by Andi Van
“Okay,” Kelwin agreed. “But be careful. You may be harder to hurt, but you’ve only recently recovered and none of us want anything to happen to you.”
Yldost gave him a quick smile and nodded, gesturing for Jorget to move out of the way. They opened the door slowly and stepped outside. They heard a shout of “Stop where you are!” and three distinct thuds immediately after.
Yldost poked their head back in and gave them a grin. “It’s clear.”
When they were in the hall, Jorget pointed in the direction of the three guards sprawled on the floor. “That way, to the end. To the left, there’s a stairway leading down to a heavy wooden door. There’s usually a guard posted there, but he would have heard the shout, so maybe there’s not someone there now. Inside that door is the dungeon itself. I say we run. The quicker we’re out of here, the better, and there’s not another hallway down that route for someone to step out of.”
“Good,” Zaree said. “I’m with you, then. We run for it.”
“Let me go first,” Yldost said. Then they broke into a run, the others on their heels.
They made it to the end of the hallway, feet pounding the stone floor, and charged down the stairs. Without hesitation, Yldost threw open the door and caught the five guards waiting there by surprise. The dragon growled something under their breath, and the guards fell to the ground.
Zaree charged past him. “Get in here and shut the door,” she hissed at the others, heading straight for the first cell and the bewildered man standing at the bars. His face was a mess, and it looked like his nose might have been broken, but he was still unmistakable.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Reikos asked.
“Saving your ass,” Zaree said. “Obviously. Where are the others?”
Reikos pointed to the back of his cell, and Zaree could make out Shan, his face in even worse shape, slouched against a wall. “He’s knocked out,” Reikos said. “Those five assholes on the floor kept pulling us out to beat on us.”
“The others are over here,” Kelwin called from the opposite end of the room.
Zaree turned to look at him and saw Falcon staring at Reikos as if she’d seen a ghost. “What is it?”
“Who is she?” Reikos asked, finally taking his eyes off Zaree.
“A former princess of Archai,” Zaree said. “By about a millennium. Falcon, what’s the matter?”
Falcon moved up to the bars, peering intently at Reikos’s face. “Who are you really? Why do you look just like my older brother?”
Chapter 13
ZAREE WAS coming to realize that Falcon was stubborn. Incredibly stubborn, to the point of being unmovable when she really put her foot down. It had taken every bit of persuasion for her to convince the harpy that Reikos was a friend, and that her bloodline had been around for a very long time, so of course she was bound to see at least one person with features she might recognize, given how family lines had merged in various ways while she’d been underground. She eventually asked Falcon if she’d mind helping Jorget search the unconscious guards for keys, which Falcon had done grudgingly. The only problem with that plan was that it had left her alone with Reikos, and she wasn’t sure she was prepared for that.
“So that’s the same Falcon who nearly killed us in the mountain?” Reikos asked when Falcon had stepped far enough away.
“She got better,” Zaree said, giving him a look. “Seriously, Yldost has restored her mind, but she’s been out of the loop for so long it makes my head spin. Give her a break. She’s still adjusting.”
“If you say so.” Reikos clearly didn’t believe her, but Zaree let it go. “Yldost is…?”
“Denekk didn’t tell you?” Zaree asked. That was a surprise. She figured Denekk passed everything on.
Reikos shook his head. “He’s been kind of standoffish. I think he realized he was under scrutiny and didn’t want to risk giving something away.”
That made sense. Denekk would never have wanted them to be dragged into a mess with him. And yet there they were, hip-deep in it. “Yldost is a dragon,” she said, pointing to them. “They were what was locked in the box you guys came across.”
“He’s awfully big to have been in that box.”
“They.”
Reikos gave her a confused frown. “What?”
“They’re a they. Not a he.” She sighed deeply and shook her head. This probably didn’t bode well for the conversation they were going to have later. “Just go with it. It’s what they prefer, so there’s no need to make an issue of it. And they were smaller than Rin, in their dragon form, and nearly dead when we got them out of the box. And I’ve also grown extremely fond of them, so watch it.”
“Sorry,” Reikos said, holding up his hands. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
“I imagine so.” Zaree reached through the bars and put a hand on Reikos’s cheek, gently stroking his face. “Does it hurt?” She paused and gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. “Sorry, that was a stupid question. I suppose what I was trying to ask was if anything hurt badly enough that you thought something might be broken.”
“I knew what you meant,” Reikos reassured her, leaning into her touch and closing his eyes. It sent tingles down Zaree’s spine, and she reminded herself that now wasn’t the time for that. “No irreparable harm done. I don’t think my nose is broken, just swollen. The bruises will heal.” He hesitated, then reached through the bars to smooth Zaree’s hair away from her face. “I was worried about you. I was told the king left. Is that true?”
“Oh, it’s true,” Jorget said as he patted down a guard. The mood that had surrounded them was gone with that, and Zaree contemplated finding something to throw at him. She darted a glance over to Emlynn, and Em gave her a wince and an apologetic look. “We tried to contact Denekk with a mirror and were greeted by the horsefaced tyrant instead.” He paused, his eyes growing wide. “Wait a damn second, how in the Maker’s name did he answer a magic mirror? You have to be a magic user to make them work!”
