by Dave Higgins
Rauger rose behind one of them like a shadow; a shadow that brought death. The guard fell without a cry, slumping to the ground as Rauger stabbed a second opponent.
Peony swung to face the two remaining guards.
One advanced on her while the other engaged Rauger.
Hundreds of hours watching the castle guards train let her see the blow coming before the guard even swung. She brought her shield up to block it. But all the watching in the world didn’t prepare her for the strength of the blow when it came.
A jolt ran along her arm hard enough to make her other shoulder ache. Shield sagging, she held her fingers closed by will alone. She danced back to give Rauger time. However, a glance in his direction revealed he had problems of his own. Without the element of surprise, his swordsmanship wasn’t enough to overcome whatever skill Imperatis had stuck in his guard’s heads.
Shield hanging heavy, Peony parried her attacker’s next swing. The clang of metal rang through her. Everything juddering, her sword clattered from her fingers.
Stumbling back, she dragged her shield up. She wouldn’t last until Rauger saved her. Not unless she fought back. Pumping her numb fingers, she fumbled a knife from her belt.
Her shield tight against her body, she turned into the next blow.
She was certain something had cracked in her side, but she deflected the attack without losing anything else. Teeth gritted against the pain, she lunged at the guard’s stomach.
Her knife skittered off his mail.
Before she could recover, the guard cut at her head with his back swing.
She ducked, heaving her shield up to deflect the blow. Driven to her knees, she lashed out at his leg.
The point of her blade slipped beneath the hem of his mail and sank into the side of his knee. Blood flooding down his shin, the guard’s leg folded beneath him.
Peony tumbled backward as her opponent slashed at her. He tried to follow, but his knee wouldn’t support his weight.
Getting to her feet, she saw Rauger had been backed into a corner. She charged toward the remaining guard, knife raised.
Then stumbled to a halt. Wounding an attacker was one thing, but killing someone, even someone trying to kill them…
The guard hacked at Rauger’s shield, cleaving it in two, then brought his arm back to do the same to Rauger.
Gritting her teeth, Peony lunged for the guard’s neck.
The knife met resistance and then sank in. Limbs losing rhythm, the guard collapsed off her blade.
Blood spewed across the floor, followed by the contents of her stomach.
Rauger silenced the guard with his sword, then hurried around Peony to finish the other.
Peony’s hands were shaking so much, she couldn’t hold the knife. Droplets of blood arcing from its tip, it tinked across the stone floor.
She staggered back, shield clasped in front of her.
“They would have killed us and not even felt it.” Rauger pulled her close. “What you’re feeling, those emotions, they were sucked out of them long ago. Those weren’t people, just extensions of Imperatis.”
He was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. She might know they weren’t fully human, but she didn’t feel it. She’d killed again, ended every possibility, every dream they could ever have had. Perhaps the guard’s mind could have been restored…
Feet scuffed in the corridor outside. She spun.
A familiar glowing apparition floated through the door, followed by his stumbling companion.
“Kense?” Peony asked. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter 29
Sanctum
“Your parents sent me.” Kense floated across the room, glancing at the guards on the floor then at Stupo, who had bent over a guard and was happily munching. “I’m not sure what needs doing or how much use we’ll be; but for what it’s worth we’re here.”
Rauger strode to the double doors. “There’s only one thing left to do. Ready?”
“Wait.” Peony eased her knife from a pool of blood and wiped it clean, then retrieved her sword. Her hands still shook, and her guts made her hands seem motionless, but there’d never be a better time. Giving the bodies a wide berth, she walked over to Rauger, then nodded.
He rolled his shoulders and threw the doors open. A slight tang of stale air wafted out.
Imperatis’ inner sanctum wasn’t what Peony had expected. Instead of an opulent throne room, it was a nearly empty stone chamber with a large table in the centre. A young man twitched against the straps holding him to the table while an old man in crumpled robes pressed a liver-spotted hand to the captive’s forehead.
