“This is the ground level,” she told Jaron. “Velmar is below us.”
Jaron caught her upper arm as she started to dart into the hallway. “How are you moved from place to place? Do the guards restrain you or simply escort you?”
She took a deep breath and thought about the best way to proceed. If she ran headlong into danger, the likely result would be both their deaths. “You’re right. I need to think this through.”
“We need to think this through,” he corrected. “My appearance gives us a plausible excuse for being on another level but only until they notice the gaping hole in their perimeter wall.”
“I’m escorted at gunpoint, but I’m not restrained.”
He drew his sidearm then asked, “Have you ever been taken below?”
Should she admit the truth? He sure as hell wouldn’t like it, but she wasn’t a very good liar. “We’re sedated. I’m not sure where they take us.”
His gaze narrowed and his jaw clenched. Was he angry at her or the Cretzians? Either way, the reaction quickly passed. “I’ll hold on to your arm. If anyone spots us, immediately start struggling. We’ll make it seem as if you regained consciousness unexpectedly. That way, if we’re in an inappropriate area, I’ll claim you were attempting to escape.”
She nodded. “Something tells me you’ve done this sort of thing before.”
The corners of his mouth quirked, but the smile looked out of place on the guard’s crude face. “A time or two. You ready?”
The only response she could manage was a nod.
Still holding her arm, Jaron motioned for her to continue.
Nikki had spent endless hours over the past two weeks trying to network with the guards’ minds. She could never hold on for long, but while she was linked, she sometimes saw what they saw. Those images served her well now. She remembered seeing a stairway not far from her cell. It was tucked in a corner and bent in on itself halfway down.
The stairs were narrow and steep, and there was barely enough light to see the next stair. Were Cretzians over sensitive to light? She’d thought the cells were dark to help keep the prisoners docile. Maybe there was more to it than that. Jaron let go of her arm until they reached the small landing one level down.
Nikki paused, and Velmar instructed, Go deeper.
She knew he’d been lying before. Thank you.
Shut up and concentrate, he snapped. What little strength I have is fading fast.
It was hard to argue with that, so she followed his advice. She thought of the grumpy blue-haired elf and only of him. Velmar remained silent until they reached the bottom of the stairway. They could go no deeper. This had to be it.
Like a castle or historic prison, the entire fortress was made of gray stone. Nikki looked around, squinting into the dimness. All of the corridors looked exactly the same.
Just move, Velmar suggested. I’ll tell you if your signal is getting stronger or weaker.
She could do that. Allowing instinct to guide her, she turned to her left.
Weaker.
Shit. So much for her instincts.
She reversed direction and Velmar immediately reinforced. Better. Keep going.
“Are you still in contact with him?” Jaron asked, his voice hushed and cautious.
Rather than break concentration, she nodded and kept walking.
Depending on Jaron’s strong hand to keep her from stepping off a ledge or running into a wall, she allowed her surroundings to blur and focused entirely on her connection with Velmar. These abilities were so new, and her skills barely existed. It was easy to miss something vital.
She reached a T intersection. Velmar offered no advice, so she went right.
He immediately chimed in, Other way. There was a hint of amusement in his tone as he added, Start going the opposite direction from your first impulse.
Was he always such a jerk? She thought of all she’d endured in the past three weeks and decided to reserve judgment until they were all far away from this horrible place.
Another few prompts by Velmar led them to the corridor where he was being held. Unlike Nikki’s enclosed cell, however, the front wall of Velmar’s was some sort of energy field. Being cooped up had been bad enough. Velmar had no privacy, and armed guards were stationed to either side of the containment field.
Jaron paused before they turned the final corner and handed her his handgun. Then he pulled a rifle from the harness securing it between his shoulder blades. “Stay here until I signal you.”
Without waiting for her to agree, he marched down the