He sidestepped one of them coming behind him and brought his elbow back into a copper-haired fellow’s teeth and watched as he slumped to the ground. Ticastasy slammed the hilt of a short sword down with a cracking sound and the last fell.
“Shove them inside,” Thealos said, heaving one of the bodies into the room as the rush of the Oath magic left him. Dizziness spun behind his eyes, and sweat dripped down the side of his face. Was he going to shame himself and retch again? He bowed over and breathed in, watching as Stasy dragged the last Bandit soldier into the room. She wiped sweat from her face and brought up the bundle of swords.
“You doing all right, Quickfellow?” She caught his arm to steady him.
“I’ll be fine.” He looked into her brown eyes and wasn’t sure what he saw in them. “I’ll be fine. Carry the weapons in case there are more soldiers.” He unsheathed the tapered blade and calmed its rush of magic, preparing but not invoking it yet. He prayed that the strength it would loan him wouldn’t fail. He took several deep breaths, steadying himself, feeling the pull of the Oath magic, hoping he had enough strength. He would not know for certain until it was all gone and he was left on the floor, spent.
They hurried down the hall, past the kitchens, and took the steps down into the prisons. Thealos shoved the door open and was met by a wave of sound. Tremors began rocking the tunnels and the prisoners begged to be freed, fearing they would be crushed if the ceilings collapsed. Voices plagued the air, moaning and desperate. The wardens patrolled with swords out, pacing down the torch-lit area.
“Which one has the keys?” Thealos whispered to her, glancing from guard to guard.
“That one,” she said, her eyes sharper than his. “The fat one with the stubble. Over there.”
“Good. See if you can find Xenon and the others.”
“Let the braggart rot.” Her smile was unkind.
“We need them all, Stasy. Quickly now. I’ll fetch the key.”
“There are three of them, Quickfellow. Let me help.”
“The Sorian are fighting in the city proper. They could destroy the whole city in their anger. Now go! Find the others.”
After watching to be sure she relented, he started down the main aisle of the corridor towards the chief warden.
“What are you…? How did you…?”
Thealos projected a trickle of fear down the man’s back and watched a shudder go through him.
Before the man could run, Thealos closed the gap between them and sheared the man’s belt with his sword tip. A roar from the prisoners thundered as another shudder struck the tunnels. One of the soldiers stumbled and went down and Thealos summoned his weapon’s magic and whipped the blade around, glancing the man’s throat –a strong enough nick to make him bleed and worry about it. He clamped his boot down on the warden’s keys and sidestepped another thrust. Relieving the soldier of his weapon, he shoved him hard against the bars of a cell and watched him collapse. Snatching the key ring, he joined Stasy down the hall.
Xenon’s chains rattled as he shook them in the cage. “How did you get out, boy?”
Thealos freed the lock on the cell door and it groaned as he opened it. “I’m surprised you haven’t found a way out yourself, Xenon.”
“Hurry and unlock us! What are you standing there for!”
“A promise from you. I let you out, and you follow my instructions.”
“What madness is this? I am the one who was…”
“I don’t have time to argue with you. We do this my way, or I leave you down here. You feel it above us, don’t you? The Sorian are dueling. They’ll bring the whole city down if I don’t get to the Silverkin. Your word, Xenon. That’s all I want from you.”
Thealos lurched against the bars as an earthquake shuddered the tunnels. Ticastasy fell. An overwhelming blackness weighed down on him followed by a stench he would never forget. One of the Sorian had entered the tunnels—coming towards them.
He looked up at Xenon and saw the anger and fear battling in his eyes. It was a struggle for him, Thealos could tell, but the presence of the Sorian in the tunnel nudged the decision.
“You have it. Just don’t get us all killed, boy.”
Chapter XXX
The woman with golden hair trapped in a cage of glass—the image had haunted Exeres his entire life. He knew he was dreaming. That, or he had died beneath a mound of rubble. Miestri had blinded his Druid eye, but now he could see again. Or perhaps he would join her in the prison. Maybe it was the world of the dead.
—You’ve returned. I wasn’t expecting that you would.—
In his mind, he reached out and touched the cool curving glass. “You’ve spoken to me before. Only once. I don’t remember it ever happening before then. How is it that you can hear me?”
He saw her shoulders shrug.
—I’ve been aware of you since you were little. You were born with a special gift.—
“Is this real then?” He tapped the glass. “Or is it a dream?”
—I don’t know.—
She smoothed the front of her amber tunic and cocked her head towards him.