“Sir!” I gripped William’s arm to remind him that it would be most unwise to engage in an argument whilst attempting a covert rescue of his betrothed, but I needn’t have worried.
“That is true,” he said, slipping from my side to approach the man. “But I’m also aware of your performance bid, and how unlikely it is to prove successful should your company’s leader escape imprisonment.”
The young man snorted. “Our bid is unlikely to prove successful because I’m imprisoned.”
William shook his head. “You’ll be released in the morning and given a chance for a proper audition. The only requirement is to remain here until daybreak. Are you well enough to do so? Have you been treated with care?”
Although the man didn’t look pleased, his eyes reflected relief and, quite inexplicably, a strange measure of mirth. Were we being played by the player? “I have.”
“And if you’re not treated well from here forward, you can hold me personally responsible. In exchange, you’ll allow us to leave without rousing the guards. Are we agreed?”
“We are.” His gaze flicked to me then, but rather than the kindness of the day, the anger of the night, or the surprise of moments ago, I saw something inscrutable. This man had a secret, hidden purpose, which he chose not to share even in his time of need.
A silence stretched between us, as though his agreement was imbued with some unspoken meaning I didn’t grasp. But then William offered a curt nod and took my hand, and we fled.
Up the stairs we crept, footfalls silent as we passed the dozing guard.
“Sleeping draught?” I asked in a hushed whisper once we were past.
William grinned. “In his evening tea. The kitchen staff weren’t difficult to convince once I told them of your predicament. Your circle of friends and admirers in the palace continues to grow by the hour, it seems.”
“Employment and status make no difference,” I reminded him. “Beneath our flesh, all blood runs thick and red.”
“You have the oddest way of phrasing things,” he said.
We proceeded down the corridors and through the quiet kitchens, making our exit through the rear door. A night guard on duty allowed us readily to pass, drowsy and unwilling to question the doings of the young prince in the night.
Once we were far enough afield from the palace grounds, the tension in my shoulders eased, and I slowed my pace to engage William’s attention on the task ahead.
“I didn’t jest when I told you what I intend to do,” I said, and he paused his steps that we might face each other. The night breeze gently kissed my cheeks and tossed strands of loosened hair across my face. He brushed these defiant locks away and tucked them behind my ear.
“I know,” he replied, and the tension loosened further. “I’ve spent enough time by your side to recognize when you’re determined to do something. But did a spirit tell you this? Did it come in a vision? I thought your mother no longer appeared to you.”
“She comes to Edward.” William’s eyes grew wide at that. “I suppose I should be grateful that she comes at all.”
I recounted the scene to him, the terror on my mother’s face, how she recoiled at my approach, the way the serpent of fire twined around her ethereal form and pulled her, silently screaming, into the void.
“But you’ve drawn spirits from the void many times,” William remarked once I’d completed my tale. “And you’ve never mentioned seeing fire.”
“Because I haven’t.” A tremor rushed up my spine, an amalgam of wonder and fear. “When the spirits come to me, they feel … cold, but not. It’s the feeling one has on the threshold of a doorway, passing from a wintry December night into a warm room with a blazing fire. Chilled, but not. In-between.”
William pressed a hand to the side of his face and scratched behind his ear. “Ellison, do the spirits you call reside in purgatory? An in-between after death?”
I might have preferred if they did, for I would be less at fault. “No,” I replied, “I don’t think they would respond to my conjurings if so.”
“No, of course not,” he murmured. I wasn’t convinced he believed me.
I plunged ahead. “William, I believe my mother has been sent to eternal damnation, and I intend to retrieve her. Make it right, somehow. I don’t know exactly where from within the afterlife the spirits I call hail, only that they come. I don’t know why Edward was returned to me, only that he was. And because of that, I believe I may descend to the depths myself and return unharmed.” I didn’t elaborate on my brother’s proclivity for ghosts. I hadn’t kept it from William on purpose, but I simply had no need to tell him.
Besides, I didn’t know how the Paladin Council felt about ghosts, and I didn’t care to find out at Edward’s expense.
“It will be terribly dangerous,” William said.
“I know.”
“Our fathers will be furious.”
“I know.”
“It is a mission doomed to failure, beloved.”
“I know.”
He sighed, but it was not a sigh of disappointment. “How do you propose we get there?”
That I didn’t know, but I had an idea. “I opened a doorway once. I believe I can do it again.”
“You cracked the earth and nearly perished, yourself.” He gripped my shoulders in alarm. “I’m with you, but not if it means sending you to your death.”
I smiled at him then, for I was glad of his concern. “I’m much stronger now, William. We both are. I don’t know if what I wish is a fool’s errand or a righteous cause, but if there’s even a chance that I might be able to save my mother from an eternal torture I’m responsible for, I will take it.”
My words hung in the air between us, tiny fireflies whose glow faded as their meaning sank in. Finally, William spoke. “You cannot do this thing without me. You cannot go alone.”
I nodded once, firm and decisive. “I don’t know what awaits. But even so, I can think of no greater advantage in the depths of hell than to have one of the Lord’s warriors by my side.”
