Emissary E-Book

C.J. Pyrah

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Still reeling after the cataclysmic events of the Battle of Cookridge, Torben and his friends fight to find a way to stop the mage Aristotles and the ancient evil he serves.

The clock is ticking and they must do whatever it takes, whatever the cost, before the evil taking hold in Dazscor & Aramore is too powerful to be stopped. But are they already too late?

A riveting adventure, Emissary is the third book in C.J. Pyrah's 'The Dead God Series' of epic fantasy novels.

Leseprobe

EMISSARY

THE DEAD GOD SERIES BOOK 3

C. J. PYRAH

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2022 C.J. Pyrah

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2022 by Next Chapter

Published 2022 by Next Chapter

Edited by Graham (Fading Street Services)

Cover art by CoverMint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

To my grandparents, for all that they have done to help and inspire me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Once more my sincere thanks to Rebecca Frew, without whom none of this would be possible, and to all at Next Chapter.

PROLOGUE

It was pitch-black in the room when the young man entered, save for the flickering glow of a fire that burned with a greenish light at the far side of the room. Despite the dim light, the young man navigated his way seamlessly through the gloom, deftly avoiding the teetering towers of books and the numerous side tables covered in arcane instruments and unknown, fleshy substances suspended in jars.

Before him, sat hunched over in a chair next to the green fire, was a spindly thin, crooked man, who seemed all skin and bones, his head little more than a skull clothed in paper-thin, pale skin, his arms and legs like twigs, and the black robe that he wore was too much like a death shroud than an item of clothing. Wisps of hair clung to his head like silver threads and the smile he fixed the young man with as he approached was missing nearly all of its teeth. That smile had something of hunger about it as the watery eyes drank in the youthful beauty of the man’s elfin features, grey skin, and white-blond hair.

‘Ah, Aristotles,’ the man croaked. ‘You’re back. Was your trip a success?’

‘Yes, master,’ the Shadow Elf replied, sitting in the chair opposite the man whose ravenous eyes moved with him like a predator watching what it hoped would become its next meal.

‘Well, don’t sit there all coy and timid, boy, hand it over!’

A gnarled, skeletal hand shot out of the robe, bony fingers outstretched towards Aristotles, who slowly produced a glass bottle from an inside pocket of his coat and placed it carefully onto the man’s hand, as if being careful not to touch him.

‘Oh, ho!’ the man crooned. ‘What has my young man brought me then? A boy or a girl? Human, or elf?’

As he spoke, he moved the bottle close to the firelight, so its emerald flames could illuminate the interior of the bottle and the object floating in the red-stained liquid. Within the glass was a tiny heart, no larger than a walnut and even this dead matter felt to Aristotles as if it was trying to shy away from the gaze of his master.

‘It was an elf. A girl,’ he said, his voice impassive, his eyes cold as if he had watched such a charade play out before him many times before and that he had closed his mind off from the finer details.

‘Excellent, excellent.’

His master cooed to himself as he unstoppered the bottle and began drawing runes above the vessel in green fire that sprouted from the tip of the long, ragged nail of his index finger. One by one, the runes dropped into the bottle, each one sending a ripple of fire across the tiny organ and sending up a puff of hissing steam. When the last rune hit the surface of the preserving liquid, it began to boil and erupt out of the bottle, stinging liquid and vapor pouring over the man’s hands, blistering the skin on contact. Aristotles’ master didn’t let go, though, but his face twisted in pain, and he hissed and cursed until the boiling subsided, once again revealing the heart, which was still wreathed in green flame, within the bottle.

Deftly, the same dirty nail that had drawn out the incantation plunged into the bottle, spearing the heart, and plucking it out, to hover before the man’s greedy eyes for a second, before he devoured it, with the same relish as a child gorging on a favourite sweet.

