Moon's Artifice (34 page)

‘Is it good news, then ?’ she said, watching the two men lift the tabletop off to reveal a dark well-like opening despite the fact they were on the first floor.

He brightened. ‘Aye, it is actually. Tells me some about their magic, what they’re likely to have up their sleeves. You could sum it up as crude, but effective. Any one of them I can handle easily enough I reckon, but if they’ve got the army we think they do … well, that could be tricky for all involved.’

He waved them back and peered into the well then, to her surprise, hawked and spat down it. If there was a splash, Kesh didn’t hear it, but Enchei smiled all the same.

‘You’re not so different from any other man,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Show you a height and you’ll spit off it, a tree and you’ll piss against it.’

The smile turned into a grin. ‘If you say so,’ he said, but then a serious expression took hold of his face. ‘Now – you two want to stay, you keep quiet as mice and don’t bloody move. In fact, sit down on the floor, there’s no telling how long this’ll take.’

Kesh and Irato exchanged looks. The former goshe hadn’t spoken since they’d made it to the tavern door an hour or so earlier. Apart from cleaning his weapons in a methodical manner and wiping the worst of the blood and dirt from his clothes, he’d done almost nothing. Kesh herself had been too jittery to keep still for long, but Irato had been more like an automaton wound down after the running and fighting were over.

Once the pair had settled, Enchei fetched a hide bag from one of the cupboards. He pulled from it a long coil of thread like thick fishing line with a small bone securely bound to one end. Kesh caught a glimpse of symbols inscribed into the bone before Enchei dropped it down the well, wrapping the other end tightly around two fingers of his left hand. Next he retrieved a length of thin copper wire and hooked it around something inside the well.

As he ran that across the well-mouth Kesh realised there were small hooks on the inside wall, fixed to a band of copper nailed into the brickwork. Keeping the thread dangling down the centre of the well, Enchei caught the wire around each of the five hooks to create a star-shaped web across the well-mouth. That done he knelt at the side, holding the thread high and clear of the copper wire as he began to mutter under his breath.

Kesh strained forward to try to make out what he was saying, but it was no language she’d ever heard – nothing spoken on the docks even resembled it. Enchei continued in a monotonous drone and she reluctantly eased back again into a more comfortable position, realising he was repeating some mantra or invocation over and over with barely a pause for breath.

It took a long time for anything more to happen. Kesh fought the urge to squirm where she sat, uncomfortable on the floor, but risked only brief glances at Irato out of the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the aging tattooist. Irato was almost perfectly still the whole while, barely blinking, as though hypnotised by the sight.

A few days ago I would be shocked by this,
Kesh realised with sour humour.
I thought demons were enemies of the Gods and of all mankind, I thought most magic was heresy and dangerous. Now … who knows what’s true ? Demons saved me from Perel ; Enchei shows no hatred or fear of the Gods – and I can’t believe a practising shaman would be tolerated amongst the Astaren otherwise.

She paused, remembering every silly rumour she’d heard about the fabled warrior-mages. Somehow, in their exhortations and warnings, the priests had carefully separated the Astaren from the foolish and the mad who consorted with demons. The sanction of the Houses, of the rulers of the Empire, somehow made it safer, or was theirs a different form of magic ? Or was it all one – power jealously guarded by those who wielded it ?

Was he ever a shaman or anything like it ?
she wondered.
Was he born with the sight or did he learn it ? If he had it as a child, why join the army as a scout when the Astaren would certainly be looking to recruit anyone with the necessary gifts ?

A rushing sound broke her train of thoughts. Kesh blinked in surprise as she realised Enchei had broken off his chanting and the air in the room was no longer still. Motes of dust swirled in the empty space between them, eddying away from the well-mouth. The air seemed charged now, the fine hairs on her arms suddenly prickling with a sensation she couldn’t put a name to. Irato felt it too, she realised. The man sat imperceptibly more upright – alert and ready for action once more, and that was enough to spark apprehension in Kesh’s belly.

The sound became louder and faster, the susurrus dance of wind over the well’s brick surface rising up as errant strands of Enchei’s hair began to flow freely. But then it changed, the whisper became not the sound of the wind but the voice of it. Kesh stiffened, biting her lip to stop herself calling out as a deep sound echoed up the well – barely fathomable in its hollow tones, but she realised there were words in there somewhere.

