24 Betrayal

DESSA SLID BEHIND the misshapen throne, and Threadfin followed. When she glowered at him, he smiled back. ‘Hardly matters,’ he said, ‘if I learn a few secrets now, does it? Besides, I’ve always wondered how these magical-gadget-thingies work. Any time I cracked one open it stopped working.’

‘Not surprised,’ she muttered. ‘Those gadgets you’ve seen are nothing by comparison. The little magic in those dissipates as soon as you tamper with them. This is different.’

‘Still, maybe I’ll learn something.’

‘Huh,’ she muttered, ‘as though seeing is understanding. I doubt your withered brain could comprehend the intricacies involved.’ She paused, touching a section of the kraken, frowning.

‘No need to get personal,’ said the viral. ‘I don’t mention your big mouth, do I?’

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Pole. He’d decided to join them, the grip on his sword hilt leaving his knuckles white. Threadfin rubbed at his forehead and the small horns poking through. When would the man learn to relax around magic? He looked sicker than when aboard ship.

Dessa pressed her hands to the bone surface, and at first, Threadfin couldn’t see what she was doing. Then he noted the mild depressions in its surface. A small portal opened expelling gaseous dust and exposing a whirring noise. The viral peered closer and saw hundreds of small gears contained within spinning circles of gold, all interconnected within a tight space. Tendrils of blue light shot like webbing between the gears and bits and things; he hadn’t a clue what he was looking at. When her hand shoved his face aside, it was then he realised he’d moved too close. His nose almost touched the light.

‘Not a good idea, undeader,’ she whispered. ‘It might not destroy you, but then ... this has inbuilt magical fail-safes. It’s to prevent anyone, except me, setting my father free.’ She offered him the hint of a smile, clouded by sadness. ‘Our greatest invention and our last. It would have changed, not just Atlantian civilisation, but the entire world.’

‘Really,’ said Threadfin. ‘Thought you lot didn’t share your inventions. Besides, anything you breathers claim will change the world usually turns out bad. In my humble experience.’

‘Wait,’ said the Darken joining them. ‘Our invention? I thought you said you invented it?’

‘I meant, um, you know, Atlantians. In general. Figure of speech.’

‘Dess.’

She paused, to look up at her ex-husband. Threadfin noticed a nervousness in her though she relented with a sigh, and said, ‘I did invent it, but I also had help. From my brother.’

‘Didn’t know you had a brother?’

‘Lot of things you don’t know about me.’

‘Apparently. Not like we were married or nothin’.’

She resumed working on the device, muttering something incomprehensible, but likely derogatory and about Podral Pole or men everywhere.

Threadfin turned to his Darken, wide-eyed. ‘You two were married and you didn’t know she had a brother? Wow!’

The man scowled. ‘I wasn’t welcome here. I did visit a few times, unofficially. Never got the family invite to dinner, though.’

‘Was probably for the best,’ said Threadfin.

‘Now, what’s that supposed to mean?’

Dessa swore and took a step back. ‘There’s a problem.’

Threadfin stared at the complicated mechanism and then at Dessa. ‘Looks good to me. The blue light seems happy and those bits n’ bobs are whirring away.’

‘It seems my brother—’

‘Who apparently is going to remain nameless and why not? He’s just family.’ Podral Pole was staring at her, arms folded, eyes full of suspicion and hurt.

‘There are numerous fail-safes,’ she continued, while ignoring him, ‘like I said before. It seems Asher added one I didn’t know about.’

‘Asher?’ said Pole.

‘Her brother I would imagine?’ said Threadfin. ‘Top of your class at Darken school, right?’

His Darken seemed too distracted to take the bait as he watched his ex-wife mulling over the problem.

From her work belt, Dessa withdrew a small fine copper rod, and knelt before the opening in the kraken. With precision, she touched it to a small orifice located below the gyrating circles. From the tip of the rod emerged a sliver of spectralic magic, like lightning. A thin bolt shot out and struck Threadfin between the eyes.

