Bone, Fog, Ash & Star (10 page)

“Foss?” she called hesitantly, as if he might be hiding somewhere. But there was nowhere to hide; his chambers were empty. Disappointed and increasingly afraid, she crossed the darkening grounds back towards the south wing. As she approached she noticed a number of Mancers entering the south wing, rather more of them than usual at this hour. She hurried after them and headed up the marble staircase. Hearing footsteps behind her she froze, then spun around. It was Ka, Emmisarius of fire. He gave her a polite bow without breaking his stride.

“Hello.” Her voice came out high and nervous. He swept past her and turned down the hallway.

“Where is everybody going?” she asked.

Ka glanced back over his shoulder and there was something sorrowful in the look he gave her.

“Some matters of no great importance to be discussed before nightfall,” he said. “Goodnight, Eliza. Welcome back.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Goodnight.”

She hesitated on the stairs as he disappeared from sight, wondering whether or not to go back and look for Foss to tell him about this new development. But if he was not in his chambers and not in the Library, perhaps he too was attending this unusual evening meeting. In any case, it could wait until morning, she decided, and made her way back to her bedroom.

~~~

Tired though she was, she did not sleep well. Ravens hopped about the room in agitation, occasionally cawing and waking her. For a while she tried to ignore them but at last she rose and went to the window. The grounds were quiet. Still, there could be no doubt
something
was going on; she ought to be ready. She got dressed and fastened the shoulder strap and scabbard Nell had made across her chest. Her dagger was not in the scabbard and she had a moment of panic before remembering that it was under her pillow. She had taken only a step towards the bed when her bedroom door flew open. There came a blinding flash and a great force threw her back against the far wall, knocking the breath out of her. She stumbled to her feet, gasping. Five Mancers had entered her room. She knew from the emblems on their robes, the black crab, the red bird, the yellow human, the white bear, and the blue serpent, that they were manipulators from each of the five houses: water, fire, earth, metal and wood. Any Magic combining all five of these forces was terribly strong. The room was full of ravens all at once, diving at the chanting Mancers. Five voices spoke a word together in the Language of First Days:
Bind
. It was the final word of a spell prepared in advance. The ravens were gone, not a cry, not a feather. A ring of fire appeared around Eliza’s waist. From this ring a shimmer of light emanated, surrounding her like a shell. She touched her hands to it and withdrew them with a sharp cry. It was white hot.

“What’s going on?” she asked in a high voice, despising herself for the fear she knew they could hear and sense. “What are you doing?”

“Excuse these extreme measures,” began the manipulator of metal a bit sheepishly. The manipulator of wood said gruffly, “Hush,” and the other fell silent. They turned and left.

“Help me!” shouted Eliza, without really meaning to. After all, who would help her here? Her voice bounced thinly inside the barrier, contained. She knew without trying that she could not do any Magic that would penetrate it. This was no ordinary barrier. She did not cry for help again. Now that the shock of it had passed she was more angry than afraid. There was nothing to do but wait and stay calm, if that were possible. Whatever they intended, she did not think they could be planning to hurt her.

Hours passed. The sun rose. No one came.

~~~

Finnis, manipulator of water, hurried across the grounds. He had been summoned to the Supreme Mancer’s study. Last night before sundown he had felt something terrible, something that had turned his blood cold, cloaked in a heavy secrecy. He did not know what it was but he had been unable to sleep and had considered going to see the Emmisarius of water. In the end he had been too shy to disturb Foss at night, so he remained sleepless and unsure until morning. In his morning trance, the black crab raced along the sand, the tide close behind, and as it ran the crab swelled to twice its normal size. The vision had been full of fear but told him nothing useful. Should he mention it to the Supreme Mancer? But perhaps it was nothing. Finnis was still a novice, only recently granted full Mancer status and allowed to partake in the daily goings on of the Citadel. He did not wish to be seen as immature or easily shaken. He feared that perhaps his poor sleep had disturbed the others and he was to be reprimanded. He knocked on the wall. A door opened and he entered.

