Gemworld (48 page)

***

“All I’m saying is that he could have warned us,” Keth maintained. He poked his head up out of the tunnel, scanning the alley for unwelcome eyes. Thankfully, the town still seemed completely taken in by the “distraction” that the Learned Yakov had devised.

“And all
I’m
saying is that they only knew it would explode,” said Reit, coming to the old man’s defense. “There’s no way he could’ve known that it would take half of Ysre with it.”

Keth muttered something noncommittal—not wanting to further counter his sovereign lord’s opinion, but
definitely
not agreeing—and placed his hands on either side of the hole, hoisting himself out. Reit handed both packs up, bulging with their purloined contents, then climbed up behind. They replaced the seemingly rotten boards over the hole, then, shouldering the packs, walked off into the mass of humanity as if they’d been there the whole time.

“I would have preferred you let me seal the hole,” Keth grumbled before he could stop himself, feeling his cheeks grow hot as he yet again rebelled against Reit’s unassailable authority.

“The Learned will take care of all that,” Reit assured him, ignoring the barb. “We’ve got people on the inside, remember?”

Keth almost nodded, but stopped himself in half-hearted defiance. Not like Reit would notice anyway.

“Keth?”

Fool’s fortune. He noticed
. “Yes, Lo... umm, yes, Reit?”

The other looked askance at the granite, the wry grin playing across his face apparent even in Keth’s magical sight. “I told you not to step so lightly around me, you know.”

“I know,
el
’
Yatza
, but I swore—”

“To the Abyss with your oath!” he hissed, cutting Keth off sharply. “I’ve no use for fealty if it holds my people back from speaking their mind!” Muttering an oath of his own, he cast his eyes about, wary of any uninvited guests to their conversation. Seeing none, he lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Keth, I ask people to join my Cause only if they find me to be a worthy leader, obeying me because they think I know what in the Abyss I’m doing and
not
because they’ve foresworn their own will for some flaming oath! If your oath of fealty means that you swear away your freedom to think for yourself, then I reject your oath, and you for giving it. Are we clear?”

Keth half expected Reit to stalk off in anger, not waiting for his answer. That would have been easier. Instead, the rebel leader stood there in the middle of the street, forcing the panicked once-celebrants to flow past the two as an island in a river. Fleshy red-orange eyes fixed his granite orbs, hard as steel for all that they were soft in his magical sight. “We’re clear,
el
’
Yatza
,” he muttered as meekly as he could manage, angered and more than a little humiliated by his lord’s quiet outburst.

“I’m not sure I believe you, Keth,” Reit spat, eyes seeming to grow harder, if that were possible. “Again I ask. Are we clear!”

“We are, Reit,” the granite growled, his teeth baring of their own accord. If Reit wanted free-thinking, that’s what he was going to get! “And for the record, I think it was a stupid mistake to leave the tunnel intact.”

Reit’s features softened as the tension left his muscles. “But that was my mistake to make,” he replied, a crooked smile breaking over his newly relaxed demeanor. “After all, you never know when we might need that access tunnel again, either to get back into the Archives, or to get the Archivists out. Now, shall we continue?”

This time Reit did turn and walk away, leaving a stunned Keth standing in the wake. What had just happened here? Had Reit rejected his oath of fealty? No, he didn’t think so. But if not, why was he so pleased when Keth let his anger get the best of him? As Reit disappeared around a particularly rotund partier, Keth shook his head and followed, pushing his way through a rapidly closing crowd.

When he caught up to Reit, the rebel leader didn’t even seem to notice that they’d become separated. He was too busy trying to weave his own way through the sweaty, fear-soaked, lurching press of ale smelling bodies. Of all the rotten times to pick a fight with the Highest, they
would
have to do it in the midst of the “biggest kegger of the year”, as Sal would’ve put it.

