Authors: Kelly McCullough
Broken Blade (40 page)
“If you’re so sure of Sumey’s victory, why are you here?” I felt around in the shadows with my free hand until I found the blowgun I’d expected. “And what’s this for?”
“You really don’t know what’s going on, do you?” Devin’s tone fell somewhere between incredulous and bitter. “You’ve never in your whole fucking life known the real score, Aral. You’ve always just charged in and trusted to the old Kingslayer magic to carry the day. And do you know what the funniest joke of all is? It always fucking works. No matter what the odds, Aral the gods-be-damned Kingslayer always comes out on top.”
“I don’t understand.”
“How do you do it, Aral? How do you always manage to fail upward? No matter how half-assed your plan. No matter how much others who’ve worked harder and actually thought things through try. No matter what you actually deserve. The dice always come up crowns for you. Well, this time, buddy, the dice are loaded, and you’re rolling nothing but skulls. This time you’re going to lose, and I’m going to be here to watch.”
Below, Sumey executed a particularly quick turn and counter, smashing Maylien’s blade so hard that I fully expected it to snap on the spot. But somehow Maylien managed to flow with the blow, throwing herself sideways into a cartwheel and saving her sword.
“What in the world are you talking about, Devin? You’re here with this and . . .” As I shook the blowgun, a long steel dart fell out of the end.
It hit the lead roof with a dull tinkle then started to roll away. Its end was heavily coated with something dark and sticky, manticore venom by the green undertones. What the hell . . . ?
“That’s not for Maylien,” I said. “You’d never be able to hide something that blatant from the witnesses. Who are you here to kill? And why?”
“Just watch the duel, Aral. If your Maylien is good enough, maybe you’ll get to find out.”
“Sumey? Deem? Fei?”
“Just watch.”
Another minute went past, and I could see that Maylien was tiring. If she didn’t pull a trick out of her bag, she was going to die soon. And there was nothing I could do about it without breaking my promise and throwing away everything she was fighting for. Another pass, and another. She had to—Oh, beautiful!
Rather than parrying her sister’s blow, Maylien had thrown herself flat on the ground, feet toward Sumey. It wasn’t the first time that she’d dodged rather than parry, but it was the first time since the earliest moments of the duel that she’d moved in tight with her sister instead of out and away. When Sumey shifted to follow the expected move back and away, she stepped right into a scissors kick that took her at knee and shin.
Sumey landed flat on her belly at right angles to her sister, with her sword momentarily trapped on the wrong side of her body. She was wide open to Maylien’s slithering thrust. It was a beautiful blow, driving deep between Sumey’s ribs, up and in, straight into the heart. Sumey died instantly. You could tell by the lack of blood flowing out of the wound that her heart had stopped pumping. I relaxed, though I didn’t remove my blade from Devin’s neck.
Below, Fei rose and started toward the fallen sisters. “I think that about does it.”
“So much for your mind games, Devin,” I said. “Now let’s . . .”
Sumey moved. It was impossible. Maylien’s blade transfixed her heart, but she was getting up anyway. And still the blood didn’t flow.
“I told you to watch.” Devin’s voice sounded smug.
“What’s the hell is going on here!” Captain Fei reared back and away from Sumey.
“I’m killing my sister.” Sumey rose onto hands and knees. “And you’re going to witness it for the crown like a good little pet if you know what’s good for you.”
And now I had a pretty good idea who the dart had been for.
Reaching back with her left hand, Sumey caught Maylien’s sword between her fingers and casually snapped it off where it emerged from her rib cage.
22
I
couldn’t force what was happening below to make sense. Sumey Dan Marchon had taken a thrust to the heart and simply shrugged it off. Even now, she was calmly rising to her feet despite the length of Zhani steel sticking out of her side. I was totally unprepared for the current turn of events.
couldn’t force what was happening below to make sense. Sumey Dan Marchon had taken a thrust to the heart and simply shrugged it off. Even now, she was calmly rising to her feet despite the length of Zhani steel sticking out of her side. I was totally unprepared for the current turn of events.
I didn’t realize Devin had been counting on it and the distraction it would provide until I felt him smack my dagger away from his neck. Before I could do anything to regain my advantage, Devin gave a hard kick that sent us both spilling over the edge of the roof and tumbling into space some five stories above the ground. Through my connection to Triss, I tried desperately to form a shadow sail. He was less than halfway through the transition when we slammed into a narrow fourth-floor balcony.
I landed on my back, with Devin on top of me, both of us having shed our enshrouding shadows along the way. He took advantage of the shock and the impact to smash my wrist against the marble railing. Pain ripped through my arm, and my dagger tumbled away into the air beyond the balcony.
Devin popped up into a crouch, drawing a long knife as he pivoted to face me. “And now, I’m going to kill you.”
If he’d acted immediately, he might well have managed it. I was still stunned, and though I had released Triss to his own recognizance, he hadn’t yet manifested himself in any significant way. But whether Devin had the same problem killing an old friend that I’d had, or he wanted to gloat first, or was prevented by Zass, or whatever, I couldn’t say. All I know is he hesitated and lost the moment.
“Assassins! Assassins on the balcony!” It was Sumey’s voice as clear and strong as ever. “Deem, Blades, kill them!”
Her cry was answered by the deep grating howl of a stone dog and a great chain of green fire lashing along the marble posts of the railing. Heat licked through the gaps, chewing at the right side of my body. I felt pain shock through Triss as parts of my shirt started to smolder, but Devin caught it much worse. The top of his head was above the protection of the railing. He screamed wildly and dropped his knife to slap at his scalp when his hair burst into sudden flame.
