Child of the Ghosts by Jonathan Moeller
They would learn otherwise in short order.
The only light came from a pair of lanterns, one on the card table, the other on the floor next to the barrel of wine. And the lanterns threw plenty of dark and tangled shadows over the stalls, which meant that Caina found it easy to glide from shadow to shadow, remaining unseen and unheard. She passed within three paces of some of the collared slaves, and they did not notice her.
The barrel stood open, two-thirds full of blood-colored wine. Caina reached into her belt, drew out a small pouch of powder Komnene had taught her to prepare, and dumped it into the barrel. The wine bubbled for a bit, and then went still. Caina slid into the shadows as one of the Istarish slavers pushed from the table, walked to the barrel, and filled his cup. Nerina’s death had wracked her with guilt, but she had no qualms about killing these men, these slave traders who sold their victims to Maglarion's dark sciences.
Of course, the powder wouldn’t kill them, but merely knock them out.
Halfdan wanted information.
She saw one of the guards walk down an aisle of stalls, hand on his sword hilt, and she glided after him, reaching into her belt. She did not draw a dagger or a knife. That would make too much noise, and the smell of blood might give her away. Instead she lifted a heavy cloth pad, soaked with another concoction that Komnene had taught her to mix.
The guard paused at the end of the aisle, stretched, and started to turn.
Caina jumped up behind him, wrapping her left arm around his neck, her right hand slamming the cloth pad over his mouth and nose. He flailed, drew breath to scream...and Caina felt him relax as the pad's fumes filled his lungs. She sidestepped, and let him fall into the dirty straw of an empty stall.
She looked around. Still no one had noticed.
She drugged two more of the guards before the elixir mixed into the cloth pad lost its potency. Circling to the next aisle of stalls, she saw more unconscious guards lying on the floor. Riogan had been busy.
She settled in the shadows to wait.
The drug she had mixed into the wine would not take effect right away. But one by one the Istarish slavers sitting at the table began to nod off. One fell backwards and toppled to the floor.
The final slaver rocketed to his feet, eyes wide.
“Casim?” he said, staring at the fallen man. “Casim?”
Caina stepped from the shadows, a dagger in hand.
The slaver flinched and reached for his sword.
“Casim isn’t getting up,” she said, using the rasping voice that Theodosia had taught her. “Neither are the others.”
Riogan stepped out of the darkness, masked face hidden beneath his shadow-cloak's cowl, daggers gleaming in either hand. The slaver backed away, sweat pouring down his face.
“I suggest,” said Caina, “that you throw down your sword, give us your keys, and surrender. Otherwise you can join your friends on the floor.”
Gulping, the slaver threw down his sword and raised his hands.
“Smart man,” said Riogan.
###
In short order, Caina and Riogan had the slavers tied up and the prisoners freed.
Tomard’s company of Civic Militia arrived to take terrified slaves in hand. As militiamen swarmed over the warehouse, Tomard stepped into the darkened corner where Caina and Riogan waited, wrapped in their shadow-cloaks.
“Mother told me that I’d find something interesting here,” he murmured, taking off his crested helmet and running a hand through his sweaty hair. “Though she didn’t tell me how interesting. A hundred slaves and nine slavers!”
“We’ll want to speak with the slavers before you hang them,” said Caina.
“Aye, that can be arranged,” said Tomard, putting his helmet back on. “Bah! This stinks of politics. A wise militiaman keeps his nose away from the games of the lords and the magi. You Ghosts bring me too much trouble.”
“There are no Ghosts,” said Caina, “only…”
“Yes, yes, I know,” said Tomard. “The Ghosts are a rumor concocted by fools to explain their failures.” He snorted. “Though isn’t the first time I’ve seen a rumor bring down slavers.”
###
The next morning Caina disguised herself as a common serving woman and walked to the Grand Imperial Opera.
The workshop below the great stage looked much as she remembered it. The same wooden sets, the same tools, the same stage hands sleeping off last night’s wine on cots and blankets. The door to Theodosia’s room stood open, and Caina saw Theodosia herself sitting before the mirror, adjusting her makeup.
