by Brad Stucki
Finally, he reached the next intersection and repeated the process, only this time taking the right intersection. And still down he moved, the air taking on a musty smell the deeper he got. Faintly ahead he started to make out a dull glow. He was coming to his destination.
Slowing his walk, he crept forward. It would be disastrous for someone to find him here, especially if what he suspected were true.
The next turn to the right, the light grew brighter, so he could faintly see the corridor he was stepping through, but still he had a couple of more turns. He hoped he’d chosen his route carefully enough, staying to what he’d supposed would be unused corridors.
He moved ahead, around one corner, the hallway growing brighter again, and at the next corner, he stopped, taking a few deep breathes to calm himself.
Crouching so he wouldn’t be at eye level if someone were just happening to look in his direction, he eased his head around the corner to see what he could.
He was glad he’d been so careful. He was looking at the entrance to the cells below the palace. Guards were posted everywhere. This was extraordinary in and of itself. It’d been years since there were any prisoners held beneath the palace, and then only captured prisoners from the constant strife that had existed between cities. The criminal element of the city was held in separate cells, further out in the city. Why would there be guards posted here if the cells were empty?
Because they’re not empty!
Mahntra had come to see for himself. His fears were confirmed. If the cells were being guarded, that must mean that there were people in the cells that Tranthra’ Joh didn’t want anyone to see. Perhaps I know now where the missing nobles really are.
It could also mean that the Princess and his daughter are not really gone from the city. Could they be here too? Would Tranthra’ Joh really stoop that low in his grasping of power?
Mahntra was afraid of the answer. He knew what it was. I have to be sure, though.
He carefully looked back around the corner, crouching even lower so as not to be noticed. He didn’t draw back, but instead looked carefully around the areas he could see. Yes, the cells are filled. Squinting his eyes, and inwardly cursing his aging sight, he tried to see if there was anyone he could recognize. There . . . There . . . and yes! That’s Mourhas’ fi! All nobles who were supposed to be on a delicate mission for the city. The delicate matter is that they surely would stand in opposition to a takeover by Tranthra’ Joh.
Perhaps now it is time to enlist the aid of others.
As carefully as he came, he made his way out through the tunnels and back to his home. He made it back safe and unobserved. When he finally climbed into bed it was deep in the night, but sleep was a long way from coming.
***
Sohorkon, separated from Siri’ Bhu, sat in his cell waiting for something . . . anything to happen. As soon as he'd been locked in, he'd gone to the water basin and scrubbed his face and hands. There was only so much he could do to get clean. They at least could have allowed him to get a fresh change of clothing. He knew, though, his captors couldn't take the chance someone else in the palace would see him or that he'd escape and cause them mischief.
That's exactly what he'd do, too. Cause mischief. A great deal of it.
He'd been sitting in the cell for several hours when he heard the soft footpads of approach. They were eerily quiet compared to the noise booted soldiers would make walking through the deserted cells in this section.
Must be Pontu' Gi, he thought. He was right. Between two guards was Siri' Bhu. At least she'd been given fresh clothes and allowed to bathe. Of that he was glad. Her wound had badly needed cleaning.
Sohorkon watched her steps. She was still tired but feeling better. Hopefully the doctors had been able to treat her wound, so it would heal completely, as long as she was able to rest. He had a feeling they were going to get a lot of rest in this cell. Then a thought occurred. They couldn't have allowed Siri to see any doctors. Yah' Winn would need to keep their presence secret. The thought only increased his anger.
One Pontu' Gi stood guard next to the barred door, knife drawn, while the other opened the cell and gestured for Siri to step inside. The door clanged shut behind her and Sohorkon helped her over to the cot he'd been sitting on. At least they'd put them together. That could be awkward when privacy was needed, but there was no privacy in the block anyway. The cells had no solid walls, so guards could easily keep an eye on all prisoners. It was built that way for a reason. He'd helped design them.
"Come, sit." Sohorkon helped her to settle gingerly on the cot. "Did you see a physician?"
"Of a sort, I suppose. One of the Pontu' Gi seemed to know the cleaning and bandaging of wounds."
"I was afraid of that." Sohorkon said. "The least they could have done is have a decent doctor look at you."
"It's okay. The Pontu' Gi seemed competent enough. He put some salve on it that helped with the pain, and I think it drives away infection too. It stung a little. I feel better now that they let me clean up." She looked at Sohorkon with a smile of apology that he hadn't been accorded the same treatment.
Siri glanced out of the cell toward the far end of the block.
"Theyre still there, I think,” Sohorkon said. “You can't see them because they blend in when they want. I tried to listen, and I don't think they went far."
"Oh," was all she said then raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
"We're going to be here a while. I helped design these cells. With my devious mind, I tried to think of all the possible ways someone could escape and put in defenses against them all. Unless you can come up with a plan I didn't think of, we're here for the long haul." That grated him most of all. He needed to get out.
Chapter 13
Mouhra’ Lah sat in the corner of her tower cell. It was richly appointed with silks and furs for her comfort. The cushioned flooring and the large pillows and draped windows all added to the appearance of opulence, but it still couldn’t hide what it really was. A prison!
