Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (51 page)

Auburn’s
swinging feet froze on the bed, “You are not coming with us? What if we can’t
handle Kara?”

“Come now. I
have trained you how to subdue a fire wizard using that ring of yours. Using
that, combined with her knowing Bowie, you should be able to calm her down
enough to get her out and on the road. Ria however, will stay with the horses
to help get you on your way.”

Bowie spoke
again, “You aren’t coming with us to help the Elders either?”

“I hope that I
can convince my brother to come with us. If I cannot, there is a chance he may
imprison me.”

No one argued
with Brent, so Ria finally spoke up. “If this is all, remember your story and
stick to it. If anyone causes a problem, tell them to come to Auburn with it
and we will help deal with them. We will get the arrow heads and give them to
her before we leave. Make the arrows and be on your way. Anyone that stays in
one area for too long will become suspicious. We need to keep moving,
especially if they are searching inns. Bowie, you better go get some sleep
while you can.”

Bowie knew that
was his cue and departed the room after Ria looked through a crack to make sure
no one would see him leave. He went directly down the stairs and started
through the accumulating crowd. The musician was quite good; any other day and
Bowie would have stuck around for a dance or two. The barmaid smiled as he
walked past, he winked again before disappearing out the door.

Once outside,
the sounds of the musician were drowned out by the sound of the rain splashing
on the roofs and puddles. Bowie now knew why the inn’s dining area had been
filled so quickly. Another light summer rain had put a damper on the town.
Bowie pushed the hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ears. He stepped
out into the rain from beneath the inn’s low angled awning. He walked around
the side of the inn and into an alleyway.

The ground here
seemed to be more mud than stone pavement. Bowie cursed as he felt the mud flow
through the small hole in his boot. He really hopped it was mud and not manure,
he would never get the stink out of his boots if it was. Picking his path
carefully, he trod through the water-filled alley to get to Charger in the
stables behind the inn. His clothes were already soaked so he would need to
change before laying down. At least he would have an excuse for not wearing his
jacket in the morning.

The wind picked
up unexpectedly so Bowie tried to rush a little faster, hoping to avoid any
oncoming downpour. Before he could take another step, the wind pushed him
backwards and he noticed a sphere of wind lowering itself before him. He
immediately reached for the imbued dagger in his belt line, readying himself.
He hoped the shadowy figure inside the rain-covered wind bubble was not Mica
coming to eliminate him.

Alexander smiled
and maintained his umbrella of wind keeping himself dry, “My boy, that is not a
good look for you. I almost did not recognize you. I’m glad I checked the
stables for your horse, otherwise I could have passed you on the street without
knowing the difference.”

Seeing the face
behind the screen of wind whisking water away from his body, Bowie eased his
grip on the knife behind his back. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people in dark
alleys, Alexander.”

“Oh right. You
are a war hero now.” He took a step closer and winked, “To deadly for a wind
wizard to approach, it seems.” Alexander muttered something under his breath and
walked away from Bowie.

Bowie followed
him into the stables where Alexander started to brush down Charger. “You know I
love to ride horses, but never seem to have time to do so.”

Bowie ignored
his comment, “Ria says we shouldn’t use magic because it could draw attention.”

“That is why I
have stopped wielding.” He turned to Bowie, “Where are you going, Master
Crescent?”

“I was coming
here to get a change of clothes and some sleep,” Bowie retorted.

“That is not the
question I am asking. Where are you and your friends going?”

Bowie checked
the stall to see if anyone else had taken up a bed in the same place as him
tonight. When he was sure no one was in the stable he came close to Alexander
and spoke at a whisper, “We are going to Deuterium. We are going to get Kara
out of the dungeon so Kilen doesn’t attempt it himself.”

“Very good,
Master Crescent. This is what I’d hoped you would try and accomplish. I will
inform him of your loyalty if I see him before you. Where will you take his
sister?”

“We will be
seeking out the Elder Wizards to aid in their search for the soul wizard. I was
hoping our path would cross with Kilen’s.” Bowie started searching through his
bag he had set aside. He pulled out a black jacket with deep green embellishes
and then immediately stuffed it back in after pulling out a grease-stain
covered wool shirt.

