Thrall (Daniel Black Book 4)

by E. William Brown

  “He’s in there,” Mara insisted. “I can tell. Blood calls to blood, you know? Just like he’ll know who I am the minute he sees me. But mom told me about the prison they built around him, and it’s not just a big room. There’s supposed to be this enchanted maze full of traps and killer golems and stuff. It’s one of those places where everything shifts around when you’re not looking, too, so anyone who goes in gets lost and wanders around until they starve to death.”

  “Can you find your way through it?”

  She shrugged. “The path to the heart of a maze is a secret, right? We could get it done. But it might take a long time, so we can’t do it that way if we’ve set off alarms going in.”

  I shook my head. “No, fuck that. This setup is just begging for a dungeon bypass. Matching wits with whoever designed the maze would be stupid, but your brother is way too tough to be bothered by a little collateral damage. So our best bet is to just blast a hole through the walls, dungeon and everything, and go straight in to get him.”

  She giggled. “You’re not like most wizards, Daniel. A guy like Steelbinder or Ward would stroke is beard and try to plot out some tricky shit to out-think the defenses. I like your way better. But we’re going to need a hell of a distraction if we do it that way, because they’re not going to just sit around and watch while we bust out my brother. What could we possibly do that would look like a bigger problem to them?”

  I considered that for a long moment. According to the prophecy of Ragnarok the Fenris wolf was supposed to kill Odin. The old bastard would pull out all the stops to keep that from happening. No doubt he’d have all kinds of contingencies for dealing with a breakout attempt, and they’d all be designed to stop gods. Mara and I were pretty tough, but I had no illusions about fighting our way out of a trap that was meant to catch Loki. The only way we had a chance at this was if Asgard was already in such chaos that the people responsible for the defenses were already busy.

  Maybe it was time to bring Mara in on the results of my recent investigation

  “You know,” I said casually, “the Spire has a self-destruct feature.”

  “No way! Seriously? If everyone is so worried about this thing, why didn’t they ever use it?”

  “Maybe they didn’t know? Not everyone has Alanna explaining things to them. But it probably has more to do with not wanting to free all the souls that are trapped in the machine. An explosion won’t damage souls, and a lot of giant monsters are mystical enough to just assume their physical form again once they’re free. Then they’d go on a rampage. There’s also the little issue of all the gods who’ve been trapped in there, slowing going more and more crazy for thousands of years.”

  “Damn. That would be a hell of a distraction, alright.”

  “It would get the job done,” I agreed. “Trouble is, it also blows up the Spire, and it doesn’t have a time delay. I’m pretty tough, but I don’t think I’d survive being at ground zero of a blast like that.”

  That was an understatement. I wasn’t sure if we were talking kilotons or megatons, but we were definitely looking at the magical equivalent of a nuke here. I wanted to be miles away if it ever went up.

  Mara chewed her lip thoughtfully. “That’s a problem. Although if you can figure something out, it would be a great way to fake your death. Especially if you leave a body behind. Can your flesh magic do that?”

  “Make a fake body? Hmm. Sort of. I could cut off a finger and grow it into a copy of myself, or something like that. But it would take a few hours, and I don’t have a good way to store it for later. If I grow a whole body it’s going to be alive, like a baby in an adult body, and if I leave out the brain it’s going to die and start decaying. Besides, I’m not sure there would be anything left for people to examine.”

  “There are spells for that,” Mara said. “Any god with a talent for tracking can stand in a crater and get clues about who died there, one way or another. But magic like your flesh sorcery is so rare, I bet you could fool them. Even if a piece of the body survives, if it was grown from the real you I don’t see how anyone could tell it was a fake.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll have to think about that some more, and see if I can figure out a way to make it work.”

  Actually, that brought to mind a whole bunch of classic evil wizard schemes from modern fiction. Soul anchors, backup bodies, body hopping - there was a whole list of sneaky ways to cheat death and confuse your enemies there, and my studies of Atlantean magic had gotten me to within spitting distance of being able to do some of it. Pulling a soul out of its body without damaging it was a delicate process, and putting it into a new body was even harder. But the Atlanteans had apparently done that sort of thing sometimes, and the rod had all of the necessary enchantments.

  Doing it to myself would be tricky, though. Disembodied mortal souls have a lot of trouble just staying awake and sane, let alone casting complex magic. I’d have to set it all up in advance, using magic items with some kind of automatic activation setup, and how would I ever test it? This was the sort of thing that called for a few months of really careful experiments with a group of volunteers. The pressure was starting to build up here, but I wasn’t that desperate yet. Was I?

  A booming voice interrupted my musings.

  “Daniel! Just the man I was looking for. How are you?”

  I looked up to see Brand striding boldly across the patio towards me. Mara made a little squeak of alarm, and started chanting under her breath.

  “I’m just a hall wench. I’m just a hall wench. I’m just a hall wench.”

  Shit. There was no avoiding the man, so all I could do was try to help cover for her. I stood to shake the massive warrior demigod’s hand.

  “Brand! Well met. I see you escaped Skogheim in the end.”

