Nyane, standing.

  ‘Wait,’ said Keir. ‘I want to speak to my sister alone for a moment.’

  Nyane nodded, then glanced at Kelsey. ‘You are free to live wherever you choose. I shall not stand in your way if you wish to return to Madden’s Tower with your brother.’

  Kelsey picked up a candle and walked with Keir to a side door. They stepped into a room thick with undisturbed dust, and Kelsey placed the candle into a holder on the wall, its light flickering over the walls and closed-up windows. Other doors led off to the rest of the building, but looked as though they hadn’t been opened in a long time.

  ‘You sounded good in there,’ she said. ‘You surprised me; both of you did. Are you and Thorn…?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘But you’ve tried, I guess? Did she say no?’

  ‘Are you on Nyane’s side now?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Or are you coming back to Madden’s Tow
er with me?’

  She frowned in the candlelight. ‘I don’t understand. Back there, you were going on about how we needed to unite against the Rahain; and now you’re asking me to pick sides?’

  ‘You’re my sister. Is it wrong of me to expect some loyalty?’

  ‘I love you, brother, but you’re not my master. I think I’ll stay in the fortress, thank you very much.’

  ‘You’d betray me?’

  ‘Don’t be stupid, I…’

  Kelsey paused as one of the side doors opened and a soldier walked in.

  ‘We were in the middle of a private conversation,’ Keir said.

  The soldier raised his crossbow and shot Kelsey, the bolt striking her chest and sending her tumbling backwards. Keir’s eyes widened as he stared at the body of his sister lying on the bare wooden floorboards. He turned and a bolt struck him in the stomach, embedding itself deep into his flesh. Keir opened his mouth to cry out, and the soldier leapt forward and slashed a knife across his throat.

  Keir sank to his knees, blood spilling from his neck as his mouth moved noiselessly. The soldier stepped forward, his blade dripping red dots onto the floor.

  ‘And to think,’ he said, ‘that Agatha told me this would be difficult. Two Holdfasts in one night.’

  He plunged his knife into Keir’s heart, driving the steel in up to the hilt.

  Keir’s eyes closed, and he fell.

  From somewhere cold and still, Keir’s life came rushing back in a blur of pain; his heartbeats pounding against his ribcage, and his breath hoarse and ragged.

  His eyes snapped open, and his blurry vision cleared.

  Thorn.

  He rolled onto his front, and vomited a sickly trail of blood and bile, every inch of his body feeling used and wrong. He could hardly breathe, his lungs sore and aching. His neck… he lifted fingers to his throat, and felt nothing; no wound, just dried and crusted blood. He was in a dark room, and heard voices all around him, but his thoughts were empty. Something had happened; something bad.

  ‘Are you alright, sir?’ a voice seemed to bellow in his ears.

  He pushed away the hands and struggled to his knees. Thorn. He had seen Thorn, her hands over him. Where was she? He turned his head, squinting through the pain. Soldiers were filling the dark room, and a cluster were gathered round a body on the floor.

  Keir froze. Kelsey. He crawled across the floorboards, his hands sliding in the slick mixture of blood and vomit. Thorn was crouched over his sister’s lifeless body, her hands covered in blood; a crossbow bolt lying on the floor next to her, its point stained red.

  Keir cried out in a wail of grief, his mind unable to fathom what was happening as the tears ran down his cheeks. He had been arguing with his sister, about what he couldn’t remember; but what did it matter? What could be so important that it could divide him from his sister? Thorn was shaking, her hands hovering over Kelsey’s brow.

  His sister spasmed, her limbs flailing. A gush of blood erupted from her lips, a thick dark red surge that spattered Thorn’s face. The soulwitch fell backwards, panting, sweat and exhaustion etched on her features.

  ‘Give them some space!’ cried Nyane.

  Keir crawled to Kelsey’s side as she began to open her eyes. Blinded by tears, Keir gathered her in his arms and pulled her close to him,

  ‘I’m sorry, Kelsey,’ he wept. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘What for, you idiot?’ she croaked, her voice a mere whisper.

  ‘For everything,’ he said, unable to control the flood of tears spilling down his face.

  Thorn touched his arm, and he moved his right arm to embrace her too, holding his sister and her as if he never wanted to let go.

  ‘Thank you, Thorn,’ Kelsey said, her eyes shut. ‘You healed us.’

  The room fell into silence.

  ‘She didn’t heal you,’ said Nyane. ‘I saw it all. She brought you back from death; both of you.’

  Keir stared at the young Sanang woman in his arms. Despite the blood and exhaustion, she seemed to him more beautiful that anything he had ever seen before. Their eyes met.

  ‘I didn’t know you could do that,’ he said, his voice breaking.

  She smiled, her cheeks wet with Kelsey’s blood and his tears. ‘Neither did I.’