If he felt at all uncertain by my pronouncement, he didn’t show it. In truth, I had no idea if a paladin’s holy powers would be of greater advantage in the Adversary’s own domain, but I doubted there could be any disadvantage.
I ought to have examined my doubts closer.
“When?” He glanced from side to side, as though he feared agreeing to go with me might result in swift vengeance from those who opposed my very existence. “My father will know you’ve gone, soon enough.”
I wished to leave that night. Immediately. But I also understood the folly in undertaking such a venture unprepared. We needed to gather supplies—water, food, materials for difficult conjurings. I thought I might like to study The Book of Conjuring for a brief time, as well as the scriptures, to search for any advantage. Surely, I was not the first to have thought of this. Surely, I was not the first to cross the breech.
Yet, I would also surely be caught and dragged back to that dank cell if we delayed our preparations. I swallowed hard on the truth of the matter. I would have to trust William and be prudent in our proceedings.
“Take me back,” I said. He reeled as though struck. “Take me back to the cell. We’ll leave tomorrow night. Tonight has been a test—now you and I both know it is a small thing to escape my cell, so I can endure another day while you prepare for our departure.”
“Ellison—”
I shook my head and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips to silence his protests. “Hette and Katherine will help you to pack food and water. Go to my father’s house and tell him we’re to be off on another quest. Lie only by omission, if you must lie at all, and remain vague on details for his own safety. Can you retrieve The Book of Conjuring without his knowing? I would like to examine it before we descend. I won’t be long at it, but perhaps arrange an earlier escape tomorrow night. Can you do this?”
“Ella—”
“Will you do this?”
Eyes wide and mouth agape, I feared for one terrible moment that he would refuse and send me back to my father’s house by armed guard. But then his stern face broke into a wide smile and the world turned aright.
“Of course I will. I love you, and if you believe you can save your mother, I believe you can do it.” He winked and pressed two fingers against the gold medallion around his neck. “Besides, I’ve seen you face down far worse these past few years and survive with nary a scratch.”
He drew me into a tight embrace and placed his lips against my forehead. I dared not melt, though I might have done, had I known what was to come.
“Now, then,” he said, humor creeping into his voice. “Let’s get you back behind bars.”
10
The Execution
And that is how I found myself behind bars in a dank, musty prison cell for the second time that night. My imprisoned companion was certainly surprised to see me again, but I dared not tell him more than he needed to know. William reassured him of his impending freedom, however, and so he remained silent as I lay down on my bed of hay and attempted to sleep.
Exhaustion took me eventually, and when I awoke, I didn’t know whether I’d rested for few hours or many—though the crick in my neck and ache in my side from lying on the ground suggested it had been more than several minutes. My prison companion was also gone—freed, I hoped, to present his company’s bid as William had promised.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I noted two trays placed inside the entrance to my cell, each bearing a tin cup of water, a hunk of dry bread, and a slice of hard cheese. Two meals missed, then. I ate every crumb and drank every drop before closing my eyes again. The more rest now, the stronger I’d be once William arrived.
The next time I woke, I heard footsteps falling in the darkness. Every muscle tensed in anticipation and fear that it might be someone other than William, come to do away with me for good.
I need not have worried.
“Ellison?” William’s whisper shoved aside the remnants of sleep. I rose to my feet and reached for a spirit to unlock my cell, but William must have sensed the tug at his life force. “There’s no need for that. I have the key. Don’t ask.”
I didn’t. I waited by the door as he freed me from my iron confines and, as before, we crept up the stairs, past the sleeping guard, and into the kitchens. A small bundle on a nearby countertop caught my eye.
“What is that?” I kept my voice to a low whisper and made my way to it before he could offer a response. A set of folded garments rested atop a burlap bag with straps on the back, that it might be worn across the shoulders.
“You brought fresh clothes,” I exclaimed. “Not that I’d ever doubt your capability as a leader, but I’m surprised you thought of it. We’ve traveled together, and I’ve seen you wear the same trousers and tunic for a full week.”
William laughed softly, one eyebrow lifting in amusement. “Ellison, you’re beautiful no matter what you wear, but you’ve been sitting inside a dirty prison cell for two nights and a day. Your scent is … pungent. And I thought you might prefer to embark on this particular undertaking in as much comfort as possible. There’s also a cup of powder for your hair by the wash basin in the corner, and a bit of lye, should you wish to wash your face. I had Hette pour heated water into it not long ago.”
My cheeks warmed at his words. I disliked that another person could make me feel so unclean. But that was a remnant of older days, for William’s words were not like those of my stepsisters and he meant no insult. Whereas Charlotte and Victoria had mocked my haggard appearance and cinder-covered face, William’s words came from a place of love and concern. It wasn’t that he wanted me to change—it was that he thought I might.
