Amendments (23 page)

“Wait!” Luxin Alba said from within the stairwell.  “It's suddenly gone.”

“Good,” the first voice said.  “Then we don't have to raise the alarm.”

“No.  Not good!” the Luxin exclaimed.  “It means someone heard us!  There's a very powerful Luxin sneaking around somewhere on the walls!”

Finn looked wide-eyed at Noir and Ruith.  “Crap!  What do we do?” Finn whispered.  Hurried footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

“Don't kill them!” was all Noir could say before a woman in full Luxin armor burst out of the door and ran past them.  A Tierian soldier followed her.  They didn't see the three pressed against the wall beside the door.

Noir's mind raced.  They couldn't let them simply go by because they'd raise the alarm.  It would make the next part of their plan nearly impossible.  If they stopped them without killing them, they could still scream for help having the same effect.  If they did kill them, the bodies would most likely be discovered fairly quickly and again raise the alarm of the fort.

Before Noir could decide, Ruith pushed him into the small room at the top of the stairs.  At the same time, Ruith whispered, “Finn, get in!”

Finn ducked into the room after Noir.  Ruith raised his hand toward the backs of Luxin Alba and the Tierian soldier.  Noir saw yellow lux go from his abdomen to his hand.

              Yellow lux shot from Ruith's hand far away in front of the fleeing man and woman.  Down in the city, a huge burst of light flashed and Ruith immediately rounded the lip of the door and pulled Finn and Noir down the stairs.

              “What just happened?” Finn insisted.

              Ruith commanded, “I made a distraction.  Let's move.”

              Noir realized what Ruith had done.  It had been quick thinking.  Noir took one step back up the stairs and peered over the lip of the top step.  Luxin Alba was looking from where the light had appeared and back in the direction of the stairs over and over.  The Tierian guard was walking away with a relaxed posture.  Ruith was smart.  The guard obviously figured Luxin Alba had been sensing another Luxin in the city below.  However, Noir knew Luxin Alba had sensed the use of lux from Ruith's direction.  He decided he'd better follow Finn and Ruith down the stairs before she spotted him and confirmed what she assumed.

              The three circled down the stairs rapidly.  Noir counted four full rotations before Finn slowed at the bottom.  They were now level with the ground inside the walls.  Fort Estelar rose above them high into the night sky.  A courtyard stood between them and the walls of the fort.  There were a few guards walking about.  A couple looked to be on guard duty and held glow spheres to see their surroundings while several more talked together.  A group of three men were wearing thick clothes and they were drinking and laughing loudly on occasion.  Unfortunately, they were leaning against the southern wall which was directly in the path they had planned on taking.

              “There are a lot of them,” Noir said.

              Finn looked back over his shoulder at Noir and said, “One of the hardest things about being sneaky is being patient.  We have to wait until the best opportunity to move, then execute the maneuver without hesitation.”

              “What if someone comes down the stairs?” asked Ruith.

              “Then we
make
our opportunity.”

              As if on cue, the sound of heavy leather boots descended the stairs in their direction.

Chapter 22

Destiny Trumps Will

              Finn grimaced and shook his head in frustration.  Finn whispered, “We have to fight.”

              “No,” Noir replied.  He looked up the stairs for a second thinking of what to do.  “I got it.  I bet it's that Luxin checking things out.  I have a plan.  Be ready to attack, but not unless I give the signal.”

              Finn cocked one eyebrow.  “I hope you know what you're doing.”

              Noir replied, “I think I do.”

              The footsteps drew near and the three faced the stairs.  As Noir had predicted, the Luxin Alba rounded the bend of the stairs.  She stopped mid-step when she saw the three of them.  She had a perplexed, surprised look on her face.

              Noir put up two cautioning hands.  “Wait.  Don't be alarmed.  I'm a Luxin too.”

              Luxin Alba took one step backward up the stairs.  “You're... the one I sensed,” she decided hesitantly.  Then her face hardened and she said more intensely, “You're intruders!”

              “Yes,” Noir placated quickly, again putting his hands out in caution.  “But I can see you trained with Fafnir.  You wouldn't have the Luxin armor if you didn't.”  Noir pulled aside his brown travel cloak to reveal his Luxin armor underneath.  “I trained with Fafnir too.  I am not your enemy.”

              Luxin Alba's brow furrowed.  “Just because we both trained with Fafnir doesn't mean anything.  I should sound the alarm.”

              Noir noticed she did not do what she said... at least yet.  “I assume they're paying you to be here?  To help guard or heal the soldiers.”  She didn't respond, so Noir continued, “We know for certain that the dragon of din, Nidhoggr, is being held prisoner in the caves beneath Estelar.  We're here to break him out.”

              The Luxin snarled, “You're insane!” then turned and sprinted back up the stairs.

              “Dammit!” yelled Finn as he whipped out his daggers.

