Capper had no intention of staying locked in his room. Consequences be damned, and damn the Elders along with them. If they wouldn't do what needed to be done, he would do it himself. While the Elders regarded him as a loose cannon, he doubted even they suspected he would be capable of defiance quite this direct. Brooke had done her best to calm him down, reiterating what the Elders had told him, though tactfully refraining from gloating over how correct she had been about their new arrival.
Shoving that unpleasant thought to one side, he started assessing the room. The window was his only realistic option – he knew that much. Two guards had been stationed outside his quarters. Completely unaware of the full ramifications of what was happening, the pair had been apologetic, but firm in the performance of their duty.
He couldn't really fault them for that, he supposed. But it still meant he needed to improvise a new escape route. Getting out of the room and down to the grounds would only be the first part of it. Fortunately, his time spent among the guards had ensured he knew their patrol routes and rotations inside and out.
Throwing open his wardrobe, he dug out a long leather bag from the bottom corner and tossed it onto the bed. He didn't bother with armour, but from the wall he gently removed the ceremonial axe from its hooks, wrapped it in a spare sheet and placed it into the holdall. The thing wasn't balanced as well as the war axe he normally used, but right now he didn't have a whole lot of options.
Before he left the estate, however, there was one thing he would need more than any weapon. If he wanted to find Gliss in Iron Hollow, he would need a map.
Wishing he'd paid more attention to his tutors, he belaboured his brains to figure out a way into the archive without being seen. Beyond the window he could make his way round the walls of the main building. There was a tiny side entrance he and Beel had used more than once that led into the thrall's wing. Seldom actually guarded, it was little more than a servants exit should the guards doing the patrols require any supplies, or run messages from their Elder-Blood charges.
Then he had an idea. It was left field, but that little door might just offer him a lifeline.
With the bag containing his axe securely slung across his back, he padded over to the window. It was seldom opened, but he knew that Lilly kept the hinges oiled and the glass crystal-clear, for want of any other tasks that he supplied her with. Gently, he undid the locks and eased one side of the window just enough for him to slip out onto the ledge. The night air slithered in over him, a bracing chill that woke up his senses. He could feel the guard patrols flowing through the grounds, and that the main patrol would be past his ledge in a matter of minutes.
So he waited. Seconds boomed by in his head as the Aspects of the guards drifted below, like breaths of shadow. Then moved on. He had a small window to make his move.
In a single smooth motion, Capper swung himself out over the ledge, hanging down with just his fingertips with the toes of his boots pressing against the grit of the mansion's outer walls. Taking a breath, he pushed off and dropped the forty-five feet to the grounds.
The fall would have done serious damage to a normal human, but Capper's reinforced muscle structure and strengthened bones allowed him to withstand the impact with a muffled grunt and a roll. He stopped, balanced on all fours and flashing his eyes around to make sure he hadn't been observed, then set off, scuttling spider-like across the grounds in the direction of the thrall's wing entrance. Above them the sky was a grey-black smear, stars blotted out by clouds, smog and the searing light pollution of the city below.
Staying close to the shadow of the wall he moved as quickly as he could, trying not to think too hard about everything he had set in motion. He knew if he stopped to let it all through into the forefront of his mind he might freeze up and bottle the whole venture. On he moved, keeping his emotions bottled back in the deepest recesses of his mind to keep his Aspect as unobtrusive as possible. An unexpected flash of emotion could give him away as easily as if he'd fired a flare into the sky.
Once in sight of the tiny thrall's entrance, he paused, eyes roving over the grassy tracts of the Glaive estate. If he remembered the rotations correctly there wouldn't be another patrol for at least three minutes. Hugging the strap of his back tightly against his body, he scampered across the final dozen meters of empty space and dropped to one knee at the door.
He lacked Gliss's finesse with lock-picking – his was a less artful entrance. Bracing himself, he bent wedged his shoulder against the lock, dug his feet against the ground, and pushed. He could have taken a run and broken the door down with ease, but the risk of discovery made that an unattractive option. So instead he slowly and inexorably exerted pressure against the locking mechanism until, after ninety agonizingly drawn out seconds, he heard the metal bolt snap.
