Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
Kolt
So far, our plan had worked perfectly. We’d lucked out that only one guard had been on duty and that it had been an inexperienced one. He’d believed our ploy, which I’d only given even odds of working, and despite not remembering my past, I’d known enough to disable him as if it were second nature.
Although the leather binding had stopped the flow of blood, it had also slowed my circulation, so my leg was leaden as I followed Skye through the door and pulled it shut carefully.
The corridor was empty—more good luck—although I didn’t remember being brought into the prison, so I wasn’t sure what was at the end of the dimly lit hallway.
Then I heard it, and my body went rigid. Footsteps were approaching, the sound bouncing off the stairwell visible at the end of the hall.
Skye swiveled her head toward me, eyes wild. My mind whirred as I ran through possibilities. It sounded like one set of feet, but there was no way of knowing how armed the person was or how big. We’d overpowered the guard, but only because we’d tricked him. We wouldn’t be able to do that again.
Making a split-second decision, I took Skye’s hand and pulled her with me as I hurried toward the footsteps. I didn’t have a solid plan yet, but my gut told me that the further from the cells, the better. Skye made a frustrated sound, but she didn’t argue as I tugged her behind me.
We’d barely reached the opening to the stairwell when I glimpsed the tips of dark boots and flattened myself to the wall. I stretched my arm across Skye to hold her behind me and backed us both away from the entrance to the stairs as a Zagrath guard burst from the opening.
He didn’t break his stride or look to either side as he emerged from the stairwell and continued toward the cells. I only had a few moments to decide if we should dart up the stairs or follow the guard, and I had no memories of what I’d done in the past to help me.
Tvek it, I thought. The second he sees the guard unconscious in our cell, he’ll raise the alarm, which means we won’t make it far.
I released Skye’s hand and took a few long strides to reach the guard walking away from us.
Then I struck him fiercely in the side, knowing instinctively where to hit to do the most damage.
Once he’d fallen to his knees, I curled my arm around his neck and squeezed until he lost consciousness, ignoring his hands as they scrabbled at my bare arm or his desperate gasps for air.
“Holy hell,” Skye whispered as she came up behind me. “You’re great at that.”
My chest swelled from the compliment, but I didn’t pause to thank her.
Instead, I dragged the second guard back through the door to the cells, depositing him inside, taking his blaster, passing it to Skye, and closing the door.
It wasn’t the best place to hide him, but I didn’t want to waste more time by taking him all the way to our old cell.
Besides, I didn’t know when either guard would wake.
We needed to put significantly more distance between them and us before that time.
I ran back down the corridor on my toes so I wouldn’t make too much noise, and I grabbed Skye’s hand on the way, pulling the first blaster from my waistband. “Let’s go.”
Her jaw was hanging open, but she didn’t protest as I ran up the stairs, with her one step behind me. At the top step, I paused with my blaster at the ready. I didn’t hear more boots slapping stone, which was a relief. But when I emerged from the staircase, I stopped.
We were in the middle of a hallway lined with doors, but I had no idea which way to go. We’d no doubt been brought this way when we arrived, but I recalled none of that.
Skye saved me by yanking my hand and whispering, “It’s this way.”
We reversed roles, with me following her as she led me down the hallway and through an arch I hadn’t seen from the stairs. That led us up more stairs and past more closed doors.
I tried not to focus on the low hum of voices behind the doors or the fear that any of them could open at any moment. But Skye paused outside one door that was cracked.
“As soon as the Vandar come, we will destroy them.”
Cold dread slithered down my spine, and Skye’s hand jerked in mine.
“We know they will come?” a voice asked.
A chuckle. “We’re tracking them through one of the rebels they so bravely rescued.”
Skye slapped a hand over her mouth, and I pulled her away from the door before her shock could give us away. There would be time to discuss what we’d learned once we were free.
She let herself be pulled the rest of the way down the hall and then up a short flight of stairs.
As we went up in the building, the ceilings got higher and the light brighter.
Even the air was cleaner; the scent of grime and damp replaced with a pervasive aroma of citrus and baking bread. Was there a kitchen nearby?
My stomach growled in response, and I tightened it to quiet the rumble. There would be time to eat later—I hoped.
At the top of the steps, Skye hesitated. I wondered if she was still upset by what we’d heard, but the expression on her face was pure determination.
“If I remember correctly, the next floor is the way out,” she said in such a low voice I could barely hear her. “But there are guards at the front. At least there were when we came in.”
Behind us voices echoed, and doors opened and closed. We would have to make a run for it soon, even if that meant running through armed guards.
Skye poked her head around the corner and then squeezed my hand. “There’s an alcove close to the stairs. If we can get there, we can hide and regroup.”
I returned the squeeze in agreement, and she glanced back, smiling. Then she turned back, took a breath, and dashed from the stairwell. I was right behind her, slipping into the alcove just as shouts bellowed from a level below.
The shouts increased in volume and were joined by the thundering of feet. I slunk farther into the alcove, my body shielding Skye’s as some guards ran by us.
“I think they’ve discovered the guards in the cells,” she said between quick breaths.
“That means we have little time. We need to run for it.”
I had to hope that the screams had pulled the guards from the front of the building, but even if we were that lucky, that wouldn’t last long. Once our escape was discovered, the building and the surrounding area would be crawling with Zagrath.
Without allowing myself another moment to weigh the risks, I ran from the alcove with the blaster extended. Skye pointed to a set of wide double doors ahead, and my heart leapt. There were no guards flanking the exit. Not on the inside, at least.
I picked up my pace even as my wounded leg throbbed. The leather strap staunching the bleeding snapped as I lifted my knees to run faster, and it fell to the floor.
Skye gasped, tugging my hand. “We need to get it.”
I released her hand, my heart pounding an urgent drumbeat as my brain told me to keep going. But she was quicker than I’d imagined, snatching the strip of leather from the stone floor and running back to me before I could do more than catch my breath.
Then we were off again, running through the door and to the outside. Then we stopped.
The light and the heat were an instant assault, but it was the busy din of the city that gave me pause.
People moved around what looked like a city square, and a few cast inquisitive looks our way.
From what I could tell, no one else was dressed in only a kilt.
I quickly tucked the blaster into my belt at the small of my back. So much for escaping unnoticed.
“This way,” Skye said, tugging me down one side of the wide stone steps at a normal pace. She ducked down a narrow street that was flanked by the building we’d just left and another tall structure.
Even though we didn’t run, our pace was brisk. I knew as well as she did that the more distance we could get between us and the Zagrath, who would soon be chasing us, the better. As long as we weren’t conspicuous about it.
When we reached the next corner, Skye led us down one alley and then another until we were in an area that felt more residential, with drying laundry strung across lines between buildings.
Finally, she paused and braced one hand on her knee. “We have to get off the streets.” She ran her gaze over me from head to foot. “And we have to get you some sort of disguise.”