Page 7 of Ironhold: Trial Five

A part of me notes that Lord Dariushas said that the emperor has declared that Alaric will die, when it is SeleneRavenscroft who is the arch magistrate of the empire. Has the emperor imposedhis authority above her decisions within the law? If so, why? Is it just moreevidence of his madness and cruelty, or is there some purpose to it?

Lord Darius takes a breath andkeeps going. “It has been decreed that Alaric will not die here as istraditional. Instead, he will meet his fate at the conclusion of the next roundof games. He will be executed in the colosseum, so that everyone might see it.”

The master of Ironhold keeps anyhint of disapproval out of his voice. He is normally a stickler for tradition,but he also won't criticize the emperor.

“In the time between now and then,he will be held in Ironhold, and all of you will reflect on his punishment. Youwill not seek to speak with him, to contact him, to even look upon his face. Ifyou do you will invite punishment of your own, determined by the emperorhimself. You have been warned.”

I feel certain he's looking my wayas he says it.

I don't know what to think as theguards take Alaric away, leading him into the depths of the fortress. I feeldevastated by the announcement of his impending execution. A part of me wantsto rush after the guards and take them on at once, slaying them to free Alaric.

Another part is thinking in termsof other possibilities. I do not have time now to achieve my own freedom andthen argue for his. I do not have time in which to build slowly towards lifeand hope for both of us. Instead, I must find a way to act immediately. To freeus before the conclusion of the games.

I think about the creatures down inthe depths of Ironhold. I want to rush to the beast pens now. My mind isalready filling with wild schemes of burrowing creatures that can reach hiscell, monstrous things that can tear the bars from it. With my powers, I wantto believe that I can find a way to free Alaric and get him to safety.

But I am also not so foolish as tobelieve that any of these wild ideas can actually succeed. I have power, butIronhold is designed to contain people with power. All my skills and talentscount for nothing here. I cannot take on every guard at once. I cannot fightall of those patrolling the walls. Even if I could, what then? If we got beyondthe fortress, the full might of Aetheria would be sent to hunt us down.

In spite of my power I am helplessin the face of this, and I hate the way that the empire has made me feelhelpless again and again, from the first moments when soldiers claimed me inits name, all the way to this instance when I cannot simply save the man I careabout so much.

In moments like this, I canunderstand Lady Elara’s hatred for the empire.

But I can do one thing. Alaric isback in Ironhold, and that means that I can speak with him for the first timein what feels like forever. I do not care that it is forbidden. I do not carethat Lord Darius has only just told us that we cannot seek contact with him.

I must speak with Alaric, and Iwill, whatever the cost, but I must also be careful about it, because I know Icannot afford to be caught.

Chapter Four

It’s strange to think thatonce, I couldn’t find my way around Ironhold.The fortress used to seem like an impenetrable maze tome, with too many twists and turns to ever make sense of. But now I've beenhere as long as any other gladiator. Only the trainers and people like LordDarius have been here longer.

It is in the nature of thegladiators that none of us is here for very long. The seasons in the colosseumcome and go, and we either succeed in making it to our five, or we die quickly.The brutality of the system means that there are no veterans here, nogladiators who have been inside the games forever. We are tested and eithergiven to the city as nobles or slain.

I probably know the interior of thefortress as well as any gladiator at this point, not least because I haveexplored it through other eyes. I have seen it through the eyes of the mice whoscurry down its corridors. I have explored the strange scents of the placethrough noses far finer than any human’s. I have seen it through eyes that canperceive no color, and eyes that perceive a spectrum beyond anything I haveseen before.

It means I am able to find a routethrough it, heading into the depths, looking for Alaric.

I search him out using my powers. Icannot sense him the way I would with a beast but I can borrow the eyes of therats and the spiders in the darkest dungeon depths, looking for him that way. Isee him sitting on the edge of a bed in a cell with a door whose bars let inonly a flicker of light from the corridor beyond.

I try to read his expressionsthrough the sight of the mouse crouched in the corner, but even here it seemsas though Alaric puts up a mask to the world, determined not to show hisemotions. He is whistling pointedly, nonchalantly, as if hoping that any guardlistening will not believe that he is afraid. He makes it seem as if he doesn’tcare, when I have seen enough of the real heart of him to know that he willcare very much indeed.

There are many guards around thefortress even if there is only one making sure that Alaric does not flee. Ithink about his cell as I make my way down towards it, moving quietly, checkingevery corner for the possibility that someone might be waiting for me aroundit. He has not been confined to luxurious quarters this time. His nobilitycounts for nothing.

Or maybe it does; a slave gladiatorwould probably have been killed out of hand. He got a trial, and I suspect thatthe only reason he has been condemned is because of the interference of theemperor.

Whywouldthe emperorinterfere? That question runs through my head as I walk, tension filling mewith every sound, every hint of movement in the shadows.

Why would he condemn the son of oneof his highest born nobles, and one of the most popular gladiators in thegames? It is another decision that seems confusing, even mad from him.Certainly, it is cruel, because Alaric should get some leniency based simply onthe fact that he was trying to save me. If he hadn't killed Callus, I would bedead now. There was no way to stop the assassin short of killing him.

I hold myself still in an alcove,waiting for the guard to pass me on his rounds. I hold my breath as he movespast me, then connect with another rat a little way away. I see a mop andbucket nearby and I use the rat to push them over, the clatter of them as theyfall audible even back where I stand.

I hear the guard curse and he goesto check on the disturbance, one hand on the sword at his belt, as if expectingrogue gladiators to jump out at him at any moment. I watch him go, not daringto move from my hiding place until he is out of sight.

The moment he is, however, I hurryin the direction of Alaric’s cell. I know I will not have long.

“Alaric!” I call out to him, notreally daring to raise my voice in case the guard hears me. “Alaric, it’s me!”

There is a pause and the sound ofmetal moving as Alaric moves towards the door in his chains. I hate that theyhave chained him as well as putting him in this place. It is an additionalindignity that he does not require. The cell alone should be enough to holdhim, but they have put manacles on him as if to remind him of just how periloushis position is.

“Lyra, what are you doing here?” heasks as he makes it to the door. His features look drawn and pale. It isobvious he has not been well treated in the run-up to his trial, and my guessis that no one has fed him properly. No one wants to waste food on a condemnedman.

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