Alexander
stopped brushing the horse, “I am sure your paths will cross when they are
destined to. I will take a walk through the city before using anymore magic so
as not to upset Ria. I wish you luck in your journey, Master Crescent. I will
wait for your arrival back in the Water Realm.”

“The Water
Realm? Is that where the Elders are going?” Bowie said as Alexander stepped out
into the rain.

Alexander turned
to face him, finally getting his robes wet in the rain. Bowie was unsure if the
wizard would be able to fly with his garments laden with water.

“I cannot speak
of where or what the Elders are about, but that would be a good place to start
looking.” He winked at Bowie before he walked away back into the dark alley.

  The day had
gone almost exactly according to the plan the wizards had set, despite Bowie’s
doubts. He woke with a small kink in his neck and his skin itched furiously
from where the hay had manage to poke through his moth-eaten blanket. When he
sat up, Auburn and the barmaid were hard at work making arrows just outside the
stables.

  After a better
breakfast than he had received since arriving, they departed for Deuterium,
only a couple hours ride from the outlying town. Auburn hadn’t said much for
most of the ride, she just smiled to herself and giggled every once and awhile.
Bowie pulled an arrow from the quivers hidden inside rolled blankets on
Charger. Auburn had truly perfected what he had taught her. In some ways her
arrow crafting had superseded his own. Bowie accounted it to her tiny fingers.
The string woven into the arrow’s fletchings were woven tight and uniform in
distance. Then they were covered with the thinnest layer of wax to prevent
moisture damage.

“How did you get
the barmaid to help make the arrows?” Bowie asked.

  Auburn seemed
to come out of her trance and glanced back at Bowie from where she rode a horse
length in front of him. “I told her Jarrad’s story.”

  Bowie, lifting
an eyebrow, “What
was
Jarrad’s story?” Jarrad was the name they had taken
to calling Bowie since leaving King Atmos.

  She smiled and
let her horse slow to walk beside Charger, “I told her that Jarrad was my best
friend growing up. I told her that after I had been wedded to my older, richer
betrothed, Jarrad never stopped being my friend.”

  “Jarrad
doesn’t seem too special. I don’t see why you would get any help from a bar
maid.”

  She laughed,
“Well, that’s not what got the extra attention. I also told her that one night
my husband, while drunk, started to beat me. Jarrad heard my screams for mercy
and came to my rescue, killing my betrothed. I told her we were running away
from that life where the townspeople would have hung you for murder if we
hadn’t fled. I told her that Jarrad refused to marry me because of his guilt for
sentencing us to a life of traveling.”

  “So because I
saved you from this make-believe husband, she made me a good breakfast, and
helped you with my labor?”

  Auburn
laughed, “She said she would have married you if I hadn’t said I still wanted
too.” She continued to laugh.

Bowie felt as
though his wool shirt had suddenly become too hot.

“I see what you
are thinking, do not get any misconceptions. The story was all apart of farce
to get her to be your friend. Do not think that I will be whisking you away to a
noble to marry us,” Auburn said.

  Bowie grunted
in response instead of letting her twist whatever words would come out of his
mouth, “We need to pick up the pace if we are to get out of Deuterium tonight.”
He spurred Charger to take the lead, turning his head just enough so he could
make sure she was keeping pace. Bowie was never sure of Auburn’s intentions for
being with him. She had put her life on the line for him, slept in his bed, and
given up her life in her hometown to help save his friend. On the other hand,
she had repeatedly told him that she wanted nothing to do with having a
relationship. Bowie wasn’t even sure himself if he wanted a relationship with
the woman. He knew one thing was for sure: if she continued to be around him,
he was just going to get more confused.

  It didn’t seem
to take long for them to finish their ride to the outskirts of town. Bowie
stepped off his horse and lead Charger and Auburn’s horse by the reigns. He
kept his head down to avoid notice. Auburn greeted everyone she came across in
an attempt to take their eyes off of him. When they arrived at the inn, Bowie
had not seen one guard. If they were to be successful in freeing Kara, this was
as good of a sign as any.

  The innkeeper
was of little help; only telling them that the couple they were looking for
said they wanted to meet in the market. Bowie nodded his head and tossed the
man a silver crown for his trouble. Bowie helped Auburn to quickly re-mount her
horse. He was now on edge since they were not admitted to the inn. Either
things with Brent and Ria had gone well or very very wrong.

