Murtaghโs wards protected him from the creatureโs attack, but the impact caused him to stumble backward into the edge of the door. He dropped to one knee.
Despite his wards, instinct led him to keep his eyes screwed shut. He felt upward until his hands closed upon warm fur, and then he pulled the kicking, clawing, spitting creature o๏ฌ his neck.
Only then did he get a good look at it.ย Silna!
The youngling was a mosaic-coated cat with large green eyes narrowed
in anger, tufted ears pressed ๏ฌat, tail pu๏ฌed out, and heavy paws that scraped at the air. The werecat was close in size to a housecat, and her head had the distinctive, overly large appearance of a kittenโs.
โShh, shh,โ Murtagh tried to say in a calming manner, but the werecat kept twisting and biting in a desperate attempt to break free.
Finally, he said, โSilna! Eka fricai. Eka fricai.โย I am a friend.
The werecatโs clawing ceased, and she stared at him with a ๏ฌat, hostile gaze.
He hesitated and then carefully placed her on the ๏ฌoor and let go.
The ridge of fur along Silnaโs spine remained raised. But she didnโt run. She seemed, Murtagh was relieved to see, unharmed, though she looked painfully thin.
He held out his hands, palms raised. โCan you understand me? Carabel sent me to ๏ฌnd you.โ
Silnaโs lips retracted to bare her sharp white teeth.
โIโm a friend,โ Murtagh insisted. He reached out with his thoughts toward the werecatโs mind. The instant he touched her consciousness, she hissed, and he felt nothing but fear on her part.
He recoiled from her mind. โIโm sorry. Sorry. Do you understand?โ
The werecatโs slitted eyes darted between him and the open door, and he realized he was still blocking the way. He didnโt move. โI can help you out of here, but you have to trust me.โ He held out one hand toward her, same as he would with a skittish horse.
Silna let out a small hiss, but she didnโt retreat.
Itโs a start. โCan you change forms?โ he asked. โThen we could talk. If you can talkโฆโ Murtagh wondered at what age werecats gained the ability to shift their shape. Were they born with it?
He edged to one side of the doorway, opening a space for Silna to pass through. โCome on,โ he said in a coaxing tone. โCome with me.โ
The werecatโs eyes narrowed again, and then she darted forward and past him before he could react.
โBlast it!โ Murtagh scrambled to his feet as Silna streaked toward the far end of the arcane garden.
Just before she reached the doorway to the alchemy workshop, a voice sounded ahead of them. Esvarโs voice: โโanโ I swore I heard somethinโ, so I came tโ get you directly. Look!โ
Silna slid to a stop and darted back the way sheโd come.
Within the workshop, Murtagh saw Esvar, three other guards, and the nearly white-haired magician of Du Vrangr Gata. Esvar gaped at Silna. Whether from surprise that she had escaped or at seeing a werecat, Murtagh didnโt know.
Nor did he wait to ๏ฌnd out.
He opened his mouth to speak the Word and break any spells protecting the men or directed at him or Silna. But before he could utter a sound, the
men spotted him, and a blade of thought stabbed into his mindโthe magician attacking the very essence of his self.
Stay!ย Murtagh ๏ฌung the word toward Silnaโs consciousness, and then turtled in on himself, armoring his mind with blinkered focus: โYou shall not have me. You shall not have me.โ He dared not let the magician see his thoughts, and because of that, he dared not loosen his defenses enough to speak the Word and work magic of his own. Not until he gained control of his enemyโs mind.
The werecat kitten cowered behind his back foot and hissed. The three guards in the front charged: one in front, two behind.
Murtagh swept his cloak across their ๏ฌeld of vision, causing them to ๏ฌinch, and used the momentary cover to draw his arming sword.
The distraction allowed him to strike ๏ฌrst. He jabbed the lead man in his right hip andโ
โthe tip of the blade skated o๏ฌ an invisible barrier a ๏ฌngerโs width from the guardโs skin.
Blast it!
The guard slashed at Murtagh with his own weapon, causing Murtagh to duck. Swordplay alone wasnโt going to win the day. He had to ๏ฌgure out a way around the guardโs wards.
