The Bone Mask Trilogy: (An Epic Fantasy Boxed Set), page 37
“Take me to it.”
A woman waved her down. “What will happen to the beast?”
Sofia took her hand. “Keep away from it, its blood is dangerous. And find some Shields, tell them to clear this place. Orders of Sofia Falco, Protector. Understand?”
The woman nodded, shrinking back. The whole street would have heard it, Sofia’s voice rattled windows. She had no idea how to moderate it.
“What’s your name?” she asked the labourer as they ran.
“Adamo, my lady.”
“Thank you, Adamo. How far?”
“Not far at all.” He took her down a side street, leaping over refuse, and into a yard behind a smithy. There a snorting mare stood by a trough. She was skittish at first, whether from the glow or the fact that Sofia was a stranger, but she stroked the horse’s neck. “All is well.”
The horse quietened. More of Argeon’s magic? She had not felt a single trickle of awareness from him, but instead the attention of the Sea Beast willed her along. She kicked the mare into a trot, and started up to the Second Tier.
Those few people not already at the harbour kept out of her way. She tore through the gates of the Second Tier without acknowledging the cries of the guards. When she finally neared the palace gates she reined the mare in.
Two familiar figures ran toward her, faces set in determination.
She waved. “Notch, Flir, stop.”
Both skidded to a halt. Both sets of eyes were wide, comically so. Like children who’d seen a ghost.
Sofia laughed until she could barely breathe. “Your faces,” she gasped. “You should see yourselves.”
Chapter 47
Sofia charged across the lawns behind the palace, leading Notch and Flir, who now rode their own mounts. She pointed to a corner of the grounds fenced off by white stone. “There. The First King’s Solace. Maybe it’s beyond?”
Notch caught her arm when they slowed, breathing hard. He was having trouble with his ribs, one arm pressed against his side. “Sofia, wait. You have to tell us what’s happening. Properly this time. What did the Sea Beast tell you?”
“And how did it speak to you at all?” Flir asked.
Sofia spoke quickly. “I think Argeon allows me to hear its voice, because Argeon is made from the bones of the Sea Beast. Or another like it.” She spoke over their gasps. “The beast is dying but there’s a ringing bell that binds it to life. It supposedly lies beyond the palace. Have you heard anything?”
Two heads shook but Notch spoke. “Lavinia said something about a bell.”
“Well, I think that’s why it accepted the Storm Singer’s call. It wants to die.”
Notch shook his head. “I have to believe it, because you’re here, but it doesn’t make any sense.”
“I believe it,” Sofia said. “We have to keep looking.”
Sofia made to leave but Flir stopped her. “What of Tantos?”
Her stomach heaved. “Dead.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, and her eyes were sincere.
“Thank you.”
Sofia looked to the mountains. Something shimmered on the rock face. “Wait. See the mountain there?” Beneath it stood a pair of Shields, their armour flashing in the distance.
“What are we looking for?” Flir said. “You mean the Shields?”
“No, an entrance.” She took off, Flir’s sigh following.
The Shields met them before the rock face. Both held drawn weapons, but one sheathed his blade when he recognised her. “My lady.”
She dismounted. “What happened here?”
“Two men entered the mountain around dawn. When we got here there was no opening. Our captain left us to watch.”
“Did you see them?”
“Only from a distance, I’m afraid.”
“Continue to watch,” Sofia said. She reached out and touched the stone, her glow flaring. A section of the rockface slid open.
“How are you doing this?” Flir asked once she and Notch had joined her. Her face appeared to be fighting awe.
A question she couldn’t answer. Was it Argeon or the Sea Beast? “I wish I knew.”
Steps led up into darkness. Notch put a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t know what’s up there. I doubt the two men are our friends.”
“I’m ready.”
He drew his blade. Flir’s weapon gave an answering rasp. “As we will be also.”
The steps were worn and odd spheres rested in recesses in the walls, but she climbed with barely a glance at them. Higher they led her until a suggestion of light appeared above.
You are in danger.
