by CM Raymond
Ezekiel spoke slowly, but was as concise as possible. He walked them through how he had first met Adrien as a young man filled with potential. But then he explained to them what he observed upon his return. He ended by retelling his meeting with Adrien on the streets of the city. How he saw evil in his old student’s eyes and heard him confess a plan to extend his power beyond Arcadia.
Ezekiel sat as he finished his story. “Something foul is brewing, and it soon will be served. But we cannot stop it if we don’t know what it is. I’m powerful, but I am not omniscient. That is as far as my knowledge goes.”
They all fell silent for a moment, each wondering who should go next. Finally, Parker spoke up. “For the past several weeks, I’ve been on the inside of the factory. It’s where the men are going—scores of them from the Boulevard. We went voluntarily, but the moment we set foot in there, they chained us to our posts and kept us working as their slaves.”
“How’d you get out,” Gregory asked from the edge of the room.
Parker nodded, acknowledging the boy he didn’t know, but who had helped save his life. “It’s a long story, but it ends with me bleeding to death in an alley. But before I left, I had a nice long conversation with Alexandra, Adrien’s torturer. She was very interested in Hannah. It seems the Chancellor would like to have a word with you,” he said, looking at Hannah. “But I don’t imagine it would be a nice one.”
Hannah looked down at her hands and cracked her knuckles. “I would like to have a word with him, too.”
“What were they building in there, lad?” Karl drummed his fingers along the side of his hammer as he waited for Parker to continue.
“I have no idea. But whatever it is, it’s huge. Like a giant boat or something. But that’s not the weird part. When I was trying to escape, I stumbled across a large room. In the middle was a giant glowing contraption. No freaking clue what the thing was, but I could barely look right at it, the blue was so bright. And they had a magician attached to it. He was tired, like a damned mule that’d been driven for a week straight.”
Amelia stepped in. “What did the magician look like?”
Parker shrugged. “He was young, although he didn’t look it. Nice, noble clothes. He had long black hair that hung back in a ponytail.”
The Dean’s face darkened. “That was Rian. One of my best students. I had offered his name to Adrien weeks ago to be a part of the Scholars Program.” She paused. “Damn him. I knew that the program had something to do with developing magitech, but it sounds more like they’re being used to fuel magitech. He’s robbing them of all of their energy.” She paused a moment in thought. “It will kill him.”
“That’s crazy,” Eleanor said. “I’ve never heard of magitech that big before. And why would the Chancellor do that? There must be some misunderstanding.”
“There’s no misunderstanding, miss.” Karl cleared his throat before speaking. “I can’t speak for yer Chancellor’s intentions, but I know that factory has been paying a fortune for as many amphoralds as the mines can produce. We can’t rip em out of the ground fast enough. They’re hungry, for what, I don’t know. But I know they’ve bought enough gems to power a whole freaking city for a hundred years.”
“They don’t want to power a city, Karl, they want to destroy one,” Julianne, the master mystic said. “Arcadia is preparing for war. When I was on the inside I caught wind of some things. All the Guards knew that the Governor and the Chancellor were preparing for an attack, but no one knew on whom or how. But there was plenty of talk about a secret weapon that would make them unstoppable.”
The room fell quiet as the pieces started to fall into place. Adrien’s plan was secret no more, even if it was still lacking in detail.
“But what kind of weapon could require that much energy?” Ezekiel asked.
A throat cleared, and everyone turned to look at Gregory, who had been standing in the corner since this all began. His face shifted from white to beat red, and he fidgeted awkwardly. He second guessed what he was about to do and then looked at Hannah and pushed the fear away.
“I know what it is. I know what Adrien is building.”
****
Adrien walked across the top of the factory floor on the catwalk. The din of his worker bees rose up to meet him. The men working below looked ragged, but there was no rest in sight. The machine needed to be finished, and to do so would take sacrifice from the men of Arcadia.
The catwalk terminated at a metal door with a Capitol guard standing at its side. He stood upright, clicking his heels as the Chancellor approached.
“Sir,” he said, eyes ahead.
“At ease,” Adrien replied. “Nice work here.”
“A pleasure, sir,” he said as he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Adrien stepped through onto another catwalk, much like the one he had just left. Opening out before him was a room like the last, only bigger and quieter. There were a handful of men moving about on the floor with tools in hand. In the middle of the massive space was a machine of extraordinary dimensions glowing like a full moon.
