Sacrifice Read online

  Sacrifice

  Christopher Mitchell is the author of the epic fantasy series The Magelands. He studied in Edinburgh before living for several years in the Middle East and Greece, where he taught English. He returned to study classics and Greek tragedy and lives in Fife, Scotland with his wife and their four children.

  By Christopher Mitchell

  The Magelands Epic

  From the Ashes

  The Queen’s Executioner

  The Severed City

  Needs of the Empire

  Sacrifice

  The Magelands Origins

  (The Trials of Daphne Holdfast

  & Retreat of the Kell)

  Copyright © Christopher Mitchell 2019

  Cover Illustration by Irina French

  Cover Typography by Deranged Doctor Design

  Cover Copyright © Brigdomin Books Ltd 2019

  Christopher Mitchell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems (except for the use of brief quotations in a book review), if you would like permission to use material from the book please contact [email protected]

  Brigdomin Books Ltd

  First Edition, June 2019

  Ebook Edition © June 2019

  ISBN 978-1-912879-11-3

  For my family

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank the following for all their support during the writing of the Magelands - my wife, Lisa Mitchell, who read every chapter as soon as it was drafted and kept me going in the right direction; Graeme Innes for reading the manuscripts and sharing many discussions over whisky; my parents for their unstinting support; Amy Tavendale, Sandra and Donna Wheat and Vicky Williams for reading the books in their early stages; James Aitken for his encouragement; and the Film Club and Stef Karpa for their support.

  Special thanks goes to Irina French, whose incredible artwork for the maps and covers brought my characters and world so beautifully to life.

  Thanks also to my Magelanders ARC team, for all your help during the last few weeks before publication.

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  Dramatis Personae

  Holdings

  Daphne HoldFast, Vision Mage

  Karalyn Holdfast, Daphne's daughter

  Godfrey Holder Fast, Daphne's father

  Lady Rosalind Holdfast, Daphne's mother

  Jonah Holdfast, Daphne's brother

  Celine Holdfast, Daphne's sister-in-law

  Ariel Holdwick, Daphne's sister

  Faden Holdwick, Ariel's husband

  Teddy Holdwick, Ariel's son

  Lydia Holdwick, Ariel's daughter

  Emperor Guilliam, Holder of the World

  Mirren Blackhold, Queen of the Realm

  Prior, Imperial Chamberlain

  Arnault, Lord Vicar to the Prophet

  Yosin, Deacon and leader of the One True Path

  Chane Hold Clement, former advisor to Agang

  Weir, former cavalry trooper

  Flora Hold Cane, friend of the Fire Mage

  Ghorley, Governor of Rahain

  Sanang

  Agang Garo, ex-King of Sanang

  Echtang Gabo, Agang's nephew

  Hodang Tipoe, Agang's Chief Minister

  Rahain

  Laodoc, ex-Chancellor of Rahain

  Baoryn, Renegade

  Kellach Brigdomin

  Keira ae Caela, Mage of Pyre

  Killop ae Kellan, ex-Chief of the Severed Clan

  Kylon, Fugitive

  Conal, Freed slave

  Kallie, Returning refugee

  Kelpie ae Kylanna, Former leader of Kell

  Kendrie, Former warrior

  Bay, Keira-fan

  Bridget, Chief of the Severed Clan

  Bedig, Bridget’s Boyfriend

  Bonnie, Hunter

  Brodie, Head Brewer, Severed Clan

  Brynt, Severed Clan leader

  Lola, Hunter

  Draewyn, Severed Clan leader

  Dyam, Severed Clan leader

  Dean, Young Fire Mage

  Dora, Keira-fan

  Duncan, Chief of the Plateau Clan

  Rakanese

  Shella, Flow Mage and Princess

  Sami, Brother of Mage Shella

  Thymo, Noli's son

  The Peoples of the Star Continent

  There are five distinct peoples inhabiting the Star Continent. Three are descended from apes, one from reptiles, and one from amphibians. Their evolutionary trajectories have converged, and all five are clearly ‘humanoid’, though physical differences remain.

  1. The Holdings – the closest to our own world’s Homo sapiens . Excepting the one in ten of the population with mage powers, they are completely human. The Holdings sub-continent drifted south from the equator, and the people that inhabit the Realm are dark-skinned as a consequence. They are shorter than the Kellach Brigdomin, but taller than the Rakanese.

  2. The Rakanese – descended from amphibians, but appear human, except for the fact that they have slightly larger eyes, and are generally shorter than Holdings people. They are descendants of a far larger population that once covered a vast area, and consequently their skin-colour ranges from pale to dark. Mothers gestate their young for only four months, before giving birth in warm spawn-pools, where the infants swim and feed for a further five months. A dozen are born in an average spawning.

  3. The Rahain – descended from reptiles. Appear human, except for two differences. Firstly, their eyes have vertical pupils, and are often coloured yellow or green, and, secondly, their tongues have a vestigial fork or cleft at their tip. Their heights are comparable to the Holdings and the Sanang. Skin-colour tends to be pale, as the majority are cavern-dwellers. Their skin retains a slight appearance of scales, and they have no fingerprints. They are the furthest from our world’s humans.

