Pirate; The Seavey Pendant

13. Caught by a Stranger

Carefully and quietly, they descended using the pipeline again.  Cinnia was glad that this time, she could be more careful with her gripping and footing.  She reached the bottom, having followed behind Adorno and Kieran, and landed on the ground below with a quiet thud.  She stood up hastily and hurried to where the two men were pushed up against the wall, peering around the corner.

     “We’ll run ahead when they aren’t looking, into that alleyway over there,” Kieran nodded towards the alleyway across the narrow street.  “Cinnia, pull that hood over your head so there’s less of a chance of them noticing you.”

As the guards at the opposite ends looked away at the same time, Cinnia sprinted across the street with Adorno and Kieran.  The smell of rain, which still lingered in the heavy air, fuelled her adrenaline, and helped her ignore the pain in her ankle.  They made it across without raising an alarm, and they looked at each other, nodding happily. 

As they trailed down the alley, scaling the wall and throwing glances in every direction, Adorno suddenly stopped them as he whispered loudly, “Wait, what’s this?” He stared at the brick wall before reaching up and tearing down a piece of paper that had been nailed there.  “What—this doesn’t even—does this look like me?  Never mind that, but look at how fast they were at getting these up.”  He held up the piece of paper, which seemed to have just lightly been sprayed by the last of the rain.  Two familiar faces stared back at Cinnia, one of which must have been her own.  She noticed, however, that the artist hadn’t quite gotten their faces right.  Her nose was much too small, the shape of her face had been made rounder, and her eyes were angled differently.  Underneath the two images “Wanted” stood out in thick, black ink with a footnote that read, “1000 gold pieces per head reward”.

     Adorno looked at the number and his face twisted with distaste, “At a number like that, even I’m considering turning myself in.  And look at this neighbourhood, what don’t you think they would be willing to do for that amount?  This is not good.”

     “At least they got our faces wrong.  People might not recognize us with a first glance, if we’re lucky.” Cinnia reminded him.

     Adorno crumbled the paper up into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder.  “Do you think it was Bequel who explained what we looked like?” He asked quietly as they began sneaking again.

      Cinnia responded through clenched teeth, “If it was him, I’d either hit him too hard for him to actually remember, or he was too focused on something else during the entire night to really notice my face.”

     Kieran suddenly stopped and turned, wide-eyed, “What was he too focused on?  What happened?” He said seriously.

     Cinnia shook her head in exasperation, “What is with you today?  Let’s just keep going.”

Kieran turned around without saying another word, but he balled his hands up into fists.  Cinnia looked at him uncomfortably.  He obviously liked her in a way that suggested he wanted to be more than friends, didn’t it?  She pondered what she felt for him, and despite wanting to deny it, she had an eerie feeling that she felt similarly.  With her heart in her throat, she reached for his hand to squeeze it, but Adorno’s hands came suddenly, pulling both her and Kieran into a large doorframe.   “You two need to get a hold of yourselves.  There’s one guard that just turned the corner.  He’s coming here.”

     Kieran dared to risk a peek and he leaned back quickly.  “We’ll have to take him out.”

     “But is he the only one?” Cinnia asked, becoming nervous.

     “I think so.”

     “But why would they only send one person to go alone?  They think we’re two people, and would therefore outnumber him.  There must be another one nearby.”  Cinnia argued desperately.

     “There are no other options.  We have to take the risk.” Adorno said, agreeing with Kieran for the first time.

     Kieran glanced around the corner once more and looked at Adorno expectantly, “One.  Two.  Three.”  As the guard came within view, the two jumped out quickly to ambush him.  Adorno circled his arms around the man’s head, using one hand to muffle the guard’s scream and the other to pull the helmet off of him gracefully.  Kieran grabbed the man’s head and shoved it into the brick of the wall.  The guard collapsed limply into a heap on the ground.  Adorno ushered Cinnia out of the doorway as Kieran pushed the unconscious man in.  He placed the guard’s helmet on the man’s head and looked around anxiously.  “No one saw us?”

     “I don’t think so,” Adorno said, “It’s best we continue.”

Cinnia was impressed with how effectively they could work together, despite disagreeing on nearly everything else.  They continued on, running, sneaking and hiding in more door frames.  This time, Cinnia wouldn’t let herself be distracted by Kieran and kept a close look out.  By the time they had almost reached the north gate, the sun had begun peeking through the seemingly-endless mounds of clouds.  Cinnia’s slippers were still damp, and her feet and ankle were sore, but she pushed on stubbornly.  Suddenly, Kieran stopped them.  They stood, hidden in the shadows between two large buildings that lead out to a busier street.  The north gate, which stood a few hundred metres from them, was nearly overrun with positioned guards.  “We will never make it through,” Cinnia groaned angrily.

     “That, darling, you won’t.” A husky whisper came from behind her.  She felt a warm breath on her neck before two, strong arms pulled her and Adorno in through a narrow doorway, leading into a dark and shabby room.