Rondo stopped in his tracks while Shade approached the closed door. It was the last one in the hall, and the only room he’d seen not wide open.
Shade tried the door and found it unlocked. He drew a dagger, shoved the door inward, and lunged through. When nothing tried to blast him, he rose and looked around at some kid’s bedroom. There was a stuffed animal on the narrow bed, a small table with a closed diary, and nothing of interest to Shade.
Shouldn’t have got his hopes up.
“Shade,” Rondo called. “Get out here, quick.”
“What?”
“Shhh! There’s someone downstairs.”
Quiet as a mouse, Shade joined Rondo in the hall. Sure enough, rapid footsteps leading from the entrance deeper into the keep filled the air. The bards must have retreated to make a final stand.
“Let’s see where they’re going.” Shade hurried to the staircase and looked down.
Damn it, they’d already moved out of sight. He took the stairs two at a time and at the bottom peered around the wall. He caught a glimpse of a blue uniform as the last bard in line vanished around the corner.
Where could they be going? He and Rondo had searched the entire floor and found no way out. Of course this was their home, so maybe they knew something he didn’t.
Rondo joined him at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s happening?”
“Not sure yet. Wait here. Your lead boots will just give me away. If the boss shows up, tell him where I went.”
Shade gave him no chance to argue as he hurried after the bards. Not that he expected much of an argument from Rondo. The man had a spine of jelly. That said, Shade had no intention of taking on an entire group of bards on his own. Confidence was one thing, but stupid was another. Shade knew his limits better than most.
He reached the turn where he’d seen the flash of blue. He peeked around the corner. At the end of the hall the bards had ripped an especially ugly tapestry off the wall. One of them touched a particular set of stones and a hidden door opened.
Shade grinned. So that’s how they got the kid out. The fight was just to buy time. The boss wouldn’t be thrilled, but at least they knew where she went.
The last bard went through the door and it closed behind her. Shade pushed away from the wall. There was nothing to do until the boss joined them. Might as well open the front door for them. Though Domina would probably yell at him for not letting her blow it up. On the other hand, if he didn’t open it, she’d yell at him for not opening the door for them.
He shrugged. There was no winning with that woman, so he put it out of his mind. As long as Lord Black was pleased, Shade didn’t much care what Domina thought.
When he walked past Rondo asked, “Did you find anything?”
“Secret door. Come on, let’s open the front door. It’s rude to keep the boss waiting.”
Chapter 13
When the dust storm finally ended and Leonidas could see again, all the bards were gone. A quick look around the yard revealed about half his men lying on the ground, dead or dying he couldn’t tell at a glance. Either way they were out of commission for the foreseeable future. On the plus side, there was a heartening number of bards among the dead as well.
The dead bards made him think of the one that had attacked him with her power. He had never experienced anything like that woman’s gift. It didn’t feel exactly like necromancy, but it had that flavor. His ring had absorbed it without trouble and that was all that really mattered. Pity that wall of earth had saved her at the last moment.
The captain of his mercenary company had survived the battle and was washing the grit out of his eyes with water from his canteen.
“Commander,” Leonidas said when he was finished. “See to the wounded. My cadre will pursue the bards.”
The captain bowed. “As you wish, Lord Black.”
Leonidas and Domina set out for the keep. The moment they entered the shade of the building, Jax materialized beside them, his cloak making him look like part of the shadows.
“That could have gone better,” Jax said. “Somehow they knew we were coming.”
Leonidas shrugged. “Things can’t go perfect every time. The mission hasn’t changed, we still need to find Ariel and put the circlet on her.”
“I’ll get the door.” Domina reached for a vial.
Before she could throw it, the door opened on its own. Just inside stood Shade and Rondo, unharmed, but with no girl. It had been a lot to hope that they’d find her on their own. Especially now that he knew the bards had been aware of their approach.
“Hi, Boss,” Shade said. “I see you routed the bards.”
“It was more of a strategic withdrawal on their part. Did you find anything?”
Shade grinned that arrogant grin of his. “A secret door. Bet you a hundred gold scales there’s an escape tunnel dug under this castle.”
“Ariel must have fled that way,” Rondo added to the general disinterest of everyone present.
“Jax,” Leonidas said. “Get our troops back to the ships and prepare to follow. I’ll signal when we reach the end of the tunnel. Take Rondo to help with the wounded.”
The wizard nodded and disappeared again. Rondo hurried to check on the soldiers. He wasn’t the most impressive man Leonidas had ever met, but at least he followed orders without argument. He flicked a glance at Shade and Domina who were engaged in a glaring match. Some of the other members of his cadre could learn from that.
“Show me this secret door,” Leonidas said.
Shade led the way back through the open door and down a long hallway. A tapestry had been pulled off the wall; the outline of where it had hung was visible on the stones. Shade touched three stones and frowned.
“Those are the ones the bard hit, I’m sure of it.”
Leonidas laid his hand on the wall. The echoes of the magic used to seal it were still detectable to his ring. The bards weren’t far ahead. If they hurried, they could catch someone and interrogate them.
