The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(102)

“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.

“If they have possibly set up an ambush shouldn’t we be a bit quieter?” Zoelyn grumbled softly. She had never actually met Victory before, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that their absent friend was quiet correct in his assessment of them and that they were in fact idiots.

“House guards in a minor city.” Zachary replied in a bored tone. “Anyone worth his salt went with Derrick to deal with Grim. The only ones left in the Keep will be the scrubs. If they have in fact got an ambush set up Havoc will kill them before we even catch up with him.”

Firelight lit the hall ahead of them before Zoelyn could object further and the entire structure groaned once more. Zoelyn shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly to clear the blindness as Dray tugged her along grumbling about insanity. The air around her was filling with smoke and she had to fight back the urge to cough as they drew closer to the Firym and his newest destruction.

“Got tired of looking for the stairs already?” Zachary observed dryly as he gazed down at the still smoldering hole in the floor.

Havoc shrugged and smiled. “Seemed faster. I hate Hide and go Seek, always have.” He replied and began unbuckling his sword belt. With a flip of his wrist he wound the belt around the two blades and tossed them to Zachary. “I’ll go down first. Toss my blades down when I yell for them.” He said as folded his arms around himself and stepped into the hole.

“He didn’t even check to see how far the drop was.” Dray gasped in dismay.

“One…Two…” Zachary intoned before violent cursing erupted from below them. Nodding Zachary dropped to a crouch and pulled his backpack from his shoulder. “It’s a little over twenty feet. The rest of us will want to climb down rather than jump.” He informed them as he drew coils of silk rope from his bag.

“Swords.” Havoc’s voice called faintly up to them and Zachary pitched the Firym’s weapons through the hole without bothering to look up from the rope he was busily uncoiling.

“Damn it!” Havoc’s echoed response brought a faint smile to Zachary’s face and he glanced up at the two of them impishly.

“Got him.” Zachary observed with a wink then stood and gazed around the hall for something to tie the rope off on. With a faint frown he settled on a door and busied himself for several minutes securing the rope to its handle.

“We would be better off with a rabid bear as our guide.” Dray whispered in her ear and Zoelyn fought back a smile as Zachary turned toward them.

“I’m not sure how the rope will hold up if it spends too long in contact with the stone Havoc melted so climb quickly.” Zachary tossed the rope through the hole as he spoke and motioned them both forward.

“Bloody hell.” Dray grumbled as he scrambled for the rope and held it away from the edges of the hole. “You first Zoey I’ll hold it for you.”

“Think I found the prison entrance. Big bad looking iron bound door at the end of this hall.” Havoc called up to them as Zoelyn hesitantly took the rope and tried in vain to spot the ground below the hole.