Next thing he knew, both Dessa and his Darken were helping him up. ‘Where, what ... oh, that hurt!’

‘The fail-safe Asher installed,’ answered the princess in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘It must have required viralic power to override because that’s what happened after it touched you.’

‘You mean, attacked me.’

‘No, it was a touch. My brother was always cautious. There were Atlantian inventors who wanted to steal each other’s creations. It was the cause of two civil wars on the island.’

‘Never heard of any Atlantian wars.’ Threadfin’s sight was less blurry, but there was a horrible metallic taste on his tongue and a hollow booming between his ears. Might’ve been worms having a party. ‘Remind me to thank your brother if I get to meet him someday.’

Pole stepped away and was circling around to the front. ‘You two should come see this.’

When they joined him, Threadfin noted the rotating white light was slowing, dimming, until it revealed a tall distinguished-looking man in his late sixties with silver-white hair slouched within.

Podral Pole wasted no time in reaching Haven Tone to check him, not noticing the weave of viralic power as Threadfin felt for the king’s life force. Instead of draining it, he could suppress it a little to keep him sleeping. He’d never done it before though he thought it a simple reversal of the rules. However, there was no need.

‘He’s alive,’ said Dessa, ‘trust me. The sleep induced state preserved him, but it takes a long time to reverse. Hours to days. Since I never tried it on anyone else, I can’t be certain.’ She glanced at Threadfin.

The mage nodded. ‘He won’t awaken for some time, but I can keep him sleeping when it becomes necessary.’ Threadfin gave Pole a smile. ‘Looks like my poor Darken has to carry him.’

Pole looked ready to respond with something rude, when the doors of the chamber slammed open. Vilt was running at speed while Grudge was trying to shut the huge doors behind them.

‘There’s a ship arrived,’ she shouted, between gulps of air. ‘It’s jammed into one of the canals. Didn’t bother docking properly, but whatever got off it, looks big, with horns and muscles and stuff. I think it’s the same Torment thing from Hatava.’

‘From that description it could be Grudge’s Ma,’ Pole muttered.

When the scout joined them in an agitated state, it almost lent credence to the idea. His sword in hand, he turned his back on them as he faced the doors. ‘No time for it,’ said the scout. ‘“Never no time for nothin’ but dyin’”, my Ma always said.’

‘It’s not, is it?’ asked the Darken.

‘Not what?’ asked the scout.

‘Your bloody Ma come for her gorgeous boy?’

Vilt spat as she strung her bow, standing a little ahead of Grudge and the others. They looked ready to face the Grim’s wrath. In a manner of speaking, that’s exactly what a Torment was. Dessa fell back as a booming sound echoed throughout the citadel.

‘Grudge, for our sakes I hope it is your bloody mother,’ growled Pole, ‘coz it’s coming right at us.’

‡

THREADFIN STEPPED PAST his companions and walked to the large doors. Magic billowed around him in the form of a cloak while he crafted some of it into a knotted weave to secure the doors.

‘Mage ... ah, we have us a problem,’ said his Darken in a nervous voice.

Threadfin ignored him, focusing on his task. What he’d woven had to hold. Moments later, something pounded on the opposite side and his weave responded, swelling to resist the impacts. However, the Torment was persistent and Threadfin felt the percussive blows through his power. It would get through eventually.

‘Mage?’

‘Yes, yes, a little patience would be nice, Pod.’ He had no idea how long his magic might hold it. Was there another way out of this chamber? There had to be.

‘Todder, you stinkin’ grave-maggot! I said, we have a problem!’

The viral turned, about to give answer to what he considered a wholly unnecessary insult and to ask Dessa if there was another way out, and why she’d ever married such a rat-faced scoundrel. Instead, he swallowed every word and nearly choked.

Grudge lay in a heap, blood weeping from a head wound. Dessa was backing away with a dagger to Vilt’s throat. Blood dribbled from a shallow cut the archer’s neck.

