Nightfall: Book Two of the Chronicles of Arden (39 page)

“Two sennights ago, in the royal courtyard, I heard your sister speak of a passage through the catacombs! Do you remember?”

Kirk’s eyes widened with recall. “Y–yes.”

Joel crossed the room in three long strides and set a hand on Kirk’s shoulder. “Can you show us the way?”

“Show us the way where?” Koal demanded. “What are you talking about?”

All eyes in the room fell onto Joel and Kirk. The trainee cringed beneath the scrutiny. “I don’t know how to get there myself. Only Kenisha does.”

Joel froze. “Where is she now?”

“I–I believe she’s in the servant quarters.”

“If we find her, can she show us to the passageway?” Joel asked.

Koal slammed a fist on the table, drawing both boys’ attentions. “Dammit Joel, talk to me! What are you going on about? Passageway where?”

Joel turned to face his father, explaining in a rushed, excited voice, “Kirk’s sister knows a way out. She said there’s a passageway through the catacombs, beneath the palace.” He licked his lips nervously. “We wouldn’t have to worry about the wall at all. We can bypass it entirely this way.”

Koal raised an eyebrow. “Through the catacombs?”

Kirk finally found his voice, timid as it was. “The passageway yields to a drainage canal that flows out beyond the wall. My sister told me the opening is wide enough for a person to crawl through.”

Cenric stepped away from the table, a worried frown contorting his features. “Are you
sure
?”

Kirk winced, biting his lower lip. “No. I’m not entirely sure. It’s what she told me.”

“Da,” Joel pleaded, taking a tentative step toward Koal. “We need to find his sister. This could be our only means of escape.”

Liro stood in the corridor that separated the common room from the bedchambers. He leaned against the wall, openly glaring at Joel. “You’re a fool, brother. Maybe
you’d
enjoy getting lost endlessly in a maze of tombs, but I would
not
!” Cruel eyes shifted toward Koal. “Father, Joel’s perverted condition has clearly clouded his judgment on the matter. We can’t trust him to make rational decisions.”

Anger rushed to Joel’s face in a hot wave. He jerked his head around to glare at Liro. “How
dare
you!”

Joel’s rage was only second to Liro’s scorn. The older brother flashed a smug smile. “How dare
I
? How dare
you
for asking us to put our lives in the hands of some boy you’re undoubtedly polishing up to be your new shiny bauble in the Nemesio brat’s absence.”

“You leave Gib out of this!” Joel clenched his hands into fists, doing all he could to contain the anger threatening to boil over. “This has nothing to do with him!”

“Yes,” Liro replied snidely. “Clearly you’ve already moved on to pursue other interests.”

Never in Joel’s eighteen years had he resorted to physical violence, but Liro’s terrible words stabbed him so viscously in the heart and filled him with such agonizing pain that all Joel wanted to do in that moment was lunge at his older brother.
How can he say such hateful words about me? About Gib? And to assume that I’m seducing Kirk now
—Joel blinked back tears, refusing to allow his brother the satisfaction of seeing the droplets fall.

Koal slammed his hand on the tabletop again, only this time, his fury was directed at Liro. “Bad form, Liro Adelwijn! Have you not a
single
drop of integrity left? It isn’t any wonder no one wants anything to do with you!”

Liro reeled like he’d taken a physical blow. His dull eyes landed on Koal and glazed over with some unreadable emotion. “Is this how you justify your lack of want for me, Father? Because we both know that isn’t true.”

Koal’s voice was a dangerous snarl. “Your entire childhood, you lived under my roof, went to the finest schools, had the best of everything. Your mother and I doted on you tirelessly, loved you unconditionally. Any ‘lack of want’ you think you’ve perceived is no fault of mine or hers. I know my heart and your place in it, but I’ll be damned if I can prove it to you! You’ve poisoned yourself with your hate.”

Joel shuddered as he witnessed father and son glare at one another through gritted teeth and clenched hands. All the air seemed to have been removed from the room. The tension ascended from the shadows to grip Joel’s heart, and he gasped, finding it difficult to breathe.

Cenric moved to stand beside the seneschal, the sound of his faint footfalls hitting the stone floor rising above the silence. Koal blinked, as though he’d just awakened from a deep trance, and broke eye contact with Liro to meet Cenric’s troubled gaze.

Cenric cleared his throat. “We need to make a decision.”

Conflict plagued Koal’s eyes, and Joel braced himself for whatever choice might be made. He locked his jaw to prevent the pleas that sat on the tip of his tongue from escaping, but his mind couldn’t be quieted.
Please, Da. You have to trust me. This is the only way we have a chance to escape
.
What can I do to prove to you that Kirk won’t betray us?

Joel startled when he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder and was surprised to see his father had approached while Joel had been lost in contemplation. Koal scrutinized his son closely, and Joel did his best to meet his sire’s measured gaze.

“You’re sure about this?” Koal asked, never taking his eyes from Joel’s face. “Do you truly believe we can place our trust in this young man?”

Joel could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
Is this what I think it is? Is Father giving me the final say? Does the fate of our party lie solely on me?

He glanced around the room. Cenric gave him a nod of encouragement. NezReth stood in the shadows, his expression unreadable but not disapproving. Hasain’s face was a well-guarded mask, and Liro’s seething wrath couldn’t be avoided. With a shuddering sigh, Joel looked over at Kirk briefly before returning to his father.

“I know we can trust him. His word is honorable.”

Koal nodded, once and decisively. “All right. Let’s find this sister of his and see if she can lead us to safety.”
 

