She wasn’t there. He’d chosen wrong.
Alex ran back up to the junction and the infirmary in the first level of the keep, dispatching several sick and weak guards without hesitation, but found no trace of Sage. Though he feared what he might find, he checked the cold room, where he came across the body of a castle guard, dead almost a day from what looked like blood loss. Other than a broken left arm, the only wound the man had was under the right shoulder, where he’d bled out. One of the pickets must’ve done it.
Relieved, he returned to the sickroom and three stunned healers staring at the bodies around them. “You won’t be harmed if you go to the Great Hall now,” he told them. “Otherwise you’ll end up like them.” He pointed with his sword to his earlier victims. At that moment the barracks in the outer ward exploded, and a dozen screams followed.
“Or them,” he added before turning and running from the room.
*
It felt like he had a chapel bell clanging in his skull. Casseck rubbed his left ear as he clambered down the steps to the ground level of the inner gate, his hand coming away bloody. Every noise on that side sounded like it was underwater. Sergeant Porter came up to report the outer gate was secure, and Casseck left him in charge of the area and joined Gramwell outside the Great Hall.
“Have we found her yet?” asked Gramwell.
Casseck shook his head. “I don’t think so.” Alex was searching the keep from bottom to top.
Gramwell looked up at the keep. “The longer it takes, the more I worry something will go wrong.”
Casseck shared his friend’s concern. Every minute was a minute D’Amiran had to slit Sage’s throat. He peered into the Great Hall. Nearly half the nobles inside had their hands bound behind them. The other half looked dazed and resigned while Corporal Mason kept watch with a crossbow as two soldiers tied up the rest.
Regardless of where Sage was, they still had to capture the duke. “Take two men,” he told Gramwell. “Go find the captain and assist him as needed. I’ll take charge here.”
*
The red fire burned lower and what little smoke it produced was dissipated by the rain. Charlie gave up trying to direct it with the flag and looked down over the side of the keep. Black smoke obscured almost his whole view of the scene below. Cries of agony floated up from the area of the explosion. He had the last packet of red blaze with him, but Alex had told him to save it for the pickets if they came so they could take it back across the pass. His job now was to stay put until Alex or one of the soldiers fetched him.
Charlie tucked himself under the small shelter the fire bowl offered and warmed his chilled fingers on its underside.
The wooden floor beneath him thumped with the impact of someone trying to break through the trapdoor.
81
CHARLIE WEDGED THE remaining flagpoles across the trapdoor, but it was only a matter of time before the guards below bashed it open. Too late, he realized the crossbow wasn’t loaded. He didn’t have the strength to pull the string back without using a crank, and there was none. Charlie cast his eyes to the rope looped around a crenellation. The Kimisar body hanging from it was too heavy for him to lift, which left climbing down. If he cut the body loose, maybe he could swing to a window, but he doubted it. Even if his frozen hands could manage to hold on to the slippery rope, he probably wouldn’t have time to cut it before the guards below broke through and pulled him up.
Or until they cut the rope from above.
He leaned over the edge to look down and shivered. Backing away, he tripped over one of the two miniature barrels he’d brought up. Normally they would’ve contained ale, but Alex had filled them with a purer spirit, one that would burn. Charlie threw himself to his knees and began prying them open with his dagger.
Just as he got the second open by its end, the trapdoor lifted, revealing a straining face beneath. Charlie hastily dumped the contents down the hole and all over the man standing on a box of kindling. The soldier cursed and sputtered as the door dropped shut. Charlie stood and wrapped the wet flag around his hand, reached under the metal rain guard over the fire bowl, and grabbed a burning chunk of wood.
Once again the door creaked and lifted, and this time when Charlie poured the alcohol, he touched the flame to the liquid, creating a waterfall of fire, then kicked the burning wood and flaming barrel at the man’s face. The trapdoor slammed back down, and Charlie heard him and another man screaming. He rolled away, slapping at his trousers to extinguish the flames, which had caught him, too.
Charlie cowered against the wall as the wooden floor steamed from the inferno raging below, consuming the men and stored firewood. But no matter how tightly he clutched his ears, he could not block out their screams.
*
Alex returned to the junction and took the other fork, up toward the quarters of the household. It was foolish to be doing this alone, but the thought of Sage ending up like the Kimisar soldier hanging from the keep drove him forward.
The next level was a large gathering room that served as the Great Hall in the early days of the fortress. At the moment, it was used for storage and housing some of the guests. It appeared deserted, but he couldn’t risk anyone coming up behind him. He paced around the room, kicking chairs noisily aside. He saw no one.
Before reentering the passage, he paused inside the door to listen and caught the sound of a guard coming down and around the corner. From somewhere there also came the scent of burning wood, which differed from the oil used to light up the tents and armory. Alex pulled out a knife and stepped back several feet from the opening, making himself visible as the guard crossed in front of the door. The man barely had time to pause when the dagger came flying at him and buried itself in his neck.
Alex retrieved his knife and continued up the stairs.
*
Charlie crouched on the stone wall between the higher crenellations as the wooden floor smoked and smoldered. One side collapsed as the support beneath burned away. The stack of firewood must have contained several fast-burning items for sending signals, much like red blaze, because green flames licked up through the hole. Though he was more frightened than ever, Charlie was grateful the screaming had finally stopped.