Ebudae (32 page)

“We have enough here,” Frath said, gesturing
at nine books filled with incriminating evidence. “You said the
guards would sleep for a few hours, Zaan?”

“Yes, but it is not wise to delay, I agree
with Erma Human.” Zaan helped put the logs into a pair of backpacks
Pelya had found. Frath wore one while Pelya took the other. They
left the office and headed up the stairs in the same order as
before. Pelya watched from the bottom while her father tested the
door at the top. Once again, it was on the left wall.

She remembered the spell Ebudae had taught
her to protect her mind. It was still sharp since she had practiced
it so much. Pelya quickly, but carefully, cast it. Her mind became
sharp as the supernatural wind flicked stray hairs around her face.
Using magic
did
feel good and Pelya had gained a better
understanding of Ebudae’s obsession with it.

“What did your spell do? It is rare to see
young humans wield power.” Zaan was staring at her in curiosity,
but Pelya didn’t have time to answer because Frath leapt forward
through the door he had just unlocked. Erma dashed in behind him
and Zaan brought his attention back to the task at hand, taking the
remaining steps in two bounds with his long legs.

Pelya ran up. When Zaan cast a spell of his
own, she knew there was danger ahead. The spell was fast, as fast
as anything Ebudae could do. It whipped his braids back then forth
violently, which showed it to be a powerful spell. A whooshing
sound pushed air aside.

The doorway opened into a small room with
two sets of bunk beds, basic wardrobes and a table with chairs. A
large metal door was set into a wall of another room that appeared
to take up the rest of the level. There was another long hall to
stairs on the far side of the level, just like the levels
below.

Five of Blavoci’s men had been subdued by
the time Pelya reached the top. “Nice spell,” Frath said to Zaan
while pointing at a couple of swordsmen the Rojuun’s spell had left
unconscious in the hall. He was standing over two more who were
unconscious, but he had a shallow cut on his cheek.

“Daddy, you’re hurt.” Pelya dashed over to
him and wiped blood away with a handkerchief.

“Yeah, my balance is off a little without
the chain shirt and I’m still not at full strength. It was still a
stupid mistake.” He pulled away from her ministrations. “Just leave
it. It’s not serious. If that’s the worst I get, it’ll be worth
it.”

“Tie them before they wake,” Erma said,
proceeding to do exactly that to the one she had subdued. There
were coils of rope in a corner along with more shackles. Within a
few minutes, they had the guards bound.

“That metal door looks like it could be to a
prison.” Pelya went over to look at the lock and pulled out her
picks.

“I have the keys right here,” Frath said,
jingling the ring.

“I know, but that’s not fun.”

“I’m a little disturbed by your concept of
fun.” He crossed his arms and stood above her, but didn’t interfere
as she manipulated the lock. It was like others she had seen before
and her mind was sharp from the spell she had cast.

“You humans are very disturbing. In Rojuun
dwellings we have no locks because we do not consider stealing from
each other.” Zaan watched in fascination. “The regularity with
which humans break laws is extraordinary, as is the number of laws
you have available to be broken. It is clear that you are an
inferior race.”

The lock clicked quietly, showing that it
was newer and well cared for. Pelya put the tools away and stepped
back to let her father through. She smiled smugly at Zaan. “If I
recall correctly, this inferior human saved your superior . .
.”

“I’m opening the door, be ready.” Frath
pulled it open and Pelya put her hand on the sword hilt,
concentrating on the task at hand. Zaan prepared to cast a spell if
necessary. Inside was an entry section with crisscrossed iron bars
and a locked gate so that a person could enter the room and talk
with prisoners before letting them out.

“Oh my.” Zaan squeezed past Frath to reach
the entry. Pelya couldn’t see much past both of them, but it was
enough to notice that there were Rojuun in the room. Zaan shook the
gate. “We must open this immediately.”

“There’s a key in this drawer unless the
girl wants to pick the lock,” Erma held up a key found in a desk
along the wall where she had been searching for valuables. Pelya
had noticed a few things disappear into the woman’s pockets since
entering the building, but hadn’t said anything because she didn’t
know how to feel about it and because it was low on the list of
priorities at that moment.

