Anais and the Broken War (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 5) (12 page)

WHILE WE WOVE through the city at breakneck speed, we passed shops and taverns and rows of houses. Through the corner of my eye, I watched the citizens of the city starting their day, sweeping steps and unlocking front doors. Wheelbarrows and carts filled with goods were transported to the market square. Children played on the streets. The general populous were unaware of the looming threat that was about to engulf them.

Running out of breath, I fell to a stop. Fynn turned and jogged back to me.

“Should we warn them?” I asked as I gasped for air.

“No,” Fynn said. “It wouldn’t do any good.”

“But…”

“Ani, we don’t have time to stop. I think I know how we can get across the mountains. But we must go now.”

“Zilla and Tatiana and Jacarda…”

“Where are they?”

“In Jacarda’s townhouse near Beene Street.”

“No,” he said. “I’m sorry. But we aren’t diverting that far.”
 

“Are you certain there’s not enough time?” I asked as I caught his arm. “I don’t want to leave them…”

“Gorman was right about me. I don’t care about much beyond my survival. You can come with me, or you can stay here. The choice is yours.” Fynn’s eyes were hard as he proffered the ultimatum. I had always thought of him as being a kind hearted, selfless young man. But perhaps fear scrapes us all down to our true selves.

As I thought about the three women cowering in a little room beneath Jacarda’s townhouse, I knew I didn’t want to leave them. They couldn’t defend themselves–not against what was coming.

“Fynn...”

“I’m not waiting for you. You either come with me now, or you stay here,” he said, his jaw set and desperation in his eyes. I didn’t think I could persuade him to try to save them. I didn’t know if it would be folly to try. Perhaps the right thing, the hard thing, would have been to stay and hold my ground. But I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t strong enough, and I knew it in my bones. I was only going to die–to be one more body for the furies to tear apart as they destroyed the city. I could see no hope.
 

“Are you coming or not?” he asked.

There was never time for hesitation. Life was composed of an endless series of irrevocable choices. When it came down to it, I wasn’t ready to throw away my life. I was going to abandon them, and there would be no question as to my culpability, for I was about to forsake my friends.
 

I closed my eyes and nodded. “I’m with you.”

I followed Fynn along the cobbled streets, past the market and the arena, to the northwest corner of the city. I had never gone so far in this direction. There was a northern gate and a western gate, but in the northwest corner, there was just the wall, which seemed so high as to be impassable. A copse of wild bushes partially obscured a tiny house embedded in the stone. After Fynn pushed open the door of the little cottage, we entered. As I examined the disheveled room that looked like it had been abandoned long ago, Fynn walked over to the far wall, which was composed of staggered bricks. After pushing two of the bricks, they slid into the wall readily, as if they were greased. Then, he pushed on the wall with his hands, but it didn’t budge. He shoved his shoulder hard against the wall, as if he expected the entire thing to move.

“Help me,” he asked.

I joined him, and we both pressed our weight against the wall. Finally, we heard a faint pop and the wall shifted inward. We kept pushing until the wall had moved enough to reveal a narrow opening, which exposed a dark passageway. Fynn squeezed inside, and I followed him. After he pulled a lantern off a hook on the inside of the passage, he started feeling around the wall, his face losing color.

“Shyte. There’s no flint and steel set. There’s no way we’re making it through without any light. Shyte. Shyte. Shyte.”

While I stared at the lantern’s wick, it erupted into a tiny flame, which settled into dim illumination.

“Oh, I didn’t know you could do that,” Fynn said.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
 

“No doubt.”

Exhaustion was seeping into my bones. I wanted to sleep, but I wanted us to be safe before we rested.
 

“Where are we going, Fynn?”

“Let’s just push the wall back and I’ll explain.”

After we had shoved the wall until it clicked into place, I deflated against one of the sides of the passage. Though the wall was just hard-packed dirt, it felt oddly comfortable. “I have to rest, Fynn. I’m sorry, but I can’t move.”

Fynn dropped down into a seated position and leaned against the wall of the passage opposing the side I was resting on. “I’m sorry for insisting we move quickly. I just…”

“I know. You were afraid. You don’t have to apologize.” I paused. “Where are we?”

“You don’t recognize this place?” he asked with a snort. “This isn’t the first time you’ve been here. This is how I got us into the city after our exploit with the furies on the road. This passage leads down into a rat’s nest of tunnels. One of the passages leads out to a grove near the road. One of them leads to the skin’s training grounds. One of them leads to the Abbey. One of them leads to an underground pass through the mountains to Courtshire. There are others, but I don’t know where they all go.”

“Where are we going?”

“Courtshire. This is the way I brought Cedric and Mediera. The fat man sent a guide with us who met us in the tunnels. He only showed me a glimpse of where they were going, in case I needed to take over, but I can find my way. You know, I would have fled with them if the fat man hadn’t been pulling my strings. Finally, I can go. I sincerely appreciate that you broke his hold on me. I would not have liked to have died with the other skins today. It didn’t look like a pleasant way to go.”

“I wish Gorman were with us,” I whispered. “I should have saved him too.”

“He didn’t want to be saved.” Fynn paused. “Ani, why didn’t you bury them? I saw what you did last time. You could have wiped out every fury on the field. Why didn’t you?”
 

My eyes fluttered open. “I feared I would lose control and end up killing Gorman and the other skins if I went too far. Though I tried to help, it didn’t seem to do much good. By the time I realized that the skins were lost, it was too late. The furies were already climbing over the wall.”

“Oh.”

I closed my eyes again. “Let me sleep for a little, okay?”

