Risen

6

The War Rooms were full of noise and motion. Even out here in the entry hall, you could feel the change in the atmosphere: clerks and messengers hurried in and out through the security gates, too preoccupied to talk. They were so busy, they hadn’t even noticed me come down from the surface.

I walked up to the security gates, paused to let a Council bureaucrat run by and stopped in front of the officer on duty. He was busy writing on a clipboard. ‘Hi, Fred,’ I told him.

‘Just use the gates, we’re not signing anyone in today—’ Something in my voice made the security officer look up mid-sentence. His eyes went wide.

‘Been a while,’ I said. ‘How are the wife and kids?’

Fred hesitated, his eyes darting around at the rushing crowd. ‘Um—’

‘Relax,’ I told him. ‘I’m not here to pick a fight, and if I was, it wouldn’t be with you. Anyway, I guess they haven’t told you about the truce. I’m not kill-on-sight any more.’

‘Ah . . .’ Fred said. ‘Mage Verus, I’m really supposed to call this in . . .’

‘Go ahead,’ I said. ‘But your supervisor’s not going to answer and the front desk is busy. Ask them to put you through to Mage Talisid. He’ll vouch for me.’

Fred looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else, but he took a few steps away and started muttering into his communicator, shooting me occasional glances. After a few minutes he turned back to me. ‘He’s on his way.’

Talisid arrived fast enough that he must have run or jogged. He weaved his way through the crowd towards us. ‘Thank you, Officer –’ He glanced at the badge. ‘– Davies. I’ll take it from here.’

Fred Davies swiped me through the security gates and watched us go with a definite look of relief. ‘Here’s the bullet ward you asked for,’ Talisid said, passing it to me. The focus was made of dull grey metal, designed to clip onto a wrist. ‘I had to sign it out, so I’d prefer if you could return it, but given the circumstances I’ll understand if you don’t.’

The corridors of the War Rooms were filled with noise and bustle. Almost none of the people rushing past us would be going on the operation today, but you could feel the tension in the air: everyone knew that something big was happening. ‘Are you sure it’ll be enough?’ Talisid asked.

‘This’ll do fine,’ I said. Bullet wards aren’t very powerful, but by the same token they don’t need much energy. ‘Where do you have me placed in the command structure?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Technically, I’m still on the Council,’ I said. I didn’t mention that that was only because the Senior Council had been too busy over the past month to get around to kicking me out. ‘That would make me senior to Nimbus.’

‘Yes . . .’ Talisid said, drawing out the word. ‘I’m afraid I don’t think it’s politically feasible to place any troops under your direct command at present.’

I hadn’t really expected that one to work, but it had been worth a try. ‘I’m still going to need command access.’

‘What kind?’

We came out into the Belfry and turned left, our footsteps echoing on the wide floor. Normally at this time there would be a steady flow of people leaving from the judicial and legislative wings, but not today. Instead, the movement of people was towards the west halls and the Cathedral.

‘You’re hoping I’ll deal with your Richard problem,’ I said. I didn’t bother to keep my voice down: there was far too much chaos for anyone to overhear. ‘I guarantee you that Richard is going to make his move before you do. When that happens, I’m going to need the Council forces to act on my direction, fast.’

‘There are certain issues of trust.’

‘Yes, because up until a few days ago, you and the rest of the Council were trying to kill me, so I killed a bunch of you first. Get over it. If you want this operation to have the slightest chance of working, you’re going to have to put that aside.’

Talisid stopped. A woman with a sheaf of papers went hurrying between us and we leant aside to let her past. ‘What are you looking for?’ Talisid said.

‘Comm focus access for the command staff and official status as liaison,’ I said. ‘Plus I need you to talk to Nimbus. He won’t listen to me, but he might listen to you.’

The look on Talisid’s face wasn’t encouraging. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

The Cathedral is the single biggest open space in the War Rooms. It’s a vast, vaulted hall, stretching for hundreds of feet. In between the ribs of the vault are tall stained-glass windows, permanent lights casting a glow down over the polished stone floor. There are duelling pistes and lecterns, but usually it’s empty except for a handful of people who like to wander around admiring the architecture during their breaks.