His misadventure with Muckmaw leaped to mind.
Fine. Bracing himself, Murtagh slammed his shoulder into the guardโs chest and knocked him across the room. The guardโs wards kept him from su๏ฌering scratches or worse as he crashed into a pair of bushes, but they did nothing to keep his head from whipping to the side and striking the crystal case that contained the blue-black egg, dazing the poor man.
Cracks spiderwebbed the case.
The next soldier shouted and stabbed a spear toward Murtaghโs face. He let his own wards de๏ฌect the blow as he darted forward and, still holding the sword, clapped his hands against the sides of the guardโs helmet. The man cried out, dropped his spear, and collapsed.
As Murtagh had suspected. No wards against sound.
The third guard poked at Murtagh with a billed pike. He dodged and smashed the pommel of his sword against the crest of the manโs helm. The blow staggered the guard, and Murtagh followed up with another clap on either side of the manโs head, which sent him reeling into a bed of lilies.
The whole while, Murtagh could feel the magician trying to dig into his mind. The manโs neck was corded with strain, his lips pressed white against his bared teeth, and his hands worked feverishly within the sleeves of his robe.
Murtagh started for him, but Esvar stepped in front of the magician and raised his sword.
โMove aside,โ said Murtagh between clenched teeth.
Esvar held his ground. His face was red with anger, but he also had a look of hurt innocence that Murtagh could hardly bear to see. โYouย swore,โ said Esvar. โYouย swore. I was there. Anโ you betrayed us!โ
โI donโt want to hurt you,โ said Murtagh. โStand down.โ A bumblebee ๏ฌew past his face. Its body was iridescent blue.
Esvar shook his head, his expression one of ๏ฌxed determination, and took a half step forward. โNever! You attacked thโ guard. Iโll die afore I let you pass.ย Traitor.โ
Murtagh had been called worse. He spared a glance for the men lying
groaning on the ๏ฌoor; they wouldnโt be a problem. Silna still crouched low to the ground behind him, safe for the moment.
โKill him,โ said the magician, his voice tight with strain.
โYouโre no match for me,โ said Murtagh. He sounded calmer than he felt.
Esvarโs upper lip curled. โDonโt matter. Itโs myย duty.โ And he lunged, extending his arm in a long stab aimed at Murtaghโs throat.
Murtagh parried, closed the distance between them, and smashed the pommel of his sword against Esvarโs helmet. The younger man dropped to one knee, and Murtagh was about to step past when Esvar drove his shoulders into Murtaghโs knees.
His knees locked out and lightning shocks of pain radiated from the joints. Murtagh stumbled back and watched with some amazement as Esvar
got to his feet and shook his head. A thread of blood trickled from his left ear.
โMy ma always said I had a thick head,โ said Esvar, grim. He lifted his sword again. โYโ can batter me deaf, Task, but youโll have tโ kill me afore you get by.โ
Murtaghโs frustration boiled over into anger, and he launched several quick jabs at Esvarโs shoulders and hips, hoping that if one of them went through, the wound wouldnโt prove fatal or crippling. But none of them did. Esvarโs wards continued to protect him. The impact of blade against spell sent sparks ๏ฌying from Murtaghโs sword, and he saw the tip was bent and broken.
He wished Zarโroc was in his hand. Even if the enchanted blade couldnโt cut through Esvarโs wards, the brightsteel wouldnโt break.
Esvar fell back before the blows. He rallied and replied with another strike, attempting to cut Murtagh across the neck and waist.
โWhy. Wonโt. You. Give.ย Up!โ shouted Murtagh, his fury swelling like a storm. He rained down a series of heavy cuts onto Esvar, breaking his guard and driving the young man to his knees. There was no ๏ฌnesse to Murtaghโs attack, no art, no grace or intelligence as Tornac had taught him, just sheer brute strength. And yet Esvarโs wards continued to hold. Murtaghโs sword glanced o๏ฌ his clothes and skin as if de๏ฌected by oiled ice.
Murtagh could see that the spells were tiring Esvar, but no faster than the blows tired Murtagh.
