With some trepidation Kai approached the chair, extending one hand towards it. At the last second he pulled back. Even he didn’t dare touch it.
“I came as soon as I could,” said a familiar voice. Kai turned to see Vargus striding towards him with purpose. He always walked like that and didn’t even know he was doing it. Somewhere in the back of Vargus’s mind there was always a specific goal that he was working towards. His purpose might change with the years, but he was eternally driven and never drifted on the waves of fate. Vargus created his own path. He traversed the whims of mankind, but always kept moving forward. It was something that Kai was attempting to learn after nearly being unmade a few years ago by the idiot Lantern boy. A sneer twisted Kai’s handsome features as he looked at the boy’s empty chair and thought of his fate.
Every day more and more of the boy’s followers turned away from him, choosing to follow the newly pious Lady of Light instead. His power would be waning as hers grew. If he returned at all he would be a shadow of his former self. Kai was looking forward to that day very much indeed. Then he and the boy would have words.
Vargus stopped behind his own chair but didn’t sit down. “You said there was news.”
“You were right. There’s something festering in Voechenka.”
Vargus grunted and moved to stand beside the far wall, holding his hands out towards something. In his version of this place it was probably a fireplace. For Kai the four walls were long windows, the glass tinted a sickly green. Beyond the glass were a myriad stars and brightly coloured planets extending in all directions as far as the eye could see.
“What have you found?” asked Nethun, his voice booming around the hall. As ever the old sailor was dressed simply in loose trousers and a plain red shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His bare feet left damp impressions on the floor and as he drew closer Kai felt an enormous weight press against him from Nethun’s presence. Nearly as eternal as the Maker, he warranted extreme caution and a great amount of respect. Kai did his best to smother his surprise at seeing Nethun by looking around expectantly. “No one else is coming. It’s just the three of us,” said the old sailor.
“Nethun brought this to my attention,” said Vargus by way of explanation. “What did you see?”
“Something is infecting the remaining people in Voechenka.”
“Is it something from beyond the Veil?” asked Nethun.
Kai shrugged. “Probably. They killed the infected man and burned the body before I had a chance to examine it. We’re lucky that the city is remote, otherwise it would have spread much further and more quickly.”
“Do we need to take steps to keep it contained?” asked Nethun.
“I think it would be wise. There’s only one route into the city. No one is allowed in or out, and guards patrol the surrounding countryside. A few have tried to escape over the mountains or via the sea, but none of them made it. Despite all of that one of the guards on patrol was infected.” Kai shook his head in alarm. “His Captain said he was only alone for a few minutes. Now they’re working in pairs at all times. It will help, but only for a short time.”
“If the population of Voechenka is small in number, it sounds like whatever is infecting people has become desperate,” said Vargus.
“Either that, or it’s just very hungry,” suggested Kai. As ever the others thought in very narrow human terms. They saw mortals as groups and families, not food. To them mortals were special and important, but to something from beyond the Veil every creature might simply be a different type of meat to consume. They had no way of knowing how it thought, what it wanted or even what it was doing by infecting people.
“Where are you now?” asked Nethun.
“At a garrison a few miles outside the city. Tomorrow morning we’re going into Voechenka and then we’ll be completely cut off.” The itch of worry blossomed into a frown on Kai’s face.
“What is it?” asked Vargus.
“I can feel something lurking in the city,” said Kai, hating how vague he sounded. “Even at this distance. It’s shrouded somehow, but it’s there, like an itch in the back of my mind.”
Nethun grunted. “Makes sense. It’s kept itself concealed from us for some time now.”
“There’s something else,” said Kai, taking a deep breath. “At the moment of the guard’s death, I saw something in his eyes.”
Sensing his unease, Vargus came to stand beside him, resting a reassuring hand on Kai’s shoulder. “What was it?”
Kai studied Vargus carefully for signs of deception or guilt. He needed to know if his old friend had sent him into this knowing more than he said, or if he was truly unaware. Kai saw no trace of a lie. As ever Vargus was being completely straight with him.
“As the life faded from the guard, I saw something lurking behind his eyes.” Nethun came up on Kai’s right side, a deep frown creasing his weather-beaten face. “Something was watching me.”
Vargus was on the verge of cursing, but he glanced at the Maker’s chair and bit his tongue instead. Nethun turned away and stood with both palms resting on the table, his eyes deep in thought.
“I think Balfruss saw it too,” said Kai. “He’s changed since he was in Charas.”
“Elwei says he’s become,” said Vargus. “He’s a Sorcerer, in the old sense of the word.”
That was a word that had not been used about a human in a long time. Kai contemplated what it meant and a shiver of anticipation ran down his spine. Some of the old ways had not died off, as some of the others around this very table had predicted. The Red Tower was being rebuilt and more old magic was being rediscovered all the time.
“He’s definitely more aware. I’ll have to be careful he doesn’t see through my mask,” said Kai, gesturing at the youthful body of the man he wore. “They have three weeks to resolve this, after that they’ll be declared dead. I suspect this is a last resort. If it fails the next step will be something more drastic.”
