Cursed av-2 Page 25

  I was analysing a route up to the second floor. “Fighting what?”

  “A mantis golem. Belthas got a mantis golem!” I could hear distant sounds of battle over the radio. “It’s trying to kill Cinder, Cinder’s trying to melt it-”

  “Who’s winning?”

  There was a pause. “Neither, I think.”

  I checked my watch. We had a little over ten minutes. “We can’t wait for Cinder,” I decided. “I’m going after Belthas. Luna, Sonder is up the mountainside from here. You can circle around and-”

  “Screw that.” Luna’s eyes flashed. “I’m going with you.”

  I looked back at her for a second, then smiled slightly. “Sonder,” I said loudly. “We’re going for Belthas’s sanctum on the second floor. If you can get a message to Cinder, tell him.”

  Sonder sounded confused. “Wait-both of you?”

  Luna switched the radio off and tossed it to me. We headed upstairs.

  We passed several charred bodies on the way up. There were several guards still lurking, but they stayed out of our way. It looked like there’d been some fast natural selection amongst Belthas’s security force and the survivors had been the ones who’d figured out that attacking a mage was a very bad idea. As we climbed, burnt flesh, burnt wiring, and smoke mixed together to make a nauseating stench.

  The top floor was luxurious but impersonal, like an expensive hotel. A thick carpet lined the central corridor and I could feel the presence of minor magical effects from behind the wooden doors. All was untouched; Cinder must not have gotten this far. I moved down the corridor, watching for an ambush, Luna a few steps behind.

  The corridor ended in an anteroom. Two double doors were set into the far wall and I knew they led into Belthas’s sanctum. Curtains were drawn over the windows, a wardrobe stood to one side, and several tables held curios. I stopped in the doorway and waited. The room was silent. There was no sound from outside; the floor had been soundproofed. Seconds ticked past.

  “You might as well come out,” I said to the room.

  Silence.

  I lifted my gun, letting it make a quiet metallic noise. My left arm hurt a little but it was manageable. “How about I shoot those curtains?”

  The curtains moved and Meredith stepped out.

  For someone in the middle of a battle, Meredith looked far better than she ought to. Somehow she’d found the opportunity to change clothes and was wearing a black figure-hugging outfit that probably would have been distracting if I’d been in any mood to care. It was her eyes I was watching and I could tell from the look in them that she was afraid. She stood, on edge, trying to watch both me and the gun.

  “I know why you’re here,” I said quietly. “Belthas put you out here to slow us down. You said yes because you thought you could stay out of sight till the fighting was over.” I nodded back down the corridor. “Run. Now. If you stay, Cinder’ll kill you. If you get in my way, I will.”

  Meredith hesitated, and for a moment I saw the choices branching before her. Then, slowly, she came towards me, keeping her eyes on me. I let her go by. For a moment it looked as though she was about to say something, then she walked away.

  Meredith passed Luna without a glance. As she did a tendril of Luna’s curse flicked out over Meredith, soaking into her to leave a faint silvery glow. Meredith walked back the way we came and vanished. I looked at Luna and raised an eyebrow.

  “What?” Luna said. She sounded a little annoyed. “It won’t kill her.” She paused. “Probably.”

  I glanced down the corridor, then turned away. “What if she comes back?” Luna asked.

  “She won’t.”

  The double doors to Belthas’s sanctum swung open with a creak.

  The room was big: the size of a small dance hall, wider than it was long, with a high ceiling. There were no windows but the roof seemed to be made of some one-way glass, giving a view of the dark sky. Tables and workbenches were scattered around the edge, filled with components and supplies, but aside from that the room was bare: If a fight started I wouldn’t have much cover. Another set of double doors in the back corner stood open, and through them I could see shelves.

  In front of the doors, set into the floor at the end of the room, was the biggest ritual circle I’d ever seen. It was done in a triple ring design with the outermost ring cast in copper, the middle in silver, and the inner in gold, with runes and sigils inlaid between them. Three lecterns stood in the innermost ring in a triangle, and upon them were laid a wand, a book, and a knife.

