In the darkness, the stone floor seemed alive as it rippled and moved beneath her feet. Katherine stumbled several times, not used to wearing trousers, and wondering how in the world she was supposed to find her way out of this labyrinth. The torch was of little use, though she knew she’d be in trouble when it went out. After what seemed like hours of running around in circles, she couldn’t seem to figure out which direction would actually lead her out. Every passage she took ended at a stone wall or another turn, which looped around, leaving her just where she had begun.
In the distance, she could hear the muffled chatter of hurried voices, though she couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. The thought that she might find others soon kept her going. Another shout had her turning left in pursuit of the voice. Tiny pebbles rained down on her, and she assumed that was cannon fire rocking the building high above her. Running out of time, out of light, out of patience, she needed to find her way out of this maze and back home to Arteria before she ended up buried in the rubble with Philip for good.
Turning the corner, she found herself in a hall she hadn’t seen before. Cells lined either side, each containing a different torture device. Noises filled the darkness on both sides as she continued along the hall. Some of them sounded like people, others like caged animals. Katherine spun around, holding the torch out slightly toward one of the cages, wondering if there were prisoners here. Thoughts of hands reaching out to trip made her heart leap into her throat. The light of the torch continued to diminish. Certain she was about to be plunged into total darkness, she began to run.
Katherine rounded a corner and saw two more passages in front of her. One appeared to lead up, the other back down further into the catacombs. She hesitated, debating which way she should go. The torch gave a final flicker and then snuffed out. “No!” she whispered, giving it a shake. Of course, that did no good, so she cast it aside. She heard it roll into the metal bars of one of the nearby cells.
Taking a deep breath, she thought about how stupid it was to toss the torch away when it had been her only asset. Mumbling to herself, she felt in front of her and bent down in an attempt to find it. Her fingertips brushed against the handle. With a sigh of relief, she reached to pick it up.
Fingers encircled her wrist! Katherine screamed and tried to jerk fee from the hand protruding through the bars of the cell. She could tell this individual was desperate but weak, and she was able to break herself free without too much difficulty. The fingers had felt like a woman’s, and despite her desperation to get out, Katherine found herself calling, “Who’s there?”
The answer was unintelligible. It sounded like the person speaking was holding her tongue—or missing it. Katherine was very good at figuring out meaning when there was little communication. “Say that again!” she demanded in to the darkness. This time, she was able to understand the utterance. “Rose?” she asked. “Is that you?”
“Es! Es!” was the reply she heard, and she knew that she had stumbled upon her imitator. Anger flashed through her mind until she considered what must’ve befallen the woman.
“My God! What have they done to you?” she asked, feeling for the prisoner in the darkness. She could easily figure out, however, that they had removed Rose’s tongue or else she would be able to speak. “Is there a way to unlock this cell?” Katherine asked, knowing that if she left her there, she would surely die.
This time when Rose grabbed her, Katherine didn’t pull away. She had her by the arm and seemed to be gesturing in the direction of the wall ahead, where the two passages split. “Is there a key?” The answer was the grunt that meant, “Yes.”
As Katherine stepped forward into the darkness she continued to ask yes or no questions. Was it on the wall? Was it high? Eventually, with Rose’s guidance, she was able to locate a small, rusty key, hanging on a ring near what felt like a torch stand. Then, following Rose’s voice, she was able to return to the cell and eventually work the key into the hole, releasing the prisoner, who responded by giving her a grateful hug.
“Now, do you know how to get out?” she asked.
Rose didn’t attempt to make a sound that resembled yes or no. She took hold of Katherine’s hand and started leading her through the darkness, down a passage Katherine was fairly certain she hadn’t taken before. Keeping a grip on the unlit torch like she might use it to bash someone’s head in, Katherine walked along with the traitor, finding it ironic that the pair of them needed each other so desperately now and praying this didn’t come back to haunt her.
Surveying the situation, Caleb mapped out his plan of attack. From what he could tell, Leopold’s forces were scattered. His archers had taken up positions atop the castle as well as high in the mountains. They would still be a threat. Much of the infantry had reformed in front of the castle, engaged with the Nadorians attacking from what had been their rear while the Arterians worked their way in from the east. Leopold’s cannons were silenced with no fixed target to fire on behind them and the Arterians out of range in front or obscured on their right flank. Caleb had no way of knowing if Leopold had escaped or was waiting inside for them, but he was certain, despite the large number of Nadorian forces breaching the castle walls, this would not be a safe passage. Satisfied he’d found the most direct path, he signaled it was time to move in.
