Spirit of the Sword: Faith and Virtue (The First Sword Chronicles Book 2)

by Frances Smith

  "Are you going to run?" Vergillia demanded.

  "Of course not, I have to stay with the patients."

  "Then I'm staying too," Vergillia said. "For you, for Lucillia...and for Tullia."

  Tullia, why did you have to die? You were always the best of us, so why did you go first? I bet you could have done something about these things.

  "There's no point in us all dying," Terentia said.

  "Who said anything about dying?" Xanthe yelled, suddenly appearing on top of the hospital roof. She was carrying something large and made out of cloth wrapped around one arm, hanging down over the edge of the roof.

  "What are you doing?" Terentia demanded.

  "Saving the day!" Xanthe cried, striking a momentary pose before taking a flying leap off the roof.

  She did a cartwheel in the air as she jumped, landing with perfect poise upon the stone man's back, balanced on the tips of her toes, arms spread out, unwavering despite the conditions.

  Then, as the stone giant stopped, Xanthe stuffed the cloth - Vergillia thought it looked like a curtain - into its mouth.

  The stone paused for a moment. Then it tried to reach into its mouth. Then it tried to reach Xanthe. Its arms were too big and cumbersome for it to do either. It began to move this way then that, squirming and turning, arms groping blindly, moving up and then down again like a child pretending to march and all the while Xanthe stood on top of it as though she was balancing on one of the columns in the square, a manic grin upon her face.

  And then the stone man fell to the earth, landing face first on the street with a great crash, and Xanthe stepped casually off its back, whistling.

  Terentia blinked. "How in the name of Aulo and Ubis did you-"

  "I suffocated it," Xanthe said. "I reckoned that it had to have an open mouth for some reason, and I was right. I stuffed one of your curtains down its throat and look, its dead."

  "That was surprisingly clever," Vergillia said.

  "Thank you."

  "For you."

  Xanthe huffed. "I liked you better when you were shrieking and yelling."

  "The moment has passed, bad luck," Vergillia replied.

  Terentia sniffed.

  Vergillia and Xanthe both stared at her. There were the unmistakeable signs of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

  "Are you crying?" Xanthe asked.

  Terentia nodded, a smile spreading across her face as she pulled both of them into a tight embrace. "May all the Novar that in heavenvault dwell smile on. Bless you. Bless you both."

  "Lucilia's safe now, that's all that matters," Vergillia said. Don't worry, Tullia, we took care of her. Or at least Xanthe did, anyway.

  The earth shook, and not from a nearby impact. The three women froze. Then, as one, they looked up.

  A half dozen more stone men were bearing down upon them, each face as impassive as the last, each looking just as tough as the one Vergillia had been unable to touch.

  "Oh, bollocks," Vergillia said.

  "We're going to need more curtains," Xanthe murmured.

  Michael raced up the street, Duty and Piety held before him, the green blade of Eena banging against his back and his red cape fluttering behind him.

  Beside him were Tullia and Fiannuala. They had no breath, but Michael felt certain that if they had been then they would have been panting. Filia Tullia especially. He could feel the anxiety radiating from her like the rays of the sun.

  "We will be in time, Filia," Michael said. "I swear it."

  "I hope so," Tullia replied, her voice solemn and not full of hope.

  Michael turned into Hospital Row, and his heart lightened to see Aulo's Hospital still standing, untouched by fire or earth or lightning. Whether it was Aulo's will that kept it safe or the thick walls, he knew not nor did he care. Lucilia was safe, for now.

  For now was the right term, for he could see a dozen golems bearing down on the place, smashing the paving stones with their heavy, thumping steps. Before them stood three women.

  "Terentia? Vergillia, Xanthe?" Tullia said. "They...they came."

  "You sound surprised," Fiannuala said.

  "We would squat in the streets together, steal food together, but to risk their lives..." Tullia murmured. "I didn't think it was possible to have friends in the Subura."

  "Evidently you had three," Michael said.

  Tullia nodded. "So save them."

  Michael smiled, dashing up the street towards the golems. "Excuse me ladies, if you please."

