The Arcana: Shadow Wars, Codex I

XXII

Nensela's Stratagem

In which a trap is sprung

Edana’s gryphon made it to the front of the echelon. The Star Dragons flew in triangular formation, like a flock of birds. Ziri and the others broke off quickly, as their plan dictated. Only Lady Nensela remained with her, just long enough to shout one last piece of instruction.

“Make sure to mention the Speaker. Everything depends on it.”

The Speaker? Edana started to ask a question, but Lady Nensela broke away, leaving Edana completely alone.

What could Lady Nensela be up to? An answer came to her, and she smiled wolfishly. Never would she lightly invoke the Speaker, but the Red Daggers would not be ignorant of her faithfulness, she decided.

Three hours past noon, or so the sun’s position said. No time left to lose.

Soon enough she glimpsed the mouth of the cave, which was partially hidden by a copse of trees. Over the mouth, in bright red paint, was an ominous symbol proclaiming a deadly hazard.

When she neared the cave two scouts emerged from opposite directions, from trees several feet away from the entrance. Unarmed scouts, which sent alarm bells through her: sorcerers. Had to be.

Clutching the amulet the beast master gave her, Edana commanded her mount to swoop. With an ear-splitting scream the beast obeyed her. By then she was ready.

From her bag she tossed down the heads of the Red Daggers who had attacked her workshop. One by one they landed, followed by the feet. All landed directly in front of the guards. Her gryphon flew up and circled madly.

“Greetings,” she said. “I am Edana Nuriel, and I come here at your request.”

Even if the lowly gate-guards were unaware of the mission to capture her, they simply couldn’t miss the significance of her style of saying hello.

The guards’ eyes were riveted on the unseeing ones in the heads of their dead fellows. Eventually, the men looked up and gaped at her in obvious wonder. Edana imagined what they were thinking: she was alone, she was unarmed, and yet their cutters had not gotten the better of her.

“Don’t keep Gallo waiting,” Edana taunted, using the name Ziri had supplied to her. “He went to so much trouble to invite me here. Would he be pleased, do you think, if he knew you delayed my response to his invitation?”

“Go on through,” came the stunned reply.

Be ever strange and inscrutable, Lady Nensela once advised her. It will keep them guessing when they otherwise ought to kill you.

Summoning every ounce of nerve she had, Edana leapt from the back of her gryphon, landing at a walk, as she had seen Lady Aelia do that night on the molten beach. Head held high, she adroitly stepped over the severed heads and feet she’d dropped.

The guards stopped beyond arm’s length as she serenely approached them. One sounded a horn, and one bent to gather the pieces of their fallen.

Glowlights brightened the interior, bathing the antechamber in a warm glow. Huh. Not at all foreboding or creepy, contrary to her expectations. The cavern almost looked cozy.

Four more guards waited inside, at the top of the stairs leading down into the fortress. To her surprise, they recoiled when they saw her.

“Two of them,” one whispered.

Two of what?

At that moment, three men suddenly burst over the top of the stairs, running at so fast a clip that Edana stepped aside to keep them from barreling into her.

The sight of her made one man cry out. Instinctively, she folded her arms, which put the Huntress blades sheathed in her dress within reach.

Then, a thing happened which astonished her: they threw themselves at her feet.

“Spare us, please! Have mercy, we beg of you.”

Edana arched an eyebrow. Lady Nensela promised she would “make this interesting,” and Edana wondered more than ever what her immortal friend considered interesting. Whatever it was, she needed to do her part and make use of it.

“Why should I spare you?”

The bandits babbled things of no use to her, and Edana finally gave up and waved them on.

“Get out.”

From outside she heard a commotion, suggesting Ziri and the others were getting into position. Killing the Red Daggers was their part. But first, she must do her part.

Deliberately, she paced her descent down the stairs. Timing mattered, but so did carrying out the role Lady Nensela planned for her. The guards had unwittingly confirmed her suspicions as to what Lady Nensela must be up to. Edana stepped firmly on her own fears.

But what about the captive? Eitanim had a different view of dryads than Rasena Valentians. While Lady Nensela thought a huntsman was required to deal with them, Edana doubted this was the case.

What disturbed her was that while she didn’t view the dryads as demigods, the Rasena Valentians did. So, for them to capture one and bind her suggested the Red Daggers were committing a special kind of evil. If they did not respect or regard a being they considered sacred, she could not expect them to deal well with her.

Courage, she told herself.

