by E. D. Brady
Annie shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t afford to hope anymore.
“Annie,” Tol begged. “Please…he needs you. Don’t give up yet.”
“I can’t…” Annie began to say something, but couldn’t find the will to finish. She leaned up against the door frame. She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and felt a black chasm consume her.
“Grieve him any way you will, but wait until he’s gone,” Tol pleaded. “Until then, we must find the courage to fight for him. Find the courage, Annie, please.”
She shook her head, but Tol’s words had an effect. She had to fight to find the strength to hope. She couldn’t give up on saving him yet.
“When your parents died, Kellus thought you were the bravest person he’d ever seen. You left a mark on him. Was he wrong? I know this is hard for you, but think how hard it is for me. I convinced him to go back to the Citadom against his better judgment. I was wrong, and this is on my head. I need your help, please.”
Annie took a deep breath and desperately tried to swim her way out of the abyss. Cora came to her and gently coaxed her back to the table. “What can we do?” she asked, reluctantly sitting down.
Markum spoke for the first time since he arrived home. He wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands and looked directly at Annie. “We got a lucky break. It seems that Borm is on duty tomorrow night, meaning it is his responsibility to answer the main door should anyone call. We are to arrive at the Citadom at one o’clock in the morning, exactly. I was told to knock twice, then once, then twice again. Borm will let us in. He will be able to claim that we over-powered him if it goes amiss.
“Borm will guard the top of the stairs that lead to the prison, and Danus will stand guard at the back door that leads out to the garden. All we have to do is walk down the stairs, overpower the peaceman on duty—a blade to the throat should do the trick—and demand that he open the gate to the cell.
“With Kellus freed, we’ll order the peaceman into the cell and lock it. This will give us many hours to enforce the next part of our plan. Danus thinks that the peaceman won’t be discovered until his relief arrives at seven o’clock in the morning.”
“What’s the next part of our plan?” Annie asked.
“We run—all of us,” Markum answered.
“What do you mean?” Cora questioned. “How are we all going to run?”
“We have no other choice,” Markum responded. “We will all be implemented in his escape, not to mention that Lionel can’t allow us to talk. Kellus, Annie, and you will head south,” he addressed Cora. “I will head north with Max and Zif, and Mother and Father will go east. We’ll lay low for exactly one month.
“In that time, Danus and Borm will try to persuade the peacemen of the truth, as best they can, without Lionel growing suspicious.
“After the month is over, we will all meet at the inn beside Spartas Lake. Then we will select someone to keep an appointment with Danus and Borm.
“By that time, they should understand the mood of the Citadom. They will be able to advise us whether Kellus and Annie should go there and plead their case, or maybe arrange for a sympathetic peaceman to meet with Kellus and Annie at another location.”
“So, it’s set for tomorrow night, then,” Annie said to herself.
“Does that meet with your satisfaction?” Markum asked, sensing her disapproval.
“What if we’re too late? I wish it could have been tonight,” she replied.
“We did well to get the break we did. Let us have hope.” Tol piped in.
“Danus foresees only one problem,” Markum continued. “The guard will have full view of the stairs leading down to the prisons, and he’ll see us descend. If there was any way that we could wear a uniform of the Citadom, we would be upon him before he realized that we didn’t belong there.” He turned to his mother. “Has there ever been a time when Kellus left a uniform behind.”
“No, Markum, it’s forbidden, you know that,” she replied. “The Citadom would never risk someone getting hold of a uniform and parading around Vistira disguised as a peaceman or apprentice. Crimes of all sorts could be committed that way.”
“It was just a thought. We’ll just have to move fast—”
Annie cut him off. “It seems we’ve caught another lucky break,” she piped in. “There are two apprentice uniforms in a wardrobe at my house.”
“Kellus left them?” Tol asked doubtfully.
“They were given to Max and me, by Nordorum, the morning after Cora’s surgery,” she replied.