No one was admiring the architecture today. The huge open space was filled with hundreds of people, scattered in groups all the way to the far wall. To the right, a field armoury had been set up, assault rifles and sub-machine-guns and ammo boxes laid out on tables, and Council soldiers lined up in front of them doing weapons checks. The area around the duelling pistes had been cleared and mages were doing combat drills under the direction of Keepers. Sergeants and officers stood in the middle of small groups, delivering briefings. The noise was a constant roar, scores of people trying to raise their voices enough to be heard over everyone else.

A brown-haired figure detached from the nearest group and walked quickly towards us. Talisid gave me a preoccupied nod and left. ‘Alex!’ Luna shouted over the roar.

I beckoned and Luna moved closer. I looked her up and down; she was wearing a set of standardised black and grey combat armour of the type the Council makes available to Keepers and elite security. Rigid plates for the torso, a helmet for the head, light mesh for the arms and legs. Not as good as military body armour for stopping bullets, but it would do better against magical attacks and was a lot lighter. Good to see Talisid hadn’t cheaped out. ‘Looks good,’ I said.

‘Better than it feels,’ Luna said. ‘This stuff is heavy.’

‘I need to talk to Landis and Sonder,’ I said. ‘And Nimbus, but not until after Talisid’s found him first.’

Luna pointed. ‘Landis is over there, Sonder disappeared somewhere, and I’ve no idea about Nimbus.’

‘Find Sonder and bring him here. I’ll be with Landis.’

‘On it.’

Landis was near the duelling pistes, addressing a group of Council security, and he was in full cry. ‘Now, you see, this simply isn’t any good at all,’ he was saying. ‘Not at all! Take this sorry excuse for an armoured shell. Weber, just stand still for a moment, please, there’s a good fellow. No, no, don’t draw away. Now . . .’

The security man whose name was presumably Weber stood still with a slightly alarmed look. The men around him had unobtrusively edged away. Landis flicked out a hand and a brilliant, extremely precise blast of flame flashed out and struck Weber in the chest. Weber flinched, but it was there and gone in the time it took to blink.

‘The picture of health!’ Landis said, and held up an admonishing finger. ‘But! That was a mere one thousand degrees. Now if we try a mild increase to two thousand—’

‘Wait—’ Weber began.

The fireblast was noticeably brighter this time. Weber yelped as it hit his chest.

‘See?’ Landis said, pointing at the chestplate. ‘Look at that! Feel it. Oh, come on, come on.’ He grabbed the hand of one of the other security men, who unsuccessfully tried to pull away as Landis slapped the hand directly on to Weber’s chestplate. ‘You feel how warm it is?’

‘Yes, sir,’ the man said in a long-suffering tone.

‘That was a tenth of a second burst. If I’d held that spell for a mere two-tenths of a second longer, our dear friend Weber here would be on fire! Now, this is what happens when you don’t properly attend to your gear. The diffusion effects absolutely require regular maintenance or they’re no better than a fire extinguisher! Now go check out a new suit and we’ll test it when you get back.’

Weber disappeared with a look of relief. ‘Landis,’ I shouted over the noise. ‘Can I have a word?’

Landis whirled to face me. ‘Verus! Capital! Carry on for a moment, boys.’

I led Landis to a slightly quieter space near the wall. A stained-glass window loomed above us, gently glowing, a mage in rainbow colours depicted in combat with a dragon. ‘Now then,’ Landis said cheerfully. ‘How can I help our most recently instated, de-instated and reinstated Council member?’

‘I’m going to need your help dealing with Richard,’ I said, and explained.

Landis listened closely as I spoke, looking like an alert and unusually intelligent greyhound. ‘Well, that would explain the mystery, wouldn’t it?’ he said once I’d finished. He gave a single decisive nod. ‘Agreed.’

‘The problem is going to be Nimbus. I’m not sure he’ll be keen on following my lead.’

‘So you want a sheep to jump the fence first, eh?’ Landis grinned. ‘Not to worry. May be something of a delay, though. However, one slight potential problem does swim to mind. You aren’t a little concerned that this isolation ward might end up turning everyone in the shadow realm into a fine red mist, ourselves included?’

‘A little,’ I admitted. ‘But if I’m right, Richard’s going to be there too. He’d never do anything like that if he thought there was the slightest risk to himself. And he’s a very good diviner. So I’m going to take his word for it, so to speak.’

