by Ryan Kirk
Ren and Weylen joined Hanns, Brandt, and Alena’s war party. The animosity between Alena and Hanns hadn’t been forgotten. Hanns hadn’t revoked her exile, and she hadn’t agreed to teach the technique. Both sides stood by their decisions.
But they still gathered in the same circle. Brandt hoped the two would resolve their argument, but they had more pressing problems.
Weylen spoke the truth everyone else thought. “Our chances were already slim against Prince Regar. Against him and the queen, there is no point in attacking.”
“We don’t need to take the city,” Hanns replied. “Our goal has always been to separate Prince Regar from the gate.” He looked to Alena. “You say you think you can do so, without killing him?”
The hope in Hanns’ voice pulled at Brandt’s heart.
“I think so,” Alena said. “But I need to be close to the gate. I need to touch it.”
“There is an opportunity here,” Hanns said, almost muttering to himself. “The queen is impossible to defeat within the soulwalk, but if she is physically here, I don’t think she can withstand the power of two gates. If I can find her, perhaps we can end the Lolani threat for good.”
Brandt shook his head. “That’s all well and good, but unless we have a way into Faldun, it’s a moot point.”
The Falari soulwalker with Alena, whose name Brandt forgot, spoke with a trembling voice. She’d been clearly uncomfortable with this gathering from the moment she joined. “There’s a passage on the other side of the mountain.”
Weylen shook his head. “Those passages are not for our use, and its exit in Faldun is sealed.”
Brandt looked between the two Falari, not understanding.
“Besides,” Weylen continued, “even if we could convince our war parties to approach that way, it’s still suicide. Our movement will be easily spotted, and the guard on the other side will be reinforced before we reach them. Even if we do pass the guard, with the queen and Prince Regar I have no doubt they could simply seal us in.”
Brandt’s memory traveled far back, to when Ana had almost been caught in a collapsing cave. He had no desire to relive that moment, nor the fear he’d experienced afterward as he sought a way out.
Still, he was curious about this route. Hanns beat him to it, though. He said, “Tell me of this passage.”
Weylen refused to answer the question, leaving the Falari soulwalker in the uncomfortable position of answering to a foreign emperor. “Those who came before left a series of tunnels through the mountains. Most, if not all, lead in the direction of Faldun. There is one that travels through the mountain Faldun is built into.”
“Where does it go, and why is it not to be used?”
“It enters Faldun near the top of the city, and the tunnels are not used by my people. Like most remnants of those who came before, we avoid them.”
“But there is no particular danger?”
“None that I’ve ever experienced.”
Hanns played with his beard. “And the defenses?”
“Most tunnels are unguarded. This one is not. A fort is built around the entrance, with warriors there at all times.”
“How many?”
The soulwalker grimaced. “I don’t know. Fifty?”
Weylen finally interrupted, looking almost as uncomfortable as the soulwalker. “It’s no better an option than a direct attack. If anything, it poses more risks. It would funnel all our warriors into a single tunnel.”
Brandt found the solution first. “We don’t need to move the war parties. This has always come down to Prince Regar and the gate. The only people who will make a difference are sitting around this circle.”
Hanns nodded, his thoughts following Brandt’s. “The war parties’ attack on Faldun will be a diversion.”
“Better if they don’t even attack,” Brandt thought out loud. “Unless it becomes necessary to hold the defenders’ attention. How long to reach the tunnel?”
The soulwalker considered. “The better part of a day, a little longer if we hope to remain unobserved.”
Brandt sketched out his plan. Weylen, Ren, and Hanns all challenged different parts, pushing and pulling until they came up with an approach that, if it didn’t excite any of them, at least they didn’t object too strongly to. A silence fell over them. Ultimately, the decision rested on Weylen’s shoulders. Hanns and the others would bear the greatest risk, but they couldn’t succeed without the warleader.
Weylen nodded.
Ren turned to his warleader. “I would like to join them.”
Weylen agreed, and their course was set.
Their departure, as a matter of necessity, was accomplished without fanfare. All morning the scouts attached to both sides of the Falari conflict had been fighting small battles. By late morning Weylen received word a path away from the camps had been cleared. They couldn’t hold the path open long, mostly because they didn’t want it to seem like they were clearing a path.
Their party was small. Hanns commanded them, followed by Brandt, Ana, and Alena’s whole war party. Hanns had questioned the need for the war party, but none of them were willing to abandon Alena, nor she them. In the end, Hanns had shrugged, the emperor deferring to the young woman.
Brandt suspected Alena didn’t even understand what she had accomplished. Imperial, Etari, and Falari, all joined together in common purpose.
All following her into mortal danger.
Brandt had argued with Ana, too, though he’d expected failure from the start. She’d ended the argument by stating she didn’t plan on leaving the father of their child behind. Brandt hated the risk, but knew a losing argument when he saw one. Besides, Ana was no fool. She’d keep herself as safe as it was possible to be on a mission like this.