Behind them, a smooth-faced blonde leaned against the wall filing her nails.
The old man and the woman both started as Rauger and Peony entered.
“What’s the meaning of this?” The old man stepped around the table.
Peony squared her shoulders. “We’re looking for Imperatis.”
“You’ve found him,” the old man said. “Why have you interrupted?”
“To stop you,” Peony said. “The man on the table doesn’t deserve to die to feed you.”
Imperatis shook his head. “That’s the opposite of what I’m trying to achieve. He won’t die, just lose his mind. He’s been gathering the greatest minds in the land for me.”
Peony looked closer at the young man on the table. A purple cloak lay beneath with a flute resting on top. “Orped?”
“One of them,” Imperatis said. “Don’t worry, once I’ve taken what I need, I’ll put him back the way he was. Then he can go fetch me more.”
“Who cares if you put him back the way he was?” Rauger said. “He and his like have been killing people for years.”
Imperatis held his finger up. “Not killing, draining. They’re all still alive.” He pointed to his own head. “They’re all in here. Still, very much alive. All their memories, their experiences…”
“But the people aren’t,” Peony said. “They’re dead.”
Imperatis sank onto a narrow bench, one hand dabbing his brow. “I’m not explaining it well. A few years ago, I learnt I would die. Slowly, and over several years. I was already powerful, but it got me thinking: why do we die? There’s no reason for it. Not in our modern age of magic. There has to be a spell that can defeat death.”
“Death is a part of life,” Rauger said.
“It needn’t be.” Imperatis winced. “Not if I can find a cure. That’s why I need all that information. I need to know everything there is to know, to put the pieces together and figure out how to cure death. Once I do that, all these sacrifices will be worth it.”
“How many thousands have you killed in your selfish quest for immortality?” Rauger asked.
“It’s not selfish. I’m helping everyone.”
“Assuming anyone’s still alive when you’re done,” Peony said. “Because you won’t find a cure for death.”
Imperatis smiled. “Haven’t you ever heard of resurrection chambers?”
Peony nodded. “For people on a quest. They don’t work if the quest ends. And they don’t work on people who are dead when the quest starts.”
“But they work.” Imperatis swept his arms out. “They bring people back to life.”
“At the same age they were when they died,” Peony said. “And they don’t cure serious illnesses. Everyone still dies.”
Imperatis raised his arm the way Peony’s father did when he was explaining pirouettes to the servants. “Don’t you see? The magic works. There’s a way to control death; we just need to make the effect more robust.”
Kense floated into the room backward, beckoning. A moment later, Stupo shuffled in. Clearly Kense’d had trouble pulling Stupo away from his corpse eating.
“See?” Imperatis said. “A ghost and a zombie, both defying death in their own ways. Imagine if we combined the mind of a ghost with the body of a zombie.”
Kense floated around, then flickered, his gaze on the woman on t
he far side of the room. “Jane?”
The woman frowned, showing no hint of recognition.
Kense floated over to the woman, extremities wavering in and out of sight. “It’s me, Kense.”
“I don’t know you,” the woman said. “My name’s Mirils.”
Kense spun to face Imperatis, glowing furiously. “This is what you did with her? Drained her and replaced her with this woman? Is she some kind of servant for you?”
“My wife,” Imperatis said. “She died of the same illness I’m suffering from. I drained her mind before she slipped away and found a body for her.”
“You found a body!?” Kense drifted closer to Imperatis. “It was in use. That’s my wife’s body.”
Imperatis shrugged. “Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. It’ll all be worth it.”
Peering at Kense in the classic pose of an academic explaining something obvious, Imperatis didn’t see Stupo shambling along the other side of the room. Rotting fingers grabbed Imperatis’ shoulders.
The mage twisted back and forth. Displaying unexpected reserves of strength, he smashed his elbows into Stupo’s face and his feet into Stupo’s knees.
