“Be quiet!” ordered Carline.
There came a cracking sound from the floor, and Carline leaped to her feet. Her sword came out of its scabbard as a fracture appeared in the stones of the floor. A chisel point broke through the flagstone, and suddenly the upturned stone was pushed up and outward.
Ladies screamed as a hole appeared in the floor. A startled face popped into the light, then a Tsurani warrior, hair filthy from the dirt of the tunnel, tried to scramble upward Carline’s sword took him in the throat as she shouted, “Get out! Call the guards!”
Most of the women sat frozen in terror, refusing to move. Lady Marna heaved her massive bulk from the bench upon which she sat and gave a shrieking town girl a backhanded slap. The girl looked at Lady Marna with wide-eyed fright for an instant, then broke toward the steps. As if at a signal, the others ran after, screaming for help.
Carline watched as the Tsurani slowly fell back, blocking the hole in the floor. Other cracks appeared around the hole, and hands pulled pieces of flagstone downward into the ever-widening entrance. Lady Marna was halfway to the steps when she saw Carline standing her ground. “Princess!” she shrieked.
Another man came scrambling upward, and Carline delivered a death blow to him. She was then forced back as the stones near her feet collapsed. The Tsurani had terminated their tunnel in a wide hole and were now broadening the entrance, pulling down stones so that they could swarm out, overwhelming any defenders.
A man fought upward, pushing Carline to one side, allowing another to start his climb upward Lady Mama ran back to her former ward and grabbed up a large piece of loose stone, which she brought crashing down on the unhelmeted skull of the second man. Grunts and strange-sounding words came from the tunnel mouth as the man fell back upon those behind.
Carline ran the other man through and kicked another in the face. “Princess!” cried Lady Marna. “We must flee!”
Carline didn’t answer. She dodged a blow at her feet delivered by a Tsurani who then sprang nimbly out of the hole. Carline thrust and the man dodged. Another came scrambling out of the hole, and the Lady Marna shrieked.
The first man turned reflexively at the sound, and Carline drove her sword into his side. The second man raised a serrated sword to strike Lady Marna, and Carline sprang for him, thrusting her sword point into his neck. The man shuddered and fell, his fingers releasing their grip on the sword Carline grabbed Lady Marna’s arm and propelled her toward the steps.
Tsurani came swarming out of the hole, and Carline turned at the bottom of the stairs Lady Marna stood behind her beloved Princess, not willing to leave. The Tsurani approached wanly. The girl had killed enough of their companions to warrant their respect and caution.
Suddenly a body crashed past the girl as Roland charged into the Tsurani, soldiers of the keep hurrying behind. The young Squire was in a frenzy to protect the Princess, and he boiled over three Tsurani in his rush. They tumbled backward, disappearing into the hole, Roland with them.
As the Squire vanished from view, Carline screamed, “Roland!” Other guards leaped past the Princess to engage the Tsurani who still stood in the cellar, and more jumped boldly into the hole. Grunts and cries, shouts and oaths rang from the tunnel.
A guard took Carline by the arm and began to drag her up the stairs. She followed, helpless in the man’s strong grip, crying, “Roland!”
Grunts of exertion filled the dark tunnel as the soldiers from Crydee dug furiously. Arutha had found the Tsurani tunnel and had ordered a shaft sunk near it. They were now digging a countertunnel to intercept the Tsurani, near the wall. Amos had agreed with Arutha’s judgment that they needed to force the Tsurani back beyond the wall before collapsing the tunnel, denying them any access to the castle.
A shovel broke through, and men began frantically clearing away enough dirt to allow passage into the Tsurani tunnel. Boards were hastily jammed into place, jerry-rigged supports, preventing the earth above from caving in on them.
The men from Crydee surged into the low tunnel and entered a frantic, terrible melee. Tsurani warriors and Roland’s squad of soldiers were locked in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle in the dark. Men fought and died in the gloom under the earth. It was impossible to bring order to the fray, with the fighting in such confinement. An overturned lantern flickered faintly, providing little illumination.
Arutha said to a soldier behind, “Get more men!”
“At once, Highness!” answered the soldier, turning toward the shaft.