The black ring flashed and when it did the outline of the door appeared. A moment later the stone crumbled to dust revealing a long passage into the earth. Maybe he should have brought Jax, shadows and darkness were his specialty. It was too late to call him back now and Domina could easily push the darkness aside.
“A light if you please,” Leonidas said.
Domina removed a short iron rod with a clear crystal at the tip from her satchel. She warmed the crystal between her palms and soon it began to glow. When it was twice as bright as the average torch they set out, Shade in the lead, Leonidas in the middle, and Domina bringing up the rear. The stairs were too narrow for them to walk side by side. The narrowness of the passage would make defending it easy. Not that he expected to find anyone waiting for them. The bards had flown the coop.
Judging from the cobwebs covering the wall and the musty smell, no one had used this emergency escape in a long time, maybe not since it was built. Ahead of him, Shade was little more than a wraith in the dark. His assassin was nearly as skilled at moving in the dark as Jax.
The light from Domina’s crystal was just starting to waver when Shade called back, “Found the exit, Boss.”
They picked up their pace a fraction, rounding a bend and stopping when Shade’s back appeared out of the darkness. A line of bright light indicated where the door waited. Clearly, they hadn’t taken time to seal this one. Maybe they did take time to set a trap.
Leonidas reached out with the ring’s power but came up empty. No trap, no seal, no nothing. As he figured, the bards were prioritizing speed over everything.
“Open it,” he said.
Shade shoved the door aside and blinding light flooded the tunnel. Leonidas blinked his watering eyes until they cleared. They had emerged out of the earth beneath a low hill east of the college. No movement was visible in any direction. The bards couldn’t be more than a few minutes ahead of them, so where were they?
Some bardic trick probably hid them. Leonidas closed his e
yes to better focus. Despite his ring’s considerable power, there was no hint of magic within its range. Cursing any god that might be listening, he said, “Tracks?”
“Sorry, Boss. There were a few marks right outside the door, but they vanished after twenty feet.” Shade pointed north toward a forest maybe five miles distant. “They headed that way, best as I can tell.”
Leonidas raised his fist and sent a golden sphere skyward where it burst in a bright flare. A few minutes later the flying ships came soaring over their heads. Leonidas flew them up onto the deck of the central vessel.
“Head for the forest north of here,” he said.
The ships turned and soared away from the tunnel entrance. A few minutes later they were in position over the forest. Along both sides of the ship’s rail, uninjured soldiers looked for signs of movement. Leonidas scanned the forest below him, searching for any indication of the bards’ magic. If his quarry was down there, someone was bound to spot them.
The afternoon was rapidly ending and darkness would soon be upon them. Hunting in the dark would make life much more difficult. But it wouldn’t stop him, nothing would, not now that he was so close to acquiring a key component for his victory.
Domina was below deck whipping up a little something to encourage them out of their hiding place. If they hadn’t been spotted by the time she finished, the forest was going to become a memory.
“I see movement, Lord Black,” one of the soldiers said.
Leonidas crossed the deck and searched where the man pointed. He sensed no magic. A figure appeared in a gap between two trees, dressed in tan leathers and carrying a bow. Just a hunter out looking to fill his smokehouse before winter.
“Forgive me, my lord,” the soldier said.
“Don’t give it another thought. It might well have been them.” Leonidas returned to his position.
In truth, they’d come here based on some vague tracks Shade spotted. The bards coming this way was a guess more than anything, but he had nothing else to go on and trusting Shade had seldom led Leonidas astray. Though he’d spent years on this plan, the closer it came to fruition, the less patience he had. The more moves he made, the greater the chance of someone capable of stopping him getting wind of his plans. It was time to wrap this up and move on to the next step.
Chapter 14
Callie stared up at the three clouds hanging low over the forest. Those clouds were actually flying ships carrying the men hunting Ariel. Ridiculous as the idea of flying ships was, she couldn’t deny the truth in front of her eyes. Her bards were scattered all around her, lying very still and using no magic. Once it was dark, they’d slip away and scatter into small groups of two or three. Someone needed to make it to the capital and let King Rend know what had happened. His Majesty wouldn’t take kindly to an enemy force attacking his nation unprovoked.
Tonia eased over beside her and Callie shifted in her bed of pine needles to face her.
“Stubborn, aren’t they?” Tonia said.
“They clearly want Ariel badly. Not surprising given her power. But I wonder why they’re making their move now? She’s been with us for months.”
Tonia shrugged. “Is that why we went north instead of south to meet up with her and the others?”
“Yeah. I wanted to give them as much of a head start as I could. I promised Moz not to tell the king about Ariel, but the capital is the only place she’ll really be safe. If we can buy a couple days, that should give them a good chance of making it.”
“I don’t know, Callie. Rend City is a good ten days’ ride from here. A lot could happen in that length of time.”
“If you’ve got a better idea,” Callie said. “I’m open to suggestions.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to question you. No one could have handled this better under the circumstances. I was kind of hoping for a little peace and quiet after my mission. So much for that.”
Callie grinned. She seriously doubted any of them would be seeing much in the way of peace or quiet for a while.
