Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 50
50
"You do realise if either of those boys looks in the wrong direction at the wrong time, this entire idea of yours is bust, right?" Sorrin whispered. They were standing just outside the North gate, and he was slightly out of breath from the long walk around.
"They won't," Nilia assured him. "They're archers. All their attention will be focussed on the cage. That's the weakness of all archers. They don't see what's happening to the back or to the side, all they can see is the target."
"Nice words, but you can't guarantee that."
Nilia shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. This entire endeavour was a gamble from the start. All we can do is play the odds."
"I trust you, Nilia, but I can't say the same for that snake in the grass. He's too much like Wardo."
"I don't trust Dorin either, but right now we don't have a choice. Or would you rather flee into the night and leave your mate behind?"
Sorrin curled his hands into fists and pressed his lips together, steam issuing from his nostrils in short bursts. "I would never leave Mellah. We've been together for twenty winters, and I intend to stay by her side for at least twenty more."
"Then give me a boost, and try not to breathe so loud."
Sorrin looked up at the watchtowers, rising over the top of the wall like a pair of horned giants, then back at Nilia. He gave her a quick nod and went down on one knee, his hands cupped and ready.
Nilia stepped onto his interlaced fingers, her knees slightly bent. "We go on dri. Ready?"
Sorrin grunted.
"En... do... dri."
Sorrin shot straight up, lifting his arms over his head, pushing Nilia upwards with surprising force. At the same time Nilia straightened out her knees, leaping into the air. She ran up the wall and grabbed one of the spikes at the top, planting her feet against the wood. She stayed perfectly still, not making a sound. Even Sorrin was holding his breath. They listened for a full minute, but all they could hear was the freezing wind blowing through the trees and the occasional clump of snow falling from the branches. Nilia looked up at the watchtower, but she couldn't see much from this angle except for the supports, a piece of the floor, and the railing. If Seffer or Denko really were up there, they either hadn't heard her, or they were just pretending. Either way, they'd just have to continue with the plan.
Nilia motioned for Sorrin to move on, and he quickly went over to the other watchtower, unravelling the remaining rope from around his shoulders.
He swung it underhand, but the loop failed to catch on anything and slithered back down like a dead snake, making Nilia wince. Sorrin really wasn't one for a task like this, but there wasn't anyone else she could rely on.
He tried again and this time the loop found its mark. Sorrin pulled it tight and started to climb up, moving laboriously slow to avoid making any noise.
Satisfied with his progress, Nilia grabbed one of the tower's supports and pulled herself up just enough so she could peek over the floor, keeping her ears flattened so they wouldn't stick up over the edge.
There you are...
He was lying on his stomach with his tail in the air, swishing it back and forth in excitement. He was holding his bow sideways, and she could see the ends sticking out beyond his shoulders. Just waiting and waiting...
Waiting to kill her.
A low, simmering anger started to boil up inside her. This pup wasn't even gripping the bow properly, and yet he thought he could grab a free status boost among Wardo's ranks by shooting an arrow in her back? It was an insult.
She waited for Sorrin to catch up on his side, and when he did, she stealthily climbed over the railing, not making a single sound. This would be the most dangerous part of her plan because she and Sorrin would have to execute it at the exact same time, and if either one of them made a mistake, it would all come crashing down on their heads.
She raised her hand in the air, and Sorrin raised his in return. He was ready.
She waved once...
En.
Twice...
Do...
And leapt onto the fool's back.
Dri!
He managed to yelp out one startled inquiry ("Who!?") before she wound her arm around his throat and locked her hold, cinching it in tight, cutting off his circulation. He thrashed and kicked beneath her body, making the fletchings of his arrows rub uncomfortably against her chin and then (Nilia didn't know if this was amazing or just plain stupid) he actually tried to aim his bow backwards over his head, feebly plucking at the string before finally passing out.
Nilia held her breath and listened. She could hear some sort of scuffle going on in the next tower, overlaid with a series of grunts that could only be coming from Sorrin.
Come on, Sorrin... Come on...
SMACK!
That was the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting bare flesh. A few moments passed, then it came again - SMACK!! - even louder than before.
She released her grip and stood up on her haunches, peering over the railing. She could see a figure moving in the dark, hunched over, completely obscured by the shadow of the tower's pointed roof.
It was way too big to be some snot-nosed brat.
Sorrin poked his head out into the moonlight and raised his hand in victory.
Yes.
