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“It’s too straight a shot,” he said after a while. “No big turns. They will be able to see this light from the entrance, even if it’s faint. It’ll confirm we’re here. Soon we should stop, put it away.”
She nodded. “Stopping will keep us quiet too. The sound might echo.”
About a hundred paces farther along, they found a small three-sided area carved out of the earth, with a narrow shelf along the edges that seemed designed for sitting. They could at least tuck back into the far corner. So they did their best, and Jav slipped the stone into his pocket.
And they waited.
Chapter 19
True Daughters and Sons
“Come on out, children!” A churlish voice shouted from the mouth of the cave. Jav would have known that voice anywhere. Alekur. “Your luck has run out!”
Iseris’s body tensed. She knew it too. She felt like a tightly coiled spring, about to launch toward him. Impulsively, Jav reached up and put his hand over her mouth.
Even in the dark, he could see her eyes widen and turn toward him. He let go but held a finger to his lips. She probably couldn’t see him but maybe touch had gotten his point across. Alekur didn’t know where they were, as long as they didn’t tell him.
“And so has the luck of your friend here.” There was a pause, then a quiet moan. “Selis, was it?”
They both drew in a sharp breath. “We can’t let them hurt her,” she whispered.
“He’s bluffing.”
A small cry a moment later put that hope to death as well.
“Come.” Iseris stood. “We have to help her.”
“How? With what? There are no dogs up there that can be charmed by you. And there will surely be more than just Alekur up there. And I can’t overpower them, even with my sword.” Thank Nefrana he’d worn it.
“What about buckets of excrement?”
“I’m fresh out. Unless you have a bucket I might use to?—”
“Jav!”
“What? It’d be better than?—”
“I’ve seen you fend off more than one fighter—with weapons, not a bucket of waste. We’ve got to try. He could kill her for helping us.”
“If he thinks you should die for being a mage, then he’ll think the same of her, if he figures out what she is. Which he likely will.”
Her hands balled into fists at her sides. “We might be able to save her.”
“We might all three end up dead.”
Her shoulders slumped, as she seemed to sense he wouldn’t relent. But a louder cry, ending in a sort of bitter weeping, split the tense silence, and his resolve weakened.
Yes, they might all end up dead in the mouth of the cave by Alekur’s hand. They might also hide here for hours, all the while listening to Selis die, and then Alekur might still track them both down and kill them. There was no guarantee there was any back door out or other means of escape. In fact, he doubted it.
The only way out was the same way they’d come in. And Alekur would know that as well as he did. He’d just wait them out.
He sighed. “Well… I did say I wanted a noble death in battle. Think this counts?”
“Very much so,” she breathed. “Although do try not to die.”
“I can try all I like, but I can’t promise you anything.” He rose, too, now. “Let’s go.”
Alekur came into clear view. Three men stood at his sides, two carrying torches. Horses grazed idly outside the mouth of the cave, their reins dragging. Selis stood with them, too, hands bound behind her and Alekur’s dagger to her neck.