“Callie!” Tamsin came running over, making far more noise than Callie would have liked. “They’re doing something up there.”
“What?”
“Not sure, but everyone’s gathered around the woman in black and she’s got a clay pot in her hands. I saw what those vials of hers did and figured you’d want to know.”
“Tonia,” Callie said.
“Understood.” Tonia started to hum.
“Tamsin, get everyone ready just in case Tonia can’t stop whatever they are doing. Everyone knows what to do if we have to make a break for it. Just wait for my signal.”
“Okay, Callie. See you at the meet-up.” Tamsin hurried away to spread the word. She really was a good girl and, in a few years, would make a fine operative.
“Here it comes,” Tonia said. “The spirits can’t turn it aside. There’s a barrier around the pot protecting it.”
A moment later an explosion rocked the forest. A massive fireball shot into the sky about a quarter mile southeast of their hiding place.
Trees burst into flame and the conflagration spread quickly in every direction. Even from a distance the heat was incredible. It seemed the enemy meant to flush them out before dark. Smart. Callie hadn’t really considered the possibility. They had three fire spirit masters so making a path through the flames wouldn’t be a problem but doing it without getting spotted would be all but impossible.
There were no good options. They’d just have to make a break for it and hope for the best.
“Everybody go!” Callie yelled.
The bards separated into small groups and sprinted in every direction. Those able to handle the flames ran straight into them. Callie and Tonia broke dead south. She knew King Rend personally and it would make Ariel’s introduction much smoother if she was there to help.
Limbs slapped Callie in the face as she ran through the forest. There was just enough light between the fire and setting sun to avoid roots and bigger branches, but she had no time to worry about a few scratches. She couldn’t worry about the other bards either. They’d all been trained, both to use their powers and to survive.
All Callie could do now was hope that she’d done a good enough job teaching them both.
Domina’s fire bomb was as impressive as ever. Leonidas had been forced to protect it on the way down with his ring’s magic, but the results were worth the effort. A third of the forest was already engulfed and the flames were spreading quickly. There was movement below and now all they needed to do was grab a bard or three and make them tell where to find the girl. Should be simple.
He nearly laughed at himself. Nothing had been simple since they arrived at the college. “Shade.”
The assassin seemed to materialize out of nowhere beside him. How he could do that without magic was a mystery Leonidas feared he might never unravel.
“Boss?”
“Let’s go hunting.” Shade grinned, just as Leonidas knew he would. He never seemed to tire of action. That was no doubt why he chose his line of work. “Just remember, we need prisoners, not bodies.”
“No problem, Boss.” Shade pulled a cap out of a hidden pocket. “Did I ever tell you about the year and a half I spent working as a bounty hunter? I brought in my fair share of targets still breathing. It’s a lot harder than just killing them.”
“Indeed.” Leonidas called on his ring’s power and he and Shade flew up and over the railing before slowly gliding toward the forest. He was aiming to get ahead of the last group of three he saw. One of them would have to know where he could find Ariel. He’d let Domina pry the information out of them since he was taking Shade to handle the capture. She’d enjoy that.
The bubble surrounding them smashed through the canopy, breaking limbs all the way to the ground. When they hit the dirt, he dismissed the shield. The fire’s roar instantly washed over him. It sounded far louder at ground level than it had in the sky. He’d tried to land directly in the fleeing bards’ path, but with all this
noise they’d have a hard time hearing them approach.
“Boss,” Shade whispered barely loud enough to be heard over the raging fire. “They’re coming.”
Shade pointed to their one o’clock. How he could be so sure, Leonidas couldn’t begin to guess, but he trusted Shade’s instincts. If the assassin said someone was coming, then they were.
Leonidas marched to the approaching bards’ path. When he looked for Shade, the man had disappeared again. No matter, he couldn’t have gone far.
Branches broke directly ahead of his position. Wouldn’t be long now. Seconds passed and a dim, flickering light appeared between the tree trunks.
A moment later, a trio of bards appeared, two boys and a girl. One of the boys cupped a flame in his hands. They noticed Leonidas a moment after he saw them.
The dark-haired girl in the center of the group hissed at him and branches attempted to grab his arms. A pulse of energy from his ring blew them to splinters.
“Surrender,” Leonidas said. “I have questions. If you answer them honestly, I’ll release you unharmed.”
That was technically a lie. He couldn’t trust them to tell him the truth and Domina’s compulsion potions tended to leave the one drinking them worse for wear.
“My target is the girl, Ariel. You three are of no use to me beyond your knowledge of her whereabouts.”
“She’s one of us,” the boy holding the flame said. “We wouldn’t tell you where she was even if we knew.”
He hurled the fire in his hand. It splashed against Leonidas’s shield and was quickly absorbed into his ring.
“I feared you’d say something like that,” Leonidas said. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe your claim of ignorance.”
He pointed and an invisible band wrapped around the girl that attacked him, binding her arms, legs, and mouth.
The boy gathered more fire, but before he could throw it he collapsed in a heap with Shade standing over him. The final boy looked from Shade to Leonidas then threw up his hands.
The Slave War Page 7