Nilia quickly signalled her own success, grabbed Seffer's bow and the quiver of arrows off his back (they might come in handy later) and slid down the ladder without braking. She slammed into the snow and sprinted across the open area of the village centre, headed straight for the cage beneath the statue's eternal shadow, a pool of blackness even in the depths of the night.
If there was another layer to this trap, then surely this would be it.
She skidded to a halt, nearly slamming into the iron bars face-first. She could see them curled up inside, Hezzi and Danado, each in his own corner.
"Hezzi, wake up!" She stuck her hand through the bars and poked him in the back of the head. "Hezzi, come on!" She gave him a quick slap across the cheek and he jerked awake, grumbling something incoherent. He propped himself up on his elbow, looked around, blinked his bleary eyes and said: "Nilia? Izzat... What's going on?"
"We're leaving. Right now. Wake Dan and -"
Dan was already awake, staring at her from the farthest, darkest corner of the cage, his eyes glowing like a pair of white pinpricks in the shadows.
She stepped back in alarm, thinking to herself:That's not Dan. I don't know what that is, but it's not Dan...
"Nilia!" Just like with everything else, Hezzi was quick to wake, too. He no longer showed any signs of sleepiness or fatigue, just that crazy energy she became so familiar with over the past two months. He grabbed the bars and stuck his muzzle through the gap as far as it would go. "Are you serious? Are we really getting out of here?"
"Yes."
"All of us?"
"Yes, but we have to hurry. Stand back." She shifted the bow and quiver to her back and pulled the little key from her pocket, staring at it with an almost superstitious dread. It was such a tiny little thing, barely longer than her pinkie finger, just a stick of metal with some strategically shaped teeth, and yet the lives of so many Wolves now depended on this tiny piece of metal. It was almost funny.
I'm trusting you, Dorin. Please...
She tried to put the key inside the lock, but her hands were shaking so badly it kept tapping out a frenzied rhythm all around the little hole.
Calm down, Nilia. Just do it.
The head of the key finally struck home, she pushed it in, and...
It got stuck halfway.
No. You just got the angle a bit wrong, that's all. Pull it out and try again.
She did just that, but the key got stuck in the exact same place again, and no matter how much she wiggled and pushed, it would not go any further.
Dorin gave you a fake key. It's a trap. Just grab Sorrin, Mellah, and Renna, and run. You don't have any other choice.
NO! I can't just leave Hezzi here! He's Ander's little brother! If I leave him behind, if I let him die...
How will Ander ever look at me without hating me?
"Nilia!" Hezzi hissed just a few inches away, making her jump.
"H- Hezzi, I..."
"Try turning it over," he said, making a twisting motion with his finger. "I think you're holding it the wrong way."
"The wrong..." Nilia turned the key so that the top and bottom sets of teeth switched places, steeled herself, and tried again.
It slid in without any resistance at all, mating up neatly with whatever obstructions were hidden inside. She turned it, the lock made a soft little click, and the door swung open on creaky hinges.
Thank you, Dorin. A lot has happened, but for this I will always be grateful.
She stepped away from the door and Hezzi jumped out, his breath pluming in the cold night air.
"How are you holding up?" Nilia asked. "Will you be able to walk?"
Hezzi stared at her with an odd look in his eye. It was something she couldn't quite place. Was it the wound in his back? Was he about to pass out? What -
Hezzi stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her middle, and gave her the first real hug she's had since she was a very, very small child, crying in the rain.
"Thank you, Nilia," he said. His face was warm. "Thank you so much."
"Y- You're welcome Hezzi," she said, not quite sure how to react in a situation like this. She's been alone her whole life. Whether she was training, or eating, or sleeping, everything she ever did, she always did it completely and utterly alone. She didn't even know if she was capable of returning a touch as soft as this.
And yet she did. It was something she didn't even have to think about. Her arms moved almost of their own accord, first wrapping around his shoulders and then squeezing him lightly. It must have been something she's always known how to do, just buried beneath years of hardened stone.
They stayed that way until she heard Sorrin's heavy breathing coming up behind them.
"Nilia!" he panted. He had Denko's bow and arrows on his back. "Are they okay?"
"They're fine," she said. "What about those two in the towers?"
"Tied up and gagged, the both of them."
"Good. Go get Mellah and Renna and meet us at the gate. This night is far from over."
Sorrin grunted something and ran off, heading straight for the cluster of tents on the Western side.
So far, so good.
