Master Envermet’s eyebrows rose. “Does he now?” he managed as Henri snorted, Jakob covered his mouth, and Vi giggled. Tamlin just rolled his eyes.
“That’s really rude, Aysh,” he told her.
“Is not,” she argued. “The mules...”
She scowled, as if at a loss for what she wanted to say.
“Mules will be fine,” Master Envermet told her. “The wolves will make sure nothing hurts them, and they will make sure they are okay if something happens to us.”
Aisha gave two sharps nods of her head. “Oui.”
Master Envermet signaled for them to come closer. “The raiders reached town late in the afternoon. Gustav’s last contact showed he was okay, but that he was chained and gagged, and they were keeping a very close eye on him.”
Basil frowned. “Does he have magic?”
“Not that we are aware of.”
“But they are very interested in him,” the boy protested. “That sort of treatment is reserved for only the most powerful mages.”
“Or those who try to escape,” Vi added, and Basil gave her a scornful look.
“No one had ever tried to escape that hard!”
“How would you know?” she challenged.
“Can you contact him now?” Roeglin asked, and Master Envermet shook his head.
“Wherever they are keeping him now, I can’t reach him.”
“More stone?” Marsh suggested, remembering Toya’s Trade Station.
“I hope so.”
“The cellblock is full of stone,” Basil told them helpfully.
“May I see?” Master Envermet asked, and the boy nodded. Master Envermet’s eyes turned white and then returned to their usual blue as he caught Roeglin’s eye. “It’s the same color and look.”
“That could be it, then,” Roeglin confirmed, picking the image from the shadow captain’s head. “The waystation was full of it.”
The guards relaxed a little, but they still looked worried. Master Envermet turned back to the two older teens. “Can you show me what you had in mind?”
“Me too,” Aisha demanded, and Master Envermet sighed. He glanced down at the little girl, his eyes becoming white once more.
“Better?” he asked, and she nodded. “Aisha, I need your words.”
“Do not,” she retorted and he blushed, realizing he didn’t.
He shook his head and turned to Vi and Basil. “Are you ready?”
They nodded, Vi white-faced, Basil more relaxed. Master Envermet concentrated for a moment, then his eyes cleared. “That’s...quite a climb,” he managed. “Why didn’t you go through?”
Basil’s face reddened. “I wasn’t strong enough,” the teen admitted. “I could only make it easier to climb. I couldn’t get all the way through. We had to try two nights in a row because I passed out.”
Vi patted him on the shoulder. “You did your best, and you got us out the second try.”
“I nearly got us all caught,” he protested, and Jens crowded closer to him.
“You are the reason we got away,” he reminded him, and Marsh caught a glimpse of what happened after they’d made it to the other side of the wall.
She paled. That was too close.
It is why they were separated. He created the diversion at the gate.
Knowing the penalty, Marsh added.
Knowing the penalty, Roeglin confirmed.
Remarkable, Master Envermet remarked, and they came abruptly back to the present. He was smirking, and Vi and Basil were staring at them.
“What was that all about?” Vi demanded.
“Private conversation,” Master Envermet intervened, and Marsh and Roeglin ducked their heads.
“We’re sorry,” Marsh added, but the teens still looked unhappy.
Master Envermet continued, “Aisha can open the wall. Do you know which sections are most likely to open close to the cellblock?”
The teens nodded.
“You want somewhere out of sight of the towers too?” Vi asked.
“And somewhere there’s no people,” Basil added, going pale again.
“All that,” Master Envermet confirmed.
“Here,” they chorused, and the shadow captain looked into both their minds.
“Amazing,” he murmured, smiling when they looked at him. “You do agree on some things.”
This brought twin scowls but didn’t dim his smile. He turned to the rest of them. “We’re going in here,” he informed them, and Marsh saw the map he’d taken from Basil’s and Vi’s minds.
