And now it's time for the part we've all been waiting for! So here you go:

Just before sundown, Datia alighted in a hollow between two sand dunes, effectively hiding her prints from anyone who might be watching from the prison. Both Riders quickly unstrapped themselves and slid down the sides of their invisible dragons, a rather nerve-wracking experience in Peri's opinion. She followed Esteba's footprints up the side of a dune and crouched just below the top so that only her head was above the crest. There they waited and watched as the sun steadily dropped behind them, extending vast shadows across the sand. Suddenly Esteba gave a small giggle from off to Peri's right.

"God, Hadin is pissed at you, Peri," she laughed, and Peri grinned. "So is Lydia, for that matter."

"That's because now she can't turn me in to Dareth and have me imprisoned for life," Peri muttered with mixed emotions. Sure, she was more than happy to wreck Lydia's plans, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. That someone was still watching and waiting for the oppurtune moment. She shook herself and tried to focus.

"So what's the game plan?" Esteba asked, shallow furrows in the sand betraying her movement. Peri followed her back down into the hollow and sat down to think.

"Well, Hadin's plan was to have the two of us go in together, while he watched from the outside," she said, scratching at an itch on her arm. She was surprised to see silvery flakes shower away from the spot, leaving a barely visible patch of skin floating in the air. She stopped scratching. "Vagero and Datia can act as our outside eyes while we head inside through the Warden's place."

Hljödhr Andlát had been built to have only one, heavily fortified entrance, an enormous gate lined with iron spikes tipped with poison and manned by archers, dragons, and some of the most powerful Riders around. Anything that approached the gates without authorization was immediately and remorselessly shot down. The architect who had designed the prison had known what he was doing. But he hadn't counted on the will of the Warden. Late in the construction of the prison, the Rider who was to be the Warden had a hidden window built into the wall of his quarters, unknown to anyone except, apparently, Hadin. The window, along with the Warden's quarters, was nearly three thousand feet above the plane of the desert and completely invisible to anyone who didn't already know where it was. Luckily (and suspiciously) Hadin was one of those people and had drilled the both of them on the window's location. Peri could probably find it in her sleep. The hard part wasn't finding the window, it was climbing up to reach it. Three thousand feet was no picnic, and there was no way Datia or Vagero could fly them up there. They'd need to alight on the side of the mountain and that would definitely get them noticed and shot down. The only chance they had was to climb up themselves.

"How long does this invisibility thing last?" she asked out loud.

"As you can see, it starts to flake off after a few hours, but it can be renewed. And, as long as you don't scratch, it'll last a little longer."

"We're climbing a mountain, Esteba," Peri said in a monotone.

"Yeah, that might rub some of it off," the elf murmured. "I'd better renew it now. If anyone uses the Ancient Language too close to Hljödhr Andlát, it'll send up our location like a flare."

With that the she-elf muttered a few words and the invisible rain showered down again, coating them in a fresh layer.

"Then how will you use it inside the mountain?" Peri asked, watching the patch of skin on her arm disappear.

"Everyone uses magic inside the mountain," Esteba scoffed. "I mean, it's a Rider prison, after all. It's outside that we have to be careful."

Peri nodded, then remembered she was invisible.

"Oh."

By now it was almost completely dark, and time for them to move. Peri quickly slipped her pack off and found her way over to Datia's side through a combination of mental connection and feeling with her hands outstretched. Carefully she climbed up onto her bondmate's back and slipped her pack off. She would need to travel light, bringing only what she needed. She slipped her cloak out, thankful that it too had been soaked through by Esteba's rain, and pulled it on, stuffing her hair inside without even thinking about it. Quickly she ran through her stock of weapons, deciding what was necessary and what was not. First to go was her bow. Her archery skills were shaky at best and the bow would only get in her way in close quarters. She secured it to her saddle and moved on to her extensive dagger collection. She hid seven in her clothes (one in each boot, two, including her pearl dagger, at her waist, one in each sleeve, and one down the back of her shirt, where she could reach it while pretending to keep her hands behind her head) and left the rest in her pack. She swapped out the antidotes in her boot for poisons and slipped a ring onto her right hand. It looked harmless enough, but its iron point was tipped with a fast-acting poison that would get her out of a tight spot. She considered briefly bringing her sword, but she knew better than to think she could use it effectively. No matter what Hadin said, she would always, always choose daggers over a sword. She hooked her sword to Datia's saddle, swapped out her empty waterskin for a full one, and slid back down to the ground.

