Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan
The Battle for Corres Town
Balkan disappeared into his reception room and closed the door firmly. Akkarin remained outside, so Sonea was forced to stay where she was to avoid being seen. Now the argument had ceased, the Fort's interior was once more quiet. For Sonea, impatient to get out into the town, the silence was oppressive and she found herself petitioning the Eye for a quick end to the waiting.
There must have been another entrance into the High Lord's rooms because when the door opened a few minutes later, Balkan had been joined by Osen, Regin and two more Warriors, all wearing long dark cloaks. Osen tossed one to Akkarin who swung it round his shoulders. Sonea didn't have anything to disguise the bright green of her Healer's robes, which would make her highly visible among the crowd, something she had to avoid at all costs. She took off the outer robes and stuffed them behind a convenient chest, so that she was left with just her loose trousers and shirt. These too were bright green, but she had no other garments readily to hand.
She concentrated for a moment and was pleased to see the green fade and a dull brown shade take its place. Once you have mastered the spell to change your appearance, changing the colour of your garments is easy, she thought with amusement. This journey is turning out to be interesting in all sorts of ways!
She followed the others for several minutes, until they disappeared through an opening into a part of the Fort she had never seen before. It obviously led to the service areas, as she discovered when she followed after them. The passages in this part of the Fort were functional rather than decorated in a way as to impress visitors and there was none of the sparkling stone in evidence, only plain undressed blocks. As she moved quietly behind Akkarin and the others, she began to notice barrels and chest piled up and guessed they were near to the kitchens. Her guess was confirmed a few moments later as she passed an open door through which she caught a glimpse of a large fire and several cooks and kitchen servants bent over steaming pots or cutting up food on a large table.
The passage turned a corner and Sonea was faced with an open doorway with worn stone steps leading down. She could hear the muted voices of the High Lord's party floating up from below as they continued their journey and she hurried after them. She continued moving lightly downwards, as the stairs twisted and turned. There were many doors opening off at various points, but she could hear the others still on the stairs ahead of her. Her sense of direction was completely confused by the frequent changes, but it was obvious either Akkarin or the High Lord knew exactly where they were going, so she was content merely to follow. By now, she was certain that they were below ground level.
A sudden loud noise warned her just in time that the others had stopped. They had obviously reached another door and the noise she had heard was the undoing of rather stiff bolts. Whoever was trying to undo them was finding it difficult as there was a lot of grunting as well as screeching sounds, before they were successful. She waited while they opened the door and didn't risk moving again until she heard the door close behind them. She waited a few moments more, before stepping off the last stair. She found herself in a small chamber, empty except for a single door through which the others had undoubtedly gone.
She went to it and laid her ear against it. She could hear nothing so she found herself with a dilemma. Had the others already moved away or were they just the other side and when she opened the door, they would discover her? She tried a little magic, seeing if she could sense movement the other side of the door, but all she read was a faint disturbance which might have been people or just as easily leaves blown by a wind.
What do I do?
Whatever she thought, it was impossible to remain where she was. If she did, she ran the risk of not knowing which direction the others had taken and that would slow her down considerably.
I have no choice!
She carefully opened the door a crack and listened carefully. She could hear nothing so she opened the door wider and slipped through. She found herself outside the Fort on a narrow ledge which ran along just a few feet above the waves which were pounding against the rocks. She was lucky. The ledge went in only one direction as it ended just beyond the door. She could see the others some distance away moving swiftly in single file. Calling on the Eye to keep them from turning round and discovering her, she set off after them.
The ledge was slippery in places where the sea had reached up to the walls of the Fort leaving behind small pools of water where the ledge had worn. Moss had grown near some of them and Sonea found herself losing her balance as one foot or the other shot from under her unexpectedly. She made slow progress along the ledge and the others had disappeared some time before she reached the end. She found herself in a small area of open ground, close to a row of buildings. She turned to look back along the ledge and found to her surprise that it wasn't visible at all. For anyone standing where she was standing, the walls of the Fort ran smoothly down from the crenulations to the rocks and sea below. The ledge was hidden by magic.
After the relative quiet of the Fort, she could now hear sounds of panic and terror from the people packed in front of the Landgate. It was worse at ground level. When she had first heard it from the Warrors' Walk, it had been muted somehow, but now it assailed her ears until they almost hurt. She could hear the explosions over the noise of the crowd and they were getting nearer.
She stared round, hoping to see the others, but they were nowhere in sight. Her only option was to head towards the sounds of explosions. That was where the Ichani were and that would be where Akkarin would go. At first her progress was relatively straightforward. She was able to thread her way through the crowd, but the further into the crowd she moved, the more difficult it became as more and more people pressed on towards the Fort. Her progress was slowed quite considerably as she was pushing against the flow, but somehow she kept inching forward.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion off to her left and she saw bits of building fly into the air. At the same time she caught a glimpse of one of the Ichani darting round a corner and she began a pursuit. The crowd were even more panicked by the noise and falling debris so Sonea found her way blocked by screaming people, some of whom had been pushed to the ground. Although her first instinct was to stop and help, she knew that was not possible and steeled herself to step over fallen bodies and ignore pleas for help from mothers with young children.
There was another explosion, but from somewhere over to her right. She ignored it. She had to stick to her plan. If she could chase down this particular black magician, she could destroy him and take his power. She fought her way after him, trying to keep him in view. Her pursuit was helped by the fact that he wore a yellow head covering. She could see the yellow bobbing head weaving in and out of the crowd about six feet in front of her and she was almost afraid to take her gaze off it, in case she lost him.