The zombie’s rocked back and his left ear bounced across the room, but he clung on.
“Put my wife back,” Kense said. “Or Stupo eats you for lunch.”
Imperatis stared at his wife with wide eyes. She met his gaze, her face pale.
“I’ll find you another body,” Imperatis said. “Sorry, my love.”
“But I liked this one,” Mirils said.
At a wave from Kense, Stupo dragged Imperatis over to the table. Rauger lifted the young man from the table and helped Mirils up in his place.
“There’s a dropper over there.” Imperatis pointed to a small shelf. “Give her a single drop.”
Peony fetched the potion and dripped a single drop into Mirils’ mouth. Within moments, her eyes closed.
Imperatis reached out and put his hands on her forehead. Three deep breaths later, he nodded. “Your wife is back. Fetch the other potion there to wake her.”
Peony dripped the second potion onto the sleeping woman’s lips.
Her eyes fluttered open almost at once and she looked around, confused. When she saw Imperatis, she leapt to her feet and backed away to the door.
“It’s all right, my love.” Kense floated closer.
The woman’s eyes rounded. “Kense?”
“That’s right. I got you back, Jane. When they came for you, I ran; but I came and got you back.”
Jane stared at him. “Thank you, my love. You’ve no idea. I’ve been trapped in that monster’s mind all this time. It’s like being stuck in a cell and not being able to talk to anyone.”
Kense nodded. “Now you need to leave, my love. Things are likely to get messy in here.”
Jane nodded, then paused. “Are you fading?”
Kense held his hands up. They were transparent, the tips of his fingers already missing. He grinned. “I guess I am. You were right, Peony: my answer was here, waiting for me. Thank…”
Peony hoped wherever he’d gone, he found peace.
Jane stared at the empty air for a moment, then stumbled from the room.
Peony turned her attention back to Imperatis. Stupo still gripped him, but seemed to have lost his focus. Instead of standing stoically at the head of the table, the zombie sniffed the air and drooled. Without a ghost to guide him, Stupo had turned into a regular zombie.
Peony took Rauger’s elbow and tugged. “Back away. Now.”
Stupo ignored the two of them and lowered his mouth toward Imperatis’ neck.
The mage slammed his palm into the zombie’s forehead and pushed. Holding the snapping jaws away from his throat, he hammered the edge of his other hand into Stupo’s neck repeatedly.
Each blow shook the zombie. With a crunch, Stupo’s head flopped sideways, and he collapsed to the floor.
Imperatis flicked drool from his robe. “Where were we? Ah, yes. I was explaining everything to you.”
Peony brandished her sword. “Enough explaining. You’re evil and we need to stop you.”
Rauger drew his sword, but he held his hand up for Peony to wait. “You could surrender to us, Imperatis. You’re unarmed. We’ll take you back to face your accusers. When they hear you’re sick, they might even let you live out your natural life.”
“In a dungeon somewhere? I don’t think so.”
Rauger shrugged. “I had to give you the option.”
He stepped left as Peony went right, giving one another room to attack.
Imperatis flicked his gaze between the two of them as if observing a charming folk ritual.
By an unspoken signal, Peony and Rauger attacked at the same moment, their blades darting in.
But Imperatis wasn’t there. Slipping sideways as if he’d never been there, he stepped close to Rauger.
Rauger tried to bring his sword around, but Imperatis was inside his guard. Rauger gasped as Imperatis slammed a fist into his stomach, then danced away.
Eyes wide and chest heaving, Rauger drew his knife with his left hand. “Drop your sword, Peony. Use the knife instead.”
She did as he said, sheathing her sword and yanking out her knife. She braced her shield in her left hand, ready to protect herself if Imperatis attacked.
Imperatis flowed around to the other side of Rauger, blocking her attack before she’d even moved. Still seeming relaxed, the mage stepped closer to Rauger and slapped his left wrist.
Something snapped and the knife clattered to the ground.