              Noir immediately sent out a surge of lux and solidified the air in the female Luxin's throat and lungs.  Halfway around the bend in the spiral stairs, she lurched to a stop and grabbed at her throat.  Noir raced up the few steps to stand on the step above her.  Noir started to plead his case again, but noticed a flow of lux going from Luxin Alba's abdomen to the air above him.  Noir looked up just as a light barrier swung down in an attempt to bash Noir's head.  He pushed with his legs to dodge the attack, but found solidified air behind him.  The light barrier flew down with furious speed and everything went dark.

~~~

              Noir hadn't realized time had passed until he awoke with a start.  He saw Ruith standing over him.  He was lying on the stairs and Ruith held his hand to Noir's forehead.  Lux poured out of Ruith's hand into Noir and he felt pain and haziness melting away.

              Noir pushed away Ruith's hand and sat up.  “What happened?  I've never seen a Luxin use a light barrier as a weapon before.”

              Noir looked down the stairs to the landing where Finn was wrapping Luxin Alba's body in her white and yellow Luxin cloak.  The white fabric was splotched with dark red blood.

              “Finn!” Noir yelled.

              Ruith immediately shushed Noir.  Noir gritted his teeth and pushed Ruith away from him.  Noir rushed down the few steps to the ground.  “I told you to not kill anyone!”

              Finn looked seriously at Noir.  There was pain in his eyes.  Finn said bitterly, “I didn't want to, Noir.  It was the only way.  Your plan failed.”

              Ruith stepped down to the ground as well and put a hand on Noir's arm.  “Noir,” he said, “there was never much of a chance of this working without having to shed some blood.  We should be glad it wasn't our blood that was shed.”

              “I... I know.”  Noir shook his head and looked away from the Luxin's body.  “This isn't good.  Her body will be found or someone will notice her absence.”

              Finn finished wrapping Luxin Alba's body in her cloak and stood up.  “No, it's not good, but we still have a chance.  The mission isn't over yet.”  He looked at Noir with determination.  “We will just have to be even quicker.  Your cousin and the dragon still need us to try.”

              Noir sighed.  “I know.  I just wish this didn't have to happen.”

              Ruith offered solemnly, “You have to break some eggs to make an omelet.”  A memory flashed through his mind.  His father used to use that phrase on occasion.

              The three hid the Luxin's body behind the stairs as best as possible, but it was a fair chance that the next person to come that way would see it.  There wasn't anything they could do about it.

              Finn again surveyed the courtyard.  “Are you guys any good at acting?”

              “That's a random thing to ask us at a time like this,” Noir replied.

              “On the contrary.  It's incredibly relevant.”

              Ruith denied sternly, “I am no actor.”

              Noir agreed, “Neither am I.”

              “Great,” Finn jeered sarcastically.  “The biggest stealth operation of my life and I've got two allies who can't act.  Despite what you'd think, acting is one of a ninja's most powerful tools.  Acting like you belong somewhere is often much more effective than hiding.”

              Ruith growled, “You're wasting time.  I still fail to see how this is relevant.”

              “It's relevant, my friend, because it's how you two are going to get in.”  As Finn spoke, he swung his pack over his shoulder and rummaged around inside.  “I am going to make a diversion while you two sneak in.”  He pulled out a sturdy, metal crowbar and handed it to Noir.  “Use this to pry open the grate on the western wall there.”  Finn pointed.  Then he pulled off his brown cloak and stuffed it in his pack.  It clinked as hidden daggers and throwing knives jostled within. 

              Ruith whispered intensely, “We remember the plan, Finn.  However, you making a diversion was never part of it.”

              Finn smiled and undid his hard leather vest and stuffed it in his pack as well.  He wore simple brown and white clothes underneath.  “It's called improvising, my friend.”

              Noir and Ruith were both surprised as Finn slung his pack over his shoulder and walked straight out of the stairwell.

              Finn walked straight to the men who were laughing and drinking.  He walked quickly and confidently.  The men didn't even notice his presence until he said, “Hey, guys.  Sorry to bother you.”

              The three men turned and looked at Finn with confusion.  “Who are you?” one asked drunkenly.

              Finn circled around the three men and took a step backwards.  Finn said with feigned hesitance, “I'm a new recruit.  I just got in from Inteal to start my training, but I'm not sure where to go.”

              The man closest to Finn furrowed his brow.  “Where's your supervising officer?”

              Noir was impressed at how quickly Finn adapted and spouted a new lie.  “He told me to go to the armory and that he'd be there in a minute, but I have no idea where that is.”  Finn took a couple steps away from the men and pointed.  “He said the eastern entrance was closest to where we were.  Is it that way?”

              The other two men stepped away from the wall and followed Finn.  Noir realized he was leading them away from where Noir and Ruith needed to go.

              “You sure did get lost,” one of the men stammered. “You're all the way over at the western wall now.”  The other two laughed drunkenly.  Finn continued to take small steps away from the western wall.  He took small enough steps that the other three absentmindedly closed the gap between them.

