Page 97 of Shroud of Eternity (Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles 2)

Then Thora saw what he held in his hand: an oval mirror shaped like a featureless mask. It, too, was cracked in several places—a pattern of lines that matched the cuts on his face.

“Oh, I have been busy, my dear. Can’t you hear the fruits of my handiwork? Thanks to Nicci, this response is far more exuberant than I had hoped for. Far more entertaining!”

Cold dread seeped into her. “You? It’s not possible! You are Mirrormask?”

“That’s my other identity.” As Maxim stepped closer he couldn’t stop himself from grinning, which made him wince from the half-healed cuts on his face. “For a thousand years, as sovrena you held on to the power in this city. You and I were supposed to rule together, as partners, as equals, but you rapidly dominated me. I didn’t care for the longest time, and when I did care, it was too late.”

His grin widened. “Then I found another great source of power in Ildakar, an unexpected army that was all too willing to do anything I asked, so long as I promised them pretty-sounding rewards like freedom and equality.” He held up his cracked reflective mask. “Ah, it was amazing! I understand why you relish power so much. I didn’t expect that I would enjoy the experience so much when I directed my followers to kill your dear lover Avery.”

Her eyes flashed, and heat rushed to her cheeks. The words caught in her throat, as if they turned to ice, unspoken.

“We needed to make a statement, another guard to be killed, and the high captain’s death had such an impact.” He drew a breath. “You should have seen your face!”

She wanted to claw his eyes out, but when she lunged, he knocked her back with a blow of magic. He raised his voice. “Yes, just like you fought back against the sorceress Nicci, showing us all your power. It was most impressive—and I’m sure you will be glad to know that I am the one who healed her. My followers found her, nursed her back to health. She plays a key role in what is happening now.”

Fury surged within her, but Maxim seemed aloof and unconcerned. “After tonight, my dear wife, I will have it all—or there won’t be any city left.” He shrugged. “I can live with either outcome. If Ildakar falls … well, I have been curious about the outside world for some time.”

Finally, Thora lunged forward, hatred boiling within her. “You did this! You’re trying to destroy my city, my perfect city!”

“Yes.” He laughed. “Marvelous and diverting, isn’t it?”

She flung her hand without even thinking, hurling her anger and her gift in a crackling ball of thorny lightning. It blazed toward him, swelling in the air, but Maxim blasted back, slapping her with a wall of sound that nearly deafened her, made her entire skull ring.

With a second gesture, he made a shock wave rumble through the blue marble tiles at her feet, cracking them like spiderwebs, creating a wide fissure in the floor. Thora nearly lost her footing, but she sprang back to the steps of the dais. She hurled fire at him, which he sent tumbling into the stone statue of Lani before it ricocheted out through the windows.

“I will destroy you!” she screamed.

Maxim screwed up his expression, sent a wave of magic, and she felt her hands harden, her fingers stiffen. When she tried to bend her arms, she looked down in horror to see a hard powdery grayness seeping through her skin.

“Damn you!” she shouted, and focused all of her gift on fighting back, pushing the petrification out of her body. That gave Maxim—Mirrormask—just long enough to dance away.

He shouted as he fled, “Ildakar will fall, Thora, but I was done with the city anyway. I’ll leave now.” He threw his cracked mirror mask on the floor, smashing it. The curved pieces shattered into large sharp fragments that shattered again and again into increasingly smaller bits that rose upward in a gush of reflective, sparkling steam. Enhanced by his magic, it filled the room with a glittery, obfuscating cloud.

Thora used her gift to purge the stone spell from her flesh. When the shimmering mist faded away, she saw that Maxim had escaped.

Alone in the ruling tower, she screamed.

CHAPTER 76

Set by reckless slaves without any encouragement from Mirrormask, fires burned through the streets. Monstrous animals prowled through dark alleys, more interested in escaping their tormentors than in mauling civilians. The mayhem made Ildakar dangerous and uncertain, with half of the people driven to a mob frenzy to win their freedom, and the other half cowering inside their homes.