The team nodded, and Master Envermet glanced at Marsh. “Please ask Mordan to relay the location. I think the pictures are the walls facing sun-sleep closest to the down trail.”
The directions made no sense to Marsh, but she relayed them, complete with pictures, to Mordan. The kat cocked her head one way and flicked her tail a couple of times, then tilted her head the other way. Finally, she curled her lips and chirped at Bristlebear.
The wolf seemed even bigger than Marsh remembered, but he stared intently at the kat, then gave a soft croon, yipping to summon his pack. The conversation that followed was incomprehensible to Marsh, but the wolves trotted to the door and glanced back at Master Envermet.
“I believe they’re waiting for us,” Henri commented wryly.
Vi’s muttered, “Well, duh,” was nowhere near as quiet as the teen might have intended, and Henri poked her. She gave a yip and then giggled, which thoroughly spoiled the glare she attempted after. Izmay caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow, and the girl subsided.
“Is everyone ready?” Master Envermet asked, and they all stared at him.
Jakob’s “well, duh,” was an exact copy of Vi’s and caused a ripple of laughter.
The shadow captain didn’t acknowledge any of it but stalked out of the ruins, trusting them to follow.
They trotted after him, then trotted through the ruins until the wolves signaled they needed to be quiet.
“The humans on the wall are not friendly,” Aisha relayed. “We have to be very quiet.”
The shadow mages merged with the shadows, taking their non-adept colleagues with them. The night was full of darkness to step through. Even the wolves were impressed.
21
Infiltration and Escape
Henri’s team was first to the wall. Izmay deposited them in the shadows at its foot, leaving the youngers impressed but silent. He tapped Aisha on the shoulder and gestured at the stones.
To Marsh’s surprise, the little girl grabbed Basil’s hand. “Like this,” she whispered, and Henri glanced nervously at the top of the wall.
Everyone froze, waiting to see if the child’s whisper had carried to the guards. They relaxed when no movement followed.
Master Envermet told Roeglin, “Link them.”
Roeglin nodded and took Marsh with him when he slipped into the children’s minds. It didn’t take him long to construct a connection between them so Basil could see what Aisha was doing as she began moving the stone aside.
The boy’s mouth formed a silent “Oh,” and he placed his hands on the wall just above Aisha’s. “Like this?” he asked and the stone melted from before him, forming an unsightly lump on either side of the gap.
“Be careful,” Vi urged. “They’ll be able to see us from that section of the wall.”
“Only if they’re looking,” Jens corrected, but Henri shook his head.
“Movement attracts the eye. We need a way for them not to see us.”
Aisha turned to Marsh. “We need shadows.”
Marsh arched an eyebrow. “Where?”
The child gestured to the space between the wall and where they needed to walk. “There.”
Marsh thickened the shadows. “Now what?” she asked.
“This,” Aisha replied, and the stone that had been flowing to the outside of the wall flowed to the inside and formed a second wall, blocking them from view.
“Don’t overdo it, Aysh,” Tamlin admonished her. “Don’t b
e like Marsh.”
Marsh drew a breath to protest and then closed her mouth. There was no point arguing with the boy, and this was not the time or place. She tucked the incident away and pushed aside her reaction. The kid was still mad at her, and she was only now beginning to work out just how many ways she’d upset him.
It hadn’t occurred to her that knocking herself out by saving their asses with her magic was one of them. She got the whole leaving-them-behind thing since the kids had lost their family, but using magic?
Focus! Master Envermet’s admonition was like a slap in the face, and Marsh glanced toward the gap Aisha and Basil had created. Basil looked exhausted but pleased with himself, and Aisha was already heading through it to the cellblock.
Henri and Izmay followed, Tamlin cloaking the small group with shadow as he and the youngers stayed with them.
When they reached the wall, Aisha glanced at Basil. “You stop,” she told him. “Tired. Don’t fall down like Marsh.”
Henri covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking as he glanced at Marsh. She rested her hand on her forehead and ducked her head.
