Fires of Memory

by Washburn, Scott;

  After they found Carabello and kidnapped a few of the wizards.

  In Matt’s mind, that was the truly tricky part of all this. There was no point in getting away if they left without what they came for. But would a single wizard be enough? Which one? Could you even kidnap a wizard if they didn’t want to be kidnapped? So far, these people had not shown much in the way of magical powers, but he could not be sure.

  They were only going to get one chance at this, and Matt did not want to waste it. The grapple had been ready for three days and the men were itching to go, but Matt had held them back waiting for…what?

  What was he waiting for? One night would be as good as another. It was unlikely that he would learn anything more useful by waiting. He looked again at the snow. Before long, escape would be impossible until the spring, anyway.

  “Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Lieutenant Jernsen.

  “Let the men know that we shall be leaving tonight.”

  “Yes, sir! When, sir?”

  “As soon as they check on us again. Right after that, we’ll get moving.”

  Jernsen eagerly went to spread the word. That took about a minute, and then Matt had to keep the eager men out of sight and quiet for the next hour. There was almost an inch of snow covering the courtyard before he saw a light in the window above them. A few moments later, someone leaned over the railing and held the lantern out. The swirling snowflakes glittered in the light. Then the lantern pulled back and the window went dark. Matt made them wait a while longer, and then they silently filed out into the courtyard. One of the men carried the rope and the grapple. It wasn’t a very good grapple, just the legs from a chair they had taken apart, roped together so that there would be a few prongs that might possibly catch on something.

  “Ready? All right, just try for the balcony first. If we can avoid breaking a window, so much the better.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll try my best.” The man swung the grapple around and around and then threw it up toward the balcony. It was far short on the first try, but the man caught the grapple as it fell and tried again. The second throw bounced off the railing of the balcony. The third try went neatly over the rail and fell on the balcony. He pulled in the rope slowly and carefully, but they all sighed when the grapple came right over the balcony and fell down to them again.

  “Keep trying. This could take a while,” said Matt.

  “Yes, sir.” The man tried again and again, but with no luck. The snow was coming down more thickly now, and they were all coated in white.

  “All right. This doesn’t seem to be working,” said Matt after a while. “I think we are going to have to take a chance and try for the window.”

  “Right. I’ll give it a real heave this time, sir.” The man hauled back and hurled the grapple like a spear. It flew up and over the railing. There was an unnervingly loud bang, but nothing that sounded like glass breaking. The man slowly pulled, took up the slack, and everyone restrained a cheer when it suddenly went taut. The man pulled more strongly, but the rope did not move.

  “Good! Larst! Your turn.”

  The smallest and lightest man in the group came forward and took hold of the rope. He pulled on it and then let his whole weight hang from it. It held. He stood back, spat on his hands, and then jumped up and seized the rope. Several of the taller men gave him a boost and he was soon halfway up. Then three-quarters. As they held their collective breaths, he grabbed the railing and scrambled over. Almost immediately he reappeared and waved. Then he was gone again and Matt assumed—and hoped—he was re-securing the rope to something solid. There was another short wait and then Larst was at the railing again, motioning them to climb up.

  Matt let several of the others go first, and then it was his turn. Rope climbing was never something he had done much of, and he felt extremely clumsy doing so. But eventually he reached the top and the men hauled him over the railing. He was sweating despite the snow, and he sat there for a moment to catch his breath.

  “Door’s locked, sir,” said Larst. “Just another room with nothing in it at all. Heavy wood door and it won’t budge.”

  Blast, he’d been afraid of that. He glanced around, quickly. The grapple had not actually broken the glass, so they could just let themselves back down and probably their captors would never notice. But there was no point in that. They had come this far, and they could go the rest of the way!

  “All right. We’ll wait for the next person to come in. Maybe we can persuade them to cooperate.”

