Adamant (20 page)

A whisper sounded—the only warning we got. They came out of the shadows like ghosts, but solid and grey and covered in armoured scales. Nell attacked so quickly her arms became a blur, knocking one to the ground with a series of blows. I spun around and delivered a kick to another that sent it sprawling. The rucksack on my back slowed me down, but I moved to kick another away from Alber. But they kept coming. Dreyvern, or ‘goblins’, were not like the small, crafty creatures from fairy tales. They were vicious killers.

And some had knives. I ducked a blow from one of them and backed into Jeth. The five of us now stood back to back.

A much bigger creature lumbered out of the alleyway, tusks bared and spittle flying madly. Oh, hell. A chalder vox—and high on pain. I screamed a warning. Nell kicked a dreyvern flying, and it got up, its natural armour having absorbed most of the blow. The chalder vox shifted towards us, its heavy body knocking pieces of brick from the alley walls, and I had a brief, stunned moment to wonder how it got out of the Passages before its fist came at my face.

KAY

“She did
what?”
Ms Weston’s shout could have shattered the windows. “You let her escape
again?”

“It was that or kill both of us,” I said. “She somehow directed a magical charge into my communicator and destroyed it. The energy in that thing—it was impossible not to let her go. Level two at least.”

Ms Weston stood across from me, behind her desk, wrapped in a thundercloud of rage. I’d already mentally braced myself for those dreaded words, the ones that would exile me from the Multiverse forever.

I didn’t even want to contemplate what came after.

Ms Weston gave an impatient sigh. “I don’t know what to do with you, Kay, to be quite honest. We have lost a valuable prisoner, and if you hadn’t taken it upon yourself to interfere, it might not have happened.”

“She would have escaped sooner or later,” I said, aware that this was no excuse for fucking up like I had. “She had accomplices—and at least one magic-wielder among them.”

“Yes, it seems we might have a group of rogue magic-wielders on our hands. At any rate, there were witnesses, and we know the faces of her two companions.”

“There were more,” I said. “She talked to someone. She had a communication device, an earpiece, but I couldn’t see it. She was stripped down, right?”

“Yes, she was searched quite thoroughly. However, judging by the technology employed to lock her mobile phone, it’s safe to conclude that she has skilled friends out there somewhere.”

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. After Ada had fled, it was chase her or subdue the smoking communicator, and common sense had won out. I didn’t want the device she’d blasted with second level magic destroying half of Central.

“What she did with the communicator,” I said. “She released pure magical energy into Alliance technology.” Dangerous—and a damn good idea, too. I was kind of impressed, though I’d have been less so if I hadn’t dropped the thing before it burned my hands off.

“That she did,” said Ms Weston. “I’ll arrange for you to receive a new one.”

She’s not firing me.
I could breathe easier again.

“However, this situation is out of hand. The murders aside, we have good reason to suspect there might be an underworld of illicit magical activity here in London itself. Even within the Passages.”

The Passages. “The untracked one must be the one she used. If we can find it, it’ll lead us right to her. It
must
be near where she lives, or at the very least, the place where these illegal immigrants from offworld are sheltering.”

Ms Weston nodded. Her anger had all but evaporated now. “Excellent. We’ll need to send in an investigatory team. Would you be willing to lead?”

I stared. Didn’t expect that, not after I’d been deemed
disappointing,
let alone the total clusterfuck of Ada’s escape. “Of course,” I said. It was a chance to make up for the fiasco earlier. To redeem my position in the Alliance. And find out what was really going on with Ada. Why she’d stolen bloodrock.

Someone tampered with her.

“Good. Unfortunately, a number of novices were attacked earlier, as I’m sure you know.”

Yeah. Aric had been one of them. It was the shining light in an otherwise-craptacular day. Though it raised the question: who on Earth had the training to kick the crap out of a bunch of Alliance guards? There had only been two of them. I’d missed it all thanks to that communicator and the magic energy flying around the entrance hall. Two people had launched a
direct magical assault
on Central. What the hell were we up against?

Even two stunners didn’t feel like enough, but it was as many as they’d give novices going into the Passages. My team was assembled in the entrance hall. No one I’d spoken to before. Lenny was hiding in the office, having been taken off the patrol rota, Ellen had left early. I made a mental note to call her later, and then remembered my communicator was fried.

Carl came over to me before I led the team out. “Here,” he said, handing me a new communicator. “This one’s all set up. Just type in a new pass code.”

“Cheers, man,” I said.

“Good luck—you’ll need it.”

Tell me about it.
But I gave orders to the novices with as much authority as I could summon. Judging by the looks some of them gave me, the Walker name’s reputation preceded me. Well, at least it’d make it easier.

There’s a whole Empire tearing itself to pieces out there, and you bastards won’t even lift a finger to help. I would do anything to protect my family. If you had a heart, you’d understand that.

Her anger carried a ring of truth. One I understood too well. Damn it all. Ada was beyond reach now. And yet… she’d been dead right that the Alliance had overlooked the war in the Empire for too long. Obviously, interfering in magical warfare was suicide, but it was like I’d said to Markos. There were other options.

And I had reason enough to challenge the noninterference stance. It sure as hell didn’t come from the entire Alliance. Just the council, or one name in particular. Twenty years ago. There were only three council members present at Central right now, and none of them had any ties to the Walker family.

I hadn’t wanted to get involved with them. I’d joined the Alliance intending to stay far away from the politics which had got my mother killed offworld thirteen years ago—not to mention avoid magic at all costs. So far, I’d failed on all counts. But if I could just do this one thing…

A wild scheme was forming in my mind—totally batshit crazy. Like the insanity of the past few days had unhinged me, I thought it might actually work. My name alone would make the council sit up and listen. That much I could count on.

