Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 13, Part 1

Aiden pounded along the half-lit corridor, not daring to look behind to see if they were being pursued. His mind raced, his senses singing under the tension, trying desperately to think of a way out. It’s hopeless, he thought. There was no way to circle back to the stables - they would be flanked and caught easily - and there were no direct routes out of the palace that wouldn’t see them running straight into a detachment of men. Unless…

“Aiden.” Gray’s hand caught him by the arm, hauling him to a stop. “We need a plan. Where are we going?”

“We have to get out of here,” Aiden said.

“I agree, but unless you’ve got something, I think we should circle back-”

“No, we can’t. This is a palace, not a maze. We’ll run right into them.”

“So what, then? Keep running until they corner us?”

Aiden looked round at the others. Five people. It might just work, he thought. Might. “I have a way out, but it’s risky.”

“Risky is better than nothing. Where are we going?”

“To the royal chambers.”

Gray gave him a blank look. “That’s ‘risky’? I’d hate to hear what you think is dangerous.”

“There’s a passage that runs behind the walls there, a man can fit through it. Not many people know about them. If we can get in, we can reach the outer walls.” If you can get to it, Aiden thought. If there were guards in the hall - if the queen was there - reaching the passage would be a bloody business.

Gray turned back and looked at the others. Aiden could see in their faces they were all looking to the old soldier for his approval. In the heat of the chase, they’d handed their fates over to the two of them in the faint hope that somehow it might get them out alive. He was surprised to realise that it had been a long time since anyone had put that kind of trust in him. He’d spent so long treating the affairs of the Kingdom as little more than a game. This, though, was something different.

“Well?” Gray had turned back and was waiting for Aiden to lead the way. “Get on with it.”

They followed Aiden through the castle. Gray thought that he had known the place – he had spent enough time in it as a young man – but he quickly found himself disoriented by the path the other man chose. Twice he stopped them to listen at a door, and then double back to lead them another way. After sprinting down a corridor that seemed to go on forever, Aiden paused at a doorway.

“We’ve been lucky,” Aiden said. “Nobody expected us to run back into the castle. They’re probably out combing the streets by now.”

Gray caught the edge to the man’s words. “When you say we’ve been lucky?”

“I want you all to remember that, and not panic when I open this door.”

“Why?” Kara asked. “What’s on the other side?”

“A courtyard.” Ambrose’s voice was like lead. “If we’re going to run into people, we’ll find them there. The flowers are lovely, if you’re not running for your life through them.”

“That’s why we’re not going to panic,” Aiden said. “We’re going for a nice, calm walk to look at the flowers. Across the yard and on the right, there’s a door. If we can get to it without raising the alarm, then we can get out of here.”

Gray stared at the man. He could feel a frustrated twitch gathering at the corner of his eye. “You’re mad,” he said. “This is mad.”

Aiden paused a moment, then nodded in agreement. “It is. But it’s too far to run, and I can’t think of anything better.