The granite felt his anger stirring again, and killed that line of thought before it soured his mood further. He reminded himself, forcibly, that Reit was right. He
did
know what he was doing, a whole lot better than Keth did. He’d been planning this whole thing for months, if not years. And here they were, loaded down with the knowledge of ages past and just a few blocks from the harbor, almost home free. Everything had gone perfectly. So why did he feel uneasy? Even as his anger cooled, it was replaced by something else. It was very vague at first, little more than a feeling of being unsettled, but growing stronger.

He followed Reit dumbly, his eyes focused more inward that out. Something was definitely wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was the strangest feeling. It was as if there was someone there, on the very edge of his consciousness, watching him. Closing in on him. That’s when he noticed the faint buzzing in his head.

He’d long since tuned out the many magical auras of Bastion. Emerald, sapphire, ruby, and amethyst auras all sat patiently on the fringes of his awareness, awaiting his attention. He even thought he felt Sal’s wispy presence, as faint as the scent of a flower in a midden heap. But that wasn’t the presence that drew his attention. Strange as it seemed, it was like looking into a mirror. Somewhere out there, he felt
himself
—

The buzzing in his head erupted momentarily as he bumped shoulders with someone bustling the other way. A ruby aura filled his senses briefly, then quickly died as the contact was broken. By reflex, Keth turned to apologize for his carelessness. The ruby was dressed as any other citizen enjoying the Festival, his leather armors doffed in favor of more comfortable linens. But the segmented fist was plainly visible on his forehead, the tattoo dyes standing out clearly amongst the natural flesh. That same tattoo stood out on the foreheads of more than a dozen or so other celebrants nearby, who were thus far completely oblivious to what was brewing between Keth and the ruby. Keth instantly realized his mistake, but it was already too late. By the time he’d recognized the mage for a Rank officer, the ruby had recognized him as well.

The ruby, just as stunned as Keth was, froze in his tracks. Keth could almost see the ruby’s mind stall out, but before he could take advantage of it, the moment ended and the soldier came alive.

“Renegade!” cried the ruby, the shout breaking high above the din of the crowd, and drawing the dread attention of his comrades.

Keth’s response was instant, and time seemed to slow to a crawl as he took action. He dropped to one knee, wielding as he fell. He felt the granite magic flood his conduits, flowing into his soul then back out again. He enveloped Reit in a field of pure granite magic, solidified it, hopefully protecting him from any spells that might happen his way. Keth snatched a handful of dust and gravel, and spun back up onto his feet. He flung both hands out as he came up.

Reaching out behind him, he felt his aura touch the field surrounding Reit. He locked onto it and pushed—hard. He wasn’t certain how far Reit flew, or how many celebrants were plowed under in the process, but the field quickly reached the boundary of Keth’s magical influence and dissipated. Keth’s real attentions were focused elsewhere, however.

With his left arm behind him locked onto Reit, Keth swung his right arm around in front, releasing the gravel and his magics simultaneously. The dirt took shape as it flew, tightening from a cloud of debris into a swarm of long, metallic needles.

Howls of pain and anger filled the air as the missiles found their targets. Some of the soldiers fell writhing to the ground, pin-cushioned by the projectiles. Others, pierced through the heart or the brain, fell over dead. Those few that remained—the ruby included; he’d been able to melt his dart before it struck him, causing only minor burns where the molten metal splashed him—those few Rank soldiers retaliated viciously.

Gouts of flame and lightning slammed into Keth repeatedly, knocking him back several steps with the sheer ferocity of the attack. The mana flooding his conduits offered some protection from the magical assault, but he was still taking a beating. He had to get out of there, and fast. He gathered his pack of scrolls closely to him. Then, turning his magic inward, he wielded, melting into the street with a ripple. Above him, the battle raged a moment longer, a terrified populace providing its final casualties.

Keth’s senses expanded as he entered the earth. There, beneath the city, he could clearly feel Sal’s aura, tainted with amethyst magic. Odd. Keth had never noticed it before, but that taint had a borrowed feel to it. An incomplete feel.