Aristotles watched as his master, Razqail Horromon slumped back in his chair, delicately wiping a small trail of blood from the side of his mouth, and licking it off his finger, showing his blistered hand to his apprentice. Before Aristotles’ eyes, however, those blisters were healing and the paper-thin skin looked more lifelike by the second, the flesh beneath firmer and fuller, the posture stronger and more upright than before. Whereas there had been the skull-like face a moment ago, now there was a rounder one, fleshy, though not fat, with an elaborate moustache gracing the upper lip and a full head of hair, which, though still silver looked thick and vibrant. Razqail got up and stretched languorously in the firelight, which flared brighter as if responding to the man’s newfound youthfulness. As he relaxed, Razqail’s eyes flashed around the room. Of all of his features, they remained the same, watery, and full of hunger.

‘Now that was a close-run thing!’ he sighed in a voice that was, like his physique, fuller and rounder. ‘We must ensure that we never get that close to the wire again, eh, Aristotles?’

‘Of course not, master,’ the shadow elf replied, the impassive tone from before still evident in his voice.

‘Come, come, now, Aristotles,’ his master crooned, picking up the timbre in his apprentice’s delivery, ‘would you not be sad if I had shuffled off my mortal coil, not even a tiny bit?’

Aristotles didn’t reply, but he continued to fix Razqail with a stern glare, his icy-blue eyes flashing in the firelight.

‘Well, perhaps sad is a bit too much to ask,’ Razqail continued. ‘I would be flattering myself to think that you would mourn my passing, but you would be disappointed, would you not if I had passed without revealing to you the secrets that you so strongly desire?’

‘You know the answer you’re looking for,’ Aristotles responded coldly.

‘Alas, I think I do, but as ever I’m grateful for your assistance, even if you are quite so mercenary about helping one who has done so much for you.’

‘I would hardly call the plucking of babes from their mother’s arms and infanticide a mercenary price.’

‘No, you’re right, it’s something much darker isn’t it, but then, that’s why you’re here with me…’

Razqail’s voice trailed off as a wicked grin pulled at the sides of his mouth, partially revealing a replenished crop of gleaming white and over-pointed teeth within. His gaze drifted away from Aristotles to survey the room and he flicked a rune from his fingertips into the fire behind him, from which numerous tiny orbs of green flame shot out and flew across the room to alight in lanterns and on the wicks of candles spread across the space, illuminating everything in a bright emerald glow. The room, now fully exposed in the light, was a mess, books and arcane paraphernalia spread all over the place, used plates with rotting food still clinging to them lying where they had been discarded, and all was covered in cobwebs and dust. Tutting to himself, Razqail began moving through his chamber, sending things zipping to and fro with magical energy back to where they belonged, books wheeling through space to rest on shelves, test-tubes and flasks zipped across to racks, and a teetering pile of filthy crockery rattled its way through the air and out of the door, where it clattered through unseen corridors.

‘Ah,’ Razqail sighed with immense satisfaction. ‘It does feel good to be young again, to feel power coursing through one’s veins again. Now then, where were we…’

‘You were about to tell me what I wanted to know.’ There was an edge in Aristotles’ voice that made Razqail cock one of his eyebrows.

‘Now, now, there’s no need to be touchy.’

‘Touchy? I have been slaving away with you for decades, providing you with what you need to keep yourself alive, patiently waiting whilst you deign to only teach me a rag tag collection of parlour tricks, instead of fulfilling your promise to teach me what others would not, to give me what I desired!’

‘Fulfil my promise? My boy, need I remind you that I made no such promise. My recollection is that a young pup of a Shadow Elf, with a chip on his shoulder and vengeance in his eyes, tipped up at my door unbidden and unlooked for, begging for me to help him gain power beyond the ken of other mortals. I agreed to help you, in exchange for work, honest or otherwise, but remember that I never promised to give you the thing you asked for. How could I give you that which was not in my power to give?’

‘So you lied then?’ Aristotles spat, his hand flying up, the glow of runes on his fingertips.

‘Don’t be stupid, boy. Sit down.’

