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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fin
The rain had not entirely abated, and as he knelt next to Mira in the bushes they were sheltering behind, the drizzle continued to fall, spattering on the leaves and stones around them. The floor of the forest was damp and spongy, and the air around them was thick with the scent of earth and musk.
Fin heard Hollis approaching from behind before the man knelt down next to them in the bushes. He looked over at his old friend, and Hollis wore an expression of nervousness.
“The wall guard looks like it’s been doubled,” he reported. “They’re tucked away out of sight, but they’re still there all right.”
“Anythin’ else?”
“He’s got archers in thae towers. Hidden too,” Hollis said. “Lots of attention on thae front gates.”
“So he kens we’re comin’,” Fin said.
Hollis nodded. “Aye. I’d say so.”
“When he discovered me missing, I am sure he forced Ivy to tell him where I had gone,” Mira added. “I am sorry.”
“Ye’ve got nothin’ tae apologize for, lass,” Fin replied. “Tis nae yer fault. And if he harmed a hair on Ivy’s head, I’m goin’ tae tear the man’s heart out.”
“Aye. We knew twas nae goin’ tae be easy from the start,” Hollis said. “Twas nae like we could stroll up tae thae front gates and ask tae take Ivy with us.”
“There is another way in. A secret way,” Mira gasped, as if only just remembering. “I recall that Ivy showed it to me once when we were young. I had forgotten all about it until just now.”
“A secret way in?” Fin asked.
She nodded. “Quite. It is an old passage that runs beneath the keep,” she said. “I do not believe anybody has used it in quite some time.”
Fin and Hollis exchanged a look. “I like secret ways in,” Hollis said.
“Aye,” Fin replied as a grin stretched across his lips. “As dae I. Show us.”
Mira took them on a long, circuitous route through the forest, approaching the castle from the rear. Mira stood in the center of a small clearing, looking around frantically. She looked as if she had lost something.
“It was here,” she muttered to herself. “It was here somewhere. There was a trap door that led to the tunnel. I just cannot remember where exactly.”
Fin and Hollis fanned out and started to search for the trap door. They all brushed aside leaves and fallen branches. It took several minutes of doing, but Hollis called to them.
“Tis here,” he said as he brushed the last of the debris off a solid wooden door.
Hollis grabbed the handle and pulled it open. The door creaked sharply enough to wake the dead, and Fin grimaced, looking around the woods, worried it would give them away. He waited for several long moments but heard nothing in the forest, though, no voices raised in alarm or the shuffle of boots in the undergrowth. He let out a silent breath and exchanged looks with both Fin and Mira.
“And where does this tunnel lead?” he asked.
“It will let you out into a storeroom,” Mira answered. “The storeroom is actually not too far from the staircase that will lead you down to the dark cells. That is where Castor is keeping her.”
Mira thought for a moment and then gave him the directions from the storeroom to the staircase. Fin listened and committed it all to memory. And when she was finished, he nodded.
“All right then,” he said. “I’ll go and fetch her. I need ye….”
“Bollocks,” Hollis spat. “I’m goin’ with ye.”
“Nae this time, mate,” he replied. “I need ye tae stay here with Mira. Keep her safe.”
“And who’s goin’ tae be watchin’ yer back in there, eh?”
“I’m goin’ tae be fine. Tis better if I go alone,” he explained. “One man might nae draw as many eyes-”