He also felt Reit—or rather, he felt the residue of his own magics clinging to Reit like a wet tunic. More, Reit was on the move. Apparently, his little flying lesson hadn’t done any permanent damage.

He breathed a sigh of relief—as much a sigh as he
could
breath, being one with the ground. But that relief was short-lived. Several miles to the south, he felt his mirror images again, and this time recognized them for what they were. Granites. Five of them, and headed his way.

Determined not to hesitate again, he spurred himself into action. Here in the bowels of the earth, he could feel magical auras so much clearer, to the extent of being able to pinpoint them with startling accuracy. He used this ability now to guide him to Reit. He found his friend was perhaps seventy five yards west of him, and weaving his way northward, probably through the crowds on the Northgate Road. Keth launched himself in that direction, homing in on his own magical signature.

Crowded streets, packed to the gills with mages and mundanes alike, zipped by overhead as Keth arrowed for his target. It was a challenge to stay focused, passing through wine storage and cold cellars as he sped forward. He became one with so many materials in such a short time that his head started to ache, but he refused to acknowledge the pain. He drew near to Reit, almost coming directly below him, and angled upward, breaching the street like a fish on a hook.

Colors swirled in his vision as his eyes tried to adjust to being one with the air. It was a remarkable thing to witness, but one he had no time for just now. He released the granite magic momentarily, and felt gravity regain its hold on him as he solidified.

His angle had been nearly perfect, sending him hurtling in a high arc above the street. Scores of startled men, women, and children watched the display in awe, taking him for some sort of acrobat. But the performance came to an abrupt end as Keth came crashing down on top of Reit. Aura already extended, Keth wrapped it around Reit as the two made contact, then he wielded, melting them both into the ground.

Back in the earth, Keth held tightly to the rigid form of his friend and aimed for the Northgate and their waiting army beyond, with the granite guards hot on their heels, and gaining fast.

***

Sal didn’t see very much of the attack, even touching Amethyst as he was. Beyond Keth’s initial contact with the ruby, and the forming of that shield around Reit—what an absolutely
remarkable
thing!—he saw little except colorful bursts of magic and the stampede of violet-hazed skeletons, scrambling to get out of the way. Even now, with the chaos all but over, it was sheer luck that he spied Keth speeding away beneath the city. At the rate he was traveling, he’d be out of Bastion in a matter of seconds.

But to the north? That didn’t make any sense. The smartest, and likely the easiest getaway would have been to the west, into the harbor. That’s where their ship was, bobbing at anchor just a few yards out. All there was to the north was a sloping plain coming off of Mount Ysre. A
flat
sloping plain, with very few trees, very little cover...

A nearly textbook battlefield!

If they were planning what he thought they were planning, they’d definitely need his help. Gathering the amethyst energies, he turned his focus inward, and—

“Sal!” came the cry from behind him. It was the ruby he’d left in command of the Archives posting.

“Frasyr! I thought I gave you a direct order to remain at your post?” Sal demanded.

“And leave you without backup? Fat chance of that happening. Sir,” he added quickly at the sight of his subsergeant’s irritation. “Besides, there were enough of us that I felt comfortable passing command off to that sapphire, Viktor, and seeing what I could do to help.”

As much as he wanted to, Sal couldn’t fight the logic. Frasyr
was
right. You never went into a dangerous situation alone if you could help it. So since he was there, Sal put him to use. “Listen. Something happened and Keth—my granite friend?—he killed a couple of Rank officers. No, not any of ours, but it got the attention of the commissioned officers. We gotta go to Plan B.”

“We have a Plan B?”

“I guess that depends on how fast I can work one up. What I need is for you to get to Tribean. Have him round up all those loyal to the Cause. Yeah, yeah, I know we’re bound to have some traitors in the bunch. There’s nothing we can do about that right now. Just make sure you watch your back.”