Heirs of the Enemy (36 page)

“I see you found us,” welcomed Tedi. “Why such secrecy? Is someone on to us?”

“No,” answered Garth, “and we need to make sure that it stays that way. Did anyone see either of you tonight?”

“Not a soul,” answered Natia. “You said to remain invisible. Gypsies are good at that.”

“I still do not understand the need for such secrecy,” frowned Tedi. “Natia and I are well known in Valdo. We have no need to sneak around, and neither should you.”

“Our trip into Valdo must not be recorded this time,” explained Garth. “I do not want to be noticed entering or leaving. I do not even want to risk registering for a room.”

“So that is why we are meeting in the forest,” Natia nodded in understanding, “but why are we sneaking around in the forest?”

“Because there are thousands of soldiers all around us,” answered Garth. “The Aertan generals are moving their armies into the Bloodwood to be nearer to Camp Destiny just in case the emperor gives the order to attack Alcea. There are soldiers camped out all along Blood Highway, and I don’t want anyone to know that we have been anywhere near Valdo come morning.”

“Uh oh,” remarked Tedi. “I suspect that something very nasty is going to happen in the city this night. What are we going to do?”

“Kill a priest.”

“Yup,” nodded Tedi. “That will create quite a disturbance, but that still doesn’t explain your need for stealth. We have killed demonkin before. Why is this time different?”

“Because this is the first of many,” answered Garth. “There are only six K’sans left, and I intend to kill them all, and within a very short time frame. It is important that we not be seen in any of the cities, or someone will be able to piece things together. We need to sneak in, kill the priest, and sneak back out before the body is discovered.”

“You are worried about the priest you and Jenneva killed in Farmin?” asked Natia.

Garth nodded. “The other demonkin we killed in Zara were circumstances of opportunity, but we lured the priest in Farmin to his death. I am sure that the other demonkin will be expecting trouble.”

“So they won’t be out walking the city streets at night?” asked Tedi.

“We should be so lucky,.” Garth shook his head. “I imagine that there will be times when they are forced to leave the temple, but those times will be fewer now than before.”

“Wait a minute,” frowned Tedi. “Are you suggesting that we are going to sneak into Valdo, enter the temple, kill the priest, and escape all in one night? Just the three of us? I don’t mind a challenging mission, but this borders on suicide. Do you even have any idea how many people are in the temple?”

“Over sixty,” answered Garth. “Strangler’s men have been keeping an eye on the temple for me.”

“And he knows where the priest sleeps?” asked Natia.

“He had a man inside the temple over a year ago,” Garth replied. “He has a complete drawing of the building, but to answer your question, no. The reason is that the demonkin do not sleep. They have no need for a sleeping chamber.”

“They don’t sleep?” frowned Natia.

“Think about it,” said Garth. “In all the temples we attacked, did you ever see a sleeping chamber for the priests?”

“So he will be in his office?” asked Tedi.

“That is what I am hoping,” answered Garth. “If not, we will have to improvise.”

“Without a mage to aid us,” Natia said softly. “Shouldn’t we wait until Kalina returns from whatever she is doing?”

“We can’t wait,” answered Garth. “If the invasion is to begin within the month, we cannot afford to have these demonkin around where they can aid the armies of the Federation. The time for waiting is past. It is a time for action.”

Tedi sighed anxiously and nodded. “Lead the way.”

“Bitsy and Button will precede us,” stated Garth. “Bitsy knows where we need to go, and Button will relay Bitsy’s instructions to us. Release Button and follow me closely.”

Tedi stirred his fairy to life and whispered instructions to her. The two fairies took to the skies silently as the Knights of Alcea mounted their unicorns. The clearing was small, and Kymia backed towards the tree line to get enough room to take off. The other unicorns followed Kymia’s lead. With a powerful running leap, the black unicorn shot upwards, barely clearing the tops of the surrounding trees. The other two unicorns followed immediately.