“Are they still there?” Max asked.
“I saw them when I was at the house just last week, the day I arrived back in Vistira,” Annie answered.
“This will be easy…effortless,” Markum said, looking almost happy since his return home.
“If we’re on time, that is,” Annie replied solemnly
“I’ll go to your house now,” Tol said, rising from the table. “Let’s not waste any time.”
“I’ll go with you,” Cora piped in.
After they left, Annie returned to her room and tossed for hours in her bed.
Finally, giving up hope of ever being able to sleep, she slipped out of her room and quietly made her way down two flights of stairs to the kitchen. She turned on the light.
Sara sat alone in the dark, holding a light blue rag to her cheek lovingly. “There was no hope of sleeping?” she asked Annie.
“No,” Annie whispered, sitting down across from her mother-in-law.
Sara held the rag from her face and looked at it. “This was his baby blanket. He carried it everywhere until the age of four.” A tear sat at the edge of her eye. “It’s barely in one piece now, but I kept it for him, put it away in a box of keepsakes.”
Annie smiled sadly, feeling pity for the woman in front of her. How hard must it be to face losing a child?
“He was the sweetest little boy,” Sara continued. “He was always smiling, always laughing, and so affectionate.” She let out a sad chuckle. “He drove Markum mad with his constant pranks and teasing, but Markum has always idolized Kellus. From the time that they were toddlers, Markum would have followed Kellus through fire. And, unfortunately, Kellus would have willingly led him through. He was always my little rascal.”
Annie wiped her eye then stretched her hand across the table to take Sara’s hand.
“You may have this,” Sara said, handing what was left of Kellus’s baby blanket to Annie. “I hope it brings you comfort tonight.”
“I couldn’t, Sara,” Annie argued. “This must mean so much to you to have kept it all these years.”
“It’s rightfully yours,” Sara insisted. “As Kellus’s wife, you inherit all of his possessions.”
Annie winced. “I don’t want to inherit his possessions. I want him back with me,” she replied.
“You misunderstood me,” Sara said. “I believe he is still alive. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
“I wish we could go now,” Annie huffed. “I can’t stand this waiting. If I went to the Citadom now and showed myself, told the first person that I encountered, screamed at the top of my lungs, surely, I would be proof of Lionel’s lies.”
“No,” Sara said firmly. “It’s too dangerous. You have to stick to the plan. If Lionel knew you entered the Citadom, or was confronted, in anyway, with the truth, it would force him to act sooner. He will not go quietly, we can be sure of that. We don’t know what tricks he would attempt. He may claim that you’re an imposter and pretend that he wants to interrogate you alone. Remember, he has full ascendancy in Nordorum’s absence.”
Sara was right, but that did not ease Annie’s anguish.
“Sara, how will I go on if…if…” she broke off, too terrified to speak the words.
“We can’t think about that now,” Sara replied. “Kellus believes that faith is the key to—”
Annie cut in. “I know, faith is the key to creating miracles, but my faith is hiding from me.”
&nbs
p; “Take the blanket, Annie,” Sara insisted. “Go back to bed and try to find your faith, your hope. I know this blanket will bring you the strength.”
Annie drank a cup of hot milk that Sara made for her. She climbed back up the two flights of stairs to her lonely, empty bedroom.
She lay in her bed, holding Kellus’s blanket to her face. Like Sara promised, sleep found her at last.
Chapter 25
By eleven-thirty the following evening, Annie was dressed in the uniform of the apprentices.
“Sit down,” Sara ordered. “I need to pin up your hair. It won’t do to have an apprentice with such long curls.”
Markum sat facing her, his likeness to Kellus never having been more pronounced—wearing the apprentice uniform.
They exchanged nervous glances until Markum finally spoke. “We’ll leave as soon as your hair is done. We should give ourselves some extra time in case we need to detour. I think we should walk on the beach to silence our footsteps. If anyone is still awake, they may grow suspicious of two apprentices walking the road at midnight, carrying swords. It’s best if we remain as inconspicuous as possible.”
