Ghost in the Throne (Ghost Exile #7) (38 page)

In the fiery gloom, he saw a plume of dust and smoke rising from the wreckage of the Crows’ Tower, and he smiled at the thought of all the Teskilati and watchmen who had just died in the collapse.

The huge circle of golden fire filled the center of Istarinmul, throbbing and snarling with tremendous power drawn from the rift echoes. Anyone who attempted to cross it would find themselves incinerated in the space of a heartbeat. It would not last long, and would soon collapse beneath the weight of its own immense power. 

But it would last long enough for what Cassander needed, and for a short time, the circle could be used to draw even more power to itself. 

He turned to face the Throne and began another spell, drawing upon more and more pyromantic force.

###

Kylon looked at the burning rubble of Fariz Terdagan’s palace, stunned by the destructive fury that Cassander had unleashed. The curved wall of golden fire rose from the rubble, a hundred feet tall, stretching before him in either direction as far as he could see. 

“Gods,” said Martin, stunned. “I never knew Cassander could wield that kind of power.”

“He can’t,” said Caina. “It’s not his power. It’s like he’s starting an avalanche. He doesn’t need to control it. All he needs is to get out of its way.” She turned to Martin. “Lord Martin, we have to get to the Umbarian embassy as quickly as possible. Our only chance of stopping this is to kill Cassander before he can finish his spells.” 

“Agreed,” said Martin. “Tylas, we’re moving out.” He rubbed at his face beneath the black helmet. “With the circle, we can’t go there directly. We’ll have to cut through the Masters’ Quarter, and then the Saddaic Quarter and the Alqaarin Bazaar.” 

“I counsel haste, Lord Martin,” said Nasser. “I suspect it will not be long before Cassander finishes his spell.” 

“I agree,” said Martin. 

Kylon looked towards the wall encircling the ruined palace, wondering how long it would take for the Imperial Guards to go over it. Perhaps he and Caina ought to race on ahead and let the others catch up. Perhaps they could break into the Umbarians’ mansion and take Cassander unawares. 

But his fears were unfounded. The curtain of flame had shattered the wall, and it would be no challenge for even a woman in the final month of pregnancy to climb through the rubble. And Claudia’s help had been invaluable against the ifrit. If the Umbarian magi conjured more such elementals…

A surge of arcane power cut off his line of thought. It was vast beyond imagination, as if he were standing in an invisible wind of fire. Kylon wondered how Cassander could possibly control such power, and then realized that Caina had been right. Cassander was like a clever commander arranging for an avalanche to bury the enemy army. The Umbarian ambassador could not control the avalanche.

He need only trigger it. 

Caina looked at the sky, and Kylon followed her gaze.

A ribbon of golden fire twisted in the darkness over the circle, just as the Moroaica had opened her rift over the Pyramid of Storm on the day of the golden dead.

“It’s beginning,” said Caina.

Then a voice thundered from the rift, booming like the words of a god. 

###

Cassander finished his spell and turned from the Throne, looking through the solar windows.

The rift was opening.

He laughed aloud, watching the ribbon of golden fire crawl across the darkness. For that had been the entire purpose of the circle, the function of the rift echoes. The day of the golden dead had left weaknesses in the wall between the material world and the netherworld. By channeling the power of the rift echoes into a recursive loop, by feeding the power into itself, Cassander had generated enough arcane force to rip open the rift once more. 

And when the rift was open, the Throne of Corazain would summon countless ifriti to descend upon Istarinmul in a firestorm. 

All he need do was wait until the rift opened, and the Throne could begin its summoning. But there was one last thing Cassander could do to guarantee his security until the victory was complete, one final gesture of spite to make against his enemies. 

It was a simple matter to alter the rift slightly, to make it vibrate in time with his voice. Cassander worked the spell, stepped to the window, and started to speak.

“Citizens of Istarinmul!” said Cassander, and his voice roared down from the rift. “Hear me! I, Cassander Nilas, magus and ambassador of the Umbarian Order, today decree your execution! For your nation has betrayed the Umbarian Order, and therefore earned death. Look to the skies, and see your fate! Men of Istarinmul, you shall burn. You shall see your wives burn in front of you. You shall hear your children scream as the flames consume them, and nothing you do will save them.”

