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Authors: Jonathan Moeller

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BOOK: Ghost in the Hunt
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“What stopped them?” said Caina.

“The Umbarians are stronger sorcerers,” said Claudia, “but most of the Legions remained loyal to the Emperor. The Umbarians have Kagari horsemen and Ulkaari footmen. Doughty soldiers, but no match for the Legions. The most powerful magi are Umbarian, but more magi remained loyal to the Magisterium and the Empire. The loyalists can cooperate and aid the Legions, and the Umbarians have not been able to move further west than Artifel. So the war is presently a stalemate.”

“What of your father?” said Caina. “Was Decius Aberon one of the Umbarians?”

Claudia laughed without humor. 

“What?” said Caina.

“My esteemed father,” said Claudia, “had no idea that the Umbarian Order existed at all. None. When the Umbarians began their rebellion, my father tried to join them. He assumed he was their natural leader, and that the Order would naturally rally to his enlightened vision for the Empire.”

“They tried to kill him, didn’t they?” said Caina.

“Several times,” said Claudia. “They wanted him out of the way.” She felt a grim smile on her face. “So my father and his closet allies scurried to Malarae to ally themselves with the Emperor. My father is still the First Magus of the Magisterium, but since many of the high magi blame him for the Umbarians, he might have a fatal accident at some point.” 

That did not trouble Claudia in the slightest. Once she had admired and revered her father, had hoped to use her sorcery for the good of the Empire in imitation of him. But then she had learned what kind of man Decius Aberon really was, had learned of his cruelties. She had learned how he had taken Corvalis and twisted him into an assassin, a weapon to use against the enemies of the Magisterium. She had fled from her father after that, and in repayment Decius Aberon had ordered Ranarius to turn her to stone. 

Claudia looked at Caina, her anger flaring anew.

“If the Empire wins the war,” said Caina, “I suspect Decius Aberon will have a long list of people upon whom he desires vengeance.”

“I would be one of them,” said Claudia. “So would Corvalis. But you already took care of that for him, didn’t you?” 

Caina flinched. It was barely noticeable, and few people would have seen it. But Claudia was looking right at her, and she saw the flicker go over Caina’s face.

“The Moroaica killed him,” said Caina.

“He followed you into the netherworld,” said Claudia. Her temper was starting to slip, but she did not care. “He followed you, and you’re the only one who came out again. He trusted you. He died for it.”

Caina opened her mouth, closed it again.

“You’re right,” Caina said. Claudia would have expected anger or defiance. Not the tired sadness. 

For some reason that made Claudia even angrier. What right did Caina have to feel sorry for herself? She had known Corvalis little more than two years. Claudia had known him her entire life, and two years after meeting Caina Amalas he was dead. 

“I will not say,” said Claudia, “that I wish we had never met you. You saved our lives. You were right in Catekharon and I was wrong. But I will say that I wish Corvalis had stayed away from you.” She shook her head. “I wish that Corvalis had come back instead of you.”

Caina said nothing, and at last offered a faint nod, and for a moment the coldness cracked to reveal pain and regret.

Claudia shivered with fury at the sight. She wanted to strike the shorter woman, scream at her. Instead, she gritted her teeth and forced her voice to some semblance of calm. “Whatever you want, I’m sure it’s urgent. We will have to work together for the good of the Empire.”

“There is a great deal wrong in Istarinmul,” said Caina, “and…”

Claudia raised a hand. “Talk to Martin when he returns. I cannot…I cannot look at you. I look at you and think how much better it would be if Corvalis were standing there.”

She expected Caina to protest, to issue a command as the circlemaster of Istarinmul, but again she only offered a shallow nod. 

Then her expression hardened, the grief and sadness fading away beneath icy intensity.

“Why are you casting a spell?” said Caina. 

“What?” said Claudia. “I’m not casting a spell.”

“Do you have any other magi here?” said Caina, looking around. 

“No, just me,” said Claudia. “That’s part of the reason Martin was chosen as Lord Ambassador. No other magi can be spared from the war.” 

Caina took a quick step forward, and Claudia raised her hands, wondering if the Caina was about to attack. Caina rolled her wrist, a throwing knife appearing in her right hand as her eyes tracked back and forth, scanning the ground. Then she took a deep breath, spun, and flung the knife with all her strength.