  4. The Kellach Brigdomin – descended from apes, and very similar to the Holdings, they are the second closest to our world’s humans. Their distinguishing traits are height (they are the tallest of the five peoples), pale skin (their sub-continent drifted north from a much colder region), and immunity to most diseases, toxins and illnesses. They are also marked by the fact that mothers give birth to twins in the majority of cases.

  5. The Sanang – descended from apes, but evolved in the forest, rather than on the open plains that produced the Holdings. As a consequence, their upper arms and shoulders are wider and stronger than those of people from the Holdings or Rahain. They are pale-skinned, their sub-continent having arrived from colder climates in the south, and they occupy the same range of heights as the Holdings and Rahain. The males bear some traits of earlier Homo sapiens , such as a sloping forehead and a strong jaw-line, but the brains of the Sanang are as advanced as those of the other four peoples of the continent.

  Contents

  1. Sidelined

  2. World’s End

  3. Shamed

  4. Hold Fast

  5. Drunk in Domm

  6. Mirren Blackhold

  7. The Rat

  8. Bloodless

  9. Leaving Party

  10. Babysitting

  11. Avoidance Tactics

  12. Hitting Home


  13. In the Gutter

  14. The Presence of Royalty

  15. The Scene of the Crime

  16. Holder Fast

  17. A Dozen Days in Kell

  18. The Red Hills

  19. Cry for Help

  20. Weighing the Odds

  21. Shopping Trip

  22. Shield

  23. Trading Secrets

  24. Rear Guard

  25. Two to One

  26. Loyalty

  27. Sanctuary

  28. Footsore

  29. No Way Back

  30. Chase

  31. Four Mages

  32. The Night Before

  33. Last One Down

  34. Made to Endure

  35. Down to Earth

  36. Defiance

  37. Hacked Off

  38. The Fire Goddess

  Author’s Notes

  About the Author

  The Magelands Series

  Receive a FREE Magelands Book

  Chapter 1

  Sidelined

  H old Fast, Realm of the Holdings – 20 th Day, First Third Summer 507

  Killop brought his left index finger and thumb close together, and concentrated.

  A crackling spark of white fire arced across the gap.

  ‘Daddy burn!’ Karalyn cried. ‘Again!’

  He laughed, watching the delight in his daughter’s eyes.

  ‘Maybe later, wee bear,’ he said. ‘I’m hot enough as it is. Let’s see if we can find your mummy.’

  They gazed out from the shade of the wagon at the endless plains of Daphne’s homeland. Killop felt almost dizzy at the sight. No mountains were visible, and not even a hillock ruined the perfect flat line of the horizon. The world was divided by that line. Greens and browns below, a vast sky of blue above. Another cloudless day, in the land where the sun ruled from its burning throne as it scorched the earth below. Dust billowed up from the wheels of the wagon trundling down the road, drying their throats and covering their skin and clothes.

  He gripped the reins in his right hand and reached under the driver’s bench for the water bottle, sweat streaking the dirt on his arms .

  ‘Mummy there,’ Karalyn pointed.

  Killop stared into the distance, following her finger, but could see nothing.

  ‘Are you seeing her in your mind, wee bear?’

  ‘Aye, daddy. Mummy on the horse.’

  He took a large swig of lukewarm water. The closer they had got to Hold Fast, the more Daphne had gone out on her stallion. Though she did her best to hide it, her growing anxiety was clear to him.

  Karalyn pointed again, and he looked up. Ahead was a small cloud of dust, moving towards them. Half a minute later, the rider beneath became visible, racing across the green pasturelands. He half-filled a mug with water and passed it to Karalyn.

  ‘Drink,’ he said.

  She took the mug and slurped the water, much of it going down her chin.

  The horse and its rider grew closer. Killop smiled. Daphne never looked more beautiful than when she was in the saddle, as if she had been born to be on the back of a horse. He gazed at the expression on her face as she guided the stallion towards the wagon, trying to fix it in his memory.

  Daphne slowed the racing beast to a trot as she came alongside.

  Killop threw her the water bottle, and she splashed a handful over her face, wiping the dust from her dark skin.

  ‘We close to Hold Fast?’ he asked.

  ‘Close?’ she smiled. ‘We’re in it.’

  ‘I didn’t notice any signs.’

  ‘You passed a marker stone about a mile back.’

  ‘We did?’

  She nodded, and took a drink.

  ‘Welcome home,’ he said. ‘Feel good?’

  She threw back the bottle, and jumped across to the wagon, the reins looped round her crippled left hand. She tied them to the side post by the driver’s bench, and sat down next to Karalyn and Killop under the shade of the canopy .

  ‘A bit nervous,’ she said.

  ‘There’s still time to use your powers to let them know we’re coming.’

  She shook her head. ‘I’ve checked to make sure they’re all at home,’ she said, ‘but I still want our arrival to be a secret.’

  ‘Word will get out,’ he said. ‘Once you’re home, the church will know you’re back.’

  ‘I know, but it’s important that they find out after I get there, so they can’t try to stop me.’