If he listened, he thought he could hear the distant roar of riots starting across Istarinmul. That was just as well. The chaos in the streets would slow down anyone trying to stop him, and he had sent some of his servants to kill anyone they found in the streets. 

There was one last amphora of oil to throw upon the bonfire.

“Rejoice, men of Istarinmul!” said Cassander. “For your own rulers have acquiesced to your fate. Both Grand Wazir Erghulan Amirasku and Grand Master Callatas have joined the Umbarian Order, and have consented to your destruction. To punish Istarinmul for its impertinence and rebellion, they have surrendered you to the fury of the Umbarian Order. Think well upon your sins, men of Istarinmul, for the fire comes to claim you!” 

He ended the spell, the echoes of his words fading, and this time he could indeed hear the sound of screaming as the panic and the riots began. 

Very soon, he would insure victory for the Order over the Emperor…and he would have the distinct pleasure of seeing this wretched city and its pathetic people burn.

Cassander smiled and watch the rift widen across the sky. 

###

Fury radiated through Caina as the echoes of Cassander’s final taunt faded. 

If she found him, she vowed, he would regret this. 

Mixed with the fury came guilt. This was her fault. If only she had died in Rumarah, perhaps she could have taken Cassander with her and not brought this hideous catastrophe upon Istarinmul…

Caina shoved aside the thought. It wasn’t helpful. If they did not act now, she could make an accounting of her failures before the gods themselves soon enough. 

“Lord Martin,” said Caina. “We’re going to the Umbarian embassy as fast as we can. We’ll try to break in and stop Cassander. Once you arrive…do as you think best. I can offer no other counsel.”

Martin nodded. “We shall be right behind you.” 

Caina nodded and turned back to Kylon. Nasser and Laertes approached, weapons in hand, as did Morgant and Annarah. She sent Nerina and Malcolm and Azaces back to guard Claudia. Claudia’s banishment spells were their best hope for dealing with any remaining elementals. 

“Our cause is just, as few causes have ever been,” said Annarah, her pyrikon staff glimmering with white fire. “The Divine will aid us.”

Caina didn’t know if any gods cared what would happen here tonight. 

But gods or no gods, she would not let Cassander committ this hideous crime without a fight. 

“Come on,” said Caina, and she clambered over the ruined wall and broke into a run, the others following. 

###

Chaos ruled Istarinmul’s streets, but Kalgri moved through it like a wolf through sheep.

The sheep were panicking. 

Cassander’s pompous little speech had made sure of that. People choked the streets, fleeing towards the gates, the harbor, desperate to get away from the impending destruction in the sky. Fighting had broken out in several bazaars, and some of the more enterprising souls had taken the opportunity to go on a looting spree. In places both men and women had fallen to the ground, weeping with fear, and some were on their knees, imploring the Living Flame or whatever god they worshipped to save them.

The fear and the horror washed over Kalgri, and she savored it like fine wine. Again she wondered what it would be like to feel an entire city die at once, and for a moment she almost returned to Cassander.

No. Cassander could give her the death of a city.

Kotuluk Iblis and the nagataaru could give her the death of a world. 

And the first step to kill the world was to find Caina Amalas.

Kalgri kept running, following the needle of the compass. 

Chapter 20: Creatures Of Sorcery

Caina sprinted through the narrow alleys of the Alqaarin Quarter as Istarinmul fell apart around her. 

Mobs filled the streets, surging for the gates and the harbors. Some of them clutched bags of possessions, while other carried wailing children. Caina wondered if they could get far enough away from the city before the rift opened, or if Cassander’s ifriti would consume the surrounding countryside. Certainly they would incinerate any ships still caught in the harbor. 

Chaos ruled the city. Caina saw slaves sprint away from their masters, leaving their sedan chairs in the street. In places men fought over wagons of possessions. Caina headed into the alleys, avoiding the main streets. The streets were choked, and they could move quicker through the alleyways. Though predators lurked in the alleys, thieves and fleeing slaves looking for the opportunity to relieve the fleeing citizens of Istarinmul of their possessions. 

One look at the fire crackling up and down Annarah’s staff usually persuaded them to seek victims elsewhere. 