Four of the Emmisariae stood before the Supreme Mancer’s desk: Ka, Anargul, Obrad, and Trahaearn. When he entered, they stepped aside for him. It was not Aysu seated behind the desk as he had expected. It was Kyreth. Finnis froze, paralyzed by his confusion.

“Welcome, Finnis,” said Kyreth in his deep voice. “I apologize for the disruption last night. I imagine you slept poorly.”

“Yes,” said Finnis weakly.

“My fault,” said Kyreth with a swift, crumbling smile. “Matters got out of hand. Foss destroyed the Vindensphere. He is in the dungeons awaiting charges. Aysu is missing and we suspect he had something to do with it. It would appear we are in need of a new Emmisarius immediately. I wish to offer the position to you.”

Finnis did not know what to say. It was absurd, a joke, surely. But no, they looked too somber for that. What could he say?

“I…I would be happy to accept. Such an honour.” He looked around at the others, who were regarding him calmly. “But surely Foss would never wish any harm to Aysu?”

He could not help saying it. The idea was ludicrous, after all. A slight tremor ran through the room and the others averted their eyes. Kyreth rose to his feet and came slowly round to the front of his desk, where the Emmisariae stood. Finnis wished he could unsay the words. But the Supreme Mancer spoke as if he had not heard them: “I am glad that you have joined us. You are young, but most promising, Finnis. I have had my eye on you. I think you will do well.”

His eyes fell on Anargul then. She dropped her head. Finnis saw she was mortally afraid.

“I do not wish to hold grudges,” Kyreth said. “You spoke against me once, Anargul. Where stand you now?”

“Your Eminence, I was wrong,” she said. “This past year has seen nothing but dissonance and difficulty among the Mancers. I welcome your return to power and I hope you will accept me, unworthy though I am, as your Emmisarius.”

“I am glad to have you with us, Anargul,” said Kyreth. “It is the season of your ascendancy. You must lead the Emmisariae. This new member in particular will need your guidance.”

She fell on her knees and bowed. He touched his fingers to her forehead. They each did the same in turn, including Finnis. Then Kyreth returned to his desk and sat down. Finnis noticed that the desk was riddled with cracks, like the ground split by an earthquake.

“There is much to be done,” said Kyreth. “Today the Shang Sorceress and Obrad will be married. For this, all the Emmisariae must be present and I myself will conduct the ceremony. Gather the necessary items and take them to the Marriage Hall in the Inner Sanctum. That is all.”

Kyreth nodded to them and they filed out. Only Obrad stayed behind.

“Thank you for this honour, your Eminence,” he said.

“She will not welcome you, Obrad,” said Kyreth.

Obrad bowed his head. “It grieves me. But I hope she will come to accept it.”

“Indeed, no doubt she will. But in the meantime she must be subdued. Do you understand me?”

Obrad looked up at the Supreme Mancer questioningly. Kyreth handed him a vial of dark liquid.

“This will serve the purpose,” he said. “She is held in a barrier in her room. Feed her the potion and bring her to the Inner Sanctum as soon as it has taken effect.”

“What will it do?” asked Obrad uncertainly, taking the vial from him.

