by Jaleta Clegg
Chapter 34
The dust on the floor held only mouse tracks. Dim light filtered through cracks in the planking. Roland paused at the top of a narrow flight of stairs.
"I grew up here," he whispered. "I know every nook and cranny in the place."
We ran lightly down the steep stairs to a door at the bottom. Roland motioned me to be silent. We spent a heart-pounding few minutes crouched behind the door. Someone shouted orders in the hall beyond. I closed my eyes and breathed carefully. I was sure they would find us.
The voice moved on, accompanied by the heavy tread of boots. Roland waited a moment longer before he eased the door open a crack. He shut it again, shaking his head. We heard more boots thunder past. Roland checked again. This time he pulled the door open.
We bolted across a hall and through another door. Leather bound books lined the walls of the room, all but one. Windows, floor to ceiling, gave a clear view of the night beyond. The room held several chairs scattered over the floor and one large couch.
Roland pushed the shelves. "Maybe it was the other library."
I made violent gestures at him. We weren't alone. A man slept on the couch.
"There was a passage from one of the libraries," Roland continued, oblivious to my hand waving. "I remember how much trouble I got into when I surprised Father Bleverd one afternoon." He tapped a shelf. "I was trying to find a way to sneak extra sweets from the kitchens. I was always partial to a good sweet. I still am."
"Roland," I managed in a strangled whisper.
The man on the couch snorted and shifted to his back. He snored.
Roland snapped his mouth shut, tapping shelves in earnest. He worked his way past the books, then shook his head in frustration.
"Must be the one at the other end," he whispered.
We moved to the door. Roland pressed his ear to it before easing it open. I stumbled into him when he stopped. He muttered a curse.
Roland and I pelted down the hall, sliding around a corner, as men chased us. We surprised another group of men who shouted as they joined the chase.
"Stairs," Roland gasped as he yanked a door open.
I darted through after Roland. The door slammed shut. We ran down the stairs, two or three at a time. Roland hauled himself around a corner. We dashed down another flight of stairs. Roland slammed open the door at the bottom, leaping through another squad of Clyvus' guards. We ran right through them, leaving confusion behind.
I stumbled in the dimly lit halls, my side aching. Roland twisted through the passageways, cutting through rooms, taking stairs sometimes. He knew those halls better than I knew my ship. He finally pulled me into a dark room, easing the door closed.
"Quiet," he whispered.
I did my best to stifle my gasping.
Footsteps thundered by. They returned a moment later.
"Where are they?"
"We lost them, over by the kitchens, I think."
"Start searching, room by room." The bootsteps marched away.
The door to our room opened. A guard stuck his head in, glancing around.
We flattened ourselves against the wall.
"Not in here," the man announced. He slammed the door.
I sagged with relief. Roland crossed the room. He did something to the wall. Part of it swung open with a faint creak. I didn't wait for his invitation. I followed Roland into the dark opening.
The cramped, dusty passage rustled with the sound of unseen rodents. Spider webs caught in my hair. Beams of weak light from spyholes gave us some light. I stumbled after Roland, following him by clutching the back of his robe.
Roland paused at each opening, peeking into the room beyond. We crossed an extra long dark stretch. He peeped into the next hole, then stepped away, a satisfied smirk twisting his lips. I peered through.
Clyvus himself stood in the room, hands on hips, glaring at the men dismantling boxes and barrels. The room was an absolute shambles.
"I want them found, no matter what it takes," Clyvus said, his voice nasty. "How incompetent can you be? They were shut in a tower thirty feet from anything, guarded by a dozen men with a clear view of everything. They had nothing, and yet they managed to escape and elude all of your men."
The man Clyvus berated scowled. Clyvus eyed him contemptuously and snorted, then stalked out. The man smashed two barrels before he got himself under control.
Roland laughed soundlessly. He led me into the maze of secret passages. I didn't feel like laughing. I felt like hiding. They had guns, they outnumbered us two hundred to two. I wore only my underwear.
Roland searched the passages, peering through each spyhole. I followed him, hungry and tired and shaking with nerves. We heard more rooms being searched. Roland grinned and kept moving. The halls grew quiet, then finally, completely silent. Openings showing light came less frequently. We stumbled down a long, winding stretch with no light at all. Roland fumbled with the wall at the end. I leaned against him, shivering. The wall swung open, spilling us into the room beyond. I landed in Robin Goodfellow's lap.
"Am I hallucinating?" Robin asked.
I slid out of his lap onto the floor, my face flushing with embarrassment.
"We're here to rescue you," Roland said. He'd landed on his feet. "Keep it quiet, though. How many guards are out there?"
Robin shrugged. "Maybe one."
I pulled my shift into a more concealing position, then wrapped my arms around myself, rubbing my goosebumps. The storerooms were chilly.
"Where are my men?" Robin looked hopefully at the secret passage.
