The Empress and the Acolyte Read online

  Before long, Tevi reached the top of the cliff where the battlements began. The man-made wall was not so generous with handholds as the natural cliff, yet the blending of rock into dressed stone was not seamless, and she was able to find a level spot, a foot deep, where she could stand upright without needing her hands to cling on.

  From her waist, Tevi unwound a long rope with an iron grapple attached to the end. She whirled it around vertically in a circle and then hurled it upwards. On her second attempt, the grapple caught on the parapet of the watchtower and held. Tevi gave an experimental tug and then waited to see if the sound had attracted any attention, not that there was much she could have done in her exposed position if it had. To her relief, no heads appeared over the parapet. The clank of the grapple hitting stone had obviously gone unnoticed amidst the chaos of Commander Ranenok’s magical assault from down the hill. Unsurprising—the noise was enough to have drowned out far more. As she stood there, Tevi could feel the walls vibrating from the volume of the onslaught. After one last tug on the rope, she began to climb.

  At the top, Tevi peered cautiously over the parapet. The flat roof of the watchtower was about forty feet across. On the other side, three soldiers were manning a ballista, a form of huge crossbow. Tevi recognised the pile of ammunition just in front of her as exploding spheres. This would be very useful once she had control of the ballista. Of course, getting control was the tricky bit, and outnumbered was never good.

  Two of the soldiers were working on the windlass that pulled back the ballista’s twin arms. The third was getting another projectile to launch at the attacking troops. Tevi waited a few seconds until his back was to her when he bent down for the sphere, then she hauled herself onto the roof. The slap of her feet hitting the wooden slats made the man look up, but for him it was too late, and he could not hope to match Tevi’s strength. She grabbed the soldier, swung him round, and hurled him over the parapet behind her, then she drew her sword and leapt forwards.

  At the falling soldier’s scream, the other two soldiers jerked away from the ballista, heads turning and hands reaching for their swords. Tevi charged towards the nearer one, a middle-aged woman with a soot-stained face. In clear panic, the woman fumbled at her scabbard, seeking the hilt, but the wild scrabbling was inept and the weapon was only two-thirds drawn by the time Tevi had her own sword embedded in the woman’s chest.

  Tevi turned to the last of the three soldiers. She advanced a step.

  The man’s eyes bulged in fear. “You’re the...the...” Apparently he recognised her, by reputation if nothing else.

  Before Tevi could take another step, he turned and fled from the roof, slipping on the spiral stairs in his desperate haste. Yet surely he would be back soon with support. Tevi knew that she did not have much time.

  She glanced into the courtyard of the fort. The magic that had been worked into the stone was holding up against Ranenok’s attack and the walls were unbreached. However, the wooden gates were proving more vulnerable to the powers hurled against them. A curtain of smoke was rising, and they were visibly loose on their hinges. The lieutenant witch was standing just inside, bolstering the gates with her magic.

  From Tevi’s viewpoint, the situation could not be better. Within seconds, she had completed winding back the ballista’s arms and placed a sphere in the sling. Fortunately, the projectile stayed in place as she tilted the ballista down and aimed at the gates. Tevi released the trigger.

  The fort’s defensive magic protected against attacks from outside but not those emanating from within. The gates exploded in a ball of flame. Tevi did not wait to see if the lieutenant survived. The witch had been caught by surprise, and Tevi was fairly sure that she would have been unable to shield herself. Regardless, Tevi knew there was not time to reload the ballista. Already she could hear shouts coming from the stairwell. Now that the gates were gone, Commander Ranenok and his troops would be storming the fort. All Tevi had to do was hang on until reinforcements arrived.

  Tevi grabbed her sword and shield, raced to the staircase, and advanced a few steps down. The sound of hobnailed boots was only one spiral below her, and then the first of the soldiers charged into view around the central column. The man had only a split second to register Tevi standing in wait above him before her sword slashed down on his neck, hitting between mail hauberk and helmet. The man dropped back and disappeared around the stairs. Judging by the shouts, he landed on several of his comrades.