Pandemonium greeted her when she reached the bottom step. Men raced to and fro, cursing and swearing as they filled sacks with various goods.

One man stood in the midst of it all, demanding order. His low, deep voice echoed throughout the cavern, and the other men couldn’t miss it. However, the men paid him no heed.

“You’ve ruined us, Gallo! We’re dead. You heard what she said, you heard—”

“I will have your silence,” the man in the white robes thundered. “Are you Red Daggers, or mewling whelps? Stop your crying, you sons of bitches, and listen to me.”

His tone was as a whip; all of the men snapped to attention in response. Behind the crowd, Edana climbed three steps up to see over their heads.

“There is a way out. We already know how to deal with that creature. We have the means—”

A scarred man interrupted him. “Can’t you see that woman was a prophet?”

Gallo turned to his right, and glared so fiercely Edana wondered that the scarred man didn’t drop dead on the spot.

“And what of it? She will fall all the same. Listen.”

“They don’t lie about the Destroyer! When they tell you the Destroyer is coming, they mean it. We’re dead men,” the scarred man insisted.

Edana cocked her head. Lady Nensela was too pious to treat a god she worshipped as her own personal assassin. Would she really have said this ‘Destroyer’ was coming for them? On the other hand, she might allow them to misconstrue her words that way.

Rather than interrupt the hysterical men, Edana decided it might pay to find out how Gallo thought he could deal with a prophet and a dryad.

“Shut up. The next to whine gets my knife in the gut. Haven’t you been paying attention? We don’t have to fear the prophets anymore. There’s a new order coming, and we’re in on it. That bitch—”

The men gasped in horror. Gallo gave them a mocking smile.

“That bitch,” he continued without remorse, “will not be a problem for us. Count on it. Now look here, and listen up good: there’s no reason to fear the prophets because we’re protected. Our new ally covers the ground we stand on. If you want, I can start making introductions right now. ”

Murena? Was he going to summon Murena? Now was a good time to step in.

“Ahem.”

Several men actually tensed in shock and fear, their postures betraying them though they faced away from her. Slowly, Gallo raised his head, and met her gaze with a wide-eyed stare of his own.

When the other men turned to follow his gaze Edana spread her arms, as if welcoming them.

“You wished to meet me? Did I misunderstand your invitation?” To punctuate her greeting, she tossed out the last head and a pair of feet from the third bag she carried.

The men stared in silence. One actually sank to the ground in despair. He buried his face in his hands.

“Where are my manners?” Edana asked, as if she were hosting them at a banquet. “My name is Edana Nuriel. The Terebinthian who speaks of the Children? First you sought my company in Silura, but sadly we did not meet. But you persisted, and tried my hospitality today at my shop. Out of sheer courtesy, I thought I should call upon you this time. Here I am!”

Shocked, the men kept looking from the head and feet to her, and back again.

She had their complete attention.

A tall, stocky man seemed particularly riveted on the head. “Fabian,” he moaned.

“So that was his name,” Edana murmured. “In all the excitement, he and your other friends failed to introduce themselves. If you please, you may collect the other heads from your gate where I left them. Their feet, too. Please, take note of the utmost respect I have for your customs.”

Barely audible cussing and murmuring came softly to her ears, but inside Edana prayed her remark would teach the men manners: she would do unto them as they had done unto others.

“What are you doing here?” Gallo asked warily.

Getting into the persona she was affecting, Edana risked arching an eyebrow. “Do tell. Did you not wish to meet me? Was it not you who gave orders to capture me in secrecy?”

Gallo’s eyes narrowed. She suspected the direction of his thoughts. Either she was a Star Dragon, or they would mistake her for something else, as they mistook Lady Nensela.

Quickly, Edana set the topic of conversation. “I couldn’t help but overhear your attempt to maintain discipline among your men. Do I understand correctly, that they think you unable to save them from the trouble you brought on them? Let me assure them: you can’t.”

Gallo made a sound of disgust in his throat. To Edana’s surprise, he looked relieved. However, the scarred man eyed her thoughtfully—and not as his prey. Lady Nensela had done her part well.

“On my way down here, your men threw themselves at my feet and begged me to save them. ‘Have mercy,’ they cried. And now, your men speak of your ‘Destroyer’ coming, to destroy you as it were. I should be much entertained to see this.”

“Terebinthian,” the scarred man said. “What of your god? Can He save us from the Destroyer? Will you bargain for us?”

“My, what nerve you have.”

