“Follow the corridor below and it will lead to the castle. Once inside, there will be no doors that will give you access, but there are peepholes into many rooms. You can see without being seen and hear without being heard. But be careful not to get lost in the winding and narrow passageways. They twist and turn and divide often.”
Danica touched her pocket. “I have my talisman, so I won’t get lost.” She looked at Lucas. “There is something else you can do. We need to get word to Finian that plans have changed. He’s expecting to be going to Jayne’s house tomorrow morning to overpower Rone. He’s going to be disappointed, and I don’t want him to do anything stupid. Lucas, you can give him a job—he’s trustworthy.”
“Is it Finian the baker’s son?”
“Yes. He’s young and eager to see the Count and Rone killed. They executed his father. He’s also unskilled in weapons and fighting. Find him a job that will be important but will keep him safe.”
Lucas nodded. “When will you be back?”
“I hope to be back later with Jimmu and Emma.”
He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “Until then, be safe.”
She quietly descended the stairs into the darkness below. Spider webs clung to her, and she brushed them off her face. At the bottom of the stairs, the talisman shone brightly onto the old tunnel which was, surprisingly, in good shape and high enough to walk upright. It led forward into darkness. She held the talisman in front of her, and it lighted her way along the narrow corridor from the abbey to the castle.
When she reached the castle, she had a choice to climb wooden stairs to an upper level or to take the corridor to the right. She turned to the right and the talisman dimmed. When she took the stairs, it shined onto them and she avoided a few rotted steps. At the top of the stairs there was another narrow passageway which she followed. As she traveled along the corridor, there were a few places where she had to make a choice to go right or left, and she followed the guidance of the talisman, trusting its light. She put her eye to many small peepholes and saw different rooms, mostly empty. Some revealed servants cleaning. In one bed chamber a man and woman were naked. She was sitting on his lap feeding him grapes from a bowl of fruit.
She continued, ascending crude steps that took her higher into the castle. Ahead of her a dim light filtered through a chink in the wall. She put her eye to a hole and was able to see the whole interior of the room. It appeared to be an antechamber, and as she scanned the room, a door opened and Count Gurdyn entered, followed by Dumone and a servant carrying a tray with wine, bread, and meat.
Her talisman was icy cold, and the soft blue color had turned to a roiling dark gray. The servant placed the tray on a table and poured the Count a glass of wine. Then he exited, and the Count sat in a chair by the fire.
“So, you’ve questioned her? Is she the one prophesied?”
Dumone’s thin frame sat in the chair opposite the Count. “She’s strong and not willing to give up information. Yet.”
“What have you learned? What are she and her companions doing here? Where are they from?”
Dumone rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and tented his hands. His dark eyes glittered preternaturally. “I haven’t learned anything yet, but I’ve only just begun.”
“What methods are you using? Perhaps you need to be more persuasive.”
Dumone smiled. “I’m pushing her to her limit. In fact, she’s unconscious now. I’ll wait a bit until she regains her wits.” Even before Danica tried to read Dumone’s mind, she knew it was impossible. The Count’s mind, however, was a storm of sinister thoughts. None of them revealed where Emma might be.
Danica put the suggestion in the Count’s mind to ask Dumone where Emma was, but just then there was a knock on the door.
“Come!”
A guard entered and bowed. “Your Highness, we were unable to find the young foreign woman at the Red Fox Inn. We questioned the alewife and the serving girls, but no one has seen her since this morning.”
The Count glowered at the guard. “What did you find in the room they were renting?”
“Just this,” and he held up the pack Danica had left for them to find.
The Count got out of his chair and grabbed the pack. He opened the flap and looked inside, then he pulled out the silk and the extra clothes and threw them on the floor.
“I want the city searched. Every house. Every nook and cranny. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir. Rone is dispatching guards right now. We’ll find her, Sir.”
“You’d better,” the Count growled. “Now leave us.”
He turned to Dumone. “Wake up the girl and get some answers. What about the man? Have you questioned him yet?”
“Not yet. I think it will be easier getting answers from the girl.”
“You don’t have much time. It’s important that our trial goes as planned tomorrow. The girl will be on the barge with us. Whether or not she’s the one prophesied, we’re going to say that she is. The people need to see her die. Then their hopes will die with her.” He glowered at Dumone. “See what you can get out of her, but make sure she’s still alive for tomorrow.”
“There are many ways to loosen a tongue. She’ll crack. Everyone has their weakness. I haven’t found hers yet, but I will,” Dumone said smoothly.
The Count took a long drink from his goblet. “Meanwhile, we need to spread the word that if the other woman turns herself in, this one’s life will be spared. Maybe that will draw the other one to us. Before you leave, let’s review the plan for tomorrow. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Danica’s mind was racing. She wanted to stay and hear the plan and find out where Emma was, but she needed to find Jimmu, and she was certain she’d find him in the dungeon. He could help her find Emma. She could only imagine the cruel methods Dumone was using to try and get her friend to talk.
I know Emma will die before she gives any information away. If she’s still alive tomorrow, she’ll be on the barge with Lucina. She’s a strong swimmer, but what kind of condition will she be in after Dumone is through with her?