“We must get them out. Let me have the key,”
Zaan urged. Erma gave the key to Frath, who placed it in the
Rojuun’s hand and then moved back a few steps. Zaan fumbled with it
because he was so eager to get them out.

Some of the Rojuun inside stood and moved
toward the gate. “Zaan? We thought you dead.” A meju, Pelya
remembered that was what male Rojuun were called, spoke in dual
tones similar to Zaan’s. The lower was filled with incredulity and
the upper with hope. He was just as tall as Zaan, but had
golden-yellow irises. All of the Rojuun were dressed in ragged,
brown robes that reached the ground.

“Very nearly, but I was rescued by a
courageous human girl who is also assisting me in rescuing you.”
Zaan opened the gate and stepped inside, wrapping the meju in a
fierce embrace. It lasted for an instant and then he looked around.
“I don’t know how much time we have, Currrn. The guards below have
been restrained or made unconscious. All of the doors are unlocked.
Can everyone move?”

“A few are injured and Yurrra is dead, but
the rest of us will be able to help. Where will we go?”

“Yurrra . . .” Zaan hung his head, but
swiftly brought his attention back to the living. “I will grieve
for my friend later. For now, go down the stairs and out into the
ruined human city. Turn to your left and travel the dark street
until you see a building with green light. I have placed wards
there to protect you from the creatures in this forsaken place. You
will need torches or lanterns to light the way as there is no
luminescent life so close to the surface.”

“And will you not join us, Zaan?” Currrn
asked.

“I have vowed to help these humans rescue
their companions in exchange for them helping to rescue you. I must
keep my word.” Zaan held his head high.

“As you say. Go then and hurry back to us.
We will meet you in the building you speak of.” Currrn and others
that had stood began helping those that were injured or tired.
Pelya couldn’t see a great deal because her father was keeping her
from getting too close.

“Let us continue as quickly as possible,”
Zaan said. He came out of the cell and headed to the stairs up.
They scurried to keep up with his long stride and Erma took the
rear leaving Pelya to follow Frath.

The next level was set up similar to the
previous except there were no guards to subdue. “This lock will be
like the one below, Daddy,” Pelya said as she pulled out her tools
and began working on it. She felt his disapproving look on the back
of her neck, but ignored it.

Humans were in the large cell. Arms came
through the bars as the slaves clamored to be let out. Pelya was
about to do so, but Frath put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t want
you to go in there. These people are desperate and might harm you
on their way out.”

“Help us, please!” a man pleaded. He was
dirty and rags hung off his bony frame. “You can’t leave us in
here.”

Frath held up a hand. “Quiet for a minute.”
The slaves did as he asked, obviously confused. Frath thought hard
before speaking. “The levels above aren’t safe yet. The levels
below have been cleared, but the ruins underneath are dangerous.
You’ll need to be escorted and protected. Let us finish our task
and then we’ll be down to release you.”

“Release us now!” a woman screamed. “You
must!”

“And I will,” Frath reassured her. He closed
the iron door, shutting out their screams of despair. At the
confused looks of his companions, he said, “If we release them now,
they’ll murder the guards and they may catch your Rojuun friends,
Zaan.” He gestured at the tall being. “I have no idea what they’d
do, but I don’t think it would end well for either side.”

Zaan bowed. “Your words carry wisdom. Let us
finish our task and then we will come back. Do you know where your
friends are being kept?”

“All we know is that they were taken into
the warehouse,” Pelya said. “I didn’t see them in that cell, but it
was difficult to get a good look.”

“For all we know, they may have been shipped
off to another city,” Frath said.

“I think they’re still here. I’m sure of
it,” Pelya insisted.

“Then we rescue.” Erma made her way down the
hallway to the next staircase. They followed her and then took
original positions with Frath in the lead. Pelya knew they were
getting close to the warehouse in the city. There would be three or
four more levels to reach it.

Frath went through the door at the top with
Erma close. Zaan cast a spell while darting through the door. Pelya
drew her sword and dashed up after him when she heard blades
clash.