Theodosia turned and smiled.
“There you are,” she said. “Halfdan said you would be along shortly. Hand me that brush, will you?” Caina crossed to the table, picked up the brush, and handed it over. “I’ve had just devil of a time replacing you, you know. The girls I have now don’t know the difference between rouge and face powder! My life is an unceasing parade of tribulations.”
“That must be dreadful,” said Caina, trying not to laugh. “How you ever find the strength to bear up under such trials, I’ll never understand.”
“Insolent girl,” said Theodosia, and then she laughed and caught Caina in a hug. “It is good to see you again. Halfdan tells me you've been making all sorts of trouble for Lord Haeron.”
“I made Maglarion blow up Lord Haeron's ballroom,” said Caina.
Theodosia smile widened. “I saw Haeron at the opera the following week. I’ve never seen a man scowl so fiercely for so long.” The smile faded. “I…also heard what happened with Lord Alastair. I’m sorry it turned out that way.”
“So am I,” said Caina.
“Nerina Corus was a dreadful harpy,” said Theodosia. She sniffed. “Why, the woman once talked entirely through ‘The Queen of Anshan!' And while I was singing the lead, no less! Lord Alastair should have divorced her years ago and never looked back.”
Caina looked away. “He doesn’t have to worry about that now, does he?”
Theodosia studied her for a moment. “Are you in love with him?”
“No,” said Caina.
“You’re sure?” said Theodosia.
“I…liked him,” said Caina. “A lot. He was charming and witty and…he was…”
“A good lover?” said Theodosia.
Caina felt herself flush, but nodded. “He was. But…I couldn’t respect him. He was weak. Too weak to stand up to his wife, too weak to do anything but take the path of least resistance.” Her expression hardened. “And he was a slave trader. That stinking warehouse full of slaves? He did things like that because it was easier than confronting Nerina. I didn’t respect him…and I respect myself less, for seducing him.”
Theodosia nodded. “I think you may have been seduced yourself, my dear.”
“You did tell me I should find a lover,” said Caina.
“True,” said Theodosia, picking up a small jar of makeup. “But I didn’t tell you to seduce a married man and terrorize his wife to suicide, did I?”
Caina sighed, closed her eyes. “No. That was my mistake.”
Theodosia nodded. “Just so long as you know it. Mistakes are unpleasant, of course…but they become so much worse when you refuse to learn from them.”
“I don’t want to do it that way again,” said Caina. “Learn a man's secrets by seducing him.”
“Perhaps that’s just as well,” said Theodosia. “You’re a lovely young lady, my dear…but you’re smarter than I am, and vastly more dangerous in a fight. Halfdan sharpened that mind of yours into a knife; you might as well use it to stab somebody. Hand me that bottle, will you?”
“Why are you putting on makeup now?” said Caina, handing over the bottle. “It’s barely past dawn. Are you doing performances during the day now?”
“Of course not,” said Theodosia, dabbing around her eyes with a brush. “But Halfdan and Lady Julia will be arriving shortly so we can decide what to do about Lord Haeron and his pet necromancer. And I am not going to look sloven
Caina laughed, and did as she was told.
###
Halfdan arrived a short time later, dressed in the furred robe and cap of Basil Callenius, master merchant of the Imperial Collegium of Jewelers. Lady Julia walked on his arm, elegant in a gray gown with black trim upon the sleeves and hem. Riogan followed, wearing the chain mail and livery of a bodyguard, sword and dagger ready at his belt.
Something strange rested in his left hand.
It was a staff, about seven feet high, but wrapped in tight strips of leather. The staff's top bulged beneath the leather wrappings, and Caina wondered if it was a spear of some kind.
Rekan followed them, wearing the black robe and red sash of a magus. Caina's lips thinned as she saw him, and she remembered their practice sessions in the Vineyard, his repeated failures to break into her mind.
He scowled. Evidently, he remembered her too.
Halfdan and Julia walked to join Theodosia, but Riogan stopped before Caina, his cold eyes on her face.
"You did well, last night," said Riogan, "killing that guard."