Danica turned from the chink in the wall and hurried down the corridor to the stairs. She descended them and took the passageway she had seen earlier. It wound around and branched off several times, leading downward. She knew she was getting close to the dungeon when the walls grew wetter and the accompanying smell of mildew more pronounced. To her left were a few steps leading up to another trap door underneath a carpet in a room that was silent.
I don’t think Semiel knows about this one.
She listened carefully for a few minutes and when she determined the room was empty, she pushed the trap door, maneuvered the carpet, and squirmed out. The room turned out to be a small chapel. She took pains to replace everything the way it had been.
When she peeked out of the small arched doorway, she found a faintly lit corridor. Silently she crept along the wide hallway, and soon she could see that it opened to the round dungeon room. Her mind explored and found guards on duty in front of the many small cells that held the prisoners. She realized the Count had increased security with the discovery of Emma and Jimmu. She couldn’t tell how many there were, and their thoughts were jumbled together. Most of them were bored and sleepy. One of them was thinking about the plans for tomorrow and was obviously part of the resistance. She focused her attention on this one and let him in on her plans. Then she quietly stepped into the room.
Before the startled guards had a chance to register her presence, she strode swiftly over to the one nearest her and in a fluid movement, karate chopped his throat. He dropped instantly, but now the others had become alert to the danger and were advancing on her. She grabbed the sword from the downed guard’s scabbard and met the first one with a slice to his sword arm and a quick stab to the chest. Her accomplice worked from behind and was able to kill two guards before the others knew of his duplicity. Then it was a brawl with two more guards advancing on her, and three on he
r accomplice. She deftly sidestepped their sword thrusts and came from the side to plunge her weapon into one’s neck. As the other lunged at her, she countered by allowing his weight to carry his body past her, and then driving her sword into his back.
Her accomplice had managed to ward off his attackers with no serious injury to himself, and she came to his aid. One of the guards engaged her in hand-to-hand combat, parrying every thrust she threw at him. He outweighed her by six stone, and his skill with the sword was formidable. He was strong and she knew she would need to keep her wits about her to defeat him. If she could get his sword away from him, she would have a fighting chance. They were squared off, both panting heavily. His small beady eyes stared at her with malice. Suddenly he lunged and she stepped sideways at the last second, just before his weapon would have pierced her. She brought her sword hilt down on his hand with such force that he dropped his weapon. She kicked it away, and he turned to face her. He smiled slowly, confident despite losing his weapon, absently rubbing his wounded hand.
He came at her then, and she thrust her sword. He surprised her by deftly moving away and catching her hand. He twisted it and she cried out, dropping her sword. As he bent to retrieve it, she twirled her body away from him and used a pillar to launch herself up and into the air, coming down and bringing a foot squarely to the back of his neck. He fell and rolled, regaining his footing. His smile was gone, and Danica saw uncertainty on his face. She turned sideways, one arm outstretched, the other fisted and close to her chest, her eyes challenging him. This time when he lunged at her, she ducked underneath his arm and then shot her elbow into his ear. He yowled and from behind, she twirled her body in a fluid motion and, spiraling into the air, kicked his back. When he fell heavily to his knees, she leaped onto his back and grabbed his arm, twisting it until she heard the crack of bone. He bellowed painfully and shook her off.
He had landed within reach of a sword, and he grabbed it with his good arm and jumped to his feet. Now his smile was a grimace of pain as he saw he had the advantage. The broken arm hung limply at his side. He stepped towards her and she stepped back. She was calculating in her mind how she would compensate for his longer reach when she heard the thwack of a sword from behind her injured attacker. His eyes grew round in disbelief, and the bulk of him folded up on itself and crumpled to the floor. Her accomplice stood behind him breathing heavily, a bloody sword grasped in both of his hands. The two guards he had been fighting were both on the floor, bleeding from mortal wounds.
“Danica!”
She heard Jimmu call to her from one of the cells and she ran over to him. His hands were gripping the bars.
“Get the keys from that one,” he said, pointing to the one her accomplice had just killed. She rummaged in his surcoat and found a ring of keys. After trying a few, she found the one that unlocked Jimmu’s cell door. He grabbed the keys from her and began unlocking the doors to the other cells.
“Where are the women prisoners?” Danica scanned the cells and did not see any of them.
“Your friend and four others were taken somewhere else,” her accomplice said.
“Do you know where?” Danica asked.
“Dumone has them. I don’t know where they are.”
Jimmu said, “We need to leave before more guards come. We’ll figure out how to find Emma and the others once we get all these people out of danger,”
The prisoners had formed a half-circle around them. Some of them were supporting others who were too frail to help themselves.
She turned to her accomplice. “I’m going to lead these men through a secret passageway behind that wall. Go to the guard room down the hall. Hopefully, it will be empty. There’s a small window high in the back wall. Drag the table under it. Maybe they’ll think the prisoners left that way. Then clear away any evidence that would lead anyone to this passage. Any footprints or other signs. Then follow us. And bring a torch.” He nodded, and she pulled the talisman from her pocket.
