The Black Tower (3 page)

“They were round black stones as tall as a human
,” Thaenn said.  “
Each one had a silver rune, like a slash...”

No
, he thought. 

“Did she succeed?”
he asked.

“
What do you mean?”

“Did she sacrifice any of your band?”
Kruje asked again, losing his patience. 

“
Yes,”
Thaenn answered coldly. 
“All they could capture.  Now there’s just Methander and I.”

Kruje nodded.  The girl was strong, but she was holding back tears, and now that the fighting had stopped the reality of her situation was setting in. 

“I’m sorry,”
Kruje said.  He looked up at the darkness of the sky.  The air was heavy, tainted and scorched with the taste of copper. 
“She’s insane,”
he said out loud.  “
Those relics are called Scarstones.  And by sacrificing your friends to activate them, Kala opened the way to Chul Gaerog.”

The name of the Black Tower was the same in every language, and even hearing the name of the Blood Queen’s fabled and highly feared redoubt caused Methander’s eyes to widen with alarm. 

“Why?”
Thaenn asked. 
“Why would she do that?”

“
It’s hard to say,”
Kruje whispered. 
“To seize all of that power.  To resurrect the Blood Queen.  Because she thought it was the right thing to do.” 
He cracked his knuckles, rammed his fist into his palm, and coughed again. 

“
It might not even matter now,”
Thaenn said.  “
Kala is dead.  The man with Ijanna killed him.”

Kruje sat with his hands folded over his face.  This turn of events complicated things. 

“And you said Ijanna and the Dawn Knight went into the gate,”
he said.  “
Which means they went into Chul Gaerog.”

“It seems that way,”
Thaenn said with a nod.

Kruje stood up, which sent needles of pain into his legs.  Only his supernatural metabolism was even keeping him upright, but he didn’t have time to worry about that now – he had to ignore his hurt and fatigue and find a way to carry on. 

It falls to me now. 
If Ijanna was in Chul Gaerog they were all in danger, especially if she found a way to convince Dane to help her. 

“
Where are you going?”
Thaenn asked.  She and Methander both readied themselves as he rose.

“
The gate – you said it was near the center of the city...was it in that great open square?”

“You’re not seriously going there?”
Thaenn asked.

“I am,”
Kruje said.  “
I’m going in after him.”

Thaenn stepped in front of him.

“
Why?”
she demanded.  “
To save the life of a Dawn Knight?  Do you have any idea what they did to me and mine?  How many Bloodspeakers they slaughtered, how many they tortured and burned?” 
Kruje stood watching her.  He was surprised she spoke to him like that, especially considering what he was, and what humans thought of his kind.  Surely she knew the Voss had been just as cruel to humans as the Knights had to the Bloodspeakers, if not worse.  Was she trying to sway him? 

“
Are you finished?”
he asked.  “
I admire your passion, but I didn’t ask your permission.” 

“Go, then,”
she said, and she spoke to Methander.  He gave her a comically exasperated look, but after a moment he gathered himself and stepped aside, leaving the way clear for Kruje to re-enter the night-shrouded city. 
“Get yourself killed.  Because Methander and I wouldn’t help that son of a bitch if our lives depended on it.”

Kruje started past her.  He kept his eyes on the fires.  Smoke rose into the heavens, thick and dark and smelling of blood.

“Are you sure about that?”
he asked her.  “
Because it might.  Not just your life, but
all
life.” 
She watched him warily.  Kruje took a breath.  He felt a great weight pressing down on him.  Too much, this was too much.  His life had become one trial after another, and he was sick of it.  “
I don’t know what the right thing to do is anymore,”
he said.  “
I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my people to die, even if they’ve turned their backs on me.  If Ijanna or any of the Skullborn are allowed to carry out their so-called destinies, it will mean the end of them, of everyone.  The Veil will be no more, and while the world will be freed from the yoke of Nazarathos’ control everything we know will come to an end.” 
Kruje felt himself shaking, and he balled his fists so tight it was a wonder his fingers didn’t crack.  “
If that’s the only way, then so be it...but if there’s even a chance that Ijanna is wrong, if there’s some alternative to wiping everyone out in order to save them, then I think I owe it to those I once loved to try and find it.” 

Kruje breathed deep.  It was a relief to be speaking these truths to someone who understood his words.  He laughed bitterly to himself – Kruje couldn’t believe that after so many years of conflict
he
,
the failed Prince, the outcast and exile,
would be the one who’d be forced to stop the Skullborn from resurrecting the Janus Tree. 

