He felt at his pockets. He still had the packet of essence—now was finally the time to use it. He had also gone back to the mining shed and retrieved more of the explosives.
Denais was no longer in sight. Korda dropped down from the roof and walked calmly up to the door of Denais’s quarters. No one who had heard the command ordering him to leave would be there, and those who were would not question his presence if he were seen. And indeed, the few people inside said nothing when they saw him. Should he try to get them out first? No, too much of a risk that Denais would become suspicious. Their deaths could not be avoided.
He was not, of course, allowed in the private rooms. No one was. But he could approach the door, and the carved chest with a surprisingly ordinary pottery bowl on top. He made sure none of the other servants were nearby, and opened the carved chest, placing all of the sticks of explosive inside. Then, with shaking hands, he took the packet of essence and spilled all but a spoonful into a sheet of paper. He creased a line in the paper, allowing it to fold, and brought it to his nose.
Korda felt the fire of power burn through him, desperately stifling the moan of agony that he could not prevent. He had never taken so much at once before. Surely he was powerful enough to break down the protections and steal the rest, the precious essence that could mean victory? But one shred of caution remained in the fire of pain, and he held back. He might well have the power, but not the knowledge. Power was not enough.
He did know how to set a trigger spell, however, and link it to a sphere of contained fire tucked in with the explosives. He closed the chest and added a light binding on the door so it would seem to stick. That would make Denais hesitate just a fraction of a second when he attempted to open the door. That should be enough. Only Denais would trigger the explosive, and he would not expect an attack in his quarters. He would die, and Korda would finally be free.
Korda left the building to wait in hiding for the sound of freedom.
Denais gazed down at the valley, now open to him once again, and smiled. The secret, he had discovered, was to use the essence to supplement his natural power—and to prevent the dangerous overdraw that could permanently damage a magician engaged in extensive spellwork. By continual small doses, he could remain at his full capability for days. The human–derived essence had fewer uncomfortable effects, but the mineral essence could be stored nearly indefinitely without loss of potency—and was far easier to obtain in bulk. At least, when he had access to the source.
How strange it was…that a simple ceramic pot had provided the essential clue to bring him to this valley. To this ancient source of power. How could he say that his exile had been without purpose? If he had not been traveling in Parsia, he would never have seen the pot, or felt the magic it contained, or traced it to this savage and primitive land. Such a small, insignificant thing to bring him to ultimate success.
Denais was conscious of a mild, burning fatigue. Bringing down the barrier had taken his full effort, even with the essence. “Doring. Do a detection scan for any additional barriers or defenses.”
The bound magician gestured, effort creasing his face. He shook his head. Denais smiled, now confident his assessment had proven correct. No one capable of further defense remained within the valley. Now it was only a matter of returning the extraction facility to full production.
He turned to order the guards to begin gathering more workers and saw someone running up the road from the facility. Denais frowned when he recognized one of the minor magicians, tasked with watching over the boundary systems. The man stopped before him, panting. Denais gestured, permitting him to speak.
“The security nets have been triggered, my lord.”
“Which nets?” Denais felt a thread of irritation. He should have made the commands more specific, to include important detail without becoming verbose.
“All of them, my lord.”
He felt a slight chill. So, perhaps lowering the barrier had alerted the maker…but why attack now, instead of earlier?
“Report measures taken.”
His irritation grew as he listened. He was already missing Kohlmann and Korda, sent for more information. A significant number of his guards were here with him instead of available to respond to the alarms. Why, it was almost as if an enemy had planned it all to take advantage.
“Doring. Open the bag.” Denais did not hesitate further. He was under attack by a cunning enemy, who had clearly laid plans long in advance. He grabbed the container of mineral essence and placed a generous pinch on his wrist, as if taking snuff. The power stung a trifle, so soon after taking a prior dose, but he felt much restored.
It was unlikely there were forces present inside the valley protected by the barrier. The attackers would be coming from outside. He gathered power to do a scan for significant magical presence, and let it go. It took time for the result to become clear. There was a large but not very powerful source, but it was some distance from the valley. This must not be the main attack, then. It was meant to distract him, to keep him from noticing the true threat. And had that accident in the mine truly been an accident? Had the attack started before he had brought the barrier down?
That freakish chit is behind this somehow. He fumed. What had become of his agents, his trackers? How had she eluded the traps he had set? He shook his head, angry with himself. Preoccupation with irrelevancies—the important thing was, had she brought others with her? With the essence he could easily best her alone. He should have been able to do so in Baerlen. But now…
This was merely a feint. He was sure of it. Otherwise the attack would have been stronger. He had enough time to start the first batch of extraction, now that the source was available, and he would need it for the fight ahead. He had to overwhelm them with force, to give himself time to bring about his final victory.
He pointed at the head guard. “Send three men to bring the mine workers here to dig. They are to work night and day until new workers replace them. The rest of your men are to return to the facility and ensure no strangers are inside. Kill anyone who does not belong there.”
The guards had no sooner turned in obedience to his order when a massive explosion split the air.
