The Betrayed Read online

  Desperate to get out of the kitchen before any of the guards from the dungeon found their way there, Thimeon was already heading toward the secret door the moment the room had cleared out. But the cook stepped in front of them and bowed “What can I do for you, my prince?”

  The prince stepped up beside Thimeon. “Give me some of your good pastries for starters,” he replied, eyeing the counter across the room. He was calmer than Thimeon, who wanted nothing except to get through the secret door. “I haven’t eaten in two days.” The prince looked at the baker. “It’s Siarl, is it not? I have often longed for your creations since I was a child, but never more so than now.”

  The baker smiled at the recognition and compliment. “Siarl it is, my lord. And if there is anything I can do for you, I will.”

  “My life may well be in your hands,” Dhan replied. “If any pursuers come this way, be sure to send them on a wild goose chase.”

  Cringing at the delay while their very lives were at stake, Thimeon squeezed past the chef and started toward the door. He heard the chef’s voice behind him. “I know a thing or two about poultry.” Thimeon found the loose brick that was the hidden lever and gave it a pull. The secret panel beside the oven squeaked open a crack. He grabbed it and pulled, then turned to urge the others. The chef had picked up a large loaf of sweet bread from a corner counter and tossed it to the prince. “Take it with my blessings. And these too,” he added, tossing another loaf of plain bread to the duke. He handed a bottle of wine to Kayam, who stood a step away. “Now get out of here.”

  The prince and his fellow escapees needed no urging now. Though it seemed like forever to Thimeon, it took less than half a minute for the nine of them to duck down and disappear through the door. The lantern burned where Thimeon had left it on a hook. While the other escapees crowded into the passage in both directions, Thimeon waited by the door. The prince came through last, and the instant he was in, Thimeon pulled the panel shut. Immediately he stepped up on the low ledge and looked through the peephole to see if anybody had followed them. He didn’t have to wait long.

  Barely a minute had passed from the closing of the door until three guards rushed into the kitchen with swords drawn. Llatru and Terrid, apparently, had failed in their job. One of the guards yelled at the chef, but Thimeon couldn’t make out the words because the other guards were charging across the room. Thimeon gripped his sword fiercely, wondering whether he would have to use it. Had they had left some clue behind allowing soldiers to discover the passage? Or would the chef expose them? But the chef remained true to the prince. He yelled a few frantic words, gestured wildly, and pointed toward the other door. The guards went running out.

  Thimeon realized he’d been holding his breath and exhaled in relief. He relaxed his grip on his sword. He looked at the others, who were spread along the narrow passageway in front of him. They were all gazing at him, waiting for a word. “He’s done his job,” Thimeon said in a quiet voice. “The guards have gone.”

  The others all breathed relief as well. Thimeon looked at the prince. “I only found my way here by luck. You know these passages better than any of us. Lead the way.”

  “To where?” the prince asked. “If I guess correctly, from what you told me we are still several floors below the window you came in through. But I don’t think it matters. The warning has been sounded. Koranth is bound to have the guards keep a close eye on the walls. Even in the dark, I wouldn’t risk climbing down by the way you came in. Not now that they are looking for us.”

  Thimeon’s momentary relief vanished. “No. And we won’t have cover of darkness for much longer.”

  “Then we’ll have to escape by the ledges as you did before,” the prince said. “We can wait until night, then jump into the water and swim the river.”

  The river. Of course! With all that had happened since the discovery and release of the prince, and news that the treasure chamber had been discovered, Thimeon had forgotten all about the other part of his plan. “Swimming won’t be necessary,” he said. “At dark tonight, a boat will be waiting at the bottom of the cliff.”

  “That is good,” Dhan said. “But to get there, we will need to get to the other passageways. I now know where we must be, though I have not often come this way. I can lead us there. Follow me.”

  He turned and jogged in the opposite direction from which his rescuers had come earlier. They ran for several minutes, alternately turning this way and that, ascending and descending narrow stairs as they wound their way through the castle. After about ten minutes, they were three levels higher than when they started.