She stopped, Notch bumping into her.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes, keeping her voice low. “How?”
Beings with ill intent wait in the chamber above. Use your Argeon as you call it.
Only she did not know how to. A wave of pain wracked her body, but it passed quickly. The Sea Beast drifted away from her. Its eye flashed in her mind and then Argeon appeared. In the dark he was not blackened, but still the aged bone she knew from before.
How had Tantos brought darkness down? And how did her father move so quickly? All she’d been able to do was put force into her voice. That wasn’t going to achieve much here.
What good was Argeon if she... but there was a way. She’d shown him the tabella, could she try something similar? Sofia shook her head. What did she want the mask to do? How exactly would she – Argeon showed her without words.
She was two Sofia’s. One stood with Notch and Flir, both who watched her, hands on weapons, while the other Sofia climbed the steps, knife in hand. The climbing Sofia was light, her tread a bare whisper on the steps. Her skin was pale, even her clothes and the blade itself showed the stone through its centre – as if the second Sofia was mostly an outline.
And then Argeon and darkness.
She knew what to do.
With Argeon’s power, she split herself into two – was it her spirit? and glided into the chamber. A blade whistled through the air, slicing through her body. It tickled. Sofia spun. Her attacker had fallen back, sword slack in his hand. His skin was much darker than her own, and his clothing more suited to the desert.
Medah.
“Stay your hand and I will spare you,” she said. Her voice echoed.
The man replied in his own tongue, pointing a trembling hand. She turned to see an equally stunned man in a blue cloak. He was younger, and his face was caught between terror and anger.
He shouted but she flew at him, pausing before his face. She raised a finger to her lips. Over her shoulder, she called for Notch and Flir. “Come and be ready.”
They burst from the entrance, weapons drawn. Notch paused at her ghostly form, then leapt to wrestle the younger man to the ground. Flir already had the first man restrained, driving him to his knees by twisting an arm behind his back.
Sofia blinked.
The steps before her were touched with light. She ran up and found what she’d come for. Dominating the wall was a shrine, and in its centre, behind a glittering altar, a massive bell.
“Can you tie them?” she asked without turning.
“We’ll manage.”
Sofia climbed the steps, ignoring shouts from their prisoners. A human thigh bone sat on the altar top, but the bell was what she wanted. It was not ringing, but she’d not been able to hear it before either. Did that mean it rang without sound? She placed her hand on the surface.
“No.” A heavily accented voice cut through the chamber. She glanced over her shoulder. Notch cuffed the young man and he struggled until Notch gagged him with a scrap of blue rag.
Sofia put her hands on the bell and closed her eyes. Argeon was closer now, and this time, being two Sofia’s was easier. She passed through the bell’s chill shell and found herself inside a lattice of cogs, pins and wheels, one of which had been constructed within the bell. Nowhere was it attached, but a hammer connected to the cogs sat poised to swing.
Sofia squinted at the device, reaching out a translucent hand. A pin winked up at her, though there was no light inside the dome. If she pulled it, the arm would fall. Inside the bulk of the machine, a cog flashed. If she removed it, the body of the structure would collapse.
But her fingers caught nothing. She tried again. Still they passed through the machine.
“Old One, can you help me?”
He did not answer. Was he gone already? The arm had stopped. Perhaps he was at peace. Or simply exhausted. And he’d told her, as long as it rang, he would be a prisoner.
Sofia was one again.
Flir and Notch waited together when she ran down the steps. Both prisoners were bound, with whatever materials were at hand, and both glared up at her. Mixed in with the fear was seething fury from one, and a flat, more dispassionate stare from the other. Too bad. They’d crept into her city and enraged the Sea Beast, leading to Abrensi’s foolhardy move. And yet, what else could the Storm Singer have done? Notch had already explained, Lavinia was unable to soothe the beast. “There’s a machine inside, but I can’t break it from out here.”
“Let me,” Flir said. She leant down to her prisoner, shaking her head. The message was clear. Then she took the steps two at a time. “Give me some room, all right?”
