Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege, #6)

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘You should also know,’ Belinda went on, ‘that Amalia plans to return to the City. She has a Quadrant in her possession, and fears that the Ascendants will execute her if they catch her.’

  ‘I see. Tell me, does Aila still live?’

  ‘As far as I know.’

  Yendra frowned. ‘Whose side are you on, Belinda?’

  Belinda hesitated, surprised at being asked such a question. ‘Have my actions today not made that clear? If I wanted to betray this world to the Ascendants, then all I needed to do was tell them how to get here. Instead, I’ve risked everything to try to find a peaceful way out of this crisis. Do I have to die before anyone trusts me?’

  ‘I apologise,’ said Yendra. ‘You give the appearance of not caring, and I made the mistake of confusing that with your true intentions. Things have been going well here since you all departed, and the news you gave to the King and Queen has disheartened me. I thought the siege of the City had ended with the destruction of the greenhides, but it seems I was mistaken.’

  They resumed their walk, both gods remaining silent. The fog was obscuring the view of Pella when they stepped out onto the flat roof of the palace.

  ‘I wish I could help in some way,’ said Yendra, as Belinda held out the Quadrant.

  ‘You can,’ said Belinda. ‘Start recruiting soldiers, and build some refuges that people can escape to; and mine and store as much salve as you can. I shall try to return by the end of the month, but I can’t promise it.’

  Yendra nodded, then Belinda activated the Quadrant. Her surroundings shimmered, and she appeared back within her locked bed chamber. She set the Quadrant to go to Yoneath, triggered it, and arrived in the deserted cavern of Fordamere. She glanced around at the devastation. She had intended to stay only for a few moments, but something caught her eye and she walked over to it, avoiding the decaying bodies strewn across the ground. She leaned over and picked it up. It was heavy, and sharp, and she nearly sliced open her fingers lifting it. She gripped it in one hand, then activated the Quadrant and travelled back to Alea Tanton.

  She placed the item under her bed, then sat on the deep mattress, a vague plan forming in her mind. If she could have it repaired, it could be useful. She cleared her thoughts and went over everything that had been discussed in Pella. Daniel had been right – paying off the Ascendants in salve to stop them invading did amount to blackmail, but what choice did the City have? The gods of Implacatus would never stop hunting for the source of salve. She hoped that Emily’s common sense would overrule Daniel’s moral principles, but if it didn’t, then at least the City had been forewarned.

  She got up and unlocked her door, the Quadrant in her hand. Several servants bowed low, their eyes lowered as she passed, and she sensed the mixture of fear and awe that she engendered in them. She left her quarters and ascended the stairs to Leksandr’s rooms. He was waiting for her in his study, and turned from the Sextant as she walked in.

  She passed him the Quadrant, and he slipped it into his robes.

  ‘Did you find what you were looking for, Third Ascendant?’ he said.

  ‘Maybe.’

  He nodded. ‘Yoneath, was it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘The cavern at Fordamere?’

  She frowned. She would have to make something up, otherwise he would keep on with his questions.

  ‘Indeed,’ she said. ‘I wanted to search the ancient temple where the Sextant had been kept.’

  ‘Oh? That sounds interesting. May I ask what you were hoping to find?’

  ‘You may.’

  He smiled, but it was false. ‘What were you hoping to find?’

  ‘It occurred to me that something crucial to the workings of the Sextant may have become dislodged in the fire and subsequent collapse of the roof.’

  He blinked. ‘You mean you think there may be something missing? A part that the device needs to function? I admit that never crossed my mind.’

  ‘Perhaps. My search was inconclusive. There appears to be nothing within the temple associated with the Sextant.’

  He raised a finger and started to pace the room. ‘You may be onto something. A missing part? I shall meditate on this later this evening. Now, before you leave, there are a couple of matters I wish to discuss. The first is Arete.’

  ‘May I sit?’

  ‘Of course,’ he said, ‘please do. Would you like a drink?’

  ‘No, thank you. Arete?’

  ‘Yes. I acknowledge that her behaviour towards you has improved since Lord Bastion’s visit, but you should know that she still has her suspicions. She has mentioned to me more than once that she places no trust in you. You must be careful around her. I think it would be better if she doesn’t find out about you borrowing my Quadrant; do you agree?’