“They’ll raze the city to the ground,” said Nethun, coming out of his stupor. “It’s what I would do.”
Kai shrugged. “They’ve not said as much, but that would be my guess too.”
“Could it not be rebuilt?” asked Vargus.
“So much has already been lost. There’s not much left,” Nethun pointed out. “Large parts of the city were destroyed during the occupation, and more has been damaged in the last few years.”
“What about the people still living there?” asked Vargus.
“After the war most refused to stay. They sailed abroad to start new lives away from the city and so many bad memories. My sailors took them all over the world,” explained Nethun. “Sadly it’s a common story all across Shael.”
Kai knew that Vargus was finding it difficult to contemplate the idea of turning away from one’s city, or one’s country. After seeing the devastation in Shael, he could understand the need for a fresh start.
“I’ve been speaking to the guards about Voechenka. Anyone still in the city was too stubborn, or too stupid, to leave. When word spread about most of the city being abandoned it attracted a lot of people used to working in the shadows. Now there are several groups of mercenaries trapped inside.”
A foreboding silence settled on the hall as the others became lost in thought. Coming so close to oblivion had made Kai more cautious and even hungrier for power. When Vargus had told him about a city, full of the desperate and the dying, it had sounded wonderfully delicious. A ripe feeding ground for horrendous diseases that often festered in such isolated places. At one time Kai’s power would have rivalled Nethun’s. To be brought so low and to become so little was humbling, but with the possibility of real power in sight once more his need outweighed the potential risk.
“I’ll have a few of my people keep watch on the guards. Make sure no more of them are infected,” said Nethun. “But I can’t order them into Shael without it seeming like another invasion.” Most of his followers were sailors and the Vorga. The people of Shae
l had only just driven the latter out of their country and would not welcome their return, regardless of the reason. “Vargus, can you help?”
“I can call in some favours to keep it contained. It won’t get out,” promised Vargus. Although Kai felt reassured that the shadowy presence in the city would not escape, it still left him with the responsibility of seeing that it was destroyed. He said nothing of his anxiety though, just gave them both a wolfish smile and vanished from the banqueting hall.
Something was waiting in the shadows of Voechenka and he was keen to meet it. Whatever it was, he knew it had never seen his like before and was in for a big surprise.
CHAPTER 9
With ash still swirling in the air from the dead guard’s pyre, they marched away from the garrison towards Voechenka. In addition to her armour and sword, Tammy carried a heavy pack laden with food and medicine. Each of the twelve priests also carried a large pack, but she and Balfruss bore the heaviest items.
The priests would carry any weight stoically, never once complaining, right up to the moment they collapsed. It was the way with priests of the Lady of Light. They looked after everyone but themselves. The plague priest, Kai, had cursed at the weight, earning him disapproving looks from the others, but in some ways his grumbling had been reassuring. It showed he was more than just a priest and that as well as caring for others he cared about himself.
Despite travelling with the priests for days Tammy couldn’t name them all and she knew very little about them as individuals. Not because they were secretive, but whenever she asked a question they always found a way to turn it back to their faith. They were devout to the point of having no real personalities of their own, which was slightly worrying.
They marched in silence wrapped up in their own thoughts and weighed down as much by what had happened last night as by their backpacks. She knew something bizarre was happening in Voechenka, but had thought some of it exaggerated to bring attention to the city’s plight.
Both she and Balfruss would have liked to inspect the guard’s body, but they were so paranoid about what might happen if they didn’t burn it immediately, she didn’t ask. Captain Rees had asked again if she really wanted to go to the city and to his obvious disappointment Tammy had said she must. He gave her a tragic smile, as if she were already dead, before offering a half-hearted blessing.
It seemed that out here most had abandoned their religious beliefs. But in the face of such desperation Tammy couldn’t think of much to be grateful for. It was a much shorter journey for her since she didn’t believe in any of the gods.
At midday they stopped for a brief meal and a rest, but quickly got back on the road. Darkness came early at this time of the year and they needed to be inside the city and behind a secure wall before it was fully dark. It was also getting close to winter and it would be freezing if they were caught out in the open.
Captain Rees had been insistent about them finding shelter with one of the groups. No one had ever survived a night in the city outside one of the camps. He’d heard the screams but never found the bodies and when they came back the following night it was as if a stranger had taken up residence inside their skin.
Finally, after several hours of trudging along in silence, across a rotting, almost volcanic landscape of broken slate, grey rocks and gnarled trees, she spotted the city gates. The gates themselves were missing, presumably burned for fuel months ago. The surrounding decorative wall was six foot high in some places and as low as half a foot in others.
Art that had once been brightly coloured adorned the wall, depicting landscapes that made no sense, with trees growing from a sky with two suns and three moons. Animals that were predators and prey danced together with children, while nearby a crowd of people enjoyed a feast of roasted meat in the sun. Now, slogans of despair and warnings had been scrawled over the top, telling visitors to turn back and that the city was cursed.
