it was madness. Even if he could get in, he would be one man, in a strange place, filled with evil sorcery. Kathea was bound to be guarded. How was he supposed to find her and bring her out alive? It was impossible. He said so.
“Nonetheless I fear we will have to try.”
His laugh was mirthless now. “What do you mean, we? I am the one being asked to go in.”
“Rik unless Kathea is freed and Ilmarec disarmed, this war will be lost before it’s even started. We may as well go home and wait for the legions of the Dark Empire to roll over our borders, for they will eventually, if we allow them to take control of Kharadrea.”
“I am not sure my committing suicide will help the matter.”
“I admit the chances of success are slim but we have no option.”
“Again I hear that interesting use of the word we, again. Will you be coming with me?”
“Unfortunately, no. The Tower’s guardians would detect me immediately. They would not detect you, for reasons I have already explained.”
“Because I am a Shadowblood?”
“Perhaps you would like to say that a bit louder. The local Inquisitors may not have heard you.”
“I don’t think it makes much difference who kills me, do you? Ilmarec’s guards or the Inquisition.”
She appeared to consider the question seriously. “The Inquisition will see you suffer before you die. They will scourge you, and their techniques will show a good deal of refinement.”
Rik heard the veiled threat. He knew without having to ask that she would hand him over to the Inquisitors if he did not serve her purposes. “You would do that?”
“I do not want to, Rik, but you should also remember that you and your friends were directly responsible for Uran Ultar being unleashed. That is a matter the Lords Inquisitorial would be greatly interested in.”
And there was another threat; it was not just him who would suffer but his friends also. Rik was surprised to discover that he did care about that — just a little. He had always thought of himself as a supremely self-interested man, but he would not want anything bad to happen to Weasel and the Barbarian if he could help it.
“This is not fair,” he said, realising even as he said it just how childish it sounded.
“Life is not fair, Rik. You know it and I know it. Only children protest otherwise.”
“It seems to me that it’s a lot less fair for me than it is for you.”
“I can see why you would think that, but then you are not in any position to judge my life.”
“Heaven forbid that I should do that.”
“I understand that this makes you bitter, Rik, but there is an upside to all of this.”
“I would be glad if you could explain it to me.”
“If you succeed, the rewards will be immense.”
“How immense?” He could not help himself. He was a Sorrow street-boy. His cupidity and curiosity were both aroused by her statement.
“You will have both my gratitude and the gratitude of the Queen.”
“Gratitude buys no chickens.”
“You will be rewarded and you will be a hero. You will be the man who single-handedly changed the course of the war. There will be a good deal of gold, estates, I could even see to it that you are adopted into my clan. You have the blood and you have the appearance, and if you were successful you would have such prestige that none would question your right to it. The Terrarchs would rather believe that one of their own did such a deed than a human.”
There was indeed an upside to what she was offering. She was holding the door open to a world of immense wealth and privilege, to a life of luxury such as not even the wealthiest human could dream. She was appealing to his vanity, and his need for a place in the world too.
He knew that what she said was true. He would have proven his worthiness to be a Terrarch. More than that he would have shown he had done something that none of them could do, that not only was he as good as they were, he was better. It was a potent image to lodge in his mind. Of course, in order to achieve all this he would have to survive. Another question struck him.
“Won’t there be questions asked about how I did this? Won’t people wonder about how I beat Ilmarec’s wards and his demons?”
She smiled sensing her triumph, the change in his attitude. “I will tell them my sorcery shielded you. I have already begun explaining this to Lieutenant Sardec.”
“And if I survive this, you will teach me sorcery.”
“If you still wish it.”
“I have your word as one of the First.”
“You have my word.” If he lived he might become wealthy, famous and noble. He would also have access to the world of secret knowledge he had always thirsted for. He considered his position. If he disobeyed Asea his death was certain. He might try killing her now and making his escape but he doubted he would get far. All that would happen was he would find another route to the gallows. For all her talk he doubted Tamara would help him once the deed was done.
If he succeeded he could be rich beyond his wildest dreams, and powerful too. He could step out of the shadows and into the sunlight.
“Let me hear your plan,” he said.
“It is quite simple,” she said.
“All the best plans are.”
“We need to conceal you in one of the carts going in to the Tower.”
His heart sank. He had been expecting something much cleverer and more devious. She caught his expression.
“You saw for yourself what happened when we went through the gates of the Tower. The sentries are overconfident. They do not check the carts because they know that the demon will spot the life force of anyone concealed within them and sound the alarm.”
She caught his interest with that. “Spot the life force?”
“Yes. Demons do not see as humans do unless they are bound into a mortal form. They see the souls, the life energy of living things. The being within those gargoyles does not have eyes such as you possess. It does not need them. It sees souls as patterns of energy, as powerful sorcerers do when they use mage sight. They see the aura of things. A man concealed within a pile of sacks would still be visible because his life force would be distinct and unique. It will not see you.”
This was news to Rik. A question sprang into his mind, related to what she had told him earlier. “If that is the case, why can’t your people use magesight to spot the Shadowblood? Surely the absence of something is as noticeable as its presence. If you see a living man without an aura, you would know there was something wrong.”
“It’s not that simple, Rik. The Shadowblood could alter their auras at will. You do not have their skills. Just their raw gifts. Hopefully for this, it should be enough.”
“How do you know this power will work against the guardians of the Tower?”
“Tell me, Rik, what did you feel when you passed through the gateways into the Tower?”
He considered lying. The truth sidled out anyway. “Nothing.”
“Every other person that passed through those doorways felt something. They felt the presence of the demon observing them. You did not feel it, because it did not sense you.”
“That seems flimsy evidence at best.”
“Rik, one of us here is a sorcerer with two thousand years of experience. That person is not you. I suggest you listen to me. This is my field.”
There was no answer to that so he just stared at her sullenly. She continued to speak. “There were such guardians on Al’Terra and the Shadowblood bypassed them unnoticed. The risk is worth taking.”
“It’s a risk worth me taking anyway,” he muttered. She pretended not to notice what he had said. “What will I do once I am inside? Surely they will spot me once the cart is being unloaded.”
“You will simply pretend to be one of the carters. People see what they expect to see, and everyone knows that the gates are impassable by outsiders. Find a place to conceal yourself, wait until nightfall and then head into the Tower.”
