Vata looked up. “The roof.”
Tayend’s eyebrows rose and he looked at Dannyl. “Well?”
Dannyl nodded. “Then take us there.”
Traitors filled the street, milling before the mansion’s gates. Lorkin and Tyvara had found their way out through a slave’s entrance to a side street and hurried around to the front of the building where the Traitors were gathering. Looking around, Lorkin noted that half of the fighters were women, half men. Magicians and sources. All wore vests like his. For most of the men, the stones will be their only source of magic, he realised. Non-magicians participating in battle. That must be a first.
Just before the crowd swelled to fill the space between the houses, Lorkin glimpsed the street stretching on towards the centre of the city. It might have been his imagination, but in the distance the street appeared to be blocked by a shadow. And that shadow seemed to be moving.
Calls for quiet settled the crowd and he realised a familiar voice was coming from somewhere in the centre.
“... protect all. We must all stay together. Our strength is in our unity and purpose. We are united. The Ashaki are not. We have prepared ourselves for centuries. The Ashaki have not. We have the support of the slaves. The Ashaki do not. And we have stones.”
Taller than most Traitors, Lorkin looked over their heads in the direction of the voice and saw Savara standing higher than the crowd, visible to all.
“Can you see her? We have to get to her,” Tyvara whispered in his ear.
“She’s over by the gates.”
Grabbing his hand, she pulled him around the crowd to the wall of the mansion. Savara’s voice grew louder as they neared, filled with confidence and passion.
“Do not spare the stones. This is what they were made for. Tools for breaking bonds, for making our future, for making everyone equal. To bring freedom to Sachaka.”
“Freedom!” the Traitors shouted.
Lorkin’s heart jumped at the unexpected noise. The second time it came, he was ready for it and this time his pulse quickened at the building excitement. Once at the wall, Tyvara wove through people gazing at their queen with rapt expressions. Finally they broke through the crowd to find the queen standing on a cart, surrounded by the Speakers, just as her speech ended.
“Today we bring Sachakans together, united in freedom!” she finished.
“Freedom!” everyone shouted again. It became a chant as Savara stepped down from the cart and strode forward, the crowd parting to let her through. The Speakers hurried after, and Tyvara all but dove forward, dragging Lorkin after her so that they joined the Speakers before the Traitors fell in behind them.
They reached Savara just as the queen left the crowd. The Speakers moved out to either side, forming a line across the street. Chaos finally shifted into order as the Traitors moved to follow the Speakers who led their teams. Tyvara looked around, then over each shoulder.
“I can’t see Kalia,” she hissed. “You?”
“No.” Lorkin shook his head as he sought the woman.
“Oh, she’s staying behind,” a voice said to his left. He looked over to see that Chari, the woman who had helped them escape to Sanctuary, had appeared beside him. “Ready to treat the injured.”
“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” Tyvara muttered. “Now we only have to deal with them.”
Following her gaze, Lorkin looked past the queen’s shoulder to see that he hadn’t been imagining it: the street beyond was blocked by another crowd several paces away and marching rapidly closer. Sunlight glinted off jewelled jackets.
All those gemstones. I wonder... Lorkin thought. Did the Ashaki of the distant past decorate their clothing with magical stones? Has the tradition persisted though the knowledge of stone-making was lost?
Though only moving at a walk, the two armies seemed to rush towards each other. Lorkin realised his heart was racing. This is it. Either I’ll be alive at the end of this, or not. Curse it – I was going to contact Mother. All around him, Traitors were reaching into their vests for the first stones. Too late now. Taking a deep breath, Lorkin did the same, taking one strike and one shield stone. As Tyvara moved to the queen’s right side, he stepped up to take his place on the left.
The gap between the two armies shrank from a few hundred paces to less than a hundred. The Queen held up a stone, ready to strike. The Speakers did the same. Looking at the enemy, Lorkin saw the determined faces of the Ashaki. Saw the scowls of hatred and the grins of anticipation. He saw the king and his blood went cold. The old man regarded the invaders of his city with a haughty stare. I’d like to personally smack that look off his—
At some signal Lorkin did not catch, both sides attacked. He could not tell who struck first. One moment the space between the armies was charged with expectation, the next it sizzled with magic. He automatically pressed on the shield stone and felt it activate and bounce against that held by the queen and the Speaker to his left until it settled between them. Savara was attacking, but Tyvara only held her strike stone at the ready, as she had instructed him to do. They would join the battle later; for now they were to protect the queen.
Both sides had come to a halt. Lorkin fought the urge to flinch away from the dangerous forces streaking between them. They did not even attempt to address each other, he realised. Not even to throw insults. According to history books, leaders of armies always invited the enemy to surrender. Not this time.
It’s not that the Traitors and Ashaki believe the other side would never accept. It’s because they aren’t offering. Each side means to eradicate the other. To kill every last Traitor or Ashaki. He shivered. Even the Ichani offered to let the Guild give in and avoid a battle.
Not striking meant he had the opportunity to watch. The Ashaki stood unmoving, whereas the Traitors were in constant motion. He had been fascinated by the method of battle they’d developed and was keen to see it in action. The queen and Speakers remained at the front and he and Tyvara stayed as the queen’s protectors. The rest of the Traitors formed columns behind the Speakers. As each reached the front they moved to stand beside a Speaker. If they took a place to the left of the Speaker, they shielded the front line; if they moved to the right, they used a strike stone. When their stone was depleted they retreated to the end of the column to let others have their turn.
This ensured that most Traitors weakened at the same rate, and that most stones were used before the magicians of the army began using their own store of power. It was much easier to respond quickly to abrupt and unexpected attacks with personal magic than with stones, so it was held in reserve.
Warning shouts came from behind. Lorkin looked back. Something was going on to the right of the Traitor army.
“What’s happening?” Savara asked.
Traitors in the columns to the right were calling out to each other. The ones closest turned to relay what they were hearing to Tyvara. Lorkin caught snatches of their report.
“Attack from the right,” Tyvara repeated. “Seven Ashaki. All dealt with.”
Lorkin saw Savara smile in relief and satisfaction and felt a small surge of triumph.
The Ashaki are fools if they think we’re not ready for this sort of attack.
“Lorkin,” Tyvara hissed.
He turned to see her frowning in worry. She jerked her head and flicked her eyes back towards the Traitor army, at the same time silently mouthing a word. His blood went cold.