  Dhan came to an abrupt halt by a low door. He put his ear to it and listened. Then he pushed. The seven of them emerged into another room, which was richly furnished but empty of guests. It was the same room through which they had come many days earlier. The room where Siyen had abandoned the group.

  “We are almost there,” the prince told Thimeon as the others crowded into the room. “But we are not safe yet, I’m afraid. Koranth has already found and destroyed the old treasure chamber. It is likely he knows about these passages by now. When he discovers I’m missing, he will search in here. However, the passage on the other side is not connected to these, and there is only one entrance from within the castle. I doubt he has yet discovered it.”

  Dhan turned toward the others. “Are the rest of you still with me?” All of them nodded. Thimeon saw how tired and grimy most of the officers looked. And yet none of them appeared afraid. To a man, there was a grim resolve in their expressions. Even Kayam had the look, and only Siyen appeared afraid.

  Thimeon took comfort. This group would not easily panic. He turned back to the prince, who was already at the door. He pulled it open a crack and looked out. Then he turned to his followers. “The way is clear. No time for delays. We all go together. Down the hall to the right.” Without waiting for replies, he opened the door all the way and strode into the hall. Thimeon followed, and the rest followed. Thimeon kept his eyes on the far end of the hall, hoping desperately that no soldiers appeared.

  A few seconds later the prince stopped at a door on the opposite side, pulled it open, and ducked into another room. Thimeon was right behind him. Once inside they both turned and watched, waiting to shut the door the moment they were all inside. One by one, the line came through. Dhan pulled the door shut.

  Just as the latch fell into place, Thimeon realized who was missing. Siyen. His heart fell. Once more she had abandoned them, but this time he would not let her. He couldn’t afford to risk her getting captured.

  Just as he put his hand to the latch to go out, the door opened from the other side. He jumped back and reached for his sword to pull it free. But the door swung open to reveal the pale-faced Southerner standing outside. Siyen stepped into the room and shut the door again behind her without a word. Thimeon stared at her a moment, also remaining wordless. They measured each other a moment. Then Thimeon removed his hand from his blade.

  He had no time to ponder what, if anything, he should say to her. The prince immediately stepped between them, slid the bolt across the door, locking it from the inside, and turned back to Thimeon. “You’ve done well, friend,” the prince said. “I am richly repaid for my aid to you.

  “And now,” he said, turning toward the others who were gathered in the room, all staring at him, “I think we can breathe freely for a moment. I do not expect anybody to look for us here. We may risk the time to introduce ourselves to our rescuers and thank them. Then it would do us well to hear in more detail what their plans are and take a few moments for council. That may be easier done here than in the confines of the passageways. And,” he added, as though just remembering the bread tucked under his arm, “we should avail ourselves of this generous gift from our baker friend to whom we also owe a debt of gratitude. I have not had a good bite in many days, and I’d rather share this now than have to carry it around with me or risk its rui
n.”

  He ripped off a hunk of the sweet loaf for himself and then tossed the loaf to one the men. The duke did the same with the loaf he had. They wolfed it ravenously. They had to break the wine bottle with a sword, for they had no screw for the cork, but each of them was able to enjoy a small swallow. Thimeon, though he was hungry, passed on the offer, for he had already eaten a good meal the previous evening, and he knew the others needed the nourishment more.

  As they ate and drank, Thimeon told the escapees his name and briefly introduced Siyen and Kayam, though he said little about them. Indeed, he knew little about Kayam. The prince then introduced his followers, who seemed to know one another already, and each gave a brief account of why he had been put in prison. Armas, the broad-shouldered duke with the black curly hair and mustache, had only recently been imprisoned, apparently for orating on the prince’s behalf. Thimeon liked him.

