The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold (12 page)

“
I haven’t got the keys,” the guard said.

Alec didn’t believe him. “Let’s go walk over to their cells and ask them if you ever opened the doors before,” he suggested prodding with the sword again.

They walked over to the door of Brandeis’s cell, and Alec called his name loudly. There was a shuffling sound from the other side of the door, and Alec looked in through the slotted window, to see Brandeis arising from his cot and walking towards the door. “Brandeis! Has this guard ever unlocked your door?” he asked.

“
Alec? Alec! Alec, you’re out there! What? Yes, that guard has opened my door several times,” rapideis responded.

Alec smacked the back of the guard’s head hard. “Open the door, now,” he said strongly. The guard reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of keys, from which he selected one and opened the door to set the young Locksfort free. “Now, the girl. Open her door too,” Alec ordered before Brandeis was even through the open door.

Brandeis gave Alec a wordless hug, then the two followed the guard to the next door over. “How did you do this? What do we do now? We’ll rouse the whole family when we tell them how far Aunt Mooreen has gone! This is unacceptable,” he shot out in staccato fashion.

Alec watched the cell door swing open, and then stepped in front of the doorway, where Noranda could see him. “Is this some trick?” she asked, standing and taking hesitant steps towards the door.

“
It’s no trick, Noranda. You’re free,” Alec announced. He reached out his arm and grabbed Brandeis, pulling him into Noranda’s view. “It’s time for us to go,” he explained simply.

The girl came bounding out and wrapped both boys in a fierce hug that pulled them all together. “Alright, now you get in the cell, and give me the keys,” Alec instructed the guard. Alec locked the second guard into the cell Noranda had occupied moments before.

He turned to look at Noranda and Brandeis. He was reveling in the joy of feeling his ingenaire powers flowing through his spirit and body, and he was eager to find action somewhere. “What happened to your face?” Noranda asked, her finger gingerly touching a line on his cheek that he knew was the scar from Mooreen’s attack.

“
Your aunt sliced my face open,” he said quickly. He looked at Brandeis and Noranda closely, and saw that Brandeis also had bruises and welts on his face and arms, as well as probably in other places. He started to reach out to heal him, then realized that his warrior powers were engaged. He remembered the results of his Bondell beach experience when he had used healing and warrior powers together, and stopped. He then realized that if he released his warrior powers now, he would only be able to re-engage them under certain circumstances, and he wasn’t sure what those were. Probably this was the time he was using his powers for himself. Probably.

Alec withdrew his hand to puzzled looks. “I was going to heal your wounds, but I better wait a while until we’re safer,” he gave a cryptic explanation. “Do either of you know how to get out of here, and where should we go?” he asked.

“
We can get out of here if you can sneak us past a dozen guards,” Noranda said. “Then we need to get out to the countryside and run as far and as fast as we can.”

“
No,” Brandeis said unexpectedly and sharply. “We can’t run away. This has to stop. Mooreen can’t do this to folks any more. We need to find all the cousins and tell them what happened, and lead them to change this.”

“
Who will agree to risk their lives and fortune for change?” Noranda asked. “All our family is happy to sit back and let Mooreen make the money that lets them fro in the taverns and live in a palace of riches,” she said bitterly. “I was the same way for a long time.”

“
They’ve never been told any different. If they hear the message from people like us, people just like them, maybe they’ll realize,” Brandeis countered. “You and I, we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. We need to stand up to make sure things are right, so we can feel good about ourselves from the start.

“
I know you’re right about how easy life is. I’ve enjoyed it for a long time myself. Maybe that’s what it will take, is hearing it from our own. I just know we have to try. People like Alec shouldn’t be tortured,” Brandeis finished with a gesture towards Alec’s face.

“
No, people like Alec shouldn’t be tortured,” Noranda agreed in a much softer tone. “What do you think Alec? If we get out of this basement, and we get into the family quarters, we’ll be at risk of recapture or worse if the cousins don’t want to put themselves into rebellion. If we lose, you’ll suffer the most. You tell us what to do.”

