Page 12

In Which Perceived Elimination Aids Plotting

A s’ad and Rahma exchanged dread-filled glances.

“So we were right?” Rahma grasped her friend’s hand. “Hadia’s behavior was suspicious, but I was kind of hoping you weren’t about to be sold as a slave.”

Suha was shaking her head. “Hadia deceived us all. She’s been collecting orphans and other people who won’t be missed and bringing us all here. It’s lucky you got here when you did. They’re shipping us out the day after tomorrow.”

“How does that work?” As’ad couldn’t resist asking.

“The dwarves wait until they have a full house, basically. They have tunnels through the mountain to get us into Bavenpier. From what I overheard, I think they’re sending us to Diomland to be sold there.”

Rahma frowned and squeezed Suha’s hand tighter. “We won’t let them.”

“What else can you tell us?” As’ad refocused the conversation.

“I arrived the day after a shipment,” Suha said. “I’ve been doing my best to pick up information from the dwarves who guard us. There are only three in the house right now.”

“That’s good!” Rahma dropped Suha’s hand to clap once.

As’ad was more suspicious. “How many of you are in the house? And how are they keeping you here?”

Suha’s answering look was dark. “There are twenty-two of us in total. I’m the oldest, and a few of the boys are fifteen or so, but the rest of them are between twelve and six.” She ignored Rahma’s outraged gasp. “The guards have knives and whips. The little ones are too scared to step out of line, and the older ones who tried now have scars on their backs.”

The injustice galled As’ad. He burned to rush in and fix everything, armed with nothing but his righteous fury. Suha’s cool manner helped him focus on more productive steps.

“Usually, the guard who sits by the stairs watches from the side door when one of us needs the privy. I have been very, very careful not to test them in any way. They now trust me to use the privy alone or take the youngest ones.” She turned to look toward the house. “Speaking of which, I can only be gone for so long. My ‘tummy troubles’ are keeping everyone away from me and I can be back again soon, but I need to leave now.”

Rahma wanted to keep her friend in sight, As’ad could tell, but she let the younger woman slip away to retrieve her lantern and enter the house. During her absence, they discussed the new information. As’ad hadn’t truly entertained the idea of sneaking Suha out and leaving any others behind, but the knowledge that several of the captives were so young only solidified his resolve to free everyone and take permanent steps to prevent this from happening again.

By the time Suha reappeared, he had a number of questions to ask her. The slender actress crashed through the side door at a run and hurtled into the privy shack to deposit her light. As far as As’ad could tell from the lights on the second and third floor, no one was peeking out to witness her dramatic exit, but he mentally applauded her dedication to the act even as he prepared his first question.

“Where did all the children come from? Hadia couldn’t have collected that many by herself.”

Suha shook her head. “I gathered this is the last stop before leaving the country. We have kids from all over Sharamil. A couple are even from the northern border.”

“Tell us more about the tunnels.”

“I get the impression that moving young slave candidates is too hard using the regular mountain pass. They tend to cry and draw attention.” Her unimpressed expression said it all. “The dwarves take them and other contraband through the tunnel system that follows the pass, as far as I understand.”

“Do you know who is heading the operation?” As’ad felt certain that he had interpreted the stylized P correctly but wanted confirmation.

Suha raised her hands helplessly. “One time, one of the guards said something that sounded like Pozik? But I can’t be sure.”

As’ad grunted. It didn’t matter too much; they needed to get everyone out regardless. Regrettably, that particular dwarf was known to hold grudges.

“Are there guards in the tunnels? Or anywhere else?” Rahma asked while As’ad was distracted.

“Yes, actually. At least three.” Suha looked over her shoulder. No figures walked past the windows on this side. “There is a door not far from this side door on the bottom level that leads straight into the tunnels. I know because I overheard the guards and saw some of their latest shipment coming in.”

“Do you know what it was?” As’ad asked, not really concerned with the answer. His thoughts were working in a different direction.

“They called it ‘spark pepper’? I only heard one guard say it before the other told him to shut up.”

That caught As’ad’s attention. “I don’t suppose the shipment is still in the tunnels, is it?” he asked with a desperate enthusiasm.

“Yes, it is.” Suha gave him an odd look. “They moved it away from the door but said they needed to wait for the tunnel wagons to return from Bavenpier. Why?”

A wide grin spread across As’ad’s face. “Because they just solved all our problems.”

