Liberate
Page 14
Inside, she felt her way in the darkness and found another door blocking her path, just a few steps inside. Light from beyond caused a soft glow to outline the door.
“Remember, there are several levels. Most are storage, but there may be guards posted to discourage thieves,” Bethany whispered. Her words were mostly for Jonas’ benefit. “We go as quietly as possible, stick to the edges, let Myra do the talking if we’re pressed.”
There was no possible way she could do the talking. Too many of them would get the tug of the familiar and demand for her to take off her helmet. On the other hand, she doubted anyone would remember Myra. If pressed, she could take off her helmet, drawing attention to herself, thereby giving Bethany time to knock out the challenger.
She and Arrago had argued about that last point, but Bethany didn’t want to kill knights if she could avoid it. She also didn’t want to wake the entire temple on her head. They’d do Jovan and Erem little good if she was captured tonight. Then Arrago and Lady Kia would have to come rescue them, which was just asking for a diplomatic incident.
The door opened easily, the edges of the rock having been smoothed down for easy access. The hole itself wasn’t big, and all three of them had to duck to get through the opening. Lamplight and firelight flickered from further down the stairwell. Bethany led the way down.
There were only two servants guarding the entrance to what was the candle storage back when Bethany lived at the temple. They were fast asleep, so Bethany left them be. She wasn’t in the habit of killing servants.
Voices began to filter up to them and Bethany’s muscles tightened. She guessed they were one level above where she knew the cells were located. It sounded like at least three, maybe four men below.
Myra made an annoying sound to get her attention. Bethany glared at her. Myra dipped her head by way of an apology and held up four fingers. Bethany glanced at Jonas who nodded. The plan was that Bethany would always charge front, as was her style. Jonas would take the left, while Myra would cover Bethany’s right.
Bethany unsheathed both her swords. When she got back to Taftlin, she was going to speak to the palace swordsmith about making her new weapons. She missed her Blessed Blades, and these borrowed ones weren’t the right balance for her. But these were what she had, so she turned her mind to the task at hand. There would be plenty of time for new swords later.
And boots. She really needed new boots.
Sure enough, four knights were sitting around a tiny fire inside a circle of stones. It was small enough not to give off too much smoke in the unventilated cavern, but was enough to warm a kettle of tea. Several candles sitting inside lanterns surrounded them. They were playing cards, as most night vigil guards ended up doing to pass the time. They were spit and polish, and Bethany hoped unprepared.
Bethany rushed them, kicking the head of the one directly in front of her. Her boot landed square on his neck and he fell over with only a sound of surprise. He narrowly missed the fire.
She skirted around the campfire and attacked the man directly across. His sword was on the ground. While his armour was brand new and his tabard white as snow, his reflexes were weak. She slashed at him twice, he stumbled, and she kicked him in the kneecap. He screamed before crumpling on himself, and she kicked him again, this time in the guts.
She turned to find Myra struggling with her assailant. She kicked him in the back of the knees. He tripped and fell toward Myra’s sword. He put his hand out to stop his fall, stupid man, and Myra’s sword cut clean through the delicate bones of his hand. He collapsed to the ground shrieking and Myra let go of her sword. Jonas knocked out the man he’d been fighting, and scowled at Myra.
“I thought the plan was to be quiet.”
The man screamed, rolling around on the ground with Myra’s sword still stuck in his hand.
Myra blushed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t just stand there!” Bethany motioned at the sword.
Myra grimaced, but she pulled the sword back out. The man howled more, which made Bethany roll her eyes.
There was a ruckus and shouting from the other room and Bethany raised her swords. “This is why I wanted to go in quietly.”
Two more guards rushed out, with weapons in hand. Jonas and Bethany easily cut them down. They went through the door, not even caring to be quiet now. Stealth was gone, so all they had was speed. Bethany struck the two guards who blocked her way. She tried to pull her slashes so that they wouldn’t bleed out. If lucky, the bells would signal in time for her to escape, but also for healers to be summoned to save these men. She didn’t want to kill knights, but they were also in her way.
