Kingdoms at war, p.30
Kingdoms at War, page 30
“Where is this item located?” Ferroki asked. “Do you know?”
“In a courtyard in his castle,” Stone Heart answered.
“Ah,” Sorath said, “a simple place to infiltrate.”
Stone Heart squinted but didn’t otherwise react to the sarcasm. “Someone sent in a team prematurely to attempt to retrieve it, hoping to make a full-on assault force unnecessary, but they were not successful.” Stone Heart gave a significant look to the men in Vorsha’s green and also one of the zidarr.
“Since you’ve already given up the element of surprise,” Sorath said, “we should attempt to make a diversion work. They’ll know exactly what we’re doing, since what you’re trying to get is obvious to all, but if we threaten enough of his prime resources—such as the food that’s brought up to feed his city—he’ll be forced to send out troops, lessening the number left in his home skies to defend his city.”
“We can handle that.” One of the commanders lifted a hand.
“Sure, take the easy job, Kal,” another said. “Let the rest of us storm his fortress and face Malek and his other zidarr.”
“The zidarr will handle the zidarr,” Stone Heart said coolly. “I am not afraid to fight Malek.”
“I would be,” another of the zidarr muttered.
Stone Heart gave him a scathing look, but all he got was an unapologetic shrug in return.
“Half of the units will attack at strategic points in Uthari’s kingdom to draw his mageships away,” Stone Heart said. “Once his forces are split, the rest of you will fly at his city from varying directions under the dark of night. Colonel Sorath will lead those mageships, and you’ll defer to him.”
“With all due respect,” a new voice said, “no, my lord. Nobody’s trusting his judgment against mages.”
“We’ll only follow Ramhorn,” the commander who’d objected to Sorath earlier said. “We want to survive.”
Sorath returned to gazing at the tower and said nothing to argue for himself as leader. He hadn’t wanted to be here, but if nobody was willing to follow him, would Stone Heart kill him? As punishment for his crime? Ferroki would object to that, which could mean trouble for all of Thorn Company. Sasko shook her head bleakly when Ferroki looked over at her, a troubled expression on her face.
“With so many of you engaged in this,” Stone Heart said, “the survival rate should be high. Sorath has fought and won against mages before, as you all know. His first loss came when he was set up, by some of the people he now has a chance to fight against.” Stone Heart looked at Sorath. “You should be delighted.”
“Queen Vorsha was also among those who arranged that,” Sorath said without hint of delight. “Last year, she was an ally to Uthari. Are you sure she can be trusted not to tattle your plans to him?”
The zidarr who must have been one of Vorsha’s loyalists surged up to Sorath. “The queen is not allied with that thief. The truce they formed against you was temporary, to rid the world of terrene soldiers who try to build their careers by targeting our kind.” He curled a lip. “Too bad they failed. I hope you sleep poorly, haunted by the deaths of all those who died while you walked off the battlefield alive.”
“Actually—” Sorath lifted his pickaxe to scratch the side of his nose, “—I crawled off the battlefield, almost bleeding out after using my belt to make a clumsy tourniquet.”
Ferroki, who might not have heard that part of the story before, turned sympathetic eyes on him. A few others eyed his pickaxe as he lowered it to his side, grim-faced and maybe also sympathetic. But none of them changed their minds and said they would follow him into battle.
Stone Heart glared around the group, probably reading their minds and debating if it was worth threatening them into compliance. All of the commanders except Ferroki studied the ground to avoid his gaze.
Normally, Sasko would be proud of her captain for holding his gaze, but since she didn’t want to follow Sorath, either, she would prefer Ferroki throw her vote behind the other colonel. Sasko had never worked with Ramhorn on a campaign before, but she’d heard he was solid. Admittedly, they would need brilliant over solid to have a chance on this mission. Launching an attack at a known target when the enemy was most expecting it was ludicrous.
