“Quick like bunnies and quiet like mice,” the older ones repeated, urging on the younger kids.
I hurried up the stairs, the semi-quiet kinds behind me, some of them giggling. That they'd been locked up for all this time and were still able to laugh shocked me. But children were resilient. Or maybe this was just a case of ignorance. The older kids weren't laughing.
Turn right.Death began his directions again as we reached the upper floor.Straight ahead. Now left.
As quiet as they were being, the sound of all those little feet, many bare, echoed against the stone walls.
Please,I prayed.This isn't about me, Goddess. It's the children. Please, help us.Then I asked Death,Can you hide us?
Not from Aranren,Death said. Then he added,The main doors are up ahead, but there are Corrupted on the walls. I advise you to free them from the enchantment before they see you.
“Got it,” I whispered.
“What did you say, Uncle Ember?” It was Sally again, and as she spoke, she took my hand.
Uncle Ember. That nearly broke me. “Nothing, darling. But I need you to stay behind me, all right? I've got to help some other people right now.”
“All right, Uncle Ember.” She dropped back to cling to the teenage girl's leg. Wanda, I think her name was. No, Wenda. She was the seamstress's eldest child, and the boy in her arms was her little brother, Yesold.
“Here we go, everyone,” I called back as cheerfully as possible. “Kel, I need you up front. We have some Corrupted to clear before they spot us.”
“Coming.” Kel wound his way through the kids until he was at my side. “Stay inside until we tell you to come out, children.”
“Yes, Lord Keltyr,” they intoned.
I looked at Kel, and he nodded.
Going to the doors, we slowly pushed them open. That's when I realized that we hadn't seen a single Corrupted on our way out.
I've been guiding you around them,Death said.
Thank you.
A pause, then,You're very welcome, Ember.
The doors thankfully didn't creak as we pushed them open. Kel and I slipped out and stood on the top step of the keep's stairs. Before us was a clean courtyard with a stable to one side. A grand carriage waited beside the stable, polished and ready to be used, although I doubted it ever left the courtyard. Ahead of us was the castle wall, and atop it, on the walk, were six men, all staring out.
“I think I can take five of them. That one on the left is a bit too far from the others. You take him,” I whispered.
Kel nodded.
I released the Death Magic. This was something it couldn't do.
Not true,Death said in my head.You could release them with Death Magic if you had been the one to enchant them.
I ignored Death and his wounded pride, focusing on Spirit. For a split second, I thought it might be lost to me. It wasn't rising as fast as usual. But then it came bursting upward, shoving Death aside, and my heart filled with joy to know I could wield both.
“I told you that you could,” Death said.
Shadow versions of Kel and I shot out of our bodies. His wraith flew to the man on the left while mine split into five and surged into those on the right. All six of the Corrupted gasped and fell to their knees as the wraiths shot through them, taking the corruption with them.
I didn't wait to see if they were all right. We didn't have the time. Instead, I turned back to the open door and waved the kids out. “All right, everyone. Hurry!”
“Run!” I heard Wenda hiss, beyond pretending for them when freedom was in sight. “Run for the gate! As fast as you can!”
The kids went streaming past us, but then Kel surged ahead of them, getting to the gate first. I saw him go to a lever in the crank wall and start heaving up the portcullis. Meanwhile, the men on the wall stumbled down the stairs toward the kids. I turned back to the keep to make sure everyone got out. Only when I was certain that we had all the children did I follow the kids to the gate.
“Father!” one of the children suddenly shouted.
