“Don’t touch that!” Shade warned quickly as Syrah stared down at the dagger then took a hasty step back at his words. Caleb shifted in his arms and tried to pull himself upright. “Easy, I’ve got you. Let’s get you to the ship.” Shade murmured as he turned on his heels but Caleb tugged weakly against him.
“Ryvenken.” Caleb gasped and reached one hand toward the dagger in a vain attempt of reaching it.
“You don’t seriously want that thing back do you?” Shade demanded incredulously.
“It’s a curse when you are bonded with it, but it’s a much more dangerous curse when your enemy bonds with it.” Caleb whispered in a hoarse voice and reluctantly Shade helped him kneel to pick up the Shadowsteel blade. “Thank you Shade.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” Shade murmured as he half-carried Caleb toward his ruined ship. His gaze fell on Grace’s body as they grew closer and he felt his throat go dry in response. “No one will thank me by the time this day is over with.” He added softly. There was still so much he had to do before the night was over, but by the time he was done everyone would be safe, and everyone would hate him.
* * *
Thick vines choked the outer walls and Zoelyn hesitated as she watched another stone tumble from the crumbling building. The entire Fortress was ensconced in the Stonevines Grim had summoned and from what she could tell they were the only thing holding the building upright. Her eyes moved to what remained of the doorway and her unease increased. Zachary stood a few feet away examining the fallen stones clogging the door and seemed to be trying his best to ignore Havoc’s impatient glare.
“I have an overwhelming feeling this is one of those moments that Victory would call us both idiots and suggest another plan.” Zachary said cautiously. His dark blue eyes moved from the blocked door to settle on Havoc and he slowly shook his head. “I think the vines are the only things holding the walls up, and this slide of rocks seems to be one of the pressure points. If we clear here it might bring the rest of the ceiling down.”
“I’d like to know what else we are supposed to do. We have already circled this building once and this is the only opening where we can get through the bloody vines. We are searching for prisoners from Delvay and Arovan. They will be in the main keep. No one would keep slaves or captives that were that valuable anywhere else. I suppose I could just set fire to the vines and hope we find another weak point in the stones, but I don’t think that would end well for anyone.” Havoc snapped as he waved his hand for Zachary to move from the doorway.
“I’m not sure this is going to end well either. This part of the fortress doesn’t look sound at all.” Zoelyn began but fell silent as Havoc’s annoyed glare snapped to her. Frowning she shuffled back a few steps from the two men to stand beside Dray.
“He is going to melt the rocks at the door which will weaken the structure further and five minutes inside that wreck the entire place is going to fall on our heads.” Dray predicted grimly with a shake of his head.
“I think that is what Zach is predicting too.” Zoelyn agreed with a sigh.
“I’m almost certain that if I were holding Oblivion right now I would call you a fool and walk away from this. Sentiment fades before logic when I’m holding Oblivion and I’m rather certain no logical person would walk inside this building.” Zachary pointed out calmly before letting out a heavy breath and stepping back from the door. “Please be careful.” He added as Havoc stepped into position with a smile lighting his tanned face.
“Oh of course, careful, always, and by the way, that logic crap is one of the main reasons I hate talking to you while you are holding Oblivion.” Havoc muttered as he drew his hands back and inhaled deeply. The air around him began to glow faintly and with a grunt of effort the Firym threw his hands forward sending a fireball the size of a hay wagon into the rock strewn doorway. Shards of stone exploded from the crumbling doorway and the entire Fortress gave a low shuddering groan as the rock slide melted. With a wider smile Havoc winked at Zachary and waved his hand to clear the foul smelling smoke from the air before him. “See there is a way inside now and the ceiling didn’t collapse.” He pointed happily toward the still molten stone and started forward apparently oblivious to the creaking noises the structure was still making.
“I do believe I said be careful. What part of careful involved a fireball of that size?” Zachary sighed as he stepped closer then seemed to think better of walking into the still glowing stone that was slowly cooling on the floor.
