Risen

18

Landis started issuing orders to the troops. I clapped Ozols on the shoulder, then walked over to Rain.

Rain was propped up against the wall, with Slate kneeling next to him. ‘. . . don’t think I’m walking out of here,’ Rain was saying.

‘We’ll handle it,’ Slate said, then looked up at me with a frown.

I stopped a few feet away from Rain. ‘How the hell are you still alive?’

Rain closed his eyes, resting his head against the stone. ‘Transmutation,’ he said, his voice raspy. ‘Turn the broken bone into liquid, reshape it, turn it back.’

‘I didn’t even know water mages could do that.’

‘There’s a reason they don’t,’ Rain said. ‘Have a guess what happens if you get it wrong.’

‘Well, glad you didn’t.’

There was a moment’s pause. Behind me, the first soldiers were moving out.

‘I’m sorry—’ I began.

‘Not now, Verus,’ Rain said. He didn’t open his eyes. ‘Okay?’

Behind me on the floor lay the pile of sand and tattered clothes that had once been Caldera. Slate was staring at me, his eyes cold, and I could sense a barrier between me and the two Keepers. They’d put their grudges aside, but only for the battle. Now it was over.

There was nothing more to be said. I walked back to Luna and Ji-yeong.

Luna was looking tired but satisfied. ‘Too bad it wasn’t Barrayar in there,’ she said. ‘Remember how he mined my flat with explosives? Would have been kind of poetic justice.’

‘We’re at the endgame,’ I told them both. ‘Any last things you need to do, do them now.’ I bent down to pick up the sovnya from Caldera’s remains and headed for Landis.

Landis was talking with Tobias and Compass. ‘. . . already deteriorating,’ Compass was saying. ‘It’s only a matter of time before the drift is serious enough to collapse the realm’s link to our world.’

‘How long?’ Landis said.

Compass raised her hands helplessly. ‘An hour? A day? Five minutes? There’s a reason no one uses isolation wards!’

‘Well, it’s not five minutes,’ I said, walking up. ‘But there’s too much noise in the futures for me to see any further. Landis?’

‘Evacuation’s under way,’ Landis said.

‘Are you taking a shot at Anne?’

‘No,’ Tobias said.

I nodded. Now that the ritual had failed, an attack on the keep was pointless. The marid would just gate away. ‘Guess this is goodbye then.’

‘Verus,’ Landis said. His expression was serious. ‘I know I asked you to rescue Variam, but that was before we discovered his situation. I don’t want you and Mage Vesta to throw away your lives.’

‘Like I said, we were doing this anyway.’ I looked at Compass. ‘If all goes to plan, I’ll have a last few evacuees for you. If you could keep the gate open, I’d appreciate it.’

‘I’ll try my best,’ Compass said.

Landis extended a hand. ‘It’s been an honour, Verus.’

I shook Landis’s hand, then shouldered the sovnya and walked back to Luna and Ji-yeong. ‘Let’s go.’

Luna, Ji-yeong and I faced the keep.

We were maybe a hundred paces from the front gate. A flagstone avenue, bordered with lanterns of black iron, ran in a straight line from our feet to the double doors. In the distance I could hear the faint calls of the Council forces as they co-ordinated their evacuation, but nearby there was nothing. The keep loomed above us, cracked and broken but no less threatening. A wind blew over our heads, catching the trails of smoke rising from the south-east tower and carrying them away to the north.

As we stood, a quiver seemed to go through the castle, like a tremor in the world. It wasn’t as violent as the shockwaves we’d felt earlier, but there was something disquieting about it.

‘Wards are definitely down,’ Ji-yeong said. ‘But I can’t see the jinn.’

‘They’re hanging back,’ I said.

‘So,’ Luna said. ‘Just to review. Once we go into that keep, we’re going to be facing two marids and God knows how many lesser jinn. Not only do we have to beat both marids, we have to do it without killing Anne and Vari in the process. Does that sum it up?’

‘Don’t forget that the shadow realm’s going to collapse soon.’

‘Right, thanks for reminding me. Next point. Based on what we’ve been through since coming to this shadow realm, I think it’s fair to say that if it comes down to a fight, either of those marids is more than a match for the three of us.’

