by A K Clark
Our mission to find Cora was the only reason Isaias and Theo met with those women. We were doing all of this for Cora. When the men headed to breakfast, Ilinor and I bathed before getting dressed.
“What?” I asked, scowling at her when she wouldn’t stop staring at me.
“Just wondering what’s gotten you into such a foul mood.” I didn’t respond, so she continued her thoughts out loud. “I dare say you’ve gotten yourself into quite the predicament. Not one, but two members vying for your attention.”
My movements slowed. I narrowed my eyes at her. “What do you mean?”
“Oh stop. I heard you and Isaias talking this morning. I saw the kiss,” she said, looking at me expectantly. I dropped my hands from the braid I’d been working on and glared at her. She threw her arms up in frustration.
“Relax, Alex. I’m here to talk to if you need it.” She smiled. “Which one is a better kisser?”
“Ilinor!” I admonished her.
To be honest, I couldn’t decide. They were so different. We went to breakfast, and pointless chatter filled the hours while we waited for the men to return.
“What should we do when we find Cora?” I asked Darrien. “Come on, give me your best ideas.”
Ilinor had gone with Nisus and Hyri to the market, leaving me alone with Darrien. I didn’t care to know where Taryn went. I was just happy he hadn’t felt the need to stick around all day.
“I have been thinking on a few ideas.” His eyes lit up as he told me. We sat together most of the day planning how we would help Cora. The best plan had been to escape to the woods and regroup. I paced the floor of our room, trying to think of a better plan.
The door snapped open to reveal Theo standing in the doorway. His eyes scanned over the two of us before sweeping over the empty room. We were in here alone. My cheeks reddened. He raised an eyebrow at me, giving Darrien a look that bordered on humor and exasperation.
“If I’m not interrupting anything, we have news. Meet us in the dining area.” He turned on his heel and strutted down the hallway, leaving the door open with the clear expectation we were to follow.
I jumped up and ran my hands over my clothes, straightening out the rumpled cloth. Darrien followed me to where everyone sat. Ilinor wiggled her eyebrows at me. I glared at her. After finding a seat, Theo and Isaias told us what they’d learned. My frown deepened with every word spoken. It was much worse than we’d expected.
32
“The only guards are stationed in front of the prison in the main corridor. The secondary one here…” Isaias ran his finger along the map he’d drawn “…isn’t guarded.”
“We’ll take the hidden entry and use the corridor linking the rooms,” Theo said. “This one is small. No one’s been taking care of it. There are no torch lights, the ground is uneven, and it’ll be near impossible to get everyone out using the hallway.” He traced the path of the smaller hall.
A room full of seers. Secreted away in an underground prison. How had they managed to keep them contained for so long without anyone noticing? Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The women Theo and Isaias met up with knew. Why hadn’t they done anything? Or found someone who could do something? Surely there were enough men in Larissa to overpower the guards.
Ilinor came in and took the seat next to me.
“The only way to get out of the tunnel is to go out the same way you came in or go through the prison room to the main corridor,” Isaias said.
“What about the other side of the tunnel? Is there another hidden entry?” I asked, eyeing their map.
“No,” Theo said. “We checked for another door, but it appears the tunnel ends on the other side.”
“Why have two tunnels?” Darrien asked.
“We think it might be a backup tunnel. In case of emergency or if the main tunnel collapses, people can still escape through the smaller one.”
“We didn’t go into the room; whoever put the seers in there used large stones to keep them locked in.”
“How do you know the seers are in there?” Ilinor asked.
“We heard them moving around. Besides, I believe the women who told us,” Theo said.
Ilinor snorted. “Forgive me if I doubt the word of a whore.”
“Ilinor,” I said, scolding her. She glared at me, sitting back and crossing her arms.
“It will be easy enough to move them,” Isaias said, pulling the focus from Ilinor’s statement. “It’s a security flaw, but it works to our advantage.” He scoffed. “I’m pleasantly disappointed by the lack of intelligence involved with guarding these seers.”
Darrien and I told them our escape plan. No one was happy with it but the alternatives weren’t any better. We couldn’t risk others’ lives by staying in Larissa. There was no choice but to run and hope we did so without violence.
“We’re going to have to deal with the guards somehow,” Isaias said. His grim expression told me how he thought we’d be dealing with them.
“We’ll do whatever we need to save our people,” Theo said. “Now is not the time to grow a conscience. Those guards are just as guilty as Constantine.”
“Constantine?” I asked. We hadn’t discussed who imprisoned our people.
“It appears this is our payback for the Great Persecution,” Theo said.
“Diocletianic?” I asked, using the formal name for the edict issued by the four emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius.
“Yes.” Isaias grimaced. “Those beseeching our gods were given a chance to return to their faith, but if they refused to denounce the Christian god, they executed them.”
I shivered at his words. The Great Persecution was a final effort to reclaim those lost souls and show them the error in their faith. Death came for those who didn’t comply with the edicts of Diocletian. Destruction befell their sacred churches when they refused to sacrifice to the gods and goddesses.
“Didn’t Constantius’s son end the persecution?” Darrien asked.
