Bookworm III (41 page)

She sighed in relief as the carriage finally came to a halt – it would be too much for the Emperor to walk, even though it was only a short distance from the Imperial Palace to the Arena – and the Emperor climbed out. Instantly, the guards on the outside of the Arena prostrated themselves in front of their master, banging their heads on the stone pavement so hard she wondered if they would do themselves a mischief. Or, for that matter, if a time when the guards were looking at the ground would be perfect for assassins. But the red-robed sorcerers – and a handful of watchful Inquisitors – never took their eyes off their surroundings.

“Come,” the Emperor said.

Charity sighed inwardly, then followed him through a long corridor and out onto the sands. It smelled faintly of blood and piss and worse, she realised, as the Emperor motioned for her to stand by the walls, then strode onwards, into view. The crowd starting cheering, but they seemed confused. Some of the older families had looked up the proper acclamations for an Emperor, but others were cheering as they would for a Grand Sorcerer. The Emperor didn’t seem to care. He mounted the podium, then smiled winningly at the crowd. They cheered so loudly that Charity couldn’t help wondering if the wards were going to hold.

“There are hustlers in that crowd, of course,” a dry voice said.

Charity jumped, then turned to see Dread standing beside her, leaning on his staff. He wasn’t the youngest of men, yet he’d managed to sneak up on her with ease. She scowled at him, feeling her heartbeat pounding in her chest. The Inquisitor could have stuck a knife between her ribs and she wouldn’t have noticed until it had been too late.

“Oh,” she said, finally. “Hustlers?”

“Men and women primed to cheer for the Emperor,” Dread explained. “They know precisely what to say ... and how to carry the crowd with them.”

Charity shook her head in disbelief. On the podium, the Emperor was just standing there, drinking in the cheers. The magic surrounding the wooden frame ensured that everyone saw the Emperor as looking in their direction, no matter which way he was actually facing. In fact, according to the safety briefings, the magic also placed the Emperor two metres from where he was actually standing. An assassination attempt would be difficult, to say the least.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, the Emperor raised a hand. The cheers instantly abated.

“My people,” he said. His voice was quiet, but the spells surrounding the Arena made sure that everyone could hear. “It has been so long since one of my family sat in the Golden Throne, acknowledged by all as the true representative of a bloodline that derives from the blood of the very gods themselves. In that time, there have been Grand Sorcerers who have ruled, but have not built. The Empire has remained unchanged since the Necromantic Wars.”

That wasn’t quite true, Charity knew. It was true enough that the system hadn’t changed, even if the names and faces of the people on top had changed several times. But there had been changes, she was sure, even if they were small ones. The Iron Dragons had been introduced only thirty years ago. Someone from the early years of Grand Sorcerer rule honestly wouldn’t have known what to make of them.

“But now we have returned,” the Emperor continued. “There will be many, many changes as the Empire seeks to grow once again. To expand and learn, to develop newer ways to work magic, to reshape the world into something remarkable. We will change!”

“Change isn’t always a good thing,” Dread muttered.

Charity nodded. Johan’s change had been bad for the family, even if it had been good for him personally. She wondered, suddenly, if Lady Lakeside had brought her younger siblings to the Arena to hear the Emperor speak. It had been agonising, but she hadn’t dared send another note to the older woman, let alone go in person to see her sisters. The former Privy Councillor would have taken one look at her and known what had happened.

“The signs of decay are all around us,” the Emperor pronounced. “But we will repair the damage and progress onwards.”

***

Patience was one thing Cass had learnt to master at a very early age. An impatient Inquisitor was one who would act too quickly and make it impossible for his or her fellows to close the case against the suspect. Even so, the urge to just start throwing curses at the Emperor as he babbled on was growing stronger and stronger with every passing second. He talked about change, but refused to go into specifics; he talked about honour and duty, yet failed to say what they might include. Or, for that matter, what he might want from his loyal subjects.

