Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
A chill arced up my spine as I inched forward another step along the roof parapet, trying not to look at the forty-foot drop waiting for me if I slipped. Even Fetch seemed concerned, his talons applying subtle pressure through my leather shoulder pad as he stood stock-still.
One foot in front of the other. Just keep moving, don’t look down.
A group of nobles made idle conversation in the courtyard below, completely unaware of the intruder currently traversing the palace’s tiled roof. I halted for a second, wiping a clammy hand across my shirt as the grate of the falcon chute came into view. There was a hole in the middle for the falcons to dive through, but there was also a latch for someone to crawl in to fix things as needed.
I dropped into a crouch, maneuvering my way under the final window at a snail’s pace. A tinge of anticipation interrupted the waves of anxiety that’d been rolling through me since I’d first climbed up onto the roof.
My time spent in The Hollow earning coin as everything from tinker to chimney sweep had excised any fear of tight spaces, so the impending switch from slippery roof-stalking to shimmying was a welcome one.
I strode the rest of the way across, leaning forward to grab the edges of the grate as soon as it came into reach.
Safe.
Getting in was an easy enough task, and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of space. I’d expected to have to crawl the whole way through.
I pulled one of the candles from my pouch, lit it, then began inching forward. Falcons had excellent night vision, and the wisps of torchlight filtering through the narrow slits below were far from adequate for my very human eyes.
I frowned, pushing past a wave of revulsion as the candle sparked to life, illuminating the space. Streaks of brown-and-white spattered the floor and walls, and the smell grew stronger with every step. I didn’t have time to worry about it much, though. At least it was dry, seeing as the chutes weren’t used much. My heart skipped a beat as soft footsteps echoed up from below, and I poked my head through the nearest chute to get a better look. A small patrol of guards marched down the hall, their quiet chatter barely audible at this height.
My stomach growled, and I slowed my pace even more as I continued scuttling down the chute in a low crouch. The fact that I could hear them at all was concerning, because that meant, if the room was quiet enough, they could hear me moving around up here, too…
The footsteps disappeared before long, and, luckily, it wasn’t a trend. I made it to the first major bend without incident, then took a right after a quick consult with Bertrand’s map.
Dozens of tunnels led out of this main one, with each of them no doubt leading to even more off-shoot channels. A message could be sent directly to almost any room in the building within minutes, and I couldn’t shake the grudging respect I felt for the architects of the place. The shafts were hardly even noticeable from the floor below, and it was only now that I was up here that I could fully appreciate the effort that would’ve gone into creating such an intricate network.
A sudden squeak shook me from my thoughts, and I turned to find a massive rat staring up at me, his beady red eyes glowing in the candlelight. Apparently, even the rodents were well-fed in Little Alabaster because the bastard was two feet long. I’d seen more than my share of rats in The Hollow, but had any of them looked muscular?
It’s just because you’re so close to it. Calm down and breathe…
My fingers dug into my palm, and I forced my body completely still even as every fiber of my being was urging me to wave my arms and holler until it fucked off. Even Fetch seemed wary, not budging from his perch on my shoulder, though he eyed the rodent as if he’d like to take a shot at it.
He’s as afraid of you as you are of him, I reminded myself. I waved a silent hand in the rat’s direction, but he apparently took it as a slight, because he let out another squeak and launched himself straight at me. I scuttled back and my boots crossed, sending me tumbling ass over tea kettle. Pain shot up my arm as my elbow clanged against the shaft’s iron wall. I bit down hard on my lower lip, resisting the urge to cry out.
Okay, maybe not quite as afraid as I was.
Fetch clicked his beak and flapped his wings as the cat-sized rat scurried past, disappearing into the inky blackness beyond. I waited a long moment, straining to hear any sounds below but was met with only silence.
“What kind of falcon are you?” I whispered, holding in a hysterical, adrenaline-fueled giggle.
Fetch was as brave as they came—hell, he’d taken on a bear for me—but apparently even he had his limits. Facing off against a ten-pound rat was that limit, and I had to respect it.
