Chapter 46
Chapter forty-six
The Escape
Orlik was here. In this very building. Breathing the same air as me. My skin prickled, and I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.
I tried to keep my face neutral even as white-hot adrenaline and rage coursed through me.
I probably failed, but it hardly mattered, since Brannic and Mrs. Crowe kept their eyes locked on each other.
Brannic’s mouth twisted into a wickedly smug smile, as if he’d just played the winning move in their game of political coercion. Mrs. Crowe’s expression was blank.
She spun around and walked briskly toward a passageway, gesturing for me to follow her. “I’ll see Orlik when I’ve finished my business,” she barked as we walked out of the room.
Brannic’s face twisted in rage. “Come back here! Guards, stop them!”
Mrs. Crowe ignored him and quickened her pace. She breezed past the guards without attracting so much as a look. They just glanced at each other and shrugged, keeping their eyes away from us. Apparently Mrs. Crowe cast a long shadow in the keep.
When we were down the corridor and out of earshot, Mrs. Crowe whispered, “Well, that complicates things. I didn’t even know Orlik was here. We need to hurry.”
Complicate was an understatement.
“You should know,” I said, barely restraining my fury, “that if Orlik sees me, he’ll recognize me, and it won’t end well.”
Mrs. Crowe shot me a look indicating that my standing with her had just improved. “Noted,” she said with a half-smile.
We kept up a brisk pace, but not so fast as to arouse suspicion.
At my request, Mrs. Crowe had drawn up a rough sketch of the keep’s floor plan when we were back at her shop.
We were headed to the east staircase that led to the lower alchemy chambers, where Elena was being held captive.
We descended a wide spiral staircase with an open central shaft that seemed to extend upward and downward to infinity.
Several levels down, we walked along a corridor lit by the same flameless candles I had seen in the Citadel Library.
Soon we approached a door flanked by two Royal Guards holding halberds whose blades glimmered in the light, sharp and deadly.
Mrs. Crowe attempted to walk past them, but the guards barred our entry with their weapons.
“Allow me to pass,” Mrs. Crowe said, her voice full of authority.
“By order of the king, none may enter,” one of the guards said, her voice firm.
“We’ll see about that,” Mrs. Crowe said.
She turned as if to go, then slipped a vial from her belt and flicked it open.
She gave me a look of warning, then spun around and placed the vial under the nose of the closest guard before the guard could react.
She instantly crumpled into a heap on the ground.
The other guard turned, ready to attack, but I had already flanked him and punched him hard in the kidney. It was just enough of a distraction for Mrs. Crowe to place the vial under his nose.
As the second guard crumpled, I turned to Mrs. Crowe. “You’ll have to give me the recipe for that one.”
She nodded. “That’ll last about twenty minutes. Now we really need to hurry.”
We entered an alchemy lab that looked very similar to the one I’d seen in Pyrehold, only everything here looked newer and more elaborate. Potions bubbled, and an acrid smell hung in the air. Luckily, only a single alchemist was inside, working on an experiment.
He looked up as we approached. “Elandra! Well, this is a surprise.”
Another swipe of the vial, and the alchemist crumpled to the floor.
We ran to a door in the back of the room. Inside was a row of cells. All were vacant except one. Elena lay on the ground, pale and still as the dead.
“Elena!” I cried as I raced to my sister’s cell.
I pulled out my lockpicks and had the cell open in record time—the Embercloak potion heightened absolutely everything, down to my fine motor skills. I threw the door open and ran to my sister’s side. She was warm to the touch, and the slightest breaths escaped her lips.
“She’s likely still impacted by the null field,” Mrs. Crowe said. “The Embercloak potion should help.”
I gently sat her up and brought the vial of Embercloak to her lips, pouring the slightest bit into her mouth. Her throat bobbed reflexively as I administered the vial’s contents. It took a few moments, but soon the blood returned to her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open.
“Cas. Is it really you?” she said, still a bit dreamy.
“It’s me.”
“How did you find me?”
“It’s a very long story,” I said as I hugged her.
“Ouch,” she cried as I squeezed her tight.
I pulled away in a flash. “Are you hurt?”
“Bruised ribs and a few scrapes. That’s about it.” Her voice sounded stronger and clearer by the moment. “When we entered the keep, it felt like a sledgehammer hit me. That’s the last thing I remember.”
“That was the null field,” I told her. “The potion I gave you will protect you from it.”
“Not to interrupt this touching reunion,” Mrs. Crowe said, “but we need to hurry.”
“Do you think you can stand?” I asked Elena.
“Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. My head’s clear now. Like the pressure’s gone.”
I helped her to her feet, but she did most of the work on her own.
We ran out of the lab, pausing only to strip the robes from the alchemist on the floor. They were too big for Elena, but they would have to do. As we approached the staircase, Mrs. Crowe headed for the steps leading down.
“Wait,” I said. “We need to get Elena out. Where are we going?”
“A slight change of plans,” Mrs. Crowe said as she continued down the stairs. “My entrance was a bit more dramatic than I expected. The guards will never let us just walk out the door as I had hoped. Even now, I’m guessing Brannic is raising the alarm. We need to take an alternate exit.”
“I thought there weren’t alternate exits,” I said.
“There’s always an alternate exit,” Mrs. Crowe said with a sly smile.
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“Perfectly. Only the king and his personal guard know about it. It’s not even guarded so as not to attract attention. I found out about it…by accident. It’s a longer story than I have time for.”
We left the staircase and navigated a literal maze of twisting tunnels.
Mrs. Crowe explained that it was a defense mechanism; if an enemy was pursuing the king, the pursuers could easily get lost. Countless doors lined every wall.
Occasionally we entered one that led to another tunnel.
Finally Mrs. Crowe stopped at a door that looked like every other one we’d passed.
“Through this door is a tunnel that leads under the sea,” Mrs. Crowe said. “Inside is a series of doors. As you open each one, seawater will flood the previous corridor. You must go through each door and shut it quickly. Don’t stop for anything.”
Elena’s face paled, eyes wide.
Mrs. Crowe pulled out a key and handed it to Elena. “The tunnel ends in a vacant house in town. Two blocks south, you’ll find my potion shop. Here’s the key. Wait for us there.”
“Us?” Elena looked at me in shock, gripping the key tight enough to make her fingers go white. “Aren’t you coming with me, Cas?”
“Darion is still here,” I said.
“Then I’m coming with you to find him! I can help!”
I expected this and was ready for it. “You can’t,” I said. “The guards will recognize you immediately.”
Elena’s face crumpled. I pulled her into an embrace.
“I have to come,” she said, a tear streaking down her face. “I can’t lose you.”
“I’ll be back soon,” I said. “I promise.” I hated making promises I wasn’t sure I could keep, but Elena’s safety was more important than anything.
“You’d better,” she said.
Horns blared in the distance.
“The alarm,” Mrs. Crowe said. “They’re on to us. We must hurry.”
“Go,” I said to Elena. “I’ll meet you in the shop in no time.”
She gave me one more heartbreaking look, then turned around and ran—it nearly broke me.
When she was out of earshot, Mrs. Crowe said, “This is your last chance to leave with your sister. Your odds of rescuing your friend in the spire are slim.”
“I have to try,” I said, remembering all the sacrifices he’d made for me.
“He must mean a lot to you.”
“More than I can express.”