  Like all spiral staircases in castles, this one ascended clockwise. The design was intended to give an advantage to defending forces, working on the twin assumptions that most people were right-handed and that the attackers would be the ones coming up the stairs. In this case, Tevi was the one with the advantage. The full radius of the circle was empty behind her right shoulder, meaning that she could rain blows down on her opponents, while their answering parries were severely impeded by the central column.

  Forewarned, a second soldier came more cautiously into view, with doubt evident in her eyes. She managed to deflect Tevi’s first blow on her shield, but her comrades bustling up behind her were ill disciplined and barged into her legs. The soldier lost her footing on the narrow, triangular stair and was unable to counter Tevi’s second strike. The soldier fell forwards and then slid away down the stairs. Her place was taken by an older man who kept his shield high.

  Jump! a warning voice screamed in Tevi’s head. As she did so, her opponent jabbed his sword at her feet. Tevi landed clear of the blade, then braced her forearm on the central column and kicked out as hard as she could. The man flew back into his comrades, taking all those in sight with him as he fell back down the staircase.

  While Tevi waited to see what would come next, fresh shouts erupted outside the tower. From the sound, Ranenok and his troops were now inside the fort. The soldiers below her must also have heard and either decided to take refuge or to challenge the new invaders. Whatever their choice, they did not return to fight Tevi.

  For another five minutes, Tevi held her ground on the stairs. Tempting though it was to seek out her comrades and join in the courtyard battle, Tevi was too well experienced in warfare to take the risk. She must not allow the enemy to get control of the ballista. Leaving her position would be dangerous. She had no idea where anyone was, and even with her strength, she dare not let herself be surrounded. On the narrow stairs, she could only be attacked one on one.

  At last she heard new footsteps at the bottom of the tower. A voice belonging to one of Ranenok’s sergeants called out. “Captain Tevirik. Are you there? Are you all right?”

  “I’m here.”

  “We’ve secured the courtyard, ma’am.”

  “The roof’s clear. I’m making sure it stays that way.”

  “Right, ma’am. We’ll be with you shortly.”

  The sound of people running up the stairs was followed by that of a short skirmish, and then the sergeant’s head appeared around the central column.

  “The tower’s ours, ma’am.”

  Tevi nodded and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “The ballista is up there with ammunition.”

  A sudden huge grin split the sergeant’s face. “You did great with the gates, ma’am.”

  Tevi smiled back and patted his shoulder. On her way down the staircase she passed three floors filled with friendly soldiers, enemy prisoners, and dead bodies. Most of the soldiers cheered as she passed. The rest brandished their weapons in salute. Tevi nodded in acknowledgement. The prisoners sat slumped and did not raise their eyes.

  Tevi emerged into the courtyard. Two dozen of Ranenok’s soldiers occupied the space. More were on the battlements. The ruins of the gate hung off its hinges. At the sight of Tevi another riotous burst of cheering filled the air. She responded with a modest half-wave, half-salute, and felt the heat of a blush start on her cheeks.

  Smaller towers stood on either side of the gate. Screams and shouts from one spoke of a battle in progress. One of the soldiers pointed towards it. �
��Commander Ranenok’s in there, ma’am.”

  Tevi looked at the other tower. The door was shut and a group of soldiers were advancing on it holding a thick section of tree trunk, clearly intending to batter the door down. Ranenok would be too busy to take her report, and the battering ram was something that would benefit from her strength.

  Tevi took a few steps forwards when suddenly, her internal voice screamed, Arrow, move! In blind reflex, Tevi obeyed and threw herself to the right. She had gone a mere six inches when fire shot through her upper arm. The pain exploded in a fresh wave when she hit the ground.

  “Look out! Archer in the tower,” somebody shouted.

