19. Strength Within
A painfully sharp trilling slowly drove Kel from the depths of unconsciousness. Something with the feel of leather gently beat her face until she finally cracked on eye open. Silverwings perched on her chin looking intently down at the sleeping knight. Gingerly she turned her head and opened both eyes. Darkness shrouded the world outside the window. Sometime during the struggle against Maggur's control she had tumbled to the floor and no one had bothered to put her back into bed. Using the fallen sheets as a rope, she pulled herself off the cold stones and stumbled to the window.
The town below was alive with torches. Every road and alley stood outlined in flickering orange which converged in what could only be the square. Maggur the Red stood there, his signature red flames easily picked out from the others. Kel indulged in a few Yamani curses. Whatever resistance existed among the townspeople had no chance of action with the soldiers moving in such great numbers. She had to get some word out to Dom and his forces. They were expected now, the element of surprise long lost. She had to find some way to escape, even though she had long ago examined every possibility. Her room deceptively looked like a well-furnished guest room, however a guest room would not have any potential tool or weapon removed from within it. All she could find was the wooden pole she had pulled from the bed which looked like it could take one solid impact before shattering.
Picking up the pole, she tested its balance. She would just have to use that one impact as best she could. A very narrow space between the stone floor and the bottom of the door looked just large enough for her immortal companion to slip through. Kel gently took the snake-bat from her shoulder.
"Silverwings, I have to get out of here. Can you warn me when soldiers come to the door? If there are more than three, then we're in trouble."
The creature trilled again before fluttering to the door. Flattening out, she slipped out of sight. Kel took the time to carefully tear the skirt of her dress up either side to give herself more freedom of movement. The under-tunic was roughly converted into knotted short trousers to preserve her modesty. Lord Wyldon would most likely turn the color of an apple at the amount of leg she ended up showing, but necessity demanded it. Swinging the pole in a simple glaive warm up, she tested her handiwork.
She had finished only a moment later before Silverwings darted back under the door. She launched into the air and back onto the knight's shoulder.
"How many?"
Wings flapped five times. Kel gritted her teeth and took guard stance. Five soldiers weren't bad odds - she'd had worse during her training days at the palace. But then, those odds hadn't involved battle hardened men. In addition there was no vital risk of being heard. The lock clicked.
Kel waited for the door to open far enough for one man to enter. Throwing her weight against it, she knocked the foremost soldier into his partner and back into the hallway. The other three quickly unsheathed their swords and advanced past the jumble of arms and legs. One lashed out and she ducked, noting that he used the flat of his blade as a weapon. Maggur, it seemed, had given orders that she remain alive for the time being. Thankfully, she did not have that agenda. Swiping the pole upwards, she struck the man's outstretched arms just behind the wrists. The sword clattered to the ground behind her as she continued, driving the butt of her staff into his stomach. The soldier to her left slashed at her exposed flank. She deflected the blow, but the impact snapped the pole. Quickly she flipped the broken ends outward in either hand before striking one into the back of the third soldier's hand, and the other across her second opponent's face.
Taking a few steps back, she reassessed the situation. One man would be out for a few moments longer. Another man's sword hand dripped blood, making his grasp slippery on his weapon. The other three were relatively unharmed. The man she had hit with the door advanced, sword raised. Crossing the halves above her, Kel halted his strike at her head, then successfully blocked another to her side. The final soldier made solid impact across her stomach, knocking the wind from her. She managed to twist out of the tangle of the first attacks and bring her right foot up and across the man's face. A high battle whistle told Kel that Silverwings had joined the fight, followed by a scream of fear from the bloody handed soldier who franticly tried to protect his face from her sharp teeth and razor-edged wings. The sudden appearance of the immortal made the others pause for an instant.
Kel slammed her wooden weapons twice into the closest soldiers gut, then his eye. He fell. She deflected the sword of another upward, hooked her leg around his, and ungracefully dumped him on the floor. Cold metal pressed harshly against her throat, pulling her backwards. The backside of the sword threatened to cut off her air. Gritting her teeth, she drove her elbows sharply back. The accompanying whump was not flesh on flesh. The sword slid away and she turned.
Tavis Zalin was finishing off the remaining soldiers and Silverwings had made a mess of her man's face. Kel picked up a discarded sword and held it to his throat.
"If you're unconscious, my friend will leave you alone."
Confused, he looked through bloody fingers at her before she struck him on the forehead with the hilt. He fell gracefully and silently. Kel turned to her unexpected ally.
"What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I did something which exposed me as a rebel, so helping you now is not so difficult."
Kel unbuckled the belts of the fallen men and began tying their ankles to their wrists to keep them from moving. Gathering their swords, she shoved them beneath the bed, all except one.
"Lady Protector, I need your help."
Kel turned, tucking the last sword into her sash. It wasn't a straight Torallian sword, but it would have to do.