Ji-yeong raised a hand. ‘I’m not fighting a marid.’

‘Correction, the two of us,’ Luna said. ‘So, Alex. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m always coming to you for help. You know, I’m an independent mage now, I solve my own problems. But I really, really hope you’ve got a plan. Because I’ve been trying to think up a way to make this work and I’m drawing a blank.’

‘We’ve got a few cards left to play,’ I told her. ‘First is the Council’s focus. It worked on Caldera. Although that said, doing that burnt up about a quarter of whatever fuel this thing uses, and I think the marids are going to take more than that. Card number two is an idea I’ve had floating at the back of my mind about Anne’s dress. That dress is the last thing Arachne gave her. Arachne foresaw what was going to happen to Anne – well, maybe she foresaw this too. She might have woven in something to help.’

Luna looked sceptical. ‘I hope you’ve got a card number three.’

‘Card number three is the big one,’ I said. ‘I don’t think the marid possessing Vari wants us dead. It serves the sultan, yes. But every time we’ve faced it, it’s chosen to interpret the sultan’s orders in ways that don’t involve killing anyone unless it has to. I had it in the Arcana Emporium for nearly ten years and all it did was make a contract with a new host every twelve months or so. Maybe it might be willing to make a contract now.’

‘Well, it’s a better idea than fighting it.’

I looked at Ji-yeong. ‘How are you doing?’

‘I don’t think I’m getting my make-up out of my room.’

‘Ji-yeong.’

‘What?’

‘I know you weren’t especially close to Sagash or Aether,’ I said. ‘But you’re allowed to be upset.’

Ji-yeong was silent for a second. ‘I knew something like this could happen one day,’ she said. ‘I just didn’t think I’d be on the other side.’

Diviner curiosity is a funny thing. Even this close to the end, I couldn’t help but wonder what was keeping Ji-yeong at our side. It couldn’t be just self-interest or she’d have deserted long ago. Was it really just that she didn’t like to lose? Or did she see something in us, a way of living that was new to her?

Our footsteps echoed off the walls around as we approached the keep. I felt another barely perceptible shudder go through the castle. It was hard to be sure, but it felt a tiny bit stronger than the last one.

The double doors of the keep were closed. Luna covered us while Ji-yeong and I pulled them open to reveal a long corridor floored and walled in black stone. It ran straight as an arrow as far as the eye could see, disappearing into darkness. Small ominous-looking slits were spaced along the walls at regular intervals.

‘This is a trap,’ Luna stated.

‘Barbican corridor,’ Ji-yeong said. ‘Wards are meant to kill intruders. At least when they’re working.’

I walked in. Behind me, Ji-yeong cast a light spell and Luna clicked on a torch. The green and white lights cast two shadows from my body, bobbing and wavering as we moved, stretching out into the darkness. Our footsteps continued to echo, three times as loud, the sound bouncing up and down the tight corridor. The air seemed to grow colder the further we went. This was Sagash’s lair, the heart of his power. For decades he’d schemed, seeking to become immortal. Now he was dust and ashes, but his presence remained, dark and brooding.

A door appeared out of the darkness. My twin shadows bobbed, drawing together. As they touched each other, I stopped.

Ji-yeong halted just behind my left shoulder, and I could feel her staring at the door. ‘He’s there,’ she said.

‘Luck, be with us now,’ Luna said quietly.

Ji-yeong took a breath. ‘Master Verus?’ she said formally. ‘These past few days, I’ve been learning my limits. A marid is outside them.’

‘Fair.’ I turned to face Ji-yeong. ‘It’s been a dangerous road, and you’ve walked it well. Once you get back to London, if you need anything, use that phone I gave you and ask for November. For now, our agreement’s at an end. You’re free to go.’

Ji-yeong hesitated, then nodded. I looked at Luna. ‘Ready?’

Luna bit her lip. ‘Let’s do it.’

I pushed open the doors.

The space within was wide and square. Lamps along the walls cast a feeble glow, swallowed by black stone. The room looked like a final defensive position to hold any intruders; beyond were corridors to the left and right, and a central staircase at the back.

