The Element of Fire by Martha Wells (top novels TXT) 📕

Dank freezing air flowed out. It was a well within the outer wall of the tower, and handholds had been carved out of the stone, leading down into darkness below.

“For sieges.” Ravenna nodded to herself. “It will lead all the way down to the bottom floor, with an opening on each level.”

Roland looked down and bit his lip. Ravenna knew what he was thinking: it would not be a pleasant climb for him, let alone the two women. He said, “Do you think you can make it?”

“Of course not,” Ravenna said flatly. She knew someone would have to stay to close the door and draw the cover over it or the fay would have them within moments. “Go on. You’ll have to help Elaine.”

“But—” Roland automatically reached for the girl’s arm as Ravenna pushed her toward him. “You can’t—”

Elaine said, “No, I’m staying with you.” She twined her arms around Ravenna with unsuspected ferocity. “I won’t leave you.”

Ravenna tried to pry her loose. “Damn you, you silly child, I—”

Roland protested, “Mother, you can’t stay here, they’ll kill you, at least try to—”

The door cracked as something heavy struck it. “Roland, go on!” Ravenna whispered furiously.

He stepped onto the little ledge, then cautiously felt for the handholds. He looked back and said, “I—”

“Climb,” she ordered and swung the panel closed. Elaine helped her with the cover, and they wrestled it back in place, moving away from it just as the door gave way.

Ravenna put her arm around Elaine’s shoulders and the girl clung to her as the fay poured into the room.

There were a dozen at least of varied shapes, bogles with distorted grinning faces, some hulking things with no faces at all, a delicate winged creature that looked something like both a demon and an angel. One of them had blood spattered on its mouth; Ravenna wondered if it was from one of her guards, and it was rage, not fear, that turned her to stone. They scampered or strode through the room, disarranging the boxes, searching, for the moment ignoring the two women. Ravenna wondered if they would casually toss a barrel onto the lamp; they did not seem to have any fear of the powder.

Another fay entered. This, Ravenna knew, was the leader. He was tall and slight, human in shape but blue skinned, with a face of childlike attractiveness and a horrible leering smile. He bowed mockingly to her. “Greetings, Queen of Nothing. I am Evadne, a prince of the Unseelie Court.”

“What do you want?” she asked. She felt cold down to her bones, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the room, but her voice was still hard.

“Your boy-king; why else would we go to this trouble?” He looked around the room. “You’ve hidden him, of course.”

Ravenna felt Elaine quiver slightly beside her. She said, “He isn’t here.”

One of the troll-like creatures left off its search and grunted something at Evadne. He glared at it, then said to Ravenna, “We saw him come into this tower. You will tell us where he is.”

“He did not come into the tower. You can see that for yourself. Whoever saw him must have been mistaken.” She didn’t look around at the other creatures but she could tell they had stopped searching. They would have looked harder, she knew, if they had really been positive that Roland had come into the tower. They must have observed from a distance, and Evadne had taken the chance.

Evadne paced across the room, glaring at the other creatures, who shrank back or snarled at him. He stopped and thought for some moments, his smooth brow wrinkling, then leaned down and spoke to the other fay. Ravenna could tell that some of them did not seem happy with his decision, whatever it was.

He turned and came back toward the two women. “You will tell your men to bring him to us, or we will kill you.”

How daft, she thought. This thing doesn’t understand us at all, does he? But it gave her an idea, and she thought she knew how to manage him now. She said, “I can’t do that.”

“You can. You will.”

Ravenna pretended to falter. She thought she did it well; she raised a shaking hand to her brow, and said, “Please…”

Evadne leered at her. “A King or a Queen, what is it to be?”

“I…” She managed a fairly creditable sob. “I’ll send the message.”

Evadne sneered in triumph. He snapped his fingers and a small winged creature with a hideous face produced a gold-chased quill, inkpot, and a ragged piece of parchment out of the air. It set the things down on the box in front of her.

Ravenna gently disentangled Elaine’s hands from her arm until the girl stood alone shivering, and sat down on the box. She picked up the pen and dipped it, then paused to frame her thought. She wrote, Accede to no demands and keep the men away from the tower. By my hand Ravenna Fontainon Regina.

She hesitated. The fay didn’t ask to see the note and had made no attempt to watch her write. He couldn’t read, then. It made sense. Why would a fay read?

Except for Kade, of course. Ravenna would have given quite a bit to have Kade at her side rather than Elaine, whom she had to protect.

But would Renier and the others obey the note? Without Thomas here, there was no way to be sure. How could she make sure they would do it? There wasn’t a way.

Evadne snapped, “Hurry, old woman.”

