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Synopsis

Mage Alex Verus has gone from a Camden shopkeeper to one of the most powerful mages in Britain. Now his last and most dangerous battle lies before him. His lover, the life mage Anne, has fallen fully under the control of the deadly creature she made a bargain with, and it is preparing to create an army of mages subject to its every whim.

Alex, the Council, and the Dark mage Richard Drakh agree to call a truce in their war, and plans are made for a joint attack. But Alex knows that it's only a matter of time before Drakh and the Council turn on each other... and neither cares about keeping Anne alive. Can Alex figure out a way to stop Anne and to free her from possession before time runs out?

Excerpt

chapter 1

The castle was falling.

Walls and battlements of yellow stone stretched into the distance, fading into the haze of the noonday sun. I was on top of the tallest tower on the eastern wing, and from my vantage point I could see the battle raging. Two black armies fought in the haze, clashing on high walkways and in the courtyards below. They blended in a sea of violence, tiny figures striking each other down, the bodies tumbling into space to wisp away into nothingness.

The attacking army was made up out of jann, slender humanoids that seemed to have been sculpted from living darkness. They moved with a darting grace, murderous and quick. The defenders were shadow constructs, smoky bodies with glowing white eyes. They were slower and clumsier than the jann, but they didn't die-when their bodies were destroyed they would simply re-form at their place of creation. A steady stream of them were flying from the tombs, flapping through the sky with heavy wingbeats to rejoin the combat.

But the jann and the shadows were only pawns: it was the mages who would decide the battle. Few in number, they were hidden behind rooftops and ramparts, but their power made them simple to track. Here a swarm of jann vanished into a building, but never came out. Further south, a flock of shadows descended into a courtyard; light flickered briefly off the walls, and a few minutes later a new cloud of black specks emerged from the distant tombs.

The castle belonged to a Dark mage called Sagash. Or had belonged; I'd been watching for twenty minutes and it was clear Sagash's forces were losing. The cathedral overlooking the southern quadrant had held out for a long time, lightning striking down any jann that came close, but ten minutes ago there'd been a flurry of battle-magic and the lightning had stopped. The last time I'd been in this castle I'd fought one of Sagash's apprentices, a lightning mage called Sam. I had the feeling it was him I'd sensed in that cathedral. I also had the feeling I knew who'd silenced him.

As I watched, I noticed an offshoot of the battle moving in my direction, shadows fighting a running skirmish against a pursuing force of jann. Both sides were taking losses, but the jann were receiving reinforcements and the shadows weren't. From the shadows' movements they seemed to be protecting something, but I couldn't see what.

I scanned through futures, searching for information. In one possibility ninety seconds away, I caught a glimpse of a figure on a rooftop, fighting alone against a swarm of jann. I couldn't get a look at their face, but I could make a good guess at who it was.

I considered a moment, then stepped off the tower, letting myself fall.

By the time I arrived, the shadows had all been destroyed, the last two dissolving into smoke as I stepped out onto the yellow stone. The battle had gained height and we were on a flat rooftop, iron spike railings and low parapets guarding against a sheer drop on three out of the four sides. Huge buildings to the north and south were separated by yawning gaps, the walls dropping away down and down to courtyards far below. Wind rushed across the roof in a low, steady roar, whipping at my hair and clothes.

There were three jann standing over the remains of the shadows, and as I arrived on the rooftop they turned and loped towards me, claws outstretched. I left all three burning on the stone. At the end of the rooftop, a flight of stairs descended out of sight; the bulk of the jann were clustered around it, their attention focused on something below. A small square-topped tower rose twenty feet above roof level, and I jumped up onto it.

From my new vantage point I could see that the flight of stairs descended to what might once have been a bridge but which now ended in a ten-foot stone platform. Beyond was a jagged break and a sheer drop. Standing on the square was a young Korean woman, dressed in blue and grey. She carried a shortsword and a small shield, and was crouched in a fighting stance, facing the stairs. It was probably the same sword she'd tried to stab me with on my last visit.

The stairs were packed with jann, crowded tightly all the way up to the top. They were focused on the woman, but weren't attacking. Instead they clustered just out of range of her sword, their stance low and predatory, wolves facing a cornered deer.