  Belthas stood at the centre. He’d changed into blue ceremonial robes of the kind used by the Council for formal occasions and he looked every inch the magus in his sanctum. “Verus,” Belthas said without looking up. He was tracing lines in the book with his right hand, while holding one of the iridescent purple rods in his left. “I hope you know I’ll be taking this damage out of your pay.”

  “You can call this my two weeks’ notice,” I said. I had a clear line of sight. I looked into the future of my shooting at Belthas-

  — and saw him deflect the bullets effortlessly with an ice shield. “I have to admit,” Belthas said, “you’ve caused me quite an extraordinary amount of trouble.”

  “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.” I could feel the room thrumming with power; the ritual was nearly complete. As I concentrated, I saw that the focus was the rod in Belthas’s hand. It shared a sympathetic link with its twin embedded in Arachne: Once Belthas finished, it would act as the conduit to drain her energy into him. I didn’t know what it would do to Belthas, but I knew what it would do to Arachne.

  “I have to ask,” Belthas said. His tone was mildly curious. “Why are you so concerned about these creatures? If you’d just given me the elemental and the spider all this could have been resolved peacefully.”

  “Belthas,” I said, “trust me. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “They’re not mages. They’re not even human.”

  “And I still like them more than you. Though that’s not saying much.”

  Luna was hanging back in the corridor, waiting for my lead. I ran through different angles of attack and saw Belthas block them in every future I tried. Most of Belthas’s power was going into the ritual but he had more than enough left to protect himself.

  But in that case, why wasn’t he attacking? I spread my arms. “What’s the matter? Don’t feel like taking a shot?”

  Belthas sighed. “In case it’s escaped your attention, I’m somewhat busy. If this is the best you can do, I’d appreciate it if you would come back later.”

  I took a couple of steps forward. The more I looked into the future, the more certain I was that Belthas couldn’t reach me. The ritual circle must be acting as a barrier. He couldn’t get offensive spells through it.

  But if I walked into the circle … I winced at the image. Ow. I wouldn’t make it two steps. Ice magic does really nasty things to flesh.

  “Alex,” Luna whispered from the doorway.

  I knew she was about to suggest using her magic against him. “Wouldn’t work,” I whispered back.

  “I could get closer-”

  “From outside that circle’s shielding him,” I whispered. “And if you got inside he’d take you apart.”

  “I must say, I’m a little disappointed,” Belthas said, ignoring our conversation. “The more … questionable aspects to your background are well known but most mages had been under the impression you were trying to put being a Dark mage behind you. Now you’re switching sides? Again?”

  “Should have read those reports more carefully,” I said. I signalled Luna to stay put and began moving down the length of the room. I kept a wary eye on Belthas as I approached, my precognition alert for danger. “The reason I left was to get away from people like you.”

  “Which is why you’re working for Cinder?” Belthas shook his head. “Honestly, Verus. You break into my home with a Dark cabal and still think you’re on the right side? Which one of us has caused
more deaths lately?”

  “That might be because you keep yourself an army of minions.”

  “And who made the choice to kill them?” Belthas asked. He hadn’t looked up and was still tracing through the ritual in the book. “Those men had families, you know. I do so hate writing condolence letters.”

  I felt a flare of anger and bit down an answer. I was less than thirty feet from Belthas, just seconds at a run. But then, past Belthas, I caught sight of something in the room beyond. It looked like a bed with someone on it. I moved along to get a better view. It was a bed … and lying on it was Rachel, wearing what looked like a hospital gown. Her eyes were closed and an IV drip hung from a stand. There was something else next to her. I took another step-

  My precognition warned me just in time. I leapt backwards as golden energy slashed the air with a hiss, passing through the spot I’d been in a second ago. I tripped and fell, turned it into a backwards roll, and scrambled away as heavy footfalls sounded from the storeroom. “Oh, didn’t I mention?” Belthas said. “Your new friend Cinder drew away that mantis golem …”

  And a hulking shape appeared in the doorway. “…But what made you think I only had one?” Belthas asked, just as the golem fired.

