Eilinland- Through the Wall

by Bailey Davenport

  “It’s such a strange idea,” Rheen said.

  “What is?” asked Davick.

  “People locking themselves away like that.” They’d walked through the gate and were now walking down a cobblestone path towards the huge building. “It sounds like self-imposed prison in my opinion.”

  “Well, people have their reasons,” said Davick. “I imagine a lot of the people just wanted to get away and from the injustices of the world and spend some time in peace. I know the activities and routines centered around that idea.”

  “Wasn’t it closed down because of some scandal?” Rheen asked.

  “Yes, it is unfortunate,” said Davick. They’d walked around to the other side of the building where there was an old fountain on the edge of an overgrown lawn. It was also the side of the building where the main doors were with small basement windows built into the foundation on either side. Light and sound streamed out of them.

  “Shall we have a look?” asked Davick.

  Rheen nodded, and as they walked over to one of the windows, Davick kept talking.

  “I personally like the idea the commune was promoting. I actually know many people who would have profited from such an arrangement. You’re actually one of the people who came to mind.”

  They’d made it to the window, but Rheen turned to Davick instead of looking through.

  “Me?” she asked in surprise.

  “Yes,” he said, looking back at her with a smile. “I don’t know much about your past, but I know you weren’t happy in Vree. You went down south and then came back. You weren’t content with your southerner friends so you left, then you weren’t content with your Vree friends so you left again and just kind of ended up with the southerners again.”

  “I didn’t just end up with them,” said Rheen. “I made a decision which I have been happy with ever since.”

  “At any rate,” he said, “it would just be nice if there was still something here that people could come to when there isn’t anything left for them in the world. Maybe your southerner friends won’t work out either, and then you would have somewhere to go.”

  She shrugged and looked through the window at the scene below. “I suppose that makes sense,” she said, “but this certainly isn’t the peaceful getaway it once was.”

  There were hundreds of people milling about the huge room, and several hundred sniws were either hobbling around amongst them, hanging from the walls, or perching on the support beams near the ceiling. The room felt chaotic and smelled terrible. Rheen stepped through the window onto the ladder just inside and climbed down to the floor with Davick following. Rheen looked around the whole room, taking note of the huge staircase leading up to the main doors next to where they’d come in, the podium with the hideous enthroned sniw on the other side of the room, and the arena in the middle. She surveyed the balconies on either side of the room and the many doorways that led from the balconies into the wings of the basement behind them. All the while, Davick kept chattering away at her shoulder.

  “I think that if this is a rebirth of the commune, we should support it, not shut it down. What do you think?” he asked.

  “I think,” said Rheen, “that we should explore the wings.”

  “Right,” said Davick. “Maybe we could split up to cover more ground.”

  “Good thinking,” said Rheen. She was starting to get annoyed at his lack of focus anyway.

  Rheen walked alone through the crowd, pretending she belonged there. No one really gave her much attention except for one man who came up and asked if she would like to place a bet for the next fight. She just told him she didn’t have any money which sent him on his way most effectively.

  When she reached the closest door on the lowest level of the east wing, she walked in and the light and noise slowly disappeared behind her as she walked down a long hallway. Before long, she reached the end and turned right. She kept walking and soon had to turn to the left because of a locked door ahead. Everywhere she went there were big wooden doors with small barred windows lining the walls on either side. Sometimes she got the feeling she was being watched. She made a few more turns in what seemed to be a huge maze of hallways and doors, keeping close track of all of her rights and lefts. After about five minutes of walking, she heard something behind her and saw a light. She ran forward, but it kept coming. Then the worst possible thing happened. She came to a dead end.

  **********

  After Rheen left, Davick ran up to the second level of the east wing and through the first door, down a hallway, and then into the third room on the left. His sniw was there waiting for him.

  “Where is she?” it asked.

  “She’s off exploring or something,” said Davick, exasperated. “I’m having trouble talking to her.”

  “I knew this wasn’t going to work!” said the sniw. “We needed her to come here lost and confused and spend at least a week here. Then she would have listened to what you had to say.”

  “And I told you that I had no choice. They were already making plans to come here, and she’d already made it back to the southerners.”

  “Yes, another one of your great feats,” it said sarcastically, “after I worked so hard to get her away from them in the first place.”

  “That also wasn’t my fault,” Davick said. “Those sniws were going to kill her, there was no mistaking it. I killed one of them to earn some of her trust, and it was working until the southerners showed up.”

  “I’m sick of hearing you blame everything on someone else,” the sniw said. “The truth is that you’ve done an excellent job in messing everything up, and now we need to find a way out of this disaster you’ve created.”

  “It’s not a disaster,” said Davick. “I can still try talking to her.”

  “It’s no use,” said the sniw. “Several of us sniws sensed a southerner shortly after you two came in. I’ve told them all not to act until I’d had the chance to talk with you so that you would know what was going on when we attack. She’s thrown in her lot with them, Davick. There’s no use trying to reason with her now.”