The jann and the woman were focused on each other. They were over a hundred feet away; between the distance and the roaring wind, neither had yet noticed me. I reached out through my dreamstone, finding the woman's mind and touching it delicately. Yun Ji-yeong, wasn't it? I said through the link.

I saw Ji-yeong start. Her mouth moved.

Talk through your thoughts, I told her. I'm on the towertop at your two o'clock.

Ji-yeong turned her head and saw me, then something made her jerk back towards the jann. Who are you? she demanded. Her thoughts were rough and scratchy, but clear.

My name's Alex Verus. We met four years ago.

Verus? Ji-yeong sounded startled. You were with- The mood of her thoughts changed. Ah, shibal.

Yes.

Ji-yeong said something angry in Korean, then switched back to English. You know, fine! You want me? Call off your dogs and come get me yourself!

You mean the jann? I asked. They're not mine.

You came with her, didn't you?

I'm not on her side, and I'm not on yours.

Ji-yeong paused, and when her thoughts came again they felt more cautious. What do you want?

Information, I told her. Here's the deal. Answer my questions and do as I say, and in exchange I'll get you out of your current mess and keep you safe.

Sagash isn't going to let you- Ji-yeong began, then cut off abruptly and lashed out with her sword. The nearest jann jumped back; a ripple went through the crowd, and other jann edged closer.

I don't think Sagash is your biggest problem at the moment, I told Ji-yeong once the jann had settled down.

What the hell are you going to do? Ji-yeong demanded. Her thoughts were keyed up, tense. If you aren't with her, those things aren't going to obey you.

No.

You're a diviner, right? You going to kill them from up there?

No.

So what are you going to do? Stab them all to death?

Yes.

Ji-yeong laughed. I'd like to see you try.

Do we have a deal?

Sure. Why not? It's not like I've got anything to lose.

Good.

I hopped down to ground level and started walking across the rooftop. As I did I spun my weapon into a ready position. It was a polearm called a sovnya, a slightly curved scimitar-like blade mounted on the end of a long shaft. I held it one-handed, arm extended, the blade low above the flagstones.

I was clearly visible on the empty rooftop and it didn't take long for the jann at the back of the crowd to notice me. Two of them turned, faceless and eyeless; any sound they might have made was carried away by the wind. I kept walking and the two of them loped forward, splitting up to come at me from both sides.

Futures unfolded before me. The one on the left would feint, trying to draw my attention from the one on the right. If I turned right, the one on the left would strike instead. A simple attack, a simple counter.

The jann moved into their attack pattern and I showed them what they were expecting. The right one hovered just out of reach as the left lunged. Without turning to look, I reversed the sovnya and thrust, feeling the shudder as the weapon bit. The jann in front hesitated; I waited exactly one second, then brought the sovnya around to meet its lunge. The blade bisected it at the shoulder, the jann's shadowy flesh igniting with red light. Its body fell to the stone in two halves, flaming and burning. The sovnya pulsed greedily, hungry for more.

In the time it had taken me to kill the first two jann, five more had noticed me. They turned and attacked, fanning out to come from all directions.

Four died in eight seconds. The fifth backed away as the rest of the crowd finally started to take me seriously.

In the old days, I would never have taken this fight. My divination shows an enemy's weaknesses, tells me what to expect and where to move, but against this many enemies, that's not enough. Sooner or later you'll get tired, or they'll come from too many angles, and you'll get overwhelmed.

But in the old days I hadn't had a set of reactive armour that could shed a strike from a jann's claws, stiffening at the point of impact to deflect the blow. And I hadn't had the sovnya, a weapon forged to kill magical creatures. The polearm burnt with a fierce light, its blade cutting through the jann's bodies like a flaming sword through cobwebs. I'm better with a knife than with a spear, but the sovnya knew how it wanted to be used; it was less like wielding a weapon and more like fighting with a very close partner.

And most of all, I had the fateweaver. As I danced through the futures, I didn't just see them, I changed them. Small touches to possibilities, closing off some paths, widening others. I nudged the movements of the jann so that they were never quite coordinated, never attacking in exactly the right way. Every time one was in a position to threaten me I'd shift things so that I'd have an extra half second to react before they could strike.

