by Jamie Davis
“What are we looking for?” Cari asked.
Her mom looked around and shrugged. “It’ll depend on a lot of things. Just search for something that doesn’t look like it belongs, like a seam or crack in the wall, or a mark on the floor that might show where a secret door scraped against the tiles.”
Helen, Francesca, and Percy remained in the center of the room with Jaycee, the three dragoons spread out to check the walls along with Rodrigo. Cari and her parents spread out on the opposite side of the chapel and began searching the walls there.
They searched all along the plaster walls for at least ten minutes but found nothing. Cari ran her hands along the wall in front of her. It all felt the same as the rest.
The walls were painted white plaster, with no visible seams anywhere. She found it hard to believe there was some sort of door to be found there.
“Could these walls have been plastered after the opening was built?” Cari asked. “There’s no way there wouldn’t be a seam or something visible otherwise.”
“I suppose that’s possible,” her mom said. “Kareena said she never went into the tunnel.”
Chance shook his head. “This plaster is old, as old as the building itself if I’m correct. It’s been painted recently, but it’s been here a long time.”
“Maybe the entrance is outside somewhere next to the building like the basement entrance we used to escape into the sewers a few days ago,” Rodrigo suggested.
Cari knew they didn’t have much time to waste. They’d already taken too long. Still, if they went outside and were seen searching around the exterior of the chapel, it would cause the residents here to send for help, if they hadn’t already. Cari shook her head. “Save that as a last resort, Rod. I have to think the entrance is in here, somewhere. We’ll have to go over the walls again.”
“What about the floor?” Her dad said. He pointed at the tiles on which they stood. Cari glanced down. The floor was covered in a mosaic of tiles forming patterns and arranged in panels of various images displayed in the intricate tile work. She walked along, retracing her steps when she first entered the chapel. She examined the tile images depicted at her feet. The first one showed a knight on horseback charging a dragon with his lance lowered before him. The next one in the row of mosaic panels along the center aisle depicted what looked like some sort of magic user or wizard, judging from the staff he wielded. Lightning played outward from the end of the staff. Below the mage, a group of enemies cowered. She walked forward towards the altar to the third and final scene depicted in the tiles. In that image, a king knelt in front of a throne. A robed man placed a crown on his head.
“Here,” Cari said. She pointed down at her feet. “It’s got to be here. The others came over and stood around the scene set in the tile.
“Why do you think it’s this one?” Her mother asked.
“Because the other two scenes on the floor depict things happening outside and seem to be sort of random depictions of heroic individuals. This one, though, shows a king kneeling to be crowned. It’s not anything like the others.
“Maybe it’s not a king,” her dad said. “Maybe it’s an emperor.”
Cari smiled. That clinched it. It had to be underneath here. Now they just had to figure out how to open it. “Look around for an access point, or a button, lever, or something like that.”
While the others looked along the edges of the eight-foot-wide mosaic set in the floor, Cari knelt down in the center of it and ran her fingers across the image of the Emperor. The tile was so expertly set, she could barely feel a seam between the individual tiles beneath her fingertips. They were cut in such a way as to fit like a puzzle against each other.
As she ran her hands across the floor in the center of the image, she felt a slight ridge around the circle of the emperor’s crown. She reached down with her fingertips again, running them across the floor and over the crown again. Everything was smooth until she reached the crown. It was raised just a fraction of an inch above the other tiles.
Cari pressed down on the crown.
Nothing happened.
That made sense, though. You wouldn’t want to door randomly opening when someone stepped on it. Cari tried something else. She drew her dagger and tried to wedge the point in at the edge of the crown along one of the low ridges.
After a little bit of careful work, she worked the tile free from the mosaic and lifted it up. It was about the size of her palm. There, beneath the crown, was a metal ring. Cari reached out and hooked her fingers into the ring. She took a deep breath and turned it. It took a little effort, but she managed to twist it ninety degrees clockwise until she felt a click.
Skill acquired — Find Secret Doors
5,000 experience awarded
The sound of stone grating on stone drew her attention towards the altar just a few feet away from the kneeling emperor. The carved marble altar slid back towards the rear wall of the chapel. It revealed a rectangular opening leading downward. Metal rungs set into the stone walls of the shaft formed a ladder descending to the bottom.
“I think you found it,” her dad said with a smile. He started down into the shaft beneath the altar. “I’m the only one here who has the ability to see in the dark. I’ll go first and check it out. I’ll let you know when it’s clear.”
Cari wasn’t going to argue with him. But she reached into the pack on her back and pulled out the small travel lantern she had there. Her mother had a similar idea. Mona took a cylinder about the size of a small flashlight from her utility belt. She shook it vigorously for a few seconds then flipped open the brass cover on one end. A bright yellow glow shined out from the end of the tube. Mona smiled. “It’s a reusable glow stick. Your father recharges it with magic from time to time. You shake it to activate it just like the glow sticks back home. You can use it ten times before it needs a recharge.”