“The part where it was only that size and not bigger.” Havoc responded from somewhere inside. If the Firym had any concerns about the building coming down on him it didn’t show in his voice. He almost sounded as if he were enjoying himself.
“Is he legally insane amongst his people or is this normal behavior for a Firym?” Dray asked dryly as he moved closer to Zachary.
The Blight’s expression was so doubtful that Zoelyn wasn’t even sure he would enter the building once the stone cooled. She could see his muscles tense every time the building made the faintest creak.
Zachary frowned for a breath and then looked to Dray with an amused smile. “Havoc waited for me to move before using fire. That makes him quite rational amongst the Firym, almost too cautious by their standards.” He replied in obvious amusement.
“Never going to Firym.” Dray concluded then glanced back at her. “What do you think?”
“I think that the children inside that fortress are most likely a lot more frightened than we are.” Zoelyn replied without hesitation and stepped forward nervously. The molten stone was no longer glowing, but she wasn’t fool enough to think it had set in such a short time. She’d have to move across it quickly or damage her boots. Considering she was wearing the armor Seth had given her there was no way to replace anything she damaged without begging the Demon, and that was not an option in her mind.
“Let me go first.” Dray began, but she ignored him and crossed through the doorway as quickly as she could. She paused once clear of the slide to wait for the others and allow her eyes time to adjust to the shadowy interior.
“The vines are covering all of the bloody windows. Have you got nightvision?” Havoc asked from somewhere in the shadows to her left.
“Not really.” Zoelyn admitted bleakly. She turned a slow circle gazing at the darkened room around her. There were piles of rocks littering the floor near her, and the broken remains of a long table; everything beyond those details however was lost in darkness.
“I can guide her. I’d rather not light a torch.” Dray suggested as he moved up beside her and took her arm.
She shifted slightly moving his arm further up her coat and away from the gap between her sleeve and glove. The curse was gnawing at her so strongly that she didn’t even want to take a chance of Dray touching her bare wrist. She needed all of her concentration to focus on what they were doing, and if she were distracted by keeping her curse in check she would be tripping her way down the entire hall.
“What if we have to fight?” Zoelyn protested before any of them had a chance to leave the room. The thought of making her way through the entire fortress as blind as a mole was not appealing in the least, and while she understood Dray’s reasoning for not wanting a torch she sincerely doubted Havoc had any sort of stealth in mind. Since the moment he had stripped from his Rivasan disguise in the alley the Firym had been searching for a fight, and so far he hadn’t managed to find anything to kill.
“Then Havoc and I will fight while Dray keeps you out of the way.” Zachary replied as he moved gracefully past them all. “It might be better if you take point Havoc. I’d hate for you to get overly excited by something and cook our companions by accident.”
“Probably the best option. If I’m in front the only ones I can cook are enemies, though fire really isn’t the best tool against Rivasans.” Havoc agreed with a shrug before moving to join Zachary at the far side of the room. He paused in the doorway for a breath then abruptly turned right and began walking
calmly down the hall.
“Does he know where he is going?” Dray asked as he glanced to the left and then back to Zachary.
“I’d guess that he hasn’t got a clue, but one way is as good as the other in a fortress this old. Most of the halls will connect and we will get there no matter which direction we choose. All we need to do is find the stairway down.” Zachary explained as he motioned a hand toward Havoc’s departing form. “And if we don’t keep up with him we will get separated and we don’t want that. It’s an invitation to have our faces lit on fire if we surprise him somewhere down the hall.”
“Right.” Dray agreed dubiously as he tugged gently on her arm and set after Havoc at a quick jog. Zoelyn frowned at the pace but didn’t bother to object. Given the options stubbing her toe on a fallen stone did seem preferable to surprising Havoc.
“Do you think the cowards evacuated the keep? There should be guards and I haven’t seen a single thing to kill.” Havoc called over his shoulder in a voice that echoed through the corridors.
“If they didn’t evacuate they are idiots. They have either run or set up an ambush for us in a more stable section of the fortress. I wouldn’t be lingering in this part either. It looks as though the ceiling beams are splitting above us. I’d say we have an hour at most before twelve tons of stone is falling on our heads.” Zachary replied casually.
