Through the Fairy Ring

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Duchess pushed me out the door. Arden side-stepped through the doorway, making sure no one noticed us leave.

Guilt clamped on my insides. I didn't want to desert Drostan but if we didn't go, he'd have challenged the General to the fight for nothing. If he lost and we didn't at least try to get the Caladrius, I couldn't live with myself.

The duchess led us along the tunnels and I had to jog to keep up with her. Even Arden—long legs and all—had to rush to stay with us.

We rounded a corner and almost ran over four guards. The lead guard grabbed the Duchess as she bumped into his front, stopping her from falling over him.

"Excuse me..." he said. His eyes grew wide when he saw Arden and I, and he clamped his hands down hard on her shoulders. The others slid to a stop behind him and back-pedaled to the point where they could draw their weapons. Two swords came out, and a super sharp lance pointed at my belly.

"Unhand me." The Duchess' voice held the icy tone of displeased royalty.

"The General..."

"I am your duchess, and you will heed my words."

Something in his expression changed, hardened, and he said, "No, my lady. We were instructed to arrest anyone wandering the halls, and specifically anyone in the company of the prisoners."

The Duchess raised a delicate eyebrow. "You were, were you? The General acts as if he is king. That is treason. And if you are found to be aiding him, you will be brought up on charges of treason as well."

"The general is now King. It is what the Queen wanted."

"The Queen doesn't get to name her successor when there is blood royalty to take the throne."

This was taking too much time. If we didn't move on quickly, more guards would come, and the opportunity would be lost. That might even be their plan. But if Arden and I used magic, the Pixies would sense it and come running, too.

"We're returning to the arena, where the General can deal with you. Those were our orders."

The Duchess looked back at us, fury lighting her eyes. I made my decision.

"Close your eyes," I ordered, and pushed myself against the tunnel wall to clear space. Seeing what I was doing, Arden squeezed himself against the wall behind me. I stretched my hand back toward the arena and connected my thoughts to the sky and soft breeze that had cooled the arena. I swung my right arm in an arc to direct the wind and siphoned it toward me mentally, pulling it end over end, sending it rushing through the tunnel. I wrapped my arm around a tree branch that stuck out, away from the others, and shouted, "Hold on."

The Duchess dropped straight down, out of the guards grasp, and lunged for my legs. Arden stepped behind us, planted his legs firmly while he wedged up against the branch to protect the Duchess and I from the full effects of the wind blast. Little bits of dirt and debris blew in with the wind, as well as some sand, which stung like little ant bites as it peppered my exposed skin. I directed the full force of the wind into the guards and focused a small part of the magic to keeping the air around us more stable.

Half the guards were flung backwards and knocked senseless. The other three grasped at the walls as the gust dragged them along the floor a few inches at a time. A shiver of magic rolled over my body as Arden reached his mind outward.

I let go of the wind and untangled myself from the tree, just as a flock of blackbirds flew down the hallway from the arena.

"Run!" Arden shouted over the noise of flapping wings and scratchy calls of the angry birds.

We jumped over the Pixies on the ground and took off down the hallway. The cries of pain behind us made me shudder as I imagined what torture the birds were doing to the guards.

"The birds won't kill them, will they?"

"No, just keep them busy so they can't follow us."

And give them bird-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for the rest of their lives.

We sprinted down the hallways, and again had trouble keeping up with the Duchess. Though she be but little, she was fast.

"This way." She took us down a less cared for hall I didn't recognize. "A little longer, but less likely we'll run into others."

That sounded good to me.

She finally stopped beside a door and reached for the knob, but then turned a solemn face to Arden and I. "The Queen lies inside. There may be guards."

"How many?" Arden asked.

The Duchess only shrugged.

"Okay, let's go in fast, and let me lead." He gave a smile. "Thanks for the warning."

Arden took a deep breath and then burst the door open and ran inside. I came in close on his heels.

There were only two guards, one stationed on each side of the bed. Arden rushed the one closest to the door, taking him by surprise. He didn't even have time to draw his sword before Arden knocked him down with a punch to the head. Befuddled, he lay on the floor with a blank expression. The other charged around the bed, sword drawn. All his focus was on Arden, who stepped back to size up the situation. As the man passed by me, I stuck my foot out and hooked it around his ankle. He crashed the ground, and the sword flew out of his hand. He pushed up, but Arden jumped over his back, and sat down, which squashed the man to the floor.

"Find something I can tie him up with."

I opened the dresser, barely aware of the Duchess walking behind me and disappearing into the other room. A quick turn of the drawers revealed nothing useful.

"Nothing here." I passed by Arden and the man, careful to avoid his flailing hands, to reach the night table.

The Duchess returned and walked straight over to Arden.

"You have something?" Arden asked.

The Duchess leaned over and with a vicious swipe of her arm hit the man on the back of the head with a stone owl statue. I gasped and stared at her, my mouth open.

She dropped the statue next to his head. "I never liked him."

"Is he dead?" I asked.

Arden shook his head and stood. "Get the Caladrius and let's go."

I jogged into the next room, and stopped before the bird. It faced me and switched its weight from foot to foot, watching me with ice blue—almost white—eyes.

"I'm back," I whispered. "I need you to do me a favor, and then I'll let you go, okay?"

The bird lifted its head and spread its wings, and then its tethered leg. The line stretched taut, and the Caladrius tucked it back under its body. I wondered if the bird was tame, or if it had been captured from the wild. Would it bite me?

I carefully reached for the tether, which was nailed to the perch. I yanked hard, but couldn't pull the tether free. I couldn't cut it, since I didn't have a knife. I'd have to take the tether off the bird. I could get a pillowcase and put it inside, but that seemed so cruel. What if it tried to fly away once we were outside?

"I think you understand me. Other birds do." I reached for the bird's leg. "My children are sick. They need your help, or they'll die. Please come with me." The bird shook it feathers and fluffed a little before it stretched its leg back out from under its body. I pulled the tether into a loop and drew the Caladrius' foot through it. Then I put my forearm horizontal to the perch in an invitation. The bird stepped onto my arm and settled into a compact white ball that belied how big it actually was.

I smiled and realized I'd been holding my breath. "Thank you. Now, we better go before we have company." I wrapped my other arm protectively around its body and strode out of the room.