“True, but Maxwell’s played up to Alexander. Gained his trust.” He still preferred killing the bastard himself rather than allowing the king to have the pleasure of ending the traitor.
“Aye, but our connection to the king is stronger.” William arched a brow, then winked again.
Valan agreed with a subtle nod, understanding that his second in command wished to keep his bloodline private. William wanted to be known as a warrior, not the cousin to the king. “I will consider leaving him alive.”
He refused to make any promises. After all, he owed Euban a great debt. The man had tormented his lady love and destroyed her life’s work. Valan flexed his fingers, itching to wrap them back around Maxwell’s throat and squeeze.
A hard thump hit the cell door, followed by loud laughter.
Every warrior in the room grinned. Valan checked the window again, gauging the angle of the sunlight streaming in the tiny slot and hitting the floor. Several hours ’til nightfall and their best chance at freedom. He prayed they passed quickly. For Elspet’s sake.
*
“I hear snoring,”Mathis whispered. On his hands and knees, he pressed his cheek against the floor and tried to peer underneath the door. “A lot of snoring. And by the looks of their feet, they couldna be more relaxed.”
Valan motioned for him to stand. “Lachan, William, and I will lift the door. With the hinges on the outside, it should fall this way. When we back up, the rest of ye rush them. Drunk and dazed as they are, they should be easy enough to silence.”
Several of the mercenaries cracked their knuckles. All nodded, their smiles bright in the room’s dimness, lit only by the torchlight streaming in the openings at the top and bottom of the door. Every injury they had received during the ambush in the courtyard would now be repaid.
Valan chose the hinged side of the portal. William took the middle, and Lachan lumbered up and squatted on the side bearing the latch.
“What about the lock, m’lord?” Lachan whispered, pressing his eye snug against the crack of the door to see the mechanism.
“The door opens out,” Valan said. “When they put us in here, I heard them drop the bar across it.” He squatted down and took hold of the door’s base. “Another reason why we must lift high as possible to undo the hinges then walk backward with it.”
William crouched beside him and grabbed hold. Lachan set one large hand at the base of the door and rested the other up high to steady it once it came free.
“Together now.” Valan locked his focus on the two men. “One…two…heave!”
They lifted the heavy barrier of oak and iron until the top of it hit the stones above. Straining to manage the cumbersome thing, Valan jerked his head for them to walk it back. At first, it gave, sending a rush of victory through his veins. But then it caught and refused to move any farther.
“Pull,” he growled through clenched teeth.
The three of them, every muscle bulging, yanked. Something popped, then the sound of wood splintering gave them hope. “Pull,” he groaned again.
“Escape!” shouted a guard. “Sound the alarm!”
The enemy’s alarm gave them the strength they needed. The door came free so fast they stumbled back and nearly landed on their arses.
Valan slid free of the thing, holding it long enough to allow William to get out from behind it. Lachan had already joined the others in silencing the guards.
A hard kick splintered the entrance to the armory. Valan rushed inside, searching for his belongings among the Maxwell’s stores. He wanted his personal blades stained with the blood of those who had harmed his Elspet.
“Did any make it free to warn the rest?” he called out while sheathing extra daggers in both boots.
“None,” William announced proudly. “Do we do this with stealth or loud bloodletting?”
“Stealth first. Until Elspet and Beitris are safe, ye ken?” Valan spotted several coiled ropes stored on pegs beside the spear rack. He grabbed them all, looped his arm through them, and shouldered them along with a mace bearing a handy leather strap. With a grim smile, he gave William a nod. “Spread the word. Once our ladies are safe, I grant each warrior free will to do his worst. Give no quarter.”
William gave a delayed dip of his chin but stood fast, grimacing as if in pain.
Valan eyed the man, knowing what was running through his head. William fought well man to man, warrior to warrior. But with any takeover where innocents might get in the way, he always lagged back. “Harm no women or children, William. Ye ken that well enough. ’Tis a standing order. Always has been and still stands now. Ye should know that. I am not without a heart.”
“And the aged or infirmed?”
Valan scrubbed a hand over his face. “How long have ye fought at my side?”
“Five years, m’lord.”