Chapter 22
Initially Gutrune killed the three closest when the enemy came in range, but soon she had to switch her targeting to the three fastest. It made no difference that she could see when their fellows dropped in their tracks next to them, they kept coming. And her escape was blocked as well. If she left the cover of the boulder, two magicians aimed bolts of fire at her position. She’d tried for the magicians as soon as she’d identified them, but they had shields. The rounds had not been entirely wasted, however. The magicians stayed at the rear, and the shields caused the bullets to ricochet—and took out their own fighters.
Still, there were too many. She fought for time, to think of how she could sell her life most dearly. If nothing else, she would take as many of the foot soldiers down as possible so the magicians could not shelter behind them again. If the others survived to keep up the fight. A huge explosion in the camp startled her, then gave her hope. The others were fighting too.
Last reload for the triple. With one round left she quickly shifted to her pistol, then took the knife in her other hand and stepped out from behind the boulder. Perhaps she would get one lucky shot…
The soldiers were armed mostly with swords, and she ducked a swinging blow to stab another in the gut. They made no sound, even in death. So when the eerie horn sounded, it was very clear, echoing over the valley.
And the soldiers halted their attack, some in midswing, and turned back to the direction of the horn. The direction of the explosion also, or close to it. They paid her no further attention, even the magicians. She was able to reload her pistol and kill several more before running out of that ammunition as well.
Perhaps there were other guns in the buildings. Perhaps she would find a good use for the last rifle round. Perhaps the others were there already
, She picked up the triple again and ran after the retreating foe.
Ardhuin gasped for air, trying to catch her breath while she looked for a place to hide in the camp. She should rethink her plan. It was a safe guess that anyone she didn’t recognize had a geas, but there were so many! She couldn’t free all of them. She needed to find the magicians first—even if it was more dangerous and took more time. Magicians could sense the beginnings of vital stasis and defend themselves, and everything else took too much power.
And she still had not seen Denais.
Deal with him when you find him. Always keep moving, Gutrune had advised. They were outnumbered and weak, but they had mobility and surprise to their advantage. She’d run from the cave, both to draw attention away from MacCrimmon, and also to find fresh targets. No other magicians had arrived after the first three. She needed another lure. What would Denais order his people to attack no matter what?
Denais knew she was searching for him. She was the bait. A fire golem would certainly attract attention, but there was hardly anything to burn and it would take too much time. All she had to work with were flimsy buildings and dusty streets.
She smiled. A dust–traveler was easy to create, and then, tied to it, an illusion of herself with long red hair swirling in the wind. Ardhuin found a piece of dark cloth to cover her real hair with and let the dust–traveler go.
It brought out two men, but not close enough for her to touch them without being seen. She grimaced and moved the dust–traveler to lead them nearer—and a sudden, violent explosion blasted wood splinters and debris. She dropped to the ground and covered her head with her arms, wincing when wreckage landed on her. When she looked up, a plume of dust and smoke rose a few hundred yards away.
What was…I didn’t do that, did I?
The two men, being closer, had been knocked down and dazed by the explosion. She took advantage of the smoke to run up and destroy their geasi. What if that had been Denais, on the attack? She should go find out—and if it wasn’t, surely Denais’s men would be heading there too?
Shouts came from behind her. Ardhuin whirled around. A group of men were running down the street, long curved knives in their hands. They had seen her, and she would have to fight. She could not outrun them. Ardhuin quickly formed a shield, wondering which attack would be best, when she heard her name shouted from the middle of the group.
“Sonam?”
He waved and smiled, a full smile that flashed white, and the same fierce smile was echoed in the men about him. “My people have come to help you hunt!”
So the barrier was down. She had help, but now she needed it even more.
“We’re running low on matches, sir.” Stoller spoke with praiseworthy calm, as if he were merely making conversation.
Dominic ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frantic. It should have been easier than this to set fire to a wood building, nicely dry. Apparently the magical protections prevented anything physical from getting near the wood, however, and his attempts at arson had so far been failures.
“We just need to find a better spot,” he said to Stoller. “How many matches do we have left?”
“Three.”
He stared at the back of the building, hoping for inspiration. As a nicer building it had a low stone foundation, which hadn’t helped the combustion process. However, situated as it was on the edge of the cliff with a large mountain draining any rain down the side, metal grates had been placed at even spaces for drainage. And when he checked, the magical field was slightly warped next to the gratings.
“There. They must be iron. We just have to put the tinder in first, and then set it alight. It will also be out of the wind.”
This time it worked. The tinder they had found, like all the wood around the valley, was extremely dry and caught fire rapidly. Dominic shoved in a few more twigs and darted off with Stoller. He stopped beside the neighboring building and turned to watch.
“I just want to make sure it will work.” Stoller rolled his eyes but said nothing.
First a thread of black smoke appeared from another grating. Then a tongue of flame appeared at a window. More smoke was seeping from the sides and openings.
“Time to go, sir,” Stoller said. “We don’t want his folk finding us.”
