Only it wasn’t a man, Tarlak realized as he cast a desperate defense. It was an elf.
Twin lances of ice shot from his two hands, each one sharp enough to skewer Muzien where he stood. The elf was prepared for such an attack, and he leaped out of the way … both left and right, his body seeming to split into two copies. Tarlak realized it was an illusion, but his half-second of confusion was more than enough for someone as fast and deadly as Muzien. From both directions the elf closed in. It seemed he wanted Tarlak alive, for neither copy swung his blade, instead leading with elbow and knee. Defending against one or the other could mean picking wrong, so Tarlak did what he did best: improvise.
Dropping to his knees, he slammed his fists against the ground, unleashing his power in a shock wave rolling in all directions. To his left Muzien vanished as if he’d never existed, while on his right the elf let out a groan as his body halted in midair, then tumbled backward several feet. The wave continued, rattling windows and knocking loose shingles from the roofs of nearby homes. His ring of fire dissipated, and gasping for air, Tarlak rose to his feet, fingers dancing. It seemed the rest of the Sun Guild was content to let its master deal with him, and he couldn’t be happier.
“Come on,” Tarlak said, hurling a bolt of lightning as the elf raced back toward him. Light flashed with its release, and in that flash, Muzien shifted aside, just far enough to let the bolt fly harmlessly past. Two more Tarlak fired, and each time, in that briefest flash, Muzien shifted positions. Putting his hands together, Tarlak prepared to unleash a blast so gigantic no dodge would be possible. As he pooled his power, Muzien now frighteningly close, the elf shimmered, then vanished from view.
A second later, something hard cracked against the back of Tarlak’s head. He dropped to the ground, his legs suddenly too weak to keep him standing. His hat tumbled free before him, landing at the feet of Zusa, who carried an unconscious Delysia.
“A shame you weren’t better,” Zusa whispered, just before shoving him with her foot so he rolled onto his back. Muzien towered over him as the world weaved uneasily from the blow to his head. Trying, and failing, to summon one last spell, Tarlak waved an ineffectual hand toward the elf in his long dark coat. Muzien pulled a rag from one of his pockets, a bottle of fluid from the other. As two other men grabbed Tarlak’s arms and pinned him to the ground, Muzien dabbed some of the liquid onto the rag and knelt.
“Sleep now,” Muzien said. He smothered Tarlak with the rag, punching him in the gut before he could think to hold his breath. Gasping in, Tarlak was overwhelmed by a sickly sweet smell. Pressure built in his forehead, he tasted copper, and then the growing darkness left him no choice but to obey Muzien’s command as the fumes carried him away.
CHAPTER
12
It had been a long night, but Zusa expected no relief come the dawn, only an even longer day. She vaulted over the fence of the Gemcroft mansion, stealing Karak’s power to float across its spikes and gently down to the ground on the other side. The number of guards on patrol actually impressed her. Perhaps Victor’s insistence on his ability to protect Alyssa was more than idle boasting.
Not that it’d stop her. Across the grass she ran, keeping to the shadows, having no need for doors or windows. A bare wall was her goal, and crossing her arms, she leaped into its darkness. She felt a moment’s dizziness, then emerged on the other side into a poorly lit hallway. Zusa let out a relaxed breath, glad to see no soldiers. Victor had been pulling in new men every day. Some might not recognize her, instead thinking she was an assassin. Her clothing would certainly do her no favors. She’d ditched the long coat Muzien had given her, but the four-pointed star was still sewn onto the front of her blouse.
Glancing around the corner, Zusa caught sight of the door to the master bedroom, and two men stood bored stiff at either side. Pulling back, Zusa debated the best way to go about getting inside. The last thing she wanted was a commotion, given the secrecy and urgency of her matter. Instead of knocking the two men out, she drew her daggers, put them on the ground, and then stepped around the corner with her arms raised above her head.
“I’m unarmed,” she said as the two men jolted in surprise at her arrival. “My name is Zusa, a friend of Alyssa’s, and I just wish to talk.”