Razqail wafted a hand in Aristotles’ direction, runes of green fire flying from his own fingers towards the Shadow Elf, but with one deft movement of his hands, Aristotles’ dismissed his master’s spell and took a step forward. As he did so, his own spell wove itself into a rope of golden light that wrapped itself around Razqail’s legs, locking them together, and sending him sprawling onto the floor. The man cried out and tried to fling another spell at his erstwhile apprentice, but Aristotles deflected the orb of green fire with another wave of his hand, sending the maelstrom off to one side, where it obliterated a bookshelf in a spray of splinters and torn pages.

‘Liar!’ Aristotles roared, his eyes wide with rage.

‘Please, control yourself, Aristotles! I did not promise you anything, but neither did I lie to you. Hear me out I beg you!’

Aristotles paused, hand raised, fingertips alight with the beginnings of another incantation, but then his eyes reverted back to their cold, calculating state and he lowered his hand, releasing the tendrils of arcane energy which drifted off into the air, though he did not dismiss the golden rope still binding Razqail’s legs.

‘Go on then, justify yourself old man.’

Razqail pushed himself up onto one arm, trying to assert as much dignity from the floor as he could and he took in a few deep breaths, calming himself. Looking down at him, for the first time in the many years that he had known him, Aristotles could see that the look of hunger in his eyes had been replaced by pure, genuine fear.

‘When you came to me, what you asked for was unlimited power,’ Razqail began. ‘Now, of course, I knew from the beginning that I could never give you such a thing, for what you seek is far beyond the means of any mortal to bestow upon you like some bauble or trinket from the marketplace. So yes, perhaps in that respect I was disingenuous with you, but only because I wasn’t frank. Don’t get me wrong though, such a thing is possible to achieve, one just has to look beyond the mortal to the immortal, and I don’t mean the phantom of if immortality that your many elven years gives you, nor my perverted mockery of it, but real immortality. In order to receive such knowledge, however, to be prepared for what you would need to do to attain it, you had to be ready to fortify your resolve and develop the skills so that the object of your desire would not simply obliterate you on sight. I feared that if I told you that I was not the panacea to your ambitions that you would leave and never attain what you seek, so instead I withheld information, but in exchange I have prepared you. You are ready, I see that now.’

‘Ready for what?’

‘To reach out to the divine! The gods are cold, cruel, and fickle, Aristotles, but they are not fools. If you are prepared to bare your soul and do whatever they demand, give whatever they ask, then you will find one who is willing to help you, but be warned that the great power that they will offer you will come at a terrible price.’

‘So, what you’re saying is that I should start communing with priests, or perhaps become one myself? Abandon the advancement of my ambitions for untold more years to stand in a robe chanting over holy books and icons?’

‘Don’t be a fool, Aristotles, there are other ways to commune with the gods, more direct ways than through clerics who may dampen your message or even refuse to relay it altogether, and come to think about it, you would struggle to find a priest of the one I would recommend you petition…’

‘Why, who are they?’

Razqail paused and his eyes flicked to the golden bonds around his legs, which remained as tight and resolute as when they had first been cast, strengthened by Aristotles’ iron will.

‘Amongst those that worship the Walannite pantheon, they are known as the Dead God. They have been exiled and abandoned by their fellow deities, which means that they are hungry for revenge and power of their own. They will help you.’

‘How do I contact them?’

Aristotles’ eyes narrowed as Razqail shrugged expansively.

‘My boy, if I knew I would have done the same thing myself, long ago. But fortunately for you, I have a good idea of where you can start looking for the knowledge you seek. To the north, in the Kingdom of Dazscor and Aramore there is a vault deep beneath the castle in the city of Karpella. Once that vault held a temple to the Dead God, which has long since been desecrated and turned into a glorified storeroom. If you are able to gain access to the vault, and to the castle’s library, which is rumoured to contain all of the texts that once resided within the temple, you may yet find your reward.’

There was another pause as Aristotles’ eyes bored down into the cringing man at his feet, searching for any sign of deceit or malign intent.

‘Why did you help me if you knew that eventually you would have to send your errand boy on his way, leaving you alone to fend for yourself again?’

‘Because I saw in you and your ambition a world where I could do what I want, do what I have to do to keep myself alive with impunity, so long as I paid homage to you.’ The hungry, leering smile returned to Razqail’s lips as he bent himself into an awkward bow from his position on the floor.

