The Edge of Shadow, page 24
part #5 of The Kin of Kings Series
Even now, Gayla turned her head toward her psychic in disbelief.
“It’s all true,” the psychic said.
“Yes, there is one who can cause pain here.”
“You will order them not to as soon as you see them. I’m trained to resist the spell. If I feel it even for a moment, I will kill you. You will continue to tell any guards we see to put down their weapons and keep their distance.”
Sanya dragged Gayla along toward the vault. It was one of many places in the castle Sanya remembered clearly. Everyone knew where it was. The glass door separating the room containing the vault from its adjacent hall was designed to let everyone see the guards standing in front of the steel door. It would keep the people of the castle honest and the guards as well, but children like Sanya would come to the vault to stare through the glass and wonder just how much treasure was inside.
It was common knowledge that the vault guards held neither of the two keys to get in. One key was always with the king, and the other was hidden. But if Sanya knew anything about the Hillers, Gayla had them both now.
“I know you have one key with you and one somewhere else,” Sanya said. “Tell me where the other one is.”
“In my apartment.”
“Do you stay in the king’s chambers?”
“Yes, but now it is called the queen’s.”
This would be easy; they were already close to both the vault and the queen’s chambers. The guards shuffled around nervously as Sanya kept her eyes on them while walking backward with Gayla.
Sanya used psyche to sense if others were trying to sneak up behind her, or if there was anyone around corners. At first there was no one to sense, but soon she felt herself walking into a trap as she neared the end of the hall.
She pretended to guess what she already knew. “If there is anyone waiting around the corner, it would be wise for you to drop your weapons and show yourselves now. If anyone tries to surprise me, I’m running my dagger across her neck.”
She waited, but none of the many people she sensed came out. There was movement behind her, the guards edging closer. She spun around and pricked Gayla’s skin deep enough to draw blood. Gayla whimpered as Sanya threatened them.
“Try it again and see what happens.”
She felt Gayla panicking as the queen reached up reflexively to grip Sanya’s arm.
“Drop your hand,” Sanya ordered. “If you squirm again, I will kill you.”
She pulled Gayla against one wall for a glimpse around the corner, spotting a few swordsmen before they were quick enough to get out of sight.
“Come out and join the others. Put down your weapons. I will not tell you again.”
“Do it,” Gayla commanded, her voice rising in near hysteria.
Several of the men discarded bows, but Sanya noticed a few with no weapon to throw down.
“Mages. I see who you are.” It was impossible to tell if any of them were skilled enough to cast without a wand. Sanya quickly counted them. “The three of you will walk to the other end of this hall and wait there. If I spot any of you even for a moment, she dies.”
“Wait,” Gayla said.
The two men and one woman stopped. Hostility filled the air, but Sanya sensed no aggression from Gayla.
“She’s a psychic.” Gayla pointed to the woman and told her, “Don’t try anything. Sanya will resist.”
Sanya’s smile came off as more of a sneer. “I’m glad to see you’re learning. We might both get out of this alive.”
“You know no one can escape if they steal from the kingdom of Tenred,” Gayla warned with surprising confidence. “But if you leave now, no harm will come to you or your father.”
“No, you and I are going this way.”
There were no more traps en route to the queen’s chambers. Most of the guards in the castle had already come running in defense of their queen, Sanya figured, so there were very few others who could be a threat to her. There were too many in her vicinity for one psychic spell of pain to disable them all, but she trusted in Basen’s plan that she wouldn’t need it.
It was a painfully long process to get Gayla into her lavish quarters to fetch the key from a locked box. It took a different key to unlock, this key hidden beneath a corner of the mattress. Eventually, they returned to the hall and walked over to the vault.
“Order your guards out,” Sanya demanded as they stood in front of the glass door.
“Come out here,” Gayla called to them. “Don’t try to stop her.” She fidgeted in Sanya’s grasp as a thin line of blood ran down the queen’s neck.
The guards exited the antechamber to join the others in the hall.
Sanya pointed at one man with a friendlier face than most others. “Come here.” He hadn’t shown any signs of aggression toward her, unlike the others. “Inside,” Sanya ordered.
The guard walked in, then Sanya and her prisoner followed. She called back into the hall, “If I see anyone else come in, I’ll kill her.”
“It’s the truth!” shouted the psychic.
“Shut up!” Gayla yelled back. “That’s not needed anymore. She’s clearly insane.”
“You, guard,” Sanya directed. “Slowly reach into Gayla’s pocket and fetch the two keys.”
She sensed nothing but mild alarm from his energy as he obliged.
“Now go open the vault.” Sanya felt a wave of disappointment from a few people’s psyche, Gayla’s included. The secret trap within the vault was known only by a few. Sanya hadn’t heard anything about it, but Basen was a Hiller, so he knew it, as well as other secrets of the castle.
“We can go in together,” Gayla goaded. “I’ll give you all the acrowns you can carry.”
Basen had warned Sanya that if she walked into the vault with Gayla, someone outside the chamber would take a painting off the wall to reveal a lever. Once Sanya arrived at a certain spot, Gayla would shout for the lever to be pulled as she ducked, and spears would jut out from the wall to kill Sanya.