She was just in time to see her father run
his sword through the chest of a man in a bloody apron, driving the
point of it out the back. Erma was standing over the body of
another man with a slit throat, blood coating her knife and sprayed
across her face. A third was unconscious from the spell Zaan had
cast. Pelya wanted to know what it was. It would be useful for
adventures.

Her father yanked the sword out and shoved
the aproned man to the floor with his foot. “I hate torturers.” The
words came out of Frath’s mouth in a growl. Pelya looked around the
room and nearly threw up.

The one large room had human-sized cages
against the long wall. Two bodies were hanging by their wrists from
the ceiling near the opposite wall. They had been tortured to
death. Implements of torture were hanging on the walls and odd
devices such as racks and stocks were in the center of the room.
She could imagine what some of the devices were for and shivers ran
up her spine. Others were mysterious in their purpose and she hoped
never to know what they were.

“You humans torture for fun, not to learn.
It is disturbing,” Zaan stated.

Erma asked the obvious question, “Rojuun
torture to learn?”

“Some do, but my family does not approve.”
Zaan frowned at the bodies hanging from the ceiling. “It is
disturbing to me for any being to be intentionally injured.”

A moan came from the table near where Frath
had killed the torturer. Pelya gagged when she saw the condition of
the woman on the table. It was unbelievable that she was even
alive. Pelya put away her sword, folded her arms and ducked her
head so as not to look directly at the sight.

“Hi there.” Frath did a quick examination of
the woman and then smiled sadly. “I’m sorry they did this to you.
The pain is going to stop now.”

The woman gave him one weak nod and a
macabre smile filled with agony. Pelya’s eyes widened as Frath set
his sword down on the table and took his knife out.

“Allow me, Frath Human.” Zaan put a hand on
his shoulder. Frath looked at him suspiciously, but took a step
back. The tortured woman’s eyes never left him. It was as though
she were clinging to the sight of the compassionate Guardsman
because he was her only peace left in the world.

The Rojuun placed one of his top hands above
the woman’s chest. He said words in a foreign language that caused
wisps of his hair to move in a breeze that didn’t reach the rest of
the suffocating room.

The woman’s eyes closed and her muscles
relaxed in death. Frath took a moment to release the shackles and
fold her arms over her chest out of respect. “May the sorrow you
felt in life keep you warm and may the shadows keep you safe on
your journey,” he said.

It was the oddest blessing Pelya had ever
heard. She steeled her fortitude and moved forward to get a closer
look at the woman. In Dralin, there would be terrible things for
her to experience, especially since she was joining the Guard.

She couldn’t help the short scream that
burst through her throat upon getting a good look at the face. It
was too much for her and she buried her face in her hands to
cry.

“Pelya, what is it?” Frath grabbed her
shoulders, but she kept her face buried.

“She’s crying because she recognized Karla
on the table,” a woman’s voice came from the area of the cages. A
woman was standing in one and had her face plastered between two
bars.

Pelya looked up in the direction of the
voice. “Aphry!” They moved to the cage. Frath grabbed the ring of
keys and began flipping through them while Pelya went to the bars.
Aphry’s eyes had a hollow look behind them. It was as though the
view was too horrifying and the soul behind them had gone into
hiding. She was dressed in a threadbare shirt and nothing else.
There were lash marks on her arms and legs. “What happened to you .
. . never mind. Don’t tell me. Where are Glav and Frank?”

“Dead and gone. Only me now. They’ll torture
me next.” She looked up at the ceiling, her head rolling slightly
to the side. “They’ll make me scream and scream and I’ll never stop
until I’m dead.” She caught Pelya’s tunic through the bars and
pulled her close. Mad eyes looked at her. “I’ll keep screaming even
after I’m dead.”

Tears flowed down Pelya’s cheeks. “Oh Aphry
. . .”

“Here is the key.” Erma held a key out to
Pelya.

“Where did you get that?” Frath asked
incredulously. She ignored him and let Pelya take the key to unlock
the cage. “You have the most amazing knack for finding things,” he
said with a shake of his head.