“If they have possibly set up an ambush shouldn’t we be a bit quieter?” Zoelyn grumbled softly. She had never actually met Victory before, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that their absent friend was quiet correct in his assessment of them and that they were in fact idiots.
“House guards in a minor city.” Zachary replied in a bored tone. “Anyone worth his salt went with Derrick to deal with Grim. The only ones left in the Keep will be the scrubs. If they have in fact got an ambush set up Havoc will kill them before we even catch up with him.”
Firelight lit the hall ahead of them before Zoelyn could object further and the entire structure groaned once more. Zoelyn shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly to clear the blindness as Dray tugged her along grumbling about insanity. The air around her was filling with smoke and she had to fight back the urge to cough as they drew closer to the Firym and his newest destruction.
“Got tired of looking for the stairs already?” Zachary observed dryly as he gazed down at the still smoldering hole in the floor.
Havoc shrugged and smiled. “Seemed faster. I hate Hide and go Seek, always have.” He replied and began unbuckling his sword belt. With a flip of his wrist he wound the belt around the two blades and tossed them to Zachary. “I’ll go down first. Toss my blades down when I yell for them.” He said as folded his arms around himself and stepped into the hole.
“He didn’t even check to see how far the drop was.” Dray gasped in dismay.
“One…Two…” Zachary intoned before violent cursing erupted from below them. Nodding Zachary dropped to a crouch and pulled his backpack from his shoulder. “It’s a little over twenty feet. The rest of us will want to climb down rather than jump.” He informed them as he drew coils of silk rope from his bag.
“Swords.” Havoc’s voice called faintly up to them and Zachary pitched the Firym’s weapons through the hole without bothering to look up from the rope he was busily uncoiling.
“Damn it!” Havoc’s echoed response brought a faint smile to Zachary’s face and he glanced up at the two of them impishly.
“Got him.” Zachary observed with a wink then stood and gazed around the hall for something to tie the rope off on. With a faint frown he settled on a door and busied himself for several minutes securing the rope to its handle.
“We would be better off with a rabid bear as our guide.” Dray whispered in her ear and Zoelyn fought back a smile as Zachary turned toward them.
“I’m not sure how the rope will hold up if it spends too long in contact with the stone Havoc melted so climb quickly.” Zachary tossed the rope through the hole as he spoke and motioned them both forward.
“Bloody hell.” Dray grumbled as he scrambled for the rope and held it away from the edges of the hole. “You first Zoey I’ll hold it for you.”
“Think I found the prison entrance. Big bad looking iron bound door at the end of this hall.” Havoc called up to them as Zoelyn hesitantly took the rope and tried in vain to spot the ground below the hole.
“Wait for us before going in. If they do have an ambush set it will be behind that door.” Zachary called back to him and motioned for her to move quickly. “He won’t really wait for us so go as quickly as you can without falling.” He urged.
“I’m not fond of heights.” Zoelyn sighed as she clutched the rope and braced herself against the sides of the hole. Logic won out over caution as the still heated stone around the edges of the hole began to warm her feet through her boots. “I’m not sure I like you right now Havoc.” She mumbled as she scurried down the rope and for one of the few times in her life she was grateful that she always wore gloves. She knew Dray’s hands wouldn’t fare so well on the climb down. The silk rope was lighter to carry than any other kind, but it was also slick under her grip and with nothing to brace her feet against it was difficult to control her momentum.
“I know I don’t like you right now.” Dray called in a louder voice as he followed quickly down the rope. Cursing softly he landed gracefully beside her and shook his hands in annoyance. “I think we are making this more complicated than it ever should have been.” He added with a sigh.
“Grim is actually the one that made it complicated. If not for the Stonevines we could have walked straight in without wasting time circling the building first.” Zachary corrected as he landed lightly beside them both and stalked off down the hall in pursuit of Havoc.
“He has a point.” Zoelyn observed glumly.
