Neversfall - Ed Gentry [88]
Comforted by the shadows at the top, she proceeded toward the far end of the citadel. Lacking her armor, she was instilled with both a sense of dread and of freedom. The freedom and ease of movement without her stiff leather plate was pleasing, but she knew she would not survive long without it if she were forced into battle.
Several paces ahead, she saw the dim light of one of the watch posts, where guards remained stationed instead of pacing the perimeter. She crept forward, hoping the guard on duty would be one of her own soldiers. As she drew nearer she was disappointed to see instead the features of one of the Chondathans. Moving to the inside wall of the walkway, she inched toward the man. Adeenya was two steps from an ideal ambush position directly behind the man when he spoke.
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Taennen clipped short the scream of frustration he had almost loosed. His face turned a light crimson as he trembled with impotent rage. The formian leader, in spite of the display before him, stood as silent and unmoving as ever. Taennen stepped back from the creature and calmed himself. He could hear more activity outside the building, soldiers answering some urgent call issued from the rear of the citadel.
"Where are they?" he demanded. "Where are the invaders?"
"We do not know," Guk replied. "You just-" Taennen began.
"We do not know where they are at all times, but where they come from, into this place, that we know," the formian said.
"How? How do they get into the citadel?" "Under," Guk said. "Under? The ground?" The formian said, "Tunnels."
It made sense. How else could the invaders have entered the citadel without discovery? It explained the lack of fires in the forest and how the patrols had found no trace of camps in the woods. His mind slammed the pieces into place, but he found one that did not fit. They had fought the enemy in the woods. If they moved and slept in the tunnels, how did the barbarians know to find them in the forest?
The answer came readily. The enemy knew where to find them because someone told the enemy where they would be. There was a traitor.
"You will free us now," Guk said, interrupting Taennen's thoughts.
The Maquar durir looked up at the fbrmian and considered the words. He had implied the formian's freedom for cooperation, and he would not dishonor himself by failing to follow through on even a tenuous promise. Freeing them would mean his career, he did not doubt. Not freeing them might cost his life.
"Show me the tunnels and then leave by them," Taennen said.
Guk's head shifted from side to side for a moment, his antennae flickering, followed by the same motions from his cohorts. "Agreed," the formian leader said.
Taennen went to the door, opening it a crack to peer out. He saw no one in that part of the courtyard. He opened all the cells, untying the formians' bindings, and motioned for them to follow him. He stepped out of the building and looked both directions down the narrow paths between structures. He was turning to hurry the creatures when he found they were already behind him, moving so quietly that, even at a few paces, he could not hear them.
"Where?" Taennen asked.
Guk pointed to one of the outlying buildings, one of only a few not built on piers, and moved down the prison's steps toward it, his fellows following. The structure was one of the smallest, and it seemed an unlikely choice for an entrance to a secret tunnel. Perhaps, Taennen thought, that was the point. He fell into step beside Guk, keeping his movements as quiet as he could. His hand rested on the hilt of his khopesh, and his shield arm flexed in anticipation. They made the front door of the building, and Taennen ushered the formians through the door. Inside, Guk stood in the middle of the room, his antennae weaving back and forth.
"Where is it?" Taennen asked.
"I do not know," Guk said. Before Taennen could reply, he continued. "I know it is here but have not seen it from this side."
"What? You've been in the