The antechamber was curiously devoid of troops. As Sivi and Medd entered from the central corridor, they paused to survey the room-nothing. No courtiers, no soldiers, no palace guards.
"When we get out of here, you know what I'm going to do?" Medd said as they proceeded.
"What?"
"I'm going to drink myself into a stupor the likes of which has not been seen before."
Sivi smiled. "Sounds like a good idea. What's your drink?"
"Black Eye." This was a Dal drink made from fermented lichen.
"Never had any," she said. "Why do they call it 'Black Eye?'"
"Oh, it has something to do with the effect. You drink enough, you fall down and wake up the next morning with a black eye."
"That's an old man's tale."
Sivi and Medd whirled. Out of a shadowed alcove in the rear wall came Teynel and Garnan.
"Cousin!" Medd burst out, but Teynel's somber face stilled any further display of joy by the young Dal rebel.
"What have you been doing, Liin Sivi?" said Teynel coldly.
"My duty," she replied.
"You attacked the airship, didn't you?"
She folded her arms. "Isn't that why we came?"
"Did you destroy Predator?"
Sivi chewed her lip. "No."
"Where's the rest of your group?"
"Dead. Where are yours?"
Teynel flipped the mantle back from his shoulders. "Lost or slain, I don't know. By now there must be four companies guarding the airship. We'll never get through to it. All we can do now is find Eladamri and get out of here."
She said nothing. Garnan and Medd walked ahead a few paces while Teynel fell into step beside the Vec woman.
"You disobeyed my orders," he said in a voice for her ears only.
"I had an opportunity and chose to take it."
"And failed." Their boots clacked loudly on the faux marble. "If Eladamri is dead, I'll see you die as well."
She raised a single eyebrow. "I'll make my case to any council or court you can raise."
"I'm not talking about a trial," Teynel explained. "I mean just this-if Eladamri is dead, I'll kill you."
Sivi nodded. "You can try."
Thirty yards outside the prison tower they ran into their first checkpoint. A mix of palace guards and regular soldiers had blocked off the passage with a wall of spears and shields. Teynel stepped in front of Garnan and Medd. Piled against the wall were three dead moggs. Their sword wounds were still oozing blood.
"Halt," said the guardsman at the shield line. "Stand and be recognized!"
Teynel saluted. "Corporal Elcaxi of the Fourth Company. This is my squad. We're supposed to patrol out to the prison and back." He rolled his eyes. "Trouble is, nobody's told us what we're patrolling for."
"Don't I know it," said another guard. "The alarm sounds, we turn out, and what happens? Nothing."
Sivi pointed to the dead moggs. "What's that?"
"Bunch of moggs. Tried to force their way through here." The first guardsman grinned. "They didn't make it." The guards pulled two sets of propped-up shields aside and let the rebels pass.
"These fellows aren't very smart," Garnan observed.
"Don't underestimate them," said Teynel. "There's thousands of troops in the Stronghold, so no one can know them all. This little charade of ours can't succeed much longer. As soon as somebody recognizes you two from Predator, or figures out there is no Corporal Elcaxi, we'll be in the soup."
They passed through another roadblock before reaching the bridge to the prison tower. The bridge itself was empty. Teynel had the others follow him single file to hide their numbers from any oncoming foe. They entered the lower doors of the prison without encountering anyone.
"This is too easy," Sivi said. "Someone should be on guard here."
"It smells bad, I agree." Teynel looked both ways down the curving passage. "I wonder where they're keeping Eladamri?"
"Should we split up and search?" asked Medd.
"Not this time. Stick with me. We may be in for a fight."
Teynel chose to go right. They moved slowly down the hall, checking the doors they passed for noises. Except for some soft shuffling and scraping sounds, they heard nothing.
"I guess prisoners don't last long here," said Sivi.
The farther they went, the darker the hall became. Flowstone lamps provided anemic, orange light. Sivi sniffed at them, recalling her failure to ignite Predator with such a lamp. Teynel tried to adjust one for more light. Instead of getting brighter, it went out.
"Let's get out of here," Garnan said suddenly.
"We can't abandon Eladamri," said Teynel.
"You're getting spooked," Medd suggested. "So a light burns out. So what? There's no real danger yet. Let's go on."
Teynel and Sivi were going on regardless. An open door partly blocked the passage in front of them. Teynel waved for everyone to stop. A low, steady light shone from the open door. With hand signals he indicated he wanted Garnan and Medd to stay in the corridor. He and Sivi would investigate the room.
Teynel peered around the heavy door. The cell was set up as a torture chamber-manacles on the wall, pans of hot coals, and all kinds of hideous tools were laid out on a table in the center of the room. A stout chair sat with its back to the open door. Someone was in the chair.
Teynel drew his sword. He slipped in, and Sivi ghosted in behind him, toten-vec in her hand. He carefully circled to the left around the chair while Sivi circled right. More and more of the sitter's face came into view.
"Eladamri!"
Teynel rushed to the chair. The elf was tied hand and foot to the massive chair. His head hung down. Teynel put a hand to his chest and felt a strong heartbeat.
"He lives!" he announced joyfully. Sivi knelt and began cutting the bonds on his legs with the blade of her totenvec. Teynel used his sword to free Eladamri's hands.
"Water," Teynel said. Sivi brought the clay pitcher from the table. Teynel gently splashed some on the elf's face. Eladamri stirred.
"You came," he said weakly.
"I'm sorry, brother. There's been trouble," Teynel said.
"The airship?"
"I tried to destroy it, O Eladamri," Sivi said. "I failed."
Teynel poured water into the elf's cupped hands. Eladamri drank. "Can you stand?" Teynel asked. "We should get out of here as soon as possible."
"Give me a moment."
Sivi leaned her hip on the table. When she did, something cracked under her feet. Flecks of broken pottery
… she picked one up. The shard was yellow boneware with a red glaze on it, just like the water pitcher Teynel held. Someone must have broken an identical jug.
There were sounds of movement in the hall, the scrape of metal on stone.
Medd cried out, "Soldiers coming! Teynel, hurry!"
In a flash Sivi was at the door. She looked past the two Dal fighters and saw at least fifteen palace guards coming down the passage.
"Time to go!"
"Time indeed." Eladamri rose swiftly from the chair, without a trace of pain or injury. Teynel, still kneeling beside the chair, stared in amazement.
"I was beginning to think they'd never get here," the elf said.
"What are you talking about, brother?" said Teynel.
"Your doom, rebel fool."
Teynel stood up, sword in hand. He'd spent many days with Eladamri, and they'd always been of similar heightTeynel was about a hair taller, in fact. The Eladamri with him now was more than six inches taller. Even as he gazed in horror at the familiar face, the bruises and burns were fading from view.
"By the gods," he said. "It can't be!"
"What is it?" Sivi said. To her horror, she saw Teynel raise his sword to strike Eladamri. The surprisingly strong elf caught Teynel's wrist, and with a brutal motion he broke the Dal fighter's arm. Teynel's sword fell to the floor.