Victory and Defeat: Book Five of the Restoration Series

by Williams, Christopher

  Hannah slowly regained some of her control; she still looked scared, but also a bit defiant.

  Angaria turned his back on the woman and began walking toward the temple. He didn’t look back to see if she followed; she simply had no other choice.

  Agminion moved closer as Angaria and the woman neared the temple walls. His sorcery should keep him from being spotted and, so far, he had not sensed any other sorcerers in the vicinity. It didn’t mean they weren’t there, though.

  The walls of the temple appeared to be made out of metal, but he knew that wasn’t actually true. The walls were actually made of enormous stone blocks with dwarven-forged metal posts lining the outside edge. The metal posts were magical and reinforced the strength of the wall.

  The duke and Hannah approached a section of the wall that had been built around a tree. The wall formed a small alcove allowing the tree to grow right up in the middle of the wall.

  Agminion paused and glanced at the tree. It wasn’t that old, surely not as old as the temple. Most likely the original tree had long since died and been replaced, possibly more than one time.

  Agminion reached the end of the small cobblestone street and stopped, unsure of what to do. The street that ran along the edge of the wall was quite wide and, coupled with the dark night, it made seeing the couple a tad difficult. He was still using sorcery to hide himself and that alone allowed him to make out the couple. On the other hand, he couldn’t venture out until the duke and Hannah were out of sight; his sorcery kept him hidden, but if he crossed the street, they would surely notice him.

  He stopped and knelt down in the shadows of the alley entrance. It shouldn’t be long before he could cross the road and follow them along the temple walls.

  Agminion’s forehead creased in confusion as he watched Duke Angaria and Countess Lells enter the small alcove and move behind the trunk of the tree. He strained to see what they were doing, but even with his sorcery-enhanced senses, he could just barely make them out. They seemed to be standing there in the shadows, and then they were gone.

  Chapter 25

  Hannah paused in the shadow of the tree and waited patiently while Angaria moved close to the temple wall. All along the tops of the metal posts ran a line of dwarven runes; they were placed high up and would be difficult for a person to touch by accident. He moved his hands quickly, perhaps with the hope that Hannah wouldn’t be able to follow, but in this he was wrong. She took careful note of the three runes that Angaria touched, as well as the order. If this secret was being entrusted to her, then she wanted the full benefit of the knowledge.

  As soon as his hand pressed the third rune, a small narrow door slid silently open, revealing darkness beyond. Angaria turned and noticed Hannah watching him. He knew she had seen the manner in which the door had been opened. He took a deep breath, wondering if perhaps the countess’s value was quickly coming to an end. He almost wished the high priest would order her death. That gave him pause, though. If Hannah was of no more use, then perhaps he wasn’t of any more use, either.

  Angaria took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

  Hannah followed him slowly, hesitantly. Her hands were out in front of her, and she could feel that Angaria had stopped just inside the door. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” Angaria said in a soothing voice. “Step in and close the door so we can have some light.”

  Hannah didn’t reply, but she did step out of the doorway and pulled the door closed. Immediately, the room lit up. The light didn’t come from any particular source; it just seemed to be all around them. Hannah shivered when she realized it was a magic light. She was still blinking in the sudden light when she noticed Angaria smirking at her. “I doubt you were so assured of yourself the first time you made this journey.”

  Surprisingly the comment did not anger the duke; instead he just smiled and bowed his head.

  Hannah glanced around at the tiny room. It was no more than three feet wide by about another six feet long. Everything was made of stone — the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. There didn’t seem to be anyway out. “Another secret door?” she asked.

  “No,” Angaria said, and moved away from the door to the far end of the room; it only took him a couple of steps to reach the far wall. He stopped, reached down, and grasped a piece of rope and pulled it. A small section of the floor folded up and back, revealing a wooden trap door. “We’re in a hollow section of the wall,” Angaria said. “We go down and follow a tunnel toward the center of the temple.”