She stood and paced around the small room. It was only large enough for her to take several steps one way, and then she turned back and strode the other way in her impatient agitation.
This room was never meant to be used this way! She thought as she paced. Mother had it built to house important visitors, giving them a grand view of the city! Now it’s a grand view of my failure.
When she’d first been brought here she noticed the changes that had been made. The door latch had been removed from the inside, and the door had been replaced with one of much sturdier build. The broad windows had been covered over with bars, so no one could slip through, no matter how small. The glass over the windows had been thickened. Everything in the room that could break it had been removed. Even if she could find something to write a message on, she couldn’t break the glass to drop it to anyone below.
She truly was a prisoner -- a prisoner in a grand suite, but a prisoner just the same.
It had been two days, and in that time she’d been well treated. Regular meals had been brought, enough drink, and they’d even given her reading materials when she’d asked. There seemed to be a limit, however. They had denied her request for writing material, and nothing heavier than reading scrolls were allowed.
Her requests had simply been a test, to see what she would be given, hoping to find something she could smash the window with, and get a message out to someone. It hadn’t worked.
The most grating thing is that there hadn’t been any word. Any contact from Tranthra’ Joh as to what he was scheming. Pacing back and forth had given her all the time in the world to come up with many plans as to what Tranthra’ Joh could do to her City. None of it was good.
Then there was a jangling of keys in the lock of the door. She stood waiting until it swung open and a guard stepped in.
"You will come with me."
***
Javin had moved over to drench his face in the trickling water coming into a bowl at one end of his
cell. Occasionally he and Sauros would sit and talk. He'd found out all he could about where he was from Sauros. Still nothing made sense. Now, he mostly just sat and pondered. Every once in a while, he tried to focus on the crystal in his breast, trying to get it to do something -- anything that might help him retrieve his memory.
It was ridiculous to think that he hadn't come from somewhere else, and that this was his home world, if indeed, this actually was a world. There were no others like him that anyone he'd met knew of, and he also had those flashes of memory that told him things he was sure were alien to this place.
The cell was cold and musty, but Javin was hoping the splash of water would waken him from the lethargy he felt himself slipping into. There was nothing for he and Sauros to do now but wait.
"Here now, step back from the bars!"
Javin swung around the water dripping from his hair and running down his face.
A detachment of guards were standing in front of Sauros' cell, and he moved back, turning to eye Javin.
Here it comes, Javin thought, flashing Sauros a wry smile.
The guards opened the door and three men covered Sauros with drawn blades while two more turned Sauros around and began binding his hands behind his back with a chord.
No one spoke.
They moved Sauros out of the cell, and then came to stand in front of his. Javin pressed the water out of his hair with his hands and scrubbed his face, then shook his hands to rid them of the excess water. "Need to look my best, you know. Just wish I could have shaved."
The guard opening the cell door looked up at him a moment, then continued to open the door. Two men came in with a chord to bind him, while the other three waited outside the cell with Sauros.
He must have put up quite a fight to have them watch him this close. Javin allowed the chords to go around his wrists, but tried tensing his muscles, to make the chords a little loose when he relaxed. The guards knew what he was doing. They cinched them until the circulation was cut off, then he relaxed and let them finish. Might as well wait and see what happens.
With drawn knives against their throats and a stern warning to not try anything foolish, they were led back up through the palace to the audience chamber.
The doors were swung open and Javin and Sauros were ushered through. This time there were more guards surrounding the sides of the large chamber, and then a smaller group of guards were standing in front of the throne. Javin's eyes immediately focused on the stone archway sitting in the middle of the room. It was nearly the same as the one he'd seen in the temple --or whatever it was.
Javin continued to watch it carefully as they moved him forward. The closer he got, he began to notice the faint shimmer within the archway that he'd seen earlier. It was hard not to stare, but he knew he also needed to see what else was going on in the room. He needed to be able to put everything together, try to find a way to turn this audience into a way of escape.
Javin glanced at Sauros and noticed his eyes go wide and followed where he'd been staring. Mouhra’ Lah, the princess, was standing off to the side in another small group, and Sauros was fighting within himself, not to bolt and fight to her side.
Saballa was standing directly at the foot of the dais, addressing Tranthra' Joh in low tones, then turned to Javin and Sauros as they were moved up in front of the throne.
Sauros ignored Tranthra' Joh and focused his eyes on Mouhra' Lah. She, in turn, was gazing back at him, tears starting to streak her cheeks.
Javin glanced back over his shoulder to the archway, then back to Tranthra' Joh.
"I see you're interested in our little death machine," Trantha' Joh said.
"You don't know what it is, I see," Javin replied.
Saballa's eyes narrowed at Javin and he took a half step forward.
"Pretty brave when I'm tied up," Javin said to Saballa.
Saballa half-drew his knife before Tranthra' Joh held up his hand.
"Not now, Saballa. We'll let the machine have him . . . unless he decides to urge the Princess to cooperate."
I see today is the day for the blackmail play, Javin thought, turning to stare at the archway again. There was something about it . . .