The Shadow Elf snorted derisively and turned on his heel, making for the door.

‘Be patient Aristotles!’ Razqail called out to him. ‘The power that you seek may yet take you many more generations to achieve. Be careful that your greed doesn’t consume you before your task is complete!’

Aristotles didn’t stop. He stalked through the door and slammed it behind him, leaving Razqail to cackle maniacally to himself in his chamber.

1

The air of the Grand Bazaar was thick with the pungent, heady smells of spices, perfumes, and the dung of the passing beasts of burden that littered the surrounding streets, which were congested with a swirling mass of people bustling hither and thither, going about their business of buying and selling. It would be easy to get lost in those streets, whether by chance, accident, or the misfortune of simply being swept up by the crowd and dragged who knows where. Like being carried by a riptide out to sea.

Egberht was keenly aware that he did not want to find himself alone and stranded in this vibrant but unknown city, so he pressed himself as much as he could to the wall that he was leaning against, trying to make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible. Unlike the taller Shenesra, who leaned casually against the same wall, nonchalantly peeling and eating the segments of a large juicy orange, there was no chance that Egberht was going to be able to see anything of interest, let alone any signs of impending danger. His view was nothing but a forest of legs, some moving so briskly that they felt like little more than a blur. The incessant bustle of the passers-by and his truncated field of vision filled him with nervous energy which he channelled into his foot which rapped against the flagstones beneath impatiently.

Though she looked as if she were lounging without a care in the world, Egberht could see that out of the corner of her eye the Vittra was scrutinizing the passing masses with intense care, making sure that no one was paying as keen attention to the two of them as she was to the others scuttling to and fro.

Shenesra and Egberht had been waiting on that busy street corner since early that morning, and as the sun continued its progress up into the cloudless sky, the increasing heat had begun to make sweat bead across Egberht’s forehead, and his mouth was parched. They were waiting for Eleusia, who had left them before the sun had even emerged and had simply told them to wait for her on that street corner. Worryingly, she had stated that if she wasn’t with them by an hour after midday, that they should proceed as quickly as they could to a tavern where they would get more information from an old friend of hers concerning where she had gone and who she had gone to meet. Though she hadn’t specifically stated it, the contingency plan, Egberht had quickly realised, was in case that meeting with the unknown contact took a turn for the worst.

They had carried out this same act for days, ever since they had arrived in Wardeen with what remained of Shenesra Tador’s mercenary band, Pegasus Company. After they parted company with their companions, it had been a hard ride to the coast of the Kingdom of Dazscor & Aramore, with each one of their steps dogged by a pursuing party of riders and Lupines loyal to Aristotles. They had ridden their horses ragged and several of Pegasus Company had been lost, their horses too exhausted to carry on, collapsing, leaving their riders to be torn apart by their pursuers. In the whole of the desperate chase, they had had one stroke of luck: the weather changed. As they neared the coast, a storm rolled in, turning the plains of Dazscor into a mire that allowed the remnants of Pegasus Company to slip into a coastal town, whose name Egberht hadn’t even had time to learn. The storm did, however, give them enough time to find the only person with a boat big enough to carry them and who was insane enough to set sail in the middle of the maelstrom, though their pilot was not insane enough to depart without most of the gold they had been carrying and all of their horses paid to his family upfront.

All of them had been quick to praise the arrival of the rain when they had been riding, but they were all even quicker to curse it as they had pitched and rolled in that match box of a fishing boat, nets and lobster pots crashing around them as their deranged, but clearly highly talented skipper cut through the roiling sea. For two days, Egberht had sat on the deck of the ship, curled up into a ball around his books, cloak over his head, wishing for landfall or death, whichever would stop him feeling like he was about to vomit up his own spleen first. On the third they arrived, in record time, thanks to the surging wind of the storm, in the Great Harbour of Wardeen, the capital of the Republic of Castar.