  “And then?”

  “Then,” Angaria said with a smile, “we climb.”

  Angaria descended the wooden ladder first, followed quickly by Hannah, who pulled the trap door closed behind her. The ladder was sturdy and looked well tended to, and the descent wasn’t far, maybe fifteen feet. When she reached the bottom, Hannah readjusted her dress and turned around. She gasped, unable to conceal her surprise; they were no longer alone.

  A guard stood on each side of the small room. Both wore heavy armor but no helmets, and they had long swords strapped to their belts. Their weapons and armor were pristine, and they stood at rigid military attention. Both men watched them intently.

  Angaria smiled at her surprise. “Do not worry. These are some of the high priest’s personal guard. We can’t leave a hidden door unwatched. Can we?”

  Hannah nodded, but she did not return the smile. She did not like being surprised or showing her anxiety in front of commoners. Angaria’s smile grew, and she got the unmistakable feeling that he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “Follow me then,” Angaria said. Without another word, he turned and headed down the tunnel.

  Up until that moment, Hannah hadn’t really paid any attention to the long tunnel. She had been rather unnerved by the sight of the two men in armor, but now she took the time to look at it better. The tunnel ran off into the distance, it took a moment but Hannah got her bearings and realized the tunnel was running up toward the temple. Like this small room where the guards waited, the tunnel was well lit without any signs of the lighting source. Angaria had already progressed a fair way down the tunnel. Hannah cast one more look at the two young guards, and then hurried after him.

  Hannah and Angaria walked in silence, with him in the lead. As the Golden Square was rather large, the tunnel was quite long and narrow, being no more than three feet wide. The ceiling was sloped with the highest point being the exact center of the tunnel; the ceiling just cleared Angaria’s head.

  Hannah’s nervousness and excitement grew with every step. She had met the high priest on several occasions, but only in public events, never in the temple. While her information was important, it would not do to step out of line. Once again, the fear that her usefulness was over occurred to her and she just managed not to sigh. Surely, she had done the right thing. Surely the church would not forget her service.

  Angaria stopped walking and Hannah bumped into him. “Be careful!” he hissed over his shoulder.

  Hannah looked up; she hadn’t even realized she had been watching the floor as they walked.

  The tunnel came to an abrupt end in an unadorned stone wall. A ladder ascended far above their heads and was lost in the murkiness. A support attached the ladder to the wall every five or six feet. The ladder shaft was lit but still rather dim.

  “How long of a climb is that?” she asked.

  “It is not far, and it will not take us long unless you need to stop to rest.”

  Hannah’s chin came up a bit at that; she was not so old that she couldn’t climb a ladder. “Lead on,” she said coolly.

  Angaria didn’t reply, instead he just began the long climb. Hannah followed on his heels, determined to not fall behind. The climb was long and tedious, as the only thing for her to look at was the plain stone walls of the shaft, or Angaria’s butt above her head. She chose to look at the walls. The climb wasn’t overly hard, but it was made a bit more difficult by her dress. Her legs began to burn, and her b
reathing became fast and ragged, but she refused to slow down.

  A noise made her look up, and she nearly cried at the sight of Angaria opening a small door in the side of the shaft. He stepped off the ladder, and she hurried to follow. Her legs were shaking and she was also breathing through her mouth so as to remain quiet; she didn’t want to be wheezing in front of either Angaria or Dalin Olliston.

  Hannah stepped through the door into a small room. It was dark, and she tried to wipe the sweat off her face with her arm. She didn’t want to touch her face with her hands as her hands were now quite dirty. Angaria moved to close the door, and Hannah was slightly mollified to see that he, too, appeared sweaty and out of breath.

  Angaria stopped in the light of the shaft and put a finger to his lips, then he pushed the door shut and plunged them into darkness.