“No, we’re staying out here.” She gestured for the guard to go. “Open it and fetch me three acrowns.”
The guard seemed confused, but he headed toward the steel door anyway. Gayla shared his surprise for the small amount Sanya had requested.
He could barely open the door by himself, revealing a chamber much smaller than Sanya had imagined. There was probably just enough room for four people to stand inside and make a square. Shelves containing bags lined each wall.
“Which one?” the guard asked Gayla.
“Doesn’t matter.”
He took one off the shelf and reached his other hand within. He plucked out three coins as many more tinkled against each other.
“Three, you said?”
“Yes she said three!” Gayla bellowed. “Get on with it.”
“I realize it’s less than you expected,” Sanya said. “But I don’t need much. I figure my chances of escape are much better now. What do you say, Gayla?”
“Yes, we will let you out of here.” It was a lie. She wanted Sanya to die just as if she’d taken hundreds of acrowns. That was the Hiller greed that somehow had never sunk its claws into Basen.
“Close the door,” Sanya told the guard. “Then put the acrowns and keys in the small pouch in my pocket and return to the others.”
He did, leaving her with Gayla in the antechamber of the vault.
Sanya made her way out with her captive. The guards inched forward like wolves approaching prey.
“Back!” Sanya demanded. “Get back.”
They shoved against each other to make room. Sanya took Gayla the other way down the hall. Suddenly she sensed someone coming behind her. She shot a look over her shoulder to see two swordsmen running.
“Stop, or she dies.”
They’d already dropped their weapons and put up their hands as soon as Sanya spotted them. Sanya ordered them to go around her and Gayla to join the others.
“Now get into the antechamber,” Sanya demanded. “Everyone.”
“Why?” Gayla asked.
“Once everyone’s there, I will release you and run out of the castle. You will see my father tomorrow, but you won’t see me again.” Sanya spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s only three acrowns. Let’s just get this over with.”
It was a tight fit for all the guards, but they managed to get into the antechamber. She made Gayla close the glass door to separate the two of them from the rest of her guards.
“Now push the table in front of the door,” she told them. “And then put the chairs on top of the table. The sooner you get this done, the sooner I leave.”
The psychic’s squeaky voice rang out from among them, “And will you leave without harming Gayla?”
“Yes.”
“Do as she says,” the queen echoed.
The guards shuffled as the table came into sight from the side.
“Leave the keys,” Gayla ordered. “Or we will have to come after you.”
“Fine. I’m going to let go of you for a moment so you can see me discard them, but if you try to run I will chase you down and kill you. Will you cooperate?”
“Yes.”
Sanya released her grip around the top of Gayla’s torso, giving her arm a much needed rest. With a quick spin, Sanya tossed the two keys as hard as she could to get them as close as possible to the end of the hall.
Gayla grumbled. “You could’ve just dropped them here.”
Sanya gestured Gayla toward her. With a sigh, Gayla returned to the original position, then groaned as Sanya put the blade against her neck once more.
“Why only three acrowns?” Gayla asked as chairs were passed along the rows of men and pushed onto the table. The doors only opened inward. This wouldn’t delay the guards for more than a minute, but it should give Sanya the time she needed to escape.
“I’m only taking what I can easily conceal.”
“Why would you need to hide the money? Everyone in Tenred will know what you’ve done. They won’t accept stolen coin. It’s better that you leave it and just go.”
Her greed was palpable. “I won’t need to hide the coins from anyone in this territory.”
The fleet of unarmed guards finished stacking the chairs atop the table. “They’re done,” Gayla said. “Let go of me.”
“You will answer my questions first, and then I will leave.”
“If you hurry up.” It was astonishing that even now Gayla spoke as if she was in control.
“Did you and your sister know what Spiro was doing with my older sister?”
“Of course not, and I never planned to work with your father now because of the kind of man he was when he worked for my father. I just needed time to figure out what to do before he went to Ulric.”
Some of the men began to shout from within the antechamber for Sanya to leave Gayla and go.
“Shut up!” she yelled, losing control of her anger for a moment. Some of them reached for the chairs after hearing her tone. “Stay there! Or I bury this dagger in her throat. I still have more questions for her. Psychic, are you listening to her answers?”
“Yes, they are all true!”
“Good, then she stays alive for now.”
She felt Gayla tremble with fear.
Sanya asked, “If you had known what my father was doing to my sister would you have done anything to help? Be honest.”
“I would’ve put a stop to it.”
“Did you know it was my father’s experiments that killed her?”
“Bastial stars, no! I’m sorry, Sanya. He deserved imprisonment. No, worse!”
“Are you now going to tell me that you had no idea that he continued his experiments after her death…on me?”
“I had no idea! I’m sorry. I wish I’d known!”
“You are a liar! Liar!”
“It’s the truth!”
The psychic crawled onto the table and put his hands against the glass. “It is true! She would’ve helped.”
“No. She knew and she did nothing. You are both lying!”