Maybe this is my purpose
, he realized with mournful resignation. 
The reason I was cast out, the reason I was sold into slavery and forced to fight for my life until I met Dane.  He’s my salvation once my task is done, assuming I have strength enough to take it. 

“
I don’t understand,”
Thaenn asked him.  “
How...?”

“There’s no time to explain,”
Kruje said, not with anger but exhaustion.  “
I could use your help, but if you’re not going to provide it then I need to move on.  I’ve wasted enough time here.”

Kruje started walking.  He was just leaving the shell of the building when Methander’s arm caught on his massive wrist.  The Bloodspeaker looked at Thaenn and asked her a question.  She said a few words to him, and Kruje even recognized some of them.  “Insane,” was one.  “Help,” was another.

“
You won’t get far on your own,”
Thaenn said after a moment.  Methander watched him, no longer with anger but curiosity.  “
The Phage are surrounding the gate.  I think your friend Mazrek Chairos intends to use it.”

Kruje clenched his teeth in anger. 

“
That can’t happen,”
he said.

Thaenn and Methander exchanged another look.

“
We’ll help you, Kruje, once heir of the Third Iron Crown of Meledrakkar,
” Thaenn said.  “
Our leader, Malath Zayne, feels he owes Ijanna a debt, and we have no love for the Phage.  They take our soldiers hostage and experiment on them, drain their blood to concoct potions they sell on the black market.” 

Kruje nodded.  He and Dane both had been guests of Chairos’ cruel care, and for as terrible as it had been he knew Chairos had gone easy on them.
 

“We have to stop him,”
Kruje said.  “
And we have to stop Ijanna.”

“Don’t worry,”
Thaenn said.  “
Help is already on the way.”

Argus stayed close to the wall.  The fog he’d summoned would conceal the team’s movements through Corinth for a time, but anyone with experience Touching the Veil would identify the rolling mist for what it was.  He knew there was at least one Veilwarden with the Phage, not to mention the Red Hand. 

I should be back in Ral Tanneth
, he thought,
going over ledgers and approving research projects, not out here playing hero, about to get myself killed by crime guilds and rebellious princesses. 

Corinth had grown deathly quiet.  Razel used her magic to muffle the sound they made as they moved down dust-filled streets and wound their way between crumbling sandstone structures, but even the strongest magic could barely conceal the noise made by Brutus, a twelve-foot tall war troll put in Argus’ care by the White Dragon Army for the duration of the mission.  The red-skinned brute made tremendous noise even when he sat still.  Argus winced every time the monster’s enormous boots crunched down on pebbles and broken stones, and he smelled the creature’s hot breath in the air, the odor of bad meat.  It was a challenge to keep the troll from eating every corpse they came across, but luckily Brutus had been well-trained, and so long as Argus used the Veil and the proper command words he could direct the beast.

Argus, Razel, Brutus and three Black Eagles came to a wide intersection which connected the narrow road they’d followed from the city’s crumbling outer walls to a wide and obstacle-strewn lane that led towards the center of Corinth, where they’d find the gate to Chul Gaerog.  Fire and smoke rose from the inner city and scorch stains and blood marred the dilapidated stone buildings.  Bodies were everywhere, the result of hours of fighting that had occurred between the Phage, the Red Hand and Kala’s mercenary soldiers.  The bodies that weren’t charred or peppered with arrows had been slashed to pieces by Razorcats stalking the city for weakened or dying prey.

“Goddess,” Razel said.  “Can you feel that?”

He did: it was the Veil.  The power pouring from Corinth’s heart filled the air with the taste of burning ice. 

“Damn it,” Argus said, not answering her question.  “Where are they?”  The wall of mist extended a good fifty yards around them, granting them clear vision of their surroundings but preventing anything from seeing in.  He looked at Malei, the only female Black Eagle.  “Are you sure someone stayed with Jar’rod?”

“We left
two
Eagles with him,” she said sternly.  “Just like I told you before.”

“I should have left more,” Slayne said.  Argus nearly jumped out of his skin.  The pale-haired and unshaved assassin stood in the shadows between a collapsing building and a leaning tower.  Four more Black Eagles emerged from alleys near the road, as did Fon, the Skinwarper, who now wore the guise of a short-haired Allaji woman in leather armor. 

Slayne had a prisoner, a short and stocky man whose once-fine clothing was covered with sweat and blood.  He looked familiar, somehow.

“Who’s your friend?” Argus asked.

