Wrath of Storms Read online

  Wrath of Storms

  Steven Mckinnon

  A girl with terrifying powers. An assassin battling his bloodlust. And an ancient evil stirring…

  Serena’s fearsome power is growing stronger. After conning her way aboard a luxury airship in search of clues about her past, she walks straight into a sky pirate’s trap. But after her powers are unleashed and apocalyptic visions invade her mind, Serena realises the greatest threat may be herself…

  As Damien Fieri struggles against his bloodlust, connections in high places conspire to keep his killer instincts sharp. He’d love to confront the clandestine forces that turned him into a living weapon—but can he find a way to do it that doesn’t shed more blood?

  Can Serena and Damien bend their powers for good, or will they become dangerous pawns in a much deadlier game?

  Wrath of Storms is the second book in The Raincatcher’s Ballad epic fantasy series. If you like gritty adventure, dangerous magic, and page-turning battles, then you’ll love Steven McKinnon’s expansive saga.

  For Callan and Robbie,

  Who are too young to read this dedication, but will hopefully one day think it’s cool.

  The Last Counsel of Aerulus

  ‘Is a Demon more than a man, or less besides?’ spoke Aerulus, whose voice roared above the thundering hooves of Torenir.

  ‘Sister, heed these words: Let not the touch of Sin accost you, lest the wrath of storms rain the world o’er.’

  Wordless, Musa rode harder.

  And the Earth shuddered.

  — Passage XIV, ‘War of Gods’, Book of Aerulus, Fayth Codex

  CHAPTER ONE

  Serena made it easy for the man to follow her.

  She kept her head low, watched her shadow stretch beneath the glare of an ignium streetlamp, and let the narrowing alley’s mouth swallow her. Like everywhere else in Dulwin, the ground carried the earthy smell of a recent storm.

  A gale kicked an empty can over the cobbles, but the only other sound was the stranger’s footsteps. Too easy. Serena pulled her hood tighter and concealed her emerald-green hair; she didn’t need the bait any more.

  Turning a corner, she delved deeper into Dulwin’s warren of alleys and backstreets, stepping around a pile of filthy rags. The moon’s cold glare barely penetrated the shadows. Her pursuer quickened, but Serena kept steady—the best way to lure a wolf was to let it think it had the advantage.

  A shrieking wail jolted her.

  Serena spun and raised her fists—what she’d taken for a pile of rags was a young woman. She lay in a doorway and cradled a bundle of dirty clothes, clutching them tight to her emaciated frame, rocking back and forth.

  The bundle didn’t move.

  Serena wanted to say something, to offer help—but she had a job to do, and forced herself to keep moving.

  A peal of thunder clanged overhead, masking her footsteps. She marched towards a warehouse, its rusty iron door askew, hinting at its cavernous interior. Now or never.

  Serena nudged the door open. Silver moonlight filtered through a broken skylight, painting the warehouse in a soft frost but leaving its edges cowering in shadows.

  She didn’t flinch when the man’s bony fingers seized her shoulders.

  Hot, treacle-sweet breath ran over the back of Serena’s neck. ‘Got ya.’

  Then the door slammed closed and two ignium lamps gasped into life, melting the frosty light from the moon. Tyson Gallows stepped out of the shadows, and the grip on Serena’s shoulders loosened.

  She faced the stranger, and sharpened her lips. ‘Got ya.’

  ‘This is the part where you tell us why you were following me.’

  ‘Wasn’t following you,’ Tez muttered, eyes turned down. ‘Can’t a man go for a walk?’

  Tez quaked in the chair Gallows had pushed him into. His thin frame seemed to shrink more with every question, but so far, all he’d given was his name.

  Gallows prowled around him with slow, deliberate steps. His brow creased beneath medium-length chestnut hair, and his eyes were pinned on Tez.

  Serena dragged a crate over and perched on it. She cocked her head, unsure how to take the prisoner—he wore a battered, grey bowler hat, thick grey coat and grubby black boots. Sallow skin hung from his bones like tattered clothes on a washing line.

  ‘“Out for a walk?”’ Gallows repeated.

