Dragonhammer: Volume II (36 page)

The Friend among Friends

WhatdoIdo?

Pretend I’m not there?  No, she’ll have heard me pacing.  Tell her to go away?  I weigh the option, but decide I don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary that would let her know that I know.  This must be handled carefully.

What do I do, then?

“Come in,” my voice croaks.

The door opens hurriedly and Aela scrambles inside, bolting the door behind her.  That makes me uneasy and I keep the throwing knife in my hand.

“What did you want to talk about?”

She takes a deep breath.  I scan her for weapons and find a dagger in her right boot and another hidden beneath her pants along her left thigh.  Other than that, I find none.

“Kadmus, I have to leave.”

I hadn’t expected that.  I prepare my response carefully and reply, “I know.”

She takes a small step back, watching my right hand tighten on the warhammer that leans against the bed.  Slowly I lift it so that it hangs at my side.  “You do?” she breathes.

“I know what you are.”

She looks at the ground.  “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kadmus, but-”

“Oh, drop the act,” I growl.  She falls silent and her stance suggests an offense.  “I know why you kept the secrets from me.”

She nods.

“I think I’ve put it all together.  You weren’t on a trip to deliver goods.  You weren’t even out hunting, were you?”  She shifts her weight, but continues to stare at the floor and says nothing.  “That life you said you had was fake,” I continue.  “You didn’t come from Kera.”  Still she says nothing.  “There was nothing benign about your presence at that bridge.  And that last-minute trip up to Dracynnval’s Pass.  That was no chance happening, that you happened to know a pass that conveniently would be our only hope and full of Diagrall soldiers.  That was a trap.”

“If you know who I am,” she says, “then say it.”

“Look me in the eye,” I command.  She shakes her head and stares at the rug on the floor.  “Aela,” I breathe softly.  She doesn’t respond.  “Please look at me.”

Her ethereal eyes gaze up at me.  For the first time since I have met her, they are misty with tears.  “Say it,” she whispers.

I exhale slowly.  Then I respond, “You are an assassin sent from Diagrall.”

She sags and looks down.  “I’m sorry,” she breathes.

“I’ve figured out everything,” I continue, “but for one thing.” 

She looks up at me, her eyes continuing to well.  “What?” she asks, shaking her head.

I continue to search her eyes.  “Who was your target?”

Her face crumples and tears begin to fall.  “Oh, Kadmus…” she says, her arms wrapped tightly around her own chest.

“My best guess is Archeantus.  You’ve had a chance to kill every other man in the company, including Jarl Hralfar.”  She continues to shake her head, her squinting eyes dropping tears onto her flawless cheeks.  “Who is it?”

She looks at me, still shaking her head.  “Kadmus, no…”

I take a step back, realizing.  “It was me,” I whisper.

Then she begins to sob.  My thoughts are a whirlwind, and some of them begin to throw themselves from my mouth.

“You were at the bridge to intercept me.  You weren’t after my mother.  That was a diversion.  You were leading me away.  Going to kill me when I was away from the company.”

She is crying, still shaking her head, saying my name over and over under her breath.

“But something went wrong.  A fight among you.  You woke and found me, your target, had been your savior.  You lacked the strength to do it then, so you tried to stay with me until you did have the strength.  You tried in Terrace.  Twice.  Multiple times throughout our travels.”

“But you were always ready,” she whimpers, tears streaming down her face.  “There was never a time when you weren’t expecting something.”

“Why didn’t you do it?” I ask.  “You could have killed me months ago.  I trusted you.”

The last statement sends her into another fit of sobs and her shoulders shake.  She forces herself to calm down, and then she draws a dagger.  I jump into a defensive position, readying my knife to throw and my hammer to swing.  But she stops and stares at the dagger’s shining edge.  The room is lit only by candles, but the flickering light reflects off of the edge and her eyes.  The moonlight gazes down from the sky, illuminating her softened face.

“Even if I could best you in combat,” she says, staring at the point of the dagger.  She looks me in the eye as she finishes, “I could never kill you.”  The dagger clangs to the floor and she sags.  Then she drops to the ground sobbing.

I’m stunned by the truth I saw in her eyes.  I’m about to say something, but then she suddenly picks up the dagger and with a furious yell throws it across the room.

Instead I set down my knife on the bed and then crouch, still warily holding my hammer.  She refuses to look at me.  “Why?” I ask.

She sniffs and her eyes narrow inquisitively, asking to clarify the question.

“Why can’t you kill me?”

Her lip shakes again and she looks away.  “You remember when I said that you taught me to love?” she breathes timidly.

I nod.  She shakes her head and says nothing more, so gently I caress the side of her face and guide her to look at me.  She looks up like a child expecting a wounding remark.

“What about it?” I ask.

She holds my hand, tilting her head sideways into my palm, the stubs of my fourth and fifth fingers barely making it to her jaw.  Her gaze falls downward, to the ground, as she says, “I can’t kill you because…”  She shakes her head and begins to cry again.  Then, still holding my hand, she looks up and says, “I love you, Kadmus.”

I’m shocked.  And quite at a loss for words.  Her lips turn up as she looks into my stunned face, tears still welling in her eyes.  She obviously did not expect me to respond the way I did.

The words that have been longing to escape my tongue finally make it out into the air.  They are out really before I know what is happening.  I am almost as surprised as she is to hear them.

“And I love you.”

A grin breaks out across her face and she squeezes my hand.  She lets go as I pull her into an embrace, but then her attitude suddenly changes as someone knocks vigorously on my door.  “Captain?” a voice calls.  “Captain, you in there?”

