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HUGH DIDN’T KNOW HOW many stairs he climbed but they seemed endless. Maybe, it was the stress. He kept waiting for someone to burst into the stairwell and take him back to his cell. All he had to do was make it to the top. If there was no way out, he’d jump. He may not accomplish much with his life, but he could take away Jason and Conguise’s final punishment. That thought kept his feet moving until he stumbled onto the roof.
The sunlight hit him in the face for the first time in years. As a traitor he hadn’t been allowed any time in the yard. He staggered to a halt. It was glorious. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with fresh air, as the cool wind whipped across his body. If he died now, at least he’d had one last glimpse of sunshine.
“Locked.” Tim tugged on a door.
Jackson trotted over and tried the keys but none of them worked. Hugh ran his hand through his hair. As he’d stood there wasting time, the others had been searching for a way to escape.
He walked over to the railing. There were a lot of carriages in the front of the building. “Are we surrounded yet?”
“Even if we get down, we’ll never get away.” Curtis paced near the edge of the roof.
Jackson grabbed the young Guard’s arm. “Listen to me. We’re going to get out of this alive. I swear.”
“How?” asked Curtis. “We’ll die if we jump. The only chance we have is to go back and find another way out.”
“It’s been too long,” said Jackson. “They’ll have everything locked down by now.”
“I know.” Curtis leaned against the railing. “We’re trapped.”
The kid was right. This was probably their last few minutes free, or in his case alive. He had things he needed to do. He walked over to Curtis and held out his hand. “Thank you for this and”—he grinned—“not taking me to the basement.”
Curtis laughed and tentatively took his hand. “Laddie would’ve my head if I beat you or anyone else like that.”
“Laddie? How do you know Laddie?”
“He took me in for a while when I was young.”
“Is that why you agreed to help with my escape?” Laddie was going to be devastated when he found out what happened.
Curtis nodded. “Laddie would’ve come himself but he’s been sick.”
“Sick? What’s wrong with—”
“I have a way out.” Trinity stood at the far corner of the building, holding a piece of glass. She was twisting her wrist and catching the sunlight. “There are no carriages or Guards through there.”
She couldn’t be serious. On that side of the prison sat the perfect, natural deterrent for escape. It was the main reason the jail had been built in this location.
“The Mile of Fire,” said Curtis, disbelief in his voice. “We can’t get across there. We’ll be burnt to a crisp in a minute flat.”
They were ignoring the immediate problem. “Shouldn’t we worry about how we’re getting down from the roof? You know. First things first, so to speak.”
Trinity’s eyes narrowed on him and she opened her mouth, but her father grabbed her arm.
“We’re so lucky to have you here, Hugh.” Tim’s eyes sparkled with humor. “None of us would’ve realized that we needed to get down from the roof first.”
He’d forgotten how annoying the Servant could be. He grinned. He’d also forgotten how much he enjoyed irritating him. “You know, Tim. As far as rescues go, this is worse than when I rescued you.”
“Worse? I don’t think so. There are no monsters or sewage systems in this rescue.”
“Yeah, but we all made it out alive.” His humor vanished. They might all die because of him. “You shouldn’t have come.” He didn’t understand why any of them had done this. He’d gotten to know Jackson and Trinity a bit before he’d been arrested, but nothing that would explain this level of risk. Tim may have done it because he thought they were brothers. He should’ve cleared that up, but he’d had other things on his mind, like his arrest and trial
Tim walked over and grabbed Hugh’s shoulders. “Coming was never the question. Timing was the only factor.”
He nodded, his throat too tight for words, and hoped Tim understood what this meant to him.
“Listen,” said Trinity.
They all cocked their heads to hear what she heard. After several moments, small smiles broke out on Tim’s and Jackson’s faces.
“What’s that sound?” Curtis’s eyes darted between the sky and the others.
Even though his hearing had gotten better in jail—it’d been all he’d had when he’d sat in his cell at night—he didn’t hear a thing. Being an Almighty was definitely a hindrance in survival situations. Then there was something. It was like the wind but more direct, more focused. He closed his eyes and listened. It was the sound of flapping wings, large wings. He opened his eyes as Birdie flew over their heads, dropping a sack and landing on the railing.
Trinity snatched the backpack from the air. “Thank you, Birdie. You’re a life saver.” She grinned at the Avion. “Literally.”
“I told you that you could count on Birdie.” The little Avion’s chest puffed out with pride. “Avions are loyal, loyal friends. The best friends.”
She pulled a long section of rope from the backpack, tossing it over her shoulder and then removed a belt with a knife and sheath attached.
“Do you have another weapon?” He’d feel better with a weapon.