The Ardenian envoys waited in an enclave just beyond the corridor leading to the servant quarters. Kirk left them with express instructions to remain silent and out of sight and informed them he’d be back shortly.

Time crawled as tensions ran high. Liro was the first to break protocol and make underhanded remarks about their situation. Joel shushed him to little avail. Eventually Koal put a swift end to the sniveling but was quick to follow up with a lament of his own. “Where are they, Joel? This is taking too long.”

“We can’t leave without them, can we?” Hasain asked. “None of us knows the way, right?” He shifted a hopeful look to NezReth, but the Blessed Mage only met the gaze with vacant eyes.

No. None of them knew where they were going. They were entirely at Kirk and Kenisha’s mercy.

Liro groaned. “I’m sure they’re well on their way to inform the Imperial authorities by now. We’re all fools for going through with this—you lot for trusting the servant in the first place and me for not leaving all of you to your fate.”

Joel whirled on one heel to glare at his brother, but once again Koal silenced Liro. Joel was left to endure his brother’s smug smile.

Footsteps could be heard in the close distance and everyone, even Liro, tensed. Koal’s hand shot for the hilt of his sword, and Joel could feel Hasain pooling mage energy into his hands. Joel thought to do the same, but in the moment, his mind seized. Could he take a life if it came down to that? Even if it was the life of an Imperial soldier who would take his if he didn’t fight back?

Kirk and his sister rounded the corner, and Joel’s tension dissipated.
Thank The Two, it’s only them
.

The Imperial siblings slowed briefly, their eyes flashing from each envoy to the next. Joel’s stomach sank when he realized his father hadn’t stood down just yet. Koal’s hand still gripped the hilt of his weapon. Likewise, Hasain hadn’t retracted his magic. What were they doing? Were they
trying
to scare off their guides?

NezReth lifted his chin, eyes unfocused. “They’re alone. No soldiers.”

Koal responded instantly, dropping the hand that had been clutching the sword, and Hasain followed, releasing the energy back into the air. Kirk and Kenisha ventured forward after that. Both had donned cloaks, obscuring their hair and faces and making it difficult to tell exactly what they were thinking or feeling.

Kenisha’s voice was a hushed whisper. “Follow me then. Stay close.”

“What if someone sees us? What then?” Cenric, who’d been quiet up until then, asked.

Her response was wry and clear. “I’d suggest you run, Ambassador.”

“All right. Let’s be done with this.” Koal’s terse words suggested this conversation had met its end, and no one questioned his authority. “Lead the way.”

Kenisha led them through several corridors that Joel didn’t recognize. This was definitely part of the palace he’d never seen before. Everything was ensconced in shadow, and the fine ornaments which decorated the rest of the royal building were notably missing. The farther they went, the worse repair the building was in. Some of the pillars were even chipped or cracked.

“Mind the stairs,” Kenisha warned as they passed through an arched doorway and came to stand at the head of an ominous stairwell. “Sometimes they’re slick. Don’t fall. It’s a long way down.”

Joel gulped as he looked onward. Indeed, it
was
a long way down. The spiraling staircase turned in an endless corkscrew down into the ground. The others were already beginning to descend into the darkness, and Joel had no option other than to follow.

The farther they went, the more moisture accumulated on the smooth stone steps and the less light made its way to them. Joel pressed his hand to the wall to keep his balance and caught the faint silhouette of Hasain doing the same. A few steps farther and NezReth cleared his throat before blue light flickered out from his upturned palm. The mage orb threw off a scant amount of illumination, hopefully enough to keep them all from breaking their skulls. Cool air pricked Joel’s skin. If he wasn’t mistaken, the temperature continued to drop with every step he took.

Just as he was starting to wonder if the twisting stairs would ever come to an end, his feet met solid ground, and he whispered a muffled prayer. A narrow corridor stretched out before the party. In the dim light, Joel could see cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, tents of silk above their heads. The foul stench of decayed plants and mildew made him want to gag, and all around him the sound of trickling water echoed off the stone walls.

“What is this place?” Hasain asked.

Kirk shared a dark look with his sister before lifting his voice. “These are the catacombs, Lord Hasain. The great Imperial royals of the past are all laid to rest down here.”

In the hazy light of the mage orb, Hasain’s face went pale. Joel sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. He didn’t feel so well himself. Knowing that corpses lay within the vaults lining either side of the passageway only made him all the more unsettled.

Cenric huffed a sigh. “Let’s not tarry.”

“Not afraid, are we?” Liro arched a brow. “Surely we’re all well-schooled enough to know better than to fear the dead.” He stole a glance at Kirk and Kenisha before a sly smile pulled at his mouth. “Well, perhaps not
all
of us are so well schooled.”

“Enough. We’re moving on.” Koal’s gruff command forced the conversation to a halt.

Kenisha lowered her head and crept forward without another word. The envoys fell in behind her, with NezReth near the front of the line. His summoned light was the only illumination in the passage. Joel could feel Liro and Hasain crowding in on the mage to keep the orb within their sight.

Not a single word was shared as they made their way deeper and deeper into the ground. The air continued to grow colder and stale smelling the farther they went, and Joel realized belatedly that he was gasping for breath. The thought of being so far beneath the ground coupled with their tight confines was nearly enough to unhinge his frazzled mind.

A sturdy hand squeezed his shoulder. “Deep, steady breaths, Joel. You’re doing fine. It’s going to be all right.” The calm of Cenric’s voice eased the tension, but only just so.