"You ready?" she called to Esteba, whose footprints appeared beside Vagero's a moment later.

"Born ready," Esteba said airily. "I was waiting for you."

Peri rolled her eyes and walked over to join her friend, but ran into Datia's invisible tail and nearly pitched forward into the sand. Suddenly hot breath washed over her and when she reached out with one hand her bondmate's muzzle was there. There was a sudden lump in her throat and she couldn't stop herself from flinging her arms around Datia's neck.

Be careful, iet ilian. You promised not to leave me.

I swear to you I'll come back, Peri whispered back, her fingers digging into the hard scales of Datia's neck. I will never leave you again.

I will tear that mountain apart if you don't, Datia growled, and a real growl echoed throughout the hollow. And I will never let you go anywhere ever again.

You won't need to, Peri promised, holding on tight to her bondmate for another few moments. Finally she convinced her arms to release and she backed away. She was glad she was invisible, because Esteba would never forget it if she knew tears were streaming from Peri's eyes.

Be safe, iet ilian. Be dangerous.

Dangerous is what I do best, Peri said with a cocky grin, trying to distract herself from what was happening. Let us know if anything comes our way.

Of course.

Peri gently dabbed her tears away, careful not to rub too hard, and turned to face the towering mountain.

"Let's go," she said, and Esteba's footprints began to move.

(…)

It turned out Hadin had been right.

In order to make the most of the dark night ahead of them, they were forced to run most of the way to the mountain, and the Peri that had stolen valuables from petty socialites would never have made it, not even half way. Hadin's morning runs had helped after all and she managed to keep up a steady jog the entire way there. Esteba kept up easily, her footprints barely visible beside her in the pitch black night. A sliver of silver was all the moon had to show tonight, helping to conceal their approach from the eyes that were bound to be on the lookout for them, but once or twice the two of them became separated and had to stop and regroup. At first in was stifling under her cloak, and she was afraid her sweat would wash away the strange rain Esteba had summoned, but as the night wore of it grew startlingly cooler. If she hadn't been running, she might have even been cold. She'd heard about the steep difference between day and night in the desert, but know she knew first hand, and she was glad for her cloak. Each breath was sharp and startling to her lungs, but it helped to distract her from Hljödhr Andlát looming larger above them with each passing minute. It was slower going than flying, that was for sure, and it would be tough to fit everything under the cover of darkness. If the guards at the prison got a good look at them, there would be no place on earth that would be truly safe to them. Their original plan had been flexible, ready to go either way. If dawn broke, Hadin was to stay in hiding with the dragons until Peri and Esteba got out of the prison, with or without Nick. Then Datia and Vagero were charged with picking up their respective Riders while Hadin covered them from above. If they made it out before first light, they would flee east past Algaësia's borders and lay low in the Dead Country. It would be harsh living outside of Algaësia; Peri had heard terrible rumors about what lay in the infamous Dead Country. She'd heard that the beasts of Hljödhr Andlát had originated there, as well as other creatures deadly to all the races. There were even whispers that the Ra'zac lived on in a small colony there, where the Riders' influence couldn't touch them. Peri really didn't want to find out if those whispers were true, but Dead Country might be safer than Algaësia once she broke into Hljödhr Andlát.

Speaking of the dreaded mountain, it was almost under their feet. On silent accord, both Peri and Esteba slowed to a rapid walk, catching their breath in preparation for the brutal climb ahead of them. Her muscles were pleasantly loose and wired for action, but not exhausted. Hadin had trained her well. She pulled out her waterskin and tipped her head back, careful not to let a single drop go to waste. She forced herself to stop after three swallows and flipped her hood back, gathering her hair into a ponytail and tying it off with a leather cord. The feeling of air on the back of her neck was beautiful and refreshing, but she didn't linger long. A moment later she'd stuffed her hair back into her cloak and pulled her hood up. She wasn't about to trade the security of her hood for a little pleasure. Her hair sufficiently out of the way, she padded along beside Esteba in her sturdy boots, her poisons tucked in beside her ankles where she could reach them easily. Her steps became increasingly softer and lighter as they stepped up to the base of the mountain, where the red rock stabbed up out of the desert sand. There was no steady incline, just jagged rock and hostile eyes peeled for their approach. Nothing Peri hadn't dealt with before, but now there was something more than her own life at stake.