She tried the door, but it was locked. She fumbled around until she found the keys on one of the moaning guards. She unlocked the door and walked in.
It was dark, but Jonas had grabbed one of the candle lanterns from the wall. It was one of the prison cells all right. Most of the back wall was now a cave in, and both metal bars and wooden posts had been erected near the cave in. Knowing the purpose of the room, and the state of the temple after the attack, she guessed it was both to shore up the temple’s structural integrity of the ceiling and prevent escape.
Her eyesight finally adjusted to the darkness and she realized she’d been staring at the cells. She blinked again as her vision came into focus, and then stared horror-stricken.
Erem’s once white tunic was smeared with various body fluids. Vomit and feces were caked on his legs and the entire area reeked of stale urine. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and his jaw was swollen cruelly. She took several steps toward the cell. His fingers weren’t bloody, nor were his knuckles. Jud had broken him; somewhere along the way, Erem had stopped fighting back.
In the cell next to him lay Jovan. His knuckles were bloody and crushed in scabs. His will hadn’t been broken. However, from the unnatural angle of his feet, his legs had been. Both of them. Jovan’s cheeks were flushed with fever. Jud hadn’t even bothered to call a healer for him, the bastard.
“Myra? Get Jovan,” Jonas’s stern voice ordered.
“Yes. Yes, of course,” Myra said, stammering over her words.
Bethany’s job was to watch the entrance, to stop anyone who entered. Her sword arms were stronger than Myra’s and faster than Jonas’s. It made perfectly logical sense in any other situation, but not this one. All she could do was stare as Jonas rummaged for the keys and then unlocked the cage doors.
“It’s almost over now,” Jonas said to a moaning Erem. He pulled a sawtooth blade from a sheath across his chest. He unlocked the metal cuffs, pulled out chains, and then sawed at the ropes. “Just lean on me, Lord Erem. We’re here to save you.”
“Bethany? She got my letter?” Jovan groaned. Myra was tugging his battered limbs free of the ropes.
“She’s guarding the entrance,” Myra said. “We have help up top. We’re going to get you out of here.”
“Bethany?” Erem whispered. “Is this real? Jovan, tell me. Oh, Apexia, is this real?”
“It’s real, buddy.” Jovan’s voice cracked. “It’s real.”
Erem collapsed against Jonas’s chest. Agonized sobs escaped him. “Please, kill me. Please. I’m begging you. Please. I can’t die. Please kill me. Please. Do it. Do it. Do it.”
Bethany watched Jonas closed his eyes to steady his own emotions before gently helping Erem to his feet. Remarkably, Erem didn’t seem physically injured beyond his surface wounds. He had some red marks and a few scabs, sure, and he couldn’t stand up straight. He wobbled on his emaciated legs, the strong muscles having long abandoned him.
Erem gripped Jonas’s supportive arm. “I don’t know who you are, but kill me.”
“It’s Jonas Whiteriver, sir. Don’t you remember me?”
“He doesn’t know anyone anymore,” Jovan said through clenched teeth. “Do you have anything for the pain?”
“I’m sorry, Lord Jovan. I don’t,” Myra said.
“What good are you then?” Jovan hissed when Myra moved him
. “You can’t carry me, girl. I’m too tall.”
Bethany stared at Erem’s broken soul and her heart broke. It was a feeling she had rarely experienced in her life. A clarifying moment of true understanding, empathy, and rage. A volcano of destruction bubbled within her and it sent sparks into the clouds. Jud had done this. He wasn’t been content to kill Erem. No, that wasn’t good enough for the perfect knight amongst men. No, he wanted to destroy a good, decent person. A year. He’d had Erem here for a year. A fucking year. And for what?
“Lady Bethany!” Myra snapped. “Don’t!”
She looked down at her swords to discover they were red hot from the fire that burned within her. A voice from deep within her soul whispered, Kill Jud. Kill him. Do to him what he did to Erem and Jovan. Break him.