‘Ah, the optimism of youth,’ Landis said. ‘Clearly you haven’t spent long enough in politics. Well, well, I suppose I’ll look into it. Oh, Verus? One other thing?’

‘What is it?’

‘I understand that Variam is likely to be on the opposing force,’ Landis said. ‘I’d very much like to do something about it, but I’m afraid I’m going to be rather tied up with command responsibilities. I would take it as a personal favour if you and Miss Vesta could do what you can to get him out of there alive.’

‘We were going to do that anyway.’

‘Excellent!’ Landis clapped me on the shoulder. ‘Nose to the grindstone, eh?’

Luna reappeared five minutes later, leading Sonder behind her. I’d withdrawn to the entrance of the Cathedral and met him in the corridor. ‘Alex, I’m a bit busy,’ Sonder said. He was wearing combat armour similar to Luna’s; like her, he didn’t look comfortable. ‘I need to—’

‘This won’t take long,’ I interrupted. ‘That anti-jinn weapon that Richard stole? I need to know its mechanics.’

Sonder hesitated.

‘No, I’m not officially cleared for the information; yes, Talisid knows; yes, the Council will clear me if you ask, but only after a lot of time that no one wants to spare.’

Sonder sighed. ‘Fine. Off the record?’

I nodded.

‘It’s a low-level sub-sentient imbued item that uses mind magic,’ Sonder said. ‘You know how jinn possessions work, how the human acts like a focusing lens for the jinn? Well, the item’s designed to attack the lens, sort of like a much more finely targeted mind blast. Ideally it’d destroy the lens and the feedback would break the possession bond completely.’

‘And banish the jinn,’ I said. ‘Would it work on Anne?’

‘More powerful jinn have stronger bonds. It’d work on a shaitan. Maybe an ifrit. But a marid?’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t think there’s any way.’

‘So against a marid, what would it do?’

‘Well, it’d still destroy the active component of the bond,’ Sonder said. ‘Force the jinn to rebuild it before it could use its wish magic again. And it’d cause neural shock. Disorientate the host, maybe knock them out.’

‘And because it’s a new weapon, she might not have a counter,’ I said. ‘I can see why the Council wants it back. Any drawbacks?’

‘The active spell needs a very particular power source. It can’t work off a wielder’s magical energy the way a focus item can. So it has to rely on its own fuel source, and that’s quite limited.’

‘Wait, it’s an imbued item with a finite energy source?’ I said. ‘That doesn’t make sense. Unless it’s powered by captured souls or something.’

Sonder hesitated.

I stared at him. ‘Seriously?’

‘They were only able to fuel it with the essence from very specific magical creatures.’

‘Jesus,’ I said. ‘Which creatures? No, on second thought, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. At least tell me they aren’t planning to mass-produce these things.’

‘Well, not now that the prototype’s been stolen,’ Sonder said. ‘Anyway, the point is it’s only going to have a few shots.’

I struggled to think of what to say. ‘I think we’re done,’ I said at last.

‘Okay,’ Sonder said. ‘I suppose I’ll see you at zero hour.’

Sonder disappeared back down the corridor. ‘So,’ Luna said. She’d been unobtrusively listening in. ‘It won’t work on Anne, but it might work on Vari?’

‘It’s not like they’ve field-tested it on an actual ifrit,’ I said. ‘But yeah. If those Council researchers did their job and didn’t just sacrifice a bunch of magical creatures for nothing, it’s a way to get a jinn out of Vari without killing him.’

‘Which just leaves getting it off Richard,’ Luna said. ‘What do you think? Pick his pocket?’

‘Probably not the best idea.’

‘Yeah, I didn’t think so either. I guess we could wait for the Council to kill him first.’

‘This thing with Vari has brought out your ruthless side, hasn’t it?’ I checked my watch. ‘Two hours. I need to find Nimbus, then we’re getting out of here.’

My talk with Nimbus was a lot less friendly than my one with Landis. Nimbus stood at a distance, arms folded and his body turned away as I made my pitch. Several other Keepers hovered nearby, watching me with expressions that made it clear I was in enemy territory. Nimbus heard me out but wouldn’t make any promises. Instead he kept probing for information. I couldn’t answer his questions without giving away more than I could afford, and that just made Nimbus even more suspicious. In the end, he told me that he’d keep his comm open and would listen to what I had to say. I wasn’t happy but it was all I was going to get.