  Bowie led
Auburn down the less popular alleys of the city, often going out of his way to
avoid the eyes of too many people. He knew the market would have a few guards,
but it was also the busiest place in the city. He had found many people trying
to steal items and vendors cheating customers.

  Outside the
market Ria sat on the seat of a wagon full of hay. The front of the wagon had
two horses ready to pull it and four others tied to the pole on the side. She
held up a sign said that she had horses for sale and listed her price. The
price was twice what any normal person would charge. He laughed because he knew
anyone wise would not approach her to inquire about buying one. She just needed
a reason to be sitting just outside the market so she wouldn’t be questioned.

  Bowie and
Auburn rode their horses up and tied them next to the others. Auburn made her
way to the back of the wagon.

Ria spoke, “Your
brother is in there trying to get us a new rug. You take Jarrad and go and find
him. No dawdling. I mean it this time, get in there, fetch him and get out. We
don’t need to spend anymore money. I have to already charge more than these
horses are worth.”

A man started
looking over Charger then overheard her and walked away. Auburn’s eyebrows were
furrowed in confusion, clearly not catching on to Ria changing their stories.

Bowie waved
Auburn to continue walking. “Your brother the farmer, remember? Emerald, did
you have to much to drink again?” Bowie asked Auburn, smiling.

Auburn didn’t
utter a response and Bowie followed her into the throng of people shopping. The
ground was still thick with mud from the last couple days of heavy rain. People
sloshed through the market, trying to take advantage of the sunlight to get
their supplies. The day was warm and sticky with moisture. Auburn picked her
skirt off the ground and chose her steps carefully, tiptoeing through the heavy
muck so it wouldn’t get muddy.

Bowie laughed
under his breath at the awkwardness of her steps. He had to pull Auburn by the
shoulder when a man was shouting to them amongst the people.

“M’lady Emerald,
the man is calling for you. I believe your brother is there,” Bowie said
pointing to a man selling tapestries.

  She smiled
back at him, “Yes, or course. Thank you, Jarrad.” She watched her step as she
moved through the rain-soaked ground and into a throng of carpets . Near the
back there were cloth artwork hanging from poles displaying hunting scenes or
heroes of legend; Tilrick the Warlord carrying his giant hammer, and Balran
apprentice to Heathmos, Temprest Companion to the Brights.

  Hidden amongst
the tapestries was a napping wizard. He had tucked himself as close as he could
to the stone wall that divided the kings training grounds and market. The wall
had no doors to connect the two directly so all the soldiers in the past had to
walk around the wall through most of the city in order to visit the market
place.

Brent was easily
woken by the light of the sun when the tapestry was pulled away from the wall.
Doing so not only revealed Brent, but also a small wooden door half the size of
a man.

  “Ah about time
you two showed up,” Brent said as he pulled a small key from his pocket and
unlocked the wooden door.

Behind the door
stood a stone wall blocking their way. Bowie first thought Brent received some
bad information on how to enter the castle, but Brent stood staring back at the
two and waited.

“Go ahead,” He
said.

  “Go ahead
where? There is a blasted stone wall behind the door,” Bowie replied as if he
was the only one that saw the wall.

  Digging the
bows from underneath the skirt of her dress, Auburn shoved them into Bowie’s
chest. “You have been a wielder a lot longer than me and you
still
don’t
understand?”

Bowie scratched
his head still confused.

“Get out of the
way, Master Crescent.” Her voice dripped of sarcasm as she called him by the
name, master. Auburn stepped up to the stone wall and closed her eyes. Soon the
stone melted away much like a candle placed too close to a hearth. “Can we stop
messing around now and go get this girl?”

  Bowie, clearly
impressed, nodded.

Brent picked up
a leather satchel from the ground. “Here you are, Auburn. I think you may be
more comfortable in this. You should go inside and change. I don’t know when we
will have the opportunity to do it next and a purple dress like that will stand
out in any crowd.”

  She took a
look inside the satchel and gave Brent a nod.

He let the
tapestry fall in front of the small doorway she had opened. Brent then turned
his attention to Bowie. “When we are inside remember to do your best not to
harm anyone. If you can, get in and out without being noticed.”

