Page 110 of Shardless
“Why not?” Timo, the merchant’s son—his voice was soft and reedy, like he wasn’t used to speaking up. “Time on Tempris and the mainland will be synced up for at least two more days. We could try to pry open the gate and retreat to the Port of Marin.”
Eula sighed, her brow furrowed. “Skylen and I discussed that possibility last night, but the gate’s time crystals were stolen early this morning. It’s completely inoperable.”
“What?” Kato leaned forward. “Stolen? How is that possible? Why weren’t there guards stationed?”
“There were,” Skye replied gravely. “But they were found tied up and unconscious. Both men remember a woman bringing them wine shortly after the first bell rung, but neither can remember any details about her—her name, her face, nothing. We think they may have been drugged with bloodbane, but we’re still waiting on the earth mages to confirm.”
Taly felt cold. Bloodbane was hard to come by, even with the right black-market connections.
Kane’s gravelly voice was the first to breakthe silence. “That means that whoever is doing this has someone in the compound.”
“I think that’s a safe assumption at this point,” Skye replied, his fingers steepled in front of him. “The explosion that tore a hole in the back wall during the attack yesterday… it came from inside.” There was a round of hushed murmurs, but Skye held up a hand, shushing them. “That coupled with the sudden disappearance of the leadership—Commander Enix, his Precept, and his Lieutenant—I would say we’re dealing with more than one person. Possibly a team that has now managed to create an army of monsters, infiltrate the compound, destroy our chain-of-command, and weaken our defenses.”
“How do we find them?” Kato snarled, all signs of mirth gone. There was nothing but cold, unyielding anger left in its wake.
Skye caught his brother’s eye, passing on some unspoken message that had the older man reluctantly backing down. Turning back to the table, Skye said, “I’ve already assigned a team of Ensigns to take a census of everyone in the keep, and we’re still questioning everyone that may have seen something last night, but beyond that—”
“We have no way to weed out the traitors without turning this into a witch hunt,” Eula concluded grimly. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing three violet lines that had been tattooed on her forearm.
“What do they want?” Reya’s cold, listless voice lilted across the table. “If we could figure out what they want, maybe they would leave the rest of us be.”
“For the time being, I’m not sure that matters,” Skye answered. “They’ve made no effortto contact us with a list of demands. What we do know is that these things fight to kill and that we can’t stay here. We need to move to Ryme.”
Kane ran a scarred hand over his shorn head. “I disagree. We’ll be too vulnerable out on the road. At least here, we have the walls. We have some measure of defense.”
“Last I checked, there was a hole in the wall,” Kato interjected. “If one of the fire mages sneezes in the wrong direction, that patch the earth mages managed to slap together isn’t going to be anything more than ash. The compound is breached.”
Skye crossed his arms, looking at Kane pointedly. “Kato’s right. Just because we’ve had a moment to catch our breath doesn’t mean we should get complacent. We’re not safe here. The scouting parties we sent out this morning have confirmed that there are still shades moving around the city. They know our weak spots, they have a spy inside the compound—we should expect another attack. Soon.”
Eula flipped through a stack of ledgers. “I agree with Skylen. Even if the compound were defensible, food and supplies would eventually become a problem. Although Kato’s team wasn’t able to retrieve Lord Brenin, they did confirm that the supply stores on the edge of the city were burned during the first attack. By my estimate, we only have enough food to last us until the end of the month. Ryme is the most fortified town on the island. They’ve been preparing for the Aion Gate connection for the better part of a year, and they have enough land, enough people, and enough resources to be self-sustaining if need be.”
“It’s too risky,” Kane argued. “Without thescrying relays, we don’t know if there’s still a Ryme to retreat to.”
“Have we looked into fixing the relay?” Rask spoke up. He had quieted down after his initial overtures, most likely cowed by the bleakness of the situation.
“Yes,” Eula replied. There was a tightness around her eyes, and she placed both hands flat on the table. “At first, we thought it was nothing more than a glitch, and maybe it was at the beginning. But, under the circumstances, we now suspect sabotage.”
A hushed silence fell over the room, the floor underfoot trembling as a particularly violent peal of soundless thunder shook the tower. The runes etched on the glass flashed as the magic strained against what was most likely a deafening crash.
“What about the other scrying relays?” Taly asked, her eyes scanning the room. “Della’s was still intact as of yesterday morning. And Plum, even Vale—both are less than a day’s ride. We could send scouts.”
“We’d likely be sending them to their deaths,” Eula countered quietly.
“Eula’s right,” Skye agreed. “Anyone actually capable of making the journey—we need them here. The men and women we could spare… it would be suicide.”
“I vote we go to Ryme,” Rask said. “If I’m going to be stuck behind a wall, I’d like it to be intact.”
Kane pounded a fist on the table. “If we have nothing but bad options, then I say we stay.”
“I’m with Kane,” Timo declared, his voice timid.
The two women of dawn and dusk nodded their agreement.
Interesting, Taly thought. It seemed the remaining leadership was starting to split, half for Skye, half for Kane. Crossing her arms, she let her fingers drum out a rhythm against her arm.If you get Kane, you’ll get the others.
Skye’s eyes flicked over to her, his thumb tapping the arm of his chair.I think so too, but Kane hates me. He’ll disagree with me just on principle.
Taly raised a brow.Nonsense. You’re just not using the right bait.
