Neversfall - Ed Gentry [80]
The stone steps unwound before him. He climbed one level, passing the platform that led to the first set of rooms, then another, and then he stopped counting. He would know the door he sought when he found it. More Chondathans would be there. His boots thundered on the stone, the echoes bouncing off the cylindrical walls and back to his ears in strange waves. As he approached another level, he heard the voice he had been expecting. "Turn around, young one," Bascou said, starting down the stairs toward him.
"I will speak with her," Taennen said.
"I'm afraid not," Bascou said, as a pair of Chondathans peered over the walkway, weapons exposed.
Taennen stopped. "What business do you have with her?" he asked.
"It is not my business, but your own commander's business that brings me here," Bascou replied.
"Jhoqo's business is my business," Taennen said.
Bascou smiled and said, "Then perhaps you should talk to Jhoqo."
"I am his second-in-command," Taennen replied. "Everywhere I step is with his authority."
"Perhaps your steps can no longer bear the weight of responsibility?" Bascou said, shrugging as a grin spread across his face.
Taennen turned and paced down the stairs. He would not fight them until he knew what was going on. Any action he took other than walking away would be divisive and dangerous.
Emerging into the courtyard below, Taennen was faced with several questions in his own mind. Was Adeenya a traitor? Was he misinterpreting all the evidence that cleared her? Was Jhoqo trying to oust him from his duties? Did his commander no longer trust him? Why would they deny him access to Adeenya? What could conversation with her possibly hurt? The final two questions decided all the rest for him. If she was guilty, there was no reason to hide her away. Only the voices of the innocent needed to be silenced by those they could harm with their words.
Chapter Sixteen
On unsteady legs, Adeenya crossed the squared-stone floor to the door. She eased herself to her knees and put her ear to the door, its cool smoothness soothing to her aching head. When no sound greeted her, she bent lower, attempting to look beneath the door through the narrow gap between floor and portal. Two pairs of boots stood a few paces away to the left of the door. Twisting her head, she put her ear toward the gap and heard voices, just above a whisper. Their unfamiliar tongue grated on her ears with guttural syllables and fricatives sprinkled throughout.
Adeenya rose to her feet, doing her best to be quiet. Her slow speed made her muscles strain, adding to her fatigue. She glanced around the room again, hoping she had missed something on her first check, but she saw the same bare walls and empty floor. Adeenya leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths before knocking on the door with the flat of her palm. The voices outside stopped, and scuffling boots sounded on the stone floor. Quick words were exchanged, and the door opened inward revealing two Chondathan soldiers. Both were of middling age, with the typical dark hair and heavy moustaches common among the newly arrived troops.
"What?" one of them asked, his sword in his hand but his posture relaxed.
"Why am I here?" Adeenya asked.
"Traitors belong in cells," said the other, his accent much less thick than his partner's.
Adeenya focused on the second man, noting his distinctive green eyes and soft, round face. "Traitor?"
The green-eyed man nodded and added, "Yes, traitor. We know you work with the savages."
"By whom have I been accused?" Adeenya asked, knowing the answer but wishing to keep the men engaged as long as possible so that she might discern more information.
The other man sneered and said, "The Maquar leader saw you kill the dwarf, girlie."
"He died, then?" she asked. She knew the wound she had delivered was not a small one, but it would have been possible to heal it.
The round-faced man nodded while the other chuckled, spitting something in his native tongue. Adeenya stepped back, her head shaking. The green-eyed man, the better speaker