"Mommy, they're coming," he said in a high-pitched voice.
She looked up the slope, her eyes wide. Then, after one last despairing look at her husband, she cradled Markus in her arms and raced down the slope. More commands came from behind, but she only hastened her pace.
Not that it mattered.
Soon she reached a large ravine cutting across the mountain as far as Markus could see. It was too wide to jump while carrying a child.
The Imperial Guards eventually reached her. A young man with a neatly-groomed beard stood on a rocky outcropping a few feet away. Something about him looked familiar.
"Hand over the child," he said, his voice tight. "He is not to blame for your transgressions. He will be spared."
She glared at him. "How can I trust you? You of all people!"
Markus felt a jolt of recognition. This man was Uncle Theo. A lot of things made sense now. This was what Uncle Theo had been hesitant to tell him before he'd left. Uncle Theo had been there the day his parents died. He'd been part of it.
"Warrick doesn't desire the deaths of innocent children," Uncle Theo said.
You sure about that, Markus thought, remembering Crayden.
"You really have no choice," his uncle added.
His mother shook her head, then stepped forward and handed Markus to Uncle Theo. From his uncle's arms, Markus watched the following scene, though he wished he could close his eyes.
Another Imperial Guard stepped forward, carrying a two-handed sword. The bearded man looked familiar, but Markus couldn't figure out why. The Imperial Guard swung his sword at Markus's mother, and her head fell from her shoulders. Her body hit the ground with a sickening thud, blood pooling around it.
The next moment, Markus sat again on the stone floor, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Cyrus said, "but it was necessary."
Markus struggled to his feet, trembling with rage. This quest was personal now.
Chapter 46: Prisoners
Sitting on the stone floor in a small prison cell, Berig felt the crushing weight of disappointment. The Imperial Guards had led them away from the Red Plateau, through the Varner City gate, and into the dungeon of the Varner City garrison.
Berig shared his cell with Aric and Ander, and none of them had spoken in a while. Talia and Danica sat in another cell. Farah, on the other hand, had proven a traitor.
Somehow she'd notified the Imperial Guards of their journey. Did she have powers of magical teleportation? Berig did recall seeing her absent on a couple of occasions. She'd been so distant toward the rest of the group that she could easily sneak off.
Berig stared at the cracked stone floor. "We should've known."
"I know," Aric said. "We were too trusting. We should've listened to Captain Davis."
"I gave her the chance to change," Ander said. "I thought she'd take it."
"Guess some people can't change," Berig said. He looked across the dungeon, to the cell of the other man who shared the space. The man looked rough, with dark hair and an unshaven face.
Berig moved to the bars. "Hey, you wanna tell us who you are?"
"What does it matter?" the man said. "They're gonna execute me. Probably torture me first. That's the kind of thing those sick bastards like to do."
"Why're they executing you?" Berig asked. He scanned the entire dungeon, noting that all the guards either stood outside it or weren't standing guard at all.
"Killed a couple of them down in Levine. They don't take too kindly to that."
"Why didn't they kill you right away?" Berig asked.
"Who knows? Guess they really want to torture me." He looked up. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you who I am. The name's Klint. I was a smuggler before they locked me up in here. Made a pretty good living that way."
"Klint?" Ander said. "Now I recognize you. You've done some work for the Order."
"Yeah, among others. I do work for anyone who'll pay me. Or I did." He chuckled without humor. "So what'd you end up in here for? You get caught with the Order?"
"We were heading to Mountainside," Ander said. "We went through the Black Swamp and the Red Plateau. We lost some people along the way."
Klint scooted closer to the bars. "Do they know you're with the Order?"
"We never said that we were," Ander replied. "But we were headed to Mountainside. That looks like pretty damning evidence to me."
"Not as damning as you might think," Klint said.
They all gave him strange looks.
"A lot of people try to get to Mountainside, and it's not technically illegal to go there. Just like you can go to the Oasis Outpost, though I wouldn't recommend it. The people there get kinda crazy about outsiders. You might actually be surprised if you get to Mountainside. Yeah, the Order's set up there, but most of the people don't do anything for it."
"Strange," Ander said. "I would have thought everyone there was in the Order."
"Nope. They're not as weird as the Oasis Outpost, but the official government of the city really wants nothing to do with the Order."
"How do you know all this?" Aric asked.
"In my profession, you get around. I've never been west of the Oasis Outpost. Too dangerous. But I've been just about everywhere else." He smiled. "In fact, I know another way you could get to Mountainside. I'll help you get there if you get me outta here."
"And how are we going to do that?" Ander asked.
"Well, the Imperial Guards are probably gonna let you go. Oh, they'll keep an eye on you, see if you do anything illegal, but they'll let you go." He lowered his voice. "And when they do, you'll need to get back in here. I know the layout of this place. There's a trapdoor at the top of the tower. You've gotta climb a cliff to get to it, but it's possible."
"But we can't climb like that," Aric said.
"I probably can," Berig said. He felt queasy at the thought, but he wouldn't let them know that. He had to repay them for the sacrifices they'd made on his behalf.
