This much was certain; they hadn’t pitched their tents on the main road. Ocken had been up and down it without seeing even the glow of a fire in the distance.
An hour later they arrived in Luton and Ocken stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. The city had been trashed. Despite this, all through the streets people bustled about, loading wagons and carrying sacks like they were preparing to leave.
As the group entered the city, armed guards surrounded them.
“Don’t come any closer, elf filth!” one of them shouted as he lowered his polearm.
Ocken stepped forward.
“I’m warning you,” the man said, shaking. “I’ll run you through.”
“Do I look like an elf to you?” Ocken asked.
Ocken was six foot six and two hundred thirty pounds of pure muscle. If Ophi and Erintos were an example of most of their kin, elves were lithe creatures. Ocken wasn’t sure how this man could possibly mistake him for anything remotely close to an elf.
“Well, I don’t know, I—” the man said. “I’ve never seen an elf.”
“I have here with me the people from Celesti,” Ocken said.
“What are you doing to these people?” an unseen voice said. “Leave them be, these aren’t elves.”
“I’m sorry, Governor Abell,” the guard said, raising his weapon and resting the base of the shaft on the ground.
A man Ocken presumed to be Abell stepped forward through the guards. “Did I hear you say Celesti?”
“Yes,” Ocken said.
“I heard reports that Celesti had been completely destroyed. The way I understood it, there were no survivors,” Abell said.
“How could you have possibly have heard that?” Gus asked.
“A young man in an elf’s body told us,” Abell said.
“An elf? You trusted the word of an elf?” Gus said.
“Not an elf,” Abell said. “A man in—ah, what’s the use. You’re not likely to believe me even if I told you.”
“What do you mean?” Ocken asked. “What was the man’s name?”
“I’m not sure how to explain it. A man came through a few days ago, and when he returned, he was an elf,” the governor said. “He said his name was Will. He—”
“Will?” Robert asked, stepping forward.
Abell recoiled. “You know this man?”
“He’s my brother,” Robert said.
Gus coughed. “Son, Will is dead. Your mother told me he was executed in Shadowhold. What are you on about?”
Robert turned to Gus and said, “No, he’s not dead. As the good governor here said, it’s complicated.”
“How long ago was he here? Did he say where he was going?” Ocken asked.
“You missed him by an hour, maybe two,” Abell said. “He was heading north with a local girl named Sowena. They said something about looking for the elves’ camp and stealing a soul stone.”
“A soul stone?” Robert asked.
Abell nodded. “I guess he found one, but the elves stole it and kidnapped my daughter to buy some time. She’s safe now, praise be to Lotess, but the elf with the stone got away. Will and Sowena went to get it back.”
“The girl in the woods,” Gus said to Ocken. “You think it was this Sowena?”
“Could be,” Ocken said, nodding.
“Then you’d best be off if you’re going to catch them,” Gus said. “We can take care of ourselves from here.”
“What’s going on?” Ocken asked Abell, indicating the scurry of people.
“We’re evacuating to Derton. They have a more defensible position and a military garrison.”
“That’s smart,” Ocken said. “Do you think you could take a few more on the road with you?”
Gus groaned and bent down to massage his calves.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Abell said.
“Thank you,” Ocken said. Turning to Robert, he added, “We best get going.”
“Good luck,” the governor replied.
“Likewise.”
33
Maya and the others walked right into Berxley in the middle of the day. To the city guards, they looked like a couple of farmers come to sell their crop at the markets. As soon as they got far enough away from the gates Maya dropped the illusion.
“Pretty handy trick,” Ari said.
“It’s good for just about everything but open combat,” Maya said.
“Well if you play it right, perhaps it won’t come to that,” Ari said.
“I thought you wanted blood?” Maya asked.
“Not everything needs to be settled with the end of a blade,” Ari said. “Or a hammer, in my case.”
“Fortunately for you, I can’t see how this one ends with anything short of an outright massacre,” Maya said with a frown. “We’ll be lucky to get out alive.”
“We knew what we signed up for,” Khate said.
Maya felt a warming in her heart that complete strangers were willing to put their lives on the line for her and her friends.
“I didn’t,” Thallan said. “And if you’re going to drag me along the least you can do is give me a fighting chance at staying alive.”
“You’re not worried about Ophi? She’s probably watching us. I had to drop the Shade when we entered the city,” Maya said.
Thallan shrugged. “If she is, so long as I’m slaughtering humans I doubt she cares.”
Maya pursed her lips and stared hard at Thallan. “Fine.”
Drawing her dagger, Maya cut the ropes off of Thallan’s wrists. He rubbed them and stretched out his arms.
“A copper for the poor?” a beggar asked as they passed through the street.
“I’ve got nothing for you, I’m sorry,” Maya said.
The beggar scowled and looked away, crossing her arms.
“So what’s the plan here?” Ari asked. “Are you pulling the same trick you did at the front gate to get us into the castle?”