  Pearls of sweat dotted Tez’s forehead. ‘Gets awful stifling down in the Diamond District—all that drink and laudanol can play havoc with a man’s mind—good to clear one’s head, I find.’

  Gallows placed his hands on his hips. ‘And when you’re on these leisurely strolls, do you always follow young girls through dark alleys and into big, empty warehouses?’

  ‘Only when the mood takes me.’

  Serena hopped from the crate. ‘This is taking too long.’

  ‘You could always let me go,’ Tez suggested.

  ‘Stop lying and we might.’

  ‘Girl, you ain’t half as scary as you think you are.’

  Gallows stepped closer to the prisoner. ‘That would be more convincing if there wasn’t a puddle beneath your trouser leg.’

  Tez’s eyes widened and he glanced at the floor. ‘Eh? I haven’t pissed my—’

  Gallows hooked him in the jaw.

  Tez screamed. ‘Are you off your head?’

  ‘We both know how this plays out,’ said Gallows. ‘It’s easier to talk.’

  ‘And you reckon punching me puts me in agreeable terms?’

  Gallows sneered at Tez. ‘You think a man who grabs teenage girls in dark alleys and growls “got ya” into their ear deserves any better?’

  More sweat collected on Tez’s brow. He cleared his throat. ‘Look, I’m an enterprising soul, I reckon we can deal. If you cut me loose—’

  ‘Do I look like an idiot?’ Gallows asked.

  ‘Well, you could be doing with a haircut.’

  Gallows raised his fist.

  ‘Fine, fine! Look, to tell the truth, my boss told me to keep eyes on you—I don’t know why, but that’s what you get for trying to get into the Diamond District without a cove to vouch for you. What, you reckoned the facetas didn’t notice? More’n one boss has seen you sniffing around.’

  Serena shook her head. ‘Naturally.’

  Gallows had claimed it’d be easy to get into the Diamond District, Dulwin’s not-very-secret heart of black-market traders. He’d also told her it would only take two days to fly from Dalthea to Dulwin. In reality, it took closer to three weeks.

  Serena crossed her arms. ‘You could’ve opened with that and saved a sore face.’

  Tez’s lips crinkled. ‘Aye, well, I’m paid to carry out orders—didn’t know a beating was on the cards.’

  Gallows put his hands on his hips. ‘What kind of deal are we talking?’

  ‘That depends—what’s in the Diamond District that’s got you risking a carved heart?’

  Gallows didn’t respond.

  Tez held his palms up. ‘All right, keep your cards to your chest if you like. I can tell you how to get past the gate—that’s it.’

  Gallows shook his head. ‘Not good enough—you said we need someone to vouch for us.’

  Tez swore. ‘That’s more than my arse is worth. What in all hells do I get out of it?’

  ‘You get to keep your teeth.’

  Tez showed off his crooked smile—his teeth were pristine white, but they looked like they’d been jammed into his gums with a mallet. ‘I’ll buy a new set.’

  Gallows pressed a finger to his mouth. ‘I could cut your balls off...’

  ‘Great, you can write home and tell your mum you finally got a pair. But if that’s how this plays out, a pair o’ plums is all you’ll have. Make me a better off
er.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Serena asked. She trusted Tez as much as Gallows did, but if it meant gaining access to the Diamond District and forging documents that allowed her passage into Rhis, she’d risk it.

  Tez’s lower lip stuck out. ‘A wad of aerons wouldn’t go amiss. I’m needing a new hat.’

  ‘Okay, we’re getting somewhere.’ She squared her shoulders. ‘But we ain’t setting foot inside ’til we know who’s looking for us. Who’s your boss? Why does he want us?’

  ‘Boss is called Finn—as to what she wants, I can’t tell you ’cause I don’t know. You can threaten me as much as you like, but that info is worth a lot more than my testiculars. Entry into the District is the best I can offer. After that, you’re on your own.’

  ‘Your boss is called Finn?’ Gallows asked.

  ‘Aye. You know her?’

  Gallows shook his head. ‘You said you want money. Give me a figure—and let’s skip the bartering crap.’

  Tez’s face screwed. ‘Reckon five hundred aerons’ll do it.’

  ‘Fine.’

  Tez beamed. ‘Really? That was easy.’