Sofia helped Notch drag the prisoners further back. Nearby were a collection of bones, maps and more cogs, but at a grunt from Flir she gaped. The small woman gripped the bottom of the bell with both hands, feet set apart, and leaned back.
“Come on,” Flir snarled. The bell titled on its hook, the top lost in shadow, but it did not come away. Flir let go and took a step back as the bell swung a little.
“Is it too heavy?”
Flir shook her head. “I’ll get it.” She performed a quick series of stretches and took the bell again. The younger prisoner shouted through his gag but Notch drew his sword and rested the tip on the back of the man’s neck. The shouts stopped.
From the altar came the sound of the Renovar tongue, mostly curses. Flir rolled her shoulders and kicked out her legs. She took hold again, shoulders trembling as she strained against its weight. A slow cracking filled the chamber. Like some mythical giant crunching through rock, the cracking continued and Flir’s voice rose to a scream as she gave a final heave.
Stone shattered, fragments spilling from the roof as the bell clanged to the floor. It rattled Sofia’s teeth. The bell rolled from the altar and down the steps, gaining speed where it hurtled into the far wall of quartz and lodged there with another mighty crack. Cold air poured in around its edges, more stone and quartz clattering to the floor.
“There,” Flir said, dusting her hands with a grin.
Sofia could no longer sense the Old One.
Chapter 48
The rooms were those reserved for guests most favoured by the king. Not on the highest floor, but still commanding ocean views, the tall windows taking advantage of the bay and the glittering ocean beyond, its wave tops like chipped jewels.
Only now, the bay was a mass of destruction.
The enormous corpse of the Sea Beast lay across the Lower Tier’s wall, sealed off by the Shield and Mascare. Beyond, the wreckage of countless ships and boats clogged the harbour in a floating wood heap. Seto was collecting dozens of reports on the deaths and the damage to the navy and Anaskar’s shipping. The numbers were not encouraging.
Afternoon sun warmed the rooms, though a fire blazed somewhere too, and Notch breathed a long sigh of relief. Muscles eased across his shoulders. A long search had come to an end. Sofia was safe and his name was being cleared by order of once and rightful ‘King Oseto.’ The threat of the Renovar powder, acor, was, if not neutralised, being attended to – some of the locations revealed by Pevin’s own investigations. The prisoner hung on Flir’s every word, and shadowed her like a faithful dog. Notch had kept his laughter to himself about that one, at one look of Flir’s face.
Even his ribs felt better, after being once again dosed up by a healer, the finest in the city according to Sofia. Mayla was a gruff Braonn woman who’d slapped Notch’s hand when he’d tried to claim fair health.
“And the Medah prisoners, Notch? Flir?”
Seto presided over the meeting in an ornate chair, a bowl-like glass of wine in hand. Around the large table was a gathering such as Notch had never expected to see.
Sofia sat to one side, wearing the crimson robes of the Mascare but without a mask, Flir and the Renovar beside her. Nearby, his face drawn and bandages peeking from his clothing, a young captain sat with a pained expression. He’d been discovered in the cells deep beneath the palace, placed there by Oson for helping Sofia escape. Sofia in particular had been happy to see him alive. Across from them, Luik sat beside Notch’s own empty chair, and then Wayrn and Captain Holindo.
A little further down, the Storm Singers, Lavinia and Bren. Both drew their share of glances from those assembled, some with awe, some curiosity. Bren had been cleaned up but still wore his knowing smile. What he would eventually demand in return for his services, Notch couldn’t fathom. Something for Seto to deal with thankfully.
Markedly absent were Solicci, Prince Oson and Vinezi. He was the one Seto wanted most. Behind every decision he made, there would be an eye to how Vinezi could be found. Notch didn’t blame him, Tulio had been a good man.
“Both imprisoned, Seto,” Notch said.
Holindo cleared his throat. “His Royal Majesty.”
“Sorry, Captain.” Notch fought down a grin, ignoring Flir when she slowly raised a fist to bite down upon. “They are bound quite securely. They’ve also been searched and I have both Shields and Mascare on duty, Your Majesty.”
