The City Under the Ice by Barbara Bretana - HTML preview

Chapter 62

The room was surprisingly, not as large as the doors implied. It had clearly been a library and still was, shelves were everywhere. From the floor to the ceiling, those tiers covered with dusty tomes some of which so huge that if it fell on your head might very well kill you. Some were made on what looked like vellum or at worst---human skin. Many were so old I would hazard a guess that they were pre-cataclysm techno manuals.

In the center of the room was a desk made of metal and I’d seen its ilk before. Blackfin must have imported it from Reyjdask; it was the same make and model that Dir. Ricbom had used in his office. It might even be his desk.

Seated in a chair that swiveled to face us was the Wizard, Blackfin. He was not alone, although there was no grandfather or Emperor at his side. In a smaller metal chair in an open corner sat the Director. He looked ill, his skin was a pale gray, black shadows hugged his lower eyelid, his lips moved in a soft whisper and his hands trembled. He barely looked up and did not acknowledge me, not even at the sight of my wings.

I rustled them slightly; they itched and the muscles wanted stretching. Without conscious thought, both extended to maximum length and flapped, a slow movement that none-the-less lifted me off the floor. Blackfin looked up and gestured with one hand and I toppled to the floor suddenly weighing more than my wings could lift. Ricbom made no discernable reaction or comment; he was a beaten dog.

“Tobias,” Blackfin started and I rose on one knee, the wings dragging behind me.

“Master,” I whispered.

“Tell me about your army. Where they are now, where are they going? Your Headquarters and your officers in charge. Everything you have planned for your campaign,” he ordered.

I told him everything that he had asked for but volunteered nothing. I did not mention Arianell or Laioli and that brought me a sense of puzzlement for I was certain I should have told him about them. I did not divulge the location of Panaculeum or the other cities we had found and still hidden from his knowledge. Nor did I speak of the force shield surrounding those places. Of the personal one around me, he assumed it was magic and not technological; I did not correct him on his mistake.

“What will happen when your men learn you have joined my side?” he asked curiously.

“Many will continue to fight,” I shrugged. “Others will run home, some will switch sides to fight against Averon’s forces and yours,” I stated. “Most are desperate men and desperate men fight because they have nothing left to lose. Only their lives and that means nothing when all else has been taken from you.”

“And your lovely friend and co-conspirator, the Elassai half-bred maid?” I was still, my heart suddenly beating fast enough so that he could see it. “Tell me of Arianell Shadesmere, Tobias and her brother Siobhan, your Generals.”

“What is there to tell?” I said harshly. “I drank her blood and left her.”

“You fed off her?” he laughed. “So, she is dead then and no further use to my plans or to you.”

“I do not know, Master Blackfin. No one I have ever fed from has survived the encounter and I did not stay to see her...body. Her brother was...incensed. I ran from him before he could injure me.”

“I know that you cannot control the blood lust, Tobias. No, she is dead. As are your beloved horses.” Even that did not provoke the rise he was looking for---I knew that both the stallion and the gelding were safe in the city behind the force shield. Unless of course, he ordered me to drop it. I wasn’t sure if the city AI would obey such a command. I did know that it was one of two things I had not divulged to the Wizard proving that my mind was sectioned off from those separate functions. Only accessible to Blackfin was the part that contained the memories before I had found Panaculeum, Arianell and the struggling army of rebels.

I didn’t know how I kept it from him; I only knew I had to do so. “What are your plans for me now, Master?”

“When the moon rises over the towers, I want you gone to the Summer Palace. Where are the wizard’s hands?”

I reached into the pocket of the bag I had carried with me from the capital and gave it over to Blackfin. He opened the cloth and drew out the hands of Connacher. They were blue from lack of blood but corruption had not yet begun to mar them. I was not sure if such would occur; their very essence was imbued with the magic that he had conjured.

“A powerful talisman indeed, Tobias. Do you have the Jade Dagger that you killed the Lyr with?” I handed that over knowing that I put into his hands one of the few weapons I suspected could kill me. “Have you told me all, Tobias?” he asked abruptly.

“No, master,” I answered.

“Good. Keep your little secrets.” He touched me with Connacher’s right hand and I felt a tingle of magic coat me. “You are spelled to be invisible and unheard, Tobias. Go to the palace and kill my father. As bloodily and messily as you can. Once he is dead, bring me the medallion he wears under his robes and the woman that he keeps in his bedchambers.”

“Woman?”

“It is a young girl he favors and she is said to be pregnant with his child. I want no other claimants to my throne and the blood of a royal infant even a bastard has much magical power to work...dangerous spells. Bring me the woman or the unborn babe.” His voice was sharp. “Do you understand?”

“You want either both alive or the babe if I can’t get the woman,” I explained. “Is it near term if I have to cut it out? Will it survive such treatment or does it not matter? I know nothing about newborns.”

“You grew up on a farm,” he snapped. “Babies are the same, be it calves, foals or humans. Go. Make yourself ready. Moonrise is in two hours.”

“As you wish, master.” I left him to his books, spells and the dead Connacher’s hands.