The night was moonless, but brilliant stars studded the black sky. To avoid being seen be a chance stargazer, the unicorns skimmed the treetops, their powerful wings beating only enough to maintain speed and direction. Every few minutes, a tiny, winged woman darted to the ears of Kymia and then disappeared into the darkness again. The Knights of Alcea did not speak, even when the unicorns banked sharply to avoid some unseen foe below. As the minutes dragged by, the Knights of Alcea watched the changing terrain beneath them. The forest ended briefly as they soared over the Coastal Road and then back over forest, but a much younger forest than the one they had started the journey from. Another sharp bank and the lights of the distant city came into view.

Garth gazed anxiously at the city as the tall wall loomed before him. His eyes scanned the lights of the city and the top of the wall for any signs of life, knowing that detection at this stage of the attack would mean discovery and almost certain death. The section of the wall chosen by the fairies was empty of human life, and the section of the city just beyond the wall was devoid of light. The unicorns sailed over the wall and immediately descended onto a dark city street. Their wings disappeared, and the unicorns turned into the first alley they came upon. Garth slid off Kymia’s back, and the gypsies followed his lead. Garth moved to a door at the end of the alley and eased it open. He slipped inside and waited for Tedi and Natia to follow before closing the door.

“Lead the way, Bitsy,” Garth said softly.

The fairy did not respond verbally, but a soft glow of light suddenly appeared near a corner of the room. The Knights of Alcea moved towards it and saw a stairwell leading down to the basement. As the fairy flew downstairs, the Knights followed. Once in the basement, Bitsy led the Alcean warriors across a crate strewn floor to a small alcove.

“There is a trap door under that piece of cloth,” stated the fairy. “Open it and I will check out the sewers.”

As Garth opened the trap door, Tedi looked around anxiously.

“Where is Button?”

“She is guiding the unicorns to the place where they are to wait,” answered Bitsy. “She will join us in the sewers.”

The tiny woman extinguished her fairy light and darted into the sewers. A few minutes later she returned. “The sewers are empty.”

“Why are they empty?” Natia asked nervously.

“Strangler is helping us,” answered Garth. “He will be the only person in Valdo to know of our visit. I asked him to remove his people from the sewers for tonight.”

“You had this all planned?” Tedi asked accusingly. “I thought you were merely dragging us into a hasty battle.”

“It is not all planned,” Garth replied, “but our access to the temple is, as well as our escape if we manage to get out of the temple alive. There is little planning that could be done within the temple.”

Garth climbed down into the sewers and waited for the others to follow. Once again, Bitsy led the way, using her fairy light to guide the Knights of Alcea through the maze of twisting passages. As they approached a major intersection of tunnels, the fairy light unexpectedly winked out. Bitsy flew to Garth’s shoulder.

Strangler is around the corner,” whispered the little blue woman. “I will return to my pocket now. Warn Tedi that Button will soon seek the safety of his pocket.”

Garth silently reached out to Tedi and tapped the pocket where Button usually slept. Tedi nodded with understanding. A moment later Button glided silently through the sewer and climbed into her pocket. For several moments the Knights of Alcea stood in the dark and listened to the sounds of the sewers. Other than the distant scurrying of a rat, nothing moved. Garth gently touched Tedi and Natia and then slowly stepped forward. The three Knights of Alcea rounded the corner of the intersection and halted.

“Strangler?” Garth said softly.

“Mercy!” exclaimed Strangler as he jumped away from the wall. “I didn’t hear you coming. Don’t scare me like that.”

“I am sorry,” Garth smiled broadly. “Are you ready?”

“As soon as my heart starts beating again,” sighed the thief. “When will the others arrive?”

“They are here,” answered Garth.

The sound of a striker split the silence and a torch flared to life. Strangler held the torch above his head and stared at the three Knights of Alcea.

“I thought you were joking,” Strangler said in awe as he nodded to Tedi and Natia. “I am glad that the Federation does not have silent stalkers like you three. My band would be eliminated in no time. Follow me.”

The head thief of Valdo led the Knights of Alcea through a long, winding journey under the streets of the city. Several times they had to climb ladders to access different levels of the sewers. As they progressed towards the temple area of the city, the tunnels grew narrower and older. Eventually, he halted next to a narrow break in the wall. While the stones under his feet were stained from use, the stains were old and the stones were dry. Strangler placed the torch on the ground and squeezed into the narrow passage. The others followed. The narrow passage ran about the length of a city block before ending in a small chamber. The chamber was too dark to see anything, but Garth felt a metal ladder on the wall as the four people crammed into the tight chamber.