“Good.” He gestured to Luik. “And what have we discovered about Vinezi?”
“Escaped,” Luik said, voice heavy. “Sometime during the coup he slipped out of the palace. Wayrn and I tracked him to the Second Tier where he disappeared, probably underground. I’d wager he’s still out there, with about five of his men according to Pevin here. If we can learn where all the rigged sites are in the City, and I hope we can,” he looked at the Renovar, who gave a hopeful smile, “then he’ll be hamstrung. We just have to find the bastard.”
Wayrn leant forward. “We’re also searching the grounds. If there is any acor here, I will find it, that I swear.”
“Thank you both,” Seto said. “And what of the proposed invasion, my feisty little dilar?”
“Pevin swears it’s coming, but he doesn’t know when. We’ll keep watching the harbour. If any ships are in one piece, we could send them out.”
“Some few naval craft are escorting trade ships from the north, they are due any day now,” Seto said.
Pevin raised a hand. “If I may speak?”
Seto raised an eyebrow. “I believe you just did.”
“Ah, yes, Your Majesty. I am certain an invasion is crossing the sea even now. It will not be the whole of our armies. They expect to find a city subjugated due to the acor powder. They will have more powder, and I believe, means to deliver it by catapult. That is what the Conclave promised as we left.”
A few gasps followed his words, but Notch had already heard as much. Seto wouldn’t let him find and launch a cutter to investigate. The man was too preoccupied with re-adjusting to his role, catching up on years of his brother’s ‘mistakes’. As far as Notch knew, the two men had not spoken yet, something which surprised him. On the other hand, Seto had sent word to the ailing Queen. “I will see him soon enough,” Seto had replied when asked. “Should he survive the week – I am, as you are aware, quite busy.” His tone had been flippant but there was an old fury simmering beneath his words.
Seto was unpredictable if nothing else. For someone who’d spent years loathing the palace, he was taking to his old life well enough. But if the Renovar were attacking, they’d find a disorganised city, with or without the threat of Vinezi. What Notch really wanted to know, was why he’d been targeted in the first place. Had Flir been right, was it all a ploy to get at Sofia or Danillo? It sounded plausible. After all, no-one cared about Captain Medoro now, but Sofia and her father were important. They had access to the Greatmasks.
Seto calmed the room. “It is a threat we are preparing for, and one which Flir will be watching most closely. Pevin, I ask out of hope more than expectation. What does Renovar hope to achieve?”
“The Conclave did not confide in me, I apologise. My only guess is access to your mines, perhaps the gentler climate? Ice is an unkind master.”
Flir shook her head. “That’s not enough.”
“Agreed,” Seto said. “We must learn more. In the meantime, I believe all our stories have been told now, and despite the apparent ease with which the Medah entered the palace grounds, I’m not concerned about a Western threat. The wards hold, and I have a party confirming that.
“The link between this Sea Shrine and the Sea Beast, and what it all means I have yet to discern. But I am thinking upon it.”
Notch noted that Seto left out the most startling discovery Sofia brought, that the Greatmasks likely came from the creature’s bones. That made the beast’s decaying body the most precious resource in any land. Possibly in the history of any land. It would be harvested, but first the people had to discover how to avoid the oft-times deadly ichors that oozed from the body. And the beast was connected to the recent influx of creatures beneath the city too. He’d bet his father’s sword on them once being part of the Ancient One. Metti might be able to confirm and it would give him a chance to check on Tenaci too.
Seto was still speaking. “For the rest of you, I have tasks that must be completed. Sofia, as we have discussed, you will govern with me as Protector. Lavinia, Emilio and Holindo here, and with any surviving members of the Council and Houses we deem fit, will make up a new council.”
Sofia said nothing and Seto continued. “Notch I will need you to assist Luik and Wayrn with the hunt for Vinezi. You are to clear any deposits we are as yet unaware of.”
“What of Oson and Solicci?” Sofia asked.
“For their crimes there can only be death.”
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