Chapter 10: All for one.
By the time they had finished with him, the spy was barely alive and they knew exactly where Aramis was kept.
He had all avowed; how he was sent to capture the wounded Musketeer because he was amongst the only men of the group to survive the collapse of the barn and that Leloup wanted to relish his revenge as soon as possible, how the latter had given him the cross of his prisoner as a reward, advising him to sell it after doing a last thing for him which was spying the progress of his enemies, and how, weary of his game with the Musketeers, he had finally decided he wouldn't let Aramis live but wanted to make him suffer before killing him.
- "Athos, I am worried for him", began Porthos, looking at the cross he had taken to the crook.
They had reported the last bit of information about Aramis to Tréville, who then merely asked them what they were still doing there instead of organizing a rescue operation, which they were now preparing.
"You know how much he needs it in a daily situation, and now, with all he must be enduring, he can't even find hope by patting it, making his prayers…"
- "Porthos", Athos cut him, trying to reassure him. "Aramis doesn't need this to find and keep hope. He shall know we are coming, and the Lord never abandoned him, did He?"
- "No", the great Musketeer smiled.
- "So, keep calm. We'll soon have to fight, my friend."
Inside him, Athos said however to himself that he hoped he was right. They were preparing their assault consciously but he knew that at three they wouldn't go very far against a few dozens of bandits, not when the enemy had the perfect leveraging tool to prevent them from doing it.
- "Athos?" a voice called behind him.
The elder Musketeer turned over to see a group of King's soldiers of all ages standing before him. One of them, Demuset that Athos knew well as he entered the King's Musketeers at about the same time than the Three Inseparables, took a step forward.
- "We want to go with you", he said; then, seeing that the Musketeer wasn't reacting, he pursued : "we all owe a lot to you three, but we never had a chance to show it. Allow us to help you freeing Aramis from these damned bastards ; I swear on my sword we'll not deceive you."
Athos smiled. "Of course you'll not deceive me. Never. I'll be glad to have you on this rescue mission, for I'm afraid there is a trap waiting for us in the catacombs.
They had arrived to the catacombs to find the metal door locked and heavily reinforced.
- "Recent work", Porthos commented.
- "That's another proof they are inside", Athos replied. "Can you open it?"
- "Of course", the other Musketeer smiled. "There is no door that can resist me."
And with that, he took the door bodily, and ripped it out of his hinges. Without seeming the slightest breathless, he then outstretched a hand towards the dark corridor, bowing exaggeratedly.
- "After you".
A creaking was reverberated in the corridors, making them acknowledging the presence of intruders.
- "We are ready", Leloup commented when he entered the room at the end of the corridor, where his best men stood, one of them restraining Aramis, the latter having given into a sort of unconsciousness, numb from all the pain he had to endure. "Make them know where we are".
Without an hesitation, the man holding Aramis put a knife out of his belt, and planted it suddenly in the former priest's right shoulder.
The latter jerked awake, eyes widened, and couldn't prevent himself from crying, both out of surprise and suffering as a veil of pain was covering his eyes, darkening his sight.
Quickly after though, Leloup nodded at his tormentor who tore the weapon off while putting his hand on the former priest's mouth, muffling his second yell.
- "Aramis? Aramis!" He heard Athos calling a few seconds later.
The sound of his friend's voice warmed and reassured him; a wave of hope overwhelmed him, before he remembered the danger they were encoring.
They went for him; he had to warn them. Trying to ignore the pain from his stabbed shoulder that, for him, supplanted all the others he had been submitted to, he managed to straight despite the grip of his opponent.
- "Athos, it's a trap!" Aramis managed to shout before the hand of his assailant plated more heavily on his mouth to keep him quiet.
- "Shut up!" The latter ordered, slowly slipping the dagger still tainted with blood on his throat.
At this moment he realized how much his voice should have seemed hoarse and weak to his friends.
There was a short silence before Athos carried on.
- "Aramis? Don't worry, we'll be there soon."
Unable to do anything, the Musketeer could nothing but stand and watch as his friends tried to enter the cache in the underground.