“Water skin,” I croaked and lifted my hand. I took a mouthful after he handed it to me then spat it out.
Silverlight. I’d loved that sword. My father had her made just for me. He was nearly as proud of her as I was. Silverlight had saved me from certain death more than once. Yes, she was merely metal and bone but, at one time, an integral part of me.
Sing for me, I begged silently. Give me strength.
I heard her plaintive song then. Would a mother turn her back on a child? Would a husband turn his back on his wife in her darkest hour? She was mine. Silverlight belonged in my hands the way I belonged in Magnus’s arms.
“I have to try,” I said weakly. “Let’s walk around the back of the castle to the wing where he held me. We should explore all our options before giving up.”
“Giving up? I consider it self-preservation.” Magnus knelt beside me. “You asked the question yourself. What if we fail?”
Yes, what if we failed? If both of us died in the attempt, that was one thing. What if only one of us survived? What if one had to live without the other?
Despite the horror of that thought, I still didn’t want to call the rescue mission off. “Will you at least humor me by accompanying me around the castle?”
He sighed heavily. “Can’t we close the book on this part of our lives and go home? Raise our children?”
“You may wait here if you like. It’s my book to close. I want to be sure before I turn back. No regrets.”
Magnus was silent for a moment. “I understand.” Taking me under the arms, he hoisted me to my feet. “No regrets.”
It had burned. Burned completely. The back wing of the castle was nothing but a blackened shell. The tiled roof was gone and part of the outer wall had fallen away on both sides. Blue sky and mountain showed through the empty windows, their edges framed by soot. I stood and gaped with furrowed brow.
“Is that your doing?” Magnus whispered.
I nodded, blinking. “It must be. Garai and his men were fighting goblins out front. By the time it was over and they discovered the back was on fire, there was nothing they could do to save it. I wonder if the bastard won that battle.” I allowed myself a wry smile. “Who knows? Perhaps goblins rule Pentorus now.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t see many guards, but the ones I do see wear the colors of Pentorus. Orange and black, correct?”
“You still have the eyes of an eagle, Tyrix.”
“I don’t see many soldiers.”
“No. If he lost them during the battle, he clearly hasn’t been able to replace them,” I said.
“Strong men will not follow a weak king.”
“He’s not weak, though.”
“Then why hasn’t he repaired that burnt wing? The place is a shambles. There are gaps in the stone wall all the way around where the enemy burst through. They haven’t been fixed either,” Magnus said.
“I don’t have an answer for you. Perhaps he was injured in the fight. He walked with a limp as it was.”
Magnus shrugged. “Perhaps.”
I began to feel a sense of hope for the first time. “Maybe this won’t be as difficult as we think.”
“We need a plan.” Magnus paused then pointed to the left. “See the villagers milling about the grounds outside with carts, donkeys, and whatnot? It looks like they’re having a market. We might be able to slip in with them. We’ll have to pull our hoods up first.”
“Or find an unguarded break in the wall,” I suggested.
“Possibly. We could do it near dusk, but we’ll have to hobble the horses and leave them here. We’ll need them later.”
Anticipation poured into my soul like water into an empty vessel, but I had a few reservations to sort through first.
They were many of the same thoughts I’d had all along. What if Garai captured us? What would he do with us? I didn’t think he’d kill me, not if he wanted me back badly enough to send Tariq after me.
No, he might not kill me, but he would certainly kill Magnus, after a few rounds of torture to prove a point. What could we do to give us a better chance of survival?
Garai would take our weapons if he caught us. The bastard loved his chains and shackles and cages. One of us had to be able to pick a lock. It was something I’d agonized over while trapped here, but Garai had taken care to keep sharp metal objects out of my hands.
I turned to Magnus. “Do you have a knife or something you can use to pry two shoe nails apiece from Fitz and Lady Gray?”
“Yes. Why?”
“In case we’re captured.” I smiled at his look of confusion. “Garai will disarm us. If we hide one shoe nail in the hem of our tunics and one in the sole of a boot, we’ll both have something we can use to pick a lock if we have to.”
“That’s not a bad idea, though I think we should do our best to avoid being caught.”
“I agree, but . . .” I stared up at the looming gray walls of the castle. “The only advice I’m going to give if he does is this: fight like your life depends on it, because it does, and never, ever, ever give up.”
“We’re going in then?” Magnus asked.
I nodded. “We’re going in.”
He slipped his dagger from the sheath at his waist and rested one of Lady Gray’s hooves upon his knee.
I had two perfect horseshoe nails in my palm a moment later.
50: MAGNUS
A large crowd had gathered on the road outside the castle walls, waiting to get into the market setting up on the bailey inside. Every kingdom in Calari held such markets, the difference being that the castle gates were usually thrown wide open.
Not in Pentorus. The guards at this gate assaulted the men with cudgels and fists and groped the women as they passed by.
Kymber and I clung to the face of the rocky ravine leading up to the road, hidden by the scrub bushes that struggled to grow in the barren soil.
“They’re checking everyone that enters,” I whispered.
“The sentries seem more interested in stealing from the villagers than identifying them.”
