Me, Landis, Nimbus. Nimbus, me, Landis. Landis and Nimbus. Nimbus and Landis. Nimbus. Only Nimbus.
The moment of stillness before the shot.
‘I will not ask again,’ Nimbus said, biting off his words. ‘I am issuing a direct order and you will obey or—’
The projectile came darting in too fast to see. Nimbus’s shield flared in my magesight, triggered by the incoming spell; the projectile pierced it in a green-black flash. Nimbus jerked and fell.
Shouts rang out across the rooftop. Shields flew up; Slate threw a deathbolt in the direction of the attack; Ilmarin came running across the roof. ‘Incoming!’ I shouted.
Another shard of green-black death came flashing in. Landis’s magic met it at the edge of the rooftop and exploded it into light and heat, then he, Rain, Slate and Avenor all struck back. The corner of the building from which the attack had come disintegrated under a barrage of fire.
Ilmarin grabbed Nimbus’s body, and he and Avenor dragged him back towards the stairs. Landis and Rain covered them, backing away with their shields glowing red and blue. I ran after.
Avenor and Ilmarin didn’t set Nimbus down until they were back at ground level, the buildings around us blocking our view. ‘He’s not breathing,’ Ilmarin said.
‘He’s not going to,’ Slate said, his face twisted in anger. ‘He was dead before he hit the roof. Fucking Vihaela.’
We stood around the body. After the brief flurry of combat, everything was quiet. Soldiers were peering out at us from where they’d been stationed, their eyes going down to rest on Nimbus. The former Director of Operations of the Order of the Shield was lying on his back, eyes open in a last expression of surprise.
‘Well,’ I said, and turned to Landis. ‘I suppose that puts you in command.’
Landis looked at me. I returned his gaze, my face showing nothing.
‘Captain?’ Ilmarin asked.
‘. . . Yes,’ Landis said. The futures flickered for just a moment, then he turned away, business-like once more. ‘Ilmarin, please take Nimbus’s body to whatever you’re using as a morgue. Have your healer take a look, though if Slate says he’s dead, I’m sure he’s dead. Rain, assemble your Keepers at your forward command post with as many of your squad leaders as you can afford to pull off the line. Order the rest of the men to stand down. Briefing is in ten minutes.’
The people around Landis looked around, then began to disperse. I joined them. I felt Landis’s eyes on my back as I walked away.
15
The room Landis had chosen for his briefing was crowded. There was no projection table this time. Keepers, other mages and sergeants stood waiting for Landis to begin.
‘All right, boys and girls,’ Landis said without preamble. He was standing on a box so everyone could see him. ‘We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick. We are going to destroy Drakh’s force and remove his ability to project power within this shadow realm. Elements of the Order of the Star will hold the western perimeter while all remaining forces will push up from the south in standard sweep formation. We keep going until everyone in Drakh’s force is dead or captive, or until we run out of castle, whichever comes first. Now, I’m sure you have questions, but Councillor Verus has something to tell you.’ Landis stepped down.
I stepped up onto the box. The men looked up at me with expressions ranging from neutral to unfriendly. The bulk of these mages were Keepers, and up until three days ago, their job had included hunting me. I didn’t have many friends here.
‘Before you go into this battle, I’m going to tell you what you’re fighting for,’ I said, trying to copy Landis’s confidence. ‘We entered this shadow realm under a truce with Drakh. As you know, he betrayed us immediately. Now, the Council’s assumed that this was just Drakh doing what he always does and trying to weaken the Council to give him an advantage in the war. And that’s true, he was. But there’s another reason.
‘About a week ago, Drakh’s forces attacked the Southampton facility and stole the Council’s prototype anti-jinn weapon. Then two days ago, when Drakh met the Council for negotiations in Concordia, he told them that the marid’s ritual worked by granting the marid’s host, the mage Anne Walker, the power to more effectively summon greater jinn. We now know that that was a lie. The ritual affects the shadow realm, not the host.
‘So why did Drakh lie? Because he wanted to draw attention towards Anne – towards a person and away from the place. His goal was never to stop the ritual. He wanted to let it complete, then take control of the marid himself. The Council’s divinations confirmed that we could expect swarms of greater jinn coming out of this shadow realm. They didn’t say who’d be controlling them. We’ve been assuming that it would be the marid. Drakh intends that it’ll be him.’
‘Now that isolation ward’s been triggered, this shadow realm’s a ticking time bomb,’ Rain said. ‘How’s he planning to use it as a base?’
‘He’s not,’ I said. ‘Not any more. That part of his plan has failed. But the fact that he’s still here means that he still believes he can turn this into a win. Drakh’s got the item that the marid was bound into, Suleiman’s Ring. With that and the weapon, he probably thinks he can bring the marid back under his control. It’ll mean starting from scratch with a new host, but Drakh’s patient. If he gets out of here with that jinn, then sooner or later, in a few months or a few years, this whole thing is going to start all over again. The Council is not willing to let that happen. Neither am I.’
I held up my right hand, the too-pale fingers gleaming in the light. ‘This is a fateweaver,’ I said. ‘Those of you hunting me this past month will have been briefed on what it does. They were intended as tools for commanding armies. That’s what I’m going to use it for today.’
People looked around. ‘Commanding?’ someone said.
‘Hey, you’re not . . .’
Landis spoke loudly from my side. ‘Councillor Verus will have tactical command for this operation.’
A storm of protests and complaints broke out. ‘Are you frigging—’
‘—a Dark mage—’
‘—killed Levistus—’
‘—not going to—’
‘—crazy—’
‘ENOUGH!’ Landis roared at the top of his voice.
Silence fell. ‘I have spoken to Verus!’ Landis said, his voice ringing out. ‘I believe that he is the best choice to carry out this mission with the minimum amount of lives lost. This decision is final!’
A few people looked towards Rain.
‘I agree with Captain Landis,’ Rain said loudly. ‘We both vouch for Verus on this matter. You have a problem with it, take it up with us after the briefing.’
No one spoke, but their eyes turned back to me. They looked even less friendly than before.
‘The fateweaver gives me the ability to alter the flow of battle,’ I said. ‘I will direct you through comms and through a telepathic focus called a dreamstone. Sometimes I will give you orders to move, or attack, or pull back in a way that makes no obvious sense. When that happens, I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing, and obey immediately.’
‘Why should we trust you?’ a Keeper asked.
It was the big question. ‘Most of you have been fighting against Drakh for less than fifteen months,’ I said. ‘He’s been my enemy for over fifteen years. I have far more reason to hate him than any of you will ever have. On top of that, I struck a bargain with Councillor Alma before coming here. My half of the deal was to make sure Drakh ended up dead. I intend to keep it.’
‘From where?’ another Keeper asked derisively. ‘Back at the command post?’