Thief caged. Mage escaped.
Jem crumpled the note in his hand.
"Tonight," he told the courier, who immediately rushed to deliver the message.
"Oh, I'll talk alright," Claw said, "but I want to walk out of here scott-free. Trust me. What I have to say is worth it."
George scratched his right ear to signal to Jonathan that he hadn't detected a lie.
"I could just leave you alone with George and Raoul for a bit," Jonathan replied calmly.
"Your dear old dad would never allow that," Claw said with a sneer. "I still know how this place works."
"Will your foreign co-conspirators be as charitable?" Jonathan asked, trying to confirm his worst suspicions.
Claw laughed. "You've gotten cleverer, I'll give you that. But so have I. I don't give anything away for free."
"Curse him; he's right," Jonathan said as his friends settled around him. "Father won't let us torture him, at least not quickly."
George had sent a message for everyone staying with Myles to come to the palace just in case Claw's men decided they wanted a hostage of their own. Now, they all sat with Jon, Thom, and Raoul, deciding what to do.
"So what do we know already?" Myles asked. "He was at your door, so he wanted to kill you or steal something."
"Steal," George said. "There are much better ways to kill him."
"Comforting," Jonathan said dryly. "And if he targeted my room, he was after information, the chance to boast about robbing the heir, or the Dominion Jewel."
"Can't we just make the deal he wants?" Liam asked.
"We may have to." Jonathan stood. "I'll talk to Father first thing in the morning. For now, everyone, get some sleep and stay on your guard."
George and Alanna were startled awake several hours later as alarm bells clanged throughout the castle. They scrambled to strap on weapons and boots. Minutes later, they sprinted towards Jonathan's chambers.
They saw people running in all directions, but no one seemed quite sure of where to go or what was happening. Eventually, they met Jonathan in the hallway outside his door.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We don't know," Alanna replied. "We came straight here."
"You have the jewel?" George asked.
Jonathan held it up for him to see.
"Do you want us to keep you as safe as possible or take you to where you'll be most useful?" George asked.
Jon gave him a pointed look.
"Just checkin'," George said. "If you had your pick, where would you want the heat of the fightin' to be?"
"Great hall?" Jonathan suggested.
"Great hall," Alanna agreed.
"Then let's go," George said.
They encountered a number of guards and knights along the way who immediately fell in step behind them. They found Myles, Eleni, Liam, Thayet, Buri, and Rispah as they neared the great hall.
"This isn't your fight," Jonathan said to the women. "You'll be safest in your chambers."
He turned to Liam next. "It isn't yours either, but I would beg your help if you're willing."
"We're all coming," Thayet said resolutely. Liam nodded confirmation.
Jonathan looked like he wanted to argue, but he signed instead. "Come on, then."
As they walked, they all sensed a sort of wrongness in the air that they couldn't quite identify.
When they reached the great hall, Jonathan closed his eyes and forced his consciousness into the jewel and then out into the castle beyond.
"There is a group of powerful mages working a curse that I don't recognize," Jonathan said after a few minutes of intense focus. "It's bad, but I'm stalling it. As long as I concentrate, I think I can keep stalling it." He groaned in frustration. "I can't tell where they are except that they're nearby. There are just too many other mages around that I can't sense them clearly."
"Should we search?" Liam asked.
Jonathan shook his head. "There are too many places where they could be. We need to try to draw them out."
Focusing again on the jewel, Jonathan let out a blast of power that emanated throughout the palace. "Now they know where we are," he said. "Get ready."
Minutes later, soldiers and mages began pouring into the hall, and the fighting started. Master Si-Cham led the group from the Cloisters to surround Jonathan while another group, presumably Tusiane mages dressed as servants or nobles, began clustering at the other end of the hall.
Both sides put up shields, but shield spells were challenging to maintain with the large numbers of people and general chaos. The fight quickly became a matter of waiting for a hole in the other side's defenses and then lobbing spells or weapons as fast as possible. Even when the shields were up, spells and weapons flew, as the combats hoped they might get a lucky shot.
Occasionally, a spell or blade found its mark, but direct hits were rare. Long periods of waiting followed by short bouts of frenzied activity made for a physically and emotionally grueling battle.
Alanna stood as part of this melee, shielding and attacking as she could, until out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex of Tirragen sneaking through the far corner of the hall. He surveyed the room with a smirk before turning and walking purposefully in the other direction. As a knight, he should have stayed and joined the fight. With most people, Alanna would have just assumed it was cowardice, but she knew Alex well enough to know that he was no coward.