Hanns even left his guards behind. They were all gifted with affinities, and their role in the deception was to make it seem as though Hanns was with the main party. One of the guards, who looked eerily like Hanns, would act as emperor in Hanns’ absence. The ruse was far from perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It only needed to distract the defenders’ attention for long enough.
The soulwalker, named Sheren, guided them. From the way she moved and the paths she found, Brandt guessed she was no stranger to walking through these lands unobserved. In truth, they couldn’t have found a better guide had they searched all the assembled war parties.
Their journey was made in silence. Ears strained for the sound of enemy scouts, while eyes restlessly wandered near and far. They made it to the base of the path by early evening, making camp for one last night of rest. They slept under the stars.
Brandt slept easily. Despite his worries about tomorrow, he was tired, and he knew tomorrow would come no matter his choices. Better to face the day well rested.
He woke well before the sun, as did several others. Some, like Sheren, appeared as though they hadn’t slept at all. They planned to attack the fort just before dawn.
Under other circumstances, Brandt didn’t think their assault of the fort would have a chance. At times he could see it between the trees, and was impressed by its location and construction. The fort possessed a commanding view of the path below, and there would be no stealthy approach. Like Faldun itself, those walls could hold back countless attackers with only a handful of defenders.
Unless one of the attackers possessed the power of two gates.
Hanns changed everything.
Thanks to the cover of darkness, they weren’t spotted until they were within three hundred paces of the wall. Brandt kept his eyes on the guards pacing the lit battlements. When one stopped and drew his bow, he gave the signal Hanns had been waiting for.
Once again, Hanns chose stone as his weapon. Small sharpened rocks split the air with a crack, decimating the warriors on the walls.
Brandt watched in awe. He knew Hanns’ power. He’d seen it before. But it still impressed him every time. With that strength, Brandt couldn’t help but imagine what he might accomplish.
He could protect
Ana and the empire from all harm.
He pushed aside those thoughts for the moment. Hanns’ attack served as the signal for Brandt, Ana, Ren, and Jace. The warriors became light and sprinted forward. They hit the wall at full speed and climbed it hand over fist, the rough stonework easy to grasp. Even Brandt launched himself over the top of the wall in less than three heartbeats.
As they fell, swords were drawn, and Jace and Brandt fought side by side. Alena’s brother had demonstrated his skill several times before, and he fought without hesitation. He’d been hardened by battle.
Ren fought behind them, his sword making quick work of the few enemies Brandt and Jace left standing.
Ana turned her attention to the gate of the fort. The mechanism to open the gate was easily operated by a single person, and before long Hanns and the others came through the front.
Their assault ended almost before it began. Sheren’s estimate of fifty warriors turned out to be a gross exaggeration. Less than twenty had been stationed here, and after Hanns’ initial assault, the odds had nearly been even.
Brandt sought Ren out. “Was that too easy?”
Ren looked around the fort. “I don’t think so. Neither Prince Regar nor the queen likely know the area around Faldun well, and this isn’t an approach that would occur to the Falari.” He paused. “Also, twenty would be more than enough to hold off most assaults, at least until the bell was sounded.” He pointed his sword at a large bell above them, untouched by the guards.
Brandt supposed Ren was right, but the ease of it still made him nervous.
His worries didn’t alter their course, though. It didn’t take them long to find their destination. They gathered together at the mouth of a tunnel, a long stretch of perfect darkness.
Hanns lit a torch and took the first steps in.
Brandt took a deep breath and followed his emperor into the darkness.
52
In the darkness of the tunnel, Alena found it too easy to relive her memories. This was the second time she’d seen Hanns unveil his power, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to see it again. He must have killed a dozen men in less than a heartbeat. She saw their bodies, most of them dead before they realized they were even under attack.
Hanns turned everything she believed about war on its head. This wasn’t a conflict of skill against skill, where the better sword or bow won the day.
Hanns didn’t fight.
He murdered.
Some part of her wanted to strip him of his power. She wanted to make him nothing more than a man again, to make him understand how unnatural his power was. But it wasn’t possible, and even if she could, she couldn’t even begin to guess the consequences. So she followed, a mute witness to the horrors he committed.
The party only carried a handful of torches. Hanns walked in front of them all, so as not to ruin what little night vision he had.
She wasn’t sure how long they had been in the tunnel when he called for her. Although her first instinct was to disobey, it would do little good. She walked ahead, until they were side by side, well ahead of the others.
He spoke softly, his words barely reaching her ears. “Do you hate me, Alena?”
She lost a step, then caught up to him again. She’d been ready for many questions, but not that one. “No. I disagree with you. And I hate what the gates allow you to do.”
The emperor smiled, and Alena suddenly suspected that his smile hid a sorrow that had no end. “Would you believe I once thought as you do?”
Alena’s first response was to say such thinking was many, many years behind him, but she bit her tongue. But he must have caught some hint of her thoughts from her expression. “It’s hard to believe, but when I was named as Anders V’s successor, I also hated the secrets. I feared the power of the gates.”
“What changed?”
“Nothing. I still hate the secrets, and I still fear the power. Although I have, perhaps, gotten too used to them.”
“Then why don’t you change everything?”