Podral stood frozen, staring at his ex-wife, bronze sword sheathed. ‘Todder,’ he said in a strangled voice. ‘I warned you she was dangerous, didn’t I?’

‘Dessa,’ said Threadfin, approaching slow and methodical, ignoring the echoing blows behind him. ‘What, in the name of the angels divine are you doing?’ He glanced at the scout, but couldn’t tell if the man lived. ‘What’s going on here? Dess?’

The blade at Vilt’s neck bit a little deeper and the soldier gasped. ‘No closer,’ ordered the Atlantian princess. ‘Remember when I told you my father destroyed Atlantis? Well, I lied. It’s something I do a lot. I lie. It was my father and my traitorous brother who tried to stop me, but I never intended so many to die. I do regret that. If they’d left things alone maybe no one would’ve died. It happened and I can’t change it. I can only go on.’

As they spoke, something began to happen to the kraken. Threadfin tried to ignore it, to keep his eyes on Vilt, but Dessa was waiting for something. She wouldn’t have acted if there wasn’t another way out. The kraken’s bone tentacles were moving, constricting inwards. The unconscious Haven Tone vanished inside as a new prison formed.

‘You’re a zorast,’ said Threadfin, figuring it out on the spot and he saw Pole nodding. His friend had already suspected it, then. Striga was hunting Dessa and he knew Striga opposed her old master’s return, if not exactly why. ‘You serve the Grim, don’t you? You tried to raise Babel here in Atlantis.’

‘I needed you,’ said Dessa, ‘to release my father. I didn’t lie about that. I knew one day my chance would come and then you laid it at my feet. A way to get my ship and the Kraken, which my brother had booby-trapped. Thanks, undeader. I’m afraid, I cannot let you go any further though. I’m sorry, Todder. I’ll miss our little chats.’

She backed away, dragging Vilt with her. The soldier’s eyes were wide, but then Threadfin saw Vilt shoving aside her fear. He saw belief form instead. She knew he would save her.

Oh great, no pressure at all then.

‘Dess!’ Pole cried. ‘Do not do this. We can figure it out. Just don’t. Please, Dess. We can fix it. You and I. Please.’

‘I am sorry my husband,’ she said, eyes filling with tears as she bit back a sob. ‘You never understood. You were too good for me, and you’re better off without me. My soul was bought some time ago. The price must now be paid.’

Threadfin glanced at his Darken, feeling a pang of guilt at those words. The Librarian came to mind. A whirring sound snapped his attention to the kraken. What was once a throne was now moving, powered by magic. It took the form of a sea creature with ten legs, the king trapped within its bone core.

The kraken lashed out with a leg tossing Pole against a pillar. A bolt of magic hurtled at Threadfin. Blocking it with his own, it still threw him backwards.

He had time to see bone tentacles wreathed in blue fire entangle Dessa’s torso. They grabbed hold of Vilt too and the kraken devoured them both.

The viral mage felt magic oozing from the depths of his half soul. A river became a flood.

The kraken attacked with bright flails of spectralic power, which Threadfin managed to dodge. Whips of light lashed stone as the mage shielded himself beneath his wings. Several impacted him though his magic held. During a pause in the assault, he rose, solid wings dissolving into nothingness.

The kraken charged and the viral mage rushed to meet it.

A thunderous impact followed, and Threadfin was for a second time sent hurtling backwards. He struck the far wall with a crushing force, and fell. His opponent wasted no time, a spectralic scourge pounding into him, but the mage managed to rebuff the attacks, if just. He fought to hold on, as the monster approached, talons reaching out to rip him to pieces. If its magic failed, those tentacles of bone would not.

The Torment chose that moment to break through the doors, ripping them from their hinges in a shriek of wood and metal. The kraken turned to face this new threat.

