The Shadowmage Trilogy (Twilight of Kerberos: The Shadowmage Books)

by Matthew Sprange

  “I raised the alarm, nothing more. I had thought the mercenaries we had brought in would be able to handle a bunch of rogues with few problems. They probably would have, had a Shadowmage not been among them.”

  “Well, you could have done something about that, surely,” he said. “You are clearly greater than I, so why not just kill me and let the mercenaries deal with the rest of us?”

  She looked at him as though he were being particularly stupid, an expression he was beginning to resent a great deal. “Are you deaf, or just wilfully ignoring what I tell you?”

  “Was there something you wanted, Aidy, or did you just come here to torment me?”

  Adrianna stopped for a moment, then sighed heavily. When she spoke, it sounded as though she were almost spitting the words.

  “If you are going to continue working in the city, there are going to have to be some rules.”

  “Damned if there will be!”

  Her hand shot out of the darkness to close, painfully, around his arm. “Listen to me, idiot! I don’t want this conversation any more than you do but, as I have been trying to tell you, there are larger things at work here. Now, shut up and follow me!”

  Saying that, she spun on her heel and stalked into the depths of the alley, disappearing from sight almost immediately. Casting a last look back at the church, Lucius groaned inwardly and raced to follow her. The Final Faith would have to wait at least another day.

  LUCIUS HAD VISITED the docks earlier, and this time his ears became accustomed to the crashing sea far quicker. The noise was relentless, with immense waves breaking against the grey stone defences that rose from the water like monoliths.

  Before men had laid the foundations of Turnitia, the sea had already carved a wide bay from the cliffs, hacking away at the land over aeons. The origins of the architects of the defences that were built across the mouth of the bay were lost in antiquity. Merchants and dockmasters, certainly, couldn’t care less about the effort that must have gone into building the immense structures, and scholars had long since moved on to investigating the mysteries of the Sardenne and the World’s Ridge Mountains, explaining the construction away as the product of ancient magic and, therefore, unknowable. Some tales suggested the barriers were older than the race of men, though Lucius put little credence in children’s tales.

  Standing on the edge of the cliffs, he looked down as the water surged against the granite harbour. A complex array of winches, lifts and ropes were fixed to the sheer wall of rock, allowing goods brought in from the sea to be brought up to the city, where they could be traded in the merchants’ quarter and, finally, the Five Markets. A dozen ships lay in the bay, heaving constantly as the water surged beneath them. They remained in relative safety, so long as their anchors and the ropes that bound them to the harbour did not break their grip and send the vessels crashing into the barriers or cliffs. After gold had changed hands with one of the dockmasters, Lucius had learned earlier that the captains were waiting for the sea to subside a few degrees before risking an egress that would take them beyond the barriers and into the violent waves. Few risked such voyages, preferring the safety of travel over land. But for those willing to risk the churning waters, rogue waves and, so tales went, immense serpents, the rewards could be great.

  Looking out to sea, Lucius wondered what life must be like in that hostile wilderness, trusting chance as much as personal skill. The seamen of Allantia were renowned for their ability to master the waves, as were the barbaric savages of the Sarcre Islands, but there were few truly civilised men who were adept at reading the ebb and flow of the sea, and thus had a chance of making their destinations safely. Even the best captains kept close to shore, and no one knew for certain what lay beyond the horizon.

  Adrianna had sped through the city to reach this place, and Lucius had been pushed hard to match her long, determined stride. They had not spoken further, and resentment once again began to flow through him as he realised she was dangling him on the end of a rope, possibly for her own amusement.

  She stood, back straight and arms folded, as Lucius had seen her in the window of Brink’s house. Not looking at him, she too stared out to sea, though he thought her mind was elsewhere. After a few minutes, his boredom got the better of him.

  “Well?” he asked, not without a little sarcasm.

  “Wait,” she said.

  Lucius sighed and turned to walk slowly along the cliff. The immediate area was filled with cranes that leaned over the edge and a wide road that served as a loading area for wagons and carts, separating the cliffs from the row upon row of warehouses. He began to wonder whether his father’s warehouses were close by – and who owned them now – when a pungent and heady odour filled his nostrils.