Both girls protested his cryptic statement, and he quickly explained. “Spark pepper” was the black market term for black powder. Highly explosive and easy to light, it could, if there were enough barrels in the tunnels, be used to destroy this end, rendering the route useless. A slave trade extensive enough to collect people from all over the country was too much for three people to take down. They could, however, interrupt regular operations for a long, long time.

Suha had to head back then. She told them she would leave the side door unlatched so they could investigate the tunnel. Precise plans would have to wait until certain details were verified. They made arrangements to meet up with her in the early morning before dawn.

Before following her, Rahma and As’ad discussed their next steps. As’ad thought that the current illusion that moved with them and looked like a generic bit of rock wall was probably sufficient for sneaking into the tunnel, since all the local rocks were composed of the same material. Rather than risk playing a new tune after entering the tunnel, they would simply keep the enchantment up for the brief time they were in the house. Anyone coming down the stairs would find it odd to encounter a part of the mountain indoors, so they would need to move as quickly as possible.

As promised, the side door opened without trouble. The route to the tunnel door was obvious in the light of the lantern left on a hook. Two broad tracks had been worn in the dust that coated the bottom level. One led from the outside door to a staircase close by, while the other headed into the darkness behind the stairs. Following it was a breeze. A breeze that made the hair at the back of As’ad’s neck stand on end.

Suha had said she thought there were at least three dwarves camped out in the tunnels. But how close to the entrance were they? The pair slipped through the tunnel door as silently as they could. A few creaks from upstairs indicated the presence of people, but no one moved toward the stairs. Finally, As’ad closed the door and released a silent sigh of relief. Rahma slipped her hand into his and tugged him along.

The tunnel they found themselves in had been chiseled out of the mountain. As’ad idly wondered if the entire thing had been manufactured here because its location was convenient, or if the original builders had taken advantage of a naturally occurring fissure. No lights shone ahead until they rounded a bend. Then they could see a flickering light quite a ways down. Rahma squeezed his hand, and they slowed their steps as they approached the campsite set in the middle of the tunnel.

At first, it seemed like the conversation was too quiet. They were nearly within reach before As’ad realized the three dwarves by the fire weren’t speaking anything more than grunts and mumbles. Two of them sat around an overturned crate and played some sort of card game. The third looked bored to tears. His gaze bounced around the tunnel, and he couldn’t stop fidgeting.

It was hard to gauge ages for non-human creatures, but As’ad thought the bored dwarf was significantly younger than the other two. Not a hint of white touched his beard, whereas one of his companions was more salt than pepper and the other had distinguished patches of gray at his temples. As they watched, the youngest hopped to his feet and grabbed a nearby torch. He lit it in the fire, then headed farther into the tunnel, away from the humans hiding behind an illusion.

His torch had time to light up the very edge of a stack of barrels before the white-haired dwarf yelled.

“Get away from there, ya daft looney! One spark and you’ll blow us all to smithereens.”

The incautious dwarf grunted but turned around and called back in a higher voice than his gruff elder. “I was just curious.”

The name-caller had already dismissed him and returned to the game. “Then use a fae light. And quit pouting.”

The young dwarf returned the torch and did something As’ad couldn’t see that produced a ball of light without flames. His walk back was openly defiant, but the other two ignored him. He didn’t do much aside from walk around the barrels, but it was enough for As’ad to count eight visible containers, with more behind. Plenty to collapse this portion of the tunnel and prevent use for a lengthy period of time. Depending on the nature of this section of the mountain, enough damage might make it impossible to rebuild.

As’ad gently pulled Rahma away from their observation post. He had seen what he needed to. She followed without quibbling, so he assumed she was also satisfied with their reconnaissance. As they walked back, he paid careful attention to the distance and the shape of the tunnel walls. They paused for a moment to ensure no one saw them leave via the tunnel or side doors, then worked their way back to the cart.

Only Fat Carl had stayed in his cage, sufficiently happy with the treats Rahma had left him. The others were exploring somewhere. As’ad didn’t spare extra thoughts for them. Routine told him they would be back by morning. He didn’t take down their rock disguise and knew that the enchantment would last until dawn. Normally, such a lengthy illusion would have drained him, but since the fake wall didn’t have as many moving parts as a river of rats, he still felt decently fresh. Or as fresh as one could be after walking for half the day and spying for the other half.

“The way I see it, we need to lure the guards out of the tunnel so we can set off the powder.” He scratched the scruff on his cheek. “Preferably without blowing ourselves up.”

“Naturally,” Rahma drawled. “Do you know anything about using black powder?”