“Nope.” She wrapped the belt around her waist.
“High Hugh, good to see you, but you don’t look good.” Birdie chirped at his joke. “You lost weight. Too much. Miss Sarah would not be happy.”
“Good to see you too, Birdie.” He was a bit surprised that he actually meant it. He and the Avion had never been close. “You can drop the title though. It doesn’t belong to me anymore.”
“You are still High Hugh to me.” Birdie’s feathers ruffled, making him look like a giant cotton ball.
“I’m not that man any longer.” It wasn’t only that he’d never be that naïve and gullible again, but he no longer cared for the same things. He had no desire for riches or even to right the world’s wrongs. All he wanted was revenge on those who’d harmed the ones he loved, and if this rescue went bad, there’d be more deaths laid at his feet. “Birdie, thank you for helping, but you should go.”
“Hrmph. Still the same Hi...Hugh, I see. Jail didn’t change you. Not H...Hugh.”
Great, now he’d offended the prickly Avion. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m sorry if it came out that way.” He ran his hand through his hair. He’d never, in his life, done anything right around the Avion. “All I meant is that as of now, no one knows that you’ve assisted us. You should go before you’re seen.” He glanced around. “For the rest of us...it’s too late.”
Trinity shot Hugh a disgusted look and turned toward Birdie. “Please tell Gaar to bring the carriage to the Mile of Fire.”
“Mile of Fire,” squawked Birdie. “You cannot go through there. Even Birdie doesn’t fly over that area. The air is poison.” He opened his mouth and made a choking sound. “Poison.”
“It’ll be fine. Gaar taught me to always have an alternative means of escape”— she shot a superior look at Hugh and her dad—“for every phase of your journey.”
“I had a useful backup plan,” he grumbled. She was more irritating than her father.
“Yeah, through the sewer,” said Tim.
“It worked.” Perhaps, they were equally as irritating.
“This will never, never work,” said Birdie.
Trinity gathered the rope in her hand. “Birdie, there are rocks surrounding the Mile of Fire.”
“Yes, but they’re hot, hot, hot,” said the Avion.
“No, they aren’t. The fire is dying. The section of rocks that are cooling is getting larger and larger. The ones on the very outskirts are warm...very warm, but they won’t set us on fire.”
“Are you sure?” asked Jackson.
She cocked her head. “The prison Guards are coming up the stairs. They’ll be here soon. Please Birdie, go now.”
“Little One’s plan is not good. You wait. Birdie will talk to Gaar.” Birdie’s chest puffed out again. “We will come up with a better plan.” He flew off, muttering under his breath.
Trinity trotted to the closest door and tied one end of the rope to the handle. She tossed the other end off the side of the building.
“You’re joking, right?” he asked. They were too far up. They had no net to catch them and nothing to keep them attached to the rope but their hands.
“Dad, you first,” she said. “Once down, keep watch to make sure no one comes to this side of the building.”
“You should go,” said Tim.
“We don’t have time to argue.” She put the rope in his hands. “You have Arthur and Mom to think about. They won’t survive without you.”
“Trinity—”
“I won’t lose another brother.” She gave her dad a gentle shove.
“I love you.” Tim kissed her on the cheek and stepped off the side, zipping down the rope like it was something he did every day.
Hugh didn’t have any hope that it’d be as simple for him.
When Tim was about halfway down, she turned to him. “You’re next.”
If anyone was going to be caught it’d be him. “I’m the slowest. I don’t even know if I can make it all the way down.” It was a long way to the bottom and he hadn’t eaten much since his incarceration. “I’ll go last.”
“We didn’t come here to leave without you,” she said.
“I won’t be the reason any of you are executed.” He leaned against the railing. “I’m not budging on this.”
“I’d forgotten what an overbearing, Grunt’s ass you are.” She turned to Jackson. “You next.”
“No, Curtis first,” said Jackson.
Curtis swallowed visibly but didn’t hesitate to grab the rope and drop off the side of the building. He moved slowly and was less than a quarter of the way down when Tim dropped to the ground, rolling at the impact and then hopping to his feet and darting to the side of the building.
“That’s a pretty far drop.” If he had to die, he’d rather do it trying to escape, but he didn’t want to go over that ledge.
“The rope only goes so far,” she said.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs.
“Jackson, go,” she shoved the Guard.
“No, you go. You’re faster,” said Jackson.
Curtis was a little over halfway down. The prison Guards would be on the roof in a moment.
“I’ll stall them,” he said. “Both of you go.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” said Jackson.
“How are you going to stall them? They’ll capture you in a heartbeat.” She ran to the door and stood by the side.