No more knocking myself out with magic, she thought.
I’d appreciate it, Master Envermet noted.
Me, too, Roeglin added.
Everyone’s a critic, Marsh thought, watching Master Envermet.
Sure enough, she was included when he addressed the youngers’ group. Henri, I need your group standing by to guide the prisoners to where the mules are and then back to last night’s camp. Tamlin, I need you to stay with Aisha and keep her with me in case we need her when we get inside.”
Tamlin dipped his chin in a solemn nod and Aisha did the same, her small face mirroring him move for move. It would have made Marsh laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious. Henri patted her shoulder and gave her a solemn wave.
She moved her hand in acknowledgment, and Henri led the teens away.
“How come she gets to stay?” Vi asked.
“She has a job to do,” Henri told the girl, “and so do we.”
He took them to the outside wall and signaled for them to crouch in the shadows at its base. “The prisoners’ll be looking for us when they leave. Vi, you and Basil will take the first lot back to the cave. Bearbritches or whatever he’s called will guide you.”
The wolf lifted his head at the comment and then settled back beneath the bushes he’d chosen for his hiding place. Vi gave Henri an uncertain glance.
“You’ll be fine,” he told her, then focused on the hole Aisha had made in the cellblock’s wall. The first prisoner came to the gap but froze when he saw the shadowy figures waiting there.
“There are guides at the wall,” Master Envermet told the man. “When there are six of you, they will take you to a safe place...if you want to go.”
That was all it took. The man stooped and hurried to the outer wall. Henri tapped him on the shoulder as he went past. “Over there,” he ordered, pointing at Vi and Basil. “They will be your guides. Don’t attack the wolves.”
At the mention of wolves, the man’s eyes flew wide, and he scanned the night. Again, Bristlebear obliged by lifting his head, revealing his hiding place with the simple movement. The man gasped, and Vi patted his knee. “He won’t hurt you. He’s there to make sure we get back safely.”
When the man settled back into a crouch, Henri turned back to the gap. Beside him, Izmay was scanning the night for any danger the wolves might miss.
Inside the cell, Aisha laid a hand over the section of wall adjacent to the door’s hinge. The stone rippled under her fingers and covered the metal, sinking into it and around it and moving to cover a small section of the door as well.
Master Envermet gestured to the adjacent walls, and she nodded. Tamlin gave them both a worried glance but said nothing. Aisha moved swiftly from one wall to the other, opening a narrow slit barely wide enough for a man to squeeze through.
Master Envermet looked through each one and extended his invitation to the occupants. They did not need to be told twice, although one of them stopped before hurrying to the wall.
“My wife and children,” he pleaded, and the shadow captain nodded.
“We’ll find them.”
“The guards don’t come until dawn,” the man added, “and our doors are only bolted.”
He gestured to the hole Aisha had created. “This is the second exit I have seen. The other is the front door.”
Master Envermet’s gaze sharpened. “Are there any guards stationed inside?”
The man shook his head. “Not until the doors open in the morning.” He paused. “Please, I’ve been here for three days.”
“We’ll find them,” Master Envermet repeated. “Now go.”
The man went, and Master Envermet looked around. “We need to rethink this,” he said and showed them the images he’d skimmed from the man’s mind.
The cellblock was more like an oversized stable or warehouse, with cells on two levels. Aisha was not going to have enough energy to go through every wall. The cell they were in was barely wide enough for them to stand two abreast and four deep, and it was typical of what they were going to find.
The images Master Envermet had collected showed the doors were wooden, and all were secured with a single bolt—and that there were possibly hundreds of them.
“We’re going to have to split up,” he told them, then looked down at Aisha and Tamlin. “Go back to Henri and tell him we need him, and Brigitte’s teams as well. We’re going to need everyone to free the prisoners, or we’re going to run out of time.”
