The Unwilling Apprentice (Book 2) (21 page)

Ned sat down on the bed and chuckled. "If Canto and Fluffy wished to be free they would have escaped. Seeing as how Hawkins made no mention of the troublesome cantankus, we must assume no news is good news for us, and that they still behave themselves in Canto's shop."

While they talked in the castle, Hawkins readied his men for the trip to Tramadore outside the city wall. His men would all be on horseback and would only stop for necessary rest and food. He stood outside the front city gate with his thousands of horsemen and watched the proceedings with apprehension. He would have liked to have had more men, but the king was impossible to convince otherwise. Hawkins was distracted from his brooding when he noticed Lady Martley approach. She was clothed in a heavy cloak, and he bowed to the lady, who smiled back.

"A moment of your time, sir knight," Martley pleaded

Hawkins frowned. "I haven't much time, my lady," he countered.

"I know you have distrusted me from the first, but I plead with you to show me favor by accepting this gift." She reached behind her head, pulled out a long, golden hairpin from her hair, and held it out for him to take. "I promise that in your darkest hour when your weapons have failed you this will point you in the right direction."

"A hairpin?" Hawkins wondered.

Martley smiled. "A very special hairpin, and a gift you won't regret receiving."

Hawkins grudgingly took the pin and stuck it in the breast of his uniform. "I thank you, my lady."

She surprised him when she stepped forward and put her hand on his breast where lay the pin. Her voice was soft and sad. "Phaeton give you speed, good knight, and remember me with fonder words."

Martley pulled the hood of the cloak over her head and departed, but not back into the city. She set her feet on the road that led around the city and to the north. Hawkins watched her leave with a sense that a wind of change had blown past him, and he shuddered. "Sir, the men are ready," one of his lieutenants called to him.

Hawkins shook himself and hoisted himself atop his horse. He glanced back at the retreating woman one last time before he turned his steed to the southwest and to war.

The day dragged itself into night, and the four companions in the castle room breathed a sigh of relief when they weren't called into the king's presence before everyone retired. Unfortunately, Ned stuck his head out into the hall and found their path was littered with guards. He pulled his head back and frowned. "King Stephen means to keep his word and keep you here, my dear Pat."

"He won't be able to keep either if we can just figure out a way down to the kitchen," she replied. Pat paced the floor with her brow furrowed. Ned joined her and they walked in opposite directions. "If only we had an invisibility cloak," she mumbled

"Yes, that would be useful, but we haven't," Ned told her.

"What about a sleeping potion?" she wondered.

"Nothing of the kind, I'm afraid."

"Perhaps I can glide us all down to the courtyard," Ruth suggested.

Ned and Pat paused and stared at her with long faces. They remembered her inelegant landing in the valley. The old castor coughed. "Well, yes, that is an idea, but you haven't had a chance to work on your landings." Ruth folded her arms across her chest and scowled, but didn't argue.

Fred thought over Pat's suggestion of a sleeping potion, and he stared hard at Ned's wonder-cloak. His eyes widened when he was struck with an idea. "What about the Dirth bomb?" he asked Ned.

The old man straightened, and a wicked grin jumped across his mouth. "I believe you have something there, my lad."

"A Dirth bomb?" Pat repeated in bewilderment. Ned searched in his cloak and brought out the larger bomb he'd shown Fred. Pat and Ruth gasped and slapped their hands over their faces. "What horrible thing is that?" Pat exclaimed.

"A very large Dirth bomb. I need only set the mechanism to release the bugs and send it on its way." Ned loosened a few of the nuts and bolts, and the visible stench floated out from between the panels. The old castor coughed and wrapped his cloak over his face, which muffled his voice. "When you hear the screams run for the kitchen."

He opened the door and tossed the bomb out into the hall. They heard the metal ball clank along the stone flags followed by the shouts of the guards. The clanking stopped and the panels fell to the floor. It was at that point the screaming started. Ned rushed into the hall with the three on his heels. The guards had stopped the bomb at the intersection of the halls where it opened and released the angry bugs. The passages were filled with their wreaking stench of rotten eggs, bodies, and food bound together with lovely scents of cantankus farts and public urinals.