Standing in the middle of the floor, in the shadow of the great machine, stood Elon—the Chief Engineer. His eyes were deep set and darkened from the fact that he was living on three hours of sleep a night and just a meal a day if he was lucky. His own family hadn’t seen him for weeks. But it was worth it if he could get the job done. He knew the consequences of failure and the rewards of success.
When he saw Adrien approaching, he straightened his cloak and swallowed hard. The Chancellor seldom came to the factory himself; he preferred to send Doyle to do his dirty work.
“Sir, this is, well, a surprise.”
A sneer spread across Adrien’s face. “Hopefully not a bad surprise, Elon. I thought it was time I came to see how things are going. Maybe offer a little encouragement. You know, leadership and all.”
Elon forced a smile. “Yes, of course. And I appreciate it. We are moving right along—”
Adrien interrupted. “But it could always be faster, right?”
Sweat beaded up on Elon’s brow. Clueless about how to respond, he blurted out, “I… I don’t think so, sir. We’re running on all cylinders and burning out the workers left and right. Not to mention, we need more magicians to fuel the amphoralds.”
Adrien leaned in. Elon could smell hate on his breath. “Is that right?”
“Nothing like this has ever been done before, sir. With all due respect, we have the best of Arcadia working this project. It will be done—and soon. But more importantly, it will be the greatest technological feat since before the Age of Madness, hell maybe ever. You will not regret the care we’re putting into it.”
Adrien lowered his voice and inched closer to Elon’s face. They were nearly nose-to-nose. “Had a nice talk with your son, Gregory. Smart boy. Must make you proud.”
Elon looked down. “He does, sir.”
“I mean the kid is shit with physical magic, but his aptitude for the magitech is off the charts—not that that should surprise us, with his bloodline and all. Maybe he could help speed things up.” As Adrien said this, he looked down at the young man chained to the machine. The man had days to live, maybe hours.
Elon swallowed hard. “That won’t be necessary, sir”
Adrien smiled. “That’s really your choice. Pick up the pace, or Gregory and the rest of your spawn will pay the penalty for your failure. I’m running out of engineers, but I will replace you if I must. So, get your damned head out of your ass and get this thing done. There isn’t much time.”
Elon nodded, knowing that the man wasn’t bluffing. “As you say, sir. I am yours to command.”
****
Gregory moved out of the doorway and took a chair in the circle. What he was about to do would change his entire life—and that of his family.
“I know exactly what it is. I just didn’t think it was possible.” His hands shook. “My father, he’s Arcadia’s chief engineer. For months, he’s b
een working on some all-consuming project. I mean, we almost never saw him, and when he was home, he was holed up in his office.
“One day, after he had been called away for an emergency meeting, I got curious. So, I crept into his office and looked at the plans laid out on the table.” Gregory shook his head. “I thought it was just theoretical. You know, a work of his imagination. Never thought he could…” He trailed off.
Ezekiel spoke. His voice was both calm and urgent at once. There was a certain resonance that could convince a whore to go holy. “What was it, son?”
Gregory’s eyes scanned the room. “You’re right that it’s a weapon. But not what you think. It has the power to blast entire cities back into the Dark Ages—to wreak more havoc than the world has ever seen.”
Karl’s eyes narrowed. “Aye, but a weapon like that would be massive. How could they move such a weapon beyond the walls of the city?”
The blood drained from Gregory’s face. “That’s the thing, the weapon is more than some kind of cannon. They’re building an airship. A mighty, flying fortress that will be able to rain down the fires of hell on anyone, anywhere. It’s a flying apocalypse.”
As Gregory finished, a silence filled the room. Everyone knew what they were up against. Adrien was a powerful sorcerer, with the wealth and resources of an entire city behind him. And on top of that, he had a weapon like something out of an old legend at his disposal.
“Then it’s settled.” Her voice was no more than a whisper, but everyone turned to Hannah as if she were speaking from a microphone. “We have to stop him.”
“I admire your spirit, lass, but weren’t you listening to the rich kid?” Karl meant well, but his voice was harsh all the same. “It’s a task that is beyond us.”
“It’s a task precisely for us. I was listening, Karl. But I didn’t learn anything new. Adrien is a bastard. Airship or no, we can’t leave this city in his hands. I’ve already lost my family to this maniac. Tonight, I almost lost a friend. I don’t care who we have to fight or what weapons they have. Adrien must die. And I will kill him, or die trying. The question is, will any of you help me?”
