Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) (18 page)

Despite the time of year, the glowering clouds lent the air a chill it otherwise wouldn’t have possessed. The bone-white walls of the factory were stark against the iron sky while, like golems at the edge of a concrete sea, the warehouses crouched at the border of the parking lot, gaping emptily.

Eyeing the monolithic factory, she hesitated. The entrance across the parking lot would dump her straight onto the factory floor, and thus into a crowd of Merlin who’d all wonder why their queen was down among them, instead of up in the library where she belonged. The loading dock would have the same result, only from whatever cripple-and-wizard teams happened to be back from their hideouts in the city. The council would deeply not appreciate either scenario, and would probably have a number of chastising things to say in each case.

But the fire escape on the rear of the factory would take her to the roof of the outlying buildings, and from there to the halls in the heart of the complex. A humorless grin tweaking her lip, she began winding her way through the warehouses toward the far side of the factory.

Just because she didn’t want to use a portal didn’t mean she had to throw herself into the lion’s den.

Gravel crunched beneath her feet, the sound loud in the quiet. With this many wizards in close proximity, the skies were empty of birds for nearly a mile around. The stirring of loose tarps over the warehouse windows carried eerily through the silence, and she could hear her own breathing as she walked.

The sound of an engine in the distance brought her up short. Tires growled across the gravel, coming closer by the second. Brow furrowing, she glanced around, and through a gap between two warehouses, she caught sight of a white-sided delivery truck rolling toward the factory’s rear door.

She exhaled, rolling her eyes at her own nervousness. It was just one of the trucks the cripples and wizards used to get around. With their vulnerabilities to magic, cripples couldn’t travel by portal. That much power in close proximity shattered the strange shell around them, killing them instantly even if the wizard tried to hold the effects back with a shield. To compensate, the Merlin had picked up a few windowless trucks, and now most of the teams went around town under the cover of being delivery drivers.

But since the truck was pulling to a stop by the rear entrance, they were now squarely between her and the fire escape.

Biting her lip in consternation, she glanced around and then crept to the end of the line of warehouses, trying to keep the gravel from making too much noise beneath her. She could wait till they were inside and then skirt around to the stairs. With the rear door and the truck in clear view only a few yards away, it wouldn’t be hard to tell when they’d gone.

Two wizards climbed from the front of the truck, heading for the back. The rolling rear door squealed as they tugged it up and their footsteps clunked heavily as they climbed inside. Muffled sounds followed. Her brow drew down. And then the factory door swung open.

A cocksure smile on his face, Sebastian sauntered down the steps and waited for the wizards to emerge.

“Well,” he commented. “You didn’t get far.”

Her confusion grew.

The wizards hauled two people from the truck, dumping them at Sebastian’s feet. On their knees with their clothes in tatters, the teenage boy and girl clung to each other tightly.

Ashe’s heart started to pound as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. The kids were cripples. But they were terrified.

“Where are the others?” Sebastian asked them.

At their silence, he gave them a reproving look. “Come now. You let your friends out, and after I went to so much trouble to catch them, too. You must have had a plan. Where were you headed?” He grinned. “Where are those hideouts you cripples are so fond of?”

“Go to hell,” the boy spat.

Sebastian sighed. “So rude.”

The boy said nothing, while the girl just buried her head in his side. Bending down, Sebastian took her chin in his hand, tilting her face up toward him.

“Hush, child,” he said tenderly. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

His magic lashed out.

The girl’s chin slid from his grasp as both teenagers slumped to the ground.

Sebastian straightened, rolling his neck languorously as the shards of light around the kids faded into him.

“Find the others,” he ordered, and then motioned to the bodies. “Get rid of those.”

He turned and walked back into the factory, leaving the guards to stuff the corpses into the truck and then drive away.

Ashe stared. She couldn’t feel her hands or feet. Everything had gone numb. Screams bounced around inside, trying to find the way out, but she couldn’t remember how to make a sound.

Ferals. They…

Oh God…

Her gaze went to the building.

Sebastian… Sebastian was a feral.

