Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege, #6) Christopher Mitchell (classic reads .txt) 📖

‘Do you want to kill me?’

‘I didn’t, but then I saw what you did to the Seventh Ascendant. You butchered one of the most ancient beings alive, someone who has survived countless wars; someone who was there with us at the beginning. If only you could remember. You’ve changed, Belinda. The old you would never have slaughtered one of your own kind.’

‘I am the Queen of Lostwell.’

Edmond laughed. ‘What?’

‘I am the Queen of Lostwell, the world you decided to destroy. Fight me.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Belinda. I will not stoop to fighting you. You will step aside and allow me to take possession of the Sextant, and then you will accompany me to Implacatus, where you will become my bride. That is your future; it is inescapable. You will also be punished for what you did to the Seventh Ascendant; that is also inescapable.’

‘You will not take the Sextant, and you will not take me.’

‘Where is the sword, Belinda?’

‘I dropped it when the building fell.’ She gestured to the rubble. ‘I imagine it’s somewhere in there.’

Edmond’s eyes glazed over for a second, and a company of Banner soldiers approached. The ruins of the western tower had fallen into the rear yard of the residence, and a stretch of the mansion’s main wing had been damaged by collapsing masonry. Belinda glanced around. A hundred soldiers were fanning out behind Edmond, while another company was approaching from the other side of the mansion, with Bastion and a fully-healed Leksandr leading them. Beyond the perimeter wall of the residence, flames were rising from several directions, and the sounds of fighting rang through the air. To the east, a faint light was building, and the moon had set.

‘Belinda,’ snapped a voice behind her. ‘Get over here; I’ve found Corthie.’

She turned for a moment. Sable was crouching a few yards away in the rubble, her hand clutching something. Belinda edged over, dreading to see what it was. She crouched down next to Sable. It was Corthie. He was breathing but, like Sable, he had suffered several broken bones in the fall of the tower. She shifted a massive stone block that was crushing his legs, and touched his hand, sending a great burst of healing powers into him.

‘This is for you,’ said Sable, holding out the Weathervane. ‘It was buried next to the Sextant.’

Belinda took the sword as Corthie’s eyes opened.

‘What happened?’ he said. ‘Everything went dark.’

Belinda smiled. ‘Edmond brought the tower down, and hundreds of soldiers are surrounding us.’

‘Then why are you smiling?’

‘Because you’re alive. I thought… well, I tried not to think about you. You are the one constant in my life, Corthie. You were there with me, in the attic, in the beginning. You are my first memory.’

‘We should get ready to fight,’ said Sable; ‘otherwise he’ll also be your last.’

Belinda and Sable stood, and then Corthie pulled himself to his feet, his right hand gripping something made of steel. He ripped the Clawhammer from the rubble, and the three of them stood side by side on the summit of the ruined tower. Soldiers had moved into position around the rubble, their shields forming a thick wall. Behind them, Edmond stood.

‘Belinda!’ he cried. ‘Do not make me do this; I beg you. What do you want? Say it, and it shall be yours; only step aside and give me the Sextant. I will even spare the lives of the two Holdfasts by your side. They can come back with us to Implacatus; they can be your mortal servants, honoured and safe; just stand aside. I understand your feelings of confusion. I made a mistake with Lostwell, I can see that now. It was your realm, and I shouldn’t have destroyed it. Let me make it up to you. With the Sextant, I can create for you a brand new world, and fill it with whatever makes you happy. Would that be enough for you? Speak, I implore you; say something.’

‘Go back to Implacatus, Edmond,’ she said; ‘without me, and without the Sextant. That is all I want from you.’

‘I cannot, my dear, and you know the reason why. Salve. All this death and destruction, that is what it has been for – salve. Thousands of gods depend upon it, Belinda; from the Ascendants and Ancients down to the lowliest demigod; it has returned our youth and vigour, and has given a second life to the rulers of the worlds. To return empty-handed would destabilise the order I have struggled for centuries to restore. You must understand.’

‘You are frightened,’ she said. ‘You fear the gods will rise up against you once the stocks run out.’

Edmond bowed his head. ‘You shame me. Even so, my love for you remains undimmed. You were right before, you are a Queen. As my wife, we would rule together, and your kindness would temper my…’

‘Cruelty?’

‘Yes! The millennia have jaded my sympathies, but you are young again; you would be the greatest Queen in the history of Implacatus. With that kind of power, you could help me remake our rule, transform it into something better.’

‘He wants to marry you?’ said Corthie, the Clawhammer gripped in both hands.

‘He does,’ said Belinda. ‘He thinks he loves me.’

Edmond’s face contorted with rage. ‘You made a vow! You promised that you would be my bride, Belinda, you promised. The things I did for you, the crimes I committed so that you could be with me; if only you could remember, I…’

‘Your Grace,’ said Bastion; ‘perhaps now is not the time for such secrets to be aired.’

Edmond faltered for a moment. ‘You are right, Bastion. When the Third Ascendant and I are alone, then I will tell her, then, I will confess.’

‘She has made her decision, your Grace,’ Bastion said. ‘Old Alea is weakening with the coming dawn; it will soon become too unstable to remain here.’

‘Yes.’ He took a breath. ‘I tried; so be it. Destroy the Holdfasts and bring me Belinda.’

Bastion bowed, then gestured to Leksandr. Both men raised their right