Brandeis looked stunned as he realized Noranda was right about the jeopardy Alec would face. “I hadn’t considered that,” he admitted. “Alec, you shouldn’t face that. Just get us out, and then you can leave the city. You’ve already done your share right here.”

“
No,” Alec said. “I’ll fight for you. I have to. I care for Noranda, for both of you. I’ll be the best weapon you have – better than you realize. So let’s just get out of here and go find your cousins so that you can start to change the way your family treats the world.”

Noranda took the lead, and they went up a dark series of stairs, then down a hallway, until they arrived at a dirty, dark metal door. “There will be people on the other side of this door, in a room. On the left is another door, which is where we need to go,” she told Alec as they traded places.

Alec pushed on the door and rushed into the center of the room beyond, catching four guards unarmed and unprepared. Using his ingenaire abilities, he killed one, wounded one, and herded the other two into a corner in a matter of seconds, then moved all of them into the hallway his group had just come through. With two quick thrusts he jammed two swords into the door frame, effectively locking their opponents on the other side of the doorway.

Brandeis looked at him in astonishment. “I saw you fight in the tavern by the river, but this was even more amazing!”

“
I am here to fight for your success,” Alec replied. “Where do we go next?”

“
This hallway and stairwell will take us to the storerooms for the main stables,” Noranda told him.

“
Where will we go from there?” he asked.

“
We need to go see Durer and Johanna,” Brandeis replied.

“
Do you think they’re still free? Why weren’t they captured along with the two of you? Maybe they’re being heomeplace else,” Alec pointed out.

“
We don’t have any way to know unless we go find out,” Noranda answered. “Taking all of us into captivity, especially Durer, would really raise the hair on the back of the necks of the cousins.”

“
Let’s go to Durer’s room, and if he’s not there, we can slip down the back steps and ask a couple of others what is happening. We can escape from there a couple of different ways,” Brandeis suggested.

Alec didn’t know any of those ways or the layout of the Locksfort compound. “You lead the way then. Are there any open areas we need to go through, or places to beware of?”

“
As soon as we leave the stables we’ll go through a courtyard. After that we can stay under cover,” Brandeis replied, as he started to move forward. In less than two minutes they came to the stable doorway to the courtyard. “Over there. That arch is where we’re going. Should we run, or try to act casual and stroll?”

“
Let’s try not to draw attention. You go out first, then Noranda a little behind, and I’ll go last,” Alec answered. He watched Brandeis walk at a comfortable pace, his head low and face obscured. The sunlight was coming at an angle behind them. “Is that sun rising or setting?” Alec asked Noranda, although the warm temperature made him suspect it was a late afternoon setting sun.

“
It’s in the west on that side,” the girl answered, then kissed him on the cheek impulsively. “See you over there,” she added, and started to walk away.

Alec looked all around the courtyard. Someone was watching from an upper floor window on the right. Another face joined the first, but he didn’t recognize either one. Then a third face joined the other two, and he did recognize former Goldenfields Guard captain Elcome, the traitor who had betrayed his duke, and betrayed Alec, sinking the young healer’s reputation with nasty rumors that had forced him to leave Goldenfields at one time. Alec felt his rage start to build, and he fantasized about meeting Elcome in battle.

Suddenly, a dramatic movement from the archway where Brandeis was just walking into shadows caught Alec’s attention. A loud oath was yelled, and Alec could see a large group of guards attacking Brandeis, who slumped a split second before a scream reached Alec’s ears.

Noranda, in the middle of the courtyard, screamed again. She started to run toward Brandeis. With his ingenaire powers still fully engaged, Alec bolted from his darkened doorway and went streaking across the yard. He caught up with and passed Noranda, then flew into the crowd of guards that were starting to spill out into the courtyard. Alec’s wrist and forearm swiveled as he flung his sword about wildly, slashing at men to harm them and drive them away from both Noranda and Brandeis.