  It reminded him of the scent that hung in the air after a storm but, looking back at Adrianna, he saw she had either not sensed it or was ignoring it. A low crackle reached his ears, and it seemed to come from all around. Looking around he tried to locate the source of the sound, but it proved elusive.

  A brilliant blue-white flash in front of his eyes made him react, taking a step back. The dull light from Kerberos seemed to dim further for a moment, then another flash followed, this time from the side of one of the nearby warehouses. Lightning crackled around the walls of one of the buildings, shards of light playing across the wood and stone with a sizzling of high energy. With a low rumble of thunder, the electrical discharges coalesced into a tightly packed ball a yard from the ground.

  Holding a hand over his eyes to shield himself from the glare, Lucius saw something move within the dancing light, a dark shape stepping through the flashes and sparks. He saw the form of a man walking down to the ground as if on a short flight of stairs. As he placed a foot on the cobbles, the lightning disappeared with the pop of air rushing into a vacant space.

  The man was in his later years, and wore a tightly-trimmed beard shot through with grey streaks but was otherwise completely bald. Dressed in the jacket and pantaloons of a wealthy merchant, he walked with a limp, leaning on a cane as he crossed the road to face Lucius. Still looking out to sea, Adrianna introduced the newcomer.

  “Lucius, this is the Master of Shadows, Forbeck Torquelle.”

  Eyeing the man warily, Lucius nodded slowly in greeting, but his suspicion seemed to bounce off the man.

  “My dear boy,” the man said, extending a hand. “I am so very pleased to meet you. Adrianna has told me a great deal about you.”

  “I’ll bet,” Lucius said cautiously as he accepted the man’s hand and shook it. The Master’s voice had the distinct ring of a Pontaine accent, which Lucius found attractive in women, but slightly effeminate in men. Despite the man’s careful politeness, Lucius could sense the underlying power in his demeanour. This was someone who was used to getting what he wanted, smothering his iron-hard will with a veneer of courtesy.

  “I hope you will forgive my showy entrance,” Forbeck said apologetically. “I normally reserve such things for weak-minded and superstitious fools, but I wanted there to be no doubt in your mind as to who I am and why I asked for this meeting.”

  “And why is that?”

  “We all felt your presence when you came back to the city, Mr Kane. We didn’t know what was happening or what portent it held, until Adrianna first tracked you down. But once we discovered the truth, we just had to make contact.”

  “We?”

  Adrianna turned back to face Lucius. “There is a new guild in the city. The Shadowmages are returning, and are slowly regaining both their numbers and their power.”

  Lucius smiled at this and began to shake his head, raising a hand to forestall any argument. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time–”

  Forbeck overrode Lucius, speaking quietly but firmly. “This is a new guild, Mr Kane, with a new attitude. We have been reforged from the disaster of Vos conquering this city and wiping out our old infrastructure. Not to mention many of the original members.”

  “I already belong to a guild,”
Lucius said.

  “Yes, I know that. But ours is the only one of its type in the entire peninsula. Please, Mr Kane, walk with us for a moment.”

  Forbeck turned and there was something in his voice that commanded Lucius to obey, despite his better judgement.

  As they walked along the cliff top, deviating only to avoid cranes or piles of empty boxes, Lucius heard Adrianna’s measured footsteps behind him as he kept pace with Forbeck.

  “You see, Mr Kane, Shadowmages are unique individuals, having not only the very aptitude for stealth and secrecy that has led you to find a place within the Night Hands, but also a natural affinity for magic. And I mean natural – it takes many men years and years of study and practice to harness the most basic of spells, if they are even capable of it in the first place. Men like you and I – and, sorry Adrianna, ladies too – can control the magic as easily as we breathe.” He laughed. “Well, perhaps with a little more effort than that, but you do take my point.”