“Because I’ve not found a better path. I saw your face, back in the fort. You hated me then, for a moment.”
“You murdered them.” Alena didn’t believe she would confront the emperor like this, but she suspected he wanted her to challenge him. He invited it.
“I did,” he admitted. “But could it have been done better? Their deaths were quick and relatively painless. How would you have done it?”
She struggled for an answer, but had none.
“I’ve spent years searching for a better path than the one Anders I set for us. Every time I receive word that a public dissenting opinion has been crushed, some part of me weeps. But in my decades of rule, I’ve never invented anything better.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
The emperor laughed, soft and bitter. “Because I fear my death, and I want at least one person to understand me before I travel to the gates.”
“You exiled me.”
“And you defied me in front of others. Most Anders would have taken your head.” He paused, sighing. “And you make me angry. You remind me of the man I used to be. A man who never would have considered your soulwalking technique.”
“But you want it now.”
The emperor shook his head. “I don’t want it. But I fear the empire needs it. I don’t want to control the gates, but if I don’t, the empire will fall before the queen. I respect your idealism, Alena. But idealism crumbles like dust against the forces of this world. All that remains is what is useful.”
Alena walked in silence for a few paces before deciding how she wanted to respond. “I hope I never believe that.”
Hanns smiled at her. “For what it’s worth, I hope the same.”
They walked for a bit, then Hanns said, “I revoked your exile, Alena, before I left. I spoke with my guards, and I don’t think anyone here would turn you in. I spoke rashly, and I apologize.”
A lump formed briefly in Alena’s throat. “Thank you.”
Alena believed the conversation to be over, so she slowed. But Hanns reached out and pulled her to his side again. “If you can, don’t harm Regar. He’s a good man, twisted by the gates and the queen.” He paused. “The trappings of power are far too easy to fall into.”
She wasn’t sure if he spoke about his son or himself. “I will do what I can.”
“As do we all.”
With that, Hanns let her join the rest of the party, leading the way down the tunnel alone.
As had been the case in the tunnels before, Alena lost track of time. But their journey came to an end too soon.
Hanns came to a stop about a dozen paces in front of a wall. Unlike the walls that made up the tunnel, this wall was formed of rougher stone. Hanns stepped up to the rock and put his hand against it. He looked to Sheren. “Do you know what’s on the other side?”
She shook her head.
Hanns shrugged. “Get ready.”
With a gesture, the rocks crumbled and turned to sand. She blinked, both to clear the dust from her eyes, and to ensure she’d seen correctly.
They were greeted by an empty balcony and an endless vista. Brandt stepped over the sand first, sword ready. A moment later he sheathed it. The others followed after him.
As Alena approached the balcony edge she fought a wave of vertigo. After the long journey in the tunnels her eyes had become used to the dark. Now the bright cloudless morning sky burned her sight, which now extended for leagues.
She’d never stood over such a drop. She was no stranger to mountains, but this was outside her experience. The world wavered underneath her and she steadied herself against the short stone wall in front of her.
Beside her, Sheren pointed out several mechanisms. “I think these were used to move supplies. They came in through the tunnel, then were dropped to the city below.”
Sheren might have found the proof for her theory about the tunnels, but Alena couldn’t find it in her to be pleased for her friend. Her attention was focused else
where. Far below, the Falari were arranged in loose formations, preparing for their diversion.
The others joined her.
Alena had seen Faldun from a distance, and she had some sense of its scale, but she didn’t truly understand until she stood near the top of it. To build something so high defied everything she believed possible. From up here, the war below seemed puny and insignificant. She wondered if this was how Hanns felt, so high above everything.
As spectacular as the view was, it wasn’t complete. From on high she couldn’t feel the nervous tension running through the ranks, the visceral fear of death clawing for purchase in the hearts of the soldiers. From so high, one gained perspective but lost the meaning of it all.
Faldun was built so that lower levels extended out beyond higher ones, matching the slope of the mountain. This high, the drop felt vertical, but it wasn’t quite. Alena could look down and see dozens of levels below, and she could see the enormous square where the defenders of Faldun gathered. They were packed tightly together, except for a small space near the center.
Though she couldn’t make out individuals, she suspected that was where they would find the queen and Prince Regar.
Despite the threat of violence, the scenes below looked peaceful. Weylen’s war parties didn’t advance, nor would they, if the plan held. All that was needed was for them to attract attention, which it appeared they’d done. Alena didn’t see a single Falari within several levels.
A glowing ball of fire interrupted her consideration of the scene. The ball hovered over the hole in the center of the defenders. Either the prince or the queen had just surrendered their location. It grew rapidly, almost too bright to look at. Then it arced into the sky, toward Weylen and their allies.
The Falari might have remained well out of bow range, but the fireball knew no such limits. Alena watched, unable to respond, as it dropped out of the sky toward a discolored patch of warriors.
Hanns’ palace guards.
Someone wanted the emperor dead.
The ball of flame paused briefly in the sky, no doubt resisted by Hanns’ guards. But it was a one-sided battle. The fire crashed among the guards, sending people running in all directions.