King Callie: Callie's Saga, Book One (26 page)

“Shut it,” the other replied. ”Let’s look over there.”

Caliandra waited, and heard the first one jump over the ditch. “Come on, then,” he said. She heard no
woosh
; she assumed the one with the torch stayed still. “Come on. She can’t have gone too far.” The other man lingered, and waited. Caliandra prayed that Yom would change the man’s mind, and send him away. But instead, he drew closer; she could hear his steps, and knew that if he looked carefully enough, he’d find Darryn. That was when she decided to take the chance. She left the dagger at the foot of the tree, and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” Caliandra said, stepping out from behind the tree; the words were meant for Darryn, not for the guards. “I… I needed to leave the castle, it’s just… I can feel their spirits near me, restless, and I didn’t know what to do.” The guard stopped looking downward, towards Darryn, and looked up at her as if she’d lost her mind. She had no better lie in mind.

“Yom above, Lady,” the guard with the torch said, “Kells thought you were kidnapped.”

“I know,” Caliandra replied. “I apologize for the undue stress I’ve caused, but… I do not feel I’m in my right mind as of late.”

“Come on, then,” The guard with the torch said, as he gestured for her. “Let’s get you inside before you catch a chill.”

Caliandra took a nervous step forward, and then two more; she kept her eyes up, and did not give away Darryn, hidden close to where she stood. To wit, she walked around, to the far side of the ditch, towards the castle - only several feet away, but enough to draw their attention, and begin the journey back to the castle. But at the least, Darryn would not be caught. He was injured, and it would be a difficult journey back to the barracks, but he wouldn’t have to explain much more than that. A sprained ankle would be all the excuse he needed for why he wasn’t out searching for the Princess. But the other man stumbled, and his foot fell backwards. She heard it slide, and then, thud - but not on to ground.

“What the -” The guard began to speak, but then she heard the sound of rustling leaves, a grunt, and a body falling to the ground. The man with the torch whirled around, as did Caliandra; Darryn was on him in a second, launching through the air, and knocked him over the head with the other man’s helmet; they both fell to the ground, but only Darryn got up. He breathed hard, then looked up at her. Caliandra was stunned.

“Good work,” Darryn said, with a smile. “Now, get on my other side, and help me walk.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

“Good work? What did you do that for?” Caliandra asked, furious, as she moved to pick up her cloak from the ground. “I revealed myself so you could sneak away, later!”

“He stepped on me,” Darryn shot back. “It wouldn’t have been another minute before they found me. I had the element of surprise.”

Caliandra looked at the two bodies with apprehension. “Are they - are they
dead
?” Caliandra asked.

“No,” Darryn said. “Just knocked out. Might be in a bit of a pain when they wake up, though.”

That infuriated her. “You… you foolish, reckless, idiot!” She looked about; the bearers of the other torches hadn’t noticed. But the torch itself was still lit. She picked it up - no reason to give them any thought that the guards weren’t conscious - and moved back towards Darryn, slinging his arm over her other shoulder; that way, they could walk together. “You’ve only made it harder on us,” she said.

“Beg to differ,” Darryn replied, “I’ve got royalty helping me walk.”

“You horse’s ass,” Caliandra muttered, glaring at him. In the moonlight, his features cut an even more striking impression; she saw the scar that trailed down his face, like a winding river in a forest. Her eyes followed it, for a moment, as she walked - then, focused straight ahead again. She was glad he couldn’t see her blush. He was handsome, but he was certainly an ass. “Yom Above, you’re heavy.”

“A village girl could carry me with no problem,” Darryn muttered.

“Then let her,” Caliandra replied, grunting. “I’ll be too happy to let her relieve me of the duty.”

They walked a bit longer, along the edge of the woods. “But you’ve got beauty and wit to make up for your lack of strength,” Darryn said. “I’ll be pleasantly distracted from my agony.”

“I
could
drop you,” Caliandra said, as she took a careful step over a large root. “Take a large step. And under no circumstances should you press your luck.”