  Mantis golems are the personal guards of the Council and only the most well-connected of Light mages have them. They look like seven-foot-tall humanoid praying mantises made of silver and gold, and they’re bloody lethal. This one was carrying two blades and an energy projector that spat a rapid-fire stream of bolts. I jumped back as the line of fire walked towards me, dodged through the shots in a move I’d never have dared to try if I’d stopped to think about it, kicked one of the benches over, and dropped behind it as the stream of bolts swept back over my head again.

  The stream of fire cut off as the golem lost sight of its target, and the heavy footfalls began again as it started to walk around the circle towards me. I popped up and sighted on the thing-although mantis golems are damn near invulnerable to attack magic a lucky hit can damage their joints or sensors-but I only managed to get off one burst before another volley of fire forced me to duck down. This time the golem sent a second volley of fire through the bench where I’d been and I rolled right just in time. I was focusing all my attention on the immediate future, thinking only about surviving the next couple of seconds.

  Which was why I didn’t realise Luna had stepped out of cover until I caught sight of her in my peripheral vision. She was standing in the open, staring at the golem and concentrating, and I could see a steady stream of silver mist flowing from her to sink into the metal monster. She was within the golem’s field of vision but it didn’t turn towards her, its simple programming not recognising her as a threat.

  But Belthas did. He said something in another language and the golem stopped and turned towards Luna with a hiss of metal. I came up with a shout and fired, knowing the shots wouldn’t do any damage but hoping they’d get its attention. The bullets glanced away and the golem locked onto its new target, oblivious.

  The first volley would have killed Luna but for her curse. It’s so deadly one can easily forget that its original function was to serve as a protection, drawing luck away from everyone else to bring it to its subject. Normally Luna never trips or falls-the curse protects her from any accident, no matter how small-but as the golem fired she stumbled on the smooth floor and went sprawling, the spread of bolts hissing over her head. The second volley missed too, kicking up splinters as Luna rolled to the left and started to rise, but then the golem planted its feet squarely and I knew the third shot would hit.

  It didn’t. The golem’s movements suddenly slowed, and it took a second, maybe two, to fire. When it did, the energy bolt drifted out of the barrel as if in slow motion, accelerating as it moved away. By the time it hit real speed Luna was on the other side of the room, and the energy did nothing but tear up the floor.

  I looked right and saw Sonder in the doorway, his eyes narrowed, concentrating on the golem. As my mage’s sight adapted I saw the spell he was holding-it was a slow time field, warping space around the golem so that to us the construct was only a fraction as fast as it should have been. The golem tracked Luna, the barrel of its projector moving as if underwater, but between the delay and Luna’s curse there was no way it could hit her now. Stray shots exploded bottles and items on the benches until Luna vanished from sight. Before it could adjust its aim I sighted on the projector, searched through the futures until I found a weak spot, then fired, emptying my magazine. The bullets slowed as they approached the golem until I could almost see them, the impacts sparking along the projector’s barrel in slow motion until a lucky hit sent flashes of energy crackling back into the hilt as the weapon short-circuited. The golem started to advance towards Luna, its movements ponderous and slow.

  I ran to where Sonder was standing. “Hey,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes locked on the golem. “Need some help?”

  I ejected the empty magazine and snapped in a new one. “Good timing.” I could see sweat beading on Sonder’s forehead; slowing time is not kid stuff. Luna and the golem were playing tag on the other side of the room, Luna still pouring her curse into the golem for all it was worth. With its ranged weapon destroyed and its movement slowed, the golem couldn’t catch her … for now.

  “Can’t hold this … long,” Sonder said. His knuckles were white where he was gripping the door frame.

  “You won’t have to.” I snatched a glance back at Belthas, still standing in the circle. The ambient energy had built higher and I knew we had only minutes before he finished. I looked into the future to see how long-

  — and my heart lifted. “Sonder,” I said. “Thirty more seconds.”

  “’Kay,” Sonder managed. He was starting to tremble and I knew how much strain he was under. But whether through how difficult it was to counter or just its sheer power, Luna’s curse was working better, and I could see the telltale silver glow building up around the golden construct. I waited, counting off the seconds, then shouted out. “Luna, this way! Run!”