She rises and I follow suit.  Her face has fallen.  “I have to leave,” she whispers hurriedly.  “Archeantus knows.  He’s sent the guard after me.”

“You’ll never make it,” I say.  She makes to say something, but I interrupt, “Not alone.”

“You can’t mean to say that you’ll be coming with me!”

“No,” I reply.  “But I’ll help you out.”

“But if you’re caught, they’ll surely-”

“Do what?” I ask.  She doesn’t answer.  “They could do anything they wanted to me.  And it would be worth it to save you.”

Her only reply is to gaze up at me with her incredible eyes.

“Go,” I command, gesturing.  “Hide there.  In the wardrobe.”

She dashes to the wardrobe and I close the doors behind her.  Then I walk to the door, where the soldiers are still banging.

“Is there a problem?” I ask, after unbolting and opening the door.

“Is the lady Aela in here?” one of them asks.  “Lord Archeantus has requested her presence.”

“No, not here,” I reply.  “I haven’t seen her since dinner.”

“Would you mind if we searched your room, Captain?”

“Excuse me?” I say.  “Do you not trust one of your own captains?  Why would you need to search for her anyway?  Surely she would not run from a summons such as Lord Archeantus’!”

“Right, sir,” says the guard.  “Our mistake.  Sorry to bother you.”

I shut and bolt the door as they walk away.

Aela comes out of the wardrobe as soon as I open the door.  “How are we going to get out?” she asks.

“Don’t know,” I reply.  “We could go down the balcony.”

“But how are we going to get out of the city?

I remember the Torrent.  The grate above the water.

“The sewers,” I reply.  “That’s how.”

At first her expression shows disgust, but she warms up to the idea when she doesn’t have one of her own.  “Fine,” she says.  “How do we get there?”

“Do you have everything you will need?” I reply.  “Food, weapons?”

She shakes her head.  “I did not have time to get any.  I followed you straight here after you left the table.”

“We will need to get you some,” I reply.  “Stay here.  Bolt the door behind me.  Don’t allow anyone in.”

“How will I know if it’s you?” she questions.

“Well, I won’t be banging so hard,” I reply.  She accepts my answer and I leave the room.

I hear the door click behind me.  Then the clank of the bolt.  Good.

The kitchens are down a floor, but first I need her pack.  Quickly I hurry to the room where she and my friends had been told they would be staying.  Guards patrol the hallways.

Good thing she’s not here.

“Oh, Kadmus,” says Percival, jumping up as I enter the room.  “Have you seen Aela?  Everyone’s looking for her for some reason.”

“No I haven’t,” I reply, bending down to pick up her pack.  In the other hand I grasp her two swords and her bow, and then tie them to the pack with the sword belt.

“What are you doing?” James asks.

“Part of the summons,” I reply.  “She’s requested to be moved to another room, so I’m doing that for her.”

James whistles.  “Which room, then?”

“Don’t know,” I reply.  “Does it matter?”  Then I nod at Percival as I leave the room.

Let them think what they will.  I don’t care.  That’s not important right now.

I stop at the kitchens on the way back up to my room and cram a couple of loaves of bread, some cheese, and dried meat into her pack.  It’s not exactly fancy, but I don’t know how long the trip will be and it will get the job done.

Some of the guards give me funny looks as I carry the laden pack up the stairs, but they say nothing.

I knock twice next to the door handle, using only my first knuckle.  There are a few moments of silence.  Then the bolt unlatches and she lets me inside.

“Thank you,” she says, flinging the pack onto her back.  She has donned her dark cloak, put up the hood, and tightened the sword belt around her waist.  “How do I get out?”

“Follow me,” I reply, throwing on a similar cloak and slipping a glove onto my left hand.  I do not take my hammer; it would give me away.  I do not plan on shedding the blood of my allies, in any case.

Warily I peak out of the door.  Seeing no one, I usher her out and into the hall.

Still my thoughts clang around like deranged dingflies. 
Do I even know her anymore?

Why hadn’t I seen this before?

I brush them to the side and we dart soundlessly down the hall towards the stairs.

Guards’ voices ring out from the spiral stairwell.  My eyes widen and I hurry her back, to one of the doors in the hall.  She hides in the arch of the door, making herself as small as possible in the corner of the stone arch and wood of the door.  I stand in front of her.

Two guards rise from the stairwell and watch me as I lean casually against the arch.

“Going out for a walk, Captain?” asks the one on the left.

“Indeed,” I reply.  “There’s something about the night.”

They nod and continue on their way, but I don’t prod Aela until they are out of sight.  “Let’s go,” I whisper.

Our footsteps are a little louder on the stairs, but soon we are on the ground floor.  We rush to the end of the hall and down a straight flight of stairs.  I stop and she halts just behind me, waiting for me to scope out the next hallway.

An orange light glows from the far right end of the hallway, suggesting guards coming towards us.  I back up into the stairwell, but detect the same torchlight infringing at the top of the stairs.  Aela’s gaze asks me what to do.

“Run,” I reply.  Then I dash into the hall.

If we’re fast enough, we can make it to the left end of the hall before the guards at the opposite end come around the corner.  Aela pants next to me, and just when we round the corner I hear a guard bark, “Hey!”

“Dingflies,” I mutter.  We continue to sprint until we come to the door that will lead us into the Torrent.  “Inside,” I urge.  Then I shut the door behind us.

“What the-” says a guard as he turns towards us.  I hide my face in my lifted hood and ram him solidly with my shoulder, sending him plummeting off of the stone edge and into the water.

We continue running along the edge, towards the grate.  The bottom of the hole sits just above the water, and the stone walkways end abruptly just before running into the hole.  We stop on the edge, looking for a way in.