Page 61 of The Searching Songbird

Chapter Thirty

Where did they start?

“Well,” Lily began, looking around their forest surroundings, “I guess the first thing we'll need to do is head back to the mansion. Then, I suppose, we should look for a way inside... a back door or an open window or something?”

“So, basically, you've got nothing?” Draven asked, his lips twitching in amusement. Lily folded her arms across her chest and glared.

“If you have a better plan, feel free to share. I'm all ears.”

“As it just so happens...” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “I was able to get my hands on a copy of the mansion's floor plans.”

“How did you get these?!” Lily snatched the paper out of his hands and opened it up, looking over the intricate plans with excitement. Then another thought occurred to her, and her expression soured. “Or perhaps the better question is why do you have these?” He flushed, and the guilty look on his face was answer enough. “You were planning to take Fia yourself while I was dining with the baron, weren't you?” She punctuated the accusation with a swift kick to the shins. He held his hands up in surrender.

“That may have been my original intent...”

She raised her foot to deliver another kick, and he quickly amended his statement. “I mean, yes, I was planning something like that, but not anymore. I'm on your side. You want to free the woman, I'm with you. You want to keep her safe from the boss...er, I mean, Bade... well, then, I've got your back there, too. Although, how we're going to manage that is beyond me. Eldour would be our best bet, I suppose... the boss isn't too fond of the place for some reason.”

“Let's worry about freeing her from here, first. She may not have much time.” Lily held the plans out so they could share them, and Draven took a step closer, looking hopeful. “This doesn't mean I fully trust you, you know.” She jabbed him in the arm with her finger. “I just don't have any other options right now.”

His face dimmed, and he cleared his throat before gesturing to the plans. “You mentioned before about being in some sort of cell – in your vision, that is. A small, windowless room, is that right?” She nodded. “Well, if you look here,” he drew his finger along a row of penciled rooms, “You'll see there is a series of small rooms located beneath the main floor. Almost like a dungeon. My bet is on Fia being kept there.”

“A private dungeon. How lovely. Okay, so how do we get down there?”

“Is Suzu up for some scouting?”

“She is.”

“Then I suggest we go in through the study. It's likely they didn't bother locking the balcony doors, what with the distraction of the baron's missing appendage. And, if they did, the doors are made of glass. We can always break in.”

Lily gave him a dubious look. “I assume you're referring to the study located on the second floor of the mansion, yes?”

“Obviously.”

She threw her arms out to the sides. “My celestial beast may be a phoenix, Draven, but in case you hadn't noticed, I do not have wings of my own. How exactly do you expect me to get all the way up there?”

He shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I figured we'd climb up. The stone siding will provide grips enough to make it up one floor.”

“You expect me to scale the side of a building? Seriously?”

“Why not? I thought you said you were raised by Kalo. You should be able to do that much, at least.”

“Ha! Right.” She planted her hands on her hips. “I may have lived with a Kalo family for a few years, but that does not make me some kind of monkey. I can sing and play all day long and I'm quite handy when it comes to stitching wounds and the like, but when it comes to climbing, I simply don't. I wouldn't make it more than a few feet up that wall without falling down.”

“I see.” He seemed to consider her words as he looked her up and down with assessing eyes. “Well, then, I guess I'll just have to carry you.”

“Are you out of your ever-loving mind?!” she screeched, then quickly clamped a hand down over her mouth. She glanced around the dark forest, but everything remained still, seemingly undisturbed by her outburst. Lowering her hand, she continued in hushed tones.

“Do you truly believe you can scale the side of a building while holding me? That's insane.”

His brows lowered as his expression darkened. “Are you implying I'm not strong enough? You weigh about as much as a bag of feathers, for crying out loud. I'm sure I can manage to get you up one floor.”

“Or die trying...” she muttered, turning her attention back to the blueprints. “Okay, muscles, what's our move after that? Assuming we make it into the study undetected.”

“Undetected would certainly be preferable, although I have no qualms about taking out anyone who tries to stop us.”

“When you say 'taking out', I'm going to assume you mean 'render unconscious', yes? You're not planning on killing anyone, are you?”

He dropped his gaze off to the side, as if supremely interested in something on the forest floor. “I never plan on killing anyone, Lily. I'm hardly a monster.”