Variam stood at the centre. His black clothes and turban faded into the shadows, making him look like a disembodied face floating in darkness. Luna and I started forward, me holding the sovnya, Luna holding her whip. Ji-yeong hung back. Variam watched us approach, hands clasped behind him.

‘Halt,’ Variam ordered once we were ten feet in.

Luna and I stopped. ‘Marid,’ I said.

‘Host.’

‘I have a matter to discuss with your ruler.’

‘Yes.’

I could almost forget that Variam was possessed while looking at him, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the illusion broke. His voice was dissonant, inhuman. ‘Will you let me pass?’ I asked.

‘You are to be admitted,’ the marid said. ‘Others are forbidden.’

‘I’m not here for Anne,’ Luna said clearly. ‘I’m here for you.’

‘You are neither bearer nor host.’ Variam’s gaze rested on Luna, dark and clear. ‘This bearer wishes you no harm, cursed one, but should you force a conflict, all your fortune will not spare your life.’

‘We don’t want a conflict,’ I said. ‘But neither do you.’

Variam looked at me without expression.

‘You lived under my roof a long time,’ I said. ‘Ten years next January. If you really wanted humanity destroyed or subjugated, you’ve had plenty of chances. I don’t think you want this war any more than we do. “Only law is eternal” – that was what you told me, wasn’t it? I think the only reason you’re obeying the sultan’s orders is out of a sense of obligation.’

‘Allegiance binds as a contract,’ Variam replied. ‘Desires crumble and fade. Only the eternal remains.’

‘Then how about this?’ I said. ‘I make a contract with you. A new contract, with a clean slate. What you’re doing right now, using Variam . . . it’s against the principles you’ve always followed. Back in my shop, you’d take victims, but you’d always give them a choice. Vari didn’t get a choice. He was taken against his will.’ I looked at Variam. ‘So?’

The marid studied me for a moment. ‘No.’

My heart sank. That answer had been final and certain. ‘Why? Is it because I’m your host? You can’t grant wishes to me?’

‘No.’

‘Then what? Tell me!’

‘A contract is of the future,’ the marid said in that weird dissonant voice. ‘Both promise, and price. But you, Mage Verus, have no future with which to bargain. For you, what is, is what must be.’

I stared at Variam. He didn’t move, and as I looked at the futures I saw that there was nothing I could say to change his mind.

I thought about the focus in my hand, the fateweaver in my arm. I didn’t know if it could banish the marid, and I didn’t think I’d survive another trip into Elsewhere. But I had no other ideas.

Screw it. I took a step forward, my left hand tightening around the lattice. Battle plans and tactics began to flow through my mind. I needed to—

‘No!’ Luna said.

I stopped. Luna stepped up beside me, and as she did the silver mist of her curse brightened, glowing in my sight. ‘He may not have a future,’ Luna said, her voice sharp and commanding. ‘But I do. You lived in the Arcana Emporium when Alex owned it. Well, now it’s passed to me. I’ll offer you the same deal. Leave Variam, return to the monkey’s paw and the Emporium. You can take your victims, as long as they’re willing. One per year, no more. Leave us in peace, keep to those terms, and I’ll let you use the shop for as long as it’s mine.’

‘I am commanded to stand guard,’ the marid said.

Luna nodded towards the stairs. ‘No one but Alex to be admitted, right? Fine. I won’t go up there, and I won’t let anyone besides Alex from our group go up there either. You have my word.’

The marid paused. I felt the futures shift, and hope leapt within me. It’s actually thinking about it.

Luna’s curse blazed like the sun, so bright it was hard to look at. ‘This violates neither command nor allegiance,’ the marid mused. ‘There is no contradiction.’

Luna stood very still, her curse flaring around her. I held my breath.

‘When the shop passes on, you will find another to fulfil your obligation,’ the marid said. It studied Luna with those unblinking dark eyes. ‘Fail, and I will take both this bearer, and you.’

Luna hesitated for a long moment. ‘Agreed.’

The marid looked at me. ‘You relinquish the position of host?’

‘I do,’ I said.

‘Step forward.’

Luna did. The marid let her approach; she stopped within arm’s reach.

‘The contract is offered,’ the marid said. It held out a hand to Luna; resting on Variam’s palm was the blue and white cylinder of the monkey’s paw.