  So they waited. Usually someone came to check on them every hour or so, although they had noticed the checks had become less frequent in the last few days. Perhaps their captors were becoming as tired of this as they were. Matt placed his men as best he could. He wanted the next people to enter to not notice them until it was too late. Unfortunately, it was not a very large room, and there were no real hiding places. He briefly toyed with the idea of sending some of the men back down to the courtyard but dismissed it: they had to be ready to move when the time came, and it would take too long to have them climb back up again. So he put the men into corners and against walls, crouched down on the balcony, and waited.

  It seemed like they waited for a long time. The snow was getting thicker on the balcony, and he knew that he could not keep the men out there much longer. What if no one bothered to check on them tonight? Well, they could always go back down and try again tomorrow…

  There was a noise outside the door and everyone suddenly stiffened. Yes, there was no doubt that there was a key being put into a lock! Matt motioned for everyone to get ready, although it was totally unnecessary: they were all ready.

  There was a loud click and then the door swung open. Matt was just to one side. He cursed under his breath when he saw the lantern, it was one of those magical ones and extremely bright. They were going to see he and men almost the moment they came inside. The person with the lantern stepped into the room and Matt immediately grabbed an arm and flung the person to a waiting soldier. He used the momentum that gave him to leap into the hallway. There were several other people there, and he grabbed the closest. The first person had given a yelp which was cut off almost immediately. Then Matt suddenly had his hands full of a twisting, screeching, clawing wildcat. Several other people were crying out. Damn! There were at least five of them. His men came rushing out into the hall to try and grab them.

  “Run, Idira!” cried a very familiar voice.

  “Let go of me, you bastard!” snarled the woman he had hold of. Her voice sounded familiar, too.

  “Wait!” he shouted. “Everyone stop!” The woman in his grasp kept struggling, but all the others froze. “Carabello, is that you?” The lantern was in the room and it was almost completely dark in the hall. He tried to see the dark shape a few feet away.

  “C-colonel? Is that you?” Yes, it was definitely Carabello.

  “Yes, it’s me. What the hell are you doing?” The woman stopped her frantic attempt to get loose.

  “Uh, we were here to rescue you. But I guess you already took care of that.”

  “Well, we wouldn’t have gotten far if you had not unlocked the door. Who else is with you?”

  “Thaddius, Idira, Hesseran, Gez, and I think you’ve got Lyni, there.”

  “He does, and he damn well better let go! Right now!” Matt did let her go, and she pulled away from him with a snort.

  “All right, we are loose and all together, and you even have three wizards, Master Carabello. Well done. I assume the next step is to get out of here—or did you have something else planned?”

  “No…no, we were just thinking about getting down to the boat and leaving. Stephanz is too strong to attack directly, Colonel. He has loyal servants—and they have your weapons.”

  Matt thought about it for a moment. It seemed to make the most sense, but… “Are you three wizards going to help us? Against the Kaifeng, I mean. Have you found an answer?”

  “We have made some substantial progress i
n finding an answer, Colonel,” said Idira. “We are determined to help in any way we can.”

  “All right, that’s as good as we are going to get, I suppose. Let’s get going. Lead on.” The sextet pulled themselves together. Matt saw that the first person he had grabbed was the alchemist. He picked up the lantern and did something to it so that the light became much dimmer.

  “This way,” he said, and the large group followed.

  “How did you manage this, Carabello?” whispered Matt as they went down a set of steps.

  “Well, the others just realized that we were right about Stephanz murdering Dauros. Thad worked on Idira, and I worked on Hess. Once it became clear what had happened, this was the only thing we could do. It wasn’t hard to get the key to that room—we couldn’t get the ones directly into your rooms—and then we just waited for the right moment. Seems like you did, too. I’m glad you didn’t hurt anyone. That was rather frightening.”

  “Sorry we scared you, but it worked out. Is the boat ready?”

  “I think so. Lyni took care of that. But we have several bundles of books and things that the wizards need, stashed up ahead. We’ll need your help carrying them.”

  “Not a problem. We are traveling light.”