The man on the left drew his sword, but the other reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“I recognize her,” he said to his fellow before turning toward Zusa. “Though that star on your chest makes me think we should send you to a cell instead of the lady’s bedroom.”
“A disguise, and nothing more,” she said, arms still raised. “Let Alyssa know I’m here.”
The first soldier pulled his hand free of his companion’s, then banged on the door, the noise obnoxiously loud. He was trying to alert other soldiers without making it seem obvious, Zusa knew. Telling herself to be patient, she gritted her teeth and waited.
“Yes?” asked Alyssa’s voice from the other side.
“A woman’s here, says her name is Zusa.”
A pause.
“Let her in.”
Zusa smiled sweetly at them both as they opened the door, and then into the master bedroom she slid, the doors promptly shutting behind her.
“Forgive the intrusion,” Zusa said. Alyssa sat before her in her bed, blankets bunched at her waist and her hair ruffled from sleep. “I know it’s late, but we have little time to act before dawn, and the executions begin. Where is Victor?”
Despite her glass eyes being in a jar on the bed table beside her, Alyssa blinked a few times and rubbed her forehead, struggling to make sense of Zusa’s words.
“Victor? Executions? What are you talking about, Zusa?”
Zusa took in a deep breath, and she forced herself to calm down as she sat at the foot of the enormous bed.
“Muzien’s decided to draw out the Watcher,” she said. “To do so, he’s captured several of his friends, and come dawn, he plans on creating another spectacle like he did in the marketplace. We have to be ready. This is our chance, the best chance we could ever hope for. Now summon your betrothed so we can prepare.”
Alyssa seemed almost embarrassed, and it baffled Zusa.
“He’s not my betrothed,” she said. “We … we married earlier today, Zusa.”
Zusa tilted her head, and she started to gesture about her before feeling foolish upon realizing Alyssa would not see the motions.
“Then where is Victor?”
“Down the hall, in his quarters.”
“It’s a strange wedding night that has the newlyweds sleeping in different beds,” Zusa said.
“I think tonight has seen stranger,” Alyssa said, sliding out of bed, walking three careful steps, and then grabbing a waiting bed robe that hung from the side of a dresser. “Do you know exactly what his plans are?” she asked as she put on the robe.
“An excellent question,” said a man’s voice from the corner, and both turned toward the source. Haern stood beside an opened window, a window Zusa had long been displeased with for the exact reason before her. There should have been guards positioned beneath … but of course, it was stupid to think the Watcher would not have been able to handle them.
“I pray you didn’t kill anyone to enter through there, Watcher,” Zusa said, purposefully using his name to ensure Alyssa knew the identity of the stranger invading her bedroom.
“They’ll wake,” Haern said. “Now what is the meaning of this?”
He tossed a rolled-up letter onto the bed, the letter she’d written and left hanging from the door of the Eschaton Tower earlier that night. They are gone, it read. Come to Alyssa’s for answers.
“We’ve … the Sun Guild has captured three fellow members of your mercenaries,” Zusa said. “It will be a simple exchange, your life for theirs. Muzien will cry it out to the entire city to ensure you know, then begin killing them one by one until you show.”
Haern’s face, already clothed in shadow by that magical hood of his, somehow seemed to grow darker.
“Where?” he asked, his voice nearly a growl.
Before Zusa could answer, Alyssa interrupted, putting a hand on Zusa’s shoulder to gain her attention.
“Not yet,” she said. “Victor should be here for this.”
Hardly an opinion Zusa shared, but she knew it was pointless to argue. Walking to the door, she yanked it open, startling the two soldiers who still stood guard.
“Fetch Victor for us,” she said, then slammed it shut.
“I don’t care about your plans, nor if you agree,” Haern said from the corner. “Tell me where my friends are, Zusa. I won’t leave them in that madman’s hands for another second.”
“You will if you want to kill him,” Zusa said, matching the Watcher’s icy glare with one of her own. “I’ve risked everything to infiltrate Muzien’s guild, and now we finally have a chance to catch him off guard. If you run off before dawn, alone and reckless, you’ll ruin all I’ve worked for. Getting yourself killed won’t help your friends, Watcher. Only patience will.”