She shook her head, uncomprehending. How
could
he? How could
anyone
who knew the Blood existed murder the only people who could see them?

Unless…

His bigoted words from the council meeting so many months ago came back and her blood went cold. She’d watched him storm across the factory floor. She’d watched him grab a few wizards on his way out.

He’d been planning this all along.

And there wasn’t any reason to think the Blood didn’t have allies among the Merlin as well.

Air forced its way into her lungs.

The council didn’t know. They couldn’t. They didn’t know he was killing while they were trying to build a bridge, and he was going to destroy everything they’d worked for if…

She ran for the factory. Yanking open the door, she darted through the dark hallways and hit the hospital wing at full speed. People stared as she raced past, and the guards called questions as she tore up the stairs. Whipping around the corner, she bolted onto the walkway and then skidded to a stop at the conference room door.

Someone had to be here. They always were. And as long as that someone wasn’t Sebastian, she stood a chance of explaining before she went off and set one of the council on fire.

Shoving open the door, she choked in relief as Darius glanced up from his notes.

“My God, your majesty,” he gasped at the sight of her. Rising swiftly, he rounded the table and then gripped her arms to steady her. “Are you alright? What happened?”

She shook her head. Breathing hard, she closed her eyes briefly and forced the words out. “Sebastian, he…” she swallowed. “Cripples. Outside. He killed them. Darius, he’s a feral. I think he’s working for the Blood.”

The man blinked, his normally unflappable expression fracturing into genuine shock. “Are… are you
certain
?”

She nodded.

Clearly struggling to maintain his calm, he turned away. “I always knew he had
prejudices
, but I never…” Darius’ brow furrowed as he looked back at her. “Is it possible they were spies? We had word Taliesin–”

“They were
kids,
Darius.”

A hint of nausea broke past his composure. “Ah.”

He exhaled, absorbing the information as he tried to regroup. “Sebastian will be coming in shortly. Returning from addressing a threat in town… or so he told me.” His expression tightened and then he glanced to her again, reading her anger. “And perhaps you shouldn’t be here when he–”

The door swung open. “Darius,” Sebastian said as he strolled in. “I–”

He cut off at the sight of her. Confusion and caution flashed over his face as his gaze darted between her and Darius. Carefully, he pushed the door closed, his wariness growing as he saw the fury in her eyes.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his tone attempting to be casual, and failing.

“I saw you,” she whispered, trembling with rage. He looked so calm. A bit intimidated by them staring him down, but not like someone who’d just committed murder less than three minutes before.

His gaze flicked between her and Darius again, and he chuckled bewilderedly. “Well, I
am
standing in front of you, your majesty. So–”

“I saw you kill them.”

Sebastian blinked. He tried another baffled chuckle.

Her hands began to shimmer with heat.

“Your highness,” Darius protested. “Please. We need to handle this appropriately. You cannot–”

“Okay,” she agreed coldly, not taking her eyes from Sebastian. She jerked her chin at the door. “Let’s handle it.”

Anxiety increasing, Sebastian looked between them. “Darius, this is crazy. What is she–”

Flames flared from her clenched fists, and he cut off at the sight.

“Go,” she ordered. “Out there. I want everyone to know what you’ve done.”

Sebastian tore his gaze from the flames, looking to Darius.

And the fear melted from his face, leaving only loathing.

“So that’s it, then,” he said to the man. “You hang me out to dry.”

Confusion cut through her rage, and she looked between the two councilmen.

“You are
such
a fool, you know that?” Sebastian told her. “You think he’s such a strong wizard because he was just born that way?”

Darius’ magic lashed across the room like a whip, crackling powerfully from Sebastian’s shields. The two men stared at one another, icy and sneering in turn.

Suddenly trembling, Ashe backed away from Darius.

“It was a great plan, really,” Sebastian continued. “Hundreds of cripples answer the call of their trusted ally, Queen Ashe, to stop the bogeymen that terrify them so. The queen stays in her tower, finding us the spell to bind Taliesin. And we get fuel to fight the war. Brilliant.”