She glanced at the sun, mentally calculating the time. The Emperor had droned on for nearly twenty minutes and people, particularly the younger children, were getting restless. She couldn’t help wondering how many parents had slapped silencing spells on their children, or charmed them into obedience. Using such spells on children was risky – and would mean heavy fines if they were caught – but none of the parents would want to risk their children making a scene in front of the Emperor. Her own parents had been chillingly obsessive about presenting the proper face at all times. If she hadn’t had older brothers, Cass suspected she would have been beaten or charmed into being a good little girl in very short order.

“This is the task of my family,” the Emperor continued. “We are proud to serve as the rulers of the Empire as we lead the way into a brave new world ...”

Cass glanced at the family beside her. They were lapping it up. Their teenage son wasn’t even glancing at the exposed half of her breasts, because he was spellbound by the Emperor’s words. Was he using a charm, too subtle for her to detect, or was he just a better speaker than Cass realised. It wasn’t as if she’d been to many public meetings ...

And then a thunderous explosion echoed over the city.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Elaine had been looking at the Watchtower when it happened.

One moment, everything was normal; the next, tongues of flame were shooting out of every exposed window in the brooding fortress. She jumped to her feet, one hand grabbing at her wand, as the entire front side of the Watchtower seemed to explode outwards, throwing chunks of stone debris out over the city. The blast was so loud she found herself rubbing at her ears, trying to unblock them. Beside her, Daria shuddered in pain, covering her own ears with hands that had somehow started to become paws. If the blast was loud enough to leave Elaine’s ears ringing, it would be far worse for Daria.

She hastily cast a protective ward as pieces of debris fell down over the city, striking buildings and people in the streets. The Levellers hadn’t realised, she guessed, as the remainder of the Watchtower started to fall apart, that the blast would bombard the entire city with debris ... or maybe they just hadn’t cared. There was no way to know, she reminded herself, as flashes of magic glittered around the peaks. The Watchtower had been part of the city’s defences and now it was gone. It wouldn’t be long before the remains of the protective wards collapsed completely.

“By all the gods,” Johan breathed. “They did it!”

“Yes,” Elaine said. She had just witnessed the birth of a whole new world. “They did.”

She said a silent prayer for the people in the city as the final chunks of debris came crashing down, then led the way out of their hiding place. There wouldn’t be much time before Deferens and his men managed to regain control of the city. All hell was about to break loose, she was sure, and she wanted to be gone before the riots started in earnest. Or the soldiers turned on the civilians and began killing them.

“Come on,” she said. In the distance, she could hear screams. “We need to move.”

***

Charity stared in disbelief as the Watchtower exploded, pieces of debris raining down on the city below. Beside her, Dread seemed stunned, the first time she’d seen the older man show any strong emotion. The Watchtower was impregnable. Everyone
knew
the Watchtower was impregnable. And yet it was now gone. A piece of debris struck the wards covering the Arena and bounced off, crashing to the pavement nearby with a terrifyingly loud crash. She heard panic rippling through the crowd as the Emperor fell silent, as if he too was stunned ...

... And then all nine hells broke loose.

***

Cass took a very quick moment to acknowledge the destruction of the Watchtower and the deaths of several of her former friends and comrades, then she rose to her feet, drew her wand and threw the strongest curse she could muster towards the Emperor. Red and green light blazed around the podium, but his protective wards repelled the curse. Cass had expected as much – there were
very
heavy protections in the Arena – and threw a second spell towards Light Spinner, then hopped down towards the sands. Behind her, a whole series of tiny explosions echoed through the giant building. The Levellers, she knew, had brought their own surprises to the Arena.

She landed on the sands, just in time to duck a stream of black light from one of the red-robed sorcerers. Cass smirked, then threw back another curse, paired up with a transfiguration prank spell. The combination caught the sorcerer by surprise; he started to block the curse, only to find himself becoming a snail before he could finish saving himself from certain death. Moments later, the remains of the curse killed him, scattering pieces of his body all over the Arena. Cass threw a second curse towards two more red-robed magicians, then looked around for the Emperor. He was nowhere to be seen.

He can’t have fled in public
, she thought, as she turned towards the stand.
His reputation won’t survive fleeing from an assassin, even after the Watchtower fell
.