  They followed Hesseran through a bewildering maze of stairs and passages. They mostly went down, but not always. Finally, they came to a room in a dusty, and apparently unused section, of the island. “Here,” he whispered. “We need to bring these.” Matt looked and he saw a number of large bundles on the floor, and he directed his men to carry them. Then it was onward and downward. Several times their path took them outside, and Matt could see that the snow was still falling and the wind was strong. He could hear the roar of the waves splashing against the rocks.

  Finally, the sound of the water was very near, and the alchemist slowed his hurried pace. “Just about there,” he whispered. “This next door.” They were in a small tunnel, lit only by the faint lantern. There was a maddening delay as he fumbled with the latch. Finally, Lyni came forward and pushed the door open. A gust of chill air rushed down the tunnel. They started forward onto the dock and were immediately halted by a shout.

  “Stop! Who’s there! Don’t take another step!”

  “Oh, hell!” hissed the Alchemist. Matt did take another step forward, and then he could see three men standing on the snow-covered dock. They were facing Carabello, Hesseran, Idira and Lyni, who had been leading the way. Matt and his men were all at the rear with the bags. Damn! He should have insisted on being in front!

  “I am taking one of the boats out, Pirat,” said Lyni. “I won’t be needing any assistance.” She took a step forward.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Lyni,” said the leader of the men. “Lord Stephanz has issued strict orders: no one may use any of the boats without his permission. And who are those people with you?” The man came forward a few steps and then suddenly sprang back. “The prisoners! Stay where you are!” He and the other two produced pistols and pointed them at them. They were probably their own pistols, too, dammit!

  “Stand aside, Pirat,” said Lyni. “I am leaving and I am taking all these gentlemen with me. Don’t try to stop me.”

  “It’s all right, Miss Lyni, you’re safe now! Come over here and we’ll protect you from these ruffians. Lady Idira, Master Hesseran, come over here with us!”

  “You are quite mistaken about this, Pirat,” said Idira, “We are not hostages, we simply wish to leave. Now do put away those silly guns and let us pass.”

  The man looked startled. The situation was not what he had thought, and now he did not know what to do. Matt stared at the three men with pistols pointed at them. The snow was still coming down, how long until they could hope for the priming to get wet? The covers were closed, but a heavy rain or snow could soon render them inoperable. Perhaps if he could stall them long enough…

  “Gentlemen,” he said loudly. “There are three of you, and it’s true that you have three pistols. But there are nineteen of us. You could shoot down three of us, but the rest are going to beat you to death with your empty guns and throw your carcasses into the sea. Now let’s be reasonable and no one needs to get hurt.”

  The three looked really uncomfortable now. Matt moved a little to the side so more of his men could come out of the tunnel. With a little luck, they could bluff their way out of this.

  Unfortunately, Lyni chose this moment to start forward. “Pirat! You will put down that gun, or I’m going to take it away from you!”

  The man stepped back and raised the pistol. Suddenly, Carabello was rushing forward. “Lyni! Stay back!” The man shifted his aim to Carabello, and Matt found himself dashing forward, too.

  There was a flash that illuminated the falling snow for a dazzling instant, and then there was a loud bang. Lyni screamed, Idira screamed, Gez yelped, and Carabello tumbled onto the dock and slid two yards in the snow. Matt changed his direction in mid-stride, away from the man who had fired, and toward the nearest one who still had a loaded gun. The man was frozen in shock, and Matt reached him unharmed. He grabbed hold of the pistol and struck the man in the face with his fist. The man fell backward, leaving the pistol in Matt’s hand. He reversed the weapon, but before he could do more, the third man aimed his pistol at him and pulled the trigger. Matt sucked in his breath and prepared to be hammered down by a one-ounce lead ball. Instead, the flint made a feeble spark and the priming failed to ignite. An instant later, the man—and the one who shot Carabello—were swarmed under by the rest of Matt’s charging men.

