Page 37 of Ironhold: Trial Five

There are only a few of those left,and even as I watch, they turn to run. The stands are full of rioting people,shouting and fighting, but it seems that our side is the one that is coming outon top here. The beasts I called from the depths of the colosseum have made thecrucial difference.

They have not saved everyone,though. Almost half of the dozen gladiators who stood beside me on the sandsand refused the emperor's order to fight now lie dead. Bella is among them, soI don't know what that means for her connections within the city. Will theystill fight by our side now that she is gone? Will I be able to control themand hold them back from a cascade of retaliation?

I don't know, and I don't have anytime to think. We have won here in the colosseum but that is not the same aswinning the whole empire. The emperor is still out there, and the last I saw ofhim he was fleeing, heading back in the direction of his imperial palace.

That means he's heading in thedirection of Alaric. I cannot allow him to get to Alaric first. If thathappens, even if we win the fight, I will lose the one thing that matters morethan anything.

“The emperor is getting away,” Isay to Rowan. “Gather up the rest of the gladiators and anyone else who wantsto join us. We need to march on the palace.”

“And will the beasts be coming withus?” he asks. He sounds something between awestruck and afraid. I nod.

“They will.”

Chapter Twenty Two

We pour out into the streets of thecity, but not in the tidal wave of destruction that so many others would havewanted. Instead, this is closer to the processions that mark the start of thegames. People stand cheering us, waving at us calling our names.

Many of them join our numbers, theranks of our group swelling into something like an army. These are ordinarypeople with nothing for weapons but kitchen knives and clubs, but this isAetheria, and there are sparks of magic even among these people.

We head through the city, and Igain more animals as we go. Stray dogs come to join us from side alleys. Catsleap down from walls. Rats pour from gutters. I am no longer trying to split mymind between all of the creatures. Instead, I maintain a general control,guiding the whole of them, rather than trying to control each one.

When we meet the first cluster ofguards, it is not the beasts who fall on them, but the citizens, unleashing ananger that the emperor has held down for far too long. He has sought to use thegames to distract them, but that moment is done. They are seeing their momentfor change, and they are taking it.

A few look as though they're goingto break off to start looting, and I set some of the dogs in front of them,snapping and snarling.

“No looting, no burning!” I callout. “This is your city, your home. Would you destroy us in the name of takingit back?”

A few of the citizens in the colorsof the gangs look at me as if they can't quite believe what I'm asking of them,but there are enough of the others now that they are forced to go along withit, carried along by the tide of humanity. We are making our way through thewealthier districts now, and the magic that would be given over to illusionsnormally has instead been drawn back into defensive magic to try to protect thegrand houses.

How many nobles are there walkingalong with us? I have no way of telling when there are so many people, and whenI must keep my attention on the creatures I am controlling. One slip and thosecreatures will burst free of my control and do what they wish. Most I suspectwill run, but even then, it will not go well for anyone who gets in their way.Others, the great predators, the monsters, will fall upon the people of thecity and kill as many as they can.

I hold them in check, even as Ihurry forward with the determination to get to Alaric and free him. We flowtowards the palace in the great river of flesh, moving through the noblequarter, the streets of which seem empty, as if the residents are too frightenedto come out and be a part of what we are doing. I don't want them to be afraid,so I call out to the noble houses.

“Come out! Join us! The empirehurts you as much as anyone else! It demands that you give up your sons anddaughters for glory and honor in the colosseum. It demands that you give themto its armies. And for what? So that the emperor can expand his power evenmore? Join us! Show us that you are with the people of Aetheria.”

A few of the nobles open theirdoors, stumbling out into the streets with fearful looks as if expecting thatthis is all some kind of trap and that they will be cut down even now. Morestay hidden, and there is no time to try to persuade them. We must get to thepalace.

“We have time,” Rowan says. “Theemperor will not kill Alaric immediately. He will seek to use him as a hostage.A bargaining chip. Have you thought about what you'll do if he does?”

I know what he's asking. Can I riskAlaric’s life for the good of everyone in the city? The answer is that I don'tknow. I can only go there and hope that I'm able to save him and bring theemperor down.

We keep moving through the citystreets, and now I have the sense of being watched. Watched in a way I knowonly too well, through the eyes of animals. There are beast whisperers nearby.

Even as I think it, some run fromthe shadows, coming at our force.

“Hold!” I call out to both them andmy side. “Hold all of you. We are not enemies.”

“You became our enemy the momentyou betrayed us to the noble faction and to the emperor.” Lady Elara steps fromthe shadows after the others. Her dress is torn, her features marred by abruise. She no longer looks as perfect as she once did. I'm more concerned withthe hatred that fills her eyes.

“You were going to destroy thecity,” I say.

“I was going to take the revengethat our kind are owed!” she snarls back. “Were we meant to simply walk up andask the emperor to step down? Were we meant to forget the things that thecitizens of this place have done to us over the years?”

“There can still be a place for youin the open in Aetheria,” I say. “We can stop the persecution of the beastwhisperers, but if you want to put an end to the hatred, then setting animalson everyone in the city is not the way to do it.”

“It is the only way,” Lady Elarasnaps. “This is the only way to get justice for our kind. The only way toensure we're feared enough that no one will harm us again. We will take power,and you have given me the means.”

I know what she means: the paradeof animals moving along with us. She wants to take control of them.

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