“It will make her willing,” said Kyreth. “Go. Fetch your bride.”

~~~

She looked tired and frightened, he thought.

“Obrad?” She peered at him through the glare of the barrier. He saw understanding dawn on her face, and then fury.

“Stay back,” she said. “Another step and you will see what a Sorceress can do.”

Obrad held up the glass vial Kyreth had given him.

“I think you will change your mind,” he said, “after you have a drink of this.”

He stepped closer, then hesitated. Kyreth had given no advice on how to administer the potion. Suppose she simply spat it back in his face? Would it work if she swallowed a mere drop or did she need to drink all of it? He circled her, pondering this. Her black eyes burned with hatred. The whole thing was unpleasant, horrible, he thought.

“This is what is necessary,” he told her. He meant to sound placating, but it came out angry. “If you were not so stubborn, so selfish, these measures would be dispensed with. You do not understand the history, the traditions –”

Something sharp struck him on the ankle. He looked down and saw a long black snake, twice as thick as his arm, spread across the floor of the room. Its head was poised for another blow. Stunned, his mind confused, he began to raise a barrier. It struck again, too quickly. The pain was blinding for an instant and then his leg went numb. He felt the poison in his blood.

“What snake?” he heard himself say, as if from a great distance. He fell heavily, dropping the vial, whose contents spilled on the floor.

Selva entered the room, her eyes meeting Eliza’s through the barrier.

“Thank you!” Eliza took a deep shuddering breath. “Is he dead?”

“Paralyzed,” said Selva softly. “I have had too much of killing in my day.”

“I need to find Foss. Can you break this barrier?”

“Listen to me,” said Selva, her pale eyes intense. “Listen to
me
. You need to find the Gehemmis. I know. I know where it is hidden. There is a secret treasury in the northwest tower and that is where you must go. You must go there and you must get the Gehemmis. I wanted to bring it to you but there is no time. You must take the Gehemmis and go to Tian Xia, and you must collect the other Gehemmis. It is terribly important, my dear, that you do this.”

“But why? What are the Gehemmis?”

Eliza was still trembling and Selva’s strange way of speaking was making her head spin. She wanted to get out of this barrier and get her dagger. That was all she could think about. She was horribly afraid of seeing Kyreth appear at any minute at the door, or some other Mancer.

“Why, they will tell you what they are!” said Selva, and suddenly she laughed and her eyes sparkled. “My poor child. This barrier is made to hold a Sorceress. You cannot break it and neither can I.”

“Then how will I go get the Gehemmis?” She could hear the panicked pitch of her voice but she could not control it.

Selva ran her hands over the outside of the barrier and her palms blistered from the heat. She seemed hardly to notice.

“To hold one Sorceress,” she said and laughed again. “Do you remember how we met in the garden? How unusual!”

“I remember, aye,” said Eliza.

“And Nia, she reached inside you, didn’t she? Right inside you.”

“Yes.” Eliza shuddered.

“Come. There is something between us that is greater than this small Magic! Remember how you came into the garden with me.”

Eliza closed her eyes. She tried to lean against the barrier. It was too hot. But then she felt Selva opening, her grandmother opening into something wide and cool like a wind. There was no barrier between them. How could there be? Eliza stepped into her. When she opened her eyes, she was facing her grandmother from the other direction and Selva was inside the barrier. Her ravens were flapping freely about the room. Selva’s snake had disappeared.

“Go,” said Selva. “Quickly, child. I cannot help you any more but the stars whisper to my bones that only you can do this.”

Eliza grabbed her dagger from the bed, her few belongings in the camelhair backpack, and ran.

~~~

The ravens shot off in every direction, high against the ceiling, coasting on quiet wings. She could see what they saw, not with her eyes but somewhere in her mind. They were her sentinels, telling her when the coast was clear. Gritting her teeth against the jarring pain in her ankle, the throb in her tailbone, she raced up the stairs at a lopsided gallop. It was safer to stick to the upper floors, where it was generally quieter. More Mancers would be coming for her soon. She ran around the southwest tower and entered the west wing, the Treasuries. She paused and listened. Her ravens were her eyes, but they could not be everywhere and she was anxious lest they be seen. No sound, and so she hurried along the uppermost hallway. She could feel the barriers on the walls here, the power of the unseen doors keeping out those who would steal the treasures of the Mancers. The Citadel was on the side of the Mancers and yet, in some ways, it was on her side and her grandmother’s side too. She couldn’t be sure if it would betray her or protect her. She didn’t want to take any chances. She lurched and hobbled the length of the Treasuries, came to the next tower and went around it into the Library, where she was always authorized to make a door and enter. Foss had fought with Kyreth for that right for her; it had been reluctantly granted a few years ago and never revoked. The wall opened for her and she ran to the back of the Old Library and Foss’s supply shelf. Here he kept all the items for potions. She hastily grabbed what she needed. She had nothing to hold the potion and so she emptied a jar of powdered nettle root right onto the floor and mixed together the things she needed in the jar. She whispered incantations as she worked, kneeling behind the stacks, her ravens keeping watch. The task of performing this simple Magic calmed her somewhat.