Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 25

Harald paced.

They’d opted to remain in the same chamber. The odds of Sam finding them more easily was thus increased, and to be honest, none of them felt up for pressing deeper into the Eternal Tower.

To Harald’s surprise, Vic had sat with Anna when the countess had awoken and engaged her in serious conversation. Harald had joined them briefly, concerned for the countess’s health, but seeing that she was fine and that Vic was intent on taking a deep dive into the mechanisms of government and learning how the City Council operated, he excused himself shortly thereafter. Nessa remained high up on the uppermost balcony, cross-legged, crowned, and contemplative. Kársek puffed away for a short while on his pipe, then knocked the herbs out, crossed his arms, and fallen into a deep sleep where he sat against the wall.

Leaving Harald to ponder their future, their fate, and what they could yet make of it all.

Fact: the angel had declined the Twilight Crown. That left them with the very same problem they’d fled into the Dungeon in the hopes of resolving.

Fact: the six Houses and the Church’s Inquisitors were thus going to continue hunting them. With the Disc of Hollow Watchers broken by Havan, they were now without eldritch protection. Time was of the essence.

Fact: Sam was now an angel-kin? There was a chance she’d return with a new power that could shift the balance of power, but most likely not.

They needed a plan. They’d survived Thracos, Havan, and both Sam and Vic had been anointed by heavenly and demonic patrons, but continuing to fight in the Dungeon was not a long term solution. Nor even a short term one, at this point.

A plan that dealt with the Six Houses.

But they’d fled into the Dungeon for the very reason that they had no leverage, no plan, no way to ensure safety and loyalty from any one member, even if they could get them to swear to the Crown.

But there had to be a solution.

A memory intruded into his thoughts: Sam lifting the corpse bag back in his old manor house, the muscles rippling across her back and shoulders, her tanned skin glistening with sweat.

Harald winced and fought to focus as he walked around the crater that Havan had blasted into existence. Could they appeal to the angels for aid? No. Alabenthos had refused the Crown in so curt and disinterested a manner that there was little recourse in interesting him in their problem.

Six Houses. All incredibly wealthy and defended by a squad or two of Gold-ranked raiders, scores of Silver-rankers, and then untold Copper-ranks. They couldn’t assault or defeat any of them in a fair fight.

So: duplicity. It was impossible to fight all Six Houses simultaneously. They had to suborn one of them to their side, and then find a way to command that person’s loyalty despite their natural resentment for being compelled.

A tall order.

But there had to be a way.

Harald reached the wall, turned, glared out at nothing. Having someone swear to the Twilight Crown only ensured they wouldn’t kill the Crown’s owner. Double crossing, imprisonment, or outright theft of the Crown were all possible.

How did you convince someone to honor their oath? By aligning their interests with your own. But nobody would want to see Harald or Nessa or whomever coronated and made ruler of Flutic.

Harald reached the far wall.

But if they were to rule Flutic, they’d need to be the king or queen or first amongst equals on the Council.

An image intruded again: Sam’s blue eyes, the depths of which contained dark flecks, the way they warmed sometimes when she watched him—

Harald took a deep breath and turned. Fine. If loyalty was needed, then their interests had to align. Either Harald found a way to make them invested in his or Vic or Sam’s rule, or…

Or they allowed their first subject to be the ruler instead?

Harald frowned as he paced, turning this idea over in his mind. He wanted to reject it out of hand, but… did he actually want to preside over Committee Meetings, did he want to be drawn into countless debates about how to run the city, how to handle taxation, how to organize the City Watch, and all the rest of it? To be surrounded by assistants and advisors, to field overtures from the other Houses, to constantly fielding requests and demands and having to corral support?

No.

What he wanted was to get back into the Dungeon as quickly as possible to gain power.

So, perhaps… perhaps they could approach their first victim with an offer? Swear to the Twilight Crown, and if you aid us in our campaign, you shall be the ruler of Flutic in our name?

Harald bit the corner of his lips. Would someone accept such an offer, or would they consider themselves a figurehead and thus discard it out of hand? Or worse, pretend to accept it so that they could plot at leisure as to how to betray and remove Harald and his friends?

The trick would be to sell them on the autonomy of their rule. To make them believe that, despite their oath to the Crown, they were the real power in Flutic. Plus some guidelines. But perhaps that could work.

