Page 149 of Scorched Earth

“Farts?” She stared at Marcus in bewilderment, feeling a slight shake in his arms that filled her with fear, because he wasn’t talking straight. “I don’t understand.”

Marcus shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I had my spies burn pitch and sulfur upwind of this fortress. The smell is distinct, and the fires are hard to put out. Wex had trusted men sitting next to unmapped terminuses all across the Empire, smelling the drafts that came out of them, and this? This path leads to a stem in Celendor itself. And that”—he jabbed his finger in the direction of Emrant—“is its gods-damned mate. There are always two, Teriana. Always two; that’s what keeps things in balance.”

“All right.” She hated how pale he was, eyes so dilated she could barely see the iris around them. “Do you know the location of the Emrant path’s genesis?”

“Yes, because of the firecrackers. At least, we think so.” He looked around wildly. “I need to confirm it. I just need to—”

Firecrackers?

He spun away from her, digging in his belt pouch. “I have the instructions ready. I wrote them just in case.” Pulling a packet of paper free, he sent other objects flying, including a familiar glass vial. She didn’t have the chance to think about why he was carrying around narcotics, because Marcus was walking toward the xenthier, hand outstretched. “No!”

She flung herself at him, grabbing hold of his cloak and wrenching him back even as Gibzen and Felix caught his arms.

“I’ll do it.” Felix pulled the letter from Marcus’s hand. “I just need something heavy.” Spotting a candlestick on the lone table in the room, he secured the letter to it with a piece of twine. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously lobbed it at the xenthier.

It disappeared.

No one spoke. No one moved. No one seemed to even breathe, then Marcus abruptly pulled out of the grip of his men and raced toward the door.

“Shit,” Felix hissed, bolting after him, and Teriana was forced to wait while his anxious bodyguards fell into pursuit before following.

“Something’s not right with him,” she said to Quintus. “Someone should get Racker.”

“He’s with the Thirty-Seventh,” he said. “And I don’t think Marcus is going to let a medic near him. He’s manic.”

She followed the clatter of steel tread back into the courtyard, then up the stairs leading to the ramparts. Marcus was leaning on the stone, staring fixedly in the direction of Emrant. “Come on,” he muttered. “This should be quick. Red smoke.”

“Sir?” Gibzen came up next to him. “What are we looking for?”

“An explosion with red smoke,” Marcus said, his nails scratching at the stone of the battlements. “Wex is sending just enough black powder to crack open the casement they’ve put around the stem without doing irreparable damage. Once we’ve confirmed it, we’ll send a messenger to Kaira telling her that she’s got a day to remove her forces from the city or Wex will send through a wagonload of explosives.”

“Shit,” Gibzen mumbled, and the look on his face turned Teriana’s blood cold. “I’d like to see that.”

“Obviously the hope is that it doesn’t come to that. The whole point of all this was to secure the paths without casualties, and using explosives with xenthier is risky at the best of times!” Felix snapped, though Teriana could tell from his expression that even he hadn’t known this part of the plan. No one had known more than what was required to do their part, it seemed.

“Yeah,ourcasualties,” the primus said. “This will make a point. Will put that bitch they call a general in her place. She’ll be kissing our asses at the end of the day, begging us not to do it.”

Though Teriana knew there was a lot that wasn’t right in Gibzen’s head, horror still filled her chest at the primus’s total lack of empathy for those in the ill-fated city. It seemed she was not the only one to feel that way, because Felix shoved Gibzen with such force that the other man nearly fell. “You are relieved from duty until I say otherwise!” Felix snarled. “Take a walk until you learn to keep your opinions to yourself.”

“You can’t relieve me!” Gibzen shouted. “Only Marcus can do that!”

Except Marcus seemed oblivious to what was going on behind him, his eyes fixed on the city, mouth moving as he silently repeated,red smoke red smoke.

“And yet I just did.” Felix took a step closer to Gibzen, mouth twisted with disgust. “Walk of your own accord or I’ll have your corpse tossed over the wall to feed the carrion. Your. Choice.”

Gibzen’s hands balled into fists, and Teriana held her breath, certain it was going to turn violent. Then the primus shrugged. “Fine. I could use a break.”

Giving Felix a sarcastic salute, he turned on his heel and strode away, passing Racker as he came up the stairs.

The surgeon stepped sideways, expression wary, but Gibzen ignored him as he disappeared from sight.

“What’s wrong?” Racker asked as he approached, eyes narrowing on Marcus. “How long has he been like this?”

“Since he spoke to the Gamdeshians,” Felix said. “It’s getting worse. Did she do something to him? Everyone was watching but…”

“Kaira didn’t do anything to him.” Teriana held out the vial she’d picked up off the floor. As Racker plucked it from her hand, she moved beside Marcus, riffling in his belt pouch until she found another, which she handed to the surgeon.

Racker opened the bottle, sniffed it, and then swore. Giving it to Felix, he grasped Marcus’s shoulders. “Sir, I need you to look at me!”