Their arrival did not, however, bring the welcome relief that they all craved. No sooner had they set foot on solid ground, than Eleusia had chivvied and cajoled them into action, leading them to the Eagle tavern where they were holed up in a room that was far too small for all of them, making getting a proper rest nigh on impossible, not that Egberht nor Shenesra were able to try, as they were whisked away by Eleusia to act as look outs and scouts at a variety of locations across the city. Neither of them had been allowed to accompany Eleusia, and all she would say on the matter was that she was making contact with old friends, who she hoped would be able to help them track down their quarry, the Imperial Mage to the Court of Hastel I. So far, however, nearly a week had passed with no new information, and they were all getting more and more dejected by the minute.

Midday had come and gone and though neither Egberht nor Shenesra had said anything, they were clearly both getting worried. There was less than half an hour left until the deadline and as Egberht started to go over Eleusia’s further instructions in his head, an icy chill washed over the pit of his stomach as he realised that he couldn’t remember the name of the tavern where they were supposed to get the information on her last known whereabouts. He looked up sharply to Shenesra, mouth opening as he was about to ask if she had remembered all of the crucial details, but one look at her face made the gnome think better of it. Shenesra’s jaw was clenched tightly shut, her brow creased with worry and the fingers of her left hand were gripping the remains of her orange so hard that they had punched through the skin and flesh of the fruit.

Best not to worry her, I’m sure she knows what we have to do, Egberht thought to himself, closing his mouth, and averting his gaze back towards the crowd.

Though Egberht didn’t see her finally arrive, just as the bells of the city were chiming the hour, he knew that Eleusia had appeared, for Shenesra bolted from her position at the wall into the crowd, barely giving him time to register where she had gone and to give chase. Dashing after her, Egberht was able to slip through the wake Shenesra had made in the crowd, across the street to the entrance of an alleyway, where, once past the obscuring traffic, he could just about see Eleusia, looking visibly tired, whose person was mostly obscured by the expansive hug that Shenesra had enveloped her in.

‘Where were you? We were starting to think something terrible must have happened?’ Shenesra gasped, releasing Eleusia from the embrace and stepping back sheepishly when she became aware of Egberht’s arrival on the scene.

‘I’m sorry,’ Eleusia replied. ‘I didn’t realise how long I’d been gone. They walked me across half of Wardeen, most of that blindfolded so I couldn’t recall the way and we moved twice during the meeting. By the time I was out the other side it took me nearly an hour to work out where I was, let alone how to get back here!’

‘How did it go?’

Eleusia shook her head grimly but didn’t say anything.

‘Why don’t we head back to the Eagle? You look as if you could do with a sit down and something to eat Eleusia,’ Egberht said, stepping forwards, ‘and, better to not discuss things in public.’

They both nodded in agreement at Egberht’s suggestion and Shenesra took Eleusia by the hand as she began to lead them back into the crowd.

The interior of the Eagle tavern was dark and grimy, with the smell of stale beer, vomit, and burnt food hanging over the whole establishment like a miasma which was only swatted away temporarily by the salty breeze that swept in from the harbour whenever the door was opened. When they entered, Egberht scanned the inhabitants, picking out the remaining members of Pegasus Company who were spread out around the taproom in pairs, wiling away their time drinking and playing cards or dice. Whilst they did not salute or stand when their commander entered as they would have done normally, all of them gave a gentle nod in Shenesra’s direction, which she returned with her own subtle acknowledgement of her head as Eleusia signalled to the barman to bring them drinks and led them to a table tucked into a secluded corner.

They sat in silence as they waited for the barman, a large, lumpy human whose apron was stained with so many slicks and slops of unidentifiable matter that it had taken on a colour worryingly similar to bile, to plonk three tankards of small beer in front of them and then retire with his coin. Eleusia took a long draft from her tankard as she waited for the man to shamble back over to his vigil behind the bar, vainly trying to hide the grimace that contorted her face at the taste of the rather foul beer, before speaking.

‘Another day, another meeting full of half-baked excuses and pointless time wasting.’

‘It was the same as the others then?’ Shenesra asked quietly.

