I crouched behind the door, a big rock clutched in my hand. It wasn't much of a plan. None of us knew enough. None of us even knew how to get back into the palace. Max had never been down here, though he had heard stories about it when he was little. He sat at a small table in the middle of his cell, pretending to be depressed. He didn't have to pretend hard. News about his son had sent him grieving in a corner. I had to tell him, I couldn't let him find out the hard way.
Iniuri waited on the other side of the door with another rock. Scholar had wormed into a space over the door with more rocks. The plan was simple enough. Max told us the guards were due to arrive with more supplies. He had a clock. He had food. He had a real bed. He knew what day it was supposed to be. I tried not to think about how long I'd been down here already. I deliberately didn't think about Tayvis. He would have rescued me by now, if he was able. It meant something had gone desperately wrong. I didn't want to think about what.
We waited. Time ticked past. Max frowned at the door. "They should have been here an hour ago," he complained.
"Then we do what I wanted to in the first place," I said. "We find our own way up to the palace and we take the fight to them."
"Four of us," Max said. He shook his head.
"All we have to do is get out where someone can see us," I argued. "They think you're dead. Show them you aren't."
"And what about the palace guard? They won't hesitate to shoot me. They aren't my men anymore." Max glared. We'd had this argument for most of the last two days while we waited. I'd spent it trying to get my legs to work again, when I wasn't arguing with the Emperor.
Scholar stuck his head out and looked down at me. He'd used the Emperor's bathtub and razor and borrowed a spare set of clothing. He looked a lot more human. I'd done the same, minus the razor.
Iniuri sighed and dropped his rock, stepping out of hiding. "Face it, Max. They aren't coming. I think Dace is right. We have to try to escape."
I shifted my weight. My feet were still bare and it didn't bother me. Much. I dropped my rock. Scholar climbed down from his perch and stood near me. His eyes were still haunted and mostly mad. He still couldn't talk much. The words just wouldn't come.
"We have to take our chances," I said. "Or we'll die down here."
"If they wanted me dead," Max started his favorite argument again.
I rolled my eyes. "Then where are they with your food?" We'd run out the day before. All of us were hungry.
Max snapped his mouth shut.
"Get anything useful," Iniuri suggested. "We'll try to get out and get to the space port. If we're lucky, Dace can steal a ship for us."
I didn't bother to let him know that it wouldn't do us any good but Max accepted it. We were moving again. It was enough for now.
There wasn't much to get. I had a handlight. Scholar kept a rock. Iniuri broke up the one chair and ripped off one leg. Max brought his dignity. We slipped out the door into the hall.
We crept up the hall, listening for the arrival of the guards. We didn't hear anything. The hall ended at a thick door. It was locked. I fished around in the lock with my wire until I broke something inside. Iniuri pulled the door open.
There was a long set of stairs leading up into darkness. I flicked on the handlight. We started climbing.
It was rough going, at least for me. I had to stop and rest every dozen steps. I could feel my muscles starting to quiver. Max was almost as bad. He was breathing hard, his face an odd shade of yellow in the reflected light. I suspected he'd been drugged and possibly poisoned. He leaned on Iniuri as we slowly climbed.
The stair twisted and curved, the steps uneven in height and width. The stones on either side showed signs of tools. Someone had widened a natural crack and carved in the stairs.
The stairs finally flattened. The passageway twisted and climbed but more slowly. It ended in an alcove. I looked up to find a trapdoor about eight feet above me. There was no ladder or rope or convenient way up to it. The door was firmly shut.
"It must be on the other side," Iniuri said, looking up with me.
"We didn't come this far to get stuck by a simple door," I said. "Scholar, can you boost me up?"
Scholar and Iniuri both lifted me. I climbed onto their shoulders. I balanced precariously and pushed at the trapdoor. It didn't move. I shoved harder. It lifted a bare fraction of an inch then slammed back.
I lost my balance and tumbled down. Max caught me before I smashed onto the rocky floor. I was shaking, fighting off another seizure.
"Henry?" Iniuri said when Max had put me down.
Iniuri crouched down. Scholar climbed onto his shoulders. Iniuri slowly straightened. Scholar was beyond skinny, downright skeletal. I watched Iniuri lift him. Scholar balanced on his shoulders and raised himself until he could reach the door. He pushed and strained at it.