My smile came easier then, but I remained hesitant. “Is there time? What if we’re discovered?” I held up the clothes he’d brought, unconcerned as always if he laid eyes upon an undergarment or nightdress. I had been wearing nothing but a thin white shift when we first met, after all. But how had he known what to bring for me? In my experience, even the most well-meaning of men were utterly perplexed by the nuances of female fashion. In this bundle, he had brought breeches instead of an undercoat, a simple and thin navy overcoat, and a close-fitting ivory and blue dress that sat snugly from neck to hips. This garment in particular had, at one time, sported a very long and impractical train at the back, which I had torn off in a fit of frustration during an outing with Liesl. We’d nabbed the horses from my father’s stable and roamed about the countryside for far longer than considered proper. We were quite sore the following day, but what a delightful adventure it’d been.
Thank goodness William hadn’t brought me one of those dresses with Flügal sleeves that ladies seemed to favor these days—though the long, wide sleeves might have carried all our supplies and negated the need for burlap bags. The thought sent a bubble of amusement to my lips and I felt them curve into a wide smile.
“We have time,” he assured me, his expression matching my own—albeit with a hint of relief. “I am the crown prince, if you recall. I have considerable influence in my own home.”
I held up the dress, plain and practical but still fashionable enough, aside from the purely indulgent modifications which I’d asked of the seamstress after I’d torn off the train. Ribbons spilled down the back. “And do you also know how to lace up a bodice? Or have you used your ‘considerable influence’ to coerce someone else into participating in this potentially treasonous scheme?”
His smile did not falter—if anything, it grew wider. “No coercion required, beloved.” He strode to the door under my perplexed gaze, and the moment it had opened but a crack, a mop of curly yellow hair rushed toward me with a squeal.
“Liesl!” I nearly shrieked in surprise, only covering my mouth just in time. I did glare at William, then. “How could you bring my friend here? She’ll be caught, questioned—”
“I won’t,” Liesl insisted, and William agreed with her assertion.
“But your parents—your father! Does he know where you are? How did you leave in the middle of the night without being detained?”
She snorted—most unladylike, but so delightfully Liesl. She tossed her unbound locks over her shoulder and wet her lips, and I was reminded how well Liesl had grown into her figure and features these past few years. My friend had always commanded the attention of numerous suitors of all ages, thanks to her family’s perceived wealth—being the only daughter of the local jeweler, Liesl stood to inherit the family business someday. While her father certainly would have preferred to hand the reins over to a husband—or to her brother, but he’d long since refused their family’s material establishment, preferring instead to make his way in the world as a traveling scholar—Liesl had never shown much interest in the affairs of marriage. She instead preferred the attention and scandal she caused with her business acumen … and her ample bosom. I loved my friend, and I loved how we had both sought our own paths toward independence, however divergent they might be.
“When a prince arrives on your doorstep and announces you’re needed at the palace, do you hesitate to comply?” She lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “Of course not. You ignore your father’s protests, because even he knows that disobeying a command from the king’s son—”
“I didn’t command you,” William tried to interrupt, but Liesl held up a hand to silence him and, quite to my surprise, he pressed his lips together and turned away. He appeared to be trying very hard not to laugh.
“—might be considered treason, and treason is bad for business.” It was her turn to wink. She took the garment I held, turning it over in her hands. “Besides, if William was asking for help, it meant you needed me, and nothing could keep me away. Let’s get you dressed, and then you can tell me what horribly dangerous venture you’re off on this time, hmm?”
So, tell her I did.
“I think you’ve finally gone mad,” Liesl said when I’d finished, tucking t
he rest of my laces that they might not snag on anything in a moment of peril. She stood and sucked her teeth as she regarded me. “I might go with you, if only to wear as scandalous an outfit, my friend. Torn skirts and breeches? No hat, no gloves, men’s boots … I might hike the bodice a bit. Imagine the scene!”
“I don’t do this for the fashion,” I reminded her. “It wouldn’t do to get tangled in one’s skirts while running from an angry demon.”
“And when have you ever had to run?”
I didn’t remind her of the palace ball two years prior, when I ran from the ballroom at the sight of the demon horde swirling about the arched ceiling. I shouldn’t have run, then. I should have stayed and tried to make things right. I’d learned much since that day.
“Speaking of tangled skirts,” she said, “have you and William … ?” She left the question’s end unspoken and heat rushed to every part of my body. I pulled away from my friend to whirl around and fix her with a stern glare. “What? Surely in two years of fighting evils together, out on the road, all alone? We haven’t had much opportunity to talk about your travels, so I wondered.”
“We had attendants,” I mumbled, gathering my dirty garments into a pile. William had tried to spare my feelings in his suggestion—they smelled awful. “We weren’t entirely alone.”
Not that it could have stopped us, should the urge have arisen. Which, of course, it did. But he preferred to wait until we sealed our bond in the covenantal manner, and I preferred not to indulge in pleasures of the flesh while the darkness of the spirit realm remained at large.
Liesl grasped the finality of my tone and did not press further. She took the grubby garments from my hands and offered the burlap satchel in return. “Be safe,” she said, tossing the clothes aside and pulling me into a tight embrace, the satchel an uncomfortable barrier between us. “Be wise. Do not dive so deep that you can’t find a way out.”
At the rear door, William waited, his own shoulders bare of burden.
“My bag is too light,” I said as he opened the door to the cool night air. “Did you forget to bring The Book of Conjuring?”
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