The Emperor's Mask (Magebreakers Book 2)

by Ben S. Dobson

  Iskar smiled. “That is all I ask. As I said, you will not be blindfolded on your way out, but I will not always be in this location.” He pressed a large silver coin into her hand; it was marked with a sunburst. “If you want to speak further, leave this in the window of your office. Someone will come for you.” He paused, and then, “I very much hope to see you again, Kadka.”

  “Not the first man who says that,” she said with a grin, tucking the coin into her pocket. “We will see. But you still owe something. Gurtle says you have information if I hear what you say. What is it?”

  “Is that what she said?” Iskar glanced at Gurtle and shook his head with a fond laugh. “How very like her. I’m afraid she misled you to get you down here. We do have information, but she was meant to share it as a sign of faith. I had hoped you could bring it to the proper authorities.”

  “The other one was looking down his nose at me!” Gurtle protested. “He was going to convince her not to come. I needed something.”

  “Doesn’t matter now,” Kadka said. Maybe it was even for the best—she was glad she’d spoken to Iskar, all things considered. “Just tell me.”

  Iskar nodded. “It concerns this Mask who has been killing non-magicals—a man we very much wish to see brought to justice. Any follower of the Mage Emperor’s teachings is an enemy of ours.” His long dragon-snout dropped, and sorrow dimmed his bright blue eyes. “And Ulnod Stooke was an ally, in contact with our agents. His work in the Senate could have changed a great deal, if he’d lived.”

  Kadka’s ears perked at that. “Stooke was one of you? His family said nothing.”

  “Perhaps they didn’t know,” said Iskar. “Involvement with the Dawn is not… politically expedient. Most wouldn’t approve.”

  “I am sorry,” Kadka said. “Was good man, it sounds like.”

  “He was,” Iskar said sadly. “I hope we can be of help in finding his killer. As I said before, we use these tunnels to travel unseen, among other things, and we have… many eyes throughout the city. Of late, we have not been the only ones down here. Particularly these last few days.”

  Kadka cocked her head. “Who else?”

  “I’m not certain. Figures in dark clothing, always hooded. One was seen traveling sealed areas of the tunnels below the Gryphon’s Roost,” Iskar said. “Quiet and stealthy enough to evade our eyes at several points, which is saying something. Given the location, I suspect it may have been the Mask.”

  That was something. Maybe even enough to mitigate Carver’s I-told-you-so’s when she found her way back to him. “Where?”

  “That is the most interesting part,” said Iskar. “He left the tunnels somewhere on the grounds of the Deepweld manor.”

  Chapter Nine

  _____

  “HOUSE STOOKE DEMANDS action.” Endo’s voice sounded as if it was right next to Tane’s ear, even in the gallery; the little gnome leaned forward in his chair to speak into the dish of the voice-caster on the table before him. “Something has to be done before this killer takes another victim.” He delivered the words timidly, as if they belonged to someone else. His mother, presumably. “My brother”—a hitch in his voice, there—“deserves justice. And we can’t stop at this crime. We need to make sure that something like this never happens again.”

  It had been perhaps an hour of preliminaries before Lady Abena had opened the floor, and of course the first issue raised had been the Mask. Another hour of arguing back and forth about who was to blame and what was to be done before Endo had plucked up the courage to say what his family had sent him to say. Tane hadn’t realized just how slowly things moved in the halls of the Senate until now—and the weight in his stomach grew heavier with every minute. All he wanted was to go see if Kadka was waiting for him outside, but he’d never be allowed back in while the Senate was in session. She’d laugh if she knew I was this nervous. She’s probably fine, and if she is in trouble, she can protect herself better than I can. Even so, his fingers circled the brass watch case in his waist pocket over and over again, and Deepweld’s warning about the Silver Dawn echoed in his ears.

  “Before I reopen the floor, let me again offer my sincere condolences to House Stooke and House Rosepetal,” Lady Abena said. “Ulnod and Byron were good men, and we all mourn their loss.”