“Fine,” Stone Heart finally said, after what looked like a telepathic consultation with someone in the tower, “Colonel Ramhorn will lead the main thrust to attack Utharika from multiple angles and keep them so busy they’ll be spread too thin to adequately defend the item.”
Several commanders nodded. Others looked bleak, like they were rethinking whether they wanted to sign on for this. Sasko had a feeling that nobody had been told what this mission would involve before being allowed onto the transport vessels. Doubtless they’d only been told that the pay would be good.
“You’re providing the majority of the troops,” Stone Heart continued, “but we’ll provide the transportation, well-armored and well-armed mageships fast enough to allow you to escape if you need it. And as I said, we’ll send zidarr and highly trained mages along to assist you. Also magical explosives that you can lob into their city.” Stone Heart smiled at this imagined carnage. “This isn’t a suicide mission, gentlemen. And upon its completion, you will be rewarded.”
Stone Heart took a few more minutes to detail the pay the units would receive, along with bonus rewards that would go to anyone who brought him the head of Uthari or any of his zidarr. No matter what he’d said, this sounded like an all-out war, not just a grab for an artifact.
Sasko thought the meeting was wrapping up, but Stone Heart turned to Sorath and pointed a finger at his chest. “You, my mage-hating colonel, will still play a vital role.”
“I’m so relieved,” Sorath said in a deadpan voice.
“I’d threaten to kill you, but there’s little need. You’re the type to lead the charge. You’ll end up dead on Malek’s sword point.”
Ferroki frowned. “What’s his role?”
“Actually, it’s your role.” Stone Heart wiggled his finger at Sorath and Ferroki, then pointed over to Thorn Company.
Sasko sighed. Why couldn’t Ferroki have volunteered them to attack a silo somewhere?
“While the diversion is happening—” Stone Heart waved at the rest of the units, “—you’ll slip in on a fast small mageship, abseil into their city without being noticed, and find a way into the castle to get the artifact. You’ll secure it while also finding and destroying the mage tool that creates a defensive shield over Uthari’s stronghold. Once you’re ready, you’ll signal the ship to come pick you up. The mage crew should be able to levitate the artifact out of the castle once the barrier is down, but if necessary, you’ll throw hooks around it so it can be hefted out. If you return it here, where it belongs, King Zaruk has agreed to pardon you for your crimes, providing you leave his kingdom and never return again.”
Judging by the distasteful twist to Sorath’s lips, he didn’t find the deal that appealing. Or maybe it was the task he’d been assigned that he objected to. Sasko couldn’t remember hearing of any mercenary companies ever breaching one of the kings’ castles. Their kind were usually used for ground attacks in wars of attrition. In all her years as a soldier, Sasko had never been flown into battle on a king’s mageship.
“I trust you won’t have trouble following Sorath’s commands, Captain.” The frown that Stone Heart leveled at Ferroki said she had better not.
“I acknowledge that Colonel Sorath is a capable leader,” Ferroki said, “but I have not yet signed a contract or verbally agreed that we will partake in this mission.”
“Nobody has,” Stone Heart said, waving at the other commanders, “but if they know what’s good for them, they will. As will you.”
Ferroki opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
“There are not unlimited people in the world with the wealth and interest necessary to hire mercenaries.” Stone Heart leaned in and towered several inches above her. “It would be a simple matter for the word to get out that you and your girl unit were too cowardly to take what is a more than fair offer from a king. World leaders speak with each other. If you do not want your Twig Company to be blacklisted, you will take this assignment.”
“Thorn Company,” Ferroki said without batting an eye. “Why does it matter to you if we take the job or not? You have others here who will do it.”
“Because you will follow Sorath.”
“And you think he’s the only one who can get your object?”
Stone Heart eyed Sorath who was eyeing him back. They radiated distaste at each other, but Stone Heart’s tone was almost respectful when he replied. “I think he’s got the best chance. And your female soldiers won’t be seen as threats, so you’re more likely to be able to slip in with him. Do it and succeed, and I’ll see to it you receive triple pay.”
