The prince assumed that between the guards and The Ruins, that I would be disinclined to try to escape. My first rule was never assume. This went nicely with my second rule—always try to escape. While I occasionally failed at the first, I had always succeeded in the second. Tonight wasn’t going to be an exception.
Piaras was standing perfectly still in the center of the room by a settee at the foot of the canopied bed. While this sort of thing didn’t happen to me all the time, it wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence. But I thought I could safely assume that Piaras had never been taken prisoner by Mal’Salin royal guards, led bound and blindfolded through The Ruins at night, threatened with torture by a goblin prince, then topped off the evening by attacking the aforementioned royal. I felt my lips curl into a quick grin. Come to think of it, those were all firsts for me, too.
Piaras was watching me, his liquid brown eyes wide and intent. I knew he was probably scared to death, and with good reason. Prince Chigaru wasn’t happy with him, and I know the guards he kicked were less than amused. Piaras was still alive because the prince thought he could use him to compel me to find the Saghred for him. And he was right. I wouldn’t allow them to hurt Piaras. That left one option: get out of here as quickly as possible. I went to the settee and sat down, motioning to Piaras to sit beside me. We were facing the outer wall. No one could be watching from there and reading lips. Then I used my version of the spell Garadin used last night to keep Piaras from overhearing our conversation. If anyone was spying on us, I was going to make them work for it.
Piaras sat, opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. I think he was more than a little overwhelmed. I was feeling a little that way myself.
I took his hand and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. “I’m not happy here either,” I said in the barest whisper, my lips close to his ear. “Don’t worry, we won’t be staying long.”
“How?”
“Through the glass doors. There’s a trellis on the outside wall that should hold our weight.”
“Are there any guards?” he asked.
That question surprised me. Good. He may be scared, but he was keeping his wits about him.
“Five.”
He started to stand, probably to take a look for himself. I tightened my grip on his hand.
“Someone could be watching. Let’s not give ourselves away yet.”
He sat back down and drew a deep breath. It shuddered as he exhaled. Probably the first good one he’d had since we were brought here. The hand I held trembled slightly, as did the shoulder touching mine.
“I’m sorry,” he finally managed.
“For what?”
“For being worthless.”
I just sat there for a moment, waiting for that one to make sense. It didn’t. “Where did you get that idea?”
“I haven’t done anything. All night, I haven’t done anything to help.”
“What do you call what you did downstairs?”
“Stupid. I just made things worse. I could have gotten us both killed.”
No, just you, I thought. Prince Chigaru needed me—at least for now. I didn’t say that out loud, but I’m sure Piaras was well aware of how close he had come. Besides, he was feeling bad enough.
“It was a little impulsive, but you were just trying to protect me.” I draped a sisterly arm around his shoulders, and gave him a quick hug. “It was also very brave. There just happened to be a couple dozen goblins on the other side of the door when you did it. Not your fault.” I tried to give him a smile. “Neither one of us was hurt, so don’t worry about it.”
He looked down at the floor. “I wasn’t brave; I was scared.”
“You were scared and you still attacked the prince to protect me.” I grinned. “Sweetie, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s called brave.”
He looked up. “It is?”
“If you weren’t scared and attacked the prince, that’d make you suicidal and a couple of other things you don’t want to be.”
Piaras almost smiled. “Thanks. Though none of this would have happened if I hadn’t gotten myself caught.”
“True,” I admitted. “But they wouldn’t have been after you to begin with if the prince hadn’t wanted me. So all this is my fault. If there’s any apologizing to be done, it should come from me.” I tried a weak grin and another hug. “Sorry.”
He tried a grin of his own. His didn’t make it either. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. But it will be.”
I had an idea, and if it worked, it would not only get us out of this room, but it would go a long way toward giving Piaras back some of his self-respect.
“So, how are your sleep spellsongs coming?” I asked casually.
I felt his hand go ice cold beneath mine, and his shoulders went rigid. He knew exactly what I had in mind. So much for the no-pressure approach.
“I can’t put five goblins to sleep!”
“Ssshhh!”
“I can’t!” he mouthed.
“Can’t or just never tried?” I stopped. That was stupid of me. When would he have had a chance to put goblin guards to sleep? Garadin said Piaras had the gift, and I had seen proof firsthand, though not to the extent I was asking. Trial by fire wasn’t the best kind of final exam, but we didn’t have any other options available.
“Do you need to see your subject while you work?” I made my voice all business and no doubt.
Piaras had his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He glanced sideways at me and gave a single shake of his head. I couldn’t help but notice that he looked a little pasty.
“Good,” I said, trying to sound encouraging. “You can do this.”
“How do you know?” He sounded as close to miserable, and sick, as possible.
“I don’t.” I wasn’t going to be anything other than totally honest with him. He deserved that much. Besides, he would know if I was lying to him, and that would ruin any chance of this working. “But Garadin does, and I trust Garadin. He said he’s never seen anyone with such a powerful gift.”
Piaras lowered his hands. I saw a flicker of what may have been hope in his dark eyes. Hope and surprise—and a healthy quantity of doubt. After all, this was Garadin we were talking about.
“Garadin said that?”
“He did. He told me how you put everyone in the Mad Piper to sleep in just a few measures.”
That at least earned a crooked grin from Piaras. At this point I’d take any progress I could get.
“They were bored and drunk,” he said. But the grin had widened.
“According to Garadin, they weren’t bored, and Salton Oakes didn’t get his shipment that day and had to water down the ale. So they weren’t drunk, either. They were bespelled—by your voice. Garadin told me he was very impressed.”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“You expected him to? Garadin doesn’t give out praise lightly. Trust me, I know.” My godfather probably wouldn’t appreciate me telling his student how brilliant he was, but if anyone needed a big dose of confidence, and needed it now, it was Piaras.
I could use some myself. Piaras couldn’t do his work until I did mine. Now that we were away from the press of courtiers downstairs, I felt the ample wards Primari A’Zahra Nuru had left behind to protect her beloved prince. If I failed to block those wards completely, Piaras wouldn’t get past the first few notes of his goblin lullaby. My job was to let the guards enjoy a sleepsong serenade while covering the figurative ears of Primari Nuru’s wards.
Piaras swallowed. “I’ll do my best.” His voice was firm and his eyes determined.
And I would do mine.
“I’ll shield you while you work,” I told him. “Once the guards are out, we’ll have to move quickly. Once we’re on the estate grounds, stay close to me. Once we’re off the grounds, stay very close to me.”