Something about his actions was very, very wrong. Alanna briefly considered trying to talk to George, but his focus was elsewhere as he and Liam led the most successful of the non-magical attacks on their enemies. Instead, Alanna created a shield around herself and bolted after Alex.
The halls were eerily quiet, so it was easy to follow him by sound alone. By now, everyone else had joined the fighting in the great hall or sealed themselves away.
Alanna paled as Alex started up a staircase to the tower that held the King and Queen's bed chamber. Protocol dictated that the rulers would have sheltered in place, awaiting more information instead of running blindly into danger (the same applied to Jonathan, but that had never stopped him before).
Alanna quickened her pace, but Alex was faster. By the time Alanna reached the top of the stairs, Alex was removing his sword from the gut of a guard outside the monarch's chambers. Another guard was already on the ground with a slit throat.
To Alanna's horror, the door opened from within, and King Roald peered out at the bloody site. He had his sword out and ready, but Alex's attack still surprised him. He stepped back into the room, and Alex pursued, their sword clanging loudly.
Alanna rushed to intervene, but again, she was too late. In seconds, Roald was on the floor, covered in blood.
"Alan," Alex greeted when he saw her. "Imagine my delight to hear you were still alive. I almost couldn't believe it, but here you are with your old sword."
Alanna attacked, but Alex parried easily.
"Why, Alex?" Alanna asked, narrowly blocking his responding slash.
"For Tortall," he said, unleashing another flurry of attacks.
Duke Gareth had said that either one of them could be the greatest swordsman in Tortall if they put in enough work, and perhaps that was true, but Alex had undoubtedly had more practice. He nearly broke through her defenses several times. Alanna tried to think of a spell she could cast, but even a small casting could break her concentration enough to give him an opening.
There was motion at the door, but Alex and Alanna barely registered it until Faithful hurled himself at Alex's face. Alex slashed for the cat just as Alanna slashed at Alex's stomach. Both blows landed, and Alex and Faithful crumpled together to the ground.
Time to go home, Faithful said.
Alanna only had a moment to stare at the cat, who had been her constant companion, before someone else sprinted past her and into the room beyond.
"You should have made him marry me!"
Alanna dashed into the next room to find Josiane standing over Queen Lianne with a dagger in her trembling hand. Lianne tried to leap out of the way, but she was too slow. Josiane plunged the weapon into the Queen's side. She pulled it out and would have jammed it back in, but Alanna sent Lightning flying, slicing deeply into Josiane's wrist. Josianne screamed and dropped her knife as blood began to pour from the wound. She ran for the door, and Alanna didn't bother to give chase.
Alanna's eyes flitted from Roald to Lianne. Both were stirring but badly injured.
"Save…her," Roald croaked out.
Alanna obeyed.
Jonathan felt the sweat trickling down his face as he concentrated on fighting the curse. Neither he nor the mages seemed to be gaining ground, and Jonathan prayed he could hold out as long as he needed to.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as a wayward spell severed the chain that held a chandelier to the ceiling. Everyone in the hall paused for the briefest moment as the jarring sound cut through the chaos.
Much of the magic quieted, too. There! That was enough. Jonathan opened his eyes and, using the skills he gained as the Voice, continued to fight the enemy mages' curse while he got George's attention.
"Catacombs," He said into George's ear. "Two doorways past where Roger was buried. Three mages focused on the spell, but I sense others around them. Probably soldiers. Need to stop them, but can't let others know that we know."
George nodded and then took stock of the people around him, forming a plan.
"Ma, Princess, Buri, Rispah, I'm gettin' you out of danger. Follow me," he announced loudly to the women around him.
Thayet and Buri started to protest, but George gave them a wink. "Trust him," Eleni whispered as she and Rispah started to follow. Thayet and Buri exchanged a look and then joined them.
Once he was sure they were coming, George took off at a run, and they followed.
As George had hoped, the Tusianes who noticed them leaving the protection of the Tortallan shield saw a man with no evident gift or sword leading a group of noblewomen and let them go.
George explained what Jonathan had told him as soon as they were clear.
"This will be dangerous. Are you sure you're willin'?" George asked.
They all gave him fierce nods. Thayet pulled a crossbow out from under her robe and waved it affirmatively.
"How did you get...? Nevermind. I'm glad you have it." George pulled out a knife and held it up. I have four left. The rest of you?"
With Thayet's crossbow and fourteen knives between them, they crept down to the catacombs.
