Anilyia (29 page)

Sir Danth disappeared again and Tathan
dashed to the second doorway on the right. Another scream and a
crash came from that direction. Liselle and Vevin rushed after
Tathan through the silk shrouded entry. This time, the multi-voiced
scream of a Rojuun mixed with the woman’s. There were three Rojuun
guards with their long knives drawn. One had cuts on his face and
there were shattered pieces of a vase lying around him. He was just
getting up. The second was screaming at the third guard. The reason
he was screaming was that Sir Danth had appeared behind the third
guard and swung his sword at the meju’s head.

In keeping with Liselle’s desire to kill as
few people as possible, the dark knight had used the flat of the
blade instead of the edge. However, Sir Danth’s magically enhanced
strength was such that the blow had knocked the guard’s head off.
It had splattered against the nearby wall with a gruesome sound and
was rolling around on the floor. The body was in the process of
falling, blood gushing from the open neck. Liselle gulped at the
sight of it, though she was proud of herself for not screaming like
the woman or Rojuun guard.

Two other women were lying dead on the
ground in front of the one who was screaming. Liselle imagined they
must be ladies in waiting and that the screamer was the
princess.

The meju who had been hit in the face with a
vase was beginning to move toward the princess. Liselle cast her
spell at him quickly. There was no light, sound or any other
obvious effect, but the guard was suddenly unable to move.

The second guard had turned toward the new
intruders and was now screaming at them. Liselle could tell he was
in shock from everything that was happening. Tathan’s blade slid in
and out of the meju’s chest, causing the screaming to stop
abruptly. Oddly enough, the princess stopped screaming at the same
time. Tathan took a step toward the guard Liselle had frozen and
slid his sword in and out of that meju’s chest as well. As the
guard began to fall, Tathan quickly cleaned each side of his blade
on the meju.

Liselle stared at him with wide eyes,
wondering why he had killed them after agreeing to keep bloodshed
to a minimum. He looked straight at her and answered the unspoken
question. “I killed them because they saw us and what we’re capable
of. They are also assassins, not very good ones, but assassins
nonetheless. It’s not safe for us to leave them alive.” He stared
at her as though hoping she would forgive him.

She did, reluctantly. “Alright, Tathan. I’ll
accept your judgment.”

Martin peeked in the silk curtain. Seeing
they were victorious, he stepped in. “You actually succeeded?” he
asked in surprise. “Your Highness,” he said with a bow to the woman
in the corner who was staring at her rescuers with wide eyes.

The companions all turned to the princess.
She was about twenty years of age, old for an unmarried princess.
She was five-foot-five with an olive complexion, her hair was
platinum blond and her eyes were brilliant blue. Liselle was
impressed by her beauty.

Princess Anilyia’s jaw was open as she
stared at the dead bodies on the floor. She stared at Martin and
the newcomers in the room. Then the princess fainted.

Tathan rushed forward to pick her up and
sling her over his shoulder. “Okay, let’s get out of here before
more Rojuun come. We’re going to set off alarms when we leave the
suite, but with all the screams and other servants running off, the
guards will be here soon anyway.

“Master Tathan, that is not the proper way
to carry a princess.” Sir Danth was clearly offended. “One should
carry a princess in their arms and walk as softly as possible.”

“Sir Danth, this is the easiest way to run
while carrying a person. If you want to carry her properly, then
you’re more than welcome to do so,” Tathan offered, pointing at the
princess’s butt.

The knight held up his hands. “No, that’s
quite alright. It would not be the best use of my skills. Perhaps
you are correct, speed is the most essential ingredient at the
moment.”

“Let’s go then,” Tathan replied, going back
to the common room of the suite. Liselle followed with Vevin. She
glanced back at the bodies and then turned her attention on Sir
Danth.

There was no expression on his helmet, which
was unlike him. “I apologize for killing the first guard, Milady. I
did
try to subdue him without delivering a fatal blow.”

“I know,” she responded with a weak smile
before moving through the light cloth to the common room. Martin
and the other servants had already run back with the others. They
were going to try to get away without saying anything, but had
pre-made explanations of how the companions had overcome them
should the guards hold them.

