Legacy of Flames- The Complete Trilogy, page 61
part #1 of Legacy of Flames Series
“Yeah.” I took in a breath. “They’ll lock you away. So… so I guess you should make sure they don’t catch you.”
A grim smile surfaced. “Today’s the day, one way or another. Right?”
“Right. If Malkin’s plan works, the dead will rise, the faeries will attack, and the mages will have bigger problems to worry about. We owe it to the other supernaturals to warn them.”
“Didn’t they betray you?”
“Not all of them. If they know how bad the threat is, they’ll spread word and find ways to fight back. We aren’t alone.”
“Some of us are.”
“Don’t be like that. Astor, I thought you wanted to be alone.”
“That’s not what I—” He broke off. “The Mage Lords will never be more of a help than a hindrance, Ember. Look how much trouble they’ve caused you already.”
“So what do I do, let them die along with the humans? How’s anyone supposed to spread a warning when we don’t even know where the attack’s going to come from? I’m guessing the fortress, but with the Moonbeam, he can go anywhere.”
“And what exactly are you telling the mages? Will they believe you?”
“They’d better,” I said. “I’m telling them he’s setting up a necromancer circle and sacrificing people, possibly supernaturals. That’s what triggers the ritual and summons those hellish monsters.”
“The people can’t already be dead when they enter the circle?”
“Obviously not. They might rise from the dead as a side effect, though.”
“Good.”
I blinked. “Good? Why?”
“No reason.”
What’s he scheming? I knew better than to ask at this point. I’d have my secrets, and he’d have his. Just as long as he didn’t come near the mages and get arrested or killed on my account.
“I have a question,” he said. “Is necromancy like any other form of magic, aside from the fact that it affects the dead?”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess it is. Why?”
He just shrugged.
Okay, he was definitely plotting something. “All right, keep your secrets. Unless it’ll get us killed.”
“I won’t,” he said. “You know the Mage Lords will shoot Giselle and me down, or at least lock us away. Even if they were prepared to give us a chance, which I sincerely doubt, we’re at a crisis point. They won’t stop to question.”
He was right. I didn’t trust the mages not to overreact, particularly to Giselle’s reappearance, and stopping Malkin was the most important thing. “So…” I began.
“It’s time we part ways, darling.”
18
I’d known it was coming, but leaving Astor and Giselle behind didn’t bode well for the upcoming fight. Will, Becks, Cori, Kit and I approached the mages’ headquarters, which didn’t look at all like it’d been attacked by hunters recently. Obviously, there were spells built into the walls which prevented damage and probably cleaned up the blood, too. There were no signs of the monstrous shifters, undead, automatons and whatever else had attacked.
There was, however, one person outside—Lady Clare. She wasn’t my first choice, for obvious reasons, but we’d opted to go without glamour. Her gaze passed over all of us, questioning. Okay, here we go.
“Hey,” I said. “We have information—”
“Get them,” directed Lady Clare, and a dozen mages appeared to surround us.
“Crap,” said Will.
I didn’t dare resist, much as I wanted to. This wasn’t a fight we could win. The mages closed in, ready to explode into action. Fire crackled from their hands, the air trembled with the threat of a storm. Slowly, I raised my hands in surrender, even as my dragon side strove to break free and take flight.
Lady Clare stepped forwards. “Ember, you have been lying to us for a long time. Come with me, and I won’t have to hurt your friends.”
Back to the mages’ jail again. It shouldn’t have surprised me, after I’d double-crossed Lord Smyth so often before, but they couldn’t at least have imprisoned an actual enemy?
“Hey!” I called to the guard outside my cell. “I want to talk to Lord Smyth, or someone who’ll listen.”
The guard—Lord Smyth’s apprentice, Roger—turned his back. I sighed.
“Look, seriously. I know I broke the rules, but the apocalypse might happen any second now. I’m not even kidding.”
He glanced at me. “I’m not supposed to talk to you.”