The door opened, and an Imperial Guard stepped through, looking vaguely familiar. When the man came closer, Berig's mouth dropped open. "Tylen?"
Tylen smiled. "Never thought I'd see any of you again."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ander demanded.
With another smile, Tylen said, "Life takes you in unexpected directions. Let's just say becoming an Imperial Guard was the best choice for me."
"I can't believe you," Ander said. "How could you serve Warrick after Crayden?"
"That doesn't matter," Tylen said, looking away.
Aric glared at him. "Did you come here to gloat, or do you have some actual purpose?"
"No need for the attitude," Tylen said. "I actually came here to let you out. Since I'm the newest, they leave me the most unenviable tasks. Believe me, I'd rather keep you in here."
Three more Imperial Guards entered the dungeon. Two stepped over to the cells, opened the doors, and gestured for them to step out.
The third Imperial Guard wore the surcoat of a commander, marked by a black diamond border. "I'm gonna give you a warning," he said. "At the moment, we can't prove you have any involvement with the Order. We must abide by the law. But that means we'll be watching all of you. Besides, even if you were only seeking refuge in Mountainside, I think it's punishment enough that you've been denied your goal. You are free to go."
Berig's heart felt lighter, but then he remembered that he'd promised to rescue Klint, and a heavy weight settled over him.
The Imperial Guards returned most of their things, with strict warnings that their weapons remain sheathed. Soon the party of six stood free, just outside the garrison. The Imperial Guards had taken Ander's stuff, but that was something to deal with later.
Ander knew a family that would allow them a place to stay, so everyone else followed him to a large manor close to the red cliffs, where he knocked on the door.
A servant answered it. "Do you have business with Lord William?"
"Tell him tha
t Lord Ander is here, from Crayden."
"I will do that." The servant disappeared from view, then returned a few minutes later with a dark-haired man who looked a little like Tylen.
The man beckoned them inside. "It's good to see you, Ander. I was afraid you'd perished in Crayden. I'll tell my servants to ready some baths for you." He smiled. "I think you might be in need of them."
Berig looked at the dirt covering him, at his tattered clothes, and had to agree. In his impoverished life, he'd had little chance to bathe, but even he took the occasional dip in a river.
After they were cleaned up, they all sat in Lord William's sitting room, the kind of place Berig had never expected to be. Comfortable red couches. Fancy portraits on the walls. Soft carpets. Even after bathing, Berig felt like he was making the furniture dirty.
William sat down across the room, holding a cup of tea. "So what brings you all here?"
Ander recounted their difficult journey, then said, "At least they let us go free. I wasn't expecting that."
"They could've kept you," William said, "but they probably didn't think you a threat."
Berig sipped at his tea, something fruity he'd never tasted before. "Still don't make much sense to me."
"It's not as strange as you might think," William said. "Like the commander said, denying you your goal was punishment enough. And they will keep an eye on you."
"Well, we don't intend on staying here long," Ander said.
"Where are you going?" William asked.
Ander filled him in on Klint's secret route to Mountainside and the plan they'd hatched to get him out of the dungeon.
William frowned. "Sounds a bit strange to me. I've worked with this man before. He's a reliable smuggler, but he is interested first and foremost in himself. He might have made up this alternate route so that you would save him. It's a lot to risk for something so doubtful."
Berig considered that. "I don't know. Seemed like he was telling the truth to me."
"I think so, too," Aric said. "It makes sense. That would explain how he's so good at getting things from Mountainside to the rest of the Empire."
"Maybe," William said. "But I can't quite bring myself to trust him."
"We have to go back anyways," Ander said. "They took my staff."
"Your staff?" William said.
"When they brought magical staffs to the Order in Crayden, I was able to use one. It's been very useful, but they confiscated it. I feel almost naked without it."
"I'll try to get it back for you," Berig said.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Ander said.
"No, I need to do it. I'm the only one who can climb like that."
"I can do it too," Talia said.
Berig shook his head. "I'd prefer to work alone. I've got some experience from when I used to be a thief. I know how to sneak around. Let me do this on my own."
She frowned, but nodded. Berig could see the loss in her eyes, and he still blamed himself for Graig's death. Not to mention the captain's death. Too many people had died because of him. The least he could do was make up for those deaths. After that, he'd decide if he still wanted to come. If not, he could go back to thievery here in Varner City.
Danica smiled at him. "You'll do great, Berig."
He wished he could feel so hopeful.
Late that night, once everyone else had gone to sleep, Berig crept out of the manor and back toward the garrison. He had only his knife, as he didn't feel comfortable with anything else. Besides, the only way he'd manage this was if he avoided battles altogether.
When he arrived at the garrison, he took a good look at the tower. No guards patrolled the area, and the muggy night felt eerily still.
The tower went right up to the cliff, forming a wedge-shaped indentation. He could brace himself with one foot against the cliff and the other against the tower. Dangerous, but he'd climbed tougher.
He had to swallow his fear and get it over with.
After a deep breath, he wedged himself into the space. Then he climbed slowly, taking care to place his feet in the right positions as sweat beaded on his forehead.
Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down. But he did. He had to.
And his stomach lurched. Already, he'd climbed at least twenty feet. Another twenty or thirty remained. Taking deep breaths, he continued in a steady rhythm.
A few near-slips later, he reached the top of the tower and rolled over the stone wall. Then he waited awhile, steadying himself before moving to the wooden trapdoor atop the tower. He opened the door and slipped through.
Heart pounding, he followed the narrow, torchlit corridor as it spiraled downward. Every shadow made him jump. Every sound made him shiver. Calm down, he told himself, but it didn't work. It never had. Nerves had always been his biggest failure as a thief.
He stopped before the wooden door at the bottom of the stairs and listened. No sound came from the other side, so he eased the door open and peered through.
The corridor beyond was empty. He fought to calm his breathing as he crept past a few doors, toward the dungeon at the end of the hall. Would there be a guard at the door, or even in the dungeon itself?
Footsteps sounded, and Berig froze, peering around in alarm. They came from a room off to his left, the garrison's common room if he remembered correctly. He slipped through the door into a different room, praying it was empty.
It wasn't. The faint snores of four Imperial Guards filled the room. Berig held his breath and tried to keep his legs steady as the footsteps came closer, passing through the corridor. Would the Imperial Guard check in this room?
But the door didn't open, and soon the patrolling guard returned to the common room. Berig exhaled, slipped back into the corridor, then tiptoed across the stone floor, reaching the dungeon door in no time. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Locked.
He cursed and glanced around. Where was the damn key?
As much as it worried him, he had to check some of the other rooms. The first three doors he opened revealed more sleeping Imperial Guards. The fourth, however, opened into a room where stairs led downward to something. Storage perhaps.
He slipped into the dusty chamber, then started down the wide stone stairs, feeling as if his steps where echoing even though his worn leather shoes made no sound.
He reached the bottom of the stairs. To his left was a large storage room full of crates and stone containers. He went into this room and grabbed a large pot.
It could make a good weapon.
He crept through the corridor, not sure where he was going, and peered around the next corner, into a room where a man stood guard over something. Heart pounding, Berig ducked back out of view. What could the man be guarding?
Berig summoned his courage and looked around the corner again. The man sat in a wooden chair on the left side of the room, facing away from Berig and watching a cooking pot suspended over a small fire.
Good. He'd never know Berig was coming.
Berig padded across the stone floor, approaching from behind, then lifted the vase and slammed it against the back of the guard's head. The man didn't even grunt as he fell forward out of the chair and hit the floor limply. Berig bent low and placed a finger against the guard's neck.
There was a pulse. Good. Berig would've felt bad about killing him.
Two wooden staffs hung on the wall, and Berig grabbed both, figuring you could never have too much defense. But how would he get Klint out of the dungeon?
There had to be a key somewhere. He searched for minutes, looking into every nook and cranny of the room, opening the desks and checking in barrels, but there was nothing. With only the staffs in his hands, he walked out of the room. What the hell could he do know?
As he went up the stairs, an idea came to him. Maybe the Imperial Guards didn't know how these staffs worked. Maybe Berig could trick them into letting Klint out.
Berig stepped out into the corridor and waited. A few minutes later, the patr
olling guard marched into view, and Berig pointed the staff at him. "Don't move. Do whatever I say."
The man looked around with wide eyes.
"Don't even think of calling for help," Berig said. "I'll kill you the second you do."
Berig fought to keep the fear off his face. He couldn't kill this man, couldn't even use the staff, but the Imperial Guard didn't know that. All Berig had to do was remain calm.
"Unlock the dungeon door," he said, and the man did so with a key from his belt. Berig followed him inside, where Klint waited in the last cell on the left.
"Now unlock the cell door," Berig said.
"You won't get away with this," said the Imperial Guard.
"I'll get away with whatever I want. Now unlock the damn door." With the staff, Berig nudged him hard in the back. The man hesitated, then turned the key in the lock.
As soon as the door opened, Klint raced out. He grabbed one of the staffs from Berig, pointed it at the man, then shook his head. "No," he said. "Can't risk anyone hearing your screams." He turned to Berig. "Give me your dagger."
"Hey, I didn't sign up to kill no one," Berig said.
Klint's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Just give me the dagger."
Reluctantly, Berig handed the dagger to Klint, who pressed it against the Imperial Guard's neck. The Imperial Guard opened his mouth to scream, but Klint put a hand over the man's mouth.
"If you're smart," Klint said, "I'll let you live through this. Just do as I say."
The man nodded.
Klint smiled. "Good. Now give me your sword. Slowly. You don't want to make me nervous." He looked at Berig again. "Take his sword."
Berig did so even though the sword felt unwieldy in his hands. Then he found some material to gag the guard and rope to bind his hands. The man didn't protest.
"I'm glad you didn't kill him," Berig said.
"Can't make any guarantees about that just yet."
They stepped out of the dungeon, marching the Imperial Guard in front of them. The man remained silent as they went back up the tower. Once they stood above, Klint shoved the Imperial Guard to his knees. He grunted through his gag.
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 39