At first it was easy enough, although the combination of sucking sand and steep incline was challenging from the start. As they walked the ground became increasingly rockier, starting with small chunks of rock and eventually evening out to a stark plane of red stone, its soft stone ready to give and send them both tumbling down to the bottom. The cascade of stones would alert the guards of the prison, and even if the fall didn't kill them, the guards certainly would. They couldn't afford any sort of setback, no matter how small. Scaling the initial slopes before the mountain became truly solid rock was the most difficult leg of their journey, yet at the same time the easiest. It drained Peri's mind and eyes, looking out for where each foot was going and what sort of reaction she would trigger, but physically she could do this all night. When they finally reached the actual climbing part of their journey, she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or scared. So she did neither, put her hands on the craggy mountainside, and started climbing. She could hear Esteba somewhere above her, occasionally sending a shower of dirt down her her head, quickly followed by a muttered apology. Peri quickly moved to the side, before her friend could send down something a little bigger than a few pebbles. Her decision came just in time as a rock the size of her fist dropped past her shoulder and broke apart on the slopes below. Peri wasn't sure whether she could have kept her wits if that thing had come down on her head. She blew out a tense breath and continued to climb.

In no time at all her fingers and toes were cramped and bleeding, but when she looked around she didn't think they were even halfway. Her arms, back, legs, and stomach all ached and sweat incessantly, and once she got sand down her shirt there was no getting it out. To put it simply, she was in hell. To make it even harder, she could hardly see the hand- and foot-holds she was reaching for and sometimes the supposedly sturdy rocks weren't sturdy at all and would give way the moment she put weight on them. She nearly slipped and fell to her death over and over again, only sheer stubbornness and four fingers holding her to the mountain. When Esteba's voice sounded softly in her ear, she was too exhausted to do anything other than blink in stunned alarm.

"Stop and rest here," her friend murmured. Peri looked around and found herself at chest height with a narrow shelf of rock, just wide enough to stand on and lean against the mountainside.

"Thanks," she gasped back, climbing up to stand beside the elf. Her calves were trembling with enough force that she thought the shelf would give beneath them, but it held as she pulled out her waterskin and drained nearly half of her remaining water. For a long minute the only noises were the sounds of gulping and wind. Peri's cloak swirled around in the air, and she was surprised to notice that she could just make out its shadow. When she raised her arm, she got the vague notion of movement, but she couldn't focus on anything in particular. It would seem Esteba's rain was rubbing off. She didn't want to know how long they'd been climbing. They stood silently beside each other, chests heaving and sweat pouring off their bodies to mingle with the sand already stuck to them. Peri took the oppurtunity to check in with Datia.

How's it look from here?

There was a moment of silence.

Dark and quiet. I don't think anyone's noticed you.

I almost wish they would. It'd be a much simpler way to get inside.

If you get caught…

I won't, I was joking. Have you seen Hadin yet?

No, but if you two don't hurry and get inside he might pluck you off the mountain himself.

I just want to sleep, and take a bath. Not necessarily in that order.

Sleep later. The moon still travels above.

Yeah, yeah, dragon wisdom. I'm going.

Peri sighed and carefully turned to face the cliffside again, flexing her fingers and toes to work the cramps out of them. Beside her, Esteba's barely-visible form fluttered and then a weary sigh sounded.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

And they set off up the cliffside again, mostly but not quite invisible and seriously contemplating sleeping then and there.

(…)

"Please tell me we're almost there," Peri groaned after what felt like hours of climbing, sweating, and more climbing. If she thought her fingers had been cramped before, that was nothing compared to what she felt now. She was truly afraid her hands were going to go into agonized spasms and sent her plummetting down the mountain. And it wouldn't be an easy trip down. Above her there was a sharp inhale, followed by a shower of dirt.