  “With your help,” he agreed. “I owe you one for that. Ah, I see you’re having fun with the magic of the halls. Missing your favorite redhead already?”

  “Maybe a little,” I admitted. “I’m still hoping for a chance to turn her, but I’ll admit that’s probably wishful thinking. She seems pretty attached to her father.”

  Brand nodded, and stole a chair from one of the other tables so he could sit with us. Crap.

  “It’s a classic gambit,” he said. “Her mother treats her like shit and gives her a terrible childhood so she’ll grow up craving affection, and then daddy gives her a few kind words and she’s ready to take on the world for him. Knowing Loki he’s probably fucking her by now.”

  Mara blushed furiously, and looked down at her plate.

  “I don’t know, he’s got to be pretty busy playing Sigyn and Gaea off against each other,” I replied. “More likely he’s just stringing her along with fantasies about being daddy’s good little girl.”

  Good God, Mara’s blush was even brighter now. She really did have incest fantasies. Is there some cosmic rule that anyone with divine blood has to be completely fucked in the head? But I’d better get off this topic before Brand noticed.

  “Maybe,” he conceded. “Who can say what will come out of his twisted mind? But if you have some plan for binding her to your will you’d best enact it quickly. She’s expendable, and one way or another they’re going to be expending her soon.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “So, what kind of nasty surprise did you end up leaving for Gaea, anyway? Assuming you can tell me.”

  He chuckled. “Let’s just say that her scheme to make death a minor inconvenience for her sons isn’t going to work out as well as she expects. What about you, though? Her endless army seems to be missing in action all of a sudden, and there was no one else there who could have done it. Have you made some new breakthrough in strategic curses?”

  “Who, me? No, I just ran across a nasty piece of work from the ancient world a while back, and I figured Skogheim would make a good home for it. I doubt Gaea is enough of a scholar to figure out what she’s dealing with, so we can look forward to a year or two of all her andregi mysteriou
sly dying before it gets used up. I couldn’t exactly stick around to watch, but I’m pretty sure most of the sleeping army is dead.”

  “Hah! See, this is why I always say you shouldn’t underestimate a wizard. Most of them are limp-wristed scholars who fold under pressure, but when you find one who can fight there’s no telling how many aces he might have up his sleeve. You know, when I recounted your battle with Korak even the Allfather was impressed.”

  “Oh? When was this?” I had a sudden suspicion about how I’d come to Odin’s attention.

  “Just after my return,” he said. “Odin invited me to feast with his court to celebrate the mission, and of course everyone wanted to hear about it. Sif thinks you’re a cold bastard for leading Mara on, but Thor and Tyr had a good laugh about it.”

  “Great. So now instead of finishing my citadel I’m stuck here while Loki’s armies encircle the city, and the Lightbringers take another shot at murdering me every few days.”

  He rubbed his neck uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, sorry about that. I had no idea the Allfather had such urgent need of an Atlantean wizard But that’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. I feel like I screwed things up for you there. I talked you up some because I figured you’d enjoy a chance to smite some more evil, and maybe get a little divine support in case Kozalin attracts too much attention. I didn’t realize you’d have so many enemies looking for you.”

  “If I wanted to march off to war I would have shown up here to volunteer,” I grumbled. “I had my reasons for building a citadel and saving a bunch of civilians instead.”

  “Yes, I understand that. But dragging your feet now isn’t going to help anything. People are already starting to wonder why you’re taking so long, and you know how quickly tempers can turn hot when things are getting tight. If you want to get back to your citadel you’d best finish the job quickly.”

  I raised an eyebrow at that. “Do you know what I’m working on for Odin?” I asked.

  He nodded. “The Rod and Spire. It’s not common knowledge, but I’m privy to a few secrets.”

  “Well, it’s not an easy job. The rod is already fixed, but it won’t do what he wants until I repair its connection to the Spire. Which means going into that lethal hell of broken magic, and trying to fix things without tripping any traps or accidentally freeing some Great Beast.”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “That could happen?”

  “Yes! Some idiot tried to free the prisoners by breaking things at random, and the whole prison mechanism is a mess. One false move and I could get sucked into it myself, or let something out by mistake. I’m making progress, but it’s going to take time to finish.”

  He sighed heavily. “Time is a problem, Daniel. I believe you, but not everyone is convinced. Some people are wondering if you’re really on our side. There’s been some talk about persuasion methods, and I can’t stall them forever.”

  “In other words, if I don’t produce something soon they’re going to threaten my girls?” I said tightly.

  “It doesn’t need to come to that, Daniel. How much time do you need?”

  I rubbed my forehead, and tried to think. How long would it actually take, if I decided to go ahead and finish the job?

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “There’s a plasma vortex around the main spirit conduit’s control system that I haven’t managed to clear out yet, so I can’t tell how badly it’s damaged. Best case, there’s just some surface damage and I can have it fixed in about a week. Worst case it’s completely destroyed, and I have to improvise a replacement. That could take months.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t stall them for months, Daniel. You’ve got a week, maybe two at the outside. I don’t want to see that cute witch of yours impaled at the Plaza of Justice, or Elin and Avilla in the public use stocks. But it’s not up to me. Dad’s not in a mood to wait and see right now, and neither is Odin.”