Before Rauger’s body had processed the pain, Imperatis had spun him around and locked an arm across Rauger’s throat.
Flailing at Imperatis’ elbow with his good arm, Rauger turned puce.
Peony charged forward, looking for a way to stab at Imperatis without hitting Rauger, but Imperatis turned, effortlessly twisting Rauger into her path.
She darted around the side and swiped with her blade, but only caught the edge of Imperatis’ robes as he spun again.
Imperatis stepped back, arms sweeping open. Rauger thudded to the ground, unmoving.
Peony took a step back. She was all alone against Imperatis and she had no idea how to defeat him. He was faster than her; and, even unarmed, hit harder.
Without taking his eyes of her, Imperatis bowed then beckoned with one hand.
Chapter 30
Stopping It
Imperatis stalked toward Peony, a cruel smile etched on his face. With Rauger unconscious and no one else in the room, Peony had become little more than a toy to him.
She brandished her knife, hoping without reason she could fight him off.
Imperatis angled to her right, all trace of the aged negotiator gone.
Peony angled her blade to meet him.
As she did, he darted back to her left. Shoving her shield aside, he slammed the palm of his hand into her chest.
She reeled back, judders of pain spreading from the impact. A second, sharper throbbing began where the heel of his hand had driven her charm into her sternum.
Imperatis backed off a step, left knee bent, ready to exploit whatever she did. His plan seemed obvious to her, the angle of his fingers and tiniest flutter of his robes revealing his next step.
Confused, she pressed her fingers to her chest as if the pain were worse than it was. A crack ran the length of her charm, three-quarters the width of her little finger. As her hand brushed over it, she felt medium-grade parchment rolled anticlockwise.
She realised the pain was still bad; it just wasn’t distracting her. The damaged charm must be releasing all its magic at once, as Rauger’s had. It wouldn’t last long, but she’d have immense concentration for however long it did.
Imperatis glanced a hair’s breadth to the right.
She turned her knife.
Eyes widening, Imperatis let his weight settle again. Scowling, he backed away then darted left.
His attack as obvious as if he’d a
nnounced it. She slanted her shield up as he moved, deflecting his arm away. However, her counter-attack swished harmlessly past him. Knowing what he’d do was only half the fight; he could dodge faster than she could swing. Neither could hurt the other, but that only lasted as long as the charm did. She had to tip the scales before that happened.
She backed across the room until she came to the shelf of potions. Sheathing her knife, she grabbed the one she wanted and sprinted at Imperatis.
He sidestepped, trying to sweep her legs as she went past.
Only to snap his leg back as he realised Peony’s shield was poised to hammer his ankle.
Dropping to a crouch beside Rauger, she pulled the stopper from the bottle and dripped some of the liquid toward his mouth. Before she could see if it worked, the air shifted behind her.
Left knee folding, she tumbled sideways as Imperatis’ palm slammed into the space where she’d been.
He flowed into a kick, forcing her to dive away. All pretence at playing gone, he’d clearly worked out her plan.
She hurled the bottle in his face, then rolled to her feet. Her sword shinged free as she rose.
Imperatis shifted his hip. His palm strike angled away to avoid her blade, but his other arm flowed into a guard position before she could react.
Rauger shook his head and tottered to his feet. After blinking for a moment, he grabbed his own sword and advanced on Imperatis from behind.
Seeing Rauger awake eased Peony’s fears. It wouldn’t be enough, though. Imperatis was too good. He’d counter both of them until the charm wore off, then they’d truly be finished. She raised her sword into a high guard.
Imperatis tilted his hip, preparing to dart right.
The instant he committed his weight, Peony lunged away and sprinted to Rauger. Dropping her sword, she yanked her charm off and dropped it over his head.
Everything seemed to fall away and weigh on her at the same time. She stumbled forward another few steps, a mass of aches.
By the time she’d turned, Rauger and Imperatis had moved away, limbs and bodies flowing back and forth in patterns too complex to grasp.