Annie nodded slightly before Sara pulled her head back.
“When we turn right onto Sarry Road—the road that leads to the Bank Building—we run. We’ll be close enough by then that two apprentices out late may not cause suspicion,” Markum continued. “We’ll keep running past the front of the bank, and up the street facing forward. There is a shop with a wide pillar in front. We’ll wait behind the pillar until it’s time.”
“I know the shop,” Annie replied nervously.
“At two minutes to one, we’ll head for the building,” Markum added. “When we have freed Kellus, we will run behind the Citadom towards Lanshore Field. We’ll reach the end of the field and turn right on the street there, the one that runs parallel to the field.”
Annie nodded again. She knew the street he spoke of.
“Then we run for four more streets and turn right again. There is a small meadow there. The family will meet us with all three carriages. Father will drive one, mother the other, and Max the third. You and Kellus are to make for the carriage that father drove. He’ll climb down and join mother. I’ll run to Max. Cora will be waiting for you in the back. She’ll have directions for Kellus.”
Annie nodded one more time, making sure that she understood the last part of the plan in case she and Markum should become separated.
“We’ll not have time for long goodbyes,” he stated. “In fact, we won’t have time for any goodbyes, so say what you have to say to the family before we leave. Once we leave the Citadom, we must keep moving at all costs.”
“But I thought you said that we’d have many hours before the peaceman on duty was discovered. You said that we would have plenty of time to implement the second part of the plan,” Annie chided.
“Yes, we will if I can silence the peaceman effectively,” he explained. “We will need to loosen the sashes before we enter the Citadom. I can use one to bind the peaceman hands, and the other as a gag. But we must be prepared in case he loosens the bindings. I’m no knot expert. If he manages to free himself of the gag, he’ll yell for help. As a precaution, we will also need to bind Borm. He is already aware of this. If we don’t, Borm would be questioned as to why he didn’t answer the guard’s calls for help. We have to assume they’ll give chase.”
“I understand,” she answered.
When Sara finished tying up all of Annie’s curls on top of her head, Markum knelt down before his sister-in-law and began securing a belt and scabbard around her waist. He looked up into her eyes. “Do you remember all that I’ve taught you?” he asked.
“I think so,” she replied, nodding.
“One last thing,” he said with overwhelming seriousness. “You have to be prepared to kill if necessary.”
Annie sucked in a deep breath and nodded again.
Markum slipped Kellus’s sword into Annie’s scabbard. He held on to his own, plus a spare for Kellus.
When it was time to go, Annie looked around the kitchen one last time, and then followed Markum through the back door and around the house to the front, where three carriages stood in a row.
“Well, this is it,” Markum said, putting his arms around his mother’s shoulders. “I’ll get him out alive and unharmed, trust me.”
“I need you to get yourself out alive and unharmed also,” she replied, hugging him tightly. She leaned over and kissed Annie’s forehead then walked towards one of the carriages.
Annie, Max, and Cora stood for a long moment with their arms around one another. They said their last goodbyes. Cora and Max let go and walked over to two different carriages.
Zifini hugged her brother and sister-in-law and made for the same carriage as Max, wiping tears from her eyes.
Tol put one hand on Annie’s shoulder, then one on Markum’s. “Good luck, both of you,” he said. He kissed Annie’s head and put one arm around his son. “All our prayers go with you.”
Markum placed a hand on Annie’s shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said quietly. He kept his hand on her shoulder until they reached the bottom of the hill. They both turned to look at the five faces that gazed in their direction, and returned their waves, before turning the corner.
They walked in darkness across the Ocean Road and hopped over the small beach wall. They would not have the shield of darkness for the entire journey—a full moon played hide-and-seek behind a scant cloud cover.
