“Their cell is one of those,” Daldrin whispered in my ear, pointing to a series of barred doors across from a bunch of the usual archways. “They are chained to their work places during work time and locked away during the darkness, for they were caught trying to escape shortly after they were brought here. They were whipped for the attempt, of course, yet to give them another opportunity would be foolish.”
I nodded without saying anything, then quickly grabbed for Daldrin’s arm before he could slide open the peek hole on the first of the cells. I didn’t need to look inside to know if Garth and. Len were there, but Daldrin was having trouble understanding that. I checked the first cell my own way, shook my head to show it wasn’t them, then moved on to the next.
It wasn’t until we reached the fifth cell that I found what I was looking for. I tried to slide the bolt back on the cell door myself, but it took Daldrin’s strength before the heavy bar would move. He also pulled the cell door open, but I was inside first to quickly kneel beside the two still forms. Their minds and bodies were so—untenanted—that I thought at first they were dead, but a closer look in the harsh torchlight of their cell showed they were only in a deep, exhausted sleep. Their bodies, above the ever-present red, leather pants, were covered with the mark of the whip—and bruised besides—but they couldn’t be considered child-slender. They were full-grown men with men’s forms, and I couldn’t understand why my old thought-picture of them considered them children. I shook my head to dismiss the idiocy of the idea, then began rousing them.
It took a few minutes to get them awake, and once I did I had to convince them they weren’t dreaming. I explained the plan to them in a whisper while they listened intently, and the three of us were so wrapped up in the briefing that the interruption came as a cold-water-down-the-back shock.
“What do you do in here with these miserable slaves, girl?” a raspy voice demanded, causing me to twist quickly around where I knelt. A guardsman stood in the open doorway, a guardsman who was neither sleepy nor drunk, a guardsman who was looking at me critically—and liking what he was seeing. Len and Garth stirred where they sat, but the guardsman’s hand was immediately on his hilt.
“None of that,” he growled at the two men, his mind so cold and empty of emotion that I shivered. “Should I find it necessary to spit you two wretches, no one other than the kitchen master will take notice. And you, girl. If I am not mistaken, you are the one so cozy with the Chama that she sends you trays of the best foods, and servant-slaves to tend your needs. I doubt she would be pleased to hear of your consorting with slaves not given to you—if she should hear of it. Once I have taken you to my quarters and we have discussed the matter, I will likely forget all about your presence here. Up on your feet now and come with me. The stink of these slave quarters turns my stomach.”
He kept his eyes on me as I rose slowly to my feet, my mind racing frantically as it searched for a way out. I could stop the guardsman as easily as I’d stopped anyone else, but whatever treatment I gave him it wouldn’t be permanent. Once he recovered he would remember everything, and right after that Aesnil would find out about it. If I went with him at least Garth and Len would still have their chance, they and Daldrin. Three slaves being gone would cause only a small stir—until they came back with the rest of Tammad’s l’lendaa.
I was three feet away from the guardsman when the dark shadow appeared behind him and the massive arm circled his throat, squeezing tight with the speed of thought. The guardsman made a choking sound and scratched at the arm cutting off his air, tried to reach behind to claw at a face, then tried again to move the arm across his throat. His efforts did no more than make the arm tighten further, and then head and arm moved abruptly backward, a sickening snap accompanying the jerk. The guardsman’s mind exploded into shock as his body sagged, and then his life-trace began thinning and fading, disappearing into nothingness. I didn’t realize I had backed away in deep shock of my own until I felt Len and Garth to either side of me, their presence meant as comfort—and protection.
“I will dispose of this carcass and then we may leave here,” Daldrin’s soft voice came as he hefted the dead body higher off the floor. “It will take no more than a moment.”
He dragged the body out of the doorway, moving further away from the direction in which we had come, and Len drew a deep breath then let it out slowly.
“Nice friends you have, Terry,” he said, patting my arm to calm the jumping shivers he could still feel in my mind.
“Just be glad he’s on our side,” Garth commented as he tried to stretch the aches out of his back. “What did that first joker want, anyway?”
“He wanted Terry,” Len said, turning to look at me in the flickering light. “And she was ready to go with him to give us our chance to get out of here. I don’t think I know any other woman who would be willing to do that for me.”
“I know I don’t,” Garth said, adding his part to what had become a general stare. “Why would you do a thing like that, Terry?”
“I hate to see a good plan go to waste,” I told them, taking my own deep breath. “I went through a lot to get this thing moving, so don’t go wandering off once you’re out of here. Find Tammad’s l’lendaa and get them over to the vendra ralle before it becomes a wasted effort.”
“So we’re supposed to believe you’re doing this for no one other than Tammad,” Len said, narrowing his eyes. “If all you were interested in was launching an attack against that arena, you could have sent your friend out there to find the l’lendaa. There was no reason to include us in on the escape plan.”
“And good reason not to,” Garth put his oar in. “Getting us loose from here had to make the plan three times more dangerous and five times more likely to fail.”
“You forget that Tammad’s men don’t know Daldrin,” I said in exasperation, glaring at the two geniuses. “What if they didn’t believe him? What if he got into a fight with some of them before he could explain why he was there? If you two don’t know how to think, that doesn’t mean I don’t either. And if you’re so bothered about getting out of here, I can always leave you behind after all. Maybe just sending a note with Daldrin will do it.”
“Totally unnecessary,” Garth said quickly, holding his hands up. “Much as I love this place, I’m willing to tear myself away. We’re right behind you.”
“But we’re not right behind her,” Len said, his mind still disturbed. “In case you’ve forgotten, she isn’t going. What’s to keep you from going with us, Terry? If three can get out, four shouldn’t be that much harder.”
“Len, if I go with you Aesnil will have every guard in the place chasing after us,” I sighed. “She—accidently found out about some of what I can do, and has made me her—enforcer, I guess you could call it. You three can make it without notice. I can’t.”
“All right, let’s not start an argument over that,” Garth said quickly when he saw the expression on Len’s face. Len’s expression matched his mind perfectly, and I didn’t want to look at either one. “All we can do now is get out quickly and get back even faster. Once we get Tammad loose and tell him what’s going on, he’ll . . . ”
“No,” I interrupted quickly, looking up at Garth. “I don’t want Tammad to know anything about my part in this. Just tell him you talked Daldrin into helping you escape, and I never came anywhere near you. This is important to me, Garth, and I want your promise.”