Balfruss briefly glanced at the art and then at the sky. The afternoon was further along than they would have liked. It wasn’t dark yet but Tammy guessed they had a couple of hours at best before long shadows started to form. Their pace had been slow due to the packs and the priests not being used to such long walks, but there had been no choice.
As they stepped beneath the stone arch and entered the city proper Tammy drew her sword. It was mostly for show, as fighting with the bulky pack would be nearly impossible. If the worst should happen though, and a fight became inevitable, she could cut the shoulder straps and be ready in a few seconds. Balfruss didn’t draw the axe from his belt, but she saw him loosen his neck and carefully study their surroundings.
On board the ship he’d explained the necessity of being discreet. Not only with his identity but also his magic. Until they knew who, or what, they were facing and the nature of the threat, he wanted to keep knowledge of his abilities to a minimum. Throwing around a large amount of power would create a sound that anyone else with sensitivity to magic would be able to hear. It could even tell another mage exactly where he was in the city. That might draw unwarranted attention and at the moment they knew very little about what was waiting for them.
Tammy appreciated his caution. However, she wasn’t sure that they could protect all of the priests in a fight without his magic. One thing she had learned on the voyage was that none of the priests were armed and violence was abhorrent to them. They would rather die than take up a weapon to protect themselves.
As they passed along a main street she glanced at the surrounding buildings. It looked as if an earthquake had struck the city or it had been under a lengthy siege. Every structure bore some kind of damage. Some had been reduced to rubble, others had gaping broken windows and roofs, collapsed walls and black smears of soot.
Looking at the buildings Tammy had never seen the like before in a city. Every one was slightly different from its neighbour. Tall thin buildings stood alongside what had once been magnificent domed structures, large enough to be cathedrals. Beside them was a row of squat single-storey buildings that couldn’t have housed more than four or five people. Each looked identical but a closer inspection revealed slight differences. Stacked up outside each on the pavement she saw the remnants of dozens of metal chairs. The wire frame of several awnings hung limply from the front of many buildings, but the material was long gone. Tammy guessed they had been a row of taverns where customers had sat outside on the street.
Staring in every direction all she could see was desolation and more rubble. The broken fragments of once-grand buildings reached towards the sky like beseeching fingers.
“Do you hear it?” said Balfruss, cocking his head to one side.
Tammy listened and at first didn’t know what he meant. After a few seconds she understood. There was nothing to hear. Nothing at all. No birds, not even the buzz of a fly, just the endless rustling of grit and gravel being stirred by the wind.
“Keep moving,” she said, realising that they’d come to a complete stop.
Working from the landmarks Captain Rees had told her about, she led them to what should have been the first of the independent shelters. A large hole in the ground was all that remained. There were a few blackened stones, a faint whiff of smoke in the air and nothing else. No bodies, no bones, not even a stray weapon to tell her what had happened. There were footprints in the surrounding earth but too many to tell her anything useful.
She didn’t need to say it. The others just looked at the hole and kept walking.
Balfruss stared at the crater and she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw.
“What is it?”
“This whole place, it’s saturated with echoes,” he whispered, so that the others didn’t hear.
“Echoes of what?”
“Pain, mostly. Ever since we crossed into the city I’ve been feeling them, but they’re getting stronger. The whole area is criss-crossed with layer upon layer of suffering and memories of torment. There are also threads of magic all over as well.”
“Will you be all r
ight?” she asked, concerned that they’d barely been in the city for an hour and already he was showing signs of strain.
“I can shield myself,” he said, heaving a long deep breath. Nothing visibly changed except that the tension eased from Balfruss’s jaw and his shoulders settled from being hunched up. Tammy wondered if this was what had affected Fray when he’d been sent to Voechenka before them. He’d not been trained at the Red Tower and didn’t have the same experience as Balfruss. After another minute of walking he offered a brief smile and dropped back to guard the rear.
At the next possible shelter, this one belonging to a group of mercenaries, they found more than a crater but not much. Two of the outer walls still remained, but the rest had been toppled, seemingly from the inside out, and then ground into fist-sized chunks of stone. Where the front door should have been was a massive hole that extended to one of the windows. It looked as if something the size of several barrels had broken through the thick stone wall like it was paper and then rampaged around inside. It had thrown its weight around so much it had brought the whole building down. There were large heavy prints on the ground in some places, but they didn’t belong to any beast she recognised. Balfruss shook his head but also made a little gesture with one hand, moving his fingers up and down. She grunted but said nothing. More magic.
“It must be disappointing,” said a voice from off to her left. Tammy raised her sword and span around, one hand on the straps of her pack. She could drop it and draw her dagger or pull her shield from her back, depending on how many they were facing. A lean man dressed in battered mail armour sat on a small pile of rubble not far away. He was armed with a short sword and dagger but currently was focused on eating a slightly withered apple.
Tammy scanned the area around them but couldn’t see anyone else. Even so, there were plenty of places to hide. Behind walls, inside the hollow remnants of buildings or behind piles of rocks.
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