by Lara Nance
“Yes, but I’m worried about how we’ll find him once we’re inside. It seems immense.”
“I’m thinking he’s such an important prisoner it will be known throughout the place. We just have to find the person who’s willing to give us the information for the right price.”
“If money is the only obstacle, I have plenty.” She patted the pouch attached to her belt.
“Money works wonders, you’d be surprised,” Rett said. He thought back to the slave trader that had given him information about Belle’s location. It had worked well then.
“So we get inside and try to find someone to bribe. That’s the plan.”
He glanced in her direction, but he couldn’t make out her expression in the darkness. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”
“Okay.”
They continued in silence for a while. Rett estimated they had been traveling several hours. He pulled out his pocket watch but in the dark its face was a blur. The passage of the moon gave him some idea of their progress. Gesic whistled some haunting tune, which made goose bumps rise on Rett’s arms. Sounded like a bloody funeral dirge and he didn’t like it. Give him a good drinking song any day. What he wouldn’t give to be back in a safe little aeroport tavern somewhere sharing a round of whiskey with Sam.
They passed by another group of small hills and Belle made a shushing sound. They pulled up their horses and Gesic’s whistling stopped, thank God.
“What is it?” Rett whispered.
“Look.” She pointed to the hills.
At first he saw nothing, then yes, a whisp of smoke barely visible in the darkness—a thin white strand flowing up in the night sky.
“Who could it be?” Belle asked. “A camp fire?”
“I don’t know, but we should find out. They’re too close for comfort.” Rett pulled his horse’s reins and headed to the left as he called to their guide, “Gesic.”
He pointed to the smoke and Gesic nodded. They made their way silently to the hills and dismounted then tied the horses to some scraggly trees. Moving quietly, they passed between the hills and it occurred to Rett that this group was doing exactly what they had done hiding from the citadel. Who else would be approaching Manu Picca in such stealth?
Ahead the sound of voices and the crackle of a fire alerted him they were approaching a camp. They slowed and stepped carefully among the scrub brush and rocky terrain. When they reached an area where the bushes thinned and he could see the glow of the campfire they all went down to their knees and peered through the vegetation. Men in dark robes sat on rocks and logs encircling the fire. They talked quietly among themselves as they ate their evening meal.
“Who are they?’ Belle whispered.
“They are not from any tribe in Carrabarras,” Gesic answered.
“It’s obvious they’re hiding from Manu Picca,” Rett said. “But why?”
“I don’t know, but I think we should continue on to the mountain,” Belle said. “If they plan to attack the citadel it can only help us.”
“True.” Gesic nodded. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“I just wish we knew what they were up to. I like to know everything that can affect me.” Rett frowned. This group was an addition to the mix that made him uncomfortable.
“But what else can we do?” Belle asked.
“I don’t know.” Rett rubbed his chin. “You’re right, all we can do is to continue on our way. We’ll be at the summit while they’re still sleeping. There’s not much they can do to us if we’re inside the mountain.”
Gesic nodded. “That is right. The goal is to get inside and find the kefmam’s father. These men will not bother us.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Rett couldn’t see any reason to stick around and see what this group planned. They needed to reach the summit by morning.
They stood and headed back to their horses when a series of ominous clicks around them made them freeze.
“Do not move,” a voice called from the darkness. “We have you surrounded.”
###
Belle jerked her arm away from the man who grabbed it. But his hand returned and the grip could not be shaken this time. The dark robed men pulled them from behind their hiding place of bushes and thrust them into the center of the camp. Half a dozen men surrounded them, all in black cloaks and hoods, their eyes dark and penetrating.
“Who are you and why are you spying on us?” One of them moved forward and faced them with hands on his hips. A sword hung on a scabbard by his side and one hand moved to caress the hilt.
“We might ask you the same thing,” Rett said and one of the men pointed a sword at his throat a little too energetically and a trickle of blood ran down his neck.
Belle glanced around the camp. There were tents of black canvas surrounding the central fire. The way items were situated made it appear they had been here more than one night.
“Why are you watching the stronghold?” she asked.
The man walked up to her, brows drawn together. “I ask the questions, not you.”
“What if we’re on the same side? Just answer the question.”
He stared at her for a moment and then repeated his question. “Who are you?”
Belle suddenly drew a breath of relief. The man who questioned them had a dagger in his belt and on the hilt she saw a familiar crest: a tiger, a hawk and a snake. The imperial seal of Gandiss. They must have been sent by Lord Ismatan.
She held out her hand, the one that had the ambassador’s ring on the forefinger. The leader of the group focused on the ring and stepped toward her.
“Where did you get this ring?”
“High Lord Ismatan gave it to me. He said any agent of Gandiss who saw it would aid me.”
The man looked from the ring to her face, puzzled. “Who are you?”
“I’m Lady Arabella Trunkett.”
The man’s face cleared and he made a waving motion which caused his men to drop their swords.
“Thanks, mate, remind me to stick a sword in your throat sometime,” Rett said to the man who removed the blade from his neck. The man glared at him.