Dragging his body back, he grabbed the handle, stopping the door from swinging and banging against the inner wall. Then he edged it enough for him to slip through.
The thrall's wing was dimly lit and barely decorated by the standards of the estate. He'd passed through it a few times but never lingered. Now, he needed to remember his way around on that scant information. With aching care, he walked silently into the faded oak halls.
Twice he ducked into a dark alcove to avoid a nearby thrall, but they paid him no mind, focused entirely on whatever task had been set to them by their Elder-Blood charges. It took a few more minutes of creeping through the seldom-walked halls before he saw the vampire he was looking for – a blond haired slip of an individual in a drab charcoal dress.
With ghostly quickness, he moved up behind her just as she was about to round a bend in the passage. Uttering a silent prayer to the First, he pounced wrapping an arm around her and pinning her arms to her sides, simultaneously clamping his other hand over her mouth to muffle the resulting squeal of surprise. The thrall thrashed wildly as he heaved her back around the corner out of sight and he hugged her close, more than strong enough to keep her in place.
"Lilly, by the First, be quiet," he hissed into her ear. "It's me!"
Finally she stopped struggling in his grip when her panic subsided and she realised who had grabbed her. He felt her body relax and she nodded stiffly – at least she tried to. Breathing a sigh of relief, Capper released his hold and spun her around.
"Milord," she whispered, glancing furtively left and right. "What happened after the Baelock attack? I was told you had been confined to your rooms and I was not to visit you under any circumstances."
"It's a long story," he muttered. "And I'll explain it all later. Right now, I need your help."
"You need me?"
"What?"
She looked amazed. "It's just, it never seems like you need my assistance. I feel very useless most of the time."
Capper grinned. "Well, you're not useless tonight."
Lilly's face seemed to beam sheer excitement at the very prospect of being needed. For a moment she stood, staring at him, then nodded once.
"Okay, good."
"So what do you need?"
"I need to get a map from the archive."
Lilly nodded again. "I know the archive well. Which map do you need?"
"I need the most detailed map you can find of Iron Hollow," he told her. "But not an atlas. None of those bloody tomes. I need something I can take with me."
"Take with you...?" She looked at him uncomprehending for an instant. "You're leaving the grounds?"
A sad smile. "I'm going a little further than that."
"Oh..." She bit her lip, casting a glance over her shoulder. The corridor remained mercifully empty. "What should I tell Rune?"
"Tell him Marshall sent you for it – say they're trying to get to the bottom of Gliss's story and I'm not to be involved. He won't push you for details if you're acting on an Elder-Blood's orders. Well, as long as they're not coming from me."
"Most of the other thralls are out on their assignments." Lilly started walking and beckoned him to follow. "If you need to stay hidden, you can use my quarters. It's not much but-,"
"I'm sure it's fine, Lilly."
"Of course, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise, just show me." He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, not wanting to drive away the one potential ally he had left within the estate walls. Composing himself, he let her lead him to one of the small, grey doors that filled the cramped passage. She eased it open and he darted past her over the threshold.
And for the first time, he saw how the thralls lived. It was a jolt to his system that left a bitter taste on his tongue. He'd seen guard quarters often enough – considerably smaller than his own luxurious chamber in the upper estate – but even they seemed decadent compared to this sorry offering.
The whole room was barely larger than his bed, sparsely furnished with the barest essentials. A wardrobe without doors was jammed into one corner and hanging within were a series of barely distinguishable dresses of grey, black and brown. Her bed could just about have accommodated him, if he bent his knees a little, its sheets crisp and white below a solitary pillow. The walls formed a featureless wooden backdrop, lacking the shine and polish of the upper wings.
"Please, milord," Lilly whispered. "If you lock the door, the others will assume the room is empty. I doubt anyone would expect to find you down here."
