“But won't that destabilize magic?”
“Yes, we'll have to remove the most recent advancements and limit the city to the magic used by other kingdoms. Those kingdoms are not experiencing magical destabilization, so we can assume those inventions emit fields small enough not to interfere with each other.”
“The city will revolt,” a horn soldier said.
Falken grimaced. “This is our only option?”
“I'm sorry, but yes. I need to shut down the harmonizer and destroy it so that no one tries to turn it on in the future.” I stepped back to wait for his decision.
The Dragon King sighed, looked at the machine, and then at me. “Do it.”
“Sire.” A knight waved at the stairs. “If you think the last riot was bad, the next will drive us from the city.”
Falken lifted his chin. “I am the King. I must make the best choice for my people, even if they hate me for it. But they will not drive me from my city. They can try, but they will fail.”
The Dragon knights straightened, and the one who had spoken said, “Yes, Your Majesty. You're right. They will fail because we will stand with you.”
“Thank you.” The Dragon King looked at me. “Do it.”
I turned to the machine just as the whirring got louder. Glancing up at the pipes, I hurried to the controls. The noiseincreased further. I squinted to read the instructions to power down the harmonizer. This was not my field of expertise.
“Sevarin!” The King urged.
Louder. The hissing built. Pipes shuddered. The soldiers backed away. The next release was coming.
With gloved fingers, I pushed two buttons simultaneously and then pulled a lever down.
Just as the pipes began to thrum, a loud clanking came, and then the whirring wound down. The harmonizer shuddered into silence.
The Dragon knights, soldiers, and Hud applauded. I smiled in relief, but before I could turn to nod at them, something caught my eye. Although the machine showed no sign of Silver Rot, something glittered near the top. I stretched to grab it, and it broke away from the machine with a crack.
Everyone went quiet as I pulled the piece down. The top was mounded with silver, but the bottom, where it had touched the harmonizer, only had silver veining.
“What is that?” The King came up beside me.
“It's a ward plate, but it's old.” I frowned. Then I remembered where I had seen one just like it. “Oh, fuck!” I spun. “Get the King to the palace!”
The Dragon knights rushed for their King and pulled him toward the stairwell as I dropped the ward plate and fumbled in my satchel for something to destroy the machine. Turning it off wouldn't be enough.
“Let go of me!” Falken fought them. “I'm not leaving without him!”
“I'll be up soon!” I shouted after Falken.
“Why? Tell me what you're afraid of?!” Falken roared.
“Someone put that plate there.” I yanked out a jic potion and opened it. “This didn't happen on its own, Your Majesty.” I poured the potion over the front of the machine. As long as the controls were destroyed, it was useless. “This is an attack. And they—”
Shouts cut me off, and I spun to see a group of Argaiv men and women come out of the stairwell. They wore hooded black robes with silver dragonflies on the left breast, declaring their status of Imago—the highest tier of sorcerers among the Argaiv. Their hands glowed, held out to their sides to cut off the King's exit, and his knights and horns had drawn their swords in response. I froze, dropping the empty vial. The Dragons had the physical advantage, but the room wasn't large enough for them to shift, and the magic of an imago sorcerer was enough to fell a Dragon in his man's form.
“Step away from the harmonizer.” The man in the central position stepped forward, drawing his hood back.
He didn't wear a mask, utterly unafraid of the Silver Rot. It was Lord Turgov, and when the others drew back their hoods, I saw Vanre beside him.
“You're both supposed to be in a cell,” Falken growled.
Turgov laughed. “We hid our power to infiltrate your court, but we are Imago sorcerers. There is no cell capable of holding one of us.”
“It was you who infected the harmonizer? Why?” I stepped away from the harmonizer, toward them. It didn't matter now. The jic reagent was already spreading, eating away the metal like acid. Once applied, nothing could stop the reagent’s effects. The harmonizer was as good as gone.
