The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) (17 page)

"Did he have his staff?" Percy wondered.

"Yes, but he didn't use it," Fred told him.

"So he what? Let himself get captured?" Pat asked them.

"That's exactly right," a voice spoke up. The group turned to the open door and watched Hywel flutter in. Fred hurried forward and caught the Star in his clasped hands before his weak wings pulled him to the ground. "Ned wanted to be captured. Said it would keep the boy safe and give him a chance to speak with the king of the dwarves. Much good I'm sure that will do when it didn't work with Cadwaladr."

CHAPTER 19

Pat walked over and looked down at the Star in awe. This was her first chance at a good view of one. "Who are you?" she asked him.

Hywel straightened his round, glowing body and stretched out his wings. "Hywel, a captain of the Stars." The crows in their cage greeted his introduction with a round of caws and pecking at their cages. Shilo rushed to calm them while Thino stepped forward.

"What is a captain of the Helpers doing in Dirth?" Thino questioned the Helper.

"Helping save both our cities, and with little thanks from either side," Hywel replied.

"He helped Ned and me get the treasure to destroy the stone," Fred explained to the group. He paused and looked down at Hywel. "Where
is
the treasure?"

Hywel stiffened, and his glow changed to a lighter white. "Um, I think Ned might have forgotten to give it to me before we parted."

Pat stepped into the center of the group and held up her hands. "Wait a moment. Ned has the treasure, and is being escorted to the castle where Canto and Ruth are still held captive?"

Fred's eyes widened. "They are?" he asked her.

"He does," Hywel answered her.

"So now we need to rescue all three of them?" Percy guessed.

"We're not leaving them there," Pat shot back.

"But how are we going to get in? The guards were lax before, but Danto won't allow them to be again," he pointed out.

"Ah might be able to help there," Shilo spoke up. All eyes turned to her, including Thino's.

"What are ya saying? This isn't any of our business," Thino protested.

Shilo crossed her arms and scowled at him. "It is if it means our city is in danger," she countered.

"What's your plan?" Pat asked her.

Shilo ignored Thino's pleading look and gestured to the rows of cages. "Ma pets are trained to follow whatever orders Ah give. They can distract the guards in the castle long enough for you to get to the cells and get yer friends out."

"But Ned wanted to see the king. He might not be in the dungeons," Hywel reminded them.

"Then I'll go after him," Fred offered.

"And you're not going alone," Pat chimed in. "I'll go with you."

"And I'll come with you, too," Percy added, but Pat shook her head.

"It will be more difficult to get Ruth and Canto from the cell block, so Sins will need all the help he can get," she insisted. "Besides, we also need our weapons retrieved."

A bitter smile slipped onto Percy's face. "So I'm relegated to a squire assigned to retrieve the weapons of the knights?" Pat opened her mouth, but he held up his hand and shrugged. "Even squires have their uses, and I'll accept mine without further complaint."

"I'll go with you, Fred," Hywel offered.

"We might need your light for the passages," Pat agreed. "The Stars aren't lighting the torches and it's very dark in the castle."

"And Ah'll go with the group springing Canto from the cells," Shilo spoke up. A sly smile slipped onto her face. "It'll be great to see the look on that dwarf's face when he sees Ah've saved him from his stupidity."

"This is madness," Thino protested. "We'll be caught by the guards and tossed into the cell with yer friends."

"Not with ma pets giving those guards a taste of their own abuse," Shilo argued.

"But how are we even going to get 'em there without 'em being seen? They're still watching the skies for Helpers," he pointed out.

"What about Fluffy?" Percy spoke up. All eyes turned to him, and he shrugged. "We can strap the cages to Fluffy's back so if we run into guards we can make the excuse that we're traders."

"Fluffy?" Shilo repeated.

"The cantankus in the alley," Pat told her. She raised her eyebrow, and Pat shrugged. "It's a long story."

"Traders," Thino scoffed as he glanced around the group. "With this strange group we'll have a hard time convincing 'em that we're not spies."

"Do ya have a better idea?" Shilo growled.

"I might," Fred spoke up. Everyone turned to him and he opened his large coat. "These pockets can fit all of them."

Shilo walked up and rubbed the material. "Aye, this is magical material. They'll fit pretty well, but Ah don't know how Ah'll convince ma crows to get inside there. They don't mind the cages, but they hate bags."

"I have food in them. Would that help?" Fred asked her.

"You can't be considering giving your cloak to her," Pat spoke up.

Fred shrugged. "I don't need it right now, and they do."

"But Ned gave that for you to wear," she insisted.

"It'll only be for a while, and Ned won't mind since we're using it to get him and the others out," Fred pointed out. He turned back to Shilo. "Will the food help get them in the pockets?"

Shilo chuckled. "Aye, it'll help quite a bit, but are ya willing to give it to me for a bit? It's a nice coat."

Fred slipped it off and held it out to her. "We don't have a choice. Fluffy can't carry the birds because he needs to get Pat, Ned and me out of there fast," he pointed out. Shilo smiled, took the coat, and slipped her arms into it. The bottom two feet dragged the ground and the sleeves were too long, but she wasn't fashion-conscious. Fred's eyes widened, and he quickly knelt and dug around in the pockets.

"What are ya doing?" Shilo shrieked.

Fred pulled out the training pamphlet Ned had given him. "Just in case I need its wisdom," he explained to the group, and stuffed the pamphlet in his pocket.

"If yer done fondling me then we'll see if this'll work." Shilo hurried over to the cages and opened the doors. The crows flew out and the humans expected a chaotic scene, but the birds merely flew in a circle over her head. She opened the sides of the coat and whistled. The birds flew down in a column of wings and beaks, and dropped into the many pockets. In a moment they were all inside and there was a vague sound of snapping beaks as they tore into Fred's food supply. Shilo let down the sides and smiled. "This'll be doing fine for us."

