Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Out of Time
Adela’s words hit me like a punch in the gut. Elena is in terrible danger.
“What kind of danger?” I pleaded.
“The note you delivered contained intelligence from our spy planted in Tarnasau’s Royal Guard,” she said between puffs of breath, still winded from her speedy entrance.
“What does it say?” I asked with a hint of impatience.
“It often contains names of people on the Royal Guard’s target list, people they suspect are Emberborn. We look them up in our ledgers, then find them and warn them, potentially helping them escape the city. Today’s note contains your name and your sister’s.”
“What?!” I choked out. “Is my sister in immediate danger?”
“Possibly. The note was vague. It mentioned only your given names.”
“Can I see it?” I asked, holding out my hand.
Adela paused for a moment, looking uncertain, but then she nodded and handed the note over.
I scanned her translation and locked it in my memory. Since I had the glyphs in the original note memorized as well, I thought I might be able to find the pattern. That would be an exercise for another time.
The note contained the following passage:
Detain subjects for questioning. Given names: Cassian and Elena. Short dark hair, long red hair. Often seen selling in the Citadel Market. Possibly dangerous.
My blood turned to ice. “I have to get to my sister!” I was glad I’d told Elena to stay away from the market. If only I could shake the nagging feeling that she hadn’t heeded my advice, which was often the case.
Adela sighed. “I’m afraid the earliest you can leave safely is tomorrow morning. We sneak people out at the change of shift for the kitchen staff.”
“Tomorrow’s not soon enough. I need to leave now.”
Edric cut in. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. It’s too risky. And the risk is not just to you.”
“If I have to, I’ll scale the wall right now.”
Edric scowled. “The archers will shoot you down before you make it halfway. And you’ll bring Tarnasau’s wrath down on us.”
My stomach churned. I didn’t want to put the clock tenders in peril, but sitting here when Elena might be in danger was simply impossible. I was at a loss for words, so I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to hold back the anger and sadness spilling out of me.
Adela gently placed a hand on her father’s shoulder. “There is another way.”
“Bah!” Edric spat. “It’s too dangerous.”
I snapped my eyes open. “But if the danger is only to me, I’ll do it.”
Adela looked grave. “This path is treacherous. It’s through the clockworks. There’s a decent chance you’ll slip and fall to your death.”
“I choose that path,” I said without a hint of uncertainty.
“Very well,” Adela said. “I need to write a note back to the council, and then we can leave right away.”
Adela left to write her note. It was all I could do not to jump out of my skin. Edric remained silent with a frown on his face. I knew I was harming his impression of me, but my need to get to Elena was simply too great.
Soon Adela returned, and we left right away, heading down a long corridor.
We reached a stone staircase that rose in a tight spiral.
It twisted up for several stories with only the occasional arrow slit providing a thin sliver of light.
By the time we reached the top, we were both breathing heavily.
We came to an imposing iron door adorned with metal rivets. Adela knocked on the door, which boomed with each strike. A small slit opened near the top, and a pair of eyes peered out.
“The willow weed is bountiful this year,” a gruff male voice called out.
“But not as bountiful as the dew lilies,” Adela replied.
The man nodded with a grunt, eyes focused on me. “Who is he?”
“A recruit. He needs a quick exit using the emergency protocol.”
The slit closed, and moments later, a loud scrape of metal on stone echoed throughout the hallway.
The door creaked open, the metal hinges protesting with a high-pitched squeal.
An imposing man stood behind the door. He had a beard that extended halfway down his chest and muscles that bulged beneath the same craftsperson’s leather outfit that seemed to be common among the clock tenders.
He stood back and gestured us in, his eyes narrowed and never straying far from me.
Adela guided me into a massive room filled with a maze of metal cogs, springs, and pistons, all in constant motion.
A steady ticking came from every direction, marking the never-ending passage of time.
The smell of machine oil permeated everything.
Sunlight filtered in through towering stained glass windows on all four sides of the room.
Clock hands and tick marks cast shadows on the glass from the outside.
“Welcome to the clockworks,” Adela said. “You are now among a select few who have ever seen this room. Follow me, and watch that you don’t get caught up in any of the gears.”
Adela guided me deep into the mechanics of the clock.
Whirring sounds came from all around us.
She took out a parchment that looked similar to the one I had given her earlier.
“This contains information that is critical to the Emberlight Council and will also help you and your sister. Do you accept this mission?”
“I do.”
She explained that I was to meet a contact who would guide me to the council at a specific tavern in the Underworld.
“Now, on to the hard part,” she said as we approached a mechanism within the clockworks where a notched lever clicked along a ratchet wheel. Both were the size of full-grown men.
“Beyond these clockworks is a shaft that drains excess machine oil. It drops all the way to the sub-basement of the Citadel Library. Once you’re there, you’ll be able to leave the building without attracting attention as long as you wear your initiate robes.
But as you can see, getting to the shaft while the clock is operating is impossible, since you’d have only one tick of the clock to get through without being crushed by the machinery. ”
“You’re going to use your Chronothene Ember to slow time,” I said.
“That’s right,” Adela said, sounding impressed.
“We do this occasionally to perform maintenance on the clock. It’s how we’re able to tune or repair it without ever stopping it.
But you won’t be aware of the pause in time.
I’ll push you through, but from your perspective, one moment you’ll be here and the next you’ll be beside a shaft that drops hundreds of feet.
Everything is slick with the oil we use to keep the gears in motion, so you’ll have to be ready for it. ”
“I’ve found that I have some awareness of time pauses, likely because of my Veilsense. Maybe that’ll only happen if you let me perceive it? I’m not exactly sure how it works.”
