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Now Renn scooped soup into his mouth, ravenous. “I’m used to feasts in Ildakar. Roast yaxen, fine desserts, candied fruits.” He slurped another mouthful and wiped his lips with soft, warm bread. “This would be considered food for the lower classes, even for slaves. I never knew it could be so delicious!”
“We eat what the valley provides,” Gloria said. “We’ve had to be self-sufficient for a long time. Cliffwall has little contact with the outside world.”
Franklin added, “Here in the canyon we have orchards, crops, flocks of sheep. Notice the minced lamb in your soup?”
“Delicious,” Renn repeated. He seemed satisfied now, and his arrogance was gone. With a sigh, he looked around the table. “I’d like to stay here for a while—on behalf of Ildakar, of course.”
“Why exactly does Ildakar need all this magical knowledge?” Verna asked. “In ancient times, wizards hid the books here so Sulachan couldn’t destroy them. We don’t want to create another ruthless tyrant.”
“Oh, the wizards of Ildakar would never become tyrants! They would never misuse…” He paused. “Well, Sovrena Thora did send me here because she wanted to control the power. And Wizard Commander Maxim has already unleashed some dramatic spells to protect our city.” He scratched his cheek. “By the Keeper’s beard, I’m actually not certain why they’d want all this knowledge.” He lowered his voice. “I’m not convinced they should have it.”
He chewed on a roll, silent for a moment, then continued, “Maybe they didn’t care. It is possible they never believed I would find Cliffwall at all. I had only sketchy directions, very few supplies. Captain Trevor and his men had never led a long expedition, nor were they trained in wilderness survival. They were just city guards.… We had a difficult time and lost three of our men on the way. It was only through luck that we even found Cliffwall, and just in time.”
His expression darkened, and he seemed preoccupied. “Sovrena Thora sent me into that mess. I wonder if she was trying to get rid of me. Thora never forgave me after Lani challenged her rule.” He scratched his neck, patted his potbelly. “I was younger then. Some might even have called me handsome, but after Thora turned Lani to stone, I just didn’t…”
Renn shook his head. “I am still a loyal citizen of Ildakar, but the city is not the sovrena. After all those centuries under the shroud of eternity, Thora herself might have become stunted, like a tree trying to grow inside a glass bottle.” He reached across the table to grab the large serving bowl and ladled more lentil soup for himself. “Yes, I’ve decided to stay here and learn more. Maybe the Cliffwall archives should remain exactly where they are.”
Verna nodded, somewhat relieved. Beside her, always attentive, Amber listened to everything but held her questions back. The prelate said, “Cliffwall has a lot of information, and so do you, Wizard Renn. We want to hear all about Ildakar, and any news you can tell us of Nicci and Nathan.”
CHAPTER 10
Trapped inside the walls of the city, Mrra was restless. The sand panther prowled among the buildings, the streets, wanting to hunt, wanting to run. She controlled herself, even though she longed to kill something.
Through her spell bond with the animal, Nicci had felt just as caged while she worked with the rebels in the catacombs beneath the city. Now, with the ancient army of General Utros besieging Ildakar, the trapped feeling increased.
The people were reinforcing their defenses to stand against a long siege, and Nicci wondered how long Utros and his troops could last. What did he want? It had been three full days since the army awakened, and the ancient soldiers were still rebuilding their camp, preparing to press against the impregnable city.
Night had fallen, and the monotonous pounding on the stone walls continued. Years ago, when the Imperial Order had begun its northern march to conquer the New World, Emperor Jagang required that drums be beaten relentlessly, all day and all night, whenever he intended to visit a city. It made the population tremble in anticipation, even if Jagang took months to arrive. This hammering sounded similar, and since Utros had many thousands of soldiers, he could maintain the barrage for a very long time.
At night, Nicci remained in her spacious guest quarters in the grand villa. With both Maxim and Thora gone, Nicci kept her rooms, as did Nathan and Bannon.
Restless, Mrra wanted to prowl through the dark streets to hunt rats, to jump from rooftop to rooftop for the joy of stretching her muscles. Nicci refused to leash the panther or lock her inside a cage. Mrra understood that she couldn’t attack people the way the spiny wolves had done, but Nicci never forgot that the sand panther was a wild animal. If the big cat felt cornered or provoked, she would lash out. She needed to roam free through the grassy hills, needed to hunt in the forests. But how could Nicci let her out there with the enormous army lying in wait?
She sat in on the edge of the broad bed, the silken curtains wafting in the breeze. In addition to the distant pounding, she could hear the quiet sounds of the city, the nobles in their mansions, the cacophony of taverns and street vendors, the silk yaxen whorehouses, people playing music as Ildakar tried to maintain its normal life, even with the ancient army pressing on the gates.