  Chapter 22

  Faint Signs

  Severton, Domm – 20th Day, Last Third Winter 525

  Karalyn awoke, her eyes snapping open as she sat up on the bed, the thick layers of blankets wrapped round her. It was cold and dark in the small, two-roomed cottage, and a smell of smoke was coming from the corner where Lennox was lighting the wood-burning stove.

  ‘You alright?’ he said, looking up from where he was kneeling.

  She gazed at him for a moment, her mind disoriented from the dream she had been having. She had felt it again – mage powers being used, somewhere in the vicinity of Severton; though faint and fleeting, like whispers on the wind. She was sure there were two mages at work, but she was no closer to identifying their location.

  ‘Aye,’ she said, ‘just a dream.’

  He nodded, wiping his hands on a rag. He had already been down to the burn that morning, as a full kettle of water was sitting next to him on the floor, and Karalyn watched as he placed it onto the stove. She pulled the blankets closer to her.

  ‘Cold?’ he said.

  She nodded. ‘It’s freezing.’

  ‘It’ll be spring soon, and the evenings are starting to get lighter again, thank Pyre. The cold doesn’t bother me, but I long for the light.’

  ‘What’s the weather like?’

  ‘Rain.’

  ‘Again.’

  He smiled. ‘Aye.’ He walked over to the bed and sat down, putting his arms around her. She snuggled in, feeling the warmth of his body through the blankets. ‘Must be tough for a Holdings girl like you. Do you miss all the sunshine?’

  ‘No, it’s fine,’ she said, lying. She hated the cold, and the constant wind, as well as the short days and long nights of winter. At least the snow had almost gone, she thought, though the driving rain wasn’t much better. At that moment in her mother’s apartment, the rooms would be warm and well-lit, there would be hot water for a bath, and her clothes would be clean and laundered, instead of always stinking of smoke from the wood-burning stove.

  They kissed, and she forgot about everything else for a moment, and remembered why she and Lennox had got their own place. It was a pretty cottage, beautiful even, sitting on its own by the edge of town next to a stream that rushed down from the hills. The views at sunset were gorgeous, and the glens and green slopes behind them made her heart soar; but it was still a bleak and harsh place to endure the Domm winter. It had been in dire need of repair when they had moved in, and Lennox and his friends had spent many hours fixing it up. She had never known anyone who worked as hard as Lennox; and he had been out in all weather, repairing the roof and chimney, or plugging the gaps in the old stone walls where the rain would come in if the wind blew hard enough.

  ‘Are you working with Dommek today?’ she said.

  ‘Aye, over at the Maltings. Have you decided what to do with your day off?’

  ‘No, not really.’

  ‘You should go and see your mother.’

  ‘I know, but…’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not sure I can face it, not after last time.’

  ‘But she’ll be going back to the Plateau soon; if you don’t make up with her before then, you might regret it.’

  The kettle whistled, and Lennox climbed off the bed and strode over to the stove. As he began to make barley tea, Karalyn reached for her clothes. She slid down from the bed and poured some of the hot water into a basin, then washed, glancing at her reflection in the small mirror by the bedside in the dim light of the lamp. By the time she had dressed, Lennox had made breakfast and they sat down by the table at the other end of the room. Karalyn opened one of the shutters, letting in the grey light and the sound of rain from outside. Their breakfast consi
sted of barley tea, porridge with honey and crushed hazelnuts, and warmed oatcakes.

  ‘As soon as the weather clears up,’ he said as they ate, ‘I’ll get started on rebuilding the roof, and fitting the new under-floor heating. Next winter won’t be as cold, I promise. Between us, we’ll make this a great place to live. Do you think we should get a couple of cats?’

  Karalyn remembered the pets that had belonged to Belinda in Plateau City. ‘Would they stay outside?’

  ‘I don’t know. Everyone else round here seems to let them in.’

  ‘I’d rather not.’

  ‘No problem,’ he said, standing. ‘Right, I’d better head to work.’

  He leaned forward and kissed her, then pulled a coat over his shoulders.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ he said. ‘I’ll be picking up something hot for dinner on the way back from the Maltings.’

  She nodded. ‘Love you.’

  ‘Love you too.’

  He opened the front door, letting in a spray of rain, then closed it behind him. Karalyn sat for a moment, then lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke out through the open shutters. She wondered what was happening in Plateau City, remembering the palaces and parties, and the bustle on the elegant streets. She did miss it, she had to admit, but in Severton she had found peace, and love. The cottage might be damp, dark and cold, but it was a home; their home. Every day while she worked for the provost she thought of little other than getting back to be with Lennox again; looking forward to their evening meals, and the ale and talk that followed; and the sharing of their enormous, warm bed. She had never imagined she could fall in love with a soldier; someone whose hands had killed, but what choice had he had? If he had been born in Severton instead of Rahain, he would have had a normal childhood, going to one of the town’s schools, and then getting a job like everyone else. It wasn’t his fault he had been brought up in the Army of Pyre and, when faced with a choice, he had deserted at the first opportunity and left his old life behind.