We wove our way through the next few turns with hardly a peep from the palace below. Bertrand had chosen our path well. When the passage began to slope steadily downward, I knew we were approaching the lower levels of the palace. I kept a guiding hand against the wall as we proceeded. Only a couple turns more, and, according to the map, we were about to arrive at the next one.
I glanced down the chute as we arrived, my stomach twisting with anxiety as the sound of voices pricked at my ears, coming from the room below that sub-shaft. To make matters worse, this one sloped downward more sharply, leading underground where the dungeon was. For a falcon, no problem with a bit of a dive. For me? This was going to be interesting.
I turned, shimmying butt-first down the shaft. I wedged myself against the wall of the chute with my boot and then glanced down to consult the map. I was on the ceiling of the kitchen area, apparently. And the voices below confirmed that with a half-audible discussion about the palace’s grain stores and something about making rye loaves instead of wheat.
Just a bit further.
I slid down, landing lightly on the next chute. Crouched, I worked my way around the next bend—a crossroads of four directions—and stopped short. I needed to go straight, but directly ahead of me was a gaping hole in what had been the metal of a grate. It was as if it had been chewed through by rats. Only the other side of the hole was…nothing. Rather than revealing any part of the palace below, the hole led only to an inky, endless void.
A knot formed in my belly as I stared into the all-too-familiar rift.
The darkness that had eaten away at the box the glass shoes had come in, what felt like a lifetime ago. The day of the Jubilee, where it all started.
I suppressed a wave of nausea, not daring to move another inch. What would happen if I stepped past it?
I held my candle out with a shaky hand and inserted the bottom inch into the hole. An icy chill shot through my hand, and I snapped backward, withdrawing it. My heart hammered against my ribcage as I stared at the shortened stump of wax in shock. It was still cold to the touch, but, more alarmingly, the bottom chunk had been sliced clean off, consumed by the nothing.
Moll’s voice rang in my ears. “Don’t think about it. Don’t you dare even think about it, Harmony Marie Fallowell. You just have to push through right now. Just not that way.”
She was right. If I let myself fall down this rabbit hole into a full-blown panic, I was never getting out of here. Whatever the black holes were, I had nothing to do with them, right?
Right.
Sweat pooled at my brow, and Fetch shifted restlessly on my shoulder as I squirmed backward, reaching for my map. I stared down at it, doing my best to remain calm. There was a half-dozen more chutes, but all required me to climb back up that steep incline to get back to the main shaft.
I crawled back, nibbling at my inner lip as I stared up. It would be damn-near impossible to get back up at all, never mind doing it quietly. So what the hell did I do? I could use the map to forge a different path, but according to Bertrand, some channels were too narrow for me to fit, and I had no way of knowing which until I got there…
My head started to thump as I stared down the maze of the map, and my lungs tightened.
Think.
No! a little voice inside my head chimed in. Stop thinking. Open your mind to the possibilities of the gifts you possess.
I let my eyes drift shut, pushing the blueprint from my mind completely. Then, I tried to imagine the maze of chutes as the interior of a lock, with channels and divots and dips and turns. My head felt like it was about to split open, but just as I was going to open my eyes, an image blinked to life in my head…
And I saw .
I knew.
There was no second-guessing as I took the chute to my left and made a series of turns. It was a less direct route, but I made good progress. By the time I slid silently down the final shaft toward the chute that opened to the dungeon entrance, I was shaky with adrenaline.
Thank you, Gayelette. It was her voice, her direction that had given me the courage to reach for something…more.
I wanted to weep with relief, but there was no time for theatrics. I tugged out the incapacitator and extended it all the way, my hands sticky with sweat. The guard was just around the corner. I had to move quickly and confidently, there would be no second chances if I lost the element of surprise…
One… two ? —
I sucked in a final, strengthening breath, then lunged forward, jabbing my incapacitator at him.
The guard spun toward me, fumbling for his sword as I squeezed down on the trigger for dear life. He stumbled backward as sparks arced from the tip, and my heartbeat thrummed in my ears as I waited.