“Denekk could have been with him,” Kelwin pointed out, “but ordered to stay silent or something. Or any of the other magic users he may have forced onto the ship. There are logical answers to it beyond the king secretly being a self-loathing magic user.”
Jorget let out a disappointed huff. “I suppose,” he said grudgingly before patting down another guard. “Ah-ha!” He held up a ring of keys triumphantly, a ridiculous grin on his face. “Found them!”
“Then get them out of these cells,” Zaree barked. “We need to get out of here. And before that, we need to check Shan over.”
“He’s been awake off and on,” Reikos said, looking over his shoulder at his prone friend. “He seems coherent. I think he’ll be okay, but I’m not sure how we’re going to get him out of here. Even if we get him out of the castle, he’s not in any shape to walk long distances.”
“I have a solution to that,” Zaree reassured him, stepping aside to let Jorget at the lock. Hopefully Mistral wouldn’t mind letting Shan ride her through the tunnel. Her gait was steady enough that she didn’t think it would jar him too badly, and Zaree supposed that if she had an issue with it, Yldost would probably be willing to take his other form and carry the man. She looked at the other three guards who had been freed from their prison. “What about the others?”
“They have families here,” Reikos told her with a shake of his head. “I’d rather not get them involved. If we can get them out, they should go get their families and leave.”
“Send them to Arin,” Kelwin suggested as Jorget finally found the key he needed and got the cell open. “Once we’ve left the castle, we need to contact him so he can go warn others of the king’s impending arrival. I’m not sure how Archai thinks he’s going to get onto the isle, but we have to try to stop him before he has the opportunity to test the barrier we put up. Especially given that we know he has at least one mage with him.”
“You cannot undo magic that someone else has done,” Yldost reminded
him, pushing past Jorget and Reikos to get to Shan. “He will not get far.” The dragon crouched and began to check Shan over, a frown of concentration on their face.
“You can’t undo it,” Emlynn agreed with a nod. “But that does not mean he won’t figure out a way to poke a hole in it. That is our concern.”
Reikos ignored them, standing in front of Zaree and taking one of her hands in his. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Did Denekk tell you about Tasis?”
“Only a little,” Reikos admitted. “He still hasn’t woken up?”
Zaree closed her eyes against the pain that particular question drove into her heart. “No,” she confirmed. “He’s still asleep. So is Rin.”
“So of course you’re not okay.”
“No,” Zaree said again, opening her eyes to look at him. “No, I’m really not.”
Without warning Reikos tugged Zaree close and wrapped his arms around her. It took a few seconds for her to relax, but when she did, she leaned against him heavily. She didn’t have to be strong for him like she felt she had to with Kelwin, and it was a relief to let go of that, even for a moment.
“This one will be fine,” Yldost said, standing. “I do not sense any permanent injury. We should all leave before we are discovered.”
“Falcon,” Kelwin said, turning to look at the harpy, who seemed more uncomfortable having so many people around her with every passing second. “Is there a way to get out of the castle without being seen? Just past the outer walls, if possible.”
“Of course there is,” Falcon told him. “Royalty has to protect itself against those who disagree with their rule. That means having escape routes, should those disagreements turn violent.”
“The problem is that the king will have put guards at the so-called secret escape routes,” Reikos said.
“I will know routes he does not,” Falcon answered confidently. “If any of them still exist I will be able to lead these men out. Let us compare what we know, yes?”
In the end, there were two possible routes that Reikos had no knowledge of. “I will take them,” Falcon said. “The rest of you should wait in the—” She cut herself off, giving those she didn’t know a sideways glance. “Where we will be exiting. I will meet you there. Too many of us in these halls will make things difficult.”
“She is correct,” Yldost agreed with a nod. “I will go with her, in case she runs into trouble. The rest of you will be okay?”
“It’s a relatively short walk,” Kelwin said. “I’m going to assume no other guards have wandered down here, or we’d be hearing it right now.”
“Repeat the spell for me,” Emlynn said to Yldost. “I want to be certain we’re prepared.”
“Which spell?” Jorget asked.
Zaree counted to five and took the time to remember it wasn’t Jorget’s fault he could get a little scatterbrained. It was part of his charm. Or so she told herself. “I’m guessing she means the spell that left bodies on the floor,” she said.
“Yes, that would be the one,” Emlynn said calmly. “And be nice, Zaree.”
“I should probably learn it too,” Jorget said. “The more people who know it, the better.”
That thought kind of terrified Zaree, if she were going to be honest with herself. On the other hand, she really didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings. “Well….”
“I believe this will suit Emlynn better,” Yldost said diplomatically. “I will be happy to teach it to you once the current crises are over, however. Will that suffice?”
“But….”
Zaree sighed. “The ceiling, Jorget.”
“Really?” Jorget spat. “How about you give me a break and let me live that down for once?”
“How about we agree not to fight amongst ourselves?” Kelwin interjected. “Jor, I’m well aware you can do it, but I also know you’re still learning to focus. You’ll notice I’m not asking to learn it, either.”
