Chapter 36 #2
‘Here’s the plan,’ Márùn said. ‘ìlú-òdì is a military stronghold. This ring is unlike any other in the kingdom. This wall is the only one big enough to be a garrison in itself and it has ten times more battlement stations built into the wall than others. Now is your best chance to get in. Just before first light, when the soldiers on night shift will be a little extra tired and less vigilant. More than half the population are soldiers, so once you’re in, prioritize stealing armour or anything to help you blend in.
All you have to do is get past this wall and make it all the way to the Lord General’s keep that leads into the graveyard.
If you get in there just as the storm picks up, the guards will have gone underground, and you can cross without being shot to death.
You still have ìyá-Idán’s hourglass, right? ’
L’?r? nodded.
‘I’ve spent a few blood moons in there with the Lord General,’ Alawani said. ‘I can get us in. I trained with him many first suns ago.’
‘Perfect. Then you should know your way around,’ Márùn said.
‘Are you not coming with us?’ L’?r? asked, panic rising in her chest.
‘I need you to listen first,’ Márùn said as she unwrapped a package strapped to her horse. ‘Alawani, make sure no one recognizes you. Moving through the ring should be easy with these cloaks. Blend in as much as you can, keep your head down. You already have a head start, so stick to the plan.’
‘The Lord General’s keep is at least two miles long. It’s the longest castle in Oru, crawling with soldiers. There’s a reason it leads out into the graveyard,’ Alawani said.
Márùn turned to him, ‘Yes, but the sandstorm will get bad enough to make the Lord General and the majority of his soldiers leave the fortress when the winds pick up. Last time I was there, the storms had destroyed huge portions of the forward-facing side.’
L’?r? held up Baba-ìtàn’s map as Alawani and Márùn bounced ideas off each other.
‘Here,’ Márùn said, illuminating the map with her agbára and pointing at the line indicating the fifth ring.
She slowly moved her finger through in a winding motion.
‘On the other side of this wall is the soldiers’ keep.
It’s not as big as the Lord General’s, and so there’s a way here leading into the servants’ quarter. ’
Alawani nodded, pointing at another spot within the sixth ring, ‘This will be less guarded. This way, we can avoid the training grounds altogether.’
Márùn nodded in agreement, pulled the map closer to her face, and pointed at a curved line at the far end of the kingdom. ‘There’s no way to go around the Lord General’s keep without losing half a day, but if you can cut through, you only need to hide out in the stables.’
Alawani shook his head, ‘Stables will have guards, we can’t risk being recognized. We can hide out in the kitchens.’
‘Fine,’ Márùn said, ‘just be close enough to get out when the time comes.’
Alawani nodded and pointed at a spot a few fingers from where Márùn had indicated, ‘We don’t have to go all the way around. If we go slightly east and avoid the mid towers, we can still access the graveyard without risking the Lord General’s battalion.’
‘Good,’ Márùn said and turned to L’?r?. ‘The graveyard is a mile long, the ground is hard and the air even worse. Stay close to him, and don’t get killed.
The graveyard is dangerous because there’s nowhere to hide while crossing it.
And the guards have the standing order to shoot on sight anyone who approaches the last wall without permission.
But when the storm starts, they hide within the walls, some even going underground.
So as long as you cross that path before the storm becomes deadly and eats you alive, you’ll be out of the kingdom without anyone even seeing you.
After that you’ll have to find your own way north – I have no idea what’s outside those walls. ’
‘And where will you be in all of this?’ L’?r? asked.
‘I’ll be right back,’ Márùn said, walking away from them. ‘I just need to find the way up. It’s here somewhere.’
The night was so dark that in a few paces, she was out of sight.
‘Is she gone? Márùn?’ Alawani called out.
‘I think she’ll be back,’ L’?r? said, ‘I guess if only for the life debt that has her following you.’
Alawani held on tight to L’?r?’s hands, looking around the darkness. ‘I don’t like this.’
‘Alawani,’ L’?r? said in a soft voice, terrified of his response to her next words.
She wanted to blurt out everything about Command – they had promised each other, no more secrets – and standing so close to freedom made the guilt eating at her so intense she had to say something.
He smiled at her softly, and her heart warmed at his touch and that was all it took for her to lose her resolve.