She caught up with the Ichani when he ran into a courtyard with only one entrance and no other way out. The area was deserted. It was just Sonea and the Ichani. The black magician turned to face her and a smile spread across his face as he saw a young unrobed woman. He was very young and for a moment Sonea was back in Imardin facing the young Ichani trying to protect his dying father. She hesitated, remembering her pity and sadness at his death, but only for a second. This might be a young boy, but he was an Ichani and would kill her without a second thought.
She let go of Jalette and slipped her jewelled knife from its concealed sheath. The boy's smile faded as he focused on the knife. Only one type of person carried a knife like that. He knew he was facing a black magician who had killed before and taken an Ichani knife. He sent a sudden strike in her direction, but her shield was firmly in place, and it dissipated harmlessly around her. She crouched low and moved in towards him, knife held out before her. She didn't have time to waste and needed to finish this quickly.
They circled for a while, each sending strikes against the other's shield. Neither gave way. Sonea feared it would take much longer than she'd thought to deal with the boy. She risked darting glances around the courtyard, looking for something which would give her an advantage. She spotted an overhanging balcony at the far end. From where she was standing, it didn't look very secure and she began to manoeuvre him towards it.
She began to see signs that the boy was tiring. Sweat was beginning to appear on his face, a sure sign that his control over his magic was beginning to weaken. She drove him back with a series of heavy forcestrikes, watching his frantic scrabbles to find a firm foothold, hoping he would fall and she could pounce. Now! She had got him into position and switched her forcestrikes to the supporting beams of the balcony. It only took two strikes, and the balcony fell so quickly that the boy only had time to look up before it crashed down on top of him, forcing him backwards and covering him with debris. Only his arm protruded from the material on top of him. Sonea was on him in a flash, cutting his arm and draining his power. It wasn't much, because he had been at the end of his strength, but it did provide a little boost.
The whole episode had only taken a few minutes and they had been undisturbed. The buildings around the courtyard were obviously empty and there were no curious faces pressed against the windows. Nor had anyone come to see what was causing the blasts. Sonea contemplated moving the debris so she could take the boy's knife, there was a risk that someone else might discover it. Using a little magic, it was only a matter of moments to expose the boy's body and take his knife, before covering him again.
Outside the courtyard, Sonea found herself once again fighting against the flow of people heading for the Fort. She continued to follow the sounds of the blasts and caught another young Ichani unawares as he directed his strikes towards a building. She had cut his neck and drained his power almost before he was aware of her. Unlike her first, this Ichani was strong and full of power. She relished the rush of it, feeling it fill out the empty corners of her power source. She now had two extra knives which she stuffed in her belt, before moving on to find the next one.
She wondered what had happened to the Ichani ships. She hoped that Wilden and his Warrior Troop were managing to keep them away from the Fort walls. Did Akkarin explain? Does Wilden know how important it is? She brushed the thoughts aside. She was deep in the town now and had no way of returning to the Fort easily. The explosions were coming nearer. She counted and thought she heard at least four. Does that mean there are only four Ichani left? No! For an assault on the Fort they would need more. I must find and destroy as many as I can.
It was Sonea's turn to be taken unawares as a heavy body knocked her to the ground. She thrashed underneath, trying to buck her attacker off, but her actions had little effect.
Killer of my brother. It's your turn to die!
The mental voice was heavily accented, but the message was clear. Her attacker was another Ichani and one with an extra reason to kill her. She felt the sting of a cut on her upper arm and instinctively Healed it. The sting came again and again, but each time Sonea Healed the cut. She heard her attacker hiss in frustration as the fourth cut followed the others. Sonea continued to fight to escape. She was unable to use any of her strikes at such close range and unless she could put some distance between them, she stood little chance of defeating her opponent. She grunted as a heavy blow to her head momentarily dazed her. In that moment, the Ichani tightened her grip on Sonea and again she felt the sting of a cut, deeper this time, but still she was able to Heal it almost straight away.
Sonea was desperate to escape from her attacker but as he was bigger and stronger, this was proving difficult. She remembered her Warrior training, the special training Akkarin had forced her to have when she was his Novice. Yes! She knew what to do. She suddenly went limp, all the fight going out of her. This sudden change of tactic confused her adversary who relaxed for a moment. Using this single moment to her advantage, Sonea made a great effort and bucked beneath her opponent and succeeded in throwing him off.
Instantly, Sonea flung herself over the body of the Ichani and made a deep cut along the line of his jaw, clamping her hand over the cut immediately to drain the power. The Ichani tried to fight back, but Sonea was absorbing his power at such a rate, he did not have the physical strength to resist. It was all over in a few minutes. Sonea was now so replete with power, she felt as if she could take on the entire Ichani population single-handed. She took his knife and it joined the others in her belt. Trophies! she thought exultantly, still in the grip of the euphoria of taking so much power. Take care, her mind cautioned, there is still danger.
She was no nearer to finding Akkarin and the others and there were still Ichani loose in the town. She had to concentrate on the job she had to do, otherwise she would be easy prey. She rose to her feet and looked around. People were still streaming towards the Fort. None had taken any notice of her struggle and she could only assume that their fear of whatever was stalking through their town was stronger than their curiosity about a man and a woman fighting in the streets. She brushed down her garments and set off for the nearest sound of explosions.