  A murmur of sympathetic agreement passed through the chamber. Elsa Rosepetal barely acknowledged it; alone at House Rosepetal’s table, she slouched in her doll-sized chair and didn’t look up. Endo just inclined his head, having apparently exhausted his desire to speak before the crowd.

  After a moment of silence, Rulik Deepweld stood from his chair, and Lady Abena acknowledged him with a gesture. He adjusted the dish of his voice-caster to the proper height and spoke into it. “Mister Stooke makes the same point that I’ve been arguing for weeks,” he said. “We must take action! We need to change the outdated laws that make the weakest members of our families targets for fanatics like this so-called ‘Emperor’s Mask’. Audland’s greatest strength is our magic—it’s time to let our leaders wield it!”

  A round of applause there, from more tables than Tane liked. And it wasn’t just the emphatically pro-magical houses. Nieris and Crysthammer and Thiel he’d expected, but House Uuthar and House Rosepetal were generally known to be moderate voices in the Senate, and they were clapping with the rest. Elsa Rosepetal I can understand—she just lost a son. But Uuthar? While it was perhaps a stereotype, ogren tended towards careful deliberation, not this sort of knee-jerk reaction.

  One of Uuthar’s senators stood next, a massive, flaxen-haired ogren woman who could only be Noana Uuthar, head of the house. Another name on Endo’s list. “House Uuthar supports House Deepweld in this. These laws were one thing after the Mage War, but it has been centuries. How long must we show the world our bellies for a mistake made generations ago?”

  That was surprising, even after she’d applauded for Deepweld. Endo had mentioned the house as one of Deepweld’s allies, but Tane hadn’t imagined this level of support.

  “How long have they been working together?” he asked, turning to Daalia Audlian, who had remained beside him in the gallery these past hours.

  “A month or more now,” Senator Audlian answered. “A number of houses felt the need to choose sides after the airship treaty, but I wouldn’t have guessed Lady Noana would lean so heavily pro-magical. She was always a moderate in my time on the floor. Now she follows Rulik’s lead religiously. They must have come to some agreement between their houses.”

  Or been thrown together by a greater cause. If the Knights of the Emperor were out there, he had no way of knowing how high their reach extended. Sudden changes in stance among the great houses could well be a sign of the order consolidating its power. And if they took enough of the Senate, things could get very dire very quickly for the non-magical, Mask or no. Don’t jump to conclusions, Carver. It could just be the usual politics. But that nagging fear was hard to ignore. Especially when he didn’t know where Kadka was.

  Next to speak was Saelis Audlian—Daalia’s cousin, who had replaced her as senior senator for the house. “No one has more reason to wish for a change to these rules than the elven houses,” he said. “But my ancestor, Illuvar Audlian, put the restrictions on the office of Protector in place for reasons beyond appeasing the Continent. If we allow a mage to command our armies and control our relations with foreign governments, another Mage Emperor is inevitable. That is too much power for one person to wield.”

  Another round of applause, this time from Audlian’s allies in the equality movement—the humans of Thesson and Jasani, the dwarves of Steelhand and the sprites of Springbloom. But some who normally leaned that way were silent. Endo was too flustered to sound for House Stooke, and many of the moderates had already backed Deepweld.

  “Easy to say when your son is magicless,” Deepweld retorted without waiting for Lady Abena’s acknowledgement. “A chance at the Protector’s seat at last. I suppose you’d rather keep away competition than
keep him safe!”

  “By the Astra, what an ass,” Daalia muttered under her breath at Tane’s side.

  The younger elf beside Saelis rose to his feet, scowling. That had to be Faelir, House Audlian’s junior senator. The son in question, famed for the quirk of birth that had left him without magic in an elven house. “Don’t use me as ammunition for your idiocy, Deepweld! House Audlian has always taken this position, even when we had no hope to hold the Protector’s seat! We are no hypocrites!”

  “Your house will be singing a different tune if the Mask comes for you next,” Deepweld said. “For that matter, what does the Stooke boy say?” He jabbed a finger at Endo. “Your brother died because he had no magic. Made him a target. If removing these restrictions could have saved him, isn’t that worth it?”