"We're almost there," Esteba hissed, spitting dirt out of her mouth.

"You're just saying that. How much farther do we have to climb?"

"About three feet."

"Esteba, seriously, how much farther."

"Shut up, I'm working," the elf snapped, followed by a rapid flow of words that Peri guessed was elvish. She remained still while Esteba battled with the spell that was cast on the window. There was a brief flare of weary curiosity, but Esteba was speaking so quickly and fluidly that Peri could barely tell what language it was. She gave up and shifted to get a better hand hold.

"Jesus, Esteba, I'm going to fall. Are you finished yet?"

Esteba grabbed her free hand, which she'd been raising to find a hand-hold, and pressed it against the mountainside. Except her hand didn't meet rock and kept on going. Blinking in confusion, she felt around with her hand until she had discovered a small square window, about two feet wide and two feet tall, hidden in the blank expanse of rock. They'd found the Warden's secret. Nearly crying with relief, Peri threw herself up the side of the mountain and through the window, wiggling through and collapsing on her hands and knees in a dark room. She took a moment to scan it and made sure it was empty before rolling onto her back with a small groan. A moment later Esteba landed on her legs and they just laid there aching and gasping for breath like dying fish. The elf stood up after a few long minutes, apparently refreshed, but it took Peri a lot of bracing and stumbling to get to her feet. When she straightened her back gave a shriek of pain, but that was nothing compared to her fingers and calves. She shook away her pain and scanned the room she'd dove into. What she found nearly made her burst out laughing.

Are you telling me, she thought, contacting Esteba in case anyone was nearby and listening, that we climbed all the way up a mountain in the dark so we could sneak in through some guy's bathroom window?

There was a quick burst of mental giggling while Esteba stifled her real laughter.

It would appear so. No wonder Hadin didn't want to come. It stinks in here.

I think that's just you, Estie.

Shut up… Ri-ri.

What the hell is Ri-ri?!

All I could do with your name.

Well, if you want to keep your head I'd never say it or think it ever again.

…Ri-ri.

I'm gonna kill you.

Not right now, you're not. Time to get down to business.

I don't like to think of my job as a job. It's always been too much fun for that. Peri sat down gingerly and pulled her boots off, careful to keep them upright so her poisons didn't break on the stone floor.

You're sick.

Peri shrugged in response as she pulled her moccasins out of the pocket on the inside of her cloak and slipped them on, the sweet, soft hide like heaven to her abused soles. She hid her boots in a crack in the walls and stood up, feeling better already.

Sick or not, I'm the only person in this entire mountain that won't shoot you dead, so get over it. Let's go.

With that she slipped out the door and across the Warden's room, whose furniture consisted of a bed and a rickety table in the corner. Apparently even Wardens didn't get much in the way of comfort around here. Peri waited at the closed door and listened for anything in the outside corridor, and when she heard nothing she cracked open the door and waited some more. Esteba's breath on the back of her cloak was the only sign that the elf was still with her. After a long minute, Peri sucked in a breath and slipped out into the corridor, flashing a glance in both directions with her dagger in one hand. Her pearl dagger had seen her through more jobs than she could count, and she prayed it would see her through this one. Peri reached back and tapped the doorframe, and a moment later she felt Esteba's presence on her left.

Keep an eye out behind us, Peri instructed and set off down the hall to the right.

Yes, m'am.

Peri ignored her and a moment later they reached a flight of steps going down, lit only by a single torch on the wall. The flickering shadows didn't help much as Peri eyed the steps, looking for loose spots or stray pebbles that might cause her problems. Once she'd reassured herself that no one was coming up the steps towards them, she stepped lightly and quickly from step to step. She could barely hear Esteba following behind her. The stairs spiralled off to the right, so Peri couldn't really be sure if anyone was waiting at the bottom, but her dagger was out and ready if there was. The three of them had literally gone over every possible problem that could arise, and then drilled each other relentlessly on what to do if each thing happened. And with a month to prepare, that was a lot of drilling. Peri knew the layout of the prison better than most of the prison guards and had memorized the routines of each guard. She was almost certain she wouldn't run into anyone, unless someone was jumping the system. And she was prepared for that too. There were three routes down to Nick's cell that would be clear at this time of night, but the shortest went right by the main gates Peri would prefer not to take that route. That left the route by the barracks and the route straight past the lifesuckers' dens. Esteba was around in case of either. It would be her job to lull the guards or the beasts to sleep without raising the alarm. Peri reached the bottom of the stairs and paused for a heartbeat, scanning the black abyss ahead. Torches lit up a small circle of the tunnel every fifty feet or so, and every time they passed one Peri was surprised not to see her shadow on the wall.

