fought like wild things, screaming as they died, then Greydusk and Chance whirled into the fray like twin dervishes, born for death.
When the screaming stopped, four slaves were still standing. “Go,” I told them. “Spread the word of my coming.”
Though one was too injured to walk, the demon pulled itself along at a crawl, leaving smears of blood on the ornate tile. The other three ran toward the doors at the other side of the courtyard. I watched their obedience for a few seconds more and then turned toward the broken doors that led into the compound proper. The Saremon had guarded the egress to the best of their abilities, but it had been insufficient.
Instead, I found more wreckage. It was sad that the angry captives had been so thorough; there was little left for us to kill. But they’d had my permission, and so I swallowed the tang of disappointment and pushed on. They wouldn’t have gotten to the most powerful mages; those would be holed up somewhere, seeking a spell strong enough to kill the queen.
I went room by room, clearing each. A couple of times, we killed survivors who had hidden from the fight. Their cowardice did not earn them mercy. There
At no point in my long and storied reign had I ever cared about “fair.”
Several rooms smoldered as I passed through, the result of spells gone awry, I guessed, before the mages went into hiding.
Eventually I came to a tall, imposing door that didn’t open. I opened my gaze to the astral and examined the runes etched over it; the wards sealed it against all comers. Nobody was meant to get inside. Which only increased my desire to see what the Saremon prized so highly.
“This is the entrance to the library,” Greydusk said. “I have been here for research a few times.”
“Excellent. Stand back.”
The two males did as I requested, and I found the source running beneath my feet, boiling the rock. With a mental touch, I stole the magick in a smooth, sweet rush. Part of me realized, somewhat belatedly, that it didn’t hurt anymore, but instead of being relieved and thankful, that portion of my soul wept as if it had lost something precious. I ignored it; that was weak and would distract from my mission.
It took infinite patience, but I unpicked each rune, thread by thread. The unraveling took ages and more energy than I could’ve called on my own, without the Saremon spring that fueled their whole fortress. It was quite deliciously ironic that I could turn their assets against them. When the last ward puffed away in smoke, I withdrew from my working to find a pile of corpses. Both Greydusk and Chance were bloody; my consort’s face was battered and drawn with exhaustion.
“It took me some while?” I asked.
“Six hours,” Greydusk replied.
“Thank you for your protection.” I didn’t need to speak the words, but I could tell they meant a great deal to my two defenders. “Now let’s go see what the library’s got to offer.”
Chance opened the doors, and I could see in his movements that he was at the ragged edge of exhaustion. We all needed food and rest, and after I finished what I’d started, I would take care of my own. I became aware of my own weariness then, a burning dryness at eyes and mouth.
Regardless, I pressed on. Inside, rows on rows of shelves spread out as far as the eye could see. They were filled with books in all shapes and sizes, some bound in scales, others in what looked like tanned human skin. In the astral, the whole chamber glowed with magick, blazing from some tomes more than others. But no question, each volume in this magnificent library was valuable and powerful.
“Do you know how to get to the labs from here?” I asked Greydusk.
We had explored the rest of the complex. The spell casters had retreated, leaving the weak to fend for themselves. I’d expected to find them cowering in the library, but I was relieved that the mages had gone further still because I would have hated to fight in a room full of priceless grimoires. It seemed…barbaric. This way, I could seize the books and have them brought to the palace when we finished here.
He cocked his head, as if listening. “I drained a Saremon once. In his memories, there’s a story of a hidden entrance.”
“Then let’s search this place, top to bottom.”
Make It Quick
The library smelled of old books and musty paper. I wished I had time to examine the tomes, but that could wait until I confiscated them. Once they were delivered to the palace, I could research advances in the arcane arts to my heart’s content. Well, such as governmental duties permitted. It would take a while to get the city running in a respectable, orderly fashion again. The castes had been autonomous too long for me to see my reign beginning bloodlessly.
After a fair amount of investigation, Greydusk found the hidden exit. A row of shelving slid away from the wall, revealing the door. It was dark and cool within, eerily quiet as well. I peered into the astral and saw a shield of silence rune laid on the threshold, so whatever they did behind this door wouldn’t alarm the rest of the complex. That boded ill for anyone trapped in here.
As I stepped across, a boom shook the foundation of the whole structure. “What was that?”
Greydusk searched his stolen memories. “A failsafe. If the enemy breaches these protections, the stronghold falls.”
Behind us, magickal light snapped into place, barring our way. It was meant to shield the books from intruders and thieves I had no doubt, but it also prevented us from going back the way we’d come. There was a chance I could dismantle the spells if given time, but channeling that much energy might also fry my human body. Since I didn’t want to retreat, I discarded the notion. Nothing would serve but to press ahead and keep looking for my father. I thought it highly unlikely that the mages hadn’t left themselves another rathole, another exit.
“Are they running?” Chance asked.
“I suspect so. They need to regroup before they face me.” But it wouldn’t go better on different ground, unless they surprised me again, and I wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
Once I passed the rune of silence, I couldn’t hear the destruction behind us anymore. The Saremon might end up killing any survivors we had missed, which spoke to how they regarded their lower classes. If I killed these days, it was purposeful, not a casual result of mass destruction.
A long hallway lay before us, with doors on opposite sides as far as the eye could see. The corridors branched farther out, going left and right; this warren was worse than the prison where they kept their entertainment.
“The Saremon are really into experimentation,” Chance observed.
Greydusk nodded, apparently not realizing it was a joke. “They’re always looking for ways to add to their abilities. They’re not as physically strong as the Hazo, but their aptitude for magick is unmatched.”
I raised a brow, and he added, “Until your return, Your Majesty.”
Mollified, I strode over the dark tiles. Here, the floor looked like polished obsidian, etched with various runes. I stopped when I realized I could understand them. Skimming, I ignored the irrelevant areas of study, like pyromancy and divinations. Greydusk had stopped too and read the runes alongside me.
“Research?” he guessed.
“It’s as likely a place as any to start.”
I continued down the straightaway and cut left, as the runes had indicated. None of the doors were locked. Some stood open, as if the magicians had fled in great haste. Labs showed experiments in various stages of completion, arcane ingredients and odd machinery with sparking wires. I glanced at Greydusk, who wore a matching expression of bewildered awe—and that told me this wasn’t common knowledge among the other castes. There were cages full of strange, hybrid creatures, likely bred by the Saremon, though for what purpose I had no clue.