Ferroki took a deep breath before answering. Money wasn’t everything to her, but Sasko knew she’d grown weary of the struggle to earn enough to keep everyone paid. Having full coffers for a while would appeal to her—to any mercenary captain.
“Very well,” Ferroki said. “We’ll sign a contract.”
Sorath turned a bleak expression on her, but he didn’t object. Maybe he no longer cared if he lived or died. It was hard to imagine that he believed they could succeed. He didn’t look like a man who thought he would earn a pardon and be allowed to escape Zaruk’s kingdom without a legion of mages hunting him down.
20
Their lavatory had a first-aid kit with bandages, and as soon as Jadora and Jak returned to the suite, she cleaned the cut on her neck. It stung, the wound deeper than she’d realized. Had she been back at home, she would have gone to Dr. Petrosni for stitches. Her heart rate, which had finally slowed to normal after they’d returned to their suite, took another zag upward as she realized how close that bastard had been to slicing her jugular.
With a tremor to her hands, she wrapped a bandage around her neck, then took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind enough to contemplate the future, not the past. If the kings were starting a war with each other, and preemptively sending people in to kill her and Jak, they needed to escape more than ever. Tonight was proof that they couldn’t rely on the supposed castle defenses to keep them safe. Even Malek couldn’t watch over them every second of the day, and if enemy zidarr could manipulate the minds of the guards watching over them, who knew when they would disappear again? Or turn on her and Jak with weapons more deadly than a mitten?
A part of her wanted to laugh at that trick, to appreciate what Malek had done, but she worried that with new threats, she would forget to think of him as an enemy. She reminded herself that she was only here because of him, because he was King Uthari’s loyal man and would do whatever his master wished. She shouldn’t feel gratitude toward him or anything at all.
But… he’d showed up in time to save her life. What if he hadn’t?
She rinsed her hands and splashed cool water on her face, trying to wash away those thoughts. He was as dangerous to her and to Jak—especially to Jak—as any of them. It would be easier to remember that if he were more like Tonovan, but she was glad he wasn’t.
“I’ve been thinking, Mother,” Jak called from the kitchen, odd thumping noises punctuating his words.
Was he preparing their dinner? If so, that would be a delight—nothing like a dagger to the throat to stir one’s appetite—but he hadn’t mastered much more than sandwiches and had to be reminded to prepare even those.
“Thinking is something that I feel like I should, as your supportive mother, encourage,” Jadora said, walking out, “but usually, what you mean when you say that is that you’ve been scheming.”
“They’re very similar words.”
“Yet not adjacent to each other in the thesaurus.”
“Would it make you feel better if I’d been ruminating? Or contemplating? Or cogitating? Those are thinking-adjacent.”
“I’m not sure I would believe you.” She found him next to the kitchen, stomping on the floor tiles. The counter was devoid of sandwiches or anything else resembling a meal. “For some strange reason.”
“Malek said the shield around this castle protects everyone inside from intruders.” Jak walked into the parlor, stomping along the way. The thuds sounded solid. “So how did enemies get in?”
“Bribing or compelling the guards to lower it long enough for them to come in?” Jadora asked, though she remembered Malek saying the shield hadn’t gone down.
“I don’t think so.”
As Jak stomped around the room and into the bedrooms, Jadora found a ham, carrots, and potatoes in the magical icebox and drew them out to prepare a meal. There was something surreal about groceries appearing in the kitchen—or even having a kitchen—in the rooms that were their prison. As she sliced the vegetables and heated a pot of water to boil—the flames that powered the cooktop came on with a touch—she thought of the farmers who’d worked hard to grow the food, only to have their crops taken by mages who never had to work hard to produce anything. Admittedly, Jadora didn’t produce anything either, unless one counted the papers she wrote for publication and the classes she taught, but she paid for the groceries she consumed.