  The other four were officers under suspicion of loyalty to the prince. Kachtin and Banthros were cousins from the Northland who had served in Dhan’s company for two years. Both were in their midtwenties, and their faces reminded Thimeon of Cathros, though they were four or five inches shorter than him. Rhaan, who had been thrown in the prison just a few days earlier when he refused to ride out as Golach’s scout, was one of a very small number of Plainsfolk serving at Citadel. He was from the Arnei tribe and had fine light hair common among his people.

  Jhaban, the one with the dark face and gray eyes, was the tallest of the group. He was a Southlander from the eastern coast. His parents were merchants and ship owners. He looked no more than thirty. Like most Southerners, he had mixed blood from many generations of intermingled marriages. Though his muscles were neither as bulky as the duke’s nor as toned as those of the Northlanders, Dhan described him as the most skilled swordsman in Citadel who would have passed Golach in the ranks of officers had he not made the error of arguing against Koranth’s new slave trade.

  When they were all done, the prince turned to Thimeon. “So how shall we escape this place that has become a prison for us?”

  Thimeon took a deep breath. He was eager to be out of the palace. But the more he thought about their backup plan, the less it excited him. Could he hope to escape the same way twice? It would have been one thing if he had slipped into the palace, found what he was searching for, and left without anybody knowing he had come. A nighttime descent down the cliffs might have gone unnoticed. But after the prince’s escape, guards were sure to be watching more closely. Especially if anybody had found clues to guess how he escaped before. Also, there would be no boat waiting for them until night. Escape by that route would mean another day of delay.

  He looked at the small crowd of eager faces and took a deep breath . “I don’t know,” he said.

  Siyen looked as though she was about to say something. But then she bit her lip. Kayam looked around, uncomfortable. The rest of the officers were shaking their heads—whether from fear or frustration, Thimeon did not know. But he had no comforting words for them.

  “But you had a plan,” the prince said. It was a statement, not a question.

  “We did,” Thimeon replied. “Two of them. The first one is no good now. Our alternate plan was to climb down the cliffs from the secret passageway at dark tonight. Our partner has arranged to bring a boat to get us three hours after sunset. But now that the alarm has sounded, I fear the cliffs might be watched as closely as the castle walls. If Koranth has even a hint we might escape in that direction, it would only take a guard or two on the bridge and maybe a small company in the woods across the river to stop us.”

  Dhan frowned. “And they might have reason to expect,” he acknowledged. “News was kept from me after your escape, but I saw soldiers searching the far shoreline of the river. If you left tracks there, or any signs of your escape, they may guess.”

  Thimeon’s hopes fell further. “Then we should think of another way.” His voice trailed off. “If there is any other option possible.” And if the All-Maker brings us aid.

  A few seconds passed, then several of the officers spoke at once. But Dhan quickly silenced them. “Gather your ideas, but do not despair. We are far better off than we were just a few hours ago. There may be many ways out of this city. Ponder them as we go—any contacts who might help us. Any route we might take. For now let us get out of this room. Disappear. Back into the passageways and to a more secret place. There we can take council once more and see what a little bit of thought may bring us.”

  Without waiting for a response, he crossed the floor in four strides. Thimeon, eager to be on the move, followed him while the others watched. At the wall, the prince’s fingers found and pressed the hidden lever beneath a lantern holder. At the same time he pushed the panel in just the right place. It swung inward, revealing a dark tunnel behind—or nearly dark.

  For just a moment after the door opened, Thimeon thought he saw a light in the tunnel. Or was it just the light from the room? He looked at the prince, but Dhan gave no indication he had seen anything. Thimeon looked back into the room. The duke stood right behind him, shaking his head in amazement. Again he mumbled his disbelief that so many years had passed without his knowing.

  The prince ignored the comments. He grabbed the lantern they had left on the table and ducked through the opening. Thimeon followed right behind. Stepping inside the passage, for just an instant he thought he heard the echo of distant footsteps retreating down the passageway. Then silence. Thimeon grabbed the prince’s arm, but the prince turned to him at once with a finger to his lips. He had obviously heard the same thing.