The mage got to his feet and staggered a bit as he tried to recover. He watched as Striga attacked the kraken with twin long swords, black as night. The indomitable Torment was a mystery, and Threadfin could never decide if she was friend or foe. Today it seemed, she was friend or sort of.

Dark flame rippled along the edges of her blades, as Striga used them to hack and stab. She leapt and dodged every attack by the kraken, her silver hair flying in her wake, as she beat it into a retreat. It became clear after several minutes, however, she could not destroy it.

The mage spotted Grudge’s sword several feet from the scout. Another blade lay beyond the kraken. Within their bronze reflections, he spotted the kraken’s unprotected flanks. While Striga distracted it, Threadfin sent his power into those reflections, focusing it into spears. They emerged from the sword blades and lanced through several of the creature’s legs. The kraken had no way to deflect the assault, and fell. Threadfin sent another lance of magic at its bony head, though nothing happened. A lull in the battle, he rushed to his friends. A groggy Darken had managed to reach the scout who was coming to.

‘Get out!’ Striga ordered, pointing one of her swords at the open doorway.

‘What about Vilt?’ asked Pole.

‘Where is she?’ Grudge demanded.

Striga grabbed them both and shoved them towards the exit.

The kraken tried to regain its balance and flailed about with its attacks. The building began to collapse beneath the onslaught.

They stumbled out through the corridors, the Torment following. After they descended to the lower levels they exited the citadel, and the danger seemed over. Threadfin paused for a moment to watch the building melt. He stood, tapping an overlong tooth protruding from his mouth, as he examined the dripping stone. The spectralic power Dessa was using was out of control.

The Torment led them onto the main thoroughfare, leading back to the docks. Grudge struggled, but Threadfin helped him along. The Darken also moved gingerly yet otherwise appeared fine.

When Threadfin paused to give the struggling scout a moment, Striga turned and grabbed the mage, none too gently, and shoved him onward. ‘Keep moving undead one.’ She took hold of the scout and slung him over her shoulder. ‘I said, move!’

As they reached the middle of the thoroughfare, the Torment halted. ‘Here will do.’

Threadfin stared at her. ‘What are you doing? We need to reach the docks and the ship.’ He had no idea how they would sail without the crystals Dessa had removed from the astrolabe, which none of them could use anyway. He guessed the usual method of sailing. Would the crew be aboard and how would they explain Striga, or Dessa’s absence?

‘No, no ships,’ said the Torment. ‘The kraken would take to the water and sink us in minutes.’

The collapsing citadel behind them groaned and a fountain of dust and congealed rock fountained into the air.

‘You must take us out of here,’ Striga said to the mage. ‘We must reach Zalanthya before it does.’

Threadfin drew out one of his mirrors, one he hadn’t used yet. He had to hope leaving Atlantis using magic wasn’t as difficult as reaching it, unless Dessa had lied. Perish the thought. ‘Wait, what do you mean before it does?’

‘Is that not too small?’ Striga observed, staring at the mirror. ‘I do not think we will fit.’

‘For your information,’ the viral mage snapped, deciding to feel offended, ‘this is exactly the right size. Be patient.’

She looked at him as though he’d suggested water was wet. ‘I’m always patient. The kraken however, is not.’

As though to punctuate her words, dust and rock erupted amid a storm of magic. It began to clamber free of the destroyed citadel.

Threadfin focused on Zalanthya, using up his reserves of power. The remaining pink pustules on his body deflated. They didn’t have Haven Tone to help find Babel. Instead, they had something better. One of the Grim’s own servants. It could still work.

The mirror cracked.

He glanced to his right and saw the kraken emerge. He tossed the broken mirror aside and chose one of his daggers. There was nothing in its reflection except a murkiness. It would have to do.

This time it worked although it felt awkward. Because I’m being rushed. Nothing good ever comes from being rushed. Extending the reflection with his power he created a vortex, which opened before them. The kraken lashed out and the stone at their feet split, spitting chips.

Threadfin leapt through the portal with the others right on his heels.