Please work, please work.
The stick vibrated to life in my hands, and I winced as the electricity inside surged out at him, consuming him in a blinding spray of sparks and light. I released it, muttering a quick apology as he slumped to the floor below.
I strode forward, grabbing his sword with one hand and putting my other to his neck.
Thump, thump, thump .
I breathed out in relief as I strapped the blade and scabbard to my belt.
Not dead.
And, really, I should’ve killed him, if all I cared about was getting Billy O'Donnelly and escaping to The Hollow to meet up with Moll.
But that wasn’t all I cared about.
I refused to become like them, even in my quest for justice. I’d kill if someone attacked me, and I’d have stabbed the king himself in Moll’s defense with zero regrets, but this was different. This man was doing his job and following orders like so many under the rule of a tyrant. That didn’t make him blameless, but the system at large was the real problem. I’d show mercy when I could.
I folded up my incapacitator and stuffed it into my bag, pulling out my lockpick in the same motion. The lock on the main door to the dungeon looked complicated, but I had yet to meet my match and today was not going to be the day. Not with my easy lockpick.
I knelt, jamming the front of the pick into the keyhole and pressing the button. As expected, no luck. I fiddled a bit longer, forcing my eyes closed and focusing on it with everything I had. A mental map of the lock’s innards floated to the forefront of my mind. I drew back on the pick a hair and adjusted my fingers to set everything in place. Then, I held my breath and pressed down.
The metal lock clicked open, and I forced down my anxiety as I gently pushed the door open. I waited a few beats, but no other guards emerged. I spared a glance for the one on the ground, wrinkling my nose as a foul odor wafted over to me.
Jackal?!
My eyes shot up, scanning the room I’d just come from, then settled back on the guard as realization struck. The guy had shit himself from being hit with the incapacitator.
Better than a Jackal for sure.
I nudged the door open further with my leg and grabbed hold of the guard’s shoulders, heaving with everything I had as I dragged him into the dungeon with me. I tossed him into the open cell to the right and locked him inside. He’d still be able to call out once he woke up, but at least this way he couldn’t run for help or come after me.
I opened my mouth to tell Fetch to scout ahead, but he glided off before I could. What I’d done before had been special, and I doubted that I could replicate it at will, but something had clearly changed. I could almost sense his eagerness as he streaked through the gray, stone dungeon, his eyes and ears open for danger. If I managed to stay alive, I’d have plenty of time to think about all that. I rounded the first corner, my confusion deepening with each cell I passed. Not a single prisoner so far.
The map I’d gotten from Bertrand didn’t have much detail about non-vented areas like the dungeons, but there did appear to be a whole other wing to the place, and it didn’t look very far.
I cursed under my breath, squeezing the hilt of my stolen sword. It’d be a good fifteen minutes before my incapacitator was ready for another use, and I didn’t like my odds in a sword fight against a well-trained soldier.
So did that mean I should wait? If I did, how long would it take before another guard came by and noticed the first one’s absence?
“Who the hell are you?”
I jumped, my gaze snapping forward as the voice cut through the otherwise silent dungeon. A woman’s apple-cheeked face appeared three cells down, pressed tight against the iron bars.
I breathed out in relief, striding toward the cell. “Are you the only one in this whole wing? I’m looking for a man.”
Her tawny curls shook as she pulled a shrug. “I can be a man if you want me to be,” she said with a broad wink. “Just let me out.”
I pulled out my lockpick, bent low, and got to work, hoping my kind deed would net me some information. “Look, I’ll let you out, regardless. But I’m hoping you can help me. Have you heard any guards or other prisoners talking about a guy named Billy?” If he was anywhere near as strange as his brothers, he’d be pretty hard to forget.
She let out a sigh, her brilliant, sky-blue eyes threatening to roll into the back of her head. “ I’m Billy. I take it that my dum dum brothers didn’t tell you I’m a woman.”