George stopped them a little way away from the place Jonathan had indicated and slunk forward on his own, employing every tactic for stealth he knew.
Several minutes later, he returned. "There are three mages focused on that spell and ten armed guards around them. They'd have us in a fair fight, but I don't intend for it to be fair," George said, flashing an evil grin.
They strategized for a few minutes longer. When they were all satisfied with the plan, they crept toward the enemy.
Ten Tusiane guards stood in a circle surrounding three mages who chanted behind them.
Suddenly, the most beautiful woman they had ever seen appeared in the doorway, hair down and wearing only a thin nightgown. They all turned their weapons on her, then froze with indecision.
"Oh, thank the Mother!" She said in a heavy Saran accent as she walked across the room. "I'm not Tortallan. Please, please save me! I can be a valuable hostage. I'm a princess. I don't know what's happening, but I don't want to die…"
Thayet continued to ramble for her completely befuddled audience as two men at the back of the room went down- George and Rispah's knives sprouting from their necks. The two men beside them went down with knives in their own necks as the other men slowly realized what was happening. Thayet rammed a dagger she had been holding behind her back into the man closest to her as he turned around to look at his fallen companions.
Another soldier saw and began to move toward Thayet, but he didn't get far before Buri felled him with a bolt from the crossbow.
Thayet bolted back into the corridor and took up a guard position in front of Eleni, who was rapidly tying knots in her frayed sleeve. As Eleni completed an intricate knot, the three mages slammed together as if a rope had just tightened around them. Their chanting stopped as their concentration was broken, and they switched their efforts to fighting against the invisible constraint that bound them.
Buri downed another man with the crossbow as George and Rispah continued throwing knives. The three remaining guards were finally paying attention and managed to dodge fatal blows from the blades, though they still received cuts.
Buri reloaded as the remaining soldiers charged at George and Rispah. George and Rispah ran in the opposite direction from where their friends stood, and the soldiers gave chase. Buri shot and killed one of the soldiers, but soon, the rest disappeared around a corner.
"Mages!" Thayet hissed as Buri looked like she was about to run after them.
Buri immediately turned her attention to the struggling mages, one of whom looked like he was breaking free of Eleni's thread magic. Buri fired again, and the blot went straight through the man's eye. Buri went to reload but swore when she realized she was out of arrows.
"Here," Thayet said, shoving a fallen soldier's sword into Buri's hand as she hefted one herself.
The two remaining mages were still crushed together, but they stopped fighting their bonds as they turned their attention to their new attackers. One nearly blasted Buri, but Eleni finished another knot just in time. The mage's wrists suddenly slammed together, causing his spell to shoot backward, grazing his fellow mage, who screamed as his own planned attack was interrupted. Without hesitating, Buri and Thayet plunged their blades into the two mages. Buri then slit the throat of the man with the arrow through his eye.
Some of the other soldiers were still alive, but they didn't appear to be a threat. With bloody swords in hand, Thayet, Buri, and Eleni ran in the direction they had seen the others running.
Soon, they heard the sound of blades clashing, and they burst into another room where George and Rispah stood on top of what appeared to be a tomb. They were fighting with knives against swords, and all four combatants appeared cut and bloody.
The women roared and charged into the fray; less than a minute later, it was over.
They all stood silently for a moment, staring at each other, covered in blood, half of them wearing some form of nightclothes. Finally, Buri broke the moment with a triumphant whoop, which they all joined.
Eleni patched up the worst of their cuts, and they turned to leave the catacombs.
"Thank you, Roger," George said on his way out, patting the tomb he had been fighting on minutes earlier. "You always did help me take the high ground."
"Leave it to you to make a joke at a time like this," Eleni said, rolling her eyes.
"Always, Mother. Now, I have a strong feelin' we should make a quick social call before we do this again upstairs."
When Alanna was satisfied that the Queen would live, she rushed back to King Roald, but he was already dead. Alanna closed his eyes and sat back to gather herself.
As she got back on her feet a minute later, Duke Gareth burst through the door and then froze as he took in the scene.
Finally, he leveled his sword at Alanna, who was covered in blood.
Alanna raised her arms slowly, showing she wasn't going for her weapons. "Her Majesty needs to go to Duke Baird. I stabilized her, but she needs more."
"And the King?" Gareth asked.
Alanna shook her head. "Alex killed him while Princess Josiane attacked the queen," she said, looking down at Alex's body. "I couldn't save them both."
Duke Gareth looked unsure and kept his sword pointed at her.
