Page 88 of A Kingdom Restored

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Why are we doing this again?” Bianca stifled a yawn behind her hand. “Isn’t this guy the one behind all our problems?”

“I don’t think we can pass off all the blame,” Heath said dryly from where he crouched beside Merletta. “But he’s been a key player, yes.”

“And we want to break him out of the dungeon because…”

“We’ve been over this, Bianca,” Brody cut in. “It’s because Heath can’t say no to his girlfriend.”

Merletta glared at Heath’s cousin, but she couldn’t help but be mollified when he softened the barb by sending Heath a cheeky grin. Not that it stopped Heath from rolling his eyes.

“Believe me,” she said earnestly, “the things this man has done here are nothing to what he’s done in my world. And if I don’t get him back there and expose his lies, the rest of the Center will keep enforcing his instructions, most of them not even knowing that they’re dooming everyone they know to slaughter by keeping them trapped inside the barrier.”

“Most of that went over my head,” Bianca said. “But I trust Heath. If he says we need to do this, I’ll help you.”

She narrowed her eyes, and Merletta felt a wind whip up around her. It grew steadily, and soon it was loud enough to make it hard to hear Heath right next to her.

“Thank you,” he was whispering to his cousin, as he peered out from their hiding place in the garden. “It’s quite helpful that you have a plan for this, actually.”

“The plan relied on a storm,” Bianca pointed out in a mutter. “Not to mention it was based around a different dungeon.”

“What’s a plan without a little improvisation?” Percival said cheerfully from Bianca’s other side. “Besides, you have my strength now, which is more than you had last time.”

“All right,” Jasmine’s voice whispered from out of the bushes nearby. “It’s an hour until dawn. It’s time.”

Merletta felt nothing, but she could tell from the avid way Heath was looking from his cousin’s position to the guard that Jasmine was using her magic somehow. She had the ability to move things with her mind, if Merletta recalled correctly. Just small things, Heath had told her.

As Merletta watched, the guard’s cloak crept up into the air behind him, apparently unaided. He hadn’t even noticed the strange phenomenon when the fabric suddenly dropped over his head, blinding him. He gave a yell, clutching at it, but it wouldn’t budge. Percival darted forward silently with a rough sack in his hands. Unseen, he slipped it over the confused guard’s head and shoulders, securing it with a rope.

“Quick, Brody!” Heath hissed. “His shouts will rouse other guards.”

Brody nodded, his look of concentration suggesting he was already undertaking his role. Taking her cue, Merletta dashed past Percival and the struggling guard, down the steps into the dungeon, Heath on her heels.

She pulled up at the sight of the tunnel yawning in the ground at her feet, massive roots rotating in a constant motion that dug the edges out. The Record Master had already crawled into the hole on his side of the iron bars, clearly grasping what was expected of him instantly.

Merletta gritted her teeth, hating that he was getting what he wanted out of it all, even for a moment. At least his movements were labored, showing he was still weakened by his injuries.

The moment his head came up from the tunnel, Heath had a blade at his throat. The Record Master raised his hands in submission, and Merletta hastened to secure the chains Heath had given her around the merman’s wrists. They would do his feet once they were clear of the castle.

As they half pushed, half dragged him up the steps, Merletta glanced back. The roots were already retreating back into the earth, leaving the tunnel behind, but no sign of their role in its creation. She shook her head, amazed by the power of Brody’s magic.

The whole exercise had taken only a couple of minutes, and they emerged to find Percival still holding the shouting guard. The sound of running feet could be heard from across the garden, and the cousins scattered as previously discussed. All had gone to plan. No one had been injured, and nothing had been done that couldn’t be explained without recourse to magic. Theoretically, at least.

Two figures appeared from the darkness. Sage fell into position beside Merletta as Percival picked up the Record Master and threw him over a shoulder as easily as if he was a small child. The four of them ran swiftly through the garden, Heath muttering directions as they wended their way through the manicured rows. His eyes were a little unfocused, and Merletta had to steer him away from running into a bush more than once—he was too busy watching the garden around them with his farsight, directing how to evade the guards now fanning out in search. Their calls split the night, but the fugitives had already reached the outer gate.

Percival took off at a brisk jog, setting the pace in spite of his burden. In only a few minutes they reached a small door leading through the city wall. The guard on duty nodded to Percival, then swung the door wide.

“Thank you,” the young lord muttered to his friend as they edged through. They traveled in silence across a field, up a small rise, and down the other side into a small copse of trees.

“This is where Reka will meet us,” Heath reminded his brother. “You need to get back before you’re missed.”

“Maybe I should stay with you after all,” Percival said, clearly anxious.

Heath shook his head vehemently. “You just got out of the dungeons. I’m not landing you straight back in there.”

Percival hesitated, then lowered the Record Master to the grass. The merman had remained silent the whole trip, and his face was ashen. Red was starting to seep through one of his bandages—the flight must have reopened a wound.

“Let me secure him properly first at least,” Percival said gruffly, producing another chain which he clasped around the Record Master’s feet. He glared at the unresisting merman then looked up at Heath, his expression still concerned.

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