I kicked him in the chest, sending him backward into the side railing. It saved his life as a second chain of fire lashed vertically through the place he’d just been, wrapping over the edge of the railing and burning across my shins. It hurt like nobody’s business, but my boots took the worst of it, and I wasn’t badly crisped. I scooted back into the corner of the balcony, where there was more cover, while Devin did the same opposite me.
Our swords came out in the same instant, his left, my right. Before either of us could make a move toward the other, his shadow shifted, twisting into the shape of a tayra and sliding onto the floor between us.
“Truce!” cried the ferret-wolf. “Truce until the Elite is dead. It’s our only chance.”
“Done,” said the dragon that suddenly appeared to sniff noses with the tayra. “The stone dog will be here in seconds.”
Then both shadows flowed to the railing side of the balcony, weaving a shining curtain of magic between them that deflected the next fall of Deem’s lash. Devin clenched his jaw so tight I thought his teeth might shatter, and he glared at me as if daring me to argue.
Since I figured it would piss him off even more, I smiled, mustered my cheeriest voice, and said, “It’s always good to know who’s the boss. So, what’s the plan?”
We weren’t exactly in the best tactical position I’d ever occupied. The wooden doors and window that led from our balcony into the house were burning madly, as was the room beyond. That only left down or up. Both directions posed problems.
“I got the damned dog last time,” said Devin. “It’s your turn.” Then, as the stone dog’s head came up through the floor of the balcony, Devin did a neat backflip over the railing behind him.
I shouted, “You’re the one with the magic swords, asshole!”
But he was already gone, and the stone dog seemed to agree with him as to who got to fight whom, turning a snarling glare on me as its front legs emerged from the stone. But terror is a wonderful driver of inspiration, and I jumped straight out of my crouch and up onto the railing.
That left me exposed to another blast from Deem, but I figured he wouldn’t take the risk of hitting his familiar. It was only as I leaped from there to catch the edge of the roof above that it occurred to me that the damn dog might be proof against its master’s magical fire. But Deem didn’t fry me just then, and my plan moved to phase two.
The dog was fully up and through the balcony now. It leaped after me, which was actually what I’d counted on. As a great stone paw swiped at my legs, I pulled my feet up bare inches above the swing. Long claws sank deep into the stone wall below me, and I planted both boots on the back of its paw before it could move again, using that momentary footing to launch myself the rest of the way onto the roof.
The dog came after me, charging up the limestone wall as easily as a squirrel might run up a tree. I took three long steps. Then, just as the stone dog came up over the lip of the roof, I let myself fall forward as if I’d tripped. Landing on palms and toe tips, I could feel the roof already starting to warm from the magically generated fire below.
“Triss, joist!” I slid my right hand over a seam in the lead roof to guide him.
The dog pounced, and I pushed off with my right hand, rolling madly away. In that same moment, Triss released a blast of pure magical force focused on the thick joist running beneath the seam in the lead. It shattered one of the main supports for the patch of roof where I’d just been. Combine that with the fire beneath, and there was never a chance it would stand up to the incredible impact of a thousand-pound dog trying to crush a man.
The stone dog went straight through into the fire below while I reversed course, spreading my arms as I leaped off the roof. Time to join Devin in going after Deem. The colonel was by far the more fragile link in the Elite partnership. Triss made wings of my arms, though much narrower than usual, and we went down
fast
! After our last experience sail-jumping around the colonel, I couldn’t blame him for the caution.
fast
! After our last experience sail-jumping around the colonel, I couldn’t blame him for the caution.
I used our abbreviated hang time to take quick stock of the situation below. The garden was in total pandemonium. The guards and servants had scattered, variously running for the house, the hills, or the koi pond—presumably to get buckets of water to throw on the rapidly spreading fire. Maylien, who only had about two-thirds of a sword left, was dodging in and out between the hedges and larger bits of sculpture to avoid closing with her sister again. She didn’t look happy, but I was pretty sure she’d be all right on her own for a few more minutes.
Devin, on the other hand, was in real trouble. He was unshrouded and fighting against both Fei and Deem. The latter was using his free hand to hurl short bursts of magelightning at Devin every few seconds. That forced Zass to focus all his energy on magical defense and explained why Devin hadn’t shadowed up.
I lost track of things for a few moments then as I hit bottom and had to go straight into a series of diving rolls to bleed off the extra speed from our precipitous descent. As soon as I was up, I drew my second sword and dashed toward the whirling knot of steel and magic that was the Deem-Fei-Devin fight.
“Aral!” Maylien yelled from somewhere off to my left. “I could use some help here! Call Bontrang, dammit!”
I mentally kicked myself. We’d prearranged a signal with Heyin to release the gryphinx in case of treachery, and I’d forgotten all about it until then.
I made a half turn to orient myself properly and pointed my swords skyward. “Triss, now!”
He flowed over the blades, momentarily masking them in shadow, and together we sent a great V of magelightning up into the clear morning air, brilliant green so there would be no mistaking the intent. Then I turned back toward the more urgent problem. I’d taken barely two steps before I heard a tremendous crash from above and behind me.
I glanced up in time to see a huge horizontal pillar of flame extend itself from a gaping hole in the Marchon House. The stone dog led the fire like the head of a comet, dropping out and down from the doors it had just shattered. It didn’t look any the worse for wear and was already bunching its legs for landing. While the few remaining servants finally bolted, I mentally calculated angles and distances. The dog was going to land in front of me and much closer to Devin and Deem. There was no way I could get to them before it did.
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