“Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better.”
“I was worried about you… again. You’re really going to have to stop scaring me like that.”
“You were really worried, huh?” Rowan opened his eyes. Astrin blushed and turned away.
“Don’t get any ideas. Of course I was worried about you. You were dying… again.”
“What? What do you mean? I feel pretty rough… but not that bad.”
“The blast knocked your heart out of sync. By the time I got to you, the irregularities were already making it struggle. Not much longer and it would have gone into a fatal arrhythmia and arrested. You were dying, Rowan. But you’re okay now.”
Rowan stared at him and swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
“What else could I do?”
“But… I thought it was dangerous to use energy in here.”
“I was careful.”
“But you could have…. You could have brought the guards down on our heads. You could have….”
“I had no choice, Rowan. I couldn’t let you die.”
“But the risks….”
“I couldn’t let you die,” Astrin repeated stubbornly. For a moment their eyes locked…. Then they were interrupted by Neive. She was carrying a cup of water.
“Astrin, try to raise the water out of the cup but at the same time try to mask the energy you’re using. It’s like the mask you put up around yourself when you were hiding your identity. What you’re looking to do is put a barrier around yourself—like a bubble that encloses you—while you perform the action, holding the energy inside so none of it shows on the outside.”
Astrin frowned. “That sounds complicated.”
“It can be. Don’t think about the complexities, just concentrate on what you want to achieve. Build the barrier first. Then you won’t have to concentrate so hard to maintain it when you’re manipulating the water.”
Nodding seriously, Astrin concentrated hard, building and fixing an image in his mind. Then he opened his eyes and focused on the cup. Slowly, the water began to spin as if something were stirring it. Then it rose upward in a spiral, like an inverted tornado.
After a few minutes of watching the water spin, Astrin let it fall back into the cup and looked up at Neive.
“Was that okay?”
“That was excellent, Astrin. I didn’t sense a thing. Try again with something that uses more energy.”
Astrin shrugged and closed his eyes. Within moments the water started to boil. When it was boiling furiously, Astrin squinted, and moments later it was frozen.
At last he looked up at Neive, who nodded. “Excellent. You have excellent control, Astrin. I didn’t feel anything at all. Okay. Let’s move on to bigger and better things. Come over here.”
With a more serious expression, she led them to the far wall and ran her hands over it. “Right. This is what I want you to do: Astrin, put a barrier around yourself and Rowan. Keep it tight, since it has to be a lot stronger than the ones you’ve been using so far.” Astrin nodded and started work. “Rowan, I don’t even know if you can do this but… try to do to the wall exactly what you did to the stone. Just make a little hole, one that’s big enough to look through, but won’t be noticed on the other side. Astrin, make sure your shield surrounds not only Rowan but the wall he’s working on so that none of the energy ‘leaks,’ but don’t let the shield project into the cell beyond.”
“That’s really complicated, but I’ll try.”
As he had done before, Rowan imagined the molecules in the wall crawling away from the central point, which then became a hole.
“That’s wonderful,” Neive said delightedly. “What can you see?”
“It’s another cell, like this one but smaller. There’s no one in there, at least not that I can see.”
“Excellent. Astrin, keep up the shield. Rowan, can you make the hole bigger, big enough for a person to get through?”
Finally seeing where this was going, Rowan concentrated and the wall melted. He looked at Neive, his eyes shining.
“I think you can do it,” she said encouragingly. “When you go into the next cell, replace the wall in here. Be careful, as you move from cell to cell, to check what’s on the other side before you make an opening. When you come to the wall of your father’s cell, Astrin, you have to remember that there will be shields up. You’ll feel them as soon as you start to extend your own shield. When the two shields touch you’ll feel it and know you’re there. You can still get through, but before Rowan even thinks of touching the wall, you have to insert your shield between the one that’s already there and the wall so it doesn’t pick up on the vibrations. Once you have the hole you can physically pass through the shield without a problem.”
“Do we use the same technique to come back?”
“By then, you may not need to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just be careful.”
“Why don’t you come with us? We would never have worked this out without you.”
“My place is here. Don’t worry, we’ll meet again soon.”
They both gave Neive quick hugs, then squeezed through the gap, which sealed seamlessly behind them.
V
ERY
SLOWLY
and carefully, Rowan and Astrin worked their way through the cells, all of which were empty. At last, they came to a cell that “felt” different. Rowan ran his hands over the wall, then looked up at Astrin.
“I think this might be the one. I can feel something different on the other side.”
“I think you’re right. Hang on a minute.”
Astrin closed his eyes and went still.
“Father.”
“Astrin, where are you? You sound closer.”
“I’m in the next cell. Stay away from the wall.”
“Astrin, what are you going to do? Remember there’s a shield. It will pick up any kind of energy trying to get through.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not trying to get through the shield using energy. Just stay away from the wall and trust me.”
“You know I trust you.”
“Let’s do this.” Astrin closed his eyes and concentrated. The shield he generated gently brushed against the other and slid past it, cutting off the wall from its sensitive detection system. When he was sure his shield had effectively blocked the other, he nodded to Rowan, who didn’t bother to make an eye hole but went straight to opening a doorway. He’d done it so many times by now that it was smooth and easy.
As soon as there was space enough for them to get through, Astrin was through it, throwing himself into his father’s arms. King Hersten embraced him tightly, resting his cheek on his son’s hair. Rowan’s reunion with his uncle was more restrained.
Charles and Hersten looked tired, pale, and dirty, but well and strong. At some point on the hectic journey to the South, they’d been given traveling clothes in which they looked unfamiliar and strange.
“What on earth were you thinking, Rowan, coming here?”
“Astrin had a vision,” Rowan said simply.
“Even so, this is folly—surely you know that.”