“Said the woman with the only blue eyes in Calari.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“The only woman with blue eyes who spent time as a captive here then.”
“Yes.” Kymber bit her lip. “That’s probably true.”
My feet suddenly slipped out from under me in the loose stones, sending a small avalanche into the creek below. Kymber gripped my arm and pulled me up beside her, both of us wincing at the hollow and echoing rumble caused by the fall of rock.
We were too far away from the gate for the guards to hear it. Noisy people and livestock packed the road above us. “Did you have to navigate this cut to escape?” I asked. “Or did you go another way?”
“Tell you the truth, I don’t remember. All I remember is running across dirt and rocks, thinking my feet should hurt. They were cut to shreds when I finally stopped, but I didn’t feel them until the next morning.” She gave a short laugh. “It was slow going after that.”
“You must’ve come through this gully then. It looks as though it goes the whole way around the castle. I can’t believe you didn’t fall and break your neck if you were moving that fast.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t grow wings and fly across. I was so happy to be free, then I was terrified he’d find me again. Garai had plenty of horses, men, and dogs. He could’ve easily tracked me, but I’m not sure he tried. That battle with the goblins must’ve kept him occupied for days.”
“Lucky for you.”
“You can say that again.” She pushed a dusty branch aside and peered up at the road. “This is just about the end of the line. Should we crawl up a bit?”
“Yes, though it would be easier if we were mountain goats.” I hung on to a thick branch so I wouldn’t slide again. “Wait until the last person has taken at least twenty paces past us to join the parade. Pull your hood up before you get on the road. Stay on my left side if the guards get nosy.”
“Blu
e eyes notwithstanding, I don’t think we have to worry.” Kymber flipped her hood over her head and pulled it down in front. “It’s been two years since anyone here has seen me.”
“No assumptions. You still need to be cautious.” We would have a fight on our hands if they caught us at the gate. Two against too many weren’t favorable odds.
“I understand. We don’t want this to be over at the gate.”
“Exactly. Ready?” I counted the footsteps of the last couple as they passed, an older man and woman dragging a huge pig behind them on the end of a short, frayed rope.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Go!” I scrabbled in the rubble, each foothold generating a puff of gray dust and another small rockslide.
I got to the road first, turning quickly to pull Kymber up with me. We brushed the grime from our clothes and got into step behind the pig. He turned and waggled his flat pink nose at us, but his owners paid us no mind.
The line of people came to a halt a short distance from the stone guardhouse at the gate. I peered around to assess the situation. A tall, gap-toothed guard was trying to inventory everyone passing through and failing. There were simply too many of us.
“Go on then,” Gaptooth snarled, striking an old woman on the shoulder with the leather quirt he held in his fist. “Bunch of lazy, good-for-nothing peasants.”
Kymber stiffened beside me. “Easy,” I cautioned her.
After a cursory inspection, the couple with the pig were allowed through the gates. Our turn. My mind hurtled in ten directions at once as we stepped up to the guard. If Kymber were recognized, protecting her would be my sole focus, even if I had to push her down that damned steep ravine.
My worst fears came true when Gaptooth narrowed his eyes and used the quirt to knock the hood off my head. I swear my heart couldn’t have beat any faster. We were caught; I was sure of it. Damn it, we hadn’t even gotten inside the castle grounds.
The guard stared hard at me. “Why d’ya have yer hood up on such a hot day, man?” he asked. “Trying to hide something?”
I affected a Pentorian accent. “To keep the sun off my head while traveling to market. Long day for us. Don’t wish to burn.” I didn’t have to fake the nervous laughter.
He leveled the quirt at Kymber. “What about you? Get yer hood off.”
No. No. No! Time ground to a halt as she pulled her gaze to mine.
We both knew she had no choice.
Kymber reached up with shaking hands, took hold of her hood, and slowly lowered it. Her eyes were as wide as full moons. I prayed the guard didn’t notice how pale she was or that her bottom lip was trembling.
The guard’s eyes narrowed again. For one tense moment, I thought he was going to reach for Kymber’s breasts. Gods, she’d break his neck then tie him in knots for good measure if he did, and that would be the end of our quest.
He took a menacing step toward her, his intent clear. Kymber straightened, her chest expanded with a breath. She was apparently prepared to do anything to get us inside the grounds.
But something about her demeanor threw the guard off. He made no move to touch her. Gaptooth threw me a sidelong – and anxious – glance instead. I nearly burst with relief when he lowered his hands and stepped back. “Pretty one, eh? Lucky you.” He whacked my shoulder with the quirt and gave me a shove through the gate. “Get in there then, if that’s where you’re goin’. I don’t have all day to stand here and gab with the rabble.”
I quickly pulled my hood up then supported Kymber with my arm around her waist. “Steady,” I whispered. “It’ll look suspicious if you go to your knees.”
“I’m shaking so much I can barely stand.” She flipped her hood over her head.
“I know, but we’re in. Let’s see if we can make our way through the crowd to the back of the castle. You with me?”
“All the way.”
“That’s my girl.” I swept her into the heart of the market before I lost my nerve.