“That’s not possible,” Adela said, her eyes narrowing. “Only another person with Chronothene can share in the time shift.”
“I’ve done it before, and I assure you it is possible.”
“Done it with whom?” she asked.
My mind immediately went back to those nights with Darion. Although my thoughts were consumed with concern for my sister, I still felt my face heat at the memory of that intimate moment.
“His name is Darion Thorne. He’s the one who invited me to the Emberlight Trials.”
A subtle shift occurred in Adela’s eyes, barely perceptible but undeniably there. She said nothing, but her face was pinched.
“Do you know him?” I asked.
“We can’t delay any longer,” Adela said, almost too quickly. “Are you ready?”
Something felt off, but I didn’t have the time to dig further with Elena in danger. “Let’s do it.”
“I’ll attempt to extend my Chronothene Ember to you, but if it doesn’t work, be ready to hold on for your life.”
“I’m ready.”
Adela concentrated on the pawl as it climbed up a tooth of the ratchet.
As it crested the edge, the warmth of her Ember enveloped me.
The scent of ozone and citrus collided with what had become a familiar feeling of time ceasing to abide by its usual rules.
Though I’d seen it happen many times now, it was still spectacularly unreal.
All the machinery froze, and a low-pitched hum replaced the whirring and ticking of the clockwork.
I couldn’t imagine ever getting used to this.
Adela looked perplexed. “You really can perceive this, can’t you?”
I nodded.
“Remarkable. But we have no time to waste.”
Adela barely fit between the gears. Machine oil streaked her sides, but it blended right into her worn leather garments as if this had happened a hundred times before.
With my slight build and dexterity, I mostly avoided touching the machinery, but with time frozen, it felt like moving through molasses.
We both had to stoop to avoid the cogs overhead. The ground was slick with oil.
“Watch your step,” she warned as we approached a dark square hole in the ground. I had never been afraid of heights, but the sight of the tunnel dropping so many stories made my stomach flutter.
“That’s a long way down,” I said.
“No one would survive the fall,” she said grimly. “Well, Cassian Nightbrook, this is where we part ways. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. And one last word of warning: Be careful who you trust.”
No one could say that I wasn’t skilled at climbing, but by the time I was halfway down the torturous ladder, I was ready for this descent to be over.
Machine oil coated all surfaces, making every handhold a chore to grip and every rung of the ladder an opportunity to slip to my death.
My hands were raw and slick with oil, and the bottoms of my feet ached.
The entire way down, my thoughts were consumed with the danger Elena might be in.
Knowing that the Royal Guard knew not only our names but also that we were merchants in the Citadel Market meant that if Elena were to even leave our barn, she would be putting herself in great danger.
I desperately wanted to get home quickly, but moving fast was next to impossible on this godsforsaken ladder.
When I finally reached the bottom of the shaft, I found myself in a small room illuminated by a flameless candle. A large vat was positioned directly below the shaft to collect the excess oil. With a long leap, I swung past the vat and avoided ending up in a bath of oil.
Exiting the Citadel Library was supposed to be much easier than entering.
Adela had told me to walk out in my Initiate robes and hope for the best, but I didn’t love that plan.
I hated not being in control. One overzealous guard would be enough to ruin it.
So I decided to shed my robes, which were glistening with oil from my climb down.
An initiate dripping with machine oil would draw too many suspicious eyes. But I had a backup plan.
A section of the eastern outer wall bordered the Analon River. It was a long drop to the water, and it was still light out, so it wasn’t without risk, but it was a chance I had to take for the sake of Elena.
This part of the Citadel Library was on Garrick’s map, so I navigated the twisting tunnels with ease.
Soon I reached a door that led to a parapet running along the top of the eastern outer wall, beside which the Analon River flowed.
Next to the door was a guard station with a large window, where two guards were exchanging stories and roaring with laughter about last night’s drunken escapades at a tavern, which had apparently included a brawl, being slapped by women, and winning at dice.
The guard station was the only obstacle to my escape. I considered a distraction—perhaps a smoke bomb?—but the guards were deep in their conversation. Sometimes doing nothing was the best strategy.
Sometimes not.
I pressed myself against the wall and slid under the guard station window, making it past without a sound as the guards continued their tales of conquest. When I passed through a door, I found myself outside on the parapet.
I walked along, inspecting the railing, which had regular notches in the stonework for archers.
They looked just big enough to slip through.
I peeked through the first notch. At least five stories down, the river flowed past. A light breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees along the bank far below.
My heart fluttered as I considered the jump.
It was too far. I’d never make it.
But farther along the parapet was a flight of stairs descending to a lower level, making it a much easier jump.
I stepped back from the treacherous drop to head for the stairs just as the distinct creak of a bowstring stretching broke the silence.
I spun around to see an archer, bow drawn and aimed directly at me, well within range for a killing shot.
Apparently my black clothing and general appearance were justification enough to shoot without warning. I cursed myself for shedding my robes too early. His hand snapped, releasing the arrow.
At the same instant, a shadow passed over the archer. The caw of a whisperhawk broke the silence, just enough distraction to spoil the archer’s aim. The arrow whizzed past my left shoulder, the fletching of the bow grazing the fabric of my tunic.
Quickly, little Cas! Jump before it’s too late! Zephyra’s thoughts boomed in my mind just as her talons grabbed at the head of the archer in a blur of golden and brown feathers.
Without another thought, I leapt off the wall, dropping the impossible distance toward the rushing river like a stone, hoping I’d come out alive.