Page 65 of The Dragonrider and the Void
But how to reach him? The space between Venrick’s position and the gate was open ground, with no cover to speak of. In his current state, he couldn’t hope to evade or overcome the guards.Scanning the area again, Venrick spotted a small drainage ditch that ran beneath a decorative hedge. It might provide enough cover to get him closer to the gate without being seen. It was his only option.
He began to move toward it, but his body betrayed him. His legs simply stopped responding, and he collapsed.
Just as he saw a guard turning at the faint noise of Venrick’s body slumping into the grass, the man was distracted. A figure approached wearing the robes of a Keep servant. As Venrick watched, the figure gestured emphatically, pointing toward the main courtyard. He could just barely see the blond braids emerging from under the hood.
After a brief discussion, both guards nodded and followed the hooded figure away from their post, heading toward whatever disturbance had been reported.
Venrick looked back to where he’d seen Hardin. He wasn’t there anymore.
Where did he go?
“Venrick?” Hardin whispered as he crouched beside him. “Ashes, what happened to you?”
“I was attacked with a spell,” Venrick said, his voice little more than a rasp. “The guards,” he managed.
“Don’t worry about the guards. Sasja’s pulled them away,” Hardin said. A moment later, Venrick thought he heard a brief cry before it was silenced, a splash of water sounding immediately afterward.
Venrick ignored it, saying, “Did Edgar reach you?”
Hardin nodded, frowning as he examined Venrick’s condition. “He delivered the page. I sent him off with enough coin to get him and his family out of the city.”
“Good,” Venrick breathed. With trembling hands, he reached inside his coat and withdrew the remaining metal pages. “Here. The rest of the ritual.”
Hardin took the pages carefully, securing them inside his own clothing. “We need to get you out of here. Now.”
“My legs… I can’t walk,” Venrick admitted.
“I’m not leaving you here like this,” Hardin said firmly. “Not after everything you’ve done.”
Before Venrick could protest, Hardin had pulled one of Venrick’s arms across his shoulders, hoisting him to his feet. Pain flared through him, but he bit back a cry, knowing detection now would doom them both.
“The guards will be back any moment,” Venrick said as Hardin half-dragged him toward the gate.
“We have more time than you think,” Hardin said. “Like I said, Sasja took care of it.”
They moved painfully slowly toward the gate, a moat thick with azgron crocs coming into view on the other side. The scream Venrick heard, followed by the splash made more sense now.
“Almost there,” Hardin encouraged him as they reached the gate. “Just a little farther.”
Beyond the gate lay a narrow alley that led away from the Keep toward the lower city. Venrick could see the twinkling lights of Astral City stretching out below, peaceful and unaware of the danger growing in their midst.
“The wards,” Venrick managed between labored breaths. “You’ll need to?—”
“I know,” Hardin replied. “It’s nearly closed off completely. This won’t be as elegant as before. Hold on.”
He pressed Venrick against the wall beside the gate, ensuring he wouldn’t collapse, then placed both hands on the stone archway. Hardin’s expression shifted to one of intense concentration.
Unlike before, when they had carefully manipulated the ancient wards together, Hardin struggled.
The glamor of the magic flickered and became visible in its complex webs of blue, silver, and green light interwoven through the stone. Hardin didn’t attempt with any subtlety this time.Instead, he drove his power like a wedge into the tightly knit pattern, forcing an opening just wide enough for them to slip through.
The effort cost him. Blood trickled from his nose, and his hands shook with the strain. But the gap held, a slight tear that would hold in the Keep’s defenses.
“Now,” he gasped, grabbing Venrick again. “Before it closes.”
Together they stumbled through the opening. The moment they cleared the threshold. Hardin released his hold on the wards. The strands snapped back into place with a crack, the sound echoing through the quiet alley.
Almost immediately, renewed alarm bells rang within the Keep, different from those that had been ringing before.