Esvar lashed out with a blind swing toward Murtaghโs legs. Murtagh let the blow bounce o๏ฌ his thigh and hammered at the guardโs shoulder with every ๏ฌber of his being, as if he were trying to split the earth itself.
Ting!
His sword shattered, and half of it ๏ฌew spinning across the room to embed itself in a length of dragon bone.
Murtagh stabbed with the needle-tipped shard that remained attached to the crossguard andโ
โthe jagged piece of metal sank into Esvarโs upper chest, between his neck and shoulder, near his collarbone.
The guardโs eyes went wide, and he fell onto his backside, stunned. He put a hand to his chest, and his mouth worked several times, but no sound came out.
In an instant, Murtaghโs rage shifted to regret, sorrow, and loathing for what he had done. The distraction was enough for the magician to delve deeper into his mind, gripping and tearing in an attempt to control Murtaghโs thoughts.
โOh no youย donโt!โ he growled, ๏ฌnally giving the spellcaster his undivided attention. He attacked the consciousness of the robed man, holding nothing back, only seeking to overwhelm, crush, and suppress.
The spellcasterโs mental defenses crumbled before the onslaught, and Murtagh received a brief ๏ฌash of imagery from the manโhis name was Arven, and he was deeply frightened about, aboutโฆโand then the magicianโs eyes rolled back and he keeled over.
Murtagh caught him and lowered him to the ๏ฌoor. Heโd never had someone faint on him during a mental battle before.
โWhy?โ asked Esvar in a guileless voice. Tears gleamed in his eyes. โWhy would you? I thoughtโฆI thought you wanted tโ be part of the watch. Why, why, why?โ
โI wish I could,โ said Murtagh. He gestured at Silnaโs crouched form. โBut some things are more important than oaths.โ
Confusion ๏ฌlled Esvarโs eyes. โWhat does aย catย have tโ do with it? I donโt understand.โ
โIโm glad you donโt,โ said Murtagh. He hesitated and then grasped the hilt of the sword sticking out of Esvar. The young man sti๏ฌened and held up a hand as if to stop him. โBite your sleeve. This is going to hurt.โ
After a second, Esvar obeyed.
Murtagh gathered his will and said, โWaรญse heill,โ as he drew the blade out of Esvarโs chest.
The youth arched his back, and cords of muscle stood out on his neck as his clawed hands scrabbled at the ๏ฌoor. Blood welled out around the broken blade as it slid free, and then muscle and skin knit back together, leaving behind unblemished ๏ฌesh.
Esvar fell back on the ๏ฌoor, limp, and Murtagh sagged with sudden exhaustion. โWhy?โ whispered Esvar. โYโ swore an oath, Task.โ
Murtagh clenched and unclenched his hands. โIโm sorry. The watch isnโt all you think it is.โ
As he turned to leave, he spotted something around Arvenโs neck. On a sudden hunch, Murtagh bent, dug his ๏ฌnger under the magicianโs collar, and pulled freeโฆ
A bird-skull amulet, identical to the one Sarros had been wearing in Ceunon.
Murtagh stared for a second and then covered the amulet with his hand and yanked it o๏ฌ Arvenโs neck. He tucked the amulet into the pouch on his beltโnext to the one from Ceunonโas he stood. Looking back at Silna, he said, โCome.โ
The werecat trotted after him as he strode out of the garden and through the rooms beyond.
 |
As Murtagh stepped into the catacomb tunnel, he heard voices and clattering armor echoing down the staircase that led to the barracks.
What took them so long?ย he wondered.
To his left, the tunnel ran under the fortress. That way lay more enemies and uncertain escape.
To his right, the passageway would take him out under the main part of Gilโead. It was his best chance of slipping away without another ๏ฌght.
Silna attempted to run past him, but he caught her around the belly. โAh, ah. I donโt think so,โ he murmured, and scooped her o๏ฌ the ๏ฌoor.
She tried to wriggle free, but he pressed her close against his side as he turned right and sprinted into the unknown. To his relief, she didnโt bite or claw.