  Dhan turned back to the others, who were gathering near the panel. “Light another lantern. Then bring everybody inside as quickly as you can and pull the panel shut. Then wait for us here,” he instructed. He turned to Thimeon. “Come with me.” He lit the lanterns and gave one to Armas. “The rest of you wait here.”

  Thimeon’s heart was pounding again. Who was in the passageways ahead of them? What danger were they going into? But he had no time to ponder. Dhan shifted the lantern to his left hand, drew his sword, and took off at a quick jog in the direction of the footsteps. Fighting his fear and trusting the prince, Thimeon drew his own blade and followed.

  Unlike the main maze of passages they had just left, this one descended toward the lower levels of the castle. It had neither branch nor side door above ground level. In places the ceiling dropped so low they had to stoop almost double. Nonetheless they reached the bottom floor of the castle in less than a minute. Here the tunnel dropped into rough-hewn rock. Thimeon recognized the place from his earlier escape. This was where the tunnel led off toward the cliffs above the river. But who would be preceding them in that direction?

  Dhan stopped suddenly and motioned for silence. Thimeon pulled up fast, almost running into him. He listened. This time there was no mistaking the sound of departing footsteps echoing along the stone. If a guard had seen them, they had to catch him before he warned others. But what if he was leading them into a trap?

  “Careful,” the prince warned as they started forward again. They ran a hundred yards and around a sharp bend just in time to glimpse a flicker of light before it disappeared down a side passage. Dhan shortened the wick on his lantern so that it emitted a faint light and took off again. A few dozen steps brought them to a low tunnel on the right. With swords held in front of them, they ducked through and continued side by side. The passage bent around a corner to the right, ran another thirty steps, then veered back to the left. A final right turn, and the two of them entered a natural underground chamber about seventy feet wide.

  Even in the dim light of the lantern, the smooth rock floor glistened with dampness while flecks of crystal sparkled along the walls. The sight was magnificent, but Thimeon had no time to admire it. Across the cavern, pressed against a wall but clearly visible in the light of his own lantern, crouched a small white-haired man.

  He did not loo
k like a soldier or any sort of a threat. But whoever it was, they had caught him. Thimeon lowered his blade a few inches and looked at the prince, wondering if the prince recognized him. But Dhan had his eyes fixed on the white-haired figure, and his expression gave away nothing.

  The man was no longer fleeing. Dhan set his lantern down and walked slowly across the wet rock. Thimeon followed. Three steps closer, and he noticed the man clutched a long rigid bundle in his right hand. It was about the size of a sword. “Be careful,” he warned.

  Dhan lowered his sword completely, then slid it back into his sheath.

  “You’re not the one I expected to kill me,” the man said. His voice was old and cracked, but it had a sparkle of humor in it.

  20

  AN INHOSPITABLE LAND

  Elynna had little time to ponder Nahoon’s words. As soon as the Plainsman was done speaking, Cane rose to his feet. “We should depart at once,” he said. “We do not know how long we will have before Golach is after us again.”

  Before the Amanti are destroyed, Elynna thought, but she did not say it aloud. All she said was, “Cane is right. The sooner we put more distance between us and our pursuers, the better.”

  “Keet needs some rest,” Marti objected.

  Tienna put a hand on Marti’s shoulder. “I understand. But Elynna and Cane are right.” She paused and turned to Elynna. “Have you sensed the Daegmon returning?”

  Elynna did not need to probe to know the answer. “No. It is not near us.”

  “Then let us wait one hour. The moon is almost overhead. At the mid of night, let us depart. Until then, let us all make the most we can of rest. We will need it.”

  Without a word, she walked over to the wall, sat, and closed her eyes. Elynna looked at Cane. He looked at her, then at Keet and Marti, then at Tienna, and then back at Elynna. To her surprise, he nodded. “So be it,” he said in a soft voice. He set down his back, then lowered himself to the floor of the cave and leaned back against his pack.