  **********

  At the end of the hallway there was a door. Rheen ran towards it and found, to her relief, that it was unlocked. She slipped in quietly and then dashed to the opposite side of the room to crouch behind some barrels. She looked around the room from her hiding place. It was actually like a small dungeon with two cells along one wall. She was shocked to find she was not alone in the room.

  A girl sat in a corner of one of the cells which was lit only by a few torches on the opposite wall. Rheen guessed she was about ten years old, but it was hard to tell. The torches were burning low and flickered so much it was hard for her to focus on anything in the room.

  Then Rheen heard clamoring near the door she’d just come from. The girl, who must have slept through Rheen’s quiet entrance, heard it as well and looked up. The door was opened and two dark figures came into the room. The girl cowered in fear as a man was flung into the cell next to her. The sniw that had brought him fumbled for some time with getting the door locked, and then it finally hobbled away with the keys.

  The scene played in front of Rheen’s eyes like a reoccurring nightmare. Her head reeled as she slumped back against the wall. Her mind flew back to the night before she met the warriors.

  She had been sleeping under a bridge near the castle. She was wrapped up in a little brown blanket which was probably still there. She usually slept well, but that night she’d had a terrible dream. It was a dream that happened at a time of the night where it was stored so deeply in her mind that she barely remembered it when she awoke. Not even the warriors’ talk about their vision had brought it into her mind. But now, as she watched it play out in front of her, every detail exactly the same, she somehow remembered the whole thing.

  “I had the vision?” she asked herself in bewilderment. How could it be that she had received this vision before she had even decided to steal the bread which led to this whole string of e
vents in the first place?

  Rheen crept out from behind the barrels. The girl looked over at her, startled.

  “Are you Keillis?” Rheen asked. Bierno had mentioned the name on their way over.

  The girl nodded.

  “I know your family,” Rheen said. “Or rather, I have friends who know your family. We’re all on a mission to get you out of here.”

  “Now?” asked the girl, tearing up at the mention of her family.

  “I can’t get you out now,” Rheen said, feeling completely helpless. “How did you end up here?”

  “They picked me up and flew me here,” she said, pulling herself together. “They asked how I liked it, and when I said I wanted to go home, they locked me up. I think if I’d said that I did like it here, they would have let me stay out in the bigger room with everyone else.”

  “Was everyone out there kidnapped, then?” asked Rheen.

  Keillis shook her head. “I don’t think so. Most of them come by choice when they hear about it from other people. I’ve heard them talk about going to pick up some ‘new customers’ when business is slow. I think that’s when they kidnap people.”

  “What delusional sniw thought you would be a good candidate for this place?” Rheen asked in bewilderment.

  “I don’t know,” Keillis said. “I think the sniw that brought me got in trouble for it though.”

  “I hope it got its neck snapped,” said Rheen vehemently. She changed her tone when she saw Keillis’s eyes get wide. “Someone will be back to get you soon, I promise.”

  Keillis nodded. Rheen eyed the lock on the cell door and knew she could pick it if she had some tools, but Bierno’s instructions to not do anything except look around came to mind. With that, Rheen left, walking past the limp form in the next cell on her way out.

  She retraced her steps back to the main room hoping that Davick had also made some discoveries. As soon as she stepped out into the light of the big room, he ran over to her.

  “Rheen, we have to get out immediately,” he said.

  “Why? What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I don’t have time to explain now,” he said. “We have to go.”

  He’d not been as willing as his sniw to give up on their plan and was determined to get Rheen out of danger and somewhere he could continue to persuade her to join his side and betray the warriors.

  Rheen noticed some sniws flying over from the podium area as they raced towards the ladder. A ladder was a really inconvenient means of escape when trying to evade something that flew. Perhaps that was the point. Rheen was halfway up when she felt herself get snatched up, and suddenly she was sailing through the air back to the other end of the room. She was dropped down at the front of the podium and fell to her face as everyone in the room grew quiet to watch.

  She saw its talons first. Each one was about the size of one of her legs. Its legs dripped with slime, its neck was cracked like old leather, and her gaze finally fell on its face. Its skin draped so loosely that it had three chins. Its eye sockets were sunken in and the skin around them sagged terribly. Its beak had a gash in it. It cocked its head to look at her.

  “This?” it said. “This is what the great King of the South sends to stand against us?”

  Sniws all over the room laughed. Rheen stood and brushed herself off. Before she had a chance to reply, it turned to Davick who’d been plopped down next to her.

  “And you… you mutinous louse. Did you not think all along that we knew exactly what you were plotting? You do not fear me like you should!” It stood up to its full height and flapped its wings. The force of the wind almost caused Rheen to fall backwards. Suddenly they were all distracted by a commotion across the room.

  “What is going on?” asked the chief.

  “One of the creatures has escaped!” said a sniw who had flown over with a report. From where they stood, all they could see was people running and hear the sound of screaming and shouting.

  “Herd it into the arena!” the chief said. Then it looked at Rheen. “I hope it’s not very hungry because you’re not going to make much of a meal.”