  They turned just in time to see him charging towards them faster than the most powerful bull. They made way for him as though he was an advancing army and they were opening the gate to throw themselves upon his mercy.

  Michael charged. He had left the others behind in his mad dash to reach the hospital, but the strength of the Empress Aegea should be sufficient for his purpose.

  "Aegea! Aegea!" he shouted. "For Throne and Empire! For the wolf and the unicorn! For Gideon and the Empress!"

  The golems could not hear his cries. Still less could they comprehend them. But, though some might say different, Michael yelled for himself, not for the enemy. It would be a cold warrior who went into battle without a shout upon his lips and a cause in his heart.

  And, since he was now the First Sword of the Empire and under certain obligations to uphold the Empire's traditions, Michael opened his throat and let rip for the first time a wolf howl such as the legionaries gave as they marched in steady ranks against the foe. It would chill no hearts of stone, but it might give some courage to those who heard it, if they stood in need of heartening.

  Michael sliced the first two golems in half in two clean strokes, severing their torsos from their legs. Knowing that both halves would continue he rounded first upon the one on his left, Piety striking out to pierce its stony heart and send the golem crumbling. He did the same for the second before it could do more than begin to crawl forwards.

  He scythed through the ranks of Miranda's creations like a god laying low men upon the fields before Ailian's topless towers, like Milcar cutting a bloody path through the ranks of the bronze-clad Tyronians - and these stone-fisted warriors had no great-hearted Oileus to champion them. No, there was only him, swift-footed Michael, and his swords, blessed by the Empress, were so sharp as to pierce even their breasts.

  They fell before him in their marching ranks, crumbling to dust before they could so much as raise their fists, and when they were all turned to nothing Michael turned and bowed to the three young ladies.

  "I am very glad to see you all unhurt," he said.

  "Filius Michael?" Terentia murmured. "And...Tullia?"

  Michael's eyebrows rose. "You see her, Filia Terentia?"

  "Of course," Terentia said. "How could I not...Tullia. I thought...he told me you were dead."

  Tullia said nothing. She looked amazed. "I don't...Michael, I thought only you could see me."

  "What are you talking about, Tullia, what's going on?" Terentia demanded. "And who is that other woman with you?"

  "Terentia," Xanthe murmured. "Who are you talking to?"

  "Tullia," Terentia exclaimed. “I thought I saw her once before, in the fighting pit, but I told myself I was seeing things. But now I can see her again, with some other woman I’ve never seen before, so it must be real.”

  "Tullia's dead, you told us so yourself," Vergillia said softly. "And there's no one there but Michael."

  "What are you talking about, Tullia's standing beside him, she's there," Terentia exclaimed. "She's come back to us."

  Tullia blinked. "I don't know...I didn't expect this. I don't understand."

  "Don't you? I find it to be perfectly clear and I have only just arrived," Silwa said, strolling down the street, with Amy, Jason, Wyrrin, Ascanius and Julian following behind. "I am sorry to disappoint you, my dear girl, but Tullia is dead, and it is beyond even the power of me, or my sister Aulo, or even our mother, should she ever wake, to bring her back."

  "And who are you?" X
anthe demanded.

  Terentia dropped onto one knee. "Don't talk to her like that, she's a god, you fool. Can't you see the aura she has around her?"

  Michael found himself nodding in agreement, for even as she was now in humble common mortal guise there was a light that Silwa gave off that could only be a sign of her divine majesty. Yet neither Xanthe nor Vergillia seemed to understand what she was getting at.

  Silwa smiled. "You are a true believer, aren't you? I wonder if Aulo is aware of what a devoted servant she has in you, and whether she would care if she did. Tullia is dead, but because she was a valiant soul in life and remained so when life itself was fled, she has returned from death to aid Michael in his battles. It is her soul that you perceive, and you alone perceive it in part because of your faith and in part because you have taken holy orders."

  "So, Tullia is really there?" Xanthe asked. "She's looking at us?"

  "Is Fiannuala there too?" Amy said quietly.