“Lady Arabella, we have heard of you from Lord Ismatan. You are seeking your father?”
“Yes, we have reason to believe he is in the fortress at Manu Picca.”
The man’s eyes scanned around her group. Just her and two men. She knew it must look incredulous. Three people against a mighty citadel.
“You are going to attack the fortress?”
“We know of a way in,” Belle said. “If we can get inside without them knowing it, we hope to be able to find my father and rescue him.”
“You know a way in?” The man’s brows went up.
“Yes.”
“Then we will come with you. Lord Ismatan sent us to determine if there is some type of secret weapon here in Carabarras. All the rumors point to the Warlord of Manu Picca hiding a weapon of great power inside the mountain. But we have been unable to determine a way in.”
Belle breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God, they were allies. “You may come with us, but you must leave at once. We have to climb to the top of the cliff by morning.”
The man gave a sharp nod and waved one arm toward his men. They ran for their horses and began to pack. “We will leave the camp here and go with you.
“I am Perron, the leader of this group.” He gave her a slight bow.
“You know who I am; this is Captain Everette Brockton and our guide, Gesic, from the Mandagol tribe.”
Two of Perron’s men entered the camp leading the horses they had left tied to the trees.
“My men have retrieved your horses. We will follow you.” He swirled away and went to find his own horse.
“Let’s go,” Rett said. “We don’t need any more diversions if we’re going to make the mountain before daylight.”
Belle couldn’t agree more. Her heart had sunk when she thought they were going to be detained by being captured. She’d had it with diversions on this trip. If
only she could see her father alive and well, it would be worth every bit of hardship and danger though.
She allowed Rett to help her onto her horse and they set out into the night again with the eerily silent black clad spies from Gandiss trailing in their wake.
Chapter 19
The group reached the base of the mountain before dawn, unsaddled the horses, and hobbled them so they could graze but would not wander away. They strapped their packs over their shoulders and climbed over the rocky terrain to the summit just as the orange pink glow to the east announced the sunrise.
Belle’s back and legs ached from so much time in the saddle and the tough climb up the cliff. And now they had to descend into the mountain hanging onto a rope. Fear clutched at her chest as they approached the chasm from which wisps of steam rose.
She peered over the edge and Rett put a hand on her arm as she gasped. The dark depths appeared bottomless. Her eyes found his and his gaze steadied her—his calm confidence and courage.
The Gandiss spies pulled the long heavy rope over to the edge of the opening. Sparse trees grew on the rocky summit, but one had a trunk as big around as a man’s leg, sturdy enough to secure the end of the rope. Then Belle realized it was the same rope they had used to save Armani, knotted at intervals for hands and feet to hold on to. The rope had saved one person, maybe it would save them as well. This thought calmed her ragged nerves and infused her with courage.
Gesic shot the fire arrow into the air with his bronze crossbow. Now Benji and the others would know they were on their way into the mountain. Belle shivered.
“Are you okay?” Rett asked. He still had a hand on her arm.
She patted his hand and smiled. “I’m ready.”
But really, nothing could prepare her for that descent. Rett insisted on going first. Then she followed, hand over hand, slowly down into the steamy darkness with Gesic coming after her. She braced herself against the side of the rock wall, but it was still terrifying not knowing how far down they would go before they could see again and put their feet on solid ground.
“Belle?” Rett’s whisper floated up to her, but she didn’t dare look down to see him.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“I think I see some light below.”
Thank God. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. She gritted her teeth and forced her hands and feet to continue even though her muscles quivered. One of her hands cramped and she thought for a moment her fingers would not unclench. She used her teeth to pull the fingers away from the rope, the cramp finally subsided and her hand relaxed.
Yes, now she could detect the light as well as a faint rumbling and clanking that grew louder as they continued down.
“Not far now,” Gesic said above her.
The temperature of the vapor around them increased. Strands of hair clung to her face and sweat ran down her back and chest. The salty moisture stung her eyes but she didn’t dare release a hand to wipe it away. Her hands slid down the rope by sheer force of will.
A hand grabbed her boot and Rett swung her toward him. She blinked but it wasn’t until he pulled her to the ground and she brushed the sweat from her eyes that she could make out details of the area around them. She sat on the rock floor while Rett helped Gesic swing into the opening.
The hiss of steam and grinding of gears filled her ears. This shadowy cave-like room extended beyond the boundaries of her vision, filled with dozens of brass water tanks, furnaces and compression chambers. Pipes ran from the contraptions up to the ceiling and through holes in the walls. Puffs of steam popped out of pipes repeatedly, leaving a misty haze in the air. She assumed the larger pipes went to different parts of the citadel to supply power and heat. Impressive. This was along the level of technology that existed in Urbannia, not what she expected in backwards Carabarras.
But perhaps the country wanted to keep their developments secret. It made sense if they were planning some massive overthrow of countries around the world. No one would be prepared for an attack and therefore were more vulnerable. These bastards were using her father as a pawn to start the conflict. She clenched her fists in anger.
