Page 28 of Polestar (The Global Paranormal Security Agency #3)

Elias stood, wide-eyed and panting. To the lockmaster he said, “tell them I stole the keys and knocked you out or something.”

“But your highness—,” the lockmaster protested.

Magnus eased back on the readiness to do violence. “Or go into hiding until this all blows over. You know they’ll torture you for information if they catch you.”

“Shouldn’t I rally the guards to protect you?”

“They will follow their commander and they don’t understand that he is compromised,” Elias said, stepping into the cell. “I don’t want the stronghold in an uproar when I’m trying to help my father escape quietly. Which key is it?”

The lockmaster freed Magnus in seconds.

“He’s right. Hide yourself and your family. Once I get out, I will be back—and not alone.”

“Yes sir. But I still think we should rally support. Not all Barentians agreed with the banishment and certainly many are not pleased about the scheduled execution.”

“Nor am I, but please, take your family and go.”

The lockmaster dropped his precious keys into Magnus’ hand and disappeared.

His fist clenched around the ring of keys. Centuries old. He laughed.

Elias gave him a quizzical look from the door, his impatience to be away evident.

“Of all the plans I had to escape, not one of them included having the keys dropped in my hands and just being set free.”

“Grandfather told me to take you through the tunnels to escape.”

The tunnels! Dear Gods, I’ve forgotten about the damned tunnels!

“He did?” Magnus stood rooted in place.

Elias nodded, glancing up and down the corridor. “Yes, he ordered I set you free. So let’s go, Father.”

Magnus couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

A second later, Elias’ hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him toward the door.

Magnus had enough brain function to close and lock it before following his son down the stone corridor toward the hidden entrance of the tunnels. Neither spoke as they made their way, careful to avoid passing guards who were fulfilling their duties.

Only the royal Barentian family were aware of the secret tunnels beneath the stronghold that led through the mountain and out to a tiny inlet on the western side of the island.

The path hadn’t been needed in centuries because it had been that long since the stronghold had failed to keep invaders out.

Down the next corridor, the scent of alcohol signaled they were close to the tunnel entrance.

Stacks of barrels crowded the narrow space.

With a quick glance up and down the hall, Magnus shifted his hands, extracting his bear claws and drove them into the backs of some barrels, causing them to leak so that the pungent aroma would mask their personal scents.

Magnus led the way into the very back of the barrel cellar, squeezing between the largest ones with the thickest layers of dust. “Dwarven Ale,” he murmured as he shimmied around behind it and along the wall to the dark corner.

With no light source, he had to feel around for the correct stones.

Magnus funneled his bear magic into his paw, extending the powerful claws in order to pry the stones loose, as he used to do in his youth.

He ignored the pang of nostalgia and focused on the genuine sense of urgency to move unseen and unheard.

“Got it,” he grunted as the stone finally gave way, and then the next. With limited space, he only removed as many as was necessary for Elias and himself to crawl through, then pulled them back into place, using the meteor metal handles affixed to the backs of the stones for that purpose.

“Your pack is just up along here,” Elias said, taking the lead through the tunnel. “I brought it down from the internal passages before going around to fetch the lockmaster.”

“Thank you, Elias.” Magnus blew out a breath, unable to see much in the dark. Both used their heightened sense of smell and hearing to navigate, guided by the changes in air drafts and echoes from the rooms above.

By the time they reached the pack, their eyes had adjusted enough to register slight variations in the dark.

Elias said, “After we last spoke, I went to see Grandfather. He’s not well. I don’t think he has long. He commanded I set you free, and to tell you he was sorry.”

Emotions punched Magnus in both gut and chest, making it difficult to breathe. His father had never in his life apologized to anyone.

“He’s dying?”

“Yes.” Elias’ voice sounded small in the confined space, reminding Magnus how young he was, despite his growing body.

“And he’s marked, like Havard. It was hard for him to speak.

I wanted to take you to him, but he insisted you escape.

He said you’d come back for me and that I was to hide until you did. ”

Magnus’ heart pounded in his chest, torn between escaping to find Ana, getting Elias to safety, and seeing his father one last time.

One thing he never dreamed of was his father’s death. He’d always thought of his father as eternal.

Foolish. Childish.

“Does your mother know about the tunnels?”

“No. Grandfather and the shaman expressly forbade me from sharing their existence with her or anyone else.”

“Good.”

“Can we take him with us, Father?”

Get Elias to safety and call Kane, or go back for his father? The sooner Kane and the team arrived, the much better chance they had of tracking Ana.

“Have you ever made the swim to Bear Island? It’s a hard journey. Long.”

“Twice. Grandfather said it was a tradition that every young bear makes the swim. I almost failed the first time, the second was much better. I made it there and back the same day.”

Pride threatened to burst Magnus’ chest at his son’s words.

A strong swimmer. Good.

“Listen carefully, Elias, this is very important, and I want you to do exactly as I ask. Will you do that?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Magnus noted he didn’t agree, but went on anyway. “I want you to run to the exit point. There should be a small boat stored in a safe place. Only after you ensure you are alone, row out to sea until you are clear of the island and use the satellite phone to contact my team.”

“Okay.”

“Identify yourself. Tell them Ana might be detained on a small island in the northeast sector of the archipelago.”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me. As soon as you make the call, row the boat toward Bear Island, conserving your strength for as long as possible. Make sure no one sees you. This is vital, Elias. They will go after you.”

“But I can help —.”

“It doesn’t matter that we’re mighty polar bear shifters if there are so many humans, as you say. They will be armed with weapons that can kill us. I don’t want any Barentians killed if I can do this discretely. Understand?”

“I understand,” he said, but Magnus knew he didn’t like it.

“When you’re ready, shift into your bear and swim the rest of the way to Bear Island and wait. Just be a bear for a while. A few days if necessary. The local fisherman and environmental research crew won’t bother you.”

“That sounds lame. When do I come back?”

“You don’t. You wait for me or one of my team members to come for you. The GPSA will keep you safe. No matter what, do not come back.”

Magnus stared into his son’s face, recognizing his own prideful stubbornness in his eyes. “Promise me.”

Elias remained silent for an eternity before he finally answered. “Please save Grandfather if you can.”

“I will try.”

Elias suddenly gripped Magnus in a bear-hug, squeezing the air from his lungs. “Be safe, Father.”

“Be safe, Son,” he said, hugging his boy as tight as his boy hugged him.

Elias released him just as suddenly, grabbed Magnus’ pack and ran down the tunnel. The run to the inlet would take many hours through the darkness.

Magnus had to trust his son would be safe. He listened until Elias’ footfalls faded, then made his way along the tunnel back toward the junction that would give him access to the heart of the stronghold.

And to his father.