Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy Part 2

Violet snickered as she straightened. "He won't have an inch of flesh left on his back by the time the sun sets today." She went a short distance to the desk in the corner and then returned. Rachel heard the key turn in the lock. The lock made a metallic clang as it popped open, banging against the iron door. Violet pulled the lock off the hasp. "And that's only the beginning of what I will have done to him. I'll — "

There was an urgent knock at the door. A muffled voice demanded that the door be opened. It was Six's voice.

"Hold on, I'm coming," Violet shouted across the room.

Rachel moved a little closer to the slit and saw Violet hurriedly hook the lock back through the hasp. She pushed it to lock it again just as Six banged on the door.

"All right, all right," Violet said as she let go of the lock and rushed across the room. She turned the latch on the big, heavy door and almost immediately it burst open. Six swept into the room, all dark and towering like a thunderhead.

"You have him, right? He's here, locked up where I told you to put him?" Violet asked, her voice filled with trembling excitement as Six closed the big door. "We can start punishing him immediately. I will have the guards assemble — "

"The army took him."

Rachel moved closer to the iron door and cautiously peered out the slit. Six was standing just inside the door. The queen's back was to Rachel. Violet stood in a white satin dress with a deep blue belt and laced boots over her white stockings, staring up at the stark figure of the witch woman.

"What?"

"Imperial Order troops appeared right before dawn. They're flooding into the city as I speak, into the grounds of the castle. There are thousands of them — tens of thousands of them — maybe hundreds of thousands of them for all I know."

Violet looked confused, not wanting to believe what she was hearing as she searched for words. "But that can't be. The message you sent said that he was locked up, just as I instructed, locked up in the cell where he hurt me."

" 'Was' is the operative word. We arrived in the night and I locked him up just as you wished. Then I sent you the message and saw to a few things, waiting for morning.

"I was bringing him with me, just now. I was bringing him to face you when we encountered the occupying soldiers. It's one of those massive advance columns of reinforcements. Their purpose is not a slaughter and rampage; they want to establish a staging area in Tamarang for other supply trains coming up from the Old World. They were open to my offers of — "

"What about Richard!"

Six heaved a sigh. "I was too late. There was nothing I could do. The troops were pouring in from every direction. Our men had no chance to stop them. Those who tried were swept aside. I thought that it was best to deal with the Order's men myself, to try to find a way to secure safety for you, and your staff, while I had the chance.

"While I was speaking to the commander, insuring favorable terms for us in return for help in what they want to do with establishing supply routes, all of a sudden Richard came up with a sword."

Violet planted her fists on her hips. "What do you mean, he 'came up with a sword'?" Her temper, along with her voice, was rising by the moment. "You saw to it that he doesn't have his sword."

"No, it wasn't the Sword of Truth. It was another sword. Just a plain sword. He must have grabbed it from a soldier when no one was looking. Plain though it may have been, he knew how to use it. All of a sudden a war broke out. Richard was like death itself unleashed. He was killing Imperial Order troops by the dozens. It was madness. The men thought they were facing a major battle. Everyone went into combat without even knowing what they were up against. Things just went crazy in an instant.

"I can't control pandemonium on that level. There were too many men, there was too much violence. I would have needed some time to gain control and there was no time. Richard made it out through the wall — "

"He escaped! After all this, he escaped!"

"No. Outside the wall waited hundreds of archers. They had him trapped. He was captured."

Violet sighed in relief. "Good. For a moment I thought — "

"No, not good. The commander would not release him. Because Richard had killed so many of his men, the commander wanted Richard as a prisoner. They probably intend to execute him. I doubt he will live to see tomorrow.

"Once in the castle, on the way up here, I looked out a window and saw them put Richard in an iron box in a wagon. They took him away with the column of troops heading north."

Violet blinked indignation. "You let him get away? You let those filthy nobodies take him — take my prize?"

In the sudden quiet, Rachel saw Six's glare darken. She had never seen the witch woman give the queen such a look before, and she thought that Violet would do well to be a little more prudent.