  Luna gave me one startled glance, then sprinted. The golem turned to follow. Trying to close with Luna, it had come nearly against the wall.

  The side of the room blew in with a crack of thunder. The concussion sent me and Sonder staggering and with a groaning, snapping sound, the entire corner of the room fell in, the walls and roof coming down in a roar. The mantis golem disappeared under tons of concrete, the silver and gold of its body buried in rubble. A cloud of choking dust covered the room and a cold breeze swept through, carrying with it the scent of scorched earth. I looked up to see that an entire corner of the sanctum was gone, open to the dark sky.

  Cinder landed on the pile of rubble with a crunch. He looked left to see Luna, who was crouching between the debris with wide eyes, all of the falling stone having somehow missed her, and his gaze swept the room before locking onto Belthas. Cinder’s hands came up and orange-red fire licked around them, darkening and brightening at the same time until it hurt to look at. The smell of brimstone filled the air.

  Belthas looked up just in time to see what was coming, and for an instant his face registered absolute disgust. “Shit.”

  The fire blast was hot enough to melt metal. If I hadn’t closed my eyes it would have blinded me, and it was so bright that even through my eyelids I saw it as a white-hot beam. The circle resisted it for maybe a hundredth of a second before collapsing, and as it did I felt the snap as the ritual broke, the accumulated energy scattering away. A triangulated ice shield flicked up around Belthas just before the beam struck, vaporising the shield in an explosion of steam.

  The echoes died away, leaving only the drip of water and the hiss of something evaporating. The sanctum was filled with mist. As it cleared, I made out the forms of Cinder, standing on the rubble, eyes narrowed as he searched for Belthas, with Luna a little way behind. Sonder came to his feet, coughing. “Did he get him?”

  Ice slashed out of the mist, three separ
ate strikes of frozen air mixed with razor-edged shards. Cinder’s fire shield exploded them into steam but another volley hit a second later, sending him stumbling back as Belthas strode out of the mist. A nimbus of icy blue light glowed around him, the energy forming crystalline shapes, and his eyes glowed azure. There were scorch marks across his robes but he didn’t look injured. “Cinder.” His voice was cold and tightly controlled. “Verus. Congratulations. You have finally made me angry.”

  “Sonder!” I shouted.

  Sonder turned in surprise and I shoved him in the chest, sending him sprawling just as ice shards cut the air where we’d been standing. It missed me by a foot, but the cold was intense enough to leave frost on my coat and freeze the blood on my arm. I dived back just in time to avoid a second strike and scrambled for cover.

  As I saw Belthas, though, I felt a chill. Belthas had nearly killed me and Sonder without even paying attention. He was facing Cinder, sending lightning-quick slashes of ice and crystalline blades at him from different directions, sparing only an occasional flick of a hand to send an attack my way. Cinder fought back with walls and columns of fire, burning away Belthas’s attacks in flashes of energy, only barely holding his own as the walls and benches ignited and shattered around them.

  I caught sight of Luna, hiding behind a chunk of rubble. “Get out of here!”

  Luna hesitated.

  I snarled and raised my voice over the sounds of battle. “Goddamn it, I gave you an order, apprentice! This is way out of your league, now run!”

  Luna stared wide-eyed for a second, then jumped up and ran, just as a strike from Belthas shattered her hiding place. I didn’t have time to make sure she got out. I sprinted down the length of the room, making myself as hard a target as possible.

  Blades of ice gouged chunks from the walls and searing fire burnt the stone black. The air was filled with mist and smoke one minute, burnt to nothingness the next. I sent three-round bursts at Belthas whenever I could get a shot but they glanced harmlessly from his shields. I knew now why Belthas hadn’t been scared of Cinder and Deleo. He was holding me off while driving Cinder back and I didn’t think he was even going all-out. Cinder had stopped attacking; he was backing away down towards the circle, a silent snarl on his face, all his energies going into the shield of flame around him that was keeping Belthas’s strikes from tearing him apart. And then, all of a sudden, the sounds of battle stopped.