Caina ran into a small courtyard behind two houses and skidded to an alarmed stop.

A dozen corpses lay upon the ground. It was night, but thanks to the hellish light of the golden rift, she had no trouble seeing them. The dead men wore the gray tunics of common slaves, the rough cloth wet with blood. Caina looked around, seeking for signs of their attackers, but the courtyard was deserted. 

The others fanned around her, weapons in hand.

“Those wounds are recent,” said Kylon. “They haven’t been dead for more than ten minutes.” 

“Thieves, most likely,” said Laertes. “I’ve seen this before when I was in the Legion. When a city is about to fall, its people go mad and scramble for safety.”

Caina scrutinized the ground, examining the marks of the battle in the dust. “Boots. They were attacked by men in boots, and those are sword wounds.” Yet the boot tracks did not seem as deep as they should have. “We can’t linger. If we don’t stop Cassander, a lot more people are going to die. Keep an eye out for any thieves.”

Caina stepped around the dead men and ran down another alley, drawing nearer to the Alqaarin Bazaar. The mansion that housed the Umbarian embassy was only a few blocks from the Bazaar. If they hurried, they could reach it in another few moments. Then they would have to find a way into the mansion, past whatever guards and wards Cassander had posted…

She sprinted into the Alqaarin Bazaar and came to a shocked halt.

Screaming people fled from the Bazaar in all directions. Armored shapes moved through the crowds, killing at random. The creatures looked like leathery corpses clad in the chain mail and helms of Imperial Legionaries, broadswords in their bony hands and shields upon their arms, ripples of green fire flickering up and down their wasted limbs. Caina saw the powerful necromantic spells upon them, animating the dead flesh and giving it a ghastly imitation of life. Claudia had told her about the Dead Legion, the soldiers animated by the Umbarians’ necromancy, but Caina had never seen one with her own eyes. 

Yet the undead soldiers were not the most threatening thing in the Bazaar. 

“Again?” said Morgant. “How many of those damned things does Cassander have?”

“More than one, apparently,” said Caina.

A cataphractus lumbered its way through the Bazaar, smashing the booths and stalls in its path. 

The grotesque creature looked like an enormously muscular, fat man, albeit a man that had been stitched together from raw meat. In lieu of skin, it had plates of steel grafted across its glistening body, albeit in a much more haphazard and random fashion that the insect-like symmetry of the Adamant Guards. A cone of steel armor enclosed its squat head. A bloodcrystal of green fire pulsed and flickered in the center of its chest, painting the meat around it a rancid emerald color. It was an undead thing like the withered Legionaries, but vastly stronger and more powerful. The Umbarians used the cataphracti as mobile siege engines, hammering their way through enemy fortifications. 

“Same as before, Kyracian?” said Morgant.

Kylon nodded, lifting his sword. 

“If I might inquire,” said Nasser, spinning his scimitar in his right hand, “how did you defeat a cataphractus the last time?” 

“Morgant’s dagger can cut through anything, even the armor on its knee,” said Caina, watching as the cataphractus lumbered back and forth, pursuing fleeing victims. “He attacked its knee until its leg bucked, and then Kylon put the valikon through the bloodcrystal in its chest.” 

“A dire battle,” said Nasser. 

“It guards the street that leads to the Umbarian embassy,” said Laertes. “We will have to go through it.” 

“Why not go around it?” said Annarah. 

“She’s right,” said Caina, pointing at the houses lining the street. “We’ll break into one of the houses, go over the roof. With luck, the cataphractus won’t notice us, and…”

A hideous, snarling roar boomed over the Bazaar, and the cataphractus spun, lumbering towards Caina and her companions, and she saw the spells on the thing shifting and twisting. It had detected the auras of sorcery around Kylon and Annarah. Likely Cassander had commanded the creature to attack any wielders of arcane force that entered the Bazaar. 

“Or,” said Caina, “it’s going to sense Annarah and come to kill us.”

“Well, then,” said Morgant, raising his weapons, “we’ll kill it first. The Kyracian and I will handle this. The rest of you distract it and try not to get…”

A second gurgling roar rang out. Another cataphractus burst from a side street, staggered to a halt, and turned to face them. Several of the undead Legionaries started to turn, following the two cataphracti as they lumbered forward.