Beside them, the ocean roared, drowning out the sounds of Annie’s nervous heartbeats. She felt the cold bite at her skin, and rubbed her hands up and down her arms for what little warmth the friction could give.
They walked in silence, not daring to speak a word.
After a half hour, Markum stopped and placed a hand on Annie’s arm. “Do you hear something?” he breathed into her ear.
She lifted her head and concentrated on blocking out the sound of the ocean. “Yes,” she mouthed and nodded, hoping he could see her response in the darkness.
In the distance, the sounds of hoofs were clear—a horse cantering on the road, someone approached. Markum took her hand and led her back to the beach wall. They crouched down beside it until the hooves passed and moved along into the distance.
Time seemed to crawl as they walked on in utter silence.
When they reached Sarry Road, they left the beach and crossed the street.
“Now we run,” Markum whispered.
They ran fast up the hill and kept running until they passed the Bank Building. They continued running to the shop with the pillar in front, and crouched down behind the wide post to wait until it was time to go to the Citadom.
“How long?” Annie whispered.
“Twenty minutes,” Markum breathed.
This was not welcome news. As nervous as she was to enter the Citadom, she wanted to get on with it. She had a full view of the building as she ran past, and it suddenly looked dark and menacing, an unfriendly place, but she would rather be there sooner to avoid the torturous waiting.
She passed the time wondering where the other members of her family were. They had planned to journey in the opposite direction than she and Markum, to go the long way around which approaches town from the back of the Citadom.
She tried to push Kellus from her mind, needing to focus on the plan, and not to be consumed with worry.
Annie was grateful when Markum finally put his mouth to her ear. “Ready?” he whispered. It wasn’t exactly a question.
Together they took a deep breath, nodded to one another, and walked out from behind the pillar.
They jogged to the right.
Within seconds, they were running up the steps of the Citadom.
When they reached the top, Markum kissed her forehead. “For luck,” he whispered. He tapped on the door twice, then once, then twice again.
They heard a bolt sliding.
The door creaked open.
Borm looked out at
them from a crack in the door. His eyes focused on Annie and swelled. “Ah, Annella,” he said in a jarring voice. He opened the door further and stood aside, allowing them to walk past him.
Upon entering the corridor, Annie noticed Danus with his back to them, not thirty feet away, staring out the window of one of the doors that led to the garden.
He turned to look at them, his emerald-green eyes landing on Annie. “So it’s true,” he mumbled, walking towards her and Markum. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Did you doubt the word of my father and me?” Markum questioned.
“No,” Danus answered. “I did not, but it’s still a shock to see her standing before me.” He gazed into her face for a moment. “Annella, I’m so happy that you’re alive and well.”
“Enough talk, Danus,” Borm scolded. “They must hurry before my nerves get the better of me.”
Markum and Annie loosened the sashes and motioned for Borm to do the same. “I’ll take care of that,” Danus whispered. “You two go. Hurry.”
Both apprentices whispered a quick ‘good luck’. Danus went to stand in front of the back doors, once more, while Borm walked them over to the stairs that led to the prisons.
Annie and Markum took one more deep breath, and then they sprang down the stairs.
When they were almost at the bottom, and the cells were in sight, Markum pulled one sword from behind his back. Annie pulled her sword also. But then they both stopped short, utterly surprised by what they saw.
No peaceman stood guard.
All three cells were empty.
“What the hell is this?” Markum said in a bewildered voice.
“No!” Annie gasped.
They glared at one another. “What does this mean?” Markum said louder.
“Kellus,” Annie moaned. She put her hand over her mouth and sat on the bottom step, feeling herself beginning to lose control.
Markum leaned his forearm against the narrow wall, rested his head against his arm, and punched the stone wall with his other hand. “No!” he yelled. “No!”
Moments passed in a foggy haze.
Finally, Annie registered Markum sitting next to her on the bottom step. “We’re too late for him,” Markum mumbled. He sucked in a breath. “We’ve failed.”