*****
Basen waited just around the corner of the hall as he listened to Sanya order the guards into the vault’s antechamber. He couldn’t make out much of what was said but it didn’t matter; he was waiting for one thing only. Then it happened, the keys clanging against the wall. He waited, as it sounded as if Gayla might be facing him. Sanya would turn her away as soon as she had the chance.
He risked a peek. One key was much closer than the other, but it would still require him to run out into sight. But both Sanya’s and Gayla’s backs were to him for the moment. He hurried out as silently as he could, grabbed one key, then hurried back. He pocketed it and waited for a shout to indicate that Gayla had seen him, but there was only the muffled sound of her and Sanya speaking.
Basen ran. One of the best kept secrets of the castle was the second treasury. It contained only a fraction of the valuables in the main vault, but there still should be more than enough acrowns for Basen and his allies. The money had been hidden in case someone did manage to steal from the main vault. It would provide a reserve to run the kingdom while they attempted to recover what was taken.
Others knew the location of the small treasury only for its other purpose, a waiting room. It was connected to the throne room. Guards were always stationed there, though only a few people knew their true purpose had nothing to do with keeping guests from entering the throne room before the king was ready to see them.
This “treasury” was actually just a simple safe behind a painting on the wall, requiring a single key. More often than not, only one trusted guard in the waiting room even knew of its existence.
Basen’s speed took him there in a flash. He flung open the door and gasped in shock to see not only one swordsmen but three. Why hadn’t they gone with the others to protect Gayla? The answer was important, because it would tell Basen whether they’d obeyed an order to remain here or if they cared little about Gayla and Crea and stayed because they were lazy. One would mean a fight while the other would mean Basen could bribe them.
“Gayla’s under attack!” he spewed out before they could recognize him, hopefully. “What are the three of you doing here?”
“What are you doing here, Basen Hiller?”
So they already knew of Gayla and didn’t care. Bribe.
He produced a key. “All of us can split the coin, but we must hurry.”
The younger of the three men was the only one to glance toward the painting of Crea and Gayla standing beside each other with equally stern expressions. The other two guards probably had worked in the castle for ten or twenty years, because they appeared worn out, as if time had taken away all their spirit. They’d risen slowly from their chairs when Basen entered, and even the one who’d recognized him showed no inclination to draw his weapon.
The younger, however, had already been standing. His feet shuffled as he put his hand on his hilt.
“There’s a hole in the wall behind that painting,” Basen explained to the older men. “I have the key to open the small locked door to reach what’s inside.” He started toward the painting, but all three of them took out their swords and pointed the tips at Basen. He played the confident fool as he casually removed the painting and inserted the key, glancing back to them as if they were mad to stop him. “Are the three of you interested or not?” He retrieved the large pouch of coins.
Both older men let down their swords as they glanced at each other.
“How much is in there?” asked the younger.
Basen lowered the pouch and tilted it toward them so they could see the gold coins. “Probably forty acrowns. We could each take ten.” It would still be enough for Basen’s army, though he might have to rely on more from another source. He would find a way to make it work.
The older men ignored the younger guard as they considered Basen’s proposal. “We’d have to disappear,” said one.
The other nodded, but he didn’t see the younger guard pulling back his arm to plunge his sword through his companion’s back.
“What the bastial hell are you doing!” screamed the other one. He got up his sword just in time to block the thrust as his ally went down.
Basen couldn’t decide whether to try running around them to escape with the coins or waiting. His hesitation decided for him, as the younger worked his way through the older’s defenses and stuck him in the thigh. As both older men struggled to get up from the ground, the younger stabbed them each in the heart.
“Throw me the pouch, and I’ll give you half,” said the younger, now the only remaining person in Basen’s way.
But someone greedy enough to kill his comrades for money would certainly try to kill Basen for more.
“No, I’ll give you half,” Basen said.
“I won’t know it’s half unless I count it myself.”
“There’s no time.” Basen grabbed a handful of acrowns and stuffed them in his pocket after showing the coins to the guard. “I’ve taken less than half. You can have the rest, but you have to make way.”
He rushed Basen, but he didn’t know Basen had already been gathering energy. It wasn’t enough for a fireball, but it served its purpose as Basen forced it into his attacker’s face.
His eyes shut as he flinched, but he still swung with surprising strength. Basen ducked and heard a clash as the sword must’ve struck the wall. Like a shield, it deflected the sword hard enough to knock it out of the man’s grip. Basen grabbed it and stabbed him in the leg. As the man howled in what sounded to be more anger than pain, Basen fled the room.
It was important to keep the last one of the three alive. He’d be questioned by psychics, and Crea and Gayla would find out that it was Basen who took from them. He wanted them to suffer from the Hiller fury he’d seen in their father. They would send someone after the end of the war to try to take it back. It would lead to his cousins’ capture, for the hired sword would be questioned until he revealed where to find them if they’d gone into hiding.
Basen returned to the kitchen and took out the second akorell stone he’d brought. He broke the sartious encasing and hoped to see Sanya soon. He readied his sword as he heard someone sprinting, then lowered it when he saw her.