We're inside, she thought to Datia, then focused on the task at hand. An encouraging hum was the only thing she heard from her bondmate. A moment later they reached another set of steps that took them down into the one guest level, for any Riders that were visiting or inspecting the prison. Exactly twelve rooms lined the single hallway, six on each side, and Peri carefully listened at each one before moving on. There were no reports of any visitors or inspections that Hadin knew of, but that didn't mean they weren't there. They all turned up empty, as expected, and one more flight of stairs took them down into the top level of cells, those for temporary or short-term prisoners. The people here were either being transferred to another prison or serving short sentences, and as of three days ago there had only been twenty-three prisoners in this section of the prison. That meant less people to see them and raise the alarm, but these prisoners would be looking for any way to shorten their sentences. Handing in a wanted Rider would certainly do such a thing. They had to be extremely careful here. Twice a prisoner came to their door as Peri passed, but their eyes passed right through her and no alarm was raised. The temporary level was laid out in a square of connecting hallways, adding up to fifty total cells. The hallway up to the guest level and the Warden's chambers was in one corner of the square, and the stairs down to the next level were in the opposite one. Peri felt like kissing the walls when they reached the staircase, but she kept it together and descended.

She felt a little bit of weight lift off her shoulders when she stepped onto the next level. The rest of the levels were full of long-term prisoners, murderers and traitors lying vacant in tiny stone rooms with barely a flicker of life keeping their hearts beating. Not one of these prisoners would be concious enough to notice her or Esteba sneaking past, and they could relax a little bit. There would still be guards, occasionally, but Peri was more than prepared to handle them if the need arose. She wasn't in a corner anymore; instead she had emerged into a long, yawning hallway lined on both sides by a seemingly infinite number of cells (Peri knew there were over twenty thousand separate cells in the prison, but she didn't have an exact number; she didn't think anyone did). She stayed back in the doorway of the staircase and scanned carefully in each direction, tracing her route through the prison in her mind. After a moment's careful consideration, she took the staircase descending on her left, her footsteps making no noise on the smooth stone. Esteba's slightly more audible footsteps followed.

How many levels down? came Esteba's voice in her mind.

Down seven levels, go left, take the third right, go left, and from that turn he's fifty-two cells down, on the right.

Damn, girl, work those turns.

Shut up. We've been down three levels already and this is the fourth. At the bottom of this flight we'll have three more to go.

Does that mean I have to carry your boyfriend up seven flights of stairs, not to mention all the way back to the stairs?

He's not my boyfriend, now shut up.

Ri-ri.

Estie.

They reached the bottom of the flight and both froze at the same moment. The sound of footsteps reached them from the next staircase, cutting off their route down. Rather than get trapped on the stairs behind them, Peri slipped out into the hallway and ducked into an empty cell. She had cells like these on every level, in case someone came along and they had to hide. A brief tap on her arm told her Esteba was inside, then she returned the door to its original half-open position and waited motionlessly for the wayward guard to pass. Even after his footsteps had faded into the eerie silence of the prison, Peri waited a minute longer to make sure he wouldn't return. At this point she'd completely forgotten that she was invisible. After a minute, perhaps longer, Peri slipped back out of the cell and, replacing the door, headed down another level.