I sat on the floor, trying to ignore my trembling legs. The seizure was a mild one. Scholar managed to lift the door a tiny bit. It slammed back. He dropped down, jumping from Iniuri's shoulders. He shrugged.
"There must be something on top of it," Iniuri said.
"Now what?" Max asked.
No one answered him. No one had any ideas. Scholar tried to climb the walls. He couldn't reach the trapdoor by himself.
Something scraped over the door, something from above. I got slowly to my feet, using the wall to hold me up. Iniuri backed off, keeping Max behind him. We all stared upwards as the trapdoor slowly rose. I saw the face framed in the door and grinned. Maybe my luck was changing for the better.
"Fya!" I called up to him.
Fya grinned down at me. "That's where you went. You had some very angry people looking for you."
"Where did they go? Where's Tayvis?" I asked.
"Later. No time." He dropped a rope down to me. "Get up here, now."
I caught the rope. My legs betrayed me. I could barely stand. There was no way I could climb. Fya disappeared from the hole. A rope ladder dropped down a second later. I still couldn't make it up by myself. Scholar finally boosted me up the ladder and through the hole.
"Still slacking, I see," Fya teased me when I rolled through the hole. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, holding on until I got my balance. Scholar stood next to me and glared at Fya. Fya let go. "Nice to meet you, too."
"This is Scholar," I said. "And down there are Iniuri Shiropi and His Highness, Max the older."
Fya's eyes got wide as the other two climbed up the ladder. The Emperor stood in his storage room, looking disheveled and ill. He still managed to look like an Emperor. Iniuri stood next to him, looking just as important. Fya saluted them both.
"What's happening?" Iniuri asked.
"I was sent down here to try to find supplies, anything that might have been overlooked," Fya answered. "I don't think you were what they expected me to find."
"Who's in charge? What is happening?" Iniuri asked, more urgently.
Fya shook his head. "There's been rioting for three days now. The city is in chaos. Half the palace guard turned on the rest. No one's seen the Emperor, excuse me, your son, for at least two days. That witch woman took him somewhere."
Scholar hissed. I grabbed his arm before he could run out of the room.
"We'll kill her later," I said to him. "We need weapons first."
Fya cocked his head, watching me. "Then you know about her."
"I was sent here to push her into making a hasty move."
"You weren't here to negotiate," Fya said "That will make Hovart happy. His suspicions were correct."
"Hovart's here?" I asked.
"In charge of palace security. He got your party out before the guards shot them. They took your ship and left."
I closed my eyes, dizzy with relief. If the Phoenix got away then I had a chance. Someone would come for me.
"Dace?" Fya asked.
"I'm fine," I said, actually feeling it for the first time in a long time. I grinned at him. "Let's go kick a witch's butt."
"Interesting way to put it, but I agree," Max said. "Do you have weapons?"
Fya shook his head. "Power packs ran out the first day. We've been fighting hand to hand through the palace since then. Hovart's holed up in the kitchen with the few blasters still holding a charge."
"Then get me to him," Max said. "Get me somewhere I can be seen."
Fya didn't need to have it explained. He nodded. "Follow me. Stay close and stay quiet."
He crept out of the storage room. The other guards in the basement stared in disbelief before saluting. We were hustled out of the warren of storage rooms and up another flight of stairs, a normal one this time.
The halls above were filled with broken furniture. None of the lights worked. Sunlight filtered in through windows, the golden light of morning. The air smelled of smoke and blaster fire. A dead body in palace livery sprawled through a doorway.
We went to the kitchens, a huge complex of rooms with multiple doors. Hovart held court in the largest room. He saw us and his eyes went wide. He slowly rose to his feet, quiet spreading across the room from our entrance. He flicked one glance over me and settled his gaze on the Emperor. He straightened to attention and saluted, though one arm was coated in bandages.
Max nodded regally. There was a general movement through the room as the other guards saluted and bowed. Max raised his hand.
"My loyal troops," he said, "it warms my heart to see you. I've heard of the situation here. I regret it most deeply. It is time to make what amends we may. Please, Commander, report on the situation."