Cari opened her mouth to say something, but her mother interrupted her. “Let me guess. You want one of these, too? Let’s wait until we get this mission done and we’ll talk about what I have that you might want.”
Her father called up from the bottom of the shaft. “This definitely leads in the direction of the palace. I can’t see to the end of the shaft, but it leads straight in that direction as far as I can see. Come on down.”
Cari climbed down the rungs of the ladder. Rodrigo followed her, then Mona and Jaycee. The others followed until Chance came down to bring up the rear. He cast his magical light spell from the back of the group. Between that, her lantern, and her mother’s chemical flashlight, they had enough light to see the horizontal shaft heading towards the palace in the distance. Cari used her Earth Sense and map overlay of the city above to verify this headed in the right direction.
Her dad led the way a good ten to fifteen feet in front of the group. Cari sped up so she could catch up with him, but her mother laid a hand on her arm holding her back. “His dark vision ability won’t work if there’s another light around. Sometimes he can see things in that light spectrum that we can’t see. Let him go first in case there are traps that need to be disarmed.”
Cari slowed a little, letting her father stay in the lead as they walked through the ten-foot-wide passage leading to the palace. Part one of their plan was successful.
Chapter 39
Cari followed the progress through the tunnel on her heads-up map display using her Earth Sense skill with the street map of the city laid over top of it to track their position. She saw they traveled in a nearly straight line from the Eighth Canal District to the palace.
Right below where the palace should be, the passageway ended in a shaft leading upward. It was similar to the one they climbed down in the chapel with rungs set in the stone of the shaft.
“Who goes first?” Cari asked. “Did Kareena show you exactly where this opened into the palace?”
Her mom shook her head. “All she told me, was it opened somewhere near our apartments next to the royal apartments that housed her family. There are several rooms near our
s that were always unoccupied when we stayed in the palace. My guess is, it opens into one of those.”
“No time like the present to find out,” her dad said. He grabbed ahold of one of the rungs and started climbing, disappearing into the dark vertical shaft above. Cari stood below, looking up.
She couldn’t see anything beyond the first ten feet or so. There was the sound of movement as her father continued to climb, then he must’ve reached the top.
Hal called down the shaft to those below. “There’s a mechanism here to unlatch the door, but either it’s broken or there’s something on top of it. I can’t seem to open it from below.
“If there something set on top of it like furniture, it’s going to be difficult to move. We need some way to shift it or move it to the side,” Cari said. A grunt came from behind her and Thad shuffled forward, sliding around the others as he came up from the rear of the group. “Tell your father to come down, I’ll go up and try.”
Cari looked at the orc’s thick, muscular arms and nodded. “Dad, come back down. Let Thad have a try. He’s the strongest.”
Hal climbed down and backed up against the wall to make room for the orc. He disappeared up into the darkness. A few seconds later, a series of grunts came from the shaft as Thad tried to shift whatever was on top of the door out of the way.
All of a sudden, there was a muffled crash and a square of light appeared at the top of the shaft about twenty-five feet up from where she stood. Thad climbed up into the opening, disappearing from view. If he ran into trouble, he was going to need help.
Before her father could lead the way, Cari jumped forward and started climbing up the ladder. When she got to the top, she found herself in a large bedroom. There was a canopy bed against the far wall and next to the trapdoor in the floor, a tall chest of drawers had toppled over onto its side. The floor was polished hardwood and looked like the seams of the trapdoor matched up perfectly with the wooden floor when closed. If you didn’t know this opening was there, you’d never realize that you’d set furniture on top of it. Thad was by the door. His ear pressed up against it.
“Hear anything?” Cari asked.
“No. It’s silent on the other side.”
“Let one of us check the hallway on the other side,” Cari said. “People will be curious as to why am armed orc was sneaking around the palace halls. One of us might just appear to be a visiting guest for the coronation.”
Her parents had climbed up into the room and the rest soon followed. The room was suddenly very crowded
“Mom, you said this is probably near our family apartments in the palace. Why don’t you and dad step out into the hallway on the other side and get an idea of where we are in relation to the rest of the palace.”
Her mom nodded, and Hal pulled the door open. The two of them stepped outside. She kept the door open a crack watching for her parents’ return as they disappeared down the hallway to her left.
They returned less than two minutes after they left. “The coast is clear,” her dad said. “There’s no sign of anyone.”
“I think everyone has been assembled for the coronation,” Mona said. “There are no servants anywhere in this part of the palace right now.”
“We have to hurry,” Cari said. “We can’t afford to be late to the ceremony. This is where it gets a bit hairy, folks. Stefan should be in position with Harley. Their forces will be disguised to mix with the crowds in the square outside the palace. Liam, what about your friends?
“The Dragoons will be disguised and dispersed amidst the crowd in the grand audience hall. The Duke filled it with as many of the people from the city as can fit. They want this witnessed by everyone so the word spreads quickly. The commoners will be near the back with the invited guests and dignitaries seated in rows at the front of the hall. Between my people inside and Stefan’s and Harley’s outside, we should be able to break open the palace doors and get everyone inside to assist inside the grand audience hall.”