“I think we already have,” Darryn said, as he hopped forward, over the root. He twisted his head to look behind them. “No-one seems to have noticed it yet, but I imagine we’ll be in a bit of trouble when they do.”

“We wouldn’t be in
any
trouble if you’d just let the man step on you,” Caliandra groused. She took another breath, and stopped, momentarily. He was heavier than she anticipated, but she had stopped to orient herself, in regards to the men searching the woods. She searched the woods for sights of the other torches. She saw one, on the other side of the castle, near the downward hill - very close to the barracks. The guards atop the castle walls were making their rounds; she had timed them earlier, so that she might know how long they take to walk the wall, and when their gaze might be avoided.

It took them roughly two minutes to walk from corner to corner, and at night, two guards roamed opposite each other. They would not overlap on the wall she approached, the west wall, but on the two walls adjacent to it. Beneath the west wall was the tunnel that led to the buttery, but the greater issue was that once the guards passed, there was at best an opportunity of four minutes, during which they had to remain unseen by the guards on the far towers.

She waited, and held Darryn up; it was some time since she’d been so close to a man’s body, cheating the terms of her engagement and stealing kisses from Iaen. She could smell his musk, the essence of him, and to feel him next to her - much as she wouldn’t admit it to him, she enjoyed it. Even more so that he needed her, despite his foolishness in the forest… that frustrated her so much, but at least now, she could get him back to the castle, and to the barracks more directly. That, too, was risky, but he could manage that himself.

“We move after the first guard passes us,” she said. “Just on the side of that wall, there’s a passage. We’ll have some time to get across the field, and from there, we shall need to crawl.”

“That, I can manage,” Darryn said, rubbing his chin. “It’s crossing the field that worries me. You should do it by yourself. I can manage out here. It’ll just take me some time.”

“Absolutely not,” Caliandra said. “You’re injured. I can’t let you do that to yourself, you might be the worse for it.”

“Beautiful and intelligent, with a martyr’s heart,” Darryn said, with a smirk.

“If you have a better plan, please, share it,” Caliandra said.

“Not in the least,” Darryn replied. “I’m wary of the guards on the corners, but your plan’ll have to do.” His head tilted up, as he looked along the wall. “They’re about to pass.” Caliandra braced herself; she did not enjoy the prospect of running across a field with any man hobbling alongside her. But if she didn’t, there would be no means of safely getting both of them across the field.

“Ready yourself,” Caliandra said. She felt him lean over, slightly, and his muscles tensed. Then, she started to run.

She did not run as fast as she could; she slowed her pace, so that Darryn could keep up, with his long hops. She breathed quickly and heavily - in, out, in, out - as her legs pumped, each patch of grass a new challenge beneath her feet. She counted the seconds. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. They were almost halfway to the wall when she stumbled over an uneven patch of ground, and Darryn fell forward, taking her with him. The panic rushed through her nerves; surely, the guards heard them.

“Piss,” she muttered, as she helped Darryn up, and brought his arm back over her shoulder. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

“He just passed the corner guard,” Darryn said. “Are you sure you timed them properly?”

“I -” Caliandra stopped. She thought she had. “Nevermind,” she said, as she built up speed again; Darryn hopped alongside, as best he could. She saw the loose stone of the passage ahead, jutting out slightly in the dark - right where she had left it. Her breathing became more ragged, and her body felt taxed.
I must push on
, she thought;
I only need to keep the pace until we reach the wall
.

She glanced up, at the men on the corners. They still looked to the far walls, but one seemed to be looking downward, almost towards them. It was then that Caliandra heard the shouts from the forest.

“I guess they woke up,” Darryn said. Caliandra ran harder still; the guards would be distracted, and looking far from where they were. She was very short of breath by the time they reached the wall, and stopped to breathe. Darryn went ahead, and began to pull the stone aside.

“I suppose this is how Royth escaped,” Darryn said, as he wrested the stone free. “It’s not far from the dungeon, after all.”

“Yes,” Caliandra said. “I’ve found others, throughout the castle; I imagine that someone from the Nest would’ve taken the time to learn its secrets.” She gestured to the tunnel. “After you.”

