"All it will take is four. Terraphel has thirty guards. Eight will be on watch here, here, and here," Assassin jabbed her knife into points on the rough diagram she had scratched in the earth. "And the rest will be in the guard hall. The dungeon is probably still empty, but i there are guards down there, that just means fewer for us to deal with. You two will be the distraction. Jaened and I will go in here and make our way straight to Symorkhel's chambers. We will be out with the Sheela in minutes."
"So Kalen and my lives are a sacrifice you are willing to make? I've done the math and I can only see two getting out alive." Eldan argued.
"As tempting as it would be to lose you, that is not my plan. You've escaped Terraphel once. These woods are full of your people. You should have no trouble staying alive until we rejoin you."
"Why don't I go in with Jaened and you lead the wild goose chase then?"
"You think I would entrust him to you? I won't let him out of my sight. If we lose him, we've lost our chance with the Sheela. I've lost my revenge and you have lost your war."
"Glad to hear I'm good for something." Jaened laughed a little. "I was beginning to wonder if--"
"No one said you were good for anything." Assassin interrupted coldly. "I said we need you. Once we have the Sheela, you can go to the Pits for all I care." She turned abruptly back to Eldan. "The signal is the only difficult part. We will be concealed over--"
"What about Erissa? What will you do with her after we rescue her?"
"That will depend on what state she is in. I won't kill her unless I have to."
"So," Kalen put in, "Is this a rescue or an assassination?"
"You're not going to touch her." Jaened's tone held a warning that his lack of skill gainsaid.
"If she stays in Terraphel, she will be worse than dead." Assassin's tone softened--something Kalen had never heard. "Don't fear, Jaened. Your sister will come to no harm by my hand if you do your part. I can take her from Symorkhel, but only you can bring her back from whatever dark spells have taken her mind. If you succeed, you can both go and do whatever you please with the rest of your lives. If not, it will not be your sister that I will be killing."
Jaened took her answer and quietly retreated. Kalen resumed his quiet observation of Assassin's plans. The only thing which made him uneasy was that Assassin no longer spoke of leaving once the Sheela was theirs. He felt that, perhaps, there was a darker plan underlying all that she said and did and dreaded discovering what it might be. She was a little too open with them. With her skills, what if she chose not to disappear afterwards?
He shook himself. He hated her, but he had no reason to suspect her of anything worse than an ice cold heart. Which was bad enough.
Climbing the wall was easier than it looked. And Kalen still couldn't do it.
"It won't work." He whispered to Eldan as he dropped down for the third time. "I can't hold my weight with this arm--it's barely begun to heal."
"I know. Assassin was mad to ask that of you. And doubly mad to refuse to have a second plan if this fails. Wait here and I'll see if I can get the gate open."
"You think you can get the gate open without being seen?"
"No. But it'll make a pretty good distraction--better than what she planned." Eldan was scaling the wall before he could reply. Her legs dangled awkwardly over the side for a moment as she struggled to haul herself over the narrow stone rail, then she disappeared into the fortress. With her gone, the magnitude of how alone he truly was struck him full force. How had it come to the point that this girl, who he had known for scarcely a week, was his only friend left? Friend? She said she didn't trust him, but somewhere along the way, he had learned to trust her. Either she had grown more friendly or just the contrast between her and Assassin had made her seem nicer. Whichever it was, he did not want her to die. He quickly and quietly made his was around to the gate, staying flat to the wall so as to avoid detection from above. Ithien, protect her. He prayed to the deity he scarcely believed in any more.
Time dragged by. She was taking far too long--or was it just time moving far too slow? He drew the sword Assassin had made him take. He was glad, for once, that she was more stubborn than him. He was ready--he had never been so ready in his life--but it was so silent. The gate did not move. A crow's raucous laughter was the only thing to be heard.
Then came the shout. Kalen took half a step before the gate began to move. She'd done it! He seized the one gate and began to pull with all his strength. Fortress gates were impossible to open quickly, and all he could do was curse the wood and iron as it groaned on its hinges. The moment it was wide enough, Eldan slipped through sideways and set her shoulder to pushing it shut again.
"No time for signal," she gasped. "Have to run." The gate clanged and they took off as it began to grind open again. There was no time for questions or even thought. Kalen was running faster than he ever had before. Eldan was lagging a little behind him--an odd reversal of last time. He grabbed her hand to give her a little of his speed. He could hear the pursuit. Horses. They had horses.
"Split!" Eldan yelled it over and over again before it registered. They round the corner of a decaying building and stopped for a second. Kalen ran out first. It wasn't heroism, drawing off the pursuit. It was logic: he was the faster runner. He regretted it instantly. He did not know the terrain. The soldiers and Naresh clearly did.
"Where is it? Did she give it to you?" The guard had remarkably bad breath. Almost as bad as Kalen's luck. He was surrounded, exhausted, and quite entirely caught.
"Yes." He tried, uncertain as to what "it" was.
"Then where is it?"
"I dropped it." He tried again. It seemed to be working...
"Then you are worthless to us." The guard drew his sword. Never mind. Definitely not working.
"But only I know where." How long could he play for time? Was there even a point? Assassin would never come for him. Eldan could be anywhere.
"All we need to do is give the mongrel your scent and he will find it." The Naresh snarled and strained against its chain and massive, cage-like muzzle. Kalen searched in vain for another excuse--why should they let him live?
"But doesn't Symorkhel still need prisoners?"
"The High Priestess has already succeeded. She is no longer lady of Terraphel."
"And the Sheela?"
The guard laughed loudly. "The Sheela! You came for the Sheela?" He paused. "Assassin. This is her doing, isn't it?"
"Yes. It is." They all started as one. Assassin stepped out from behind a tree smiling. With a cool, casual ease, she threw a knife with each hand. Two guards dropped like stones, and she did not pause her slow walk forward. A guard quickly reached for his bow and collapsed with a blade in his throat. The two men holding the Naresh's chain took a trembling step backwards.
"Lady Viella." The head guard bowed low.
Assassin smiled. "You are dead, Sklen. You can talk and die quickly or remain silent and die slowly. And don't even think of releasing that beast on me. You know better." She addressed the Naresh's handlers without looking away from their commander. "If you dispatch that animal immediately, you two can leave alive." The Naresh's head was on the ground in an instant, the body thrashing with the remnants of its life.
Kalen remained on the ground. He could not help but be caught up in the awe and terror of the guards. He had thought Assassin subhuman, but now she seemed almost godlike.
"Where is my beloved mother? I miss her."
"Fellyre. Zerak has made her High Priestess."
"You are lying. It has been five days That much cannot change in so short a time."
"The Sheela is finished. Lady Symorkhel left four days ago and took her pet with her. They will be in Fellyre by now."
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