“As you like. I think we’re safe here. At least, for a little while.”

As Fynn twisted a dial on the lamp, inky darkness enveloped us.

The sound of scratching woke us. It was still dark as pitch. Reaching for the lamp with my mind, I forced the wick to flicker to life. Once the passage was lit, I jumped to my feet. Fynn was already standing. We stared at each other with wide eyes. Neither of us said a word as we slowly backed away from the stone wall, hoping that whatever was scratching wouldn’t figure out how to open the secret door.

Fynn led the way down the passage, which got rockier as it gradually descended into the earth. The sides of the passage gleamed with uncut stones. There was a fortune in gems embedded in these walls. If I had time, I would have bought tools so I might try to chip them out. But, as it were, I could only dream about it. Soon we came to an intersection that branched off in four directions. Fynn selected a route, and we moved forwards. For what felt like hours, we walked. Dozens of twists and turns and forks confused the path. I hoped Fynn was making the right choices. If I had been alone, I would have gotten horribly lost down here. After a time, the light from the lamp touched trickles of water running down the rock face of the side of the passage.
 

“Water,” I tried to say, realizing my throat was parched.

I put my dry lips to the wet stone and drank until I was sated. Fynn joined me. He must have been just as thirsty.

“I’m sorry,” Fynn said after he had finished drinking. “We should have brought food and water with us. Cedric and Lady Mediera had packs of provisions. There just wasn’t time…”

“It’s not your fault. I’m just grateful we escaped.”

“There should be food once we reach the mining carts,” he promised.

I considered asking what he meant but felt too tired to force the words out.

We continued walking until the passage opened into a vast space. A mess of glowworms covered the ceiling. The long silk threads descending from their bodies shined a fluorescent blue, providing lines of illumination. In front of us were four mining carts lined up on tracks, which extended into the distances spanning a deep crevice. I looked down, not able to see a bottom. The fissure seemed to extend infinitely into boundless depths.

Fynn opened the door to one of the mining carts, which squeaked on rusty hinges. I looked at the rails more carefully. They appeared as if they might fold under the weight of the cart and drop us into the endless black pit.

“Please tell me we aren’t going to ride over that.”
 

“It’s the only way across,” Fynn said.
 

I gripped the edge of the cart and looked down over the cliff’s edge again. I groaned. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have a choice. Turning back isn’t an option.”

While I followed him into the cart, it wobbled. Once it settled, I collapsed into the hard cold metal seat. After Fynn yanked the door closed, he sat on the metal seat opposing me. He reached under the seat and pulled out a bulky sack. Inside were four waterskins and enough dried food to last for weeks. After he pulled out food and drink for himself, he handed me the bag. I extracted some biscuits and dried fruit and devoured it quickly, barely registering the taste of it on my tongue. I washed down the food with a swig from the waterskin and handed the bag back to Fynn. Once he was done eating, he stuffed the bag along with the lantern under his seat.

Although the cart was set on wheels, I wasn’t sure exactly how we would manage to make the cart move. Fynn reached down the side of the cart and wound up the crank. The cart slowly inched forward until we hit the part of the tracks that extended over the edge of the cliff. As the slope of the tracks started to decline, the cart picked up momentum. We rolled faster and faster, and my knuckles turned white as my grip on the cart tightened. Air whipped by my face. It felt like we could be flung out of the cart at any moment. My stomach started to churn. I wanted to vomit, but I feared moving my head over the edge of the cart as it sped along. So I hunkered down and closed my eyes. Eventually, this would have to end.
 

Mercifully, after what felt like the forever, the cart started to slow down. I opened my eyes to find that we were still sitting on the track in the middle of empty space. Gems glittered on the top of the cavern lit by the glowworms and their threads of blue light. Nothing else existed in our world besides the tracks, which seemed to be floating in the open air with no support. I closed my eyes again, wishing I were somewhere else.

“I think we have to wind it up again,” Fynn said.

“You
think
?” I snorted. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Well, I didn’t get this far the first time. I have no idea what happens now. The guide the fat man sent did this part with Cedric and Mediera.”

I gulped before vomiting over the side of the cart. There was no telltale splash of vomit hitting a solid surface. There was just the swish of it falling, followed by silence.

“Are you all right?” he asked.
 

“Just wind it up okay,” I said and then closed my eyes again, wanting this experience to end.

The cart inched along before picking up pace and careening forward. I curled up tighter, trying to disappear into myself. After what must have been hours, the cart screeched to a halt as it rolled onto a rock cliff. We were safely on solid ground this time. I clamored over the edge of the cart and fell to my hands and knees. I shook so hard that I feared I wouldn’t be able to stand.

Fynn stepped out of the cart, placed a hand on my back, and patted me gently. The shaking started to subside, and I took a deep breath. “We should probably start moving,” I said.
 

“Wait,” Fynn replied, before stepping back in the cart. He pulled the bag of food out from under the seat and started eating again. “Do you want something to eat?” he offered.

I shook my head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

He nodded. “Suit yourself.” After he slung the bag over his shoulder, he pulled the lantern out from underneath the seat and tied its handle to his belt.
 

We were standing on a compact dirt precipice, facing a wall. I was glad that Fynn had not forgotten the lantern. Once we were outside this section of the cavern, there was no guarantee that glowworms would be available to light our way.
 

At the edge of the wall, a narrow rope ladder with wooden handles extended upwards. I couldn’t see where it ended. It just went up and up.

“Do you think you can manage climbing?” Fynn asked.

I shrugged. “We’ll find out, I suppose.”

“Maybe you should go first,” Fynn suggested. “It might be safer if I take up the rear.”