"In the woods." Roland dug through a box at the back of the room. "Your man, John Littlebottomford, was taking them home to Sherwood. Dace convinced them to come rescue you instead. Things didn't quite work out the way she planned."
"What plans? It really is Dace, isn't it? I wasn't sure for a moment."
My stomach chose that moment to protest not being fed for much too long a time.
Robin laughed. "It's her."
Roland dropped a cloak over me.
I grabbed it, wanting to hide in embarrassment. No, I wanted to eat and sleep and wake up without someone trying to kill me.
"I'll be back." Roland disappeared into the secret passage. The panel swung shut behind him.
I wasn't sure how to open it again. I sighed and pulled the cloak tighter around me.
"Could you possibly do something about these?" Robin lifted his wrists linked by chains that passed through a heavy metal loop cemented into the floor. "You didn't happen to find a set of keys?"
I shook my head. "If you have something long and slender, I could pick the locks."
"You are a wealth of surprises. Where did you acquire that skill?"
I opened my mouth to answer, then froze as boots thumped in the hallway. The door across the hall slammed open. I scrabbled at the door to the secret passage. Someone bellowed orders in the hall. Barrels and boxes smashed. I jabbed at the wood, pleading with it to open. Keys scraped in the lock. I slammed my fist into the wall. The panel swung loose. I darted in, jerking it shut behind me.
The door to Robin's cell crashed open. My curiosity got the better of me. I peered through the spyhole. The man Clyvus had berated earlier glared at Robin. Other men dumped the boxes and barrels at the far end of the room.
Robin rattled his chains. "So nice to see you haven't entirely forgotten me. I've been sitting here talking to myself for three days, or has it been four? It's so hard to keep track when meals are irregular and I have no window to watch the sun."
The man kicked Robin's leg. "Where are they? These friends of yours that are causing so much trouble?"
"I have absolutely no idea what you are grumbling about," Robin said. "I'm the one chained. How should I know what you beastly men are up to?"
When the man kicked Robin again, I winced in sympathy. Clyvus' man growled and stomped out, followed by the rest of the troop. The door slammed shut behind them. Robin sat alone in the flickering light of a single candle.
&n
bsp; I groped around the edge of panel, looking for the release.
The door opened, Ameli slipped inside then pushed the door shut. She looked awful; the whole left side of her face was bruised and swollen. Blood spattered her pink dress. She pulled out a knife as she knelt beside Robin.
The catch on the panel gave way, spilling me into the room. I got tangled in the cloak, sprawling on my face.
Ameli whirled, her face white with fear. She tackled me, shoving the knife at my throat.
I caught her wrist, holding it tightly.
Her eyes widened. "You're dead. They burned you with the lodge." She shuddered.
"Where's the Baron?" I asked.
"I killed him. I took my knife and I stabbed him over and over and over until he quit squealing." She giggled, high and thin. "He was a pig, I butchered him. We'll fry him for breakfast." She swayed, the knife waving in front of my face.
"Ameli." She made me very nervous.
"I stabbed him, just like this." The knife plunged towards me.
I rolled to the side. It caught in my cloak, ripping a long tear.
"He was a pig. I'm going to butcher Leran next. He shouldn't have sold me to the Baron." She sobbed once, her left eyelid twitching rhythmically.
I unfastened the cloak, then slid away. "Ameli, listen to me. Let me help you."
"No one can help me," she wailed, clutching my cloak. "I'm lost. Lost and alone. Leran will pay. I am no one. I am the wind. I am the song of vengeance." She babbled off into nonsense.
I took the knife from her limp hand. She buried her face in the cloak, shoulders shaking.
The knife blade was a bit wide, but I made it work. By the time I had both cuffs off Robin's wrists, Ameli was coherent again.
"Give me my knife." Her voice made ice seem warm. Her eyes glittered wildly. "I won't hurt you. Not now. Not until Leran has paid. Then it will be your turn."
"Leran is upstairs, with Pardui." I didn't care if I lied, I wanted Ameli as far away as I could get her.
Ameli snarled and snatched the knife. "Don't try to stop me." She dashed into the hall.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Robin said softly as the door slammed shut again. He rubbed his wrists. "She was promising once. I almost hired her."
"Leran traded her to Baron Molier for me."
Robin swallowed hard. "I don't want to know what she went through, poor girl."
The secret door clicked open.
"Anyone hungry?" Roland set a lumpy bag on the floor. He studied us for a long moment. "What happened?"
I picked up the cloak, poking my finger through the jagged rip.
Robin reached for the bag.
"Somebody talk," Roland said, pulling the bag away, "Or no one eats."
"Ameli came to visit," Robin explained. "She's quite lost her mind."
"What shall we do now?" Roland asked, sharing the food from his bag.
"We can't stay here." I yawned widely.