  ‘The roads you’ve led us,’ he said, ‘hugging the coastline, we’ve barely seen another person in days. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the Holdings was empty.’

  ‘I didn’t want to risk the crowds in the River Holdings,’ she said, ‘not when the imperials are out recruiting.’

  ‘You think they’ll come up here?’

  Daphne glanced over the empty lands on either side of the road.

  ‘Looks like they’ve already been.’

  Killop frowned.

  ‘These plains should be teeming with horses,’ she went on, ‘but I haven’t seen one since we crossed into Hold Fast. That usually only means one thing, that the army have come. Traditionally, the cavalry gets its troopers from the River Holdings, its officers from the noble estates, and its horses from Hold Fast. Presumably the imperial army is doing the same.’

  ‘What’s the Emperor wanting with another army?’

  Daphne raised an eyebrow. ‘After your sister killed so many soldiers, there are barely enough left to form a regiment.’

  He looked away, biting his tongue.

  ‘Sorry,’ Daphne said, ‘although, this is something we need to talk about. If we tell everyone who you are, then they’re going to know you’re Keira’s brother.’

  ‘I’m not responsible for her actions.’

  ‘I know that,’ she said, ‘but people are still going to make comments. You have to decide how you’re going to act when they do. ’

  ‘I suppose punching them’s out of the question?’

  She shrugged. ‘Depends who says it, and what they say. And you have to remember that you’re a Kellach Brigdomin. A punch from you could kill someone from the Holdings.’

  He glanced down at Karalyn.

  ‘Maybe I could just think bad thoughts about them, and let wee bear fry their minds.’

  Daphne frowned.

  Killop suppressed a smile, and gazed ahead, as the sweltering horses pulled their wagon along the dusty road. Overhead, the sun bore down upon the land, and Killop felt the heat soak through him. It was hotter than he had ever experienced, and even under the shade of the canopy he could sense his skin burn. By the time the sun set each day his limbs and face had usually reddened, but when dawn came, his skin had turned a shade more tanned, and he guessed his natural Kellach healing abilities were keeping him from suffering too much sunburn.

  Ahead, a whitewashed stone wall appeared, lining the road on the left, before turning and stretching across the plain. On the other side of the road a large building emerged from the heat haze, its high walls dazzling white, and its roof laid with deep-red tiles.

  Beyond the line of the wall, the road became paved, and the wagon wheels clattered over the smooth flagstones as they left the dirt track behind.

  ‘We’re close,’ said Daphne.

  Killop glanced at the building on their right as they passed it. Its windows and doors were boarded up, and no one was in sight. Along a flat, whitewashed section of wall was a sign painted in flaking red paint, Southern Troops 21-40 . Behind the building stretched lines of stone stables, all deserted.

  ‘Usually this place is crazy busy,’ Daphne said. ‘I’ve only ever seen it like this when the first invasion of Sanang was being planned. Just about every horse troop in Hold Fast was involved in that. My father ended up paying for half the invasion force. Still, he forgot about that once the money started to pour in. ’

  She glanced at him. ‘Are you ready to practise your Holdings?’

  ‘I’ll give
it a try.’

  ‘We’ll see how well I’ve taught you.’

  ‘I don’t know if taught is the right word for whatever it was you did to my head.’

  She shrugged. ‘It worked on me when Kalayne put your language into my mind. I just tried the same on you, but in reverse.’

  Killop nodded. Daphne’s native language tingled in his brain as if it had been burned into place. He hadn’t admitted to her how much the process had hurt, as night after night she had linked her mind to his and imprinted words and grammatical structures into him.

  More buildings appeared through the haze, lines of cottages set back from the road, and a cluster of farm structures surrounding a well. A couple of men were standing, drawing water. They turned to gaze up at the wagon, their hands shielding their eyes from the sun.

  Daphne nodded to them as they passed, saying nothing.

  The road grew wider, and the buildings larger, though all wore the same appearance, with whitewashed stone walls and red roofs. They passed a mason’s yard on their left, with an ironsmith’s beyond, while a pair of long, low buildings stretched away to their right. Outside were several Holdings men and women in light-green uniforms.

  ‘Members of the Hold Fast Company,’ Daphne said. ‘I used to ride with them before I went up to Holdings City to join the cavalry.’

  A few curious glances were aimed in their direction, and Killop wondered if any had ever seen a Kellach Brigdomin before.

  Karalyn pointed ahead. ‘Big house, mummy.’

  Killop looked up. Two hundred yards in the distance loomed a great mansion, dazzling white in the sunlight, with balconies and terraces stacked up across its exterior, and fountains glistening and sparkling by the roadside.

  ‘Your home?’

  Daphne nodded.

  The road grew busier as they reached a long row of watering troughs on their right, as estate workers filled buckets and horses drank. A few glanced up at the wagon, but most paid no attention.

  Daphne kept her head down as Killop steered the horses past the troughs. A large street opened up to the right, leading to a high tower and an enormous pavilion, with canopies like the sails on the ships he had seen when they had been travelling along the shores of the Inner Sea.