Still, she could at least pretend to consider the idea, so she tapped her lips and furrowed her brow.

Hope gleamed in their eyes. Even Gallo swayed on his feet. Whatever Lady Nensela did to them had them spooked.

The men pleaded earnestly, reminding her they hadn’t personally harmed her, and the ones who tried already paid the price.

Edana pressed her lips together as she considered how to proceed. When would she get the signal?

“Why should I save you? To a man you are thieves, despoilers, and murderers. Dare I imagine your plans for me? Yet you think I should help you?”

“We don’t need her,” Gallo said. “We have our own allies.”

“Murena?” she asked, allowing amusement to tinge her voice.

Gallo paled.

One man, long haired, shot Gallo a meaningful look.

“It’s over,” the man said quietly, in a thick Valentian accent. “Gallo. She knows about Murena and she came here anyway. If she’s not afraid of Murena, then what are we supposed to do with her?”

The men exchanged glances. The ones not already on their knees knelt as one, except Gallo, who sputtered with rage.

The long-haired man talked.

Edana listened.

The Red Daggers did take their marching orders from Murena, who could and did manifest himself in Gallo’s office.

More cussing from the men, this time loud, and with feeling. Others, such as the scarred man, nodded calmly, as if she had confirmed a long-held suspicion.

The long haired man—Claudius, he called himself—avoided their gazes, focusing solely on Edana as he spoke. What he said next made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

“Murena ordered us to capture you.”

“Why?” she demanded.

“One does not question him. One simply obeys.”

A slight tremor below her feet provided the signal she was looking for. She wore a second amulet, hidden beneath her bodice. Ziri had assured her it would prevent her from being affected by what would happen next.

“And this Murena chose you out of the blue, because you are pliant and biddable?”

In any other instance, they would have cut her down for her impudence. However, Edana knew her daring would only add to their terror. They did not know her to be a sorceress or a priestess, which meant she should only have been prey.

And yet, she did not act like prey ought to; she did not cower, and she was not the one begging for mercy.

Claudius responded by shifting his gaze to Gallo, silently assigning all responsibility to him.

Edana laughed. The tremors grew stronger. Thanks to the amulet she kept her balance while the men rocked.

“Gallo?” she used her sweetest voice. “You let them think this was the sum total of the deal you made?”

There. Seed planted. Lady Nensela said they were on the edge of turning on Gallo; all it would take is one little push…

“What is she talking about?” Claudius demanded.

Gallo rolled his eyes. “Nothing, Claudius, she knows nothing. All she’s doing is playing you for a fool, can’t you see it? She’s a Star Dragon, you idiot. Do not be impressed with what she pretends to know.”

The stout man cradling Fabian’s head stood up and gave Gallo a cold stare.

“Stop lying,” he snapped. “The whole damn point of sending Fabian after her was that she’s not a Star Dragon. We couldn’t track her the way we track them. Or are you playing dumb?”

Caught by his own bluster, Gallo froze. Edana kept her expression neutral as she watched him. His men thought she was going to save them, and Gallo could not gainsay her by dismissing her as a simple arcana, not without revealing more than he wanted them to know.

“Oh right,” Edana agreed, directing herself to Claudius. “Will you stake your life and your soul on this rooster? Or will you deal honestly with me, for your own sake, if not for that of these men?”

Gallo tried another tack. “Don’t be afraid of a mere arcana—”

The stout man roared. “If she’s a little nobody then why is Fabian dead, you son of a bitch?”

The crowd radiated bloodlust. Whatever control Edana might have over the situation, she better exercise it now.

“Gallo,” she said, adopting the tone her mother had used when she was on thin ice.

“Will you save us or won’t you?” the scarred man demanded.

Gallo’s facial expression looked familiar. Duke Gagnon had worn it, too, right before he fled to summon the giants: cornered.

“Will you let your men be lost, Gallo?”

The tremors became shakes. The men grew restless as they looked to Gallo to give her an answer—an answer, she knew, that must be to their satisfaction. Gallo knew this, too. His leadership, his control of his men, depended on it.

Or he might summon Murena…

“There is to be no bargain,” Gallo drawled. “Or so the prophet claimed.”

“I look like a prophet to you?”

“It wasn’t one of her prophets, either,” the scarred man pointed out, a reminder of his hope that her different religion would give them refuge from the consequences of violating their own.

“Then there is your answer,” Gallo said, a light coming into his eyes. A light that would have sent her fleeing, but for the fact that the Star Dragons were near.

