Bloodforged by Nathan Long

Author:Nathan Long
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2011-04-26T20:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE FENCING LESSON

‘What is a Blood Shard?’ Ulrika asked.

‘A terrible weapon,’ said Stefan. ‘There are six. My master was a collector of arcane objects, and the Blood Shards were some of his favourites. They are prisons. They suck out the soul of anyone they kill, and trap it, fully conscious, within their crystalline structure, where it can be subjected to whatever magical tortures the owner of the shard wishes to inflict upon it, for eternity.’

Ulrika shivered. What an awful fate.

‘Even vampires are not immune,’ continued Stefan. ‘Some may debate if a vampire has a soul, but he certainly has a consciousness, and it too can be trapped within a Blood Shard. That… that is what happened to my master. Kiraly killed him with a shard and imprisoned him within it.’ His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. ‘When I have killed Kiraly, I will seek to find some way to free him, though I have been told it is impossible.’

‘That is a terrible thing,’ said Ulrika. ‘I hope you find some way.’

Stefan waved that away. ‘Never mind. What of Kiraly? Did you fight him?’

‘You think the cultist… you think it was him?’ Ulrika stammered.

‘It can have been no one else.’

Ulrika blinked. No wonder she had sensed no heart-fire. He had none. ‘I… I lost him,’ she said. ‘He was too fast. I’m sorry.’

‘Did you see which way he went?’ said Stefan through his teeth.

‘He was running east into the Novygrad when he vanished,’ she said. ‘But he could be anywhere now.’

Stefan turned immediately east. ‘I must find him,’ he said, and strode off down the empty street.

Ulrika hurried after him. If what he said was true, then this Kiraly was Boyarina Evgena’s enemy too. ‘Wait,’ she called. ‘I’ll help you.’

‘If you wish,’ said Stefan, not looking back. ‘But he is mine alone when we find him. You will not interfere.’

‘Of course,’ said Ulrika.

They jogged on towards the Karlsbridge and the east side.

Stefan searched the deserted ruins of the Novygrad like a man possessed, practically sprinting from shattered building to shattered building, and roaring Kiraly’s name in the streets. He tore down doors and kicked through broken floors to explore collapsed basements. He scattered sleeping squatters and mutants, and questioned cowering refugees about seeing suspicious strangers or finding corpses drained of blood. None had heard anything.

Ulrika followed Stefan with some trepidation, afraid that, in his madness, he would bring the watch or chekist agents down upon them, or worse, the roof of some precarious tenement. His fervour was terrifying, and somewhat frustrating, to see. If he could have put as much effort into finding the cultists, they might have defeated them by now.

And what if he found Kiraly? Stefan’s only interest in stopping the cult was to be certain Praag still stood when the vampire arrived. If Stefan killed him, he would cease to care. He would take the Blood Shards and return to Sylvania. Of course, now that she had joined the Lahmians, perhaps his help was unnecessary.

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