“He did. Constantine the Great, the one to blame for all of this, issued the Edict of Milan. He preaches religious tolerance and condemned the persecution of Christians.”
I’d seen Ewen exiled for being Christian, but Thad had been the first person I knew personally to convert. His vehement hatred for us was unsettling. Were other Christian hearts filled with such hatred and judgment? Had persecuting them led to our current situation?
“But why would he take our seers?” I asked, tracing a finger over a gouge in the table as I tried to piece it together.
“I’m not sure what he intends to do, but if we assume he is directing the rebels, I fear for us. He is powerful. With the right support and numbers…” Theo trailed off, letting our imaginations figure out the rest.
“Our friends tell us Larissa and other polises north of here have become more liberal in their religious beliefs,” Isaias said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There are several groups of people who no longer believe in the gods. They openly practice Christianity. They probably converted Thad during his training.”
“Are they as angry as Thad?” Darrien asked. I was grateful Chad had gone to the market with Hyri earlier and wouldn’t hear us talking about his brother.
Isaias shrugged at Darrien in answer. “I can’t say. While I don’t blame them if they are angry, it is misplaced anger. The Great Persecution was a long time ago. We no longer kill them or force our religion on them.”
“But we shun them,” I said. “Is that really any better?”
Darrien and Isaias studied me. I watched as they contemplated my question with grim faces. No, it wasn’t any better. We’d been an intolerant people. Now we faced the hatred we had bred.
“I think Alex and I should enter the theater together to prepare our people,” Isaias said. Before we freed them, we had to get the seers organized. We couldn’t expect them to follow us after one visit.
“Alex?” Darrien asked, his brows drawn in confusion.
In any other scenario, I would have hated his tone, but I agreed with him on this one.
“Are you sure I’m the best choice?”
“The seers need someone they can trust. Who better than their Pythia?” he said, and shrugged. “Besides, they won’t come with us without you. Two trained fighters? They’d think we were leading them to their deaths. With you there, you can share what you’ve seen. The people will follow you.”
I frowned at the continued reminder of my role in all of this. I was only the Pythia until we found Cora. Once she was back, I’d gratefully rescind the title. Isaias gave me a stern look, seeming to say get over it, as if he knew the reason for my disapproving frown.
“I’ll go,” I said. “Isaias’s plan makes sense. The seers will need someone to remind them of their faith.” I gave Isaias a hard look. “I would like it to be known I’m merely a stand-in. Once we rescue Cora and are free of this place, she will resume her place as Apollo’s Pythia.”
“Of course,” he conceded, relaxing into his chair.
I refused to allow myself to find any joy in our upcoming excursion together. Our current state of friendship, relationship, or whatever it was, frustrated me beyond belief. I hated how my heart clung to whatever was happening with him. I’d seen almost every side of him, whether it was rude, angry, happy, or solemn. He was passionate for his calling to lead and be a protector. I admired his commitment.
“Alex?” Darrien nudged my knee with his. I glanced up at the bemused face of Isaias. The look he wore made me want to slap him for whatever I’d done to make him smirk. Truth be told, the foolish woman within me was delighted to be on the receiving end of his smile. When had my reactions to him become so volatile? I forced myself to focus on Theo and Darrien, who wore similar looks.
“I’m sorry, what did you ask?” I directed the question to Theo, the one I didn’t have to worry about. I paled when Isaias cleared his throat and, for the sake of politeness, I turned toward him.
“I was saying,” he said, “we should probably get rest soon. We will have to leave in the middle of the night.”
“I’ll just grab a bite to eat and then head off.”
To his credit, he didn’t ask about what had distracted me, and he gave me a wide berth during dinner. Darrien was near but also gave me space which I was thankful for. I found myself immersed in conversation with Theo and Ilinor. Theo described all their discoveries in painstaking detail, allowing me to avoid any conversation with Isaias or Darrien until I escaped to the safety of the bed in our room.
We set out while the moon was still high, shining big and bright. A perfect moon for a rescue mission. Isaias donned a few weapons and a pack with supplies. Theo surprised me with a lingering embrace and a knife he’d bought in the market. I strapped the scabbard on and thanked him. I hoped I didn’t need to use it or the other blade I carried, but the cool metal brought me comfort.
“Use it when you have to,” he said, gripping my shoulder tightly.
“I will.” I would not be a victim. I’d worked hard to learn to protect myself.
Darrien pulled me aside once Theo released me, sweeping me up in a hug. He said nothing but the way he held me told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t comfortable with me going off with Isaias, and not because we had kissed the morning before. He still didn’t know, and I felt no obligation to tell him as we hadn’t solidified ourselves as partners.
No, Darrien was afraid to lose me before we grew into something concrete. The adoration I saw in his eyes when he looked at me told me as much. Their worry and my anxiety of finding Cora consumed my mind. My heart beat erratically as we moved through the dark, blending with the shadows and creeping along in the silence. We paused a few buildings away from the secret entrance. I took three deep breaths to calm the pounding in my chest.
“What’s wrong?” Isaias asked, whispering the words. The moonlight illuminated the lines of concern on his face. I took another deep breath before answering him.