I thought perhaps we could hide in the shade of the castle itself, as it was safer than walking across open ground. No matter how good our plan, this was the dangerous part. As villagers in the crowd, we were nearly invisible. The guards would immediately spot two people off by themselves, snooping, though no one would see us if they looked over the lip of the parapet. It protruded too far out onto the castle grounds, a design flaw if ever there was one.
I trained my eyes on our surroundings. Tall shrubs stood in a long, thick row approximately ten feet from the castle. Good. Between them and the overhang, we’d have more cover.
A narrow path paved with smooth flagstones wended between the outside wall and the shrubs, finally disappearing around the southeastern turret.
We could follow the path, but we’d have to be vigilant. It was there to ease the way for patrolling sentries, not sneaky mercenaries.
Most of the vendors weren’t set up for market yet, and that actually worked in our favor. We assisted in propping up a canopy and catching several chickens whose crates had broken open as we passed through the crowd. Slow and steady, we maintained a leisurely pace.
I blew out a breath when we got to the outside wall of the castle, pressing my back to the cool stones.
Kymber ducked behind a shrub and joined me a moment later. “So far, so good,” she whispered.
“We have a long way to go.” I glanced upward. As I’d hoped, the row of shrubs and the parapet’s overhang protected us from above.
“I know.” She gripped my hand. “This feels a bit like the old days.”
I smiled. “It does, doesn’t it?
She leaned in and kissed me – a lingering kiss, so soft.
“What was that for?”
“For luck. And because I love you. I . . .” Kymber traced a heart in the dirt with the tip of her boot. “The past few months have been some of the best of my life. You are the only one who could light that kind of a fire in me.”
“Yes, well, that would be anger, my love.” I chuckled quietly.
“You do go about it all wrong, but somehow, you still manage to make me a better person. I wanted to tell you how much I loved you before we got too far into this. It should never be said out of desperation or because . . . because you think you’re going to die. I wanted to say it when I could take the time to mean it.”
“You are not going to die. We have two children to raise.” I leaned over and bumped my forehead gently against hers. “I understand what you meant though. I love you too, Kymber. I loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
She grinned. “Could’ve fooled me. You tried to cut the tie holding my breeches up, as I recall.”
“Do you blame me? You have such a lovely bottom.”
Kymber went still, sighed, then laid her head on my shoulder. “I’m afraid.”
“So am I.” She hadn’t said it because she wanted to quit. She simply wanted me to acknowledge my fear so she could acknowledge hers. We were a team. It would ever be so, no matter what side of the grave we slept on.
Her eyes searched my face. I saw the barest hint of a smile. “I’m going to shove Silverlight right through that bastard’s throat.”
“Not if I get there first. Let’s go.”
Hand in hand, we headed toward the unknown.
51: KYMBER
We moved unimpeded to the rear of the castle. At least until we rounded the corner of the left front tower and stumbled upon four inebriated guards pissing against the wall.
Magnus stopped so fast I ran into his back. I stared at the astonished men as several thoughts came to me: “They’ve seen us, so we can’t let them live” followed by “Gods, we have to keep them from sounding the alarm!”
We all exploded into action at once. “I want to see flying elbows and assholes,” my father used to say during mock battles at T’hath. I saw them now between the six of us, though the advantage was ours. We didn’t have cocks hanging out of our hose.
The soldiers scur
ried like blind mice searching for a hole in the wall, cursing and groping for their weapons. I slipped my hand between my cloak and tunic and pulled my sword.
“Keep them silent!” Magnus hissed. He slid Bloodreign from its sheath and struck at the nearest guard, causing a thin bloody line to appear across the soldier’s throat. Blood bubbled between the man’s lips before he pirouetted and slumped to the ground.
“Gods! Alman!” The guard behind him shifted his gaze between the two of us and the body of his friend.
Don’t run, don’t run. Angling Promise to the left, I slashed upward, and caught him across the throat. He fell to the ground without saying a word.
The two remaining soldiers warily advanced, swords drawn. One was skinny and frightened, the other was the size of a small shithouse.
They were too close for either of us to get a good hit. I dropped my guard and listed to one side, pretending I’d been injured.
Poor, weak, wounded female – it worked every time. I drew the smaller man off, leaving Magnus to contend with the remaining guard.
I moaned and clutched my stomach, limped back a step or two, nearly went to my knees, then began the performance all over again. Junior Guard took the bait and followed, though I thought I’d lost him when he asked, “How come you ain’t bleedin’?”
I moaned louder and stumbled into a nearby tree.
When we were a safe distance away, I made a miraculous recovery and swung at him with gritted teeth. He was still shocked and blinking when he hit the ground.
“You all right?” Magnus asked after he’d killed his man.
“Fine,” I said, though I knew a moment of remorse. There was no glory in killing an innocent man doing guard duty for his king, but it was us or them. The truth is a cruel mistress. The more alert and better prepared were usually the survivors.
These particular guards had been drinking and throwing dice in a back corner of the castle, in the shadow of the burnt wing. I counted ten empty wine bottles. “Guess they didn’t think anyone would find them here.”
Silverlight Page 22