Maya shook her head. “That might have duped the average guard who expects commoners to come and go, but the lot of us walking into the castle would attract too much attention,” she said. “I could make us all invisible, but it wouldn’t be foolproof. First, it would only hide us from sight. If someone bumped into us, we’d be found out. But more importantly, changing our faces or clothing for less than a minute as we passed through the gates was one thing, but invisibility is incredibly taxing.”
“What about him?” Khate asked, nodding toward the elf. “Didn’t you say he could do what you can?”
“I wouldn’t need to bother shielding us. I’d just enter the minds of the guards and make them think they never saw us,” Thallan said.
Maya was already shaking her head before he finished. “I don’t trust him. What if he hides himself, but makes sure we get caught?”
Thallan’s mouth dropped open and he placed his hands on his chest. “You wound me.”
“I told you trust was earned, and you repaid me by betraying that trust,” Maya said. “I’m sorry if I’m not willing to give it back so easily.”
“So what, then?” Ari asked again. “Do I get to roll some heads?”
“Patience,” Maya said. “I’d prefer to save the head rolling until after we’ve rescued my friends. No, I’ve got a different idea.”
After the fall of Haerford Castle, her father had it rebuilt at the base of the cliff, like a mini Shadowhold. Berxley’s theory was that a castle on a hill meant having the high ground. But her father’s perspective was that no one could attack from above, so the goal was to bottle neck them in his own territory while establishing escape routes through the mountain to be used if necessary.
If Maya could find one of these tunnels, they’d be able to sneak into the castle without being discovered. No doubt one led to the other side of the cliff, but going around the cliff and looking for a crack in the wall revealing a hidden door would take too long.
But Maya knew her father would have also installed a passageway that led back into the ci
ty so that Shadowhold’s forces could sneak up from behind and surprise their enemies. The trick was finding where it was and what would open it.
Maya led them through the city to the cliff on the eastern side.
“What exactly are we looking for here?” Thallan asked.
“A secret passage of some kind. I don’t know what it will look like, but my father had a fascination with dragons. That’s my best guess,” Maya said.
“Clearly he never met one in person,” Thallan remarked.
“Over here,” Khate said, waving them farther down the road.
Built into the side of the cliff was a semicircle fountain with five dragonheads spewing water from their mouths.
“Do you think this is it?” Khate asked.
Maya wasn’t sure, but there was only one way to find out. She poked eyes, pulled ears, even reached her hand in each of their mouths, feeling for a release switch of some kind.
“Maybe one of the heads needs to be lifted,” Thallan said as he climbed up onto the top of the fountain behind the heads.
Placing his hands around the neck of the dragon on the far left, Thallan pulled. The head snapped off, and water continued flowing through a hole in the fountain.
“Good one,” Khate said, chuckling.
“It’s not here—let’s keep moving,” Maya said.
As they walked, something caught Maya’s eye along the ground. One of the stones in the road was red. Not like a brick red, but red like the ruby in the hilt of her sword. All the other stones in the immediate area were black, followed by the standard brown a short distance away.
Maya halted everyone and stepped back, clearing them away from the colored stones. It made no recognizable pattern that Maya could tell. As she circled around the stones, an image started coming into view. When she was fully facing the city with her back against the cliff, a dragon revealed itself, painted in forced perspective so she could only see what it was from that spot.
This had to be it.
“Someone step on that red stone,” Maya said.
“It can’t be that simple,” Thallan said. “Do you know how many people probably step on this stone on any given day?”
“Can’t be many,” Maya said. “Do you see anyone else around right now?”
Thallan shrugged and stepped on the stone. Nothing happened.
What if the eye is a misdirect? Merva said. See how the dragon is painted in profile? The wings are joined together, almost as if they’re pointing at something.
“That’s pure genius!” Maya said out loud.
Everyone but Thallan and Khate looked confused.
“She’s talking to the goddess in her head,” Thallan said.
None of them had been in the room when Maya had explained everything to Bryn and Millicent, but she didn’t have the time to do it now.
“Never mind that. Khate, check over there,” Maya said, pointing to a set of clay pots against the wall of a small building.
Khate picked up each pot one at a time and examined them. When she came to the last pot, it refused to budge from its place. Removing the top, Khate looked down inside.
“Hey, I think I found something,” she said.
Khate reached down into the pot and pulled something. Maya heard a faint clicking sound in the wall behind her. She gently pushed against the wall and it gave way, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel.
“By the gods,” Ari said.
“Get in,” Maya said “Quickly, before anyone sees.”
Thallan entered first, followed by Ari, Alban, and Ciara. Khate entered next with Maya bringing up the rear and pushing the door closed behind her.
When the door clicked, all light was extinguished from the room.
“Anyone bring a torch?” Thallan asked.
“Like you need one,” Maya snorted. “Just use the Soul Sight.”
“What’s the Soul Sight?” Khate asked.
Now how do I go about explaining that? Maya wondered.
“Ohhh,” Khate said.
“I didn’t say any—hey, wait, do you have a soul stone?” Maya asked. If Khate was about to answer, Maya couldn’t tell. “Never mind,” she continued. “We can talk about that later.” To Ari and the others, she said, “Grab onto myself, Thallan, or Khate. We’ll guide you through the dark.”