They were about to leave when Master Envermet called Aisha back. “I need you to open this door.”
She looked from him to the door. “I’m tired.”
He made a sympathetic face. “Just ask the stone to move away from the hinges.”
She thought about it, and Marsh held her breath. If the child refused, their mercy mission was going to be unmercifully short. She breathed again when Aisha walked over to the door and did as the mage had asked.
He and Roeglin pivoted the door enough to clear the frame and then pulled on it until the bolt slid from its socket. They set the door against the wall.
“Now go get Henri and Brigitte,” the shadow captain instructed, and Aisha went.
“Stay with your sister,” he ordered, catching sight of Tamlin, who’d remained behind.
“Okay,” Tamlin replied and followed Aisha.
“Change of plans,” Master Envermet told his team. “Release as many as you can and find Gustav. We don’t have a lot of time. Be alert for the guards.”
“You could start a riot in here and they wouldn’t be the wiser,” Roeglin commented, and Master Envermet frowned.
“It doesn’t feel right,” he noted. “I’m sure the prisoner missed something, but I don’t know what, so be careful and stay in pairs.”
Marsh stuck with Roeglin, and they leapfrogged their way down the cells on the left as Master Envermet briefed the others. He was meant to signal the escaping prisoners through the open door, but the prisoners refused to go.
“We’re not leaving anyone here,” one declared and opened the nearest door.
“No one,” another agreed, taking another door.
“My children are in here somewhere,” a woman told them, hurrying to another cell. “I’m not leaving without them.”
“And mine,” an emerging man agreed. “I’ll help you look.”
“My sister is here,” a boy Tamlin’s age informed them before he dashed away to start opening doors of his own. “I’ll be quick.”
They cleared the aisles on the ground floor, finding lots of prisoners but nothing else. The farther they went, the more Marsh felt a sense of unease.
At first, she put it down to an overactive imagination...or the fact they were in a cellblock full of escaping prisoners, which someone was bound to notice, but the farther they went, the worse the feeling grew.
Nothing happened until they reach
ed the second floor. She and Roeglin took the stairs as soon as they reached them.
“By the Deeps, I hope we don’t leave anyone behind,” she worried.
“We’ll do our best not to,” Roeglin assured her.
“But we’re not perfect,” she fretted.
“No, we’re not, but we’ll do our best.”
They went for the first two doors on the landing, not registering how far apart they were until they’d pulled them open—which was when they discovered the guards. A whole roomful of them.
“Deeps be damned!” Roeglin shouted, slamming the door closed and the bolt home, which was when he noticed the bolt was nothing more than a sliding handle with no bolt attached. “Sons of the Deep!”
“Keep them in the doorway!” he shouted.
“Got it!” Marsh called back, pulling her weapons from the air.
One of the prisoners saw the situation and hesitated.
“Get everybody out!” Marsh ordered and was mortified when he misunderstood what she wanted.
Instead of racing back down to the lower levels and warning the prisoners below, he ran to the nearest locked door and slid the bolt back, releasing the prisoner inside. As he leapt for the next one, the prisoner emerged and caught sight of Marsh lunging through the door.
That prisoner didn’t run either. Instead, she leapfrogged past the man who’d released her and opened the next cell.
“Follow me, and I’ll find your parents!” she ordered, and the child inside scurried to the shadow of her skirts. It didn’t stay there for very long, though. Seeing what the adults were doing, it joined them in opening doors.
Marsh would have thought they’d have taken notice of what had happened when she and Roeglin had opened the doors in front of them, but they didn’t seem to have connected the two mages fighting the guards with the potential for a similar disaster.
By the Deeps, what a mess, Master Envermet commented. Can you get through the door?
“Maybe,” Marsh replied, darting forward. Her sword forced the soldier in front of her to parry fast and step back. Done.
She caught a flash of alarm, then Master Envermet was beside her.
Trading Into Daylight (The Magic Below Paris Book 6) Page 16