Bowie just stood
there holding the bow and quivers in his hands, listening.

Brent’s eyes had
a sense of urgency to them. “Go on, string those weapons and get ready to go!
You won’t get another chance. I’ll take you as far as the hallway leading down
to the dungeons. Find where they’re keeping Kara and get her out of here. I’ll
head to the wizard’s quarters to collect a few things. Hopefully, I will follow
shortly after and meet up with you and Ria.”

  Auburn stepped
out from behind the scene, still tucking in her linen shirt. Taking the quiver
from Bowie, she slung it over her shoulder and stretched her bow. In a natural
motion, she pulled an arrow free of its leather confines and knocked into
place. One finger holding the arrow in place, she met the men’s eyes. “I heard
everything. Are we going to stand here all day or would you two like to dice a
bit?”

  Bowie put the
chainger for his dagger into its proper place and copied Auburn’s one handed
carry of the bow. “Thank you both for helping me,” He whispered.

  Auburn rolled
her eyes, “Don’t go getting sappy.”

Brent laughed as
he ducked to get through the stone doorway.

  Inside there
was a small room with a spiral staircase leading down into a pitch black hole.
Brent clacked a stone against flint and soon a torch was lightning the way. “I
have been in these tunnels a time or two, but have never been in this exact
one. My brother use to find ways in and out of the castle and this is one he
often took to shorten the time it took to do his chores in the market. He told
me about the passages and said there were some places only water wizards could
go.”

  At the bottom
of the staircase was a narrow hallway with a thin layer of water covering the
ground. All three of them had to duck to avoid hitting their head on the
ceiling. The smoke clinging to the ceiling stung Bowie’s eyes as it crawled
along trying to escape.

“Where will we
come out?” He asked.

  Brent
continued down the hallway and stopped at a smooth stone inset into the wall.
There was a small staircase leading up. “I am not exactly sure. These stones
here have a code that tells you which direction to go. I am certain that I will
be able to find a more familiar corridor once we get closer to the castle. This
particular hallway seems to lead us along the castle’s wall or at least
directly underneath it.”

  Bowie coughed
from the smoke, “So we could come up underneath the guard's gate?”

  “Oh I am sure
we will meet up with the guard's gate, but it is highly unlikely that this
tunnel opens to where they have access. They probably don’t even know of these
tunnels. The only reason my brother and I do is because of our father; these
tunnels are a secret passed down by the Wizard Advisor to their successor.”

  The three
continued in silence working their way along the long corridor. Brent checked
each smooth marking stone, trying to identify their location under the castle.
Twice he stopped to hold up his finger so Auburn and Bowie would attempt to be
quiet. In the silence Bowie could hear the voices of people above him. As they
traveled the corridor the voices from above came more often. Brent only stopped
to remind the Bowie and Auburn to be quiet, even though no one had said
anything.

  They passed
several corridors after Brent had inspected the direction stones. Finally, the
ground began to slope at a large incline. The ceiling, however, did not; the
further they walked the lower the ceiling got. Another opening into a small
chamber could be found towards the back, covered in spider webs. Bowie
attempted to stretch after squeezing through an opening that stood only the
height of a man's knee. The small room smelled thick with mold accompanied by
the sound of dripping water echoing from the tunnel they had just come from.
Bowie was left squatting inside the tunnel while Auburn and Brent stood with
chests touching at an stone archway. Once again, Auburn melted the stone away
and moved inside.

The room behind
the archway was as small as the one they had left and contained a few brooms with
a mop and bucket. This room was one that many in the castle would pass day in
and day out without anyone taking notice of the tunnels that lay behind. Bowie
smiled at the ingenuousness of the tunnel and wished he had some in Humbridge.
Popping out of broom closets with connected tunnels would have made his
childhood mischief much more memorable and possibly successful.

Movement in the
hallway brought Brent’s finger to his mouth, once again to signal the others.
Bowie held his breath as they waited for the footsteps to disappear down the
hallway.

“If I am
correct, we are close to the entrance to the castle from the training grounds.
To get to the dungeons you will need to travel through this hallway to the
black door in the third corridor on our left. The door has black cast iron
hinges. It is painted with tar to seal the door shut from hearing the voices on
the other side. You will know it when you see it.”