“Your lies will not save you, Councilman Monroe,” Darius said quietly.

The man choked on a laugh. “
My
lies?” He glanced to Ashe. “Where’ve you been, your majesty? What’ve you heard? That we found your Blood wizards? That they’re running scared? That cripple-and-wizard teams are roaming the city from their hideouts so conveniently located elsewhere, while they fight the good fight to save us all?” Sebastian couldn’t stop his laughter this time. “Yet no one said a word about your little ‘war’, did they? No one said anything at all. But Darius… Oh, he told you all about how Taliesin killed your precious cripples, and how your ‘Blood wizards’ died. And he let you stay away from the cripples when all their noble sacrifices became too hard for you to bear.” His eyes went to Darius. “How thoughtful.”

“I will
not
let you speak like this further, councilman,” Darius warned darkly, electricity crackling from his fingertips.

Sebastian ignored him. “You’ll be happy to know we’ve made good progress in turning the tide against Taliesin, by the way. Though I think lately they might have resorted to taking power from cripples too, since our forces have become so much stronger.”

“If you value your
life
, Councilman Monroe, you will cease these lies at once!”

Sebastian scoffed, shrugging as though it was all the same to him, but she felt the magic around him grow stronger. She looked to Darius.

“Tell me he’s lying,” she said.

Darius turned to her, alarm beneath the tension in his eyes. “Highness, I
swear
he is.”

She paused, her gaze not leaving him. “And take me to where the cripples are staying.”

“Of course. I will prepare–”

“No. Right now.”

His brow drew down. “Your majesty, it is not safe. We must–”

“Darius,” she pressed, desperation tingeing her voice.

“Come on, Darius,” Sebastian chimed in. “That won’t be a problem, right? Taking her there this instant, before you can threaten to kill any cripple who says a word to her?”

At his silence, she began to tremble harder. “Darius… please.”

His eyes met hers. Thoughts raced behind them too fast to read.

And then he sighed.

“You will pay for this,” he said to Sebastian.

“I’m sure,” the man retorted sarcastically.

She couldn’t breathe. Her hands shaking, she reached behind her, clinging to a chair.

“We all make sacrifices, your highness,” Darius said quietly. “Some more than others.”

The air felt denser than stone. Her head shook back and forth of its own accord.

“We all do what we have to,” he told her.

“Y-you
killed
them?” she heard herself say, her voice small in the sudden immensity of the room.

“Through their deaths, cripples make our forces stronger than they ever would have been otherwise. Their sacrifices save lives.”

“But–”

“The ‘Blood’ do not exist, your majesty,” he said, and the kindness in his voice felt clammy on her skin. “And we have more than enough real enemies in this war.”

“You said you found them,” she protested. “You said… you said you were stopping them.”

Tears wanted to emerge, but she was too shocked to cry.

“Yes, well,” he allowed, a touch regretfully. “You would have had trouble focusing where you were needed otherwise.”

She choked on the air she attempted to draw into her lungs.

“You
killed
them,” she said again. “You let me believe…”

More waves of horror rolled over her.

“And you told them… you told them…”

Her grip tightened on the chair as she tried not to fall. Spider. Bus. Samson. Magnolia. Jericho. Oh God.

He’d sent word to the cripples in her name.

“Dear me,” Sebastian chuckled. “I don’t think her royal majesty is taking the news too well, Darius.”

“Silence,” the man ordered. He looked back at her. “There is nothing I can say to make this better for you, your highness. I realize that. But I also know that
you
realize sacrifice is never easy, even when it is necessary. And I can assure you. No one suffered any pain.”

Flames burst from her, slamming Darius’ shields. Instantly, Sebastian struck out at her, and she swiftly diverted magic to block his attack.

The conference room door crashed open as guards rushed in. At the sight of the three of them, confusion brought the men up short.

“Her highness ordered surrender to Taliesin and attempted to harm herself when we begged her to reconsider,” Darius announced, disconcertment and propriety suddenly in his voice. “For her sake, she must be taken to the cells to be kept under watch till she calms down.”