Into the Shadows by Linda K Hopkins

Chapter 30

“Have a little faith,” she muttered a few hours later. Pip was sitting against the wall, frowning in frustration.

“It just needs to be a little stronger,” he said.

“Well, it’s not!”

“If only I could get a piece of wire.”

“Well, you can’t!”

“If we just had something heavy, we could break down the door!”

“We don’t!”

“Or an axe, or a knife –”

“Pip!” she groaned. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, then froze. “Wait, did you say a knife?”

“Yes. The wood is so rotten, we could probably cut a hole in it.”

“Will this do?” she asked, withdrawing the blade from her boot. It was still stained with the Drameara’s blood. As she stared at it, Pip snatched the blade from her hand.

“Yes!” he said. “How do you come to have it?”

“I … never mind. Will it work?”

“Yes, I think so!” He put the tip of the blade against the wood and began to twist and turn it. A splinter of wood flew off, landing near Lark. “It’s working!” he said excitedly.

A few hours, numerous splinters, and much frustration later there was a hole in the door, large enough for Lark to push her hand through. It took some maneuvering to reach the latch, and more careful manipulation to lift it and open the door. Her heart pounded furiously as each moment she expected to hear a shout of discovery, but the latch finally slid back and the door swung open. Thrusting the knife back into her boot, she stepped out of the cell and into the tunnel with Pip a step behind her.

“Which way?” he demanded in a whisper.

“I have no idea.” She glanced up and down the tunnel, hoping to get her bearings, but it looked like every other tunnel she had walked through. She tried to remember which way the guard had brought her, and after a moment, she gestured for Pip to follow as she headed down the tunnel. It intersected another and she stopped.

“We need to find the women’s quarters,” she whispered to Pip. “Let’s go this way.”

They slid into the intersecting tunnel and hugged the wall as they hurried along. When the sound of heavy footsteps reached them a moment later, though, they scurried back to the previous tunnel.

“We could be trapped here forever,” Pip said as the footsteps faded away.

Lark shook her head. “No, we’ve made it this far. Let’s go.” Without waiting for a reply, she stepped back into the tunnel and hurried as fast as she could down its length. They reached another intersecting tunnel, and she pulled Pip into it, leaning against the wall to slow her racing pulse. The tunnel was unlit and stretched into utter darkness, and she gave a little shudder. She was about to step back into the main tunnel when Pip grabbed her arm.

“Wait,” he breathed, and she froze when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They were not heavy, and she leaned back as Cenoa walked past. She waited as the footsteps faded, then grabbed Pip’s hand.

“This way,” she whispered, hurrying in the direction Cenoa had taken. They reached another intersection and Lark paused, but Pip pulled her to the right and she followed until they reached yet another junction. This time Lark took the left fork without hesitation, and before long, she saw wooden doors inset into the tunnel walls, and at the far end of the tunnel, a glimmer of light from the pools where Lark had bathed only a few hours before.

“This is it,” she whispered.

“What?”

“The women’s quarters. We need to look for an unlit tunnel.”

“Which side?”

“This side. No wait, that side.” Tunnels and doors lined each wall, and she looked around in consternation. “I don’t remember!”

Pip pointed to a dark patch a short distance way. “There!”

She sent him a grin as a wave of relief washed over her, and she began to run. As a door behind her opened, a voice brought her to a stop.

“Star? Is that you?”

She spun around to see Cenoa, her gaze darting between her and Pip. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What’s going on?”

“Please, Cenoa, just –”

“Who’s this?”

Lark shot Pip a look, her eyes meeting his fleetingly, then turned and began to race to the tunnel. Pip was on her heels, but it only took Cenoa a moment to dart after them. She caught Lark as she turned the corner into the tunnel, and they both tumbled to the ground.

“Please, Cenoa,” Lark pleaded, rising to her feet to face the petite woman, “I don’t want to fight you, but we have to get away.”

“Why? What have you done? Why aren’t you with the Warrior?” She glanced at Pip suspiciously. “And who’s he?”

“We don’t have time for this, Lark,” Pip said. “We need to move now.”

Cenoa frowned. “Your name’s Lark? You said it was Star. But why …?” She trailed off as her eyes widened. “You’re the commander’s daughter!” She spun around to look at Pip. “And you must be a Guardsman!”

“No, I –” Pip began, but Cenoa was already flying through the air; she wrapped her arms around his waist and tackled him to the ground, pummeling him with her fists. He brought his hands to his face as Lark rushed forward and, grabbing her shoulders, pulled Cenoa off her brother. She had barely straightened, however, when Cenoa turned on her and grabbed her around the ankles, causing her to go sprawling on the ground.

“You’re the commander’s daughter,” she yelled again, and Lark could see the anger in her eyes. “I did your hair and helped you bathe!” She launched herself once more at Lark, punching her in the stomach then grabbing her by the hair. A moment later Pip pulled Cenoa away, and Lark pulled the dagger from her boot.

“Where’s the Warrior?” Cenoa snarled.

“Dead,” Lark replied. “And you’ll be too if you don’t let us go.”

Cenoa froze for a moment, then laughed. “There’s no way you could have killed the Warrior,” she said. “Even a dozen Guardsmen struggle to do so!”

“Lark, someone’s coming,” Pip hissed. “We’ve got to get out of here.” Cenoa struggled in his grasp and he clamped a hand over her mouth, then pushed her further along the tunnel and pressed her against the wall as someone walked past. Lark froze as she recognized Maura, but she did not look their way.

Lark slowly exhaled and glanced at Pip. “What do we do with her?”

He shrugged. “Kill her.”

Lark’s throat tightened as she stared at him. She had already killed one person – she had no stomach to do it again, and Cenoa certainly did not deserve death. “No,” she said, taking the ribbon from her hair that Cenoa had used to secure it just a few hours before. “She’s coming with us.”

He frowned. “That’s a ridiculous idea.”

“If we leave her here, she’ll just tell them where we’ve gone. This way, we can be certain we won’t get lost wandering in the tunnels.” She handed him the blade. “You keep this. Use it if you have to.” She stepped closer and wrapped the ribbon around Cenoa’s mouth. She struggled violently, but after a few moments the knot was tight and the gag was secure.

“Just be grateful it’s clean,” Lark said. She used the scarf wrapped around her waist to bind Cenoa’s hands in front of her stomach. “I really don’t want to do this,” Lark said, “but I can’t risk you alerting the Drameara. Now let’s go.”

She wrapped the end of the scarf around her hand and tugged Cenoa forward. She stumbled, resisting, but a prick of the blade in her back had her moving forward as she glared angrily at Pip. They started down the tunnel but had only gone a few steps when Pip stopped Lark, and handing her the blade, sprinted back up the tunnel and took a dragon light from its perch on the wall. He headed back, and with a cocky grin at his own foresight, gave it to Lark as he took the blade. Lark smiled as they jogged forward, pulling a reluctant Cenoa along with them; despite everything, Pip had not lost his boyish enthusiasm. He peered into the blackness ahead of them. “So where are we going, anyway?”

“Assuming she was telling the truth” – Lark glanced at Cenoa – “we are going to Arach’s Gate. Is that correct, Cenoa?” She smiled as Cenoa glared at her. “Excellent. To the Gate we go.”