The question then became whom to approach. Anna might secure them an audience with Lord Draken, but was that the right target? Every Lord and Lady was powerful, but Draken commanded much of the City Watch, which was… useless in the face of Gold-rankers.

No.

Draken couldn’t be their first target.

Celestis.

Harald paused his pacing again.

Yes, that felt right. Nobody else had her naked ambition to rule as sole ruler. And House Celestara was the most dangerous now that Viridian had lost Thracos. It commanded the most Gold-ranked raiders, and Celestis was the most agile, the cunning, the most everything, really.

If they captured the loyalty of anyone else they’d be dealing with House Celestara right away as their primary opponent. But if they captured Lady Celestis’ loyalty, not only would they throw the other Houses into chaos and confusion by depriving them of their greatest leader, but they’d earn an ally who’d help them in turn better navigate the shoals of rulership.

Fine.

Since he was weaving fantasies, Harald decided to go with Lady Celestis. They would approach her, coerce her into swearing to the Crown, then offer her the position of queen over Flutic to align their interests.

How to get close enough to coerce her, however? They couldn’t simply waltz into her manor, and even if they did, the Gold-rankers would destroy them easily the moment they slipped.

Where else did Lady Celestis go? Council Meetings, assuredly, but always under heavy guard. And an assault in the Council Hall would be suicide.

So?

Harald resumed pacing, worrying at the idea. The bones of it felt right. But the particulars. How to get an audience with her so that Nessa’s Presence could be weaponized against her?

He paced back and forth for a spell, then gave up. For a moment he just stood there, and allowed himself to sink into a reverie where he revisited the feel of Sam’s lips against his own, the urgency of that hard kiss, the subtle taste.

Damn it.

He glanced guiltily toward Anna, who was deep in conversation with Vic, the Rapier Regent nodding slowly as he listened intently.

He had to talk with them. Putting away his distracted thoughts on Sam, he made his way over.

Both looked up as he approached.

“Question,” said Harald, crouching beside them both. “What’s the best way to get close to Lady Celestis without having her Gold-rankers cut us down?”

Vic raised an eyebrow. “Looking to get lucky?”

Anna considered the question seriously, then finally shook her head. “Perhaps you could do so during regular times, but now, with everyone on war footing? She knows we’re out here. She’ll be taking precautions. She’s no fool.”

“True. But if we could get Nessa and her alone…”

Anna looked at him questioningly. “Even if Nessa got her to swear, it wouldn’t resolve all our previous problems.”

“Unless we offered to make her queen,” grinned Harald, and sat down to share his idea despite Vic’s spluttering. “So you see, she’s our best target. Our greatest enemy becomes our best ally, and with her aid we have a chance of forcing the others to bend knee.”

“First, we can’t get to her alone,” said Vic. “Second, she’s far too clever and ambitious to ever agree to be our puppet, no matter what you try to call her position. And third, Celestis as ruler of Flutic? You must be mad.”

“With some guidelines,” said Harald.

Vic sneered. “She’s as self-interested and callous as any. We’re trying to effect real change here, Harald. Not just shuffle the chairs of the Committee in a bid to be left alone.”

“Anna? What do you think?”

“I think it’s an astute plan, but dangerously short on several practical elements. How do we coerce someone so hungry for power to work beneath the Twilight Crown? How do we prevent her from betraying us once she’s installed? How do we even secure enough time with her to make this sales pitch?” Anna shook her head slowly. “Each alone is enough to completely ruin your plan.”

“We can’t hide in the Dungeon,” said Harald. “We’re running dangerously short of food, and without the Disc it’s now just a matter of time before another Inquisitor or someone finds us and we can’t count on being saved by Alabenthos a second time. So we have to take the fight to the enemy. We’ll only have one chance to capitalize on the element of surprise, which means we have to go for the biggest prize. Celestis.”

“Yes, yes, that much is obvious,” said Vic, leaning back and smiling patronizingly. “But we can’t get at her, Harry. And even if we could, she’d be terrible for Flutic.”

“We have to find a way to make it work,” protested Harald. “I can’t think of another alternative. Even fleeing Flutic for Marheim is only a short term solution. They’ll hunt us down wherever we go.”

The other two frowned and they sat thus in silence, steeped in thought.