  “Jarren!” cried Idira. “Oh gods, he’s been shot!” The woman and the priest rushed to his side. Lyni and Hesseran stood there without moving. Carabello’s young servant was crying.

  “Come on!” shouted Matt. “We can’t stay here! Get the baggage into the boat. Move!”

  His men obeyed instantly, and in a few seconds, all the bags were thrown into the bottom of the small ship. Then they carefully picked up Carabello and loaded him aboard. He gave off a sharp moan as they moved him, so apparently he was still alive. Probably not for very long, though, thought Matt grimly. It looked to be a belly wound, and that was a guarantee of a painful death. Too bad, the scholar wasn’t a bad sort. He’d even been brave—foolishly brave—right at the end.

  “In the boat! Everyone!” The wizards were still standing there in shock. Matt grabbed them by their arms and hustled them aboard. The three men who had tried to stop them were senseless on the dock, but not seriously harmed. “Can you sail this thing?” he shouted into Lyni’s ear. She had been the one to bring them here, she ought to be able to get them back again.

  “What’s going on down there?” came a shout from above. Matt looked up and saw someone in a window, far up the side of the island.

  He did not answer, but he shook Lyni. “Come on! Tell us what to do!”

  The woman blinked and jumped, and then seemed to be aware of herself again. “The ropes, cast off the ropes, someone take the tiller,” she said. Matt relayed the order and the men scrambled to obey.

  “Hey! Stop!” shouted the voice from above.

  The ropes were untied and the boat began to rock quite violently in the heavy sea. Lyni did something with one of the ropes and the sail unrolled itself. The wind immediately caught it and nearly threw the boat against the dock. The young wizard shouted something in a strange language, and the wind veered around and drove the boat out and away from the island. Matt could hear a bell clanging frantically from behind them.

  Once clear of the dock and the little inlet, the wind was much stronger and the seas mountainous. The boat climbed up the side of one wave and then slid down the other in a fashion that made Matt queasy. But Lyni was doing…something…and the waves became smaller and the wind blew them on a steady course. The island was now just a dark mass astern of them with a number of lights flickering in windows. He could not hear the bell anymore. Matt made his way to where Idira and Thaddius were with Carabello.

  “How is he?” he
asked.

  “Still alive,” said the woman. “But I’m going to have to work on him right away to save him.”

  “Save him? With a wound like that?” asked Matt in amazement.

  “Of course I can save him,” shouted Idira against the wind. “But I need a stable platform. Lyni! Can you steady the boat down so I can work?”

  “I’ll try,” came the reply, and Matt could hear the annoyance in her voice. “Give me a few…”

  A powerful blast of wind cut off her voice, the boat lurched sharply, and then almost rolled over. Matt grabbed a rope and hung on for dear life. The men shouted and Idira shrieked in alarm. Another blast, this time laden with stinging sleet, hit them from the other side and again the boat nearly capsized. A wave broke over the bow, drenching them all in an instant.

  “What’s happening?” he shouted.

  “It’s Stephanz!” cried Lyni. Matt faintly saw her pointing astern—and upward. Matt looked and thought he could see a blue glow from the highest point on the island. He remembered the slender tower that was there. He also remembered that Stephanz was a master of wind and water—just like Lyni. He was up there, apparently using his own powers against them.

  The wind had been blowing them away from the island, but now it was doing just the opposite. The sail flapped and shuddered, and the seas became a choppy turmoil as Lyni and Stephanz fought for control. A flash of lightning suddenly split the skies, tearing aside the darkness for a moment.

  “Gods! Is he tossing lightning bolts at us, too?”

  “No, neither of us did that,” snarled Lyni. “But hang on, this is going to get rough!”

  “Get rough!? What do you call this?”

  She did not answer, but he soon found out. The wind seemed to be coming at them from all directions at once. Waves were colliding with each other and sending spray leaping upward and then crashing down on top of them. The bottom of the boat was soon filled, and Matt shouted to his men to start bailing.