“I’m not as useless as you seem to believe.” She was really getting on his nerves. He and Jackson flattened themselves against the wall as much as possible.
“There are”—she shifted her ear toward the door—“three of them.”
One for each of us. He pointed at the rope. It was going to shift when the door opened. Jackson shrugged. There was nothing they could do about it now. The door slid open and three Guards stepped onto the roof. Two of them were big and muscular. The other one had been solidly built but with age and inactivity his muscles had turned to fat.
“Oh shit!” The slack in the rope must’ve startled Curtis.
“Got em,” said one of the prison Guards as he and his companions followed the rope across the roof. The first Guard pulled a walkie-talkie from his waist band. Trinity landed on his back, knocking the radio out of his hand. At the same time Jackson tackled the other muscular Guard.
“Get help,” yelled the Guard right before Jackson punched him in the mouth.
The third Guard ran toward the door. Hugh lunged at him, but the Guard was fast.
“Stop him,” shouted Trinity, still fighting with her Guard.
Hugh raced across the roof, but there was no way he was going to catch him. The Guard was almost to the doorway. Maybe, he could stop him on the stairs. This Guard was old and fat. He had to be tiring. The shackles started to slip from around Hugh’s neck. He’d forgotten all about them. He grabbed one and flung it at the Guard, hitting him on the back. The Guard didn’t even flinch as he continued toward the door. He threw the other shackle, this time connecting with the Guard’s head and causing him to stumble forward. It was a slight delay, but enough. He pounced, wrapping his arm around the Guard’s throat. As they fell to the ground, his head connected with the concrete. Darkness teased the edges of his vision, but he kept his hold. He wouldn’t fail, not again. The Guard slapped at him and tried to insert his fingers between Hugh’s arm and his neck, but soon the lack of air took its toll and the Guard was out cold. Hugh held his arm in place a moment or two longer. He could end this Guard’s life here and now. He glanced at the Guard’s face. He didn’t recognize him. He took a deep breath and let go.
Trinity and Jackson were stepping away from their own Guards. They’d done it. The Guards were all unconscious, or dead. The one that Trinity had attacked was pretty bloody. Either way, he didn’t care.
“Let’s prop them against the door,” said Jackson. “It’ll buy us a little more time.”
“Agreed,” said Trinity. “Hugh, start down the rope while Jackson and I take care of things up here.”
“No. I’m going last.” With freedom so close he wanted to bolt, but it wouldn’t be right and he’d done enough wrong in his life. “If something happens it should be me that doesn’t make it out of here, not one of you.”
Jackson grabbed him by the back of the neck, dragging him to the side of the building. “I did not risk everything so that you could martyr yourself. Now go!”
Hugh caught himself on the rail. If Jackson had shoved a little harder, he might’ve gone over the edge. He spun around. “I’m not—”
“Oh, for all that is holy,” snapped Trinity as she drug a Guard to the door, panting. “One of you help me and one of you go.”
“I’m not going before you.” He glared at the Guard.
Jackson snarled and grabbed the rope. Before he dropped over the side he said, “You’re a stubborn fool Hugh Truent. You’re more important to...” His eyes darted to Trinity.
“To what?” he asked, looking between the two.
“Nothing.” Jackson dropped off the side of the building.
He turned to Trinity but she was busy pulling another Guard across the roof. He walked over and helped her.
“What did Jackson mean that I was more important to...?” he asked as they started moving the last Guard.
“Let’s just get this done.”
“Why won’t you tell me?” It was dangerous not knowing what everyone else knew.
They propped the final Guard against the door.
“We can talk about it later. Now, we need to get off this building.” She walked over to the rope. “You first.”
“No. I told you. I’m going last.”
“I’m not some Guard trained to take orders from an Almighty.” She poked him in the chest with her claw.
“You may look grown up, but you haven’t changed at all. You’re still a stubborn brat.” She’d always been like this, as irritating as a piece of dirt in his eye, but arguing with her wouldn’t work. He should’ve remembered that. After the Night of the Trackers, they’d spent a little time together and she’d refused to do anything he’d said unless he’d tricked her with logic. It might work again, but first he’d have to say he was sorry. He took a deep breath. He didn’t want to apologize for being right, but he wanted to die less. “You’re right.” He swore the words actually burned. “I’m...sorry.”
She continued to glare at him but her posture relaxed a bit.
Now, he had to sell it. “I’ll slow you down.”
“You’re slowing me down right now by not doing what I tell you.”
So much for logic. “The day that I take orders from you—”
“If you go after me and you slip, you’ll knock me off the rope. It’s safer for me to go last.”