Claudia had seen Caina throw knives before, but it always amazed her how fast she moved. Her right arm darted back and then hurtled forward, her shoulder and right leg rolling with the movement, her entire body seeming to snap like a bowstring. The knife spun from her fingers in a blur.

It stopped in midair a dozen paces away. Claudia blinked, puzzled at the sight. The knife bobbed and twitched, supported by nothingness, and then faded into translucency.

Right about then Claudia’s brain caught up with her eyes, and she realized what she was seeing. 

She cursed and started a spell.

The air flickered, and a scarred man clad only in a loincloth appeared before Caina, snarling as he ripped the throwing knife from his left thigh. Intricate, grotesque scars covered his arms and torso, and the winged skull of the Umbarian Order marked his chest. His scars flickered and gleamed with silver light as his invisibility collapsed. 

A Silent Hunter. 

In his right hand he held a gleaming short sword, and he charged at Caina. Caina was already moving, yanking a dagger from her belt in one smooth motion. The Silent Hunter raised his short sword to block the throw of Caina’s next knife, but Caina wheeled past him and raked the leaf-bladed dagger across the assassin’s ribs. The Silent Hunter screamed as the gash sizzled and smoked, the flesh around it blackening. 

A ghostsilver dagger. 

Caina drove the dagger into the Silent Hunter’s throat, and Claudia finished her spell. Her thoughts swept around her, seeking for sources of arcane power, and she detected one. Claudia turned, focused upon it, and cast another spell. 

A hammer of psychokinetic force ripped from her hands, a breeze rising in the passage of her spell. She heard the crack of shattering bone as the spell struck flesh, and suddenly a second Silent Hunter appeared, arms and legs flailing as he tumbled through the air. He struck the ground, and Caina ran towards him, bloody dagger in hand.

Then she stopped. 

“He’s dead,” she said. “Landed wrong. Split his skull.” She looked up. “You never used to be that quick.”

Claudia gritted her teeth and walked closer. “The Silent Hunters have given me ample opportunities for practice.” 

“The Silent Hunters?” said Caina. “Is that what they’re called?”

Claudia blinked in surprise. “You’ve encountered them before?”

“About ten days ago,” said Caina. “They were sent to hunt down the Ghosts of Istarinmul. You’ve dealt with them?”

“More than I would like,” said Claudia.

The doors to the mansion burst open, and Imperial Guards emerged, running into the courtyard. 

“I warded the gates and all the doors,” said Claudia. “If a Silent Hunter tried to enter the mansion or the grounds, I should have known.”

“Your wards,” said Caina as the Imperial Guards surrounded them. Tylas barked commands, and the men started to sweep the courtyard. “They function when the Silent Hunters use their powers?”

Claudia nodded. 

“Then this man disguised himself,” said Caina. “Probably as a porter or a courier. Once he was inside, he discarded his clothing, made himself invisible, and started stalking you, waiting for a chance to strike.”

“Or you,” said Claudia.

Caina’s smile was mirthless. “I am a simple factor for the Imperial Collegium of Jewelers. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to claim my life.” 

“Yes, of course,” said Claudia, looking at the Guards. Tylas was a Ghost, but none of the other men were, and Caina would want her identity kept secret. Not that Claudia gave a damn for what Caina Amalas thought about anything. But the circlemaster of Istarinmul offered sound counsel. 

“What should we do with the corpses, my lady?” said Tylas.

“Dispose of them,” said Claudia. “I do not want these Umbarian vermin despoiling the grounds.”

Caina stepped closer and lowered her voice. 

“Actually,” she murmured, “we might be able to give Lord Martin an edge in the negotiations.”

Claudia blinked, and then smiled as she understood Caina’s reasoning.

Chapter 5 - The Umbarian Order

 

Later they stood in the mansion’s study, the bodies of the assassins laid out upon the floor. Dromio had thoughtfully provided mats to keep the blood from staining the brilliant mosaics. Empty wooden shelves climbed the walls, and a massive wooden desk stood before a set of doors overlooking the gardens below.  

“How much do you know about them?” said Caina.

“More than I would like,” said Claudia, pacing back and forth. 

Caina watched the Lord Ambassador’s wife. 

It was more painful than she would have expected. 