Tathan was at the door, gesturing for them
to hurry. Liselle’s heart raced. They were truly rescuing the
princess. Next, they would run deeper into the fortress where
Rojuun would try to kill them. Somehow, they would try to find a
way out of the caverns and tunnels of the mountains and escape into
the open air above ground.

Liselle’s stomach clenched. It was a
terrible plan! What were they thinking?! The chance of failure was
much greater than the chance of success. The companions all looked
at each other. At the same time, wild grins lit each of their
faces. Liselle felt alive and the blood raced through her veins. It
was terrifying and fun all at once. “Are we ready?” Tathan asked.
They nodded. “Let’s do it!” The companions ran out the door.

A piercing blare filled the hallway. They
turned left, deeper into the mountains, going in an easterly
direction. No one challenged them right away in spite of the
alarms. Light globes set every forty feet made it easy to see. All
four of them were in excellent condition and running was not
difficult. Liselle had already cast a spell to help their endurance
and speed for a couple of hours.

The hall ended at a cave about five minutes
after leaving the chambers. There was no door to go through, so
Tathan had them slow down while he moved ahead to take a look.
Liselle was impressed that he was moving noiselessly while still
carrying the princess over his shoulder. Tathan stood at the cave
entrance for a moment before waving them forward. When they reached
him, he whispered, “I don’t know which way to go from here. There
are a couple of Rojuun at desks to the left. Liselle, will you hold
them so we can sneak by and then we’ll try to decide?”

She nodded and moved forward to peer into
the cave. A meju and feju sat working at desks facing each other
near the wall to the left. The cave looked like a hub for the
tunnels intersecting it. Liselle exhaled magic in their direction,
not using words or gestures. It was easier that way sometimes,
especially if she was trying to sneak up on someone. A moment
later, the Rojuun stopped moving. She had no idea how long it would
last. Tathan could be held for about two minutes, but he had a
strong will and was slippery mentally as well as physically. She
could only hold Vevin for about five seconds and the spell slid off
Sir Danth’s armor.

“Is it done?” Tathan whispered. Liselle
turned to him and nodded. They all walked into the cave and looked
around. Fifteen tunnels intersected it. “Which one should we try?”
Tathan asked. They looked at each other then turned to Tathan and
shrugged in unison. He sighed, causing them to cover their mouths
to muffle laughter. “Vevin,” Tathan said. “Can you use your dragon
senses to figure out which passage would be best?”

Vevin thought for a moment then looked at
each passage. After studying them, he turned back to Tathan.
“Nope.”

“Sir Danth,” Tathan said, facing the knight.
“Does your armor have some sort of enchantment to discover the best
way to go?”

Sir Danth considered for a moment before
shaking his head. “If it does, I fell asleep when they were
describing that part to me.”

Tathan turned to Liselle, trying hard to
suppress his exasperation. “I don’t suppose you can come up with
some sort of spell or call some flowers to help?” he suggested
hopefully.

Liselle turned toward the passages, looking
down each one intently. No plants were kept in the fortress or
these tunnels. She wondered why. Lights globes were spaced every
forty feet down each of the tunnels. Some had works of art at odd
intervals, but there weren’t many. Liselle tried to sense nearby
plants, but felt nothing. She looked down the passages in the hopes
that one would give her a gut feeling of sorts. She turned to
Tathan and simply shook her head no.

“Alright. Let’s go that way.” Tathan pointed
toward a tunnel heading north. When she looked at him
questioningly, he explained, “They’re likely to follow a tunnel
directly across from the one we came out of. I don’t want to go
back the direction we came, so passages in that direction are out,
and I don’t want to go south.”

“What about them?” Sir Danth asked, pointing
at the two Rojuun who were still frozen. Tathan fingered the hilt
of his sword, looking at Liselle. It was obvious he wanted to kill
them so they wouldn’t be able to say which way the companions went.
Liselle couldn’t help but hate the idea. Surely it wasn’t necessary
to kill everyone they passed. She looked at them and gestured. They
fell forward in a deep sleep that Liselle knew they wouldn’t wake
from for some time. Tathan looked at the Rojuun and nodded.

“Oh my,” Vevin said. “There are voices down
the hallway we came from. The Rojuun sound very mad that we’ve
gotten away with the princess.”

