Page 19

CHAR DRIFTED BACK to consciousness slowly, feeling like his brain was swimming through syrup. He quickly realized he was sitting on a hard chair, but it took him a while for his brain to engage enough to understand the reason he was upright was because of ropes tied around his chest, holding him to the chairback. His arms were tied at the wrists behind the chair, and his ankles were tied to the chair legs.

Whatever was draped over his head vanished with a yank, and Char squinted in the sudden brightness of the overhead mage lights. Char blinked to clear his vision as someone stepped into view. The familiar dark-shrouded person from his kitchen all those mornings ago stood in front of Char, arms crossed over their chest.

“I warned you I would be back to hear your answer,” they said, voice harsh and cold. “This is a mere example of the strength we can bring to bear. Agree to our terms, and you can walk out of here right now, unharmed. Choose to be difficult, and you won’t like what might happen to you. Something similar to what we’re doing to your friend.”

They glanced up, over Char’s head, and a second later a scream echoed through the room, followed by whoever it was gasping for breath.

“Who—?” Char cut himself off because that had to be Ralph. The scream was low and masculine, definitely adult.

“Your poor guard thought he could protect you. Instead, we’ll be happy to use his pain to ensure your compliance.” They paused, looking at something else behind Char, and shrugged. “You’re in luck,” they finally said. “I’ve been called away. I will give you a few minutes to think it over. I will return very soon, so don’t fret for long.”

They walked around Char, and a moment later, hinges squeaked as a door whooshed open. It clicked closed and a thunk indicated a bar was dropped to lock the door again.

Char waited, craning his neck around to try to see if the dark person was just trying to trick him. He didn’t see or hear anyone though.

“Ralph, are you okay?” Char called, unsure how loud he dared raise his voice.

“I’ve been better,” Ralph replied, his voice tight. “Can you loosen your ropes at all?”

Char wiggled his arms, trying to loosen the ropes around his wrists. All he got was rope burn for his efforts. He opened his mouth to tell Ralph, and then snapped it shut again when the clunk of the bar being removed from the door sounded. Barely two minutes had passed since the dark person had left! Couldn’t they give Char a few more minutes to wallow and panic?

Yet the voices Char heard next definitely did not belong to the stranger.

“Is it clear?” Shan hissed.

“I don’t see anyone,” Karl whispered back.

The scuttle of small feet sounded next, and then Karl’s grinning face appeared in front of Char.

“We’ve got you, Chef. Quick,” he added to Shan behind Char. The cold press of a knife slid against Char’s wrist, and then the ropes dropped free. Karl bent to free Char’s ankles, while Shan cut the ropes holding Char’s chest, and Char stood. He rubbed at his wrists as he hurried over to where Ralph was lying against the wall, a few feet from the door. Emily had cut his ropes and was yanking on his hands to help him sit up.

“Can you stand?” Karl asked Ralph.

Ralph shook his head. “I just need a few minutes. You four go ahead, and I’ll catch up.”

The lie didn’t land on any of them, Karl crossing his arms and Shan frowning even more than Char.

“You can lean on me,” Char said, reaching out to help Ralph to his feet, and then he caught sight of Ralph’s leg. His pants had been sliced open and what was left of the cloth hung in shreds, leaving the injury open to the air. White and yellow pus oozed out of the cut on his thigh, the skin around it streaked purple and red, pulsing and swollen.

“I can fix that!” Emily chirped. Her hands suddenly glowed green, and Char stifled a gasp. She had magic too? And healing magic, which definitely ensured she would be well taken care of both in school and in employment afterward. What the heck was she doing on the streets with Shan? The swelling on Ralph’s leg shrank, but the oozing pus didn’t abate. Emily frowned, and her hands glowed brighter.

Ralph dropped his hand over hers, curling his fingers around hers to stop her magic. “I appreciate your trying, but healing magic can’t fix this. The magic that got me was red.”

Char couldn’t stifle this gasp. Red magic was the rarest, and there were really only two professions for which it was applicable: farming...and assassination. Red magic was growth and decay. It could be used to help a field of wheat flourish during a drought, or to help compost decompose into soil faster. And, it could be used to kill quickly, destroying a human body with brutal efficiency. The puss and poisoned skin were caused by decay, and Ralph was right that healing magic couldn’t fix that.

“Then let me fix it,” Karl interjected, gently pushing Emily aside. His hands glowed red and Char swallowed hard. All three kids had magic, and Karl had red magic. Just who were they? Although he’d love to know, at the moment Char was really only thankful they were here to help.

