The guard leaned in to whisper in his ear, and the lines around Heinrich’s mouth deepened. Because his expression was calm and Erich didn’t hear any screams coming from the ballroom, he assumed Fritz hadn’t attacked yet.
“We shall finish this later. Licht, keep him here.” Then Prince Consort Heinrich strode away past the ballroom and down the hall.
When Prince Consort Heinrich walked away, Erich jabbed his elbow into Duke Licht’s stomach, and he crumpled onto the floor, gasping. The quickest way out was the way Prince Consort Heinrich had gone, and so he went the opposite way, hoping to find another exit. He passed a few meandering guests on the way, turned at a darkened corner, and that’s when Fritz stepped out of the shadows and into his path.
“We need to get out, now,” Fritz said. His enlarged pupils darted around erratically.
“What did you do?” Erich asked.
Shouts proceeded the thundering of booted feet as the Midnight Guards rushed toward them, blocking the end of the hall. They’d been seen together. Rather than risk questioning, Erich ran. But as he retreated the way he came, he was blocked by more guards who pinned him between their two forces. To his left, there was an open window looking out onto the roof. Signaling to Fritz, he jumped through it onto the rooftop.
Howling wind tore at his clothes and hair as he teetered on the apex. Mistakenly, he looked over the edge, and the ground spun beneath him, threatening his balance. Erich closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then, with a gulp, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other to reach the edge of the roof. When it ran out, the next ledge was out of reach. Arrows whizzed past his ear, causing his foot to slip on a roof tile. The tile broke loose and cascaded down the side before smashing onto the ground. That would be him if he wasn’t careful.
“What now?” Erich asked.
“We jump,” Fritz said, pointing over the edge.
“Are you crazy? The fall will kill us.”
Behind them Midnight Guards followed, balanced on the roof peak, while even more of them aimed arrows at them. It was jump or be impaled and then fall to his death. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Then Fritz leapt over the edge, and Erich looked down after him, expecting to find a splattered mess of blood and brain matter on the cobble. But the Trinity smiled upon them because they were near the stables, and just below them, a pile of manure broke Fritz’s fall.
Closing his eyes, Erich jumped. Rolling as he fell, he landed on his hip, and it sent a jolt of pain shooting through his leg. Through gritted teeth, he climbed out of the pile of straw and manure to find a pair of stable hands staring at them in wide-eyed horror. There wasn’t time to explain as arrows rained down from the rooftop.
A few feet from where he landed, a water channel sloped downward and out of view. If they were lucky, it would lead out of the palace. Or it could lead to certain death. One way to find out. They sprinted for the channel and dove into the water, which only came up to mid-thigh. Water filled his boots, and he gagged on the stench of manure that embedded itself in the fibers of his clothes. He pressed on, sloshing downhill, heading for the palace walls where water trickled out through a hole and to the sea. When they reached the wall, however, they discovered thick iron bars with gaps too narrow to squeeze between.
“Watch my back,” Fritz said, kneeling in the murky water. His hands glowed with faint, white-blue light as he grasped onto the bars.
“What are you doing? We need to run!”
“Just trust me.”
“I trusted you, and look where it got me,” Erich said, turning to search for something he might use as a weapon, but the best thing he could find was a fist-sized stone.
“Capture them alive,” a woman shouted.
“How kind of them. They’re going spare our lives, probably long enough to torture us for information,” Erich commented, as he gripped the stone tighter.
The rock wouldn’t be enough; if he wanted to live, he’d have to unleash the dragon. Even the thought of it made the dragon stir within him, pressing against the chains that bound him.
“One more second...” Fritz said, his voice strained.
One bar snapped, the metal ringing, then the second, and then a third. Somehow, he’d made a space for them to slip through, but it was small. Fritz went first and just barely managed to wriggle out. When Erich tried, his broader shoulders caught on the edge, and fear gripped his throat as he heard water splash behind him. The guards were on top of them, and someone grasped him by the ankle and pulled. Kicking backward, he landed a blow to their chest, giving him enough time to readjust and break through. As soon as he slithered onto the other side, he heard a pop, and then the bars buckled inward, preventing pursuit.
Outside the palace, the channel flowed further downhill, reaching the ocean. His instinct was to follow it, but Fritz raced up the hill toward the forest through an open plain, leaving him exposed to archer’s arrows along the wall. But seeing as Fritz hadn’t led him astray this far, he might as well follow. Sprinting up the hill, he resisted the urge to look back, and by some miracle or elf magic, clouds moved over the moon, blocking the moonlight and obscuring them in darkness. By the time they reached the grove of pines, Erich was panting for breath.
“Mind telling me what happened back there?” Erich asked as he collapsed onto a fallen log.
“An unforeseen complication.” Fritz gasped, clutching his side.
“Were you trying to kill the empress?”
“What? Of course not; I’m not a mad man. I simply was trying to steal her sword.”
“Her sword? You attempted to steal the enchanted blade off her person? In the middle of a ball?”
“It seemed like a good plan at the time… well that is before I realized she was wearing a fake. Sensible really, she can’t risk just anyone stealing the divine blade while she’s dancing.”
“This is madness. I’ve made a deal with a mad elf.” Erich shook his head. “Well, I’ve done my part; I got you into the palace. Now heal me as you promised.”