“You just did.” In the background, I heard the others yelling at their guards, too. “Whatever I’ve done can’t be as bad as Malkin starting a second faerie invasion. You know those undead attacks? They’ll look tame compared to what he’s planning.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You don’t. Either you believe me, or the zombies come back and prove my point.”
“Zombies? I thought you said faeries.”
“Probably both,” I said. “He’s planning to break the veil like in the invasion, so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was both zombies and faeries. And ghosts. Other monsters from the other side of the veil, too.”
In the dim light, Roger’s eyes widened. “I can’t trust you. Sorry. Lord Smyth said I’m not to—”
“Malkin’s planning a mass sacrifice!” I yelled through the bars. “He’s kidnapped a necromancer. Ask your friends whether anyone’s gone missing lately.”
A pause. Then the sound retreating footsteps. Hope he’s gone to tell his boss.
Within two minutes, Lord Smyth showed up. “Well?” he said expectantly. “You’d better have a good explanation, Ember.”
I threw up my hands. “I do. I’ve been waiting for a chance to give it to you. Malkin has a necromancer and plans to use him to raise the dead and conduct some kind of ritual that’ll trigger a second invasion.”
“Really.” His tone was sceptical. “When?”
“We don’t know exactly. But he caught us in the tunnels yesterday and locked us in cages underground, leaving the tunnel to flood. We barely got out alive. I don’t know why you’ve locked us up, but—”
“You’re the subject of some very odd reports, Ember. Tell me what Malkin is planning.”
“He’s going to set up another summoning circle, but I don’t know whereabouts. But he wants to break the veil open again, like in the invasion. I think he might be hiding in the fortress—you know, the new Stronghold. But he might not. He has the Moonbeam and a mirror which are linked together, so he can easily move between one place and another.”
“The Moonbeam.”
“Yes.” Oh no. If he guessed we’d been the ones to take it from the hunters and not return it to the mages, it’d slow us down even more. I had to lie. “They stole it back. Malkin gloated about it.”
“He told you it can transport you between locations?”
“Yes.”
“She’s lying,” said another voice. Lady Clare.
No. Oh, no.
“Is she?” asked Lord Smyth.
Don’t think about it. Think about—the tunnel. My mind filled with the image of water gushing from the floor, choking, dragging us into the deep. As long as I focused on that, I could keep out thoughts that would give me away—
“Yes,” said Lady Clare. “She and Malkin didn’t speak much, but it’s true that he has a necromancer. One who disappeared.”
Good. Concentrate on that. “Yeah. I don’t know who he is, but Malkin’s keeping him alive to use his ability to summon monsters from over the veil. Like in the invasion. I wish I knew where he’s going to break it, but—”
“The Ley Line,” said Lady Clare. “If it’s anywhere, it’ll be on one of the lines. We’ll check the map and send patrols to each key point.”
“The Ley Line?” The name rang a bell. I’d heard it from witches before—a line that ran through the middle of the country, amplifying any magic used nearby. It didn’t affect shifters, as far as I knew, but witch magic, necromancy and faerie magic were amplified by being in its presence.
Lord Smyth nodded gravely. “The Ley Line contains a number of key points—areas where this realm and the spirit world overlap.”
My heart lurched. “Seriously?”
“You know this city and death are linked. There are a large number of spirits here. It wouldn’t take much for the balance to tip again.”
“Damn.” My throat went dry. “But—I honestly don’t know how to find this Ley Line. If he’s hiding there—”
“We’ll root him out,” said Lady Clare. “I’ll organise the patrols. Lord Smyth, if you’re done with the prisoners, I think you ought to come in person.”
“But—”
My words were drowned out. Dammit, I can’t stay behind. The mages didn’t know the extent of Malkin’s power, and I was starting to doubt they had enough of an army to take out the forces of the dead. Especially with so many ghosts, and beasts like the shadowy creature in the summoning circle. If Malkin’s sacrifice tipped the realm of the dead into the living again, we’d be overwhelmed.