As the demon, or whatever it was, spoke, Enchei nodded slowly. He hadn’t moved from where he knelt, twine still raised above his head.

‘You do me honour, great one,’ Enchei intoned. ‘I beg you are not offended by my precautions, feeble as they are.’

‘The lesser kin are ever hungry,’
replied the voice from the well. ‘
A fool and his soul are easily parted.’

‘I beg a boon of you, great one.’

‘Speak it. Prayers unvoiced fall like ash.’

‘I seek the assistance of one in the heavens ; I ask an emissary is sent.’

‘For what purpose ? The Gods command, mortals obey.’

‘To save a friend, to right a wrong done to your kin.’

‘The lords and ladies of heaven bear the pride of Gods. The brave and the bold die swiftest.’

‘The friend is an Investigator of the Lawbringers ; known to Lord Shield and charged with a mission by him. I believe him taken by our enemies.’

‘Prayers are for temples. The faithful know their place.’

Enchei shook his head. ‘I cannot pray, my voice is lost to me.’

‘An awestruck man loses his voice for prayers. A cautious man cuts it out.’

‘It is so.’

‘This boon I will grant. The scent of your soul I will mask.’

‘I am in your debt, great one.’

‘The wind sings a song of loss. There is a prize Lord Shield seeks.’

‘I believe Lord Shield does not know what he seeks.’

‘Stillness in heaven brings order. Your Gods remain young for this world.’

‘I understand. What belongs to your kin is not for the Gods of men.’

‘An emissary ascends to the heavens. A servant will await you in the coldest corners of the city.’

Abruptly, the rushing wind broke off and faded away to nothing, leaving a tense stillness in the air. The room was silent. Enchei remained kneeling with head bowed a few moments longer before he stood and began to reel in the thread.

‘What was that ?’ Kesh breathed.

‘One of the Apkai,’ Enchei said, back turned to her. ‘The highest order of demons, beings of ages past that were unimaginably powerful before the Empire ever came about.’

‘Like the Kraken God or the Shepherds of the Drowned ?’ Kesh shook her head in disbelief. ‘Sailors would call such things the old Gods when they were in their cups. Can we trust it ?’

He turned, a flush of annoyance appearing before he composed himself. ‘Trust ? It’s an ancient being of vast power and intelligence. Our only protection here was its indifference – to it, we’re as significant as insects.’

‘Then why did it help us ?’

Enchei sighed and began to wind up the copper wire he’d strung across the well-mouth. ‘You might say that to the fox-demons, the Apkai are Gods.’

Kesh frowned. ‘And that’s reason enough ?’

A flicker of a smile crossed Enchei’s face. ‘Now you’re starting to think about these things properly. No, that’s not reason enough. The higher orders – Gods and demons – they have their own games to play and a balance to maintain. Had I asked it to find Narin itself, likely I’d not have a soul right now. Only Shield’s involvement won its interest – either it knows what the fox-demons have lost or it wants to know, given another player’s already interested. Either way, it’s happy to be owed a favour.’

‘And now ?’ Irato spoke up abruptly, looking up at Enchei.

The older man scowled. ‘Now ? Now you get to see what toys I’ve got in the other cupboard. ’Cept of course you don’t. You’ve seen enough of my secrets today, so bugger off upstairs the both of you – I need to get ready.’

Kesh looked him up and down. Enchei was still wearing the same clothes he had been in since morning, some sort of armour underneath his clothes and a variety of weapons. ‘More ready than you are already ?’

An evil glimmer appeared in his eye. ‘When you’re fighting on the streets o’ the biggest city in the whole damn Empire, it’s best not to attract too much attention. But my guess is, wherever they’ve got Narin they’re far from prying eyes. So I’ve got a few other surprises hidden away.’

‘What about us ?’

‘You’ll only just slow me down, the pair o’ you.’

‘I’m coming,’ Irato declared.

Enchei shook his head slowly. ‘No, you ain’t,’ he said with finality. ‘I’m playing this my way now and my secrets are my own. It’s enough of a risk that I’m using those secrets to rescue him – you two are going somewhere safe and you’re staying there until I come get you.’

‘Where ?’ Irato asked, just getting in ahead of Kesh’s questions.