“I’ll be fine.” I inclined my head toward the theater. “When do we go in?”
“At the next guard change. It should be within the hour. Once the guards switch, we will go into the tunnels and make our way toward the seers’ room. Two guards protect the main entrance, but Nix showed me a secret passageway into the room.”
I stifled my jealousy at the mention of the woman’s name. Now wasn’t the time to sort out my feelings toward Isaias. He could use his methods of seduction on whoever he chose. It didn’t bother me one bit. Liar.
Isaias led me to an alcove between two of the buildings, setting down the pack he was carrying. He’d also brought a torch to light when we entered the tunnels. We sat in companionable silence. Our bodies were hidden within the lingering shadows of night. Hues of deep blue and black colored the sky. We had plenty of time before the sun would give hints of its appearance.
Isaias tensed, his body going rigid when we heard the sound of approaching guards. We’d had little time to study the shift change, so we were lucky when the guards approached from the other side of the theater. I waited with bated breath, my mind threatening to spiral out of control as thoughts of what could go wrong pierced my concentration.
I pushed back at them, clutching my chest as I steadied my breath for the second time. I would be useless if I fell apart, leaving Isaias to gather the seers and lead them to their freedom. I needed to pull it together. I was strong. I could deal with this.
Sensing my apprehension, Isaias grabbed my hand and squeezed it. The small gesture did more to calm me than my own thoughts. How he understood my worries without me having to speak remained a mystery.
“We will make it.” His confidence in our success relieved my doubts. I banished them from my mind. We had a job and we would succeed. I would help save the seers, even if it led to my death. My mind cleared and I stood with more confidence. The Fates had created this path for me. Fearing it was foolish.
Isaias scooted closer when two guards who just ended their shift left the main entrance to make their way home. When they rounded the other side of the theater, I sucked in a breath. We had chosen our hiding spot well. I had counted past one hundred when Isaias stretched his arms above his head, shaking the stiffness from his body.
We slunk in the dark toward the theater. Ready or not, my life was about to change forever.
33
The moon provided plenty of light to find our way. Isaias slowed as we neared the entrance point hidden behind shrubs. It had been many years since someone used this doorway. The bushes were overgrown. Pushing through would leave us bleeding, stuck between branches, or otherwise injured. A gap at the bottom of the foliage left just enough space to crawl beneath. Isaias, ever the gentleman, went first. A small smile graced my lips when his curses reached my ears. The pack had gotten stuck and he struggled to free it from thorns.
Once he rescued the bag from the grasp of the points, he scrambled through the rest. He brushed himself off before peeking over the growth. I noticed several welts and lines of blood running down his face and neck. Suddenly going under didn’t seem much better than going through. It was pointless to draw it out, so I dropped to the ground. I crawled on my stomach, using my arms and feet to scoot forward. The same curses Isaias uttered soon came from my mouth when a thorn scratched me and tore my clothing. A small trickle of blood ran down my cheek when I stood.
Isaias waited for me to regroup before heading in. The tunnel we walked through didn’t allow enough room for us to walk side by side so Isaias led the way. Some spots were so narrow the only way to fit was to turn our bodies sideways and shuffle through.
“They did not intend these tunnels for regular use,” I muttered.
“They don’t maintain these like the main corridors. This is just a backup. You can see they didn’t reinforce it very well,” Isaias said, kicking away some loose rocks to prove his point.
He received the brunt of the few tumbles I ingloriously took as the ground shifted downward. He never complained
, though. The tunnel was darker than the night and we moved at a slow pace. We couldn’t afford any surprises or accidental injuries. Given our pace, it seemed we had been walking forever, but my mind knew better. The ground leveled when we came to the first door. They hadn’t blocked this one.
“This is the first of two rooms we have to go through to get to the seers’ room,” Isaias said before he pulled the door open. It groaned loudly in protest. We entered the room swiftly and shut the door just as fast, waiting in silence for a few painful moments. No guards came.
The corridors, dug out of the earth and reinforced with stones, were soundproof. I followed close behind Isaias as he moved toward the door across from where we entered. There were stacks of scrolls scattered in haphazard piles. I fought the urge to reach out and snatch one as a keepsake to help us remember our heroic act.
We exited the room in the same hurry we had entered it with. Thank the gods this door didn’t groan. We came out of the room into yet another tunnel just as the map had shown. We walked at the same sluggish pace, tripping and silently cursing as we struggled through the narrow path. I understood why they left the secondary doors unguarded. The passageways were enough trouble to deter any unwanted visitors.
We came to the door blocked with large stones. My stomach flipped in anticipation. In just a short while I’d see Cora again. Isaias used a knife to dig a hole to place the torch in. We set to work taking down the stones, placing them in the tunnel behind us. We wouldn’t be able to use the tunnel again unless we piled them back up against the door. I panted as we worked, beginning to feel trapped. It would take us just as long to clear the path again. The only other way out was through the guarded corridor.
When we got to the bottom of the pile, we had to move the large stones together. Movement came from the other side of the door and we stilled, listening for any sign of what might wait for us. Apollo, don’t let it be the guards. I took a few calming breaths. Isaias placed his hand on the door and looked at me.