Soon, her logical voice, the one that normally kept her urges in check, joined in. Rid the world of him.
“Myra, take Erem. Jonas, carry Jovan. Get to the ship at any cost,” Bethany ordered. The swords glowed brighter, casting a red-hued light around the room. “Do you understand? At any cost.”
“Bethany, don’t. He’ll kill you,” Jovan wheezed as Myra lowered him back to the floor.
Jonas leaned Erem against his cell’s door and crouched down to get Jovan across his back. Myra helped keep Jovan’s legs motionless, but still he cried out in unrestrained pain when Jonas grabbed Jovan from behind the knees to steady him. Myra tied the rope back around Jovan’s knees, then tied another quick knot to make a handhold for Jonas.
“There, that should be easier on him than touching his legs,” Myra said. She glanced at Bethany and quickly looked down.
“Get Erem,” Bethany ordered. The minute or so to get Jovan up on Jonas’s back did not diminish her rage. Instead, it fueled it. She had expected a simple rescue. Get in, get out. She had not expected whatever the bloody fuck this actually was.
“Lady Bethany,” Jonas said, warning in his voice. “We need you to clear the way for us. Myra, hand me that shield over there.”
Bethany followed Jonas’s gaze and saw several shields and weapons mounted on the wall. At first, it seemed strange to have them displayed so prominently on the wall, but she quickly realized what it was for. A bitter laugh escaped her. It bubbled and boiled and she laughed harder.
“What is so funny?” Myra asked, grabbing the shield for Jonas.
“Tie it around Jovan,” he said. “Tie it tight so that arrows can’t hit his vitals. Lady Bethany? What’s so funny?”
“I thought the same thing when I saw it,” Jovan said through clenched teeth. He hissed in pain and swore a streak in three different languages. “Standard interrogation.”
“What’s he talking about?” Jonas asked.
“The weapons were there to taunt Erem,” Bethany said. Her bitter laughter died. “Too bad, Jud will never get the same treatment.”
Myra wrapped a supportive arm around Erem’s hips, as he was significantly taller than she. “Lean on me, Lord Erem. I have you. Don’t worry, Lady Bethany. We’ll find a way to bring Jud to justice.”
Bethany’s finger joints ached from how tightly she gripped her swords. “Oh, I agree.”
“Please kill me,” Erem whispered.
Bethany ignored him. “I’ll clear your path upstairs and then you are on your own.”
“We didn’t come here to kill Jud,” Jonas said. He took several deliberate steps toward Bethany, ensuring Jovan was balanced securely draped across his back and over his shoulders. He adjusted his grip twice and then said, “All right, Lord Jovan. I’m ready.”
“Get me out of here,” Jovan said through hisses of pain.
Erem looked at Myra, confusion across his face. “I know you.”
“That’s right, Lord Erem. You do. Miss Myra.”
“Miss Myra, please kill me,” Erem pleaded.
Tears welled up in Myra’s eyes and she looked away. Bethany stomped her boot hard, catching Myra’s attention. “None of that. You get him to the ship, Myra. Do you hear me? Do not look back. Do not stop. If you hear shouting, you run faster. Carry him if you have to. Do you know how to do that?”
She glanced at how Jovan was draped over Jackson. “Yes, I did it during the war.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Bethany? Is that you?”
“Hush now, Erem. I’m going to fix a few things.” The room glowed red.
Jovan let out a pain sound. “Oh, fuck.”
Chapter 15
EDMUND LOOKED UP FROM his book, convinced he heard a commotion in the hallway. He listened for another moment, but heard nothing else, so went back to the book. His two-hour candle was only half gone, and he tried to read for the full candle’s length whenever possible these days.
He didn’t want Kiner to know, but the elf had been the one to give him the idea. About a month ago, Kiner was going on about how he used to love reading, but he had no time for it now. How he hoped to start reading The Oral Tales of Taftlin, by Royal Commission. Arrago had ordered them to be written down and published, and there were currently four volumes created by the new printing press.
