But terrible as that beam was, it lasted only an instant. It hadn’t been targeted at me but at the accumulator, and as the accumulator was destroyed, all the energy it had gathered in the past fifteen minutes was released at once.

  The windmill exploded behind me.

  I dived into the pond, cold water engulfing my body. An instant later, I felt the water shudder as the shockwave hit. Through my divination I caught a confused glimpse of the windmill expanding outwards, the explosion rising up through its stories to burst upwards past the castle walls. A mushroom cloud of dust and white fire rose into the sky.

  I floundered underwater, my clothes and armour making my movements heavy and slow. I heard muffled thuds as debris hit the grass, then missiles were raining into the pond. I twisted clumsily; a chunk of grey-yellow brick the size of a beachball crashed through the water’s surface and sank past my head. Then the sunlight was blotted out as something far bigger came flipping down and hit the pond with a boom, leaving me in shadow.

  The thunder of falling debris stopped, and all I could hear was the rush of water. My lungs were burning; I hadn’t had the chance to take a breath, and I pushed off the bottom of the pond, swimming heavily upwards. My fingers scraped something and I broke the surface only to bang my head painfully against a wooden strut and go under again. Only after two more tries was I able to get my mouth above water and gasp in air.

  The object lying flat on the surface of the pond was one of the windmill’s sails. The wooden struts made it hard to get my head up but there were a few inches of air and I got a grip on the struts and tilted my face so that I could keep pulling in breaths. Once I’d recovered, I kicked towards the edge of the pond, pulling myself hand over hand until I came out from under the sail and could see.

  The windmill was gone. Only its foundations were left, and even they were hollowed out into a wide melted crater. Grass had been burned black all the way to the edge of the millpond. The castle wall had withstood the blast, but you could see damage all along its length where pieces of the windmill had been driven into the stone. Rubble and charred timbers were scattered everywhere, and a dozen small fires were burning.

  I hauled myself from the water, clambering out onto the far side, where there was still some flattened grass. The shaft of the sovnya was sticking out from the shallows where the explosion had driven it into the mud; I pulled it loose and tossed it to the ground. Water ran from my hair and clothes as I crawled on hands and knees until I could twist around into a sitting position. All of my body ached.

  I realised there was a voice shouting into my ear. Nimbus was speaking through the comm. ‘—gamma team, report! Mage Sonder, Mage Lumen, report! Accumulator team, what was that blast? Verus! I want to know what’s going on out there! Are you receiving me! Report immediately! This is a direct—’

  I pulled the focus out of my ear and shut it off. The shouting fell silent, replaced with the soft hiss and pop of fires, and the whine of the wind. I stared at the smoking crater while in my mind’s eye I saw Anne killing Sonder, over and over again.

  Sonder was dead, Lumen was dead, and the accumulator was destroyed. The Council’s attack had failed utterly.

  Water dripped from my hair and ran down my face. I sat by the pond, cold and alone.

  14

  Time passed.

  Men filtered through the smoke, guns sweeping left and right. One saw me and called; after a minute, Little walked up. ‘Mage Verus?’

  I nodded.

  ‘You all right, sir?’

  ‘I’m not hurt,’ I said. It was an effort to talk.

  ‘I’m pulling the squad together,’ Little said. ‘No one’s dead, but we’ve got some injuries and Lisowski was thrown from the wall. We’re going to need medevac.’

  I nodded again.

  Little paused. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but then the moment passed and he signalled to the men beside him, then turned and left.

  I sat alone for a while.

  Something nudged my left hand and I looked down to see a vulpine head and amber eyes. Hermes poked his nose into my hand, then looked up at me.

  ‘Hey, you,’ I said tiredly. ‘You’re good at getting out of trouble, aren’t you?’

  Hermes blinked, then curled up next to me and settled down. His fur was a solitary patch of warmth against the cold.

  The wind blew, chilling my wet clothes. The image of Sonder’s death played over and over in my mind; again and again I saw that deadly green flicker, watched him slump lifeless to the stone.

