Angel of Storms (Millennium's Rule, #2)(78)

As they emerged from the place between, a wide paved space surrounded by enormous, parasol-like trees started to appear. Several people walking within this found themselves surrounded by ghostly forms and hurried to move away before the sorcerers arrived. But Tyen did not plan to bring the rebels through here. He took them along a wide road through the low buildings.

As they left the city the road narrowed, but remained paved and well maintained. It climbed slowly, and as they crested a ridge a wide valley spread before them. Dominating the centre of it was a house the size of a large town.

The river winding down the valley had been captured and channelled into three huge, rectangular pools. Each of these lay at the centre of a courtyard large enough to hold the main temple of Aei, which in turn was surrounded by an enormous building. The three linked buildings must have contained hundreds, if not thousands, of rooms each. Boats–actual ships–floated on the pools and giant statues stood and sat and lounged around them.

Tyen propelled them towards the complex. How are we going to even find Preketai here, let alone surprise him? He took the rebels down towards the first courtyard. People were everywhere, sweeping the pavement, polishing the statues and cleaning the pools. So much for “a few servants”. Several looked up, noticing the passing shadow of the rebel group and shrinking away in alarm. No hiding our arrival now. Tyen descended to the pavement and, in a gap between statues big enough to fit the whole rebel army, brought everyone into the world.

The group sucked in a collective breath. “Search for minds,” Yira ordered. “Someone will know where he is.”

“There!” a rebel shouted. Tyen sought the voice, saw an arm raised to point at an archway. He searched in that direction and found the mind of a servant hurrying away from the footsteps of the sorcerer. Preketai did not like to see servants, and had burned a woman to ash that morning when he had rounded a corner to find her dusting a vase.

Nice man, Tyen thought. Maybe I won’t find it so hard to join in this battle after all.

The woman was beginning to panic. It was her first visit to the mansion and she didn’t know her way around. As she turned a corner she found herself in the corridor that ran along the main hall. Through an open door she could see a huge, glittering space. Not there, she thought. Nowhere to hide in there.

“He’s near the main hall,” Yira said. “It looks big enough for all of us. Take us there, Tyen. Everyone hold on!”

He pulled them out of the world and skimmed towards the archway. Passing through a huge pair of doors, they entered a cavernous space. Hundreds of mirrors hung from the walls, which had been covered in elaborately carved silver panels. The floor was polished white stone inlaid with more silver. As they arrived he stilled the air around them to form a shield, anticipating that some would be too stunned to remember their training. The rebels stood frozen, tense with expectation, some looking nervously around the hall, others gazing around in astonishment.

“Our timing is fortunate,” Volk said. “The reason the servants are in such a hurry is the arrival of another ally tomorrow.”

“One of his sorcerer underlings has been told of our arrival,” Frell said. “His mind just went silent so he must be in the place between.”

A door opened in the hall and Tyen heard Yira draw in a quick breath. Following her gaze, he saw a man in a long coat of shimmering silver fabric standing about a hundred paces away, staring at them.

“Is that him?” a rebel whispered.

“Has to be,” another replied.

“Either that, or the house servants’ uniforms are very expensive,” Volk muttered.

“It’s Preketai!” another rebel said in a louder voice. “I’ll never forget that face.”

“Who are you?” the man demanded, then his eyes narrowed. “Rebels!” he sneered. “Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”

“Shield and attack!” Yira shouted.

Tyen stopped stilling the air around the rebels just in time as a magical onslaught burst from them. He could not possibly anticipate and let through every attack, so they would have to rely on their own shields. Preketai did not even flinch. His eyebrows rose and he glared at them imperiously.

Then all the magic around them rushed towards Preketai, leaving the hall dark with Soot.

The rebels closest to the man cringed, and as their shields failed others stepped forward to protect them.

“Formation!” Yira yelled. “Shield us all when he attacks, Tyen,” she added in a quieter tone. “Save your strength for it. Stay here at the back, so he doesn’t guess who is doing it.” She moved away, wending through the crowd towards the front.

A traitorous relief that he would not have to strike the Raen’s ally was followed by concern for Yira. He stilled the air between Preketai and the rebels again, allowing them to shift into battle positions, moving to surround the lone figure. The ally stopped attacking and waited. In the pause that followed, Tyen looked around. It was hard to believe so many sorcerers combined couldn’t overcome the man. But though they’d gathered their magic in other worlds, they could not replace it now that Preketai removed all the magic around them. He could also continue to take the magic that flowed into the void he’d made.

“Attack!” Yira called. Tyen dropped his shield as the rebels struck again. Preketai sneered, amused by their efforts.