Neversfall - Ed Gentry [65]
She scanned the dispersing crowd for Taennen and spotted him walking away. He nodded for her to follow, and she did. The durir had not struck her as the sort for secrecy, so she knew it must be urgent. She fell into step behind him.
"I'm to join the Chondathan on another patrol," Taennen said without looking at the woman.
"How many soldiers on the patrol?"
"Eight of ours, plus me, the Chondathan leader, and however many of his men he takes," Taennen said.
"You have a plan?" she said.
Taennen grinned but his eyes were sad. "Not as such."
Adeenya forgot her response when she heard a low humming sound that caused the insides of her ears to tremble and her jaw to clench. She thought the ground itself might shake, and she remembered stories of buildings collapsing and cracks forming in the ground beneath people's feet. She stopped and watched a nearby building as a guide. It did not move, nor did she, but still she vibrated, and the pressure in her ears grew. The confused look on Taennen's face told her that she was not alone in noticing the unusual sensations.
"What could that-" she started.
"Come on," he said, dashing toward the prison cells.
She ran to catch him. He barreled past the soldiers guarding the prison building and disappeared into the darkness of the room beyond.
"Cease!" she heard Taennen say from inside.
She heard a grunt followed by a muted growl as she plunged into the darkness. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. Another grunt of effort came, and she saw a Maquar poking one of the dog-sized formians with a spear. The creature scuttled to a corner to avoid the strikes. The guard spit a curse before stepping toward the big formian who stood still, bound and blindfolded.
Taennen lunged forward, grabbing the man's shoulder and pulling him back. The spearman shrugged off Taennen's grasp but halted his progress toward the formians. "You are dismissed, soldier!" Taennen shouted.
"Sir, the prisoners were planning something. Didn't you hear it?" the man replied. "It was terrible. My ears felt as though they might ignite."
"Soldier, the Maquar do not harm their prisoners, regardless of the noises they make. You're new to this outfit, but surely you know that," Taennen said.
The man nodded but quickly replied, "Yes, sir, but the sound… Sir, it was making me crazy, and the leader of the new men heard it as he went by earlier and said if it were up to him, he'd do something about it."
"Bascou told you to do this?" Adeenya asked.
The Maquar man blanched and stammered, "Well, he didn't order me to. But… well, you know… he sort of…"
"Enough. Your orders come from me, the orir, or the urir. Do you understand, soldier?" Taennen said.
The man nodded, and Taennen dismissed him, suggesting that the soldier get some rest. The man skirted past Adeenya on his way out the door. She closed the door behind him.
Taennen went to one knee and looked to the assaulted formian. The young man stood after a few moments and approached Guk. He stared at the large formian for a few moments as though the blindfold were not there.
"We'll see the wounds are tended to," Taennen said.
"What do you think the sound was?" Adeenya asked.
"I don't know, and I don't really care. They're free to make noise. It's not harming anyone," Taennen replied.
"True enough," she said. She wanted the prisoners to be well treated, but the sound had unnerved her.
"Your plan is working," Taennen said in a low voice, stepping in close to her and pointing at the formians. "Word they might have seen someone in the tower is all over the citadel."
"What next?" she said.
"You keep watch, and I'll see what the Aerilpar holds for us," Taennen said.
"Good luck, Taennen," she said. "Watch your back." "You too."
Before she could reply, Taennen moved out the door, his shadow blocking the light that barely touched the darkness of the interior of the