Mrra paced inside the bedchamber, brushing her tawny fur against Nicci’s knees. Nicci reached down to scratch behind the sand panther’s ears. Purring contentedly, Mrra circled the room and stood on the open balcony, where she pricked her ears to listen to the sounds outside. She sniffed, twitched her whiskers, then returned for more scratching. Nicci could feel her longing to be free, no matter how many enemy soldiers were out there.
“You wouldn’t be safe,” Nicci said. What were General Utros and his army doing? What were they planning? Why hadn’t he sent a representative to discuss terms?
Mrra growled as if to insist that life wasn’t safe in Ildakar either. Nicci felt the animal’s sharp claws and tightly wound reflexes, and knew full well that she could take care of herself. Though their spell bond was sharpest in dreams, Nicci could communicate with Mrra clearly. They understood each other.
Then Nicci straightened with the realization that having the big cat outside and running free could be useful to Ildakar. Mrra could be her secret eyes where she couldn’t see. What would serve as a better spy than a predator who could glide through the night unseen?
Nicci leaned forward and put her hands on either side of the large feline head. The golden eyes looked up, meeting hers. “The enemy army is out there. We can see their camp, but that’s not enough for me to make plans. Will you show me what you see? If I let you loose, will you be careful? Will you watch out for yourself?”
The sand panther’s tail thrashed. Nicci made up her mind.
“Stay to the hills, take shelter in the trees, but you can also prowl. I want you to see them, so I can see through your eyes.” Nicci gave a thin smile. “Be my spy against General Utros.”
Lashing her tail, Mrra padded to the door of the chamber and out into the halls of the villa. Nicci felt her pulse racing and knew the panther was excited. “Let’s go. I’ll find one of the smaller gates to let you out, away from where the soldiers are hammering the wall.” Her brow furrowed. “You might actually be safer out there than we are in here.”
Even though the ancient soldiers concentrated their attack near the towering main gate, Ildakar had smaller access points near the cliff drop-off to the river, traveler’s entrances and secret gates for merchants farther down the wall. Nicci and Mrra wound their way through the streets, listening to night birds and prowling house cats that stalked along the gutters. Mrra padded ahead as they worked their way to the northern end of the wall, where it curved around and abruptly met the edge of the sheer bluff.
Nicci found a low door cleverly hidden, covered with stone, exactly where she had been told to expect it. She released her gift and worked the magic to undo the latch. No scout from Utros’s army could ever find these concealed entries. When the spell lock released, she swung the person-sized gate inward. A flood of moist air swept in,
wafting up from the Killraven River below and the grassy hills stretching around the plain.
Mrra’s tan body tensed with anticipation. Nicci placed a hand on the panther’s broad shoulders, also feeling the cat’s exhilaration. “I wish I could go with you, but my place is here in Ildakar—for now.” She bent down and wrapped her arms around the big panther’s body. Mrra rumbled with a purr, then licked Nicci’s cheek with a raspy tongue.
“Go,” Nicci said. “I’ll be with you. I’m your sister panther.”
Mrra bounded through the gate and loped out into the hills, vanishing into the night shadows. Nicci felt an ache in her heart, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she saw the sand panther. She knew how dangerous it would be out there, but Mrra was dangerous, too.
Nicci stared across the valley at the countless campfires of the siege army, blazing bonfires that would have required an entire hillside of trees just to supply the wood. The fires looked like red, winking eyes of hungry spirits, a pack of heart hounds unleashed from the underworld.
Each campfire represented enough enemy warriors to overwhelm a village. If all of these ancient fighters were turned loose to pillage the Old World, they might well conquer the entire continent. Nicci had to contain them here, somehow. She stared for a long moment at the fires, hearing the distant noises of the immeasurably large enemy force.
Mrra roamed free out there now, but as Nicci stood at the gate, she was the one who felt trapped.
* * *
Long after midnight, back in her own quarters, Nicci tried to catch a few hours of sleep, knowing she needed the energy. She didn’t want to dream, didn’t want to think, but as she drifted off, her consciousness flew free and she found herself inside her sand panther’s mind.
Mrra was overjoyed to run wild. She had felt so crushed inside the city, and now she bounded along for the sheer joy of it, feeling her forepaws on the crisp grasses, her hind legs pushing her forward. The big cat was meant to be loose in the wilderness, even though she’d been raised by handlers in Ildakar, bred and trained to be a vicious fighter, to kill enemies in the combat arena. Mrra’s skin had been branded with countless runes to protect against a magical attack.