‘Uncannily so. Even some of the excuses were oddly similar, which is leading me to believe that someone is working against us…’

‘Aristotles?’ Egberht chipped in, his brow furrowed with worry.

‘That was my first thought, but it doesn’t make sense. The people I’ve been trying to meet with are my contacts, none of them would have been alive when Aristotles was active in the court of the Kingdom of Dazscor and even if they had been, they wouldn’t have been of the right social station, let alone the right flavour of usefulness for Aristotles to have gone out of his way to trouble himself with. But the way they’re all evading my questions, taking great pains to meet with me in the highest of secrecy, when they clearly don’t want to be anywhere near me, if they meet me at all, it does remind me of something.’

‘Perhaps it’s the Imperial agents. If the emperor is indeed hiding in Wardeen then he will have his operatives working the city, trying to put people off the scent.’ The surety in Egberht’s voice waned dramatically as Eleusia snorted with suppressed laughter into her drink.

‘Yes, the emperor’s agents are at work in the city, but believe me Egberht, you can spot them from a mile off and those of us with any skill have been running rings around them ever since we were children. No, this sheer scale of shut down reminds me of the times that Björn has blacklisted people, spreading the word around that anyone seen dealing with someone is to be treated like an enemy, but it doesn’t make sense. I’d have thought Björn would be clever enough to keep his head down and not get involved with Aristotles, not until he’s been able to get the measure of him.’

The three sat in silence, sipping their drinks for a time whilst they pondered what Eleusia had said.

‘So what now then?’ Shenesra finally breathed life back into the conversation.

‘We’re not getting anywhere with our current course and we’re running out of time,’ Eleusia muttered grimly. ‘In order to keep to the schedule, we’ve got to do something more decisive.’

‘Decisive, or risky?’ Egberht queried, looking over the rim of his tankard nervously.

‘That depends on your outlook, but perhaps you should stay here tonight Egberht, just in case it turns out to be more of the latter rather than the former.’

Later that night, Shenesra was waiting, once again at a street corner. This time, however, rather than trying to look inconspicuous, she was trying to look invisible as she pressed herself as much as she could into the deep shadows at the base of the wall, turning her head and shutting her eyes whenever someone with a lantern walked too close, to stop the light reflecting off her eyes. She was holding the end of a thin rope in her left hand, which snaked up the side of and over the top of the compound wall she was lurking by. Her ears strained, trying to pick up any hint of what was going on up there, where she had seen Eleusia disappear a few minutes before.

Unlike the previous times Shenesra had been waiting, she knew exactly where Eleusia was and for that matter who the compound that she was hiding in the shadow of belonged to. The decisive move that Eleusia had in mind was to question one of her most elusive and esteemed contacts, a member of the ruling Senate of the Republic of Castar, a man named Lucius Caellus, something which to Shenesra had sounded perfectly innocuous, until Egberht retired and Eleusia divulged the entire truth behind her idea. The complication came from the fact that Lucius had outright refused to meet Eleusia and that, barred from a civil meeting with him, Eleusia, with Shenesra’s help had planned to break into Lucius’ compound and force some answers out of him.

Shenesra nearly jumped, startled out of her hiding place as there was a small tug at the rope, a tug that continued in a rhythmic pattern until she pulled herself together enough to repeat the pattern back a single time. With one last look around, Shenesra began to haul herself up the rope as fast as she could, not wanting to be caught exposed and out in the open. As she hauled herself up towards the top of the wall, Eleusia’s hand appeared above her, grabbing hold of her right forearm, and helping to bring her up those last few feet and over the wall to land softly on the wooden parapet on the other side.

Below, sprawling out before them and contained within the perimeter of the curtain wall, was a large, well-appointed sandstone house, whose walls were decorated with intricately carved columns and statues, surrounded by a well-tended ornamental garden. Lights winked in the windows and illuminated parts of the sumptuous lawns and danced off the water playing in a fountain opposite the entrance to the house. Shenesra wasn’t able to take much more in, as Eleusia tapped her on the arm and pointed to the prostrate figure of a guard lying nearby on the wooden boards who bore a swollen, bloody lump on the back of his head. Shenesra nodded and wordlessly took the man under the forearms, Eleusia taking his legs and the two of them carefully shuffled forwards and down a nearby flight of wooden stairs, the guard lolling between them.