  “I do,” said Lucius, wondering where this was going. He knew an offer to join the guild was looming, but he was perplexed as to why. He had already made his case for solitude to Adrianna, and he could not imagine for one moment that she had spoken up for him.

  “The combination of stealth and magic is a powerful one, as our predecessors realised, but they never understood its potential. Mr Kane, a Shadowmage, properly trained and in full control of his abilities, makes for an excellent – no, he makes for the very best – scout, infiltrator, thief, spy... assassin. The Empire of Vos fears us precisely because of this. That was why they worked so hard to eradicate our kind.”

  “Well, I have those abilities now, plus the support of a decent guild.”

  Forbeck shook his head. “The Hands are decent enough, far easier to deal with than those rogues from the Guild of Coin and Enterprise, as Adrianna has recently discovered. But you are quite wrong in thinking you are anywhere near as good as you can be.”

  He stopped suddenly, catching Lucius by surprise. His gaze was one of passionate intensity as he spoke. “I see such potential in you, Mr Kane. I can feel the power and possibilities emanating from you as you stand there now. You have no idea of what you are really capable of.”

  Coughing, Forbeck looked down at the ground briefly before raising his head again to Lucius. “This is the purpose of the guild, you see. We need no guildhouse, membership roll, or shady deals to survive. Our magic and other abilities compensate for all of that, in one way or another. But we can work together for a common cause, and that, Mr Kane, is why you should be with us.”

  “And just what is the common cause?” Lucius asked.

  “That we share information on the practices of stealth and magic both, and through the accumulated wisdom of our members, we become an institution valued and respected. Imagine, Mr Kane, no more disguising the fact that you are more than a mere thief. Think of the lords and nobles who will line up to hire one of our number to engage in the most secret of commissions. Whether it is riches or arcane knowledge that motivates you, you will find it among fellow Shadowmages, not thieves.”

  “I am not sure I would like serving two masters – remember, I already belong to the Hands.”

  “Oh, you misunderstand me,” Forbeck said, brushing aside the argument with a hand. “Stay with the Hands, you could not do better. I am sure you will learn many techniques in their service that will be of great interest to other Shadowmages. We have no dues to pay, and no chores to fulfil, Mr Kane. Our organisation is one of common accord, nothing more. We only have one ultimate directive.”

  “Which is?”

  “One Shadowmage may never strike at another directly, even if they find themselves on opposing sides of a contract. We have suffered too much in recent years, and to fight among ourselves is folly of the highest order.” At this, Lucius noticed Forbeck throw a quick glance at Adrianna. “The consequences of such an attack must, by necessity, be dire. We take an oath to that effect.”

  Lucius was silent for a moment, thoughts churning through his head. He was fairly sure he did not need another level of complication in his life, particularly one that involved the bitter Adrianna. He had continued to think that his stay in the city would be brief, that he would make his money, and then leave to continue his adventures elsewhere. Yet, he had made himself comfortable among the Night Hands and, if he was utterly truthful with himself, he had made no plans to leave in the near future. There was also that hard edge behind Forbeck’s calm exterior that troubled him, and he decided to test his theory.

  “You are not going to let me simply walk away, are you?”

  Forbeck gave him a grim smile. “You are very perceptive, Mr Kane. We cannot have a rogue Shadowmage at work in this city, risking everything we have worked for so far. Imagine a loose wheel on a wagon – sooner or later, it is going to fall off and bring everything crashing to the ground around it. That’s you.”

  “So my choices are what, join you or die?”

  “We are not completely cold-blooded, Mr Kane, and we find it repugnant to be forced to attack one of our own. Think of yourself as a troublesome child who would have to be forced out into the wider world for both your safety and our own.”

  “Join you or leave, then,” Lucius said flatly.

  “Please, do not think of it in those terms,” Forbeck said. “Think of what we can offer you. Support when you most need it, friendship beyond that of thieves. But most of all, training to bring your full potential to light. I was not merely playing you before, Mr Kane. You do have something within you that could be most magnificent. I do not know quite what it is yet, but it will be a fascinating journey of discovery for both of us, I am sure.”

