Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [78]
"I'm sorry, Captain," he said, saluting quickly. "I thought you had heard. Klarsamryn is under attack."
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Quinn found himself once again crawling through a dark tunnel, following a woman he hardly knew.
Time was running short. He'd been down here for nearly a full day now and had less than nothing to show for his efforts. If he didn't find Mariko soon… well, he didn't want to think about the options.
The tunnel opened into a wider passage similar to the one Quinn had traversed when he had first arrived in the Cellar. It seemed since he had met Evelyne, he hadn't used any of the hallways intended for actual travel.
"We can rest here a moment," said Evelyne, getting to her feet and stretching her back.
"Where to next?" Quinn examined the walls. No water here.
Evelyne shrugged. "Dunno," she said. "That cavern was my best guess. I figure we'll just have to wander around a bit and hope we find this lost princess of yours." She touched her toes, twisted, then hitched her thumb over her shoulder. "There's another tunnel not far this way-"
"No." Quinn cut her off. "No more tunnels."
"Look, it's the safest-"
"I said no. If there is one thing I know about the princess, it's that she's not crawling around on her hands and knees in the cracks between the walls. If we have any chance of finding her, if we're going to stumble around here blindly hoping that we run into her, then we need to cover the ground that she and her captors are using."
"Her captors? You didn't mention captors."
"Why else would she be down here?"
"Same reason as me, maybe."
"And what reason is that?" asked Quinn.
"Because I crossed someone I shouldn't."
"You mean you broke the law, and you were sentenced to this place by the king."
"It wasn't the king," said Evelyne, smiling. "But I'm sure he wouldn't have approved of my behavior."
"Well," said Quinn, not quite sure what she meant. "Maybe we're better off leaving it at that. Come." He turned and headed down the passageway, placing his right hand on the wall as he walked. "When I was in the army, my captain used to say, 'When in doubt, follow the wall to the right. Eventually, you'll find what you're looking for.' "
"Sounds like a dumb captain," replied Evelyne, reluctantly falling into step behind him. "But I guess since we don't know where we’re going, this way is as good as any."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Korox lifted his arms and let the fine elven chain shirt with his twin red wyvern crest slip over his body. Squires dashed back and forth, bringing the king his weapons and armor. He walked as he dressed, pieces clinging to him as he went. With each step he transformed. Though he was tall and broad shouldered, he became larger than life. His boots gave him more height. His armor made him more imposing. His sword made him more dangerous, and his helm made him look mean.
Captain Kaden stood beside the door, twitching and pacing. He gripped the hilt of his sword even though it was firmly planted in its sheath. The king could tell he was ready for battle. And that was good. Korox was going to need all of his men to be ready.
Slipping his sword into his belt, the king stepped up beside the head of the Magistrates and slapped him on the arm.
"Let's go take back our palace," said Korox.
The two men stepped out of the door and made their way down the hall.
In the short time between being attacked in his bed and pulling on his armor, the portcullis had been breached and the great hall swamped with invaders. This was the first time since Erlkazar had become a country independent from Tethyr that the halls of its capitol had been breached by an enemy.
King Korox picked up his pace. Today was not going to be the day Klarsamryn fell.
Down the hall and through his private entrance, King Korox and Captain Kaden stepped into the audience chamber-and into the pages of history.
What had been designed as a place of peace, a place of negotiations, a place where the ruler of Erlkazar could conduct his business without being perceived as a tyrant, there now