A Stolen Crown (20 page)

“What about the girl?” Aaron asked.

“She should leave, now.”

Carly looked at Aaron.

“Go,” he told her. “If you can, get word to the princess and tell her to keep to the plan to go south and we will find each other on the road.”

Carly quickly gathered her things, pulled her blouse closed then exited the room.

”Let the woman pass,” Nathas called out to his men in the hallway. When they were sure the girl had made it safely away, Nathas drew his sword, leveling it at Aaron. “Are you ready?”

Aaron nodded, slid one of his swords back in its scabbard and raised the other one, giving Nathas the nod to begin.

*****

In the darkened root cellar, Ariana heard the sound of a latch as someone opened the door. She held out her dagger, hoping it was not the soldiers. In the dim light that flooded into the room, she saw Carly's face appear.

“Good, you're safe,” she said, closing the door behind her. “Come with me. We’ve got to get you out of here and out of Rivergate. Milli's going to keep them busy upstairs, but we should hurry.”

“What about Aaron?” Ariana asked.

“He's going to fight a duel with man named Nathas. He said he was a General or something like that.”

Ariana knew Nathas. He had been Aaron's instructor and Senior Captain at the Academy. He was also the man with whom she had arranged Aaron's appointment to be the captain of her own guard when she left Maramyr. Nathas was also a very gifted fighter and now she was more worried about Aaron than ever.

“Don't worry,” Carly told her. “That Nathas fellow, he and Aaron seemed to be friends. I think they're planning a way for him to escape. Aaron said he would meet you on the road south. Let's go.”

Carly pushed on one of the wooden shelves at the back of the room. There was a click and the entire shelf swung freely into the wall, revealing a dark passage. In the darkness, Ariana could see Carly pull out a flint and a torch.

“Let me do that,” Ariana said, and she reached for her power and the torch flared to life, its orange flames lighting the passage.

“How did you do that?” Carly asked. Ariana smiled. “I never heard you were a mage.”

“I'm not, really,” Ariana told her. “I'm learning to do a few things though.”

Ariana entered the dark passage and Carly slid the shelf back into place behind them. Carly grasped Ariana by the hand and she led her down a stone staircase. As they descended, the staircase met up with numerous other passages and Ariana realized that there must be some kind of network of tunnels beneath Rivergate. She was surprised she had never heard about it, but figured it was exactly the sort of thing that people who might engage in activities that were not quite legal would not want the authorities to know about. She wondered about this girl, Carly, who worked in a place like Milli's and knew her way through the underground passages beneath the city and she realized that Carly had probably lived a life that was far different from her own.

*****

Far above, back at the inn, the two men crashed out of the room and struggled their way down the hall. Blades whirled and met. Aaron, dove and rolled down the hall. Nathas chased him as he ran down the staircase. Aaron didn’t even stop to look back as he ran toward the stairs, headed straight for the group of soldiers who were waiting below with their swords drawn.

“He's mine!” bellowed Nathas as he leapt after him. Most of the soldiers heard the order of the Captain-General and they parted to make room for Aaron and Nathas as they bounded down the steps to the common room floor. Aaron noticed two guards blocking the way to the door of the inn and he ran at them, his sword raised as though he was going to attack. The two men instinctively raised their swords, but Aaron dropped low and slid between them then hopped to his feet and slammed into the door.

The latch of the heavy wooden door gave way and Aaron tumbled through the doorway and hit the ground outside with a thud. His left shoulder shot through with pain as he scrambled to his feet. Nathas rushed through the guards who followed as he chased Aaron up the road. His feet pounded the dirt as he made his way toward the main square. He glanced over his shoulder and could see Nathas and several dozen soldiers running after him.

The pain in his shoulder made him wince with every footstep, but he moved as fast as he could and outpaced his pursuers. He ran out into the main square of the city and past the fountain at its center then skidded to a halt near the high wooden rail that overlooked a sheer drop. Aaron looked over and could see the waterfall that fell from the sheer cliff below him, dropping down what seemed to be an impossible distance to a thick green forest below. A strong wind blasted upwards when he peered out over the edge.

From this vantage point, he could see that the waterfall poured into a small river that wound its way through the trees, but it was dwarfed by the other river that ran past the city gate and made its way down a much less steep incline to a much larger river that ran to the southeast. He was amazed that he could see such a great distance from this lookout and how clearly defined the land was from where he stood. On the east side of the great river the land was flat and grassy, while on the west side, the land was dark green with a thick canopy of dense forest. As awestruck as he was, Aaron knew he had little time to enjoy the view.

He quickly chopped at several of the wooden joints on the railing, his sharp blade cutting through the leather ties that reinforced the two pieces. He kicked at the weakened part of the rail, cracking the strong wood and splinters were whisked over the edge by a gust of wind from below. He hoped he had damaged it enough so it would break the rest of the way if it were hit again. Aaron turned as he heard the booted feet of Nathas and the other soldiers arrive the place where he stood.

“You’ve got nowhere to go!” Nathas yelled as he slowed from his run and calmly walked toward where Aaron stood. The soldiers with him began to advance as well but Nathas motioned them back.

“I will settle this,” he told them and slowly stepped closer, his sword raised, ready to attack.

Steel clashed in the night air and a small crowd began to gather in the square. Nathas’ blade became a blur and it was all Aaron could do to counter it. He blocked and parried, throwing a few attacks but he allowed himself pushed back toward the rail. To make the fight seem more real, Aaron stepped up the pace, pushing Nathas back, but neither of them put much force behind their strikes. Aaron's left shoulder felt like it was in an awkward position after he had jarred it when he crashed out of the inn and Aaron knew that if they were fighting for real, he would be at a real disadvantage.