“You couldn’t,” Yldost said simply with a small shrug. “Your magic is different from theirs. There are probably books about it in the library. You will want to research that when time allows.”
“Fair enough. But even if I could, I still wouldn’t. I’d probably end up putting us to sleep instead.”
This seemed to soothe Jorget’s wounded ego, and the tension that had gathered in his shoulders disappeared. “Okay. Some other time, then.”
Yldost nodded and turned their attention to Emlynn. “The words you are looking for are sefil tor. Should you use them, imagine a heavy blanket covering those you intend the spell for.”
“Why?” Zaree asked, curious. Rin had never told Tasis to do something like that when they were training, as far as she knew.
“Visualization is important,” Yldost said, head tilting to one side as they considered the three magic users in front of them. “Has no one taught you that?” They paused, then shook their head. “Never mind. This is not the place for this conversation. For now, let us do what we need to do and leave.”
“Agreed,” Emlynn said. “We will see you there.” She looked at the others and gestured toward the door. “I will lead the way. Can someone carry Shan?”
“I’ll do it,” Reikos assured her. “They’ve taken my sword, so it’s not like I’d be able to fight even if we came across someone. Which means I definitely don’t need my sword hand free.” He went to his friend, picked him up, and carefully draped him over his shoulder. When he had Shan situated, he gave Emlynn a nod. “Ready when you are.”
They opened the door cautiously, and Zaree half expected to see an entire contingent of angry henchmen waiting for them. But the stairwell was empty. It made her nervous, and she wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was just because she was aware they had made a great deal of noise on their little trek through the dungeon. Someone had to have heard them, but no one came. The king couldn’t have possibly taken all his men, so there had to be more than just a handful they’d run into.
“I don’t like this,” she admitted quietly. “It’s too easy. Even if the king wasn’t a paranoid bastard, he’d leave more guards than this.”
“I agree,” Reikos said. “They’re up to something. Be careful. I have no doubt they know you’re here.”
They crept up the stone steps, peering around cautiously as they did. But all seemed clear, and after a moment’s hesitation they stepped into the hallway.
“We will be going that way,” Falcon told them, pointing to the stairs leading up across the hall. “Be safe. We must all return without injury.” She looked at Reikos and shrugged. “Or without any more injury, in some cases.”
“You be careful as well,” Zaree told her. “We’ll be waiting.”
Falcon gave her a nod and led the way up the stairs, Yldost and the three guards following close behind. At least Yldost was with her, which made Zaree feel a little better. They would make sure she didn’t get in over her head should they run across the king’s men.
“Come,” Emlynn said, turning to walk out the way they had arrived.
They shuffled down the hall as silently as possible and were nearly to the door into the furnace room when there was a ping behind them. Zaree had only a fraction of a second to recognize the sound before excruciating pain shot through her left shoulder. She looked down and was grateful to see that the crossbow bolt had not gone clear through. Unfortunately, that was the last clear thought she could focus on as the pain grew to enormous proportions. They’d clearly dipped the bolt in something, but whether it was poison or not, she couldn’t tell. And oddly enough, someone was screaming loudly. Had one of the others been hit as well?
Kelwin was at her side in an instant, catching her as her legs gave out and helping her to the floor. “Zaree, I’m sorry. I know you’re in pain, but I need you to stop screaming.”
That was her? She hadn’t even realized. No wonder her throat felt a little raw. She managed to stop screaming, but she couldn’t help letting out a whimper. She felt as if her entire left arm we
re on fire while being chewed on by a large animal.
“Are they down?” Kelwin asked. Zaree looked at him in confusion before realizing he wasn’t speaking to her. Instead, he was looking at Emlynn, who was standing in front of what appeared to be a small pile of bodies.
“They are,” Emlynn assured him. “I’m only sorry that I put them to sleep instead of killing them. We need to get Zaree to the tunnel. Thank the Maker you’ve got your pack with you.”
I hate to the bearer of bad news, but I believe the bolt may have been poisoned, Daro said. She’s in far more pain than she should be from a simple shoulder wound.
“It hurts,” Zaree agreed, wondering why her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. “Is my arm on fire? It feels like my arm’s on fire.”
“Definitely not a good sign,” Kelwin said under his breath.
“I’m going first,” Emlynn said, leaving the slumbering guards to step in front of the door. “Be ready.”
“You look tired,” Jorget noted. “Are you okay?”
“That spell is more exhausting than I expected,” she said. “I’ll be okay, but I don’t know if I can use it more than one more time.”
With that, she shoved open the door and came face-to-face with another handful of guards. “Ah, there he is,” one of them said. “The king’s bastard heir. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Zaree wondered why it was suddenly so quiet. She looked toward the door, from where she half lay on the ground with Kelwin, and saw that Reikos had gone with Emlynn. She wondered idly what he’d done with Shan. And then she realized her arm no longer felt like it was on fire. Instead, it felt as though it was completely gone. She looked over, her head having trouble moving for some reason, and saw her arm was still there. That was a little reassuring.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she told Kelwin, trying to give him a nod. Instead, her head lolled to one side. “Is it still there? I can’t feel it, and I’m pretty sure I can see it, but for some reason I feel strange, so I want to make sure I’m not imagining it.”