  Serena tapped Gallows’ arm, motioning him to follow her. Rumbling rainfall battered the iron door, and wind snaked through cracks in high windows.

  When they were out of earshot, she said, ‘We don’t have five hundred aerons.’

  ‘Doesn’t matter,’ Gallows said. ‘We’re gonna dick him over anyway.’

  Serena twirled hair over her finger. ‘Maybe there’s an easier way—’

  ‘No.’

  ‘He’s a liar—let me get inside his head and—’

  ‘No.’

  Serena shook her head. ‘Whatever. Look, if this Finn knows we’re here, is it even worth going to Rhis? The Temple of Musa’s in Tarevia, and that’s the goal—can’t we go around Ryndara?’

  ‘Sure, if you wanna circumnavigate the whole world, and risk hitting an Idari patrol. No, this is the best way.’

  All this, just to find some temple in the ice—some temple that might not even hold the answers to what I am.

  ‘All right, fine.’ Serena peered at the prisoner. ‘You know it’s a trap, right?’

  ‘Of course—but I lied about not knowing Finn. She wasn’t a boss back then, though.’

  ‘She a friend?’

  Gallows scratched the back of his head. ‘She’s… not an enemy, and that’ll have to be good enough. We arrange a meet, and keep Tez close until Finn gives us writs of passage—and hope we get our papers before he stabs us in the back.’

  Tez angled his head. ‘This way.’

  Gallows followed him onto a busy thoroughfare, over worn cobbles and cracked paving, but the locals took care of the place—there wasn’t so much as a paper bag littering the road.

  The dipping, pale sun and anchor-grey clouds wrought an artificial evening over the streets. Cold air nipped at his skin and a soft drizzle danced on the slate-grey ground, bringing with it an earthy aroma and fine mist. It wasn’t long before garish lighting from boutiques reflected on the rain-slick cobbles, breathing colour over Dulwin’s dreary greys.

  ‘Watch it,’ Tez muttered, cutting through an ambling cluster of ladies and gentlemen decked out in finery. Gallows glimpsed him slipping a coin into his pocket. ‘Wouldn’t want to scuff your shoes, m’lords.’

  Gallows stuffed his hand into his coat pocket and clutched the hilt of his knife. If all went to plan, he wouldn’t need it—but how often did things go to plan?

  Lines of people rushed out of glass-fronted shops; Gallows watched as two women in gowns fought over a sleek, gleaming motorcarriage, while men with top hats ferried squabbling children into the arms of manservants.

  Granite towers crowned with sloping gables glowered down on the street. In more prosperous years, Ryndara’s twelve richest colliery owners would spend their summers in Dulwin; the small town sat on the coast, and the rich could tour the shores of Ryndara, or sail south to Irros’ Bounty, Dalthea and the Sanctecano Islands.

  They made their home in the Diamond District; the Twelve of Diamonds built their mansions and townhouses close together, making sure their façades all faced one another. That, Gallows reckoned, made it easier to turn a blind eye on the cramped squalor their miners lived in.

  ‘Keep up,’ Tez called back.

  Dulwin’s lanes criss-crossed at angles and in grids. Tez led Gallows and Serena through a narrow alley, then halted to cower behind a crate. He held a fist up. ‘Rattling beefer passing.’

  A rickety, horse-drawn carriage clattered over the grey cobbles. Street urchins scrambled from its path and hurled insults in its wake. In flaked paint upon the carriage door, Gallows spied the Ryndaran Watch’s coat of arms.

  ‘I thought the facetas all had an understanding with the Watch?’ Gallows asked.

  ‘Aye, an’ that’s the problem—awful loyal coves in the Watch—wouldn’t think twice before telling their master that ol’ Tez was spotted conferring with their target—an’ I’d rather get to the Diamond District first and get my side of it out in the open.’

  The rattle of hooves faded away, like receding thunder.

  ‘Let’s do the toes.’ Tez sprung up to his feet and darted across the street.

  ‘You people gotta get motorcarriages,’ Serena muttered when they crossed the street. ‘And better street slang.’

  The rain fell harder, bouncing on the ground in heavy smacks. Men and women took shelter beneath glass canopies, while the children stayed in the street, laughing and jumping into puddles.