I watched Fya leave, moving with the others to guard the perimeter.
Hovart waved at a large sheet of paper spread over the kitchen. It was covered with hasty maps and quick notes. "Those loyal to you are here, in the kitchen, or dead. We've received no word of your son for two days. We believe he is being held in his rooms."
"What of the space port? Any communication with them?" Iniuri asked.
Hovart shook his head. "Coms have been down since yesterday morning. The whole city is rioting. What's left of the Patrol are holed up in headquarters."
"Any flitters left in the palace? You could get them to safety somewhere," I said, nodding at Max and Iniuri.
"And do what?" Hovart asked tiredly.
"Get me to the Council Chamber," Max said. "Let me address whatever's left of my people."
Hovart nodded. "It might work. If we can get to the main courtyard we can find a flitter. Traffic control is down, though but the Patrol flitters have full controls. Do we have pilots?" He looked at me again.
"I don't fly flitters," I said. I had a witch to hunt. Scholar twitched restlessly. He wanted her as badly as I did.
"I know that look," Hovart said to me. "What are you planning?"
"We help you get the Emperor to the flitters and then we're going after the head of the syndicates."
"You hit your head somewhere, Dace."
"Sonja Medallis is behind it," Iniuri said, backing me up.
Max closed his eyes as if he were ill. He looked sick. "She was like a daughter to me, when she was little. She changed after visiting her aunt." He snapped his mouth shut. He opened his eyes, the glint of battle in them now.
"The Ice Queen? The Lady?" Hovart shook his head. "It makes too much sense. She has to be with Maximillius, in his rooms." He looked at the Emperor. "We get you to safety and then we'll do what we can about her."
Max nodded stiffly. The troops around us moved with more purpose. The air was filled with hope. We were ready to leave within a few minutes.
We crept up to the door out of the kitchen. Hovart sent two scouts out. We waited until we heard the whistle sounding all clear. Hovart ushered us into the halls of the palace.
Max walked through them like he owned them. Hovart's men fanned out in front and behind. We heard a scuffle ahead. The scouts came back, trailed by ten battered looking guards. They knelt to their Emperor. He smiled at them. They joined our group.
We gathered up several dozen more troops that way. There was little fighting.
We reached the main entrance gallery, an enormous complex of rooms built for pompous entrances and exits. Shots rang out from the balcony overhead. We ducked into cover. Hovart sent his men scattering to the stairs.
"The courtyard is not far," Hovart said. "I've sent two teams ahead of us to secure the flitters. We have to get you there soon."
More shots rang out from the balcony, gouging the floor near where we crouched in hiding.
"Through those doors," Hovart said, pointing. "Move!"
We ran for the doors. Scholar and I flanked Max, trying to keep him out of the line of fire. Iniuri ran ahead of us, bursting out into the sunlit courtyard.
He ducked back, covering his head with his arms as something exploded outside. Shots traced our steps. We were exposed. We were going to die in front of the doors unless we moved. I pushed him out the doors, dragging Max with my other hand. Hovart came behind, shooting with his blaster. It was almost out of charge.
We ran into the courtyard. Scholar froze at the sight of sunlight. He stumbled into the shadows on one side of the door.
The flitters burned in front of the ceremonial gates. I staggered to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. Max leaned on me, breathing heavily. He sagged slowly to sit on a broken stone tumbled from a pillared gateway that had been blasted into bits.
"You've been hit," Hovart said.
He wasn't talking to me, he was talking to Iniuri. The Speaker collapsed to the stones, his face white with pain. His leg was burned from the knee down.
"Your Highness." The voice rang out from the blasted buildings around us. It echoed through the courtyard.
Hovart grabbed his blaster tighter and whirled, trying to pinpoint the source. The voice laughed, long and cruel.
I caught sight of a ripple of fabric high on a balcony, two stories above us. The railing on the balcony was gone, blown apart to scatter onto the pavement below. The Emperor rose to his feet behind me.
"Max!" he shouted.
A figure staggered onto the balcony. It was Max the younger. He swayed drunkenly.
"Father," Max called down to us. "I was told you were a ghost."
There was movement behind Max, a flutter of silvery white. I went still and cold inside.