The main force of the Arterian Army still had a good distance to cover. Caleb was reliant upon the Nadorians to cover him as his detail started out on their journey to the castle.
Carrying shields and swords, they moved as one toward an entrance on the north side of the castle, keeping an eye out for the archers. Caleb was wearing Nadorian colors so he didn’t think he’d be recognized, but the Gradenians were doing their best to keep enemy forces out of the castle.
They’d covered about a quarter of the distance when the first shots of a volley of arrows from the mountains to their right whizzed by. “Shields!” David shouted, and they all got down in formation, holding their shields up over their heads. Caleb felt the sharp thunk of wood splintering against the metal in his hand. A few moments later, a cannon fired from their left, and the arrows stopped. Carefully, David lowered his shield. “Clear.” Satisfied that the artillery had taken out the threat, they moved again.
Closer to the castle, the mayhem increased. Cannon fire from both armies occasionally missed the target, hitting Castle Graden near their position. Each time artillery fire shook the fortress, pieces of stone and splintering wood exploded, throwing debris into the air for yards around the point of impact. There were several fires in the upper chambers of the castle, plumes of smoke snaking through the openings, which mingled with the dust from the debris. It was difficult to see, and with the explosion of cannon fire, difficult to hear. Caleb relied on hand gestures to keep the band of men together.
As they neared the entrance, Gradenian infantry stepped forward, blocking their way. Nadorian forces nearby had their hands full with others defenders, so Caleb and his group rushed forward, ready to power their way through and fight through the entrance.
Caleb’s sword clattered against the blade of a soldier wearing the uniform of the Gradenian King’s Guard. The man growled and brought his weapon around. Caleb blocked it with his shield, throwing the soldier off balance. The king pushed him back with the metal plate and then sliced at him with his sword, catching his gullet. Gasping and spewing blood, the soldier attempted to lift his sword again, but he was no match for Caleb now, and the king quickly brought him down with another blow to his abdomen. Around him, the others had similar luck, though one of James’s men was hit in the arm. The prince stepped over to help, cutting down his countryman’s opponent and ending another Gradenian before the path was clear again.
A second volley of arrows announced their presence when one of Caleb’s men took a projectile in the neck. “Howard!” he shouted, but it was too late to help the man. As the rest of them threw their shields up and moved together to protect each other, cannon fire cleared the archers. Caleb removed his shield to see Howard’s brown eyes staring at him, lifeless.
“We have to keep moving!” David reminded him, grabbing hold of the chainmail that covered his shoulder and pressing him forward.
Caleb nodded, pulling his eyes away from the stare of the deceased soldier. He’d been a good man, but the king knew the chances of them all making it out alive were not good. He’d have to fight on, praying no one else would be lost.
From the entryway, the sound of heavy footsteps gave them pause. Half a dozen King’s Guard poured out the door, swords drawn. Caleb gave the signal, and his men moved ahead, swords clattering against each other. Gordon, to Caleb’s right cried out in pain, and the king turned his head to see blood spewing from the officer’s shoulder. Caleb swung at his assailant, disarming him and then running him through, while the others finished off the rest of the men who’d surprised them.
Pulling a bandage from his pocket, Caleb tied off Gordon’s wound. “How deep is it?”
Grimacing, Gordon replied, “I’m all right.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow, doubting that was the case, but he wouldn’t argue. They were almost inside Castle Graden. Over Gordon’s head, he could see archers reassembling on the mountainside. “We need to move.”
David stepped through the doors first, nodding that it was safe, and then the rest of them followed. Thicker smoke and dust filled Caleb’s lungs as he took the space in. They’d entered what looked like a storage room off of a kitchen. This part of the castle seemed eerily quiet, though elsewhere he was certain the King’s Guard fought on, and cannon fire echoed from outside. Not knowing where they were headed, the detail moved on, rushing out of the kitchen into a hallway.
A few citizens and servants scurried by, many of them ducking at the sight of the enemy. A few bodies lay on the floor, mostly Gradenians, and Caleb imagined the Nadorians had come through this way when they infiltrated the castle. Wherever they were now, there was no sign of them.
“Where do you think she could possibly be?” James asked running alongside him.
“I don’t know,” Caleb admitted. “If he believes she’s dead, I’d assume she’d be in the catacombs.”
