The Assassins of Altis (35 page)

Alain was on his feet, too. “Mage Asha. You have found us. I did not sense you near.”

Amid the blood and fire of the night, Asha’s cool Mage voice sounded even more bizarre than usual. “I have worked hard to improve my ability to hide myself, a necessary thing when the Mage Guild seeks my death as well as that of my friends. As to finding you, how could I not? Even if the fires and destruction on your track were not easily seen, the being of my friend Mari has been blazing in my mind for the past few weeks as if to blind me.”

Mari rounded on Alain, all thought of their desperate straits momentarily forgotten in her sense of humiliation. “You said she couldn’t tell!”

“I said she could not tell what we were doing! If your feelings were more intense—”

“It’s the same thing!”

“Uh,” Alli interjected hesitantly. “I don’t really understand what this argument is about, but if this Mage can help us escape I really think we ought to get going as fast as possible.”

Mari took a deep breath. “You’re right. The first priority is to get under cover so we have time for more planning without worrying about being surprised.” She eyed the warehouse next to them. “Where’s the door to this thing? Nobody knows? We can’t go running around looking for it and maybe running into assassins on the way.” She looked at Asha. “Alain is exhausted from helping us get this far. Can you get us though this wall? Please?”

Asha raised one eyebrow the barest fraction. “You need only ask, friend Mari.” She turned and beckoned. Another robed shape appeared and that Mage turned to face the warehouse wall. A moment later that solid wall showed an opening large enough for each of them to scramble through in turn. Inside, the darkness of the warehouse was dimly lit by reflections through high windows of the Mechanic lights outside the gate.

Mechanic Dav shook his head as the hole vanished. “I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Believe it,” Mari muttered. She leveled a finger at Alain. “You and I have some things to discuss later. Alone.”

Alain held up his hands to signify defeat. “Whatever you wish. If we survive.”

Asha came close, staring at Alain’s left hand. “What is that ring you now wear? A promise ring? I know of them. You have wed her. Now I understand the intensity of friend Mari’s bonfire.”

Alli stared at her. “Mari has a bonfire?”

“Will everybody stop talking about my bonfire?” Mari gazed threateningly at the small group. Even Asha’s eyes widened slightly as she stared back. Mari focused on the third Mage. “Who are you? A friend of Asha’s?”

The hood on the robes came back to reveal the expressionless face of a middle-aged man. “We have met before,” he said, the lack of emotion in his voice giving no clue as to how that meeting had gone.

“We have?” Mari stared at the Mage, trying to remember where she had seen him.

“Yes,” the Mage said calmly. “You tried to kill me.”

Mari gave Alain a startled look. “Did I have a reason? I must have had a reason.”

“I was trying to kill you.”

“Well, there you are.” Something finally clicked in her memory. “In the alley in Palandur. You’re the Mage I shot.”

The male Mage nodded. “And, when you could have slain me, refrained. Then you gave me a bandage and instructions on how to use it until a healer could preserve my life. I did not understand why any shadow would do such a thing. I did not understand how a shadow could save something that is real. The Mage Asha and I spoke of that and many other things, for she is my niece.” Mari looked from the tall, gorgeous female Mage to the dumpy male Mage, wondering how they possibly could be that closely related. “In speaking with her, I came to realize that I could give my loyalty where I choose, and that the feelings I had been fighting for so many years were to be welcomed instead. When I learned that my Guild sought Mage Asha’s death, I did not hesitate to renounce the authority of our elders.”

Asha gestured toward the male Mage. “This is my uncle. In Palandur I sensed that he was injured, and would not leave without him. This I learned from friend Mari. Do not leave anyone behind.”

“Well…yeah,” Mari said, embarrassed. She smiled reassuringly at Asha’s uncle. “I’m honored by your trust and grateful that you chose to help Asha. I’m not always this stressed, by the way. What’s your name?”

“I am Mage Dav.”

Two Davs in their small group. Nothing was going to be easy this night. “All right, Mage Dav. I’m glad to meet you. This is Mechanic Alli and Mechanic Dav, and Mage Alain, of course.”

Mage Dav looked at each of them, not showing any trace of gladness or other expression.

Mari glanced at Alli and the other Dav. “I know it doesn’t look it, but he’s being very polite by acknowledging that you exist.”