“Umm . . .” That was where his plan fell apart. He vaguely understood what it was and to keep it away from open flames, but he lacked the specialized knowledge to utilize the wealth of it in the tunnel.

“Don’t worry, Underqualified Piper.” She patted his arm with mock condescension. “Today is your lucky day. I know what we need.”

“How do you know about black powder?” As’ad asked, ablaze with curiosity.

“I read.” She shrugged, then grinned. “One of our neighbors was obsessed with scientific advancements and had several papers on the subject a few years ago. I only read them because my mother volunteered me to entertain him when he broke his leg and was stuck in bed for the first few weeks. That cranky old man wouldn’t let me read aloud anything that wasn’t strictly factual.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I’m glad for it now.”

“Me, too! What do we need?”

Rahma walked him through the process. The supplies they needed would be readily available in a city this size, but it would have to wait until morning. The next order of business was figuring out how to get the guards away from the tunnel.

“I think scaring them would be the most effective. Do you think a million rats would do it?” Rahma asked.

“Hmm, maybe. Will that be enough to get them away from the house, too? Or should we get everyone out of the house first?” He stood, pulled out a blanket, wrapped it around her shoulders, then sat down again. “I think we should burn the house down.”

“Thank you,” Rahma offered with a smile. Her growing shivers settled. “I agree. If this is where they collect people before shipping them out to the slave markets somewhere else, they shouldn’t get to keep it.”

As’ad couldn’t see the house from their hideaway, but he recalled its dried-out appearance. “I think the whole thing would catch pretty fast if we caught any of it on fire. What do you think?”

Rahma nodded. “You could play an illusion of fire into reality. That should be enough to get everyone out of the building. Then we can torch it for real.”

“Perfect! We’ll have to make arrangements with Suha to give us a signal so we know everyone is safe for sure.”

“Then what? We can get everyone out, burn the house down, and explode the tunnels, but how do we get the guards away from the children?”

A foolproof solution eluded them for a good while. None of the closest decrepit buildings showed signs of life, but that didn’t mean reinforcements weren’t close at hand. They needed something that would cause the dwarves to ditch their charges. They finally stumbled on half an idea to hide the children with an illusion. As’ad told Rahma to get some sleep while he kept watch; then he continued to ruminate on the idea.

Eventually, the outhouse saved the day. As’ad knew people tended to watch a burning building. When the guards and children escaped the “burning” house, they would run to a safe distance, then most likely turn around to watch. The guards might even try to save it. A half-crumbled well stood midway between this house and its nearest neighbor. While the dwarves were distracted, it would be fairly simple to send the children one at a time behind a wall illusion.

If As’ad made the privy invisible and set up an identical one right next to it, the children could pass through the illusion of the outhouse, which would serve as the entry point for a safe space hidden by another illusion. The guards would have no reason to search a small one-person wooden building for twenty-two children. He trusted that Suha and the older ones could keep everyone quiet while they hid. The dwarves wouldn’t be able to find them, and without a house to return to, they should scatter. If need be, As’ad could call up a plague of rats to encourage them to leave.

Rahma agreed with his assessment when she woke a few hours later. She then implored him to rest, vowing to wake him well before they needed to meet Suha.

When she shook him awake the following morning, she continued without preamble, “I think if we time it right, we can scare the tunnel guards out, start the fake fire, have everyone run out, then start the real fire and set the fuse for the explosion at the same time.” The timing would be tight, but once his sleep-addled brain caught up, As’ad agreed that that would be the best plan of action.

While they waited for the purpling of the sky that preceded true dawn, they amused the rats who had returned. Khudha and Alzali were still gallivanting in parts unknown, but Qamar, Sarir, and Yasruhk enjoyed the personalized attention from both Rahma and As’ad.

When it was finally time to meet Suha, they persuaded the pets to stay with the cart through bribery. None of the rodents noted their departure, as they were too happy with their treats. As’ad’s rock illusion was still in place, and they made the trip to the privy without trouble.

Suha appeared soon after and listened to them outline their plan. “Too bad we don’t have any trained bears hanging around. The whiny guard was asking if there were bears in the tunnel.”

As’ad and Rahma shared a smile.

“That can be arranged,” he promised.

She had to hurry back inside then, but repeated her parts of the plan a final time before doing so.

Back at the cart, As’ad renewed the melody to hide Rahma and the rats, then took off to gather supplies in the city. One way or another, everything would be over before nightfall.