Ravenna knew the expected response and tried to compose her features into something like fear. She had spent so much of her life concealing her fear that she had forgotten how to show it. She felt she looked more confused than afraid, but it apparently satisfied the fay. She said, “I’ll have to seal it, so they will know I wrote it.”

“Go on, then.”

She folded the note and Elaine took the candle out of the lamp and handed it to her without being told. Ravenna looked up and saw the girl’s expression, and knew she had read the note over her shoulder. There were both fear and trust in her eyes. She thinks I have a way out of this.

Ravenna took the candle and dripped the wax onto the paper, then pressed her ring into it. Her personal seal, the crescent moon embossed by the family symbol of the salamander. It was not until then she realized she had signed herself Queen, not Dowager. Damn. Well, let them put that in their history books. Elaine reached for the candle but Ravenna set it down on the crate, grinding the base into the wood so it would stay upright. Now for the next part. She handed the note to Elaine and said, “Take this to Renier, dear.”

With an awful childlike smile, Evadne said, “I’m not sure I want to part with so lovely a hostage.”

The paper crackled a little in Elaine’s grip. Ravenna said, “Perhaps you would take the message yourself, then. No doubt my men would like to meet you.”

He looked amused, enjoying Elaine’s fear. “I suppose you’re hostage enough for their good behavior. The girl may go.”

And you need no hostage for my good behavior? Ravenna thought. She resisted the urge to kiss Elaine good-bye and merely said, “Go on, dear.”

Elaine looked down at her, bit her lip, then turned and hurried to the door. I taught her not to cry before enemies and she doesn’t. Ravenna nodded to herself, satisfied. That one turned out well.

Evadne watched the girl go, but made no attempt to stop her. Ravenna waited until she heard Elaine’s steps on the stairs, then relaxed a little. She settled herself more comfortably on the box and watched Evadne.

The fay said, “He told me you would be weak. I see he was right again.”

It surprised her. “Who told you that?”

“Our pet sorcerer, Grandier. He had leisure to study you.”

Your pet sorcerer! Your pet snake is more to the point. She said, “He doesn’t like you very well, does he?”

“He is a human, and therefore a fool.”

She inclined her head. “I see.”

The time passed slowly. Ravenna counted her heartbeats and stared at the candle flame. It kept her mind off wanting something to do with her hands. She saw Evadne grow impatient. He began to pace again, snarling at the other creatures. To distract him, she said, “I thought your kind could not attack during the day, only your servants and the lesser members of your court.”

He grinned at her implied insult. “Our sorcerer has made the sky darken for us, made the clouds turn black so the sun does not disturb us. Even now, one of our great ones perches on the outside of this tower, ready to destroy your men in the courtyard.” He glared down at her. “Why don’t they send out your king, old woman?”

“It will take them some time to persuade themselves that there is no alternative.”

Evadne’s stare turned curious, and she realized she had spoken with a smile. She thought of trying a fearful expression again, but it was too late for that. Oh, I’m leaving everything undone. Roland, learn from this if nothing else. Probably Elaine had unintentionally helped matters by telling Renier that Ravenna had some plan of escape. Roland had had more than enough time to climb to the bottom of the tower. Or fall to it, God help him, she thought.

“They take too long. I think I’ll tell my friend outside to kill a few men down in the courtyard, to hurry the others along.”

Ravenna said, “I think you won’t.”

Evadne laughed.

She said, “I may be old, but not too old to deal with you.” She stood, and before he could think to come at her, she tossed the lit candle into one of the broken barrels of powder.

The blast blew gaping holes in the outside wall, and brought the upper floors and the roof down on top of them. The flying creature perched on the side drifted to the ground in a ball of flame, keening most of the way.

*

When Roland’s reaching foot touched solid stone he gasped in shock, then leaned against the rough wall and sobbed in relief. His arms were shaking and his fingers had begun to bleed. A hundred times he had seen himself falling to the bottom of the narrow well, bouncing off the walls, dying in filth and darkness. But the most painful thoughts did not concern his own death. He’ll have an explanation. Powder and shot hidden in the tower, enough for a small army, and the fay have come and he isn’t here, and wherever he is, he’s taken Falaise with him… He will have an explanation. After a moment Roland rubbed his sleeve over his face and began to feel for the wooden door in the pitch darkness.

Roland found a catch but the door was stiff from disuse. He managed to push it open a crack, enough to let in a breath of air, but no further. He hesitated, afraid to make too much noise. If the fay had taken all of Bel Garde, if they had won past the gate Braun’s apprentices had said was sealed against them… Then we’ll all die, mother and Elaine in the tower, everyone down here, and when they catch me…

But then he heard voices, rough human voices, the familiar city accent. A woman asked some inaudible question, and a man’s louder tone replied, “That’s what I said, but they’re looking for the King