Haern’s hands balled into fists, his rage as palpable as the warm night air, but Zusa stared him down without fear. She was the one in control here, not he. The door opened behind them, and Victor stepped inside. He looked strange without his armor, instead wearing a loose shirt and worn pants. His sword, though, he kept with him, carrying it in its sheath with both hands. Looking none too pleased, he glanced among the three, then joined Alyssa’s side.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, taking Alyssa’s hand. It should have meant nothing, given how they were now husband and wife, but the sight of it still made Zusa’s stomach twist.
“Muzien’s planning another spectacle, this time at the fountain in the center crossroads of the city,” Zusa said. “He’s kidnapped friends of the Watcher, and hopes to use them as bait.”
“When will he start?” Victor asked, and there was no hiding his eagerness.
“When else?” Zusa said. “At the rising of the sun. He’s not one to pass up a chance for symbolism.”
Victor glanced about the room again, squeezed Alyssa’s hand.
“I take it we’re discussing how to respond?” he asked.
“Glad you’re caught up,” Haern muttered. “And the solution is obvious. I’ll wait with Zusa near the fountain, and the moment we spot my friends, we attempt our rescue. If Muzien dies during it, then all the better.”
“A reckless waste,” Zusa argued. “We have a few hours until dawn, and I say we use them. Gather every house soldier and mercenary, and prepare them for battle. Deathmask and his Ash Guild have also offered to help, though how, he insisted be left up to him. With our combined might, we can leave Muzien with nowhere to escape, dealing the Sun Guild a mortal blow. Let him give his pronouncement. It’ll be the last one he ever makes.”
“So you want to wait?” Haern asked. “How long? Until there’s a blade hanging over my friends’ heads? And worse, you’d bring Deathmask into this?”
“I’ve worked with the Ash Guild before,” Victor said. “I wouldn’t call him trustworthy, but he will be when it comes to this. He wants the Sun Guild gone just as strongly as we do.”
Haern turned away. He didn’t argue the point, which Zusa saw as a good sign.
“The night is wasting away,” Zusa said as the four stood awkwardly in the expansive bedroom. “We need to reach a decision while there is still time to act.”
“It’s a trap,” Haern said. “A trap, purposefully set for me, and you want us to walk right into it.”
“Of course it’s a trap,” Alyssa said, speaking up for the first time. For much of the discussion she’d appeared distant, lost in thought, but not now. She looked to the three with her vacant eyes, as if she could still see them. “But Muzien’s arrogant, and he thinks himself infallible. If we overwhelm him from all sides, his preparations will mean nothing. A trap for a rabbit cannot catch a bear.”
“Except it’s not a rabbit he’s after,” Haern said. “It’s me. He won’t come unprepared, and even if we can surprise him, we’re putting a lot of lives at risk. Innocent men and women will die, you have to know that.”
At that Victor laughed, and he made his way to the door.
“Innocent men and women die every day,” he said. “It’s a poor reason to let a vile man go unpunished. I’ll prepare our mercenaries for battle. For once, we’ll be the ones getting a jump on that elven bastard. It doesn’t matter what you say, Watcher. This is an opportunity, and we’re going to seize it.”
He pushed open the door, and before it could shut behind him, Zusa heard him issuing orders to the guards waiting there. Zusa stared after him, torn between relief that he had agreed with her and a gut desire to bury a dagger between his shoulder blades.
He wouldn’t be the first of Alyssa’s suitors I’ve killed, she thought, momentarily allowing herself to entertain the fantasy.
The opening of a window turned her back around. The Watcher was halfway out, feet braced on the windowsill.
“Where are you going?” she asked him, suddenly worried Haern would ignore their requests and attempt to find and rescue the rest of the Eschaton anyway.
“You, Victor, and now the Ash Guild?” Haern said. “It seems we’re gathering help from all walks of life, so I know of one more who would love a chance to bury a blade in Muzien’s throat.”
“Who?” Zusa asked.
Haern only shook his head.