The Locksfort’s guards were unprepared for the battle with a warrior ingenaire, and those who were uninjured in the first fifteen seconds rapidly panicked and began to withdraw. Without trying to examine him, Alec bent and picked up the unconscious Brandeis, then saw the large pool of blood on the ground beneath the body. He slung the body over his shoulder, turned, and sta return to the stables, grabbing Noranda’s hand as he passed her. She whirled abruptly and began to follow, keeping up with her burdened companion.

Alec heard a noise, and slipped Brandeis to the ground, then shoved Noranda down on top of him and knelt beside them. He raised his sword quickly and knocked an arrow away, but felt a second one pierce his calf, and a third one narrowly missed his head. Looking up, he hissed in anger as he saw Elcome at the window directing archers to shoot at the small group.

“
We’ve got to get back to the stables,” Alec told Noranda. “You’ll have to drag Brandeis, and I’ll try to protect us,” he explained.

“
Alec! You’re injured!” she said looking at the shaft in his leg.

Alec reached down and tugged at the arrow, then raised his sword and blocked another arrow. The embedded arrow wouldn’t move for the moment. “Go! We’ve got to go fast, now!” he urged.

Noranda looked at him as if about to protest, but she grabbed Brandeis and started dragging, while Alec limped behind her, his back to her as he scanned the windows and doorways and continued to block arrows. He could feel himself growing weaker from the continued heavy use of the power as well as from the wound. “We’re almost there,” Noranda encouragingly said just then. “You’re doing wonderfully, Alec,” she told him in encouragement and amazement.

Alec blocked another arrow, and let one fly above them, then heard Noranda grunt to open the door and pull Brandeis in. Alec stepped back into the doorway, slammed the door shut, and released his warrior energy. He felt drained, and slumped to his knees next to Brandeis.

“
Go get two horses that are saddled and ready to go, and lead them over here,” he commended Noranda.

“
Are we going to leave the compound?” she asked fearfully.

“
We have to,” Alec said with insistence.

“
Yes, we do,” she agreed, and began to run down the stables towards the stalls.

Alec looked at Brandeis. He’d been savagely stabbed in the stomach, causing a loss of blood, internal bleeding, and damage to organs. The young man was going to die soon unless Alec did something. “Please God, Please Jesus, redo, salveo, valetudo, juvenis…” his concentration was wandering as the pain in his leg distracted him and he heard the approach of horses. He placed his hands on the stomach wound and called forth his powers to repair the flesh and stop the bleeding. He managed to fix the liver and the intestine that had been sliced, but, at that moment, he couldn’t do anything to produce new blood in Brandeis’s body. For the time being, though, he had done enough to keep the boy alive.

“
Alec, I brought three horses. Is that better?” Noranda asked above him.

He looked up at the steeds she had led over. All three looked like healthy animals. “I’m going to put Brandeis in the saddle of one, then you will ride behind him and him from falling off. Is that okay?” Alec asked.

“
Is he, is he going to live?” she asked, her face pale from the events they had suffered. “That’s so much blood,” she said about the pool of bright red on the ground.

“
Yes, he’ll live. Provided we get him some place where he can rest and be nursed for a day or two,” Alec answered her. A second later they heard a clanging noise of approaching pursuers.

Alec looked down at the arrow still in his leg. He knew what he had to do. Reaching down with his knife, he remembered the arrow that had lodged in his back many months ago during the battle of the palace at Goldenfields. With no time to lose, Alec plunged his knife into his flesh next to the arrow and pulled the head out of his leg muscle. Noranda screamed in panic. Alec moaned, as he threw the arrow wildly away, then pressed both hands hard against the leg and let loose the last of his healing powers.

An angry red scar remained under his leg, and the muscle was sore, but Alec stood and heaved Brandeis up towards the saddle. “Get on the other side and pull his leg over,” Alec urged Noranda. She complied and helped him situate the unconscious man, who slumped forward. “Now you climb up,” Alec urged, and he indelicately pushed her from below to help her into the saddle.