“We would divide her authority,” said Anna cautiously. “In some areas she would have full discretion to do as she deems best. Say taxation, city watch, and control of the treasury.”

“The sword and the purse,” said Vic.

“But then we reserve the right to demand certain policies be implemented.” Anna looked to Vic. “This is where you’d make your demands.”

“Of which I have many.” Vic shook his head. “She’d not agree.”

“You can’t just say that,” said Harald. “It’s on us to sell it to her.”

“Fine.” Vic sat forward. “I want the criminal law rewritten so that its as fair for the poorest beggar as the greatest lord. I want a new court to be created that can try the nobility for crimes without outside influence. I want the city watch structure to be remade without nobility like Draken in charge. Taxation for the poor to be lowered, taxation on the rich raised. A large amount of the city’s income must be dedicated to improving the poorest areas. Need me to continue?”

“She’ll never agree to that,” said Anna.

“We make her.” Harald rubbed at his jaw. “Carrot and the stick. She wants to rule, doesn’t she? We tell her we’ll find another to do so in her place if she refuses. Lord Blaze of House Emberfell, for example—oh!”

Both Anna and Vic stared at him expectantly.

“Of course! Forget Lady Celestis.” Harald leaped to his feet in excitement. “We have a natural ally already. Anita Lothbury.”

A memory of the young woman, manner severe and intense, her gaze luminous with idealism and intelligence, returned to him with startling clarity. “She’s a 9th Level Scaleshaper, she gave me her card.” Harald darted to his pack and opened it. Cast aside rations, bandages, scale pouches, and other camping gear till he found the right pouch from which he drew a wafer-thin brushed metal card.

“She said I could gain admittance to Emberfell Hall with this,” he said. “And remember what she’s trying to do? Find a way to refine scale usage so that it can benefit the poor, can bring scale light back to the slums, revive the rails, all of it.”

Vic’s eyes lit up with interest. “That does sound promising. But that’s Anita. What of Lord Blaze  himself?”

“We speak with Anita,” said Harald, certain. “She’ll be the most open to your ideas.”

“Lord Blaze is as proud as he is brilliant,” said Anna. “He won’t want to swear to the Twilight Crown.”

Harald bit his nail. “And coercing him wouldn’t feel right.” He paused, sensing the answer just out of reach. “We visit Anita first and see if we can interest her in our idea. Then we corner Celestis and use Lord Blaze’s interest as leverage to make her bend knee as well—better to rule with some power than be left out in the cold as Lord Blaze is elevated?”

“Hmm.” Vic shook his head. “Better to just empower House Emberfell. They I can trust to follow through on their promises.”

“The others would unite against Emberfell,” said Anna. “They are perhaps one of the two weakest Houses on the Council.”

“It’s a start,” said Harald at last. “An approach. Because we can’t stay down here, and we can’t flee Flutic.”

“That much we can agree on,” said Vic. “But listen, Harald. I won’t settle for a different brand of corruption. I know you’re not used to my being serious about anything except vaginas, but I this I tell you true: if we’re to make change, it must be for the better for Flutic overall. We clear?”

Vic’s voice resonated with unusual conviction and his gaze was fierce, direct.

Harald raised both hands. “I’m all for helping Flutic. You’ll get no argument from me.”

Vic nodded slowly and relaxed.

“Look,” whispered Anna, and Harald twisted to see a blue portal appearing on the far side of the room.

He was on his feet before he’d realized and taken three steps before Sam stepped forth.

It was her.

The Sam he knew, unchanged into a different being, an angel or something else. Her blue eyes met his own, widened, and she flushed before grinning and ducking her head.

His heart sped up.

He’d forced himself not to think about that kiss. Not to think about what she’d said. What might blossom between them. But now she was here, her beautiful face glowing with health, tanned to a tawny gold, his best friend, his… what?

Seraphina emerged behind her, imperious and distant, her stare immediately cutting her down to size.

“Sam!” Vic’s call awoke Kársek, who sat up with a snort. “Where are your wings? Don’t tell me you accepted the discount Angel Seed package?”

“Sam!” Nessa rose to her feet high above, waved, then rushed for the staircase. They all gathered as Sam exchanged hugs with everyone till at last she stepped up to Harald, blushing in her inimitable way and suddenly shy.