  Sonder and I had been friends once. I’d met him the same year I’d met Anne, and for a few months Sonder and Luna and Anne and Vari and I had formed a little group of five, meeting in my flat in the Camden evenings to laugh and talk and play board games. My friendship with Sonder hadn’t lasted, but it had never quite been forgotten, a lingering memory of happier times.

  And now he was dead, and the fact that he was dead at Anne’s hands made it so much worse. For the first time since we’d entered the shadow realm, I felt helpless. What was I supposed to do?

  It was maybe forty-five minutes after the explosion when Luna came picking her way through the wreckage. ‘Jesus,’ she said, looking around at the devastation. ‘I thought they were exaggerating.’

  I pulled my eyes up to look at Luna. She looked like she’d been through a lot, but she didn’t seem hurt. ‘What happened at the tombs?’

  ‘We won, I suppose,’ Luna said. ‘Though it doesn’t feel like it.’

  ‘Losses?’

  ‘I didn’t stick around for the count,’ Luna said with a grimace. ‘Makes me feel like a bit of a coward. But seeing it was bad enough. At least ten or fifteen of those men we went in with are dead. Because of Sagash, mostly. That black sun was horrifying. I think it would have been even worse except Landis and Tobias managed to push him back just long enough for Jiyeong to sabotage those controls. The moment she did, Caldera and Sagash stopped attacking, just like that. Caldera opened up a hole in the wall and they did a disappearing act.’

  I nodded.

  Luna hesitated. ‘Is it true about Sonder?’

  I nodded again.

  Luna looked shocked. ‘I got told over the comm, but . . . Anne would do something like that?’

  ‘It’s not Anne any more,’ I said tiredly.

  ‘He probably thought he was picking the safest place,’ Luna said. She looked sad. ‘Only group that wasn’t supposed to be in combat. Poor Sonder. He always did try to stay away from fights.’

  We sat in silence for a little while.

  ‘So Vari’s got the monkey’s paw,’ Luna said.

  I nodded.

  ‘That was what you meant last night, wasn’t it? I was wondering why you weren’t pushing more to get that weapon off Richard.’

  Nod.

  ‘Damn it,’ Luna said. She paused, then shrugged. ‘Well, we’ll just have to figure something out.’

  Luna kept trying to talk but I didn’t have much to say and eventually she got up and left. I knew I should do the same, but I couldn’t muster the energy.

  I was still sitting by the pond when Landis came striding over. ‘Ah, Verus, there you are,’ he said. He gave Hermes an inquisitive look. ‘Is that a blink fox? Fascinating.’

  Hermes tilted up his muzzle and blinked.

  Landis squatted down next to us and offered his hand for Hermes to sniff. ‘Losses from the tombs are nineteen dead, including two Keepers,’ he told me, his voice brisk and business-like. ‘Fourteen more seriously wounded, some of whom will almost certainly die in the next twelve hours if we can’t get them back to the healers at the War Rooms. Chop-chop, Verus, no time to sit about.’

  ‘We just put everything we had into that attack, and we’re right back where we started,’ I told Landis. There was an edge in my voice. ‘What do you want to do, find another accumulator and do it all over again?’

  Landis held up one finger and recited:

  ‘If you can make one heap of all your winnings,

  And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

  And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

  And never breathe a word about your loss.’

  ‘I’m not really in the mood,’ I told him.

  ‘I understand the men stationed here took casualties,’ Landis said. ‘You took command of them, I believe. So what are you doing sitting out here?’

  I looked at Landis resentfully.

  Landis met my gaze with clear, calm eyes. ‘Footsoldiers are allowed to complain and feel sorry for themselves. Commanders are not.’

  ‘I’m not in command.’

  ‘You entered this shadow realm in order to save Anne and Variam, and to prevent Drakh and the marid from carrying out their plans. Is that correct?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Has that changed?’

  ‘No . . .’

  Landis nodded, then touched my clothes with one finger. Fire magic pulsed; the water soaking my clothes and hair evaporated into warm vapour. In an instant, I was completely dry.

  Landis straightened. ‘Then get to work.’

  I looked up at Landis, then down at Hermes. The fox gazed up at me and blinked.

  ‘All right,’ I said. I pulled myself to my feet.

  Landis and I started back towards the castle. Hermes shook himself and trotted after us.