When they reached the ground, they dumped the body in a bush, Eleusia making sure to rearrange the vegetation so that they remained hidden, and they crouched down in the shadows beneath the stairs surveying the house.

‘Lucius’ private rooms are over there on the western side of the house,’ Eleusia said, pointing to one of the upper storeys where a balcony overlooked a treelined avenue along which a flock of peacocks was strolling. ‘We can gain access via the trellis.’

‘Are you sure it’ll be strong enough?’ Shenesra whispered.

‘Yes, I’ve done it several times before,’ Eleusia replied matter-of-factly, moving off in a low crouch towards a clump of ornamental bushes, beckoning Shenesra to follow her.

‘Have you indeed? Spent a lot of time skulking around the houses and gardens of the well-to-do, have we?’

‘Only in exceptional circumstances.’

‘Oh and what might those be?’

‘Never you mind. All you need to know is that Lucius and I go way back, which is why the fact that he is trying swan around if he has no idea who I am is really pissing me off!’

Within the cover of the bushes, Shenesra tried to study Eleusia’s face, but she was studiously avoiding her gaze. Despite the evasion, in the chinks of light that spilled out from the shuttered windows, Shenesra was sure that she could see the edges of a blush creeping across her cheeks.

‘Coast’s clear, let’s go,’ Eleusia mumbled, still trying hard not to look her companion in the eye.

The two of them dashed across the open ground between their hiding spot and the house, Eleusia leading. Shenesra hot on her heels. As soon as they reached the wall, they began climbing the trellis which wobbled disconcertingly under their weight, causing petals from the delicate white flowers of the climbing plants occupying the structure to fall like snow around them. When they reached the second floor and the edge of the balcony, Eleusia paused to check that the coast was clear with Shenesra clinging on for dear life below. After what felt like a very long moment, Eleusia slipped onto the balcony and Shenesra gratefully followed, dropping down silently behind her.

Ahead of them, an open archway led from the balcony into a large open-plan room, whose high ceiling was held up by black-veined marble columns with a floor lined with delicate azure blue tiles which reflected the light given off by the ornate brass oil lanterns hung on strategically placed stands. Near-transparent fabric hung from the ceiling, acting as permeable dividers in the room. These gossamer curtains wafted gently in the breeze blowing in from the balcony and the numerous open windows set around the room. Through the fluttering fabric Shenesra could see the silhouette of a figure, sat at a desk with their back to them, seemingly pouring over a scroll they had rolled out in front of them. Eleusia was already stalking towards the figure, her curved dagger drawn and at the ready, and Shenesra fell in step behind her.

With catlike grace, Eleusia crept up on the figure until she was within striking distance and then lunged forwards, pulling their head back by the hair with one hand, the other bringing the dagger to the man’s throat, where it hovered, the edge of the blade just kissing the skin of his neck.

‘Good evening, Lucius, nice to see you.’

‘I wish I could say the same, Eleusia’ Lucius grunted, his gaze straining back to look her in the eye.

Stepping out from amongst the curtains, Shenesra got her first clear view of Lucius. He was a human, clearly well into middle age, judging by the numerous strands of silver amongst the black of his wavy hair and his short, neatly trimmed beard and moustache, but his face still had a youthful handsomeness about it, and his eyes sparkled a dazzling green in the light.

‘Once it would have upset me to know that you weren’t happy to see me,’ Eleusia replied, ‘but time changes all of us doesn’t it. Don’t worry though, tell me what I want to know, and we’ll be out of your hair nice and quickly. Now, why didn’t you want to meet with me?’

‘Because I had nothing to say to you’ Lucius replied curtly.

‘You’ll have to do better than that’ Eleusia hissed, applying a little more pressure to the blade, which caused a drop of blood to run down Lucius’ bronzed skin, where it stained the neckline of the loose cotton shirt he was wearing.