By the time the Gandiss spies safely entered the engine room, Belle had recovered her strength and struggled to her feet.
“My Lady, we will go separately to see if we can uncover any evidence of a weapon. Lord Ismatan’s instructions were to destroy it if possible,” Perron said. “I wish you luck in finding your father.”
“Thank you. I wish you luck as well,” she said. The silent black figures flitted away like dark ghosts, weaving among the rumbling, clanking machines and the ever present swirls of steam.
“We need to get out of here,” Rett said. “Someone’s bound to come in sooner or later for maintenance to the engines.”
The three of them crept along close to the machines until they found a door made of heavy brass with a large wheel in the center. The spies had left it open for them, so Gesic peeked around the corner and then motioned it was clear to leave.
Outside the door they entered a passageway carved into the stone with rough hewn walls and a rounded ceiling. They hurried along this until sounds ahead made them slow their gaits. At the end of the passage, a large expanse stretched out that must be the heart of the complex. The area reminded Belle of village squares with stone and wooden structures built along the sides and a marketplace in the center—an entire city built in the heart of the mountain. The breath left her chest viewing the magnitude of this accomplishment.
She could see other tunnel openings in the walls leading from the central city. People milled round in their underground world much as any other city, shopping at stalls, eating at cafes and going about their business. She looked up. Lights shone from a grid of steel beams that crisscrossed the high ceiling, but she couldn’t make out what kind of lights they were. Puzzling, it didn’t seem possible for gaslights to produce that much illumination. A new light-making invention?
“Let’s try to blend in, they’re not dressed in any particular way, so maybe we won’t stand out,” Rett said.
Belle took a deep breath and followed him into the square where they kept to groups of people near the section of shops. She made a point of stopping to pick up objects to inspect as if shopping, all the while listening to the conversations around her.
“Well, well, well,” Rett said, a menacing glare lighting his eyes.
She followed his gaze to a café across from the jewelry stall they were in. Several people sat at small tables sipping coffee and tea and eating. “What?”
“If it isn’t Wildeye Perry. Seems he survived the crash even if his ship didn’t.”
He indicated a burly individual with a bronze metal cap covering the top of his head and extending down over one eye with a series of gears sticking out of it. She could make out a glint of domed glass over where the eye should be—his clockwork eye. Her skin crawled just looking at it. What a hideous contraption.
“And the man with him is none other than Dr. Emil Krakov from Urakay,” Rett murmured. “Now this puzzle is beginning to come together.”
“Dr. Krakov? He’s the madman Urbannia has been trying to apprehend for decades. I thought he was dead.” Belle’s pulse quickened as memories surfaced explaining this whole affair.
“Well, I can tell you this, if there’s a secret weapon that can threaten a country like Urbannia, then the person most likely to build it would be Krakov. Think about it.”
“Who is this Krakov?” Gesic asked, staring at the small man with the shoulder length, black hair and beard who shared the table with Wildeye Perry. A top hat tilted at a jaunty angle on his head and round, dark spectacles perched on his nose.
“A mad scientist,” Belle said grimly. “He’s originally from Urakay, but he went to university in Urbannia. A brilliant but unstable person, he decided Urbannia was the root of all evil in the world and tried to blow up Aereopolis twenty years ago. He was capture
d and then made a fantastic escape from prison two days before he was scheduled to be hung. They’ve been hunting for him ever since. Most people thought he was dead since he hasn’t been heard from for many years.”
“Seems he found a new home here in Carabarras, with a country that wants to destroy Urbannia as much as he does,” Rett said. “This is not good.”
“It all makes sense now,” Belle said. “He’ll get his revenge on Urbannia and the man who sentenced him to death as well.”
Rett looked at her, brows coming together. “What do you mean?”
“My father was a High Court judge then, he wasn’t made High Minister until several years later. He was the one who sentenced Dr. Krakov to death for treason and the murder of hundreds of people who died from his failed attempt to blow up the city.”
“Bloody hell,” Rett swore. “He hired the Sarcs to kidnap your father, not just to start a war but to seek vengeance.”
Belle nodded and her heart fluttered. Her father was in more danger than she had imagined. Krakov would kill him if he wasn’t already dead. “We have to find my father. There’s no time to lose.”
“We should split up,” Gesic said. “We can cover more ground and we’ll be less conspicuous. I’ll explore those tunnels on the north side and you two take the southern tunnels. We can meet back here in a few hours.”
“All right, be careful,” Rett said and Gesic slipped into the crowd of people wandering among the shops. He pulled Belle towards a stall further down the street where cloaks of every color were displayed. Some of the people in the market wore such garments.
He handed some silver pieces to the shop owner and gave a blue cloak to Belle, picking up a brown one for himself. “We’ll blend in more in these.”
She draped the cloak around her shoulders and Rett’s hand on her arm steered her back to a view of the café.
“I think we should follow them,” he said.
“Krakov?”
“Yes. If there’s something secret going on in this mountain, they’ll be in the thick of it. Maybe they will lead us to where your father is being kept.”
He was probably right, but it seemed extremely dangerous.