Edmund knew most of the stories from his childhood, and he remembered loving them. It was the only time he and his father ever got along. It didn’t matter now. His father was gone. Celeste was gone. His mother was gone. His brothers were gone. Two of his sisters were gone now. Apexia took everything from him.
He gulped back the lump in his throat. These damn books, though. Kiner was right. It was relaxing to read about mystical beasts. These ice-breathing dragons caused Taftlin’s bitter winters, the tales said. Then the beasts would sleep when the sun was high in the sky, allowing the warmth of summer to bring renewal.
Ice-breathing beasts. He loved those stories as a child. Even now, he still loved them. They made him feel just a little more whole.
He frowned and put the book aside. The commotion was getting louder and closer. He was pushing himself out of his chair when Rose, of all people, burst into his bedchamber. Her eyes were wide, and she had a sword in hand.
He was still learning the language of hands, and she signed words and letters too quickly for him to follow. He shook his head and said, “You’re going too fast. Is this Rutherford?”
She nodded, and made a circle with her hand.
“We’re surrounded?”
She nodded. She made a height reference with her hand and then gave him a questioning look.
“Henry usually sleeps in the nursery with Opal and the nurse, or with Amber or Arrago if he can’t sleep.”
A high-pitched scream filled the distance and was cut short.
“Remember the barricades!” Edmund shouted at her. She glanced at the doorframe and then nodded. She rushed off down the hallway.
For a moment, Edmund considered sticking his finger into the latch, hooking the wooden beam in the wall. He could then pull it out, slam it down over the hooks on his door, and no one was getting through.
He looked at his closet. There was a trunk in there. A no doubt dusty trunk where he’d set aside his tools of war. He looked down at his hand. Could he even hold a sword anymore?
AMBER WAS STARTLED from her sleep by Darien bursting through her bedroom door carrying both Henry and Opal in his arms, both wailing at the top of their lungs.
“What are you doing with the kids?” she demanded.
“We’re under attack. I was assigned to guard upstairs and I saw them coming through the field. Lord Kiner said I was supposed to keep the corridors guarded, but I was near the nursery and...I panicked and grabbed the kids. I don’t know what to do with them!”
Amber threw the bedclothes off her. Edmund had already warned her this could happen, which was why she was sleeping in the nurse’s bed next door to the nursery and not in her own room. She was still fully dressed and only needed to take a moment to shove her feet into boots and hastily tie the laces.
“Has the palace been alerted?”
“I think so. I sent one of the maids to wake Lord Kine
r, but...I think the men are already inside.”
She pulled a heavy blanket off the bed. “Help me get the kids on my back.”
Amber wrapped a blanket about both kids and, with Darien’s help, they made a makeshift pack to carry them. Then she pulled her heavy cloak over them and tied a belt tight about her waist so the kids wouldn’t slide down. She jumped up and down a couple of times, shifted the rope about her shoulders and tried again. The jumping made Opal giggle through her tears. It made Henry cry harder.
“I need to get Henry out of the palace,” Amber said. “Where did they come in?”
“I think the main delivery doors and the main entrance.”
Amber nodded. “All right. Help me get down to the basement. I’ll head toward the stables to get a horse. If that’s not safe, I’ll walk toward the north edge of the city, to the Apexian monastery there. They’ll keep us safe. Let’s go.”
Chapter 16
BETHANY’S FEET HIT the second flight of stairs when she remembered she’d left her helmet back in the cell. A flash of common sense told her to fetch it, but it was too late for that. The only command her feet would now accept was forward. She was going forward, with or without her identity concealed.
The slumbering servants were missing. The fighting, though brief, was loud enough to echo through the caverns. No doubt they were off to find help, or at least hide. They would need a lot of help by the time she was done with these traitors. These knights were traitors. They were not deserving of the name, nor of the respect and mercy she would normally show.
Footsteps sounded around the corner of the stairs and Bethany halted the group. She readied her stance, but was surprised to see a human knight carrying a platter of food.
The knight blinked at her and squinted his eyes. “Lady Bethany? What are you doing...”