  Sighing, Lucius shook his head. “You leave me with little choice. How will this work, then?”

  “After taking the Oath of the Shadowmages to never strike directly at another, you will enter my tutelage immediately.”

  Beside Lucius, Adrianna gasped in shock. “You cannot be serious!”

  “Adrianna–” Forbeck began.

  “You don’t know this man, Master,” she said, her voice dark and loaded with menace. “He cannot be trusted – he has already betrayed the guild once!”

  “I would remind you that was the former guild,” Forbeck said, before turning back to Lucius. “You must forgive Adrianna. By allowing me to restart your training, you will also be ensuring that you two see a great deal more of one another.”

  Lucius caught Adrianna muttering something about seeing him first, but ignored it. He took a breath, wondering what fate he was sealing for himself, and whether he would soon be fighting someone else’s battles.

  “Do I have to call you master?” he asked.

  Forbeck smiled back wolfishly. “When you feel ready to, Mr Kane. When you feel ready.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE HANDS WERE present in force during the next round of collections from the Street of Dogs. What would normally have been accomplished over a few lazy afternoons by lower ranking members who had bought their way in to the protection franchise was now being planned and executed with military precision.

  Lucius found himself playing watchman, pacing the street as if he had no cares in the world. In reality, he was keeping a sharp eye out for the two thieves who had just entered a tanner’s workshop to collect the dues owed to the Hands for another week of relative peace. Three others were also on the street keeping watch and, fifty yards up the hill, the operation was being repeated by another team. The intent, Magnus had explained to them all before they had been dispatched from the guildhouse, was to demonstrate a show of force, both to the shopkeepers and any spies from the Guild of Coin and Enterprise who would no doubt be looking for a sign of weakness in any territory that belonged to the Hands.

  Thus the morning had passed without event. It was the same routine every time; the collectors went into a shop, storehouse or tavern, took their money and listened to the proprietor’s complaints, then exited, giving those watching a brief n
od to announce the visit had gone according to plan. Then they would move on to the next stop. After every dozen collections, the team would leapfrog the one further up the hill and begin the process again. The use of two teams had been suggested by Caradoc, and it served a dual purpose. First, it was a show of force to the Guild, an announcement of the manpower the Hands could field. However, it also would give those under protection less warning that the collection was about to arrive.

  As predicted by the Council, the takings for those not directly linked to the franchise, Lucius included, were slim, but most accepted the duty without complaint, realising that this was a time for unity, not argument. It was also an easy role to play, Lucius realised as he stopped briefly outside a wine merchant to casually view the more expensive casks and bottles on display. All part of the act.

  For his part, Lucius was grateful for the respite, though not for the early start. He was still considering his meeting earlier in the week with Adrianna and her Master – his now as well, he realised. His relationship with Aidy had clearly soured further when she had learned he was to be taught alongside her, and her venomous looks, split equally between him and Forbeck, made it apparent that she was not going to make life easy for either.

  Having taken the oath not to directly harm another Shadowmage, which gave some small comfort in itself considering Adrianna’s disposition, Forbeck had talked briefly with him about his past, his time in the old guild, his family, his reasons for leaving Turnitia, and what he had seen on his travels beyond the city.

  After that, Forbeck had disappeared, promising that Lucius would be contacted soon to begin his training. He did not reveal how or when the message would be delivered, and Adrianna had been in no hurry to educate him further. So, it was back to the Hands and a thief’s work.

  The two collectors, junior members of the franchise but, on this operation, very much Lucius’ superiors, left the tanners and gave the nod before moving next door to a dressmakers he knew was run by an elderly spinster. From what he had heard in the common room, the collectors would get little real trouble there, but would be forced to endure a lecture that encompassed everything that was wrong with the city, and how the Hands should go about fixing it. He reflected that with such clients on the books, the greater share the collectors were making today would be well earned. Keeping pace with them, Lucius moved his attention to the window of a potter’s shop front, looking over the decoratively painted clay mugs, plates and bowls while trying not to look bored.