“So we grab him,” Cat said.
“That might be difficult,” Jade said. His eye ran down the notebook. “Apparently, there are six levels to the Tower of Alexis and only two entrances, the second–as we surmised–opening onto a small dock. The lower two levels are for the staff, who are apparently kept separate from the outer guard force completely; the upper four levels are for prisoners. Witt didn’t have the wit to try to find out who else is being held in the complex, or where they may be held. He was discouraged from asking.”
“I’m not surprised,” Cat said.
“In the event of the Tower being attacked, the outer guards have orders to keep the attackers at bay as long as possible while the inner guards deal with the prisoners,” Jade continued, grimly. “Witt believes the inner guards have orders to kill some or all of the prisoners if there’s a chance of them being rescued, but he doesn’t know for sure. It’s also possible that they have orders to get the prisoners shackled, then marched down to a boat and sent away before the defenses fall completely. He simply didn’t know.”
His lips twitched. “On the plus side, he was allowed to go inside the wards. So we can find someone like him and trick him into carrying the parchment. Witt was kind enough to give us a list of his fellows.”
“If it works,” Emily said.
“It will,” Jade said. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. “Witt didn’t know who they were guarding, but he did know that their time may be running out. There’s an execution square behind the Tower, apparently, and the executioner has been practicing.”
Cat leaned forward. “That doesn’t prove that Alassa is going to be executed.”
“I know,” Jade said. “But Imaiqah might be beheaded at any moment. She might have already outlived her usefulness.”
Or Alassa might have already miscarried, Emily thought. She didn’t think Randor would kill his only legitimate child as long as there was a chance she could give him grandchildren, but it was evident that Randor had been growing more and more paranoid for years. Or Randor might hope to substitute Alicia’s child for Alassa’s.
It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but once it had passed through her mind it refused to leave. No one could reasonably mistake an eighteen-month-old baby for a newborn, but…Randor might be able to swing it, with a little effort. He could come up with a story about an early pregnancy and a weakling baby who’d needed excellent medical care to survive…or simply announce the birth and keep the child under wraps for a year or two. The baby would be unusually large for his declared age, but why let that stop him? People would believe because they wanted to believe the succession was secure.
And anyone who argues to the contrary would be accused of peddling conspiracy theories, she thought, recalling all the nonsense she’d read on the internet. Zangaria might not have an internet, but the rumor mill was completely out of control. Who’d imagine the king would substitute a bastard child for his grandchild?
She smiled, despite herself. Just about everyone who didn’t think the king was the infallible father of his country.
“So we finish the preparations and then we move,” Cat said. He looked at Emily. “How long until we have enough magic to proceed?”
“Another couple of days should leave us with enough magic.” Emily frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Do we know how many other prisoners are in the Tower?”
“No,” Jade said. “Witt didn’t know.”
“Then we have to decide what to do with anyone else we find along the way,” Emily said, slowly. She wished that thought had occurred to her earlier. “Some of those prisoners might actually deserve to be in jail.”
“And some might not,” Cat said. “Annoying the king isn’t a crime.”
“That’s Randor’s problem, not ours,” Jade said. He cleared his throat. “We use the charmed parchment to take down the wards, we scan the building for Alassa and Imaiqah, we grab them and get out and run. Anything else is not our problem.”
Cat snorted. “What about the ones who might help us?”
“Our priority is Alassa and Imaiqah,” Jade said. His voice was very firm. “Anyone else can go through the portal, if they wish, but after that they’re on their own. We won’t have the power to teleport them away.”
“Understood,” Emily said. It was a hard decision, but one she understood. Even if Jade had been willing to take the time to muster enough power to open a second portal, they’d be tracked the moment the portal was opened. “I guess we’re almost ready to move.”
“Pretty much,” Jade agreed. He looked torn between eagerness and concern. “Did you check the equations?”
“As best as I could,” Emily said. She wished, suddenly, for Professor Lombardi. Or even Yodel or Caleb or Aloha. Someone who actually knew what they were doing would be very helpful. “Didn’t you check them too?”
“They appear to be perfect.” Jade sounded as though he’d bitten into a lemon. “But we might have missed something.”
“We all checked them,” Cat said, lightly. “I don’t blame you for fretting, Jade, but there are limits to how many times we can check them. We’ll recheck one final time once we move to the townhouse and start preparations.”
He clapped his hands. “I don’t want to be pissy about this,” he added, “but it is practically morning already. First light will be in an hour or two. And I want to hit my bed.”
“Give it a punch or two from me,” Jade said, mischievously.
“Certainly,” Cat said. “And then I’ll slice it to ribbons with my sword.”
Emily forced herself to stand. It was hard to get her legs to move, but–somehow–she stumbled across the floor and into her bedroom. She nearly stumbled before she could reach the bed. Cat had wanted to share with her, once upon a time–it felt an eternity ago–and she’d been tempted, but she’d said no. Perhaps that had been a mistake, she told herself, as she hit the bed. A helping hand would have been very useful.
She heard someone moving behind her. “Emily,” Cat said. His voice was studiously unemotional. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
Emily blinked. That was unlike Cat. He’d…her mind caught up a second later. Jade must have asked him to stay with Emily, if she wanted him. It wouldn’t be right for Jade to stay close to her, whatever the reason. It wouldn’t be right…
“Just…just hold hands,” she said, slowly. She wasn’t in any fit state for anything else. Her vision was starting to blur. It crossed her mind that she’d never been so welcoming, so trusting, of anyone, even Caleb. Perhaps she was just too tired to care about the dangers of sharing a bed with someone. “And be there.”
She closed her eyes, feeling him settling down beside her. She was so tired. She wanted to sleep. And yet it was a long time before sleep claimed her…
…And, once she was asleep, the nightmares began.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
EMILY DIDN’T FEEL MUCH BETTER THE following morning, although Witt’s memories were already starting to fade. She ate a big breakfast–she was amused to discover that Jade actually cooked when the sergeant wasn’t breathing down his neck–and then returned to the workshop, just in time to discover that Alicia had primed her side of the chat parchment and started to write to her. Her messages were short, nowhere near as helpful as she had hoped, but they were a start.
“A shame we can’t ask her if anyone’s noticed Witt’s death,” Jade said. “She would probably reveal far too much just by asking.”
“A pity,” Emily agreed.