The pus vanished first, and then Ralph’s skin returned to its normal color. The cut bled red for a few moments, and then that too sealed. A second later, the only evidence Ralph had ever been injured was the terrible state of his pants. Ralph stood slowly, testing his leg while shooting Karl a look that said they would be having a long talk later. All he said, though, was “Let’s get out of here.”

They were apparently in a basement of some kind. The door had a small window in it, but the kids had left it wide open when they arrived. Outside the door was a staircase, which led up into another hallway and a second set of stairs. They crept along, Ralph in the lead, stopping frequently to listen for anyone coming. At the top of the second stairs, Karl pointed to a closed door directly across the hall. Ralph obeyed, looking both ways in the hall before dashing across and pushing the door open. He looked around quickly and waved, so the rest of them ran for it, tumbling into the room. Ralph shut the door of what appeared to be a sitting room. Couches and a coffee table dominated the space, but the open window on the opposite wall was the most welcome sight Char had ever seen.

“Do you know if they have any guards outside?” Ralph whispered.

Karl shook his head. “This is some noble’s house. The guards are all inside, because someone would notice if they had them outside. This leads to the kitchen garden, which has an unlocked back gate. We can sprint into the alley behind the house and be out of reach.”

Ralph nodded, glancing out the window. “Right. Emily and Shan, you go first.”

Shan helped Emily up and out of the window, gently lowering her down in a maneuver they had clearly used before. They dashed across the garden below and out the gate on the other side without any alarms being raised.

“Char, you and Karl next. I’ll be right behind you.”

Char nodded and slid out the window. The drop was only a few feet. Char pressed against the wall while he waited for Karl to get down, and then they sprinted together across the overgrown grass and weeds. The back of Char’s neck burned the entire way; he was certain an arrow or something sharp was imminent in his back, and yet he slid to a stop outside the gate and ducked down, hidden behind the stone wall completely unharmed. Ralph dashed into view a second later, and Char was happy to see his leg was moving just fine.

“Which way?” Ralph asked Karl, who gripped Emily’s hand and headed off, deeper into the warren of servant’s alleys connecting the noble’s residences, the rest of the group following close behind.

They traveled for a long time; the alleys went almost all the way to the part of the city where the servants lived, and Karl apparently knew exactly where to go. They eventually stopped at the end of a dark, narrow dead end, the houses on either side practically leaning on each other. A cracked wooden door at the end looked like the entrance to what, at one point, was supposed to be a root cellar shared by both houses but was empty now. Karl strained to get the cellar door open, then hopped down into the darkness. A match flared and then an oil lamp with cracked glass blazed to life. Karl reappeared at the door, holding his arms up. Emily climbed down with Karl’s help, and Shan went after her. Char and Ralph followed, and Karl shut the door.

“This is—was—our hideout,” Karl explained.

Char tried to keep his pity hidden. The nest of old, dirty rags was clearly the bed. Pressed against the wall, a table with a cracked leg was the only furniture. The place was dank and dark, with dirt floors and walls, but it was a palace in comparison to the room they had just escaped.

“Who else knows it’s here?” Ralph asked, glancing around as well, although Char assumed he was thinking more in terms of defense than pity.

“Used to have Teddy in our group, but he was snapped up by one of the big gangs and hasn’t been back in two years,” Karl explained. “I don’t think anyone else knows we den here.”

Ralph let out a breath. “Okay, we need to get help. I need one of you to get me to the nearest guard station. Char, you have to stay hidden. If anyone comes, and I’m not with them, fight and run.” He glanced around at them all. “Understand?”

“I’ll show you the way,” Shan said. “That way Karl can stay to fight.”

Ralph looked at Karl for a long moment before letting out a breath as he apparently came to a decision. “As your commanding officer, I’m ordering you to use your magic if you get attacked. Understand?”

Karl gulped but nodded. “I’ll keep Chef safe.”

Ralph grinned. “You’ve done a great job with the rescue so far. We’d probably both be dead if you three hadn’t found us, you know.”

“Your kidnappers weren’t as hidden as they thought, not when we know the back ways better than them. They kept having to stop to check a map,” Karl added, derision coloring his voice.

Ralph shared a snicker with Karl, before sobering. “Okay. I should be back soon, although I expect the commander will want to be here too. Stay safe,” Ralph finished. He climbed back out of the cellar, waited for Shan to follow, and shut the door firmly. He would be back soon with help, and until then, Char just had to breathe and believe he was safe again.