Engines of Alchemancy (The Alchemancer Book One)

Chapter 3. The Flood

AARON READILY SAW THE DAMAGE spread across Ellingrel's interior walls in the form of spidery cracks that had not been present when he'd rushed by earlier with Master Rion. The stairs showed signs of damage too, but the thick wood felt solid enough beneath his feet that he made satisfactory progress down the first few floors. The stairs soon widened and, at each floor, let out onto a wide space dotted with arches and doors. It surprised Aaron that he saw no one. A variety of scribes, scholars, pages, servants, and, sometimes, their families occupied chambers here. Many had to have already retired for the evening before the first tremors had started. Yet Aaron found one floor after another empty. Aaron was just beginning to think the tower had been deserted when, midway down, he heard distant voices rising from further below. Another few floors and, as Aaron paused to catch his breath, he heard what sounded like a full-blown commotion. One more floor and he saw the first of Ellingrel's inhabitants. Some huddled against walls, shock and fright masked across their faces. Others were more animated, pacing or speaking with disbelief about recent happenings with neighbors. Another floor and the frequency of people along the stairs and at each level grew until Aaron was forced to slow his pace and choose more carefully a course between or around them. Aaron saw a ménage of grief, fear, and, in some, anger, and while he recognized every one of them—he never forgot a face or a name—he said nothing even though many looked at him with expressions that sought answers and guidance. Aaron had neither. He averted his eyes and did his best to not meet their stares.

More than just residents of the tower were here now. Men, women, and children huddling in groups or interspersed amongst tower-folk were easily distinguishable by the motley array of clothing they'd hastily thrown on and the fact that all were dripping wet. Though he'd seen the water flowing into the city, he remained uncertain how much of it had invaded the area. He stopped to listen to conversations, trying to learn anything he could. People were scared. He needn't listen to know that much. But they also refused to move higher, though certain individuals prompted them to do so. Aaron wondered at their objections, but only until the image of that first structure crumbling returned to him. Then, he didn't blame them. He moved on, soon learning why they were encouraged to go up at all. More people were arriving at the tower every minute. So many that the lower floors were fast becoming a scene of gridlock. Determined to find Shanna, Aaron took a deep breath and began fighting his way through. Forward progress deteriorated to a crawl, but he never lost ground as he used his slim body to full advantage by slipping between any gap that presented itself. Then, just above the ground floor, his progress came to an abrupt halt, for the entire ground floor was submerged in a black, oily soup of seawater and city muck. Not only that, but the toxic mixture was rising.

Ellingrel's apprentices—the real apprentices, who studied and performed magic of their own—were there. Rufia, who was the best amongst them, had taken charge, directing both apprentice and others alike in lifting a steady stream of refugees from the water to relative safety. Lanterns served as a beacon, guiding folk in from the outside. Only some entered through the main doorway, for while the door no longer hung on its hinges—Aaron spotted it floating nearby—all but the top of the arch was underwater. People swam through windows instead. No one was tall enough to touch bottom, and most everyone used some sort of debris as temporary life rafts. Aaron was stunned to see so many. He knew he should help bring people into the tower, but he hesitated. Aaron wanted to reach Shanna more than anything, but he had a duty here as well. He would help for as long as he could, then he would leave the tower to find her.

The first person Aaron helped was a man gone pale with cold. Then, a blank-stared, middle-aged woman who murmured the name of a lost husband or child. The next, who bled from a cut on her forehead, cried hysterically until someone behind Aaron led her away. A man with two small children came next. Aaron descended the stairs, going knee-deep into the water to help him with the younger of the two children. Someone else grabbed the other child, and both, along with their father, were ushered to safer, dryer floors. The flow of people entering Ellingrel was an endless tide. Aaron quickly lost track of time and the number of people he helped pull from the water. Aaron relinquished his post only when someone stepped forward to take his place. It was not to retreat to the safety of Ellingrel's upper floors, though, nor to seek the warmth of his room. Though he was tired, he still had to find Shanna. Kicking off shoes and making sure that all his alchemicals were secure in his vest pockets, he lowered himself into the muddy, roiling water. A gasp escaped his lips as the iciness penetrated straight through his clothing. Clenching his teeth to keep them from chattering, he pushed himself from the stairs. Some threw glances his way and one of the apprentices—Jerl, by the sound of the voice—questioned where he was going. Aaron answered only that he was going to find a friend. Thereafter, no one objected or moved to stop him. He swam to a window and waited for a gap to form between those still coming in. Once outside, darkness greeted him along with the rise and fall of the floodwaters. The further he moved from Ellingrel's light, the darker it became. As a result, Aaron saw little of the devastation. Still, some signs were impossible to miss. Dwellings and lesser towers had been reduced to piles of broken wood and stone that jutted from the waters like tiny, misshapen islands. Estate walls that Aaron knew exceeded the water's height were missing. Only those dwellings taller than a single story—and not toppled by the earthquake—were still visible at all, for ground floors were underwater. Of those, none appeared unscathed. Windows were shattered, walls cracked, and for some, roofs and entire floors had collapsed.