There were no more incidents until they were on Nick's level. Below them they could hear the sound of footsteps echoing up the staircase, but that wasn't what concerned Peri. What concerned her was the brief eruption of begging from one of the prisoners. His cries were quickly cut off, making the prison seem even quieter than before. Peri bit her lip, but she knew what was going on. They'd been too slow on their way up the outside of the mountain, and now the lifesucking beasts were making their rounds with their humans handlers. It would take a while for the level below to be completed, but that meant there were ears and eyes nearby that might catch onto something. Peri felt her fingers begin to flutter in panic, but a touch from Esteba brought her raging thoughts back into line. The facts, look at the facts. The facts were simple.

She could hide and wait for the lifesuckers to pass, or she could hurry and risk detection. She knew which one it had to be. She knew little about the infamous beasts of Hljödhr Andlát, and to bet her life on her limited knowledge would be stupid. If it sensed her presence, it might have some way to alert its master. Hadin had reassured her that their sense of smell was their only strong point; their hearing and sight was limited, but seeing as Peri had left Hadin under suspicions of betrayal, she wasn't risking it.

We have to hurry, but be careful, she thought to Esteba.

Noted.

Peri set off down the hall to the left, the sound of Esteba's footsteps sounding agonizingly loud amongst the silence of the prison. Her mind whirred along a different path: if the man downstairs had been concious enough to beg, that meant other people might be as well. Just the faint whisper of Esteba's feet might stir up one of the prisoners in their cells, and their entire lives would be cast down the drain. Peri had to fight the urge to turn around and throttle her friend for walking so loudly. She had to bite her tongue and remind herself that not everyone had learned to walk silently at the age of seven in order to stay alive. Not everyone had experience breaking into impossible places and doing impossible things, all the while avoiding the attention of people who'd been trained to notice everything. Even the grace of the elves didn't render them silent. Only experience and the right shoes could do that. Every one hundred cells, a hallway would open up on the right, hooking up with a hallway running parallel to them, lined with about ten cells on each side. At the first crossroads Peri stopped and edged up to the corner, just barely poking her face around the edge to scan the connecting hallway.

Peri, you're invisible.

Then how come you know what I'm doing?

… point made.

Seeing no one, Peri hurried across to the next block of cells and started counting the cells as she passed them in order to pass the time. The pearl hilt of her dagger was slick with sweat, so she switched it to her left hand and kept walking, wiping her sweaty palm on the leg of her pants. While she was naturally right handed, she could fight with her left if necessary. She was more clumsy and awkward when she fought with her left hand, but she could hold her own. It was better to be a little less skilled than be disarmed because she couldn't keep a firm grip on her dagger. She could hear claws from below as she passed a staircase at cell fifty, and the sound only made her walk faster. The brush of Esteba's feet sped up in response, making Peri wince.

A small patrol just left and flew south.

Peri nearly bit her tongue off in surprise, thinking someone had escaped her notice and gotten too close, then remembered Datia stationed outside.

Sorry, thanks. Where do you think they're headed?

Could be going to pick up a prisoner?

That was entirely possible, but it didn't help to ease Peri's nerves any. There was an irregularity, something she hadn't known was coming, and she didn't know what it could mean yet. She hated the not knowing, but there was nothing she could do except be careful and keep a lookout for anything else strange. The second hallway was arriving fast and, after a quick check to make sure no one was there, she hurried across. Despite the fact that she was drawing ever closer to her friend's cell, her emotions were slowly shutting off one by one, leaving behind a predator. A cornered mother, so to speak, and Nick was her figurative cub. If anything or anyone threatened them, she would react the way a predator would: quickly and mercilessly. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, because any guard could be a Rider and was therefore connected to a dragon somewhere. If she hurt or killed a Rider, nothing would stop that dragon from coming up here and tearing her to shreds in its grief. She could only distantly imagine the agony that dragon would feel, but even that tiny understanding made killing another Rider despicable to her. Datia was more precious to her than anyone she'd ever known, even Nick, and the thought of losing her forever made her bones burn. Just the mere thought. If she were to inflict that pain a thousandfold on another being, she would never be able to live with herself.

They reached the third hallway.

Switching her knife back to her right hand, she peered around the corner and, finding the corridor empty, hurried across to the next intersection. Tucked in between two cells was a staircase leading both up and down, but Peri paid it no more attention than what was required to listen for approaching guards. After that she set off to the left.