“I’ll be back before sunrise,” he said. “And don’t worry, I’ll play along. I hate this, Zusa, I hate it so much, but for the sake of this city, the Sun Guild needs to be broken, and this is the best chance we might ever have.”
With a flourish of cloaks, he leaped out the window. Zusa slowly walked over to it, grabbed it with both hands, and slammed it shut as hard as she dared without risking breaking the glass.
“Zusa?” Alyssa asked, and she turned to face her. Her dearest friend sat on the edge of the bed, hands fiddling with the hem of her robe. “Many people will die this morning, won’t they?”
A strange question to ask, and one that made her wonder. Something troubled Alyssa greatly, that much was obvious … but what?
“You know the answer,” Zusa said, walking over to her side. She almost sat down next to her, changed her mind. That closeness, that trust, appeared to be over. So instead she stood before her, arms crossed. “What is bothering you, Alyssa?”
“Are we alone?” she asked.
“We are.”
Alyssa swallowed, and she took in a deep breath. With her slow exhalation, the trembling of her hands vanished, the droop leaving her shoulders.
“Zusa … do you trust me?”
She was taken aback by the question, and it took a moment for Zusa to decide her answer. Kneeling down before Alyssa, she reached out and wrapped the woman’s hands with hers.
“No,” she said. “But if you’d ask it of me, I would trust you again.”
Relief flashed across Alyssa’s face, so swift, so brief.
“Thank you,” she said, and she brushed her fingers across Zusa’s cheek. “Thank you so much. Because come the morning, there’s something I need you to do…”
CHAPTER
13
Haern could only guess at what tortures awaited those in the Abyss, but they had to be akin to what he felt as he watched Muzien’s men drag Tarlak, Brug, and Delysia to the fountain. All three had been stripped naked and bound with rope around their wrists and ankles. By those ropes they were dragged, scraping the flesh of their backs along the hard ground. They were placed side by side, arms above their heads, thick white gags shoved into their mouths. To his minor relief, they did not appear to have been beaten. Despite the dozens of members of the Sun swarming the streets from all directions, Haern nearly jumped out the open window he watched from. Only Zusa stopped him, grabbing his arm and clutching his sleeve tightly.
“Wait,” she said. “You won’t save them by dying. Wait until the signal.”
The two of them
hid on the upper floor of one of the many stores within sight of the main crossroads through the center of Veldaren, the meeting point of the west and south roads that ran from the two city gates. To the north and south, Victor’s men waited in multiple groups, positioned far enough away to ensure none of Muzien’s men saw their coming. They would wait for a runner sent by Victor from his own hiding spot on the opposite side of the street, a runner Haern prayed was already on his way.
“The moment he threatens any of the three, I’m going out there,” Haern said, fingers drumming the hard metal of his sabers’ hilts.
“And I’ll be with you,” she said. “Now endure. They won’t be in danger until Muzien shows. He’ll want their blood on his hands, and only after demanding your surrender.”
“Small comfort,” Haern whispered as members of the Sun sealed off the four exits around the crossroads and fountain, trapping at least a hundred innocent men and women within, herding them like cattle closer to the center. As he watched, more and more members of the Sun appeared from alleys and down the roads, some even crawling down from rooftops.
How many serve him now? Haern wondered, stunned by the sight. At least two hundred bore the four-pointed star, an army of blades and arrows awaiting its king.
“Still no sign of Muzien,” Zusa said, keeping herself close to the wall and peering only as much as necessary, to prevent being spotted. To disguise her identity from Muzien, she wore a black bandanna across her mouth, a gray hood over her head, and long gloves so that very little of the color of her skin might be seen. Given better circumstances, Haern might have spent more time wondering how purposeful were the similarities to his own outfit.
“He must be waiting to make his grand entrance,” Haern said. “Do you see any of the Ash Guild?”
“No. I don’t see Thren, either. Do you fear they changed their minds?”
Haern shook his head.
“They’ll be here. Neither would be willing to miss out on something this important.”
A Dance of Chaos: Book 6 of Shadowdance Page 15