This Rough Magic

off. The scream thinned and faded, receding into the distance, leaving a strange taste in the back of the mouth, and somehow, in the mind.

Well. Whatever had been turned loose was no longer his problem.

Emeric stood triumphant, smiling toothily in the flickering firelight. The truth be told, high magics were something he followed by rote. He enjoyed the powers conferred on him, the use of which required no effort on his part, but he was always nervous about these tasks.

Suddenly the earth itself trembled. He was flung from his feet. The rock beneath the fire burst explosively, scattering flames and ash over them. The ground shook beneath them, again and again.

* * *

The ground shook like a dog, flea-bitten. 'What was that?' Svanhild clung to Erik. First the storm and now this! She wished for Cahokia.

Erik patted her comfortingly. 'Its just an Earth-tremor, dear. We have had them up at Bakkafloi, especially when the volcano at Surtsey has been active. In my grandfather's time, one knocked down half of Reykjavik. Either it is not a very big one or we are far from its center.'

'Are we safe?'

'We should probably get out of this cave.'

'But it is raining out there.'

'It seems to be stopping now.'

* * *

Manfred picked himself up from the battlements. 'Who in the hell needs cannons? Another one like that and the walls will just fall down. Does this part of the world often get earthquakes?'

The captain-general nodded, staying sitting down. 'They have been heard of before, yes.' Manfred had been trying for tact, especially when listening to the captain-general's version of the destruction of the moles. He'd been struggling with a volcano of laughter. Instead he got an earthquake.

'Well, it is a lot less welcome than that storm will be, if it comes here off the mountain. I thought I was going to boil in my armor today.'

Eneko Lopez and his companions came breathlessly up the stairs.

'Did you hear it?' demanded Eneko. 'Or see anything unusual?'

'No. But I felt it,' said Von Gherens. 'Knocked me off my feet.'

'Not the earth tremor. Just before that. The scream. The agony and the rage and hatred.'

Manfred shook his head. 'It wasn't from out here. We were watching the coming storm and then we had the 'quake. The storm seems to be breaking up.'

Eneko took a deep breath. 'Something very magical, and very, very evil has come to this island. Something that should not ever have been created. I fear for this place.'

* * *

Count Dragorvich cursed. Then he swore. Then he kicked a rock. His adjutant kept well back. He had run to call the siegemaster, only to find the man striding to the mines already.

'All four, Tiepostich?'

The adjutant nodded. 'Yes. We got two men out of the northern one. In the others we lost all of the sappers and we lost most of the bucket chain.'

'Damn! Labor is scarce enough without this. And the king is not going to be pleased that we have to dig the tunnels again. We need to wait a few days before we restart too. There are always aftershocks.'

Tiepostich knew that when the king was not pleased, one of Dragorvich's men was usually going to be heading for a slow death. He wondered if, this time, it would be him.

* * *

In the cave beneath the Citadel the rock moved, though not so much as a stalactite fell. But the priestess watched in horror as the sacred pool cracked across, and the water drained away into the rock.

She looked at the small altar with the half almond. Without a bride he would not help. The Goddess would defend, but this . . . this called for him. For the actual wielding of power.

But who would pay such a price?

 

Chapter 72

Francesca, Manfred thought, looked sour. She sighed. 'I thought—as you wouldn't let me corrupt the black market for my own ends, as I wanted to—that we'd be better off getting rid of Count Dentico as the most dangerous of the lot. It appears I misjudged the nasty piece of work. He was such a pompous ass that he was thwarting, rather than aiding, the conspirators.'

He eyed her uncertainly. Francesca was really in a rather foul mood, which was unusual for her. He needed to tread carefully here.

'That black-market ring had to go, Francesca. There were supposed to be siege rations for at least ten thousand souls for a year. Those stupid bastards were using the stuff like there was no tomorrow. Seven, eight times the ration per person. Wastage you wouldn't believe. Feeding animals on it. At a full ration now, the supplies will all be gone by December. Even on the slow cutback in rations that not causing panic demands, we're going to be eating boiled boots by March.'