  ‘I do. Let’s keep it to ourselves.’

  ‘Excellent.’

  ‘What if she reads it out of your head?’

  ‘I will bury it deep. She would need to read me for many continuous hours to find something I do not particularly wish her to find. It surprises me that you are unaware of this technique, although the fact that you cannot be read yourself is probably the cause of it. You have no need to bury anything; the shields around your mind are impervious.’

  ‘I’m sure there is much that I do not understand.’

  ‘Feel free to ask me anything.’

  ‘Alright. How many worlds are in existence?’

  He laughed. ‘Hmm. When do I begin? With Implacatus, I suppose; the first world, the originator. Hundreds of worlds have been created since the Ascendants began their rule, perhaps over a thousand. Many have been utterly destroyed, and many have drifted from our knowledge; all paths to them cut off. Who knows how many isolated worlds are out there, bereft of any connection to the others? The Sextant sitting before us is believed to be the last; apart from it, none have been seen in ten thousand years. If we manage to activate it, then not only will it find the two worlds we have been looking for, but every other world that it has created; it could reveal to us realms that have been forgotten for millennia.’ He smiled. ‘That was a long way to say that I don’t know.’

  ‘It seems so haphazard,’ she said. ‘Why isn’t there some kind of record detailing where these worlds are located?’

  ‘The knowledge required to record such things has long been lost. Without Quadrants and Sextants, we would all be marooned on our own worlds. Nathaniel was reputed to have a measure of such knowledge, enough, it was said, that he might have been able to construct a new Quadrant; but he was the last as far as I know.’

  ‘But you must have some of that knowledge. Didn’t you create the greenhides?’

  He smiled again, but this time it seemed genuine. ‘Yes, that was me. I assisted Theodora, the First Ascendant, when she was creating a new world. In the grand scheme, the creation of a single species next to the creation of an entire world is insignificant, but I am rather proud of what I achieved.’ He sighed. ‘I worked a long time on that project.’

  ‘I have another question,’ she said.

  He nodded.

  ‘How many worlds does Implacatus control?’

  ‘Around thirty, nominally. Most of them are uninhabited; wastelands. The wars, after all, took their toll. Dragon Eyre was the most recent addition; it fell under our sway a mere two decades ago. But, if we can get the Sextant working, there will be fresh worlds for the taking.’

  The sound of a door slamming came from the hallway, then the door to the study opened and Arete strode in, rage creasing her features.

  ‘The city is in uproar!’ she cried. ‘Hundreds of mortals have been slaughtered at the Northern Pits.’

  Leksandr frowned. ‘By you?’

  ‘No, you fool, they’re killing each other. A Holdfast is responsible.’

  ‘Arete, my dear,’ said Leksandr; ‘please sit and I’ll get you a drink. Then you can tell us all about it.’

  Arete collapsed into a chair across from Belinda, her hand rubbing her forehead
as Leksandr prepared a drink for her. He brought it over and she drained it in one.

  ‘A Holdfast has a Quadrant,’ she said. ‘Felice’s Quadrant; the one Lord Renko left with our incompetent new governor. It was Sable.’

  ‘Sable Holdfast?’ said Belinda.

  Arete stared into the mid-distance. ‘She stole the dragon.’

  ‘What dragon?’ said Leksandr.

  ‘The new one; the one we captured in Yoneath. Latude bought it for the Deadskins, and the Blue Thumbs were trying to kill it, when Sable Holdfast appeared, then took the dragon away.’

  Belinda almost lost her composure. Sable had rescued Blackrose? Part of her wanted to cheer that the black dragon was safe; the other scowled at the thought that it was Sable who had done the rescuing.

  ‘Are we sure it was her?’ said Leksandr.

  ‘Felice recognised her from when she worked here at the residence. I have also seen her face within Lord Renko’s memories; it was definitely her.’

  ‘But why would she steal a dragon? Was she making a demonstration of her power? Was she trying to prove something to us?’