The sound of his pounding footsteps outpaced them in the darkness.
The tunnel curved. Once the staircase was out of sight, Murtagh whispered, โBrisingr,โ and formed a small red ๏ฌame above his head so he
could see his way.
Silna growled at the light, and her pupils contracted wire thin. โQuiet.โ
A few hundred feet later, he arrived at an iron grate blocking the tunnel. He grabbed the bars and yanked on them. Flakes of rust showered him, but the metal held.
โJierda!โ The metal snapped like rotten wood, and Murtagh shoved the grate against one wall and hurried past.
His boots splashed in water. A thin rivulet ran down the center of the tunnel, and the walls dripped with moisture. A rat the size of a small dog squeaked when it saw him and the werecat and scurried into a hole in the stone wall.
Behind him, Murtagh heard shouts and curses and spears beating against shields. He quickened his pace as much as he could without losing his footing on the wet rocks.
Silna squirmed in his arm, and he tightened his hold.
The tunnel split in four directions. Uncertain, he took the leftmost branch. Not much farther, it split again, and then yet again, and Murtagh realized he didnโt have the slightest idea which direction he was going. He didnโt despair, though. Tornac had taught him a trick for besting the hedge maze at Lord Varisโs estate, which was to turn in only one directionโleft or right, it didnโt matter, as long as you were consistent. Solving a maze in such fashion might take a while, but if there was a path to the other side, doing so would always ๏ฌnd it.
So Murtagh turned left at every opportunity. Twice more he had to cut through iron grates, but unlike before, he took the timeโa few precious secondsโto reattach the grates, both to inconvenience his pursuers and to hide his trail. He just hoped that the catacombs had more than one exit and that he wouldnโt come out to ๏ฌnd half the cityโs garrison waiting for him.
Even with the werelight, the darkness was oppressive, and the walls seemed uncomfortably close. Murtagh felt as if he were no more than an insect creeping through the bowels of the earth. He hated the dark and the damp and the memories of being imprisoned beneath Urรปโbaen.
He tried to avoid remembering, but thoughts of Esvar and the cell hidden behind the door of stone were no less unpleasant.ย Oathbreaker, thatโs what I am. And he knew it was so, forย oathbreakerย was part of his true name.
The werecat continued to struggle and complain, so at last he said, โFine. You want to go down? Here.โ And he plopped her on the wet stones.
Silna hissed, fur still ๏ฌu๏ฌed out, and she crouched and looked up and down the dark tunnel, uncertain.
Murtagh studied her. Cats werenโt as trusting as dogs, and werecats were even more of an enigma than ordinary cats, but he was beginning to wonder what more he would have to do to prove himself to her. โItโs all right,โ he said in a soft voice. When that failed to evince a response, he motioned in either direction. โWhatโs it to be? Hmm? I donโt know about you, but Iโd like to escape here with my hide intact. Come with me, and Iโll do my best to keep you safe.โ
The tip of Silnaโs tail twitched.
Murtagh took a step down the tunnel. He looked back. The werecat didnโt move.
He took another few steps. Still, Silna refused to budge. In the gloom, her patched coat nearly vanished, just one more shadow amid the larger darkness.
He kept walking, and as the glow from his werelight faded from Silnaโs position, he heard the faint pad of paws following him.
When he turned to look, Silna immediately sat and started licking a paw, as if nothing had happened.
He snorted and resumed walking. He felt sure she would stay close, but for safetyโs sake, he opened his mind and let out a tiny feeler, just enough to sense her presence.
In like fashion, they continued.
The two of them wandered for what seemed like hours. They should have long since left Gilโead behind, but the tunnels were a tangled nest of intersecting and overlapping openings.ย Who dug these?ย Murtagh wondered. In places the tunnels almost resembled natural formations; he even bumped
his head against a stalactite in one dark corner. The warren made no sense. It reminded him of the lines dug by beetles under the bark of trees.
Still, they pressed onward, and Murtagh did his best to avoid any passage that led deeper into the earth, even if it meant bypassing another left-hand turn. If they ended up on a lower level, he doubted they would ever ๏ฌnd the way out, barring a spell to burrow back to the surface.