"I guess not," Capper agreed, nodding as he ran his eyes over the meagre possessions. "Okay. I'll wait here. Be as quick as you can. It's only going to be a matter of time before the guards at my quarters realise what I've done."
Lilly nodded, quickly sweeping her loosely brushed blonde hair back into a ponytail. Smoothing down her dress, she gave him a bobbing curtsey and then closed the door silently, leaving him alone. He felt the weak ripple of her Aspect recede away into the passages and then ... nothing. Unsure of what else to do, Capper fastened the lock, sat down and put his head in his hands.
The thoughts and feelings he'd been keeping a lid on threatened to come roaring back again. His clenched his hands into fists through his hair, gritting his teeth. For all he knew Lilly would just go straight to the Elders and throw him to the wolves. Hellgates – although he'd taken no liberties it wasn't as though he'd treated her particularly well. He didn't think she owed him anything, but right now he had no-one else to turn to.
So he sat there, doing his best to keep calm and restrain his Aspect. Sitting here in the thralls' wing he would be relatively safe – the weaker vampires weren't as perceptive to changes in atmosphere – but it still paid to be careful. If someone like Brooke or Marshall wandered through this section of the mansion they'd know he was here in an instant. Eventually he started pacing as the minutes ticked past, leaving faint footprints in the faded grey carpet.
After what felt like an eternity a faint knock sounded and he nearly jumped through the ceiling. Taking a breath, Capper steadied himself and focused. A thrall's Aspect hovered just beyond the door. He sidled over to it, placing his ear against the cool, coarse surface.
"Milord," came the urgent whisper. "It's me."
Relief flooded through him and he undid the single brass locking bolt, letting Lilly into the room and sweeping the door shut behind her. He whirled to see his thrall standing with a breathless smile on her face. In one calloused hand she held a large folded square of white, slightly stained paper which she held up to the light of the ceiling lamp.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"As I said, milord, I know the archive well." Lilly grinned – an expression that was a marked improvement on her normal look of approval-seeking desperation. "This is a map of Iron Hollow, officially commissioned ten years ago. It is not ideal, but it is the most recent map that we have, Rune assured me."
Capper snatched the paper hungrily from her hand and unfolded it, spreading it its full area down on her bed. His eyes beheld a miasma of black inked words, gridiron streets and contour lines, hideously detailed and with jagged boundary lines marked with clan boundaries. Most of them were asterisked as approximations – Iron Hollow was a volatile, insular place that was no friend the vampires of the south. Still, it was a vast improvement over his knowledge a few seconds ago.
"Thank you," he said. He looked up at her, then around the chambers. "You deserve better."
"Milord, if I may speak freely?"
"Go ahead."
"I have heard the rumours that Gliss fled the mansion – that she stole something from us. Baelock attacked the mansion and they will do so again. If Glaive falls then we," she gestured to her surroundings. "We are as good as dead."
Capper's jaw tightened. "I'm afraid that's true."
"And this, what you are doing – you're trying to stop that?"
"That's the plan."
Her expression saddened. "Milord, once they discover you are gone, they will trace this back to me. Rune is no fool, and Marshall is not forgiving. If I am lucky I will be ostracised. If not ..." Her words trailed off for a moment, but he knew all too well what she would have said. She shook her head and looked at him, a new intensity in her gaze. "As a thrall you have never needed me, so I spend my days polishing window frames and oiling hinges. I scrub corridors and clean weapons – take blood to weary guards and tread at the beck-and-call of others who are less lenient. I know you may have meant well, but, largely thanks to you, my life has been an exercise in meaninglessness."
The accusation hit him like a punch in the gut. Capper swallowed hard. "Lilly, I never realised-,"
"What's done is done, milord. All I ask now is that if you are going to Iron Hollow to stop whatever has been set in motion, I beg one favour from you. If you grant me nothing else, grant me this."
"Lilly, if I can, I will."
She stepped closer, pleading in her eyes. "Let me come with you."