“No time,” Rift told Moon as he shook the creature’s blood off his scales. A clatter sounded from overhead as groundling guards ran across the second level hall to this stairwell. At least two misty shapes forming in the air nearby meant more wardens were about to appear. Rift started toward the curving passage that led under the stairwell.
“Come on,” Moon snapped at Esom and Karsis, knowing if he left them behind, they would point the way for the guards.
Fortunately they didn’t argue. Esom pulled Karsis up and they both ran after Moon.
The passage wound under the bulk of the stairwell, apparently a back way to the service areas behind the hall. Rift stopped at a spot where there wasn’t a door, just a carved panel that looked like part of the wall decoration. But there was a faint line of mold along one edge, showing that there must be something behind it. Rift grabbed the edge, worked his claws under it, and popped it open.
It led into a dark space lit by greenish light that released a breath of dank air carrying a truly foul odor. Rift stepped inside, Moon pushed Karsis and Esom in after him, then stepped through himself.
Moon helped Rift maneuver the panel back into place. There was no lock. He looked hurriedly around the small space. The dim greenish light came from odd little pockets in the stone walls; it was hard to tell if it had been intentionally placed there or was just a lichen or moss that grew naturally. There was nothing to wedge against the panel, nothing to keep the guards from prying it open once they realized it was an escape route.
“We can’t seal it,” Rift told him, low-voiced. “We need to move away, or the wardens will hear us.”
“Can Ardan send those things after us?” Moon asked in Raksuran. They started down the passage, which sloped downward in a long spiral. Karsis slipped a little on the slimy paving but caught Esom’s shoulder to steady herself. Both of them watched Rift warily.
Rift replied in the same language, “He can send them, but he has to figure out where we went, first. They can’t appear out of nowhere. He has to put the guard-spells for them in place. I don’t think he knows about these passages.”
“You don’t think.” That wasn’t reassuring, but then nothing about Rift was. “How did you find the way down here without killing the guardthings in the main hall?” That would have had to alert Ardan that Rift had been poking around down here.
“I found it during the day,” Rift said. He jerked his head toward Esom and Karsis. “What are we going to do with them?”
That “we” was awfully confident. Switching back to Kedaic, Moon asked Esom, “If you’re a shaman, why didn’t you escape before?”
Stiffly, Esom said, “I’ve tried, but I knew the wardens would stop us. As you saw, the sight-spell doesn’t work very well on them.”
“We weren’t very organized,” Karsis admitted. “We tried to get Negal and Orlis, but the guards had already locked them in. And we aren’t even certain where Ardan is keeping our other crew members.” “How were you planning to get through the barrier?”
Esom started to speak, then hesitated, and Moon saw Karsis dart a look at him. Esom said, “With all the confusion, I thought we might be able to conceal ourselves down here until morning, when the barrier goes down and the outside doors are opened.”
They were terrible liars. “Hide from that creature till morning? I don’t think so. I think you knew you could get through the barrier.”
The two groundlings exchanged a grim look, and Esom said, “All right, yes. I think I can get through the barrier, but I’m not certain. I’ve never had a chance to escape from the upper level and test it.”
Rift told Moon, “I knew he was a wizard all along, but he can’t do much. He’s not nearly as powerful as Ardan.”
Esom stopped abruptly and stared at Rift. He said, “You knew?”
Karsis demanded, more to the point, “Why didn’t you tell Ardan?”
Rift bared a fang in an ironic smile. “I’m not Ardan’s servant.”
Esom sneered back. “So you’re his pet?”
Growling, Rift reached toward him and Esom jerked back. Moon hissed and flicked his spines. Rift glared resentfully, but eased away from Esom.
Esom looked from Rift to Moon, then wet his lips and said, “If you don’t help us escape, we’ll tell Ardan’s men which way you went.”