  Soldiers in the courtyard dived for shelter. Tevi scrambled behind a low wall and then looked at her left arm. The armour-piercing head of the arrow had gone through the shoulder guard of her cuirass, her arm underneath, and out the other side. A stream of blood was running down to her hand. The wound was certainly not fatal, but without the forewarning and moving those six inches, the arrow would have gone straight through her heart.

  Tevi’s head started to swim. She leaned back against the wall behind her and concentrated on breathing deeply. Then she heard the crackle of mage fire and Ranenok’s voice called out. “Take the tower.” Around the courtyard, soldiers moved out from cover.

  Tevi struggled to her feet. All the soldiers were charging towards where the door to the small tower had been—now there was just a fire-blackened hole. The archer would have more to worry about than targets in the courtyard.

  Commander Ranenok strode over to Tevi’s side. “Are you all right?”

  “I will be. I was a little careless, sir.”

  Ranenok frowned. “Get yourself into the watchtower. I’ll send Hanno over. Do you need assistance?”

  “No, sir.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as we’ve got this bit cleared out.” Commander Ranenok nodded and marched back to join his subordinates in the small tower. The battle would not take much longer.

  Despite an annoying dizziness, Tevi made it inside unaided. The ground-floor room of the watchtower was deserted except for two bodies. Tevi leant against the door frame and looked around. The furniture consisted of a table and three rickety stools. Tevi did not think she had the balance required for the stools, so she simply collapsed onto the floor.

  Hanno arrived shortly. He was the healer for the troop, based on some natural magical talent and a lot of experience. More soldiers followed him into the room. Some carried in injured comrades, while others removed the dead renegades.

  Hanno knelt at Tevi’s side. “How are you feeling?”

  “A bit light-headed.”

  He nodded and carefully prodded the spot where the arrow protruded from her arm. “You’re lucky. It’s not poisoned.”

  Tevi clenched her teeth and stared over his shoulder. Still more soldiers were entering the room, and curiosity was their only apparent reason for being there. All of them were watching her, and the sound of voices made it clear that others were standing outside the room. The weight of attention was unwelcome. Tevi closed her eyes but could not block out the muttered comments.

  “Jed reckoned that arrows bounced off her.”

  “Do you think she’s really bleeding?”

  “Looks like blood to me.”

  The voices died. Tevi opened her eyes to see that Ranenok had entered the room. The Commander glared around and then barked a string of commands. Within seconds, the gawking soldiers had vanished. Tevi closed her eyes again. The shock was ebbing, replaced by a touch of nausea. After the initial flare, the pain had faded to a dull ache, but now the fire was returning.

  Hanno moved over to examine the other wounded soldiers. Ranenok stopped him with a harsh whisper. “Deal with Captain Tevirik first.”

  “This one is more seriously injured, sir.”

  “And she’s worth six dozen like him.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The sharp beat of Ranenok’s footsteps left the room.

  Tevi licked her lips. “I don’t mind if you tend to someone else before me.”

  “I’m not about to disobey orders.” Hanno again knelt by Tevi. For a minute longer, he examined her arm. “Right, first, we’ll get rid of this. Lean forwards.” He grasped the arrowhead. “Ready?”

  Tevi clenched her teeth. The snap of wood triggered an explosion of agony in her shoulder. Before she had a chance to respond, a second quick movement from Hanno yanked the rest of the arrow shaft out. Immediately, the healer’s hands pressed hard against the two wounds.

  “Fine. That’s the second-worst bit over with. We just need to wait for the bleeding to stop a bit.” Hanno’s voice sounded unnecessarily cheerful.

  Fire was washing up and down Tevi’s arm, from her neck to her fingers, in throbbing waves. She fought to get her breathing under control. “Does it look like blood to you?”

  “Smells and feels like blood as well.”

  Tevi took another couple of deep breaths. “They don’t think I’m really human, do they?”

  “Are you surprised?”

  “I’d have thought by now that they’d have got to know me.”

  “What they know is that you’re three times as strong as anyone else in the army. And you’re only half the size of some.”

  “I’m taller than most women.”

  “But not tall enough to account for your strength. They know it’s not natural.”