“Nothing.” Jak sighed as he walked out of his bedroom and flopped down on the couch. “I guess that would have been too much to hope for, but we are on the bottom floor of this place.”
“Were you searching for secret passages?”
“Maybe not anything as obvious as that, but I thought there might be ducts or maintenance shafts or something. I know magic keeps these cities in the air, but I doubt twenty mages are sitting in a room somewhere holding hands and concentrating around the clock to keep it aloft. They must have built tools that do the job. Remember that glowing engine on the mageship? And how it had tendrils that stretched out all over the hold and through the walls to other parts of the ship? There has to be a power infrastructure like that for the city too, most logically built into the platform that everything rests upon.” He pointed at the floor. “And if we assume that it sometimes needs maintenance, then there have to be crawlspaces down there all over the place so mages can get to the different sections. Oh, I suppose with their power they could repair things remotely, but those intruders had to come from somewhere. Maybe they came up through the floor.”
“Is that why you want to go to the library? To see if there are schematics for the city’s infrastructure?”
“That wasn’t my original reason, but do you think there would be? I’d expect those to be somewhere more private, like the architect’s office or maybe a room where the maintenance people work. Still, if it’s the king’s private library, maybe he’s not worried about the riffraff wandering in.”
“What was your original reason? I don’t object—it’s a good idea—but you’ve roused my curiosity. You said something about atlases.”
“Because of that last rubbing.” Jak brought his stack over, unfolded them, and smoothed the wrinkles out of the topmost one. One corner was ripped, and the wrinkles defied smoothing.
“When my team makes rubbings in the field, we usually store them in folders to preserve them for travel.”
“Is your team usually hurled against walls by mages?”
“More so now than in the past.” Jadora shook her head, wondering again if the rest of her team had made it home, and also wondering what she would tell them—and the entire faculty of the university—about Darv if she ever made it home.
“We live in treacherous times.” Jak held up the collection of dots. “Does this look like anything to you?”
“My mind went to chemistry and started looking for patterns related to science, but no. Although with your choice of a dark-blue crayon, it reminds me of a night sky.”
“Exactly. That’s what I think it is. The dots are stars. This is a constellation.”
“You knew that when you picked the blue crayon?”
“I had a hunch from the dots. Last semester, I took astronomy, and we made star charts.”
“Which constellation is it?” She tilted her head to look at it sideways, then reached out, turning the paper in Jak’s hands. Once it was in the new direction, it was more familiar. “The Dragon’s Tail?”
“That’s my guess.”
“The Dragon’s Tail constellation is only visible from the Southern Hemisphere. I’ve only traveled down there and had the opportunity to see it once.” The druid civilization she’d brought up with Malek lived on Zewnath, the Jungle Continent, and she’d been invited on an expedition early in her career to research and gather rare herbs that grew only at altitude there. The druids, and the terrene humans that lived there, had been sparse, and her team had only interacted with a few traveling merchants and nomadic herbalists.
“I’ve only seen it in books,” Jak said. “And I want to verify it by looking at a star chart. Hence the library request.”
“What about all these other rubbings?” Jadora waved to the stack. “Did you recognize any other constellations?”
Jak frowned. “No. None at all. That’s what has me doubting myself and wanting to verify this one. It’s possible this is a coincidence and that the dots represent something else…”
“Which symbols were next to that grouping of dots? Do you remember?” Jadora shuffled through his stack, but he’d done the rubbings, so he would have a better chance of recalling.
“That one, I think.” Jak slid a page out of the stack. “It was on one side, and this is the one that was on the other.” He pulled another page out and set it next to the first. “I have no idea what these symbols are. Father mostly studied the dragon language and didn’t put notes about many of the ancient human tongues in his journal. I’ve been surprised the portal isn’t covered in runes from their language, at least not that we can see.”
Jadora placed her elbow on the counter and gripped her chin as she studied the papers. One wasn’t familiar at all, having strange hashmarks that could have been made by a drunken chicken doing pirouettes in the dirt. The other one…