  ‘Right, Rain,’ Landis said. ‘Let’s hear it.’

  We were back in Landis’s ready room, looking over the projection table. The focus had been zoomed in to show the north-east of the castle, a closely packed area of tall buildings overlooking small courtyards. It looked tighter and more confined than the areas we’d fought in before. The north and east sides of the projection showed the castle’s edge; to the south and west was an irregular arc of blue marking the positions of Rain’s men.

  ‘Drakh’s forces have gone to ground here,’ Rain said, his voice slightly tinny through the speaker. His figure was a small holographic projection floating next to the castle; unlike Landis and me, he was on site. ‘Scouting reports put his numbers between a hundred and thirty and a hundred and fifty.’

  ‘Composition?’

  ‘Some mages, but the majority seem to be adepts.’

  ‘All the rest will be adepts,’ I said. ‘Don’t expect any normals.’

  ‘Current status?’ Landis asked.

  ‘They didn’t contest the perimeter or the interdiction field, but they’ve pushed back hard the couple of times we tried to probe,’ Rain said. ‘We haven’t forced it since Nimbus’s orders were to keep them pinned. And speaking of, where the hell is Nimbus? I’ve been trying to contact him and all I get is orders to hold.’

  ‘We’ve heard no more than you,’ Landis said. ‘Can you hold?’

  ‘Against the adepts, sure,’ Rain said. ‘The problem’s Vihaela.’ He made a gesture and half a dozen target marks appeared on the map, spread out over his forces. ‘She’s been sniping at us ever since we moved in and she’s deadly. We’ve lost one Keeper and sixteen security just to her. All dead, no wounded. She pops up somewhere we’re not expecting, kills one before we even know she’s there, kills another as the rest scatter, then vanishes.’ Rain’s projection turned its head towards Landis. ‘She’s picking us apart and it’s wearing down morale. No one wants to stick their heads out. And when they ask me what the plan is, all I can do is tell them to sit tight.’

  ‘We’ll have to—’ Landis paused and put a hand to his ear, then looked at Rain. ‘It’s Nimbus.’

  ‘About bloody time.’

  Landis strode out of the room and began speaking quietly into the focus. ‘How’s Vihaela moving around without your mages spotting her?’ I asked.

  ‘Wish I knew,’ Rain said. ‘Between our Keepers, we’ve got mindsight, lifesight, deathsight, detection for air and cold and heat and at least three things more, and Vihaela’s not showing on any of them. She’s flitting from one side of the perimeter to the other without anyone noticing. We could use your help.’

  ‘You’ll have it, but I’m not sure it’ll do much. Drakh’s got a way to block my divination too.’

  Rain swore. ‘What’s keeping Nimbus? We’re sitting ducks out here!’

  I started to answer, then paused and turned. Through the door I could see Landis standing stiff and still. He said something into the comm, his manner curt: whatever Nimbus said back, he clearly didn’t like it.

  ‘Verus?’ Rain asked.

  ‘One sec,’ I said, frowning. Landis and Nimbus were speaking through a private channel, but they weren’t too far away . . .

  ‘What the hell?’ I muttered. That doesn’t make sense.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Rain asked.

  ‘He’s about to tell us,’ I said absently. I looked ahead, sorting through the futures in which we contacted Talisid.

  Landis broke the connection with a sharp movement and strode back through the door. ‘Director Nimbus has issued new orders,’ he told us. His expression was flat, giving nothing away. ‘Rain’s force is to pull back.’

  ‘For what, an attack on the keep?’ Rain asked.

  ‘To Nimbus’s command post.’

  ‘I don’t get it,’ Rain said.

  ‘We’re not attacking,’ Landis said, his voice clipped. ‘Nimbus’s orders are to establish a defensive position and wait until the Council can break through the wards on the shadow realm and reinforce us.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That’ll take days,’ I said. I was still busy with the futures, pushing our conversation aside with the fateweaver to explore possibilities. ‘If we’re lucky.’

  ‘This is ridiculous,’ Rain said. ‘Landis, I don’t want to launch an attack either, but . . . this is just stick your head in the sand and hope.’