Claudia was a few years older and several inches taller than Caina. She wore a gold-trimmed green gown that matched her hair and eyes, the skirts rustling against the floor as she paced. Her long blond hair had been bound in an elaborate crown of braids, as was currently the fashion among the noblewomen of Malarae, and jewels glinted on her ears and at her throat. Her green eyes were narrowed in thought, green eyes that looked a great deal like Corvalis’s. 

It hurt to watch.

Caina saw other parts of Corvalis reflected in Claudia. They had been raised together as children until the First Magus had given Corvalis to the Kindred and Claudia had begun her arcane training. She shared many of Corvalis’s mannerisms, and Caina saw Corvalis in Claudia’s every movement and heard him in her every word. 

It hurt so much. 

“Then you have encountered them before,” said Caina.

“Yes,” said Claudia, glaring down at the dead men. “Several times.” 

“The more you can tell me about these Silent Hunters,” said Caina, “the better chance the Ghosts will have against them in the future.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” said Claudia. She took a deep breath. “You know the Kindred families have a close relationship with the Magisterium. The Kindred remained loyal to the Magisterium and refused to accept contracts from the Umbarian Order. So the Umbarians created their own assassins.” She pointed at the scarred corpses. “You see those scars? A necromantic spell. The Order’s necromancers carved a spell of illusion into their flesh and imbued it with power.”

“Giving them the ability to turn invisible,” said Caina.

“As I am sure you’ve noticed,” said Claudia.

“Their power,” said Caina. “It must have limitations.”

“Oh, certainly,” said Claudia. “They can only turn invisible for an hour or so a day, maybe a little longer for a particularly robust Silent Hunter. They can make their own bodies invisible, but bringing other things along with them – weapons and clothing and the like – is harder.”

“Hence the loincloths,” said Caina. “The reason they only carry one weapon.”

“Aye,” said Claudia. “Some go naked entirely. Their biggest limitation is that when they attack, the invisibility spell collapses. I’m not sure why. Something to do with how the spell is linked to their thoughts, I suspect. The cleverer Silent Hunters are absolutely lethal when they put their minds to it. They will infiltrate a fortress, find a hiding place, remove their clothing, kill their victim in silence, and escape before anyone is the wiser. Usually the corpse is found the next morning.”

“I thought the Kindred and the Bostaji were bad enough,” said Caina. “These Silent Hunters are much worse.” 

“They are bad,” said Claudia, “but the Umbarians have made worse things. Undead of power and potency that make the Dust Shades we saw in Caer Magia look like annoyances. Men with steel grafted onto their flesh and bones, giving them inhuman strength and speed. Elemental spirits bound within the flesh of living men. Again and again they fuse flesh and sorcery to turn men into monsters and unleash them as weapons.”

“Like the Immortals,” said Caina.

Claudia gave a bitter laugh. “The creations of the Umbarians are more deadly by far, I fear. Martin has fought both, and he would rather face Immortals again.” She frowned. “How did you know those Silent Hunters were there?” 

“I felt them,” said Caina. 

Claudia nodded. “That’s right. You can sense the presence of sorcery. Little wonder you dealt with them so easily.”

“They place too much trust in their sorcery,” said Caina, “as sorcerers so often do.”

Claudia’s green eyes narrowed, and she seemed on the verge of some cutting comment. Then she looked at the dead assassins and shrugged. “It is hard to argue with your results. I can sense the presence of active sorcery, but only if I cast a spell. You can do so passively. It would be a useful ability.”

“The price for acquiring it is rather high,” said Caina.

Claudia hesitated. “I suppose so.”

“Your wards to detect them,” said Caina. “How do they work?”

“If a Silent Hunter walks through a warded entrance,” said Claudia, “the wards will alert me.”

“But only,” said Caina, “if the Silent Hunter is using his power?”

Claudia sighed. “You see the problem. You’re not the only one who has a knack for impersonation and disguises. If they’re clever, they stroll through the warded doors and then use their powers with impunity.”

“I suppose the nobles can hardly order all their guests and servants to strip in their presence,” said Caina, “to see if they are free of scars.”

“Some of them do,” said Claudia. “At least after the first wave of assassinations in Malarae.” 

“Gods,” said Caina. “It is that bad?”

“Worse,” said Claudia. “The Empire is in dire straits.” Her smile was thin. “Which you would know, had you not squandered the last year terrorizing the slavers of Istarinmul to no purpose.”

BOOK: Ghost in the Hunt
5.03Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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