Sarah Zettel - Reclamation

Hoofbeats and rhythmic footsteps sounded on the cobblestones. A troop of the green-and-beige soldiers marched in a ragged column down the middle of the street, with yet more soldiers on oxen following behind. Jay let the crowd press him back against the rough wall of a house.

A blob of mud flew through the air and smacked against the face of one of the cavalry. The soldier shouted and swung himself off his ox, diving into the crowd after the offender. He managed to grab hold of someone, and with ugly-sounding shouts, the soldier dragged a squirming figure out into the street. Jay sidled toward the corner of the house. Stones flew now and shouts accompanied them. The troop leader drew his ax and it flashed in the air. Jay’s fingers found the edge of the wall and let the press of the crowd back him into the narrow alleyway beyond it. The shouts between the soldiers and bystanders were getting louder. All Jay could see was a writhing blur made up of people’s backs. Somebody screamed. Metal clashed. Jay turned away from the noises and ran.

Darkness hit.

All at once the world was puddles of greasy orange-and-gold light. Jay tripped over the uneven cobbles. The wind gusted over some wall or the other and Jay shivered. The temperature was already beginning to drop. He glanced up and saw the solid night sky, the Black Wall, and he cursed himself for not having checked the cloud cover while he had the chance. In Narroways’ perpetual stench, it was impossible for him to smell rain coming, which at night was likely to become an ice storm without warning.

He had to find shelter. Jay blundered forward, squinting up at doorways and trying to figure out what section of the city he was in.

He stumbled around a corner and into a flood of torchlight.

“Name yourself!” shouted someone overhead.

Jay squinted up at what his dazzled eyes resolved into a pile of overturned sledges, loose stones, and bent metal that barricaded the entire street. A figure, black and unidentifiable against the light, held up a javelin, evidently ready to throw it down if Jay gave the wrong answer.

Jay swallowed hard and had to forcibly stop himself from saying the Fourth Grace for hope.

“Messenger!” shouted another voice. It took a confused moment for Jay to realize it was Heart of the Seablade.

A rattle sounded from behind the barricade and metal grated against metal. A pool of oily yellow light fell across the muddy street as an anonymous pair of human shadows lifted away a section of the barricade. As soon as a big enough space opened, Jay ducked inside.

The area behind the barricade was a maze of streets that in the vague lamplight looked just like the streets on the other side. Lumps of shadow Jay guessed were sentries moved on the rooftops.

“Messenger.” Heart strode out of the shadows and clasped Jay’s hand. “I hoped you would find your way back to us.”

“Thank you.” And for once, Jay felt close to meaning it. “I just hope the King shares your sentiments.”

“I don’t know.” Heart shook his head. “She is pleased to have me on her side because I am power-gifted, but she’s not ready to take a Seablade of any standing into her counsels.”

“I need to get to her as soon as I can.” A fresh wind gusted down the alley and Jay shuddered again. “But first I need some food, if there is any.”

Heart nodded. “Come with…”

“Garismit’s Eyes!” screamed somebody. “Oh, Nameless Powers preserve me!”

A clear white glow washed across them, making their shadows stand out against the muck and cobblestones. Jay jerked his head up. The world was ablaze with clean light. A great sphere of pure light shone over the whole night-shrouded city. A silver line descended from the Black Wall, lowering a star that burned without heat into the center of the city.

Jay saw the tether and he knew who was inside the sphere.

No, he thought as horror and irrational anger washed through him. No. Not yet. I’m not ready yet!

Voices, screams, sobs, ecstasies sounded on all sides.

“The Nameless! The Nameless Powers have returned.”

The superstitious logic took a minute to filter into Jay’s mind. The stars were the eyes of the Nameless and here came a star to the center of the city. Of course it was the Nameless. Of course.

The Unifiers had landed under cover of night on the salt flats surrounding the Dead Sea. No doubt the contraband runners had done something similar. No sense in alarming the natives any more than necessary. But calm was not what the Vitae wanted. They wanted awe. They wanted their due as the children of the Ancestors.

“Clever, clever,” he whispered. “Descend like the gods, oh you humble Vitae who only wanted a home for yourselves.” He squinted into the light, trying to see how their transport had been hitched to the tether that had, no doubt, been on its way down for days.

Heart had dropped onto his knees in the mud. “The Nameless,” he croaked. “The Nameless have returned.” He covered his face with his hands and groaned.

“No!” Jay hauled the Teacher roughly to his feet. “These are not the Nameless! I know their name! I know it!”

Heart swallowed and his eyes were almost round as he looked at Jay’s face, searching for some hope there.

Over Heart’s shoulder, Jay watched flames shoot out of the top of the star. They faded away swiftly, leaving only three dark figures standing on top of the glowing sphere.

Jay was ready to bet six years of his life that one of them was Contractor Avir. According to Caril, she’d been angling for this chance for years.

“Come on.” He gripped Heart’s shoulder and propelled him forward. “Show me where King Silver is.”

Heart staggered forward, and Jay followed without letting go. Out of the corner of his eye, Jay saw the captain of the Ring’s guard sprawl facedown in the street. All around his prostrate body people flung themselves onto their knees, screaming for forgiveness. A stranger in uniform with Bondless marks on his hand pulled his knife and held it to his own throat. Jay didn’t let Heart pause to see what happened next. He shoved the Teacher into a stumbling run.

Heart led him up a narrow side street toward a three-story house. They splashed mud and stumbled over the penitent. Jay cursed the ones who were trying to run the other way, shoving and jostling and forcing him against the walls and into open doorways.

Heart barged up to the mouth of a back alley and through the honor guard, who were in too much chaos to stop him. Jay let the Teacher go and pushed his way between their shoulders. The guard didn’t even look at him.

Hands grabbed him from behind and shoved him against the wall. Jay looked into the terrified eyes of Holding the Keys.

“What is happening, Skyman!” he thundered, slamming Jay against the wall again. “What is happening!”

“Invasion, Holding.” Jay grabbed Holding’s hands and forced them away. “They are Skymen, like me. They are masquerading as the Nameless, that’s all!”

A measure of sanity returned to Holding’s face. “You’re coming to tell Her Majesty.” He snatched Jay’s wrist and nearly pulled him off his feet as he raced around the corner of the tavern.

King Silver knelt in the mud, straight-backed and slack-jawed. Her eyes stared at the glowing sphere as if locked into place.

“Majesty,” said Holding. “Majesty, Messenger of the Skymen says these are not the Nameless. He says they are known to him.”

King Silver didn’t so much as blink. A gust of wind blew her black hair into her face and she didn’t even flinch.

Jay swallowed hard. He needed her. She couldn’t go catatonic on him. Not yet.

He knelt in front of her. “King Silver, those creatures are called the Rhudolant Vitae. They are nothing more than a race of Skymen. Do you hear me, Your Majesty?”