  "Of course I'm here, why wouldn't I be?" Fiannuala asked. "HEY AMY, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"

  "She may not, but I heard you rather too well," Silwa murmured. "Fortunately, I have an easier way." She reached forward and placed two fingers upon Xanthe's forehead. Lady Silwa's aura flared for a moment, and then Xanthe looking, blinking and bewildered, towards Tullia.

  "Tullia?" she gasped. "Ubis and Aulo I didn't...Tullia, it's really you."

  "You see her, too?" Vergillia said.

  "You all will, when I am finished," Silwa said, and she repeated the process on Vergillia. One by one she went to everyone present, save for Ascanius and Julian, and lifted the scales from their eyes.

  "Tullia," Terentia murmured. "Thank you, Divine Majesty, for giving us this opportunity to...part, in person."

  Tullia blinked rapidly. Michael got the impression that had she been able to cry the tears would have been flowing rapidly. "Vergillia, Xanthe, did you come here for Lucilia?"

  Vergillia nodded. "We had to do what we could."

  "I never quite believed..." Tullia murmured. "I was never sure that you were really friends. I thought that you... I am so sorry. I have undervalued you horribly, it seems."

  "If you did, it was your only fault," Terentia said. "You were the best of us, Tullia. You always will be."

  "You should be here, talking to one of our spirits," Vergillia said.

  "All is as fate will have it," Tullia said. "I am gone, but you are not. That is all there is to say. Except to ask for favours of you."

  "Whatever it is, we'll do it," Xanthe said.

  Tullia glanced at Michael. "I have given Lucilia over into Michael's charge. But if you could help him, if you could be her sisters, I would not be able to repay your kindness even if I lived."

  "Repay nothing," Xanthe said. "We'd do that even if you didn't ask us to. We may have grown up in a slum; we may not have a flag to wave over our heads or a drum to follow. We may not have old names or good families, and our gang may not have been around for hundreds of years. We may not even talk posh like your Coronim over there, but that doesn't mean we've got no honour. We're the Samnis Street girls, and that means we're family, and Lucilia is too. We'll take care of her."

  "And I'll counteract your baleful influence," Vergillia murmured.

  "Do you have to spoil every single moment?" Xanthe demanded.

  "Yes, she does," Tullia said, chuckling. "She wouldn't be herself if she didn't, and you wouldn't be you if you were not irate over it."

  "We'll be doing this when we're small and wrinkled," Vergillia said. "Gods help me."

  "Shut up," Xanthe snapped. "You love me really."

  Terentia smiled sadly. "We'll miss you. Always."

  "I'm not gone," Tullia said. "I'm just...not here. I'm watching, all the time, don't worry."

  "Not quite the same thing is it?" Terentia said. "You can't talk back, for one thing."

  "Perhaps I will, on occasion," Tullia said. "But, until then, thank you. Thank you for caring."

  "Filia," Michael said, speaking so softly it was almost a whisper. "Would you...do you wish to go see your sister now?"

  Tullia turned away, looking towards the hospital, and Michael could feel the longing stirring within her. For a moment she stood, still as a statue, perfectly poised, head high, face still. He felt certain that she would choose to go in, but she said, "No. She has already made her farewells to me. I will not confuse the matter."

  "She's your sister," Terentia said. "She'd love to see you."

  "That does not mean it would be for the best," Tullia said. "Wounds that are closing should be reopened."

  "Filia," Michael murmured. "Are you certain of this?"

  "Do you not trust me to know what is best for her?" Tullia asked, her voice quivering.

  Michael bowed his head. "As you say, Filia. If that is all, then I think we should be going."

  "Just a moment," Fiannuala said. "Hey! Amy! Keep going for the both of us, all right? You're doing brilliantly!"

  Amy grinned. "Well, you've left me a lot to live up to, but I'll get there. And when I do it will be a sight to see, I promise."

  "I'll hold you to that."

  "Where are you going?" Xanthe demanded. "Are you just going to leave us here with everything going on?"

  "With the Empress' grace I hope to stop all of this from going on," Michael said. "It is a lengthy and somewhat convoluted explanation, but my sister is at the heart of this together with a man named Quirian. Quirian I mean to kill and my sister to persuade to stop all this. Once I have done those things the danger for all will be passed."

