Like death, coming quietly in the night, he stalked down the maze of passages and found the five guards behind the barricade at the far end. They were all facing away from him. Two died before they knew he was there; the third before he could draw a weapon. The last two tried to fight him, but they had neither his training nor his cold rage.
He was far faster and more dexterous than they were in their heavy armor. He dodged their attacks easily. Then he’d slip inside their guard and find some weak point in their armor, usually the throat, and use his knives to full effect. The last two didn’t take long to deal with and though they’d made some noise… he was certain the guards in the tavern wouldn’t have heard it.
After that he slipped back through the tavern as a mouse, past the guards in the back room back to Sparrow’s room. It was quite crowded now.
He shifted back, grim and stoic. The others all gasped, eyes wide. He was covered in blood and must have looked quite the site.
“I know where Alvere is. They… haven’t treated him well. We need to hurry.”
Legs’ face darkened, growing grim. She nodded, signaling out the window to those waiting outside, then… they were off.
Chapter 25
I rushed down the stairs,but still, the force from outside had beaten us to the common room. Dead men lay sprawled over the room and the barman was trembling in Ursa’s iron grip. A bloody and blood-thirsty looking Skyfire flicked the blood off her sword and grinned at me.
“I haven’t had a good fight in a while,” she said.
“This way,” Silence said, still stone-faced and looking scary as The Blackest Pits, covered in blood and gore and not even noticing. I had to run to catch up with him, even though I had the longer legs.
Silence kicked open the door to the back room.
The two men within lashed out at once, ready for a fight. MyHerogift rose, but Silence was done with them before I’d moved in. Spirits, sometimes I forgot how quick he could be. Only after could I see that one man had gone down with his own sword in his gut, the other with Silence’s dagger in his neck.
The rest of us hurried along behind Silence, following where he led us, past the scenes of carnage in the tunnels and up out the other side.
Skyfire caught me by the arm before we went different ways. “That little man did all of that?” she whispered.
“He did.”
“Amazing.” She watched Silence stalking like death itself down the hall away from us. “You’ve got a good team.”
“I do.” We nodded to each other. “Good luck,” I said. “Even though I know you don’t need it,” I added as she was about to say something.
She smiled and nodded. “You too.”
She led the others off one way down the hall while the rest of us hurried to catch up to Silence. We found him stepping out of the jailer’s office, keys in hand. I peered inside to see the jailer trembling but alive. Though, long shallow cuts had been traced over his torso, cutting open his shirt, and his face. The large and heavy-set man should have been able to crush Silence, but instead was a quivering mess.
Spirits!
We paused as Silence reached the heavy metal door and opened the lock. As he did, he said: “Ant, he’ll need you.”
The large man, holding a lantern to help shed light in these dark tunnels, nodded.
I Steeled myself for what I might see on the other side.
Legs…Auwei was concerned. I knew she wanted to say more, wanted to try to console me before I even laide eyes upon my lover, but she had no words. Even with nine lifetimes of insight, there was nothing she could say to someone who was about to see what I was.
We rushed in as Ant shed light on the scene and I was nearly laid low just by the sight that met my eyes. Alvere hung by his wrists. Blood — fresh and dried — covered his arms, dripping down from above. Cuts and bruises, old and new covered his naked body. He winced at the light, a limp and dejected form, hair sodden, his own waste around him. The stench of blood and worse hit me like a brick wall, but still I forced myself forward to him.
Ant reached him first, tending to his wounds, as Silence unlocked his manacles. I caught him as he fell, weak as a baby bird, his arms slammed down into him, dead weight.
“Spirits of…” Ant breathed, and I saw the man’s jaw go tense. “I never…”
“Legs,” Alvere breathed looking up at me through hooded eyes, with heavy bags beneath them. “Is it you? I prayed.” His voice was raspy and weak.
“The jailer’s room,” I said as we moved as a unit, I was strong enough to carry Alvere, but Ant stayed close, hands on the man, healing him even as we made our way back to the jailer’s office. The jailer was gone. Good. I’d spotted a door to one side of the office previously and kicking it open now I found — as I’d hoped — a small room with a bed. I lay Alvere down, kissing his forehead, kneeling close as Ant continued his work.
“He lost blood flow to his arms,” Ant said, concerned. “They’re… Spirits, I don’t know if I can save them. The rest of the damage is mostly superficial, though his dehydration and exhaustion aren’t things I can heal. He needs water.”