“This is Var,” Slayne said with a grim smile.  Var’s hands were bound behind his back, and his face and arms were covered with fresh wounds.  “He’s a member of the Princess’s doomed expedition to this delightful little shit-hole.”

Of course.  That was where Argus knew him from. 

“You’re one of Kala’s servants,” he said.

“And much more,” Fon said with a twisted laugh.  Her voice was venomous.  “Tell him, little one.”  Var shuddered but didn’t answer, and he kept his eyes locked on the ground.  Claws sprang from Fon’s fingers as she grabbed his hair and pulled his head back with such rapid force it was a wonder it remained attached.  “Talk!” she hissed.

“All right!” Var shouted in fear.  “All right!  She wanted to open the way to Chul Gaerog so she could take the Blood Queen’s power!”

“How?” Razel asked, incredulous and afraid.  “How would she take Vlagoth’s power?”

Var didn’t answer, so Fon raked his back with her claws, and before he could even cry out in pain she grabbed hold of his crotch with her black nails.

“By using the Dream Witch!” he said in a panic.  “She was going to sacrifice Ijanna and bind her soul to the Blood Queen’s throne, take control of it just like those monsters controlled Vlagoth during the Rift War!”  Var smiled then, even as Fon’s face shifted to its reptilian form and her claws glinted in the moonlight.  He laughed a madman’s laugh.  “She’s going to conquer everything,” he said with almost childish glee.  “Jlantria, Den’nar, Allaj Mohrter, everything south of the Stormpeak...”

Slayne struck Var in the back of the head with a gloved fist and sent him to the ground.  Fon watched him drop, smiling.  Blood poured from the back of the man’s skull as he lie there, dark red staining the sand.  Argus felt Razel stiffen beside him, but he quietly put his hand on hers.

“We learned more from the Princess’s soldiers,” Slayne said coldly.  Argus had always found the Black Eagle leader a frightening individual, and every second he spent in Slayne’s presence convinced him the assassin was quite possibly the most dangerous man in all of Jlantria.  “Crinn is a member of the Cabal, and he’s helping Kala.  A whole legion of his soldiers are on their way to secure Corinth, using some sort of massive
cutgate
complex under his stronghold.”

“They’re not here already?” Razel said, looking around in fear.

“What, are you disappinted?” Slayne snapped.  “According to this toad, Kala wasn’t supposed to activate the
cutgate
yet.”

“Then why did she?” Razel asked.

“Maybe she didn’t trust Crinn,” he said.  “Or she grew overeager.  Who knows.  In any case, his army is on its way here now.”

Goddess
.  They didn’t have much time.  

“How long?” Argus asked. 

“No idea,” Slayne said.

“What do we do?” Razel asked. 

Argus looked up.  The sky was vast and deep and impossibly dark, and if they made a mistake now it would only get darker.  It fell to them to halt this madness, and if they failed the Rift War would start all over again.  Thousands of lives would be lost, and this time he wasn’t so sure humankind would emerge victorious.  Thirty years had passed since the Blood Queen had been vanquished, but there were still scars that hadn’t healed, and likely never would.  The world was in a state of rebuilding – unleashing Vlagoth’s evil on them all now would be a disaster.

He held the only star in sight, breathed deep, and tried to still his mind.  Argus ignored the ache in his chest and reached out with his thoughts, stretched them across the blasted ruins of Corinth and pushed through clouds of magic as thick as molten glass.  He found Jar’rod at the edge of the city, focused on the dreamscape.

Jar’rod
, Argus communicated.

She is gone,
Jar’rod answered.

Who?

Both of them.  One dead, one soon to be.

“Goddess,” Argus said aloud.

Which of them is dead?
he asked.

Kala Azaean.

Argus pulled back, and his mind returned to his body.  The shadows of decrepit old structures loomed over the blasted street.  Razel, Slayne and Fon all stared at him.

“The Princess is dead,” he said quietly.  He blinked, and tried to clear his thoughts.  She was dead.  Goddess, she was dead.  He should have been relieved – that had been part of their mission from the start, but still the news struck him like a hammer to the gut.  She was younger than he was, and he’d grown up knowing of her, had seen her at the heads of crowds of adoring citizens while she trailed in her mother’s powerful shadow.  Argus had only spoken to her a few times, and even though he’d sensed the sheer power and will behind her perfect eyes she’d still seemed so young, a girl trying to find her way.  The idea that she was dead didn’t seem possible. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Slayne said.  “Our job is done.”

“Like hell it is,” Razel said sharply.  “We have to stop this!”