“He was coming anyway. Should I have let him come alone?”
“You should have—”
“Trust me, Uncle, there is no one and nothing that can stop Astrin when he really wants something.”
“We’ll talk when we get home. Have either of you thought about how we are going to get home?”
“Not really, no.”
Suddenly, they were startled by the sound of sirens screaming somewhere outside. They all stiffened, their ears straining. When after a few minutes no one came, they had to surmise it wasn’t something they had done that had triggered the alarm.
“Let’s get out of this cell. If we go through Rowan’s hole into the next cell, there won’t be any shield to worry about, although we still have to be careful because any large burst of energy is going to attract attention.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Hersten said, tight-lipped. “There are huge bursts of energy going off all over this place. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I think we are caught in the middle of something big.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure. But we need to get out of here… now.”
“Shall I make a hole in the outer wall?”
“You can try, although it’s said to be a mile thick.”
“I think that might be an exaggeration.”
“We’ll see.”
Not bothering with the shielding spell, Rowan concentrated on the wall and the stone began to writhe as it had before. It drew away from the center, but instead of a hole there was merely more stone. He did it again and again but, even when they were about five feet into the wall, there was no sign of daylight on the other side.
Rowan sank to his knees. “I don’t think I can do it,” he gasped.
“Don’t let this demoralize you,” Charles said, laying his hands on Rowan’s shoulders. “You did a good job, but I had an idea it would not be so easy to get through the outer wall.”
They were startled by an enormous explosion that rocked the cell, bringing dust and rubble down from the ceiling. The hole in the wall cracked and filled, although there was still no sign of any access to the outside world.
Hersten put his ear against the door.
“It certainly sounds as if there’s something serious going on. Maybe we would be better off staying put until things quiet down.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Another huge explosion rocked the earth. A crack appeared in the roof of the cell, slashing diagonally down the wall. Chunks of masonry fell, narrowly missing Astrin and his father, who hauled him out of the way at the last moment.
“Or maybe not.” The aftershocks of the explosion rippled through the concrete, making the roof creak ominously.
“All right, we move out. Stay close, very close together. No one uses their abilities unless we say so—and that means you too, Astrin,” Hersten hissed as he and Charles moved forward. Astrin and Rowan exchanged glances and shrugged.
Hersten laid a hand against the door, and moments later it crumbled into dust. “Stay close,” he whispered again, then stepped out into the corridor.
F
REEDOM
F
IGHTING
T
HE
FIRST
thing they noticed was there were no guards; the second was that there was smoke billowing toward them from the direction that should lead to the gates and freedom.
Staying close to the wall and shielded behind a powerful barrier thrown up by the adults, they slowly worked their way along the passage, stepping over rubble and occasionally bodies, all of whom seemed to be guards.
As they hurried along, there was another explosion and more smoke billowed toward them.
“What the hell’s going on?”
“It’s none of our business. Let’s just get out of here.”
“I think it might be a revolution,” Astrin said. “We met some people who helped us get in. There was a huge demonstration, and I think they let themselves get caught on purpose.”
“Then we must thank them while we take advantage of the diversion they have created for us,” Hersten said as he peered into the smoke.
“I…. We should help them,” Astrin said.
“We cannot. There is far too much at stake. If we fall into Strebo’s hands again, all is lost.”
“But they’re our friends.”
“Think about this, Astrin. What are they fighting for? Who are they fighting for? If they are successful, they could bring about great change here—for the better. But how can they be successful if we are in his hands? With all of us in his power, there’s no hope for any of them.”
“I understand.” Astrin’s voice was dull, choked with tears. Hersten put a hand on his shoulder.
“Being a leader is not easy.”
“No. So I have discovered.”
They continued their slow progress and shortly passed the holding cell. The door was hanging off its hinges and the cell was empty. There were no bodies inside or outside in the corridor.
The corridor turned sharply, and there was more smoke. Part of the ceiling had fallen, and the floor was strewn with chunks of masonry and piles of rubble. Coughing on the dust and blinded by the smoke, they felt their way along the wall. Hersten and Charles had taken blasters from the dead guards and held them ready.
Then the bodies began to pile up in earnest. They turned another corner, and there they were. In this section of corridor, windows opened to the outside and a breeze was blowing the smoke into eddies.
As the smoke cleared, they could see many bodies strewn along the length of the corridor, testament to a fierce battle that must have raged here. The sound of fighting came faintly from the distance. But here it was eerily silent, and the glassy eyes of the dead seemed to watch as they picked their way among them.
Here and there Astrin recognized a face from the meeting the night before. Fortunately there were not too many. Most of the dead were soldiers or ordinary guards.
“Be careful,” Hersten whispered. “The last thing we need is to be caught in a battle.”
With infinite care, they inched along the corridor to its end. Again it turned sharply, and they followed it. They seemed to be heading in the right direction, toward the outer wall. The sound of fighting was behind them now, receding into the distance.
They came to the end of the corridor and were faced by two doors, one on the right and one on the left. Hersten slowly cracked open the right-hand door. It led to a courtyard, surrounded on three sides by buildings and on the fourth by a road leading directly to the gate. It was not the huge main gate, before which the brave but doomed demonstrators had rallied, but a side gate.
Smoke billowed into the courtyard from windows on the far sides, and it seemed it was there that the fighting was taking place.
No soldiers were visible. They must have been called to the battle. There were a few anxious-looking guards between them and the gate, but that was all.
“Stay behind us. Astrin, project calm and silence. I’ll try to make us unnoticeable so we will not be seen.”
With bated breath, they stepped out into the courtyard, but even as they did so, an enormous explosion took out the whole of one wall, spewing bodies into the open air. The guards between them and the gate ran—some to join the battle, some through the open gate.