The goshe had recognised an order, she realised, and was already onto the next matter. With an effort Kesh bit back her argument and let the tattooist reply.

‘You know Tale well enough, Kesh ?’ Enchei asked.

She nodded.

‘Good – you know the tavern towards Dragon District, the Broken Field ? Round the back o’ there you’ll find a smokehouse. I’ve never been there with Narin, he don’t know it, but the owner owes me a favour. She’ll take you in ; give you a plate o’ smoked crayfish if you ask nicely too. I’ll come find you once I’ve got Narin somewhere safe.’

‘You’re not bringing him ?’

Enchei’s face went grim. ‘Man’ll need a doctor first, I expect.’

‘And you expect us to wait patiently with some friend of yours ?’

‘Pretty much. Sure she’ll have some chores if you get bored.’

Near midday, Law Master Sheven appeared in the street and hurried towards Lawbringer Rhe. The broad old man looked harassed and lacking sleep, but his voice remained clear and loud as he outpaced his attending Investigators.

‘Lawbringer Rhe, how many victims do you have ?’

‘Of what ?’ Rhe replied. ‘We have two matters to worry about here. I’ve yet to decide which is the greater concern.’

Sheven stopped and looked past Rhe to the row of houses where they had discovered twenty or more people stricken with fever. ‘They are not related ?’ he asked in a dubious voice.

‘I don’t know, but having chased the demon myself I have not fallen ill.’

‘Tell me what you do know.’

Rhe nodded. ‘We have eight houses in this street with people I cannot rouse. They have some fever that came on swiftly this morning from what I can tell. I have Investigators checking all surrounding streets and several have already reported similar incidents. The demon I pursued managed to escape me. It can move very quickly and must have found a hiding place, given we are nowhere near the Crescent or anything larger than a stream.’

‘This fever, do you have any ideas ?’

‘I am no doctor,’ Rhe said, ‘and my first reaction would have been to send for one from a goshe free hospital, but for … recent events.’

Sheven scowled and unconsciously shifted the scimitar at his side. ‘Do you have evidence they are connected ?’

‘None.’

‘And yet you’re suspicious.’

‘Naturally,’ Rhe said. He turned towards the nearest house and Sheven fell in beside him, motioning for his attendants to remain where they were. At the gate Rhe glanced at his companion. ‘Doctors and fevers, demons and goshe, this can be no coincidence.’

‘The demon you saw, what form did it take ?’

‘Man-shaped and long-limbed – a dark hide tough enough to withstand a bullet to the chest.’

‘So nothing like the assassins Investigator Narin and his friends fought off ?’

‘They were human, nothing more. This … this could never pass as one.’

‘Does it match the allegations you mentioned ?’

Rhe was quiet a moment. ‘There was no description there,’ he said at last, knowing the Law Master had intentionally not asked for details earlier. ‘But no, this was far from what I had been led to expect.’

‘There were no other reports of demons,’ Sheven said, ‘but we’ve had a dozen instances of fever breaking out. People are already starting to panic. I have had to post guards at the free hospital in Raven District and no doubt the other one in Arbold will soon have more patients than it can cope with.’

Rhe looked around the street, where Investigators and civilians alike watched them with worried faces. The sun bathed the street in warm light and gulls called overhead, while swifts cut through the cloud-specked sky. The city seemed peaceful then, the day promising summer rather than disease and demons. He shook his head, suddenly worried how it would look at nightfall. If they had a dozen reports by midday, how many more would follow ? And once darkness fell, how many more demons would he be chasing ?

‘Has there been word of Narin ?’ he asked, trying to ignore the question for the time being.

‘None. I’m told they never reached Wyvern’s corner of Dragon District, they diverted to escape their pursuers and disappeared into Coldcliffs. Reports of what followed are confused, but at least three locals are dead and we have the burned remains of five people we assume were goshe elsewhere in the city.’

‘Burned ?’

Sheven grunted. ‘Not the first of those we’ve had recently, eh ? But a worrying increase as much as anything else.’

‘We must hope Narin knows what he’s doing,’ Rhe said finally. ‘If there are informants within the Lawbringers, we can do him little good for the time being.’

‘And your investigation ?’

‘Cannot continue today. At least a dozen instances of fever ? This disease must have taken a hundred people on the first morning ; by this evening there will be chaos on the streets.’