  ‘She was trying to sow chaos in the city, and it worked. The Deadskins think that the Blue Thumbs are responsible, and they broke through the lines of militia inside the arena and started killing every Torduan they could get their hands on; while the Blue Thumbs believe that the Deadskins pulled the dragon out of the contest before she could be slaughtered on the sands. Each side is blaming the other, which is, no doubt, precisely what Sable Holdfast intended. The Northern Pits is a bloodbath, and when the Torduans discover that hundreds of their brethren have been killed, they will attack the Fordian districts.’

  Leksandr’s expression changed from bemused to angry. ‘We’ll have to send out the garrison.’

  ‘I’ve already done that,’ said Arete, ‘for all the difference it will make. We need to get the dragon back; it’s the only way to restore order.’

  ‘The Holdfast witch could have taken the beast anywhere.’

  Arete caught his glance. ‘Latude has a theory about that. He says that the dragon, Obsidia, used to be known as Blackrose, and apparently, she has fought in the pits before. She was sold a decade ago, and was presumed to be dead. And then she turns up in Yoneath and attacks our forces? Latude says that there is only one place she could have been hiding all this time.’

  Leksandr raised an eyebrow. ‘The Catacombs?’

  ‘Exactly. Where else in Khatanax could a dragon remain unseen?’

  ‘It might be a good idea,’ said Belinda, ‘if I have my team of vision demigods search the Catacombs.’

  Arete’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Thank you for the kind offer, Third Ascendant, but I know how busy you are. I’ll take this task; I will lead the search for Sable Holdfast and the missing dragon.’

  ‘That seems sensible,’ said Leksandr. ‘Your mission, Third Ascendant, is far more important than the hunt for a single dragon.’ He glanced back towards Arete. ‘If you find them in the Catacombs, what will be our next step? Banner forces would be next to useless in that environment.’

  Arete smiled. ‘I’ll think of something.’ She stood. ‘I’ll get started right away.’

  She gave a brief nod to Belinda, then strode from the room. The moment she had gone, Leksandr turned to Belinda.

  ‘Sable Holdfast has a Quadrant? Please, Third Ascendant, tell me that it’s a mere coincidence that I loaned you my Quadrant at the same time as this happened.’

  Belinda frowned. ‘Are you accusing me of helping Sable Holdfast? I detest her; she’s a selfish, lying, two-faced rat. Even when I was a friend of the other Holdfasts, I loathed Sable. Believe me, Leksandr, I would never help her; never. The last time we met we tried to kill each other.’

  Leksandr nodded. ‘And if Arete searches, she will find nothing that contradicts your version of events?’

  Belinda got to her feet and faced Leksandr, her anger simmering. ‘That’s right. If Sable is in the Catacombs, then Arete will also find the Quadrant she used; Felice’s old Quadrant. When that happens, Sixth Ascendant, I shall expect an apology.’

  His expression calmed. ‘You can have one now. I apologise, Third Ascendant. My shock got the better of me for a moment. I do not believe you assisted the Holdfast woman.’

  Belinda took a breath, regaining her composure. ‘Thank you. I shall go back to work, and I recommend that you do the same.’

  He bowed his head. ‘As you wish.’

  She walked from his study, and descended the steps to her own quarters on the floor below. She dismissed her servants and went to stare out of the window, her thoughts torn. Should she try to help Sable and Blackrose? If Arete was correct, would that not mean that Maddie might be in the Catacombs as well? She knew that the black dragon had planned to go to Dragon Eyre, and now it appeared that she had a Quadrant that could take her there. Another part of her hesitated. If Arete was distracted by her search for Sable, then that would give her more space to develop her own plans regarding the supply of salve. All the same, Maddie had been a friend, and Belinda had precious few of those.

  She sat by the window, and sent her vision out into the clear, blue sky. She glanced north, and could see the smoke rising from the northern districts of the city. Riots and disturbances seemed to be woven into the fabric of Alea Tanton, as if they were a natural feature, along with the earthquakes. Mortals would be fighting and dying on the streets; Fordians against Torduans, their centuries-old antipathy coming to the boil once more. She hated Alea Tanton, she realised, and felt a longing for how Khatanax had been before Fordia and Shinstra had been destroyed, an age that she had lived through, but couldn’t remember.

