Mighty Hammer Down (16 page)

"So what are your orders, General
Tirinius?" asked Commander Soterus.

"As punishment for losing the Vindyri
assassin, you will lead 20,000 of your men to the front lines of
the battle. You will leave at once and return with the spoils when
you have crushed the enemy. Is that understood?"

Commander Soterus bowed his head
deeply, speaking in a quiet voice. "As you command, General
Tirinius."

"The rest of you are to each send a
band of assassins to the corners of Medora looking for the Vindyri
that Commander Soterus lost. Go to Rommus and have him equip them
with his finest blades. The army will pay him for the weapons as
soon as the books have been gone over and the expenses have been
added. For now I will give him 20 gold pieces for his trouble. You
all have your orders, now go."

The men all stood and saluted, then
left through the same corridor they came in. Tannis sat in his
chair and put his head in his hand in thought.

The Emperor came to lean on the desk
in front of him. "I know these are troubling times, my friend, but
we have done this before. We will do what needs to be done to keep
harm far from our people."

"I know that, Emperor. But long ago
when we fought the Bhoors, it was a different world. Now they hide
among their own enemies. The Vindyri embrace them and assume they
are a just and fair people. They have no idea what sort of monster
they unleashed in their own land."

Piro’s eyebrows drew together as he
stared at the floor. "Perhaps, Tannis, the Bhoors they have
befriended truly are decent people. Just because we believe they
are all a certain way does not make it true. There are plenty of
different types of people here in Medora, so one would be wrong to
assume that we are all the same here."

"I understand what you are saying,
Emperor, but it’s different here. Here a man is free to do what he
decides is best. He can do whatever he chooses so long as it does
not harm another citizen. In Bhoor-Rahn they are all mindless
sheep. There are no individuals, searching for what’s best; there
is only the mass of servants to the Zidaoz. They are all
unquestionably loyal because they believe their leader speaks
directly to Oderion –or whatever it is they call him--and that he
is immortal."

"Perhaps you are right my friend.
There is no way to know the hearts of men, let alone men far beyond
the horizon. Soterus will go and crush the Bhoors and when he
returns, he will inform us of their intentions as best he
can."

Tannis drummed his fingers on his
desk. "I only hope that he can kill the Zidaoz as well. They will
never understand anything except a terrible defeat. After thinking
more on the matter, I am considering sending more troops into the
center of Vindyrion so that it will not take long to send for
reserves. I am willing to send another 20,000 men to aid Soterus if
he needs it."

"40,000 men," the Emperor said slowly.
"We have not seen numbers like that ride to battle in a long
time."

"But we have seen many more than that.
20 years ago almost all available troops were sent to war from all
seven Legions."

"Yes but as you said those were
different times, Tannis. I was beginning to think that the world
was becoming too civilized for war."

Tannis stared into the eyes of his
Emperor. "When all men believe that, the truly evil among us will
see the opportunity to strike at that weakness."

The Emperor smiled. "I know, Tannis.
Trust that I believe the same as you do. If we ever fail it will
not be because I have forced a softer view on my army and my
people. I want nothing more than safety and prosperity for all
Medorans, but I am getting older, and it is easier for me to think
that the world is less violent than it used to be. I know that
things do not change so quickly, and that men are driven by the
same desires as they were 500 years ago, but age it seems has
softened my heart as well as my muscles."

"Well I hope that such a thing does
not happen to me. I still feel rage. I still desire to conquer
those who oppose us. I still bleed, as the Vindyri woman recently
proved."

"What will you do if we are able to
catch her?" asked Piro.

"Well I have no desire to kill her if
that’s what you mean. I would kill a woman if doing so would save
my life or the life of someone I care for, but not for revenge. I
would question her until I knew what was going on, and then I would
lock her away for the rest of her life."

The Emperor laughed. "Tannis Tirinius
not interested in killing his assassin? Perhaps you are already
softening, my friend."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Red Master, the Vindyri woman is
demanding to see you," came a voice from behind him.

Uritus closed the book that was open
on the table in front of him and let out an annoyed sigh. "I have
no interest in seeing her at the moment, Brother. I am quite busy
preparing for tonight."

"Yes Red Master, I am sorry to bother
you. It’s just that we believe she is the one that attempted to
kill General Tirinius. I thought you might want to speak with
her."

He paused and looked up to the wall in
front of him in thought. "Very interesting. Perhaps I will take a
few moments to speak with her. Where is she?"

"She is here in one of our holding
cells, Red Master. We did not put her in irons, but she cannot walk
through stone walls. She has been fed and not treated harshly," the
man said from under his black hood.

"I see. Have the Purple Mages arrived
as I ordered?"

"Yes Red Master. They are prepared to
assist you in any way they can. Is it really true? Is tonight the
night?"

Uritus turned to face the man from the
table where he sat. "It is true that we will try, but this has
never been done before, so there is no way to know if it will work
or not. Place your faith in Inshae, Brother, not in me. I will do
what I can, but I can promise you nothing."

"I do place my faith in Inshae, Red
Master, but I cannot help but believe in you as well. Everything
you have said would happen has come to pass. We follow you without
question."

"Yes, yes. Enough of that." Uritus
waved his hand to dismiss the man’s comments that were probably
intended to secure his position after Uritus took full control. He
didn’t blame the man for trying, but it was getting boring. The man
was obviously embarrassed because he left abruptly, closing the
door quietly behind him.

