“Later. We need to go.”
I would have told Kel to fade back to the citadel, but he wouldn't be able to get through the ward. I know because I had tried when I was a prisoner. So, he had to come with me.
Where are the children?I asked Death.
Up one floor. Go out of the dungeon and to the right. Take the stairs at the end of the corridor. Hurry!
I grabbed Kel's hand and raced out of the dungeon with him. The last time I'd been down there, I had tried to escape, but I'd gone in the opposite direction. I had assumed there was nothing more down this way. I was so wrong. The Corrupter could have put me in a true cell, but he hadn't. He had imprisoned me in a bedroom because he wanted me to like him. He wanted me to like him a lot. It was a testament to his insanity that he believed he could sway me to his side.
After racing down the corridor to the right, we came to a stairwell and scrambled up the stairs to the next floor.
When we left the stairwell, Death directed me,The last door on the left.
We ran down the hallway, and when we came to the door, I opened it with a thought, directing Death with an ease born of urgency. Kel gaped at me, but I ignored him and shot into the room.
And stopped short.
There must have been twenty, maybe more children in that room of all ages and both genders. It was a massive space, with beds along one wall and toys strewn everywhere. A door on the right opened to a bathroom, and a long dining table held the remnants of a meal. A teenage girl had been bouncing a toddler on her hip but stopped when she saw me.
“Who are you?” a little girl, maybe six or seven, came up to me.
“Stay back, Sally!” a teenage boy grabbed her hand and yanked her away from me. But then he blinked and went still. “Ember? You're Ember Aldritch, aren't you?”
“Yes, that's me. And this is Lord Keltyr. You're Jacob, right? Harod's son.”
“Yes,” Jacob said. “What . . . are you a Wraith Lord?”
I didn't realize that Jacob's gaze had gone over my shoulder and he was talking to Keltyr, so we both answered, “Yes.”
“You'rea Wraith Lord?!” another boy, a little younger than Jacob, exclaimed as he pointed at me. “But you're human.”
“I'll explain that later. We're here to free you.” I looked around. “I need the older ones to help the younger ones. And everyone has to be as quick and quiet as possible, all right?”
They nodded at me, obviously in shock.
Then the teenage girl bounced the little boy on her hip and said, “All right! We're leaving, everyone. Come on, Ember's here to take us home!”
“Yay!” they shouted.
“Shh!” I held my arms out to wave them down. “The Corrupter doesn't know I'm here. We're sneaking out.”
“You didn't kill . . .” Jacob trailed off as he looked at the little ones. “All right, let's go. And whoever is the most silent will get a treat.”
“Yay!” they cried again.
“Starting now!” Jacob hurried to say. Then he looked up at me. “Lead the way, Ember. We'll keep up.”
I nodded at him and rushed out the door.
As I passed Kel, he squeezed my hand and said, “I'll take up the rear.”
A surge of panic ran through me, but I knew it was the right thing for Kel to do. I was the one who could lead us out, and someone had to be behind the kids to make sure no one got left behind. So, I nodded and hurried down the corridor before I could protest.
“Where to?” I said under my breath.
Back to the stairs and up one floor. And hurry. He's on his way to the cells. Once he sees that Keltyr has gone, he'll start searching.
I looked back at the line of kids behind me, the littlest ones in the arms of the oldest. My heart broke at the sight, and I sent a quick prayer to the Goddess, asking her to help us get to safety, despite my using Death Magic. Then aloud, I said in a bright tone, “Here we go! Be quick like bunnies and quiet like mice!”
