The Hidden City

‘Up here.’

‘Take the baggage.’ A coil of rope came unwinding up out of the darkness.

‘Give me a hand with this, Talen.’ He leaned over the stone railing. ‘Get clear of it,’ he called down softly to Kalten. ‘We’re going to pull it up.’

Kalten grunted, and they could hear him moving across the wall to one side. Then Sparhawk and Talen slowly pulled the awkward, bulky bundle up to the top of the tower, being careful not to let it bang against the stones of the wall. Sparhawk quickly retrieved his sword and then fumbled through the mail-shirts, searching for his own.

Kalten was puffing as he climbed up over the railing. ‘Why did you let me get so badly out of shape, Sparhawk?’ he asked accusingly.

Sparhawk shrugged. ‘Careless, I guess. Ah, here it is.’ He lifted his own mail-shirt free of the others.

‘How can you tell?’ Talen asked curiously. ‘In the dark, I mean?’

‘I’ve worn it for over twenty years. Believe me, I recognize it. See how the others are coming.’

Talen went to the rail and helped Xanetia onto the parapet while Bevier and Mirtai clambered over on their own.

It took only a couple of minutes for the knights to re-arm themselves. ‘Where did Talen go?’ Kalten whispered, looking around.

‘He’s snooping,’ Mirtai replied, settling her sword-belt into place.

‘I think it’s called scouting,’ Bevier corrected her.

She shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

Then Talen came back. ‘I think I found what we’re looking for,’ he said softly. ‘There’s a small window with a sort of iron grate over it. It’s up high, so I didn’t look in.’

‘Is Aphrael coming back?’ Bevier asked. ‘Should we wait for her?’

Sparhawk shook his head. ‘It’s going to start getting light before long. Aphrael knows what we’re doing. She’s making sure the others are all in place.’

Talen led them around to the east side of the tower. ‘Up there,’ he whispered, pointing at a small, barred window about ten feet up the side of the rough wall.

‘Do any of the windows on the front side have bars?’ Sparhawk asked him.

‘No, and they’re bigger and closer to the floor.’

‘That’s it then.’ Sparhawk fought back an urge to shout with exultation. ‘Aphrael described that window to me.’

Kalten squinted up at the iron-grated window high in the wall. ‘Let’s make sure of this before we start to celebrate.’ He braced his hands on the wall and set his feet wide apart. ‘Climb up and take a look, Sparhawk.’

‘Right.’ Sparhawk put his hands on his friend’s arms and climbed up his broad back. He set his feet carefully on Kalten’s shoulders and slowly straightened, reaching up to grasp the rusty grating that covered the window. He pulled his face up and peered into the darkness. ‘Ehlana?’ he called softly.

‘Sparhawk?’ Her voice was startled.

‘Please keep your voice down. Are you all right?’

‘I am now. How did you get here?’

‘It’s a long story. Is Alean there too?’

‘Right here, Prince Sparhawk,’ the girl’s silvery voice replied. ‘Is Kalten with you?’

‘I’m standing on his shoulders right now. Can you make a light of any kind?’

‘Absolutely not!’ Ehlana’s voice was stricken.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘They’ve cut off all my hair, Sparhawk!’ she moaned. I don’t want you to look at me!’

Chapter 32

Talen dropped back to the parapet from the small window. ‘I can get through it,’ he whispered confidently.

‘What about that iron grate?’ Kalten demanded.

‘It’s ornamental. It wasn’t very good to begin with, and it’s been there for at least a couple of centuries. It won’t take long to work it loose.’

‘Let’s hold off until Xanetia gets back,’ Sparhawk decided. ‘I want to know what we’re up against before we start crashing around.’

‘I’m not trying to be offensive,’ Mirtai said softly to Talen, ‘but I don’t see what good it’s going to do us to have you inside the cell when the fighting starts and half a dozen Cyrgai rush into the cell to kill Ehlana and Alean.’

‘It’s on accounta the fact that they ain’t a-gonna git in the cell, Dorlin’,’ he said with an outrageous grin. ‘The door’s locked.’

‘They’ve got a key.’

‘Give me about a half a minute with the lock, and their key won’t fit. They won’t get in; trust me.’

‘Are there alternatives?’ Bevier asked.

‘Not in the amount of time we’ve got left before it starts getting light,’ Sparhawk replied with a worried glance at the eastern horizon. ‘Kalten, go up and have a look at that grating.’

‘Right.’ The blond Pandion climbed up to the small window, took hold of the ancient iron lattice in both hands and started to heave on it. Crumbs and fragments of mortar began to shower down on the rest of them.

‘Quietly!’ Mirtai hissed at him.

‘It’s already loose,’ he reported in a hoarse whisper. ‘The mortar’s rotten.’ He stopped wrenching at the bars and leaned closer to the window. ‘Ehlana wants to talk to you, Sparhawk,’ he called down softly.

Sparhawk climbed back up to the window. ‘Yes, love?’ he whispered into the darkness.

‘What are you planning, Sparhawk?’ she murmured, her voice so near that it seemed he could almost touch her.

‘We’re going to pull the bars loose, and then Talen’s going to crawl through the window. He’ll jam the lock so the people outside can’t get into the cell. Then the rest of us will rush the guards. Is Zalasta out there anywhere?’

‘No. He and Ekatas went to the temple. He knows that you’re here, Sparhawk. He sensed you somehow. Santheocles has men searching the city for you right now.’

‘I think we’re ahead of them. I don’t believe they realize that we’re already up here.’

‘How did you get up here, Sparhawk? All the stairways are guarded.’

‘We climbed up the outside of the tower. When do those guards out there start stirring around?’

‘When it begins to get light, usually. They cook what passes for food around here in the guardroom. Then a couple of them bring breakfast to Alean and me.’