At times he thought he heard voices behind him, ahead of him, to the sides, but they were always phantoms. The speakers never materialized, and he began to wonder if he were imagining things.
Throughout, he didnโt dare try to contact Thorn. If Arven or any other magician from Du Vrangr Gataโor even an elfโwere looking for him, they would be sure to notice his mind reaching out.
So Murtagh con๏ฌned his thoughts to himself, and he and Silna trotted along in silence.
|
Finally!
A faint silver glow brightened the tunnel ahead of them, and Murtagh heard the steady burble of running water. โStay close,โ he whispered to Silna. Then he snu๏ฌed his werelight, drew his cloak around his waist so it wouldnโt tangle his legs, and crept forward.
The passage narrowed until he was half hunched over, and the light strengthened untilโฆ
He saw an end to the tunnel. An end covered by an iron grate, which overlooked a small stream with low, muddy banks. Arching over grate and stream was a wooden bridge. Numerous footsteps echoed o๏ฌ the bridge.
Relieved, Murtagh sank against the curved stone wall. From the stars in the sky and the moonlight on the water, he could tell that he and Silna had been in the tunnels for most of the night. It felt far longer.
They were still in Gilโead; buildings were visible on either side of the bridge, and men of the guard marched along the banks of the stream,
shouting directions to each other. It sounded like every soldier in the city had been roused, which was to be expected.
Silna crept up beside him. Her ears stood tall, and they swiveled to track the passing footsteps.
โWait,โ he whispered.
She ๏ฌicked an ear and then, after a moment, settled onto her belly and tucked her tail around herself. It was the nearest she had come to him since heโd stopped carrying her. He could smell the musky scent of her wet fur, and the hairs along her tail tickled the back of his left hand.
Satis๏ฌed that she wasnโt about to run o๏ฌ on him, Murtagh risked sending an exploratory thought toward where he believed Thorn was hiding.
He found the dragon almost immediately, and he was far closer than Murtagh expected: only half a mile or so outside the city walls, amid a patch of wild roses.
A turbulent wave of joy, relief, and anger washed over him from Thorn.
There you are!ย growled the dragon.
Here I am.
I thought I would have to tear Gilโead apart stone by stone to ๏ฌnd you.ย It almost came to that, said Murtagh.
How went it? Did you rescue theโ
Yes. But it isnโt safe to talk like this. What about you? Are you in any danger? There are soldiers searching the ๏ฌelds, but none of them have sighted or scented
me.
Despite his words, Murtagh felt Thorn nestle deeper into the rosebushes
and the pain as spines tore at his delicate wings.
All right. Stay where you are, and Iโll come to you once I can. A deep hum came from Thornโs mind.ย Be careful.
Always.
They separated their thoughts, and then Murtagh wrapped his cloak around his arms and settled into a more comfortable position. Somehow he had to get Silna to Carabel. There were too many guards on the bridge and in the streets to risk going out, but if he waited too long, the sun would be up, and heโd lose his chance, and heย didnโtย want to wait for another nightfall.
Eventually, someone in the guard might think to check the grate where they were hiding.
He looked at Silna. The kitten blinked and stared back at him. โWhy did they want you?โ he asked. โWhat did they do to you?โ The werecatโs fur bristled, and she looked away.
Murtagh didnโt know why heโd expected anything else.
He closed his eyes for a second and then thought better of it. No sleep for him until Silna was safely with her own kind and he was long gone from Gilโead. Besides, he didnโt think he could relax enough to sleep.
In his mind, he could still hear Esvar asking,ย โWhy, why, why?โย Murtagh ground the heel of his hand against his temple, trying to press the voice from his head. He couldnโt. And he worried that he wouldnโt be able to for days to come.
To distract himself, he pulled out the compendium heโd appropriatedโย What an elegant word for โstoleโโset the tiniest red werelight burning above the pages, and started to memorize the ancient language words. Already heโd found dozens that he could envision being useful. The realization ๏ฌlled him with ๏ฌerce determination. The compendium alone was worth all the misadventures heโd endured over the past two days. With it, he could begin to bridge the gaps in his arcane education, a prospect that he welcomed most devoutly.