“Stop what?”  Slayne’s voice was cold and menacing.  “Kala can’t do any damage now.  She’s dead.  Our job was to see to that.”  He looked at Argus and fixed him with a razor-sharp stare.  “Right?”

Argus stared back.  His breaths were cold, and it took every ounce of strength he had to keep from shaking with fear. 

This is why you’re here
, he told himself. 
Maybe even what you were born to do. 

“No,” he said.  “It’s not.”

“What the hell...?”

“We have a greater responsibility now,” he said, his voice growing strong.  “One mission is done, but we have another, one more important than eliminating the Empress’s rebellious daughter.  Jar’rod told me Ijanna is gone...and I have a terrible feeling I know just where she’s gone.”

“Goddess,” Razel said.  “Into Chul Gaerog.”

“We don’t know that...” Slayne began, but Argus cut him off.

“Then we need to find out,” he said.  “Because if she
is
in the Black Tower, we’re all in danger.  We don’t know her intentions, and even if they’re noble we can’t ignore the fact that Crinn is on the way, and to be perfectly honest he frightens me even more than Ijanna.”  The dark look Slayne gave him would have sent Argus cowering just a week ago. 
It still might
, he thought,
once I slow down long enough to realize how frightened I am. 
“We carry on,” he said to everyone.  “I’ll send a message to Gess and tell him about Crinn’s forces.  In the meantime...”

“We enter Chul Gaerog,” Razel finished, her face pale with terror.  Argus imagined he looked much the same. 

“Yes,” he said.  “We have to eliminate everyone inside and prevent them from using the Tower’s magic.”  He looked at Slayne.  The man was indifferent – he might as well have been made of stone.  “Have your people bring Jar’rod.  It’s time for us to go.”

Slayne just stared at him.  Argus waited for him to say something, but after a moment Slayne turned and walked away.  Argus was glad – he couldn’t have held his gaze a moment longer.  The mercenary had been difficult to deal with from the start, much less manageable than Gess had led Argus to believe. 

Gess also said I’d have to earn his respect,
Argus thought. 
Goddess, I don’t have time for this.

Once Slayne and the Eagles had moved further down the road Razel pulled Argus aside.

“He’s dangerous,” she said.  “Can’t you see that?”  Argus was about to say something, but Razel cut him off.  “Can you tell you me you honestly believe that going into the Black Tower with that man is a good idea?”

“I don’t think going into the Black Tower with
anyone
is a good idea,” he said.  “But what do you want me to do?  Get rid of him?  Without Slayne we lose the Black Eagles, and without them we’re three humans, a Skinwarper and a troll entering what’s likely the most dangerous place on Malzaria. 
That
sounds like a bad idea.”

“We can wait for help...” Razel started, but this time Argus cut
her
off.

“No, we can’t, and you know it.  That place houses the source of the Blood Queen’s magic.  If it falls into the wrong hands, everything the Empire has fought to rebuild over these past three decades will come crashing down.  We’re talking about another Rift War, for Goddess’s sake...”

“All right...” Razel said.

Slayne stood down the road with his short sword drawn; his hood was pulled back and his pale hair blew in the cold desert wind.  Fon and Brutus were close by, sniffing the air and watching for signs of trouble.  All of them were far enough back for Argus and Razel to carry on their conversation in private.

The two Veilwardens watched each other for long, silent moments.  Argus hadn’t been this close to her in a long time, and even with the gravity of their situation he couldn’t help but revel in the sight of her dusty blonde hair and deep blue eyes, eyes he’d once gotten lost in. 

Stop
, he told himself.  But it wasn’t easy.

“You’re right,” she said.  “You’re in command here.  I just...”

He kissed her.  The motion took her by surprise, but she didn’t resist.  She tasted sweet, and her lips were so soft.  He felt the tension melt from their bodies.

After a moment they stopped.  No one seemed to have noticed what they’d done, and Argus wasn’t sure he’d have cared if they had.

She smiled.  “I hope you know what the hell it is you’re doing,” she said. 

Argus laughed quietly, in spite of himself. 

“Me, too,” he said. 

Goddess, what am I doing here?

Argus turned to rejoin the others, but Razel took hold of his arm.

“You’re doing fine,” she said.  “You’ve gotten us this far.”

“But this is where it gets difficult,” he said. 

He took a deep breath.  There was no room for mistakes, no second chances.  Razel would watch his back, and Brutus was magically attuned to obey him, but she was right about Slayne – the man was dangerous, and his Black Eagles would live and die at his command.  Jar’rod and Fon, in the meantime, would do whatever they needed to in order to save their own skins.