“Hey,” said Harald, suddenly completely awkward. “You’re—you’re back.”

“Yeah. I am.”

“Weird,” muttered Vic maliciously. “What, that’s how you’re going to greet each other after that goodbye?”

Harald wished he hadn’t caught Anna’s pointed stare.

“I’ve delivered Sam to you as I promised her,” said Seraphina, tone haughty. “I shall now depart. See to it that you walk the higher path, Harald. Vic. The consequences of not doing need not be stated.”

“Got it, thanks,” said Vic.

“Thank you.” Harald took a breath. “We’re going to be leaving the Dungeon. Our enemies are hunting us, and we can’t count on your protection again. So we’re going to head back into the city, somehow, and try to change things for the better.”

“We are?” asked Sam. “I mean, I guess that make sense.”

Seraphina seemed curious despite herself. “You have a plan? I fled the politics of Flutic the moment I began to understand them.”

“The rudiments of a plan.” Was she willing to listen? Harald had thought her ready to leave them as quickly as possible. “We want to coerce Lady Celestis into swearing to the Twilight Crown and then offering her some kind of conditional rulership over Flutic in order to earn her loyalty.”

“Lady Celestis.” Seraphina considered. “She’s dangerous, as you know. A smart target, if you can pull off your plan. The only thing I know about her that might be of help is that she’s blackmailing the owner of the Jade Rose Auction House into telling her all the secrets he learns.”

“Is that so?” Vic’s smile widened. “How delicious! If that got out Master Ling would be absolutely ruined.”

Seraphina shrugged. “Flutic is a tapestry of corruption. Perhaps nobody would be surprised.”

“That would explain how Yseult Khan learned of our activity so quickly,” said Sam. “Master Ling must have told them right away.”

“Huh.” Harald mulled this over. “Perhaps we can use this to our advantage. But we still need to convince her to agree to our plan.”

“That is your affair. I gave up on Flutic long ago,” said Seraphina, stepping back.

“Oh, we know,” said Vic. “You only need to visit the Shambles to see how much your side cares about people.”

“Thank you, Seraphina,” said Sam, cutting off that exchange before it could go anywhere. “I’ll—thank you.”

Seraphina inclined her head. “I’ll be seeing you, Sam.”

And with that she strode through the portal which closed behind her and was gone.

“Phew.” Sam’s shoulders sagged. “She’s amazing, but being in her company is… she’s a lot. In a good way. She’s carrying so much. Has been fighting for so long. I…”

“You all right?” asked Nessa, stepping in close and touching her arm. She’d removed the Aureate Master so that her Presence was bearable.

“I am!” Sam flashed a grin. “I have an Angel Seed now. And it’s… there’s so much for me to think about, to accept. What I’ve become a part of. Who I am now.”

“You’re unchanged,” said Kársek with quiet authority. “When I became a DreadRune I rewrote the fabric of my essence. You, however, are still Sam.” He paused, considered, then smiled roguishly. “Which is wonderful.”

“Ah, thanks, Kársek.” Sam smiled sheepishly. “But some things did change. Like this. It’s called The Waymark of Alabenthos.”

And she extended her hand so that a hollow discus of ivory could manifest within her grasp. It was the size of a small plate, its edging notched with intricate patterns, and grasped by a slender crossbar that ran through its midline. “It’s a Masterwork item from Alabenthos’ collection.”

“Beautiful,” said Kársek. “Lovely crafting.”

“What does it do?” asked Nessa, leaning forward.

“+3 to Constitution and Presence,” said Sam, smiling proudly. “It’s an Artifact all angel-kin carry, as it allows them to open a Portal directly to Flutic from anywhere in the Dungeon.”

Everybody stared.

“Yep!” Sam shrugged with helpless happiness. “Seraphina explained to me that it’s crucial to their survival—the demon-allied forces would kill them if they were limited to the Dungeon Portal, so this was created by the Servitors to allow them entry and exit without being detected. I can’t just open it to anywhere back into the Dungeon, however. It has to be keyed to a location in Alabenthos’ complex so as to draw on his power. Luckily I’ve been given a room there, so.” Sam beamed.

Vic turned to Harald with exaggerated amazement. “You know what, Harald? Despite my reservations, I’m starting to think your madcap plan may actually have a tiny chance in hell of succeeding.”