She couldn’t ruin this. Not now. Not when they were so close to freedom.
After a moment, she pulled out the other half of the map Baba-ìtàn gave her and spread it open. Alawani’s agbára lit a soft glow over it. The map to freedom. She wasn’t free as long as her father remained in those dungeons, but she’d lost this battle with the Holy Order.
‘It’s just sand for miles out there,’ Alawani said. ‘We could get lost trying to find our way.’
L’?r? shook her head. ‘We’ll use the stars to travel at night and rest in the caves in the heat of the day. Or at least that was Baba-ìtàn’s plan.’
‘It’s not a bad plan,’ Alawani conceded.
L’?r? shook her head, ‘No, it’s not. I just wish he were here to lead us himself.’
Alawani gave her a weak smile and held her shoulders. He placed a kiss on her forehead. ‘It’s almost over,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll keep you safe.’
L’?r? exhaled a shaky breath. The smart thing to do was to go north and hope to find something to help her win the fight for her family. She knew she couldn’t return to the temple now, but when she did, she wouldn’t lose.
Márùn returned a few moments later. ‘Found it,’ she said, signalling them over. ‘Last time I snuck into the fortress, I left this rope here. It’ll take you all the way to the top of the wall.’
‘Why are you leaving us?’ L’?r? asked.
Márùn looked from L’?r? to Alawani. ‘I have something to tell you, L’?r?,’ she said, looking at Alawani.
‘Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of him. There’s no one I trust more,’ she said even as her heart skipped a beat, anxious about what Márùn had to say.
‘Since the days of the First Sun, the Order of the Secret Twelve has protected the firstborn of the sun. I am Márùn, Five of Twelve, and I am oath-bound to protect whoever sits on the throne of Oru. While my journey started with fulfilling my life debt to the prince’s mother, I continued this journey with you because of what ìyá-Idán revealed about you, L’?r?.
My duty as Márùn forces me to protect you above all else. ’
‘You’re working for the Lord Regent?’ L’?r? gasped.
‘No,’ Márùn said sternly. ‘The Twelve have never served a regent. We serve only the sovereign. We exist outside of the court and its laws and we remain secret, revealing ourselves only to the true heir. We served the late king and everyone who wore the gilded crown before him.’
‘I don’t understand,’ L’?r? said. ‘ìyá-Idán is a part of this?’
Márùn nodded. ‘She is Méje – Seven of Twelve. We live in pairs in each ring of the kingdom.’
‘I don’t want anyone oath-bound to me,’ L’?r? said. ‘I don’t want anyone dying for me or because of me. I can’t take it. I can’t lose anyone else. I don’t want any of this, please.’
‘I’m afraid that’s not a choice,’ Márùn said. ‘We are as we always have been. When I die, another Márùn will take my place and so it will continue until the end of time.’
‘I have never heard of this order before,’ Alawani said.
‘And you never would have,’ Márùn said.
‘We won’t tell anyone,’ L’?r? said.
‘Good,’ Márùn replied. ‘You don’t need me here. Alawani knows his way around. Send me to the temple, and I will get your father and friend to a safe place. But I am yours to command, so I will do only as you ask.’
L’?r? placed a hand on her chest, tearing up, ‘You would do that for me?’
‘My oath is to the crown, to the firstborn of Oru. To you.’ Márùn smiled.
‘Right now, most of the Twelve are still devoted to the crown heir. I’ll do my best to convince the others of your true claim but if tonight with Msàn was anything to go by, it won’t be easy.
I need you to be far away from here where they can’t kill you until we have a plan to bring you back to take your throne.
I’ll tell you what my father once told me.
When you have a weapon, use it before your enemy learns how to take it from you. I am here, I am your blade, use me.’
L’?r? felt her knees go weak and she could have fallen to the ground in gratitude.
‘I should remind you that I’ve kept you safe since we met, and I can take care of myself,’ Márùn said.
‘I’m not risking much. This is not a hard mission for me, I promise.
Mfà will go with me. You may remember him from the inn when he tried choking you all to death?
He’s my partner. And we’ve survived worse odds. ’
L’?r? hugged Márùn. Tears choked her words, so she just held on tightly, sobbing into her arms.