‘I will have every Lawbringer assembled and sent out to keep order. The searches of each Shure will have to wait, you’re right. But if we have demons haunting the streets we will need help.’

Rhe’s lips tightened as he realised what the Law Master meant. ‘You would go begging to House Dragon for assistance ?’ the nobleman from Dragon’s ancient enemy asked.

‘What choice would we have ?’

‘Having Dragon soldiers enforcing the law, searching the streets of every district, would not prevent chaos – it could spark war overnight.’

‘They would not permit any other House to do so – they’re the power here. What else would you have us do ? Ask your kin instead ?’ Sheven said coldly.

‘Either the Lawbringers rule the Imperial streets, or we are an irrelevance.’

‘And when our lack of powder-weapons leads to these demons cutting through our ranks ?’

‘The law requires us to sacrifice,’ Rhe replied, prompting an astonished look from his superior that only lessened when Rhe clarified his words. ‘Those of us with noble blood will be at the forefront of the hunt. We were born to sacrifice ourselves first in the name of a higher cause.’

There was a long moment of silence. Finally, Sheven made to head back the way he’d come, but he paused first. ‘Any of your caste good at curing fevers ?’

‘I doubt it.’

‘Then go and make plans for this evening. I’ll try to get control of whatever’s happening here. And may the Gods be looking down on us all – this is only the start.’

His mind was in darkness, threads caught on a swirling breeze. From somewhere he heard her voice, heard Kine calling his name.

‘Narin – come meet your son.’

He felt tears on his cheek, felt himself blind and helpless. No matter how much she asked him to, he could never see the child. His eyes were gone, plucked out and lost in the cold churning ocean. His tongue was heavy as he tried to speak, tried to explain, and Kine did not understand.

He heard her scream at him, heard her beg to understand. He tried to explain, about the goshe he’d found, about the little girl who’d been murdered, but still the guilt burned at his skin. It traced hot white lines over his body and blackened his flesh.

He begged for her forgiveness, but the guilt just burned hotter still. Soon he was drowning in her tears.

Father Jehq tilted the Investigator’s head up and pushed up one eyelid. The prisoner saw nothing ; his pupil was almost as large as his whole eye, but glassy and unfocused. Sweat dripped from the man’s hair and cheeks, running down from the steel band clamped around his temple like a crown. The band had a network of thin metal threads across the top and engraved symbols around its edge – each one gilt-plated and faintly glittering in the weak light.

After a moment, Jehq released Narin’s head again and stepped back. He pulled off the steel band and placed it on a side table, taking great care of the delicate steel threads. He wiped the greasy sweat from his fingers and turned to the man beside him.

‘You gave him too much,’ he said eventually. ‘Put too much in the band. He was too weak to take it.’

‘He’s going to die ?’ Uttir, Synter’s second, asked. The Detenii from House Iron kept the anxiety from his voice, but Jehq could see it all the same. He was afraid of screwing up so soon after being given his position.

Jehq shook his head just as the prisoner cried out again, mangled words spilling from the man’s lips.

‘Kine, I’m sorry. My oaths … I can’t see him.’

Jehq gestured to the man as though making a point. ‘He won’t die, but he’s no use to us like this.’

‘Isn’t it supposed to make him answer our questions ?’

‘Oh, he’ll tell the truth all right,’ Jehq said scornfully, ‘but first you have to get him to listen to your damn questions ! He’s babbling ; raving like a madman, but I’ve no doubt it’s all true. Unfortunately for you, he was too weak when you gave him the dose, and then enhanced its effect with the band. You’ve scrambled his brains – he’s no use to anyone like this. The man’s so fixated on this Kine woman he can think of nothing else.’ The aging doctor shook his head.

‘What can I do ?’

‘Nothing. It’ll take a few hours for it to wear off. Then he’ll be coherent again.’

‘And then ?’

‘And then he’ll be useless for tracking Irato down. He’ll tell us everything he knows, I’m sure of Synter’s skill in that department, so you better hope it turns out to be useful still. I’m certain Irato will have gone to ground by then, so he better have something else to give us.’

‘Can we release him ?’ Uttir asked hopefully. ‘Follow him and see if he can lead us to Irato ?’