Even a dragon shifter couldn’t fight death. And the dragons in the village had nowhere to hide, either.
“Wait!” I yelled. “You can’t leave me here. It’s not just this city it’ll affect, but the whole country. Maybe the world. And there are dragons—other dragon shifters. They need my help.”
Maybe I was betraying them, or Madison at least, by telling him. But I’d never forgive myself if I let them get taken down as collateral damage.
My words stopped Lord Smyth in his tracks. He turned to his companion. “Lady Clare?”
“She’s telling the truth.” Both of them looked at me. “You’ve seen other dragon shifters? You left the city?”
Damn. She must have seen images of the village in my mind. Normally I’d be more creeped out by the intrusion—not to mention scared of what else she might find in my head. But I’d risk it this time.
“I don’t have time to tell the full story,” I said, “but Malkin’s managed to get this whole community of dragon shifters under his control.”
“Really.” Lord Smyth’s tone carefully didn’t give away whether he believed me or not.
I projected an image of Lorne—in dragon form, fearsome and scaly and terrifying.
To her credit, Lady Clare didn’t flinch. “What connection does this have, exactly, with what’s happening now?”
“The hunters are involved there, too. It wouldn’t surprise me if the dragons are part of the plan. He wants us dead, but for some reason, he kept them alive.”
“Your story doesn’t add up,” Lord Smyth said. “If the hunters had the Moonbeam all along, how do you know about the dragons?”
My throat went dry. “Because we had the Moonbeam. We were going to take it back to you, but Cori and I kind of fell through it. And we ended up in this village, in Scotland. We found other dragon shifters. Malkin put Lorne, their leader, in power because—I guess he thought he could control him. I don’t know where they fit into his plan, but I reckon he needed them as an army.”
He regarded me with a watchful stare. “You did have the Moonbeam.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have taken it, but it transported us across the country. And it’s not the only thing with that ability. Malkin has a mirror, too. And there’s one up in the dragons’ village—that’s how he can easily travel between locations. It’s why I don’t know where he is. He didn’t have the Moonbeam when I saw him, but his people took it from us.”
“You let them steal it back?”
“He collapsed the tunnel and nearly killed us.”
He sighed. “I can’t pretend to understand your impulse to put your life in danger, Ember. You’re very lucky you don’t have substantiated connections to the League, except through your friend Astor. Many mages want you locked up for a long time, because of your lies.”
My heart dropped. “I’m the only dragon on your side.”
“Cori? Your sister?”
“She can’t shift yet. You know that. Besides, she’s a teenager, and doesn’t deserve to be put through any more crap.”
“And she was complicit in stealing the Moonbeam,” said Lady Clare. “I will go and ask her to confirm your story.”
No. “I said, she doesn’t deserve any more—”
Too late. Lady Clare turned her back and walked away.
I glared at Lord Smyth. “That was a dick move. You shouldn’t be allowed to break into people’s minds like she does.”
“Even known criminals?” He shook his head at me. “Ember, you should know better than to expect us to let your lies go unpunished. It’s simpler to tell the truth.”
“Then keep my little sister out of it,” I growled. “She’s a minor, and everything I’ve done is to protect her. There’s a reason your people and mine aren’t friends. You don’t give a shit about us unless we have something useful to offer you. If that wasn’t true, you’d have helped the other shifters who were forced out of the city by the Orion League. You’d have helped protect them, not left us to hide in tunnels in secret or die.”
“You’re correct in saying that we’ve made mistakes, and I’d be happy to cooperate with you. However, you stole our property and lied to us on multiple occasions. I simply cannot set you free.”
“Damn you,” I said quietly. “I won’t die in a cell while the world burns. If you have a problem with that—”
“You speak as though the mages haven’t been fighting against the Orion League for decades,” he said. “We’ve reduced their membership to less than half. They’re like a hydra—once you kill one, two more appear, and yet they’re dying out. I won’t deny the part you played, but they are our enemy, too. They’ve killed many mages.”