“Unless he intended to have a viewing. She could be in the chapel,” Dale pointed out.
Caleb considered the possibility, but as they rounded a corner, James shouted, “Joan!” and pushed past the others toward a soot covered woman at the far end of the hall.
Recognizing the name, Caleb followed right behind. She was Katherine’s lady-in-waiting. If anyone knew where he could find his wife, it was this woman.
“Prince James!” Joan cried. “Thank the Lord! Please, hurry! Help! There’s not much time!”
The rest of the men ran down the hall stepping over piles of rubble and debris as they went. Joan took James by the hand and led him down a side hall, pointing and shouting. “Katherine is in the crypt! He thought she was dead, so he placed her down there. I haven’t been able to reach her.”
James had an arm around her, trying to comfort the woman so she would make more sense. Caleb was more direct. “Show us where,” he demanded.
Still frazzled, Joan continued. The debris was piling up, as were the bodies, and part of the roof had caved in here. Above them, Caleb could hear the unmistakable clanging of swords as he imagined the Nadorians had encountered Gradenian forces. He moved past a stairwell that would’ve led them higher into the castle, to where the battle raged, remembering that Katherine was his target, not Leopold or anything else.
Whenever they’d encounter a fallen body, Joan would lose her resolve, and James would be forced to coax her on. Eventually, she led them to the staircase that led down. The floor here seemed unstable, and for a moment, Caleb was reminded of the situation at Blackthorn where the floor had given way, blocking the entrance to the tunnels. That couldn’t happen here.
“It’s a labyrinth down there,” Joan explained. “I’m not sure how long it might take to find her.”
“When did she take the sleeping potion?” Caleb asked.
Joan looked up at the ceiling. “The night she arrived, late in the evening.”
Caleb nodded. “Then she may be awake by now.” Another round of cannon fire rocked the building. It was close this time, and it sent the dust flying into the air along with several pieces of debris. Noting that his own artillery was about to kill him, Caleb ordered, “James, take Gordon and Joan and get them to safety. The rest of us will locate Katherine and get her out.”
“No!” James said without hesitation. Not used to hearing that word, Caleb stared at the prince, eyes wide. “I’m not going anywhere without my sister.”
He’d thought the woman would be more comfortable with someone she trusted, but not wanting to argue, he said, “Very well then; send one of your men.”
James assigned one of his officers to escort Joan and the Gordon—who was adamantly willing to stay but overruled--back the way they had come. Caleb gave strict orders to Gordon to get word to the artillerists on both sides of the castle to hold their fire until they heard from him. Gordon nodded and reluctantly headed out. That left nine men ready to plunge head first into blackened catacombs in search of a sleeping princess.
“We’ll need torches,” Dale noted.
“Right,” the king agreed. A search of nearby hallways produced four, which would have to do. David took the lead, despite Caleb wanting to go first, and they made their way into the darkness.
As his feet echoed off crumbling stone stairs, Caleb prayed that this wasn’t the perfect trap set by Leopold himself, whom still had not been seen or heard from.
In the pitch black, Katherine followed Rose, her eyes beginning to ache from searching for light that couldn’t be found. It was slow going as Rose felt along the walls, searching for the right path. She seemed confident that she knew which way to go whenever they came to a turn, and Katherine had no choice but to trust her.
A bit of light gleaming from around a corner had Katherine holding her breath. “Do you see that?” she asked.
“Uh huh,” Rose replied.
“Is that the right way?”
“Nuh.”
“We should get it anyway,” Katherine decided. A torch would make their progress so much faster.
Rose seemed to agree and headed in that direction, still clutching Katherine’s hand. The path became more illuminated the closer they got until Katherine could see the torch up ahead. They’d come to an intersection, and an inkling in the back of Katherine’s head that perhaps they were not alone had her pulling back on Rose’s arm. The other girl stopped, turning to look at her. “We should be more cautious,” Katherine whispered.
Rose nodded, and Katherine peeked both directions down the hall first. Seeing nothing, she said, “All right. Let’s go.”
The women hurried ahead, and dropping the unlit torch, Katherine plucked the half-burned one from its holder. “This will do nicely for a while!” Rose led her back the way they’d come, and when they returned to the spot where they’d first seen the light, she made a determination as to which direction they should go next. With the torch in her hand, they continued, Katherine praying that each step brought them closer to freedom, brought her closer to seeing Caleb’s face again.