  I clenched my fists under the table. “Message received, Brand.”

  “Hey, I’m on your side here, Daniel. Look, I figured you might just be holding out for a better reward, and I managed to arrange something that might help you out here. This plasma stuff that’s in your way, that’s like fire only more so, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it’s not common knowledge, but Aphrodite has a water aspect. Something about being born from the sea foam, I guess. So take this.”

  He fished around in his belt pouch, and came up with a ruby that was big enough to make me wonder whether it was real. The gem was heavily enchanted, in the intricate but remorselessly regular style I was coming to recognize as dwarven work.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “The key to Aphrodite’s chains. We usually keep her completely locked down, because she’s such a treacherous bitch that if you give her the slightest bit of power to work with she’ll find some way to cause trouble with it. But the next challenge match for her leash is in a couple of hours, and we both know you can win it if you want. So show up, take control of the bitch, and then put that gem in the socket on her control ring. That will let you loosen her restrictions, so she can use her divine powers at your command. Just don’t forget to lock her down again after she puts out this ever-burning fire for you.”

  “I’ve talked to Aphrodite,” I said. “Loosening her restrictions sounds like a short road to getting charmed into being her slave.”

  He chuckled. “That’s why I’m not worried about giving you the gem early, Daniel. You understand what you’re dealing with here. But her bonds aren’t that easy to get out of. The ring will reflect any mind whammy she tries on you back at her, and the collar makes her give you honest answers if you’re wearing the ring. So she can’t control you, and you can just make her tell you about her schemes. But her mind is such a snake pit that keeping up with everything she’s trying to do behind your back will keep you busy all day long, and you don’t have time for that. Better to just chain her to the bed and ignore her when you’re not using her.”

  I shook my head. “What the hell does Odin think I’m going to do with her, anyway?”

  Brand shrugged. “Bind her in your basement and bleed her for power? Sell her to some Abyssal lord for power and favors? Sire a clan of demigods on her? Who can guess what a wizard would do for power? But there’s a full measure of divine might locked away in her soul, and as a woman she’s the ultimate challenge. I’m sure you’ll find some use for her.”

  I took the ruby. It was warm in my hand, pulsing with a heavy power that made my own enchantments look like toys in comparison.

  “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I can think of a few uses for her.”

  An ally against this city of callous evil? Alanna suggested silently.

  I’ll never be able to trust her, I replied. But she has a lot more reasons to hate them than me. I’d rather just stay the hell away from her, but it looks like I don’t have that luxury.

  Brand clapped me on the shoulder. “Good! I knew you’d be reasonable about this. So, you’ll be giving Gustav a delivery date tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll leave you to your work. Oh, and let me know if you decide to make a serious move on that business with Mara. The dwarves who made Aphrodite’s bonds are still in business, and I can get you a discount. Trust me, no matter what her aspects are they can think of a dozen ways to bind her.”

  “That’s not something I usually do to people I like,” I told him.

  He shrugged. “It’s the only way the gods are going to leave her alive, Daniel. Even then you’ll need favors to call in, so be sure you earn some while you have the chance.”

  Mara glowered at his back as he left, but she stayed silent until he was halfway down the block. Then she turned her sullen glare on me.

  “You say one word to those dwarves and we’re through.”

  “You know me better than that, Mara,” I growled.

  “I’ve been wrong about people before, Daniel. I’m just saying, there’s a line, and that’
s way over it. Some of your girls would get off on playing around with shit like that, but I’m not gonna live my life on anyone’s leash.”

  “Not even Loki’s?”

  “Don’t go there. Did I give you shit about getting worked up over Aphrodite?”

  I took a deep breath, and tried to reign in my temper. She wasn’t the one I was pissed off at, and I couldn’t afford to lose any allies here.

  “Sorry,” I managed. “You’re right. It’s not my business, anyway.”

  She dropped her gaze, and played aimlessly with her food. “It kinda is, if we’re going to get serious. But that can wait. Dad still has people in Kozalin. I could send word, and get Elin and the others out of there. We’ve got places where we could hide them.”

  “Then what? I’ll just end up with a different group of gods holding them hostage, and don’t tell me your father wouldn’t do it if he thought it would help him get his revenge. I’d just be trading Brand’s help for yours, assuming he isn’t just playing good cop.”

  “I’ve got a lot more pull with my family than he does with the Aesir,” Mara countered.

  “So if your mother decides to do something spiteful to them, you can stop her?” I said.

  Mara was silent.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Well, what are you going to do, then?” Mara demanded.

  I closed my hand over the gem, and felt the magic pulsing through it. “What I have to.”

  She eyed me warily. “You aren’t really going to deliver, are you? Daniel, they’ll never let you go if you do. They’ll make you keep working on the Spire while they use it to win the war, and then laugh when the Lightbringers finally get you.”

  “I know, Mara. In the long run there’s only one way out of this that doesn’t end with me in chains, but it isn’t going to be pretty. I’m still going to help you with your problems, but I’m going to need you to help me with mine. Can I count on you?”