The only Khrynsani we encountered had been the dead ones down near the dragon lair. That was the good news. On the downside, it looked like no one had cleaned this tunnel since it’d been made, and the local spider population had been busy for the entire time. The Khrynsani who’d chased Chigaru down here had obviously come in another way. Between the webs and the dust, not sneezing was not an option. Kesyn had assured us that the walls down here were thick, but I was a loud sneezer. Really loud.
I had no clue what this space had been built for. Tam and Mychael’s shoulders brushed both sides of the tunnel. We went up a flight of narrow and entirely too steep stairs cut into the stone. Though to say that centuries ago someone intentionally cut these would be an insult to every stonemason who ever lived.
Tam finally stopped and so did we. He spoke in the barest whisper, though we all could hear him just fine. “We’re level with the dungeons. Stick to the plan.”
“Unless the plan sticks it to us,” Chigaru just had to add.
“Then we drop back to Plan B.”
I didn’t remember that one. “Which is?”
“Kill as many of them as we can.”
I’d heard that Plan B more than once. Fortunately, I lived through those times to get to hear it yet again. I also knew the second part of Plan B. Tam thoughtfully neglected to say it, though we all knew what it was.
Don’t be taken alive.
Piaras was standing perfectly still, peering intently at something in the shadows. “There’s a red toad over there—and two more farther down this side tunnel.”
My hand immediately went to my bandoleer. “How big are they?”
“Normal size. They look weird, though.”
“Do they have smooth skin?” Kesyn asked.
“Yes, sir. And green eyes, I think.”
“Go tell them to ‘ka’lit pri’chis talmat.’”
“Uh… pardon?”
Kesyn rolled his eyes and said it again.
Piaras repeated the incantation, but flubbed the last word.
“Don’t hurt yourself, son. It’s ‘ka’lit pri’chis talmat.’”
“Ka’lit pri’chis talmat.”
“That’s it. Now go tell that to the toads.”
Piaras took one step, then stopped. “What are they?”
“Khrynsani have been known to use those critters as spies down here. If their eyes had turned red, a Khrynsani guard topside would be seeing what the toads see—namely us.” Kesyn shooed his hand at Piaras. “Go on, now. That little spell will take care of everything.”
“Yes, sir.” Piaras went to do as told.
“Get close enough—and get your aim right,” Kesyn called after him.
Tam was laughing as quietly as he could manage. “You didn’t tell him those toads are going to explode.”
Kesyn gave him an impish little grin. “I thought I’d let that be a surprise.”
A startled yelp came from the side tunnel.
Kesyn took a quick bite from his chunk of stinky cheese. “He knows now.”
Piaras returned and shot Kesyn a dirty look. The old goblin smiled and raised his cheese in salute.
“Imala and I will take a look first,” Tam said. “See what we’re walking into. Then we’ll take it from there.”
According to Tam’s memory, the tunnel ended in a storage alcove about twenty paces from the guard station. Imala said she’d heard that the captain of the guard used to scare the hell out of the dungeon guards with surprise inspections. This was no inspection, but I sure hoped it was a surprise.
For them, not us.
Tam and Imala were gone less than five minutes. When they returned, their expressions were neutral, though Imala was fighting a smile.
“Good news?” Mychael asked.
“For once,” she said. “There are six guards at the station. Only two are mages. A short stair leads up from the guard station to the temple’s main levels. There’s a locked and warded gate at the top.”
“At least two guards are posted outside the gate,” Tam said. “One will be a high-level prison mage and qualified to disable the wards for anyone who wants to see a prisoner. More good news is that they’re using the same wards as the palace dungeon, which I’m familiar with. Those wards take thirty seconds to lower, a minute maximum if the guard gets flustered.” He turned to Kesyn. “Sir? Would you—”
“Yep, I’ll take that one. Flustered guards, coming up.”
Tam grinned. “I’d hoped you’d offer.”
“Four guards patrol both levels at all times,” Imala continued.
“Are there any gates between the levels?” Mychael asked.
“There are, but they’re only closed to keep an escaped prisoner from reaching the next level up. Otherwise, they’re kept open in case guards on another level need reinforcements.”
“Alarms?”
“It looked to me like they’re using the same as they always have.” Tam looked to Imala for confirmation.
She nodded. “There are two panic alarms at the guard station—one on the desk, the other on the wall behind it. The other level should be equipped the same way.”
“Mychael and I will take the guards at the station,” Tam said. “Raine, if any of them manage to dodge us, put that dart-spitter of yours to good use. The goal is not to allow an alarm of any kind to be given. No hesitation. No mercy.”
Kesyn belched. “No problem.”
Tam and Mychael had battlemagic. Imala had her curved sword. Piaras and Chigaru had what the navinem told them they had. And I was armed for ogre with bolt-spitters and two bandoleers of extra ammo. We had a good plan.
I really hoped it stayed that way.
Imala would disable the two main alarms. Tam, Mychael, and I would do the same to the six guards. Kesyn would latch onto the pair of guards standing at attention outside the main dungeon gate with a paralysis spell. To have those two guards hit the ground would attract attention, so Kesyn would just ensure that they stayed at attention. That accomplished, he would throw out a sound-muffling ward. That way when all hell broke loose, no one in the main level of the temple would know a thing. Prince Chigaru’s job was to not get himself killed so those mages and military we were about to free would have a living Mal’Salin to take orders from. Piaras’s job was to make sure Chigaru did his job.
Tam stepped out of that shadowy alcove like Death himself, his hands glowing with a shade of red found only in Hell’s furnace, his expression that of a man who didn’t care what he was about to do to any of them. Tam wasn’t shielded, at least not that I could see, as if he were daring any and all of them to bring on their best. Try and die.
Khrynsani faces blanched and bodies froze.
Tam’s hands came up and a thin shaft of red fire shot from his palm to the nearest black-robed mage’s chest, punching a hole through it as clean as a javelin. An instant later, the second mage was slammed up against the guard station wall, an identical hole burned through his throat.
The other four guards hesitated for what would be their last heartbeat. Mychael chose a target, pointed at it, and a fiery needle of blue light shot from the tip of his finger. It was so bright that I had to look away. When I opened my eyes, Mychael’s second target was sliding down the wall to the floor, a tiny black hole burned between the Khrynsani guard’s eyes.
Imala coolly worked between the flying magic to disable the two alarms. One guard had been on the receiving end of a glancing blow from either Tam or Mychael, and dived for the alarm mounted on the wall. Imala drew, cut, and killed in one smooth and completely silent move.
The last guard was already dead on the floor.
They hadn’t left any for me. Not that I had a problem with that.
Kesyn took the stairs three at a time to take care of the prison mage and his Khrynsani partner.
The alarms hadn’t gone off and the four guards and two mages had died without a sound. But someone in the dungeon’s lower level must have heard something.
They did.