"Good, now let's break into our two groups," Pat advised. "Fred, the Star-"

"Hywel," he told her.

"Fred, Hywel, Fluffy, and I will go to the front of the castle while you others go to the open cell on the side of the castle. I'm sure they won't be expecting anyone to come in that way, and you can release the crows directly into the cell block. During the commotion we'll sneak in and make our way to the dining hall. I think that's also the throne room."

"It is," Shilo confirmed.

"We'll snatch Ned with Fred's magic while you can get Ruth, Canto, and our weapons back," she finished.

Thino's face fell and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Ah think that's the craziest plan Ah ever heard."

Shilo scowled at her man. "So ya won't come then?" she asked him.

"Ah didn't say that. Ah just said it was crazy," he replied.

A wide smile slipped onto his face and she pecked a kiss onto his cheek. "That's the dwarf Ah fell in love with."

Pat looked around the group with pursed lips and unblinking eyes. "Then it's settled. Let's go save our friends."

In the cover of darkness a large group of dwarves, humans, and one Star snuck out of the Murder Shop. They kept to the front of the building and turned a hard left into a nearby dark alley. Fred was near the lead, and he rolled his eyes when he noticed Fluffy. The cantankus huddled beneath a crate that barely covered his hips, much less his entire body. Fluffy saw his master, sprang from the confines of the crate, and jumped on his boy. Fred went down in a mess of slobber and muscle.

"Ya can't ask for a better friend than a cantankus that's fond of ya," Thino commented.

"How about one that would get off me?" Fred croaked beneath the weight of the dog-beast. He pushed Fluffy off, stood, and patted the beast on the shoulder. "Nice to see you, too."

"That's all fine and dandy, but let's get a move on," Shilo ordered them.

The two groups split up. Pat and Fred snuck toward the drawbridge while the other five went around the side of the large rock and moat to the Keep. Fluffy whimpered, but followed along with Thino at his side. Shilo glanced around and stopped. "Where'd the dark man go?" she asked them.

Percy smiled and shrugged. "He comes and goes when he pleases, but he'll reappear when he's needed," he assured her.

She frowned. "An assassin or a spy?" she guessed.

"Both and neither, depending on who is the highest bidder," Percy told her.

"What a mess we're in," Thino grumbled. He rubbed the back of Fluffy's neck, and the cantankus purred and pushed against his hand.

"Stop complaining, Thino," Shilo scolded him. "We're helping out these folks and giving Piako his up-and-comings for taking our home."

"Ah'm not complaining, Ah'm just pointing out that we're a few dwarves and humans against Piako's guards. The best might be gone, but the ones left still have axes," he pointed out.

Shilo stopped and spun around to glare at her husband. "Ya want help? Is that what yer after?"

"Ah'd appreciate it."

"Fine, Ah'll git us some help." She tore a small slip of paper and a pencil from her pocket and scribbled down a few words. Then she grabbed the crow on her shoulder, and stuffed the note into a tube attached to its leg. "Take this to yer master and be quick about it," she commanded the thing. She flung it into the air and it flew off to the southwest. Shilo whipped her head back to Thino. "If'n we find ourselves captured then we've got a good plan for getting out."

"Yer brother?" Thino guessed.

"Aye, and he'll come, too, but what are we wasting time talking? We've got some people to save and Canto to show up."

The group wound their way through the streets and arrived at the edge of the muck-filled water. Percy realized they had a new problem when he pulled out the net and glanced across the moat. He turned to his dwarven companions with a sheepish smile. "I don't suppose either of you is good at tossing a net?" he wondered.

"Nope, but my crows can do the job," Shilo replied. She opened her borrowed coat and six crows flew out. They circled and landed atop a nearby bush. Shilo took the net from Percy and tossed it across the moat. The crows flew into the air and caught the far end of the net in their beaks. They landed on the ledge across and five yards above the group. Shilo raised her hands as though holding a bowl and slowly brought them down as though setting the bowl down. The crows followed her example, and their beaks set the final squares in the net over a few rocks.

Thino grabbed their end of the rope and gave a hard tug to tighten it. Then he tied that end to more rocks on the edge of the moat, and they had their path over the moat. Percy nodded his head. "Very well done," he complimented.

"Less talk and more walk," Shilo replied. She opened the coat again, and her crows swooped out and landed with their brethren across the way. Then she took the coat off and stuffed it into the bush where the net had lain. "It'll only get in the way," she told them. She clambered over the net with Thilo close behind and Percy behind him.

Thino took a rope from around his waist and handed it to Shilo, who tossed one end into the air. Her crows flew up and snatched the last few feet in their beaks. They pulled it up the wall and over the ledge at the top. She gave a few soft tugs, and in a few moments the rope was taught.

Percy frowned. "How did they tie it?" he asked her.

Shilo shrugged. "No idea, but we'll see." She jumped onto the rope and climbed quickly up the wall. The other two followed behind her, and when Percy reached the top he saw how the trick had been done. The crows, smart animals as they were, had wound the end of the rope through the remaining bars that made up the roof of the cell. The dozen crisscrossing ropes had made a secure tie for them to climb. Shilo smiled at her pets' work. "Smart animals, crows."

"Indeed," Percy agreed. He knelt down and looked into the cell. One of the clumsy guards had left the door open. They pulled the rope up behind them and tossed it into the cell. Percy slid down first and scurried over to the wall beside the entrance. He cautiously glanced around the edge of the doorway and down the hall. It was empty. He gestured to the others, and they joined him at the bottom of the cell. The crows swirled down and landed on the floor around Shilo.

"Do ya know in what cell they are?" Shilo asked him.

Percy shook his head. "No. We escaped before they were moved," he replied.