I was on my way out when I heard someone shouting my name. ‘Verus! Mage Verus!’

I turned, and Luna did too. Jogging across the floor towards us was Ji-yeong.

Ji-yeong came to a stop in front of us. She looked quite different from the stressed and battle-scarred young woman I’d met yesterday – her hair was styled, she was wearing make-up, and she was wearing a new set of clothes with no claw marks or bloodstains. ‘Finally,’ she said. Despite the run, she wasn’t out of breath. ‘They wouldn’t tell me where you were.’

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

‘Getting questioned by your Council police,’ Ji-yeong said. ‘You’re going back, right? To our shadow realm?’

‘Alex?’ Luna said questioningly.

‘Oh, right, you haven’t met,’ I said. ‘Luna, this is Ji-yeong. Ji-yeong, this is Mage Vesta, my former apprentice.’

Ji-yeong gave Luna a very brief nod, then turned back to me. ‘So are you?’

‘Yes.’

‘I want to come with you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because your Council’s been trying to wring me out like a wet mop,’ Ji-yeong said, and pointed off to the side. ‘They’ve been asking the same questions all day! And once they were done, they made me write the answers down on paper three times! And then they were saying something about verification tests! The only way I got out was by telling them I had to go to the bathroom. They’re probably still waiting outside the door.’

‘Weren’t you one of the ones who kidnapped Anne four years ago?’ Luna said.

‘No, that was Sam and Darren. I just helped recapture her afterwards.’

Luna did not look friendly. ‘And then you tried to stab Alex.’

‘I stab lots of people,’ Ji-yeong said with a shrug, and looked at me. ‘Well?’

When I’d left Ji-yeong last night, I hadn’t expected ever to see her again. Apparently between then and now, something had happened to make her change her mind, and I didn’t think it was the Council asking her a lot of annoying questions. I remembered her last words: ‘I don’t understand you.’

I met Ji-yeong’s eyes. ‘You follow orders, and you don’t make trouble,’ I said. ‘Understand?’

Ji-yeong nodded.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘Let’s go.’

Ji-yeong fell in behind us as we started walking. I saw Luna make a small hand movement and I opened up a mental link. Go ahead.

Why are we bringing this girl along when she sounds like she’d be happier fighting for the other team?

Because she knows the shadow realm and she’s motivated, I said. Besides, we aren’t exactly drowning in help. Aside from her, our entire rescue team consists of you plus me.

She was working for Sagash until yesterday.

She’s a life mage. If you get cut open in that shadow realm, you’ll be glad to have her around.

Assuming she’s not the one who did the cutting. Luna sounded resigned. I hope you know what you’re doing.

We walked through the tunnels of the War Rooms, heading for the exit. Somewhere behind us, a couple of agitated-looking Keeper admins arrived in the Cathedral to question the people there about whether they’d seen a Korean Dark mage who hadn’t filled out her paperwork.

I sent Ji-yeong to Sainsbury’s with a shopping list while Luna and I gated to the Hollow. It was six o’clock and the sun was dipping low in the sky.

Back in my cottage, I geared up. I changed into a new set of clothes, then put on my armour. Once upon a time it had felt too heavy; these days, its weight was comforting. It’s saved my life so many times. I hoped it’d get me through this last battle as well.

Next came the dreamstone and the copper headband. I felt them react to the armour, and I had to work to reassure them. It felt like handling a pack of wary animals: don’t worry, they’re friendly, everything’s going to be fine. Once the imbued items had been soothed, I distributed my tools, lockpicks and gate stones between my pockets, along with my new bullet ward. Next I turned to my weapons.

Usually for serious battles my weapon of choice is my MP-7. It’s served me well over the years, and I’d considered bringing it out tonight, but in the end I’d decided against it. The most common enemies I’d be facing would be Anne’s jann and Sagash’s shadows, and neither were good targets for bullets. I could bring it along it as a backup, but wearing it on a sling while using the sovnya two-handed would be awkward – it would bump against me as I ran and get in my way as I swung the polearm. Small things, but those small things add up. When you’re gearing up for combat, you have to do a calculation on every piece of equipment, setting off the utility it brings against the risk that the extra weight will slow you down just enough to get you killed.