Silna sni๏ฌed the corner of the book. Her nose wrinkled.
The dull ache returned to Murtaghโs left forearm as he read, and because of it, he was slow to notice a tickle on the back of his wrist and hand. At last, it became strong enough that he looked down.
A large black spider had crawled onto him. He forced himself not to react, though it took the full strength of his will. If he could not control himself, then he was prisoner to circumstance, and he refused to accept such helplessness.
Nevertheless, his gorge rose, and revulsion made him want to ๏ฌing the spider away.
With tiny steps, it crossed his hand and passed onto the pages of the book. The creatureโs hooked feet made a faint scrabbling sound against the
paper.
He tipped the book against the wall and let the spider run onto the stone. It stopped a few inches away, a huddled ๏ฌst of legs. Silna eyed it, seemingly without interest.
For a moment, Murtagh again felt the weight of dozens of fat-bodied spiders moving across his skin. Their bites had burned like ๏ฌre and, when left unattended, festered into greenish sores that took weeks to heal. The creatures had bedeviled him every night in that cold underground, making it impossible to sleep, and he had been unable to do more than shake himself in a futile attempt to throw them o๏ฌโฆ.
He reached out and put his thumb down on the spider and pressed it ๏ฌat.
Yellow ichor spilled from its abdomen as it split like an overripe grape.
The werecatโs ears angled backward. She stretched out her neck and nosed the dead spider.
Murtagh returned to reading.
He listened to the city as he scanned the columns of runes. When the streets quieted for a time, and he heard no sounds but the babble of water and the ๏ฌutter of nightjars chasing their morning meals, he extinguished the werelight and put away the book.
โBe ready,โ he whispered to Silna, and edged forward.
The metal bars of the grating were no di๏ฌerent from those heโd encountered before. โKverst,โ he said in a quiet voice, and drew a ๏ฌnger across the cold and pitted metal.
The bars parted with bell-likeย tings, and he lifted the grate out of its setting and placed it to one side. He listened for bystanders and passersby againโhe didnโt dare use his mind to probe the areaโand then pulled himself out of the tunnel and dropped several feet to the muddy bank below. He turned back and reached up for Silna.
The cat stared down at him without expression. โCome on,โ he whispered, and wiggled his ๏ฌngers.
At last, the werecat kitten walked to the lip of the tunnel and allowed him to pick her up and place her on the ground next to him.
โWorse than a dragon,โ he muttered. He wedged the grating back into position and then said, โThrysta,โ using the spell to force the metal into place. It would take a hammer and chisel to break it free again.
Murtagh bundled the red cloak of the watch around one arm as he led Silna out from under the bridge. He glanced up and down the banks of the stream andโseeing them clearโscrambled up into the street.
He turned to make sure Silna was following.
The instant the werecat cleared the top of the bank, she took o๏ฌ between the buildings, sprinting faster than any human, her sti๏ฌ tail tracing circles behind her.
Murtagh swore and started after her, but Silna had already vanished into the city, and he could see people staring at him from across the way. He risked opening his mind, but it was as if the werecat had ceased to exist. All he could feel were humans and dogs and the self-satis๏ฌed thoughts of a notch-eared tomcat sitting atop a plank fence.
He swore and then swore again.
There was no helping it. Silna was gone, and he had no con๏ฌdence he could ๏ฌnd her again, even if he searched for days. All he could do was hope the guards didnโt spot her and that she was able to return to her own kind.
He swore once more. He had rescued Silna. But would Carabel still give him the answers he sought if he couldnโt deliver the youngling to her? He chewed on the question for a time. It left a bad taste on his tongue.
If the werecat refusedโฆhe would insist. That much he was sure of. After everything heโd done for Carabel, he was due his answers. And if, by insisting, he ended up turning werecats as a whole against himโand Thorn
โwell, that was the price theyโd have to pay.
There was only one way to ๏ฌnd out.
He pulled his hood over his head and hurried deeper into Gilโead.