Caina shrugged. "Just like slaughtering goats."
Riogan blinked, and then laughed. "Yes. I remember. I thought to scare you. But it seems you are made of sterner steel than I thought. Or perhaps Halfdan and the others made you harder."
"The guard was a slave trader," said Caina. "He kept children locked naked in a filthy pen for money. I don't have any regrets about killing him."
"Come here, you two," Halfdan said. "We have plans to make."
Caina walked to Halfdan's side.
"I'll put this simply," said Halfdan. "If Haeron Icaraeus is going to move against the Emperor, he'll do it during the Grand Kyracian Games. Most the Empire's nobility will attend, and if Emperor Alexius dies...or is murdered...the nobles will convene the Imperial Council and elect his successor. All the Restorationist and most of the Militarist nobility is on Haeron's side already. He can bribe or bully the undecided lords, push aside the Loyalists, and get himself elected the next Emperor. And once Emperor, he would lift the bans on necromancy and slavery."
"We know all this, Halfdan," said Julia. "What are we going to do about it?"
"It's very simple," said Halfdan. "We're going to stop him."
"How?" said Theodosia. "Has the Emperor ordered us to assassinate him?"
"If necessary," said Halfdan.
Caina was surprised. The Emperor, Halfdan had told her, preferred to have the Ghosts work quietly, subtly. Only rarely did he order direct assassinations.
"That won't be easy," said Caina.
They all looked at her.
"I've seen his bodyguards," said Caina, "when he came to the opera. He doesn't go anywhere without at least a dozen Kindred assassins around him. And I've seen the inside of his mansion. There were even more Kindred assassins there."
"You took that assassin on the balcony," said Julia, "and I suspect Riogan could handle more."
"A dozen at once?" said Riogan. "Even I might find that challenging."
"Our tasks," said Halfdan, "are threefold. First, we will kill Haeron Icaraeus if at all possible. Second, we will attempt to disgrace him, or find irrefutable and incontrovertible evidence of his crimes. If we can find that, the Emperor can order Haeron arrested, or even force him into exile."
"And the third task?" said Riogan.
"We will kill Maglarion," said Halfdan.
Silence answered that.
"How?" said Caina at last.
"Perhaps it is not even necessary?" said Rekan. The very thought of striking at Maglarion seemed to unnerve him. "The man's arcane power is immense. Surely, if we deal with Lord Haeron, Maglarion will disappear back into the shadows."
"If Haeron is going to strike at the Emperor," said Halfdan, "he will almost certainly use Maglarion to do it. And he has terrorized the people of the Empire for centuries. It is past time Maglarion was brought to account for his crimes."
"Obviously," said Caina, "but how are we going to do it? I put a poisoned crossbow bolt through his lungs, cut his throat, stabbed him, and kicked him off a fourth-story balcony. He was on his feet against in a matter of seconds."
"He must have a reserve of necromantic energy, of stolen life force, that he can draw upon," said Rekan. "One strong enough to heal any injury he takes, even mortal wounds."
"Probably one of the bloodcrystals you saw him make," said Halfdan to Caina. "If we can do enough damage to him, enough physical damage, we can overwhelm the bloodcrystal's reservoir and kill him."
Theodosia snorted. "How shall we do more injury than that? Will we have to chop him up, burn the pieces, and scatter the ashes?"
"Perhaps not," said Halfdan. "Riogan?"
Riogan nodded and pulled the wrappings from his staff.
It was, in fact, a spear. The shaft was lusterless black wood, dark and grim, topped with a two-foot silver blade. Caina stared at it, fascinated. The silver seemed...odd. Wrong, somehow. Just looking at it seemed to make her eyes hurt.
Rekan took a half-step back in alarm.
"What is that?" said Caina. "It...is that enspelled?"
"No," said Halfdan. Riogan chortled.
"Is that..." said Julia.
"Yes," said Halfdan. "Ghostsliver."
Rekan muttered a curse.
"What is ghostsilver?" said Caina.
"A rare form of silver, found only in the mountains of the Imperial Pale," said Halfdan. "Only the Ghosts know about it - hence the name, obviously."