“Grim did what he did for a reason.” Dray objected stubbornly and Zoelyn smiled in response. She had seen the way Dray watched Grim at Delvay and hadn’t missed the tinges of hero worship that had filled the Blight’s eyes. Grim had served Dray’s father loyally, and he was the last one living that had truly known Micah well. She doubted there was anything Grim could do to turn Dray against him because of that fact alone.
“You actually waited.” Zachary said sounding astonished as they reached the end of the hall and found Havoc leaning against the stone wall with his arms crossed.
“It’s immune to fire.” Havoc informed them all as he pointed a thumb toward the wooden door. “Protective wards or something.”
“So you waited unwillingly.” Zachary corrected with a smirk and let out a quiet sigh before glancing at the two of them. “Can either of you pick locks? I can’t use Oblivion here or my brother will know what I’m about and I’d rather avoid that.”
“Look at you sneaking out of the house and past curfew too.” Havoc teased with a wide grin. His green eyes danced with merriment and Zoelyn marveled at how much he resembled Finn when he smiled.
“Sure to be grounded.” Zachary agreed dryly but was smiling as well as he watched them both hopefully for any sign that they had thieving talents.
Zoelyn exchanged glances with Dray before shaking her head slowly and taking a hesitant step toward the door. “Havoc.” She began in a wavering voice as she pulled one of her gloves off. “If I destroy the wards protecting the door can you bring it down without killing everything beyond it? I mean if the children as just past this door and you cook them it kind of ruins the rescue mission.”
Havoc’s brow creased as he seemed to consider the question. Chewing on his lower lip he dropped to a knee and slid one finger under the edge of the door. With a slow nod he examined his bent finger and stood once more. “It’s about three inches wide. If they don’t get hit by shards of wood they should be fine. I can keep the fire under control and just take out the section by the doorknob.” He explained then slammed a fist loudly against the wooden doors. “Stand back from the door it is going to kind of explode a bit!” he bellowed.
“Explode a bit.” Zachary repeated with muffled laughter as he shook his head and stepped further back down the hall. “You are such an idiot.” He added with a wide smile.
“Havoc, what if that was a guard’s room?” Zoelyn asked quietly as she stared at the Firym in disbelief.
“Then I actually get to hit something with my sword soon.” Havoc returned and waved a hand toward the door. “Please get on with it. At this rate Grim is going to have all of the real guards dead by the time we get out of here.”
“Do you realize how bloodthirsty you sound?” Dray asked with a shake of his head before taking several steps back down the hall to stand a bit behind Zachary.
“You do realize a Blight just called you bloodthirsty right?” Zoelyn asked calmly as she flattened her bare hand to the door. Her breath caught in her throat as the warm flood of magic filled her veins and she had to resist closing her eyes in ecstasy as the hunger of the curse was temporarily sated by the draining wards.
“Micah’s son so not an average Blight. Besides they are Rivasans and therefore they need to die. Have you seen the corrupted fire they use? It’s blasphemy.” Havoc protested in a disgusted voice.
“Right.” Zoelyn agreed numbly and stepped back from the door. Her body hummed with contentment from the magic and it was swiftly eliminating all desire to argue further with Havoc on anything he chose to do.
“Right.” Havoc echoed firmly before pushing her back behind him. She watched with mild interest as he squared his shoulders and drew his arms back once more. The air around him heated uncomfortably and she took another step back as he flung his arms toward the door unleashing a blinding gout of flame.
The door exploded inward sending shards of wood flying in all directions but rather than scatter as they should have they seemed to hang in the air as they spun slowly into the shadowed room beyond. Frowning Zoelyn blinked and stared stupidly at the pieces of wood as a dark shape stepped forward into the doorway with blinding speed. She saw Havoc’s hand reach for his sword but the movement was far too slow to block the flashing blade that tore across his throat. With a curse the Firym staggered back into her and the world seemed to explode into motion once more as the shards of wood spun off into the darkness. Blood gushed from Havoc’s torn throat and Zoelyn frantically tried to stem the flow with her gloved hand as she drug him further from the grey cloaked figure filling the doorway.
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