‘Thank you,’ Alawani said softly.
Márùn nodded in response. ‘I need you to release me from your mother’s bond. Otherwise, I can’t leave you.’
‘I don’t know how to work the magic that’ll remove the mark but as far as I’m concerned, you’ve already saved my life. So please go. Save them. I can get L’?r? out of Oru. I release you from the bond formed with the blood of my blood.’
‘Are there members of the Twelve that’ll help us in the sixth ring?’ L’?r? asked.
‘No. Captain Méjìlá is Twelve of Twelve. He is the Lord General’s right hand, loyal to the crown heir, and he will never accept your claim. And no one has seen his partner, Mkànlá, in too many first suns to count,’ Márùn said firmly.
A dot of sunlight cracked through the sky.
‘Start climbing,’ Márùn said, straddling her horse. ‘May your heart burn like the sun, bright, hot, and undying, Queen of Oru.’
Then she was gone.
L’?r? reached the top first. She climbed onto the roof and realized that it was so vast that calling what they had climbed a wall felt too insignificant.
Behind her, she heard the rope slip from the hook it was tied to and rushed to stop it from falling.
She held on with all her might. ‘Alawani, climb faster! I can’t hold on. ’
She strained as the rope burned her palms, slipping further down.
‘L’?r?!’ Alawani shouted from below. ‘L’?r?!’
L’?r? bent over and reached for him. ‘Closer, Alawani, I can’t reach you. Grab my hand!’
The last of the rope slipped from her hands, and she felt the world slow around her. In the time it took her heart to beat once she saw him falling into oblivion, the darkness consuming him.
‘L’?r?, help me up!’ Alawani shouted, pulling her back to consciousness.
Hanging off the side of the wall, he groaned as he struggled to hold on.
Her ears rang with blood, and her entire body strained against Alawani’s weight as she tried to lift his body over the wall.
She could feel his weak grip as he held on to her with one hand.
The stripping he endured was causing him to lose more and more of his strength with every passing day.
Her hands were slick with sweat, and he was slipping again.
She leaned over the wall, inching closer to her fall as she tried to pull him in.
‘L’?r?, let me go!’ Alawani said. ‘You’re going to fall over!’
‘No!’ L’?r? shouted, gasping as her body started to spasm as she struggled to keep her feet grounded. ‘I can do it. Come on, climb!’ She couldn’t hold him. She couldn’t pull him in. She was falling. He was falling. They would die.
Suddenly, someone ran to join her on the wall top.
She hadn’t even heard the footsteps. The stranger leaned over and helped her pull Alawani onto the battlement.
They all fell flat on the floor, heaving and gasping for air.
L’?r? crawled over to Alawani, who was hunched over, holding his arms. She froze as the sharp edge of a blade dug into her side.
‘Turn around. Slowly,’ said the stranger.
The man wore a uniform different from any L’?r? had seen before. The black leather outfit was layered, making it look like it had serpent scales etched into its design. He wore a squared helm with a rounded face guard reaching just below the eyes, with two openings for his brown eyes.
L’?r? held her hands up in surrender as the soldier now pressed the knife to her neck. Alawani stood next to her holding his hands up as well.
‘Please, we mean no harm,’ L’?r? said softly.
‘Who are you?’ the soldier asked in a baritone voice.
By this time, dawn had broken, and it was significantly lighter on the wall top, and with that came sounds of chatter from the levels below.
‘We are just trying to get out of the kingdom,’ Alawani said, hands still up. ‘Let us go and you’ll never see us again.’
The soldier scoffed, ‘There’s no getting out of Oru without permission. The graveyard will be your resting place if you dare to try.’ But despite his words, his expression was curious.
‘Then it doesn’t matter if you let us go,’ L’?r? said.
‘You won’t be able to get out,’ the soldier said flatly.
‘We have a plan,’ L’?r? said. ‘No one has to know you let us go.’
The soldier tossed a pair of handcuffs to Alawani, continuing to hold a knife to L’?r?’s throat. ‘Put those on. And don’t try to escape; the old magic in these cuffs will turn your agbára against you and you will burn.’
As a second pair of cuffs closed around L’?r?’s wrists and the guard manoeuvred them both towards a set of stairs, she realized their journey was far from over.