right into two guards. He jumps back just as I reach the door, then swings his fist into the closest guard’s face. Guard One cries out and clutches his nose just as Guard Two receives a kick to the stomach. But these guards are not as useless as they first appear, and a moment later Ryn is tackled onto the floor.
Right. Time to lose the dress. I grab hold of the black and silver fabric and tear as hard as I can. The skirt falls away, revealing my shorts, knives and boots. Aside from the top part of my outfit, I almost feel normal again.
Remembering the no-magic alarm, I run to the corner of the room and grab a tall floor lamp. “Get down,” I shout to Ryn, currently wrestling with both guards on the floor. He ducks as I swing the lamp and whack Guard One over the head, then thrust the end into Guard Two’s chest, knocking him out of the doorway and into the passage.
The guards lie motionless on the floor. Ryn stares at me with both eyebrows lifted in an expression I can’t quite identify. “What?” I ask.
“So much for returning the dress,” he says.
“It was getting in the way.”
With a knife in one hand and the pull of Calla’s location still fresh in my mind, I lead the way downstairs. The corridors we find ourselves in are narrow and winding; we must be taking the servants’ route through the house. When I feel like we must be nearly there, we reach the kitchen. We walk straight past several cooks, trying to pretend we have every right to be down here, and continue running the moment the kitchen doors swing shut behind us. Past the pantries full of food. Past several storage rooms. And finally, we find a staircase made of stone that leads downward.
I take the narrow stairs slowly, trying not to let the pointy heels of my boots make any noise on the stone. Sensing Ryn’s agitation, I step to one side. “I’d rather you didn’t push me down the stairs,” I whisper.
“Good call,” he says as he passes me. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I said it was an accident.” He jumps down the stairs two at a time and disappears around a corner.
Stupid heels. Stupid no-magic rule.
I reach the bottom as quickly as my tiptoes will allow me. I round the corner—the same one Calla ran around before crashing into someone—and find Ryn beating his fists against a door made of a single stone slab.“Dammit, we just missed getting in.”
“What do you mean?” I place my hand against the stone. “Was this open?”
“Yeah, someone was going in just as I came around that corner. The stone moved across before I could get in.”
I reach for a handle, but there isn’t one. Looking closer, I see a narrow strip of metal running around the edge of the door, sealing the crack between the wall and the stone slab. “I think I recognize this metal,” I say, feeling a shiver course down my spine. I hold up my right hand and point to the scar encircling my wrist. “Do you know how I got this?”
“I heard you had some kind of altercation with an Unseelie faerie when you tried to take halfling boy back home.”
“You heard correct. That Unseelie faerie and his partner put a metal band around my wrist that was supposed to prevent me from accessing my magic. And that Unseelie faerie was Zell.”
“So you think this metal around the door is the same stuff?”
“Looks like it. And I think it’s what’s preventing me from sensing Calla.”
Ryn nods. “Could be. But that still doesn’t help with how we’re supposed to get past it.”
I stare at the door for a while. “Probably the only way is to wait until someone goes in or out.”
Ryn tugs at his hair. “Damn, I hate it when you’re right. So you plan to just stand here and wait?”
I slip my knife back into the sheath strapped to my thigh. “No, I plan to go around that other corner over there and sit down and then wait.” Which is exactly what I do. After another pointless fist thump against the stone door, Ryn joins me. We sit in
Right. Time to lose the dress. I grab hold of the black and silver fabric and tear as hard as I can. The skirt falls away, revealing my shorts, knives and boots. Aside from the top part of my outfit, I almost feel normal again.
Remembering the no-magic alarm, I run to the corner of the room and grab a tall floor lamp. “Get down,” I shout to Ryn, currently wrestling with both guards on the floor. He ducks as I swing the lamp and whack Guard One over the head, then thrust the end into Guard Two’s chest, knocking him out of the doorway and into the passage.
The guards lie motionless on the floor. Ryn stares at me with both eyebrows lifted in an expression I can’t quite identify. “What?” I ask.
“So much for returning the dress,” he says.
“It was getting in the way.”
With a knife in one hand and the pull of Calla’s location still fresh in my mind, I lead the way downstairs. The corridors we find ourselves in are narrow and winding; we must be taking the servants’ route through the house. When I feel like we must be nearly there, we reach the kitchen. We walk straight past several cooks, trying to pretend we have every right to be down here, and continue running the moment the kitchen doors swing shut behind us. Past the pantries full of food. Past several storage rooms. And finally, we find a staircase made of stone that leads downward.
I take the narrow stairs slowly, trying not to let the pointy heels of my boots make any noise on the stone. Sensing Ryn’s agitation, I step to one side. “I’d rather you didn’t push me down the stairs,” I whisper.
“Good call,” he says as he passes me. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I said it was an accident.” He jumps down the stairs two at a time and disappears around a corner.
Stupid heels. Stupid no-magic rule.
I reach the bottom as quickly as my tiptoes will allow me. I round the corner—the same one Calla ran around before crashing into someone—and find Ryn beating his fists against a door made of a single stone slab.“Dammit, we just missed getting in.”
“What do you mean?” I place my hand against the stone. “Was this open?”
“Yeah, someone was going in just as I came around that corner. The stone moved across before I could get in.”
I reach for a handle, but there isn’t one. Looking closer, I see a narrow strip of metal running around the edge of the door, sealing the crack between the wall and the stone slab. “I think I recognize this metal,” I say, feeling a shiver course down my spine. I hold up my right hand and point to the scar encircling my wrist. “Do you know how I got this?”
“I heard you had some kind of altercation with an Unseelie faerie when you tried to take halfling boy back home.”
“You heard correct. That Unseelie faerie and his partner put a metal band around my wrist that was supposed to prevent me from accessing my magic. And that Unseelie faerie was Zell.”
“So you think this metal around the door is the same stuff?”
“Looks like it. And I think it’s what’s preventing me from sensing Calla.”
Ryn nods. “Could be. But that still doesn’t help with how we’re supposed to get past it.”
I stare at the door for a while. “Probably the only way is to wait until someone goes in or out.”
Ryn tugs at his hair. “Damn, I hate it when you’re right. So you plan to just stand here and wait?”
I slip my knife back into the sheath strapped to my thigh. “No, I plan to go around that other corner over there and sit down and then wait.” Which is exactly what I do. After another pointless fist thump against the stone door, Ryn joins me. We sit in
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