Superior intelligence; superior weaponry; better defence; fate manipulation. You can overcome one of those advantages, if you have an edge of your own. Maybe two. Not all four.

The jann died, their bodies falling to the stone to burn from the inside out as the sovnya consumed them. The only sounds were the stutter and scrape of footsteps, and the roar of the wind, interrupted by the high-pitched whine of the jann's death screams. By the time the remaining jann realised that they should run, it was far too late. They were backed down onto the stairs, trapped between Ji-yeong and me with an endless drop on both sides.

Six jann left. Four flung themselves at me, trying to escape. Three, then two, then one. The last managed to pass me and almost made it to the top of the steps before the sovnya took off its leg.

The two at the back went after Ji-yeong. I could have moved in to finish them, but instead I stopped to watch. Ji-yeong engaged the first, blocking with the shield, stabbing with the sword. Her movements were unnaturally quick; in my magesight, I could see the green lace of life magic twined around her limbs.

The first jann opened up a gash on Ji-yeong's arm; blood welled up but she ignored it and closed the distance, ramming her sword into the thing's body over and over again until it shuddered and fell to the stone. The second jann ripped Ji-yeong's back with its claws; she whirled and slammed it with her shield. The jann stumbled back over the edge, falling silently down and down to disappear into the haze below.

Ji-yeong turned to me, breathing hard.

"You've gotten better," I told her.

The green light of Ji-yeong's life magic wove around her wounds. The gash on her arm stopped bleeding and pulled together, the edges of the cut binding to leave smooth pale skin. A glow from behind showed that the same was happening to the tear on her back. In only a few seconds, she was healthy again. She straightened and looked at me, her eyes flicking to my weapon and armour.

I turned and climbed the stairs. Once back on the rooftop, I walked twenty feet, then turned and waited.

Ji-yeong followed me up. She moved out onto the rooftop cautiously, glancing from left to right. "Decision time," I said, raising my voice to be heard above the wind.

"What?"

I gestured to the open rooftop. "You want to try and take me, now's your chance."

Ji-yeong hesitated for a long second, futures flickering. Battle, flight, submission. One future eclipsed the others as she made her choice. Her stance relaxed slightly and she wiped off her sword, then slid it back into its sheath.

I nodded. "Follow me."

I took a winding route back across the battlements, Ji-yeong trailing me at a distance. Once I reached the tower I'd been using as a vantage point, I stopped in front of the doorway. That door led into a spiral staircase that would take me to the top of the tower. I crouched, then leapt.

Air magic surged from the metal headband around my brow and a rush of wind hurled me upwards, bearing me thirty times further than I could have jumped on my own. I soared up and over the tower's parapet and landed lightly on its roof. Then I turned towards the open stairwell leading down into the tower, and waited.

If you're going to have a problem with someone, it's best to settle it early. I'd already given Ji-yeong the chance to fight. Now I was giving her the chance to run. She was fifty feet away and out of sight; if she wanted to flee, she'd never have a better opportunity. Again I saw the futures waver, but this time she made her decision quickly.

Two minutes later footsteps sounded and Ji-yeong's head appeared in the open stairwell. She looked around the tower top, saw me, and walked across. The sword was still sheathed at her hip. "You could have given me a lift," she told me, raising her voice above the wind.

I wasn't actually sure if I could. The copper headband I'd been using to make these jumps was an imbued item that employed air magic; I'd taken it from Levistus's shadow realm only two days ago, and while it was willing to carry me, passengers were another story. "Something wrong with your legs?" I asked Ji-yeong.

Ji-yeong looked unimpressed.

I turned to the parapet. "Let's get to work."

The battle had moved on while we'd been busy. The areas closer to us had emptied; all the fighting was far away now, around the central keep. Jann and shadows clashed in waves, looking like black dots, a steady stream of reinforcements flying in from the tombs. I pointed towards the tombs. "Who's fighting who?"

"You mean who started?" Ji-yeong asked. "Or who's left?"

Copyright © 2021 by Benedict Jacka

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