Nicci glanced over at Bannon as they hurried through the streets. The young swordsman’s bare chest and arms were flecked with blood; his long ginger hair flew back wildly, clumped and tangled, moist with perspiration. He held Sturdy in his right hand, but he seemed withdrawn, isolated from the mayhem around him. Ian’s death had affected him deeply.

“There will always be a cost, Bannon,” she said, “and some will always pay more than others.”

“I hope Adessa rots down in the bottom of that fighting pit.” Bannon looked at her, his expression unreadable. “We all started this, Sorceress. Now we have to finish it.”

Uneasy with so many people around, Mrra padded along, staying close to Nicci.

Near the devastation of the fleshmancer’s mansion and the crumbled bell tower, they unexpectedly came upon Nathan. The tall wizard looked astonished, even a little embarrassed, with stone dust covering his white robes, his face, and his long hair. Broken buildings were on every side, collapsed pillars, bricks scattered around like stone raindrops. The massive bronze bell, now silent, lay on its side among the debris of bricks and shattered timbers.

Seeing Nathan alive, Nicci felt emotions swirl through her, excitement and relief with an intensity that surprised her. Bannon cried out when he recognized his mentor, “Nathan! Sweet Sea Mother, what did you do here?” He stared at all the rubble.

The wizard blinked at him. “Why, I saved the city, my boy. Can’t you see?” He looked down at his hands again, then turned back to Bannon, as if trying to understand what he saw. “You’re wearing nothing but a loincloth.”

“It’s all they allowed us down in the training pits.” Bannon threw himself forward and embraced Nathan. The wizard wrapped his arms around him, and they pounded each other on the back. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

Nathan glanced up with renewed surprise. “And Nicci, you look lovely as always—and not at all dead. That’s a very pleasant surprise. You don’t seem to have a scratch.”

“Because I did not let anyone scratch me tonight,” she said. Next to her, Mrra thrashed her tail.

“Of course you didn’t.” He grinned. “By the way, I have my gift back.”

Nicci glanced around at the complete devastation in the buildings. “I can see that.”

Elsa came up beside him, adjusting her tattered purple robes. The gifted woman wiped at her face, doing nothing more than smear the blood and dust. “We would have been doomed, if not for Nathan. The Ixax warrior would have destroyed us all, but he found his gift and defeated the monster.”

“Nathan is good at things like that,” Bannon said, “even when he doesn’t have magic.”

“I am glad to have my magic again, regardless,” Nathan said, “because I don’t seem to have my sword at the moment.”

“We could go get it,” Bannon said. “It’s probably up

in the grand villa.”

“No time for the sword, and no need for it,” Nicci said. “We have to get to the pyramid and free the hundreds of slaves before the sovrena commences her bloodworking.”

Elsa stammered, “Y-Yes, Sorceress, I agree. I never wanted all that death, all that blood in the first place. Such a sacrifice might have been necessary centuries ago to defend against General Utros, but right now the sovrena just wishes to trap us outside of time. She’ll have all of eternity to shape Ildakar into the society she wants, with every one of us under her thumb.”

Nathan placed a warm hand on Elsa’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you, my dear. And with my gift restored, I’m one of the most powerful wizards in Ildakar. If you fight by my side, along with Nicci and Bannon, how can we lose?”

Nicci was determined, but not naive. “There are always ways to lose, Wizard. Let us not look for one.”

The uprising grew, and Nicci had no idea where to find Mirrormask, but she didn’t need his charismatic yet aloof leadership anymore. She was in control now, and she would guide the rebels to victory. This was not a game, and she would not let the mysterious masked leader play them all. “Come, we don’t have much time.” As she began to run, she ignited a blazing ball of fire above her outstretched hand, like a beacon. “Rebels, follow me!”

Nathan took up the shout. “For Nicci! We have to free the slaves.”

Many of the rebels were too caught up in their own personal rampage to look at the bigger picture. They fought for their lives against the city guards, who made a stand, but even though the guards’ armor and weapons were superior, the unruly lower classes broke their ranks. Some of the guards even cast off their helmets and fought alongside the downtrodden people.

Bannon waved his sword, shouting at the top of his lungs. Other shirtless fighters joined him, running with an easy grace they had learned from their training. Mrra bounded ahead, snarling at anyone who got in their way.

---