“Let’s go.” Tathan led them to the tunnel he
had pointed out. No one seemed to be in the new tunnel and they ran
down it at a fast clip, hoping to get out of sight before anyone
could see which direction they were taking.

Then the princess regained consciousness.
“Wha . . . what are you doing?” she demanded as she pushed herself
up from Tathan’s back to see what was going on. They stopped and
Tathan set her on her feet.

“We don’t have much time. Who are you?”
Tathan asked. They all looked at him in confusion, already knowing
she was the princess.

She stood up straight, her chin held high.
“I am Princess Anilyia Felicia Romenia Illiath Turllisa Wannita
Ullbra of the Kingdom of Mayncal, daughter of . . .”

Princess Anilyia wasn’t able to finish
reciting her title because Tathan waved her off. “That’s good
enough for me, Your Highness. I just wanted to make certain we were
rescuing the right person,” he said with a grin. The princess
stared at him with mouth open. “You’ll catch flies like that,”
Tathan pointed out. She snapped her jaw shut and began to glare at
him. Tathan ignored the glare. “Now, we have a whole lot of Rojuun
chasing us, wanting to kill us and recapture you. Unless you want
that to happen, I suggest we move along.”

Princess Anilyia scanned the four of them.
Her eyes widened at the sight of Vevin, who wasn’t hiding his
presence for her. Vevin waved and smiled, causing her eyes to widen
more as she took a step back. Her gaze passed over Liselle, and
rested on Sir Danth. Liselle was irritated that the princess
dismissed her so easily. She also didn’t like it that Vevin had
smiled at the princess, who was much prettier than Liselle would
like.

The princess raised her head to look down
her nose at them. “Before I go anywhere, I demand you tell me who
you are,” she said in a rich, mellow voice.

“It doesn’t matter at the moment, Your
Highness. We need to get out of these tunnels fast.” Tathan glanced
over his shoulder to see if anyone was following. Liselle could
hear voices behind them now.

“It
does
matter,” She pointed out.
“How do I know you’re not from the Empire of Iynath, or someone who
wishes to hold me for ransom, or perhaps you are just some thugs
who wish to violate me because I’m such a pretty princess, hmm?”
she challenged.

Tathan stared at her and sighed. Sir Danth
bowed deeply. “Your Highness, I am Sir Danth Wazmordin of Morhain.
I give you my word that it is our intention to rescue you and
return you to your kingdom.”

The princess frowned. “Morhain is an ancient
country that ceased to be over a thousand years ago. You can’t be
from there.”

“Well, he is,” Liselle said in exasperation.
“And we are trying to rescue you. If you stand around questioning
us all day, then we’re going to die.” The voices were coming
closer. Liselle turned to look and could see Rojuun in the distance
coming down the passage.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know that
you are not vicious thugs intent on selling me into slavery,” she
stated, folding her arms.

Tathan’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. We’ll leave
you here while the rest of us escape. Have fun in your suite hoping
the Rojuun don’t kill you.” He turned to his companions. “Let’s
go.” Then he walked past her.

“Wait . . . I’ll go,” she said quickly,
looking down the passage at the Rojuun who had just spotted them.
She turned and began to run. Sir Danth and Tathan ran next to her,
leaving Liselle and Vevin to follow. Vevin was about to run until
he saw Liselle staring at their followers.

Liselle thought about the spells Vevin had
taught her. In addition to the one that held people, he had shown
her a barrier spell. It was one she would have to hold and she
didn’t want to do that. Instead, she cast the spell then anchored
it to the walls, ceiling and floor. Liselle hadn’t been taught how
to anchor it, but she figured out how to alter the spell. The
barrier glowed light blue. The first Rojuun stopped at it and
reached out to touch it. He pushed against it to find it secure.
Then he looked at her with anger in his eyes. Vevin hugged her.
“That was neat, darling!”

“Liselle, Vevin! Come on!” Tathan yelled
from up the hall. She turned and ran with Vevin close by her side.
The barrier would hold for hours, maybe days if it wasn’t broken,
but she knew the Rojuun would be able to dispel her enchantment.
Liselle thought about how the next one could be stronger. In her
mind, the details of the spell became clearer and she knew that
future barriers would be much more difficult for anyone to
overcome.