“I think so.”
The door we had entered a moment before opened, and a group of Royal Guards walked in.They looked startled to see us.
Darion glanced at the guards, then back at me.“I hope it was worth it.”
Chapter twelve
River of Souls
FiveRoyalGuardsdressedin full armor and wielding massive swords approached us, less than a stone’s throw away.The tallest one in the middle drew his sword.“Die, thieves!”
An instant later, two of the guards unsheathed their daggers and threw them our way, the blades spinning as they flew.
Darion drew his short sword with the fluidity of a practiced swordsman and sent one dagger clattering harmlessly to the ground.His speed and accuracy were impressive.
I ducked, and the second dagger flew over me, the edge of the hilt barely glancing off my shoulder.I drew a vial from my belt and threw it directly in front of the guards, sending a massive cloud of smoke billowing throughout the crypt.Coughs and the clash of armor on stone rang out.
I ran for the exit on the far side of the room, Darion on my heels.No matter how tonight ended, one thing was clear: we worked well together, coordinating without even speaking like two pieces of a well-oiled machine.Despite the chaos, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fluidity of his movements, the confidence of every decision.
As we raced through the corridor, horns blared in a staccato rhythm behind us, echoing through the catacombs.
“Dust,” I said.“They’ve raised the alarm.”
“This whole crypt will be crawling with Royal Guards in no time.We can’t go back the way we came.”
Darion was right.Any moment now, the guards would overtake us.But there was another option—one I would consider only in the direst of circumstances, but this situation fit the bill.
“Thereisanother way out of the catacombs,” I said.“But it won’t be easy.”
“The River of Souls,” Darion said grimly.
I nodded.“It might be our only option.”
The River of Souls was fed by an underground spring and ran under the catacombs, where priests used it to cleanse bodies as part of the burial ritual.Fortunately, the preparation chamber and entrance to the river were not far away.But the river was dangerous, verging on deadly, with a strong current.Some of the tunnels were entirely full of water, and there were jagged rocks ready to tear our flesh to tatters.
“I’d rather face a raging river than a hundred blades,” Darion said.“Lead the way.”
“We’re already halfway there,” I said as I navigated us from room to room.
With the sound of blaring horns and marching boots behind us, we passed through several antechambers filled with the tombs of lesser royals, bishops, and wealthy merchants.Soon we came to a room with several waist-high tables, each with a channel running along the perimeter, emptying into a trough that ran between them.The stone was stained the faded brown-red of old blood, and the scent of incense was stale in the air.We had entered the body preparation room.
Along the far wall were six nondescript wooden doors.
“Where now?”Darion asked, with utter faith in my memory.
I had no idea.The map I had memorized hadn’t specified.With his fate in my hands, I simply guessed.“Third door from the left.”
We passed through the door, shutting it just as the sound of clomping boots grew louder outside.The footsteps paused for a moment, and then a deep voice barked, “Check them all!”
The room we had entered was small with just a rectangular hole in the ground, slightly larger than a typical man.A strong current of water rushed past just a few feet below the lip of the hole.A wooden pallet hung from a pulley mechanism above the hole, presumably to lower the bodies and bathe them in the sacred water.
“We found it.Thank dust for your memory,” Darion said, gesturing toward the entrance to the River of Souls.I didn’t dare tell him that I had guessed.Sometimes it was better to be lucky than smart.
The sound of splintering wood came from just outside.Our door could open at any moment.
I looked at Darion, whose face was steely and resolute, full of bravery and determination.How had I led this beautiful man to such a horrible fate?Would I ever see him again?
“No time to think this through,” I said, grabbing hold of his hand.“Let’s try to stick together.”
