blasted outward as if a giant fist had punched through it. Inside, she found Ms. Nolan, a guard, and another man — their bodies stacked in the corner like a cord of wood. The cage that held Ms. Nolan's sister, Audrex, no longer held anyone. The bars had been torn apart. Splintered wood and twisted metal littered the expensive floor.
Malja examined the corpses. Ms. Nolan's face had locked in a final expression of agony. Or maybe betrayal, Malja considered while glancing at the empty cage. Bruises covered the guard's body and his clothes were soaked. Drowned or beaten to death. Malja hoped for beaten — drowning ... no, she couldn't think about the thief's ship. Not now.
The third corpse caused Malja's stomach to squeeze tight. He wore a suit — all black, trim cut, black shirt, gold buttons. She looked closer at the wood scattered on the floor. Not too far away she found it — little pieces of guitar. One chunk had the letters BLU carved in it. The rest of the word lay elsewhere on the floor, but Malja knew it well.
"Ms. Nolan, looks like you were right. They did come for you," she said with a bitter chuckle. The evidence troubled her, though. She could see well enough that these Bluesmen attacked (she didn't want to get stuck on the fact that the Bluesmen had shifted from a lone assassin to an organized group) and that Ms. Nolan's people defended hard. In the end, the Bluesmen won out. The most troubling part — Audrex's cage. If Ms. Nolan had let the madwoman loose as some last desperate weapon, she would have opened it without destroying it. Besides which, Malja could not see Ms. Nolan using her sister like that. Not if her story was true. The Bluesmen, however, would be idiots to rip open the cage. They would have unleashed an insane magician upon themselves. Judging from the Bluesman she had killed in the woods, they were not idiots. The only other explanation she could see involved a stray gunshot. But such a blast would have pushed the bars inward not outward.
Unless ...
Malja's heart raced as she envisioned a deadly possibility — a trap. The Bluesmen kill Nolan. They know Malja will be returning. They want to kill her, but they don't want to be around for it. Why? Because they're not supposed to kill her. But she killed one of theirs, and they're mad. They set some kind of explosive device to Audrex's cage, or perhaps they have a magician who can do such a spell. They leave. The explosion blasts the door, rips up the bodies, and frees an insane magician. Audrex is a trap.
Before Malja heard the scream, she dashed toward the main room. She flew in and saw Fawbry curled in a ball, hiding in his multi-colored robe, blubbering for help. A column of water stood over him, its body shifting from basic shapes to hideous faces to tortuous blades. Malja slashed through the water, and the twisting column fell like a deluge of rain.
"Are you hurt?" she asked while looking for Tommy. She found him where she had left him — against the wall.
Fawbry stood on teetering legs. "I'm fine. There was this crazy woman—"
"I know."
A tendril of water shot out from the waterways, a monstrous mouth drooling water at its tip. Malja cut it down but another rose farther on. As she cut through the new threat, another appeared. She spun toward the latest tendril but one more snuck from the side and slammed her head with water. The force hit like solid ice, knocking her down and rattling her skull. The water continued to shower her. It wouldn't let up. She struggled for air. Her lungs strained. Her chest burned.
Without enough air for her full strength, she still struck out at the tendril drowning her. She didn't slice through it but hit it hard enough to break off its assault. When it stopped, she gasped and coughed and spit up water.
Audrex entered at the far end of the room. Her bloodshot eyes refused to blink. She stepped into the waterway. If she had any sanity while in the cage, it too had escaped. She looked like an
Malja examined the corpses. Ms. Nolan's face had locked in a final expression of agony. Or maybe betrayal, Malja considered while glancing at the empty cage. Bruises covered the guard's body and his clothes were soaked. Drowned or beaten to death. Malja hoped for beaten — drowning ... no, she couldn't think about the thief's ship. Not now.
The third corpse caused Malja's stomach to squeeze tight. He wore a suit — all black, trim cut, black shirt, gold buttons. She looked closer at the wood scattered on the floor. Not too far away she found it — little pieces of guitar. One chunk had the letters BLU carved in it. The rest of the word lay elsewhere on the floor, but Malja knew it well.
"Ms. Nolan, looks like you were right. They did come for you," she said with a bitter chuckle. The evidence troubled her, though. She could see well enough that these Bluesmen attacked (she didn't want to get stuck on the fact that the Bluesmen had shifted from a lone assassin to an organized group) and that Ms. Nolan's people defended hard. In the end, the Bluesmen won out. The most troubling part — Audrex's cage. If Ms. Nolan had let the madwoman loose as some last desperate weapon, she would have opened it without destroying it. Besides which, Malja could not see Ms. Nolan using her sister like that. Not if her story was true. The Bluesmen, however, would be idiots to rip open the cage. They would have unleashed an insane magician upon themselves. Judging from the Bluesman she had killed in the woods, they were not idiots. The only other explanation she could see involved a stray gunshot. But such a blast would have pushed the bars inward not outward.
Unless ...
Malja's heart raced as she envisioned a deadly possibility — a trap. The Bluesmen kill Nolan. They know Malja will be returning. They want to kill her, but they don't want to be around for it. Why? Because they're not supposed to kill her. But she killed one of theirs, and they're mad. They set some kind of explosive device to Audrex's cage, or perhaps they have a magician who can do such a spell. They leave. The explosion blasts the door, rips up the bodies, and frees an insane magician. Audrex is a trap.
Before Malja heard the scream, she dashed toward the main room. She flew in and saw Fawbry curled in a ball, hiding in his multi-colored robe, blubbering for help. A column of water stood over him, its body shifting from basic shapes to hideous faces to tortuous blades. Malja slashed through the water, and the twisting column fell like a deluge of rain.
"Are you hurt?" she asked while looking for Tommy. She found him where she had left him — against the wall.
Fawbry stood on teetering legs. "I'm fine. There was this crazy woman—"
"I know."
A tendril of water shot out from the waterways, a monstrous mouth drooling water at its tip. Malja cut it down but another rose farther on. As she cut through the new threat, another appeared. She spun toward the latest tendril but one more snuck from the side and slammed her head with water. The force hit like solid ice, knocking her down and rattling her skull. The water continued to shower her. It wouldn't let up. She struggled for air. Her lungs strained. Her chest burned.
Without enough air for her full strength, she still struck out at the tendril drowning her. She didn't slice through it but hit it hard enough to break off its assault. When it stopped, she gasped and coughed and spit up water.
Audrex entered at the far end of the room. Her bloodshot eyes refused to blink. She stepped into the waterway. If she had any sanity while in the cage, it too had escaped. She looked like an
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