  ‘Through here.’

  Tez led them through a cramped hotel bar, its ignium lamps painting the room in velvety red, and through its kitchen. The aromas of roast chicken, duck fat potatoes and rosemary focaccia bread made Gallows’ stomach rumble.

  Tez exchanged fast hand gestures with a burly, cleaver-wielding chef, who let the three of them through the back entrance and out into another alley.

  Tattered and soaking Watch flyers peeled from the walls, warning of purse-snatchers and increased sky pirate activity—but something stood out among the handbills and monochrome photographs of wanted criminals: On an exposed brick wall, a poster with a sky blue background and gold lettering proclaimed,

  Superstar Singing Sensation

  GENEVIEVE COURESSA

  and Her Band LIVE IN CONCERT aboard the Majestic QUEEN OF THE NORTH

  Stopping in Dulwin on the Tenth Day of Lunos—performing ONE NIGHT ONLY!

  Cocktails, Dancing, Games & Gambling!

  Step Aboard CAPTAIN VABRIZIO INGANARRÉ’s Luxury Airliner & Casino

  Will ‘FORTUNE FIND YOU’?

  Buy Your Ticket Now!

  Starting from Æ99.99

  ‘Gallows,’ snapped Serena. ‘C’mon.’

  ‘Right.’

  After ten more minutes of navigating identical side-streets, Tez stopped fifty yards away from a low wall with a watchman at its gate.

  This was the third time Gallows had tried to gain entry to the Diamond District—he couldn’t tell if it was the same watchman on duty. Anyone who wears a uniform long enough loses what makes ’em unique.

  ‘Righto,’ said Tez, ‘let me talk to the beefer at the gate.’

  ‘Won’t he rat you out?’ asked Serena. ‘Like the carriage driver?’

  Tez waved her off. ‘We’re all good, I know the bloke on duty—likely he won’t even recognise ya anyway. In truth, more’n just you two loiter by the gates—don’t know what makes you special, but there you have it. Listen, when we go in, act like you belong there.’

  ‘We go straight to Finn,’ Gallows announced. ‘No detours.’

  ‘Sure, sure—just tell her you smacked me around a lot more’n you did. Follow me.’

  With great enthusiasm, Tez greeted the watchman behind the barred gate.

  ‘Tez.’ The watchman’s guttural voice made the same sound as grinding gravel underfoot. ‘You bringing in strays?’

  Tez swept his arms out, and didn’t let the s
mirk on his face falter for a moment. ‘They’re as shiny as a golden aeron from Aerulus’ arse, mate. I’m showing ’em the delights of the Aurora Club—they’re thinking of investing.’

  Gallows couldn’t get a good look at the watchman through the high collar of his black coat and tarnished cap. It made him grip the knife in his pocket tighter.

  ‘C’mon,’ Tez pleaded, ‘gonna catch a cold out here.’

  With a groan, the watchman unlocked the gate and pulled it open.

  ‘Brilliant, buddy. Owe ya.’

  ‘This is the Diamond District?’ Serena muttered after stepping through.

  Gallows nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  The place hadn’t changed since Gallows was last here; makeshift iron bridges straddled a massive fissure in the ground, spanning at least a mile across. Vaults and safes long picked clean protruded from slopes of rubble, sticking up like tombstones in a crowded grave. Crumbling walls chased with gilded ornaments, statues with smashed faces, and the remains of ornate pillars hinted at the grand buildings that once stood here.

  ‘On me, then,’ Tez commanded, stepping down towards the pit. ‘Hopefully we’ll catch happy hour at the Aurora.’

  Tez descended deeper towards the centre of the fracture, Serena and Gallows on his heels. Like the mountainside slums of Phadros, the squat structures seemed to go on forever. But unlike the slums, patterns of vibrant yellows, turquoise and candy red adorned the surface of every home and shopfront. Graffiti proclaiming ‘In Aerulus We Trust!’ and ‘May the Grace of Nyr Guide Ye’ was plastered everywhere. Streams of colourful lights, like Wintercast decorations, hung from walls, painting the coal-black walls in pastel colours.