"I would never do anything to hurt my prince or his family," Alanna said earnestly. "I know what this looks like, but right now, I need to get back to Jonathan, and she needs to see another healer."
Gareth shook his head and lowered his sword. "Of course. Go."
Alanna spared one look for the lifeless cat on the ground before running back the way she had come.
When Alanna reached the great hall, the fighting continued as before, neither side appearing to have gained any real advantage, although there were more dead bodies than when Alanna left.
As she started to return to her previous position, a blast from one of the Tusaine mages sent a young man flying straight into the men around the Prince. Two men crashed into Jonathan, causing him to fall and drop the Dominion Jewel. It bounced and skidded to a halt beside the young man. Alanna immediately recognized Ishak.
Ishak grabbed for the Dominion Jewel, meaning to give it back, but the second he touched it, his eyes grew wide, and a crazed look came over his face. He darted a glance at Jonathan before standing and sprinting in the opposite direction toward the Tusaines.
The same Tusaine mage who had blasted Ishak earlier was about to unleash a new attack on the young man, but before he could complete the spell, Liam charged from across the room and dove full force into him, snapping the mage's neck.
Ishak stopped when he reached the middle of the room, and his eyes glowed as he channeled his power and rage into the jewel. A ball of blinding light burst from the jewel before expanding and surging out into the enemy mages.
It quickly overwhelmed their shield spells, and the Tusaines dropped instantly as the blast of deadly power reached them. It didn't discriminate as it killed, and Ishak's protector was no exception. Liam was still on the enemy's side of the room, and the fatal wave instantly killed the Shang Dragon.
Alanna stifled a scream as it happened. Then she looked back at Ishak in horror. The young man had lost all control and was feeding everything into the spell. Despite having already wiped out most of the Tusaines, the magic didn't abate. Instead, it continued to expand, moving rapidly toward the Tortallans.
Just as it was about to reach them, the Tortallan's shield thickened and ballooned. Master Si-cham and Thom used every ounce of power and will they possessed to create the strongest protection they could muster. For a terrifying moment, it looked like their efforts wouldn't be enough, but then Ishak fell, and the deadly cloud of power dissipated.
The shield lasted just long enough, but it cost its creators everything they had.
Thom's eyes met Alanna's for one final time as he collapsed. Be proud of me, his look said. "I've finally become the man you wanted me to be. " Then he closed his eyes, and his body joined Ishak's as a lifeless heap on the floor.
The room that had been deafeningly loud moments before went completely quiet as everyone processed what happened.
Alanna ran to Thom and then to Ishak, but she could do nothing for either of them. Next, she went to Liam, hoping against hope that he had survived the blast, but he was as lifeless as the others. Damn that man for having his fear of magic justified! He deserved a combatant's death, not friendly fire.
Next, Alanna looked for Jonathan. He had the Dominion Jewel back and was concentrating intently, but he was clearly exhausted. Only then did Alanna realize that the sense of wrongness was far weaker than before. Nevertheless, a remnant of raw, malevolent power around them still needed to be tamed.
Alanna walked over to Jonathan and slipped her hand into his. "Let's finish this," she whispered, opening her gift to him.
Jonathan's only response was a gentle squeeze on her hand as he accepted her proffered power.
After ten more minutes of intense concentration, Jonathan squeezed her hand again and let it go. Then he sank to the ground, and Alanna joined him.
"It's safe," Jonathan said. "It's done."
George appeared then, leading a man at knifepoint. "Highness," he said, "I thought it might please you to see who we caught payin' a visit to our friend in the dungeons. We weren't in time to save our friend, but I think this fellow's presence answers more questions than it doesn't."
"Count Jemis, what an unpleasant surprise," Jonathan said. "Lock him up, and I'll deal with him later."
Alanna couldn't resist flicking Jem a rude gesture as George started to lead him away.
Suddenly, Jem twisted hard and managed to pull away from George.
"She was Alan of Trebond!" he shrieked, pointing at Alanna. "She pretended to be a boy. She lied! She-"
George punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and immediately shutting him up.
Jonathan watched him calmly from his seat on the floor. "She was Alan of Trebond!" he echoed for the whole room to hear. "She's one of Tortall's finest, and she's right where she belongs."
Jonathan took Alanna's hand and gave a spark of his gift to her. She looked at him quizzically, and he made an exploding motion with his other hand.
Alanna grinned. A blue and purple fireball blazed from her hands, and Count Jemis of Tusaine was no more.