"What is it?"
Tavis's eyes were dark. "The Red has gathered all the children in this region somewhere in this fortress. He knows of the White Tigers marching on the Eire. He is using the children as additional motivation for the troops."
Fear made her heart contract painfully. She had already endured the trials of reversing Maggur's cruelty to young lives. Was fate repeating itself?
Drawing her Yamani mask on, she asked, "Do you have any clues to where they may be?"
Tavis shook his head. "Somewhere in the dungeons, but this place is a labyrinth of rooms and passages."
Silverwings landed on Kel's shoulder.
"Silver can help. Are there any others we can trust?"
The Black Hawk frowned. "There are, but my father is in authority. He believes it to be a waste of time looking for them and wants to gather the rebellion first and foremost."
Kel felt a rise of anger at the chief's casual dismissal but tossed it away. It was a logical decision, but not one she would have made after seeing first hand how twisted the mind of the king could be. She followed Tavis out of her decorated cell and locked the door behind them.
"All we can do is start searching."
They descended the long flight of stairs to a gathering room. Before they entered, Tavis handed a mass of cloth to Kel. She wrapped it over her head to hide her un-blond hair and hazel eyes. When they entered the dining room, one soldier stood guard. Tavis gave him a nod and friendly smile.
"Is it well?"
The man nodded in return. "It is well."
Tavis made as if to pass him by before pausing. "Say, my youngest brother is under the protection of the Red. I'd like to see him before we go off to fight the traitors, but I can't find where he has been taken."
The soldier rubbed his rather large nose and squinted, trying to remember something. "I heard something about them going to the dungeons."
"Atch, but there are so many."
"Hmmm," His eyes fell on Kel. He smiled coyly. "I may remember if your friend there has some free time after my shift."
Kel shook her head, afraid that if she spoke, her accent would give her away. Tavis stepped between them.
"Sorry, she's not one to look outside the clan."
The soldier scowled. "I don't see any clan mark on her." His hand darted out and caught a fold of her head covering. His eyes widened. "The Chosen -"
Tavis's hand chopped the back of the man's neck. "So much for that idea." He scanned the room then led the way down another passage.
"Where are we going? They will find him back there, or he'll wake up and sound the alarm."
The Black Hawk held a warning finger to his lips. Puzzled, she fell silent. He continued, the stone hallway snaking slightly upwards beneath their feet. In a section of the path unlit by the spaced torches, he finally paused. Carefully he reached into the shadows on the wall and touched three points. To Kel's amazement, a patch of black appeared within the darkness. She followed him up a narrow stone staircase and frowned when he began to whistle. An answering whistle made her realize that it was some sort of prearranged signal.
"Master Tavis sir, your honorable paternal person is gone."
Two light brown heads were illuminated from behind as a door opened at the top of the stairs. Tavis tousled each as he entered.
"Yes I know, that's why I have returned with a friend. No one is to know what we are doing."
The boy and girl turned and hushed to each other. "Secret secret..."
Kel blinked in surprise. These were not average children, even though they carried an air of complete innocence. The two turned to look at her with unusual brown eyes. After a moment of complete silence, the girl turned to the boy.
"It is Her, Salaman."
"It is, Salamis. She will fly on wings of white."
"To fate, to war, to destiny."
Tavis interrupted. "You two - you know this place better than anyone alive. Do you know where the Red could hide a couple hundred children?"
The twins closed their eyes and chanted. "Where water drips, the babe sips. Where wind moans, the young one groans. Deep, deep, the ground lives. They do not belong. The One is wrong."
Kel pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger. She had forgotten how exasperating it could be to deal with supernatural elements. Everything is cryptic with double meanings. Couldn't things be simple just for once?
Salaman and Salamis abruptly leapt into action. Grabbing two makeshift cloaks from dirtied canvas, they slung leather pouches over their shoulders and motioned to the two adults.
"We will lead you, but we will never return to this place."
Tavis nodded solemnly before turning to Kel.
"When my father finds out, he's going to kill me."
The decent into the mountain seemed to go on forever. Kel had the wild thought of falling out from the bottom of the world, but quickly shook it off. Her legs ached with the constant trek down steep stone steps. Smoke from the torch Tavis carried stung her eyes. The youngsters ahead of them scampered over stairs with unheartening ease, staying just out of reach of the glowing torch. When they finally came to the bottom of the tunnel, a wooden door opened into a cave which glowed in a strange blue-green light. Awed, Kel stared at the great spires growing up from the floor reaching for partners emerging from the darkness overhead. What made the unearthly light seemed to be growing on the rock, a low growing plant spreading like a carpet underfoot and up the teeth of the stalagmites. Giggles from Salamis and Salaman echoed repeatedly, making the space feel even greater around them.
"Come come! We're nearly there."
Kel drew her sword.