Luna shifted her whip from her right hand to her left. She reached out for the monkey’s paw and her hand met Variam’s, the blue-white cylinder forming a link between them.

The marid spoke one final time through Variam’s lips, and this time its voice was deeper, louder. ‘Done.’

The word echoed around the chamber, growing louder: done-done-done-DONE-DONE. I felt a snap of power, like a thunderclap without sound. Every light in the chamber went dark, then flicked back on again.

The light went out of Variam’s eyes. His eyes slid closed and he slumped to the floor.

Luna staggered backwards. The silver mist around her shrank, fading to a sliver. Luna bent forward with her hands on her knees, breathing hard.

‘Holy shit,’ I said. ‘You actually made that work.’

Luna gave a shaky laugh. I wasn’t sure she had the breath to talk.

Variam was lying unconscious on the floor and he wasn’t getting up, but he didn’t seem hurt. The monkey’s paw was lying where it had fallen from his grip. Luna bent and picked it up.

As she rose, I glimpsed Luna’s face, side-lit by the lights, and caught my breath. There was something in her expression I’d never seen before, something distant that spoke of knowledge and the burden of old choices. For a moment, I felt as though I were seeing Luna as she’d look in ten or twenty years. She didn’t look like an apprentice, or a young woman. She looked like a . . .

. . . Mage.

I blinked and the moment was gone. Luna stared at the monkey’s paw, then shoved it into her pocket and looked down at Variam. ‘He’s not getting up, is he?’

I turned my head and called back towards the entrance. ‘Ji-yeong?’

Ji-yeong stepped out from behind the doors. For a while back there, she’d considered leaving. I’d felt the moment she’d decided to stay. ‘Would you mind?’ I asked.

‘You want me to carry your luggage now?’ Ji-yeong said, then rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, fine. It won’t do my reputation any harm to come out with a marid host over my shoulder.’ She walked to Variam.

‘Well,’ I told Luna. ‘Guess this is goodbye.’

Luna looked tired but she stepped up next to me and reached out a hand. The last flickers of silver mist around her turned gold as she touched my forehead, and I felt something warm flow into me. ‘Last blessing. Maybe it’ll help.’

I nodded, turning to go. Beside us, Ji-yeong hauled Variam up in a fireman’s carry.

‘Alex,’ Luna said.

I paused.

Luna was looking straight at me. ‘You said last night that if you didn’t come back, it might be for the best. Well, I didn’t say this then, but I’m saying it now. If there’s any way you can make it back from this – any way – you take it. You don’t give up; you fight to the end. You understand?’

I nodded.

‘Promise me,’ Luna said. There was a fierceness in her eyes.

‘I promise,’ I told her.

Luna said nothing more. I took a last look at Variam, slung unconscious over Ji-yeong’s shoulder, then walked away. As I entered the stairwell, I glanced back and saw Luna standing there in her battle armour. She was still watching, and as I looked she raised a hand in salute. Then my movement made the walls of the keep come between us and she was gone.

Memories came back as I climbed the keep’s central stairwell. The last time I’d been here, I’d taken a route not so different from this, though back then it had been Sagash I’d come to see. Another of those tremors ran through the keep. Definitely stronger.

I listened in on the Council’s tactical circuit; the evacuation was in full swing. I waited to confirm that the gates were still open and that Luna and Variam would be able to make it out, then switched it off. I didn’t need the distraction.

From the feel of my shoulder, I could tell that the fateweaver had replaced it fully. Its tendrils must be deep into my chest. Well, it didn’t really matter any more. I only needed to last long enough to make it into Elsewhere.

Sagash’s personal quarters were connected directly to the stairs, a vault door leading off from the landing. A squad of jinn stood guarding it. Their gazes tracked me as I came up around the stairs.

I planted the sovnya at my feet and looked up at them. ‘Move or die.’

The jinn stared down with malice in their eyes, but they parted. I climbed the stairs and marched through their ranks. None moved to stop me.

The door was massive, made of solid metal, and ajar. I heaved it open, then stepped through. It swung shut behind me with an echoing boom.

The room within was cylindrical, with a high gallery. Waiting for me on the far side was Anne.