“I’ve known Senior Mechanics who acted like I didn’t exist,” Alli remarked. “Hey, Mage Dav. Welcome to the revolution.”

Asha indicated her uncle. “In the confusion as the Mages attacked you in Palandur, I was able to reach my uncle and take him to a healer. It did not surprise me to learn that Mari had aided him even while fighting for her life. Mage Dav and I had to hide while the healer worked his art, but my uncle is strong and quickly recovered enough to travel. I said we would find you and join you, and we have. Our timing appears to be fortunate.”

“You might say that.” Mari gazed around the group again, surprised to realize that there were now six people total. Mechanic Dav, getting his first good look at Mage Asha, appeared to be in a state of stunned nirvana.

Mari was easily the youngest person in the group, except for Alain who was only a little younger than she, but all were looking to her for leadership.
How did that happen? When did I become the leader in a situation like this? Me, the crazy woman with the bonfire that has now reached blinding levels of intensity. They’re probably picking it up back on Urth and wondering who I am. All right. The daughter of Jules has to figure a way out of this mess or the revolution ends here.
“Mechanic Dav, what are the Mechanic assassins going to do once they have all of the exits covered?” It had finally occurred to her that these were the Guild assassins Professor S’san had warned her of back in Severun.

Mechanic Dav jerked his attention away from Asha with obvious difficulty. “They’ll come in and quarter the area until they find you and kill you.”

“Nice. Are they guarding the walls between the gates?”

“Yes. But that’s a lot of territory to cover, so between the gates there’s just a screen of armed apprentices posted at intervals. I’m supposed to be supervising some of them. A lot of them are way too young to be doing that kind of thing, but their main role is to sound an alarm if they see you.”

Mari gave Alain an anguished look. “I don’t want to shoot at apprentices. I don’t want to hurt them at all. A lot of them are just kids.”

Before he could answer, a deep boom sounded outside and the floor and walls of the warehouse shook. Dust filtered down from the high ceiling and a shock wave rippled through the floor beneath them. Alli scrambled up onto some crates until she could see out of one of the windows. “I think that warehouse where we left the far-talker is gone.”

“Gone?” Mari demanded. “They blew it up? The whole warehouse?”

“Looks like it. Boy, Mari, they really want you dead.” Loud thumps sounded on the roof over their heads. “That’s debris from the explosion coming down. Wow, I wish I could’ve set that charge. It must’ve been great putting something that big together.”

“Alli! Focus! We’re trying to survive here!” Mari closed her eyes, trying to pull up a mental map of the area they were in. “Walls. Warehouses. The outer wall of this warehouse is also one of the outside walls. We’re in a trap, but every trap has a weak point because everything has a weak point. That’s simple engineering. What’s the weak point in this trap? The apprentices.”

“They’re the youngest and the weakest and the least experienced,” Mechanic Dav agreed. “But like you said, a lot of them are just kids.”

“That’s all right,” Mari said. “Thanks to these Mages, we’ve got some non-lethal ways of dealing with the apprentices. Alain, that thing you did when they tried to kidnap me in Dorcastle, where you made it really bright for a moment? Can you do that again?”

He nodded. “Yes. I have that much remaining in me. I cannot hold it long.”

“You won’t have to. Just a flash in a small area. But we have to do something to keep the assassins from noticing when we do that.”

Alli brightened. “How about an explosion?”

“An explosion?” Mari grinned. “Do you know where we can get some explosives?” she asked, already guessing the answer.

“I’ve got some with me,” Alli said. “And some fuses. Don’t look at me like that, Mari. I packed some tonight because I thought we might need to blow up something.”

“You were right about that,” Mari admitted. “Do you have enough to blow a small hole in one of these warehouse walls?”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know if it would be a big enough hole for us to get through, though, and the sound of the explosion would attract the assassins for sure.”

“That’s the idea! It’ll be a…what do they call that, Alain? A distraction?”

“A diversion,” Alain said.

“Right. Alli, we’ll need an explosion going off near that closest gate outside, to divert the attention of the assassins and everyone else. Do you have a timer?”

Alli shook her head. “I have a fuse I can cut to the right length, though.”