"You see," Tranthra' Joh continued, standing on the dais. "This little machine here will kill whoever steps through it. It might not look like much, but whoever steps through never returns."
Tranthra stepped down and moved behind them to stand by the archway. He rested his hands on its side and focused his attention on the Princess.
"It makes a horrible noise when they step through. I'm sure there's a great deal of pain. But of course, the choice is yours."
The princess held up her chin, but looked directly at Sauros' Bho, as if trying to communicate with him without words.
"If you agree to my . . . proposal," Tranthra' Joh continued, ignoring the play between the princess and Sauros, "then your prince, here will be set free. He'll be able to return to his own country, and you'll be assured he'll be safe."
Tranthra turned back to look at Sauros. "But if you don't agree, right now, then I'll have no choice but to have him step through."
Javin noticed in the back of his brain there was no mention of him, though he had no doubt he would be put through the death machine also. Probably first to apply some extra leverage and show Tranthra’ Joh was serious. Something told him that might not be so bad. An idea was forming in the back of his mind. He stared hard at the archway. There was a subtle change occurring that apparently no one else was noticing. The crystal in his breast started to warm.
"No!" Sauros shouted and launched himself at Tranthra' Joh, his arms still bound behind his back. They collided and Tranthra' Joh was sent sprawling. Javin could tell that Sauros had tried to angle his collision in such a way as to push Tranthra’ Joh through the archway, but it hadn’t worked. Tranthra’ Joh had moved just enough. Sauros had nearly fallen through himself, but instead topped to the ground in front of the frame.
Javin snapped out of his thoughts and knew he'd better act quickly or his half-formed plan would be useless.
“Don’t do it!” Sauros yelled to Mouhra’ Lah as guards surrounded him with their long blades. “He’ll kill me anyway, he can’t let me go!”
The princess held out her arms but was forced back.
Saballa drew his knife and stepped forward while Tranthra’ Joh was climbing back to his feet with the help of two guards.
Javin was left to himself that moment. Sauros had been pushed back just in front of the arch. Saballa was intent on murder. Tranthra’ Joh didn’t appear in any mood to stop it.
Javin took two running steps and kicked out with his right leg, catching Saballa in the temple. Saballa went down. Javin hoped it was for good. He was just enough off balance with his arms bound he wasn’t able to put full force behind the kick. His guards came out of their stupor and drew their blades and rushed at him. He didn’t turn to face them. Instead, he called to the Princess.
“Stick to your guns! We’ll be back!”
Javin had landed in front of Sauros, who was staring down at him in surprise.
“Trust me,” Javin said and he pushed forward into Sauros’s bulk. Together they fell through the now shimmering arch.
***
Thunder filled the room and a great mournful howl, like the sound of a gale whipping through a deep canyon shrilled until it died off into silence. The room was still. Mouhra’ Lah stood shivering at the affect the sound had produced. Then shock set in. Sauros was gone!
Fresh tears gleamed at the corners of her eyes. She bit them back. Her eyes set on Tranthra’ Joh, who came forward, visibly shaken, but trying to compose himself in front of his men. She noticed with satisfaction two guards lifted Saballa to his feet and hauled him out of the room. She didn’t know if he was dead, but if so, it was no more than he deserved.
“Quite a show,” Tranthra’ Joh said. “In the end, it changes nothing.”
“On the contrary, it changes a great deal,” the pr
incess answered. She gave him a stinging smile. “You no longer have any hold over me.” Though her heart was bursting she held fast to her duty and her anger. She needed to be strong for her city. Mourning could come later. Sauros had been killed over this! I can’t let his death be in vain.
“Again, I refuse your proposal. And again, I demand you submit for arrest!” She turned to the guardsmen in the room. “Your leader is a traitor. I command you to take him into custody. I’m your princess. Don’t let him do this. Clemency is granted to all who obey me now.”
There was silence. For just a moment she thought they might obey, then she realized as Tranthra’ Joh’s smile spread across his face, these were all his men. Whatever he’d done to win them to him was stronger than anything she could give.
“You’re wrong, princess.” Tranthra’ Joh stepped forward and ran a caressing hand down her cheek. She flinched at his touch and he laughed. “I do have a hold over you. Even though your prince is gone,” he glanced back over to the arch that appeared just as inert as before, “Your sister . . .”
Mouhra lurched unsteady on her feet. Her guards grasped her arms and held her up. He can’t know where she is. She has to be safe!
“I see you realize my meaning. As soon as she is located, I will have no more need of you. Then she will have the honor of being my bride.”
Relief! He doesn’t know where she’s hidden. He might eventually find her given enough time.
“She will not accept you any more than I.” I’ve got to figure something out before he finds her! “Duty is strong in my family . . . at least my immediate family.”
“Oh? We’ll see. From what I remember, she’s young enough to be pliable. Especially when she knows her choices are either to marry me, or see her older sister die in a most horrible way.”
Mouhra’ Lah held her voice steady. “That will never happen.” Her heart, however, was shrinking. Too much was happening, and she had no control over any of it. Sauros, my love. She glared at the archway in the center of the room. I can’t let his death count for nothing!