She had a point and that annoyed him even more. “I’m not leaving you up here by yourself.” He held up his hand to stop her from talking. He didn’t think he could take any more of her attitude or insults. “I’ll go first, but only if you agree to follow right after me. Don’t wait until I’m halfway down.”
“Agreed.”
He opened and shut his mouth. This was the first time that she’d ever agreed to anything he’d said or suggested. He wasn’t sure what to do. He had other points to make. They were all lined up in his head.
“We should get going,” she said. “Unless you want to get caught?”
“Ah, there’s the Trinity I know.” He grabbed the rope, letting his eyes roam up and down her frame. “For a moment I thought you might’ve grown up a bit, but I was mistaken.” He stepped over the rail. It was a long way down. Very long. His head spun. From the distance or the knock he’d received when he was wrestling with the Guard, he wasn’t positive. He had to take that first step off the ledge, but his legs refused to move away from the solid structure beneath his feet and into the open air. He swallowed. He was dead if he didn’t move, but they wouldn’t kill him immediately, whereas if he slipped and fell, it was over. He had to convince Trinity to go first because he was pretty sure that he couldn’t do this. He turned to face her.
“Today.” Her golden eyes gleamed with something. Laughter? Triumph?
“Give me a second.” Somehow, this had become a competition between them and he refused to lose. He took a deep breath, willing the dizziness away.
“No. I meant that today is the day that you take orders from me.” She grinned, showing her long, white fangs.
“You little shit.” He wanted, no needed to get as far away from that smug face as possible. He stepped backward off the side of the building. His stomach dropped and he almost pissed as he fell. The only thing keeping his bladder clenched was the fact that he’d never hear the end of it from the others, especially Tim. His feet scrambled for purchase on the wall and found it.
“Don’t look down,” she said. “Keep watching the wall until you run out of rope.”
“I could’ve lived my entire life without hearing those words.” He didn’t want to think of the drop. That wasn’t going to feel good.
“Don’t be such a baby.”
“A baby! You have no idea what I went through in this place.” He’d been beaten to within an inch of his life. He was not a baby.
“Then you shouldn’t have any problem dropping from a rope.”
He glared up at her and his mouth went dry. All he could see were her long legs and her nicely rounded backside. It’d been years since he’d seen such a sight.
“Keep moving or is the poor Almighty tired already.”
“I don’t remember you being such a bi...” He stopped. She was Tim’s daughter and she’d risked her life to save him.
“Such a what?” She looked down at him over her shoulder. “Joy? Sweetheart?” She grinned.
“Yeah. That’s it exactly.” He started down the wall again, grumbling under his breath. “Sorry that I’m not used to climbing down buildings like you, the queen of the forest.”
“I like that. The queen of the forest. You should call me that all the time.”
He’d forgotten how good a House Servant’s hearing was.
“Move faster.” She’d almost caught up with him.
“I’m going as fast as I can.”
“Oh yeah, you’re an Almighty. Weak and slow.”
He moved faster, needing to get away from her before he said something he’d regret. He’d been weak and slow but he wasn’t anymore. That’d changed in prison. He was stronger now and more focused. He picked up his pace even more. The workouts were paying off. He glanced up and Trinity was farther away. He grinned. She was moving fast but he was keeping his distance. “Not as slow as you thought, huh?”
She ignored him and continued down the rope.
“What? Nothing to say now that I’m winning. I never figured you to be a sore loser, but I should’ve.” She didn’t reply, but her back was straighter than before. He was getting on her nerves. Good because she sure got on his. She was nothing but trouble, an attractive know-it-all who refused to listen to anyone. His hand met the end of the rope. It was still a long way to the ground.
Jackson waited alongside the building with Tim. They were both flat against the wall, trying not to be seen.
“Drop. You’ll be fine.” Her voice was soft, no longer acidic and mocking.
He couldn’t deal with her being kind to him. They’d done so well bickering. The trip had been fast and he hadn’t thought much about the danger. “I’m an Almighty. My kind doesn’t always land on their feet.”
“Let go,” she said, a hint of anger in her voice.
“I will.” His hands tightened on the rope. A fall like this could break something.
“Now,” she snapped. “Or I’ll kick you in the face and say a prayer that you land on your head.”
Her foot waved above his head. He wouldn’t put it past her to do what she threatened. She’d probably enjoy it. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, pushed back with his feet and let go. He was free. It was glorious. No chains. No cell. Just the air and the sky and...the ground. He hit hard, his legs taking the brunt of the fall. He rolled onto his back as Jackson’s hand grabbed his and pulled him to his feet. He touched his face, the impact of his landing still rattled through his teeth. Trinity dropped gracefully next to him. He hated House Servants, every last one of them.