  “Of course not. It’s magic.”

  “But what sort of magic?” Hanno’s tone was lightly teasing.

  “It’s a potion they brew in my home island.”

  “No one has ever seen you take it.”

  “I don’t need to anymore. You have a spoonful every day while you’re growing up and then the effect stays with you for life.”

  Hanno pursed his lips. “Well, I must admit I’ve heard that story about you before. But the other tales are much more fun.”

  “What other tales?”

  “About you and the sorcerer.”

  “Jemeryl?” Tevi was talking mainly to distract herself.

  “Yep.”

  “What do they say?”

  “Well, some say that you’re a demon she conjured up. Some say that you’re a wild bear she changed into human form. And some say that she made you out of clay and then brought you to life. Since half the troop have seen you bleeding, I guess the bear theory will currently be winning. But overall, the other stories are more popular.”

  “Why?”

  Hanno paused for a moment and looked at Tevi’s face, as if judging her mood. “Everyone knows that the two of you are lovers. Demons have a bit of a reputation in that respect. While the clay golem stories allow people to speculate that she might have made various modifications to normal human anatomy.”

  Tevi’s groan had nothing to do with her injury. “I don’t think I want to hear.”

  “No. You probably don’t.”

  “The other soldiers don’t treat me like a monster.”

  “They’re far too pleased to have you around. It gives them a nice, safe feeling to think they’re going into battle behind an invincible fighting demon. That’s why Ranenok said you’re worth six dozen ordinary soldiers. It’s not just the way you fight. You push up the troop’s morale.”

  Hanno removed one of his hands and examined Tevi’s shoulder. “That’s the worst of the bleeding stopped. Now we’ll get you clean and bandaged.”

  Going very carefully, so not to break open the wound, the healer removed the shoulder guard from Tevi’s cuirass and cut open her undershirt. Then he washed the blood away and examined her arm with his eyes closed, using whatever paranormal abilities he possessed.

  As she watched him, Tevi reflected that in the Protectorate, healers were the most respected of witches. In Bykoda’s Empire their talents did not even merit a full army commission.

  “It should heal fine. No bones chipped or tendons cut,” Hanno said eventually. He pulled clean bandages from his bag and also
a small flask of liquid. “Remember I said getting the arrow out was the second-worst bit? This will stop infection.” His eyes met Tevi’s briefly as he removed the cork from the flask. “But it’s gonna sting.”

  Once her wound was treated and bandaged, Hanno wrapped a blanket around Tevi for warmth and studied her face for a few seconds. “You’ll be all right. You’re looking very pale, but I think it’s just the contrast with your hair. You don’t normally see anyone quite as dark as you.” He patted her good shoulder, smiled, and went to see to the other injured soldiers.

  Tevi leaned back carefully against the wall behind her. She felt exhausted, miserable, and bitter. Her black hair was just one more thing that marked her out as different from the rest of the army. In the northern lands, blonds predominated.

  For the first few months after arriving in Tirakhalod, she had stayed with Jemeryl in the castle and had found it intolerable. Life had often been difficult in the Protectorate, where the gap between sorcerers and the ordinary ungifted population was a huge social chasm. But no matter how insignificant Jemeryl’s fellow Coven sorcerers might think Tevi to be, they had to abide by their oath of allegiance to the Protectorate, which guaranteed the rights of everyone. Citizens could not be subjected to magic against their will. Citizens could not be murdered, mutilated, or enslaved on a sorcerer’s whim. Citizens could speak their own mind, elect their own guild masters, live their own lives.

  Life for the ungifted was not like that in Tirakhalod. Very soon, Tevi had realised she could not stay in the castle. Her reason for needing time away was not just that everyone treated her as Jemeryl’s slave. It was that in allowing Tevi to have her own thoughts and treating her as an individual, Jemeryl was viewed as displaying an amusing yet perverse affectation. Jemeryl’s familiar, the magpie Klara II, was taken more seriously.