  All eyes turned to Endo, who shrank in his chair. Flickers of illusory camouflage ran over his shortened legs, but he kept it largely under control. “I… I’m not sure…”

  “Speak up!” Deepweld insisted. “You asked for action, so tell us. What would you choose?”

  Tane bristled at that. He just lost his brother. Leave him be. Whether he was a killer or not, Rulik Deepweld most certainly was an ass.

  “If… if it would have saved Ulnod…” Endo hung his head. “I would give anything for that.”

  Half the floor rose to their feet then, shouting over each other to be heard, but Tane just watched Endo, hunched sadly in his chair. Oh Endo. That was not the right thing to say to this room.

  Finally, Lady Abena touched something on the arm of her chair, and the voices were silenced. Or rather, diminished—she’d deactivated their voice casters. She stood. “Enough. If we cannot behave like adults, I am forced to suspend this session. For now, the constabulary will decide how to proceed regarding the Mask. We will reconvene when I return from the Continent, and I expect that cooler heads will prevail.”

  The chamber quickly began to empty. Apparently many of the senators were as eager to leave as Tane was.

  “It’s been a pleasure, Senator Audlian,” Tane said, and offered her a quick bow. “Excuse me.”

  “So eager to be rid of me?” she said with a slight smile.

  “Of course not, but I have work to—”

  She raised a hand. “I understand. Go. For Audland’s sake, I hope your investigation bears fruit.”

  Tane was on his way before she finished speaking. He pushed his way out of the gallery, and strode quickly down the hall. Astra, let Kadka be waiting. When he reached the stairs down to the ground floor, he took them two at a time, and then hurried for the exit.

  “Tane!”

  Tane swiveled his head to see Endo wheeling his chair out of a crowd of senators exiting the Senate hall. Reluctantly, he slowed as the little gnome caught up.

  “Are you angry with me?” Endo asked quietly, rolling alongside Tane. “I know you care about non-magical rights, and what I said in there… I didn’t mean it. Or… I don’t think I did. Everyone was looking, and he asked about Ulnod, and—”

  “I’m not angry.” Strangely enough, Tane found himself wanting to offer some kind of comfort. He had been angry at Endo once, a long time ago, but it was hard to hold onto that now, watching him go through a very familiar pain. “He asked you if you would have saved your brother if you could. Of course you said yes. There was a time I probably would have said the same if someone asked me about my parents.”

  Endo looked up at him with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Does it get… easier?”

  “Eventually,” said Tane. He wasn’t used to talking about this sober, but he had to offer something. “Or at least you get used to it being hard.”

  “It was like that after…” Endo glanced down at his legs. “You know. I didn’t think I’d have to go through something like that again. All of this is just… Mother can’t even leave the house anymore, and that only leaves me, but… it’s too much. You saw what happened in there. I’m not cut out for the Senate.”

  He was probably right—politics was no place for someone as sheltered and earnest as Endo. But Tane didn’t think that would be a very useful thing to say just then. “Deepweld was looking for any opening he could get. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Wasn’t it? If they use my family as an excuse to change the law…”

  “If you hadn’t taken the bait, he’d have found another way.”

  They reached the exit, and a pair of Mageblades pushed the doors open for them. The well-manicured Citadel grounds waited outside, rich and green and opulent, but Tane only had eyes for the gates. He walked a bit faster, and Endo accelerated to keep pace.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Endo said doubtfully. “Was it useful, at least? Did you see any… clues, or leads, or… whatever you call them?”

  “I spoke to some of the people on your list,” said Tane. “They had some interesting things to say.” He wasn’t sure he had much to go on, really, but he wasn’t about to say that to a client. Deepweld did use the situation to his advantage, though. Could he have arranged it that way?

  The gates were before them now, and the guards let them through along with a small group of others. Tane raced through ahead of the rest, sweeping his gaze over the Founder’s Plaza.

  “Carver.” There she was, leaning against the base of Audlian’s statue.

  “Kadka!” He slowed his step, tried not to let his relief show too obviously—she’d only laugh.

  She laughed anyway. “Happy to see me, Carver?”