  The dark was not total, though. There were several thumbnail-sized holes in the wall, which were brilliantly lit by the room beyond. The light from the holes blinked out as Angaria moved closer and looked through. He paused only for a moment and then there came the sound of the latch being thrown. The door swung outward onto another small room, this one occupied by three more of the high priest’s guards. In the light that spilled in through the suddenly opened door, Hannah saw the lever, that controlled the door was built into the wall.

  They stepped into a decent-sized waiting room. It was tastefully decorated with several tapestries covering the stone walls and two niches that each contained a small golden statue of the god Adel. A row of chairs sat to their left, just in front of a door. Off to their right was a small desk where one of the guards was sitting. The other two guards stood beside another door, and Hannah thought this had to be the entrance to Dalin’s study.

  At their entrance, the seated guard jumped to his feet, looking surprised. He had the appearance more of a secretary than a soldier. He recovered himself quickly and bowed his head to Angaria. “Greetings, my good duke. We were not expecting you.”

  Angaria clasped his hands together. “I have urgent news that cannot wait. Please inform him that I must see him.”

  There was a slight pause, and then the man bowed his head once more. “Wait here. I will return momentarily.” He disappeared between the guards and through the door.

  Hannah looked at Angaria and she opened her mouth to ask about them not being expected. She guessed that Angaria made this journey often, but he must come here on a schedule and rarely unannounced. Angaria stopper her with a look; its meaning was obvious, Remain silent! As she was rather nervous, it didn’t even occur to her the manner in which Angaria had silenced her.

  The guard returned through the door and stopped just in front of the two guards. “He will see you.”

  Angaria nodded. He pulled a short knife and a much longer one from within his clothes and placed them on the table, then he stepped forward and held his arms straight out to the side. The guard began rummaging through the duke’s clothes. He spent several moments and then he nodded. Angaria lowered his arms and stepped between the guards.

  “Your turn,” the guard said, staring at Hannah.

  Her chin came up again, but she stepped forward and held her arms out like Angaria had done. Not only did the man search through her clothes, but he even searched up underneath them. Hannah glanced at the man and realized that he was not taking pleasure in searching her; he was just doing what was necessary to keep the high priest safe.

  At long last the guard stepped back and nodded at her.

  Hannah stepped between the guards, and Angaria opened the door and they stepped through.

  Hannah’s heart was beating fast and her mouth had gone dry; being this anxious was not something that she was used to. She kept her eyes down as she closed the door behind them.

  “This had better be important,” a voice said.

  Hannah raised her eyes and looked around. The room was a square and the walls were made of some unremarkable dark-wood paneling. Overflowing bookcases covered three of the four walls. A fireplace was centered on the wall directly ahead. Directly beside the fireplace were two windows, and then a bit farther out on the wall were two doors; the doors were open to let the night air in and a balcony was visible. Dalin Olliston sat in a thickly padded chair between the fireplace and a large desk. There were several more chairs scattered around the room, intended for guests. A small side table was open and contained glasses and what appeared to be several bottles full of alcohol.

  Dalin’s eyes came to rest on her, and Hannah was immensely proud of herself for not flinching. He studied her for a moment, but his face was impassive. He was looking old. His skin hung loose and was covered with age spots. His hair was snow-white and his eyes looked dim, like there wasn’t much life left in them.

  “You brought her through the secret entrance?” Dalin asked. He spoke calmly, but there was an angry undertone to his words.

  Angaria bowed his head. “It was necessary, High Father.”

  Dalin looked from the duke to Hannah and then back to the duke. “Why?”

  “At long last we have valuable information from the prince.”

  Hannah winced at the words. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been doing everything asked of her. It wasn’t her fault that Aldon didn’t know anything of value.

  “Tell me,” Dalin said, and there was no mistaking the change in his tone. Gone was the angry, almost threatening feeling. Now he just sounded excited.

  Hannah looked to Angaria, and he nodded at her. She took two steps closer and curtsied. “High Father,” she said carefully and with downcast eyes. “The prince was given several tasks by the king today. It seems the king believes that the magician Cassandra and the former Guardians, Prince Del-Atock A'bamani and Aaron Imes, are returning to Telur.”