"Why not?" Roland asked. "It's already been searched; it's as safe as anywhere. We can rest for a few hours. Dawn is about five hours away."
"We have to find a way to neutralize the force field before then." I rubbed blearily at stinging eyes. I didn't want to be in charge. I didn't want to be responsible for anything except me. I wanted my ship and my life back.
"She's practically asleep," Robin said.
"I'll think of something." Roland tucked the cloak around my shoulders.
"Good." I curled up to sleep. It was the only escape left.
"Things will look better after a few hours of rest." Roland patted my leg.
He shook me awake what seemed like only moments later. I grumbled, stiff and cold.
"Dawn is about two hours away," Roland said.
"Where's Robin?" I asked.
"With his men who are locked up. We need your skills with the locks."
"I need something long and thin. A piece of wire would be perfect."
"Something like this?" Roland handed me a lockpick, top quality and barely used to judge by the shine on it.
"Where did you find that?"
"One of Dysun's men. We have to go. If you're ready?"
"Dysun's men? Are they here, too?"
"Their door was only bolted from the outside, so I let them out into the passages."
"You haven't found Commander Nuto yet, have you?" Or Tayvis, I added silently to myself.
Roland shrugged. "I haven't seen your partner, either. We should be going."
We squeezed into the dusty passage. Roland led me on another tortuous path through the walls of the buildings. We exited to another ransacked storeroom. Roland crouched by the door.
"Robin's men are down that hall," he whispered and pointed out the door. "Fifteen of them in four rooms. There aren't any passages that connect directly."
"Where's Robin?"
"Down the hall, preparing a diversion for you."
I peeked over his shoulder. One guard slouched in a corner, snoring. The other two played cards. A single torch burned in a holder above them.
"I'll give Robin the signal," Roland whispered. "Wait for a count of one hundred, then go unlock the doors." He slipped through the door, disappearing into the gloomy hall.
I crouched behind the door watching the guards. Nothing happened for a long time. I carefully stretched out cramped muscles.
An unearthly howl rose out of the dark hallway. Guard one yanked his blaster out, scattering cards across the floor. Guard two kicked the sleeping guard. The howl built in volume before shivering away. The echoes had barely faded when it rose again, even louder. All three of the guards stared nervously into shadows.
"It's the beast they warned us about," sleeping guard said. "It's come to eat us."
"Shut up, Boris." Guard one aimed his blaster down the corridor.
"Why would it want to eat you anyway? You'd kill it for sure." Guard two sniggered.
"And why is that?" Boris demanded.
"Foot odor, most likely. Possibly your taste in clothes. Terminal bad taste." Guard two laughed at his own wit.
"Shut up, both of you."
Boris glared at guard two.
Howls echoed through the halls.
"Go see what it is." Guard two returned the glare.
"You go," Boris said. "You've got a blaster."
"It's dark out there. Why don't we wait here until whatever it is comes out, then we blast it."
"We're supposed to conserve power. Clyvus said there weren't any more recharge packs for a while. You want to talk to him? I can report you both." Boris drew his knife.
Screams added a new level of terror to the howls. All three guards waved their weapons. Boots pounded in the darkness around the corner. Someone shouted for help.
"Go on, both of you," guard one said, shoving the two reluctant men towards the screams.
I saw the look they exchanged. Somehow, I didn't believe they would follow orders. They looked like they were going to find a safe corner to hide in. The last guard backed to the wall, pointing his blaster down alternate hallways.
The howls raised the hair on my neck. I started counting; I'd almost forgotten that part.
An explosion rocked the floor. Flames roared from the left, dying quickly. The guard galloped away from the smoke pouring down the hall.
I took it for my cue and dashed across the open space, into the short passage. I stopped at the first door, pick out and ready. The simple lock clicked open easily. I shoved the door open.
Five men pushed through the door.
"Robin's wolf is hunting tonight." One of them snickered.
I moved to the next door. Robin's men were already gone. I unlocked the other doors. The rest of Robin's men ran off into the shadows where the sound of fighting replaced the weird howling. I crouched in the shadows, wondering what to do next.
"This way." Roland grabbed my wrist. "Robin and his men will keep things stirred up for a while."
We darted to the storeroom and into the maze of secret halls.
"Where are you taking me now?" I panted as we hurried through the narrow space. I coughed on the dust we kicked up.
"We need weapons to fight Clyvus. I know where we might find some. They'll be a bit old, but they have been well cared for."
I eagerly followed Roland. He took so many twists and turns, I had no idea which way was what when he finally opened a door. We stepped into darkness. Roland dropped my wrist. Something clicked. The room flooded with steady, white light. I stared in shock. Artificial light, I thought dumbly. I hadn't seen it since I abandoned my ship. It felt so normal it was alien.
Then I caught sight of the objects lining the shelves. I'd died and gone to Wonderland with Alice and her white poodle.