  “Overjoyed. Have you been waiting long?”

  “Not so long,” Kadka said, and nodded a greeting at Endo as he maneuvered his chair alongside them.

  “The Silver Dawn,” said Tane. “What did they want? Where did they take you?”

  “Tunnels around the discs,” Kadka said. “Put blindfold on me, and—”

  Tane blinked. “They blindfolded you? I told you—”

  “Wait until story is done, Carver. Didn’t go how you think.” Kadka quickly summed up the ordeal.

  By the time she finished, Endo was staring at her wide-eyed. “Ulnod was working with the Silver Dawn?”

  Kadka shrugged. “That is what they say.”

  “He never… I didn’t know.” Endo swallowed and looked down at his hands.

  Tane didn’t know what to make of it, especially after Deepweld’s dire warnings. Not exactly confidence inspiring behavior. But they did let her go. “You think it’s true?” he asked Kadka. “Can this Iskar be trusted?”

  “I think so,” said Kadka. “I like him.” She grinned. “Very pretty.”

  Tane couldn’t help but chuckle. “We might need more than that. What about the information we were promised?”

  “Was saving it for last,” Kadka said. “Says his people saw cloaked man in tunnels last night. Under Deepweld manor.”

  “Deepweld again.” Tane wasn’t certain he trusted the Silver Dawn’s information, or this Iskar Estiss, but if they were right, it was certainly suspicious. No one had been killed at the Deepweld manor last night, which suggested that the Mask might have had another reason to be there. “Was he sure about the location?”

  She shrugged. “Seemed sure enough. This is important?”

  “Maybe. Deepweld was happy to use the murders to advance his cause in the Senate—could be a motive.” And then it occurred to Tane that there was something else. “And he was very eager to point me at the Silver Dawn. Which, if he’s the Mask, or pulling the Mask’s strings, and he knew Iskar’s people had seen something…”

  “Turn enemies on each other,” Kadka said. “Clever. Think he talks to us, or do we try to follow him?”

  “As it happens,” said Tane, “he invited me to his home this evening.”

  _____

  “Mister Carver. Hoped you’d come.” Deepweld sat in a high-backed chair behind the desk in his study, holding a glass of some amber-colored spirits in his hand. Tane noticed his eyes flicker to Kadka as a human footman ushered the two of them into the room. “And your…
friend.” The disapproval in his tone was unmistakable. “Well, sit. Dwarven whiskey?” He lifted his glass by way of example.

  “Yes,” Kadka said immediately.

  Tane shot her a sidelong glance that she ignored. Dulling their wits probably wasn’t the best idea while talking to a man who might have murdered two people, or arranged to have it done—and who might have drawn them into the investigation on purpose. Which was a thought that very much made Tane want a drink. But then… maybe it’s best to put him at ease. Don’t want him to get suspicious, do we? Finally, he just shrugged. “Why not?”

  Deepweld gestured to his footman as Tane and Kadka sat, and a moment later a pair of drinks were set in front of them.

  “We both know why you’re here, so no point wasting time,” said Deepweld. “I told you those Silver Dawn fanatics are behind the murders. You want to know more.” He took a long swallow of his drink.

  Tane didn’t disabuse him of the notion—if Deepweld thought they were only there to ask about the Silver Dawn, he might let his guard down. “You said to come if I needed more convincing.” He took a sip of his own drink, and barely kept himself from coughing it back up. Apparently Dwarves liked their whiskey to burn even more than the cheap stuff Tane kept in his office. Beside him, Kadka tossed back a gulp that rivalled Deepweld’s without flinching. Show-off.

  Deepweld was watching Kadka finish her drink with slightly more respect than before, but he turned back to Tane and nodded. “Ask your questions, then.”

  “Well, first of all I’m not certain what the motive would be,” Tane said. “The Silver Dawn champions non-magical rights, and the victims have been magicless.”

  Deepweld snorted. “You think that matters? The victims come from Senate houses. To people like that, we’re all the same. Part of the establishment. This way they win twice over—hurt us and get sympathy for their cause.”