Page 37 of Lhora
“Thank the goddesses you used to be stationed here,” she said. With her hands freed, Kalfis removed her weapons from where he’d hidden them under his uniform and returned them to her.
When they reached the first sublevel, Lhora turned to him. “Are you certain everyone’s still in this section? What if they’ve been moved elsewhere?”
“You said the Vadris was to be executed this evening, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then nothing will be done until tomorrow. They’re too busy getting ready for the big show tonight. Besides, the Sarpi will want the rest of the crew to witness the execution to further demoralize them. Afterwards, they’ll be transferred farther below where they’ll permanently reside.”
“The big show?”
“Oh, yeah. Any chance the Sarpi gets to show off his power and keep the populace cowed is a major event. Now which of these cells holds the Vadris and his men?”
“All of them.”
He brought the cage to a halt. Lhora threw open the door and hurried to the cell next to the one she’d been in.
“Vadris! Vadris, are you still in there?” She banged on the door as Kalfis came up behind her. He inserted the key into the lock, turning it. There was a loud click, and the portal swung open slightly. A moment later, it opened all the way, and Vadris Lon stood there, staring at her. Spotting Kalfis, he immediately crouched and threw his arms up defensively.
Lhora jumped to the soldier’s defense. “No! It’s all right. This is Kalfis. His brother is Pullid. He’s helping us to escape.”
“Escape?”
“Let’s free the others first. Then I’ll explain.”
Kalfis hurried to unlock the other cells, and the rest of the crew gathered together in the narrow corridor. Lhora saw the two brothers unite with hugs and back slapping.
“You mentioned escaping,” Lon reminded her.
She pointed upward. “There’s a frigate sitting at the harbor not far from here. It’s just undergone maintenance and is being taken out of dry dock as we speak. There’s no crew on it. Not yet.”
“Are you suggesting we abscond with the ship?” Lon questioned her.
“If we don’t, we won’t be able to leave Coltross any other way.”
“And go where?” one man demanded.
“To Beinight,” Lhora told them.
One man snorted as several others moaned. “And trade one dungeon for another.”
She glared at them. “No. You will all be given dispensation.”
“And you can guarantee this?” Lon demanded, but not without obvious sarcasm.
Lhora whirled around to face him. “I have the Esstika’s ear. I’ll tell her the truth of what happened. I’ll tell her you helped to save me. That’ll be enough to ensure your safety.”
Pullid stepped forward. “What other choice do we have, Vadris? If we stay here, we’ll die here. We all know that. I would rather take my chances, rather than rot in the Sarpi’s dungeon.”
Lon looked back at Lhora and Kalfis. “All right. How do we do this? If we go topside, can we overtake the guards before they alert the manse?”
“We don’t need to go back up,” Kalfis informed him and pointed downward. “Four levels below us is the chute. It’s a small tunnel leading to the surface a few hundred vares away. It was dug there to enable the Sarpi to remove certain prisoners or their bodies when he doesn’t want the rest of the populace to know about it.”
“If we’re going to do this, we need to leave now, before the guards up there wonder what’s taking him so long to return.”
One of the crewmen made a rude noise. “Doubt it. They’re probably thinking he’s availing himself of her before he’s ready to leave.”
The Vadris huffed. “Let’s hope you’re right. Come on. Let’s get moving. It’s going to take a while for all of us to get down below.”