Over the years, Peri had found that each job could be split into five sections. One, the planning, which she could already check off her list. Two, what she called the approach. That stage, the one she was now in, consisted of breaking in and finding what she was looking for. Three was the peak, actually finding the item she was being paid to 'retrieve'. Four was flight, which mainly consisted of running like hell. Five was finding a safe place to hide and lie low. So, for example, say she was crashing a party to steal a necklace from some rich dame. One: planning, like how to get into the party and how to get out. Two: actually entering the party with suitable attire and searching for the necklace. Three: getting the necklace away from its owner. Four: getting out before the theft was noticed (or after, that did happen sometimes). Five: getting back to one of her hideouts and waiting for the heat to die down. It was a simple process, really, and it fit most everything she'd ever done for money. Sometimes she got cocky and skipped stage one, but that usually ended badly for her.

Anyway, despite the fact that she was approaching the 'peak' of her jailbreak, she was perfectly calm and lucid. Another thing she'd discovered over the years was the calm she always felt the closer she got to the 'peak'. Usually she referred to it as 'the ice', because adrenaline was just a mouthful in a quick conversation. Whatever she called it, it was in her veins now and it brought crystal clarity to the prison around her. She could see a hallway approaching on her right, and Nick's cell should be the second after that. The connecting hallways of Hljödhr Andlát were staggered, to make it harder for escaped prisoners to find their way out or get to another level, but Peri was no stranger here. Well, technically she was, but that was beside the point. She stopped at the corner, checked very carefully for guards or lifesuckers, and nearly sprinted to the second cell on the right. Only common sense and years of experience kept her steps silent and her breathing soft. The door looked just the same as all the rest in the prison, metal with a tiny window that was barely tall enough to fit a hand through and about as wide as Peri's head. More of a mail slot, really. She pressed her face to the window, careful not to touch it, and stared into the dark cell, but there was no light inside for her to see with. The only light was coming from the occasional torches on the walls, whose light Peri blocked when she moved up to the window. She swallowed a frustrated growl and stepped back, gesturing for Esteba step forward.

Hurry.

Genius can't be rushed, Esteba said perkily, stepping up to the door and holding one palm a breath away from its smooth metal surface.

Unless genius wants a knife in its skull-

Okay, God! I'm hurrying!

Peri stepped back to lean against the wall and wait, her stomach churning. She checked in with Datia for a heartbeat, keeping an eye and ear out inside the prison while her mind reached out towards her bondmate's.

We're at Nick's cell. How's it look?

A while back that patrol flew overhead, but we were hidden under the sand. They keep coming back.

Do you think they know you're there?

I think they suspect it, but they're not seeing what they want. That's what Vagero thinks, anyway.

Hm. Stand by, then.

Will do.

Peri looked up and down the hallway while remaining pressed against the walls, keeping as far out of the torchlight as she could while remaining by Esteba's side. The hazy shadow that was Esteba was working tirelessly on the door, words flowing off her tongue and into the air like water. Peri didn't sense a difference in the air, but Hadin had warned her of the wards placed on the cells of the prisoners. The moment the doors were closed and locked, only a certain phrase or an insane combination of magic would lower the wards until the door was closed again. If any dwarf, elf, human, or Urgal touched the door once it was locked, someone was alerted instantly and the intruder was apprehended before they could take ten steps. Special oaths kept the guards from telling anyone the phrase or even writing it down. Seeing as they didn't have a secret phrase, they were forced to take the 'insane combination of magic' path. Peri bobbed impatiently on the balls of her feet and fought the urge to kick the door. She'd known it would take time, but each passing second felt like a lifetime. That was one second closer to being spotted, killed, or drained of life. They had maybe fifteen minutes until the lifesuckers reached this floor, and then things would get a hell of a lot more complicated. She just about ready to explode when the door popped open and Esteba gave a quick mental Ha!. Peri was inside before the thought had fully reached her.

"Istalri!" she hissed, and a small bubble of flame appeared in her outstretched palm. She flinched away from the sudden light in the dark mountain prison, and it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust. Rubbing them furiously, she lowered her hand and looked around at the eluminated cell.

Peri…

"Where is he?!"

The cell was empty.

I hate myself.