“If her god will not allow her to come to harm, then her god must protect us. Tie her up,” Gallo ordered. He smiled cynically at her.

The men hesitated. Edana let out a subtle exhale. The men could not, would not bring themselves to rough her up; the stakes were too high. If by some miracle she lived as many lifetimes as Lady Nensela, this moment was the only one where she would ever be as safe amongst such men.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, putting as much steel in her voice as she could manage.

No one moved. Gallo pressed his lips into a thin line.

“If I have it right,” she said, addressing Claudius, “the rest of these men made no deals with Murena. Any arrangement was between Gallo and Murena, and perhaps also yourself as well. Is that so?”

Claudius nodded warily. “I only served as witness,” he insisted, and she knew that he understood her point.

“So then, for what purpose does Gallo ask these men to trust Murena as an ally? There was no deal with them. Why should they believe Gallo is securing safe passage for anyone other than himself? Doesn’t he mean to use them as a shield, to keep himself safe until he can make his own escape?”

The intake of breath told her she had struck home. Gallo sputtered, and immediately began babbling assurances they clearly did not regard.

The ground shook. The men cried out, and one of them screamed that the Destroyer was opening the Abyssal Gate for them.

“Run,” Edana cried. “Leave Gallo to his fate. Let him pay the price. Flee now!”

Part of her was almost sorry for their imminent demise. But her memory of what they had done to Amelu killed any desire to show mercy. Even for cutthroats, the Red Daggers were vicious and degenerate. They deserved what the Star Dragons had reserved for them.

More, there was the matter of their mysterious hostage. The hostage that by their own rules they knew was wrong to take, and as it was a being that required ‘unholy chains,’ then some punishment was their due.

None of his men remained, and Gallo made not even a feeble attempt to stop them. Instead he unsheathed his short sword.

“Leave me to my fate? And what fate would that be?”

Running up the stairs wasn’t an option, it would simply trap her between the men and Gallo. Hiding wasn’t an option, either, for Gallo knew the place better than she would.

The ground went on shaking. Cracks snaked through the walls. Gallo did not seem to care.

“If you cannot deliver the services of your men, what do you have to offer Murena?” she asked.

“You.”

Right. Murena ordered her capture, for reasons she didn’t understand.

Edana allowed herself to sit, but Gallo was forced by the tremors to fall to his knees. They faced each other.

How much time did they have left? How long would it take for Lady Nensela, Damya, and Leo to find the captive? And what would the captive do once they freed her?

“Will that be enough, Gallo? Once you deliver me, you will cease to be of use. With no men, you are spent, you are done. Another will have to serve in your place.”

“When my men see that no harm will come to them, or to me, they will come groveling back. I have no worry—”

“And no authority, either,” she reminded him. “Even your trusted second seemed eager to throw you over when his skin was on the line. If your men were to survive—and I assure you, they won’t—then there is no reason for them to not rally around the strongest of their number. Why do they need you? You’ve brought them disaster. And without them, you are no good to Murena.”

Gallo’s laughter did not touch his eyes. “That may be how it works with the Star Dragons—”

“Which I am not,” she interrupted.

Gallo sighed, irritated. “Then it is no wonder that you evaded our detection. You will explain it all to Murena. Now.”

“Don’t be foolish. You know you will live only so long as you have what Murena wants.”

Gallo made no move towards her, and she supposed that at long last he was considering her words. There was bravado, and there was survival. He was a man at war with himself.

In his place she would calculate that keeping her as a hostage in some secret location was his best option. He would imagine rallying his men somehow—best to let him think they still lived—and with her hidden away, he would have the balance weighted in his favor. Could he lie to Murena? Would he imagine himself capable of deceiving a Sleepless Enemy?

By her calculation, his options were limited. If he were going to hide her away to bide his time, he’d likely put her in the same place he’d hidden the captive. The place might yield a treasure trove of intelligence, in addition to shortening their search.

What would Gallo say if she demanded he take her to the captive? How might she make him see sense, if he didn’t see it already?

“I will have no more words from you,” Gallo said. His next action mystified her. Instead of menacing her with his sword, he sheathed it again. For a moment she wondered if he might offer surrender.

He reached into his tunic. A gold light flashed, and Edana knew before she saw it what Gallo was holding: a blood vial. When he opened his hand her pulse quickened. Could she get to him before—?

Gallo’s sing-song voice heralded the spell he uttered even as she reached for her knives.

Too late. Much too late.