“Good enough.” Mari looked at the two other Mages. “Mage Asha and Mage Dav, I don’t know how much you had to go through to get here. How tired are you? Do you have many spells left in you? Is there enough power in this area for you to use?”

Both Mages nodded. “We are fairly well rested. The journey to find you was not difficult,” Asha explained. “Our main concern was staying hidden from the senses of other Mages. We did not have to search for you, since as I said earlier I had no trouble sensing your bonfire. At one point its intensity was almost painful.”

Mari winced, looking daggers at Alain, who took a sudden interest in the far side of the warehouse. “Can we just not bring up that bonfire thing again for as long as possible? I’m a little sensitive about that.”

Mage Dav gave Mari what passed for an intrigued look from a Mage. “You know a great deal about Mages.”

“Well, yeah.” She pointed at Alain. “I’m married to one. Can either of you throw fire like Alain?” To Mari’s surprise, both shook their heads.

“The use of fire is a very difficult art,” Asha explained. “Few Mages can master it.”

“Alain never told me that,” Mari said, giving him a different kind of look. “All right. Here’s what we’re going to do,” she announced. “Alli, you’re going to lay a charge against this warehouse wall as close to that nearest gate as you can. Use a short fuse.”

“I’ve got enough fuse for a longer burn if you need that,” Alli said.

“Of course you do. We want a short burn, Alli, because we need to get out of here before the assassins figure out where we are, but give yourself enough time to get back here. After Alli has lit the fuse, she’ll join us along the wall of this warehouse. That’s part of the outside wall, too. We’ll get as far from the nearest gate as we can. Just before the charge blows, Alli lets us know so Mage Dav can open a hole in the wall, giving us access to the street, and as the explosion goes off Alain sets off his flash spell thing through the hole to dazzle the eyes of any apprentices nearby. It has to be at the exact same time, Alain. While the Mechanics watching the gate are diverted by the explosion and watching for us to charge out the gate, and the nearby apprentices are temporarily night-blinded, we all run across the street and head for, uh…”

“The entertainment district,” Mechanic Dav suggested. “There’ll still be crowds there so we won’t be the only people on the streets, and it’s only a few blocks east of the warehouse district.”

“Great. Mage Asha, you’re our…um…spare,” Mari said.

“Reserve,” Alain corrected her.

“Reserve. Right,” Mari said. “Be ready to cast a spell if we need it right after Alain and Mage Dav have cast theirs and can’t do another quickly. Has everybody got that?”

Mechanic Dav shook his head. “I get the hole in the wall thing, because I just saw it even though that seems impossible, but what’s the flash-spell thing?”

“Just keep your eyes averted when I tell you,” Mari said.

“What are explosives?” Asha asked.

Alli stared at her. “Somebody has really neglected your education, Lady Mage! Explosives are mixtures of ingredients that have been processed in a way that allows them to either oxidize extremely quickly or to instantaneously release large amounts of energy when triggered by a detonator employing chemical, mechanical or electrical—”

“Alli,” Mari interrupted. “Mage Asha is a smart person, but she is not understanding one word of that because she has been taught very different things than you and I have.”

“Really?” Alli frowned. “Um…explosives make a lot of noise and blow up things.”

“Like a Mechanic boiler,” Alain said.

“No,” Mari said. “Not like a boiler. A boiler can explode but it is not an explosive.” That sounded a little odd even to her. “Listen, we’ll have time to explain things to each other later. For now, just each do your part.” Mari looked at the motley group, amazed that she suddenly had five Mechanics and Mages following her instructions. Alli seemed perfectly happy with that, Alain was used to working with her in a crisis, the other Mages weren’t giving any clues as to what they thought, and if Mechanic Dav didn’t stop drooling over Mage Asha he would walk straight into a wall and knock himself out.

“Alli,” Mari said, “do your stuff and get back to us fast. We won’t go if you’re not with us when the charge goes off.” As Alli dashed off, Mari pointed toward the wall facing the street. “Let’s get in position. Asha, does your Guild have any idea that Alain is here?”

The female Mage shook her head as they ran to the wall, making her long blond hair shimmer and causing Mechanic Dav to trip over something. “I do not know. However, before the Mechanics began destroying this city we did not notice any unusual behavior among the Mages here.”