Page 39 of Ironhold: Trial Five

The emperor seems to know the samething. He is backing towards the door as if looking for a place to escape to. Idisengage from Lord Darius, starting towards him, half expecting him to simplyrun.

But he doesn't. It seems that theemperor was not looking for a way to escape but simply enough space toconcentrate. Around me I feel time slowing to a crawl, my net seeming to creepacross the space between us. Then time stops for me, and I am paralyzed in themiddle of my attack.

So is everyone else in the room,except Lord Darius. We are frozen like statues by the emperor's power, but itis more than just us. Through the eyes of a bird, I see that out in front ofthe palace, the citizens the beasts and the gladiators have come to a halt,standing frozen in place by the emperor's power.

Somehow, he has managed to beselective about it. Those who stand against his forces are frozen in time, cutoff between one second and the next, while his soldiers are free to keepmoving. Free to kill their helpless opponents. I see the soldiers saunteringamong them, thrusting blades through hearts or cutting throats. They are takingtheir time, as if knowing that there is no threat now. This is not a battle buta series of executions.

“Did you think it would be so easyhere?" The emperor demands. I can see the concentration on his face. “Hereright above the stones that give the city its power? There's a reason myancestors built their palace here.”

There is a note of strain in hisexpression. It's obvious that this is on the limits of what he can do. How longcan he maintain something like this? How long does heneedto maintainit when he is free to kill all of us?

"You thought you could beat mein my own palace?" he demands. "You thought that a mere animal likeyou could ever stand against me? Well, you're going to pay for that. But notbefore someone else pays first.”

He steps out of the room for amoment, dragging a figure back with him. He has to drag him not because of anyresistance, but because he is as frozen as anyone else, his feet locked inposition, so that the emperor must push him in front of me, the way he mightadjust the positioning of a statue until it was in the perfect spot.

He manhandles Alaric’s frozen forminto place before me, and he smiles as he draws a golden dagger.

Chapter Twenty Four

My body might be frozen in time,but my heart still feels as though it's pounding in my chest.

“You made a mistake with me,” hesays. “You showed me what you care about. The moment you did that, you gaveyourself to me. You gave me power over you. The power to take from you the onething you love.”

He moves to Alaric, cutting slowlydown his arm as if to make a point. Caught in time as he is, the blood does notflow beyond a single line. Alaric cannot cry out in pain, cannot give any signof the way in which the emperor has hurt him, but still I feel the wound as ifit is my own.

I want to beg him not to do this.I want to tell him that Alaric has nothing to do with this, that he knewnothing about it. But even if my mouth were not frozen shut by the emperor'spower, I'm not sure it would make any difference to him. At this point, he haswon. The rebellious factions within his empires have taken their best shot athim, and the truth is that we have failed. Between his manipulations and hispersonal power, he has destroyed all of us.

“I suppose I should thank you,Lyra,” he says. “You have proven very useful over the last few days. Thanks toyour efforts we were able to break the spectral covenant, and capture severalnobles who were plotting against me. They will die in due course. And now this.You have brought my enemies to me. The festering boil of rebellion is finallyto be lanced.”

He says it a calm almostcompanionable tone, as if I were some loyal servant, but I have seen theemperor's madness, his evil before. He is more than capable of talking calmlywhile killing. Of lashing out simply because he can.

He moves to me, and in one senseI'm grateful, because at least it means he's taken his attention away fromAlaric, for the moment at least.

“I wonder if this is what I saw inmy visions,” he says. “That you would try to kill me and end up saving the cityby bringing all of its malcontents to where I can hold them in place for myguards to kill. I wonder how many they have slain now.”

I can see the guards are stillmoving among the frozen people. They are laughing as they kill them. If theyshow mercy here and there, it is only because it is someone they have decidedthey want to toy with further later.

“You have been so powerful,” theemperor says. “And yet through it all you've always been so weak, as well. Soheld back by your need to help others, by whatever love you think you feel, bythe desire to do the 'right thing.'.' And now it's cost you everything.”

He cuts me now in a single line ofagonizing pain along my chest. He lifts the knife when he's done, tasting theblood.

“Somehow I feel as though yourblood should taste different, beast whisperer.”

I hope that his power will slipsoon. I can see the effort of holding us all in place on his face. He'ssweating slightly with the strain of maintaining his power.

He looks back to Alaric. “I don'tunderstand why you of all people would be interested in someone like her. Whyyou would willingly give up your life to save her. She's pretty enough but,worth dying for?”

He returns to me, and now his lipspress into mine, still tasting of blood. I want to recoil from him, to pullback, to hit him for forcing this kiss on me, but of course that's the point: Icannot. This is purely about the power he has over me and the others here.

“No, I don't see it,” he says. Hegoes back to stand behind Alaric. “That's at least you got to see me do thatbefore you die.”

He lifts the knife, now raising itto Alaric’s throat. Through the eyes of the birds, I can see the soldiers arestill killing outside. And I'm helpless to stop all of it. Wait… I'm seenthrough the eyes of the birds. Birds that are moving and wheeling above it all.The emperor has stopped time for some of the beasts, all of the ones that areobviously dangerous, but not for every creature. Maybe he doesn't have thepower to do that much.

A desperate last ditch idea comesto me, one that seems doomed to failure but I don't have any other options. Ireach out with my mind because my power is not contained even if I am. Iconnect to a single bird out in the garden, and I bring it towards thereceiving room.

“I'm sure if Lyra could speak, shewould have some poignant last words for you,” Emperor Tiberius says to Alaric.“Something about how much she loves you, how she would give her life for you.The usual nonsense. Sadly she can't say anything so you're going to have to diewithout hearing it.”

I push the bird to fly faster,forcing it to its limits. My consciousness is bound up with it as I lend it mystrength, the way I have borrowed strength from animals before. It flies fasterand faster. Through its eyes I can see the emperor raising his knife for thekilling blow…

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