She led the prisoners to the rock wall hiding the passageway that would take them to the abbey. The talisman glowed softly lighting the interior, and the prisoners followed her into the dark tunnel. Jimmu held a torch high and followed the group as they disappeared behind the wall.
Thirty-Eight
Emma felt the world spinning and she retched uncontrollably. She struggled to open her eyes, but her eyelids weren’t cooperating. Pain touched every part of her, and she was aware on some level that she was bleeding from a cut above her left eye.
As she tried to hold on to consciousness, she heard voices sounding like they were coming from far away. Suddenly one was right in her ear and her flesh crawled as she recognized it. Dumone!
“Wake up, my dear. We have work to do.”
The liberated prisoners were given food and drink by a few of the priests. Some were too weak to eat, and they were being attended to by healers. Danica and Jimmu and the accomplice disguised as a guard talked with Lucas and Semiel in a corner of the room.
“This is Gabriel, our man who was one of the guards in the dungeon. I’m glad he was there to help you, Danica,” Lucas said.
“I’m glad too. Where do you think Emma and the other women were taken?” she asked Gabriel.
“I don’t know.” Gabriel looked at Jimmu. “After you and she were put into cells, Dumone came and told two of the guards to bring her and the women prisoners who would face trial tomorrow.”
“They were probably taken to a holding place and are heavily guarded,” Lucas said.
Danica eyed Jimmu’s face. It was swollen and black and blue from the beating Rone had given him, and he was favoring his right side, so he probably had broken ribs. “Are you all right?” She touched a gash on his cheekbone.
He winced and drew his face away. “I’ll be fine. We need to figure out how to find Emma.”
“Ansa will meet me at the kitchen door tonight at ten o’clock. Maybe she can distract a couple of guards and find out where Emma is.”
“And if they don’t know?” Jimmu asked.
“They won’t know,” Gabriel said. “The two that took Emma and the other women away never came back. They’re most likely guarding the women, wherever they are.”
“There are enough tunnels and passages leading into the castle. I’ll spend all night searching for her if I have to,” Danica said. She watched Jimmu’s face and saw the tell-tale stubborn resolution settling in his eyes, so she spoke quickly. “I’m going alone.”
“No, you’re not. I’m coming with you,” and he resolutely crossed his arms over his
broad chest.
Danica sighed. She knew once he’d made up his mind, she had no power to change it. But she worried about his condition. The wounds that were visible were bad enough. What about the ones that weren’t?
“Be careful in the tunnels,” Lucas said. “Someone might remember them and then they won’t be safe.”
Jimmu and Danica left shortly after that, taking the dark stairs to the tunnel Danica had taken earlier. Jimmu followed close behind as the talisman lighted the way.
They spent a few hours traversing the maze of passages, and they were able to look through peepholes into many rooms. Whenever there were people in any of the rooms, Danica probed their minds in hopes they would get information about Emma, but no one had any useful information. She was mentally exhausted, and her head ached dully.
When they found the dining room and saw the Count and Countess at dinner, Danica was hopeful she would discover Emma’s location. The Count hadn’t touched his dinner. He was furious about the prisoners escaping, and he was grousing to the Countess.
“Someone will pay for this!” he yelled. “Someone is hiding them, and when they’re found, heads will roll!” He slammed his fist onto the table.
Danica tried to put suggestions in his mind about Emma, but he was too consumed with his own anger. The Countess was eating her dinner, seemingly unconcerned about the missing prisoners. She was preoccupied with the misadventures
of one of her attendants and a guard. Danica felt like screaming and she gripped her head. Jimmu led her away from the peephole where they wouldn’t be heard.
“Can you try to reach Emma? Maybe if you reach out to her, you’ll discover where she is.”
“It doesn’t work like that! Someone has to be near—within speaking distance.” Her voice was trembling, and she was hyper-ventilating.
I’ve got to find Emma! What is Dumone doing to her! Where could she be?
Jimmu put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Try, Danica. Maybe she’s close.”
And so, she tried. She closed her eyes and spent a few moments distancing herself from Jimmu, from the tunnel, from the Count and Countess and all that had happened earlier. She focused intently on bringing Emma’s image to her mind’s eye. She could see Emma clearly, her friendly smile and twinkling eyes, the way she had looked earlier in the day, the last time Danica had seen her, concern in her eyes as she tried to make Danica more comfortable. Here, take this, it will help with the headache, she had said when she gave Danica the small pill.
Emma! Emma, where are you?
She was calling to Emma in her mind, but her inner voice echoed off the empty caverns of her mental landscape, and Emma did not call back. She kept searching, trying to go farther than she had ever been able to go before, reaching, stretching as far as she could, straining the delicate feelers that drifted like tendrils of smoke from her mind.
Emma! Please!
After a few minutes her strength left her, and she collapsed to the floor of the tunnel. A knife was stabbing her temples repeatedly. She grabbed her head with both hands trying to squeeze the pain out of it. She felt Jimmu’s arms surround her.
“Danica!” She lifted her face to him, and he saw her tears.
“I can’t! I can’t find her!” She was sobbing now, looking into his eyes for a solution. “What are we going to do?”
The Acolyte: Magicians of the Beyond Page 25