Ezekiel smiled, admiring how much the young woman in front of him had grown. He looked around the room. No one spoke, but they didn’t need to. It was clear from the determination on their faces that they would follow her to the end.
Ezekiel said a silent prayer to the Matriarch.
He thought about Lilith, and the real reason the Oracle had sent him back to Arcadia.
Adrien was evil, but he was just one hurdle on a much longer and darker path—filled with dangers he could scarcely imagine. But even so, he was filled with hope. He had Hannah. And she now had her team.
Ezekiel only wished that he had more time.
Epilogue
Alexandra’s face was still reddened by the blood from Jack’s jugular. But she didn’t care. She didn’t even notice. The only thing that mattered was finding the girl—and fast.
The crowd spread for her as she passed, making a path through the market, toward the Boulevard, toward her prey.
One look at her, and the henchman working the gate looked the other way, letting her step right through into the quarter.
She headed straight for the seediest bar in the slums, Lloyd’s. The place was packed. What men hadn’t joined the ranks at the factory were getting their fill of cheap liquor before the curfew set in for the night. It was a mangy group, and all eyes fastened on her as she entered. The dunks lining the bar sobered up at the sight of the gorgeous woman drenched in dried blood.
“I’m looking for the Unlawful named Hannah. Anyone with information should speak now.”
And just like that, all eyes drooped to the bar.
Alexandra walked up to the man on the end, closest to her. She raised her voice. “Anyone?”
Lloyd’s had never been quieter.
She raised one hand in the air and stroked her fingers. Her eyes turned black, and one by one her fingernails grew in length.
Then, with one quick motion, she grabbed the man in front of her by his long, tangled tuft of hair, pulled back his head, and plucked an eye from his socket.
A collective gasp filled the bar as he placed a hand over where his eye had been only a second a before.
Blood pumped between his fingers. He fell off of his stool and stumbled out of the bar screaming.
She held the eye in her hand, examining it like it was a rare stone before dropping it on the dirty ground. Then she stepped forward and glanced at the next man along the bar. “I’ll say it again. I’m looking for the Unlawful named Hannah. I have all night, and I just love the color red.”
Just as she reached for the next man’s head, a voice rang out from across the room.
It was the bartender. “There were some strangers in here tonight. They might be the lead you’re looking for.”
Alexandra smiled. Lightning began to crackle along the palm of her hand. “Tell me everything.”
Rearick
(Artwork by Eric Quigley)
Remnant
(Artwork by Eric Quigley)
Author Notes - Lee Barbant
Written 03/24/17
I finished my draft of Reawakening the day after Restriction came out. My wife and I had just left a baby shower for our soon to be first child, and we talked the whole way home about how much love and support we felt from our friends and family...then I checked to see how my new book was doing and I nearly hit the floor. The support and positive feedback from readers like you was overwhelming, more than I had yet to experience as an author—and it was only the second day.
Now, almost a week later, as we put the finishing touches on Reawakening, Restriction already has more reviews than any book I’ve ever written. It’s mind blowing, and I have you all to thank.
And I’m doing my best to put those reviews to work. Even though book 2 was almost finished when your reviews came in (sorry, we were trying to move fast!), we’ve started shaping book 3 (Rebellion) around your feedback. Hannah’s team has come together, and now it’s time for her to start taking the fight to Adrien. Rebellion has more humor, more explanations on how Magic fits with the rest of the KGU, more well-earned ass kicking, and way more Sal. It’s been my favorite book so far (although I say that about whatever project we’re working on).
I hope you’ll like it, but leave us a review for Reawakening and we’ll try our best to follow course. In my mind, Hannah and friends are as much your characters now as they are mine.
Peace,
Lee
PS
As I’m writing this, my cat has completely passed out on my lap, which means I won’t be moving off the couch anytime soon. That works for me. I’ve got plenty more of Hannah’s story left to tell. The plan is to have four books out by the time the baby comes in May, which is an intense schedule for me as I juggle work and other responsibilities with my part-time writing. Maybe I’ll get a break when we have the baby...that’s how it works, right? Babies give you more time to write?
Oh shit. My wife is shaking her head no. So I better write like the devil now.
Later
PPS
One of these days I’ll learn how to get all of my thoughts down on the first go. If you want to chat, we’d love to hear from you over on the Age of Magic Facebook page (I’m very interested to see fan theories about where The Rise of Magic is going or how you all think it connects back to previous arcs). Or you can find me on Twitter @lebarbant. I spend most of my freetime there, looking at and posting cat photos.
Author Notes - Chris Raymond