My rational side hoped I wasn’t about to do something I’d regret.

Into the Passages. The same route Carl had led our team around before, down the sloping corridor to the lower levels. No one said a word, but we kept in formation ready for an attack. This was the same place we’d found two chalder voxes, after all. My hand twitched on the stunner, the slight buzz of magic against my fingers like a building charge.

The chalder voxes’ bodies were gone, but the stench remained, and so did the green-lit side corridor. I indicated to the others to keep behind me and led the way towards the light. A faint gleam, like sunlight through an open door just out of sight. A staircase, and it led down to the lower levels. I led the way, stunner at the ready. This was Cethrax’s stomping ground. Even the Alliance hadn’t mapped out this place. Blood streaked the walls. Wyvern blood. So it
had
come from down here.

The echo of footsteps was the only noise that sounded in the warren of corridors. And there were no doors, no stairs. Not yet. But the wyvern’s blood must be a clue. Ada had got into the Passages somehow, before she’d been chased. Not through the Alliance’s entrance. Which meant only one thing.

A knife swung through the shadows. I reacted instinctively, grabbing the owner’s hand and snapping the wrist. A squeal of pain, and then the dreyvern fully materialised, howling. Its ugly body was covered in grey scales, and its now-useless arm dropped to its side as I took the knife. It wailed, threatened by its own weapon, and turned to run. I kicked it in the ribs, and it slumped over on the ground—but there were more of them ahead.

And a door, open wide. Unmistakable. On the other side was a brick wall. This was our hidden door, all right. A group of dreyverns was clustered around it—I counted at least twelve of them. My heart rate kicked up, and adrenaline surged through my veins, heightened by the magic.

The obvious thing to do would be to back off as quickly as possible. But the cry of the fallen dreyvern caused the others to turn in our direction. There were eight of us, but we were still outnumbered.

A knife flew towards our group, and pandemonium took over. I prepared to fight for my life.

***

ADA

I ducked the punch and grabbed onto the underside of the chalder vox’s massive arm. It roared, trying to shake me off, but I moved fast. As I climbed, I spotted a jagged wound in its side like a knife strike, but since its skin was like concrete, whatever cut it had to be something seriously strong.

My own knife was in my hand. I had to get to the weak point–

“Ada!”

Claws brushed my leg. A dreyvern had followed me, and its claws digging into the chalder vox’s skin sent the monster into a frenzy. I was forced to hold on with both hands, still clutching the dagger, while avoiding swipes from the dreyvern’s own knife. Cursing, I let go before it impaled my leg, remembering to duck and roll as I hit the ground. The chalder vox bellowed and ran back into the alley, hitting the walls on either side, totally out of it.

Jeth was trading blows with another dreyvern, using the massive backpack to absorb its knife strikes, while Alber and Skyla took on another pair of them. And Nell had moved to the front of the group, a blur of strikes and slashes with a dagger. But the fact remained: we were outnumbered.

I couldn’t use magic. There were too many of us to risk it.

I kicked the dreyvern into the nearest wall, my thick boot muting the impact of its armour. It slashed back, face stretched in a manic grin, and I kicked at its weapon hand. It moved like a shadow, and I cursed. I’d forgotten they had the same irritating disappearing trick as the chalder voxes.

The knife came down, drawing a line of fire on my arm. I gasped from the pain, my own weapon slipping in my sweaty hand. I stabbed at its arm but missed, and was forced to back up a step—into the path of another dreyvern.

My injured arm moved like it was weighted. Time slowed down. And then Nell was there, delivering a flying kick to the dreyvern’s face. There was a satisfying
crunch
as the blow connected and the creature fell.

The second dreyvern stabbed at her. I whirled in, ignoring the stinging pain in my arm, and brought my boot down on its clawed foot. It yelped, and I took the opportunity to stab its weapon hand. Blood spurted, and the knife clattered to the ground. I dived to retrieve it.

Another knife came flying out of the shadows, past me, and struck Nell in the shoulder.

Time seemed to slow again. I was aware that several voices screamed, “
Nell!”
A roaring in my ears drowned all other sound. The dreyvern grinned a crooked smile.

I kicked it, again and again, driving it into the wall. Adrenaline surged in my veins.
You hurt Nell. I’ll kill you.

I screamed in pure rage, stabbing my dagger into the dreyvern’s exposed neck.

Blood spurted in a fountain, more than I’d expected. I fell back, weakness pulling at my limbs. Jeth and Skyla fought side by side, three fallen dreyverns at their feet. And Alber was crouched over a fallen body. Nell.

“God, no.” I pulled the dagger out of the monster’s neck, shuddering. I’d never killed so violently before. So much blood… “Nell. Please. Be okay.”

“Holy
shit!”
Jeth yelled, and I threw myself over Nell as brick exploded above our heads. The chalder vox was back. And raging mad.

I jumped to my feet, willing my legs to stop shaking. Now wasn’t the time to panic. The chalder vox roared and flailed its four branch-like arms, knocking huge chunks out of the alley wall. It saw us, and cold horror seized me—it was preparing to charge.

“Get out of the way!” someone shouted.

My mouth fell open. Kay ran down the alleyway, caught the back of the monster’s arm, and used it to launch himself into the air. He landed on the creature’s back. A dagger flashed, the chalder vox screamed—and fell.

“I said, get out of the way!” shouted Kay, leaping clear of the falling monster. Alber and I pulled Nell aside, and the chalder vox came down like a ton of concrete.

A sudden current of magic made the hairs stand up on my arms, and two dreyverns ran past the fallen monster. Kay swore, reacting to intercept one of them—a
snapping
sound, and the dreyvern fell. Skyla kicked at the second, her face a mask of fury. She kept kicking it even when it was on the ground.