  She was grabbed by several strong hands and dragged towards one door of the arena while at the other end of the room, sniws pulled the beast off of the helpless form it had pounced on and flew it towards another, bigger door.

  “Now,” the chief told Davick, “you can be the one to go tell those southerners that their friend is in trouble. Show a proper amount of respect for my station, and I may yet forgive you.”

  Davick ran off across the room towards the ladder. On his way he passed Rheen who was screaming and kicking with all her might and accomplishing nothing. Strong hands thrust her into the arena and locked the door behind her. She ignored the fact that she’d heard it lock and threw herself against it anyway. When it didn’t budge, she turned slowly to take in the scene around her. All of the sniws in the room had gone wild. They were making the worst noises imaginable and the sound was overwhelming. Many of the people stared in silent fascination, and some just looked down at the ground. Others were yelling and cheering, anticipating the excitement of a fight. The beast was thrown in through the opposite door, and Rheen finally got to see what she was up against. It roared and lunged back at the door it had come through just a second after it was securely latched. Its roar filled the room, drowning out the sound of the sniws and sending everyone into silence for a moment. Its black lips stretched across long, yellowed canines, its sleek, white face was covered in intricate black markings, and its deep golden eyes glared back at those responsible for throwing it into this cage. Rheen felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked in fear and awe at the stunning white tiger before her.

  Chapter 14

  Earlier that morning, after their discussion with the others, Aenin took Bierno out for a ride near where he and Gillio had found Rheen the night before.

  “I say we should go with the assumption he’s either a spy or that he was planted in our group for some other reason,” Aenin said to Bierno after they’d been walking for a while. “Too many things have happened by chance, and he hasn’t been very open about who he is, where he lives, or what his business is.”

  “Plus he’s taken a special interest in Rheen who is the most vulnerable in our group at this time,” added Bierno. “Then he suggests that he would be happy to take her right into the heart of things alone tonight.”

  Aenin laughed. “Right.”

  “Any indication of where he’s going?”

  Aenin closed his eyes. “I will keep checking, but it seems like he’s planning on staying in the area for a while.”

  “Well, we might be able to figure some things out if we’re able to find our query out here.”

  “I might actually see them now,” said Aenin, his eyes still closed. “If it’s them, I think they’re one street up just coming out for the day.”

  They trotted their horses up the street. Rove, Kenn, and Jess were just stepping out of an alley onto the street, and upon seeing Bierno and Aenin, they began to run away.

  “Wait!” yelled Aenin. “We want to talk to you!”

  “We want to hire you!” added Bierno.

  At that they stopped. Bierno and Aenin caught up.

  “We have the money here,” said Aenin pointing to a sack attached to his saddle. “It’s yours if you help us out.”

  “You’re the ones Rheen fell in with, aren’t you?” asked Rove.

  “We’re friends of hers, yes,” answered Bierno.

  Rove nodded. “Do you know where she’s at?”

  “She’s back at the inn right now getting some rest,” answered Bierno.

  “You all must be something pretty special to get her to trust you like she does,” said Jess resentfully.

  “We’re not here to talk to you about Rheen,” said Bierno. “This is strictly a business meeting.”

  “We have a job that needs the type of people who are able to steal an entire wagon out from under the nose of its owne
r and almost get away with it,” said Aenin.

  Rove and Jess looked at each other skeptically, and Kenn looked back at the warriors with interest.

  “How much are you willing to pay?” Rove asked, turning back to Bierno and Aenin.

  “Will this be enough?” asked Aenin, opening up his sack.

  Rove’s eyes got wide. “What do you want us to do?”

  **********

  By mid-morning, they were standing near the front gate of the Norville Estate. Aenin and Bierno held the reins of their own horses and the three others they’d rented for their new employees.

  “So, when you go through the gate,” started Bierno.

  “Go into the big building,” recited Jess.

  “Then walk around…” added Kenn.

  “Look at everything…”

  “Find out what’s going on…”

  “Without making anyone suspicious.”

  “Exactly,” said Bierno. “If anything goes wrong, we’ll be in there as soon as we can figure out a plan to get you out.”

  “It’s not going to go wrong though,” added Aenin. “There’s no reason for it to.”

  “We’ll be fine,” said Rove. “We know what we’re doing. That’s why you’re paying us so much.”

  “Okay, then,” said Bierno motioning towards the gate. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  The three walked through the door, and soon they were standing in front of the mansion.

  “It’s huge,” said Kenn, stopping and staring up at the building.

  “Come on, stupid, we have a job to do,” said Jess, pulling him along.

  “You two go and look around inside,” said Rove. “I’ll look it over outside and check out the grounds.”

  Kenn and Jess went around to the far side of the building and found that the big doors on the south side were locked, but there was a well-warn path to one of the basement windows off to the side. They found the ladder and explored the big room. They ran into a few sniws and people as they were exploring, but most of them didn’t ask any questions. The people that did ask questions were easily scared away by Jess’s incessant counter-questioning.