“I know. Believe me. But they’re about to wipe out my entire species. If you’d kept the Moonbeam, this would have happened no matter what,” I said. “I didn’t steal it from you. The hunters did. And when I planned to take it, it’s because I knew you wouldn’t see the threat coming. Like last time. I know the League—”
“Because of your friend.”
“We’ve been through this before,” I snarled. “He’s not a League member, and even if he was, he’s hardly the worst threat here. If not for him, Malkin would have killed us in the Stronghold.”
“This Astor is a fugitive of the law.”
“There won’t be a law by the day’s end if your people don’t fucking listen to me.”
My words left a ringing silence behind. Thunder crackled above his head and lightning sizzled in his eyes. “Don’t push me, Ember. You said yourself that you aren’t an essential part of Malkin’s plan. He thinks you’re dead, and we can go ahead with our plan without your assistance.”
“Ouch.” I meant to sound sarcastic, but real hurt crept through. Did all the mages really think the dragons weren’t worth saving? That I wasn’t worth it? I’d helped them, and this was all the thanks I got?
“If you could stay put and not cause any more trouble, Ember, it would be most welcome. What you told me about Malkin and the necromancers—that’s the most important thing. I’ll contact the necromancers immediately.”
“And do what? You don’t know where he’s gone. But the fortress—it’s made of iron and it’s offshore. It can keep zombies out, same as faeries. It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s where he plans to go.”
“There’s no proof of your theory, Ember. I can’t send my people into danger on a theory.”
“They can’t fly. I can. Let me help you.”
“I’ve faced opposition continuously for giving you the benefit of the doubt before. If I allow you to walk free again, the mages will divide at a time when we cannot afford to. Stay here, and we’ll revisit your claims shortly.”
“What about Cori? Lady Clare’s messing with her mind.”
“Your sister isn’t being harmed. I don’t agree with Lady Clare’s methods, but she’s an equal voice on the council and she’s an expert in getting vital information we need.”
“I’d be more inclined to give you that information if you didn’t lock my friends and me up every time we did something you don’t agree with,” I said—but he was already walking away.
Damn him. And Lady Clare, who’d clearly put him up to this. And the rest of the mage council. No wonder the dragon shifters had retreated to an isolated village if this was how the rest of the magical community treated them.
Minutes crawled by with excruciating slowness. Nobody else responded to my pleas, and my friends were too far away to speak to. Even Lord Smyth’s apprentice didn’t return. As the voices quieted and the corridors emptied, hope trickled away by the second. I sat down, and immediately jumped up again when the lock clicked open.
“Ready for a jailbreak?” asked Will.
I gaped at him. “Uh, how did you do that?”
“I’ll explain when we’re out of here. Give it five seconds—”
Bang.
“Okay, three seconds. Let’s run.”
I pushed the door open and ran, Will at my side. Becks, Kit and Cori waited at the corridor’s end, and we legged it downstairs. Will motioned for us to stop, and then Kit raised a hand. Must be using glamour. At a nod from Will, we approached the back doors. Kit used the door-opening device he’d apparently kept from before and the doors opened. We darted out in the five seconds it took the guards to exchange bewildered glances, then close the doors again.
“Must be the wind,” one of them remarked.
Kit skipped ahead, and we hurried away from the mages’ place until we’d put enough distance between us and them to speak without being overheard.
“Where’d all the guards go?” I asked.
“Kit.” Will nodded to him.
“I glamoured some of the other prisoners so they turned invisible,” Kit explained. “They won’t know what’s happening, but the mages just about lost their minds thinking everyone had escaped.”
“It was brilliant,” said Becks.
I couldn’t help smiling, even with the oncoming danger. “All right. Where to? Magic Avenue?”
