The Crow King's Wife(121)

“Is he legally insane amongst his people or is this normal behavior for a Firym?” Dray asked dryly as he moved closer to Zachary.

The Blight’s expression was so doubtful that Zoelyn wasn’t even sure he would enter the building once the stone cooled. She could see his muscles tense every time the building made the faintest creak.

Zachary frowned for a breath and then looked to Dray with an amused smile. “Havoc waited for me to move before using fire. That makes him quite rational amongst the Firym, almost too cautious by their standards.” He replied in obvious amusement.

“Never going to Firym.” Dray concluded then glanced back at her. “What do you think?”

“I think that the children inside that fortress are most likely a lot more frightened than we are.” Zoelyn replied without hesitation and stepped forward nervously. The molten stone was no longer glowing, but she wasn’t fool enough to think it had set in such a short time. She’d have to move across it quickly or damage her boots. Considering she was wearing the armor Seth had given her there was no way to replace anything she damaged without begging the Demon, and that was not an option in her mind.

“Let me go first.” Dray began, but she ignored him and crossed through the doorway as quickly as she could. She paused once clear of the slide to wait for the others and allow her eyes time to adjust to the shadowy interior.

“The vines are covering all of the bloody windows. Have you got nightvision?” Havoc asked from somewhere in the shadows to her left.

“Not really.” Zoelyn admitted bleakly. She turned a slow circle gazing at the darkened room around her. There were piles of rocks littering the floor near her, and the broken remains of a long table; everything beyond those details however was lost in darkness.

“I can guide her. I’d rather not light a torch.” Dray suggested as he moved up beside her and took her arm.

She shifted slightly moving his arm further up her coat and away from the gap between her sleeve and glove. The curse was gnawing at her so strongly that she didn’t even want to take a chance of Dray touching her bare wrist. She needed all of her concentration to focus on what they were doing, and if she were distracted by keeping her curse in check she would be tripping her way down the entire hall.

“What if we have to fight?” Zoelyn protested before any of them had a chance to leave the room. The thought of making her way through the entire fortress as blind as a mole was not appealing in the least, and while she understood Dray’s reasoning for not wanting a torch she sincerely doubted Havoc had any sort of stealth in mind. Since the moment he had stripped from his Rivasan disguise in the alley the Firym had been searching for a fight, and so far he hadn’t managed to find anything to kill.

“Then Havoc and I will fight while Dray keeps you out of the way.” Zachary replied as he moved gracefully past them all. “It might be better if you take point Havoc. I’d hate for you to get overly excited by something and cook our companions by accident.”

“Probably the best option. If I’m in front the only ones I can cook are enemies, though fire really isn’t the best tool against Rivasans.” Havoc agreed with a shrug before moving to join Zachary at the far side of the room. He paused in the doorway for a breath then abruptly turned right and began walking calmly down the hall.

“Does he know where he is going?” Dray asked as he glanced to the left and then back to Zachary.

“I’d guess that he hasn’t got a clue, but one way is as good as the other in a fortress this old. Most of the halls will connect and we will get there no matter which direction we choose. All we need to do is find the stairway down.” Zachary explained as he motioned a hand toward Havoc’s departing form. “And if we don’t keep up with him we will get separated and we don’t want that. It’s an invitation to have our faces lit on fire if we surprise him somewhere down the hall.”

“Right.” Dray agreed dubiously as he tugged gently on her arm and set after Havoc at a quick jog. Zoelyn frowned at the pace but didn’t bother to object. Given the options stubbing her toe on a fallen stone did seem preferable to surprising Havoc.

“Do you think the cowards evacuated the keep? There should be guards and I haven’t seen a single thing to kill.” Havoc called over his shoulder in a voice that echoed through the corridors.

“If they didn’t evacuate they are idiots. They have either run or set up an ambush for us in a more stable section of the fortress. I wouldn’t be lingering in this part either. It looks as though the ceiling beams are splitting above us. I’d say we have an hour at most before twelve tons of stone is falling on our heads.” Zachary replied casually.