The guards lay against the wall or stumbled down the hall in a daze, and the group passed by the defeated men. Fred paused at one who sat with his back against the wall with his eyes wide open. He pushed the guard and the man fell over onto his side, still breathing but frozen from the stench. Fred hurried to catch up to the others and they raced downstairs into the kitchen passage. Chaos erupted behind them and they were spotted by more guards.

"You there, halt!" one yelled.

Ned reached into his cloak and pulled out the smaller bomb. He tossed that into the hall behind them and left the guards screaming in their wake. The group slid into the kitchen and startled the spooked staff, who whipped their heads up from the whipping bowls and ovens. Ned smiled and the kitchen supplies came to life again, and included the pots and pans. The servants screamed and dashed out of the room with knives, pots and frying pans close behind.

They hurried down into the tunnel and Ned lit the way with his staff. They met Sampson at the opening, and he blinked against the bright light. "Edwin?" he asked the old castor.

"Ned, old friend, but yes," Ned replied. "And we bring some very poor tidings."

Sampson glanced behind them, and he heard a faint echo of chaos. "I thought perhaps those screams sounded familiar," the gargoyle quipped.

Ned frowned and lightly pounded his staff against the rubble floor. "We haven't time for jokes. King Stephen has learned your daughter's identity and will interrogate her tomorrow. He may even tear apart the city to find and destroy you. Your clan must leave tonight."

Sampson furrowed his brow. "If the danger is so great then it is greater still to leave here. We have nowhere to go," he pointed out.

Ned shook his head. "No, I can guarantee your safety in Tramadore, but we must first save it. It's been betrayed by one of its lords and Lord Tramadore is a prisoner in his own castle."

"Tramadore? Ezekiel Tramadore?" Sampson asked him.

Fred snorted at the name and Pat elbowed him in the side. Ned nodded. "The very same. He was once your friend, and I'm sure if we can rescue him he will be your friend once more."

Sampson thought over the suggestion and shook his head. "I can't risk my entire clan on a city and lord who are already taken captive, not without immediate danger."

The noises behind them changed. The screams turned to shouts, and far off down the tunnel light pierced the area. A helmeted head peeked out from the secret hatch and spotted them. "We found them!" the guard yelled back to his companions above him. The guards had tracked their whereabouts and ransacked the kitchen to find the hollow space beneath the stone.

Ned whipped his head to Sampson. "Is this not urgent enough?"

"Get into the cavern!" Sampson yelled at them. He pushed the group ahead of him, clasped his fists together and slammed them against the tunnel wall. The force shook the ceiling and walls, and debris rained down along the tunnel. Large boulders crashed into the narrow space, blocking the path for the guards who spilled down the hatch. Sampson hurried to the others and pushed past them to present himself to his people. They cowered in the upper tunnels. "Brothers and sisters, our secret is a secret no longer and we have a choice to make. We can remain here and fight them, or flee to Tramadore and rescue the Lord Tramadore from imprisonment in exchange for safety. What say you?"

Ruth stepped forward and presented herself to her clan. "I say we fight a battle we can win. Galaron has sent men to help Tramadore, and they have their own men to fight for them. Here it's only us against a city who rejected us."

There were murmurings of agreement and a heavy hand was laid on Ruth's shoulder. She looked up into her father's smiling face. "Well spoken, Daughter," Sampson praised her. Ruth blushed, and he turned back to their people. "Is it decided? Will we leave here?" A roar of approval erupted from the gargoyles, and Sampson looked to the companions. "We will need time to prepare, and the other end of the tunnel is still blocked with debris."

"We'll manage the tunnel, you ready those who can't fly and your unhatched eggs," Ned promised.

Sampson smiled and captured Ned's hand in a hearty shake that nearly left the old castor crippled. "Like old times, old friend."

Ned winced and freed his crushed fingers. He shook the bones back to their straight order. "Yes, just like old times. That hurt then, too."

