Chapter 20
For the umpteenth time, Caitlin strained against her bonds, putting every ounce of strength she could into her arms, trying to break free. And for the umpteenth time, the ropes didn’t budge. Alice had tied them well. It seemed that tying up prisoners was something of a specialty of hers, along with blowing up fairs and drugging old men.
Caitlin sagged in frustration, taking as deep a breath as she could around the gag that covered her mouth. It too had been expertly secured: not so tight that it impeded her breathing, but tight enough that she was unable to scream or call for help.
Alice. When she got out of here, Caitlin was going to make her pay for this.
Who are you kidding?she thought.When you get out of this? How the hell are you going to get out of this? Nobody knows you’re down here.
Kai will come looking, she told herself.As soon as he realizes I’m gone, he’ll come looking. I know he will.
It was the only thought that kept her sane. The only thought that kept the panic from consuming her completely.
She guessed it was the middle of the night although there was no way to tell. Around her, the barrels of gunpowder sat in ominous rows, their innocent appearance hiding the devastation they would unleash.
It had been Lorna’s idea to leave Caitlin imprisoned down here. Tobias had been all for throwing her in a cell but Lorna had talked him out of it. That way, when this place went up, Caitlin would go up with it. Lorna seemed to have a personal hatred of her. She’d gloated as she’d said these words, enjoying her fear.
Bitch.
She would make her pay as well.
Her efforts to break free had tired her and she felt her limbs growing heavy as she slumped against a crate and fell into fitful slumber. Then suddenly she was awakened by the tramp of feet and the rumble of many voices. It sounded like an army was marching in. Caitlin’s heart began to race. Was it Kai and the others? Had they finally come looking for her?
But the hope died as quickly as it had come. The sound was above her, not outside her door. The sounds were muffled by the thickness of the ceiling but she thought she could hear Kai’s voice. Or was that just wishful thinking? There were other voices too, ones she didn’t recognize.
Damn it! She needed to know what was going on. She bit her lip, looking around her dimly lit prison. Her eyes alighted on a large crate in the corner. If she could climb on top of it, she might be able to reach the ceiling. It wouldn’t be easy—Alice had tied her wrists and ankles so tightly that she couldn’t walk—but she could drag herself.
Inch by slow inch, she wormed her way across the room until she was sitting with her back against the crate, her breath heaving through the gag. Raising her bound hands, she was able to grip the edge of the crate with her fingers and use this as leverage to heave herself to her feet, leaning on the crate to stop herself from falling.
With determined grunts, she hauled herself up and managed to scrabble her elbows onto its surface then wriggle and writhe until she got herself atop the crate. She then braced her back against the wall and used her legs to push herself up until she was standing.
She pressed her ear against the cold stone of the ceiling, listening. To her surprise, some trick of the acoustics brought the voices to her loud and clear. There were lots of voices and it sounded as though the room above was filled with many people. There was only one place in the castle that could house so many: the great hall. Caitlin’s prison must lie directly below it.
It also meant the great hall was the target. Lorna and her cronies were going to blow it up.
In a frenzy of fear, Caitlin beat her fists against the ceiling and shouted with all her might. “Hey! I’m down here! Hey!”
At least, that’s what she tried to shout. With the gag, all that came out were a set of muffled, incoherent wails. With a wave of despair, she realized that nobody up there could hear her. Nobody was coming to rescue her.
Despair and panic threatened to overwhelm her and it took all her concentration not to give into it. Instead, she fell quiet and pressed her ear against the ceiling, listening.
She heard mention of ‘the Order of the Osprey’ and ‘war council’ and ‘King John of Denmark and Norway.’ The import of all this slowly sank in. The Order of the Osprey had finally arrived—and they had not come alone. The king of Denmark and Norway had come with them and they were going to hold a war council in the morning to decide how to deal with Leif Snarlsson.
And then she knew.Thatwas Lorna and Tobias’s target. They intended to blow up the war council. They would kill Kai, the Order of the Osprey, and the king of Denmark and Norway in one go.