Jehq looked down at the naked Investigator – sweat-soaked and scorched by Kodeh’s preliminary tortures. It had been enough to make the man pass out, then Uttir had come to pour a concoction of the late Father Polagin’s devising down his throat. It was one they’d used for years now ; dampening a person’s will so they were more open to questioning. It was most likely that the Investigator’s thoughts had latched onto his lover or wife as an escape from the torture. The drug Uttir had given him had just sent that on a loop through his mind, leaving no room for any other thought.

‘We shall see,’ Jehq said eventually and headed towards the barred door. ‘It’s Synter’s decision, go report to her.’

The district of the Imperial City controlled by House Redearth was a quiet corner of the city by the standards of the rest. Their homeland was far to the south at the heart of the Empire’s lesser continent, flanked by the plains-ranging hunters of House Wolf and the taciturn warriors of House Iron. The Lords of Redearth cared little for the politics of the Empire, their lands being fertile and peaceful for the main. House Iron’s spears faced west, not east, to ward off the raiders of House Leviathan while the Desert of Wolves protected much of their other border.

For Synter’s purposes, it also meant the district’s population was evenly split between paler locals and the red-brown skin of Redearth natives, so she walked without notice through the afternoon bustle. Most of the district was made up of long, enclosed housing blocks and smaller compounds, the lords and warriors of Redearth presiding over isolated communities that echoed the feudal states that characterised their homeland.

Each one displayed flags at every corner, colourful announcements of allegiance that mostly corresponded to the Houses of Redearth, Whitemountain and Condor, with a scattering of lesser emblems she did not recognise. Her destination, once she reached it, could have belonged to the minor Houses under Redearth rule, only the lack of decoration on its surrounding fence a sign that it was not owned by a noble family.

The gate was open so she slipped inside to a courtyard of neat bare earth. The training ground was empty, but a pair of black-clad men rose from an open-fronted room on the right. Synter cast around for a moment before she spotted the altar-table standing in the shadow of a long overhanging roof. She bowed to it as any visiting goshe would, and the attendants visibly relaxed.

‘I must speak to the Shure-Master,’ she called to the pair, both Redearth natives.

‘Your name, Mistress ?’ replied the nearer of the two, a tall man with long hanging hair and startling amber eyes.

He wore a gun-holster across his belly – the pistol grips bound in cloth so as not to be immediately within reach while he was wearing goshe-black. It was unthinkable for a warrior to be outside without his weapons on his person, of course, and this was the compromise most adhered to rather than invite trouble.

‘My name is not important,’ Synter said as she walked up to the men. She blinked and sensed the tiny flutter of light in her eyes as another of her Blessings worked its magic. Both men straightened immediately, commanded to obedience by the changes Moon’s Artifice had worked on them as a baby.

‘Mistress,’ the warrior said, bowing. ‘Follow me, Master Nyl is this way.’

They crossed the courtyard and the goshe opened a door for Synter to enter. Within was a wide hallway with racks of weapons on the walls and a stairway leading up to the second floor. Without prompting, Synter headed up the stairs and unexpectedly found herself in a comfortably-decorated hallway.

‘The Shure-Master lives here ?’ she asked her guide.

‘He does, Mistress. Our Shure is open to all, day or night, and Master Nyl has renounced his ties of family, as have several of our brothers and sisters.’

But I see he brought some of his money with him,
Synter privately observed, running a finger over an ornate wooden table that faced the entrance to the stairs with a gilt mirror hanging above.

There was a study door past a long woven tapestry depicting four white mountains. She opened it to find a comfortable private room with a grand desk before a pair of tall windows that overlooked the training ground below. A large dining table took up much of the other half of the room – laid with silver cutlery as though Master Nyl had been expecting Synter and her whole team for dinner.

Standing behind the desk was an ochre-skinned warrior caste of middle years ; clearly not a Redearth. Synter guessed by the tapestry on the landing he was a Whitemountain, principal of the Major Houses under Redearth’s dominion.

‘Mistress ?’ the man inquired, glancing at her guide before returning his attention to Synter.

Another tiny stutter of light in her eyes told Synter he was hers to command – not that she’d have doubted it. To reach the position of Shure-Master one had to be one of those irrevocably changed by Moon’s Artifice so she didn’t bother with niceties.