"People, we may want to hurry," Pat reminded them. She nodded at the collapsed tunnel where they could hear the shouts of the guards on the other side of the boulders.

Ned straightened and coughed. "Yes, well, come along, children."

The friends parted and the four hurried on their way down the other end of the tunnel. The fire had burnt the wooden supports of the cistern which had caused the walls to collapse so that large stones blocked their path. Ned pushed the youngsters back and slunk forward. He stretched out his staff and tapped the end against one of the larger rocks. A fuse made of light popped up out of the rock, and burned down into the stone. "Duck!" he ordered the three.

They leapt to the floor and the rock exploded. Fred raised his head and saw veins of light shoot out of the broken stone and run into all others that touched it. Ned grabbed Fred's head and shoved it back down. "Not done yet!" he told the boy. There were a succession of explosions that lasted for a minute, and Ned cautiously raised his head. He grinned and tapped the others on their heads. "Time to get up, sleepyheads."

They looked up and saw the way was clear. There was only rubble where stones once lay. "Now what?" Pat asked him.

Ned looked to Fred and smiled. "Now Fred fetches Fluffy alone. Do you remember the way?"

Fred hesitantly nodded, but Pat clamped a hand on his shoulder. "I'll go with him."

Ned shook his head. "One suspicious person is much harder to find than two," he scolded. "And if Fred wishes to make a quick escape from the city Fluffy will need as light a load as possible."

"Let's let him decide that for himself," Pat snapped. She turned to Fred and her eyes pleaded for him to choose otherwise. "What did you want to do? Did you need help?"

Fred cringed. "I hate to admit it, but I guess Ned's right. It'd be easier if I went alone," he replied.

Pat's face fell, but she nodded. Fred pushed to the front and climbed over the debris outside the tunnel.

"Fred!" The boy paused and turned back. Ned nodded at the broken stick at his waist. "If it comes down to using your wits or your magic, remember that magic can create as many problems as it solves, and sometimes more."

Fred shuddered when he recalled back to the earthquake; he nodded and slipped off into the city.

CHAPTER 21

Fred hurried through the streets and dodged several groups of guards. He took a few wrongs turns but found the stables and saw there were two guards at the front door. The boy slunk to the alley and found a stall window open. He hoisted himself inside and fell into a clean bed of hay. Before he could stand a wet tongue lapped over him, covering Fred in a thick slime of love. He wiped the drool off and glared up at Fluffy, who wiggled his butt and showed off a bright new collar around his neck.

Fred patted the beast on the back and slunk around him to pop his head over the stall door. Canto stood only a few inches away and Fred's nose nearly collided with the dwarf's head. Fred jumped back against Fluffy, and Canto harrumphed. "Took you long enough, boy. The collar's been done for a good many days," he scolded.

"S-sorry, I was in a coma for the last five days," Fred defended himself.

"No excuses," Canto countered. He glanced behind the boy and raised an eyebrow. "Where's that old castor? He owes me for another wall."

"He's, um, he's kind of busy right now," Fred replied. "He sent me to get Fluffy and, um, go back to the castle."

Canto stared at the boy, who sweated under the gaze of those bushy eyebrows. The old dwarf chuckled and opened the stall door. "Yer a terrible liar, boy, but that shows honesty. Never get as good at lying as Ned and I." Canto pulled Fred out of the stall and led Fluffy out by the collar. "Now why isn't Ned with ya and what are ya really planning to do with Fluffy here?"

Fred hung his head. "Ned's helping the gargoyles flee the city in exchange for getting us out, and I came here to get Fluffy so he could take me to Tramadore."

Canto frowned. "Ah heard about that city's problems. So that's how it is, is it? Going off to fight a great battle without me, is he? Well, we'll just see about that." He marched over to a large wooden chest and opened the heavy lock. He spun up the lid and revealed a large battle ax with a thick grip and head. It weighed a hundred pounds, but Canto easily lifted it with one hand and strapped the ax to his back. "All right, boy, I'm ready ta go."