Nathas came at him with a fast and powerful attack and pain shot through Aaron's shoulder, making it harder for him to defend. Even Nathas' mock attacks were dangerous and Aaron feinted to the side and ducked around the Senior Captain, putting the man's back to the railing, which was exactly the opposite of what they had planned. Aaron gritted his teeth and went on the attack, pushing Nathas toward the edge, but leaving openings for the man to use so he could get out of the way and trade places with him but Aaron was frustrated that Nathas was not taking advantage of the obvious feints Aaron was making. A flurry of steel flashed in the night and Aaron was about to step into a further assault when he felt another sharp pain in his left shoulder. He fell to one knee, barely able to keep his sword up to deflect an overhand swing by Nathas. Aaron looked at his left shoulder and could see a crossbow bolt sticking from it. He saw one of the soldiers begin to reload his crossbow and knew they were going to have to end this fight quickly. At least the man had shot him in the shoulder that was already mostly useless.

Nathas glared at the soldier for having intervened a fight he had commanded his men to stay out of, but he also realized that some of the soldiers, who had only recently gathered, might not have heard his order not to intervene and, from their perspective, it might look like Aaron was gaining the upper hand. He saw several of the other soldiers begin to move in and knew if Aaron was going to have any chance to escape, it was now or never.

“You’ll meet the end you deserve,” Nathas yelled over the loud hiss of the river behind him. Aaron looked up and met his gaze. Nathas raised his sword high for a heavy blow and Aaron knew that Nathas was giving him a clear opening. It was not what they had planned but it would have to do. He gritted his teeth and launched himself at his former instructor and they both hit the wooden rail in a tangle. A loud crack could be heard over the rushing sound of the water and the two men tumbled over the edge as the rail let go. The soldiers rushed to the edge, but by the time they got there, both Aaron and Nathas had been swallowed up by the mist and the rushing water down below.

*****

Ariana followed Carly down through the network of tunnels, marveling at how perfectly they were cut straight through the solid rock. She thought there must have been some magic used in the construction. Either that, or whoever had built them must have had tremendous skill at stone working.

“I would imagine having a way in and out of Rivergate would be very useful for a lot of people who don't want to attract the attention of the city guard,” Ariana commented. “I take it you've come this way before.”

Carly looked at her suspiciously for a moment, then she sighed.

“I guess there is no harm in telling you, since you know about the tunnels now,” she said. “Ever since Cerric took over the mines in these mountains and refused to pay the workers fairly, we have been sneaking gold out of the city. The miners hide pieces of it in their mouths, then they bring it to Milli’s. We take it down to the river where a man takes the gold and makes trips down to the coast where he trades it. They say he used to be a pirate, and the prices we get from him are fair close to piracy, but considering the nature of the business, it isn't bad, and it's a far cry better than what the king pays.”

“Is that where we're going, to meet this pirate?”

“Yes. Milli and I both agreed it was the best plan, that he might be able to take you far away from Rivergate and get you somewhere safer.” Ariana had noticed that Carly’s voice had taken on a new quality, more refined but with a bit of an accent. She certainly no longer sounded like a village wench.

“You’re not from Rivergate, are you?” Ariana asked. Carly chuckled.

“Far from it. I'm from the south, but I moved here with my husband two years ago. He worked the mines up in Kandara and spent some time in the southlands trying to become a smith, but it didn't work out so well. Times being tight, he heard there was good work the mines above Rivergate, so we came here. We came here hoping to make a better life and things were starting to turn around for us, but when the winter came, a force of soldiers arrived from the southern road and put Rivergate under martial law. They also said that everyone working in the mines was now in the employ of the king and that leaving their job was the same as being a deserter from the army. King Cerric also made a new law for foreigners, arresting anyone without the proper papers, which we did not know about. No one was told about the law until it was too late and one night, after working all day at the mines, my just husband didn't come home.”

“Just like that?” Ariana asked.

“It was the same day that a magistrate and a group of soldiers came through Rivergate looking for anyone who might be from Kandara and they started arresting people.”

“When was this?” Ariana asked her.

“Before mid-winter,” Carly told her. “I was lucky Milli was willing to take me in.”

Ariana shook her head, frowning at what Carly had told her. Her uncle had certainly wasted no time putting his plans into action as soon as she had been moved out of his way. She was also angry that soldiers of Maramyr would behave in such a way toward the people. And she was furious that Cerric would force them to work in such a way, treating them as little more than slaves.

“Does anyone know what happened to your husband? What about the other miners? Maybe one of them might have seen him.” Ariana saw a somber look cross Carly's face.

“It was hard to find out anything because they keep the prisoners and the regular miners separate down in the mines, but I recently learned that my husband had tried to organize a protest among the prisoners and, though I'm proud of what he did, they killed him for it.”

“They killed him?” Ariana was shocked.

“Yes, and they would probably kill me too, or at the very least put me to work in the mines, as a slave, just because I was married to a Kandaran,” Carly said. “Ever since I learned of my husband's death, I have been thinking about leaving Rivergate, maybe heading back south to the sea. I've had enough of land living, but I needed to save up enough money to take care of some problems before I could go back.”

“So, now you work for Milli.”

“It isn't so bad, I suppose,” Carly said with a bit of a frown. “It's one of the things I did before I met my husband. That's one of the reasons we came here, to start over. If Milli hadn't taken me in, things would have been worse for me. Besides, I don't really deal with the customers all that often. Most of the time I help Milli with running the inn and running the gold down to the river. Milli knew I was a married woman and didn't want me to do that kind of work. She's an honorable sort, in her way and it looks like she took a big risk helping you. I told her if anything comes of it, she should put the blame on me since I'm already mixed up in this. It's time I went back to the sea where I belong, and I suppose it's time for me to start a new life, or maybe get back to my old one.”