The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(22)
“I’m losing it.” Faramir whispered softly and shook her head slowly as she moved to the far side of the room.
It was a bedchamber Remedy realized with a start, and from the location they were at in the palace it must have been one of the rooms reserved for visiting dignitaries. By the looks of the furnishings and linens it hadn’t seen much use yet, but then that was understandable. From what he had heard in the halls lately the entire world was still fighting, and he doubted any dignitaries had time to spare for an overnight visit at the palace.
Faramir walked slowly across the room and placed her hand against the wall. A slight grating noise grew in the stones and a panel slowly slid back. Remedy stared at the hidden tunnel for a long breath as the full extent of his latest revelation slowly sank in. He hadn’t even realized the palace had a network of hidden tunnels, and it likely meant there was no place safe for him to drop his guard. Who knew how many tunnels there were or how many spy holes might be in the walls. Even when he thought he was alone in a room, there was a very good chance he was still being watched.
He barely managed to rein his thoughts in as Faramir stepped inside the shadowed hall. With a silent prayer for luck he slipped in behind her hoping there would be enough room in the tunnels for him to stay out of her reach. His magic would work flawlessly, unless she happened to brush against him rather than the stone wall, or she was a better mind mage than he was. If she had strong mind magic she would detect him at close range.
This is a mission better suited for Vaze. Remedy thought for what must have been the thousandth time. He wasn’t a spy, and he wasn’t used to skulking. The Fionaveir had always sent him on missions of diplomacy or at times to gather information from certain individuals with his charm. Vaze was the one they relied on to skulk. Remedy had never before had to rely on stealth this much, and it quite honestly wasn’t his strong point.
Vaze was gone though, and everyone else was acting too strangely to trust enough to approach. Lutheron seemed aggravated all of the time, and Symphony existed in a sort of haze that he had never seen her in before. The few times he had managed to glimpse the Empress she had been oblivious to everything and had simply nodded to Faramir for most of the conversation. The only one that left was Caspian, and he was acting the strangest of them all. It had been his idea to clean the streets of Sanctuary, and Caspian was going about it with the fervor of a fanatic. If the rumors in the halls were to be believed the prisons were overflowing with petty criminals, and there was talk that the executions would start soon.
Faramir stood in the shadows of the tunnel watching the panel as it slowly slid back into place. The shadows deepened to near pitch darkness and Remedy silently back stepped several feet from her. He had darkvision, but it wasn’t the best. A shifter would have been able to see in these conditions as clearly as if it were a bright moonlit night. He could barely make out Faramir’s form and the stone walls, and all details were completely obscured. He couldn’t even tell what expression she had on her face. He listened intently as the faint scuff of her boot sounded on the floor. She was walking at a quick pace and to his vast relief it was away from him. Had she chosen to walk toward him there was no way he could have avoided brushing against her, the tunnel was simply too narrow.
With grim determination he fell into step and tried to keep up with her as best he could. Once again he found himself wanting to trade places with Vaze. Vaze could see in pitch black better than even a Shifter. Which brought another interesting point to mind…Faramir shouldn’t be able to see clearly in darkness either. With the pace she was setting she could either see perfectly, or she had been this way so many times it was familiar. Either way it was unsettling. Faramir was a powerful member of the Fionaveir council and Symphony’s chief advisor. There was no reason someone in her position should have been skulking through tunnels. If it was spying on the ranks of the Fionavier than she should have had an underling she could trust enough to do the job for her.
They walked for what seemed an eternity, though Remedy knew it was likely closer to half an hour before Faramir stopped once more. He shuffled silently to a stop and shook his head in disgust with himself. He had nearly walked into her back before he realized she was no longer moving. He could barely make out the outline of her hand as she raised it to a wall and once more a panel slid open. Dim light flooded the tunnel and once more he could see Faramir’s face clearly. She had a thoughtful expression on her face as she stepped from the tunnel and he followed briskly after her. He had no desire to be locked away in her tunnels, no matter how useful it might be to explore the extent of them. He was more interested in her agenda than exploring at this point.
The room he emerged into was a cramped one. A small bed, barely more than a pallet sat against one wall with a table and two chairs a few feet away. The walls were rough stone without the glossy finish the rest of the palace had with no sign of any door beyond the one they had entered through.
The most interesting feature was the woman seated at the table however and the expression of pure malice she had on her delicate face as she regarded Faramir. Her hair was long and chestnut brown and her skin was swarthy despite her obvious lack of sun. The dress she wore was simple and from the looks of it could use a good washing. Remedy gazed around the small room and back to the woman and wondered how long Faramir had kept her prisoner here, or who she was for that matter. He had been in the business of knowing all of the power players of Sanctuary during his time on the Fionaveir council, and this wasn’t someone he recognized.