Maya switched over to the Soul Sight and darkness fled from her vision, lining the tunnel in varying shades of red. Each of the souls of her companions glowed brightly, but two colors stood out. Thallan was brown and Khate—Khate was teal. Normal people were a mix between blue and red, but only those with soul stones glowed other colors. There was definitely an explanation for that due in the near future.
The tunnel itself was fairly unremarkable—tight, damp, and dark. Maya felt a hand touch her shoulder and she glanced back to find Ciara.
Pushing her way to the front, Maya led them through the winding passage. Then all at once the path ended at a wall.
“Why’d we stop?” Ari asked.
“End of the line,” Thallan replied.
“What?” Ari exclaimed. “Someone open the door already, this place gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“There is no door,” Maya said, stepping forward and running her hand against the stonework.
The rest of the tunnel was made of dirt and reinforced by stone arches, but this wall had been crafted with stone and mortar. There was likely a release on the other side, but seeing how this passage was meant to allow the governor to escape rather than for thieves to break in, Maya could find no such lever in the tunnel.
Then why was there a switch to get in from the city? Merva asked.
A valid point. Maya continued to search the surface for a button, release, or anything out of the ordinary.
“What’s taking so long?” Ari asked. “Here, get out of the way.”
A big hand reached in front of Maya’s chest and pushed her back.
“Can’t see a blasted thing,” Ari grumbled.
Lifting her hand, Maya produced a ball of light that lit up the passage.
Everyone recoiled and turned toward Maya.
“Why didn’t you just do that to begin with?” Ari asked.
Maya shrugged. It’s not like she’d had occasion to use her magic like this before. Her own escape tunnels in Shadowhold were lined with torches, as she’d used them quite often to go back and forth between the city and the Revenant base. This one had rarely been used, if at all.
Ari took his turn looking for a latch, but when he couldn’t find one he lifted his hammer and smashed the wall in anger. One of the stones came loose and fell away, the orange glow of torchlight coming through. Ari paused for a moment, bewilderment on his face, then he hefted his hammer once more and swung again as hard as he could.
Half of the wall crumpled at his feet.
Maya stepped through the rent in the wall to find herself in a prison. This was perfect—Khal, Jade, and her mother were probably right next door. Ari and Khate followed her.
“I think I heard something,” a voice said. “Better check it out.”
“We’re about to have company,” Maya whispered. “Everyone out, quickly.”
As the clicking of boots drew near, they all took up defensive positions on either side of the prison door, hiding behind the walls.
“What?” the voice said. “There’s been a break-in, alert the governor!”
A second guard ran back the direction they’d come from, while the first fumbled with his keys and opened the prison door. As soon as he entered, Ari swung his hammer, smashing the man’s chest in and flattening him on the ground.
Maya moved to chase after the second guard, but Khate beat her to it, leaping over the body and into the hall. Flipping her dagger over and catching it by the blade, Khate tossed the weapon through the air. Maya heard a dull thud as it found its mark, followed by a man’s grunt and subsequent crashing of his body into the floor.
“Help!” someone cried. “Over here!”
Maya bu
rst into the hall. Up ahead, arms stuck through the bars, waving frantically. Maya ran with everything she had, desperate to be reunited with her family again—to see them safe. In truth, Maya wondered whether they were even here.
“Khal!” Maya exclaimed as the cell came into view.
What lay beyond, though, was not Khal. Two dirty prisoners in rags stood pressed against the bars instead.
“You’re not—”
“The queen!” one shouted. “The queen is here to rescue us, we’re saved!”
“I’m not—I didn’t—I’m looking for a man in his forties, grizzled beard. He might have been brought in with two women. Do you know who I’m talking about?”
They looked at each other. “That general?” one said. “Grand Marshal Callum came in fifteen minutes ago and took them away to be executed.”
“Executed?” Maya asked, then cursed. “Wait a minute, did you say Callum? He’s here?”
And working for Berxley, by the sounds of it, Merva said.
“Uncle or no, maybe I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Maya said to herself. Then to the others, she said, “We have to hurry and find them!”
Maya started to run toward the prison door, but halted when the prisoners called out, “Hey! What about us?”
Glancing back, Maya motioned for Ari to let them out. He nodded and smashed the lock with his hammer. Maya didn’t bother waiting for them to thank her and leapt over the body of the second guard, then eased open the prison door.
The hall beyond was clear, and Maya signaled for the others to follow. Thallan came through first, then Khate, wiping the blood off her dagger. After a moment, the others appeared.
The hall branched off in either direction with no indication which one was more frequently used.
“We should split up,” Maya said. “We don’t have much time. Thallan and Khate, you’re with me.”
“Is that wise?” Thallan asked. “Send me with them so each group has a magic user.”
Ari scoffed. “Been getting along quite fine without magic for years. Don’t plan to start now, beanpole.”
Thallan gaped, but Maya cut him off. “I’m not letting you out of my sight, now let’s go. My friends don’t have much time.”
Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2) Page 26