Caina held her hand over the blade. She didn't feel a tingle, as she did in the presence of sorcery, but something...else. It was almost like a vibration, something that made the bones of her hand tremble.
"You feel something?" said Halfdan. "I thought you might. People who have an sensitivity to sorcery can often feel the presence of ghostsilver."
"But what does it do?" said Caina.
"Ghostsilver is highly resistant to sorcery, almost immune to it," said Halfdan. "Which means that a ghostsilver blade can pierce a magus's defensive wards, can destroy even the most potent enspelled objects."
"And that means," said Caina, "that means if we can get close enough...we can use this spear to kill Maglarion!"
Her hand curled into a fist next to the blade. All the blood on Maglarion's hands, all his victims over the centuries. They could be avenged at last.
Her father could be avenged at last.
"That assumes we can get close enough to Maglarion to use the spear," said Julia.
"We can," said Halfdan. "We have bait."
"Bait?" said Caina. "What bait?"
Halfdan smiled. "You."
"Me?"
"Or, rather, Countess Marianna Nereide," said Halfdan. "The one who brought Lord Alastair Corus low. Countess Marianna is rather notorious."
Caina looked away.
"That means you'll have drawn Lord Haeron's attention," said Julia. "Lord Alastair was one of his men, after all, and he must suspect the Ghosts."
"And more importantly," said Halfdan, "you will draw Maglarion's attention. He hasn't survived this long by ignoring threats. If he decides to come for you...we'll be ready for him. Or, more specifically, Riogan and that ghostsilver spear will be ready for him."
"Lord Haeron is throwing a number of balls before the Grand Kyracian Games begin," said Julia. "Naturally, I have been invited to them." Theodosia sniffed. "You'll come as well, as my guest. Halfdan will be your seneschal, Riogan will be your bodyguard...we'll say you were so frightened by what happened at Lord Haeron's ballroom that you hired him for your protection. Sooner or later, you'll draw Maglarion's notice."
"And then we'll have him," said Halfdan.
"So Marianna is your name," murmured Rekan.
Caina shook her head. "It's an alias, of course."
"That plan puts her in great danger," said Theodosia.
"Of course it does," sa
Theodosia frowned, but said nothing.
"And since we are speaking of Maglarion," said Rekan. "I believe I have uncovered part of his plan."
"Oh?" said Caina. "You know what he wants?" She had wondered that for seven years. Why all the games with the slaves and the nobles and the bloodcrystals? What did Maglarion want?
"As you know, several of the Magisterium's master magi are...somewhat sympathetic towards him," said Rekan. "I have heard rumors. Apparently, Maglarion is going to teach them some of his arcane sciences."
"In exchange for what?" said Halfdan. "He would do nothing for free."
"In exchange for a storm," said Rekan.
"A storm?" said Caina. "A thunderstorm?"
"Exactly," said Rekan. "The master magi of the capital's chapterhouse know something of the old Kyracian science of stormsinging. Maglarion has asked them to conjure a storm over Malarae."
"A hurricane?" said Halfdan. "Something to destroy the city?"
"No," said Rekan. "The master magi lack the power for such thing. No, Maglarion merely wants a...rainstorm, nothing more. A heavy, soaking rainstorm, large enough to cover the entire city. The sort farmers would like."
Caina thought it over.
"Why?" she said at last.
Rekan smirked. "I know not. You are the Ghosts, so skilled at ferreting out secrets. Perhaps you can find out."
"Do you know when?" said Halfdan.
"Within the month," said Rekan. "Perhaps within a few days. I could not learn any more."
"Whatever Maglarion intends with this storm," said Theodosia, "it can't be good."
"Then we'd better stop him first," said Caina.
###
Later Caina practiced her unarmed forms in a deserted corner of the workshop. Throws, punches, kicks, and leg sweeps until her heart pounded and sweat dripped down her forehead.
"You've kept up with it, I see," said Halfdan.
Caina stopped, saw him approaching. "It's kept me alive more than once."
"Good," said Halfdan, and took a deep breath.
"What is it?" said Caina.