"All right you two," Nilia said. "This plan has about a million things that can go wrong at any second, so we have to move quickly. Hezzi, you're the only one who knows the exact route Ander took to reach the river, so you'll be up front with Sorrin. Mellah and Renna will be in the middle, where it's safest. If anyone comes after us, they're bound to come up from behind, so I'll be in the back. Danado, if you -"
The words died in her throat as she watched him move inside the cage. Slowly... deliberately... every step well thought out in advance. She watched him curl his gloved fingers around the bars and carefully step out onto the snow, a shadow emerging from shadows, two glowing orbs of light for eyes. For the second time she found herself stepping back involuntarily, an inexplicable pang of fear shooting through her heart. She didn't know why, but her instincts were warning her to keep her distance from this Wolf, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she simply could not shake the feeling of danger coming to meet her. Danado was always such a quiet Wolf, such a caring Wolf, a Wolf who would never do anything to hurt another, and yet... watching him climb out of that cage...
It was like watching a giant, venomous spider crawling out of a pulsating eggsack...
"If you can walk..." she continued, hoping that no one had noticed her brief stutter, "...then you go in the middle, too. Keep a sharp eye out, and make sure to keep Mellah and Renna safe. If you can't, then -"
"I'm not going," he said. Even his voice sounded different. It was deeper, more raspy, probably as the result of crying all night, but it made Nilia even more convinced that the Wolf standing in front of her was not Danado.
"Why not, Dan?" Nilia asked. She tried to sound casual about it, but she didn't think she was making a very good job of it. She put her hand on Hezzi's shoulder and pulled him back a little, just in case.
"There's something I have to do." Danado reached out past her shoulder, and for the first time in Nilia's life, she found herself frozen, not knowing what to do. She could only stare as that gloved hand moved past her cheek, and when he pulled it back, he was grasping an arrow in an overhanded grip, the tip pointed downwards like a dagger.
He held it up to his face and, in a voice that gave her the chills, he said: "I am going to murder Dorin in his sleep."
Hezzi took a frightened step backwards, but Nilia no longer had such a luxury. This was a problem she did not foresee, and it would be up to her to deal with it as fast as possible.
"Dan, I understand completely how you feel. Believe me, I do. But we do not have time for this."
"Then leave me behind," he said. "I do not care about reaching the land of the Foxes, or whatever paradise you believe lies beyond the mountain. All I care about is driving the tip of this arrow through that lying, murdering bastard's neck."
"Don't do this, Dan."
"I hope you make it out."
Nilia punched him right in the face with all the strength she could muster, mashing her knuckles against his cheek. He fell backwards into the snow with a muffled flump, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and lay still. But even in the depths of unconsciousness, he refused to let go of the arrow.
"Damn, Nilia!" Hezzi exclaimed.
"It had to be done," she said, massaging her aching hand.
Three shadows moving across the village center and a series of laboured grunts signalled the arrival of Sorrin, Mellah, and Renna.
"Hezzi!" Renna broke free of the pack and slammed into the bewildered Wolf so hard she almost bowled the both of them right over. "Are you okay? How's your back?"
"I'm fine," Hezzi assured her, although his fleeting wince of pain did not go unnoticed by Nilia's eye. "What about you? Are you, um... ready? To go?"
She stepped back, rubbing her arms for warmth, and nodded. She gave him a small smile, but its simple beauty was marred by the dark lines beneath her eyes.
That girl has been crying.
"What happened here?" Sorrin asked, looking down at Danado's sprawled body.
"He's not in his right mind, so I fixed him."
"Fixed him, huh? That's not gonna last very long."
"It's the best I could do."
Sorrin sighed. "All right. I'll carry him, you get the gate."
Nilia led them the short distance to the massive set of wooden doors, constantly on the lookout for any movement within the shadows. If they were very lucky, they might have an hour's headstart. If not... well, it was better to go out fighting anyway.
She put her shoulder to the gate and pushed, digging her heels into the soft snow and the frozen ground beneath, forcing open a gap just wide enough to squeeze through, making the decorative skulls sing them a macabre farewell. It was with great astonishment that she realized this would probably be the very last time she'd ever hear those damn things clacking in the wind.
Good.
She stepped out onto the snow-covered path that would lead them into the woods, the village at her back, an unknown mountain of shadows stretching out before her, and nothing but a crescent moon to light the way.
I'm coming, Ander, she thought, staring up at the stars. I'm coming, and I'm bringing your little brother with me, so you'd better be alive. I want to see you smile when you see him again.
I just...
I just want to see you smile...
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