  Dalin bounded to his feet, displaying the energy of a far younger man. “Coming here? Why would they do that?” His excitement was gone, replaced by anger and suspicion.

  Hannah blinked at the anger in the old man’s words and involuntarily took a step backwards. She glanced at Angaria and he hastily urged her on. She swallowed hard and said, “It would seem they believe that something called Ocklamoor is hidden within the Golden Square.”

  Dalin slowly sat back down, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just studied her. The feeling was unnerving, and Hannah struggled to meet the old man’s gaze. Finally, he said, “And how do we know this?”

  Hannah took a deep breath and sagged. It was like she had been unable to breathe while he held her in his gaze, but now that she was released, she quickly found her voice. “A servant to the King of Aramonia fled here and gave this information to King Darion.”

  Dalin look less than convinced. “What servant?”

  Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “Aldon did not know the man’s family name, only that he was a servant.” She paused briefly, savoring this next bit of news. “He also said the King of Aramonia conspired to let the Guardians go.”

  Dalin’s face darkened, and his jaw clenched and unclenched several times. “And?” he said in way or prompting.

  “King Darion has increased the guard on the city gates,” Hannah said.

  “The men he has sent to the gates are loyal to him and not so much to me,” Angaria added quickly.

  Hannah scowled at the duke; she hated to be interrupted. “He has also placed another group of guards around a secret entrance to the city. It would seem that the Guardians used it to escape, and he thinks they will re-enter the city by the same method.”

  “Anything else?” Dalin asked.

  “The king sent Aldon to try and find a torturer. It would seem that his are all gone from the city.”

  At this, Dalin actually smiled and chuckled. “He actually intends to keep these prisoners from me.” He shook his head, and then turned his attention to Angaria. “You’ve done good,” he said, and then added as an afterthought, “if this information turns out to be true.”

  Hannah blinked in surprise but managed to bite her tongue. Angaria h
ad done good? she thought. What exactly has he done? She was, after all, the one who had been sleeping with, not to mention, drugging, the prince. If she had been caught, Duke Angaria would have probably joined in condemning her. As it was, she had succeeded and he was being praised. It was nearly more than she could stand. She took a deep breath, grateful that neither of the two men were watching her.

  “If they do manage to capture these Guardians, are you sure that your spy will find out?” Dalin asked of Angaria.

  Angaria smiled and nodded his head once. “I’m quite sure, High Father. My methods have worked so far.” His eyes flicked toward Hannah, and she blushed under his scrutiny.

  Dalin also looked at her, but only for a moment, and then he looked away. It was enough. Hannah could see the contempt in his face for her. It was nearly enough to make her cry. She had done everything for them, for the church, and they thought her little better than scum. Her eyes brightened as she fought back the tears; she would not let these men see her cry. She would not confirm their low opinions of her.

  “What do you mean gone?” Dagan demanded angrily of Agminion. “Where did they go?”

  “It was dark,” Agminion answered. “When they disappeared, I immediately used sorcery to find them; they were just on the other side of the wall.” He resented the older man’s nasty tone in questioning him; he resented it even more since others were watching. Besides Agminion and Dagan, Cassandra, Atock, and Warren were present from their little group. In addition, Jared, the king’s spymaster was in the room; he was the one person that Darion trusted enough to tell of their presence.

  Dagan regarded the younger sorcerer for a moment and then he smiled. “Secret entrance, huh?”

  Still a bit disgruntled, Agminion nodded, but he did not return the other man’s smile. He glanced around at the small and empty kitchen.

  Jared had recommended using this place as a base to operate their surveillance of the countess. The estate belonged to a minor noble who had gotten into a bit of trouble and been recalled to the north by his overlord; Lord Justin of House Darkvale. The estate had been empty for several months, but the best thing about it was that it was only six blocks from Countess Lells’s estate.