So instead of the MP-7, I strapped on my webbing belt and buckled my handgun into its holster. The old-model 1911 had a lot less firepower than the personal defence weapon, but it was easier to carry. More importantly, against the kinds of enemies I’d be running into, the extra power of the MP-7 wouldn’t do much good. Battle mages specifically optimise their shields against bullets – to get a shot through their defences, you generally have to catch them by surprise or get very close. A bigger gun doesn’t help you do either. Next, I slipped my knife into its sheath on the other side. Gunmen often underestimate knives, and mages almost always do.

In the past, I’d tended to rely on one-shots for situations like this, using them to cover my weaknesses. Unfortunately, the Council’s sentence had cut me off from my usual sources of supply, and by now my stocks had run out. I still had my stun focus and the mind shield I’d used against Levistus, but I wouldn’t have a supply of forcewalls and condensers. So for consumable items, I’d had to turn to other sources. I took out a small backpack and opened it to look through the contents, then once I was satisfied that the explosives inside hadn’t been messed with, I closed it and slung it over one shoulder.

And finally I turned to the sovnya. I’d owned the polearm for only four days, not long enough to get a good feel for its personality, but I was already wary of it. The imbued item had a very clear purpose – to kill magical creatures – and its bloodlust was a constant pressure, like a weight leaning against my mind. I also knew from past experience that it really didn’t care about collateral damage. When I ran into Variam and Anne, the sovnya would try to kill them with just as much enthusiasm as it had those jann. I would have to fight to keep it under control.

I sighed. As an apprentice, I’d dreamed of power. I’d imagined that it would set me free, open up a world of endless possibilities. But now that I had it, it turned out that real power wasn’t something that you could just take and forget about. Real power mostly came from relationships, often with people and entities that you didn’t particularly like, and to keep it you had to spend so long developing and maintaining those relationships that you didn’t have time to do much else.

There was nothing more to be done. I grasped the sovnya, glanced around and walked out.

Karyos and Luna were waiting. Luna had one of my short-swords fastened to her belt, as well as the old duelling wand Arachne had made for her; her hair was tied back and she looked focused and set. Karyos was standing with her hands clasped in front of her, barefoot in the grass, her simple dress a sharp contrast against Luna’s battle armour. She wasn’t coming with us, and I hadn’t asked. This wasn’t her fight.

I leant the sovnya against a tree before walking up to them. ‘We ready?’ I asked Luna.

‘Yup,’ Luna said. ‘Also, we’ve got another tagalong.’

A black nose appeared from behind Luna’s legs, followed by a vulpine head. Hermes walked out, sat in the open and looked at me.

‘You want to come?’ I said in surprise.

Hermes blinked.

Well, come to think of it, Sagash’s shadow realm had been his home. ‘I guess that makes four,’ I said. ‘You guys head to the exit. I’ll catch up.’

Luna nodded and headed for the gating point, Hermes trotting at her heels. I waited for her to get out of earshot, then turned to Karyos. ‘Thank you for your hospitality. I know we took the Hollow by right of conquest, but it’s your home.’

‘No thanks are necessary,’ Karyos said. ‘You have done much for me.’

‘I’ve spoken to Luna,’ I said. ‘If I don’t come back, she’s going to be your link to the outside world. I’ve left her most of my contacts. If there’s anything you need, she should be able to help, even if it’s just knowing where to go.’

‘I understand.’

I gave the hamadryad a smile. ‘Goodbye, Karyos. I’m sorry we didn’t have longer. I didn’t have as much time with you as I had with Arachne, but I would have liked to.’

‘May I ask a favour?’

‘Of course.’

‘If you can . . . please bring Anne back,’ Karyos said. ‘I grew to know her over the long months in my cocoon. We never spoke, but I felt her touch, the weave of her magic. This current form . . . in a sense, she gave birth to me. I do not want the only words I ever have with her to be those we shared when she attacked us.’

‘That’s what I want as well.’

‘Thank you.’ Karyos bowed. ‘Until we speak again.’

I took a last look at the beauty of the Hollow, then walked away.