“Ladies first,” Darryn replied.

“Absolutely not,” Caliandra said. “You’ll be seeing things you shouldn’t.”

“You’ve nothing I haven’t seen before,” Darryn said, with a sly, teasing smile.

“Go in first,” she said, fuming. “Now.”

Darryn smirked, and got on his knees. “At least one of us is getting a good view,” he said, as he crawled inside. Caliandra crouched, and waited for him to fully get inside, still taking deep breaths. In the distance, she saw the torches moving through the woods. She backed into the tunnel, and pulled the stone secure behind her, heavy as it was. Then, she began the tedious crawl backwards.

“How long is this tunnel?” Darryn asked. For someone who hadn’t taken it before, she imagined that it required a great deal of trust that they weren’t crawling straight into a wall.

“Not far,” she said. “Perhaps sixty feet or so. Crawl straight until you see the flickering of torches behind a stone.”

“And this comes out right in the buttery?” he asked. “Yom, that’s dangerous knowledge for a soldier to have. I could be sneaking in and out with the King’s bottles all hours of the day.”

“If you can find others who’ll attest to Marrol’s misdeeds, you’ll have no need to,” Caliandra said. “You’d be an honored guest.”

“A common soldier at the King’s table,” Darryn said. “I’d like that… And you’d be there, too?”

“Of course,” Caliandra replied, as she moved her legs backwards, and pushed off with her palms.

“And if there’s to be drinking to an honored guest,” he said, “There will be dancing, too, won’t there?”

“Of course,” Caliandra grumbled. “It would be a joyous occasion.” She knew where the conversation was going; she allowed it. After all, she needed his cooperation.

“So you’ll take a dance with me, then?” Darryn asked.

“And nothing more than that,” Caliandra said. “A dance.”

“Oh, come now,” Darryn said, as he stopped. “I’ve injured myself, I’m crawling through this Yom-forsaken tunnel, I risk life and limb to bring a man to justice, and you’ll only give me the honor of a
single
dance?” She could feel his feet against hers, unmoving; he wouldn’t continue until he’d gotten what he’d wanted, and they would be stuck in the dark confines until she gave in. Not that having multiple dances with Darryn was so horrible a fate.

“Fine,” Caliandra sighed. “Several dances. Please, move.” With that, Darryn budged, and began to crawl forward again. Caliandra was slightly relieved; she would be more at ease the moment she got back to her room, and was able to tell her mother what had happened… and what Darryn could prove. She would be furious, of course, but the disobedience was worth it.

“Trust me,” Darryn said, “After that first dance, you’ll be beggin’ me for another.” She felt him stop, and she heard him push the stone out of the way; then she heard him take a breath of admiration. “Yom’s knees,” he said. “I could die a happy man in here.”

“Don’t touch anything,” she said, as she finally backed out of the tunnel, into the musty torch-lit buttery. It was only when she stood up and turned around that she saw Darryn open a bottle of wine, and take a swig. “Didn’t you listen to me?” she asked, furious. Her body vibrated with tense energy; she felt as if her very being was taught like string pulled tight, and ready to snap at any second. “Touch nothing!”

“You need a drink,” Darryn said, as he tossed the bottle to her; startled, she reached out, and barely caught it before it fell to the floor. She rushed past him, and attempted to put it back with the others on the oak rack; he caught her by the wrist. “No,” he said. “Trust me. It’ll ease your nerves.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my nerves,” she snapped.

“Drink,” he said, gentler than before. “And take a breath. You’ve earned both.” He let go of her hand, and leaned himself against the stone wall, on his one good leg. She breathed deeply, twice, and felt herself relax slightly; her heart was still pounding, but the tension had lessened.
He’s right,
she thought, as she brought the bottle to her lips, and took a hesitant drink. The tart, dark red wine waited for her, and she choked it down; the bitterness was not so bad as if she’d had it with dinner. It was mostly offset by her nerves, and every other sensation of anxiety that flooded her body. After a second drink, she offered the bottle back to Darryn.