  ‘I agree,’ Landis said curtly. ‘Unfortunately, Nimbus holds command. I’m going to have to go over his head.’

  ‘Won’t help,’ I said. ‘Council are divided.’

  ‘Talisid?’ Rain asked.

  ‘Nimbus has told Talisid that a ground attack is hopeless,’ I said. ‘Talisid isn’t willing to overrule him without something more to go on.’

  ‘Dammit!’ Rain said.

  I made my decision. It was surprisingly easy. ‘Rain, keep your troops where they are,’ I told him. ‘Landis and I will come over to see the lay of the land.’

  ‘And Nimbus’s orders?’

  ‘I’ll deal with it.’

  Rain’s projection looked dubious, but he nodded. ‘All right. I’ll meet you at point K.’

  Rain’s image winked out and I turned to Landis. ‘Could you gate us please?’

  Landis was watching me closely. ‘What are you planning, Verus?’

  ‘I think I can see a way to make this work,’ I said. ‘But . . . I’m going to need you to trust me.’

  Landis’s eyes rested on me, considering.

  We came through the gate to arrive in a small room inside a castle building behind Rain’s lines. Rain was waiting with another Keeper called Ilmarin. ‘All right, Verus,’ he told me. ‘Where to?’

  ‘Easternmost point of your lines,’ I told him. ‘That big flat rooftop.’

  Rain led us out on a snaking route through narrow passages and halls. ‘Vihaela’s been using some sort of custom spell,’ he told us as we walked. ‘Launches a small conductive bolt wrapped in a shell designed to pierce shields. When it hits, it discharges a death pulse that stops the heart. Very low signature, very hard to detect. We’re trying to close off her firing angles, but . . .’

  We were passing the men (and occasional women) of the sieging force, deployed in small groups behind walls and improvised barricades. They were huddled behind their cover, hiding or waiting or just sitting slumped. Few met our eyes. The difference compared to Landis’s force was like night and day, and it worried me. Battles are usually won or lost by morale; a combat force will break and run long before they run out of men. These soldiers had taken heavy losses last night, they’d had bad news all day, and right now they were being forced to sit and hold a position under sniper fire. I wasn’t sure how close they were to falling apart, but it didn’t look good.

  We came out onto the rooftop, squarish in shape with a waist-high parapet. A couple of soldiers gave us brief nods but stayed down on the staircase, out of sight. ‘Keep your eyes open,’ Ilmarin warned. He was a long-faced air mage, one of the few Keepers from the Order of the Star who didn’t seem to have a problem with me. He seemed to be acting as Rain’s second. ‘We’re about due for Vihaela to take another shot.’

  Rain looked around the bare rooftop. There was no cover, not unless you went right up to the parapet and ducked down. ‘Sure you want to stay here?’

  I nodded.

  Landis glanced towards the complex of buildings to the north. ‘So this is where our old friend Drakh has chosen to make his stand, hmm?’

  The three of us left Ilmarin at the stairs and walked out to get a better view. To the north we could see where Richard’s force was gathered, a close-packed sprawl of one- and two-storey buildings laid out across the castle’s north-eastern corner. Dozens of windows looked down over small courtyards, mostly hidden from our view.

  ‘Yes . . . just a second.’ Rain put a hand to his ear, then looked at me. ‘Nimbus wants to know if we’ve started to withdraw.’

  ‘Tell him we’re staying,’ I said.

  Rain and Landis looked at me.

  ‘I’ll handle Nimbus,’ I said.

  Rain raised his eyebrows but spoke quietly into the focus. Landis was studying the buildings to the north. ‘Does look like a challenge, doesn’t it?’ he said conversationally. ‘You think you can assault the place, Rain?’

  Rain cut the connection and looked up. ‘On paper, we’re stronger. In practice . . . ?’

  ‘I might be able to do something about that,’ I said.

  ‘All right, Verus,’ Rain said. ‘You’ve dragged us up here; let’s hear it.’

  The futures that I could see looked brooding and still. But with Richard somewhere in those buildings, I didn’t trust my divination for something like this. Instead I reached out with the fateweaver. I knew what I was looking for, and began to shape the direction in which the futures would go, sketching out the rough lines of what I needed.