              “So, should I just go in the main entrance now?” Finn asked.  Noir was impressed at the subtle movements that Finn did to manipulate the three men.  He turned around as if to walk along with the three men, then started walking.  They followed a few more steps.

              “He's good,” Noir whispered to Ruith.

              One of the men offered, “Yeah, just go in the main gate.  It'll be to the right, but you gotta check in at the soldier barracks first.”

              The path ahead of Noir and Ruith was clear.  No guards were anywhere near the western wall.  Noir said, “I think it's now or never.”

              Ruith nodded.  “Let's go.”

              Noir and Ruith crouched low and pressed themselves against the western wall.  There was a slight drop in the landscape in that direction, so hopefully no one in the courtyard would see them if they stayed low.  Also, only someone on the wall who was leaning over and specifically looking straight down would see them.  They moved quickly and kept an eye on Finn and the four drunken men.

              Finn continued his story, but Noir saw his eyes flash toward them.  “Where are the barracks?”

              “Right hallway.  Someone else will tell you inside.”

              One of the other men asked, “Who is your supervising officer, anyway?  He's supposed to stay with you constantly when you're a new recruit.”

              Finn smiled and ran a hand through his hair.  “Oh, what was his name?  Na something... Nor...

              “Corporal Noraddin?” one of the men offered.

              Finn shook his head, “No, that's not right.”

              “I bet it was Private Nevel.  I knew that idiot wasn't ready to be a supervising officer.”

              Finn nodded resolutely.  “Yeah, Private Nevel.”

              Noir and Ruith finally reached the end of the courtyard and hoisted themselves over a short, decorative metal fence.  Finn and the other men were out of sight and earshot, so they ran along the fence.  They then ran the short distance along the side of the fort until they reached their entry point.

              The scene was just as Finn had described.  Water had cut into the dirt making a tiny eroded canyon.  It connected to a dug-out water trough along the side of the outer wall.  However, they were more interested in the source of the water.  Vines and moss grew up to meet the metal grate in the side of the fort.  It was barely big enough for a man to crawl inside.

              Noir took the crowbar Finn had given him and shoved its flat side against the seam between the metal grate and the stone that surrounded it.  Noir pushed the crowbar as hard as he could in several places but couldn't slide it in the seam.  Ruith growled, “We don’t have time for this,” and grabbed the crowbar.  “Let me.”

              Ruith slid the bar between two of the bars of the grate and pushed.  The bar bent slightly, then opposite side of the grate flew open with a jerk.  Ruith handed the crowbar to Noir, then put a foot against the wall and pulled on the opened grate.  The whole thing creaked, then pulled away in his hands.

              “Good job,” Noir said.

              “We have to hurry.  They could find the body any second.”

              Ruith gently put the broken grate behind a small bush  as Noir started to climb in the opening.  Noir quickly realized that he was too wide with his shoulder pauldrons on.

              “You have to go first.  I have to take these off,” Noir said as he started to undo the leather straps that held the pauldrons in place.

              “Hurry,” Ruith commanded as he pushed his pack into the opening in front of him and started to climb in.  Just then a rapid bell started to ring from somewhere fairly close.  Several other bells joined in and men’s voices could be heard shouting on the walls above.

              “The alarm!”  Ruith exclaimed.  “They must have found Luxin Alba’s body!”

              “Or they found out Finn isn’t who he said he is,” Noir mused gloomily.

              “We can’t worry about it,” Ruith said as he pulled himself into the tight opening.  “Hurry, Noir.”

              Ruith’s body slowly disappeared into the small opening.  Noir found himself looking around frantically while he waited for his turn.  He stuffed his left pauldron into his pack and started on his right.  He heard a group of armored soldiers running by on the top of the wall and he hoped they didn’t check the courtyard below them.  Noir looked at the grate that leaned against the stone wall of the fort behind the bush and worried about how easy it was to spot.  Thinking fast, Noir moved the grate to just below the opening.

              Ruith had disappeared inside the stone opening and whispered back, “Hurry, Noir.”  Noir put his right pauldron in his pack as well, pulled his pack closed, and stuffed it in first like Ruith had.  Noir pulled himself into the opening and found that the floor of the tiny passage was covered in slime from decades of water traveling down it.  It instantly made the bottom of his pack wet and dirty and he knew that his own clothes and armor wouldn’t fare much better.

Once Noir's feet were inside, Noir peered over his shoulder.  He could just barely see outside where the grate lay.  Noir made a small flow of lux, solidified the air around the bars of the grate, and pulled it up behind himself.  Once it was in place, he pulled the air with lux as hard as he could.  A loud, metal screech rang out.  Noir let the solidified air dissipate and the grate held firmly in place.