I rocked back on my heels and let out a relieved breath as I continued to work. “They didn’t mention it, no.”
The telltale click had me tugging hard at the iron lock and, a second later, the cell door swung open. Billy strode through, her cupid’s bow lips curling into an impish grin as she wiggled her fingers in greeting. “So how many heads do we gotta crack to get out of here?”
“Haven’t seen a guard since the one at the entrance,” I said, gesturing for her to follow as I took a final glance at my map. The fastest way out was through, if we could just make it to the next falcon shaft. It was the one I would’ve entered through if not for the dead-end.
Turning back was hardly an option now, anyway. The shaft I’d entered through was nigh-inaccessible at that height, and there was no way of knowing whether a patrol had noticed the missing guard. I’d just have to hope I could use the map and whatever skill I had inside my head to find us an alternate path back through the chutes and out of this fucking place.
She frowned slightly, taking long strides to keep pace with me. She was tiny . A full head shorter than me—hardly what I’d expected from the boss of the O’Donnelly brothers—but I couldn’t deny that she had…moxie as her brother’s would no doubt say.
“The place is usually crawling with the fuckers; how’d you get it so empty?”
“Something big is going on in Little Alabaster right now, the guards have been occupied with other things,” I said.
She groaned. “Fookin’ hell…please tell me that my idiot brothers don’t have anything to do with the ‘big’ something...”
“They do not.” We passed another dozen or so empty cells, and I chewed at my inner lip.
Still no sign of Amelia or her mother.
“This is the womens’ wing, I take it?”
“More like a woman ’s wing. Only the guards are left to keep me company now. Been trying to lure one of them with the promise of a little sucky sucky, but he won’t take the bait. Guess he’s a tad smarter than he looks.” She nudged me, waiting for me to look over before snapping her teeth down pointedly.
“What about before these past couple days? No one else here?” I asked, ignoring her wordless admission that she had no qualms about biting a man’s dick off. “I’m looking for a girl named Amelia and her mother, though I’m not sure they ended up here.”
Billy’s face scrunched. “Yeesh. Those two…Hope they weren’t your kinfolk. Those rat-bastard guards brought them in. They were only here for a few hours before that creepy fucker Relyk had them brought to his interrogation room for questioning by him and the king.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Never saw them again.”
I closed my eyes, trying my best to suppress the tide of horror and guilt that threatened to consume me. However you sliced it, their blood was on my hands. If I’d stood up and confessed what had really happened, they’d both be alive.
But Moll would be dead, a little voice reasoned. It’s not your fault that Relyk and the king are evil bastards.
I shook off the guilt and tried to focus. There would be time for reflection and regrets later. For now, it was going to take everything I had to get Billy and I out of here alive.
Fetch’s talons tightened suddenly on my shoulder as a soft thumping broke the silence.
Fuck.
I put a hand out, stopping Billy behind me. My other hand strayed toward my pouch on instinct as the door began to shake, but the incapacitator still needed some time to recharge before it’d be of much use. That left me two options: beat whoever it was in a sword fight or run back the way we came and hope we found an escape route before they caught us or sounded the alarm.
None of those options were great.
I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword as I stepped closer, and the door rumbled open. Then I tugged it free as the guard stepped through.
Apparently, Billy had something else in mind, and she pushed past me. “Hey there, handsome,” she called, hauling up the hem of her shirt and baring her substantial breasts.
The guard stood stock still, eyes pinned to the woman’s tits as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
“Uhh…I…you?—”
But Billy didn’t wait for him to get his thoughts together as she leapt forward in a blur, her leg darting out to roundhouse kick him in the face, then dropping to a knee and punching him straight in the twig and berries. He let out a choked gurgle and went to his own knees. Billy jabbed two fingers directly into his eye, as if the previous blows hadn’t been enough. His howl of pain was cut short as she angled her hand and chopped him in the side of the neck. He dropped like a rock and smacked his head on the floor.
Billy yanked his sword from its scabbard, righted her shirt, and shot me a questioning look.
“What’s next?”