"The Protector needs no sword here. No one knows. No one except the Chiefs and the Red and they've gone."
New noises drifted to their ears. Tavis raised his torch and shaded his eyes. Metal bars had been set into the stone in a sort of fence around a patch of the glowing vegetation. Small figures moved behind them and eyes sparkled. When they reached the enclosure, Kel took careful stock of their prison. The iron bars were two inches thick and reached a height of at least eight feet, curving forwards and sharply tipped. Even if someone managed to climb to the top, they would not be able to climb over the arch.
"Lady?"
Kel looked down into the blue eyes of a young boy.
"Lady, are you going to take us away?"
He looked like Tobe's younger brother, dirty and ragged with an oversized shirt hanging off one shoulder. An even smaller girl joined him wearing a ragged plain dress. Kel tried to smile encouragingly.
"My friends and I are going to try and get you out and back to your parents."
"But men said that if they found us with them, they would hurt momma and poppa."
"I won't let them."
The boy frowned. "There lots more o'them, than you."
Kel tested the strength of the metal with one hand. There would be no bending of these. She gave it a shake and paused at the sound of grinding stone. Reaching through the bars, she gently patted the boy on the head.
"We'll figure it out." She turned to Tavis. "See anything?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "I don't get it. There's no gate, no hole, no anything. I wonder if they just threw them over."
"They took out some, then put em' back."
Salamis and Salaman were scraping around the base of one of the bars. Salamis triumphantly pointed to a series of long scratches in the glowing moss.
"Those things must weigh a hundred pounds."
The twins kept digging, clearing away the glowing vegetation in a growing circle. Taking off the leather pouches, Salaman carefully poured a mass of something around the base of the bar. Salamis followed with chunks of more dark material before carefully placing a small clump of the moss on top. The two joined hands and began chanting in the same ancient language Kel had heard Maggur speak when he kidnapped her.
The heap burst into blue flames which radiated heat in surprising amounts. Shrieks from the startled children echoed loudly and Kel drew her sword, sure that they would bring a guard's attention.
"Quickly!"
The brother and sister grabbed the bar and began pulling. A ring of yellow and orange sparked slightly at it's base. Tavis lent a hand and with a slow groan it began to bend.
"Quickly! Before it cools!"
Kel dropped her sword and grasped the iron just above the twin's heads. The metal gave way, complaining loudly. The gap it made would just allow a child to escape, and that was all they needed.
Kel reached through and beckoned to the figures on the other side.
"Come on, we need to get you out of here and someplace safe."
A chorus of voices responded.
"We musn't!"
"They hurt mum and pop."
"They said we were being kept away from evil men."
"I'm scared."
"Can't go noplace with strangers."
Once again, the mysterious twins came to the rescue. Climbing into the prison, Salamis scooped up the little girl in the dirty dress.
"It's all a game see? They hide you, we find you. Then the grownups have to come find you, but only parental persons can see you."
The little girl stuck her finger in her mouth.
"Why only them?"
"Cause that's how the game goes."
She tilted her head to one side, pondering the rules. With a smile, she threw her arms around the one with such simple logic.
"Let's go!"
Salaman coxed the boy through next and slowly the others followed. Kel kept her sword in hand, on edge for an ambush. The children were all between the ages of four and twelve, clinging to one another and doing their best to keep away from the front of the group. As they climbed through the gap, she counted heads and then recounted. There were nearly one hundred and sixty - nearly being because they would not stand still and some were being carried by others and hard to see.
Tavis picked up a small boy and looked at Kel.
"Where do we take them?"
Rescuing children was well and good, but Kel knew her first duty was to stop Maggur. However, that did not mean leaving them on their own. She frowned.
"Back up to that cavern where we came from."
"Musn't do that. You have fate to meet."
Surprised, Kel turned to the twins.
"Why not?"
All playfulness had left them and their eyes gleamed with knowledge far beyond their physical age. Hand in hand, they pointed at the heir of the Black Hawks.
"You will remain here. She will go back. In one days time, the end will begin. The gods are watching to see man's future unfold. The white wings await."
The hair on Kel's neck stood on end.
Tavis swept his arm over the listening heads of the others. "I cannot let the Protector go alone. What about them?"
"We will care for them. You will wait for those left behind to take up arms. The past is returning to you, and the future."
Patience at an end, Kel turned to her partner.
"What are they talking about? What wings and what past and future?"
Tavis's eyes were shadowed by the torch light.
"These two have lived in the caves of the Eire for as long as Maggur has held his power over our people. No one know where they came from, or who their parents were. But they are Spirited far beyond any past Seer or chieftain. When the war with your country began, they were the ones to break the Bond over my father, then me. I don't know how, but they are Blessed by some great power. I trust them with my life, and my clan's."
Sheathing her sword, Kel sighed. It seemed to be her destiny to be led around by cryptic words from some deity even if she did not have the Gift.