Uritus opened the book in front of him
once more. He had no need to do so, for he knew each word by heart.
He would make no mistake in the ceremony, and if all went as
planned, the whole world would change. His soul sang with joy at
the idea. So far things had gone much easier than he had hoped, so
in the back of his mind he waited for bad news; but none ever came.
He watched the tattered pages as he let his grip on the magic slip.
The words faded and disappeared before his eyes. He was thankful
that the Mages before him had not thrown away books that to them
must have appeared completely empty. He wondered why no one had
written anything over the blank pages. Perhaps in the distant past,
the Mages did know what they were doing and were careful to
maintain such ancient texts. Maybe the Silver Mages in Vindyrion
had too a wealth of their own knowledge ripe for the taking. He
would soon find out.

He closed the book and decided to go
to see the Vindyri in the holding cell. A few of the Mages had seen
her and captured her on the night Rommus was killed, and they kept
her so that she could not tell anyone what she had seen. If this
was indeed the right Vindyri, her attempt on Tannis’s life seemed
to fit perfectly into his plot; so well that he thought perhaps
Inshae himself had sent her. Although that was unlikely, he
certainly would feel terrible if it was true and he had held her in
a dark and damp cell all this time. She could at least be thankful
she was still alive and not being tortured.

He walked down the long corridors that
ran from the Temple of Inshae out under the streets of the city.
Only Mages knew of the secret passages, and since no new buildings
were ever erected in the center of Brinn, no one would ever stumble
across them while building. The Mages used them to escape to
different places when they needed to do so in a hurry. It was
another trick that they could use to fool people into thinking they
had magical powers.

He came to the door leading to the
small hallway that lead to the three holding cells and placed his
hand over the lock. He focused his magic through his hand until he
heard a loud click as the mechanism unlocked. He walked through the
door and closed it behind him. The first two cells were empty, so
he walked to the dark corner at the end. He startled the girl who
was sitting on the cold stone floor. She quickly stood when she saw
him through the thick cell door made of heavy wood and
iron.

"I hope my men are treating you well,"
he said.

"That seems to be a common saying here
in Medora. The General said the same thing to me when his men
caught me."

"Ah so you are the Vindyri responsible
for the assassination attempt," he said as he smiled in the
blackness under his hood.

"Yes I am," she said
coldly.

"Then why were you with his son on the
following day? And why did our men find you following him during
the storm?"

"His son was the best way to get close
to the General again. Unfortunately you killed him before I got the
chance. It would seem that we have a similar agenda. Why do you
hold me here in this cell?"

"I hold you here because I do not know
you. We are not familiar with your agenda. You also killed a few of
my men in that alley."

"Look," she said, "I know you are
interested in killing the General. It may not be in your plans, but
it only makes sense that it would help your cause."

"How do you figure that, my dear?" He
was impressed with her intelligence.

"Because anyone on the side of the
Medoran army would not go to such lengths to kill the son of the
General. It’s obvious to me that having him killed would make your
plan go smoother."

"Maybe, maybe. I admit that your
timing was perfect. It helped us out tremendously. Perhaps I owe
you thanks."

She walked coolly to the cell door to
come closer to him. "I do not need thanks, but if you wish to grant
me something, get me close to the General again. I’ll need my knife
back as well."

"Any other prisoner might beg for
freedom. You wish only to complete your task? Who sent you to kill
General Tirinius.?"

"Forgive me, but I cannot say. I am
dedicated to my mission, and that mission involves a certain amount
of secrecy. I will only tell you that I am here to kill the General
of the Medoran army and then I am to return to
Vindyrion."

"I see. I admire your courage and
dedication, Vindyri. Perhaps you are right and our agendas are
similar. I will get you close to the General if that is your wish.
What is your name?"

"Alana," she said.

"Just Alana? No other
name?"

"Take notice, sir, that I did not ask
you your name or anything about your agenda. You will just have to
live with knowing only my first name."

His smile broadened under his hood.
This woman was truly a professional. She had great courage to stand
up to a Mage, let alone the courage to kill the General of the
Medoran army. She was driven and dedicated to her cause, and wanted
only to complete her task. He decided that he would use her. He put
his hand over the lock on the cell door and heard a loud click. The
door swung open as he used his mind to pull on it. She looked
amazed.

"Impressive sir. I wish I had such
powers."

"So do all who do not have them. You
will stay here tonight, but I will find you more suitable quarters.
One of my men will return your knife to you and in the morning you
will be free to complete your mission. I will arrange to have you
brought to the Emperor’s Hall. In one of our robes, you will not be
detected. No one will bother you except the guards inside the Hall.
I cannot help you with them."

Her eyes turned from him as they
walked together down the corridor. "That’s all right. I think I can
deal with them. I have dealt with them before."

"No, you haven’t. Any guards you have
encountered have been normal soldiers, not the Elite Guard. They
are specially trained guards that are more deadly than your average
soldier."

"I will take that into consideration,
sir, but they are just men. All men bleed the same way, and all men
die."

"I guess I can’t argue with that,
Vindyri. You seem wiser than your years. But remember that women
bleed the same as men also."

She smiled at the comment. "Of course
I know that. I am not afraid to die if that’s what you mean. I came
here to Medora fully expecting to die in my attempt. Luckily I have
been able to avoid it so far."

They made their way toward the large
circular room made of all black marble, but they did not enter it.
Instead he opened a door nearby where she could rest comfortably.
He wanted her to be near the room so that he could keep an eye on
her, but he wasn’t about to let her see the sacred area.