I had only a second to take in the larger battle before I had to focus on myself. Two icecats charged me as fire tracked in, and I snatched futures from the rushing tide. One icecat was struck mid-leap by a jann; bullets whistled by on my left and right. The second icecat leapt for me, missed, and was pounced on before it could turn.
There were so many enemies that they were blocking each other. I broke into a swerving run, aiming for a doorway on the right side of the hall, firing a burst from my MP7 as I did. A burning red line streaked past my head, carrying the smell of ozone. More security men and one of the icecat handlers tried to bar my way; I wove through the attacks, death waiting in the futures and in the present, snapping off short bursts, only vaguely aware of the men falling away as their futures wisped out. It was a surprise, somehow, to reach the door and realise there were only bodies left to guard it.
A storm of air and force magic drove me to cover. I crouched inside the doorway, my back against the wall as bolts of electricity crackled off the stone. My MP7 was empty and I reloaded, taking a second as I did to scan. The icecats were all crippled or destroyed, along with a good number of the jann. Many of the security men were dead, but on the left side of the hall a tight group had held their ground and were killing any jann that tried to approach.
Anne was duelling the mages. Shadowy black wings seemed to stretch out from her shoulders; things that might have been limbs overlaid her arms. Her eyes were alight, and she fought with a fierce joy. Barrayar and the third mage were engaging her with force and air, but the translucent black threads of the jinn’s magic formed a shield that deflected all their attacks. It was the first time I’d had the chance to watch the new Anne going all out, and it was frightening to watch. She had all of her old speed and lethality, with the jinn’s power behind it. The jinn’s magic didn’t seem to follow the rules of most combat spells. What it reminded me of most was death magic, pure destruction and nothing else.
Pounding footsteps sounded from around the corner, and I stepped back as Caldera appeared in the doorway. She aimed a punch at me that would have broken my neck, and I backed into the room. Caldera stalked after me, heavy footfalls ringing on the stone.
The room I was in was a swimming pool. God knows why Levistus had one. The water, tinted blue-green from the pool tiles, stretched out down one side of the room, sculptures and houseplants standing around the other. I backed away into the side of the room where there was space to move, Caldera following.
A young man appeared in the doorway behind Caldera; one of the adepts. He was carrying a wand with a glow of red energy hovering at its tip; he levelled it at me but I’d already moved to place Caldera between us. “Keeper!” he called over the screams and gunfire behind. “Move!”
Caldera didn’t take her eyes off me. “Back off.”
“Give me a clear shot!”
I raised my MP7 and fired. Caldera moved instantly, trying to block the shots; the adept in the door activated a shield ring. I’d seen both events and compensated accordingly. The first and second shots of the three-round burst deflected off Caldera’s hand and the adept’s shield; the third blew his brains out.
Caldera whirled, saw the body, then turned on me with her face twisted in rage. She charged and I dropped left, leaving my leg extended. Caldera tripped, sliding on the polished tiles to crash into a display of plants. I turned and waited for her to rise.
Caldera came up, earth and leaves in her hair, breathing heavily. “You murderous piece of shit.”
“Pot and kettle, Caldera.”
Caldera thrust out her hand at the entrance hall behind, where shouts and gunfire mixed with the flash of battle-magic. “You did this! You set it all up!”
“How many times have you come after me?” I said harshly. “Did you expect me to just sit there and take it?”
Caldera lunged. Her arms and limbs were wreathed in earth magic, giving her the toughness of stone and the strength of a bear. I stepped away from her punches, blows like hammers whistling past my head. “I’m here for Levistus,” I told her. “Not you.”
“I. Don’t. Give. A. Shit.” Caldera sent a punch with each word.
I stepped back from the blows, putting my back to the swimming pool. “I’m not here for you,” I repeated. “But I’ll kill you if I have to. First warning.”
“Fuck your warnings!”
Caldera tried to slam me into the pool. I ducked, caught her shoulder, twisted in a hip throw. Caldera went over my thigh and into the water with a boom of displaced water, sending a wave splashing up over the sides.
I was already moving, crouching by the adept’s body. As Caldera broke the surface, floundering and gasping, I scanned the adept’s items. The shield ring I discarded at a glance. The wand was more interesting. It was a combat focus that produced some kind of directed energy attack; I didn’t recognise the effect but it looked powerful. I clipped it to my belt and strode back into the main hall.
The tempo of the fight had changed while I was gone. All of Anne’s jann were dead, but they’d done heavy damage: all the icecats were gone, the adepts were down to a couple of survivors, and the only remaining security men were in a cluster up on the gallery on the far side. Barrayar and the other mage had closed ranks; their shields were overlapping and they were engaged in a furious long-range duel with Anne.
But the biggest change was that Levistus had sent in reinforcements. There were two giant four-armed gold-and-silver constructs at the far end of the hall, radiating magic and power in equal measure. Mantis golems. One had its feet planted and was spitting golden death at Anne from an energy projector. The second had been advancing towards my door with a heavy tread; as it saw me its energy projector came up and it fired.
No time to think. I acted on instinct, darting forward to the nearest staircase, then up the stairs to the gallery. The golem’s energy projector tore fragments from the wall, melted the iron steps just behind my feet. I reached the gallery and sprinted clockwise. The security guards on the opposite side added their fire to the golem’s, shots glancing off pillars and striking sparks from the railing. I caught a glimpse of Anne below; Barrayar and the other mage and the golem were battering her shield with attack spells. The roar of gunfire and battle-magic hammered at me from all around.
As I reached the corner of the room I went into a roll, coming up in a kneeling stance with my gun levelled, aiming down the gallery. The knot of security guards had been waiting, but a pillar had blocked their view of me for just long enough and their aim was high. I fired down the length of the gallery, sending three-round bursts as fast as I could pull the trigger. Caught out of cover, the guards were slaughtered. Bullets drilled through flesh until the MP7 clicked empty.
Only one guard was left, half-shielded by a dying man in front of him. His gun sighted on me as I pushed hard at the future I needed; the guard pulled left as he fired and the bullets plucked my sleeve. I closed the distance in five running strides, ducked his panicked blow, hit him in the throat and face. On the floor below, the mantis golem aimed its energy projector: I shoved the guard back against the railing and the energy blast caught him in the back, exploding his body and spattering me with blood.
Down on the lower level, Anne and the two enemy mages were still engaged. Anne was more powerful, but the overlapping air and force shield from the other two mages was deflecting her attacks, and I could see frustration on her face as her death spells were turned away. I scanned the battlefield below, analysed it in a split-second, then grabbed one of the dropped SMGs, clicked it to full-auto, and threw it with an overhand swing.