“This is directly under the temple,” Strangler said softly. “The man we had inside last year mentioned two areas where the basement of the temple accessed the sewers. There is an access hatch that is still used. It empties in one of the large sewer tunnels. That entrance is not far from where we are right now, but it does not connect directly to this older sewer system. You would not be able to safely enter or exit through that hatch.”

“And this one?” asked Garth.

“This one has been unused for many years,” answered Strangler. “It leads to an area of the basement that is no longer in use. I think it used to be cells of some kind. If you can get through the trap door, you should be able to access the temple without anyone knowing about it. The problem is that this hatch hasn’t opened in years. It may be rusted shut.”

“We will deal with that,” stated Garth. “If they try to pursue us into the sewers using the other hatch, can they cut us off from where we met you this evening?”

“Not easily,” answered Strangler. “This old section of the sewers is no longer used. They would have to work their way to one of the ladders connecting the two levels and then double back. Unless you dally too long, they should not be able to catch you underground.”

“Underground?” echoed Natia. “What if they traveled the city streets?”

“Then they could catch you,” answered the thief, “but they would have to know which direction you were going. That is rather hard to do if they have no one following you. That is the beauty of using the sewers.”

“Excellent,” smiled Garth. “You have done well, Strangler. Thank you for your help.”

“You can thank me later,” replied the thief. “After we come out with our lives intact.”

“You are not coming with us,” Garth said sternly. “I thought I had made that clear.”

“You said that you didn’t want the help of any of my men,” retorted Strangler. “I alone will accompany you.”

“No,” Garth insisted. “This is not your fight. I want you out of the sewers as quickly as you can. If we are pursued, there will likely be magic in use. I do not want you or your people involved in any way. Your time to fight is fast approaching, but it is not this night.”

Strangler sighed and nodded in the darkness. “If I did not know the three of you better, I would call you crazy, but I respect you too much to interfere in your plans. I will bring in the torch before I leave.”

“Just leave,” replied Garth. “This is too small a chamber to have a torch. We would just gag on the smoke. Travel safely, my friend. May we meet another day.”

The Knights of Alcea listened to the thief’s footsteps as he retreated from the small chamber. When his footsteps had faded in the distance, Garth roused Bitsy and ordered her to create a fairy lantern. The Knights of Alcea studied the small chamber. It was barely large enough for three people to stand abreast in each direction. There was a single metal ladder climbing one of the walls, and an old rusty hatch at the top of it. Garth reached out and felt the ladder. Rust flaked off in his hand, and he sighed anxiously.

“We will have to be careful with the ladder,” he announced. “Make no sudden movements while on it. And try to keep your feet away from the center of the rungs. Tedi, use your staff to open the hatch, but try to be quiet about it.”

The gypsy prince nodded and carefully climbed the ladder. He reached up and felt the hatch, causing a rainfall of rust flakes. Natia and Garth moved as far away from the base of the ladder as the small chamber allowed. Tedi tested the worthiness of the hatch and then sighed again. He gripped his staff in one hand while holding the rusty ladder with the other. He lightly poked the latch area of the hatch. The soft sound was magnified by the smallness of the chamber. A downpour of rust fell, but the hatch did not open. Tedi hit it a little harder, and more rust fell. Gritting his teeth, the gypsy prince gave an even harder poke. The hatch popped open with a loud tearing noise that bellowed like thunder in the sewer. The Knights of Alcea froze, but Bitsy immediately doused her light and shot through the opening. A few moments later, she returned.

“Free Button,” chirped Bitsy. “We will scout the way for you.”

Tedi nodded and climbed up into the temple. He released Button while the other two Knights climbed the ladder. The room they had emerged into was indeed an old area of the basement that held narrow cells. The hatch was in a large open room with manacles chained to the walls. Tedi shuddered as he remembered the time he and Arik had been imprisoned in a temple in Cleb. His arms and legs began to itch just thinking about it, and he sighed as he pushed those thoughts away.