  She turned from the slums and raced her vision east, crossing the irrigated plains of Tordue. Enslaved mortals were gathering in the harvests, or preparing the fields for winter, under the steady and watchful gaze of armed soldiers. Thousands of troops were needed to keep the slaves in line, and Belinda recoiled from the folly and waste of it all. She reached the mountains and climbed, passing a series of deep reservoirs. She knew the location of the main wild dragon colony, hidden in a cliffside, surrounded by rivers and pools of lava. It was impossible for any army of mortals to approach the Catacombs, let alone attack it, and the policy of the rulers of Alea Tanton had been to leave it alone in a state of nervous co-existence.

  A volcano was spewing molten rock down the flank of the mountains, and Belinda came to the great rift that had once carried the main road from Fordia to Kinell. The valley floor was broken, and covered in alternating patches of basalt and lava. On the cliffs to the west, dozens of openings led into the side of the mountain, and a few dragons were circling overhead, while others could be seen within the tombs where they had made their homes.

  Belinda paused, and began to scan each tomb, starting from the top. She spent only a few moments in each, working her way down the cliffside methodically. There were more dragons living there than she had realised; dozens, with several families sharing a single tomb. At last, near the bottom of the cliff, she found Maddie. The Blade girl was sitting close to the edge of a tomb, a young man next to her, while behind them, a dark red dragon was also peering out into the valley. Belinda pushed her vision into the interior of the tomb, but there was no sign of Blackrose or Sable. She returned to Maddie, and noticed that she was clutching a Quadrant on her knees.

  She entered Maddie’s head.

  Hello, it’s Belinda.

  The young woman jumped, and nearly dropped the Quadrant over the edge of the cliff.

  I didn’t mean to startle you.

  Belinda? Hello, um, this is a surprise.

  I need to speak to you about Sable and Blackrose.

  Could you maybe appear in front of me, like Sable used to do? It’s a lot easier to talk that way.

  I’ve never done that before. Alright. Walk into the cavern until you are alone, and I’ll try it.

  Maddie got to her feet and muttered something to the dark red dragon, then
walked into the semi-darkness of the tomb. Belinda knew what Maddie had meant; she had often heard Daphne and Karalyn talk about how to project an image of yourself, so that the other person would think they could see you standing in front of them. She went to Maddie’s eyes, and looked out from them, then imagined herself there.

  ‘That’s better,’ said Maddie. ‘I can see you now. What do you know about Blackrose and Sable? I admit I’m a bit wary of you; can you read people’s minds now? If so, then I guess you already know what’s happened. Blackrose was here, not long ago, with Sable.’

  ‘Where are they now?’

  ‘I don’t know. As soon as they appeared, Blackrose grabbed Sable and flew off. I think, um, that Blackrose might be doing something bad to her.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because of the Quadrant. Sable was lying to Blackrose, telling her she didn’t have one, when she did. Blackrose, as you might remember, doesn’t particularly like being lied to. Wait; can I trust you? Are you working for the Ascendants now?’

  A thought struck Belinda, and she cursed her lack of foresight. If Arete, or more likely, when Arete found them, she would read Maddie’s mind and discover that Belinda had contacted her.

  ‘What Sable did,’ she said, choosing her words carefully, ‘has caused hundreds of deaths in Alea Tanton. The teams are fighting each other; each side thinks that the other was responsible for stealing Blackrose from the arena. The Ascendants will be coming; they want to find Blackrose and Sable. You know that Sable and I hate each other, but I don’t want any harm to come to you, Maddie.’

  ‘You didn’t really answer my question.’

  ‘Your mind might be read; I must act accordingly.’

  ‘Oh. Well, thanks for the warning, I guess.’

  ‘I should go. Which way did Blackrose fly?’

  ‘Towards the Fordian Wastes.’

  ‘Take care, Maddie.’

  Belinda withdrew from her mind, as frustration surged through her. She hadn’t said half of what she had wanted to say, but she had still said enough to arouse Arete’s suspicions further. She cursed herself again, feeling the burden of her secrets weigh upon her. She sent her vision out of the tomb, and turned south.