She swore under her breath as a grey-robed figure appeared in front of her, wand raised and already spitting spells. An Inquisitor ... not Dread, thankfully, but someone she knew. Gritting her teeth, she called on her memories of how Calvin moved, then threw a freeze spell at just the right moment. He shook it off a second later, but she was already close enough to punch him in the head. The Inquisitor staggered, then fell to the ground. Cass tossed a third and final spell at him, just to make sure he stayed down, then kept hunting for her target. But he was nowhere to be seen.

***

Charity stared, rooted to the spot, as the crowd panicked. There were people in the crowd waving wands ... no, those weren’t wands! Whatever they were, they were doing something; she saw a guard fall, half of his head blown away by the impact. Hastily, she cast a shield ward around herself, tightening it as best she could. A second later, something struck the shield and glanced off, hitting the stone walls and landing on the ground. She stared at the metal ball, then looked up towards the fleeing crowd. Just what was going on up there?

A flash of light caught her eye and she turned, just in time to see blue-white light spinning over Light Spinner’s petrified form. There was a sudden flicker, then the Grand Sorceress was suddenly standing there, her hideous face twisted with anger. Charity had a moment to see her raise her hand, then a wave of fire billowed out towards the stand, which exploded into flames. The Emperor was at risk ... Charity raised her wand, compelled by her oaths to defend him, but Light Spinner turned and casually waved a hand at her. Charity’s entire body locked solid, leaving her unable to move a single voluntary muscle. It was humiliating, particularly when she couldn’t lift the spell herself, and yet it was also a relief. If she could do nothing to defend the Emperor, she could do nothing to defend the Emperor ...

Light Spinner threw another wave of fire, so hot that Charity was sure her face was going to burn, towards where the Emperor had to be. An explosion flared up, right in the middle of the Arena, then the Emperor landed nearly in front of the Grand Sorceress. He was carrying a huge staff in one hand, wielding it as easily as another magician would wield a wand. Flames danced around him as he darted forward, smashing his magic directly into Light Spinner’s protective wards. And all Charity could do was stare as the two magicians collided, pressing their power directly against one another.

And then there was a flare of light as a dark-haired girl threw a curse at the Emperor’s back. He sensed it coming, somehow, and jumped out of the way, then threw a wave of force at the Grand Sorceress, targeted on the sand under her feet. Light Spinner jumped backwards, allowing her magic to carry her to the other side of the Arena, just as another grey-robed figure confronted the dark-haired girl. Dread ...

The Emperor smirked, then lifted one hand. There was a sudden wave of magic that felt strange and unpleasant, as if merely to sense it was to feel dirty and used. Charity would have shivered if the spell holding her in place had allowed any motion; instead, all she could do was watch in growing horror as
something
started to press its way into reality. A flapping creature materialised above the Arena, slowly taking on shape and form. Charity could only stare as the air shook, displaced by the presence of a dragon. She’d always thought they’d died out centuries ago, hunted to extinction by humans who hadn’t wanted to share their world with any monsters. And now one was back.

It was huge, easily the size of an Iron Dragon. Its wings beat the air, sending warm gusts of wind toward the remaining people in the stands. She wanted to scream as the dragon opened its mouth, revealing very sharp teeth, and the huge beast spat a blast of flame towards the Grand Sorceress. The Grand Sorceress ducked, then hurled herself forward as the flame struck the stands, blasting through them as easily as a blasting curse would go through paper. Charity stared as the entire north side of the Arena started to crumple, the crystals the Emperor had ordered placed within the Arena shattered by the attack. She caught sight of strange glimmering entities, so hard to see that she was half-sure she was imagining them, flickering and fading as the flames grew stronger ...

The Emperor shouted a filthy word to the skies, then hurled another set of curses towards the Grand Sorceress. She ducked and dodged his curses, but had to leap away as the dragon turned towards her, golden eyes packed with dark malice. Just for a second, the dragon looked right into Charity’s eyes, its cruel gaze seeming to bore right into her very soul. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was going to bite her in half with its sharp teeth ... but then it moved on, staring at Light Spinner. Charity had never been so glad to be ignored in her life.