"How badly do you want him back?" Sonja called out, her voice the one taunting us. She hung behind Max, just barely seen. Max tottered on the edge of the balcony.
Max the Emperor sucked in a breath. He took an involuntary step toward the shattered building. Max the younger staggered and barely missed falling to his death.
"What do you want?" Max wasn't the Emperor now, he was a very concerned father bargaining for the life of his son.
"What I want isn't important," Sonja called out. "I have what I want."
I ignored her taunts and Max's answers. I crept towards Hovart. "Give me your blaster," I said quietly.
He shook his head. He held it down, unwilling to risk a shot that would most likely hit Max the younger.
"I can hit her, without hitting him," I insisted. "Give it to me."
Hovart swallowed hard, studying me. "You're the enemy, Dace. I can't."
The sharp crack of a blaster firing split the air. Max the younger screamed. He tumbled from the balcony. I grabbed Hovart's blaster and fired. Sonja's dress fluttered into the interior of the building. Her laugh echoed back at me. I shot again. The blaster spat a handful of sparks. The charge was gone. I swore. Hovart ran to the tumbled figure of Max.
The Emperor sagged to his stone, his face in his hands. Sonja's laugh mocked us all.
She emerged from the building, flanked by two hard faced women. They had blasters. I hoped the charge was gone, but I doubted it. Sonja crossed the courtyard, her white dress drifting around her. She wasn't wearing a veil, not now. She lifted her hand, showing me silver nails. I remembered her poisoned touch and shuddered.
"And so you lose," she said.
Scholar rushed her from his hiding place in the stones and shadows. He growled wordlessly as he threw himself across the space separating him from her. One of her women shot him, without a second's hesitation. Scholar sprawled across the pavement, lying still.
I raised my blaster and pressed the trigger. There was no response. Sonja laughed. I felt my heart breaking inside me. I cursed her every way I could think of. She laughed and came closer. I felt my muscles twitching. I fought the seizure with everything I had. I couldn't afford to let my body fail me now. I had to keep Max safe.
Hovart slowly straightened. Sonja flicked a finger at him. Her guard shot Hovart where he stood. He sprawled backwards over the stones.
"What do you want from me, Sonja?" The Emperor asked. "Why did you kill Max? He loved you, you know."
"Because he was pathetic and weak, like you," Sonja answered.
My hand was shaking badly enough I couldn't hold the blaster. It clattered to the stones at my feet. Sonja laughed again.
"You've been behind all of it," I said. "From the beginning."
"Yes," she answered. "I was afraid you'd figured it out, when you broke into my house. But you took the bait and went after Roderick instead. So predictable."
One of her guards tapped an earcom. She leaned forward to whisper urgently to Sonja. A flash of annoyance crossed Sonja's face. She nodded sharply. The woman raised her blaster. I flinched as it fired. Max crumpled to the stones, a look of shock on his face as he died. I froze, staring at the Emperor's body.
"And so it ends," Sonja said.
Iniuri tried to rise. The woman shot him. I screamed and threw myself at her. She went down onto the stones. She punched me. I ignored the pain and fought like a wild animal. She'd just killed my friends. I snarled as I wrestled her blaster away. I shot her point blank then turned to Sonja.
She anticipated me. Her hand scraped over my face. Dreamdust burned into me, a wave of golden pleasure. I tried to raise the blaster. My body went limp, twitching and shuddering as the drug reached nerves already primed for it. Sonja leaned over me, touching my face with her poisoned claw again. I bit my lip and hated her. I hated myself for responding to her, for not fighting the drug. She kicked the blaster from my hand.
"That should make it even better," she said. "Your prints on the blaster that murdered the Emperor. This should be rich." She laughed.
A flitter landed near us. Its engine was running rough, as if it had been pushed too hard. The second woman picked me up and dumped me onto the floor of the flitter. Sonja stepped on me as she climbed in. The flitter took off leaving the second woman behind. Sonja leaned out the door and shot her as the flitter rose higher.
I lay on the floor, numb with grief and drugs. She'd framed me. Iniuri and Scholar and Hovart were dead. The Emperor was dead. Max was dead. Everyone was dying. The Empire was finished.