“I suppose not.” It was clear the entire building was involved now, and the lower floor was completely in flames. “Very well, let’s find the oth—”
The roar of an explosion hit him like a hammer, and then a massive shockwave lifted him up and smashed him against a nearby building.
When he regained consciousness, it was to the sound of a worried Stoller and disturbing sharp pains that told him something was not quite right. Since all of him ached, it was hard to figure out exactly what.
“Sir. Sir, you have to wake up. There are people coming. We need to run.”
“I don’t think I can,” Dominic said woozily. His head swam, and when he tried to get up, one leg let him know in no uncertain terms it was not going to cooperate. He also could not see—everything was a bright haze of white. At first he thought it was smoke, and then he realized the truth. They had somehow blown up the magical salts, which were now dispersed in the air. “Oh, blast and damn.” He pulled himself up on his good leg, trying not to whimper. He’d cracked a few ribs too, it seemed.
“I’ve got you, sir.” Stoller pulled Dominic’s arm over his shoulder and they hobbled away as fast as Dominic could manage. “Is it bad?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s broken.” Dominic gritted his teeth to keep from screaming with pain. “What on earth happened? We only set it on fire! Now all that magic dust is in the air and I can’t see a thing!”
“Well, at least we got it.” Stoller shrugged. “I’m thinking we’d better hide out for a bit, though. I saw a wheelbarrow a ways back; that would be a faster way to get you out. You stay here in this shed and rest, and I’ll fetch it.”
Dominic nodded, unable to speak without revealing his bitterness. He was useless, again. A burden other people had to deal with. He didn’t even know where Ardhuin was. It was true that he had effectively destroyed the magical salts, he realized, cheering up slightly. Still, there had to be something more he could do to help. At least keep watch, which he couldn’t do lying down.
A collection of tools was stacked in the corner of the building Stoller had left him in. He could just reach one, a curious shovel made entirely of wood. The handle was long enough to serve as a crude crutch. With considerable pain and effort, he managed to stand again.
The dust in the air was beginning to settle, and he could see the edges of buildings again. In the distance the mountains were visible. Something about them looked odd—and then he realized the barrier had disappeared.
Dominic heard laughter in the distance, high–pitched and quick. Children? He shuffled painfully to the door, but all he could see was a short, balding man in worn clothes stumbling toward the now–destroyed house. The man had an expression of ecstatic happiness on his face, for all that he looked worn and exhausted. He laughed again.
“He’s gone…he’s gone! I’m finally free! Rot in hell, you Gaulan bastard!”
The man spoke Preusan—and he didn’t have a geas. Ardhuin must have freed him, and since he was Aeropan, he was probably a magician. Dominic started to move back into the shadows, but the man saw him.
“Don’t be afraid, friend. It’s all over.” He spoke in a reassuring way.
“What happened?”
“Why, his stinking lordship set off a little trap when he went inside his house. He’ll never bind anyone again. He thought he had bound me, but I tricked him. I tricked him and I put the explosives where only he would go.” The man giggled, hugging himself. “Baron Kreuzen is avenged at last.”
So that’s why it blew up.
“Er, are you sure? I didn’t see anyone go inside and I’ve been here for at least half an hour.” Dominic decided it would be unwise to mention why h
e had been watching.
The man stopped giggling and his face paled. “No. Nothing else could have triggered the…” he stared at Dominic, eyes narrowed. “Who are you? I don’t remember seeing you before.”
“I…arrived recently.” Where was Stoller?
“No. Nobody has come, that’s why he tried to send me, because he thought enemies…” The man’s face cleared a little. “Are you an enemy?” He seemed to notice for the first time Dominic’s battered and disheveled state. “You’re hurt. Was it the explosion? I’m sorry, but I had to do it. There was no other way, he is too strong, especially—” A horn sounded, long and wailing, and the man screamed. “He’s still alive? That’s impossible!”
He stiffened, looking down the street. Despite the brightness of the magic dust, Dominic could see power building around his clenched fists, a strangely ragged but strong power. There, finally, was Stoller—with the wheelbarrow—and Sonam, and a crowd of fierce men that looked a lot like him, and behind them all, a familiar red head of hair. The fear he could not shake diminished, seeing Ardhuin was still alive.
“Don’t worry. They are all here to defeat Denais, just like me,” Dominic said quickly. “Don’t you remember her? The one who freed you?”
The man looked at him, puzzled. “Freed me? No one freed me.”
“Dominic!” Ardhuin came running through the crowd. “You are bleeding! Stoller said you were hurt…”
He leaned gratefully on her. “I will admit to not feeling my best, but appearances can be deceiving.” He leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “That man is a magician and has no geas, but he claims you did not free him.”
Ardhuin glanced at the man, frowning. “I don’t remember him…and all of those I freed so far are in shock or worse.” She waved to the man, who was nervously sidling away. “Sir, will you not help us fight Denais?”
“You can’t fight him. No one can. He is too strong. The explosives would have done it, but now he knows…now he knows you are here. I have to go.”
Dragonhunters Page 28