“Good, that’s what we want. The more people from outside we can get in with us the better. We want all of this witnessed so people can tell how Jaycee was revealed to be the true heir and crowned Empress in front of them.” Cari smiled at the young princess. “Ready, Jaycee?”
The wide-eyed little girl nodded.
“Good, then let’s get going. Everyone knows what they need to do and who they need to watch out for. We’re only going to have one chance to make this work.”
Hal and Mona led the way, guiding them through the palace. They were right, it was deserted. Even the servants must be in attendance at the coronation. They walked through the corridors of the residential portion of the palace until her parents stopped them.
Hal pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. “These lead to the rest of the palace. It’s unlikely this area will be deserted. We’re going to have to move fast from here on out.”
Cari nodded. “Open it. Let’s get this done.”
Cari followed her parents through the doors, readying herself for trouble.
They encountered a small group of guards almost immediately. The four men were surprised as they marched down the hall in their direction on what must be a routine patrol of the palace. They carried muskets and as soon as they saw the approaching party, leveled them and prepared to fire.
Mona pulled something from her belt, reacting sooner than everyone else to the threat. She had what looked like a pistol with a boxy end rather than a round barrel in her hand and pointed it in the direction of the guards.
When she pulled the trigger, an expanding transparent wall flew out of the end of the pistol, spreading out until it adhered to the walls in front of them. It locked into place just as the guards fired their muskets.
“Duck,” Cari yelled. Others crouched or moved against the walls. Francesca and Helen, along with Percy, crowded around Jaycee using their bodies to shield her from the incoming fire.
They needn’t have worried. The transparent shield her mother put across the hallway stopped the bullets. When they impacted, they fractured the surface of the hardened plastic leaving a spiderweb pattern around the impact points. As soon as the rounds impacted the wall, Mona pulled something else from her belt. It was a tiny hammer with a conical, pointed end. She reached up and tapped the hammer against the center of the transparent barrier and the plastic wall shattered into tiny squares that fell to the floor.
The guards dropped their muskets and drew their swords, charging forward. The three Dragoons pushed past Cari and her parents and charged into the advancing the guardsmen. Despite being three against four, the Dragoons made short work of them and beckoned for Cari and the others to follow. They knew exactly where they were at this point. After all, they had been the Empress’s personal guards at one time.
The group started to advance down the wide corridor when an even larger group of the Duke’s guards entered from a side passage. There must’ve been at least fifteen of them.
Liam shouted over his shoulder as the three Dragoons charged the party of guards, “Find another way around. We’ll hold them. Go!”
Cari wanted to stay and help them. She knew, however, she and the others had more important things that needed doing.
Her dad pointed back the direction from which they came. “There’s another way. Follow me.”
The group turned around. Rodrigo and Francesca moved to the back and brought up the rear in case the Duke’s guards broke through their three friends holding the hallway behind them.
Hal led the way back down the hallway to a side passage. Turning to the left, he took them along it for a short distance before pausing to make sure they’d all caught up.
Cari’s mom asked, “isn’t this the way to the Palace kitchens?”
“Yes, I used to go this way when I was getting a midnight snack. We should be able to cut through the kitchens to the service hallway that leads directly to the grand audience hall. That’s how they would bring food to Kareena when she was holding cour
t. Those sessions lasted many hours and she often snacked while on the throne.”
After they proceeded a little bit farther down the narrow hallway, Cari heard the sounds of voices and the clattering of dishes and utensils. The corridor opened up into a large kitchen.
Cooks and servants rushed around preparing the coronation dinner. Everything had to be ready to serve as soon as the events in the audience hall were completed.
The appearance of a group of armed intruders stopped everyone in their tracks.
Her father smiled at the assembled servants. “No need to worry about us, folks. We’re just passing through. You can get back to work. We’ll be hungry and want to eat when all this is done.”
They continued along the side of the kitchen where pantry shelves lined the walls. Cari couldn’t help but laugh as her dad reached up and grabbed an apple from a bin at shoulder height and started munching it as he moved along through the kitchen.
They almost reach the far end of the extended kitchen and bakery area and the passage heading out the other side when shouts came from behind them. More of the Duke’s guards burst into the kitchen from the same entrance they’d used.
Cari wasn’t sure what that meant for the Dragoons who been blocking the hallway. She hoped her friends were all right.
“Go on,” Rodrigo called out. “Francesca and I will hold them here. Do what you’re here to do!”
Cari wanted to stay and help them. The six guards pointed their way and charged across the kitchen in their direction forcing her decision.
They had to get out of here and into the audience hall. Their only goal had to be getting Jaycee away from here and to the coronation ceremony before Timron was crowned.
Her dad and mom ran through the open doorway at the far end of the kitchen, followed by Percy, Helen, and Jaycee. Cari glanced backward one last time.
Rodrigo smiled at her as he and Francesca drew their pistols. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”
Cari smiled back and then left her friends standing there guarding her back once again.