  "Just like that?" Terentia said.

  "I thought we'd offended a god," Vergillia murmured.

  "Quite the contrary," Silwa said. "The only god present is trying to save the city, not destroy it."

  Vergillia and Xanthe looked at one another. Vergillia's eyebrows rose a little, and Xanthe nodded.

  "Take care of everyone," Vergillia said. "And try to restrain your stupidity. Filius Michael, I'm coming with you."

  "Filia, you barely understand what we are about," Michael said.

  "I understand I wasn't able to do a thing against those stone men," Vergillia said. "But fire magic may come in handy against flesh and blood."

  "It will be dangerous," Michael said.

  "My life doesn't really matter much when set against the city and everyone in it, does it?" Vergillia asked.

  Michael smiled. "Well spoken, Filia, you are welcome. Follow then, we must make haste."

  XX

  The Blood of Gabriel and Aurelia

  "Before we descend into the darkness I should like to thank each and every one of you for agreeing to join me in this battle," Michael said. "I know that I am asking a great deal from all of you."

  "Some of us less than others," Amy remarked. "We said we'd help you bear the weight, and that's what we're going to do."

  Michael smiled. "I would not dream of doing this without you, our Amy. As for the rest of you-"

  A fireball landed twenty feet away from them, making Julian flinch as it exploded.

  "The rest of us don't have a vast range of choices available to us," Ascanius drawled. "If we don't come with you we can wait outside and try not to get burned or crushed to death. Overall I'd rather die like a soldier than a victim."

  The eight of them stood around one of the entrances down to the sewers from the streets, the bronze cover having just been rudely disturbed by Amy. Before and beneath them lay a dark maw, an opening into the underworld. It was strange, that the door to hope and triumph should look so imposing and uninviting.

  Michael gazed down into the blackness for a moment, like staring into the deepest recesses of his soul, and half expected it to call out to him. Thankfully it did not, and he took it as a sign of the positive influence which Gideon, Aegea and all his dear comrades had had on him that he was repulsed rather than attracted by it. Still, it was the only way by which they could access the palace, and the only way by which Princess Romana and Eternal Pa
ntheia could be saved. So he would brave the dark, at least once more, and bring the light of the Empire into it as Aegea had brought the light into the darkness of the world beyond the city walls.

  "One last thing that I must say," Michael said, choosing his words carefully. "There are one or two rules I wish to make absolutely clear. First: the life of Princess Romana is worth more than the lives of any one of us or even all eight of us. No matter what befalls us inside the palace, she must survive for the good of the Empire."

  "You really believe that, don't you?" Ascanius asked. "You really believe that there is some magical thing called royal blood that makes her just plain better than us, more valuable, more deserving of life."

  Michael's eyebrow rose. "You do not agree?"

  "I've seen too many strutting nobles pissing on those below to have any rosy opinion of their good nature," Ascanius said.

  "Then perhaps you ought to go," Michael suggested. "How can you be trusted to save a princess whom you do not think deserves to be saved?"

  "That isn't what he said," Jason said mildly. "I know Romana, a little, and she is an intelligent young woman who has put her intellect to the most appalling of uses. And if there is virtue intrinsic to those royally born, then what of Prince Antiochus?"

  "An aberration, doubtless," Michael answered loftily, but with a touch of testiness entering his voice. "In Princess Romana has the line of Aegea bred true, as any fool can see by the swiftest glance at her. In any event, the mission with which we have been tasked is to rescue her and that we shall do. Is there anyone here who would prefer to bow out rather than risk their life in the princess' defence?"

  "Listen, just because I don't think that she's the best thing since fire doesn't mean I want to see her dead," Ascanius said. "Someone has to sit on the bloody chair, and a civil war will hurt people like me far more than people like Lord bloody Commenae. I was just saying."

  "I would rather know that she was safe, as well," Jason said. He shrugged. "She is my half-sister, after all, and we are fighting for the entire city besides."

  Amy grinned. "Besides, it wouldn't be true heroism without saving a princess along the way."