Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 06 - Ghost in the Forge by Jonathan Moeller Page A

training in disguise or stealth…”
    “I know,” said Caina, not looking at him. “Do you think she’s right?”
    “About what?” 
    “That,” said Caina, “I seduced you for the Ghosts?”
    Corvalis barked his harsh laugh.
    “What?” said Caina. 
    “I am a penniless former Kindred assassin,” said Corvalis, “and the Kindred want me dead. My father is one of the most powerful men in the Empire, and he also wants me dead.” He smiled. “If you are trying to seduce me for personal gain, you’re doing it wrong.” 
    Despite herself, Caina laughed. 
    “Come,” said Corvalis. “Let us rejoin the others. If we disappear for too long, there will be talk.”
    Caina grinned. “That would only strengthen our disguise.”
    “Did I say it would be a bad thing?”
    They rejoined the column.

    ###

    Two days later they left the Red Forest and entered hilly country dotted by pine trees, and Caina developed a headache. 
    Her skin crawled, and she felt the tingling of arcane force. For an instant she wondered if Claudia had cast a spell over her. But it was too faint for that. It reminded Caina of the mighty spell Kalastus had cast over Rasadda, of the awesome forces the magus had wielded.
    She was sensing distant sorcery.
    Powerful, distant sorcery. 
    “We have almost reached Catekharon,” announced Irzaris. The Catekhari merchant walked at the head of the column with Lord Titus and Halfdan. The merchant’s easy manner had ingratiated him to Lord Titus, and the two had become friends.
    It was just as well. Caina doubted Claudia could have handled Irzaris’s attentions with good grace for much longer. 
    “Splendid,” said Titus. “A good bed would be welcome. And I must present the Emperor’s message to the Masked Ones.”
    Irzaris smiled. “My lord, have you never been to Catekharon before?”
    “I fear not, master merchant,” said Titus. “To my knowledge, no lord of the Empire has ever crossed its gates. You Catekhari are not sociable folk. But I have visited the other free cities, and so the Emperor chose me as his Lord Ambassador.” 
    Irzaris grinned. “Then you are in for a splendid sight.”
    Caina took a step forward, blinked, and shook her head.
    “Are you all right, mistress?” said Corvalis, stepping closer. 
    “I’m…fine,” said Caina, shaking her head again. The tingling had gotten worse, and her temples throbbed. “Just…I could use some water, that’s all.” 
    The road rounded a curve of the hill, and the city of Catekharon came into sight below.
    Caina’s eyes widened, and exclamations went up from Lord Titus and his men. 
    “Gods,” breathed Corvalis. “That lake…”
    “It’s called a caldera,” said Claudia, voice soft. “In ancient times, a volcanic mountain stood there. It exploded with enough force to destroy the mountain entirely…and the resultant crater became the lake.”
    “Just,” muttered Caina, “as Old Kyrace was destroyed.” 
    A brilliant blue lake, perhaps four miles across, stretched below. An island filled the center of the lake, an enormous white tower rising from its heart. Stone terraces adorned the rest of the island, supporting elaborate palaces built of wood with peaked roofs, their walls carved with intricate figures. A dozen different bridges connected the island to the ring-shaped shore. A wall of white stone, its face adorned with sigils of gleaming silver, encircled the lake, and between the wall and the shore stood a city, a hodgepodge of houses and temples and warehouses and tenements built in the architectural styles of every nation upon earth.
    “Behold Catekharon,” said Irzaris, “the City of the Artificers.”
    A strange cherry-red glow rose from the ring of the city and the bridges connecting it to the island in the crater lake. 
    Halfdan frowned. “Is the city on fire?”
    “Only in a sense,” said Irzaris. “Look closer.”
    Caina felt her eyes grow wider.
    The bridges were actually aqueducts connecting to