‘Don’t do anything stupid, Eleusia.’

‘And I’d advise you to do the same.’

More pressure was applied to the blade, causing Lucius to gasp in pain and stammer:

‘Alright, alright Eleusia, just ease off a bit, alright.’

‘Fine, but this time give me an answer. Why didn’t you want to meet with me?’

‘Because I was told not to.’

‘By who?’

‘Björn. He’s blacklisted you, ordered all of his contacts here to have nothing to do with you, and demanded that all of yours follow suit or suffer the consequences.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. You tell me. You’re clearly the one that’s pissed him off!’

A thoughtful expression passed over Eleusia’s face and the dagger relaxed in her hand, eliciting a sigh of relief from Lucius.

‘Why would you agree to that though, Lucius? I’ve never done anything but work to your benefit, never gone against you, even gone behind Björn’s back on occasion to let you get ahead. And yet you would so readily throw me aside.’

‘Look, Eleusia, it’s not personal, it’s business. Björn has been approaching all of the Senators here in Wardeen, offering us lucrative personal gains and a close and peaceful public relationship with the new ruler of Dazscor & Aramore in exchange for helping him freeze you out of whatever you’re trying to pull. I’m doing this to keep Castar out of a war.’

‘Oh and the cash incentive is just a nice bonus, is it? A reward for your public-spiritedness,’ Eleusia spat.

‘Something like that yes…’

‘Well then, here’s the deal, Lucius. You tell me what I want to know, and then I’ll waltz out of your life, and you’ll never see me again. If you like, I’ll even rough you up a bit, free of charge, so that you can say with an honest conscience to Björn when he comes for tea that I forced the information out of you.’

Before Lucius had time to reply, Eleusia tensed, holding her knife more firmly once again and drawing Lucius closer to her with the blade, lowering her head so that she spoke right into his ear.

‘Now then, is the Imperial Mage to the Court of Hastel I in the city?’

Lucius didn’t speak, but nodded slowly, trying not to move too quickly, lest he be cut by the edge of Eleusia’s blade.

‘Where is he?’

‘There’s an abandoned building a couple of streets north of the Grand Bazaar,’ Lucius said, trying to keep his voice calm and level. ‘The building there burned down ten years ago, or so the story goes, and it’s never been rebuilt. If you go there and look around, I’ve heard that you can find a hidden safe house there where he’s holed up.’

‘Have you told Björn this in one of your cosy fireside chats?’ Eleusia spat, flecks of spittle spattering onto Lucius’ cheek.

‘He has only asked that I and my compatriots freeze you out. He is not asking for information, nor is he offering nearly the right price to gain much more than hearsay and rumour.’

‘Is that it?’ Eleusia growled.

‘Yes, yes, I don’t know anything more, I swear as a Senator of this great republic that I am telling the truth.’

‘When have the promises of politicians been worth anything of value?’ Eleusia scoffed, releasing Lucius who slumped down over his table.

Eleusia turned back to Shenesra and opened her mouth to speak, but before she got the words out, she instinctively whirled around just in time to dodge the thrust Lucius had aimed at her with the knife that had been concealed on his desk. As the man’s arm sailed past her, she deftly struck out with her own dagger, slashing the fingers of his hand so severely that he dropped the knife, and then she drove the pommel of her dagger into his face. As Lucius reeled back, clutching his face with his hand, the gout of blood fountaining from his broken nose mingling with that flowing from his lacerated fingers, Eleusia set off at a run for the balcony, and Shenesra sprinted after her.

At the balcony, Eleusia swung the double doors shut behind them, deftly took a rope from her belt, and looped it through the two door rings, tied it off, and threw the end over the balcony. Without needing to be told, Shenesra took the rope and slid down it to the ground, barely managing to get out of the way before Eleusia landed beside her.

‘Well, that could have gone worse,’ Eleusia gasped breathlessly.

From inside the house, the sounds of people shouting and running to and fro could be heard, along with the clatter of weapons and armour being hastily gathered.

‘What now?’ Shenesra panted.

‘Run!’